Caught Between Shifters
Page 20
“I don’t care what she thinks,” Stephen laughed so loudly that it made Lucy cringe. “I’m here to kill her.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Erik said calmly as he shook his head and squeezed Lucy’s hand in an action of comfort.
Stephen seemed to ignore him as he looked at Lucy. “Did he tell you how he turned me into a vampire and the blood lust caused me to kill my own fiancée?”
“For the last time, you begged me to turn you,” Erik protested. “It’s not my fault that you tried to turn Amelia and her body rejected it!”
Their conversation was indicative that they’d had this argument many times over, and it seemed far from coming to an end.
“You took my life and my love from me, and now you’re going to feel the same pain I felt!” Stephen promised. A sudden rush of air touched her skin before Lucy felt a hand around her throat.
“Stephen! Stop this!” Erik snapped as Stephen pinned her to the wall. His fingers were tight around her throat, cutting off her airways as she struggled against him, “Amelia wouldn’t want any of this!”
Stephen’s body tensed, but he refused to look at his brother. Instead, he glared at Lucy. His dark eyes blazed as he stared into hers. “Did he tell you about Rachel? His last lover?” He continued, “Did he tell you how I ripped her heart out and threw it in the fire?”
“Don’t you say her name!” Erik roared, and Lucy suddenly dropped as Stephen’s hand was gone from her throat. Erik grabbed Stephen by the neck and pulled him away from her. He slammed his brother back against the wall, and Stephen snarled, baring his fangs.
“She was a pitiful, weak human!” Stephen snapped, and Lucy saw the anger in Erik’s demeanor as he grabbed hold of his brother’s throat once again.
With Stephen already restrained against the hard surface, Erik pushed upwards as Stephen’s back slid up the wall.
Stephen continued his taunting, “Just like this one! Another pitiful, weak human.” With that, he slammed his arm down over Erik’s, causing him to let go. In the moment of confusion that followed, Stephen managed to slip past him again.
Lucy screamed as she felt Stephen’s cold fingers take hold of her again. He wasn’t going to waste any more time. She could see his determination in the cool deadness in his eyes. It was over.
“Sweet dreams, sweetheart,” he laughed, and then he snapped her neck.
Chapter Sixteen
Erik
“No!” he screamed as he watched Lucy’s lifeless body crumple to the ground. Stephen stood over her, a triumphant grin on his face.
“Like I said, pitiful and weak.” He kicked her leg with the tip of his boot.
“Get away from her!” Erik screamed. He couldn’t stand to see his brother near her, nor see the way her neck was twisted at an awkward angle.
“It’s a little late for that,” said Stephen, with a disturbing grin. Hot fury burned throughout Erik’s body. He charged as the red mist came down over his vision. All he could see was his target as he grabbed hold of his brother’s shoulders and slammed him back against the metal shutters that covered the window. The metal shook sickeningly, looking as though it would only take one more push for Stephen to break through the shutters and the glass behind it.
“You say you loved Amelia, but if you loved her, you never would have begged me to turn you!” he snapped at his brother. “You would have wanted to live out your human life with her by your side, giving her children, a family, and a happy life.”
“We would have been immortal!” Stephen protested. “But instead, she died. We would have lived forever by each other’s sides. You took her from me!”
“Stop saying that. This is your fault. I gave you what you wanted! You are responsible for Amelia’s death. All of this is your fault!” Erik felt frustration simmer like a slow-burning fire in the pit of his stomach, as he finally let go of all the guilt that he’d been holding back. Too many innocent women had lost their lives to Stephen’s anger. It was time for it to end.
“I loved you, brother, and I wanted to give you everything. You chose to risk her life! You were the one who turned her! You fed her your blood, and then you snapped her neck and killed her! All of your pain is your own doing.”
Tears brimmed behind Stephen’s eyelashes. Erik saw his brother’s bottom lip quiver as he struggled to hold back the pain. Finally, the tears spilled over, slipping down his cheeks as his fangs bared all over again, “You caused it,” he whispered, though he was not so sure about his words as he had been before.
Erik released his grip, and Stephen didn’t fight back. Instead, Stephen looked over at the dead woman on the floor. Remorse seemed to wash over him. “What have I done? Forgive me, brother,” begged Stephen.
“Just leave, before I rip your heart out,” Erik boomed. He could not bring himself to harm his brother, yet he knew if he was with him for one more second, he would not be able to control himself.
As soon as Erik let go of his brother, Stephen was gone. All that remained was the rush of wind caused by his swift exit.
Feeling defeated, Erik dropped down onto his knees. He felt his own tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as he pulled Lucy’s body up onto his lap. He held her there as the scent of her lavender shampoo drifted into his nostrils. Tears rolled down from his eyes and into her hair. He held her tightly against his chest remembering the last woman his brother had killed, a woman so much like the one he held in his hands. Erik had been watching Lucy for more than a year. His feelings for her had grown into love. Lucy had no idea how many times he had saved her and protected her. Her smile was burned in his memory. Now she was gone.
When he felt the breath against his cheek, he couldn’t allow himself to believe it. He couldn’t allow himself to believe that the snapped neck hadn’t killed her. Then he felt her stir, and remembered when she’d bitten him. He remembered the taste of his own blood. The realization hit him: he couldn’t have been the only one to taste it.
Turning his head, he looked down at her and stroked her hair. He saw nothing but the beautiful lines of her face, and the way her lips parted gently. Then he saw the way her dark lashes fluttered against her cheekbones, and he allowed himself to hope.
Lucy’s eyes flew open and she gasped as her body flew into life again. Relief overwhelmed him. Stephen’s plan had failed. Lucy’s defiance had saved her life when she’d bitten his lip only a few hours before.
“Wha…what happened?” she asked, and when her eyes flashed around the room, Erik knew she was looking for her attacker. “Where is Stephen?”
“He’s gone. He won’t try to hurt you again,” Erik told her gently as he ran his fingers down her face, convincing himself that she was alive. Well, alive in the sense that she could move, speak, and breathe. She had still died, but she had a new type of life ahead of her.
“I…I died…oh my god! I died!” she gasped as she pulled away from him, her entire body shaking as she remembered what had happened. Fear overwhelmed her, “I felt him snap my neck.”
“It’s all right now.” Erik reached for her and pulled her into his chest again. “You’re all right. I’ve got you. I’m going to take care of you.”
“How am I all right? You mean…I’m a vampire?”
Erik nodded, but didn’t utter a word. He didn’t know how she would take her new fate.
Lucy shocked him again, just as she always did. She reached up to him, and pulled his face down to hers. When she kissed him, Erik felt the guilt and pain of the last three centuries melt away. Finally, he’d found the one who was meant to last, the one who could not be torn away from him.
*****
THE END
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Juniper Hart, Caught Between Shifters