Wild Hearts (Blood & Judgment #1)

by Eve Newton

“All right. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  I hesitate for a moment, before heading on back up the stairs.

  Chapter 16

  ~Ember~

  I have been placed in this dining room, well more like dining hall it is so large, all on my own. It irritates me. Don’t ask me why, normally my own company is all I can stand, but now it just makes me suspicious.

  I look up as Aria waltzes in with a worried frown that had better not be the result of anything to do with me. I am not in the mood for another go around show of arrogance.

  “Hey,” she says and sits opposite me, lifting the lid off the domed, silver setting in front of her. She breathes in deeply at the steak and salad and picks up her knife and fork. “You eat?” she asks before shoveling food into her mouth.

  “Obviously,” I snap at her. “Or I wouldn’t have a plate of food in front of me.”

  “Just asking,” she mumbles with her mouth full.

  I pick at my salad and the feeling of dread just gets worse. It’s enough. I need to feed; I need to kill.

  “Everything okay in here?” Draven asks a second later, sauntering in looking like he just stepped out of GQ. “I sense some tension.”

  He and Aria exchange a look that completely excludes me and that is the final straw. I stand up. “I need to feed,” I announce.

  “I will get some blood for you,” Draven says hastily, sensing the dark mood that has overtaken me.

  “It’s not your damn responsibility!” I yell at him and swipe my plate off the table, sending food flying and china crashing to the floor.

  “Calm the fuck down,” Aria says, picking a shred of lettuce out of her hair. “He’s only trying to help.”

  “Oh, is he?” I snarl at her, pissed that she is sticking up for him. “Stay out of this.”

  “Done,” she says coldly and goes back to her eating.

  I glare at her and then stalk past Draven and towards the front door. He stops me halfway across the drawing room and grabs me. I forcefully pull my arm out of his grip, but he grabs it again anyway.

  “Ember,” he says. “I will sort this out for you. I should have made arrangements before. I thought we had more time. I apologize. You are mine to take care of and I will do so.”

  “I am not yours!” I shout at him. “I don’t belong to anyone and I can fend for myself, thank you. I don’t need your assistance.”

  “You are mine,” he says stoically, giving me an intense gaze. “It is written as much as this prophecy you believe in is. You need to let me in.”

  “Never,” I spit at him. “I am fine on my own.”

  “Yes, I know,” he says. “You are quite accustomed to being on your own.”

  “What would you know of it?” I growl.

  “After you and Aria appeared at my doorway, I checked into you. I wanted to know about you and I knew you wouldn’t tell me after our encounter.”

  “You did a supernatural Google check on me?” I shriek at him. “Oh, you had better be fucking joking!”

  He shakes his head. “No jokes. I know all about your family situation…”

  “You know fuck all,” I seethe. “Now let me out of here.”

  “I know you are on the run from your father and have been for many years. You can stop running now, Ember. I can protect you,” he says sincerely.

  Fuck that. “All you offer me is another prison,” I say, shaking my head at him. “I will not accept your help in exchange for you claiming me. That isn’t how this works.”

  “That’s not what I am doing,” he says in exasperation.

  “You can’t reason with her,” Aria says, entering the room and crossing her arms. “She is too far gone. Let her out.”

  “She will kill,” Draven says, worried.

  “Yeah. She will,” Aria says seriously, a deep sadness in her voice. “But this will only get worse.”

  “No,” Draven says. “There is another way.”

  I look between the two of them and bare my fangs at them. The two of them buddying up against me and skulking around during the daylight hours together is making this bad situation worse. They need to leave me the fuck alone. Now.

  “Let me out, or I will start tearing through your Coven one by one,” I challenge him.

  “And I would have to stop you,” Draven says menacingly. “Don’t make me do that.”

  “Then drop the wards and open the gates,” I say and turn on my heel and race towards the door. I open it and run through, aiming straight for the gates.

  “Ember, wait!” Draven calls to me, but all I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears and the smell of the forest all around me. It brings out the hunter in me and I don’t stop.

  “Ember!” he shouts, but it’s too late. I have run headlong into the ward and the flash of blue electricity burns my eyes as it stops my heart, before flinging me backwards twenty-five feet.

  As I hit the ground, it restarts my heart and I open my eyes with a gasp.

  “Ember,” Draven cries and drops to his knees, cradling my head in his lap. He looks down into my eyes and the look of terror turns to one of confusion. “That should have killed you,” he says.

  “It did,” I answer, pissed off, and sit up pushing him away from me. “Lucky for your ass, I am better than death. Now. Drop. The. Ward.”

  He stands up, as I do, and says coldly, “As you wish.”

  I don’t bother with gratitude, I just turn and run. This time I make it out of the grounds and I stop only for a brief moment to remove my shoes before I take off again heading for the hills. Figuratively speaking. I am actually heading straight towards that dive motel where we picked up the Ford. My killer instinct is at its peak and Aria was right about one thing: you can’t reason with me. All I can concentrate on is getting to my next feed.

  I run and jump my way through the forest. A cautious forty-five-minute drive in the car is made into less than ten minutes with my speed on foot.

  The trees clear and start to thin and then my bare feet hit tarmac. I stop then to breathe in deeply. The race hasn’t tired me out, only made me more invigorated and hungrier. I replace my shoes and calmly walk across the road to the motel. It is nearing midnight so it is relatively quiet, just a few noises coming from the small bar attached to the motel. As I reach the parking lot, I stumble as the ache in my head suddenly fires up.

  No, no, no. This is the worst time for a vision to strike! But instead of the mind numbing intensity of a normal vision, all that happens is I lose focus and the drumming in my head stays at a steady beat. I get a picture in my head. A picture I wish I wasn’t looking at. Draven is standing outside, staring at where I disappeared and Aria is standing next to him.

  “She’ll be okay,” Aria says.

  “I know she will,” Draven says. “It’s everyone else that I’m worried about.”

  “Me too. I’m just glad she didn’t lose her shit while we were still with my pack. Woulda been hell on earth.” And then she eyes him and says, “Good luck with that one.”

  It is said as a joke, but it just makes me see red. How dare she? How dare she try and sabotage my relationsh…shit! What? I shake my head to clear the vision of the two of them out of my head.

  There is no relationship.

  I will not be tied down by a controlling brute like him, or anyone, for that matter. But Aria’s betrayal feels like an unexpected knife to the gut. She clearly wants me out of the way so she can have a crack at Draven herself.

  The vision continues.

  Draven blows out a breath, clearly frustrated with the situation and then asks her, “Are you going to tell her about what happened earlier outside the hotel, or should I?”

  “I’ll tell her when she calms the hell down.”

  “Good. She needs to know. I’ll give her two hours and then track her,” I hear Draven’s voice in my head.

  Really? I can do a lot of damage in two hours. He will wish he hadn’t bothered to show up. My wicked side has reared its head and now all bets are
off. The next person I see is a goner.

  Fortunately, the bar door opens, and out spill five young men, all part of some gang. They stop in their tracks when they see me. A slight woman all by her lonesome.

  “Hi,” I say, innocently. “I need help, my car broke down a few miles back…”

  “Oh,” the one who is clearly the leader says. “This is your lucky night.”

  “Oh, thank you,” I say, batting my eyelashes. “You are so kind.”

  “Kind?” he snorts to his friends. “We’ll see about that. Come.” He beckons me closer and the five men surround me. I look mildly startled around at them, but then they start walking, forcing me to walk with them.

  “I want her first,” one of them whispers. “I never go first.”

  “She’s all mine,” the leader says with a smirk and I let out a frightened sound. Might as well give them what they are expecting. They lead me around the side of the motel and then to the back where it smells of rotting garbage and bodily fluids. I try to keep the look of disgust off my face, seeing as how I am supposed to be so scared. I need them to get closer to me. They all have guns and while it won’t kill me, it will slow me down a fraction and alert others to the situation. I let the leader press me up against the wall.

  “What are you doing?” I cry out, but not loudly, so that no one will come to my ‘rescue’.

  “Just taking payment from you before we help out,” the leader says and leans his body against mine.

  “Me first,” I say, dropping my fangs and going straight in for the kill.

  He yelps in surprise and one of his buddies tries to pull him away, but he shouldn’t have got so close. I reach out and grab hold of him, keeping him in place as he struggles against my grip. I am that hungry that I have already finished off the leader. He slumps to the floor while his friends all try to attack me at once.

  I knock one out with a fist to the face, but seeing as I am still holding onto the rest of my dinner, two of them escape. I let them go as three should be enough to satisfy me. I get to work on the next one and when he drops like a rock, I pick up the unconscious one and drain him too, then I fling him straight into the dumpster, followed by his two friends.

  I slam the lid shut and wipe my mouth delicately. Much, much better.

  I stretch like a happy cat and, with a smile, I make my way around to the bar. I am not concerned the other two will have called the cops. They are likely in trouble with the law themselves, besides, in less than two hours I will be out of here.

  I push open the bar door and head straight for the bar. I order a beer with the cash that I thankfully have stashed in the back pocket of my jeans and then I go to the payphone. I make a call and then I sit and wait.

  ***

  Two of the worst beers I’ve ever had later, I look up as the door opens and smile.

  “Hi,” I say, and kick out a chair for him.

  “Ems,” Simon says, taking the chair and turning it around before he straddles it. “I thought you were in trouble?”

  “Nope,” I say with a smile. “Let’s get a room.”

  “What? Now?” he asks.

  “Well, if you don’t want to…” I shrug.

  He stands up suddenly. “No, I do!” He grabs my hand and drags me across to the lobby of the motel.

  After getting us a room he grins at me. “I knew you’d come to me eventually.”

  “Well, actually, you came to me,” I say with a seductive smile.

  “I will always come to you,” he says quietly.

  He lets us into the room and I slam the door closed and strip off my top. His eyes go straight to my breasts, covered by a black lacy bra and he groans. I know he wants to touch me and now I want him to touch me.

  I stalk across to him and pull him by his shirt closer to me. His green eyes gaze into mine as I tilt my head up, inviting him to kiss me. He hesitantly leans forward and presses his lips to mine. I open up for him and he wastes no time in delving his tongue into my mouth with a soft moan.

  “Oh, Ems,” he says. “I have missed you.”

  I ignore his sentiment, as I am not here for that. I want to get Draven and Aria and the prophecy out of my mind for a few moments before I teach Draven a valuable lesson in trying to claim me.

  I let Simon walk us back to the bed and he lays me gently down. I would prefer a good, rough fuck the mood I am in, but I let him take his time. It will be a long time before he ever gets to do this with me again, so I lie back and enjoy his butterfly kisses to the tops of my breasts and then to my stomach and then he tugs on my jeans with his teeth. He pops the button and slowly lowers the zipper and then he quickly yanks them off me in one fluid movement.

  He catches his breath as he sees I am going commando under my jeans and his lustful gaze meets mine. “You are gorgeous,” he says and I preen at his compliment.

  “Come here,” I say crooking my finger at him.

  “Yes,” he whispers and covers my body with his. He reaches around and unclasps the bra and pulls it away. He devours my nipples as if they are cherries on two round cupcakes and I wiggle in rapture underneath him. He stops and looks up at me as I let out a cry of desire, his gaze full of confusion. I understand it completely. I am usually the one to take charge, almost directing him where to go and what to do before I ride him like a cowgirl, but now he has free reign of my body and he doesn’t know how to handle that much of me.

  “Continue,” I say with a small smile.

  He chuckles at me, his tension easing. “Yes, ma’am,” he says and dips his head straight between my open legs.

  “Yes,” I scream as he circles my clit with his tongue and then adds his fingers to the intoxicating swirl. I have so much pent up frustration that is waiting to come out and after the monstrous feed, I am ready to explode. I come in wave after wave of pleasure as Simon groans in appreciation of my wet pussy against his mouth.

  “I need you,” he says as he lifts his head. “Like this, please.”

  I nod my acquiescence and he jumps off the bed and strips his clothes off in record time. I catch a glance at the clock and smile wickedly to myself. It’s nearly time.

  Simon crawls back up my body and positions himself at my entrance. I tilt my hips and in one hard thrust he is inside me, balls deep.

  “Fuck,” he roars as my wetness sheathes him. “More, I need fucking more.”

  I know he wants to feed from me and I will let him, just not quite yet.

  He drops his fangs, but to stall him, I kiss him instead, tearing my tongue on his sharp fangs. He laps at my bleeding tongue as he hammers into me. I pull my mouth away and then turn us over.

  It’s my turn now.

  I wrap my legs around him and draw him closer to me. My tits are pressed up against his chest and his hand is in my hair. I tilt my head to the right so that the left side of my neck is exposed and just as he sinks his fangs into me with a growl of unadulterated lust, the door bursts open and in strides a furious, thunderstruck warlock with an expression so dark, I feel myself come all over Simon’s cock.

  Chapter 17

  ~Ember~

  “Fucking yes,” Simon moans, completely not bothered that we now have an audience. “Uhn,” he adds as he floods me in a rocking orgasm, his fingers digging into my ass so he can get even deeper.

  I never take my eyes from Draven’s and what I see there only excites me. He is angry. I mean really angry. He is about ready to rip us both to shreds and yet all that would accomplish is nothing. He has no ‘official’ claim on me, so he cannot do anything about this situation and he knows it.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Simon asks as he drains the last of his seed into me.

  “I could ask you the same question,” Draven growls at him.

  “This is Simon,” I say to Draven with a sweet smile covered in venom. “I sired him.”

  I see Draven’s face go pale, but he recovers quickly when I climb off Simon and look around for my clothes.

  “Sired him?” he asks
, icily.

  “Oh, not today,” I say with a little laugh. “A long, long time ago.”

  “Yeah, we go way back,” Simon adds, laying back on the bed with all his bits on display. “So who the fuck are you?”

  “Draven Stone, Head of the Dark Raven Coven,” Draven answers stiffly. He is watching me pull my clothes on with a steady gaze.

  “And?” Simon presses.

  “And what?” he snaps.

  “And what are you doing interrupting us?” Simon asks.

  “I have come to take Ember home,” Draven says.

  Simon’s eyebrows skyrocket. “Home?” he asks me, worried. “He works for Edric?”

  “No,” I say, reassuring him. “He is an overbearing bully who seems to think I am his property,” I add, my eyes flashing with the challenge.

  “You are mine,” Draven says before he slams his lips shut.

  “Hm,” I say tapping my chin and tilting my head towards Simon. “Still want me now?”

  “Ember,” he warns me in a menacing tone. “You are playing with fire.”

  “Ems, what is going on here?” Simon asks and Draven growls at the shortening of my name.

  “It’s a long story,” I say to him. “I’ll fill you in later. I have bodies to dispose of.” I give Draven a level stare, which darkens his eyes further.

  “I already took care of it,” he says shortly, avoiding my eyes for a second.

  That takes me aback. He cleaned up my mess after me? What kind of a weirdo is he?

  “I told you I would take care of you,” he says quietly. “Whatever it takes.”

  I choke back the sudden sob that threatens to come out. Jesus. The last few seconds have completely whacked me around the back of the head and turned me into some sort of girly pansy-ass. I can’t believe he got rid of the three dead bodies I had left in the dumpster. That’s more than anyone has done for me in, well, kind of forever. Not even Simon has shown me that kind of dedication. Not that he wouldn’t, I just never needed him to or wanted him to. A quick glance at him shows me how pissed off he is that this stranger has swooped in and taken over.