Wrath (Time of Death Book 2)

by Candy Crum

  Soon, once I was able to get my mind to calm, by sheer force of will, I was able to feel the energy inside myself, just as I’d been able to do with Cass when I’d fed on him before. Pulling, I was able to move the energy whenever I wanted, or needed, in this case. The bone ached as it grew new cells needed to connect one end to the other. The skin tugged as it moved into place. I could almost feel each vessel reconnecting with every singular moment that passed.

  A heavy sigh left me as the pain fully subsided. I never felt better than I had at that very moment.

  …Except when the pain left after my skull healed from being shot…

  …Or when my chest healed after having it cracked open in surgery after being shot…

  You know… It’s happened a few times. I just felt super-duper good right then. Just the duperest.

  “Why the hell did you do that?” I asked. “You’re supposed to be my father. You’re supposed to be training me. Not cutting my damn arm off, you homicidal he-beast.”

  Tristan's left brow lifted. “That was an accident due to your own negligence. I told you that I would not be easy on you because your enemies will not be easy on you. You need to learn.” He sighed. “How are you feeling now?”

  “Better,” I replied, my demeanor much calmer. “Thank you.”

  “Good. Again.”

  I’d only barely processed his words when his nearly invisible katana sliced through the air with an almost inaudible hiss as the tip crossed my cheek. It was so fast and the blade had been so sharp that I didn’t feel anything. At first, I thought that he’d only done it to scare me. Then, slowly, the burn in my cheek settled in. As it did, white hot rage flashed through me at the thought of my own biological father intentionally causing me physical harm.

  My eyes narrowed and my brows furrowed so tightly that I was certain I’d get a muscle cramp between them. I wasn’t exactly sure if that was possible, but if it was, it was about to happen. The pain grew and a wicked growl built in my throat and ground its way out into the open. It was a guttural, terrible sound that I had no idea I was capable of. It sounded like some terrifying big cat, though I was sure he saw me as nothing more than a domesticated feline kitten.

  The anger gave me focus, and I was immediately able to heal the wound across my cheek as I’d done with my arm. I hated him so completely at that moment.

  “What – are – you – doing?!” I finally asked. Well, shouted is far more accurate. I was sure the neighbors down the road heard me.

  “Teaching,” he said. “Is this not what you asked for?”

  I looked at him incredulously. “No! What the hell is wrong with you? This is like teaching a kid to ride a bike and beating him with the bike when he crashes!”

  He sighed. “I told you, Mia. We don’t raise our children because we are numb, emotionless creatures. We are capable of love, but not to the extent that a small child needs to be nurtured into a good, decent person. This is why I chose your parents for you. I do love you, though I’m sorry it isn’t the kind that you want. The kind that you’re used to from your human father. However, it is because of this love that I have for you that I won’t go easy on you.

  “You asked me to train you. Daughter, that is what I am doing. I’m doing as you asked. You now know how to heal yourself quickly and will now be an even greater force to be reckoned with. You will also no longer be an easy target. You will have the power to get up over and over again. Now you only need to learn how to feed to replenish the energy you just spent to heal yourself. In a true battle, you can feed from your enemies to replenish.”

  I sighed, realizing that I couldn’t truly blame him. I grew up knowing the human love that my parents showed me. Judging Tristan for his parenting tactics against my parents, or most human parents, was no different than comparing my parents to a momma grizzly. Non-human creature versus a human. If what Tristan said is true, incubi and succubi didn’t care for their children at all. Taking that into consideration, his behavior was actually quite sweet. Didn’t make me like it, but I understood it.

  “Why don’t we start off with a little technique first?” I asked with a sarcastic smile.

  “This lesson is over. You need to feed. You’re too weak. There’s no way you’ll be able to avoid a slap, let alone a sword.” Tristan approached me, placing his hand under my chin. After his attack moments before, I was shocked at the gentleness. “Your eyes are dark, daughter. You’ve done very well today, but you need to take care of yourself first.”

  “Thank you,” I said, suddenly feeling proud of myself. Was he influencing me to feel that? Or was that my own pride? After all, I had just learned how to heal very quickly. That would certainly help, given Jay's love for semiautomatic weapons.

  Tristan turned to Cass. “Due to the fact that my daughter is uncomfortable with me teaching her how to hunt, I shall leave this to you. You’ve certainly taught her quite a bit already, haven’t you?”

  Cass winced a little under Tristan’s hard gaze. Cass was fearless, unless it was related to Tristan.

  “I can show her,” Cass said.

  “Good. It’s settled. I expect that I don’t have to remind you not to touch my daughter with your own hands, unless you are saving her life. Yes?”

  Cass nodded. “No worries, boss.”

  Tristan’s brow lifted. “Don’t be a smartass, Cassidy.”

  I stifled a laugh, which only served to make one of those throat snorts. Cass glared at me, and I smiled, making sure to show as many teeth as possible.

  “I’m proud, dad. You actually used a modern word. Good for you.”

  Tristan narrowed his eyes as the corner of his mouth turned upward. “You shouldn’t be a smartass either, especially to your father.”

  “And a contraction? Oh, goodness. I might teach this old man something, yet.”

  Tristan shook his head. The action suggested exasperation, but his expression revealed amusement.

  “Come on, woman,” Cass said. “Let’s go get you fed.”

  “Ew. Don’t be so casual about it. Part of me is dying today.”

  Cass rolled his eyes. “You make entirely too much of this. Trust me, it won’t feel that way once you’re in the zone. You’ll get used to it, and then it will be casual to you, too.”

  It was my turn to shake my head then. I put my katana in my sheathe, taking note that my arm was incredibly sore. It felt like a deep bruise. It must have been due to my lack of energy. Of course, I wasn’t feeding correctly, so I wasn’t healing all the way. I sighed as I realized what was about to happen and the importance of it. If I didn’t learn to accept this part of me, Jay would continue to beat me. He would win. Eventually, Jay would make a permanent victory if I didn’t watch it.

  Chapter Three

  I'd finished getting ready and met Cass in my living room. I was starving. By that point, I knew what I was starving for, but it didn’t stop the sadness when I silently wished I could just go to the kitchen and satisfy it with a big burger. Hell, I’d take drinking from blood bags over what was to come. I was an adult woman and I had needs just like everyone else. What I didn’t like was the sleeping around stuff. It was still messing with me, but, as Cass had suggested, I’d get used to it. I’d have to.

  He told me that he would take me wherever I wanted to go. There happened to be a concert at a local park, and that sounded like a good place to find willing participants. When we got there, the entire place smelled like cigarette smoke, pot, sweat, and sex. I could smell the arousal in the air, which only served to agitate me further. As I thought more into it, it made me think of throwing chum in shark infested waters. The smell would send them into a frenzy.

  Though it took a lot of effort, and I was absolutely certain that I looked ridiculous doing so, I did my best to breathe out of my mouth. I needed every ounce of my wits about me. The sparring match with Tristan had only served to weaken me further.

  “You’re shaking,” Cass said. “Everything is going to be okay. Try not to worry so
much, okay?”

  I nodded, taking notice of what he had. My entire body was shaking. I didn’t feel particularly nervous, more annoyed than anything. Even then, I didn’t think it was enough to cause such a reaction. I wondered if it was because of my hunger.

  We slowly made our way through the crowd. It was overwhelming, taking in the scents of that many people. I could feel their auras, their life forces pulsing around them like some science fiction energy field. Some were stronger than others. Soon, I became hyperaware of them. I began to see colors. Pastels lit up the crowd in greens, blues, pinks, and yellows. It looked like a rainbow flowing through there.

  “Can you see this?” I asked Cass. “The colors.”

  He nodded. “Those will save your life, one day. Humans have the power to see auras. What they see is intense and bright to them. They can see varying colors ranging from what they consider dull to the very vibrant. The truth is, what they see is nothing compared to what we see.”

  “It looks like Easter Sunday out here,” I said.

  “Exactly. Humans have strong life forces, but not nearly as much as a vampire, werewolf, or succubus. Look at mine.”

  I turned to look at him and saw it. His aura was so much different than what I’d seen before. It was a brilliant red. He was right. The bright pastel colors I’d seen in the crowd were nothing in comparison to his. It shined like a beacon. Looking around, I saw a few others that shined like that.

  “There are other vampires in the audience,” I noted.

  “Yes. Here’s how opening your eyes will save your life. Now that you can see the auras, never ­– and I mean never – stop seeing them. My aura is bright red. That’s because I’m a daywalker. I still have my humanity about me. If you ever see a red aura that looks more black than red, run. Run like hell.”

  My heart skipped a beat. “Why?”

  “That’s what is known as a Rogue. There is still so much for you to learn. So much for you to see and find out about our world. We’ve only focused on you.”

  “What is a Rogue?” I asked.

  Cass smiled, gesturing forward with his head. “Let’s walk and talk. We need to find you a healthy host.”

  I did as he asked, following him forward as our eyes scanned the crowd. “Rogue vampires are the vampires that have forsaken the queen’s laws. There is only one law. Do not kill innocents. Murderers, child molesters, and rapists are all free game. Thieves, domestic abusers ­– though, I think they should be added to the list, and common criminals are considered more innocent than damned. Their crimes, for the most part, can be moved on from. Maybe not erased, but they can be put behind the victim. It’s kind of hard to walk away from being raped.”

  “There’s a vampire queen?” I asked. “And she’s good?”

  “Oh, yes. We will talk more about this later. Right now, we have a mission. I just wanted to tell you that if you ever run into a supernatural creature whose aura color is tainted black underneath, you need to run. Their brilliant aura is tainted by their own darkness. They will not hesitate to kill you, and there isn’t much you can do to stand up against an immortal creature hundreds of years older than you.”

  We dropped the subject, but it still weighed heavy on my mind. Two kinds of vampires… Who would have thought? It wasn’t enough that they existed at all, but there needed to be two versions? How strange. I wondered what else hid out there in the shadows. Tristan sometimes called the “supernatural underground” the shadow world. At that moment, I understood why. There were a lot of things hiding out there.

  The concert was pretty fun, but that’s all it was. There was too much excitement around me to be able to focus my ADHD brain, and I found myself fidgeting the entire time with a thousand completely nonsensical thoughts running through my mind. Like, nonsensical… Is that a word? Alongside my sudden desire to get ahold of a dictionary, and probably a thesaurus, too, just for good measure, my totally rockin’ awesome and oh-so focused brain played along the usual medley of randomness.

  What was Tristan doing? He better not be hitting on my mother…

  Would I ever get the hang of this?

  Stop thinking… You’re supposed to be hunting.

  Wow, this band is really good.

  Holy shit. That guy is really hot, but I think that’s his girlfriend next to him.

  Oh, I like the girlfriend’s shoes.

  Maybe I should get some new shoes.

  Uh oh. Cass doesn’t look happy.

  … That was me. Every moment of every day. Couple that with the constant shifting back and forth, picking at nails, playing with my hair, and biting my lip, and you had a recipe for awesomeness.

  My earlier thought about Cass… I was right. He was not very happy with me. While I could tell that he was annoyed, I also appreciated the patience that he did his best to show me. He refused to give up. So, he decided to take me to the outermost area of the concert. He thought the edge of the crowd might be a bit less overwhelming.

  “Stop,” Cass said suddenly.

  Looking over, I saw his expression turn deadly serious. His brows furrowed as his nostrils flared. The color of his eyes began to change, and I knew that if he pulled his lips back, I would see elongated teeth. His aura began to darken a little as well.

  “Whoa, big boy,” I said, coming to stand in front of him.

  I placed my hand on his chest and the heat immediately flowed through me. I could feel the touch of his life force playing with my own. I was overwhelmed with desire, but I did my best to hold it back. He was clearly focusing on something. So much so that he didn’t even notice my immediate change in mood. It was probably a good thing as he would have more than likely fled, screaming like a little girl about Tristan and his fear of punishment.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “I smell blood. A lot of it. I’m trying to separate the smells, so I can find the direction.”

  My own expression changed then. “Is it one of the others? The vampires that I saw?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know, but I think I found the direction. Come with me.”

  I nodded, following him as he continued to weave around people. We passed through a double door to a wide corridor that wrapped around the entire arena. There were humans everywhere, but it was open enough that we could walk through with almost no issue. Cass was moving fast and I struggled to keep up. It was incredible just how much faster he is than me.

  “This way,” he said, cutting down another – much more private – hallway.

  There were much fewer people, and even I could smell the blood at that point. Cass had to be right. There must have been a lot of it to catch my nose with that many other people in the building.

  Without warning, Cass stopped dead in his tracks, turned to his right, and kicked in a random door. He rushed in with me close behind. Inside, there was a man standing over a woman on the floor. She was alive, but barely. Her throat had been slit, the entire floor soaked in her blood. I could see the rage in only his profile as he growled, turning to face the attacker. For a vampire, he certainly was a protector.

  Cass was a blur as he rushed across the room and grabbed the man by the throat, lifting him in the air. I quickly made my way inside the room and shut the door the best I could. The last thing we needed was another human, or humans, wandering by.

  “This is your guy,” Cass said, his jaw tight. “You’ll get everything you need out of him. You just have to kill him.”

  “Uh…” I didn’t like where things were heading. “Uh…”

  Cass’ eyes met mine. “What, Mia?” he asked before turning his eyes back to the man, his aura flaring a deeper red as he did. I could feel his power, and it was scary. “Don’t… move.”

  Cass brought the man back to earth, his feet touching the floor beneath him. He gave a shaky nod, clearly terrified of the mystery before him. Cass then knelt down next to the dying woman. He was gentle as he lifted her into his arms. After biting into his wrist, he placed it against her mout
h.

  “Drink,” he said.

  The woman didn’t hesitate, though if her swift obedience had been out of compulsion or fear, I didn’t know. Within moments, her color began to return and she regained strength. Cass pulled away from her, speaking softly to her as he told her to forget what she’d seen there and to go straight home. When she stood, he took off his black shirt and gave it to her to put over her blood-soaked, fashionable tank-top. His beautiful, bare arms, chest, and stomach distracting me momentarily.

  I shook my head to clear my mind.

  Once the woman left the room, closing the door behind her, Cass turned to me. “This is your guy, Mia. You showed some hesitation, but this bastard deserves to die.”

  “Oh, I agree,” I said, surprising Cass.

  It was obvious that he didn’t plan for me to say that I thought the same thing, but I did. That man fully planned to kill that woman. He did kill her, essentially. The only reason that she survived was because Cass caught her scent and gave her blood. If it hadn’t been for that, she’d have died. That man was nothing short of a murderer. No different than Jay. Than his men. He was scum. He didn’t care. He only cared that he got caught. That told me all that I needed to know. He’d killed before. He’d kill again. He deserved to die.

  But not by my hand. Not by a succubus.

  “If you agree, why won’t you do it?” Cass asked. “You need to feed. We can either take you out every single night and get you a little of what you need to stave you off for a few hours more, or you can kill him and take every ounce of what you need. I think you fail to realize how rare it is to come across someone you can actually kill, guilt free. I uphold my queen’s laws, and I will punish anyone – vampire, werewolf, succubus, or otherwise – that doesn’t. Her law is just. Fair. This opportunity doesn’t arise often.”

  “It’s not that, Cass,” I said. “Succubi feed by having sex. I don’t think this bastard deserves to go out feeling any kind of pleasure.”