by Leeah Taylor
Viktor walked over to Becca and came back down to her level. “Oh oh oh…..” he chuckled, turning to give Sarah an evil smile.
“Viktor, let her go. She doesn’t know anything,” Sarah begged. “There is nothing she can do to help you. She might as well be human.”
“When was Becca born, Sarah?” Viktor asked, still staring at the girl. Searching her face for any reaction. He could see now that she had no recollection of what, who or where she was. “Sarah?”
“Right after the Fall.” Sarah sighed. She hoped that Viktor wouldn’t put it together.
“Tobias was Vampyr, wasn’t he, Sarah?”
Tears threatened to spill over again. She stayed quiet.
Growing impatient, Viktor wrapped his hand around Becca’s throat and slowly squeezed. She could feel the life drifting away from her as he squeezed harder. Her fingers scraped at his, trying to loosen them, even a little, to gasp for a breath. “Sarah? Was Tobias Vampyr?”
“Yes, my god, Viktor, yes,” Sarah cried, seeing the life starting to drain away from Becca.
“And Merrick Marks? Royal as well?” He pushed for more information, his grip tightening just slightly around Becca’s throat.
“Yes Viktor, Merrick as well.” She said.
Everything around Becca started to go blurry and her eyes started roll into the back of her head. Blackness was about to claim her.
“Viktor!” her mother pleaded.
Viktor released her and she collapsed to the floor, choking and coughing. Her hand rubbed at the spot.
“Interesting, that would mean not only William Marks but Markus Marks are both of the royal Vampyr bloodline.” Viktor talked to himself, slowly walking the room and standing in the open terrace door. His hand stroked his chin while he had his one-sided conversation. “Making them all, technically, the next Heirs and Heiresses. Very interesting.”
“Caleb!” Viktor yelled.
Caleb was quick to appear in the doorway.
“Lock them up.” He gave Becca a sideways glance and smiled with evil intent.
Caleb went for Becca first, already playing out the scenario in his head. The little taste he’d had earlier was surging through him and he could feel the little bit of power it gave him. And now he wanted more of it.
“Better yet, leave the girl. Just take her.” Caleb froze and gave him a jealous look. Sarah’s eyes widened and she jumped up.
“NO.”
Caleb grabbed her around the waist. But she jerked back and nearly went down to the ground.
“Viktor, don’t do this. Keep me, Viktor! Keep me!” Sarah fought hard for the chance to save her daughter. She knew what he would do to her. What he wanted to do and why.
“Get her out of here.” Viktor waved her away, not fazed by her outburst.
Sarah fought against Caleb as he dragged her out of the room. She pleaded with him, begged him to stop but it fell on deaf ears. Her screams echoed throughout the corridor until they were nothing more than a murmur.
Becca had backed up into the corner again, holding tightly to herself. It was all like a bad nightmare and she couldn’t wake up. None of it made sense to her.
Please wake up, Becca. The words played over and over in her head.
“Why don’t you come up here on the bed?” Viktor suggested to her, patting the spot next to him.
Becca started crying, wishing William would come for her.
Rolling his eyes, he got up and grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to stand up. “I said the bed. You will learn to obey me.”
“Ahhh!!” she cried as he pulled her over to the bed and threw her down on it.
Viktor dropped his robe with a smile and slowly made his way onto the bed, and onto her.
Becca kicked him hard in the face. A rage spilled over him as he grabbed her by the thighs and pulled her under him.
“When you fight, I fight,” Viktor growled.
Grabbing her jaw, he jerked her head to the side. She fought hard against him, but Viktor was the stronger species. He took in her scent and growled loudly.
He unleashed his fangs. “Let’s see how the Heiress tastes.” Viktor sank his fangs deep into the meat of her shoulder, savoring the way her screams filled the air of the castle.
Pulling back from her, he felt a drunkenness wash over him. He gripped her tighter and brought his fangs back down into a new spot, and the blood rushed into his mouth again. It slid down his throat and took off into his system. Releasing her, he brought his lips to her ear. Blood dripped from his mouth.
“Oh Becca, my dear, you can’t even fathom what you hold.”
She wiggled away from him, trying to grab for the edge of the headboard, anything to give her some leverage. He reached up and wrapped his strong hand around her wrist, and forced it up above her head.
Using his free hand, he forced her shirt up to her breast and plunged into the tender skin of her belly. Another cry passed her lips and she jerked away from him, his teeth tearing at the flesh. It sent a piercing scream into the air.
Drinking greedily from her, he could feel a power growing inside him. It tingled and burned as it filled him. He bit her again and again, covering her body with fang marks
Becca started to feel dizzy and foggy, everything around her starting to fall away as the toxins built up inside her. Her body began to numb against the pain and as Viktor ripped her jeans down and bit down on the inside of her leg, she faded away. Succumbing to a restless dream land.
Viktor couldn’t get enough; he began to understand why his own son had been drinking from her. The power her blood held was unprecedented and he could feel it building. His eyes played with the sight of her pink cotton panties. He smiled wide and let his fingers slip under them.
Viktor spent hours with her locked in that bedroom with him. Violating her, drinking from her, marking her. It gave him a thrill knowing William would have to look at her, and know that Viktor had her for himself.
Pushing up from the bed, gorged on her blood with a super high keeping him in a euphoric hazy state, he redressed. He stepped out into the hallway and eyed his son at the end of the hall.
“Caleb!”
His son turned from the two guards he was speaking to. “Yeah.”
“Take Becca down to the cells. Put her with her mother.” Viktor waved his son off as he passed him.
Caleb glared as he watched him join the guards and disappear down the corridor. He growled silently, pushing the door open. Becca was coming around more and more now, the toxins already done running the course of her body.
He went over to the bed and he found himself wincing at the damage his father had doneShe’s mine, he thought to himself. Shaking his head, he fixed her jeans and then lifted her up.
Going for the door though, her eyes shot open and when they met with his, her hand farther from him came up and knocked him in the face. It caught him off guard and she dropped to her feet.
“Oh you little bitch.” He touched his lip as a few drops of blood covered his fingers. Becca tried to get to her feet and go for the door before the shock wore off. As her hand grabbed at the door knob, he got hold of a fist full of her hair and he yanked her up.
“Nice try, sweetheart.” Caleb pulled her down the corridor. She tripped and stumbled as he kept a strong hold in her hair.
“Better start making yourself at home, darling. Because you aren’t going anywhere.”
Chapter 11
Caroline hurried into the house, Miranda and Markus following close behind her. They had no idea what had Caroline or Craeden so panicked. Whatever it was though, they made sure to stay close.
Caroline’s motherly instincts took her to William, and she embraced him. But his already growing agitation with her and the betrayal he felt made him push her away.
Hurt, she stepped back.
Danny stood in the doorway of the kitchen, arms crossed and a disgruntled look on his face. Caroline sighed, already realizing that the damage had been done by the few secrets
her son had already unraveled.
“Does he know much?” She looked past William to Danny.
“He knows enough to be angry, sister,” Danny replied.
William’s, Markus’ and Miranda’s jaws dropped. That was news to them.
“Sister?” Markus questioned, looking to his mother. He was beginning to doubt her. “What is he talking about?”
“You need to start talking, mom. What the hell is going on?” William demanded, pacing the room in front of her. He didn’t have any patience left. His mind wasn’t even fully there; it was with Becca and her safety.
“Alright, just sit down, William.”
Caroline was hoping he would let her comfort him. She sighed before taking a seat on the leather couch in the center of the room. William never moved but glared at her impatiently, waiting for her to speak.
“Or not.” She redirected her eyes. “There really isn’t any easy way of unraveling twenty years of secrets and lies.”
“Yeah, like the fact that we are the Heir and Heiress,” he blurted out, not thinking of Miranda or Markus. They both gave him an unbelieving stare. “How ‘bout Becca? Hmmm? Think Caleb would have been able to get to her had we known?”
“Whoa, wait a minute! What the hell? What is he talking about?” Markus demanded. She hung her head. “Mom!”
Caroline looked over at Danny, who was standing in the doorway still unwilling to budge or be a part of it.
“You’re not helping.” Caroline directed at her stubborn brother.
“Because had you listened to Craeden and me twenty years ago we wouldn’t be in this mess.” He threw his hands up in frustration. “Come on Caroline, you know it’s true.”
She pinched the spot between her eyes. “Where are Nikki and Z?”
“They are out enjoying probably their last night as humans. I’ll call them when I’m ready.”
Danny wanted to protect them for as long as he could. It was too late for Becca, but he was going to be damned if Nikki and Z were going to find out like that. “Figured we could deal with the ones that at least know what they are before we crash Nikki’s and Z’s world.”
He knew they would be crushed when they found out that the man they called father wasn’t one at all. For Danny it was a sacrifice worth making. He had the three of them to show for it and that made him proud. But he was unsure if Z would ever forgive him.
“Answer me, mom.” Markus demanded. “What is William talking about? The Heir and Heiress?”
“The three of you and Becca, Nikki and Z are the rightful heirs to the Bottom throne. Twenty years ago, when the Heir and Heiress were murdered. Not by your father…” She shot William an adamant look. And he still showed no willingness to accept it. “You six were the last firstborns.”
“Who in the hell are Nikki and Z?” Miranda asked. “And Becca, why would Caleb take her? She’s human.”
Miranda had only just learned of William’s misgivings with the human girl. But unlike his brother, she was willing to accept anything as long as it meant William being happy for once.
“They’re your sisters,” Caroline revealed. “And Z is my son.”
Markus jumped up from his spot and crossed the room. Now he understood why William was so upset and so frustrated. He had figured out the truth but not soon enough. His fingers pushed through his hair and he turned back towards his mother.
“We have a brother? Why, mom? Why lie to us? Keep secrets from us?” Markus popped off the questions one by one.
“Because we had to protect you from Viktor and the Council. The royal bloodline was being targeted and picked off all the way up to the Heir and Heiress. And when that happened, Tobias and Merrick sent us to the Surface, and the two of them went into hiding before they could be killed too. Your fathers were the last of the royal line.”
“Yeah but you failed to mention how well you knew Tobias. That the three of you had grown up together your entire lives. Or is it the four of you? Becca’s mom?” William questioned.
“Fathers? Craeden is my father,” Miranda interjected. Caroline turned to her and took her hands into hers.
“No, Miranda he isn’t. Tobias Lorde is your father.”
She pulled her hands away and pushed up from the couch, and went to join Markus and William now. Caroline pursed her lips and looked back to her sons. “Yes, Merrick, Tobias, Sarah and I have known each other since we were little kids.”
“You let Becca believe that both her parents were dead. Do you know how fucked up that is?” William raised his voice. “You know what, I won’t sit here and do this.”
He threw his hands up and went out the door. “I’m going for Becca.” The door slammed hard behind him.
“William, no!” Caroline went after him, catching him just before he reached his truck. “William, you can’t.”
“Why? Why does it have to be dad? Huh?”
William was angry and the Beast within him was fighting more and more to get out. It was as strong as ever, and that’s when it occurred to him that it had been a few days since he had fed that addiction of his. Becca had come to the forefront of all else, becoming the most important thought in his mind. Everything else had fallen into the background without a second thought.
“Did you not hear me when I told you the stories growing up?” She threw her hands up. “William, the six of you are the last firstborns. When an Heir and Heiress die they embody the next born Vampyrs. Don’t you understand, William? Aside from your father, you are the last of the bloodline, and the Heir and Heiress made sure that when they came back…they would come back with power and vengeance.” Caroline desperately wanted him to understand. “If you go down there you risk everything we’ve done to protect you.”
“I love her, mom.” William leaned up against his truck. “I’ve only known her for a week and I love her.”
“I know, baby. It’s the way it was supposed to be. You and Becca were always meant to be together,” his mother revealed. “Sit down here with me.”
She motioned to the curb and he resisted. William wasn’t ready to let his mother in any more than he already had.
“Oh for goodness’ sake, William Merrick Marks, you sit down here right now.” She used his whole name and it made him cringe. He was named after a man he despised. Finally he lowered down to the concrete and rested his elbows on his knees.
“We always knew which ones would end up together. Markus and Miranda, Z and Nikki and of course, you and Becca. You guys were inseparable.”
The farmhouse, he thought. They had been together there and now the picture hanging in Becca’s room made more sense. The feelings she’d had inside the house. And more importantly, their reciprocated feelings for each other. The familiarity that coursed through them each time they saw each other.
“The farmhouse?”
“Until you were six or seven. Sarah and I raised you all right here in Raymont, and then the Drifters’ Order came. And we knew then what we had to do. So we separated you. You, Miranda and Markus were already Maturing. Once that starts you can’t take it. So we altered your memories and took you to the Dimension.”
“And Becca? Nikki and Z?”
“We were able to bind them because they weren’t Maturing,” she said.
“Oh mom, you should have told us. If we had known, none of this would be happening right now.” William buried his head into his hands. The need to rescue Becca grew. She had been down in the Bottom too long as far as he was concerned. A second with Viktor was one too many.
A puff of smoke appeared in the yard and Craeden stepped out of it. The two turned and were met with a grim look from him.
“What is it, Craeden? Did you find Merrick?” Caroline stood to meet him.
“Viktor took Sarah two days ago. Tobias and Merrick were already gone when I got there. Somewhere in the Bottom,” he said.
“How? They were in the Dark, Craeden. How did Viktor get to her?” she asked.
“Sarah came out of the Dark because she
found out that Caleb was poking around William and Becca. He caught her before she could jump from the Bottom to the Dimension. She was coming to us.”
“They don’t know. Tobias doesn’t know his daughter is down there.” Caroline was in a panic. “And Sarah. What if Viktor has already…?”
“Caroline, don’t think like that. Okay, Sarah is fine I’m sure,” Craeden insisted. “Too much piss and vinegar in her to go down that easily. Besides, Viktor thinks he can use her to find Tobias.”
“Yeah but Craeden, if Viktor figures it out…If for a second he thinks that Becca is the Heiress, it could all be over,” she said.
William jerked his head up and then jumped from the front step.
“I’m done,” he said, going for his truck. “I’m going down there.”
He turned around towards the house. “Miranda, Markus, get out here now!”
The two emerged from the house and Miranda glowered up at Craeden. He looked over at Caroline and she shrugged with remorse.
“Miranda, honey.” He took a couple of steps towards her and she took one back. Putting Markus between them.
“You lied to me. I don’t want to talk to you, hell I don’t wanna see you,” she said.
“What are we doing, William?” Markus asked, not giving either of them any more attention.
“We’re going to the Bottom,” William said as he got into the truck.
Miranda and Markus didn’t give it a second thought as they pushed past Caroline and Craeden, diving into the truck
“You’re just gonna let them leave?” Danny protested, escaping out the door just in time to see William’s truck speeding out of the driveway.
“You wanna try and stop them?” Caroline asked. “Besides, Viktor has Sarah.”
Chapter 12
“What’s the plan?” Markus asked, pulling the seatbelt across his chest and securing it in place. There were a few things that were certain when it came to his brother. And two of those things were that William had a temper, and William drove like a maniac at times. Mix the two together and Markus wasn’t taking any chances.
