by Sara Snow
I clenched my fists and allowed my claws to pierce my flesh. I needed to remind myself that she wasn’t there, and I couldn’t allow my fear to distract me, no matter what I saw. Although losing Elinor was my greatest fear, I recognized that she wasn’t really hurt. She was long gone by now.
I charged at Cain, and we tumbled to the ground, our mixed snarls and hisses echoing in the dark forest around us. A fight between us had been brewing for centuries, but right now, I needed to do what I had to do in order to uncover his true plan for Elinor.
My fist cracked the earth as Cain moved his head to the side, and when my head swung back, his claws ripped the flesh on my cheek. My heartbeat stopped, and I shifted into my vampire form. When Cain got up, I saw a Bleeder feeding on Elinor by his feet. Her teary eyes were on me, her lips barely parted as she tried to speak. Then she screamed as the Bleeder ripped her throat out, and I grew angry.
I had played around with Cain long enough. “I’m only going to ask you once more, brother. What does Mother want with her?”
Cain paused. “You know her, don’t you?”
“I’ve been close to this pack for months, so yes, I’ve seen the girl before. Again, if I had known what was going on, I could have captured her for our mother. But you both decided to keep me in the dark, to your own detriment.” I bent my head from side to side, the bones cracking loudly. “Speak, Cain. We don’t have all night. And only one of us can track her during the day.”
“You aren’t my superior, Will. You never have been and you never will be, so don’t speak to me as if I am beneath you.” Cain was losing his cool, so I remained quiet, waiting for him to answer my question. “I’ll take care of the girl.”
The silence between us stretched on as I stared at him unblinkingly. His unease grew by the second, and the image of Elinor lying by his feet shimmered. That was what I had been waiting for, for him to be reminded of his place. His strength and power were nothing compared to mine.
Centuries of feuding with Cain surfaced in my mind, and I recalled how he’d secretly sided with the vampires who’d wanted me removed as a general. The man I used to be resurfaced in me, and I saw nothing but a weak vampire who didn’t deserve his title. A thirst for blood, for violence, mixed with an intense need to protect the woman I loved blinded me for a second, but that was all it took.
I vanished, the world becoming distorted around me, and reappeared behind Cain. As he was turning around, I grabbed the side of his head and his shoulder, and ignoring the low sound of his bones cracking, I exposed his throat.
Then I bit him, my fangs latching onto his throat. I didn’t dull his pain, the way I’d done with Elinor, but of course, it was nothing to him. Then I released him, grabbing his arm as he swung at me. My jaw elongated, and I sank my fangs into his upper arm. I pulled back, tearing his flesh before pushing my hand into his gut. Black blood spewed from his mouth, and I wrapped my arms around him, pinning his body to mine as I bit him again, injecting my venom into his system.
“The Queen will kill you!” He tried to break free from my hold, but I only tightened my arms around him. “I-It’s f-forbidden!”
I didn’t care that the Queen had forbidden me to use my venom on another vampire. I had already bitten Vivian, and no doubt she’d already run to the Queen. I threw Cain to the ground, and his right hand, with a chunk of flesh missing, immediately went to his neck. The small dose of venom I had given Vivian would have worn off in a couple hours, but Cain was going to need my blood to heal. My blood was the only antidote for my venom.
I chuckled as I held my head back and stretched my arms out on either side of me. It had been so long since I’d felt the power-hungry sensation that was coursing through me. Biting Vivian had sent me back to this place, but I’d been afraid of being reminded. Cain’s fear, on the other hand, was potent. Looking down on him now, all I wanted was to see him suffer. I stooped down slowly, and he pulled away.
“The Queen will kill you for this!”
“I don’t think so,” I answered as I wiped at my mouth. “You missed the old me? Well, here he is, and he’s grown impatient. You know how this works, Cain. Only my blood will heal you, and you have only minutes before my venom gets to your heart. That’s when the real pain will start.”
Cain hissed and pulled his hand away from his neck, sticky now with a yellow liquid. The veins covering my body faded, and color returned to my skin.
My eyes, however, remained red and fixated on Cain. Everyone was prey to me if I so wished, and he knew that. They all knew that.
“Tell me what you need the girl for, brother, or I’m going to let you die. And believe me, I’ll sit here and smile as it happens.”
Elinor
“Who was he?” Darian asked as we ran through the forest.
Cyrus and Skye were behind us, and so far, I didn’t get the sense that we were being followed. “Who are you talking to?”
“Don’t play dumb, Elinor. I’m talking about the vampire, the one who was with you the night of the attack. He remained close to the pack when you were unconscious, too. So, who is he? He’s the one that warned you about the general, right?”
“And here I thought you were all muscle and no brain,” I quipped, and he chuckled.
As much as we fought every chance we got, I knew Darian meant well. But now wasn’t the time for explanations. We’d been running full-speed through the forest for twenty minutes now. Though we were outside our territory, we still needed to put more miles between us and our old home.
“I’ll explain who he is once we’re far enough away, okay? But yes, he was the one who told me about the general.” We leaped over a fallen tree.
“Have you lost your mind? You’re trusting a vampire?”
“A vampire who saved my life more than once and who helped to save Skye and my brother. Don’t forget that,” I said.
He didn’t look pleased, but I didn’t care. “So, you think just because he did a few things to help you, he can be trusted?”
“Now isn’t the time for this, Darian. Yes, he can be trusted. But you don’t have to trust him. You just need to trust me.”
He glanced at me then but said nothing because Cyrus suddenly pulled up beside me. “Stop.”
We all stopped running, and he began turning in a circle. I tried to listen to the quiet forest. It didn’t take long for the rest of us to both hear and smell the same thing he had.
“Vampires,” Skye said.
Darian held out a bag with a few of my things to Cyrus. “Take Elinor and fly north. I’ll catch up!”
“No,” Cyrus and I said together.
Cyrus shook his head. “I can’t leave Skye behind, and I can’t carry them both.”
I pointed my finger at Darian. “And I’m not leaving you behind to fight alone. You’re the only one who knows where we’re supposed to go.”
Darian gritted his teeth as he stared off into the forest. My nose tingled with the nearing scent of the vampires. I couldn’t tell many there were, but I couldn’t leave Darian behind, even if he was a Guard.
“It’s my job to protect you, not the other way around, Elinor. I promised your father—”
A lightning bolt struck me, sending Darian, Skye, and Cyrus flying backwards. My power awakened immediately, and I absorbed it. I looked down as the bolt danced over my arms and then seeped into my skin.
“I can protect myself, Darian.”
The vampires and supernaturals we’d sensed earlier had finally caught up to us. I released the bolt I had consumed, hitting a witch in her chest. Thunder rumbled above us, and my power pulsed as if in response to it. Another bolt fell to the earth and then another, hitting a Bleeder and a male elf.
“Take Skye and leave!” I yelled at Cyrus as flames exploded from his hands to consume two Bleeders.
Darian shifted and tackled a Bleeder and an elf while Skye attacked a witch. Her sharp claws moved quickly, cutting the witch all over and preventing her from using her magic. Then she grabbed th
e witch's head with both hands and snapped her neck.
Cyrus’s wings appeared, and he flapped them twice, creating a large wind that sent a few of our attackers to the ground. He grabbed Skye and flew off as Darian killed two Bleeders and a witch before they could get to their feet.
Targeting the witches and elves first was wise since their power could do more damage. I inhaled deeply, my eyes on a werewolf as he charged towards me. Darian rushed to my side and suddenly, we were surrounded by six Bleeders, an elf, a witch, and three werewolves.
My white eyes peered into Darian’s black ones. “If I lose control, I need you to leave me. I’ll be fine.” He growled in protest, and I forced dominance into my next words. “Do as I say!”
He shook his head and lowered it, and I gathered my power at my center. My body was shaking as I tried to focus on nothing but what I was feeling and what I wanted to happen. Before we parted, Faelen had let me in on a secret—I’d been unconsciously training myself for this since I was a child. I wasn’t a master at control, but I wasn’t a novice either.
I focused on everything I had learned from Connor when he’d trained me for the Guards’ examination. I inhaled sharply and ignored the creatures around me. When I exhaled, a clap of thunder echoed above us. Electricity charged the air as lightning bolts like whips appeared in both of my hands, and Darian and I turned our backs to each other.
The forest came alive with the sound of growls, howls, cracking lightning bolts, and cries of pain. Darian fought relentlessly, and I got to see firsthand why he was considered the best.
One of my whips wrapped around a werewolf in their final form, and my other whip came down hard on a Bleeder. The Bleeder fell to the ground, writhing in pain as I slapped it again and again.
I pulled on the whip around the werewolf’s throat, tugging him to me. I released my other whip, and it vanished. Piercing the werewolf’s chest with my claws, I shoved my hand inside him to grab his heart.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured as I removed his heart with my hand, his pained howl burning itself into my mind.
This wolf had been someone’s son, someone’s husband, and maybe even someone’s father. But now he was nothing but a mindless tool being used for someone’s greed. I’m sure he would have thanked me for putting him out of his misery.
Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind and threw me through the air. I hit the ground hard, skidding as I fell.
I winced, my teeth cutting my tongue when a tree trunk stopped me. But I got to my feet, despite the pain.
A female vampire, a Skin, was glaring at me with crimson red eyes. She hissed as she moved to attack me again, but quickly stepped back when I sent a bolt of lightning shooting out from my right hand and then my left.
I hadn’t intended to do that, and both areas burned. My body was now shaking, my temperature increasing, and my wolf was clawing to be freed. I realized that if I shifted, I would lose any chance I had of maintaining control. It took a lot of strength to stay in final form. I swallowed the taste of blood in my mouth and clenched my jaw to hold myself back from shifting. If my tiny amount of control slipped, that would be it for me.
“I know everything,” the vampire hissed, and I paused.
“What?”
She stood up straight and then spat on the ground between us. “I know everything about you and Will, you little werewolf whore! I saw the two of you tonight. I heard you as he fucked you. And now the Queen will know too—know that he’s betrayed her!”
I swallowed hard, and she laughed. As she pushed back her tangled red hair, I realized that her scent was masked.
She began muttering to herself, clearly a little deranged. “I met Cain after I saw the both of you. I didn’t tell him, though. No—” She began shaking her head wildly. “—I won’t tell the Queen just yet. This can work in my favor.” Then she broke out into another fit of laughter.
“I don’t know what you think you saw or heard—”
“Don’t you fucking speak to me as if I’m crazy! I know what I saw! I know what I heard! You! He picked you!” She moved to the side, crouching down as if to attack.
I winced as another bolt of lightning escaped my body. “Who are you?” I asked as I positioned myself into a fighting stance. I could tell she wasn’t going to be easily beaten.
Maybe I’d have to shift after all. I had already told Darian what to do, and Cyrus and Skye were long gone. I didn’t want to lose control, but Darian and I needed to get out of here.
A blur to my right caught my attention, and when I turned to look, my eyes fell on Will. He was covered in a yellow substance and blood, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was staring at the woman in front of me.
“Don’t,” he told her, and her mouth stretched into a wide-set smile.
I was confused. Clearly, this vampire knew Will. But if she had indeed seen us together, she’d have to die. She wasn’t stable, that was clear. But Will looked nervous, fearful even. And he hadn’t yet looked my way.
“Will, what’s going on?” I inquired.
The woman’s resounding laugh filled the space around us. “Tell her, Will. Tell your little pet who I am!”
Will didn’t respond, but he finally looked my way. My brows pulled together at the regret in his eyes, and I started to panic.
“Okay, fine,” the woman said. “If you don’t tell her, I will! I’m his fiancée, wolf. I’m his fiancée, not you! I’m the one he goes home to after he’s been with you!”
My scrunched-up face slowly smoothed out, my eyes darting from the redheaded vampire to Will. He said nothing to defend himself, and his silence only made the situation worse.
“Will? She’s lying, right?” I asked, desperate for reassurance. He stepped forward, and I held my hand out to stop him. “Tell me. Tell me now that she’s lying.”
My wolf was howling loudly in my head, and a bolt of lightning traveled down my left arm to scorch the earth by my feet. The man I loved, the only man I’d ever given myself to, couldn’t have a fiancée. Will would never have done that to me. I listened, desperately needing to hear him deny it. But when he spoke, I wished he hadn’t.
“I can explain, Elinor. Listen to me . . .”
I couldn’t hold back my power anymore. I felt a rope wrap around me, mentally yanking me back into myself. My eyes closed, and Will’s words became muffled as I released my wolf and my power. All I heard was his pained cry as thunder like an explosion rattled the earth.
Then everything went black.
The Bloodmoon Wars Continues…
Read about the forbidden romance that started it all…
The Bloodmoon Wars (A Paranormal Shifter Prequel Series to Luna Rising)
The Revolution: Book 4 The Bloodmoon Wars (A Paranormal Shifter Series Prequel to Luna Rising)
https://ssbks.com/BW4
Why is forbidden love so intoxicating?
Vampires and werewolves do NOT mix,
AT ALL.
But Will and I can’t stay away from each other.
How could I have fallen for a man I’ll never get to be with?
To make matters worse, supernaturals and humans are vanishing…
And the number of disappearances are growing.
How did I get dragged into that you might be wondering?
My best friend was taken and even her SCENT vanished from the world.
The only question now is,
…will I find her
...before she turns up dead?
https://ssbks.com/BW4
Also By Sara Snow
The Luna Rising Universe
The Bloodmoon Wars (A Paranormal Shifter Series Prequel to Luna Rising)
The Awakening (Book 1)
https://ssbks.com/BW1
The Enlightenment (Book 2)
https://ssbks.com/BW2
The Revolution(Book 3)
https://ssbks.com/BW3
The Renaissance (Book 4)
https://ssbks.com/BW4
The Dawn (B
ook 5)
https://ssbks.com/BW5
Luna Rising Series (A Paranormal Shifter Series)
Luna Rising Prequel (Free Download)
https://ssbks.com/LunaPrequel
Luna Rising (Book 1)
https://ssbks.com/LR1
Luna Captured (Book 2)
https://ssbks.com/LR2
Luna Conflicted (Book 3)
https://ssbks.com/LR3
Luna Darkness (Book 4)
https://ssbks.com/LR4
Luna Chosen (Book 5)
https://ssbks.com/LR5
The Venandi Chronicles
Demon Marked (Book 1)
https://ssbks.com/VC1
Demon Kiss (Book 2)
https://ssbks.com/VC2
Demon Huntress (Book 3)
https://ssbks.com/VC3
Demon Desire (Book 4)
https://ssbks.com/VC4
Demon Eternal (Book 5)
https://ssbks.com/VC5
The Destine Universe
Destine Academy Series (A Magical Academy Series)
Destine Academy Books 1-10 Boxed Set
https://ssbks.com/DA1-10
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