Out of the Dark (Forbidden Love)

by Danielle James

  Angel felt like someone had hit him in the chest. His heart squeezed in his chest and his lungs refused to draw air. He felt light headed and his vision blurred. He was gasping for air and holding fast to the table top for support. He was breathing too fast, and yet he could not seem to get enough air into his lungs. His rational mind was telling him to calm down, that he was having a panic attack. But his heart was screaming at him louder. Not only was she gone, but she was hurt and insulted. In his attempt to bring Brea into his life, he had driven her away. How could one man screw up so badly? He had to get her back, but he didn’t know how. He had never felt such hopelessness in his entire life. His breath came even quicker than before and his mind was working too fast to hold to any one coherent thought. Angel’s whole world was quickly spinning out of control. A dark and empty feeling that started in his chest spread to every part of him and everything around him went black.

  ******

  Two weeks passed and Brea hadn’t seen Angel. He sent her flowers every day, a dozen red roses delivered at dawn. Her apartment was overflowing with the sweet smelling blooms, and she had started bringing them to work with her.

  “More roses?” Keelie asked as Brea set the vase on the counter.

  “Every damned day,” Brea muttered.

  “Why don’t you call him?”

  “Because I don’t want to. That’s why. How’s things going with Ricco?”

  “Good,” Keelie answered. “We’re going out after work tonight, if you want to come along.”

  “No thank you. I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

  “You wouldn’t be. Really. Come with us,” Keelie pleaded. “You got to get out. This isn’t healthy.”

  “What isn’t? Working?”

  “No, sitting around the house all the time when you are not at work, moping and crying. Brea, you’re miserable! Everyone can see it. Forgive him and call him.”

  “I don’t mope.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Whatever, I’m not ready to talk to him yet.”

  “Ok, but you’re going to have to sooner or later.”

  “No, I don’t have to. When he needs my blood, someone can call me and I will hook him up. That’s the end of things I have to do.”

  “He made a bad decision, Brea. Don’t you think he’s miserable too?”

  “I have a table,” Brea mumbled as she stalked off. Keelie watched helplessly as her friend walked away.

  After her shift ended, Brea went straight home. As she suspected, there was a fresh vase of flowers on the coffee table. There was a wrapped gift box beside it. Brea picked it up and dropped it in the box with the dozen others she hadn’t bothered to open. She figured eventually she would have to send them back to him. Soon enough the box would be full and she could just seal it and slap some postage on it.

  Dropping her purse to the floor, she headed into the kitchen to get a drink. Even though Brea rarely drank alcohol, she had been having a stiff margarita every night for at least a week. It helped deaden her nerves, and her pain. Ever since the first day when she left Angel’s Estate, she had felt his pain and his loss as sharply as her own. It was the mating, she knew. Damn him again for doing that to her without her consent! The first night had been the hardest. Brea was already feeling like complete crap when she felt him. It had to be when he realized that she had left. Brea’s heart pounded wildly in her chest and then threatened to stop altogether. The pain was so fierce that her knees had buckled underneath her and Brea fell to the floor, gasping for air.

  After Brea realized what was happening, she learned to control it. She learned to push the grief that was not her own aside so that she could live out her day. Brea knew Angel was hurting, but she was unable to forgive him for what he had brought upon her. She didn’t know if she would ever be able to.

  When she entered the kitchen, she saw a man with long black hair sitting at the table. For just a moment, her heart jumped and she thought it was Angel.

  But when he turned around, she saw that it was Sebastian. She was both relieved and disappointed.

  “Hello Sebastian,” Brea said, opening the fridge. She didn’t bother to ask how he had gotten into the apartment. Or why he was there. She would have thought it was obvious.

  “Hello Brea,” he answered.

  “I guess Angel sent you. Is he needing more blood?”

  “No, and no. Angel doesn’t know I am here, and as far as I know, he hasn’t touched the blood you left for him.”

  “Is he stupid?” she asked, louder and sharper than she meant to be.

  “The jury is still out on that one,” Sebastian smiled.

  “Is he trying to kill himself?” she snapped. Brea poured the tequila over ice and drank it down straight.

  “He isn’t doing anything,” Sebastian said. “I have not seen him for more than a few minutes at a time since you left. And since when do you drink that stuff straight?”

  “Since right now. It helps, believe it or not. So if Angel didn’t send you, what are you doing here?”

  “I thought maybe I could talk some sense into at least one of you,” he said, his blue eyes darkening to nearly silver. “Surely you feel what he feels.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about,” Brea lied.

  “I think you do,” he remarked knowingly. Of course he knew the truth. Everyone did.

  “Did you come here to make me feel guilty?” she barked at Sebastian. “Because if you did, go sell it somewhere else. He brought this on himself. He had no right to do what he did and I refuse to feel guilty because of his stupidity.” Brea poured herself another straight tequila.

  “I would like to show you something, Brea, but only if you will let me.”

  “Show me,” she snapped.

  “I need to show you in your mind. For that I need your permission. I will not invade your mind unbidden.”

  “Go ahead, I don’t see how it can make things any worse. What do I have to do?”

  “Just look into my eyes and open your mind. You will see what I have seen.” Brea did as he asked. At first, all she saw were Sebastian’s pale blue eyes. But then it was like a movie started playing in her mind. She saw the door to Angel’s room opening. He was laying in his bed, curled into a fetal position. His skin was extremely pale, and he obviously hadn’t shaved recently. She heard Sebastian’s voice talking to Angel. Please, Sir, you must feed. He begged his Leader to do something, anything. I have no reason anymore, Angel had replied. The vision left as abruptly as it came.

  “I came to ask you to reconsider. To at least talk to him. Answer his phone calls. He stays in his room in that comatose state all the time. I fear we may lose him if something doesn’t change,” Sebastian whispered.

  “Why? Because he won’t drink my blood? In case you didn’t notice, he is only one man. By now, he’s probably very weak. There are four of you, not to mention the others on the security team. Hold him down and pour it down his damned throat. He will get over it, just like anyone else.”

  “It isn’t just Angel that wants you back,” Sebastian said quietly. “We all like you. We all miss having you around. Don’t punish us for his ignorance.”

  “I miss you guys too,” Brea admitted. “You know you are all welcome to come here anytime you want.”

  “Please, just consider what I have told you. I wrote my number down by the phone in case you want to talk to me. Or any of us, for that matter. I am begging you, please, at least think about it. Would it really be so bad to be with Angel? You don’t have to agree to be his mate right away. You could just try dating him for a while. If it isn’t what you want, no one will force you. Just think about it. I won’t bring it up again, nor will anyone else.”

  “I don’t know,” Brea said.

  “I have to go now, but please, think about it?” Sebastian hugged Brea close, and she let him. He brushed his lips lightly over her forehead before letting her go and seeing himself out. Brea was left standing alone in her kitchen, her chest heavy.


  Brea had an exceptionally hard time sleeping that night. She kept seeing Angel laying his bed, a shell of a man. She knew he had to be hurting too, but she hadn’t thought he would take it to such extremes. The man would surely starve to death!

  But it was his own fault! Why should she have to be the one to do something about it? It was obvious that someone had to beat some sense into the man. Brea hated that the longer she stayed away, the more pain Angel was in. She didn’t want to cause him pain, she just needed time to sort things out. The more she thought of it, the more she understood what she had to do.

  TWENTY THREE

  “Chase!” Rhiannon shouted, although it was not necessary.

  “Yes, Lady Rhiannon?” he replied, appearing in her doorway.

  “I have been very good to you, haven’t I? “she asked cocking her head to the side.

  “Yes Ma’am. Of course. You have given me all that I wanted.”

  “You told me when I came to you that you had reason to hate Angel Knight, correct?”

  “Yes Ma’am. Sixty years ago, I requested a place on his human council. He turned me away. I was far more qualified than any of the other goons he hired. I spent years training just so that I would be an acceptable candidate.

  “I quit my job in order to move closer to his Estate. I tried to explain how my gifts work, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He said his council was full. I was left with nothing.” Chase closed his eyes as he remembered the event. His telepathic gift had been one he had been ashamed of as a child, but knew once he was an adult he knew that it would take him places. When he had learned of vampires, he knew that was where he wanted to go with his life. The thought of becoming a vampire himself had not occurred to Chase until the day Rhiannon approached him.

  She offered him what Angel did not. A long life by her side as her counselor and guardian. She turned him herself, and she trained him and his mind for years. Rhiannon did not scoff at Chase when he gave into his more violent urges, in fact, she encouraged them. She allowed Chase to do what he wished with his free time and his women.

  “And then I found you,” Rhiannon said.

  “Yes. And you have trained me well. I am forever grateful to you,” he said, bowing.

  “Once I am Clan Leader, you will certainly have a place on my council. But first, there is something we need to accomplish.”

  “What is it?”

  “I think I have discovered a way for both of us to get what we want.”

  “Oh?”

  “In order to kill Angel, I must get him away from his security. I must have him alone and distracted. At first, our plan to kill his adoring fans was a good one, but now I think there is a better way,” she considered aloud.

  “Yeah?” Chase said, his eyes lighting in anticipation.

  “You remember the woman you said he was so fond of?”

  “The red head, yes,” Chase said with a gleam in his eyes.

  “Well, it seems he has mated himself with her. But the mating is only one way for now. Once they have completed the process, we will both have what we need. As I am sure you are aware, a mated vampire will do anything to protect his mate. Even if it means giving his own life in trade. And to kill a vampire’s mate will certainly devastate him, and eventually kill him.”

  “I like where this is going,” Chase smiled. “So I will grab the girl to lure Angel into a trap?”

  “But not yet. We will watch until we are sure the mating is complete.”

  “Do I need to continue to kill his fans?”

  “It is not necessary, but you may continue if you wish,” Rhiannon said with a smile. Who was she to stand in the way of a powerful vampire and his meal? She smiled. Chase was as powerful as he was only because he was made by Rhiannon. When she turned him, she gave him her mental strength. That combined with his own telepathic skills, and some intense training, made Chase a fearsome weapon. And he was her servant…

  TWENTY FOUR

  Angel woke from a nightmare. His beloved Brea was being tortured, and he could do nothing to stop it. He tried and tried, and every time he got close enough to touch her, an invisible barrier threw him back. It seemed that all he did anymore was dream of her. He spent every second he could sleeping, in hopes that it would dull the pain. But it did not. If anything, it was worse when he woke to find himself alone.

  Wiping the sweat from his brow, Angel decided he needed a sip of water. As he approached the bathroom, he felt the familiar tingling in his mind that told him someone was in the house. Someone he knew. Brea! She was there!

  Forgetting that his throat was dryer than the desert, and that he hadn’t fed in over two weeks, he bolted from his room and down the stairs. He was so weak that he had to hold the rail on the way down. In spite of the fact that he held on, his legs gave way under him and Angel tumbled down the remaining steps to the floor. He heard a nasty crunch as his leg twisted into an unnatural position.

  He gasped at the pain, but wretched himself up. She was so close! Outside, in the pool! Angel stumbled through the kitchen and out the sliding doors that led to the patio. The sun was high in the sky, and Angel thought it must have been about three in the afternoon.

  But then he saw her. All of his aches and pain faded away as he watched her swim the length of the pool. The sun was shining on his face and it warmed his skin. The daytime weakness tugged on his already weak body, and he felt consciousness slipping away. He knew he had to hold on long enough to just talk to her. Just a few minutes. He tried to take a step toward her, but his body collapsed underneath him. Angel fell into rumpled pile of wrinkled clothes and half dead vampire on the concrete. The last thing he heard was her voice crying out his name.

  Brea surfaced from the warm water just in time to see Angel collapse near the edge of the pool. “Angel!” she cried out, heaving herself from the water. Christ! The sun was up and he was already weak! What had he been thinking! The man was truly insane!

  She rushed to his side and immediately tried to pull him inside. But his weight proved to be too much for her. “Ricco! Keelie!” she shouted, tugging him back by his arms. Both friends were immediately at her side. Keelie placed both her arms under Angel and hauled him up. The trio rushed inside to get Angel out of the sun.

  “He must have sensed you were here,” Ricco said.

  “Well, he’s an idiot. God, when will he stop making stupid decisions?” Brea snapped as she watched Keelie ease him down on a couch.

  “Love does silly things to a man,” Ricco replied.

  Brea looked at Angel. He was unconscious, pale, and broken. His right legs was twisted in an unnatural position, probably broken. He was dangerously thin; the skin of his face seemed to stretch over the bones in sickening way. He had very dark circles around his eyes. God! What had she done by leaving him? Another day and he would likely be dead.

  “What does he need? Blood?” Brea asked.

  “Yes. And fast,” Ricco said, running for the kitchen.

  “I don’t think we have even that much time,” Keelie said, worried. “The dumbass went outside! Do it, Brea. Now.”

  Brea nodded. This wasn’t how she imagined the first time would go, but desperate times called for desperate measures. “Angel, baby, wake up and drink,” she said, offering her wrist to him. Nothing. “Damn it Angel, you have to! Come on!”

  “He’s too weak,” Keelie whispered. “It’s too late.”

  “No, it’s not!” Brea snapped. She had not come back to Angel just to watch him die. She forced his mouth open and shoved her wrist into his fangs. The pain was sharp, but Brea didn’t jerk away. Blood started to trickle out of the wound, but Angel didn’t seem to notice. Brea tilted his head back so that the blood would drip down his throat. “Come on,” she whispered.

  After what seemed like forever, but really was only a matter of minutes, Angel began to stir. He groaned around Brea’s wrist in his mouth, then his eyes shot open. He reached for her arm and started to pull it away.

  “No,” B
rea told him. “You have to drink. Now.”

  “I can’t take it,” Angel said.

  “I am giving it to you freely, now damn it stop being a fool. Bite me now.” Angel looked at her with uncertainty in his eyes, but held her wrist tight as he sank his fangs into the vein of her wrist. This time, the pain was quick and fleeting. Brea maneuvered herself to sit behind Angel with his head resting against her chest. She kept her arm firmly in place at his mouth while wrapping the other arm around his chest. The gentle sucking noises he was making should have disturbed Brea, but they didn’t. She felt a sense of power thrumming through her body. It was a heady thing to hold someone’s life in her hands. She held him as he drank, noticing that her arm was getting warmer, along with the rest of her body. The sensation wasn’t unpleasant.

  Angel drank until he could hold no more, then closed his eyes. He remembered to swipe his tongue across the wound he made, closing it, just before he drifted off to sleep again.

  “Will he be alright?” Brea asked Ricco, who was standing there holding a glass of blood.

  “I think so, but he will need to drink more today, and more tonight. He will likely sleep most of the time. And, we are going to have to reset that leg before it heals wrong. Will you be able to stay?”

  “Yes. I’m afraid if I don’t, he’ll do something even worse than he already has.”

  “Do not feel obligated, Brea. We have the supply you left for him.”

  “No, I want to. I am at least a little bit responsible for this whole mess.”

  “No, you’re not. He wouldn’t want you to feel that way. He would want you to stay because you love him, not because you feel you have to.”

  “I don’t know about love,” Brea said, “but I care. I don’t want the fool to die. And don’t get me wrong, I’m still pissed. For a lot of reasons, but mostly because he could have killed himself.”

  “Whatever you say, Brea.” Ricco turned to Keelie. “Can you help us get him up the stairs?”