I don’t know where I am, but Julian’s keeping me in . . . I don’t know. Everything was pitch black, but that didn’t bother me, my eyes quickly adjusting to the lack of light. It kind of reminds me of the cells in Zane’s basement, but without the bars. There’s a door but I can’t see how it opens. Everywhere I reached, my fingers met with the same concrete. Lots of stone, though.
That’s good, sweetheart. That helps. Anything else?
There was something, something I’d been desperately trying to ignore but with each breath, the familiar scent made it more and more impossible. Blood.
I’m not alone in here, Mason. Whoever it is, they’re hurt.
There was no stopping the way my mouth watered as my hunger flared, my vision zeroing in on the still form lying against the opposite wall. It would take me only a few long strides to reach whomever it was—the chain around my waist willing, my feet kicking out, unrestrained.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As much as it relieved me to find them free, it also meant that there would be nothing to stop me from feasting on the blood that became an intoxicating temptation.
It beckoned.
It promised strength.
It was that benefit that steadily weakened my resolve. If I was to survive whatever Julian had planned, I needed to be stronger.
Darcy! Mason’s voice penetrated through my hunger sharply. Focus, honey. Can you see who it is?
I didn’t want to know. I wanted to keep as far away from the stranger, as possible. I can’t, Mason. The blood. Damn it, I don’t want to, but it’s all I can smell.
Hang in there. We’re doing everything we can to find you. Breathe through your mouth. See if that helps.
It did. It also helped when I buried my face into my arms, awkwardly wrapping them around my knees. When my skin came into contact with the chain hanging from my waist, I didn’t flinch—I welcomed the pain and the way it gave me something new to focus on.
Anything but the overwhelming need to bite the unfortunate person locked up with me.
“I won’t hesitate in killing you.” A low, masculine voice growled. “This is your warning.”
Considering we hadn’t even spoken to each other yet, his open hostility was surprising. “Who are you?” I asked, shakily.
“Does it matter? I’m wounded and you’re thinking I’m an easy meal.”
Sweetheart, keep him talking. I know that voice.
“I don’t see you as anything,” I added, careful to sit as still as possible. “I promise.”
“Promises mean nothing, Darcy O’Connor, regardless of who you are or who you’re mated to. I know you’re part vampire and that my blood is no doubt driving you crazy. They made a point of telling me that when they threw you in here.”
“You say you know who I am. Then you should know you can trust me.” As each word tumbled out of my mouth, the part of me consumed by thirst yelled I was a liar. “Now, you have me at a disadvantage. Who are you?” I asked, again.
He groaned, the sound of rattling chains filling the air, telling me he was also shackled. If he was restrained like me, it made him a shifter—the silver preventing him from changing into his more predatory form. “I’m surprised Mason hasn’t told you.”
“What?” His response threw me.
“He’s in your head, isn’t he? You two are mated. You have a mental connection. Don’t insult my intelligence by denying it. I might be a recluse, but that doesn’t make me stupid.”
Shit, you’re in there with Thorne Grey, sweetheart.
“Thorne,” I uttered, already knowing that Mason was right. While I hadn’t met the bear shifter before, I knew enough about him to know this wasn’t a good situation. This was the one person who wouldn’t hesitate killing anyone in his way, if given a chance, especially Pack.
Thorne Grey held no loyalty—answering to no one but himself. He’d lost everything at the hands of cruel and ignorant werewolves, the Alpha from his upbringing ordering the murder of his wife and children.
I’d cried the day Mason shared Thorne’s story, mourned for his lost family. It explained why the bear chose to live alone in the Louisiana swamp. After receiving nothing but intolerance, I didn’t blame him.
All because he was different.
All because he dared to fall in love.
Some believed that wolves should only marry wolves. That it was an abomination to mate outside the species. They felt they were justified in punishing Thorne and setting an example to anyone else who thought they could defy Pack law.
The whole thing had sickened me. It wasn’t up to anyone to dictate how another should love. The heart wants what it wanted. Unfortunately, it hadn’t prevented Thorne from losing everything.
The result of that cruelty now sat up stiffly; ready to defend himself should I attack. It broke my heart and made me even more determined to fight my urges. He’d suffered enough.
There was no way I would become another name on the endless list of offenders who had taken from him.
Despite his aggression, there was no hiding his weariness. “It’s out of respect for your mate that I even warned you.”
“Thorne.” How the hell was I going to convince him to believe me?
“Just stay on your side of the room and we won’t have any problems.” Came his gruff reply.
Don’t push him, sweetheart.
The last thing I wanted to do was aggravate Thorne; but the gnawing hunger clouding my ability to think straight, was relentless.
Hurry, Mason. Please.
I’m trying, Darcy. I’m trying.
Closing my eyes, I held on tightly to his words.
I would conquer my darker side.
No matter what.
****
“How are you holding up?” Thorne’s voice shattered the silence.
There was no way to tell how much time had passed, but I didn’t really need a clock. His heartbeat had become an antagonizing ticking, keeping me from escaping reality. Sleep would’ve made the wait bearable, a chance to ignore the worst of the pain now wracking my body.
I’d never gone this long without blood—either drinking until I had my fill or indulging in small amounts throughout the day. It was a trick Devlin had shared at the beginning of my transition, the way he made sure he was never caught unawares.
It required paying attention to that new part of me and never letting myself get distracted. Right now, I would kill for a distraction—anything other than the way my every cell cried out for nourishment.
Maybe kill was the wrong word, especially knowing that if given the chance, there would be nothing on this green earth that could stop me from crossing the room and ripping into Thorne. The chain around my waist and manacles kept me weak, but that didn’t stop the thought that kept repeating in my mind . . . I would crawl over hot coals, naked, if it meant that my bloodlust would be satisfied.
“I’m hanging in there,” I croaked, my throat dry. He grunted. “Why?”
A subtle thread of warmth infused his reply. “I was just wondering why you haven’t budged from that spot. I get that the chains are draining your wolf nature, but you’re also part vampire. The more you crave blood, the more savage you should become.”
“Meaning I should’ve vamped out already and eaten you like a McHappy meal, huh?”
It was nice to hear him chuckle. “Something like that.”
I’d been wondering the exact same thing and as each minute passed in darkness, the answer continued to elude me. “Would you believe me if I said it’s because I’m awesome and can control my thirst?”
“Personally, I’d call you a liar . . . delusional at best; but hey, if that’s what you need to tell yourself, who am I to judge?” Shifting his weight, Thorne released a soft groan as a fresh waft of his blood filled the air. His wounds weren’t healing. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
“For what?” I answered through gritted teeth. Just when I thought I’d buried my need for blood into a deep pit in the back of
my mind, it resurfaced. Each time it did, my control slipped a little further.
“For moving. You moan every time I do.”
Shrugging, I hadn’t realized I had. “You need to be comfortable.”
“True, but that doesn’t mean I’m a total asshole. I’m locked in here with a vampire and I’m bleeding. If it’s rough on me . . .” He didn’t finish his sentence.
“It’s not your problem, though.”
Thorne laughed even louder this time. “Darcy, I beg to differ.”
Chuckling with him, my chest tightened, forcing me into a coughing fit. “To answer your question, though, I’m not sure what’s going on. I understand the silver in the chains keeping my wolf at bay, but my vampiric traits shouldn’t be affected.” Lifting my wrists to show him, I yanked hard, giving it what little energy I had. Nothing. “At least it keeps you safer.”
He didn’t answer, snorting instead.
“What? You don’t believe me?”
His words came out measured like he thought I was dense. “The only reason I’m still alive is because you can’t break free, so no. I don’t believe much of anything, Darcy. Not anymore.”
“You’re going to have to trust someone sooner or later, Thorne. If not me . . . then believe my mate when he says he’s coming for us both.” I layered heavy emphasis on the last word.
There was nothing humorous in his bitter chuckle. “Don’t assume to know me or think that this situation gives you any right to offer your advice. Until you walk a mile in my shoes, keep your rose-colored opinions to yourself.” Any warmth between us evaporated.
“I didn’t mean to offend you, Thorne,” I apologized, hating the people who had hurt him even more. “Honestly.”
Despite the darkness, my eyes found him easily. His elbows rested on his bent knees, his hands hanging loosely while he stared forward. I wanted him to look at me, to somehow see my sincerity and know I wasn’t his enemy.
Something told me Thorne wouldn’t be so easily swayed by words, however. Actions had been what destroyed his faith in the world. It only made sense that he’d need more proof than heartfelt apologies to restore it.
“It is what it is.” The lack of hope in those five words broke my heart.
“He will come for us,” I whispered, not caring if my insistence annoyed him.
“He’s coming for you, Darcy. His mate. He’ll tear this building down stone by stone if he has to, but don’t fool yourself. I’m nothing to Mason. If it wasn’t for the fact that we’re together, he wouldn’t be coming at all.”
His stubborn refusal to see he wasn’t as alone as he thought pushed me to continue. “Just because your past is filled with cruelty, it doesn’t mean that people don’t care for you—that they wouldn’t fight for you if you needed them.”
“Where were they when my family was massacred?” He snapped, the ferocity in his voice making me jump. “Where were they when my Pack slit the throat of my children and disemboweled my wife?”
“You don’t think Mason wishes he’d been there to help? He didn’t know you then, but had you needed him, he would have come. He’s always come when you’ve needed him, and he’s coming now.” My body shook from my impassioned speech, my hunger taking advantage of my emotional flare. I didn’t care, though. Thorne had to know that if he doubted the people around him, it was because he’d chosen to place the distance there, not them.
“Enough!” He thundered, slamming his fist beside him on the ground, his breathing ragged. “We’re done. Speak again and I’ll kill you, myself.”
I believe him and buried my face into my arm, biting my tongue to keep from speaking. There was so much pain, more than I’d ever sensed in someone else before. No matter how much I wanted to ‘fix’ the way he saw things—to help him see how wrong he was—it was something only he could work through, himself
One thing was for sure. Thorne wasn’t the hostile recluse everyone thought he was. The aggressive exterior he presented to the world was just that—a front—a shield to protect his damaged spirit.
Thorne Grey still grieved.
And he was drowning in it.
****
“What is it about you that makes me feel like I need to keep saying ‘sorry’?” He was the first to speak up.
For a second, I didn’t think I’d be able to answer, my mouth opening only to close again. Breathing through the pain, I was barely surviving stomach cramps from hell—acid churning over and over as though it was trying to eat me from the inside out. “It’s okay, Thorne. I get it.”
“How bad is it?” Worry laced his question. When I whimpered, a heavy sheen of sweat coating my skin, he did the worst thing possible.
He moved.
“Stop! Please, stop! I can’t . . .” My voice broke as something broke inside me. It didn’t matter how hard I’d tried to fight my thirst or how desperately I’d clung to Mason’s encouraging words inside my mind, this was nothing short of torture.
“You need to feed.”
“Are you offering?” I snapped, frustration clouding my judgment. “I’m doing my best here, Thorne, but you sitting there stating the obvious isn’t helping.”
“Sorry,” he mumbled, and to his credit, kept still.
“I don’t need you to be sorry. I need you to not move. Each time you do, it makes it that much harder.” Somewhere, beneath the bloodlust, a part of me knew this wasn’t his fault—it was simply Julian being cruel. He knew what depriving a vampire of blood would do.
“I wasn’t trying to be a jackass.”
“I know.” I groaned, riding out another wave of pain. “It’s Julian. He wants to see how far he can push me before I break.”
“He’s the guy who came to my home, right?” His question surprised me. Not because of what he asked, but the energy that I felt in the air. I’d forgotten Thorne was an Alpha in his own right, the only member in his Pack of one. Regardless of the fact he wasn’t mine to command, he was using his power to ease some of the tension coiled tight in my body.
“Short dark hair, brown eyes, sadistic looking?” The last part wasn’t how I’d normally describe Helena’s son, but it had, unfortunately, become the most prominent feature for him.
“Yeah, that’s the bastard that waltzed into my home like he had a right to be there. I didn’t give up without a fight, but he fought dirty.”
Letting out an exhausted sigh, I ignored how my eyes prickled with unshed tears. Everything hurt. “Then that was definitely Julian. Mason, Devlin, and the others arrived too late to help you and protect the artifact. He got there, first.”
“They came for Zane’s property, then?”
“And they came for you. As soon as Mason learned Julian’s plans, they left.” Peering at him, I chuckled softly. “Face it. No matter what you say, it doesn’t change the fact that you have friends.”
“So it seems.” His quiet reply was thoughtful.
“Julian likes to show he’s in control. As much as this sucks, it’s got to be pissing him off that you’re still alive.” Another cough erupted and I winced at the fire spreading in my chest.
“Since I’m food.”
“I don’t eat my friends, Thorne. No matter how delicious they smell.” He moved again and my fangs punched through my gums, piercing my bottom lip. Dizziness hit me hard and fast as I toppled to the side.
“Darcy?” Thorne sounded closer.
“Hmmm?” I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
“Is Mason talking to you right now?” Somehow it felt like he was right beside me, the warmth from his skin dancing over the coldness of mine.
“He comes and goes. I can sense him, though. His worry. His hope.” For a moment, I imagined Mason’s hand touching mine, his strength soaking into every pore, soothing me.
“You were right when you said I needed to trust someone.”
“I trust him with my life,” I murmured as a peacefulness pervaded my mind, supplanting the raging hunger. It was the craziest sensation—like fire and ice, t
he two demands somehow balancing each other.
“And I’m trusting you with mine.”
Hot, fresh, vibrant blood filled the air, obliterating the newfound stillness I’d only just embraced. It was everything, the scent everywhere, plunging my need into overdrive. Even breathing through my mouth, there was no escaping it.
“Thorne!” I exclaimed, my eyes opening to find him looking down, his bleeding wrist held out. Shoving him away, he didn’t budge.
He knew the risk, and still he offered.
“Drink, Darcy. I’m trusting that you’ll know when to stop.”
There was no looking away from his wrist. A steady dripping of blood fell to the floor, each droplet like a cymbal crashing in my ear. I wanted to say no. I wanted to look away.
Yet, even in the darkness, it called me. Wrapping my fingers around his arm, I slowly brought the intoxicating scent to my mouth. “Are you sure?” I growled, already tasting it. I was practically drunk already.
“No, but I can’t let you suffer any longer, knowing I can help.”
“Thank you, I whispered, seconds before my grip tightened and I sank my teeth into his flesh. Thorne flinched, his wrist jerking between my lips, but I held on harder. Once I’d swallowed that first precious mouthful, I needed more.
Sweetheart. Mason’s endearment appeared
Mine. I snarled, not liking the interruption. Go away. I was thirsty, so thirsty.
Find yourself, sweetheart. Don’t lose yourself in the blood. Remember who you are and the sacrifice Thorne is making to save you.
I was beyond the logic in his words, even though they danced across my heart. It’s not enough. So thirsty.
It will be enough. Fight against that part of you. Take control.
I can’t.
You can. I believe in you, Darcy.
Thorne’s body slackened, his breathing labored. Not once had he pulled away, even though my fingers dug deeply into his skin. When he’d said he trusted me, he’d meant it. It was this truth that gave me the strength I needed—not Mason and his love.
Last Wolf Standing (#7, The Mystic Wolves) Page 21
