by T. S. Ryder
"Who are you?" she demanded.
The woman gave her a disgusted look. "We're leaving now."
"Who are you?"
"Remember," the woman said, gazing back at the clerk and nurse. "If you tell anybody about this, my compatriots will level this place. Understood?"
Cleo's lungs struggled to draw in a breath as she gazed at the woman in horror. The shifters threatened to flatten a hospital? How depraved were they? The place was full of humans, sick humans, they were no threat. Vampires never came there.
The shifter began dragging her away.
"Wait," Cleo squeaked. "My sister, she'll worry."
"And if you cause me any troubles, she'll be dead. Come along now, human. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."
Cleo shook as both terror reared its head and rage filled her chest. How dare they threaten her sister? Ed had nothing to do with them. She had nothing to do with vampires. And yet, they were targeting her just the same.
This was why Darius did what he did. Why all the vampires did what they did. Shifters had no regard for life outside their own clans. If the vampires hadn't driven them back as much as they had, there would be shifters killing humans left and right.
"My husband will kill you," Cleo hissed, yanking her arm away. She walked beside the shifter stride for stride.
Whatever they had planned for her, they would not hurt Ed.
***
The woman didn't blindfold her. She didn't tie her hands. All she did was take Cleo’s phone away and remind her that if she attempted to escape, then Ed would die. It was enough of a threat that Cleo kept quiet and still as the shifter put her in an old, beat-up pickup truck and drove out of the city. They were on the road for hours before the woman stopped on a deserted stretch and got out.
Cleo was certain she would be dead at that moment, but the woman merely told her to climb onto her back, then smoothly shifted into a deer. The size and coloring looked like a tiny Roe deer, but this one was a good six feet at the shoulder. The young human had to climb onto the hood of the car to get onto the deer's back.
She had never known just how huge shifters were before this. She clung to the deer as they headed into the forest.
By the time the ride was over, Cleo thought that the jostling might put her in early labor. She cradled her belly as she climbed stiffly off the deer and looked around. They were at a campsite with dozens of tents spread out through the trees. People were moving about doing various tasks. They were all dressed in ragged clothing like the strips now clinging to the deer. Shifters, all of them.
A huge, thick-necked man caught sight of them and strode over, a wicked grin crossing his face. Cleo tried to make herself smaller, holding her belly. Would they kill Ed anyway, now that she was here? Would they skin her and send the pieces back to Darius?
She wished she could faint as the man stopped right in front of her and took her chin in his massive hand.
"So you have her. I knew I could trust you with this mission. How did you do it?"
The deer smirked. "I've been watching the estate for months. Every day she went to a human hospital in the human town. It was easy enough to convince the people that worked there they'd all be killed if they didn't hand her over to me."
Cleo glowered. "You threatened innocent civilians who have nothing to do with vampires."
"Humans, vampires." The deer shrugged. "All the same to me."
She pushed the huge man's hand away from her face as he continued to hold her chin. "What are you going to do with me?"
The man stepped back, studying her. "Do you love your husband?"
Cleo remained silent.
"You had better hope that he loves you. Because now that I have you, either he will turn himself over for your sake, or you die. I wonder what he'll choose."
Cleo closed her eyes, feeling light-headed as the woman started dragging her to a tent. Would Darius come for her? Did she even want him to? If he did, he would be killed. If he didn't, she would be killed.
Darius, don't come, she pleaded silently. Stay safe.
Chapter Seven – Darius
Darius tossed aside the empty blood bag and reached for another one. He and his men had been under shifter attack for nearly a full week, and it was the first time that he had been able to take a break from the fighting. His skin was incredibly tender, having suffered under the claws and teeth of dozens of shifters, but he was healing.
The shifters had withdrawn abruptly, which worried him, but it allowed his troops to reinforce their positions. As soon as the helicopters bringing more blood arrived, Darius would have his troops restock and then go after the shifters. Drive them out.
This was bigger than the Rebeluna now. He had learned that the shifters were taking orders from someone named the Thunder, but where this mysterious leader was, he had no idea. At least not yet.
The door to his tent opened and Gordon strode in. Darius tossed him a spare blood bag. His friend looked like the stereotypical Hollywood vampire. Pale, gaunt – like a walking corpse. Gordon set the bag aside.
"General."
"Captain." He had been promoted on the battlefield, but it was still odd to hear his new rank. "What’s the news?"
"One of the men found this nailed to the trees at the edge of the camp."
He held out a white, sealed envelope that had Darius' name scrawled on the front.
The general frowned as he took it. There was such a heavy shifter scent coming from the blood soaking his clothing that he couldn’t catch any scent on the envelope itself. He felt along it and held it up to the light. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so he opened it.
Inside was a letter written in a neat hand. Darius's heart stopped as he read it, then read it again to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. When he was done, he wadded up the whole thing and shoved it into his pocket before slumping over. Gordon gripped his shoulder, peering into his eyes.
"Darius! Darius, what is it? Do you have silver poisoning?"
"No." Darius took a deep breath. "The shifters have Cleo. If I don't turn myself over to them, they'll kill her."
Silence answered him. Darius pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew exactly what would happen if he turned himself over to the shifters. The worst of it was that he had no idea if they had already killed her or if they even had her at all.
He grabbed his phone and dialed his wife. "Voicemail."
"Maybe she's talking to someone else or her phone is off," Gordon said.
Darius turned to his friend. "No. She never turns it off, and she'd put anybody else on hold for me."
"Call the estate before you leap to conclusions."
Gritting his teeth, trying to keep his own panic at bay, Darius nodded. It was a smart idea, after all. He called his estate only to find that nobody had seen Cleo for almost twenty-four hours. That was all he needed to know. He strode to his wardrobe, pulling out his dress uniform. He wasn't going to face the shifters soaked in their blood.
Gordon looked alarmed. "Darius, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to shower and change and then turn myself over to them. It's Cleo's only chance."
"Hey, no. You have to have proof of life."
"I don't have to do anything but get my wife back."
Gordon grabbed his arm. "You won't be getting her back, you'll be getting yourself killed!"
"I know!" Darius yanked his arm away from his friend. "I know that if I go, I'll be killed. I know that if for some reason the shifters don't kill me, by giving into their demands like this… by not telling anybody I have coordinates that we can find them… that I will be wiping out every bit of progress that I've made in my career, and will most likely be branded a traitor for it. Maybe even killed by the king. I don't care. All I care about is Cleo. I love her. I won't lose her."
"Darius—"
"If you try to stop me, I will kill you. I swear it, Gordon. Go ahead and tell the other generals, but don't you dare try to stop me."
G
ordon stepped back. His shoulders slumped. "I am going to tell the other generals."
Darius nodded. He stuffed his dress uniform into a backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Gordon was already on his phone as he ran from the tent towards the motorcycles. Nobody was going to stop him from saving his wife.
Nobody.
***
The letter said that if any vampires beside him showed up at the meeting spot then Cleo was dead, so Darius made sure to burn the letter and the coordinates he had been given when he stopped at a motel to shower and change. He left his phone there, too, knowing that every time it rang it was a general or prince ordering him back.
It didn't matter. He didn't care about rank anymore. Without Cleo, it wasn't worth it.
Two shifters waited for him at the coordinates atop a bridge over a raging river. After they searched him, they tossed his bike over the railing and prodded him into a black van. He was blindfolded after that, and some time later they led him through the forest on foot.
"Stinking vampire," one of this captors grumbled. "Don't know what all this ceremony is about. If it were up to me, he'd have his head in a box being mailed to their precious king already."
"It's not up to you," the other one said, sounding annoyed. "The Thunder must have a reason for wanting the vampire alive."
The Thunder? The Alpha who was commanding the attack on the vampires. Well, that was interesting information, but useless now. He couldn’t tell anybody about it. Not that it mattered anymore.
Darius burned to ask if Cleo was alive or hurt, but he made himself stay silent. Even if he was in their hands and power, that didn't mean he couldn’t retain his pride. Still, his heart pounded wildly and his mouth was dry. What would he do if they had harmed Cleo?
Or more correctly, how many of them would he be able to kill before they killed him?
He began smelling an increase in the musky shifter scent as they made their way through the forest. The hairs on the back of his neck rose and he had to fight to keep himself from snarling and baring his fangs. Threatening his captors while his hands were tied and he was blindfolded would only end him before he knew if Cleo was safe or not.
Jeering taunts began to be flung from every direction, but he still stayed calm and unresponsive. His nostrils flared as he inhaled, but the shifter smell was too heavy. He couldn't smell Cleo. If he was basing his knowledge on what he could sense in the moment, he wouldn’t have even suspected she was there.
Eventually, his two captors jerked him to a stop. The blindfold was removed, leaving him blinking in the dim twilight. He was in the middle of a clearing, the trees and brush thick around them. The darkness cast by the hidden sun was deep. So deep that Darius couldn't tell where the flickering dance of shadow and light ended and where shifters moving about various tents began.
He was very aware of the ring that had formed behind him, though. He could hear shuffling feet and muttered curses as the shifters drew closer. But he was only looking for Cleo, for some sign she was there and unharmed. His heart was beating so fast and hard that he wondered if the shifters weren't able to hear it.
"Where is Cleo?" he forced his voice to stay calm. "I don't see her. Are you liars as well as thieves and murderers?"
"Thieves!" The same guard that had been indignant that he wasn't allowed to kill Darius threw a punch at his face, which he easily dodged. "You vampires are the ones that stole our lands from us. You have murdered our forefathers, our brothers and sisters. You have no right to open your mouth—"
"Enough." A deep, thunderous voice silenced the shifter.
Darius' head swiveled. A huge man – a bear, judging from his build – strode through the camp. He had Cleo tucked under one arm. Darius's heart jumped. She looked unharmed, though her eyes were wide. Her belly was also twice the size it had been the last time he had seen her.
"I'm here," the vampire said. "Let my wife go."
"You're here," the Alpha replied, a gleam in his eyes. "She's here. I'm here. You've been seeing my handiwork lately, haven't you?"
"The Thunder," Darius realized.
"Yes. And once I've killed you, your armies will fall before me."
Darius glanced at Cleo and quickly looked away, the desire to kill rising in him at the sight of her frightened eyes. "Why the elaborate plot just to kill me?"
"You killed my mate."
Darius didn't reply. He had killed many shifters. Always in battle, always when they were trying to kill him. But he knew well enough that people didn't care why you killed someone they loved. They just cared that you killed them.
The Alpha walked forward, dragging Cleo along with him. "I have planned my revenge down to the last detail, vampire, and, at last, I will have it."
"No," Darius blurted, his gaze returning to Cleo. Her normally bronzed skin looked sickly. The Alpha was going to kill her as his punishment – he couldn't let that happen!
"I understand that you vampires have a custom where a man may challenge another for his mate. If the challenger kills the husband, he takes the wife and she belongs to him." The Thunder grinned. "I wanted you to know this before I killed you. Your wife will be my new mate. She will give me beautiful children, and your brat that grows inside her will be their slave."
"You have to fight me to win her," Darius snarled. He wasn't going to let this beast claim his Cleo! He'd slaughter the whole camp of shifters first. "She is mine and if you think you will claim her, you have to kill me in battle."
"Isn't that what I just said?" The Alpha shoved Cleo into the arms of a shifter waiting nearby. "Untie him so I may tear him apart!"
Cleo fought against the shifter holding her. "No! Darius doesn't stand a chance against you!"
The Alpha laughed while his men cut Darius' bonds. "That's the idea."
Cleo's eyes filled with tears. "Please. I know he can't stand against you. I know he's going to die."
Darius stared at her. Did she really have so little faith in him?
"Let me have one last night with him, with my husband. Please."
The Alpha considered her for a minute. He glanced at Darius, who stood tall. It didn't matter if Cleo thought him weak, he would still fight for her. Better to have everything decided immediately. But Cleo broke free from the shifters holding her and ran to the Thunder, wrapping her arms around his chest like a seductress. It filled Darius with fire. He snarled, jumping forward, but Cleo held out a hand to him. He stopped. What was she doing?
"A condemned man deserves one last pleasure, doesn't he?"
The Alpha smirked. "Perhaps he does. But, if I allow you this, you'll give me that same pleasure before your husband's body is cold in the ground, understood?"
"Cleo, no!" Darius said, but she ignored him.
"Understood."
"Very well. Give them a tent and allow the condemned one last night with his wife." The Alpha's gaze drifted back to Darius and his smirk widened. "Let him consider what tomorrow will bring."
Chapter Eight – Cleo
As soon as they were alone, Cleo turned to Darius. She pulled her hair out of the way and bent her neck, exposing her throat to him. "Drink from me."
Darius frowned, pushing her hand away as she reached for him. "You offered yourself to him."
"I didn't."
"Then please explain what you are doing."
"I want you to drink from me!
"Do you really think that Alpha is going to kill me? I've killed bears before, you know it."
Her heart was pounding, her head throbbing as she fought against the burning in her eyes. She knew that he could defeat the bear. But it wasn't a certain thing, and if she lost him… Her throat tightened again, and she fought to keep herself calm.
"I've heard them talking. They're the leaders of the Rebeluna. Even if you defeat the bear, they still won't let you go. They'll kill you."
Darius opened his mouth. Cleo continued quickly.
"But if you drink from me, then you can get out of here. You can go back to
your men and launch a full-scale assault on these beasts and just wipe them out. Please. Please, then you can say that you've defeated the Rebeluna and you can have everything you ever wanted."
Darius' gaze softened. He touched her face, then pulled her into his arms. Cleo pushed against him, angry at herself and the stupid tears that were beginning to trickle down her face. Crying was not going to help anybody. Unless it made Darius leave because he hated her.
But she could already tell he wasn't going to do that.
"If I left, they'd kill you."
"We all know that getting into positions of power requires sacrifices."
"If I thought more about potentially becoming king than keeping you alive, I never would have come here in the first place, Cleo."
"I didn't want you to. I don't want you to die for me. I want you to live."
"Cleo…"
"You heard the Thunder. What he'll do to me if he beats you." Cleo shivered. This time when Darius wrapped his arms around her, she didn't push him off. She needed his strength at the moment. Strange… all her life she had made sure she had never needed anybody. She had always been strong, always in charge of her own destiny. But, now, when it really mattered… "I'm so afraid, Darius. I'd rather die than lose you."
"How do you think I feel? Why else would I be here if your life was not more important than mine?"
"Don't talk like that."
Darius brushed his lips against hers. "Cleo, I will defeat the Alpha. I'm fighting for more than he is. I'm fighting for the woman I love and the child she carries."
"You love me?"
"Yes."
"I love you, too. I don't know when I fell in love with you, but I did." Cleo buried her face into his shoulder. "I love you."
"Why couldn't we have had the bravery to admit our feelings before this?" His hand stroked the swell of her belly. "I wish I had been there for you every step of the way. Did you have much morning sickness?"
