by Kym Grosso
“We were all human once. Luca’s right. Stop fucking around and get this off me,” Kade goaded.
“Ungrateful motherfuck…” Anthony wrapped his hands around an axe and hauled it out of the debris. It lodged in the boxes, and he continued to yank it toward him until he broke it free.
“No need for name calling.” Luca smashed an antique crib headboard over his knee, and broke a jagged shard off into his fist.
“Scurlock is human,” Kade reminded him.
“Glass houses.” Luca lunged at the vampire.
“Pot meet kettle.” Kade spat up blood and a sickening gurgle came forth from his throat. His eyes fluttered shut.
“Fuck, no. Now, you listen to me, Kade. You’re not going to die on me, man.” Anthony rushed to Kade’s side, tapping the side of his cheek with the palm of his hand. Pulling out the silver, he extended it far enough so he could break it off without snaring one of Kade’s arms. He lifted the sharp instrument into the air and swung down hard. The metal sparked as the chain split open, and Kade’s head slammed against the concrete floor. “Not on my watch.”
“Shit.” Anthony threw the axe onto the floor. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Luca staking the vampire. “About fucking time.”
“What?” Luca asked breathlessly, his lips curled in victory.
“Help me. There’s somethin’ wrong with him.” Anthony slid his hands under Kade’s arms and dragged him into the middle of the room. He sat on the concrete, pulling his injured friend onto his lap. Cradling him, he shined the flashlight onto his skin and checked his pulse.
“He’s gonna be fine,” Luca assured Anthony. He knelt down and thumbed open one of Kade’s eyelids. “He’s gotta eat, though.”
“I got this.” Anthony rolled up a sleeve. “Check on the girl over there. I think she’s dead.”
“Aw, shit.” .
“You know her?”
“Name’s Gemma. Used to be a donor. She’s gone.”
“This isn’t working.” Anthony held his arm to Kade’s mouth but he didn’t move to feed.
“You aren’t doing it right.” Luca stood and towered above him. “Open his lips with your fingers. Put your skin right on his tongue. He’s alive. He’ll get the hint.”
“I swear to God, I’m never hangin’ out with the two of you again.” Anthony reluctantly did as Luca told him. Recalling his reaction to Sydney’s bite, he attempted to remain calm. He wasn’t sure which would be worse, the sting or the ecstasy. He’d never been attracted to a man before but with Kade and Sydney, lines became blurred.
“You do realize Sydney’s up there? Hurry up with it.”
“Fuck off.” Anthony sucked a breath as Kade’s tongue traced a warm path along his wrist. His body jerked; fangs sliced into his skin. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…ahh.”
“Buck up. You humans are such weaklings,” Luca chastised with disdain.
“This is so wrong.” The rush of pleasure overcame Anthony as Kade suctioned his blood. Masculine hands grabbed his forearm, tightening the seal on his flesh. His cock jerked in response and his eyes rolled up into his head. “Is it over yet? I can’t do this. Come on, Kade. Are we good, man?”
“We’re good,” Kade breathed, licking at the wound.
“Hold on a second. Jesus,” Anthony said, his semi-hard dick pressing at his zipper.
“Shake it off. Let’s get moving.” Kade jumped to his feet, energized by his feeding.
“Yeah, I’ll get right to that.” Anthony gingerly pushed to his feet and adjusted himself.
“I think your donor liked it,” Luca noted.
“I’m not his fucking donor.” Anthony pulled his shirt down over the bulge in his pants.
“Of course he liked it. They all like it when I do it.” Kade smiled at Anthony and clapped his hand on his shoulder, then shoved him toward Luca.
“You guys are assholes, you know that, right?” Anthony retrieved his gun from its holster.
“We love you too.” Kade moved to the stairs. “Now where the hell is my woman?”
“How do you know we let her come with us?” Anthony asked.
“I know my mate. There is no ‘letting’ Sydney do anything. I knew she’d come for me. It was just a matter of when.” Kade ran up to her, his feet barely touching the steps.
Chapter Thirteen
A gunshot sounded and Kade tore through the house. As he rounded into the living room, confusion crossed his face. Dominique smiled coldly back at him, her arm wrapped around Samantha’s neck. He held his hands up to halt Anthony from coming any further, but it didn’t stop Luca from bursting past him.
“Don’t move another step,” Dominique sneered, her fangs inches from Samantha’s neck. “I always enjoyed the taste of a pregnant woman. There’s nothing like the innocence of the unborn.”
“Get the fuck off her,” Luca yelled.
“Dom. What’s going on here?” Kade regarded her face. The woman before him looked like Dominique but the fine lines around her lips appeared deeper, as if she was a long time smoker.
His eyes fell to Sydney, who stared blankly back at him. Her sallow complexion indicated significant blood loss, and his anger spiked at the sight. A flicker of recognition flared in her eyes, and he suspected she was purposely feigning despondence.
“My son has a bone to pick with your fiancée…her bones,” she laughed, tightening her grip on Samantha’s neck. “And this witch? Pity she can’t chant her mumbo jumbo with her mouth taped shut.”
“Let her go,” Luca demanded, taking a step toward her.
“Get back,” she hissed. “This is between Patty and his detective. If you leave right now, I may let her go.” She licked Samantha’s neck clear up to her cheek and temple. “Or not.” She gave a wicked smile and lapped at the skin. “I’ve forgotten how delicious witches can be. Mmm…I can taste the infant in her belly.”
“No!” Pat waved his gun in the air. “Kade stays here. I want to play. You never let me play, mother.”
“Only when you’ve earned it,” she chided. “Look what you’ve done to my house. A punishment is in order.”
“No!” He stomped his foot like a petulant child.
“All of you leave now, and the witch stays alive,” she explained calmly.
“I’m not leaving you.” Luca’s eyes locked on Samantha’s. She violently shook her head. Smothered garbled words came from underneath her gag.
“See? The little woman agrees with me,” Dominique told him.
“I don’t know who you are or what you did with Dominique, but you aren’t her.” Kade’s fangs descended and he caught sight of Sydney reaching for her gun that had been tossed underneath the sofa.
“Clever, clever boy. Doesn’t matter much what I am now, does it? I hold the cards.” With ease, her fangs pierced Samantha’s creamy white flesh. Instantly, she retracted them, laughing as blood ran down her face. Samantha began to heave, the adhesive gag restricting her breathing.
“Stop, you’re hurting her. Take me,” Luca pleaded, inching closer.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…you’ve always been a killjoy, Macquarie.” She licked her lips and glanced at Pat and then to Sydney. “Kill her now. I’m bored.”
“But mother…”
“No arguing,” she spat at him. “No one better move to stop him or the witch dies too.”
Pat slowly turned to Sydney, who raised her gaze to meet his. With his gun trained on her, he reached for her collar. Kade had seen her sneak her weapon behind her back, but he couldn’t be sure that she had enough strength to use it. Sydney gave her attacker a bitter smile, her sharp teeth beckoning him. As he hauled her to her feet, she spun around and aimed at Dominique. Firing off a shot, she clipped her shoulder.
“No!” Pat backhanded Sydney across the face in response.
The sight of his mate being attacked sent Kade into a rage that was only slightly tempered when Sydney stood firm. Instead of faltering, she rebounded from the blow to her cheek and laughed at Pat’s surpr
ised expression. She lunged at him, pinning him onto his back. Kade made a move toward Pat, but Mya leapt to her feet, a knife in her hand. Her attempt to thwart him was interrupted as Anthony fired his weapon, his bullet slicing into her thigh. By the time Kade had reached Sydney, she had Pat’s face wedged against the floor with her hand. Like a rabid dog, she’d gone feral, with her fangs poised to kill. Kade watched with pride as she took her prize, tearing her teeth into his flesh.
Maniacal laughter emanated from Dominique, and he caught sight of her dragging Samantha across the room. Holding Luca’s gaze, she lodged her fangs in Samantha’s shoulder. Luca charged and jammed his fingers up into Dominique’s lips, trying to pry her jaw open, but like a vise, she tightened her bite. Kade slipped behind Dominique and dug his claws deep into her neck. She thrashed but didn’t relent as his fingers strummed at her carotid. Extending his nail further, he sliced at it, sawing away the tendons that held it in place.
Blood streamed from the wound as she fought death. Kade closed his eyes, relieved when life drained from her body. She slumped in his arms, finally releasing Samantha into Luca’s waiting embrace. Kade stumbled back onto the ground, carefully placing Dominique’s limp form on the carpet. Drenched in her blood, he fought the regret that he hadn’t helped her, stopped her from evolving into a debauched nightmare. Despite her identical appearance to Dominique, he still doubted that the life he had taken was that of his friend. Conflicted, his instincts warred with what appeared to be the reality of the situation.
Kade gazed over to Sydney, who wore a sympathetic expression. Pat lay dead and mangled beside her. Physically, she’d healed herself, stealing his essence. Shoving off the ground, Kade went to her, carefully scooping her up into his arms. As her tears began to flow, he crushed her to his chest. The familiar scent of his mate calmed his beast, his fangs rescinding.
“It’s okay, love,” he whispered.
“He’s dead.”
“It’s over.” Kade’s heart broke for her, aware that she was still far too human to go unaffected by her actions.
“I killed him…I knew I would but I feel…” she stammered.
“You did what you had to do. You knew this world…my world, it wasn’t your own. But now, it is.” A surge of guilt for changing her into a vampire rushed fresh through his mind. “I wish things were different.”
“No, don’t…don’t apologize. Whatever just happened, I’d do it again. You’re the only thing that matters to me…nothing else.” As the shock wore off, she pushed away from Kade and scanned the room for Samantha. Her friend shook and cried within Luca’s arms, but was still alive. Although Samantha was a witch and had the capability to heal herself, she’d been badly attacked. “Oh my God. Is she okay? The baby?”
“They’ll both be all right, but I’ve gotta get her out of here,” Luca responded.
“Thank God,” she breathed in relief. “Where’s Tony?”
In the melee, he’d gone missing, but Kade heard his voice coming from the hallway. He glanced over and caught him talking to Mya, who was laid out on the hardwood floor. Her eyelashes blinked but she wasn’t verbally responding
“He’s okay. He’s right there,” Kade growled.
“Mya… I don’t understand what happened. I just don’t know…”
“Don’t know what?”
“How they’re all linked together. Scurlock said Dominique was his mother. That makes no sense. And Mya…they knew her somehow. She shot me…protecting him. I don’t get it. He tortured her. Why would she protect him? My God, you should see her neck.” Sydney shook her head in confusion. She moved to go to Anthony but Kade wrapped his fingers around her wrists.
“Leave them. Tony can handle it.” Kade intentionally held her back. While Sydney appeared to be calm, he was concerned she’d kill again.
“We can’t just leave him.”
“We’ll text P-CAP. Look, Tony’s cuffing her right now. She’s not going anywhere.”
“But we need to know why she did this.”
“Soon enough, love. Right now, what we need to do is get home.”
“And Dom…why would she do this? That woman…she looks like Dominique but it’s crazy. Is that really her? Something is off here. I don’t get it.” Sydney rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
“We’ll talk about it later.” Kade still hadn’t come to terms with the fact that he’d killed Dominique. It was out of character for her to commit such a heinous crime. Something about the way she talked, the slight changes to her skin was contrary to what he’d known for decades. He wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him, but like Sydney, he still had trouble believing it had been her.
“I know what you’re thinking…. how else could she have gotten to Samantha? We need to talk to her and find out what happened,” Sydney continued.
“Not now.”
Sydney nodded in agreement, acquiescing to his suggestion. Kade stood and lifted her into his arms. On any other night, he’d stay and investigate, searching for a resolution to the unresolved questions that remained. Whatever answers they sought could wait until morning. Tomorrow was a new day, and the only thing he needed was to have his mate, to be lying in bed with her, in her, to claim her again.
Chapter Fourteen
The hot spray pelted her skin and she dipped her head forward. The wretched remains of death washed away down the drain with any remnants of regret she’d harbored. Reborn as vampire, she’d now live by Kade’s law. Her decision made, she’d never return to the police force. She wasn’t sure what she’d do moving forward, but she was certain her immortal life with Kade promised opportunities beyond her wildest comprehension.
Her thoughts turned to Samantha, who on the way home swore up and down that the red-haired vampire wasn’t Dominique. As soon as they’d returned home, Samantha had been checked by the doctor, and neither she nor her baby had been seriously harmed.
Sydney had always known that as a vampire, Kade couldn’t father a child. It was only through Samantha’s magic that she and Luca had conceived. Recalling the demon’s attack, Sydney held her hand to her belly, grieving for the child she’d only recently discovered she’d wanted. It was a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that she was physically incapable of bringing life into this world.
“You’re thinking too hard, love,” she heard Kade say as he rounded the glass enclosure, coming up behind her.
“I suppose I am,” she replied.
“You upset about tonight?” he asked.
She moaned and laid the back of her head against his shoulder. His cock prodded her back, causing her to smile. Even when her mood had soured, Kade could lift her spirits.
“Hmm…no answer?” He kissed her temple.
“Just thinking,” she hedged.
“About tonight?”
“Samantha and her baby. Ava, too.”
“The Alpha’s child? Were you thinking about the demon?” He paused. “The night you were attacked?”
“Maybe. No. I don’t know…just about babies, period.” Sydney held her breath as Kade’s silence hung in the air.
“Wait.” Kade spun her around in his arms. He took her chin into his hands and guided it upward until her eyes met his. “We haven’t talked about this very often. I always assumed…”
Sydney gave him a small smile. She found it amusing that he was searching for words to articulate what he suspected.
“No…you never wanted any…Are you trying to tell me…?”
“I don’t know…just forget it,” she lied. Attempting to look away, her effort was thwarted as his hold grew tighter.
“Look at me, Sydney.”
She did as he said, her heart pounding in her chest. Is he angry with me? I should never have brought it up.
“Do you want a child?” Kade asked softly. He released his tight grip, sliding his fingers upward to caress her cheek.
Sydney pressed her face into his palm, accepting his comfort. She nodded, closing her eyes. It broke her heart t
o come to this realization at a time in her life when it was no longer a possibility. Tears brimmed, and she lifted her lids, meeting his gaze.
“Don’t cry…it’s okay.”
“But I shouldn’t want this…it’s not fair to you.”
“Hey now, just because I never said I wanted a child with you didn’t mean that I didn’t want one. The only thing that’s mattered is being with you.” His lips grazed her forehead. “I’ve been alone for what seems like forever. And when you came along…Goddess, I just couldn’t have been more shocked. You breathed life back into me.”
“But…”
“Let me finish. When you said you didn’t want kids, it was a relief to me only because I knew I couldn’t give them to you, but never because I wouldn’t want you to carry my child. If you’d told me you wanted a baby when we’d first met, I wouldn’t have pursued you. I wouldn’t steal your right to have children from you.”
“I didn’t want kids. It’s just being around Ava and seeing Samantha all these months. I can’t explain it.” Flustered by her own feelings, she struggled to express why she’d changed her mind.
“Six months ago, you were a young woman who had options. People grow, Sydney. Not all people know they want children. Sometimes we change, our priorities change.”
“I feel like I should have known. But I’m a different person now.”
“It’s natural to want more. I want more. I regret we waited to get married and I want to do it…as in yesterday.”
She laughed and slid her palms up his chest.
“I’m not joking. Who knew this was going to happen this week? Some asshole comes back and tries to murder you. I could’ve died too. I’m not saying it’s going to happen again, I’m just saying we’ve got to live life as if we were human…as if this day could be our last. We’re not terribly immortal when staked. No matter how much we’d like to predict the future, that isn’t one of our abilities.”
“I wish.”
“Yeah, me, too. So that’s why I want to get married this week. No waiting.”
