by Brenda Trim
She couldn’t go home. She had run from her Fated Mate and had stolen a car from the Vampire King. She’d be lucky if they weren’t hunting her down to kill her. Unable to control her rage, she had attacked her uncle and ruined things at home with her family. She’d thought her life was over before, but now it was spinning out of control to the point where she didn’t even know which way was up anymore.
Despondent, she hung her head when warmth exploded in her chest as Gerrick’s soul wrapped around her, trying to center her. Before she had a chance to appreciate how her mate was able to pull her back from the edge, two of the last creatures she ever wanted to see again, materialized fifteen feet from her. Azazel and Aquiel.
Scanning the area, she searched for anything that could be used as a weapon. Swooping a long piece of driftwood that would serve her purpose, she prayed for protection against the Fae magic. If Aquiel unleashed his power on her she would be helpless. She contemplated turning the wood on herself so she couldn’t be used as a weapon against her family or Gerrick ever again when her mate’s soul blasted her for even considering it. On second thought, kicking their ass sounded so much better. Quickly breaking extra limbs from the wood, she made a makeshift spear.
“Shae, my pet. You have become a very difficult female to track down. Let’s have a chat,” Azazel purred as if they were best friends. He was so smug, believing he had her under his thumb. She couldn’t wait to teach the asshole a lesson or two.
“I’d rather tear out your throat,” she countered, then cursed. Azazel would enjoy that.
“We can play first then,” Azazel coaxed. “I’ve missed the taste of you.” The pair sauntered closer to her without a care in the world. Every instinct in her body shouted this was her chance, spurring her into action. She sprang at Azazel, making him falter and unable to deflect the wood aimed at his face. Keeping a death grip on the wood, she only managed to rake it across his cheek. Black blood bloomed and bone was revealed through the gaping wound. She’d been hoping to hit the artery in his neck, but would take what she got.
Shae continued running and veered toward the Fae, startling him and shoving the wood into his mouth. She took the male down and plunged the implement deep into the sand, leaving it lodged in his mouth.
She wasn’t surprised when Azazel took his time slowly walking to her rather teleporting. It was psychological warfare meant to unnerve her, but too bad for him that shit didn’t faze her anymore. The way she saw it, he couldn’t do anything worse to her than he already had. And, wasn’t that liberating. She had been at her lowest in his cage and was never going back there.
She stooped and grabbed up some sharp rocks, holding them in tight fists. She threw a punch and Azazel caught her hand, crushing it. Bones snapped, but didn’t distract her because she’d fought under far worse conditions.
Instantly, warmth spread from her chest down her arm. Part of her was in awe over the strength of the mating bond trying to heal her wound while the other part was focused on the demon and enacting her vengeance. With the mating bond supporting her, she felt as if she could do anything, even beat an archdemon. “Surely, you can do better than that. Just sayin’,” she taunted.
“A little time with the Vampire King has made you an over-confident bitch,” Azazel spat, brushing blood from his cheek. Shae was glad to see the wound hadn’t yet fully healed.
“It had nothing to do with Zander. I was honed in the fires of hell, you should know that,” she challenged. He would hate being the one who’d made her such a formidable fighter.
He caught her off-guard, slicing his razor-sharp claws across her shoulder blade. She danced out of his reach, but that meant she couldn’t retaliate. He dodged her steps, but unfortunately, didn’t give her time to regroup. She needed to do something he wouldn’t expect. Problem was that he was intimately familiar with her fighting style.
Determined that this wasn’t going to end with her dying at the hands of this male, she refused to allow him to use her again and her mate mark twanged in agreement. She was going to see Gerrick again. She had plans to beat some sense into him about belonging to her, not some long-dead female.
With her blood leaving a trail on the sand, she ran towards Azazel and at the last second slid across the sand, sliding between his legs. She lifted her arm and cut through pants, skin and muscle. The archdemon’s howl of pain was satisfying as she castrated the motherfucker. Too bad his balls would grow back.
Black lightning shot from his hands as he blindly tried to hit her. Rocks exploded, sand and water shot into the air and Shae raced back toward him. He reached out and grabbed her, sinking his teeth into her abused neck. For a split second, she was back in that cage completely at his mercy, but this time when she felt his magic build in her blood, the mating bond gave her the strength to break away just in time. A second later, he teleported away.
She bent over with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. Movement out of the corner of her eye made her turn. She expected to see Azazel again, but thankfully, it was only Aquiel and he was still pinned to the sand. His hand was flopping around, no doubt searching for the stick. Unwilling to allow him to get free and possibly use a spell against her, she walked over.
Placing his head between her hands, careful to keep the driftwood in place, and twisted with all her might, she pulled the Fae’s head from his shoulders. Slumping to the ground as the heavens opened up, she stared into wide, empty eyes. Shouting, she threw Aquiel’s head out to sea as rain pelted her body, cleaning her cuts and washing away the gore. She stood up with her arms out at her sides, allowing the rain to purge the violence.
Hating what she had become, but unwilling to give up the fight, she realized she only had one choice and took off running.
*****
Gerrick was standing in the open doorway, scowling at the last person he’d expected to see. Shae had stolen Orlando’s car and taken off before dawn. He had searched the city from one end to the other, but all he found was the abandoned car. Shortly before dusk, Jace had called him to her family’s house.
She had done the unexpected and gone to her family. He had been convinced that she would never return there for fear she’d harm them and figured she was hunting the demons.
“You look like hell,” he said, his anger melting when he saw she was injured.
“It hasn’t been my best night. Can I come in?” she asked, clearly unsure of her reception. He wanted to pull her into his arms and reassure her that he would always welcome her, but he refused, stuffing his hands in his pockets to avoid acting on his impulses.
He stepped aside and shut the door behind her. “You need stitches on that shoulder. And you were bit again,” he growled, wanting revenge when he saw the fresh bite mark. That bastard was going to die a slow, painful death for harming what was his.
“You’re a genius,” Shae quipped. “Is Jace here?” Jealousy hit him in the gut. His mate was asking for another male when she should be reaching out to him. But, he’d given her no reason to believe she could depend on him, had he?
He crowded her space and wrapped his fingers around her wrist and immediately the spark of chemistry was back. “Yeah, Jace just got back from treating your uncle.”
He twined their fingers together and led her to the war room. He stuck his head in, seeing Rhys and Bhric. “Hey, can one of you tell Jace to meet us in the clinic. Shae needs treatment.”
“You’ve finally found her. Maybe you should try chaining her to the bed,” Rhys responded then shifted his gaze to Shae. “Damn, sweetcheeks, you look like hell. Head down, I think Jace is already down there with Cami.”
“Thanks,” Gerrick muttered and continued to the basement stairs in silence. He was still so angry at her for taking off that he didn’t trust himself not to yell at her or strip her bare and remind himself that she was alive and well in the most primal way possible. Her scowl told him that if he tried to touch her he’d be losing his balls.
“So, you know what I did,�
�� Shae finally whispered. Beneath those words, he heard her unspoken plea. She was clearly worried about being welcomed. “What’s going to happen to me now?”
“First, you’ll change out of those wet clothes and then Jace is going to heal you and stitch your neck. After that, we’ll grab some dinner. I can feel how hungry you are.”
“Am I going back down to the dungeons?” The uncertainty in her voice broke his heart.
“Of course not. Your things are in our room and you’ll be lucky if I let you out ever again. I hope you learned something. Never, ever run from me again, Shae.”
She flushed and lowered her head. “I made a mistake. Goddess, Gerrick, I know that now. I’m not right and I want to change that. Those demons can’t win.” That fast, her steel spine and determination was back and sexier than hell.
“Wait a minute.” She stopped in the middle of the hall and tugged his hand. “You said my things are in your room. Why am I going to be in your room and what things are you talking about? I don’t have anything here.”
He couldn’t help the smile that lifted one corner of his lips. “You’re in our room because you’re mine, Shae. And, your mom was nice enough to give me some of your clothes while I was there.”
Her eyes went wide then narrowed. “What did you tell my parents?”
“Only what they needed to know.” He twirled a lock of her fiery red hair around his finger.
“I do hope you replaced the furniture in our room. Especially since it’s your fault it was ruined in the first place. I’d like dark wood and pale blue for our colors.” She let go of his hand and resumed her trek. Gerrick caught up with her and once again claimed her hand.
The medical clinic was in the basement near the training facility. Gerrick was shocked at the transformation since he’d been there last. The two exam tables were shoved to one side of the room and various machines and instruments were strewn about the space with several scientists bent over microscopes.
“Jace, Shae needs to be treated. Should I take her upstairs?” he asked his fellow warrior.
“No, let me set this program to run and I’ll be right over,” he replied, pointing to the empty beds.
“Stay here,” he instructed his mate before he headed to the closet to get her some clothes. They were often injured while out fighting and this was a frequently visited room so there was always spare clothing. He grabbed a t-shirt and some sweats.
Jace was already at Shae’s side when Gerrick returned. “…need to cut some of the damaged tissue away in order to place the stitches you need.”
Shae met his eyes and he saw the shame in her depths. A sudden thought struck him. He took a deep breath and caught the faint scents of Fae and demon blood, as well as, Shae’s blood, but nothing to indicate the archdemon had sexually violated her again. He unclenched his fists and laid the clothing next to her.
“Do what you have to. It’s just too bad you can’t cut all of it away,” she muttered.
Gerrick gripped her chin between his thumb and forefinger, refusing to allow her to look away. “Scars don’t matter. You fought and you survived, again, that’s what matters.”
“No, scars don’t matter,” she agreed, tracing the scar that bisected his face with a feather-light touch. He looked into those familiar green eyes and his heart opened a bit more to Shae. Emotion traveled along the bond that existed between them, leaving no room for doubt that this female was his. The question was whether it was Goddess blessed or created in hell.
And, did he even fucking care?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Shae sat in a room surrounded by daunting warriors who were waiting for answers, but she had no idea where to start. And, to make matters worse, the demon’s compulsion was beginning to once again outweigh the mating compulsion. Exasperation at the fact that they were managing to take even this from her was a bitter pill to swallow. This one aspect of her life should be sacrosanct, untouchable by any entity, and yet, the evil bastards were trying to overtake it.
Clenching her hands until her nails cut into her palm, she took deep breaths. Gerrick reached over and stroked her arm, causing her to shiver. The contact was enough for the mating bond to take front seat. Grateful, she glanced at Gerrick and was caught in his penetrating stare until Zander broke the silence. “I need to know what happened, Shae. Doona leave oot any detail because even the smallest piece of information can be useful.”
She turned her head and nodded before she proceeded to tell them what had happened from the time she’d left Zeum until the fight by the water. “I have no idea how they found me. It was nothing like Jessie described with the tracking device. There was no humming and I haven’t seen or felt anything to indicate there is an implant anywhere on my body. Oh…I should have told you this first, but I got sidetracked…I left Aquiel’s body on the shore in the Alkai Beach area.”
“Shite,” Zander cursed, “Bhric, you and Rhys go clean up the scene. And, be quick aboot it. He’s been there far too long already. We’ll be lucky if the humans haven’t already found him. I’m glad you came back where you belong, Shae. You willna leave here until we get to the bottom of this,” Zander warned, raking his hand through his jet-black hair.
“I understand,” she murmured and watched as Rhys and Bhric jumped up to carry out their orders. Zeum was a well-oiled machine and Zander’s power over the Dark Warriors was readily apparent. It was the kind of power so many sought to obtain for nefarious purposes, yet Zander didn’t abuse one ounce of it. His restraint was admirable and she could see why the Dark Warriors had such a close bond and would die for him.
“How are your symptoms after another bite? I need to get another blood sample. No doubt, your venom levels are up after this attack.” Jace’s voice snapped her back to attention. Next to her, Gerrick leaned forward, a snarl on his face. She clasped his hand and brought it to her lap, hoping to calm his anger. He seemed to relax a little and she was relieved to have the same effect on him that he had on her.
“Unfortunately, they are much worse now. Since the first bite, I have felt some measure of coercion from the archdemons, but in the days after my rescue it seemed to lessen. Now…” she trailed off, unwilling to admit that even the most powerful force in the realm couldn’t keep it out.
“That makes sense. Your venom levels had decreased, but I have a theory that each bite amplifies the effects ten-fold,” Jace explained.
“That explains why it’s so much worse this time. I have to put all my efforts into blocking him. And, that’s not even including my fits of rage.” She didn’t know if she could say anymore, but needed to if she was going to get help with this. Gerrick’s presence by her side gave her the support she needed to continue. “You know how I attacked my uncle. I’m afraid of doing worse. I don’t know how to shut him out. Even now, he is in my head telling me to unleash my beast and do whatever is necessary to get to the amulet.”
“He’s in your head?” Gerrick leaned into her line of vision, taking up her entire focus.
“Yes, he is. It’s like he’s screaming at me to hurt you.”
“I know you’re afraid you’re going to hurt me, but I don’t think you will. You could have cut my head off and you didn’t. You’re stronger than he is,” Gerrick surmised, offering the reassurance she needed. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him or anyone else who had come to mean so much to her. Taking back control was going to be done one painful step at a time. She hoped she’d just taken the first one in asking for help and leaning on someone other than herself. There was no turning back now.
“Gerrick is right, Shae, and, now we know what they hope to get from you and the others. It didn’t really make sense before because Jessie is so different,” Jace said, clearly thinking out loud.
“You actually hear them in your head?” Jessie asked, the disbelief clear in her voice.
“Yes, I do,” Shae admitted, unable to hide her relentless pain. Her head felt as if it was going to split open. “And, it causes one hell
of a headache. You don’t hear him?”
“No, but like I said, I was only bit once. It’s only ever been minor tendrils of a pressure, but nothing specific,” Jessie shared.
“Yeah, I’m the lucky one,” Shae murmured, unable to hide the acid in her tone. Shae should feel a kinship to this female, but she couldn’t get over her bitterness. It wasn’t fair that Jessie hadn’t been forced to suffer. No, the female barely had a scar and was beautiful, confident and loved by everyone. And, she didn’t have to worry about flying off the handle and killing someone she loved without thinking.
“No, I was taken from the only life I’ve ever known and lost my job and home and I haven’t even seen my family since I was turned,” Jessie countered. Shae instantly felt guilty. She hadn’t considered how Jessie’s life may have been affected.
Gerrick squeezed Shae’s thigh and rubbed his palm over her tense muscles. She met his gaze and smiled at his attempt to soothe and comfort. The male may infuriate her most of the time, but he had his moments that showed how much he cared.
“Let’s not focus on blaming each other or who was hurt the most. You were both victimized. Right now we need to consider the ramifications of this for Shae. Neither of the demons planned on one of the females being a Fated Mate,” Zander postulated, grabbing an apple from the large platter of fruit on the table. “He has no way of knowing you were Gerrick’s mate, Shae. Just like he clearly doesna understand the connection of mates. ‘Tis one bond that will always be stronger.” Shae hated to tell him that with the venom fresh in her veins, the demon was very close to overtaking the mating bond.
“Before I forget, welcome to the family, Shae,” Elsie said, giving her a bright welcoming smile across the table. Apparently, Gerrick had informed them that she was his mate while she was gone. That both surprised and pleased her. If she were a betting female, she’d have said he would keep their mating a secret. She only wished his acknowledgement erased the dark shadow Evanna had over them. Even now, through their bond, she could sense his torn loyalties and love for the dead female.
