by Ruby Raine
“No...” it came out tight and clearly caused him pain.
“Don’t talk. Just drink. You’ll die. He won’t stop until you’re dead,” she spoke of Riley.
He and Lucas were still arguing in the background. She heard a shriek and flipped her head to see Lucas falling. A gush of fear pushed out of her. Riley had killed him. His own brother.
He stepped over him, his dark gaze landing firmly on Melinda.
Her Riley had disappeared, replaced by something vicious. Soulless. And one-minded.
“Get away from the vampire,” Riley thundered. “He does not deserve you.”
“Riley, if you love me, you’ll stop this. Please. You’re under a spell.” She turned to face him, using her body to shield William. “I won’t let you hurt him again.”
He scowled, his eyes filled with bloodshot rage.
“This is all for you!” he shrieked at her. “I’d do anything to be with you. And yet you choose him. A vampire. Who refuses to love you back.”
“Riley, if this is all for me then I’m begging you to stop. This is not what I want.”
“I can’t stop. Not until the vampire is ash! You won’t be able to love me until he’s dead. Don’t you see that?”
“Leave me,” pleaded William behind her. Melinda cast him a side-glance and shook her head in resolved stubbornness.
This move sent Riley over the edge. “You’ll always love him more than me. Even if I kill him, you’ll never love me like you love him.” He lifted his arms, two fiery orbs forming in each palm.
Melinda’s eyes widened. Riley was beyond saving. Beyond reason.
He was going to kill them all!
Tears streamed down her face. This was all her fault. She’d brought Riley into their lives. She’d done so knowing she loved William. Melinda steeled herself for whatever was about to happen next.
“I do love him, Riley,” the dream her admitted. “Is that what you want to hear? Do you need to hear me say it? I love him. I love William Wakefield.” If they were all about to die, at least she had admitted it, one time.
William mewled out a reply she could not understand. Melinda continued to face Riley, his anger boiling over. He rolled the fiery orbs in his hands. They were almost fully formed.
“If I can’t have you, Melinda, then neither can the vampire. And since you love him so much you can burn with him.”
“Go,” she heard William beg her feebly.
She turned around and faced him, knowing Riley was coming closer.
“I’m not leaving you. I can’t. Everyone’s dead. I can’t go on alone, without you, William.” She leaned up and kissed his lips softly. If it hurt, he didn’t react so. Melinda kissed him again, so gently it was barely a touch. And then she felt pressure against her lips as William returned the kiss.
A first kiss.
A final kiss.
Revealing everything he’d ever wanted to say to her. And she knew then he did love her. And she did love him. So much so, that she’d rather burn to death than leave him to suffer alone, or live on with the memory of what had happened for the rest of her days. Alone. Without him or her family.
Melinda felt heat, but it wasn’t from William’s kiss. She pulled away staring down below her feet. Flames. Riley had lit the pyre.
What would happen once he awakened from this nightmarish spell? Or would he? If he did, he’d never be able to live with himself. Not after seeing what he had done.
Poor Riley. His life is over tonight too.
Flames burnt bright below her. The heat snaking up through the wood. For the first time she noticed her feet were bare. The first bite of flame licked at her foot. She let out a wail. She didn’t want to. Tried not to, but the pain was too much. They didn’t have long before it would be too late.
“Please, leave me,” pleaded William. “I cannot watch you die.”
“Then drink my blood,” she told him, “and live.”
“I will have to drink every drop.”
“Then do it.”
The pain from the heat was severe. The flames would be unbearable.
They inched higher.
William knew there was only one chance for survival. He’d have to let Melinda drink his blood and then suck every drop from her body, draining her life. When done, if he was lucky, he’d free himself and kill Riley. And at this time tomorrow night, Melinda would reawaken and be like him. She’d be cursed to live as a vampire.
He had seconds to make the choice, or it would be too late.
Melinda bit her lips holding down a scream, the flames burning through the wood, searing the soles of her feet. She clung to William, listening to the man she had thought loved her, laughing hysterically in the background.
She tasted rust in her mouth; something warm trickled down her throat.
William used his fangs to puncture what was left of his lips and kissed her, letting his blood rush down her throat. She swallowed it, his lips abandoning her mouth, sliding down to her neck.
William hesitated.
She reached up and gripped the back of his head forcing his fangs onto her skin. She dared not let go. Holding him was the only thing keeping her sanity in check. The pain crawling its way up her legs was tortuous. If she let go of William she would scream her last moments of life away.
“I can’t let you die.” William sank his fangs into her neck.
Melinda screamed, in agony, defiance, and hope.
Everything stopped.
Went dark and silent, except for short heavy breaths.
Where had the flames gone? The heat?
Had she died? Was she in transition, turning into a vampire?
Her eyes flickered open.
She bolted upright.
Melinda was in her bedroom, sitting on her bed.
“Just a dream,” she repeated raggedly, jumping up and looking over her body in the mirror. She sunk to the floor in her bathroom, sobbing.
It wasn’t just a dream.
She’d had it for a reason.
To try to stop it from coming true. But how?
What had the Feyk done to Riley to make him so angry? And take that anger out on William? And kill his own family and hers. “And me...”
He did not betray me, but he will kill me.
It took a minute to get her sobs under control. It hadn’t happened yet. It wasn’t real yet. They had time to stop it. But how much?
It could not wait until morning. She needed to wake everyone up and explain, now.
But how would she seek out her family’s help without telling them the entirety of the dream? She didn’t want to admit what she and William were about to do. She didn’t want to admit her feelings for him. William had made it clear he could not be with her. And why force him to admit something that could never come true. Especially to her brothers and the rest of the world. She could do this and protect his privacy at the same time.
But he loved her. He really did. But it was a truth he would literally only admit upon her certain and tortuous death.
And this love was something Riley could see. It started the jealousy. And made him take out his anger on the vampire.
“No. No. It was the Feyk,” she said aloud. “The Feyk did something to him. Something that took that jealousy and turned it into rage.” She needed to figure out what exactly they had done and fast. Before everyone she loved was killed.
Melinda wiped her eyes and raced down the stairs to search for William. He wasn’t in his study. She searched the rest of the house, calling out his name in a loud whisper, but he didn’t come. She tiptoed to Charlie’s room, only to see his bedroom door cracked open and his room empty.
“Where is everyone?” she asked frantically.
Michael’s door opened and he came sauntering out. “Melinda?” he yawned.
“Thank God,” she said upon seeing him. “I thought for a minute you were all gone.”
He heard the panic in her voice and felt the dread in her heart. “When I went to bed
Charlie was in his room and William in his study. If they’re gone now that’s news to me.”
He stepped forward and grasped her by the shoulders. She didn’t realize how badly she was shaking.
“Melinda. What is it?”
She collected herself. Tried to calm herself.
“You had a dream, didn’t you? A really bad one.” The fear pouring out of her nearly knocked him off his feet.
“Yes, Michael. I did. And I need you to find Charlie and William. I’m going to wake up Lucas and Lizzy. We might even need Mack and Emily,” she spouted. “I need everyone we can get.”
Michael almost drowned in the onslaught of hysteria spewing out of his sister. “Hold up, just a second,” he said, trying to block her feelings. “Who exactly are we trying to save this time?”
Melinda had no other answer other than, “All of us, Michael. All of us.”
WILLIAM, GUILT RIDDEN, paced the study. He should have heightened security at the mansion long ago. He should not have written down the location of the power source. Even a potential location.
How could he have been so stupid? He needed to right this wrong but he didn’t want to leave the mansion. He had promised Charlie he’d stay in just in case he had the sudden desire to sleepwalk again. It was a problem they needed to get the bottom of.
But the more he thought about it, he decided that getting the diary back was more important than Charlie’s midnight strolls. He trusted the ring was not letting Charlie come to harm, or harm anyone else. But the blood under Charlie’s nails was not his own...
He darted up to Charlie’s room and peeked inside. He was fine. Asleep in his bed. William trusted that the ring would work, and not allow Charlie to hurt anyone, or himself. Whatever was happening, he could not be harming anyone. Even with someone else’s blood on him. There was a logical explanation, and they’d figure it out.
But not tonight.
He walked by Michael’s bedroom and heard him on the phone with Emily.
He stopped at Melinda’s door, almost opening it but stopped himself. Was she still upset? He didn’t hear her crying anymore.
He could not comfort her. Not anymore. She had Riley for that now, and her brothers. He’d already come to this conclusion before, but needed to enforce it now. He needed to keep his distance. It was better this way.
It would also be helpful to have some space between them, especially if after this crisis was over he decided it was time to leave the Isle and allow the Howards to take full responsibility for their lives. And heritage.
For tonight, they were safe.
He had a job to do. A wrong to right.
William raced out of the mansion scouring every street on the Isle, trying to piece together where this alpha/shifter would go to, or hide out. He wanted this nightmare ended, once and for all.
CHARLIE AWOKE IN A haze. He’d fallen asleep after hours of tossing and turning, his head filled with strange dreams, none of which he could remember upon waking. But all leaving him with a deep sense of foreboding.
He sat up and blinked, the haze sitting at the front of his brain refusing to lift. Was he really awake? It was more like a waking dream. He dragged himself out of bed, staring into a mirror. He saw himself dressed only in a pair of tight fitting boxers, and felt like he was awake, yet there was something blocking him from feeling fully alert.
He went down to the kitchen for a glass of water, but instead peered at the back door. He walked over, opened it, stepped outside and sucked in the cool salty night air.
This was where Charlie wanted to be. Not confined to a house. Out in the open, running free. The salty air washed over his body inviting him to come and play. He stepped out onto the grass letting it squish between his toes. He knelt down, rubbing his hands across the blades.
His head bolted upright, his blue eyes dissolving into the bright silver of his wolf. He sniffed into the air a pleasant scent catching his nose. A deep growl started in his belly and wound its way up his throat.
He ran with determination to locate the scent. This desire took over every sense.
He needed to find it. He needed to devour it. No other thoughts crowded his mind. No other desire or concern.
Darkness gave him cover as he ran.
Closer and closer to his desire.
No.
It was behind him now. Following him.
He stopped, his breath coming out in ragged pants.
It was taunting him. Playing with him.
A voice echoed into his mind.
“You can only have me, if you catch me, Charlie.”
He leapt into the woods, giving chase. The wolf inside him snarled, thrilled by the run. The simple freedom of the act. The air, filled with so many different smells. Earth. Pine. Maple. Moss. And animal... another wolf. A female wolf. The source of the smell he sought. The smell that called to him. Enticed him to come out and play under the moonlight.
He came to a stop. A light step, just to his right. The flash of golden eyes between trees. “You’re making it too easy,” Charlie growled. He sniffed the air, taking in the smell of his prey. Wolf. Female. Feminine. Hungry. A mixture of both animalistic and human desires.
Charlie licked his lips, his tongue needing to taste her. To slather over her skin in order to mark her. Teeth needing to penetrate her delicate shoulder to claim her as his.
The golden eyed female spun around and ran into the darkness of the woods. Charlie snarled and followed. Her scent lingered, enticing and drawing him in. But if he wanted to catch her he needed to run faster. His legs picked up their speed, his nostrils soaking in every smell. His heart thudded hard in the anticipation of his catch.
The trees became less thick. Waves crashing in the distance. He grinned darkly. She had nowhere to run to unless she decided to swim in the ocean. He slowed, her scent stronger. She was close. Just out on the beach but out of sight, hiding in the shadows.
Charlie stopped, crouching down to the ground. A silky nightdress in the sand. He growled in displeasure. He preferred to remove it with his teeth, piece by piece.
“Does it make you angry?” a voice taunted. He stayed in a crouch, searching out the female wolf.
“You know it does,” he snarled in reply. His head flicked to the right. A wisp of white... he lunged, landing into a half crouch. Silver eyes ravaged the area around him. He stood up straight, a wry smirk on his face.
Warmth, behind him. She was so close. Just an inch away, but not touching him.
“I made you angry. Are you going to punish me now, Charlie?” Her voice held an edge that was both seductive and primal.
He turned with deliberate intent, eyelids at half-mast in a dark warning. “Eva...” it rolled off his tongue in a guttural sigh.
Under the moonlight, her white hair cast a halo around her thin frame. Her eyes looked like liquid gold. She lifted a hand to his chest, running an elongated nail from his throat down to his abdomen. She dug in just enough to draw a hint of blood. He grabbed her hand, then her other hand, and held them behind her back.
“Don’t think for a minute you’re in control.” Charlie gripped her arms tight, just at the brink of pain. She got to her tiptoes and reached for his lips with her own, not quite able to get there. He denied her, curling his lip in a snarl.
“Please, Charlie. Please. I need to.”
Her voice went from seductress to beggar, her body and voice pleading for him to give her what she wanted. He spun her around, still imprisoning her in his arms.
“What you need is to get on your hands and knees and submit like the bitch you are.”
Eva’s breath caught, the gold in her eyes turning to flame. “Yes. Please, let me.” Her body begged him to let go so she could obey him. “I need that too.”
Consent. Though Charlie was out of his mind with desire, and planned on the female wolf submitting to him, he still needed to hear her say she wanted it. Although Eva didn’t need to say it aloud, he could smell it all over her. She needed him to
claim her. Fill her. Mark her.
She wiggled underneath his firm grip.
Charlie leaned forward and nuzzled the hair off her shoulder. His tongue slathered along her skin up to her neck. She opened for him with a shudder and a whimper. “Please Charlie. Don’t make me wait.” She squeezed her thighs together, barely able to contain the needy hot ache throbbing there.
Charlie growled. He needed her to submit, but he needed to fill her as much as she needed to be filled. His wolf was hard. Demanding release.
He kneeled down, his wolf teeth catching the edge of her thong; her only remaining piece of clothing after already removing her nightdress. Eva gasped as his sharp teeth pinched into her side and he snapped the thong in two. It slid down her body until hitting the sand.
“Get on your knees,” he ordered her. She did, turning her head to see him.
Charlie got back to his feet and slinked out of his shorts. He fell back to his knees pulling Eva into him. He yanked the hair away from her shoulder and pressed his lips into the crevice of her neck. His teeth raked down to her shoulder.
“I’m going to mark you,” he stated. He wasn’t asking permission.
Eva’s breath hitched. Somewhere deep in the recesses of her hazy brain something told her to fight this. Not to give in. That she was not his bitch.
But then it was forgotten.
Charlie had his teeth firmly on her shoulder and bent her over in the sand in front of him. He branded her entrance, throbbing, and teasing her. She opened, splaying herself in attempt to feel him against her. She was so small in front of Charlie. His thick arms and legs ensured she’d never get away from him.
She let out a moan of frustration.
“You’ll have me soon enough...”
His teeth bit into her shoulder. Not deep. Just enough to hold her in place, like the submissive wolf he needed her to be.
She cried out in pain. Out of instinct, one hand remained on the sand in front of her, the other reached back and took a swipe at his arm. She got him with three of her fingernails, leaving behind a trail of bloody scratches.
He snarled and bit harder, forcing her arm back down to the ground to support her upper body. He pushed her downward so her head was on the ground. She didn’t fight him. This was how he needed her.
