Demi's at Stake

by N. L. Hoffmann

“There’s a driveway coming up that leads to an abandoned farm. I want you park there.”

  When I spotted it, I started to slow down. It was a large, old farm that looked like it had thrived at one point in time. The roof of the barn was partially caved in, the paint peeling on the outside. The house had started to be reclaimed by nature, a tree growing right through the porch, ivy snaking in through the windows. This place had definitely seen better days. Wondering how he had found this location, I parked the SUV in front.

  “Get out,” he ordered, gesturing with his gun.

  Climbing out, I looked around, seeing if I recognized anything, to no avail. I started toward the barn, Dante following close behind. The barn door slid open, Alex standing there. But that wasn’t what shocked me. What shocked me most was seeing Jesse standing behind him. I stopped, mouth open

  “Get moving, bitch.” Dante pushed me forward.

  Stumbling, I stared ahead, afraid to show any sort of reaction. “Why did you bring me here? What do you want?” I asked, starting to turn around to look at Dante.

  “Did I say you could turn around?” he snapped, smacking me in the side of my face with the butt of the gun.

  Falling to the ground, I held a hand to my face and glared up at him as the pain radiated through my cheek. I could already feel the area swelling. “You asshole! I just asked a question.”

  Jesse sighed, coming over to help me to my feet. “Just shut the fuck up and get inside the barn, Demi.” He leaned in, whispering into my ear, “All you had to do was show me a little affection and I would be protecting you right now.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Jesse pushed me into a pile of straw, looking down at me with a feral smile on his face. “We could have accomplished so much together, Demi. But now that I know you’ve been with that vampire, I don’t want a nasty whore like you.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, sitting up.

  “Dante has seen that vampire hanging around. I know he’s the one who told you about the cup.” Jesse looked over where Dante and Alex talked by the barn door. He frowned, then returned his gaze to me. “So, where is it?”

  Faking confusion, I said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know of any cup.”

  Jesse swore. “Dumb bitch. You just keep pushing my buttons.” He ran a hand through his hair before placing his hands on his hips. “If you tell me where the cup is, maybe I can stop them from doing other things to you.”

  “What other things?” I asked, but I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

  “Don’t be dumb, Demi. Maybe you should think about what might happen if you don’t tell me where it is.” He squatted down, motioning for me to remove my jacket. “Give me your weapons.”

  When I started to, he pulled out his own weapon, pointing it at me.

  “Slowly.”

  Following his instructions, I took off my coat, handing it over. Then I pulled out my gun from the back of my jeans, placing it into his open hand. “You’re an asshole. I can’t believe you’re doing this over some stupid cup.”

  “It’s not just a stupid cup, Demi. It gives you all the knowledge you need about supernaturals. Can you imagine what it would be like to hold that kind of power?” His tone became wistful. “You would be undefeatable.”

  Jesse stood, tucking my coat under his arm. “But I know you already know this. When I return in five minutes, I want the location. No more games, Demi. No more fucking games.”

  When he walked away, I looked around the barn, seeing nothing I could use as a weapon. Shaking my head, I felt my cheek, hissing in a breath at the pain. That asshole would pay for what he did. They all would. I should have let Cathal kill Jesse when he had the chance. He was probably the one who orchestrated this entire thing.

  Dante headed in my direction, licking his lips. When he stopped in front of me, I glared up at him.

  “I like a girl who has some fight in her. It’s like breaking a filly.” He crouched down to get closer to me. “Believe me, I will break you.”

  I didn’t even respond, watching as he stood and walked away. How the hell was I supposed to get out of this mess? No one knew where I was. My phone was somewhere on the road. Cathal wouldn’t even know where to look.

  Just as I thought about standing, Jesse returned. He glanced back over his shoulder at Dante, who paced back and forth. “He’s getting antsy. Do you have an answer for me?”

  “I told you, I don’t know anything about a damn cup, Jesse!”

  “The vampire follows you around like a lost puppy. I know you talk to him.”

  When I stayed silent, he swore, looking back at Dante. “She’s all yours, Dante. The bitch won’t tell me shit.”

  Dante rubbed his hands together, grinning. “She’ll sing once I’m finished with her.” He walked over, grabbing me by the hair and yanking me up. I twisted, clutching at his wrist to pull him away. Gripping my chin, he stared down into my face. “You’ll learn to respect me. Fight all you want. Eventually I’ll ride you like a tame pony.”

  I wanted to throw up. Raising my knee, I tried to slam it into his balls, but he backed up, laughing loudly.

  “There she is. Bucking like a wild mustang. Come on, girl. Show me what you got.” He swung and slapped me across the face, in the same spot he hit me with the gun. I yelped. Laughing, he slapped me again until I fell to the ground.

  I tried to sit back up, but he landed on top of me, straddling my body. “Oh, you’re a wild one.” He wiped his forehead on his arm. “You’ll give me a good workout.”

  With one arm, he swung to punch me in the face. I slapped his arms away while bucking my hips. He laughed, not deterred. Swinging again, he hit me so hard my vision swam and I couldn’t focus. I heard Jesse’s and Alex’s distorted voices, as if from a long distance away. Dante yelled for them to shut up.

  When I tried to buck him off again, albeit weakly, he grabbed me around the throat. I reached up, slamming him in the throat with the heel of my hand.

  Too shocked to defend himself, he fell onto his back, me straddling him. I slammed him in the nose with the palm of my hand, the bone cracking. He screamed.

  Hearing Alex and Jesse running in my direction, I hopped to my feet and ran. My head throbbing, I could barely tell where my feet landed. All I knew was that I had to get away. I couldn’t fight off two grown men when I had a hard time focusing.

  Running into something hard, I grunted. Feeling arms go around me, I struggled and looked up, seeing Cathal standing in front of me, fangs bared, eyes dark with anger as he took in the scene. Alex and Jesse slid to a stop, surprised.

  Hearing screeching tires, I looked over to see two SUVs skidding to a stop. My sisters, Seth, and Troy climbed out, guns aimed in our direction. Who were they pointing them at? Jesse and Alex, or Cathal?

  I stood in front of Cathal, arms extended. “He won’t hurt anybody! Get Jesse and Alex!” I shouted.

  “Calm down, Demi. We know what’s going on.” Seth shot me an angry look as he advanced toward Jesse and Alex, weapon pointed at them.

  Jesse swore, putting his hands up in the air. Alex slowly followed. Dante stumbled out of the barn, hands to his face, shouting about how I would pay.

  Cathal turned to me, frowning, his fingers lightly brushing my face. “Who did this to you?”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “I want to know which one did it, Demi.”

  “Dante,” I whispered.

  In a flash, he stood in front of Dante, grabbed him by the head and struck like a snake. Blood shot everywhere. I watched in horror as Cathal ripped the man’s throat out, as if tearing through a damn hamburger. Face covered in blood, he dropped Dante to the ground, turning to me.

  “If anyone harms you, Demi, this is what will become of them.”

  Jesse and Alex immediately knelt, hands behind their heads. Seth and Troy rushed over with zip ties, securing them. What would we do with them? It wasn’t like we could turn them over to
the authorities.

  Troy kicked Jesse over with his foot, glaring down at him. “I can’t believe you would sink this low.”

  “You’re working with a damn vampire! Wait until the others hear about this!” Jesse shouted at his cousin.

  Cathal walked over and bent down, picking Jesse up by the throat. “I should kill you, but out of professional courtesy, I won’t. Come near her again, however, and you will not see the light of day again.” Dropping him, he stood and turned, looking at me. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smearing the blood. Surprisingly, I wasn’t scared of him. This was the man I wanted to be with.

  Seth walked over to me, Ruby and Blair following. He glanced at my face and gently grasped my chin, moving it back and forth. Wincing, he gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry we didn’t get here sooner. Ruby was convinced your ‘boyfriend’ would know how to find you.” He glared at Cathal. “He eventually showed up in your room, looking for you.”

  That could have gone badly. I glanced over at Cathal, who talked with Troy. I looked away, seeing Seth still staring at me.

  “I can’t believe you, Demi. You’ve been with that vampire this whole time. Do you know how dangerous he is? They trapped him in a cave for a reason, but you’re going on dates with him?”

  “We’re not going on dates,” I said, annoyed. “Can we talk about this later. Then you can yell at me all you want. Right now, I just want to get home and lie down. My face fucking hurts.”

  He sighed. “You’re right, but we will have a conversation later.”

  “What will you do with them?” I asked, gesturing to Jesse and Alex.

  “They’ll be taken care of. We’ll get rid of Dante’s body, too.”

  Ruby and Blair suddenly pulled me into a tight hug. Attempting to smile, I winced as I pulled away, looking over at Cathal. He watched me, wiping his face with a handkerchief, appearing uneasy, as if me seeing him kill a man would scare me away.

  Walking toward him, I threw my arms around his waist, resting my head on his chest. “Thank you.”

  He ran a hand down my back, kissing the top of my head. “I’m surprised you want to do this in front of your family,” he murmured.

  “I don’t care. Today was a close call. I want to embrace everything good in my life.”

  Squeezing me hard, he pulled back, looking down at me. Softly, he pressed his lips against mine. “It pleases me to hear you say that I am part of those good things in your life.”

  “Thank you for killing him. I wanted to do it myself, but my first thought was I had to get away.”

  Tucking my hair behind my ear, he smiled. “I’d do anything for you. I’m just sorry I wasn’t here to protect you sooner.” He gently touched my face. “I feel like I have failed you in some way.”

  “You found me. That’s all that matters.” Then I frowned. “How did you find me?”

  Cathal shrugged. “We have a connection now. I can find you almost anywhere, depending on the distance.”

  “Another old vampire trick?” I gave him a small smile.

  He nodded. “Of course.”

  “If you two are done, I’d like to get Demi back to the motel. She needs to get some rest,” Seth said sternly.

  Nodding, Cathal looked at me. “Do you want to ride back, or shall I deliver you?”

  Chuckling, I hugged him. “Take me to the motel.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Cathal stayed with me through the night, despite his place being more comfortable. After my shower, I passed out almost immediately. He thought I should stay awake for a while in case I had a concussion, but I told him my eyes were too heavy, so he reluctantly gave in, stroking my hair as I fell asleep.

  I slept through the night and most of the morning. Around noon, Seth came to check on me, Cathal letting him in. He frowned, staring at my face. “You look like shit, Demi. How am I supposed to take you to the pack leader’s event today? People are going to stare at you the entire time.”

  Swearing, I sat up, immediately regretting it when the room spun. I groaned, falling back onto my pillow. “I wanted to go to that.”

  Cathal frowned. “There are ways to heal you, but you refuse to do it.”

  Seth raised an eyebrow. “What? Hell, she’ll do whatever it is.”

  I frowned. “He wants me to drink his blood, Seth.”

  “Fuck no. Hell fucking no.” Seth shook his head adamantly. “I still have a problem with you being here, but you saved my sister, so I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Until she’s well enough, I’ll tolerate you coming around. But vampire blood?” He shook his head again. “Hunters don’t do that.”

  “I’ll do it,” I blurted out.

  Both Cathal’s and Seth’s heads snapped in my direction. “What?” Seth growled. “I refuse to let you do that.”

  “It’s my body. I’ll do what I want,” I snapped.

  He threw his arms up. “This isn’t the same as letting you go off on your own into the city. This is drinking vampire blood. One step away from becoming one yourself. Do you want to risk that?”

  “He has to drink my blood first, Seth. This will be okay.”

  “You might as well drink from the cup then,” Cathal suggested. “You’ll only have to do it once, then you can gain all the knowledge of supernaturals.”

  I frowned. “What’s with you and this damn cup? Why do you want me to harness this knowledge?”

  Cathal stood up, rubbing his face. He looked disheveled. His clothes were wrinkled, and he had stubble on his face. It was kind of hot. Had Seth not been in the room, I might have taken advantage of him.

  “Because then I will know, Demi. I will know if you’re the one.”

  Seth looked between us, confused. “What is the cup, and what do you mean ‘the one’?”

  Cathal suddenly disappeared, reappearing a second later holding the cup. He handed it to Seth. “A witch gifted me this cup when she freed me from a dungeon. I’m not sure why, but she told me that whoever drank the blood of an old vampire out of this cup would gain the knowledge of all supernaturals. She said my true love was the one who was meant to drink from the cup, but it would still work for another.”

  “So what happens to the one who isn’t your true love? Do they gain the knowledge?” Seth asked, moving it around in his hands, looking at it from every angle.

  Sitting down on the bed, Cathal looked at me. “If somebody who drinks from it isn’t my true love, they’ll gain all the knowledge, but they don’t get the one perk my true love would.”

  I slowly sat up. “What’s the perk?”

  “I can’t say. She told me if people knew the complete benefits of drinking from this cup that it could influence their decision. You must choose to drink from it because you want to prove to me that you’re truly mine.”

  Shaking my head, I frowned. “And you think I’m the woman who’s supposed to drink from this?”

  He nodded. “I’m positive.”

  “How positive?”

  “So positive that I’m willing to risk the cup. Only one person is allowed to drink from it. After the supernatural knowledge has been given to someone, there is no way to give it to anyone else.”

  Stunned, I sat back against the headboard. “That’s a big risk, Cathal. You can’t be sure it’s me.”

  “This can’t be true. You’re just trying to get her to drink your blood.” Seth tossed the cup onto the bed. “I wouldn’t trust him. He’s a vampire, Demi. You’re putting your life in his hands.”

  Staring at the cup, I sighed. “I’m not ready for the cup, Cathal. I’ll just suffer through the pain. The bruises will fade in a few weeks, then I can go back out into the real world.”

  “Your brother is influencing you. There is nothing wrong with ingesting my blood to heal yourself. Forget the cup for now, but at least heal your body.” Cathal looked at me, pleading.

  “Why can you heal people with your blood? Why can’t other vampires do that, too?” I asked.

&
nbsp; “My age. I’m not sure how old I was before I realized I could do such a thing. It’s the same with my ability to transport to different locations. The older you become, the more abilities you gain.” He shrugged. “I’m sure there are others out there who can do similar things.”

  Seth ran his hands through his hair. “Don’t do it, Demi. I’m asking you as your brother. Please.”

  “How do you know it’s harmful?” I asked. “You’re willing to see me in pain on the off chance that I might change into a vampire? You know how vampirism works, Seth. He needs to take my blood before I take his.”

  “At least hear out Ruby and Blair. If they think you shouldn’t do it, would you at least consider their opinions?” he asked.

  Nodding, I watched as he rushed out of the room to retrieve my sisters. At least he wasn’t forcing me not to do it. He was giving me the option. Sort of.

  I looked over at Cathal. He held the cup in his hands, deep in thought. “I’m sorry I’m not ready,” I whispered.

  Looking up at me, he smiled. “That’s okay. I respect your decision.”

  Ruby and Blair came into the room, Seth following. He explained the situation to them, with me interrupting a few times to clarify and give my opinion. When we were finished, both girls were quiet, deep in thought.

  Blair shook her head. “I don’t know, Demi. It’s a big decision.” She glanced at Cathal. “The only thing we know about this man is he’s a murderer who was trapped in a cave because they couldn’t figure out how to kill him.”

  Ruby cocked a hip, waiting. When Blair was done, she looked at me with a hard expression. “Do you want to do this? This is your choice, Demi. No one else’s. If you trust this vampire, then do it. Don’t let our fears stop you. We only want to protect you, but you should be able to take risks. Live your life the way you want. No one should tell you what’s best for you. It’s time to listen to your gut.”

  Nodding, I realized she was right. This was my choice. I glanced up at Cathal. “I’ll do it.”

  SETH SEEMED DETERMINED to convince me not to, until I snapped at him. Defeated, he left, looking back at me once before closing the door. Was I vain for wanting to take Cathal’s blood in order to heal my face? I was still in pain, but the main reason for wanting to heal was so I could perform my job better as a hunter. Going out with bruises all over my face, slowed by pain, was a good way to gain unwanted attention.