“Mmm. Totally not fair.” I was only half listening as I licked my lips and imagined that raw power in my bed.
“You’re picturing him naked, aren’t you?” Kayden crossed his arms.
I quickly kissed Kayden and tapped his nose. “I doubt that Declan could fuck me thoroughly enough to make me black out.”
He looked over my shoulder at Declan. “I’m not sure about that.”
I rolled my eyes and swatted his ass. “Go get ready. Even with Declan, we are going to need a miracle to get out of here.”
Kayden nodded and ran back down the hallway.
Declan dusted the ash off his shirt and walked towards me. His confident swagger made my knees weak. Seeing him fearlessly attack the assholes who had made my life miserable for two years, I felt giddy. I grabbed him and pressed my lips to his. Throwing his arm around my back, he lifted me with one arm and kicked open the meditation room door.
Desperate to touch every inch of his skin, I pulled up his shirt, kissed his chest and licked my way down his stomach. “I need you.”
He spun me around and pulled my ass against the hard bulge in his trousers. “You don’t know how many nights I’ve laid awake, waiting to hear you say that to me.”
Wiggling my ass against him, I groaned. “I admit that I’ve thought about you at night too. There’s something about the brooding hot guy that does it for me.”
He walked me over to the table at the front of the room that held the songbooks for chanting and bent me over it. Popping open his trousers, he pulled up my skirt and pushed his hard cock into me. His hand slid under my bra to work my stiff nipple.
“Did I do this in your fantasy?” He slowly pushed into me and thrusted hard his hip once fully inside me, hitting just the right spot.
I mumbled some kind of word that made him chuckle.
“Hearing you moan does wicked things to me, Ceyla.” He nibbled on my ear and ran his teeth over my earlobe.
Quickly working me into a frenzy, his powerful body ignited a fire that overwhelmed me and drove me wild. He timed his thrusts as he plucked at my nipple, sending jolts of electricity down my spine. Incoherent sounds escaped my lips, causing him to increase his strokes.
Groaning, I clung to the table and gave myself over to the heat rising in my core. I no longer felt like the lost little girl, afraid of the world. With Declan, Landon and Kayden by my side, I felt like I could conquer any enemy.
“Come for me, Ceyla.” Declan licked up my neck as he slowed his hips and gave a few quick, deep thrusts that made the world disappear.
I let out a guttural scream and came so hard that the metal table bent beneath my hands.
Declan pulled out of me, and turned me around. He lifted me onto the table, slid back into my body, and gazed into my eyes. “I need to see your beautiful face.”
I pulled him down into a kiss and ran my claws down his back to his ass.
He grabbed my hips and pushed into me a few more times until his head fell back and he growled.
Panting, he pulled me up to lay a sweet kiss on my lips. “It’s been five years since I’ve been with anyone. I couldn’t find another who compared to you.”
“I’m glad that everyone else really sucks.” I smiled and lightly bit his chest.
He laughed and pulled me to my feet. “It’s adorable that you get nervous when someone praises you, but you need to get used to it.” He knelt before me and offered me his neck, which I immediately bit. Tasting his blood made me feel complete for the first time since losing my family.
“Even if we lose, Declan, I will always be with you.”
Kissing my neck, he nodded. “I’m happy to hear that, but I don’t intend on losing.”
Chapter Eight
Chaos dominated the hallways, classrooms and common areas. All around, vampires bowed their heads to me, while they fought against our oppressors. Kayden was busy unloading the weapon room with the help of the Bitten to disperse Adriel’s armory.
Skidding to a stop, Kayden winked at Declan and presented him with a sword.
“My sword. I thought Adriel smelted it.” He lovingly touched the steel blade and grasped the hilt in his hand.
Kayden smiled. “I found it in his personal collection. I have no idea where he is, but he abandoned his room.”
Declan shook Kayden’s hand and handed me his stake. “Are we taking prisoners?”
I debated the question for a second. “Offer them asylum. If they refuse, lock them up for the Mielcareks to find.”
Declan bowed his head to me and spun around to remove the heads of two vamps at the same time. “Sabourin Coven, follow me to victory!”
Kayden sighed. “I think I’m falling in love with him.”
I smacked his arm. “He’s mine.”
Kayden chuckled and kissed my cheek before he took off down the hallway.
Passing the blood room, I watched Isabella stake August, Adriel’s second in command. I wondered if Adriel had abandoned the school with Wesling since he had left his men for the slaughter.
Declan, cornered, nodded to me before killing the vamp to his left and spinning around twice, removing the heads of all six vampires surrounding him. I was glad to know that he was on my side, though it gave me a chill to know that he could have easily killed me if he hadn’t seen something worthy inside me.
Leaving the fight in Declan’s capable hands, I searched around for Adriel, though he was nowhere to be found. I gave up and headed back towards Ethics class to find Landon. I hadn’t hit him too hard with the baton, but I wasn’t sure how long he would be unconscious.
Kayden would have put him somewhere close by, so I checked a few of the classrooms until I noticed the sign for the men’s shower room.
Slowly entering the room, I found a cowering vamp in the corner.
“Are you with me or against me, Taavi?” I glared at him, waiting for him to make the first move.
“I’m whatever won’t get me killed, Ceyla.” He bowed his head and averted his eyes.
“Good. Go stand watch. Yell if someone stabs you.” He scurried past me as I continued my search.
Hearing a slow heartbeat behind a gated door, I pulled the key from my bra. I unlocked the door and found Landon propped up on a bunch of towels.
“Landon, time to get up. I need to get you somewhere safe.” I shook his leg and slapped his face hard enough to get a response.
“Hey!” He grabbed my wrist as his eyelids fought to stay open.
“It’s Ceyla. We need to leave.” I put my face closer to him so that he could see me.
“Ceyla. Are you okay? Where am I?” Groggy, he tried to sit up and look around.
“Shower room. Sorry that I had to stun you. I had to make it look like Declan had attacked you until things died down. Can you move?”
He tried to get to his feet, but listed to one side. I shoved my body against his to bolster him until he could get his bearings.
“I think I can move. I just need a second. What’s happening?” He struggled to get his legs to move through the numbness.
“Declan is busy killing everyone and I’m searching for Adriel.”
Landon finally stood and shook his head. “You could have warned me about Declan, though I should have known you would claim the best assassin here.”
“Why didn’t you tell me how amazing he was? I would have recruited him first.” I slapped his arm, though he probably couldn’t feel it.
He threw up his hands. “Sure he’s a good fighter, but I didn’t know much about him. Silas could tear apart a bear shifter with only his claws, but I wouldn’t suggest that you recruit him.”
“True.”
“Did you also decree that the Bitten and the rest of the lunatics here can join your coven, regardless of their crimes?” His frown implied that I might have overpromised a few things.
“We’ll see who survives and take it from there.”
A scream from the other side of the room made me jump. “I didn’t mean
that he should actually scream if someone stabbed him.” Annoyed that Taavi was a coward, I ducked my head around the corner to find Taavi dead at the feet of Silas.
“Shit.” Cornered, we had no other way out of the room.
Silas followed me into the changing room as I backed up toward Landon. “I knew I would find you eventually, Ceyla. Come here and give me a kiss.”
“Hard pass, Silas. I would offer you a place in my new coven, but I hate you.”
I nudged Landon over so that he could cling to the water pipes hanging down from the ceiling and took a step closer to Silas.
“I knew Landon had a thing for you. He was the only thing keeping me from you, Pixie.” Silas cracked his knuckles and extended his claws.
“You don’t get to call me that, you twisted bastard.” I crouched down and eyed Silas as I tried to figure out how to kill him. Even though I had two stakes, Silas wouldn’t go down easily.
He charged at me, but I dove under his arms and rolled behind him. Seeing that he’d missed me, he smiled and pulled out a stake from his pocket. “I stole this from one of your new coven members and then I killed him with it.”
I shrugged. “Hopefully it was Rainer. I never liked that guy.”
Silas roared and came at me again, swinging the stake at me. I ducked under his arm, but the wood scraped my skin, sending a raw pain up my arm. Blood oozed from the wound and trickled down my hand.
Smelling my blood, Silas licked his fangs. “I’ve always want to see how you taste.”
He swung at me again, but I jabbed a stake into the side of his knee. He roared and backhanded me into the tile wall. Tossing the stake across the room, he limped towards me.
Seeing three of him, I wasn’t sure who to fight. He lifted me off the ground by my neck and slammed my back against the floor.
“Ceyla!” Landon called to me, but I knew he was too weak to move.
I tried to get to my feet, but Silas’ shoe came down on my throat. Pissed that Silas was winning, I jabbed the other side of Silas’ knee, forcing him to drop to his good leg. I reached up and dug my claws deep into his neck.
Stabbing his stake into my shoulder, I screamed through the burning pain as he threw me into a shower stall across the room.
I landed on my neck and slumped over on my side. Pushing myself up, I propped myself up against the wall. I gritted my teeth and pulled at the stake embedded further into my shoulder than I thought. Moving the stake sent shooting pains through my chest. Fuck, I hated wood!
Growling, Silas rushed towards me again. Seeing his claws pointed at my face, I tugged at the damned stake. Silas lunged towards me, swiping his claws around, hoping to hit me. I felt his hot breath on my face as I freed the stake from my shoulder and braced my arms in front of me. Falling forwards, Silas landed on the stake. I closed my eyes and counted to three before I dared to see if he was still alive.
Blood bubbled up from his mouth as he tried to speak. The stake was still in my hands, but it hadn’t pierced his heart. I had no way of knowing how close the stake was to its target.
“I’m going to kill you, Pixie.” His voice was thick from the blood pooling in his throat.
Taking a deep breath, I clutched the wood with my hands and did my best to ignore my throbbing shoulder. I had one shot at killing the bastard.
Feeling him move his legs around so that he could get to his feet, I knew I was out of time. Holding my breath, I wrenched the stake from his fleshy chest and drove it as hard as I could into his body.
When the first flake of ash flew up into the air, I let out a breath. All around me, Silas’ heavy body turned to ash and floated into the ground.
Pushing myself up, I dusted off Silas’ remains and picked up the stake.
Looking to Landon, I saw him shake out his legs and arms to get the feeling back into them.
I took a step towards Landon, but stopped when I heard someone behind me. Turning, I found Declan leaning against the tile wall, his chest and arms covered in blood.
I ran to Declan to check on him, but he held out his hand to stop me. “Let me finish off Landon and then we can celebrate.”
I threw out my good arm to stop Declan. “He’s with me but no one can know. He’s sort of a double agent.”
Declan eyed Landon and looked back at me. “I noticed him protecting you, though I assumed you hated him.”
“She did hate me.” Landon snickered. “Thankfully, I’m charming.”
Declan frowned and looked questioningly at me.
“It’s complicated. We can talk about it later. Right now, I need to find Adriel.” I waved my hand to stop Declan from asking questions.
“Did I hear my name?” Adriel strode into the shower room with three of his goons. “You’ve made a huge mess today, Ceyla, but it’s over now. My men are subduing your rabble-rousers and sending them to a fiery death.”
“Liar. The rest of your men are dead or soon will be. The school has fallen, which means no one is coming to save you.” I smirked and blew him a kiss.
He snarled. “I really can’t tell if you’re crazy or a skilled performer. Regardless, I’m going to enjoy putting you out of your misery. Oh, and don’t try to get inside my head again. It won’t work. The coven has given orders to kill you.” He motioned to Declan. “If only you had done your job, boy, I could be pummeling some little whelp instead of mopping up this slaughter.”
Declan chuckled darkly. “If memory serves me right, Adriel, you were the one who screwed up first when you left Ceyla alive after killing her parents. I was sent to right your wrongs years later, once the coven found out that she was still alive. I always wondered what stayed your hand. Was it a sense of morality or did you have a code against killing children? Maybe you had a moment of weakness. In the end, it doesn’t matter because I’m going to make sure you never hurt her again.”
The fury in Adriel’s eyes told me that Declan was telling the truth about Adriel killing my parents and leaving me alive only to torture me years later.
“No wonder you hate me so much.” I smiled broadly as I imagined Declan killing the man responsible for the death of my parents.
Adriel snapped his fingers and laughed. “No one is killing me tonight, Declan.”
The sound of footsteps clacked across the shower room floor. My stomach dropped when I recognized the cadence of Wesling’s high heels. Glancing over at her, my heart stopped when I saw Kayden standing in front of her with a blade against his throat.
She smiled pleasantly. “I would think twice about attacking any of us, Ceyla. Right now, you have a choice. It’s true that the coven wants to convert you. All you have to do is give up this silly pursuit and bow before Marcario Mielcarek. Once you pledge your allegiance to him, you won’t have to worry about anything. They will tell you exactly what to say and do. Your life will be simple. No more tortures. No more prison. You will be free to live out your days as Marcario’s prized pet.”
“Let me think about this. I would have to bow and put on a pretty dress with my hair all done up. I’d probably have to sit silently through boring meetings, unable to give my opinion. I would be nothing more than a piece of art, brought out for guests to admire. Who wouldn’t want that?” I smiled sarcastically at Wesling. “Oh right, any sane person. Fuck you, Wesling and fuck Marcario. I won’t be anyone’s pet.”
Adriel hissed and raised his hand. Dropping it dramatically, he signaled for his men to attack.
Eying Kayden, I nodded to him and leapt forward into a roll, giving Declan room to slide into position and slice through the necks of two of the guards. Spinning around once more, he removed the heads of the other two and smiled at Adriel.
I rolled across the floor and landed at Kayden’s feet while he extended his fangs and bit into Wesling’s wrist to keep her from pulling the blade through his neck. He simultaneously pulled a stake from his blazer sleeve and stabbed her in the hip.
Wesling screamed and tried to pull away, but Kayden had a good hold on her arm.
Gripping my stake, I jabbed it into her shoulder. She wailed and dropped the knife as she finally tore her arm away from Kayden’s teeth. She tried to limp away, but the stake to her hip had done its job and kept her from escaping.
She backed away and sneered at Kayden. “He’s nothing more than a filthy whore. He’ll betray you as he’s betrayed me. You should kill him now and save yourself the trouble.”
“I never claimed to love you, Gamila. You forced me into your bed night after night. The worst part is that you never loved me. You got off on hurting me. Well, guess what? I found someone who loves and accepts me. I hope you get everything you deserve.” Kayden spat her blood on the ground and turned his back to her.
“Gamila. I had no idea that was your name.” I shook my head, trying to process her unfortunate name. “Any final words, Gamila?” I raised the stake above my head but she immediately fell to her knees.
“I pledge my loyalty to the Sabourin Coven. Please, Ceyla, spare my life.” She raised her good hand and pleaded for mercy.
I glanced at Kayden in disbelief. “Is she kidding?”
Kayden shook his head and stepped in front of me to grab her chin and force her to look at him. “After everything you put me through, I would never grant you mercy. You beat me, raped me and humiliated me every second of every day. Why would Ceyla want someone like you in her coven? She’s trying to change the way we treat each other. Yes, she will dust her enemies because that’s the only way she can start over, but she will show mercy to those who deserve it. People like you and the Mielcareks have no concept of right and wrong, no understanding of justice. I choose Ceyla because she’s better than all of you. I will stand by her side and watch the old ways die as you and the Mielcareks turn to dust.”
Slipping the stake into his hand, I took a step back. “Kayden’s right. There is no mercy for the merciless.”
Wesling sneered and launched herself at Kayden’s throat, but Kayden was ready for her move of desperation. He drove the stake into her heart, ignoring the claws that tore his skin.
I couldn’t help but smile when I saw her ashes float to the ground.
Hexes and Handcuffs: A Limited Edition Collection of Supernatural Prison Stories Page 7
