Authors: CT Nicholson
“
Is everyone else safe?” He didn’t know if Luciana had managed to capture any of the others.
“
Everyone else is fine. Including Elle.” Nicola’s eyes captured Aiden's in the rearview mirror. “You’re still a fucking idiot.”
“
Hmm.” Aiden kept his gaze out the window and watched as everything passed in a blur of movement.
Thump.
“What the fuck was that?” Nicolas kept speeding down the road as a loud banging on the rooftop started. “Shit. There’s a damn rogue on the roof. No doubt he’s trying to get to you. Hold on cousin because this is going to be one hell of a ride.”
Nicolas slammed on the breaks.
Aiden couldn’t get a hold of anything before he ended up thrown into the floorboard. Something jabbed into his ribs, making him realize that more than one was broken along with the numerous claw marks that marred his whole body.
“
I told you to hold on,” Nicolas said.
The
SUV lurched into motion. Aiden growled out loud as the vehicle jumped. Once again, he ended up jostled and his ribs took most of the impact. “Damn it, Nicolas! Can’t you drive better than this?”
“
No. The ride’s about to get bumpier.” Nicolas cursed aloud. “Hold on!”
Aiden managed to drag himself back into the seat and didn’t like what he saw outside the window.
There were so many rogues he couldn't even count them all. The motor grew louder as Nicolas slammed the pedal to the floor. Aiden fell back into the seat. “You’re going to run them over?”
“
You have a better fucking idea because I don’t. You’re too injured to fight them and I may be cocky, but even I know I can’t beat them all by myself.”
Aiden watched as Nicolas’ knuckles turned whi
te. There would be a lot of cleaning up to do. The SUV plowed through the rogues like they were nothing at first until Nicolas swerved to miss a car going by and they found themselves flipping.
“
Don’t lose your head!” Nicolas screamed above the crunching and screeching as the car rolled.
“
Damn it!” Aiden winced as his body was thrown around like a ragdoll. Once the SUV slid to a stop, Aiden found himself hanging halfway out the front windshield, the glass adding to his wounds. He tried moving his right arm and failed.
More broken bones.
They needed help because he had no chance of helping Nicolas. Hell, he didn’t even know what condition Nicolas was in.
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
Elle screamed along with the tires as Anya slammed on the breaks. When she looked around, her heart dropped. How could they fight all of them? Rogues crowded the streets, but they didn’t even give Elle or Anya one look. No, their gazes stayed glued on the SUV that went flipping through the air.
She knew there had to be Guardians inside. The crushed
SUV looked almost as small as Anya’s Porsche. Injuries would've been unavoidable, even to vampires.
“
Use your nose.” Anya lifted her face out the convertible like a dog. Gasping, her eyes went wide when she looked at Elle.
“
Who?” Elle didn’t wait for Anya's answer as she lifted her own nose in the air. At first all she could smell was burned tires and gas. Next, she smelled the rogues surrounding the crushed SUV. Then Nicolas. She threw her hand to her mouth to hold back her cry. Aiden was in the vehicle and she smelled a lot of blood.
Jumping out of the car, she started to run head first into the crowding rogues. Anya jerked her to a stop.
“No! I have to help him.” She swiped the tears from her eyes. “We need to get help.”
Living without him would kill her, but to lose
Aiden would destroy her.
“
I’ve already called Ethan. The others are fifteen minutes away.” Anya pulled Elle back toward the car. “He wasn't happy to know we were here.”
Elle didn't even see Anya use the phone.
“That’s too long. We have to do something.”
The rogues dragged Nicolas from the vehicle first
, blood covering his clothes and face.
He fought them and managed to escape the grasp of the two holding him before four more joined in.
“Well, well, well. Isn’t this the perfect moment. Nicolas and Aiden at the same time. A fantasy come true.” Luciana sashayed toward Nicolas.
Elle saw red and her fangs exploded from her gums. When she looked over, she found Anya in the same situation.
“That bitch better stop before I rip her throat out.” Anya started to growl low in her throat.
“
I think we should just go ahead and try.”
Nicolas spit blood onto the ground before looking up into Luciana’s eyes.
“I thought you liked me?”
The idiot actually poked his bottom lip out in a pout.
“Maybe that’s why you turned rogue, because I turned you down when you offered yourself to me.”
Luciana screamed in a rage before slapping Nicolas across the face. More blood exploded from his mouth but Nicolas just laughed.
“You’re nothing but a whore, Lucy. I wouldn’t have touched you if doing so saved my life. I cared for Aiden, unlike you.” The look Nicolas gave Luciana actually caused Elle to shiver.
Elle couldn’t stop her cry out when Aiden stumbled from the SUV. Blood covered him from head to toe and she didn’t think
all the red came from the wreck. He looked tortured and extremely pissed as his cold eyes glared at Luciana. One arm looked barely attached as he held it with the other. Every step brought a wince to his face.
“
Why didn’t you tell me, Nicolas?” Cold eyes shot to Nicolas before moving back to Luciana.
Nicolas kept his eyes averted.
“You loved her and I couldn’t hurt you that way. If she wanted, she would've told you. I thought maybe it was just because she wasn’t used to the heightened sense of being a vampire.”
Elle knew what he meant
and she couldn't lie that her hormones were out of control but she didn't want anyone else. Only Aiden, and with the vampire blood in her system, she wanted him so much more. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement. She jumped back when she saw the vampire coming toward them.
Nothing about him seemed familiar and he sent a chill down her spine. He stood almost as tall as Julian or maybe
even the same height. He smiled at her with normal white teeth. Not a rogue then. Elle didn’t know who he could be but every movement and look seemed dangerous in every way possible.
Just as Julian, this vampire had to be some kind of
royalty. He oozed authority. Elle reached behind her and gripped the handle of the gun. She didn’t think he came there to help. Stepping back, she nudged Anya to catch her attention.
She heard Anya gasp and could see her reaching for one of her many weapons.
“Who are you?” Anya demanded with her usual confidence.
He tilted his head and his gaze zeroed in on Anya. Angelic blonde hair fell around his face in just the perfect position. Elle wondered what kind of hair product he used to keep the strands so tame. His eyes turned back to her and she realized something different about him.
Steel blue eyes lit with amusement until he looked at her. His gaze narrowed and his brows pulled together in confusion.
“
I can’t tell you my name now.” His accent came out in a sexy southern drawl.
As sexy as he was
with his accent, Elle didn’t feel anything toward him except fear and revulsion. “Why?”
“
It's a secret.” He avoided the answer with the teasing note still in his voice.
“
Fine. If you’re a vampire, why are your eyes still blue?” This time Anya spoke up.
He pursed his lips as if thinking of the right answer.
“Okay, I’ll give you that one then I need to stop the fight about to break out.” Leaning in close to them, the stranger cupped his hand across his mouth as if keeping the rogues from hearing.
“
Contacts. Makes them different from the others and they listen because they think I'm special.” He shrugged and gestured toward the rogues.
Elle knew her eyes looked as wide as two golf balls.
This man was the leader of the rogues. They both were newly turned and no matter how many weapons, neither of them was equipped to fight someone so powerful. She looked over to check on Aiden and started forward without a care when she saw Luciana stab something into his gut.
Before she made her way to the crowd of rogues, someone jerked her to a halt.
She looked up to find the hand gripping her arm was the blue-eyed vampire. He didn’t look like he planned on hurting her. If anything, she swore she saw sadness in his eyes. She was seeing things.
“
Stop!” The rogue leader’s voice lost the sexy southern drawl and he showed his power and anger. “Luciana, you’ve disobeyed your orders and used the soldiers I put you over for your own good.”
Elle could only stand there open mouthed as Luciana watched her leader with utter shock.
“I –I needed—” Luciana stuttered.
“
No. You needed to follow my orders and you failed. You’ve brought attention down on us and for that I sentence your death.” He stalked slowly toward Luciana.
Before he neared her, Luciana turned back to Aiden with pure evil seeping from her gaze.
“You did this to me!” She lifted her arm and stabbed a sword through Aiden’s heart.
“
No!” Elle took off running before the stranger had Luciana pinned to the ground. The pain from seeing Aiden's body fall limply to the ground tore through her. Running to him seemed like a lifetime, though it only took a few seconds to get to his side.
Elle glanced up at the rogue leader. Luciana’s death came quick as the stranger took her head in a fit of rage.
Elle turned back to Aiden. He wouldn’t wake up no matter how hard she cried or how loud she yelled at him for him to. She watched everything happen in slow motion around her.
“
All of you leave, now!” The leader’s voice drowned out her crying. He turned and walked away without another word.
Rogues dropped Nicolas to the ground without care
. Nicolas stumbled over to Aiden.
She grabbed Nicolas’s hand desperately.
“He’s a vampire. He has to live, right?” They told her the only way to die would be by taking a head or burning the body. She placed her hand over Aiden’s heart and held her breath. The weak but still beat had her releasing her breath.
He shook his head and she caught sight of the small tear escaping down his cheek before he casually swiped the drop away.
“If he’s lost enough blood...” His words trailed off as he started to bite into his own wrist.
“
No.” Elle wasn’t injured and she needed to save him. Letting every emotion roll through her, Elle forced her teeth to extend and she bit into her wrist, not caring about how much the stab would hurt. She forced her wrist into Aiden’s mouth and waited as she prayed.
Seeing him broken made her realize how he must
've felt when she almost died. If he felt half as much for her as she did him, then maybe she could understand why he left. She loved him so much. If he died, she didn’t think she’d survive it. She wouldn’t kill herself but she finally understood what people meant by dying from heartbreak.
“
Please drink. I don’t care if you want to run away from me but damn you, drink!” She yelled, needing him to hear her and listen to her for once.
Screeching tires
caused her to look around to see another SUV carrying Drake, Collin, Lena, Gregory and Julian speeding toward them.
“
Fuck.” Drake spoke first before muttering an apology.
“
We need to get him back to the house and run a transfusion.” Nicolas jumped up without a sign of his recent injuries and went to pick up Aiden.
Elle growled deep in her throat and slapped her free hand to her mouth in shock.
“Sorry.”
“
It’s ok, he’ll be fine. He has to be.” Nicolas picked Aiden up and hurried to the still running SUV.
With Anya and Julian on her heels, Elle followed while the others stayed to clean up the
scene.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
He loomed on a rooftop and waited as the Guardians left. Something about the dark-headed newbie captured him. She reminded him of someone.
Forgetting about her, he started to see red again just thinking about Luciana. He thought she
’d follow him whenever and wherever he wanted. Yet she disobeyed him in the worst possible way.
The Guardians w
ere now aware of the small rogue army he controlled and worst of all, they knew about him. He should've seen how obsessed Luciana had become and took care of the situation earlier but he had other things that seemed more important. Now all of that changed.