Authors: Cyndi Goodgame
I was stronger. Her give was about to pop.
“Wouldn
’t you like to know? Ask Thorn. He knows me
really well
,” she pressed in and neared my neck.
Where are you
Kissa?
For once, I was right about something.
Less than five miles out. Highway. Borgon’s down but I didn't stop to find out. I’m not alone and left Liam back with him.
Granite is already in pursuit. I
’ll be there in less than two minutes.
Granite is h
ere and so is someone else. Some she-witch Vamp who tried to bite me.
I heard his mind scream.
Ten seconds.
Ten seconds. I breathed the counts out loud.
Three...two...Swoosh.
I was in the air being lifted away unable to see if the two assailants were still below. Was Granite really going to let her hurt me?
The air left my lungs. I wasn’t gassed, just ready to have back up. I wanted to go back now. The evil witch could’ve knocked me down a while, but kill me not. And I wasn’t sure what her bite would do.
“Take me back.”
“No. Granite will assess and return. Hugo is with him now.”
I shrieked to the air. “Cas. Take me back. NOW!”
He wanted to scream back at me but he went silently away. Didn’t he see that Granite let me get hurt?
Borgon was gone. Liam was standing, cut up, but okay. Granite was not around and Hugo was asking Liam everything under the sun in his very undecipherable Spanish accent.
Liam smarted off for him to shut up and a few less desirable words to mention so I knew he was fine. And then he searched for Granite. Movement caught all of our eyes. In Granite walked just past the wreck in next to Cas cursing that Borgon got away pointing to the trees he’d just surfaced from.
I would find out Granite’s secrets.
His demeanor was off. He looked pissed and rattled unlike how the guards usually acted with their forged calmness and quiet alertness. I watched Cas interact with him, but he didn’t seem to see what I did. Or at least his face and emotions didn’t give off like he did. I moved on to Liam to be sure he knew I was thankful for his mad driving skills and clarify his story with mine.
Liam was safer to me even if he did visibly sniff me a lot. He still held the same color in his cheeks as Cas as if they both ate the same diet. I looked at Granite again. His color was different. Not the pointed out detail of separate types of people, but that of the Vampire
’s I’d met and become acquainted with in the last year. Granite’s skin was in a way—flushed.
Yes, that
’s it. He had more blood. Or...different blood. Couldn’t Cas see this?
Chapter
Three
I had not intended to love him...
Cas texted Szar, Calum, and Cord in a group text. It seriously disturbed me that the four of them already had a system set up like a Stace alert. In my head it read,
RED ALERT. Stace, goddess of the world is in danger.
When I looked it said,
911
All three would meet us at the warehouse after I cleaned myself up. It took ten minutes to convince Cas I wasn’t hurt and to make him stop touching me from checking for injuries. I only complied as much as I did because he wasn’t feeling me up in any way. He was that worried.
Okay. So the whole biting and becoming a Vampire thing. “Cas, can a Vampire bite turn me?” I yelled through the bathroom door.
Silence.
“Cas?” I called louder.
“I am not sure Anastacia.”
Ehhh! My full name. “What’s wrong?”
“Did she hurt you?”
Who? The evil Vamp chick? “No Cas. I told you.”
I opened the door to see a pacing man burning a hole in the yellow rug that sat in front of my bathroom door and matched the one by the bedroom door.
“Why?” I was used to feeling emotions on everyone and just never asked, but with Cas I always wanted to overanalyze every single little detail. Like now.
“What are you afraid of?” I asked.
“Her name is Nara. She is an older Vampire than any of I know my own age. Her father, Drac, was the Vampire lord before and my sired father.”
And this story has a purpose? “Why are you telling me this?”
His fear rose to the highest level that only equaled when he feared for my life.
“She is more than just her father’s daughter and her attack on you was not an accident.” There was something in his voice that didn’t quite get to the surface of what he was actually conveying. He watched the fireplace, not me. The smoke coiled up into the chimney disappearing into the black void.
“Well, Cas. Spit it out.”
“She was betrothed to me at my turning and neither of us given a choice.”
Was this one of those gaspy moments in the climax of a movie where the woman scorned claws the eyes out of the she devil who was trying to take her man? Sorry to disappoint but I have something better than revenge planned.
“And you’re afraid to tell me because you think I will get all upset that she’s obviously angry I stole her man when I obviously never pursued him in the first place and I obviously am not the least bit surprised that you have someone else who drools after that gorgeous body. Well sorry to burst your bubble dear. She can’t have you.”
We wouldn’t be together if it was any other case so I wasn’t jealous. Well, maybe a little. After I assure myself of a few details to make my girlisms calm down a bit.
“Nara—
“Don’t say her name!” I spat. So I was a little
jealous
.
His eyes shot to my face but he didn’t come closer to me like any other time. He was so afraid.
“She was told when I was changed that I belonged to her and that at eighteen we would be joined. It was a sick joke against the first Lord Cross for starting my change. Drac didn't like being upstaged and offered to turn me for him greedy with the chance to own me.”
“So. It didn’t happen. The joining part.” Where was the punch line? In my gut at the moment.
“She isn’t happy.” His fists balled.
“Obviously.” I snorted very unladylike.
He still stayed across the room resting his fist on the mantle the other I feared nearing an eager move to hit something. That’s just how he was.
I hated being right.
Bam! His fist made a solid imprint into the top brick on the corner below the mantle.
“She won’t hurt me, Cas.”
Just like that, he was there with eyes blazing harboring too many emotions to read. Cradled and painfully squished, he bear hugged me making it feel like I was bathing in
his
fear, not my own.
“She won’t hurt you,” he breathed either confirming my statement or maybe reassuring me—I wasn’t quite sure. Heart pounding, I let him hold me like that till he calmed. I brushed my fingers along his neckline just above his collar in the back. When his body finally withdrew from the wound tightness of releasing a small amount of pain, I drove the sword back in.
“Before we end this, I want to be sure of something.”
He tensed right back up.
“Did you ever...did you two….” I couldn’t say it.
He reared back. “Hell no, Stace. She is repulsive and vile. She wants only to have me for my title. She cares nothing for me and I her. I have only seen her on a handful of occasions and even then they were with her relatives due to a business trip with my father.”
Done then. “That’s settled then. Let’s kill the bitch.”
He had that uncanny way of staring without a single blink just like I imagined all Vampires to have. “That won’t solve anything.”
Harrumph! The heck it won’t. “I won’t share either, Cas.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “Agreed. And I won’t let you become a murderer.”
Okay. So jealousy was a worse enemy than even Borgon and his bad deeds. “Fine. But if she comes at me again, I have that right. Or if she comes near you.”
He didn’t agree, but he didn’t disagree.
Chapter Four
...
he made me love him without looking at me.
Turns out, Szar had word from my father that Borgon was raiding a Were camp and Cord was already on it but agreed to get his own together and meet us. No rest for the weary. Scratch the warehouse meet and greet. I didn’t really want to announce the events anyway.
Cas made a point to tell me the informant
’s name who talked to my father. Who do you think?
Lee!
First, Cas told me for a reason. Second, Lee did it for a reason. Overanalyzing was easy here.
Suddenly, I had a great idea.
A stupid idea, but great. I’d find Lee later and ask for a
favor
.
We packed on the weapons, took the Hummer that incidentally was always on a full tank with Cas
’ funds and human servants. Someday I will free all living creatures from their bondages and take care of myself twenty-four hours, seven days a week. Until then, I was thankful for their help. Besides, I knew the servants were paid well. Better than a human lawyer even so I knew they weren’t complaining. Not many humans were entrusted to knowing we existed and new the unfortunate consequences of what letting it leak would happen for themselves and their families. Neither wiped memories or death ever sounded appealing.
Headed for the hidden camp located deep in the Rainwater Forestry district an hour away from any citywide area, we discussed the wreck and whys of Lee Dyer sharing his fabulous tidbit of information. Or at least we were discussing the topic until Cas interrupted me with his thoughts that I wasn
’t sure if he did intentional or not. I went with the not after I heard it.
...Lord Bane cursed her with this. It
’s not her fault but—
“Not her freaking fault!” I screamed aloud making everyone in the car jump in
their seat.
Since he was driving, he couldn
’t give me his full man glare attention.
Kissa.
“Don’t Kissa me. She is evil and doesn’t deserve pity.”
She doesn
’t know any better.
“You
’re taking her side?” I fumed. I was so angry. “Stop the car.”
Kissa.
“STOP THE DAMN CAR!” I snarled in his ear.
Compassion was not my goal at the moment.
Szar found his opportunity to chime in. “Who are we speaking of in this one sided conversational love spat?”
I popped him in the face with my fist as hard as I dared. Anger issues weren
’t uncommon in goddess destined Valkyries. Or so I’ve heard.
“Ow
, sis. Easy on the face. Girls like it too much.”
I jumped out of the car with it still rolling. Seeing that we were in a deserted field with only a sparse amount of trees, I ran for one and fell against it rather than beat it up like the guys would. I wanted to just scream or...or...hit a punching bag, but not a tree where my hand would be all bloody.
They were beside me conversing about the famous Nara and her evil ways. Turns out, Szar was very aware of who she was.
“Stace,” my brother bent down, “she means nothing to him. You don
’t have to worry.”
“Not the point
, Szar. He defends her.”
Szar bent an eyebrow and matching
head shake up to Cas to yell, “Dude. Keep your thoughts to yourself.”
I growled and kicked him making him fall on his butt.
“Ow. Sis. Can you please save the ass kicking for the bad guys? I would like to arrive uninjured before I come home in band-aids from you.”
“
I don’t mean to stand up for her or anything. Just—
“Justifying her existence. She was trying to bite me for goodness sake.” I turned back to Cas.
Cas actually rolled his eyes at me and scoffed his feet on the patchy dirt like a male pride hurt gesture. “She never had a chance and she was stuck with me. And...” he trailed off.
“And?” I did look up now to his face to study it
’s hidden meanings. His emotions were haywire and his face was even harder to read.
“I never wanted her and she tried more than once to try to hurt you. I was forced to have her chained up on more than one occasion.”
I don’t know why, but I looked at Szar.
“Don
’t look at me. He’s telling the truth and I only helped with the time and places. I was with him on everything but the sympathy card. The first time she tried to kill my sister, she was a zero in my book.”
My eyes zapped back to Cas. “So why all the caring about her.”
“I don’t care about her Anastacia. I feel sorry for her. She was turned just like me. She had no choice.”
My breathing stopped. “You-don
’t-want to be who you are?” I was choking on every word to get the question out.
Cas flew off his feet and closed the field length distance between us. Sliding down nearly on top of me, he buried his face in my hair. “I only want you. I did what I had to...to have you.”
A freight train just ran over my heart. I didn’t know what to say.
I love who I am because it was meant to keep and have you safe and in my arms. You
’re the only thing that can take that away. It’s your choice. It will always be your choice Anastacia.
My name was used way too many times in the conversation. I had my choice and it was
him. There were bigger issues here than jealousy so I needed to get back off my high horse and move on.
“Fine. But just so you know. I.Don
’t.Like.Her.”
“Join the club.” Szar snickered listening in an uninvited conversation, but we didn
’t exactly make it private for him.
I kissed the side of Cas mouth where it was pressed against my face to offer some peace to my stupidity. I was right in my brain.
Szar curved the subject back around for me when we convened in the car. Cord had parked and never joined us. He waited listening to his music full blast and only nodded when we drove off and he followed.
“Maybe the wreck was a diversion to keep us away,” Szar suggested.
I’d thought of that the second it was shared that Borgon was raiding the Were’s.
Cord saluted m
e specifically as I passed the Hummer. A supped-up four wheel drive Ford F150 black as his obsidian eyes made cars move aside to avoid its hemi echo and to avoid brushing even the smallest amount of diesel air their direction. Tinted black, trimmed in silver, blaring something alternative rock and loud. He passed us twice as Cas revved the engine super strong and passed him back. Even in great peril, boys will be boys with their toys.
The physics lesson continued and I wondered if one of their engines might just drop to the ground from exhaustion.
After the second “race” was tapered back off I commented on Szar’s lead in. “I worry that he never intended to hurt me in the wreck, just rattle me.”
“Right on, sis. He was going to take you though. Probably use you with the
Were’s to dangle you in front of Cord. Nara is where it gets confusing.”
I ignored the V
ampire witch implications for now. “He doesn’t know what we can do I hope. I know we say it might be good for them to know our power, but I still worry that knowledge in the case of evil villain’s prove only as a dangling gem over the fire. Borgon won’t hesitate to try and cut us off from each other.”
“All the more reason for the five of us to stay together.”
Harrumph!
“I
’m not spending my days with four sweaty men waiting for doom. I need more than that.” Not to mention the whole Valkyrie spell I pulled more often than I realized. I at least knew
how
I was causing it to make it stop.
“What
, sis. I thought all girls dream of things like that. You’re one lucky girl.”
“Turn the tables around and make it four chicks and a guy and see if he complains,” Calum offered up.
“No thank you for that either. Four girls would cat fight it out after ten minutes of any practice or real battle. The guy would die of a heart attack before—
“
No, dude. He’d die of a heart attack from the amount of—
“All right. Enough! Both of you.” Cas stopped them both packing a large amount of emotions that should probably remain unsaid to my tender ears. I just ignored it anyway.
Changing the subject to something less R rated, I mentioned the cars. I had to be motherly just a bit and remind all of them to take care of their super supped up vehicles. We’d already wrecked one. After telling the guys in the car with me, I told Cord the same. Cord texted back with...
SWT RDE HUH?
I laughed so loud the boys thought I’d lost my mind. Cas said the exact same words, only verbal and with inserted vowels.
Parked in the folds of darkness surrounded by woods and checking ammo, Cord stepped up to me and whispered, “What was the stop about? I saw you were angry.”
Unbeknownst to me or Cord, Szar had inserted himself directly beside the tree that would hide him until needed.
“Does the name Nara ring a bell?” Szar sang unfolding around the tree beside Cord
’s truck.
“Ahhh!” Cord looked at me and for once didn
’t smile. “Don’t worry your pretty little head over that Vix. She was never meant to be.” He winked at me and moved over to the front of the cars where Calum the unusually quiet warrior stood.
“So you stabbed a Vampire with a stick, huh? How did you manage to not find your famous knife babies included in the scuffle?” Szar was such a butt sometimes.
The first clue that something wasn’t right was the all too quiet walk from the road to the hidden camp. The lack and smell or noise made us all a little on edge as Cord lead us into a clearing that split four corners with small cabin-like buildings that looked very abandoned. Calum was still just as quiet and it unnerved me. Cord had the wolf sensory meter going on, but Calum was the Hunter. And right then, he looked like he was already aware of what he was hunting.
Everyone stayed on guard regardless as we were all in favor of not being invited to the last to know party. Gathering in a group with eyes peeled, we conveyed what each other was thinking.
“Think we were duped?” Szar asked careful to keep it low.
“Either falsely told or intentional, no one is here. And if there is one thing I hate about fishing, it
’s being the bait," Cord shared the obvious handing a pair of jeans to Cas. Talk about something out of place! I sure didn't ask for fear of the answer. “Anyone think it would have been a better plan to surprise them and not walk right into their hands?”
If Lee set this up, I would kill him. Maybe not literally, but I would give him hell to pay. I wasn
’t so sure that the others would leave him alive. Their attachment didn’t reach as deep as mine.
“I will see to Lee. We should—
The surprise attack by the well armed Werewolves clad in the finer armor was a shock to say the least. I was taken aback from them being in animal form that my initial reaction was to hesitate. Cord flew into this giant animal before my eyes bringing me up short a second time in a matter of seconds. His clothes disappeared one second and fur the next. I’d like to say I didn’t see
anything
, but I did.
I
so
did.
And I
’d like to say I am very glad I am not a Were. That could be so embarrassing.
My body sticky from the crowding furry blanket man all over every body part I owned, I screamed for Cas from the claustrophobia of it. He was at my side tearing me from the furry Cord and holding me from any harm between the two. Cord walked away and I was aware of what state Cassius Cross, the Vampire Lord, was in. I felt kind of like a helpless girl and damsel in distress was sadly becoming my calling card that I so desperately fought.
I gathered enough to see that the unchanged Weres were crowding around and beginning to calm. However, just when it appeared that the good guys realized that the other set were also the good guys the newest good guys hunkered down into crouched positions and you said it, changed like my new best friend Cord.
A Vampire, whom was not part of my boy band membered crew, stood facing the red not yet furred-out Were whom I did not know but knew he was a Were.
“A follower?” the red-haired Were indicated to Cas. He had a lilt. An Irish one.
“Not at the time, Angus.”
I tilted my head to Cas. He knew this guy.
Cord growled at the Vamp and a different Were in wolf form standing beside him. I was beginning to recognize the pitch to Cord's particular territorial claims.
Cas took two steps back pushing me away.
And they attacked.