Lure (13 page)

“Aren’t you happy?” she rushed out. “Hunter, look at me. I thought you said you liked my protection. You said…” Her head lowered and a small trace of anger surfaced on her face as she looked up. “I said I’d take care of you. You’re going to be my slave. I wanted to...”

A look of disgust crossed his face and he continually shook his head. It left me puzzled as to what was going on between them. Something was off. Not right. Especially with their tie. Or, ties. Had they made their second mark yet?

The bass died off as another song began to play. I crossed my arms over my chest, watching the two of them. Tessa was becoming more upset, where Hunter was getting angrier by the second. I walked forward, focusing on Tessa. “I’m only going to say this once. Go above ground again and you’ll force me to put you in lockdown. Now, tell me how you got past the guards? I have one at every exit. Did you kill one of them, too?”

“I might have,” she said, quietly.

It only caused Hunter’s jaw to clench, repeatedly.

“This is your warning,” I continued. “Hunter will have to fend for himself if you get put away. He’s forbidden to ever return to the top, so you’ll be left to worry about whether he dies without your protection. We both know he’ll try to escape and when he does, they’ll kill him. They’re ready, Tessa. Waiting for him to become accessible. They want their chance to taste his blood and they’ll take it at the first opportunity. Do you want his death on your hands?”

I held still as Tessa’s face grew serious. But Hunter’s reaction worried me worse. His eyes scanned the area like a caged animal, only to lower while he moved deeper into his thoughts.

“No, I don’t want that. I just want him to love me. He doesn’t love me and it’s making me mad. He won’t even let me get near him half the time. He…” Her eyes went back to him and I couldn’t stop myself from blinking past the shock. Something was definitely wrong. She sounded like me.

“Have you completed the second tie?”

Her head shook as she tried to reach for him again. Hunter stepped away from her quickly, turning to me. “I’m not ready for the second tie.”

“No?” I moved in as close as I could to him, inhaling deeply. It didn’t make sense. He should be going as crazy as I was to have her. Yet, he clearly didn’t want to be around her. Not now, and from what Tessa said, clearly not before.

“Why would you wait this long? I thought this is what you both wanted? You were going to start your future. That’s what you said,” I said, getting louder with anger.

Silence had me raising my hand, questioningly. Hunter glanced at Tessa and couldn’t disguise his negative reaction to her presence. 

“Hunter. Answer me.”

Narrowed blue eyes shot to me. “I’m just not ready, okay? I need time.”

Again, he got quiet.

“Hunter, we’re talking vampire bonds here. As your leader, I’m telling you to explain.”

“Goddammit! I don’t give a shit about talking bonds with you. My uncle, a priest, is dead! His head is in that fucking bag. Killed by the woman I...” He paused. “Who am I kidding? She hasn’t been Tessa since you first forced your blood on her. She’s…evil. Cruel. You all are. There may be moments, like right now, where she’s trying to be…something good for me, but she’s not! For once, I want to wake up without her hovering over me to rip my throat out. She does that, you know.” He pulled the necklace out of his shirt. “If I didn’t have the rosary on, she’d kill me. All I wanted was to be with her. Happy, like I’d always dreamed of. But this isn’t the way. This…
her
,” he said, gesturing angrily, “she’s a…she’s…”

The honesty left me speechless. Relieved, but shocked, nonetheless. Where I should have felt sorry for him, all I experienced was the greed I harbored to have her myself. It lasted until I took in the tears rolling down Tessa’s face. As much as I wanted to bask in the moment, I had bigger responsibilities, ones my position made me aware of.

I pulled a pack of cigarettes from my jacket pocket, lighting one up. The inhale was deep, casting white smoke into the air at my equally forceful exhale. I took another drag, contemplating what to do about the situation. I needed to talk more with Hunter. It was too late for him to leave here. He knew too much. He’d have to stay. But what the hell was I going to do with him? He’d fight it out and try to escape. If I had him killed…Tessa would hate me forever. The longer she stared at him, the more hurt she was appearing. But it wouldn’t last. That pain would turn to anger. I knew that for a fact. When it did, things wouldn’t be good for him.

“We three need to talk.”

“Start talking then,” Hunter snapped. “It’s not like I have anything else better to do down here. I could probably go to bed, but I’m sick of passing time that way. It’s a nightmare either place.”

“You’re upset because you’re grieving,” I said calmly. “You need to try to look past that while we figure out what is going on right now.”

Tessa walked closer to me. “Let’s take this back to the room. I need the quietness. I’m getting...not good. My head.” Her hand lifted as she blinked heavily. I knew she was at risk of fading out again and the more upset she became, the bigger the possibility was.

I dropped the cigarette to the floor, grinding my foot against it as I followed her and Hunter through the large room. We all stayed quiet until we were sweeping past her door and she was shutting it behind us. Hunter immediately turned his back to us. I stepped closer to Tessa as she wrung her hands and seemed to catch herself on what she wanted to say.

“What’s wrong, ma minette? Something besides your bonding is bothering you. I can feel it.” I kept my voice down, allowing Hunter to try to relax. Tessa opened her mouth, only to shut it. Finally, she sighed.

“I keep hearing a name in my head. It repeats and I feel its presence coming closer.”

“A name?”

“I don’t want to say it.”

“It’s Sayer,” Hunter bit out. “She asked about him earlier. She still doesn’t remember who he is.”

Dread settled in my chest and I didn’t want to think about him. He was getting closer. As her maker, she’d feel that.

“He’s the one who turned you, Tessa. But you have no reason to be afraid. I won’t let him hurt you. I promise.”

“You can’t promise her that,” Hunter said, spinning around. “You can’t promise that! You don’t know what he’s capable of. He could very well take us to Dallas with him. He’ll rape us all over again. Every day, until he decides to finally put us out of our fucking miseries.”

“Rape?” Tessa’s eyes flared and black began to vine through the green.

“He won’t hurt you,” I said, turning her to make eye contact with me. “Marie can see the future. Your future is here. Margo won’t remove you. You’ll stay here, Tessa. You’ll be safe.”

Her head shook. “I don’t think so.”

“I promise you. Both of you will stay here. I won’t let Sayer take you. You have my word.”

Hunter kept his head down as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Unless he kills you first. Then we’ll be doomed. We’re doomed being here anyway.”

“Enough,” I growled. “Sayer isn’t going to kill me. Now, enough with this. Let’s talk about the bond. You both have one tie. Correct?”

“Yes,” Tessa answered.

“Is there anything besides Hunter’s…
lack of feelings
that stand out to either of you? Anything maybe you’ve overlooked, by chance?”

“If we overlooked it, how do we know?” The rage Hunter projected had me getting defensive. He was walking a very thin line and I didn’t have the patience to deal with it right now.

“I…saw something. Of us,” she said to me in a soft voice. “I see lots of things with us lately.”

“You do?”

She swallowed hard, glancing at Hunter, but returning to me. “Yes. We were together. All the time. Things were...not always good.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. I was going through times much like you are now.”

“I know.” Tessa licked her lips and stepped closer. “What I saw. It goes together with what I’ve noticed.”

I couldn’t stop my brow from furrowing at her words. She was somewhat lucid now, but I could see the darkness laced within her eyes. She wouldn’t be thinking clearheaded for long.

“Hunter wears his rosary all the time.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed. What are you trying to get at, ma minette?”

Tessa licked her lips and I could see her searching through her thoughts. “It’s kind of blurry. Very hard for me to see things clearly. Why can he when I couldn’t? I remember a church. And my hand…it was burning when I held Hunter’s dagger.”

My stare shot up as it hit me. She was right. The only time Tessa had been able to hold the rosary was when she didn’t believe. But I knew Hunter believed in God very much. The relic put off power. Power that went against vampires. Yet, it wasn’t burning him or making him sick. And he still had the dagger at his waist.

“I don’t know,” I whispered, walking closer to the bed and the human. “Maybe…” my stare went to the floor as my mind raced. Why could he? It was as if they weren’t bonded at all, yet I knew the tie had completed. They’d both gone through pain. I saw it. But Hunter wasn’t obsessed like me, either. What was happening between them? I could smell her in him stronger than ever. Her blood remained, but…

“Hunter, can I taste you?” I walked to the edge of the bed as his eyes cut up angrily. “I won’t bite you. Just a small cut. I want to see something.”

“No.”

“It’ll only take a moment.”

“I said no.”

He turned his glare on Tessa and I knew he was upset that she’d told me.

“Hunter, please.” Tessa went to the other side and he looked back between us. It was the same expression he wore before. The caged animal. And maybe he was.

Chapter 18

Hunter

With Marko on one side of me and Tessa on the other, I quickly withdrew my dagger, flying off the bed. There was no way I was going to let them come near me if it meant they were after my blood. Tessa, I hadn’t mind feeding via my arm, but there was no way I was letting Marko have a taste. Then he’d have power over me. I was done with having anything to do with these monsters. The last thing I wanted was for him to control me, too. 

“Aren’t you at all concerned why you’re not more infatuated with your future Mistress? You were so ready to love her, but you don’t. Not like you should. I want to see the reason.”

Closer, Marko came, and I raised the dagger even higher. “She killed my uncle. I have every reason to be upset. Now, get back. It’s not going to happen. If Tessa needs to be fed, I’m okay with that, but never you.”

Marko’s jaw tightened and he brought his hand to his head, closing his eyes. When they reopened, the black color was back.

“I don’t want to have to read her thoughts to experience you. It’s not the same. I have to taste you myself.”

“Why does it matter?” I scooted more to the side of the room as Tessa came around.

“It’s not right,” he stressed. “Something is going on with one of my vampire’s blood and I’m the leader. I have to get to the root of the problem. That means, I
have
to taste you. You’re a part of our world now, Hunter. Like it or not, I rule this place. You obey me, and I say get the
fuck
over here.” The last was so deep, it made the hair on my arms stand up. The constant fear and uneasiness was getting to me, making me even more unstable. “You can come willingly,” he threatened, “or I will take it from you. Your choice.”

“Try and I’ll kill you.”

“Stop it, both of you.” Tessa eased forward and I angled my head at her as a warning not to get closer. I still loved her, but I far from trusted her. When she stopped, she was next to Marko. “Hunter, please. We’re asking nicely. You have to comply.”

“I don’t
have
to do anything I don’t want to.”

“That’s it.” Marko started forward when Tessa grabbed his arm, but he didn’t stop. He jerked out of her grasp, keeping his eye on the dagger. I held it out, breathing through the fear caused by his vampire. Warnings were shooting through me at the rate of a freight train and my legs felt weak and shaky. As he approached, I thrust it forward, right for his chest. He easily dodged the strike, rearing back and catching me across the cheek with the back of his hand. My head shot to the side at the force, but it didn’t stop me from slicing lower, just at Marko’s stomach area. Fabric tore and he moved back even faster. The next blow he threw at me caught my lips and I felt my teeth tear into the skin on the inside. The blood washing over my tongue sent my rage to massive heights. Back and forth, I swung the knife, going faster with my lunges and thrusts. Marko remained just a step ahead of me, but I’d already forced him across half of the room and he was running out of space. As long as we stayed like this, I stood a chance. What I feared were his mental powers. Luckily, he wasn’t using them.

  “Where you gonna go?” I asked, swinging my arm at him again. An evil smile was etched on his face and just as my hand went to rise again, he blurred around me, disappearing so fast, I didn’t have the time to turn around. A growl sounded just behind my right ear and I felt the rosary ripped free and his fangs bite into my neck brutally. A spasm locked my body from the pain and I felt the dagger fall free. It all happened so fast. Before I could process it, he was gone, clear across to the other side of the room, back by Tessa. The satisfaction on her face tipped the scales on my sanity.

“You fucking bastard.” I spun, advancing on him again. The invisible wall that came up easily held me at bay. I slammed my hand against it and turned, contemplating escape, when I ran right into another. Fuck, I was trapped. Completely fucking trapped. And not necessarily in the bubble he had me in. I was trapped in my mind…trapped here. Forever. Escaping would be impossible. I knew this in my heart and although it killed me, there was a certain numbness associated with it. This place would be the death of me. And even if I did luck out and make it above ground…I’d failed in my duty to Tessa. I killed her the same day she admitted her love for me. It was too much.

Marko’s head lowered and he looked at the floor. Tessa hugged her arms over her stomach as she stared at him quietly. Minutes passed before he came back to look at me. Those minutes darkened with every second.
I darkened.

“The two of you aren’t tied. You hold Tessa’s blood, but no form of a bond is there. With me and Sayer inside her…I’m not sure there ever will be. I think our strength is preventing your ties from happening.”

Tessa’s lips parted and pain washed over her face. Emotions collided within me and I wasn’t sure whether to be upset or relieved.

“I don’t understand it,” Marko continued. “How you can hold her blood but there be no attachment to the fact…I don’t know. And it’s weaker than I imagined. You smell so strongly of her, but only because of how powerful she is. Her essence in you is fading. In time, maybe a few weeks, it might very well be gone completely. That is, if she doesn’t give you anymore.”

“He can’t be my slave?” A sob had her lips remaining separated and the bottom one quivered as her eyes filled with tears. “But I feel for him. There has to be a tie. I…love him.”

Marko brought up Tessa’s arm and made a small incision before moving it to his mouth. As he tasted her, I didn’t miss his grip tightening on her forearm. He licked over the wound and rose.

“I’m sorry, ma minette. There’s nothing tying you to Hunter. What you feel is the vampire within you. It’s the reason you killed for him tonight. The evil is forcing you to prove yourself in ways humans wouldn’t do. The way they don’t understand,” he said, lower. “I’m sorry, Tessa.”

“Sorry?” she spat. “You’re not sorry. You’re probably happy I’m only tied with you. You didn’t want Hunter and me together. And now I can’t have him as my slave! You…”

Black was entirely taking over her eyes and the poisonous fog she harbored began spinning around her feet, rolling out across the floor as it slinked over the surfaces. I stepped back into the invisible wall, but Marko didn’t move. His arm lunged for her throat and he brought the other behind her head, keeping her immobile as his eyes locked with hers in a black death-glare. He looked ready to kill her, but somehow, I knew he wouldn’t. 

“You stand against your leader? You think you can step up to me?”

The moment his stare broke from hers, Tessa came alive, letting her claws come out and slice toward him. Marko caught her wrist, spinning her around and pinning her against his legs as he sat down. Her dress was jerked up and I felt sick as his hand came down hard, right over her ass. Once. Twice.

Whack!

The third time had a scream coming from her mouth and she thrashed even more as the fourth and fifth connected. Sobs quickly replaced the high-pitched squeal and he spun her over to sit on his lap. Green shown vibrantly in her eyes and I shook my head at him bringing her back so fast. It hurt…it broke my heart. He was the one for her. It was so clear.

“Look at me.” His fingers gripped her chin, turning her to face him. She dove into his chest, hugging him tightly before she tried to break free again. The action had him hesitating for seconds before he continued. “You pull that shit again, next time, it’ll be worse. Let’s get things straight right now. If I was so against Hunter being your slave, would I allow him to stay here in this room with you? Would I have even let him live? I was going to let you keep him and you be my concubine. No, I wouldn’t have let the two of you fuck, but that’s because you’re mine. I can’t willingly allow that, Tessa. I’m sorry, I just can’t. It’s not in me to share you that way. I wish it were. I wish I could give you everything you needed to be happy, but I…can’t. I love you. I won’t spend every day of my life ready to massacre some human because you need more than his heart.” He sat her on the bed and stood, throwing me a glance and dropping the invisible wall as he headed to the door.

Small cries still came from Tessa and I saw her angst as her hand reached for him. She truly did love Marko, whether she wanted to admit it or not. I’d seen it the night I shot her with the stake and even now in her vampire form. Not to mention, the passion that had come when she’d fucked him. I saw everything first hand. Watched as they held to each other like nothing else mattered. It brought me more into my dark thoughts as he stalked out and slammed the door behind him.

And he loved her.
The grasp of what they
could
share left me sick. He could control her more than I ever could. I couldn’t feed her like Marko. I couldn’t even wrestle her down and stop her from killing me or someone else.
Someone like my uncle
. What was I here for aside from leading her on to something neither of us could ever have? I couldn’t love her like I wanted. That was gone. Over the months of seeing her murder and connive, I didn’t know who she was anymore. Even the small glimpses where I assumed it was my Tessa didn’t do it for me. Mine was gone. Dead for real. Yes, I was a killer just as much as they were. This was all my fault and now I had nothing. No one but this monster before me. And she was. One of
my
creation. God, I’d tried to convince myself it would all work out, but she was evil in every way. Murdering my uncle…and then telling the story of how she did it. Bragging, yet threating more death as she held up his head for them all to see. I hadn’t been proud that she’d tried to protect me that way. I’d been horrified that she felt nothing for humans—even someone who’d known her since she was a child. She had loved my uncle. And the devil in her killed him.

Cries brought me back to the room and I walked forward, picking up the dagger from the floor. I swallowed hard, knowing what I needed to do. God, it tore me to pieces, but there was no other way around it. I was done. Tessa made me give her my word and I wasn’t going to break it. She had to die, and I was going to be the one to do it. I’d kill us both and end this misery once and for all. There was no way I could go on living with the act I was about to commit. I’d killed enough people. Women. Children. My PTSD was bad enough. Between the rapes and dead bodies I’d witnessed on a daily basis from my nightmares, I was finished with the images that plagued my weary mind. I couldn’t face my parents or hers ever again if I did this, and it had to be done. She’d crossed too many lines. She was the one thing she didn’t want to become and it was up to me to put a stop to it.