Renegade (The Captive Series Book 2) (27 page)

It was not her father that exploded
with those two words, but Max. Aria hadn’t realized he was just
outside the doorway behind her father, Daniel, and William. He
shoved his way forward now, pushing roughly past them as he
shouldered his way into the room. Aria’s eyes widened in surprise,
she had never seen him look so wild, so crazed, and so completely
out of control. His blue eyes were wild in his head, his hair in
disarray. Braith stiffened, pushing her back as Max charged at
them.

Jack leapt forward, snagging hold of
Max’s arm as Braith released a snarl that caused even her heart to
leap in terror. Max swung on Jack, catching him hard beneath his
chin and knocking him back a small step. Jack was far stronger than
Max, but he had not expected the punch as he was knocked off
balance by it. Not only had he not expected the first punch, but he
sure as hell hadn’t expected the one two combination that Max laid
on him next.

Daniel and William were lunging at Max,
but he had already shaken off Jack and was charging back at them.
“You’re lying!” he accused, his shoulders stiff as he barreled
toward them. “He’s twisted you! You’re lying!”

Daniel, William, and Jack continued
after him, but they were never going to stop him in time. Neither
was Ashby as he pulled Melinda swiftly out of the way before
lunging forward to make a failed grab at Max. Braith released her,
pushing her behind him as he used his body to block her from Max’s
attack. Terror hammered through Aria, this could not happen, she
could not allow this to happen. Max was out of his mind; he had
been tortured and used as a blood slave, he had been twisted and
wounded in ways that she could never begin to imagine. Max did not
understand her love for Braith because he was convinced that Braith
had done the same things to her.

“Wait! Stop!” she gasped in
horror.

Braith tried to push her farther back
but she ducked, dodging his arm as he tried to snag hold of her.
She thrust herself forward, throwing herself in between Max and
Braith. Unfortunately she hadn’t seen what it was that Max wielded
in his hand until it was too late. His arm was already flung
forward, the metal blade whipped through the air even as she rose
to her full height.

Braith’s hand shot out in front of her.
The blade slammed into his palm, driving through flesh and bone
before bursting out the other side. Aria stared at it in horror. It
was only a mere inch from the center of her forehead, exactly where
Braith’s heart was behind her. Though the metal blade would not
have killed Braith, it would have wounded him and knocked him back
enough for Max to get to him, for Max to try and use the wooden
stake he now wielded.

Aria’s heart lumbered painfully in her
chest. She stared at the awful weapon, the one that would have
killed her; the one that was still embedded in Braith’s hand. It
had to hurt, but he showed no sign of that as he reached around
her, grabbed hold of the blade and ripped it swiftly out. It sliced
through; the scrape of metal on bone was loud in the room that had
become deathly silent.

Blood trailed down Braith’s hand,
plopping loudly onto the wooden floor. Aria swallowed heavily,
terrified at what was to come, terrified of what Braith’s reaction
would be. She could feel the fury radiating from him; feel the
deadly tension that vibrated from him. He was so wound up that she
didn’t think she’d be able to stop him from killing Max. No one
moved, no one even breathed.

Even Max, horrified by the fact that he
had nearly killed her, seemed to have regained some control over
himself. Braith, not surprisingly, was the first to react. He
fisted his hand, twisting it before him. Aria was horrified by the
blood that spilled freely from the large wound. She reached for
him, but he seized hold of her hand, his touch surprisingly gentle
for the pain he had to be suffering.

“Braith.”

Aria could hear the nervous tension and
worry in Jack’s voice. She understood it completely, though she
could not see Braith’s face, she could feel the murderous intent
thrumming through him. Max took a small step back; Aria knew that
what he was seeing had to be terrifying. Though he was large,
temperamental, and fierce, Braith had always been relatively gentle
and kind with her. She knew that was not who he was though. It was
who he was with her, but with others, and to others, he could be
cruel, brutal, and lethal.

It was the lethal part that she was
most frightened of right now.

Aria turned, she needed to see him,
needed to know what he was thinking. His eyes were fierce on Max, a
violent shade of red that caused Aria’s knees to tremble. His fangs
had extended, but they did not drop over his bottom lip. Instead,
they were clamped behind his full mouth. His jaw was clenched
tight, a muscle jumped high in his cheek.

He was terrifying, and deadly. “Braith,
please,” she whispered tremulously. His eyes flickered to her, but
there was no softening in his features. “He didn’t know what he was
doing.”

“He could have killed you,” Braith
grated.

“I wasn’t going for her,” Max
retorted.

“Max, shut up!” Jack
snarled.

“Well I wasn’t.”

Jack lunged forward; he seized hold of
Max’s arm, ripping him swiftly back. “You are an idiot.”

“Let go of me!” Max snapped. “I’m going
to kill him!”

Jack was struggling to get Max under
control, Braith was a tightly wound bowstring behind her. Aria’s
head was spinning, the confusion in the room was mind numbing. Her
father was grasping for Max, terror and anger etched into the lines
of his face. “That’s enough Maxwell!” her father commanded
sharply.

But even her father, a man that had
helped to raise Max, a man that Max highly respected and listened
too, could not pierce the fury that surrounded him. He continued to
struggle, his face florid with anger; a vein throbbed in his
forehead. “He’s corrupted her! He’s made her a traitor, a disgrace
to her own people, and he needs to die for his
perversity!”

Aria recoiled from his words, feeling
as if she had been slapped, feeling as if she was the one that had
been stabbed. Pain sliced deeply through her. For the first time
she realized that Max would never forgive her for this. She had
lost him forever. “You bitch!”

Aria gasped, but it was not Max’s words
that caused her reaction, but the sudden explosion of motion from
behind her. She barely saw Braith, and she most certainly did not
hear him, as he sped across the room. Jack didn’t have time to
react, her father had one hand on Max’s arm, but he was not strong
enough to stop Braith from ripping Max swiftly away. Jack lunged
gracefully forward, but it was too late. Braith was already
spinning Max away from the others; he slammed Max against the wall
with enough force that the entire room shook and the wall
splintered.

Melinda gasped; her hand flew to her
mouth. Ashby swept swiftly past her as Braith pulled back and
slammed Max against the wall again. Ashby and Jack grasped hold of
Braith’s shoulders, but Aria knew they were nothing more than
annoying gnats against him. “I don’t care what the hell was done to
you!” Braith roared his face twisted in a mask of fury the likes of
which Aria had never seen before. “You hurt her, you talk to her,
you so much as look at her again and I’ll rip your freaking throat
out! You’ll be dead before you even knew what happened, do you
understand me you little shit!?”

His hand tightened on Max’s throat, he
lifted him off the ground and smashed him against the wall again.
Aria was afraid the building was going to collapse as it rocked on
the stilt foundations. Max’s eyes bulged, his fingers clawed at
Braith’s hand as his feet began to kick against the wall. “Braith!”
Jack hissed, pulling uselessly at Braith’s arm. “Let go! Damn it
Braith, let go!”

Aria’s stunned stupor vanished. If she
didn’t do something, Braith was going to kill Max now. “Arianna!”
Melinda cried as Aria ran toward Braith.

“Stop! Don’t Braith! Please let him
go!” She shoved her way past Ashby. Grabbing hold of Braith’s arm,
the one pinning Max to the wall, she gave a hard tug on it. It was
like trying to bend iron; he hardly even noticed that she was
there. “Braith!” she hissed.

Bracing her legs on the wall, she
pulled hard on his rock hard arm. “He’s my friend!” she cried in
frustration and terror. “Stop it, don’t hurt him!”

Braith released Max so suddenly that
Aria accidently shoved herself off the wall. She flew backward,
losing her grasp on his arm as she tumbled backward. Braith spun
suddenly, his arms swooping around her, catching her before she
could hit the floor. Max dropped like a weight, hitting the ground
with a loud thump.

Aria gazed up at Braith in stunned
disbelief. He had been so quick, so fast in catching her, and so
gentle as he cradled her with a tenderness that robbed her of her
breath. The red faded from his eyes, his fangs swiftly retreated as
he looked lovingly upon her. He ignored the rest of them as he
turned away, striding with her across the room. The vampire girl
was watching them in surprise, but there was a keen interest in her
gaze that slightly unnerved Aria.

She peeped around Braith’s massive
shoulder. Jack and Ashby were helping Max to his feet, he was
rubbing his throat; the imprint of Braith’s hand was clearly
visible upon it. “I would stay quiet if you want to live!” Jack
hissed at him when Max opened his mouth to say something more. “She
won’t be able to stop him again.”

Aria ducked back away, she looked up at
Braith. She had never been afraid of him, hell she had even slapped
him once, but she was truly terrified for anyone that he felt was a
threat to her. For the first time she realized the true depth of
his desire to protect her. He had let Max go this time, but he
would not do it again. Melinda studied them, her eyes wide, her
gaze disbelieving as she turned slowly toward Braith, and then
Ashby.

Aria saw the silent communication that
passed between them, the intensity of their stares, and their
worry. “Put me down Braith,” she said softly.

He slipped her easily from his arms,
balancing her lightly upon her feet. “Are you ok?” he inquired
softly, pushing her hair gently back from her face as he studied
her intently.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she assured him
hastily. She grasped hold of his wounded hand, pulling it before
her. He kept it fisted, but at her gentle prodding he slowly
unfolded it. She gaped at him in wonder, her mouth dropping as she
fumbled rapidly with his hand. Blood still marred his skin, but
there was no wound there. Not anymore. She stared in awe, unable to
believe that what she was seeing was real. It was there, she knew a
wound had been there but there wasn’t even one scratch upon his
flesh anymore. His hand curled around hers, he pulled her close for
a brisk, firm kiss on her forehead.

“It’s ok Arianna, I hardly felt a
thing.”

She gazed up at him, her mouth parted,
stunned by the rate in which the wound had vanished. She knew that
vampires were able to heal rapidly, but this was something not only
stunning and amazing, but also slightly unnerving. She couldn’t
stop the shiver of fear that ran down her spine.
“Braith?”

He kissed her again, his fingers
lingering on the back of her neck. “I’m good.”

She squeezed his hand tightly, wishing
that they could go somewhere, wishing that they could be alone for
just a few moments to recoup. Unfortunately, that was not possible
right now. He turned away from her, and though he did not try and
block her from everyone again, he kept his hand on the wall by her
head, and his other hand lightly on her waist. She was well aware
of the fact that he had kept himself in a better position to stop
her if she tried to jump forward again.

She wanted to chafe against the
invisible restraints he had placed on her, wanted to chafe against
his protective urges (she could take care of herself after all),
but she knew that it would only irritate him more. Braith had to
think that he was in control right now, even if he wasn’t. Max was
still in the grip of Ashby and Jack, but he wasn’t trying to fight
them anymore. He was simply staring at her and Braith as if they
had just sprouted two heads, jumped on a table, and started dancing
a jig while singing at the top of their lungs. Aria understood his
reaction, if it had been anyone else from their camp, she would
have felt the same way. But it wasn’t anyone else, it was her, and
she knew that what she felt for Braith was real, it was genuine,
and it was so good and pure that it made them both stronger and
better.

“It appears that we have a lot to
discuss.”

Aria looked across the room, trying
hard to keep up the appearance of strength and courage, but her
father was staring at her in a way that made her feel like a child
all over again. She wanted to go to him, she wanted to hug him, she
wanted to be his little girl for just one more minute, but she knew
she could never be his little girl again. She wanted to apologize,
wanted to tell her father that she had never wanted any of this,
but she couldn’t. It was true that the last thing she had wanted
was to fall in love with a vampire, but she wouldn’t change any of
it. Not one damn thing about what had happened between her and
Braith.