He slowly turned his head as he smelled his Sharon's blood and heard the bag being hooked up to the machine. Holding his breath, he put all his effort into lifting his arm to reach for the tube, which would gift him with her divine taste. Oh, how he missed his precious Bride. They'd had such a short time together, but every moment was entrenched into his memory. He pressed the tube into his mouth and heard the machine come to life. His fangs throbbed as the thick liquid hit his tongue.
"Your Bride needs you. Now."
Nobles never spoke to any of the Vampires. Barret frowned in confusion, even as he continued to drink what had to be more than his usual ration. As his body began to come alive with a buzz, he drank faster, uncertain this Noble wouldn't change his mind and turn off the machine. He grew more curious as the man moved around the room and appeared to give each Vampire a full bag of blood. Four times their usual allocation. Once the man finished, he headed to the exit.
"Wait."
Damn his voice was hoarse. He hadn't used it for who knew how long. He'd stopped yelling out for Sharon soon after he'd been put down here. It did nothing but upset the other Vampires, who had enough to bear without him adding to their torment. The man came back to his cell.
"Yes?"
Barret licked his rapidly healing cracked lips before he spoke.
"Why are you helping? What has happened to my Sharon?"
"I am a Noble by birth, not choice. I swear to you, I never knew what they did to your brides. Now I do, and I refuse to stand idly by while they are abused and raped. You need to stop it and rescue them as soon as possible. The brides are with their guardians, who have permission to do whatever they wish, so long as they don't have actual intercourse. Then, at midnight, they'll be forced to be with the Elder Nobles."
So, the added power wasn't only from the extra blood but from it being the eve of his Bride's fertile day. A deep growl left his throat at the thought of another touching what was his. He welcomed the ache in his bones, the pull of his muscles as they regenerated. As his strength returned, he moved to sit on the cot he'd spent, however many years he'd been here, on. The air current in the room against his back felt so good.
"Can you get out on your own? If I trigger the release, they will know and you'll all be drugged before you can leave the dungeon."
"Give us five minutes, for the blood to soak into our systems. Then we'll break out just fine." Barret was grateful for this sole Noble with a conscience and bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you for your help."
Barret took several deep breaths as his body continued to heal and regenerate. Once his vision was clear and the aches in his body were only dull, he stood. Walking to the door, he looked around the large room, counting the cells with closed doors. Including himself, there were twenty. So many.
"Are you all ready? We need to work together to do this and save our Brides."
He got a chorus of variations of 'hell yeah' in response.
"Let's do this then. On the count of three. One, two, three."
The room exploded with noise as all twenty of them ripped the barred doors free and rushed from their cells. The others seemed happy to have him lead them, so Barret went for the main door and quickly snapped it free from its hinges. With a roar, a Vampire behind him flew past and into the security station where a couple of guards sat. Briefly shocked at the bloodshed, Barret stood frozen. He'd never seen such violence in his life.
"It is a necessity. Despite the general opinion of Vampires, I've never met one who liked killing and violence. And I lived for three hundred years before being caught. Just focus on your Bride and what she's going through right now."
Barret turned toward the older Vampire with deep Amethyst-colored irises and clamped a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you. You're right. We need to focus, to think of nothing but saving our Brides. What is your name?"
"Riley, yours?"
"Barret. Okay, let's keep going. Unfortunately we're going to have to rely on our instincts to find our Brides."
They headed into a maze of dimly lit passageways. Barret forced all other thoughts besides escape from his mind as he led the others. He came to a stairway topped with a large steel door that was securely bolted. The lock looked strange to him. He'd never seen anything like it. He turned to look at the Vampires. Choosing the one with the newest looking clothes, and the least facial hair he called him forward.
"Have you seen anything like this?"
"Sure have. Lucky for us I'm actually an expert in this stuff, been studying it for years. You all might want to stand back. These locks have an emergency escape system built in. If I can hack into it, I should be able to get the hinges and lock to blow. It's crazy how many people get these things installed without realizing most thieves have studied them and know how to get around them."
"We'll just give you some room then."
Barret moved down the stairs with the others, not wanting to get caught in any blast. How much had the outside world changed? How long had he been held? A huge bang brought his internal thoughts to a halt a few minutes later. He watched as the door disappeared and they heard it clatter to the ground. Again, the others allowed him to lead and he carefully stepped through into the room beyond. He looked around and froze as he saw a group of Vampires and women. Brides, maybe?
"Barret?"
A woman at the front of the group was gasping and staring at him. He frowned in confusion.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Darcy. Sharon's Darcy. We're here to rescue you all."
Was he asleep and dreaming? Was his Sharon's daughter standing before him, leading the charge to rescue them? Blocking out all the others, he moved forward in a rush. Tears blurred his vision but he didn't slow. He cupped her sweet face in his palms and stared into pools of Sapphire blue.
"My Sharon's Darcy? Her little girl?"
He held his breath as he waited for a response.
"Yes."
On pure instinct he pulled her into him, embracing her in a firm hug. A vicious sounding growl had his gaze flicking up. What he saw was a pissed off Vampire with eyes the exact same color as Darcy's. She was a Bride and her Vampire had found her. With his heart a little lighter at finding Darcy, he released her as the big Vampire spoke with a thick accent.
"We can do the reunion later. We must get moving."
~ * ~
Sharon had been in her 'happy place.' Detaching her mind from her body, she spent her time with Barret. Feeling him caress her face, kiss her lips with passion. It had taken her some time to master this technique but it was the best way for her to cope. Both Toki and Burke refused to allow her to close her eyes, so she stared up at the ceiling as she focused inward on what her imagination was doing. But for the last few minutes, it wasn't working like it normally did. Something was pulling her to remain alert and it was annoying her. She didn't want to feel Burke's mouth and hands on her, not for one second.
A blaring siren had the bastard jerking from her and rushing to the door. Her heart froze in her chest as he opened the way and the noise of fighting rushed into the sound-proofed room. Were they rescuers or here to inflict worse torture on her? Burke rushed back in with eyes wide as he cursed a blue streak. Slamming and bolting the door, he stood and watched through the small window at whatever was going on out there.
Sharon forced air into her lungs and tried to stay calm. Damn, but she wished she wasn't lying naked and tied down. Whoever was about to come through that door would have her at their mercy to do whatever they wanted. She closed her eyes and started to pray.
Please God, I've suffered enough. Please let this be a rescue party, not something worse. Please.
An ear-piercing screech had her lids opening in time to see the door being ripped from its hinges. Then, like an avenging angel, Barret appeared. He looked rough, with long matted hair and beard, his clothes barely hung together. From the scraps that were left she could tell he hadn't changed since his capture all those years ago. Suddenly overwhelmed with more emotions than she could count, she began to cry. Relief it was over, anguish for what Barret had suffered, and fear for what was waiting for them once they left here, just to name just a few.
She watched as Barret grabbed hold of Burke and shoved him from the room.
"Do not kill him. I want my Sharon to have that pleasure."
She heard other male voices agree with Barret. The captured brides should decide on the Guardians' fate but she didn't focus on that. She focused on Barret's deep voice. Hoarse from lack of use but still the best sound she'd ever heard. Holding her breath, she watched as he turned toward her. His face was a mask of fury as he roared out an agonized sound. Moments later he was by her side, ripping her bonds free. The second her hand was able to move, she cupped his face. His body stilled as he inhaled into her palm with a sigh. He fell to his knees beside her as she began to caress his face, reassuring herself he was real and this wasn't one of her dreams.
"Oh, Barret, my love. You came for me."
His eyes shut as tears leaked out.
"I've missed you so much, my Sharon."
She didn't resist as he reached for her and pulled her into his lap on the floor. They both had tears pouring down their cheeks. His lips were soft against hers, and his beard tickled her skin, especially as he moved to feather kisses over her face and jaw.
"I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner."
Her heart broke for her Vampire, such a strong male. To be kept helpless and unable to rescue her would have torn his insides to shreds. She stopped him talking by pressing a finger against his lips.
"I know what they did to you and the others. I know you had no choice. You're here now. That's all that matters."
Big, strong arms wrapped around her and she found herself pressed against him. She smelled the sweat and dirt on him but beneath that was his scent. All male, and all hers. Their time apart hadn't lessened her feelings for him, but increased them. The infatuation she'd felt for Barret all those years ago had grown into something much more now. She ran her fingers into his hair, close to the skin so she wouldn't get tangled and pull at his hair. She lightly scraped her nails over his scalp, just how she remembered him liking it. He shuddered against her and tears of relief flowed freely from her eyes. He was really here, his smell and reaction to her, confirmed beyond a doubt that she was not dreaming.
Thoughts of her friends and their Vampires had her pulling back from Barret.
"What about the others?"
"We are all free. A noble, Karl, gave us extra blood. He told me you were being hurt and he wanted to help stop it. Then after we were free, we found a group of Vampires that had saved the Unclaimed Brides. Darcy was with them. Your Darcy led the rescue."
Sharon felt her lips form a smile. Darcy had not only survived but had kept her word and returned for her.
"She came back."
"What do you mean 'back'?"
"She was captured. Then they took her one night and we never saw her again. I thought she must have died. Before she left, she told me she'd return for us if she escaped."
"True to her word, she did."
Sharon was so proud of her daughter, and couldn't wait to be reunited with her—for a second time.
"What happened to Karl? He was Darcy's Guardian, and he tried to stop Burke from touching me earlier."
"I'm not sure, I wasn't looking for him when I came in. Come, love, let's get out of here."
He flowed to his feet with her in his arms as if she weighed no more than a feather.
"Wait. Let me get dressed. My clothes are on the shelf over there."
Hesitantly he put her on the edge of the bed. He seemed to not want to leave her for even a second, and how sweet was that? Sharon felt the same way. She never wanted to be parted from her Vampire ever again. In moments he'd retrieved her clothes and returned to her side. He assisted her out of the robe and in to her clothes before collecting her into his arms once again. As they moved from the dorm room, he suddenly stopped before he spoke.
"Where are they?"
They? Who was he referring to? She looked around and could only see Vampires, women and bloody bodies. With a shudder, she turned from the carnage. Running footsteps had her twisting to see who was moving. Barret lowered her to her feet in time for her to catch her daughter. Fresh tears streamed down her face as she clung to her precious girl. She felt Darcy's body shudder and she closed her eyes and absorbed the feeling of having her baby girl in her arms once again. The relief that Darcy had survived and escaped the Nobles weakened Sharon's knees. After a minute or two, Darcy pulled back and turned to Barret.
"Don't worry, Barret, Burke is still alive. Since they all took great delight in tying me to a tree eight weeks ago, I just thought I'd return the favor. All the Guardians are out in the golf course, tied to trees. Waiting for us to think up how best to punish them. Well, all except Karl."
Sharon held her breath at the look of sorrow in Darcy's eyes as Barret spoke.
"What happened to Karl? It was he who gave us extra blood, enabling our escape."
"Another Noble killed him in the fight earlier."
Sharon's knees gave out and she leaned her weight into Darcy.
Not Karl
. The one Noble with a conscience was dead. While bastards like Burke were alive. She allowed Barret to pull her from Darcy and pick her up again. She watched with pride as Darcy thrust her shoulders back and took command.
"Let's go deal with these Guardian bastards, so we can all go back to the apartments and relax."
~ * ~
It felt like hours since he'd busted down that door and found his Bride, but finally they were out in the real world. After the Guardians had been disposed of, all the rescued Vampires and brides were loaded into a bus while a team of Vampires re-entered the compound to gather information and torch the place. Barret had to admit, it had been wonderful to watch that compound burn as they were driven to safety.