Vengeance (The Captive Series, Book 6) (21 page)

Holding her close to him, he turned his nose into her hair and inhaled her scent. “I’ll be fine,” he promised when he felt the wetness of her tears against his neck.

Her lashes tickled his skin when she blinked back her tears. “You have to be,” she whispered. “You’re important to me, too.”

He dragged her so forcefully against him that it had to have left a bruise, but she didn’t make a sound of protest, and she didn’t try to break free from his hold. Instead, her grip on him became crushing in its intensity. He didn’t protest either.

***

Tempest stood within the shadows of the attic, listening as heavy footsteps thudded across the floor beneath them. She glanced at William, standing by the window and staring down at the side yard separating this house from the one next door. Most of the shoe polish had faded from his hair to reveal its auburn color.

Her own hair had faded to a lighter color, but the blonde pieces were still obscured. She pushed it over her shoulder when he turned his head to look at her. His eyes ran over her from head to toe, the hungry gleam in his gaze causing her blood to quicken. She’d meant to stay away, but she found herself irresistibly drawn toward him.

She had to protect her heart, what he planned to do was completely insane and might get him killed. Her chest constricted and a lump formed in her throat. She’d known him for such a short time, yet he’d come to mean so much to her. He took hold of her hand when she extended it to him and pulled her against his side. She stared out at the side yard before turning to look at the vampires moving up and down the street.

“If you survive this and somehow manage to get free, then what?” she inquired.

“We’ll go to my sister.”

“Can’t we just go to her now?”

“I have to know what we could be facing with this woman and who she is. The war was awful Tempest, the fighting, the death…” His eyes were haunted when they met hers. “If there’s any way I can help to prevent even one death, I’m going to do it.”

She closed her eyes, unable to argue with him further as she rested her forehead against his chest. There was far more at stake than just their happiness or their future. No matter how selfish and childish she wanted to be, and it was taking everything she had not to stomp her feet and throw a tantrum like a child denied their toy, but she knew she couldn’t act that way. Other lives depended on her ability to stay level headed and focused on something other than her own wants and needs.

Therefore, she remained mute and inwardly weeping for all they might have had. She was petrified she might never see him again, and if by some miracle she did, she didn’t know what the circumstances might be. No, she had no idea what would become of him, or them, but she would get the children out of here. It had always been her main goal, and she had to stay focused on it.

Her hands curled into his shirt. She didn’t think she could bring herself to release him. His lips were warm when he pressed a kiss against the top of her head. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest.

What of us?
The question stuck in her throat. She couldn’t bring herself to ask such a needy question, not when she was afraid of the answer, and not if these moments could be the last they had together.

More tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. “I’m going to be fine,” he said. “I’ve put myself in worse scrapes than this one, and I’m still here.” A small laugh escaped her; she turned her head into his chest and inhaled his earthy aroma. Beneath her hands she felt his skin ripple. His hands ran over her arms in a comforting gesture. “You have to keep yourself safe too; you have the most important part in all of this.”

“Don’t worry about me; I’m used to going unnoticed. Just don’t get yourself killed.”

“It’s impossible for me not to notice you,” he whispered against her ear. “And I won’t.”

He kissed her cheek before the warmth of his mouth steadily moved lower. His lips slid over her ear; his tongue swirled out in a way that caused her to quake in anticipation. The scrape of his fangs against the sensitized flesh of her neck made her instinctively press closer to him. Her head tilted to the side. She couldn’t think; her fingers dug deeper into the solid flesh of his chest as her mind and body spun out of control.

Liquid lightning pooled low in her belly; anticipation sizzled over her skin. She wanted to scream at him to do it, to put her out of her misery, but words completely failed her. All she could do was stand and shake as his heated kisses soothed the scratches his fangs left over her flesh.

A groan escaped her when the next scrape broke her skin. He emanated a low rumble when his tongue swirled over her flesh, licking away the blood beading there. Maybe vampires didn’t exchange blood with each other often, but she craved this more than anything else in her life. If he tasted her, she’d be able to find him anywhere, and with what he planned that could become a necessity.

He turned his head away; his warm breath was ragged against her ear as he inhaled greedy gulps of air. The muscles of his back rippled when her hands slid around to flatten against them. The struggle within him tore at her heart, but she couldn’t find the words to tell him to do as he pleased. Instead, she turned her head into his throat and pressed a tender kiss against his silken flesh.

Her fangs burst free before she could do anything to stop them. It had been such an instinctual reaction; one she didn’t know how to fight. He clasped her closer against his neck, giving her permission without saying a word.

Tempest’s lips skimmed back, her fangs thrummed as saliva filled her mouth. Her body quivered as she fought against what she’d always believed to be wrong. He’d know where she was from now on too, always be able to find her. What would have frightened her and left her feeling exposed a month ago, now thrilled her.

Giving into the driving compulsion, her fangs pierced his skin and sank deep into his vein. He pulled her closer and lifted her off her feet at the same time his fangs drove into her shoulder. His flesh muffled her cry of ecstasy; her fingers raked down his back as pleasure swamped her.

Her knees gave out, but William’s arm around her waist held her upright as she continued to feed from him. The pulsing waves of warm blood filled her and satisfied her in a way no blood ever had before. His blood reminded her of him; it tasted smoky and woodsy as it pulsed into her mouth and seeped into her system. She didn’t realize she was crying until she felt the wetness of her tears dripping off her cheek and onto her fingers wrapped around his shoulder.

His happiness over what was happening filled her; his yearning and need for her slithered through her mind. She tried to stop crying, but there was no way to stifle the tears of joy spilling from her eyes. The searing hunger that had driven her to bite him began to ease.

His fangs released their grip on her shoulder; his hands smoothed her hair back as she continued to feed from him. “I’ll be back. Nothing will keep me from you,” he whispered in her ear.

I love you.
She longed to say the words aloud, but she couldn’t bring herself to let him go in order to say them.

Finally, she broke free of him and buried her face in the hollow of his throat. He cradled her against him until her tears stopped flowing. Those three words lodged in her throat; no matter how she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to speak them. It was insane, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that if she said them she would never see him again.

He rocked her within his arms until the thud of the front door closing reverberated through the house. Moments later, Abbott opened the attic door to tell them it was safe to come out. Her deadened heart plummeted into her toes, but the real world wouldn’t be denied.

“Does insanity run in your family?” Pallas inquired when he finished telling them the same plan he’d already outlined for Tempest.

“My brother-in-law would probably say yes,” he admitted.

“Who is your brother-in-law?” Pallas inquired and folded her arms over her chest.

Tempest had been staring at the street, she looked away when Pallas spoke. Her eyes, still red rimmed from her tears, shot toward him as she waited to hear his reply. He’d planned to keep his identity from them until they left this town, but it made no difference now. Everyone in this town would know who he was soon enough, and if they intended to turn them over, they would have done so by now.

“The king,” he replied. “The
real
queen is my sister.”

Pallas’s eyebrows shot into her hairline. Abbott gave a small snort. “Sure she is,” he scoffed.

“She is,” Tempest said.

“Shit,” Abbott hissed.

“Language,” Tempest scolded.

Abbott blushed and ducked his head as he gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

Tempest pulled back a sliver of curtain and looked outside again. He hated the rigid set of her shoulders and the anxiety emanating from her, but he would do whatever it took to make sure she escaped this town.

“I think your brother-in-law would be right about you,” Pallas said.

“This will work,” he insisted. Tempest didn’t look at him again when he spoke, but her hand shook on the curtain. “I need a hairpin or a small pick if anyone has something like that.”

“I do,” Pallas replied. “I’ll go get it.”

Pallas hurried from the room and returned a couple minutes later with a silver hairpin. It had a piece in the middle that would allow him to bend and work it into the shape he required. Bending down, he pulled off his right boot and slid the pin into the hole in his sole. It would be impossible for anyone to see the pin while he was walking. If they took his boots off, they wouldn’t notice it either, but he’d be screwed either way if they took his boots.

Rising again, he ignored Pallas and Abbott as he walked over to Tempest. He rested his hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention to him once more. “I have to go now, if this is going to work.”

She closed her eyes before releasing the curtain and stepping into his arms. Holding her close against him, he inhaled his scent upon her and savored in the warmth of her body. He could smell his blood flowing through her, marking her as his, and that was exactly what she was.
His
. They hadn’t discussed it yet, there would be plenty of time once they were free of this town, but he planned to keep her by his side for the rest of his life.

He hated the idea of leaving her unprotected here, but there were no other options. Not if any of this was going to work.

“If something goes wrong, and you don’t think you can complete your part of it, call it off and get yourself to safety,” he told her for the hundredth time.

“I will,” she murmured.

He pulled back to look down at her. “I mean it,” he said as he brushed back a strand of her hair. “You have to get free of here and alert the others. It will all be for nothing if they don’t learn of this.”

She closed her eyes, her hands twisted in the front of his shirt before she gave a brisk nod. “I will get word to them.”

“Be careful.”

“Don’t worry about me, just worry about yourself.”

That would be impossible, but if he stayed here any longer, he could lose his chance. He kissed her cheek before forcing himself to release her and step away. He couldn’t look at her again; he might rethink what he was doing and stay.
It will work
, he told himself again. He’d get to see this so-called queen, have a chance to size her up, and if everything went well, he’d be free again by nightfall.

Slipping out the backdoor, he pulled the hood over his head and made his way toward the busy streets in search of Kane. Everything hinged on him being able to find the man he’d been plotting to kill for months now. He moved through the crowd easily; he watched for Kane amongst the vampires as he walked. He wouldn’t be able to do anything until the sun began to set, but he had to find the vamp as soon as possible.

Passing by the prison, he spotted two vampires in the stocks who hadn’t been there yesterday. Hopelessness filled their eyes when they lifted their heads to look at him. His fingers itched to smash the locks keeping them in place, but setting these vampires free wouldn’t get him what he wanted.

Turning down the side roads, he continued to mill through the crowd. As time passed, and he made his way through the town for the third time he began to become increasingly agitated when he still didn’t see Kane anywhere amongst the masses. The sun was nearing the horizon when he turned onto the road leading toward the orphanage again.

He was beginning to think he would have to return to the orphanage, and try to come up with a new plan, when he finally spotted Kane amongst the throng. The ugly vampire was walking toward the orphanage with two other vamps.

He stopped any pretense of trying to blend in as he shoved his way through the crowd toward Kane. He was still thirty feet away when Kane placed his foot onto the first step of the porch. He couldn’t allow Kane to go inside, couldn’t take the risk of him finding Tempest.

Shoving aside a woman in a white cloak, he ignored her startled cry when she sprawled onto the ground. Tugging the crossbow free of his side, he jerked it up and leveled it at Kane. Bloodlust pulsed through him; red filled his vision as his fangs tingled with anticipation. He’d waited months for this moment. The idea of it had driven him through the uncertain and arduous nights and days following his death. It would be so easy; he could have him now.

Don’t kill him
, the thought blazed across his mind as he bellowed, “
Kane!”

The vampire froze on the step; William fired the bolt in his crossbow when Kane turned toward him. Dropping the crossbow, William jerked two stakes from his cloak and raced across the distance separating them. He’d been fast as a human, now preternatural strength and rage fueled that speed.

He could feel the pulse of Tempest’s blood in his body, flooding him with a power he’d never experienced before. The bolt hit Kane’s shoulder, knocking the vampire back a step seconds before William leapt at him.

He soared through the air over the last three feet of space separating them and slammed his shoulder into Kane’s chest. A
humph
of surprise escaped Kane as the two of them smashed through the stair railing and toppled over the side of the porch. He couldn’t kill Kane right now, it was necessary he remained alive, but he would enjoy pummeling the crap out of him while he got the chance to.

His punches shattered a cheekbone with the first blow and Kane’s nose with the next. Kane threw his arms up to try to dislodge him, but William continued to deliver a series of staggering punches that would have left a human with only mush for a face. Leaning back, he grabbed hold of the end of the bolt and twisted it, driving it deeper into Kane’s shoulder.

Kane howled, but the howl was cut short when William drove one of his stakes straight into his solar plexus. Kane’s arms and legs jerked straight up in unison in reaction to the instrument piercing his flesh. Blood splattered over William in warm, wet droplets that he barely noticed trickling down his face. He savored its coppery scent as it filled his nostrils and fell upon his lips.

Kane’s skin turned beet red, beads of sweat trickled down his face as his hands clawed at the offending instrument. William bit back a laugh of maniacal glee as Kane’s body writhed and squirmed beneath his.

What he wouldn’t give to end it now, to finally have the revenge he’d worked for so persistently since his human death. All he had to do was drive the other stake straight into Kane’s blackened, cowardly heart. And then what? He’d be dragged to the stocks and locked away, or perhaps burned at the stake before he could ever tell anyone who he was, or have a chance to see the queen.

Tempest,
he reminded himself.

Her name alone calmed some of the frenzy simmering within him, but his fangs still tingled, and he couldn’t shake the bloodlust thrumming through his veins as red suffused his vision. He couldn’t leave her alone; he couldn’t fail her. He was counting on his capture to work as a distraction for her. However, he wanted to dig in with his bare hands and rip Kane’s heart out so badly he could almost feel the weight of it within his palm.

He could kill Kane; his vengeance could
finally
be complete. Tempest’s wintry scent teased his nostrils as with a guttural shout, he drove his remaining stake downward. It had taken all of his unraveling restraint, but the stake was centimeters off being a fatal blow to the heart when it plunged into Kane’s chest.

Kane’s hands clawed at the stake, his feet kicked against the ground as he choked and gurgled. A vicious smile curved William’s mouth as the realization hit him that the stupid ass believed it to be a killing blow. Then Kane’s feet stopped kicking, and the freaked sounds escaping him abated a little as reality sank in.

“Remember me?” William taunted.

A snarl curved Kane’s mouth, just as three hundred pounds of muscle plowed into William. The other two vamps smashed him to the ground. Fists and feet rained down upon him as the two vampires pummeled him. He’d attacked Kane in order to be captured, but he wasn’t going down without a fight. He didn’t care if he killed one of these bastards, they had no idea who he was and wouldn’t be of any use to him.

Grabbing hold of one of their feet, he smashed his forehead down on the man’s knee. The force of the blow caused the joint to bend completely backward with a loud crack. The vampire screamed and grabbed at his leg before falling to the ground. Rolling to the side, William managed to avoid the feet of the other vampire before coming up against the side of the orphanage.

He lurched back to his feet as the other vamp leapt up and drove a solid punch straight into his back. William bit back a cry as one of his ribs gave way beneath the blow. He spun around, swinging his hand out and backhanding the vamp across the cheek. The vampire staggered back, but three more white cloaked vampires surged forward to take his place.

The fist that landed on his cheek knocked him back. He crashed into the wall of the house. He didn’t have a chance to recover before more punches drove into his stomach and chest. Bending over, William tried to protect himself from the group now surrounding him the best he could. Blood filled his mouth; his chest felt as if it were collapsing beneath the battering fists. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought a vertebra broke in his back when a boot pummeled it.

He realized they might beat him to death before Kane stopped them. His plan may have been more insane than he’d first thought. He couldn’t allow them to kill him where Tempest might be able to see it. Launching himself off the wall, he threw his arms out and managed to tackle two of the men beating on him. They crashed into the snow and rolled away from the house.

Don’t be watching.
He hoped Tempest was nowhere near the window anymore. That she had fled the living room when Kane had started to approach the building. He hadn’t planned on any of this to happen near the orphanage, but he’d had to stop Kane from going inside.

Hands grabbed at the back of his cloak, jerking him to his feet where more blows landed on his stomach and face. Blood exploded into his mouth when his cheek smashed up against his teeth. His nose shattered with a loud crunch. Agony lanced through his head; his vision blurred, but he couldn’t grab at his nose like he wanted to do as his arms were being held by two other vampires.

Another one stepped forward, but before the vamp could start to beat on him too, a commanding voice rang out, “Stop!”

Distorted and a little garbled most likely from blood in his mouth, William still recognized it immediately as Kane’s voice. Parting the vampires surrounding him, Kane stepped before him and grabbed hold of William’s chin. He tried to jerk away from Kane’s repulsive touch, but Kane’s fingers dug into the flesh of his chin and held firm. The left side of Kane’s face still looked like a smashed pumpkin. The right side had fared better, but not by much.

Kane’s eyes were questioning as they searched his battered and bloody face. “How are you still alive?”

William could feel the blood from inside his mouth smearing across his teeth when he smiled at him. “Funny little thing about my family, we’re tough to kill.”

Kane’s eyes glistened with red, his jaw clenched so tightly that William could hear his teeth grinding together. He continued to smile at Kane, even with knowing what was coming next. His head shot back when Kane punched him square in his already battered nose. Blackness swept over him, threatening to drag him into its depths, but passing out now would get him nowhere and ruin everything.

His head lulled on his shoulders; stars burst before his eyes. He blinked back the blood trickling from his forehead into one of his eyes as he strived to keep his eyes open. The broken vertebra was making it difficult for him to continue standing. It felt like someone was digging needles into his spine and twisting them around in there.

“You have no idea what you walked into here boy, but you will most certainly come in handy,” Kane replied.