Blood Mate: A Paranormal Romance (15 page)

He rolled on the ground with
Viktor, twisting to get his neck out of the way of the vampire's
fangs. His hands were busy holding Viktor off, so he couldn't reach
for his gun or his knives.

And the vampire was strong.
Viktor wasn't a Master vampire, but he was old enough. And he was a
killer.

Jett finally managed to pull a
small knife out and he twisted the silver blade into the vampire's
side. Viktor reared up in pain, and Jett jumped swiftly to his feet.

He pulled out a long knife and
turned the handle. The blade instantly lengthened and Jett swished
the sword in the air, testing its weight.

He watched Viktor yank the
silver blade out of his side and stagger sideways. Bryn's eyes were
on Viktor as she stepped up to Jett and took the sword from his hand.

“
He's mine,” was
all she said.

Jett's eyes flicked from Bryn
to Nana. Nana had wrapped her thin arms tightly around herself and
was sliding down the wall, her mouth opened. She made no sound, even
though she was crying so hard. “Murderer...” Jett heard
Nana wheeze. “My baby...”

He stared at Bryn, who was
holding the sword out and circling Viktor slowly. “You!”
she snarled. “Do you remember Tom and Beth Ellis? No, of
course you don't. Nineteen years ago, you killed two innocent,
beautiful people, and escaped into the night. You killed them, and
you were never caught. You. Killed. My. Parents. That mark at
the corner of your left eye...” Bryn jerked her sword up.
“Like dark red flames,” she said softly, and swallowed.
“You will pay, Elliott, for all those innocent lives you took.”

Jett held two knives in his
hands, but he pointed them down and took a step back.

Bryn was right.

Viktor Elliott was hers to
kill.

Jett would watch her, and
protect her, but he would let her kill this rogue. She had to do
this, for her Nana, for her parents. Facing her daughter's killer
after so long was a shock, an excruciating blow for Nana. Nana had a
fist pressed to her mouth as she watched Bryn with red-rimmed eyes.
But there were no longer any tears in her eyes.

Bryn's bare feet made no sound
as she stepped lightly forward. Her long, straight hair shimmered as
she moved with lethal grace and speed.

Viktor straightened up and
cocked his head. “Your parents, eh? You're here to avenge
your long dead parents? Well, you'll be joining them soon. You and
your Nana can see your parents again. I'll get rid of you, quickly,
then I can settle my scores—with him.” He smiled over
her shoulder at Jett. “Come on then, sweetheart. Let's see
what you can do.”

Viktor raised his head and
called out to Jett, “Let's see how well you've trained her.
And...I think the cold, unfeeling Jett Riley might just have a soft
spot for this little vamp. She is a pretty little thing. But...”
He wiped all traces of that insidious smile off his face in a blink.
His face was hard and cruel, utterly remorseless. “I will
destroy her. Just like how you destroyed Ofelia and Nathaniel.”
There was just the tiniest glimmer of pain in his eyes. Then it
disappeared.

“
Shut up!” Bryn
screamed. “Shut the fuck up and die! Die, just die already!”

She raised her sword and
charged.

Jett tensed, and he took an
involuntary step forward. He saw that Viktor had managed to rile
Bryn up and affect her emotionally. He had provoked her to attack.

And she had charged at him
using her anger as the driving force.

Mistake.

She would lose control and
focus, and by attacking blindly, she would soon exhaust herself.
Then Viktor would finish her off.

Jett could see how it would
play out. He watched Bryn push angrily towards Viktor, grunting and
cursing. Viktor sidestepped her blows almost effortlessly, and
taunted her by misting behind her and tapping her on the shoulder.

Viktor laughed as Bryn's sword
chopped down and sliced through empty air.

Viktor started to shimmer into
mist again, but this time Jett was ready. From his corner, he had
been studying the vampire's arrogant, scheming moves. Jett smirked,
as he anticipated Viktor's next move. Jett could fight dirty and he
was just as cunning and scheming. He was a badass, bad boy. Always
had been. Still was.

Jett twirled the silver blade
through his fingers, and watched the column of mist spiral across the
room. Before the mist could unwind and solidify, Jett threw the
knife.

It was pure instinct.

The knife hit its target.

Viktor materialized behind
Nana, with a silver knife in his chest.

“
Down, Nana!”
Bryn shrieked, and ran straight at Viktor.

Her grandmother moved out of
the way and Bryn rammed the blade forcefully into Viktor's body. She
drove the long blade deep into his belly and out through his back.

Viktor let out a strangled cry
as she wrenched the sword out. He pressed his hands to the
blackened, blistering wound in his stomach and stared at Bryn in
disbelief. “You!” he spat blood from his mouth as he
lurched forward. Blood was pouring from his wound, and his red eyes
glowed with murderous rage.

Viktor let out a savage roar
and went for the kill. His fangs and nails flew straight towards
Bryn's jugular. Bryn didn't flinch.

Her gaze was cold and hard.
She was ready.

“
For Ma and Pa,”
Bryn whispered. She twisted her body to adjust her aim as Viktor
flew towards her. Droplets of blood danced in the air around Bryn as
she spun round.

Her dark eyes gleamed as she
followed and mentally calculated the trajectory of Viktor's attack.
Turning her body to the side, she dodged his fangs and swung her
sword back.

The killing blow.

Jett watched her sword hover
in the air for a heartbeat.

Then she brought the blade
down. She executed the stroke perfectly. The silver blade sliced
cleanly through the vampire's neck, severing his head from his
shoulders.

Bryn staggered and stabbed the
sword into the ground to steady herself. She gripped the hilt
tightly and stared straight ahead with frozen, unseeing eyes as
Viktor's headless body fell at her feet.

The vampire's head rolled
towards Nana. Without missing a beat, Nana's thin leg shot out to
aim a powerful kick at the head of her daughter's murderer. Jett
ducked just in time as Nana sent Viktor's head sailing over his
shoulder. Who knew Nana had such strong legs? He turned to see the
head plunge over the balcony railing and drop out of sight.

Shouts and cheers rose from
below. The sounds of fighting had died down. Jett knew that his
Enforcers had prevailed. They had won.

But at what cost?

Jett turned back to Bryn and
Nana. Nana had her arms around Bryn's waist, and was glaring at the
slain vampire's body. The old woman still looked angry. She wasn't
done.

Jett met Nana's eyes and
understood what she needed to do.

Quietly, he walked over to her
and held the silver knife out. Jett closed Nana's wizened fingers
firmly over the handle and gave her hand a squeeze.

Tilting her chin up, Nana took
the knife from Jett and looked down her nose at the vampire's
headless body.

Without a word, Nana raised
the knife high in the air and plunged it straight into the vampire's
heart.

The body began to blacken
around the silver blade, and in a blink, everything crumbled to
ashes.

Nana stepped back with grim
satisfaction. Jett stared at Bryn's little grandmother with deep
respect and admiration. Jett knew that Bryn's grandmother had raised
her single-handedly. Her grandmother was a single parent, only
grandparent, sole carer and guardian all rolled into one. The woman
was amazing. Jett had always respected Nana for her strength and
courage, but now, he practically worshiped her.

Jett saw where Bryn got her
courage and strength. Bryn had learned from her mistake, and she had
picked herself up and grown strong. Her grandmother's love empowered
and encouraged her.

Bryn was who and what she was
because of her grandmother.

Without Nana, there would be
no Bryn.

Very, very gently, Jett pried
Bryn's stiff fingers from the hilt of the sword and stepped back,
letting Nana fold Bryn into her arms.

He watched them hold each
other and cry softly in each other's arms. It was a private,
intimate moment, and Jett didn't want to intrude. He didn't belong.

Bryn and Nana, they were both
fighters, survivors. They were family.

Jett had no family. He was
just a fighter.

He would never know what it
would be like to have someone hold him close in his darkest moments.
Or to hold someone and feel her tears on his shoulder.

In his life, there was just
violence and darkness. Blood, fights and death.

No love. No family.

Soundlessly, Jett stepped out
onto the small balcony and looked down.

The fight was over. They had
won, but there were too many casualties.

There were bodies, body parts
and blood everywhere. Most of the rogues had been destroyed, but
many Enforcers had been killed as well. The handful of rogues who
had surrendered were being collared and taken back to the PAC
Headquarters for questioning.

Jett saw some Council members
running up the stairs, shouting his name. He raised his arm, and
they caught his movement. Glenn and Lucas looked up and nodded at
him, a mixture of relief and pain on their faces. There were no
smiles.

They had lost many Enforcers,
many friends and colleagues.

Viktor Elliott had managed to
amass a sizable army of rogues. He had wanted revenge and bloodshed.
In a way, Viktor had gotten his revenge.

The rogues had killed innocent
civilians and Enforcers. To destroy these rogues, more blood had
been spilled.

Jett stood at the balcony for
a long time. They had destroyed the rogues, but he had lost many
good men and women this night.

Jett started when he heard
Nana's cry behind him. Immediately, Jett left the balcony and
lurched back into the room.

“
Bryn!” Nana was
cradling an unconscious Bryn in her arms. “Wake up!”

Bryn fought to open her eyes.
She had been hugging her grandmother, feeling a sense of relief,
closure and grief all at once. She had destroyed the rogue vampire
who had killed her parents. Nana had held her and cried after
plunging that silver knife through Viktor's black heart. She hadn't
seen her grandmother cry in a long time. She had wiped away Nana's
tears and declared proudly, “Nana, the vampire slayer!”

The words had barely left her
lips when she felt the first tremor through her body. The insidious,
invading chill traveled up her spine and spread through her muscles.
One moment she was standing and hugging Nana, the next moment
everything churned around her and she felt herself being sucked into
the vortex of a dark tornado.

Through the cold, pressing
darkness, she could hear voices and feel movement around her. The
voices slowly became clearer, and she could feel someone lifting her
up from the ground and carrying her.

Bryn lifted her arm weakly and
her hand slapped against a solid chest. She heard his voice, and
inhaled his scent.

“
Jett,” she
whispered.

She heard his voice close to
her ear, but she couldn't make out his words. But just hearing his
voice was enough. Knowing that she was in his arms gave her one last
surge of strength.

With great effort, Bryn opened
her eyes just a crack. Her entire body was aching and shivering, and
she had to clench her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering.

She caught a glimpse of Glenn
and Charlene standing beside Jett. They were speaking to him in low,
urgent voices, and she struggled to make sense of their words.

“
...lost too much
blood!”

“
She needs to feed.”

“
She will need to take
blood directly from the vein. She is much too weak. There is no
time.” Charlene shook her head.

“
Go. Now.” Glenn
clapped Jett on the shoulder.

Bryn's eyelids fell shut
again. What was Glenn and Charlene saying? What they were saying
sounded serious and important. Glenn was her Master and Charlene was
his mate. They were both vampires. They would know what was wrong
with her. She was trying to get her voice to work, to tell Jett that
he should listen to Glenn and Charlene when she felt his lips on her
forehead.

“
Stay with me, Bryn.
Just stay with me, baby.”

Bryn gasped. Baby?

Did Jett just call her baby?

It sounded so tender...and
intimate.

Bryn's eyelids fluttered
furiously, but she couldn't open her eyes. It was agonizing and
frustrating. She felt cold and helpless, trapped in a dark place she
couldn't crawl out of. She just didn't have the energy. She didn't
even have enough energy to breathe. Gradually, she felt her breaths
become slow and shallow.