Blood Vengeance (9 page)

“Luukas,” she began haltingly, but he didn’t give her any time to give him her excuses. There were no excuses he would accept for what she’d done to him.

He moved before he realized he'd meant to do so. One second he was standing in front of her and the next he had her slammed up against the wall behind her, her feet dangling a foot off the floor. One of his large hands was around her bandaged throat, and the other had a death grip on her wrists, holding her arms above her head.

He lowered his head until his icy visage was but an inch from her face. His glowing, green eyes burned into her with his rage. His lips were drawn back from his teeth in a snarl, exposing his massive fangs.

“I’m going to kill you. Slowly. And painfully.”

Keira looked at him defiantly through her tears. Choking from his hold, she managed to rasp, “I…deserve…it. Just…don’t…hurt…Emma.”

Luuk tilted his head to the side as he stared at her with disbelief, his hatred of her sharpening his thoughts into something that sounded somewhat coherent.

“You
dare
to demand something of
me
? For years, you helped that bitch hold me here. Fucking
watched
,” he yanked her towards him by the throat and slammed her back into the wall, feeling some satisfaction when she winced. “As I was tortured and starved, without a bone in your body feeling a bit of remorse, without one
ounce
of empathy for me.”

“That’s not…true…!” she gasped.

“SHUT UP! SHUT
UP
! You don’t get to fucking ask for anything!” he roared into her face. “You don’t get even a small feeling of pity from me. Nothing! YOU! BURNED! ME! ALIVE!”

Luukas was struggling hard to keep the madness in check, but he was losing the fight. He could feel the delicate bones of her throat under his hand, and imagined how good it would feel to crush them in his grip. He began to squeeze, smiling cruelly as her face turned a dark, mottled red.

Rip her open! Suck her dry! I’m so thirsty. Kill her! Burn her!

A single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek: just one tear. And the sight of that single fucking tear gave him pause...made his chest tighten painfully.

Hurting her? No! He couldn’t hurt her!

Luukas squeezed his eyes shut.

Rip her open! Suck her dry! I’m so thirsty. Kill her! Burn her!

But that one brave tear undid him. “God
damn
you.”

He loosened his grip on her throat and watched anxiously as she sucked in air, coughing, the color rushing from her face, the sudden paleness of her skin stark in contrast. Still effortlessly holding her up by the wrists, as he had been chained for so long, he placed his other hand on the side of her head and brushed the tear away gently with his thumb. Eyes wide with wonder, he cupped her cheek as he let his eyes rove over her exquisite face.

Gradually, he became aware of her lush body pressed against him. Her heart pounded and her blood rushed through her veins. Her delicious, unique scent hovered in the air around him, interlaced with…desire?

He instantly ached to bury his fangs deep in her neck. Gods, he was so thirsty.

Her full breasts pressed into his chest, and his cock throbbed painfully. It was strange, feeling his cock hardening again, feeling the almost painful pleasure of it.

He wanted to kill her and fuck her at the same time. Maybe he’d fuck her first, and then kill her. Why not? She deserved nothing less.

And she wanted him. He could smell her desire, stronger than her fear. How could that be possible?

No, feed first.

He snarled at her again as he thought about the past…what? Years? She owed him for what he’d been through. What
she’d
put him through. Moving faster than she could track, his mouth slammed down hard onto hers at the same time he ripped the bandage from her throat.

She gasped at the assault, and he used the opportunity to invade her mouth with his tongue. He wasn’t gentle. He kissed her ferociously, thrusting his tongue in and out of her mouth, sucking, feasting; the taste of her easing the madness, centering all of his awareness on nothing but her.

His fangs scraped her lips and a drop of her blood touched his tongue. He growled deep within his chest, holding her head firmly to his.

It wasn’t enough. He wanted more.
Needed
more.

Tearing his mouth from hers, he grabbed her by the hair, roughly pulling her head to the side to expose her neck to his hungry view. Her breathing was ragged in his ear, and the sharp scent of her fear grew thicker around him.

Her plump veins pulsed rapidly just under her translucent skin. He put his nose to her neck, inhaling deeply, reveling in her scent for just a moment.

Rearing back, he struck like a snake, sinking his fangs deep into her succulent flesh. She stiffened in his arms as he felt her vein pop and her warm blood began to gush down his throat. He swallowed greedily, his eyes rolling back in his head as an instant feeling of euphoria spreading throughout his emaciated body.

MINE
.

With a groan, he let go of her wrists. Her hands immediately went to his shoulders, but rather than push him away, they clung to him. Putting his arm around her waist, he pulled her hips into his throbbing erection as he sucked hard at her neck.

Her blood was like nothing he’d ever tasted before. It ran down his throat and burned sweetly through his body like a fine liqueur. Luukas’ body responded eagerly, her blood healing him, renewing him.

He pulled her impossibly closer as he dropped to his knees and sat back on his heels, pulling her down with him and holding her on his lap, her knees to either side of his hips. Her hands gripped his strong shoulders and she moaned as he rocked his hips up, trying to push himself into her core through their ragged clothes. His cock felt like it was about to burst, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her long enough to remove their clothes.

He rubbed himself against her, seeking relief, moving faster and faster. Lifting his head from her neck, he moved his mouth to her ear and ordered, “Come for me, Keira. Come for me…NOW.”

Her body responded instantly to his words, and with an incoherent cry, she convulsed in his arms. He struck her neck again, groaning deep in his throat, and pulled her down onto him as he ground up into her, hard. With her sweet, sweet blood running down his throat and her cries in his ears, he yelled out against her neck as his cock swelled impossibly larger, before violently releasing as he came.

She went limp in his arms as he continued to rock against her, more gently now. Taking one last tiny pull, he removed his fangs from her throat, and ran his tongue over the wounds to help heal them.

He growled dangerously as he felt the previous wounds there from the other vampire who’d fed from her. Who’d fed from what was his.

Pulling her limp body close to him, he rose to his feet, adjusting her in his arms.

I’ll fucking kill him.

But wait, he was already dead. Wasn’t he? Luukas tried to remember. Yes, Leeha took his heart. He remembered now. He wouldn’t get to kill the vampire who’d fed from his female.

And that pissed him off. He bared his fangs at the empty tunnel, but no one was there to take out his anger on.

He turned in a circle. Which way? He stepped back out of the tunnel into the main room. It was empty also. Everyone had gone. But where? What had Nik said?

The hideout. Yes.

He glanced down at his witch. She hadn’t opened her eyes.

Can’t hurt her!

He frowned, lifting her up closer. He could hear her heartbeat. It was still strong.

Spotting the narrow tunnel Nik and the human had taken, Luukas headed that way, holding Keira close against his chest so as not to bang her limp form against the stone.

He followed the human’s scent until he came to a larger opening. A creek ran by, flowing through the mountain. He followed it upstream until he came out of the mountain.

It would be daylight soon. He would have to hurry.

Chapter 10

Aiden

Three sets of steel doors, each one four feet thick, slid down from the ceiling behind them as Leeha led them down the passageway.

Aiden glanced back at the slabs of metal in amusement. “If you wanted me to stay for tea, luv, all you had to do was ask.” 

He received a shove in the middle of his back from a yellow-clawed hand, as her monsters hissed at him to move faster.

“Alright, alright. You don’t have to push.” Wrinkling his nose at their ripe odor, he caught up to Leeha.

“So, where are we going?”

“Shut up, Aiden!”

He grinned at her.

“Whatever happened to ‘I’m so happy to see you, Aiden. Let’s go wallow in other earthly pleasures, Aiden?’ It’s not my fault you’re frightened of wolves. I want to go wallow.”

“SHUT UP!” Leeha screamed at him. She flinched as a howl came from the direction they'd just come from.

He supposed he’d just have to be patient.

“Just give me a hint," he told her five seconds later.

Patience was obviously not his strong suit.

Leeha spun around so fast he nearly collided into her small form. Smiling down into her lovely, furious visage, he kissed the tip of her finger when she stuck it in his face.

Taking a deep breath, she lowered her hand, curling it into a fist as she visibly attempted to calm herself. “Much as I would love to go ‘wallow’ also, there are other things I need to take care of right now. You can stay out of my way, or not. But if you don’t, my love, I will be forced to remove you, Aiden.”

She reached up and touched his cheek softly, her eyes hurt. “You’ve already betrayed me by bringing those Scottish hairballs to my door, ruining
everything
. Don’t push your luck.”

“Actually, they sort of invited themselves along. Like I said earlier, luv, if you would just stop stealing people…”

She narrowed her eyes at him, the blood-red irises gleaming dangerously.

He held up both hands in a placating gesture. All right, he’d play along.

For now.

“I’m sorry, poppet. You’re right. I shouldn’t be distracting you when you are so obviously distraught. Tell me what I can do to help.”

She smiled at him, sweet as sugar. “Stop talking.”

He grinned back at her roguishly. “Done.”

Gently, she wiped the blood from his mouth where she’d backhanded him on the stairs, turned, and continued on.

Which reminded him. That backhand had been unusually powerful, even for a vampire. There was something more going on here, and Aiden was bound and determined to discover what it was.

Chapter 11

Luukas

Luukas rushed through the cool night with the witch in his arms. He didn’t look back. Sword ferns whipped against his legs with their wet leaves, but luckily, it wasn’t raining at the moment. The tall pine trees hid him and his precious cargo from any watchful eyes, his footsteps silent upon their fallen needles that covered the ground.

He took a deep breath of the fresh night air. The first fresh air he’d breathed in years.

The witch’s blood circulated through his deteriorated muscles, giving him a strength and energy that he hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever.

Yet, he barely noticed. His focus was on one thing, and one thing only. He had to find the hideout…needed to get out of the open before the sun rose. After finally escaping from his hellish prison, he wasn’t about to let something as insignificant as sunshine finish him off.

He ran with a desperation born from the need to escape the horrors of this place, not really aware of where he was, or how he knew which way to go. He just ran, following the mountain range.

It didn’t take him long to reach the hidden entrance of the hideout. He eyed the brush at the foot of the snow-capped mountain. How to get in? Pacing back and forth, his pulse raced as he studied the foliage.

There!

Shifting Keira to one arm, he pulled back the branches and stepped into the long passageway, pausing a moment to let his eyes adjust. It was pitch black, but he didn’t need a light. His vampire vision allowed him to see just fine.

He traversed the tunnel cautiously, and came to the open cavern he and his council had been using for years to keep an eye on Leeha and her brethren.

No one was there.

Carrying the witch over to the fire pit in the center, he gently laid her down in the shelter of the large stones surrounding it, and sat down near her to wait out the day.

He knew he should be plotting, planning, but was unable to think ahead past the next few hours.

He closed his eyes, quelling the panic that was trying to rise in him.

Just get through the day. Worry about the rest later.

***

They hadn’t been there long when he heard someone coming. Placing himself between the witch and the tunnel entrance, he held himself perfectly still and listened.

Footsteps came down the tunnel, closer and closer.

Luukas took up a defensive stance, fangs bared, hands fisted at his sides. As the steps neared the cavern, he hissed in warning.

The footsteps slowed, then stopped completely.

“Luukas?”

That voice. It was familiar.

“Luuk? I know it’s you. I can feel you from here. It’s just me, bro. Nikulas.”

The footsteps started up again, slower this time, easing cautiously towards him until Luuk could make out the blonde vampire from earlier.

Nikulas. My brother.

Relief flooded through him. His brother was here. He would help him. He wasn’t alone.

Nik raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. “It’s ok, man. It’s only me.”

Luukas rose up from his crouched position to his full height, retracting his fangs slightly.

“The witch is
mine
.” He growled at his brother.

Nikulas smiled sadly. “I know she is, man. It’s ok.”

He came closer, not making any sudden moves.

“You look better,” Nikulas observed.

“I fed.”

Nik nodded. Heading over to the wall, he took one of the torches off of the wall, dipped it in a barrel of some kind of liquid, and lit it.

Luukas’ heart took off, pounding in his chest as he growled, and skittered away from the dancing flames.

“She won’t be able to see when she wakes up.” Nikulas said in way of explanation, placing it slowly back into its holder with a frown.

Still moving slowly and deliberately, he walked over and sat down on one of the rocks, leaned forward, and put his elbows on his knees. He didn’t say anything else, just stared at the cold fire pit.

Keeping a close eye on the lit torch, Luukas eventually copied him, sitting down by his witch. “The human?”

Nik’s expression didn't alter as he told him, “She’s gone.”

“Why?”

“We sort of got into a fight.” Nik smiled wryly. “Of course, if she’d known you two were in here, she wouldn’t have left. But it's a good thing she didn’t,” he commented, eyeing Luukas uneasily. “You must’ve passed us somehow on the way here. I was so intent on following her, I didn’t even notice.”

Luukas frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Keira is her sister. She’s worried about her.”

“Then why did she go?”

“I guess she didn’t feel that she had a choice. Keira told her to, and I wouldn’t help get her away from you.”

Luukas bared his fangs again. “The witch is MINE.”

“I know, man. It's cool. I’m not going to try to take her away. She’s yours.” Nik’s voice remained calm, non-threatening.

He looked over at the female in question. Cocking his head to the side, he frowned. “Dude, she’s too cold. Her lips are blue. Is she alright?”

“Her heart is strong.”

“You need to cover her.”

“With what?”

“Good question. We should probably start a fire, and then we can all get some rest.”

“No! No fire!” Luukas scooped Keira up off of the floor, reappearing over at the tunnel entrance with her before Nik had the chance to stand up.

Nik paused halfway up, and sat back down, a strange look on his face as he took in Luukas’ reaction. “No fire?”

“No!”

“OK. All right. No fire, then.”

When he deemed it was safe, Luukas came back and rejoined him, carefully laying the witch back down where she was.

Should’ve brought her blanket
. He hadn’t thought about that. He put his head in his hands, squeezing it between his palms in frustration. Stupid, stupid. Why hadn't he thought of that?

“Hey man, it’s ok. Don’t stress yourself out about it. You can lay by her and keep her warm.”

“I just…can’t…
think
.” He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he flinched.

Nik pulled his hand back, a sad smile on his face. “Sorry. I just…never mind. Let’s try to get some sleep.”

With a nod, Luuk eased himself down next to the witch and pulled her in tight against him, wrapping himself protectively around her small form.

“We’ll leave right at sundown,” Nik said quietly. “We’ll have to walk until we can get to some kind of civilization again. From there, I can order a car or something to get us back to Seattle.”

Luukas nodded again. “All right.”

“We’ll need to get home as quick as we can.” Nik continued. “Your female needs food and water, and you both need a few hundred showers and some clean clothes.”

Nik looked at him questioningly for a second, and then with a small shrug, he made himself comfortable on the other side of the cold fire pit.

He felt the connection with his brother, and it comforted him somewhat, but he also sensed something wrong.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Nik looked over at him in surprise. “I’m all right. And, Luuk?”

“What?”

“I’m very glad to have you back, brother.”

Luukas couldn’t answer him, unable to get his thoughts past anything but getting the hell away from there.