Fall of Darkness (The Chronicles of Darkness) (34 page)

She wouldn’t glance at the stony,
unreadable features of his countenance and mourn his devilish grin. She most
definitely wouldn’t feast her eyes on the powerful contours of his perfect form
in all its naked splendor and long for the passion they’d once shared. Oh no,
she couldn’t look at him. A girl could only handle so much.

Dominic stopped pacing to stand before
her, so close Kate could feel the heat radiating from his sun-kissed skin. His
piercing gaze weighed heavily on her face, but she refused to look up.

“Kate,” Dominic said, his tone strained.
The agony she heard in his voice had to be a figment of her imagination.

Her heart ran with the delusion,
thrilling at the sound of her name on his lips and the intoxicating timbre of
his husky voice. He had a way of speaking that made each word feel like a
tender caress, dancing across her skin. The thought of his caresses, verbal or
otherwise, ignited a fire deep within her core. Shivering with longing, she
tried to shake off the unwelcome sensations. She closed her eyes and prayed for
strength. Sunrise couldn’t come soon enough.

Kate held her breath as Dominic lifted
his hand to touch her face, but he dropped the hand before it reached her
cheek.

“Kate, look at me.”

She bit her lip and shook her head.

“Look at me, damn it!” he shouted, his
voice echoing through the stillness of the night.

            Kate continued to study the
ground in stubborn silence. She would’ve crossed her arms over her chest in her
standard gesture of rebellion, but the chains of her shackles wouldn’t reach
far enough. Lifting her eyes to meet his, she settled for glaring in insolent
silence.

             “I understand
congratulations are in order,” Dominic muttered darkly.

            Filled with confusion, she
watched him through narrowed eyes, searching for a hint of his intent. He
betrayed nothing, but the palpable rage already heavy on the air. “What?”

            His face contorted in
disgust, Dominic grabbed her left hand and held it out for inspection. He
examined Alexander’s engagement ring with abhorrence. With a low growl, he
wrenched Kate’s arm, forcing her ring finger into her line of sight.

            “This, Kate,” Dominic
snarled. “Or will you forget your promises to this man as well? We already know
how much your word is worth.” He dropped her hand as if burnt by her touch.

            “
My
word?” Kate
hissed at him. “What about yours? Everything you’ve ever told me has been a
lie. Tell me Dominic, when we made love, was that one of the fringe benefits of
your little assignment or was that a lie too? Did you have to lie to yourself
about what I was to do it?”

            “Enough,” Dominic roared,
clenching and unclenching his jaw in aggravation.

Good. She got under his skin. Kate
glowered in open defiance, finding strength she hadn’t known she possessed. All
the pain and anger his lies had caused her lent fuel to the fires of her
strength.

They stared each other down in enraged
silence, neither willing to give an inch. Minutes ticked painfully by. Dominic
stepped behind her.

Kate jerked against her restraints to
avoid his touch. Her skin burned from the fleeting contact with his. After the
grating sound of metal on metal, Kate's wrists were free. Kneeling in the snow
at her feet, Dominic freed her ankles.

 He made no effort to rise. Kate stared
down at him in disbelief. He was letting her go? She wanted to search his eyes
for answers, but he took his turn avoiding her gaze.

            “Dominic?” Kate rasped.

            “Just go,” he said in a
hoarse whisper, still refusing to meet her eyes.

            “But…” she started.

            “Leave, Kate,” he said,
“before it’s too late.” Dominic indicated the eastern horizon with the jerk of
his head.

            Kate waited for him to look
up, to stand, but he remained still as stone on the frozen ground. The sun
would rise soon. She had to find shelter. There was no choice but to run

            “Thank you,” she whispered as
she turned to leave, tears stinging her eyes. All the unspoken words she needed
to say rushed to the surface, but there was no time. Casting a last, furtive
glance over her shoulder, Kate sprinted off into the night.

Chapter
31

Kate smelt his presence before she heard
the sharp snap of underbrush behind her. He’d been following her for the past
mile. The scent of a wolf was immediately recognizable and achingly familiar. Though
she’d picked up the pace to avoid a confrontation, Kate knew escape was futile.
She would have to face him.

Whipping around, Kate prepared to
confront the wolf who stalked her. Her stalker came to stand before her in the
pale moonlight. He appeared human, but her nose detected what her eyes could
not. This man was undeniably a werewolf.

            As
with his scent, he was familiar, but different. Standing no more than half a
foot taller than she, he was squatty for his stocky build. He carried himself
with the bulk and brawn of a wrestler or obsessive body builder, his arms too
thickly muscled to hang at a natural angle at his sides.

The moonlight danced across his face and
Kate drew a sharp intake of breath. This man was also Dominic’s brother. Not
Giovanni, but the other one, Matteo. The similarities were uncanny. The jaw and
nose could’ve been taken straight from Dominic’s face. The olive skin was the
same rich bronzed hue. His cropped hair the same midnight black as Dominic’s
once longer, unruly locks. The similarities ended there.

Where Dominic has an air of warmth and
charm, this man radiated bitterness and hate. Where Dominic’s eyes were bright
and soulful, his were sharp and cunning. Bushy black eyebrows met beneath an
overly broad forehead. Thins lips parted in a malicious sneer, revealing
crooked teeth. Dominic clearly benefited from the much deeper end of the gene
pool.

The man’s beady black eyes regarded her
with shrewd calculation. “So, you’re Dominic’s great love,” he sneered.

            “Hardly,”
Kate rejected, crossing her arms over her chest.

            “He
let you go, no?” he asked, lifting a bushy black brow in question. All of
Kate’s past anger toward Dominic faded beneath the sudden instinct to protect
him.

            “What
makes you think that?”

            “There
are only three men with the authority to call off your guard. See as how I am
one, and I didn’t send them away. Giovanni is another and he doesn’t have the
balls or the motive. This leaves one suspect, my dear younger brother, Dominic,
ever the thorn in my side.”

With each word, he inched closer to Kate.
His black eyes gleamed with menace. Kate instinctively slipped into a defensive
crouch.

“Don’t come any closer,” she snarled, flashing
her of teeth. Katerina stirred within, clawing her way to the surface. Her
shadow self wanted his blood, and for the first time, Kate felt inclined to let
her have it.

Surprise flickered across his face
before giving way to a wide grin of amusement. He chuckled. “A feisty bitch,
eh? I should’ve figured as much. Dom would never lose his head over some
simpering little princess. But no matter,” Matteo said with a shrug. “Tonight
I’ll finish what was started long ago. I’ll do what my brother wasn’t man
enough to do.” With an evil grin pasted on his face, he edged closer.

Kate tensed in readiness for an assault
that didn’t come. Matteo reached into his coat pocket instead. The moonlight
glinted off a sleek black revolver in his hand. He raised the gun to press the
steely end of the barrel to her temple.

Kate froze. Closing her eyes, she waited
for the blast that would end it all. Nothing happened.

“Ah, but first, I have more pressing
problems to attend to,” Matteo sighed, turning to scan the dark woods behind
him. “Do-min-ic, Do-ohm,” he called. “Show yourself brother. I know you’re
there.”

Kate gawked at him in incredulous shock.
His grin widened.

“What? You didn’t really believe he’d
abandon you to fend for your pathetic little self, did you? He knows better
than to allow you to wander off alone this far from the safety of your borders.
He’s been following you all along like the lovesick pup he is,” Matteo said,
gesturing with a sweep of his hand over the darkness of the forest. He
continued his sing-song shouting. “Come out and plaaaaaaay, bro-ther.”

Trembling with black fury, Dominic materialized
from the shadows. Though not in his wolf form, he was pure animal, dangerous
and feral.

“Enough, Matteo,” he roared. “Let her
go.”

Matteo turned, leveling the barrel to
aim straight at Dominic’s heart. Dominic didn’t flinch. Damn the man, he grinned.
A gun was pointed at his heart, and he grinned that heart-stopping devilish
smile that had always melted Kate into a puddle at his feet. Was he insane?

“What kind of bullets, you got there,
brother? There are two logical choices, and only one of them can kill me, the
other her. Tell me, Matteo, which did you choose, silver or ultraviolet? I hope
you chose well.”

A shadow of doubt flickered across
Matteo’s face. He swung around to press the cold steel to Kate’s forehead.

Swallowing hard, Kate straightened her
spine. She stood tall and proud, defiant. She would die with as much dignity as
she could muster.

“It doesn’t really matter, does it? I
only need to kill one of you…” Matteo’s finger tightened fractionally on the
trigger. Kate squeezed her eyes shut tight and waited for the explosion, the
last sound she’d ever hear.

It didn’t come. The man had an
infuriating habit of pointing a gun at her and failing to shoot.

“You’ve always been the perfect one,
everyone’s favorite. Dominic is so great. Dominic is so special,” he mimicked
in a mocking falsetto. “Dominic, Dominic, Dominic. I am tired of hearing about
Dominic, my perfect, do no wrong brother.

“I was the firstborn. I was supposed to
be the favorite, but Mother and Father both loved you best. No matter what I
did, it was never good enough.
I
was never enough for them.

“Oh, but they were wrong about you, all
of them were. You had everything, the world laid at your feet, and you threw it
all away. For her, a vampire,” Matteo spit the word at Kate as though there was
nothing viler. 

“Matteo, this is between us. Let her
go,” Dominic growled, a thread of desperation in his tone.

Did he really care? Kate glanced at him.
His face was dark and unreadable, but the dangerous glint in his eyes set even
her teeth on edge. 

Matteo was in trou-ble.

“You want her? By all means, brother,
don’t let me stand in your way,” Matteo challenged. Wrenching Kate by the arm,
he tossed her to the ground behind him like a rag doll. “Come and get her.”

Earth rattling snarls rumbled deep in
their chests. The two men lunged at each other, shuddering and shifting form
midair in a furious blur of black and brown lightning. A clap of violent
thunder fractured the air as their colossal bodies collided. Twisting and
tumbling, they snapped and tore at each other with relentless ferocity. There
would be no mercy. This was a fight to the death.

Kate scrambled in the snow, searching
for the gun, haphazardly tossed to the ground and forgotten, much like her. Her
pulse soared as her fingers curled around the cool steel. Grasping it with both
hands, Kate assumed the firing stance Alex had taught her. She channeled her
inner movie cop as she leveled the weapon in the direction of the two wolves.

Hands trembling with nerves, she
hesitated. Matteo had aimed the gun at her when asked what kind of bullets were
in it. Did that mean they were UV? Or was there a chance they were silver? If
they were ultraviolet, they might slow a wolf down, but would be useless in
killing one. If they were silver, well…

Eh, who was she kidding? Unless her
marksmanship had miraculously improved overnight, she couldn’t shoot at Matteo
without hitting Dominic. She’d probably have a better chance of hitting Matteo,
if she aimed for Dominic instead. Definitely not worth the risk. Sighing, she
chucked the weapon as far as she could into the darkness of the woods.

Kate couldn’t bear to watch, but
couldn’t force herself to turn away from the horrendous sight of the raging
beasts engaged in mortal combat. They tumbled in a dark whirl of fur, dagger
like claws, and razor-sharp teeth. Animalistic growls of rage combined with the
occasional yelp of pain as defenses were breached.

Paralyzed with fear for the safety of
the great black wolf, she waited. Kate watched and agonized over each shift in
position, each sound made. Their movements were so inhumanly fast. It was
difficult to determine who held the advantage. The overwhelming temptation to
intervene stole into her mind. She could help, right?

No, this was one battle Dominic needed
to fight on his own. The enmity between the brothers ran deeper than a mere
confrontation over her. Matteo’s jealousy and hatred had festered over
centuries. He would stop at nothing to destroy Dominic. Though the man she
loved fought for her, he fought for himself as well. And she was left no choice
but to patiently wait out the storm and pray.

Kate held her breath and prayed, begging
and bartering with any higher power who might listen for Dominic to emerge
victorious. Was it blasphemous to pray for another’s death? She didn’t care, so
long as Dominic was safe.

In her frantic desperation, Kate
promised to never drink human blood again. Ever. Okay, not much of a sacrifice
on her part, but Katerina roared in livid protest at the thought. Church, she’d
go every Sunday. There were services after dark, right? If it would help she’d
even drag a few wayward vampires along with her. Hopefully, their feet wouldn’t
catch fire. The bargaining became wilder as time ticked painfully by, the
deafening emptiness of the night punctuated by the vicious growls and snarls of
the wolves.

A painful whine pierced the air, bringing
the hairs at the nape of Kate’s neck to stand on end. The blur of black and
brown fur slowed to a standstill. Kate blinked.

The great black wolf stood over the
prostrate body of the brown one, tearing at the other’s throat, a low growl
rumbling in his chest. Her exultant heart leapt into her throat. Dominic was
safe.

Dark brown eyes bored into hers as the
wolf tossed aside the severed head of the other wolf. The metallic tang of blood
tainted the air. Kate’s own blood quickened in response, Katerina rustling with
hunger, jading the moment of triumph with her unwelcome thirst.

Her mouth went dry. Her teeth pricked in
readiness. Horrified, Kate clasped her hand over her mouth and nose, turning
away from the smell, from the flow of temptation.

Kate couldn’t let Dominic see. True, he’d
saved her, but the facts remained the same. She was still a vampire. He was
still the werewolf sworn to destroy her.

Dominic watched Kate turn away from him
in horror. His heart sank in his chest, his worst fears realized. She knew the
darkest truth of what he was. Though a creature of darkness herself, she still
rejected him. Even now, she couldn’t accept him for what he was.

He stared at Kate’s trembling back, rage
and sorrow roiling in his gut. She was so damned beautiful it hurt. She was
different, but still very much the same. Even as a vampire, she was the most
beautiful creature he’d ever set eyes on.

Sucking in deep calming breaths, he
tried to settle himself. He needed to make himself human again for her. Dominic
phased back to his human form, feeling naked and exposed for the first time in
his life.

Swiping the trickle of blood from his
chin, Dominic closed the space between them. He stopped to stand behind Kate. She
shook, whether from fear or cold he wasn’t sure. He ached to pull her into his
arms, to soothe her pain and fears. But he couldn’t. She’d chosen.

 “Kate?”

She shook her head, her wilting ebony curls
bobbing back and forth.

“Kate, I---”

“Just… give me… a minute,” she gasped.
“So… much… blood.”

The blood made her sick? That didn’t
make any sense. She was a nurse and a vampire.

            “The
blood?”

            “Yes…
it makes me… thirsty… so thirsty,” she whispered between shallow gasps.

            “Oh.”
Her words hit him like a runaway freight train. The thought hadn’t occurred to
him. Why would it? To him, she was just Kate.

            “You
can, um… you know, if you want to,” he told her, shuffling his feet in
discomfort. “I won’t stop you.”

            With
an indignant gasp, Kate whirled around to glare at him, her green eyes flashing
with anger. “As flattered as I am that you’d let me eat your dead brother, Mr.
Ridolfi, I’m afraid I’ll have to pass.”

            “But
you said you were… Is it because he’s already dead?” Dominic stumbled in his blind
search for understanding, grasping at invisible straws.

            “No,”
she answered flatly, her hand resuming its place over her mouth and nose.

            “Oh
dear God, you’re not thirsting for my blood, are you?”  

“No,” she protested. “Yes… I mean…
maybe. I mean, I don’t know.”