Immortal Wounds: Book #1 in the Immortal Wounds Vampire Series-Paranormal Romance/Vampire Romance/Romantic Fantasy (40 page)

“The same way yours does.” His answer was completely enigmatical.

“Apparently not for long.”

“You’re not going to die!” He looked taken aback.

“Of course I am. You’re going to kill everyone.”

“Not you. Just the blood sucking vampires,” he grinned. “They’re hardly worth shedding a tear over.”

I sucked in my cheeks. I felt as though I’d been personally insulted. “They are not blood suckers.”

“Oh, you’ve met some refined ones.” He grinned. “Shall I take you home? Your beloved dark father could show you some eating habits that would stand your hair on end.”

I grimaced. I couldn’t allow the thought to linger. My tolerance for blood was spent the night I’d almost taken a mouthful, mistaking it for wine. I suddenly felt sick. I tried not to remember that my arm was ripped open.

“Are you feeling alright my dear? You look a little green.” I could detect a small hint of enjoyment in his voice.

“Yes, it’s just that blood . . . the thought of drinking blood . . .” I slapped my hand over my mouth, hoping to resist the urge to vomit.

Damen laughed uncontrollably. “I don’t believe it. Lady Phoebe is repulsed by blood? Does Marcus know?” He was enjoying himself to the fullest.

“Can we not talk about this; honestly, it’s disgusting.” Damen’s laughter turned into a howl. Apparently, this was by far the most comical turn of events he could have imagined . . . and he relished it.

Annoyed, I started to move out of the water. My body was beyond cold—probably the only thing keeping my arm from falling off, I thought.

“You know, it doesn’t have to be this way,” I yelled over my shoulder as I retreated. “You could get along with them again. You don’t have to fight.”

“We will not serve the vampires any longer,” Damen growled. He’d snuck up behind me without me even noticing. His hand gripped my arm spinning me around. I winced at the pain of it. “We will not be free until Luther is dead!”

“Well, I’m not one of you.” I tried to break free from his grasp. “I’m not a werewolf. Don’t expect me to support your cause.”

“You could have been!” He smiled wickedly. “You were lucky. I have the ability to control my bite, and more importantly, I can control the amount of venom I give. Yours was an accident. I had no intension in biting you. I didn’t even know you existed. We simply . . . collided. Imagine, the odds of me literally running into you, after all this time.” He stared at me, mesmerized by the very idea.

“The other werewolves, they’re not like you, are they? They’re not as advanced.”

“No,” Damen admitted. “They will bite or kill whoever gets in their path.” His tone was dark.

“Except me, right? You said they weren’t supposed to hurt me.” My words were broken and weak sounding. He knew I was scared.

He touched my cheek gently. “That is unfortunately not the case any longer.” His eyes softened a little. “Luther is the oldest of the living vampires—the creator. He has managed to keep the werewolves enslaved for thousands of years. He must be killed if we are to ever truly be free.”

I stared at him, confused. What did that have to do with me?

“You are his daughter,” Damen went on, answering my unspoken question. “But you are no longer a vampire. You belong to
my world
now.” There was a sense of malice in his tone, and I found myself cringing away from him. “Luther will not fight his own daughter, even if you are one of the retched beasts he detests.”

I gasped at the insult, his words cutting deep.

“He will forfeit his life in order to save yours. Victory will be ours.” I could see a triumphant look in his eyes; it was as if he’d already won the battle.

“Damen, I’m not Luther’s daughter. He doesn’t even know I’m here. I’m not that Phoebe!” I could feel the tears of frustration running down my cheeks. “He wouldn’t sacrifice himself for me—why would he have to?” I dreaded the answer before I’d heard it.

Damen grabbed the back of my neck and pulled my head to his. His lips trembled against my ear. “But . . . you are . . . my dear. You. Are!”

My body was shaking. Fear, the chill of the water, and the considerable blood loss I’d suffered was consuming me.

“Aidric will offer you in exchange for Luther’s cooperation. If he refuses . . . ”

“You’d let them kill me?” I looked at him in disbelief.

His expression hardened. “I will not have a choice!” he growled through his teeth.

“No! You’d never let them hurt me if you truly loved me. You’re lying . . . Why?”

“To lose you again would be more than Luther could bear. Even he has a heart when it comes to you. Aidric is counting on that . . . so am I.”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“It’s normal to want what you can’t have. And to fight for what others said you wouldn’t.” His eyes narrowed. “Luther felt it necessary to constantly remind me that I’d never have your love . . . not as long as he lives anyway,” he muttered the last part under his breath, but the message came out loud and clear. “Aidric has offered you as a gift to me for my continued support in this endeavor. He was very pleased to find that you still lived.”

“What!” I thundered, completely insulted that someone I didn’t even know had the nerve to “offer” me as a gift. “So that’s how you justify sacrificing me to Aidric? You really think that’s going to earn you points with me . . . or Luther?” I threw the last bit in for good measure, knowing it would push a button.

“I don’t have to prove anything to Luther!” he spat. “As for proving myself to you,” he inched closer. “I spent
decades
serving you!
Fighting
for you.
Loving
you in silence. I proved my love and loyalty to you time and time again!” he thundered. “I took beatings for you! I’ve
earned
your love!”

I gasped at the harshness of his words. My whole world seemed to still as I realized what Damen had said. His expression gave him away—he’d said too much.

“Damen?” My voice was barely a whisper over the loud pounding in my chest. “Did someone hurt you . . . because of
me
?” I found myself reaching out to him. My hand trembled against his chest.

He took my hand and brought it to his lips. He kissed it gently before holding it to his heart. “I’m sorry. You are not to concern yourself with that. Forgive me, Phoebe.” He bowed his head. He truly looked repentant. “I never meant for you to ever know.”

It took a moment before I realized my mouth was still open. My mind was reeling. What was he hiding from me? What wasn’t I supposed to know? Who would have hurt him . . . because of me?

“Phoebe, I know I could make you happy, if you’d just give me a chance.” His eyes were so hopeful. He’d never looked more human than he did at this very moment, and a small part of me now ached for him.

“Damen, you’re a werewolf. Why would you have loved me . . . a vampire?” I suddenly found myself wanting to learn the mystery behind Damen’s love for Phoebe.

“Because you never saw me as anyone but Damen. I was never a monster in your eyes. Even now, you still don’t see me as a werewolf. I’m just a man. It doesn’t matter what we are. It never has.”

“But you taunt Marcus for loving me. A vampire and a . . . well . . . I’m different than he is.”

“Marcus has always been cut and dry. He would never fall in love with a werewolf. We’re beneath him.”

“That’s not true. He treats Richard like gold, and he loves me, just as I am.”

“He loves a memory.” Damen shook his head. “It won’t last. He won’t be able to truly love you—not now. Not the way you are.” His words were cutting, and for a brief moment, he looked as if he regretted saying them.

“I don’t believe you.” I pulled my hand from his. “He loves me, I know he does.” I sounded desperate.

“I can’t leave you human Phoebe; it’s not safe. You’ll never survive what is to come if I leave you as you are.”

My heart stopped. “Damen, you can’t!”

“Shhh!” He took my face in his hands.

“Please . . .” Tears were running down my face again as I pleaded with him, begged him. His deep blue eyes stared longingly into mine. His mouth took mine again and again before he slowly moved his lips down my neck to my shoulder where I felt him pause. I could feel his warm breath on my skin as his teeth pressed down on it ever so slightly.

“Damen!” My fingers dug into his arms.

He lifted his head up to look at me, his eyes full of sorrow. “I have no choice. You’re different from them, the other werewolves. Because you have not turned completely, they spot this as a weakness. They won’t stop hunting you until you’re dead.” I could hear the anguish in his voice. “I can’t protect you like this.”

“No!” I tried to push him away. He gripped me tighter, his hand inadvertently squeezing into my raw wound. I cried out in pain.

“Phoebe, I can make that go away. Don’t fight me! Let me turn you. You’ll heal all the faster.” He moved his mouth to my wounded shoulder once more.

“Damen I’m pregnant!”

He slowly pulled away from me, his eyes tight with fury. “For now,” he snarled.

Instant dread fell over me. He’d known. Somehow . . . he’d known.

“How could he have been so foolish to create a child with you? It’s an abomination!”

“I’m not a werewolf!” I screamed out, pushing away from him at last. “And how can you say that? You just said it didn’t matter what we were?”

“You cannot create a new species!” he thundered. He was seething with rage.

I tried to put as much distance between us as I could. I jumped backward, splashing my way along, as the water got shallower and shallower.

“Stay away from me,” I warned, putting my hands out—as if that would stop him.

“You know I can’t do that.” Damen’s voice was even, unfeeling. His eyes still fixed on me. He moved slowly through the water, closing in on me with each step.

“I’ll go home!” I promised desperately. “No one will know you let me go. They won’t find me there,” I cried, stumbling backward. “Damen don’t do this to me again!”

He stopped at the edge of the bank, water dripping from his body.

My mind went blank. I was in absolute shock. At that moment, I was sure of only one thing: “You’re naked!” My eyes were wide, unable to look away. He was beautiful, and yet the longer I stared the harder he was to see him. He gave off his own light, like the sun. I could feel the heat moving across my face—it had to be glowing crimson by now.

“What did you expect?” He grinned, all sense of malice gone.

My mouth dropped. With great effort I forced my eyes to meet his. “
You’re
naked!” I repeated.

“Yes.”

“
Why
are you naked?” I felt like a deer in the headlights. I knew I should look away but—

“The only way to catch your horse was if I turned,” he explained, completely unabashed.

“Of course.” I closed my eyes and shook my head. This wasn’t happening. This was
not
happening. I was seeing things. I’d finally cracked. That had to be it. There was no way he was just standing there—in the middle of the woods in his birthday suit!

I opened my eyes once again. Damen hadn’t moved. And he was still naked.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen that color on your face before,” he teased.

“Will you quit standing there like that?” I snapped. My eyes did their best to evade him.