Vampire Mate: BBW Paranormal Romance (16 page)

All he heard was his own
labored breathing, and a primal scream that was going on and on in
his head.

Glenn could feel his fangs
pushing out, an instinctive reaction to pain and danger. He was
ready to fight, to maim and kill. But where was the enemy? He
couldn't kill Sideous Kron. He had to let Charlene kill him.

Every word that Charlene had
spoken was the truth. It was the only way. Glenn had spoken at
length to Zorath, and Zorath had consulted with his mages and a few
other demon princes. All had said the same thing.

To be free, a Made demon had
to destroy her demon Maker. And once the demon Maker was killed, all
his demons would perish with him. The demons would be sucked back
into the Abyss together with their Maker. Only the one who had slain
her Maker by her own hand would be free.

It really was the only way.

The only way for his mate to
be free.

Glenn closed his eyes in pain.
If you love her, let her go.

Which bloody fool was it who
said that?

A fool who'd never had to let
his mate go, that's who.

Glenn closed his eyes.
Sideous Kron would never free her. That demon lord would never let
her go. He would keep her forever, by his side, enslaved, trapped,
miserable.

Glenn took a deep breath,
letting the air burn his lungs. He wasn't Kron. He would never
allow his mate to be trapped and miserable. He had promised to free
her. Even if it killed him, he would do it.

Charlene would be free. She
wouldn't be a slave to a demon lord, a monster to a monster. That
was what she wanted. And that was what he wanted for her as well.

But it was just so fucking
hard.

“
Whatever you decide,
Glenn, the PAC is behind you,” Lucas spoke up quietly.

Glenn gave a silent nod. It
was his decision, his call to make.

With supreme effort, Glenn
tore his eyes from Charlene and stood up slowly.

“
Blake, I have a favor
to ask of you.”

“
Anything, Glenn, just
name it and it's done,” Blake answered instantly.

“
Zorath told me that to
destroy a demon lord, you'll need to gouge his heart out with a blade
made of demon bone. He said he gave Jasynta a knife that was forged
by the most powerful mages in his court...”

“
Yes! Jasynta has the
knife. It's in our bedroom,” Blake answered. “She used
that knife to cut down that cursed Moon Flower and save all of us,”
he said. Glenn could see the big bear shifter swelling with pride at
the memory. Blake and Jasynta had gone to hell literally, to find
and save each other. The knife that he was asking Blake for had been
forged by the most powerful mages in Zorath's demon court, and the
demon prince had presented it to Jasynta.

“
I know the knife holds
sentimental value for Jasynta and you...” Glenn began.

“
Nah. It's just a
knife. I didn't know it was made of demon bone though.” Blake
frowned. “But if it can help your mate, then it's yours. And
in fact, Jasynta will insist that you take it. When do you want it?”

“
Now. If possible.”

“
I'll speed home and get
it right now!” Blake made for the door.

Jett stared at Glenn, then
stood up to face him. “My Enforcers are ready. Just tell us
what you need us to do.”

“
The Council is behind
you, Glenn,” Lucas said, squeezing Glenn's shoulder.

“
So am I.” Bryn
jumped to her feet. “And so is Caleb Thorn. Yeah, Caleb and
I are friends. We've always wondered when you would Call your
vampires in. Now is the time, Glenn. Call us. You are our Master.
We will fight for you, for your mate.”

Glenn managed a smile for the
loyal, fearless young vampire he had turned, and nodded.

For his mate, he would use all
the weapons and power at his disposal. He would help her destroy her
demon Maker, and free herself from his power. With his help, with
him at her side, she would not fail.

She would be free. And if
everything went according to the plan taking shape in his head, she
would not leave him ever again.

He loved her, and he would
not
let her go.

Glenn turned to speak to
Lucas, Jett and Bryn. “Tomorrow night, we fight Sideous Kron.”

“
We'll be ready,”
they assured him.

Glenn took Charlene's hand and
said, “We'll wait here for Blake. I'll teach you how to use
that demon knife. And...” He leaned in to whisper against her
temple. “You'll spend this last night with me.”

Charlene took the knife from
Blake very carefully. The silvery blade was curved like a crescent
moon, and the handle felt cool and solid in her fist. She touched
the glinting blade gingerly with the tips of her fingers. “This
is made of silver and demon bone?”

“
That's what Zorath
said. And I trust Zorath,” Glenn replied tersely.

“
Charlene?”

She started, jerking her eyes
up from the knife. “Yes, Blake?”

“
Jasynta wants me to
tell you that Charlotte is healing very well, and she'll be good as
new tomorrow night.”

Charlene blinked her tears
away quickly. “Thank you, and please, thank Jasynta for me.
Thank you both so much,” she whispered.

At the door, Blake stopped
and abruptly pulled Glenn into a bear hug. “Tomorrow night,”
was all the burly werebear said before leaving them alone, alone with
each other and the knife which would end it all—tomorrow night.

Glenn came to her and took her
hand. “Come, let's get you to one of the training rooms
upstairs.”

“
Training rooms? Where
Jett trains his new Enforcers?”

“
Yes. You need to learn
how to use that knife to cut out a demon's heart. You have to cut
out Sideous Kron's heart tomorrow night.”

“
I will do it with
pleasure.” Charlene wished she sounded more earnest and
forceful. The sadness in her voice made her sound weak and pathetic.

Glenn was walking ahead of
her, leading her towards the lift. He glanced back over his shoulder
just once, but that was all. His stride was purposeful as he entered
the lift, and he stood silently beside her as the lift descended.
His face was turned towards the display panel above the lift door,
his expression grim. There was no softness, sorrow or pity in his
eyes. Just a hard, unyielding resolve.

They entered one of the
smaller training rooms and Charlene gaped at the rows of lifelike
dummies lining the walls.

Glenn shrugged off his jacket
and threw it on the back of a chair. “Come here,” he
commanded. “Put down the knife and grab that dummy. No, not
that one. The one on your left. Yes, that's it. Lay it down on the
floor.”

Charlene dropped the dummy on
the floor and straightened up. She stared at the horned, scaly dummy
and picked up her knife. Glenn crouched beside the dummy and said,
“This is a demon dummy. Demon anatomy is not the same as
shifter, vampire and human anatomy. Do you know where a demon's
heart is?”

Charlene knelt beside the
dummy and pointed at its chest. “There.”

“
Wrong. If you stabbed
him there, your blade will get stuck in his sternum. His heart is
lower down.”

“
Um, here?”
Charlene ventured, pressing her finger down on the dummy's abdomen.
She recoiled in shock. The scales and skin texture felt very real.

“
These dummies are made
to be as true to the real thing as possible. And yes, demon skin is
a little rubbery,” Glenn said, noting her reaction. “Not
soft like yours,” he added.

She let out a laugh. “Not
for long. If I hang around, I'll come into my demon form soon and
become cold, scaly and rubbery—not something you'd want to
share your bed with.”

Glenn opened his mouth, but
forced it shut and swallowed. He dragged his eyes away from her, and
focused on the dummy. “A demon's heart is just above his
groin.” Glenn pointed between the dummy's legs, which to
Charlene's relief, had no genitalia. It was just covered with
scales.

“
Hold the knife firmly,
Charlene. Like this.” Glenn closed his hand over hers to grip
the handle. “Plunge the blade into his body like this, with a
curved motion, and you scoop out his heart with just one cut. Got
it?”

She nodded rapidly and
practiced the movement on her own. “Yup. I think I got it.”

“
Good. Now do it. Cut
out the demon's heart.” Glenn stood up and folded his arms.

“
R-right.”

Charlene blinked the sweat
from her eyes, and held the shaking knife over the dummy. With a
cry, she stabbed the dummy between the legs and twisted the blade.
The rubbery skin broke, and something hard and round rolled out of
the dummy's body.

“
Charlene, you're
supposed to cut out his heart, not his balls.” Glenn had his
chin in his hand, but he managed to keep his face straight.

Charlene stared at the spilled
plastic organs. The dummy didn't bleed black blood, and she could
see the organs neatly arranged inside its body. “I think I'd
better see exactly where everything is,” she muttered, rising
to her knees. Taking a deep breath, she flayed the dummy and flipped
the two halves of its skin wide open. She began to memorize the
position of the demon's organs inside its body.

“
You just have to know
where his heart is,” Glenn commented, watching her point and
probe at every single organ inside the dummy.

“
I need to know where
his vital organs are, so I can inflict some serious injury,”
she said without looking up. “He has to be near incapacitated
before I can cut out his heart. Kron won't just lie down and let me
have his heart. I'm going to have to fight him, and I'll have to
fight dirty. That cunning old demon!”

She continued memorizing and
muttering to herself. Finally she looked up and said, “Can I
try again?”

Glenn nodded and got another
demon dummy from the wall. But this time, he held it upright instead
of laying it on its back on the floor.

Charlene understood what she
had to do. She went over to the dummy and readied her knife. Just
as she was about to strike, she froze suddenly and asked Glenn,
“You're not going to yank it away at the last second, are you?
I'm just worried that I may cut you by mistake. And I don't want...”

Glenn met her eyes. “You
can't hurt me.”
More than you already have.

Charlene swallowed. “I
have to do this,” she said softly, more to herself than him.

Glenn held the dummy against
him, close to his body in a choke hold. Charlene frowned, her eyes
envisioning the exact position of the dummy's internal organs. The
heart was below the lungs, just above the crotch. Stab, slice and
scoop it out. She had to be quick. Kron would be anticipating her
moves and blocking her. Once she saw an opening, she had to go for
it.

In one swift, silent lunge,
she pierced the dummy's skin with her blade and sliced into its body.
Rotating her wrist, she severed the heart from its arteries and
veins. Pushing her other hand into the cavity, she retrieved the
severed heart and pulled it out of the dummy's body.

She straightened up, holding
the plastic heart in her palm.

Glenn rewarded her with a
quick smile. “Not bad. But not quick enough. Now—”
He flung the dummy away and pulled another one from the wall. “Do
it again. And don't hesitate this time.”

Charlene's triumphant beam
faded as she let the heart plop onto the floor. She was seeing a
side of Glenn for the first time—the stern, focused taskmaster
who knew what he wanted and didn't stop until he got it.

He was intense and
hard-driving. He was hard on her. He was even harder on himself.

Charlene sighed and squared
her shoulders. She would practice and practice until she got it
right. The night was still young. She would carve out the hearts of
a hundred dummies if she had to.

Tomorrow night, she had just
one chance.

She had to get it right.

“
I won't hesitate.”
She nodded at Glenn.

Glenn grabbed a dummy and
faced her. “Whenever you're ready.”

She flexed her fingers and
blew out a breath. “I'm ready.”
As ready as I'll
ever be.

After two hours, and a dozen
dummies later, Charlene moped her brow and threw the last plastic
heart into the heap at the corner.

She crouched and got ready to
have another go at a demon dummy, but Glenn walked to her, and gently
took the knife out of her hand.

She was panting hard as she
looked up at him in bewilderment.

“
Charlene.” He
said her name so softly like a caress.

She gasped when he folded her
into his arms. “Aren't we going to practice anymore?”
she stuttered. “What...?”