The Bite That Binds

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

(Sam)

It’s fucking Orrin. The vampire’s walk was nothing like it had been at his home. Back there, he had seemed somewhat bashful and introverted – ‘seemed’ being the key word. The bloody bastard had played us, and he’d played us well. Now his walk was confident, purposeful, and imposing. In the place of the timid smile that he had worn for us was a harsh scowl.

Oh he was sooooooo going to die tonight. And very, very painfully.

The bastard, I’ll kill him, growled Jared. I sensed that he was as frustrated with himself as I was with myself for not looking closer at this particular vampire, at not even considering him. All right, maybe it was fair to say that there hadn’t been anything to make us link Orrin with this op, but had we paid more attention, we might have sensed his little act. Might have questioned just why he was putting on a little act.

Returning to my team, I took a calming breath. “The boss…it’s Orrin.”

Salem, who had gone inside Orrin’s home with us a few evenings ago, blew out a breath. “I never would have guessed.”

That made me feel slightly better. “He’s brought seven vampires with him.”

“That takes the people count up to thirteen versus sixteen,” said Chico. “Still good odds, though.”

Too pissed off to stall any longer, I contacted Jared again, staring at the spot that he and his team were waiting. I’m ready to move.

Good, let’s do this.

Whereas usually I would have had to absorb the energy around me, things were very different after the brothers’ meddling. Now the energy − both kinetic and solar − was already clinging to me, filling me. I let it buzz through me, invigorating me. On three. One, two, three. And then I manipulated some of the energy into a fireball and threw it. As I’d planned, it caught the clothesline that was hanging at the rear of the house, setting alight some of the garments pegged on it.

As we’d hoped, several of the vampires came dashing outside to investigate. Before they could even think to act, a bolt of lightning struck the small shack behind the clothesline. Suddenly all of them, other than one female, were there, ready to fight…and away from the baby. This not only gave Butch a chance to get inside, but it meant that the battle was happening away from the baby.

“Go,” I told Butch, watching with satisfaction as he slinked through the trees, heading toward the front of the house. There wasn’t room for optimism yet, however.

Jared was the first to attack. Remaining under the cover of the trees, he projected a massive lightning bolt at the vampires. The bolt hit one of them, reducing him to ashes. The hope was that the action would lure them away from the house and toward the trees. It sort of worked. Everybody other than Orrin and Blake began to move.

My mouth almost dropped open when Rudy – who I recognised from Orrin’s home – swiftly changed into a white tiger. Well that could be a problem. One of the others – a muscular Keja – wiggled his fingers, and they suddenly turned into black, oily tentacles. Ew. Startling me more than any of that, however, was when another Keja faded, becoming invisible. No, not invisible, I realised as he turned toward where Jared and his team were hidden. When he moved, it was possible to see him ever so slightly. But when he literally dashed away, I couldn’t see him at all. Apparently then, he was only slightly visible when he moved reasonably slowly − which wasn’t something he was liable to do in an attack. Oh joy.

It was fair to say that this wasn’t going to be at all easy. These vampires were clearly powerful…but so were we.

Not wanting all of the vampires to head for Jared and outnumber the rest of the team, I launched a powerful energy ball at one of them, hitting him in the back and making him burst into ashes. Simultaneously, Chico exhaled dozens of thorns in their direction; some connected with a dark-skinned Pagori. Instead of falling to the floor in agonising pain that would quickly lead to his death, however, he swerved…and exhaled thorns at us that were identical to Chico’s. We barely managed to dodge them.

“Oh shit. He’s a Syphon.” That was definitely not good. Whatever gift we used against him, he would be able to absorb and use for himself. Tell the others not to use their gifts on the dark-skinned Pagori, he’s a Syphon, I warned Jared. The only way we can deal with him is with up close and personal combat, but you’ll have to wait until his ability to exhale thorns has worn off. The average time was somewhere between three and five minutes.

Great, he snapped. I’ll get Stuart to duel him. That was clever, since Stuart had sparred with Chico often in order to improve the speed at which he could explode into molecules − when poisonous thorns were coming at you and you needed to dodge fast, your speed could improve very quickly. But I didn’t have time to praise Jared for his decision as suddenly six vampires were charging at me and my team. Oh bugger.

The one that had decided to focus on me jumped in the air and hissed a large spray of water at me. Or, what looked like water. It was only when it hit the trees in front of me and the bark sizzled away that I realised what it was: acid. I slammed up my shield just in time, smiling at him. Again he hissed acid, seeming to think that it would dissolve the shield, but again it didn’t work. Behind my shield, I tauntingly wagged a finger at him, just to piss him off.

I was about to reshape my shield into an energy beam and bury it in his chest when, distracting the hell out of me, Salem was suddenly flat on his back in front of me and clutching his abdomen. The vampire chose that moment to hiss acid at his face. Salem cried out as patches of his skin began to sizzle, smoke, and peel. Shit.

As a feral-looking Pagori leaped at Salem – I guessed it was the same vampire that had put Salem on his back in the first place – I pushed my shield outward, encompassing Salem. The Pagori rebounded off my shield and went zooming backwards.

Relentless – or stupid, whichever – the hisser once again tried to penetrate my shield with his acid. Before he could try it again, that very same vampire exploded into ashes, courtesy of a psionic boom from David. I gave him a brief nod of thanks then allowed my shield to fade away, and offered Salem my hand. “Can you get up?”

In answer, Salem ignored my hand and bounced to his feet. He didn’t look good at all. Although his wounds were healing, they were healing extremely slowly and were obviously painful. But they didn’t distract him from sending a vengeful, psychic punch hurling at the feral-looking Pagori. The force rippled in the air as it headed for the vampire, taking him out instantly. Salem’s grunt of satisfaction would have made me smile if I hadn’t, at that moment, sensed two vampires coming at me from behind.

I turned sharply, ready to fight them, when they were each abruptly lifted off their feet by an unseen force and sent colliding into a tree. Turning back again, I gave Harvey a nod of thanks. He barely had time to nod back before his attention was snatched by a vampire that was heading for him. I might have moved to help him, returning the favour, if green ooze wasn’t suddenly being aimed at me.

It was very familiar green ooze, actually…as was the vampire spraying it out of his hands. “Denny, what the fuck?” I demanded, shocked. Everything in me rebelled against the idea of hurting a member of my own squad, but he had obviously been brainwashed into turning on us or something, because he was about to attack me!

Unsure of what else to do, I was ready to blow a gust of wind at him. But then the ooze stopped just short of reaching me and wrapped around an invisible, struggling captive. That was when it all made sense. The struggling stopped as a psionic boom sprayed out of David’s fingertips and hit the invisible vampire hard. Like that, he was ashes inside the oozy web.

David’s triumphant smile disappeared from his face, however, as a white tiger crashed into him, sending him sprawling onto the ground. It went to bite down on David’s throat, but as David threw his arm up defensively, the powerful jaw instead locked onto his arm. He cried out through his teeth, shoving at the animal. I shot an energy ball at him, but the tiger flattened himself on top of David, effectively ducking from the impact. He couldn’t escape David’s other hand though as it pressed against his head. Blue sparks danced around the animal’s large skull just a second before its entire body burst into ashes.

I ran to David, checking his arm. It was practically savaged; I could even see bone. “It’ll heal, but with that kind of damage, it’s going to be at least half an hour before it’s properly healed.”

“I’m not leaving the fight.” His face was a mask of frustration and pain, but there was utter determination there.

I turned to Chico, who stood over us. “I need you to stay with him.”

Ignoring David’s petulant ‘I don’t need babysitting’ comment, Chico nodded.

“No, you don’t need babysitting,” I agreed. David’s pride was a big thing. “But you’re always an immediate target because of how powerful you are. This is no different than when Butch sticks with you. It’s just having someone to watch your back, that’s all.”

Pure instinct made me look in a particular spot. There was Jared with black, oily tentacles trapping his wrists and ankles, pinning him to the ground. A large Keja stood, sneering down at him. Fucking bastard. In the space of a millisecond, I was on my feet and an energy ball was in my hand. I only barely managed to hold it back when the Syphon threw himself in my path, wanting to absorb the energy ball and have my power for a while. Sneaky little sod.

I had to assume two things from that. One, the ability to exhale thorns had worn off. Two, Stuart was hurt somewhere, or the Syphon wouldn’t be running around freely.

Cursing, I sucked the energy back into my hand, disintegrating the ball. Eager to get to Jared, my instinct was to whip the shit out of the Syphon and get him out of my way. But I couldn’t touch him with my whip, because then he’d have one of his own. And I couldn’t attack him with my gifts in any way, because I couldn’t afford for him to have them. But I needed him gone!

As an idea came to mind, I smiled. “Novo.” The tattoo that had been twined around my waist was now a live, very ticked off snake. Like that time when I’d been up against Magda, Dexter’s scales were dark-red and he was hissing angrily.

Unsurprisingly, the Syphon’s cocky smirk faltered. Ha. He would know that though the snake was clearly preternatural, Dexter didn’t have a gift that he could absorb. As such, if Dexter hurt him, he was fucked.

I had no idea what his plan had been when he took an angry step toward me, and I didn’t get the chance to find out because that one step forward had been enough to set Dexter off. Abruptly, he struck at the Syphon, biting into his cheek.

The Syphon cried out in both surprise and pain, bringing his hand up to his cheek. “Bitch. You fucking bitch.”

“Why thank you.”

As he began double-blinking and shaking his head, I knew that stage one was starting to take effect. Any other time, I might have sat back and watched the show, but not now while Jared was in danger.

Instead, I cracked my whip at the vampire that was attacking Chico, winding it round his ankle. I then used the vampire as a bat, whacking the Syphon hard enough to send him hurtling in the air and crashing into the broken shack. He landed hard on one of the jagged pieces of wood and it pierced right through his chest. A loud groan escaped him just before he turned into ashes.

That groan had barely ended when my attention was back on Jared – he was still struggling against the tentacles that were pinning him to the ground. Worse, a scowling Pagori was bent over him with his arm pulled back, ready to punch. Not just punch Jared, but punch his fist into Jared’s chest.

I lashed my whip at the Pagori, curling it tight around his throat. Then, practically feral in my anger, I dragged him to me with the whip. He clawed at it wildly, trying to free himself, but he froze when Dexter’s head was suddenly only inches from his face. He actually whimpered, and who could blame him?

Dexter spat venom into his eyes, making him groan through gritted teeth and scrub his eyes madly. When he finally opened them and saw me standing with my elbow reared back, he knew what I was going to do but I was too fast for him to stop me, too strong for him to do anything about it. In under a second, his heart was in my hand, and then both he and his heart were ashes − something I wouldn’t have been able to do if it hadn’t been for the extra strength.

Snarling, I turned to Tentacle Boy, who had the sense to look worried.

There was no trace of that nervousness in his gruff voice, though. “You hurt me with that whip or you sic that snake on me, and I’ll pull his limbs from his body.”

“That would be a shame. He’s good with those hands.” Plan in mind, I went to absorb the energy of the Earth beneath my feet, but it had already come to me, waiting for direction.

Seeming to notice the mercury glow to my irises, Tentacle Boy stared at me studiously. “What are you?”

“Empress of the fucking universe.” And then I caused a spike of earth to sprout from the ground between his legs and smack him hard in the balls. Blokes always did the same thing when that happened; they momentarily tensed and then all energy seemed to leave them as they dropped whatever they were holding and fell to their knees, cupping their balls, and that was exactly what he did.

Before Dexter or I could have any fun with the sod, a pissed-fricking-off Jared jumped to his feet, grabbed the vampire’s head, and snapped it from his body. Swiftly, the Keja was ashes.

“Feel better?” I asked Jared, slightly amused by a move that was more about anger management than vengeance.

He frowned thoughtfully. “Yeah.”

Looking around, I noticed that there appeared to only be a few of Orrin’s vampires still fighting. The man himself was still standing at the rear entrance with Blake, watching the whole thing. The memory meddler was looking pretty nervous but Orrin looked cool as a cucumber, which made me wonder what his gift was.

The weird bugger clapped. “Impressive. Very impressive. Oh, and I do like that pet of yours, Samantha.”

Do you think the squad will be okay taking out the ones who are left? I asked Jared. Because I really want to hurt this silly little twat.

Max is in a coma, Stuart’s in a trance, and Damien – though fully conscious and still fighting – has a hole in his chest that’s so huge, you could put your hand through it. How about the others?

I hadn’t been expecting to hear any of that. Salem’s face has been burned with acid but he’s otherwise okay. David’s arm has been savaged by a tiger but Chico’s watching his back so he can stay in the fight. Who’s watching over Max and Stuart?

Reuben, and Damien – the guy might be injured, but he sure can fight.

It was true: Damien had become great at combat. Please tell me Butch got out with the baby.

Yep, he’s waiting at the campground. There isn’t many of Orrin’s vampires left now, and with Chico, Harvey, Reuben, and Denny still going strong, I think they’ll be fine dealing with them.

Then let’s have a chat with Orrin. Wait, where’s Jude?

I’m not sure, but I have a strong feeling she’s inside that house looking for the other female vampire.

That did sound like Jude. All right, let’s deal with him, but we can’t kill him. He belongs to Jude. With that in mind, I decided it would be better to return Dexter to his tattoo form – I couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t kill the bloke. “Novo.” Instantly Dexter seemed to melt into my body, which appeared to shock the living shit out of Orrin. Good.

I cracked my whip at him, intending to trap him with it so that I could cart him inside the house. To my utter shock, the whip flew through him as if he wasn’t even there, like he was merely a ghost.

“Much like you, Samantha, I have a substantial gift,” Orrin explained, seemingly enjoying my confusion. “It has its advantages in many situations.”

It was Jared who guessed. “Density control. You can manipulate the density of your own body. Rare.”

Shit. Now what do we do?

Fuck if I know.

“That’s right, Jared. You – fortunately for me, but unfortunately for you – cannot harm me. Even with all that power, Samantha, you cannot harm me. Nor can those talented men there.”

A fleeting look allowed me to see that the squad were now the only ones remaining – though many of them were worse for wear – and they were beginning to gather behind us.

A click of Orrin’s fingers was followed by the swift appearance of a stout, cheery looking female. “Moira, be a dear and take care of these people.” He gestured to Jared and the squad.

Suddenly the squad began to drop to the ground, one by one. Instinctively, I brought my shield up and extended it around Jared before the woman could place her focus on him – which appeared to agitate the hell out of Orrin. “What did you do to them?” I demanded.

“Don’t be alarmed, they’re merely in a very deep sleep. After a few hours – it differs from person to person – they’ll wake again. It’s a useful gift to have when you’re caring for babies.” He signalled to Moira to return inside. A nervous Blake went with her.

Jared asked the very question that was bugging me. “Why didn’t you get her to do that at the beginning?”

“I wanted to see what Samantha was capable of. And it’s not often you get the chance to observe the Heir and his own personal squad in action.” Orrin gave me what I guessed was supposed to be a reassuring smile. “I had considered plucking you out of harm’s way so that we could leave a little sooner, but I was confident that you would escape it unscathed. And I was right, wasn’t I?”

I had to have heard him wrong. “Excuse me, but it sounds like you have the impression that I’m going somewhere with you.”

“Well of course you are. You think I don’t know what the brothers did to you? You think I didn’t play some part in what happened?”

“What do you mean?” growled Jared. Yeah, it had been dumb of Orrin to admit that in front of a very protective Jared.

Orrin sighed. “The brothers are what you might call…I guess sociopaths, is probably the best term.” And wasn’t that the pot calling the kettle black. “They know what’s right and wrong, they just think the rules don’t apply to them. It’s what makes them such good scientists − no guilt or ethics to interfere.

“They’re both obsessed with the idea of glory, of making a discovery or an achievement that no one else can match. Their goal is to create the ultimate vampire − a blend of all three. Unfortunately, the brothers can be a little eccentric and unpredictable, but the right amount of motivation and the right amount of adoration from me had them focusing on the task.”

He looked as though he actually expected us to praise him for that. Snort.

“Unfortunately, none of their experiments turned out well. I admit, I didn’t actually think they would be successful.” He tilted his head as if in thought. “Maybe they can find a way to amplify my gift so that it’s strong enough that I can manipulate the density of other peoples’ bodies, too.” He shrugged.

That gave me an idea. Call Reuben, I told Jared.

Baby, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he’s in dreamland right now.

So wake him up using your telepathy.

I don’t think that’ll work.

Try, I growled.

Hey, don’t get pissy with me.

I can’t just – You know what, we can argue later. Just try to wake Reuben, and tell him what to do. I addressed Orrin then, hoping to keep him talking. “I can understand why the brothers would want to create a hybrid – it’s all about glory, all in the name of science. But what’s in it for you?”

His smile was creepily wide. “Tell me, Samantha, what vampire out there wouldn’t pay – and pay very well – to become as powerful as you?”

“So this is about money?”

“Isn’t that what makes the world go around? Come on, you’re a Sventé. Or, should I say, you were a Sventé. You know what it’s like to be seen as the weaker breed, to feel the weaker breed, to be dismissed, and to be targeted. If someone had offered to make you stronger, given you the opportunity to help yourself, wouldn’t you have jumped at their offer?”

I did kind of get his point. After all, that was exactly what I had done. Sebastian had appeared with his offer to get me out of my shitty situation and find something better, and I’d taken it. But this…this was a little different. “I’m surprised at you, Orrin – and not in a good way.”

“Surprised, how?”

“See, it’s not a shock that the brothers haven’t looked beyond their goal – they have tunnel vision. But you…I would have thought you’d have been able to see the bigger picture. How can you not see the complications and possible consequences of what you’ve done?”

He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t follow.”

“That’s my point. Let’s say I was to Turn a human. They’re not going to become a Sventé, they’re going to become just like me. So will other humans I Turn, and any humans that they turn. The same applies to any vampires that the brothers work their magic on. Before you know it, you have a new breed of vampire. That’s not good.”

Orrin inhaled deeply as he considered that. “I don’t see why it would be a huge problem. Sventés, Kejas, and Pagoris have co-existed well enough. Why would the introduction of a new breed be such a bad thing?”

“Because this new breed will be stronger. A lot stronger. That’s a threat to the status quo. Although it chafes most, they do accept that Pagoris are the most powerful of the three breeds, they accept that Kejas are a close second, and that Sventés are the weakest. They accept that that’s the way of things. Introducing a stronger breed will unsettle everyone. Sventés will worry that they’re now easy pickings. Kejas won’t like that they’ve gone a step down in the hierarchy, now being in the place that Sventés once had. And Pagoris, so used to sitting on the throne, won’t like that they’ve lost that throne. They’ll all want to react, and it won’t be pretty.”

Uncertainty briefly flashed on his face. “The point may be moot since, for all I know, you’re no longer able to Turn humans. I will take you to the brothers and let them look at you. They can tell us more.”

The bloke lived in another reality if he thought that would happen. “Here’s the thing…I don’t have any intention of leaving Jared or the squad to go anywhere, let alone with you. Shame, isn’t it.”

He was quiet for a moment, studying Jared intently. “We could take him with us, I suppose. But not conscious. Jared is too powerful for us to take any risks with him.”

“Jared is right here,” snapped my fiancé. “And Jared isn’t going to let you take him or Sam anywhere. It’s really that simple.”

“I didn’t come this far to allow you or anyone else to be a hindrance. Samantha comes with me. I assure you, she’ll come to no harm.”

Jared snickered, crossing his arms over his chest. “The brothers said the same thing. Then she went through nights of agony and all kinds of weird stuff happened. Forgive me if I’m not reassured.”

“Then look at it this way: harming her would totally go against what I’m trying to achieve. Therefore, it makes no sense that I would hurt her, does it?”

Scepticism dripped from Jared’s smile and voice. “And I suppose you’re going to let me and the guys go free.”

Orrin jiggled his head. “If Samantha agrees to drop her shield and come with me, I shall agree to simply have Moira put you to sleep for a while – long enough for Samantha and I to be gone. I do not like to kill for killing’s sake.”

Unreal. “But you don’t mind mothers being butchered and their babies being sold?”

“That’s just business, nothing more.” He returned his attention to Jared. “You know what it’s like to yearn for things like power, respect, and status. Unfortunately, nobody came and took me to the Grand High Master. I had to get those things for myself. And I have.” He seemed to take pride in that. “Once Samantha agrees to drop her shield, Moira will put you to sleep long enough for Samantha and I to leave.”

I cocked my head. “And just what would make me agree to drop my shield? There’s no point in threatening me. You can’t get inside this shield to reach either of us.”

“No,” he allowed, “but I can always ask Moira to make the squad’s sleep more permanent. She can do that, you know.”

“I don’t believe you. I think you’re just calling my bluff.”

“Do you really want to take that chance? Do you really—” He gasped as two strong hands manacled his ankles. Lying on the ground behind him was a drained-looking Reuben. Orrin managed to kick him aside, but it didn’t matter because Reuben had touched him long enough to have the desired effect.

“My good squad member there has the ability to temporarily amplify a person’s gift,” Jared told Orrin. “He can also make it temporarily weaker. You feel it, don’t you? See how quickly you’re becoming substantial?”

Orrin peered down at himself and smiled. He was beyond weird. “It’s an admirable gift.” He focused on me, losing his smile. “I suppose you’re going to kill me while my gift isn’t working.”

I pursed my lips. “No. But someone else is.”

Jared locked his hand around Orrin’s throat and dragged him inside the house.

“If you’re looking for the child—”

“Don’t worry, Orrin, the baby is safe and sound,” assured Jared as we stopped inside the kitchen. “I’m not sure I can say the same for Moira, though.”

He definitely couldn’t say the same for Moira, considering that Jude was in the hallway holding her beloved knife and that it was dripping with blood. Looking a combination of irate and keyed up, she slowly began advancing toward us. Her gaze never moved from Orrin, who Jared was holding directly in front of him, presenting him to Jude.

“Good ole Moira won’t be joining us,” she told Orrin when she came to stand before him. “Which is a shame, really, because I’d happily kill her twice. If you’re thinking that the memory guy might run to your rescue, I’ve got news that’ll kill that dream. He jumped into one of your SUVs about five minutes ago. Couldn’t get away fast enough. You just can’t get the staff these days, can you?”

In a rather sluggish movement, Jude ran the tip of her blade down Orrin’s chest, over his navel, and continued downwards. It finally came to a stop when the tip was pressed against the space between his bollocks and his arse hole.

Orrin gulped. Of course he did. Right at that moment, Jude looked far from sane…and fully capable of relieving him of his crown jewels.

Shakily, he asked, “Who might you be?”

“That’s not important,” Jude told him calmly. “What’s important is that you’re in agony when you die. It’ll never match the kind of agony I went through when my child was taken from me. No, nothing can match that. But it can certainly be damn well close.” And then, as if to demonstrate that, she thrust the knife upwards.

Jared winced, though not in sympathy with a screaming Orrin. He winced again when she twisted the knife before withdrawing it. Damn, that would hurt.

“I’ll take it from here,” Jude told us, though her gaze hadn’t left her victim.

Had I not seen what an accurate shot she was with that knife, I might have worried about leaving her alone with him in case he tried to fight her off and make a run for it. It was like she and that knife were one entity.

Understanding that she needed to do this – and do it alone – in order to find some measure of peace, I gestured for Jared to release Orrin. The vampire dropped to his knees, still crying out in agony. “It should be about an hour before his gift begins to strengthen again,” I told Jude.

Still, she didn’t look away from him as she spoke. “Then I’ll make those minutes count.”

Taking the hand that Jared offered me, I allowed him to lead me out of the house towards where our squad was lying, still dozing – and snoring, in some cases. It seemed that Reuben had returned to dreamland.

As we were walking away, we heard Jude speaking again to Orrin. “Do you know what’s great about how quickly you heal? It means I can do this to you over and over again before I finally kill you.” By the sound of his squeal, she had just made that evident.

I was pretty sure the next hour was going to feel very long for Orrin.

It was impossible not to balk as I watched Harvey repeatedly poke his arm through the hole in Damien’s stomach. Both seemed to think it was absolutely hilarious. The hole was slowly shrinking in size now that his body was healing, but it would be a few hours before it finally closed over.

They were the only squad members who weren’t lying on one of the infirmary beds around them. The others hadn’t yet woken from Moira’s induced sleep, but their wounds had healed nicely.

Antonio came to my side, frowning at Reuben. “I do not think I have ever heard anyone snore so loud.”

“Me neither,” said Jared as he came up on my other side. Tension was still thrumming through him and I had a feeling he was thinking, just as I was, that if Moira’s gift had been to induce a fatal sleep as opposed to a temporary one, the squad would be nothing but ashes now. It was scary to think that no matter how well we trained them, it might only take a vampire with a unique gift to kill them all − and us, for that matter.

Antonio exhaled heavily. “It is a relief to know that the operation has been put to a halt, but I still have to locate the couples who purchased the human babies who were taken from their mothers.”

I doubted that that would be an easy feat. “I take it you’re sending Sebastian?”

Antonio nodded. “Once he returns from finding the brothers, I will do so. I have sent out a message to all vampirekind that if these couples give themselves up to me, they will not be punished with death. If they do not do this, however, they will be executed once Sebastian has hunted them down – and he will hunt them down. That is something that I am certain about.”

“What are you going to do with the babies once you have them?” asked Jared.

“The only thing I can do: I plan to hand them over to human authorities. Of course it is not possible to return them to their mothers, but they still have fathers and other relatives. It is up to the humans to return the children to the right families − that is something I have no control over.”

“Poor Jude,” I said quietly, looking at the woman in question, who was at the other side of the infirmary. She hadn’t spoken a word since we got back. “Every single cell of her must want her daughter back even though she understands it can’t happen.”

“Yes, it has to be heart-breaking.” Antonio sighed.

“Do you think she might stay, if we asked her?”

“If that is your way of requesting for a place to be made for her here, then yes.”

Nodding my thanks at him, I walked over to where she sat beside Chico’s bed. I’d noticed that they spent a little time together, but there was nothing going on between them as far as I knew. “Hi.”

She smiled at me, but it wasn’t a full smile. “Hi.”

“How do you feel?”

She blew out a breath. “Tired. Tired in too many ways to count. You know, I didn’t expect that I’d feel better afterwards, so it’s no surprise that I don’t. But I guess I’m…relieved. I feel like I got vengeance for Holly, for the life she should have had.”

“For the life you both should have had,” I corrected.

“It’s weird. Now that it’s over, I don’t know what to do. For so long, I’ve been running on a need for vengeance. Now that I have it, I feel…”

Seeing that she was struggling for words, I offered, “without purpose.” She nodded. “You could stay. You could make a place for yourself here.”

She glanced fleetingly at Chico. “Thanks. Maybe.”

I doubted that she truly would stay. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jude spent her life watching over her daughter, looking out for her from a distance. That was what I’d have done in her position.

Feeling that Jared was behind me, I turned to him.

“Ready to go?” At my nod, he took my hand in his and teleported us to the living area of our apartment. There, he pulled me to him, fitting me against him. Trapping my gaze with his, he slid both hands into my hair. “You’re okay.”

And that was no little thing, given just how powerful those vampires had been tonight. “Yes.”

“If you had been one of the people lying on an infirmary bed, I really don’t think I could have taken it.” Of course he couldn’t have taken it. He’d been pushed to his limits so many times already this week.

“But I’m not. I’m fine. And I’m here. With you.”

Then he was on me. Mouths fused together, tongues tangling, teeth biting, we stumbled through the apartment − stripping as we went. We had only gotten as far as the kitchen when Jared ended the kiss. “I can’t wait. I need this.” With an impatient growl, he tore the only remaining clothes from my body − my jeans and panties − and slammed me against the kitchen cupboards. Just as impatient, I ripped open the fly of his jeans. His cock was hot and throbbing in my hand as I pumped fast.

He rested his forehead against mine. “Harder.”

When I gave him what he wanted, he groaned loudly. But it wasn’t long before he tried pulling my hand away. I resisted.

“I want inside you,” he growled, again tugging at my hand. This time, I let him go. Then with our mouths again meshed together, he slid his hands to the back of my thighs, lifted me, and placed me on the countertop. When his probing fingers discovered that I was wet and ready, a growl of approval rumbled its way up his chest. “Just how I like it.” Angling my hips just right, he slammed home, and my muscles rippled around him. “Christ, Sam.”

He held himself still, giving me a minute to adjust to him, but I didn’t want that minute. I scratched at his back. “Move, move, move.”

He did. There was no teasing this time. His fingertips bit into my skin as he gripped my hips tightly, possessively, and punched his cock in and out of me. All the while, he groaned into the crook of my neck, whispering about how good I felt, about how amazing I was to him, about how much he needed to feel me come apart around him.

He wouldn’t have to wait long for that, because the tension was quickly building inside me, burning me hotter and hotter, and sending me closer and closer to finding my release. But I didn’t want to find it yet, didn’t want it to end so soon.

Obviously sensing that I was fighting it, Jared sucked on my earlobe and began circling my clit with his thumb. “Let go.”

I shook my head, trying to pull his hand away from my clit. The sod wouldn’t let me. “I don’t want to come yet. Please.”

Ignoring me, he continued toying with my clit. “Give me what I need, baby. Come all over me.”

I might have continued to fight it, but then his teeth sank deep into my neck, sending me hurtling over the edge and screaming. He didn’t pull back after a few swallows the way he usually would. Instead, he kept on drinking, drawing out my orgasm. Only once I slumped against him, totally satiated, did he − with one final hard thrust − come deep inside me.

I wasn’t sure how long we stayed locked like that, as I was pretty much drifting to sleep when he spoke.

“I love you, baby.”

I smiled lazily against his shoulder. The fact that he didn’t say it often only made it all that more fulfilling to hear. “And I love you,” I more or less slurred.

“As much as I want to kill the brothers for what they’ve done to you, I was glad of it tonight. Glad you had that extra strength and power. They said that, didn’t they? They said that what they’ve done would be something I’d one day appreciate. They were right.”

Frowning at the bitterness in his voice, I lifted my head, seeking his gaze. “Hey, if you want the truth, I was glad as well.” Not that I wanted to stay a hybrid, but it had certainly been an advantage.

Looking at me curiously, he shook his head in what seemed to be incredulity. “Since the first night I met you, you’ve had me messed up. You’re my weakness − pure and simple. But you’re also the only thing that I really couldn’t live without.”

“You won’t have to,” I assured him. But I knew as well as he did that with two sociopaths out there, wanting to get their hands on their ‘project’, I wasn’t truly safe.