“They are in there! You do this, you kill us all!” my mother says.
I can hear trucks leave the facility, making me look up. Armed vehicles leave in succession, barreling through the fences toward us. I watch my mother dig her hands into the ground and feel her energy leak out of her as the ground moves.
“You need to get me in there,” I tell Amara.
“I can’t! We could end up anywhere! I don’t know what inside looks like! I can’t just mist us in without seeing inside!”
The sound of metal on metal makes me look toward the four armored trucks as roots shoot from the ground, crushing the vehicles and bending them like paper origami. The entire place looks like a war zone as my mother uses her magic, wielding it like a weapon.
Orion moves quickly, killing anyone he comes across as well as those being thrown from the vehicles, while I am still stuck to the ground, held by the snares of Amara’s magic.
“Let me up.” She shakes her head. “I don’t want to hurt you, but you give me no choice,” I tell her as I let hellfire loose. The ground turns black as charcoal as it consumes everything in its path; a line heads straight for the facility that has my mates held hostage.
Her magic is wavering as she tries to hold it. She tries to stop me, but she is no match for me; her magic comes from life and needs the energy to empower and strengthen it. Mine is dark, mine comes from death, like a muscle it flexes. I am neither living or dead. Amara is life, and even she knows her power has its limits; mine doesn’t need anything to draw off, whereas hers does. She gives a piece of her life essence to use hers, whereas mine takes from anything surrounding it, strengthening me, while hers weakens her.
“Thaddeus, you’re killing her!” my mother screams.
“Tell her to let it go!”
“Amara, please!” my mother begs.
Sweat coats her face as she buries her hands further into the earth. Amara’s magic dims, breaking under pressure, the entire ground turns black and burns. Everyone screams as the flames lick at them while I get to my feet. My mother is trying to stop the flames, creating a barrier, forcing my darkness around us, protecting them from burning along with the earth on which they stand.
“Get me in that building now,” I tell my sister.
“We could end up anywhere, Thaddeus!”
“I don’t care; just get me in there.”
“It’s a trap, Thaddeus!” Orion says, coming to my side, drenched in the blood of hunters, their fallen bodies lying on the grass and road everywhere, the smell of burning flesh and metal heavy in the air as I look around.
The entire place has gone silent except for the sound of the roller shutters closing on the entire building, blocking the entries and windows. The siren cuts off, and I know they are right, they want me to come in to get them. “You’re right,” I tell them.
Looking around, the entire place is a trap, and my mates and daughter are the bait. Orion lets out a breath, looking around for another point of entry.
“And that’s why you’re not going in there,” I tell him. He looks back at me just as I snap his neck, his body falls limp against me as I catch him, sinking my teeth into his neck and draining his blood. I won’t risk him; there is already enough on the line.
R
yland
The first flicker of life is the twitching of her fingers. Her lacerations slowly close as our blood moves through her veins, closing and sealing every wound. I look around the room, trying to find something to free myself but only see concrete walls and a chain hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. The steel door is the only way out besides the grate in the ground that is much too small.
When I hear a predatory growl, my eyes are drawn to Evelyn on the floor, and I hear her heartbeat thump. Her body is trying to kickstart itself as I hear it again. It becomes steady, thumping in her chest as every cell in her body is awoken.
“That’s it, baby. Wake up,” I tell her, trying to nudge her with my foot.
She growls, the sound of a predator about to attack as her senses take over. I hear her sniff the air and see claws slip from her nail beds, tearing off her nails as she stretches her fingers. Yet, I don’t hear bones snapping, don’t hear agonized screams, nor does she smell like a vampire or Lycan, but something else, something close to her old scent, but slightly different. She isn’t either, but both, and that becomes startlingly clear when her head snaps in my direction.
Her amber eyes stare back at me. Her lips curl over her top lip as fangs protrude, bloodlust takes over as her eyes scan the room and land on me. She sniffs the air, and I notice the crazed look on her face. I am the perfect prey, completely defenseless and at her mercy.
The bond reforms with renewed strength as she suddenly looks down, and I know she can feel it; feel it coming back. But it still isn’t enough as she lunges at me. Her fangs sink into my necks and tear through my flesh. I let out a gurgled scream.
“Evie,” I choke, struggling against my restraints as she starts draining me.
Footsteps outside make her pull her face away; her face snaps toward the door. “Focus on the noises,” I tell her, trying to get her attention off me.
When the door opens suddenly, I see the man in armor race in, gun drawn. Shock registers on his gaunt face; his human blood is appealing to her more than mine as her attention goes solely to him, her head tilting to the side as she watches him.
His shock is wearing off as fight or flight kicks in; seeing her covered in my blood and her own, he tries to slam the door shut, but she is quicker as she lunges at him. Her legs wrap around him as he turns to run, her claws sink into his chest as he lets out a bloodcurdling scream, his blood sprays across the walls as she sinks her teeth into him, her hands go through his chest as he staggers backward, back into the room as she drains him. The man goes limp underneath her as she continues to rip him apart until he is left completely drained and in pieces.