Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
The small pixies flutter off Meg’s hair and seem to be talking to the mother. They fly off, more than likely in search of sanctuary, but the mother stays with us. She flies in front, leading us through the woods.
I run to keep up. The pixie is a tiny dart flying through the trees toward the target. I long for a weapon—any weapon. We were forced to leave the gun behind. Kaja buried it. I don’t even have my tablet. All I have are claws and fangs, but I charge through the woods like a man with an army behind me.
I can feel Meg running to keep up. When the pixie stops, I turn to Meg.
“You hide. You watch. You wait for Cian. He can get Beck, and he can save Kaja if I can’t.” I stare at her, letting her feel my will.
Meg frowns but does as I ask. She places herself behind an enormous oak tree. I feel better when the tree’s branches seem to move to conceal her. She disappears, masked by green vines and leaves.
Cian is here, even if he isn’t a physical presence. He will watch after his wife. It’s time for me to take care of mine.
There’s nothing for it. I’m alone. I have no weapon but one. I have to turn myself in and hope they’ll let Kaja go.
They want me.
I walk into the open.
“Mr. Dellacourt,” a very upper-crust voice says. “How nice of you to join us.”
I’m surrounded. They move quickly to encircle me, the vampire mercenary unit proving how well trained it is. Discipline marks their every move.
The impulse is there. I want to fight. I want to tear into these men and feel my claws rip through flesh. I’ll feast on their blood. It will fill my belly when I take my consort back. What happened to me? The thought is barbaric. Only primitives feed on their enemies. But I want to.
One thing holds me back. The sight of Kaja in Roan’s arms. The soldier holds her, her human body naked and limp. Her beautiful brown hair trails down toward the ground. Her skin is pale, but her chest rises and falls with her breath. A strange feeling grips my heart. Kaja. She’s alive. That’s what matters.
“Let her go,” I say.
The man who holds her tightens his arms around her body. It’s a distinctly possessive stance. “I think I have the upper hand, Mr. Dellacourt.”
I really hate this guy. “I can cause a lot of trouble.”
The mercenary looks down at Kaja. I can’t miss the way his eyes soften. William Roan doesn’t even try to hide the soft spot he has for Kaja. Of course, now that she’s in her human form, she can’t hide her glow. Any royal with a soul will be soft toward her. I might be able to play on that.
“She might be worth a bit of trouble,” Roan says. “I was rather surprised. When I hit her with the Taser, she changed forms and became one of the loveliest females I’ve ever seen. Look at that glow. She would have every vampire with the money to enter a tournament after her. In the old days, we would have fought wars over her. How did you end up with such a gorgeous consort?”
Because other people were too stupid to see how amazing she is. “Just lucky, I guess. I won’t let you have her.”
“No, I suppose you won’t. It’s going to tear apart our plane, you know that, right?” He pulls Kaja close to his chest. His fucking head rubs against hers as though he enjoys the contact. “I’m one of the greatest warriors of my time. I can’t find a consort. I’m aging. It isn’t right. I could kill anyone in battle, but there are no battles to be had. I have to steal one if I want a consort.”
The fucker isn’t going to steal my consort. “She won’t go with you. We’re bonded.”
Roan shrugs. “Perhaps she can bond again. The bond she shares with you would be broken with your death. Someone wants you dead, Mr. Dellacourt. Someone wants your cousins dead so trade can flow and we don’t have to tear each other apart over what should be our right.”
“She doesn’t belong to you.” I have to force the words from my mouth. My fangs seem far too large for my head. “She’s mine.”
Roan sneers my way. “You didn’t fight for her. I saw the records. There was no tourney. Just a simple sale. How much can you buy with money? When do you have to prove yourself?”
I am asking myself that question a lot lately. If Roan wants a fight, I can provide it. “Is that all you want? You and me, asshole. Let’s go now.”
Roan’s fangs are out. “If only it were that simple. I would love to kill you and properly claim the consort, but I can’t let you go so easily. I signed a contract to bring you in alive. Your death will have to wait.”