Reign Page 4

  “Did you not hear the carnage he left behind in Austin? We’re talking mass deaths of police officers. Not to mention the citizens he killed before that. Were you even listening to Marie when she came to the room to report the news?”

  God, I hadn’t. Not really. My mind was so jumbled.

  “Marko.” My lips opened to speak when I stopped and stood, reaching for my crown to put on. I couldn’t risk Aetas spying on me or pushing into my head. With the crown on, he wouldn’t be able to do that.

  I returned to the bench, grabbing back for his hands.

  “I have to be honest with you. Hunter scares me. His powers … I felt them. They affected me.”

  Seriousness drew his features tight and he squeezed my hands. “Did they? Show me.”

  I nodded, looking up to meet Marko’s eyes. Colors swirled and I drew him into my memories, back to the moment Hunter looked deep into my gaze. His words, they tugged at something within and I could feel what almost appeared to be my soul, sucked in his direction. The tingling, the needs…

  My head jerked to the side, breaking our connection. I couldn’t look at Marko as guilt swarmed me.

  “Oh, love.” His finger’s slid against my cheek, bringing me back to him. “We both know what you experienced was him, not you. Don’t blame yourself. You were an open door in those moments and now we know you’ll just have to be more careful in the future.”

  A tear escaped and I quickly wiped it away.

  “I’m so confused. I still feel his pull. I hate him. But…”

  “But nothing. The two of you never had time to adjust to either role, vampire or slave. There’s no going back now. He is one of us. You and I are going to have to accept that. Tonight, I made a terrible mistake. One that opened my eyes. I’m so worried about losing you that I realized the only way that’s going to happen is if I carry on recklessly. I’m my own worst enemy, I’ve known it for years, but only after seeing Aetas hurt you with his words, did I really see the truth. I really am sorry for my actions. They were deplorable for my status as not only a member, but as the mate to the ruler of the city—to you. It won’t happen again.”

  I brought Marko’s hand to my lips, kissing over his knuckles. “Had the roles been reversed, it would have been me attacking him. This position I carry, it changes us. It’s like a living thing all on its own, altering our decisions in the moment. I don’t know how I withheld. Even now, I don’t know how I’m sitting here when Hunter is right down the hall.”

  “Is he still here? I figured Aetas would be gone by now.”

  I tuned into the energy of the city, feeling Aetas’ power above everything. Hunter’s wasn’t very strong at all, but more so than most of the commoners.

  “They’re still here and I believe they’ll be for a while longer. I made a mistake by getting so emotional and ordering Aetas to leave. He’ll stay at least another day to prove to me that he makes the rules. I fear, longer. Margo was right when she took me into her confidence. Aetas grows bored and his sadistic tendencies know no bounds. I’m afraid of what will happen if he chooses to play some sort of sick game between the three of us.”

  “A game?”

  “Like before, when he pretended to be you. He’s in need of something and I have no idea what it is or if he can even get what he seeks. Maybe Hunter will be distraction enough. But what if he’s not?”

  Marko leaned forward, pulling me into his lap, only to spin us around to lie on the bed. He took my crown, leaning over me to put it back on the table. “You look too far into the future. Maybe we’ll wake up and they’ll be gone.”

  A knock at our door had my eyebrow rising. “Or not,” I said, replacing my crown and standing. Information began pouring in from Marie and I closed my eyes soaking it in. Humans were beginning to make their way toward the entrances of the city. I could feel their presence in thick clusters of intense energy. My lids flew open and I let my power as ruler explode from me to add an extra seal around us. The air rushed out like an electrical shockwave causing Marko to fly from the bed.

  “What is it?”

  “Humans. They’re outside. I think they’re cops. I’m not sure. I have to get dressed.”

  “Who was at the door?”

  “Marie. She’s gone now, gathering the members.”

  I rushed into the closet, ripping down a deep blue silk gown. As I changed, Marko was beside me, quickly dressing himself. Another knock sounded and I growled as I reached behind, jerking the laces of the corseted top.

  “My shoes.” I scanned the area, sliding them on and rushing for the wooden barrier. Aetas and Hunter had anger mixing with the adrenaline.

  “You sealed the city? Why?”

  I glanced back at Marko, whose lip was pulled back in distaste.

  “Humans. They’re at the entrances. I’m headed to the main gate to see if they’re a threat. I believe its police officers from Hunter’s earlier massacre, but I’m not for certain.”

  Aetas laughed under his breath. “Do you not have faith in your members, Princess? Do you not find them capable of handling this simple task? Say the humans are hostile. You could die, and it’d be over nothing.”

  “Nothing?” My head shook in disbelief. “You call dying for my people, nothing? The event doesn’t matter—big or small—riot or perimeter check. All due respect, Your Highness, but I think you miss the concept of being a leader. Everyone wants to rule. Few are willing to sacrifice themselves to prove it. Excuse me,” I said, stepping around them. “You can go back to your room. Everything will be okay. You have my word that I will protect you while you stay here. However long that is.”

  Marko was right behind me as he swept passed and made it to my side. I didn’t turn back to Aetas or Hunter as I focused on the energy and began giving my orders to my mate.

  “You’re to go with Bufar and Beatrice. Take the north and east entrance. I’ll take Anastasia, Marie, and Demetruis. We’ll check the south and west entrances. When I know what this is about, I will tell you. Do not speak to the humans and do not let them see you. I don’t want our presence to make things worse.”

  “Got it,” he breathed out, reaching over and squeezing my hand.

  Footsteps pounded up from behind. I looked over my shoulder through the darkness to see Hunter getting closer. “Go back to your room.” After he continued to followed, I couldn’t help but jerk to a stop as I faced forward. “Aetas!”

  “He said I could go.”

  My eyes flared and I spun around, searching out my leader.

  “I can keep you safe,” he whispered, stepping closer to grab my hands.

  “You did this by killing all those people,” I bit out. “Besides, I assure you I don’t need your help. Aetas!”

  Out of darkest reaches of the tunnel, he appeared, approaching at a leisurely pace. His hands were in his pockets and he took his time to get to us. “Yes, Princess?” There was seduction in his tone. A longing deep within the furthest reaches. My body tingled to life and I almost couldn’t believe his persuasion made it through my crown. It was enough to give me pause.

  “Take Hunter back to the room. I don’t have time to babysit some newborn.”

  “He’s fine. Look at him. My blood does him well. It helps curb the cravings.”

  My jaw clenched and I glanced over at Marko. I could tell it wasn’t easy for him to remain quiet.

  “I ask very nicely … take him back to the room.” Seconds went by with no response. “Take him to the room!” I yelled, ripping my hand free from Hunter’s grasp. I began stepping back to put space between us, but it wasn’t enough for everything I was feeling. I was already leaving—running from not only that strange tugging inside of me from both of them, but toward the war that I knew was beginning.

  Chapter 6

  Hunter

  Pacing did nothing to stop the indiscernible need to fight. It was always there, edging along my being. No matter how hard I tried to get the urges under control, I couldn’t stop myself from lashing out
to my maker. I hated him. Hated him for reasons I couldn’t grasp yet. The rage made it impossible to speak out loud at times. It was so different around the princess. I could beg her with words, but I couldn’t even barely say two of them to the man who made me. I had so many questions and they wouldn’t stop coming.

  My eyes cut across the room as I projected my voice into his mind. It was something that had come from the beginning…from me. How I knew to do it, I wasn’t sure, but I had heard his relief as he tried to coax me closer to him. This vampire wanted me to trust him. To open myself to him even more.

  It wasn’t going to happen.

  “Why doesn’t she want my help? Does she not think me capable of protecting her? I can fight. I can kill anyone who goes up against me.”

  “You have a lot to learn,” Aetas said out loud, sitting on the edge of the bed. “In your mind you feel you are able, but that’s because you have very powerful blood. Your gifts are not apparent to you as of yet. Did you know you had gifts? The princess was using hers almost from her birth. The images I saw from your blood, you have yet to tap into yours fully.”

  “I don’t need gifts to prove my worth.”

  He laughed, feeding the fire within.

  “Oh, but you are wrong. Your gifts are your worth. They’re a blessing and can protect you when brute strength cannot.”

  “I don’t care for them. Tell me why the princess doesn’t like me? What is she hiding? What did I do to her?”

  A sigh filled the room.

  “It’s pointless telling you now. You will wake up tomorrow and what happened today will be forgotten.”

  “I thought you said you saw images from my blood. You must not be very good, then, because my memory is just fine. I may be a blank slate and get confused to where I am at times, but what has happened to me has not been forgotten.”

  Aetas’ eyes narrowed. “You treading water right now due to your attitude and you don’t even know it. You’re about to learn a very quick lesson. First, tell me what you mean. What has happened to you?”

  Flashes blinded me of my awakening. They were almost impossible to grasp because of the underlining fog. The details were vague, but the gist of that day came back to me. A part of me didn’t want to remember and I’d done well about blocking them out, but if I wanted to learn from this, learn about her, I had to be honest.

  “My first memory is of two women. They were going to kill me. That didn’t happen. I was locked outside of a huge house. The sun was burning my skin and I had nowhere to go. I ran…for what seemed like forever. Pieces of my flesh were falling off by the time I came across some type of shelter. A barn, I think. My mind says barn.” I tried to buffer the smell, but even now I could almost taste the burning scent. “I remained there until it was dark and I made my way to the lights in the distance. It took hours…There was so much movement when I arrived. So many sights and smells. Everything was familiar, yet I couldn’t remember how I knew the place. There was an abandoned house along the outskirts that I stayed in for a few days. I was cautious to go out too much, but the hunger got undeniably worse. Finally, I braved my way deeper into the city. By that time I was beyond help. I had gone crazy with bloodlust. That’s when the vampire found me. Boyd.”

  “Your mind didn’t show me those memories. I don’t believe it,” he breathed out. “Remembering should be impossible, even for you.”

  “Apparently not. What I don’t know is my life before that moment. Tell me about the princess. Why does she hate me?”

  Aetas slowly stood, still appearing dazed as he came closer. “This can’t be happening. It’s impossible. What does this mean for the future?”

  “My future is not in question, my past is. I already know what lies ahead. Tell me what came before I was turned.”

  “Are you speaking in riddles with me? What do you mean, you know what lies ahead?”

  I had to stop myself from baring my fangs. “I make the future. I take whatever route I choose. No one will stop that. Not even you.”

  Aetas laughed, glaring at the same time. “You want to know who you were before you were turned?”

  “I do.”

  “Alright. I’ll tell you. You were her best friend when you were both humans. The princess loved you very dearly, but she never told you of her feelings. And neither did you. Not until it was too late. It’s a tragic story, in truth. You had dreams of coming back from the Army to make her fall in love with you, when in fact, the entire time, she already was.”

  “As fate would have it, when you finally did return, it was the same night Marko Delacroix came across her. He forced his blood upon Tessalyn and ultimately made her his blood slave. You once attempted to kill him, but you shot her instead. Sayer, her maker, saved her, but upon doing so he secretly gave her his blood to start the process of their bonding. Before he could finalize the act, she ran to you and confessed her love.”

  “You both had an amazing day together. One would think that’s where the happily-ever-after ended, but that’s not the case. Tessa had to come back here and you both knew it. So the two of you decided on a path to stay together. One that would break her ties with Marko, and one that would allow you full access into her life—you would become her blood slave.”

  I step forward, searching for the memories he spoke of, but they were nowhere to be found.

  “Was I her slave? Were Tessa and I able to stay together?”

  He frowned. “Well…yes, for a while. You see, when a human is turned into one of us, their mind’s change. Tessa changed. What the two of you went through during her newborn stage was more than most vampires or humans could come back from. Sayer raped the both of you repeatedly. During that time, the two of you drifted apart. Tessa tried to make you love her Hunter, but you couldn’t see that with your human mind. She killed for you, and yet you saw her as a monster. It was little things like this that drove her into Marko’s arms. It also had you stabbing her through the heart with a blessed dagger. You killed her, Prince, and then you shoved a gun in your mouth and you pulled the trigger. It was only because of Sayer’s blood that you didn’t die.”

  “But he’s dead, right? This, Sayer?” Just the mention of his name had my pulse pounding into my chest. I couldn’t stomach the thought of him. It brought out the killer in me. Made him almost impossible to get control of.

  “He is. You killed him.”

  “Good.” I breathed out. “What happened, then?”

  “You dedicated your life to killing our kind. To killing Marko and each and every one of us. I came to you once and I showed you Tessa still lived. You tried to kill yourself again, but you weren’t able to through the state I had you in. You hated us. All the while, you never knew what it was to be a vampire.” He came closer. “Do you hate us still?”

  My head went to shake, but stopped. “I…did. When the women tried to kill me and I was locked outside. I hated you all. But when I was lost and I saw Boyd, something changed. It only grew when I saw Tessa. I wanted to be here. I want her.”

  “You wanted nothing but to kill her before you were turned. And the same for her. She wants you dead, Prince. Her vampire can’t help but plot revenge for what you did. I can see her struggles. She is even tempered where you are not. You are like Marko in that way. You’re both quick to react. If Tessalyn were free of both of you there would be no doubt in my mind that she would take my place. As it is, the plans I have set doesn’t quite put her in that position. Tessa will stay mated to Marko.”

  “No. That won’t do. She can leave with us. She can be mine.”

  Aetas’ eyebrows rose. “I do believe I make the rules here, and no, she will not. Tessa will run this city for quite a while longer and you will come with me and focus on your lessons.”

  “You can’t make me go with you.”

  “I am your leader and your maker! I can do whatever I want with you.” Aetas was gone so fast that I couldn’t process his disappearance before he was before me with his hand locked around my throat. �
��Never forget who holds your life in their hands, Prince. I gave you my blood. I can very well drain you of every last drop you hold.”

  My hands shot up trying my hardest to pull against his grasp, but it was too strong. He wasn’t even straining and yet I couldn’t break free. Survival had my mind going. Heat surfaced in the pit of my stomach and I pulled at it, searching for something I didn’t even know.

  “That’s it,” he whispered. “Show me what you’re made of.” His palm slammed against my stomach and I screamed through the blaze that ignited. I could feel him tugging against some sort of invisible thread that seemed to be linking me to who I was. The fire moved up behind my eyes and I growled through the inferno.

  “There’s your vampire. Black eyes, just like Tessa. You’re so much alike when you’re pushed to your limits. Do it, Hunter. Unleash what is inside of you.”

  Dark smoke began to drift between us, swirling through the air as it thickened. Was that coming from me? From my opened mouth? It rose higher, spanning across the ceiling, crawling over the surface as if it were alive.

  “Yes! More.”

  The greed was evident in Aetas’ tone. I tried to yell again as he pulled against what I was made of, jerking the connection tightly. In a burst, I let the rage burst free from me. Black smoke poured out so thick that I could barely see him anymore. My body was shaking from the force I used to try to make him stop. I couldn’t breathe through his tight grasp and I wanted him dead. I wanted to hurt him the worst way possible.

  My eyes went back to the smoke and I drew it in around him, imagining it as a physical power to push him away. Aetas swayed, but held his ground. Just at the realization of what I was doing, I pictured it being stronger. Impossibly so. I pulled the darkness back, launching it toward his body with everything I had. One minute he was there, the next—gone. And not just from where he had stood before me….but from the room.

  I searched the area, panicked as I coughed. My throat was so tight. So raw, from not only the choking, but from the smoke.

  “I’m not impressed,”Aetas said, re-appearing feet away with his hands crossed over his chest. “You’re brute force and no brains. Tessa blows you away with her abilities, even from the very beginning. Maybe I’m making the wrong choice. If it wouldn’t ruin her, I’d kill both you and Marko and be done with this once and for all. She’s the real leader. I thought you stood a chance, but you’re not as smart. You’re passionate, yes, but that will not make up for instinct. God dammit!”