Chapter 68: Desperation

Derrick

“Who are you?”

I glare at the tall, slender woman sitting in a chair some twenty feet away from me. Her white lab coat and tightly knit bun on the top of her head suggest she’s some kind of doctor.

My hands and feet are nailed to a piece of plywood against the wall. The wolfsbane-soaked silver nails are buried in my skin, and I swear I can feel my flesh melting.

“Who are you?” she asks again.

“Derrick Harte. Mated to Lake Mavris Harte,” I growl. “And when I’m free from these chains, your alpha will understand to never—”

I grit my teeth as an electrical jolt is sent down my spine. This damn collar is getting annoying.

“Wrong answer, 247.” The woman straightens her glasses and sits up taller. “You are the property of Alpha Evin Mavris and this pack. You are to do his bidding, no matter the cost.”

I spit on the floor. “You can go suck a dick.”

I mentally reach out to Drax, but he’s been out of commission for so many days now that I can barely feel him. I guess they’ve been feeding something into my veins through all these tubes in my arms to weaken my wolf.

“247, you will be released from those restraints if you just comply with our system. You serve us, and we will take care of you.”

The woman stands, her heels clicking as she approaches me. “All this pain will go away if you just forget about that little girl and give in to the serum.”

A male voice echoes across the room. “How are things coming, Dr. Fran?”

I growl as Evin enters. His large figure is intimidating, but nothing will stop me from tearing that smug look off his face once I’m free of these chains.

“247 still has the strength to deny the serum, Alpha.” Fran sighs heavily. “If I give him more, he’ll be one of the S Class, but more unstable. I can’t risk it without removing his mark—”

“Give him as much as it takes,” Evin orders. “My granddaughter must be punished for defying her own flesh and blood. The pain she’ll feel from the mark removal will send a warning.”

An evil grin lights up his face. “And when she finally returns, the pain of her own mate ripping through her body will be enough to satisfy me.”

“But Alpha, messing with the mate bond is forbidden—”

“These two have disgraced our Goddess!” Evin grabs Fran’s throat and lifts her off the ground. “She would praise us for destroying them. Now, remove the mark and give him more of our serum. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Alpha.” Fran gasps for air as she lands with a loud ~thud~ at her Alpha’s feet.

Evin smiles and comes toward me. His eyes stare right into mine. “The pain of losing her will make you kill yourself right after,” he murmurs. “So I won’t even have to get my hands dirty. Win-win for me.”

I struggle against my chains and the nails embedded in my palms. With a grunt, I wrench my left hand free and slash Evin’s cheek. The scent of his blood makes me want to rip his throat out.

“Alpha!” Fran exclaims.

Evin puts his hand up to stop Fran from interfering. “I’m fine.”

With a final glance at me, he says, “I will enjoy watching you rip through my granddaughter, ~Derrick~.”

***

Lake

It’s a moonless night tonight. Something I used to hate, but now adore. I don’t have the looming reminder of that repulsive goddess literally overhead.

Sylas and I have been traveling since the sun set a few hours ago. Delilah and her mate made sure we left as soon as we were done in the library. If that bitch wasn’t pregnant, she would’ve been turned into fertilizer already.

“Kjarni, you should rest,” Sylas says as he pokes the fire, his back to me. “I’ll take the first watch.”

He hasn’t looked me in the eye since our awkward encounter in the library. I don’t blame him; the tension between us is almost unbearable.

“I still need to skim the books we took. You rest first.” I settle back against the tree behind me and take a book from my backpack, shoving my father’s letter into the large pocket before zipping it up again.

“That letter seems old. Why do you have it?” Sylas asks as he lays on the opposite side of the fire, his eyes never leaving the starry sky above.

“My father wrote it before he died. I don’t know when, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to open it,” I confess, flipping to the page I bookmarked with a folded corner.

“So, you have no idea what it says after how many years?”

“Four. Is there a reason you’re interrogating me about it?”

Sylas props himself up on his elbow and looks at me. “Kjarni, if I had a letter from my father, with basically his dying words to me, I would have opened it as soon as I had the chance.”

When I don’t answer, he adds, “I can tell you have issues accepting what happened. Granted, I don’t know the entire story, but—”

“That’s right, you don’t!” I growl, rising to my feet. The book I was holding tumbles to the ground.

“You weren’t there when I found my twin and best friend! Or when I held my mother as she bled out from the slits in her wrists! Your mate didn’t have to be the one who killed my father in order to keep him from killing me!”

Tears stream down my face as flashes of the memories flood my mind. “You act like you know everything, but you know ~nothing~ about me or who I am. What I’ve been through.”

I break down, covering my face with my hands. I’ve been pushing these emotions and memories so far down for so long that I thought I had accepted it all.

Not even Derrick was able to make me open up about it, though he’d tried many times.

“Kjarni.” Sylas draws me into his arms.

~When did he get over here?~

“No.” I push against his chest. “Let me go.”

Sylas loosens his grip on me, draping his arms around my waist instead.

No matter how much I want to, I can’t tear myself away from him. Especially right now. His lavender-vanilla scent and the sound of his slow heartbeat are calming to me. I grip his shirt tightly and bury my face in his chest.

“Kjarni, I’m here for you,” Sylas whispers. “Now and always.”

“Why?” I murmur. “You barely know me. And all I’ve done is lead you on a wild goose chase.”

“That couldn’t be further from the truth, Kjarni.”

I pull away from Sylas’s chest and look up at him curiously.

“You’re the most radiant creature I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he says. “From your lovely brown hair to your devilish red and black eyes. And your need to be strong and protect those around you speaks of your Alpha bloodline.”

Sylas presses his forehead to mine. “All of you, even the parts I don’t know yet, give me life. I’ve spent my entire existence looking for you, and I don’t care if I have to share you with some wolf. It’s enough to just be near you.”

I’m reminded of what he told me just a day ago. How vampires have Essences instead of mates. How similar they are to a mate, but far more dangerous.

Sylas pulls away to look me in the eyes, his jawline clenched with tension. His eyes glow golden, illuminating the air around us.

All I can think about is the blood rushing through his veins. About how blissful it would be if he sunk his own fangs into ~my~ flesh.

“Kjarni.” His voice is low, but his tone is one of warning. “I cannot drink from you. If I were to do that...”

Sylas’s words trail off as I shift closer to him. His long eyelashes frame his gorgeous eyes, and the curls of his hair dangle between us. My body is surging with a desire—no, a ~need~—for him to drink from me.

“Sylas, I don’t know what’s happening,” I whisper. “But it feels right.”

My fangs extend as my lips meet his.