“What did you do?” Jeremy growls, standing up and facing the vampire.
“Ah, are your bonds not working?” He asks mockingly.
We all stand up and raise our weapons, facing the vampire. I’m not sure why he’s done this but clearly he needs something from us.
“What do you want?” Jay asks, clearly thinking along the same lines.
“Well you see, I was very excited when someone reached out to me about this book. I remember when mating bonds between all races were prevalent but since then they have been forgotten by most. And here you are, a representation of one. You see it’s taken me many years to figure it out but the hunter elders placed a spell, I assume using a mage, that forces everyone to forget their existence. As I was in my deeply warded house, I was spared along with my copy of the book.
“To be honest, it didn’t matter to me at the time until one day, I found my mate. A hunter who had been raised to believe it was impossible for her to have a mate, who had a spell placed on her to ensure she couldn’t feel the pull of the bond. She didn’t believe me, even tried to kill me. As you know, hunters are indestructible, there are very few things that can kill them, making them incredible foes. So I planned to break her neck and bring her here so when she woke up, I could convince her, and we could be together.”
He sounds insane, I have a bad feeling about where this story is going.
“That’s when I realized I should have read the entire book. I got her back to my home and waited for her to wake up, but she never did. You see, one of the very few things that can kill a hunter are their mates. I killed her. I killed my own mate.
“So obviously I can’t let you share your mating and give hunters a chance to meet their mates. I can’t let them be happy, including your mate. You see, the plan is to kill them all, which means I need this information to come to light on my own terms. So I can use those newly found mates to kill them.”
What the fuck?! Seriously, this guys is crazy. He wants to kill an entire race because he killed his mate? Because she didn’t believe him? Except we would do anything for Aly, Jeremy even suggested killing all the hunters to keep her safe. But that puts Aly in danger and this creep wants to kill her, so he has to die.
If this is true, then the hunters need to know. If they can find their mates and believe us, then this is our solution.
“Well obviously,” Nic mocks, “we can’t let that happen. You’re a threat to our mate.”
The vampire lets out a deep belly laugh, wiping off a fake tear. “You don’t have a choice.”
My entire body freezes up and chains wrap around me, pulling me back into the chair I was sitting in. I can’t move a muscle or say a word, all I can do is move my eyes. I look over and see everyone in the same position as me, trapped.
The vampire steps forward, looking at all of us in mock pity. He slips something out of his pocket and sets it on the table. It must be an illusion charm because his face morphs into a hauntingly familiar one.
“By the way, my name is Ryan. Sit tight boys, your mate will be dead by sunrise and I’ll be back for you.”
And the face of Anna’s boyfriend who has been around since the beginning looks back at me before turning around and walking out the door.
Twenty Seven
Aly
The pull in my stomach falls away as I drop back down in the forest. I run toward the castle, a horrible feeling taking root in my gut. I can’t feel any of the mate bonds with my guys beyond the fact that they’re alive.
I make it to the castle but I don’t just bust in. I circle around the outside peeking in windows as I go. Luckily, I’m around the corner when I hear the front door open and close. I peek around it but I don’t see anyone there. If it was my mates they would need to wait for me to come get them so it must have been someone else.
I keep searching the windows on the ground floor, stepping through a garden, until I finally spot them. They’re chained to their seats in what appears to be a living room. My stomach drops, what happened to them? I knew this was a bad idea! Thank god I came.
I jimmy the window and it slides open way too easily. I guess this guy doesn’t expect anyone to find him out here or choose to cross him. I shiver in fear at the idea of him catching me but push it aside, my guys need me.
I hoist myself up on the ledge before pushing inside. I roll to the ground, hopping up on the side of the room. My guys don’t move at all but their eyes stare into mine. I can practically feel them screaming at me with their gazes.
I rush over to Jax who is the closest to me. I touch his arm, but he remains immobile on the chair.
“What’s going on?” I ask my voice sounding panicky.
I go to each of the guys, but they’re all frozen in place and no one responds to my touches except their eyes following me around the room. When I get to Nic I grab his face and stare into those eyes.
“What happened? What can I do?” I even try sending the message down our pack bond but I get no response. It’s still not working even though we are all in the same room.
Nic’s eyes flick down, stare at me then flick down to the same spot again. I turn and follow his stare to some weird statue sitting on a table nearby.
“This thing?” I ask and I swear his eyes flare in response.
