After reassuring themselves that I’m going to be okay, they leave me alone to get cleaned up and changed as they deal with the bodies scattered around the property. Sebastian had to snap at the wolves to get them to leave me even after I reassured them multiple times that I was okay. As much as I want to wallow in their care after what happened, Bas is right that they need to get all evidence of the dead soldiers ever being here cleared away. I reach up and gently probe the gash on the side of my head and close my eyes in relief to find the skin still sticky with drying blood but closed and a much smaller bump. The inside of my cheek is still tender but the cut there is also closed. It still amazes me that Sebastian and Luca’s blood can heal the way it does.
I strip off my leggings and blood-soaked bra and wash my skin and hair as best as I can with the cold water in the basin before stepping in front of the mirror to see any that I might have missed. My eyes looked haunted and my skin is pale. I can’t see any more blood but what I do see is the bruises starting to form around my neck and along on side of my ribs. When I lift my hand to touch, I spot the ring of bruises around my wrist and the haunted look turns to something else. It’s a combination of frustrated hurt and hopelessness.
Why? Why do these things keep happening to me? My horrible marriage, losing my entire family, the attack by the gang, a sword through the chest just when I finally found happiness, and now all of this. What did I do that caused the fates to keep kicking me - over and over again? Don’t I deserve just a little bit of happiness? Am I such a horrible person that I don’t get to find peace, happiness, and love? I turn away from the mirror with a shake of my head to try and dislodge the pity party that’s taking form in my brain and go to the armoire to find fresh clothing. My hand reaches for a fresh pair of leggings but then starts to shake at the image of the soldier looking me up and down in my modern clothing and assuming I was a whore. I snatch my hand back and pull out the blue dress I had made to put on instead.
I drag the zipper up and fold the fabric covering over it and then tug and pull until the dress is sitting as comfortably on my body as I can make it. My mind goes to war with the idea that I was partially responsible for what happened because of what I was wearing and the ‘fuck that’ of a modern woman’s mindset. By the time I get my hair up into a messy bun, my body is so unsettled and my skin feels too tight over my bones while my emotions are all over the place. I need to move and scream, curl up and cry, fight or fuck, just do something to settle myself the fuck down. In the back of my head, I know it’s a combination of what happened today, the extreme ups and downs since I traveled back here, and the vampire blood mixing with mine. Knowing that doesn’t help at all so I yank my door open and start moving through the house in search of…something.
I prowl from room to room as the itch under my skin gets worse and worse. The guys are outside cleaning up and disposing of the bodies somewhere and I have no idea where Flora and Aiden are. With every empty room I come to my fingers tighten into fists as the urge to just fucking do something gets stronger and stronger. I need a gym of some kind like the weapons and training room they had in France to beat this feeling out. My jaw is clenched tightly and with every swish of my skirt I want to rip this stupid fucking dress from my body. I pass an open door and catch movement from the corner of my eye causing me to jerk back to stand in the open doorway. I want to snarl as I see Luca with his back to me, his shirt off as he washes his arms and chest. Here it is. This is what I need. He’s been a total dick to me since I got here even if he did just heal me and now’s the time to let him have a piece of my mind.
“YOU!” I snarl out, baring my teeth as he whirls around to face me in surprise. I take a few hard steps in his direction with my chest heaving. I see him scan me from head to toe and his eyes clock the bruises on my wrist and neck as they go from surprised to furious and that is all the reaction I need to let the beast straining in my chest free.
Luca
After hauling the bodies to the forest and dumping them into a pile for the others to dispose of I walk back to the house to get cleaned up. My mood is beyond sour at what transpired today. I hate the redcoats and all that they stand for and look forward to the day that they are defeated and driven from this emerging nation. The fact that they put their hands on and hurt Eden infuriates me but it also just hardens my will to stay away from her and keep my love for her locked away indefinitely. I can’t watch her die again. I cannot let myself feel that overwhelming joy and love for her again only to have it snatched away. She is so damn fragile as a human that anything could kill her easily and we might not always be in time to heal her if she is injured. I won’t go through that again. I can’t survive it. I will need to make plans to leave here, leave my brothers, and leave her.
When I get to my chambers, I strip the bloody shirt from my body and toss it aside in disgust to clean myself, wishing I could have killed those men again and again for what they almost did to her. They could have done unspeakable things to her that would have crushed her beautiful spirit and body. That we were there in time to stop it gives me no comfort. What of the next time? We will not be able to be with her every second of every day. We cannot protect her from every threat no matter how vigilant we are. I sigh as I finish my washing. I have to leave. I almost gave in when I saw the state she was in as all I wanted to do was wrap her in my arms and promise to protect and love her forever. The sharp pain from her rejection only helped to remind me that Eden Kelly would be my downfall if I don’t put space and distance between us.
“YOU!”
I turn quickly to face her, surprised that she would seek me out after telling me to leave her alone. My eyes scan her for injury and spot the blooming bruises on her delicate skin, causing a flush of rage to overcome me. She stomps toward me with a furious expression and bared teeth and jabs a finger in my direction. I am taken aback by this until I spot the red tinge around her eyes and understanding dawns. It is the blood I used to heal the worst of her injuries causing this. She’s riding the extremes that come with it for a human. Too much blood and you get sexual intoxication or a mad rage depending on the person. But a small amount will have every emotion heightened and a need for some type of action to quell it.
“You fucking COWARD!” She rages at me as she stomps closer to stab me with her pointed finger. “Too fucking scared to have your heart broken again so you treat me like shit to take the coward’s way out. Well, fuck you, Luca! You don’t think I know what that feels like? To have everything taken from you again and again until you just want to die to stop the pain? All I’ve had for the last three years is pain but here I am still fucking fighting for one goddam minute of peace and love. NO! I’m not going to let you do that!”
She places both hands on my chest and shoves, catching me off guard and causing me to step back but she follows just as close as she can.
“The ONLY thing I have is you and the others and I’m NOT going to let you go!”
Her small hands stop pushing and instead slide over my chest and down to my waist causing me to suck in a breath at the glorious feel of her hands on my skin again but she’s not done with her tirade.
“This is fucking MINE! You are MINE and the only way I will stop fighting for you is if I die!”
I latch on to her wrists to stop her torturous movements but can’t bring myself to remove them completely from my skin as I snap back at her.
“Exactly my point! Until you die. You die and leave me…AGAIN!” I lean down closer to her so our mouths are almost touching and growl, “You ask too much of me!”
She huffs out a sardonic laugh with angry eyes. “I offer you everything I have, my heart, my body, my soul and I can’t ask for the same in return? People die, Luca, all the time. There will never BE enough time for all we want to do, give, and experience but if you close yourself off like this, you already ARE dead. It’s not a life if you don’t LIVE and let yourself have all that comes with living.”
She doesn’t give me a chance to respond as she surges forward with a frustrated sound of need and slams her lips to mine. I try, I try to will myself to push her away but her tongue licks against the seam of my closed mouth begging me to open to her, and a century of longing shreds the last of my resistance. Eden doesn’t kiss my mouth, she attacks it. Her lips and sweet tongue sweep hard against mine like she’s fighting a war that she plans to win. I can’t stop myself from releasing her wrists and burying my hands in her hair, pulling it free from its bun to flow down her back like a rippling waterfall of fire. I fist handfuls of it to anchor her head as I join the battle we are waging with our mouths. A groan of pure pleasure escapes me at the taste and feel of her after so long but it turns into a growl when her hands slide into my low-slung breeches and cup my throbbing cock.
She makes a noise of triumph at the shudder that wracks my body at her touch and rears back to stare commandingly into my eyes.
“On the floor, NOW!” she orders and then pulls me to the floor and pushes me back so I’m lying flat. There’s a desperation to her movements as she pulls my breaches open and yanks on her skirts to try and get them out of the way. I catch a glimpse of red lace before she pulls it to one side exposing her bare mound and then sinks straight down on my engorged member. A hiss escapes my throat at the wet silken heat that surrounds me and clamps down to squeeze me as she throws her head back with a loud cry of pleasure. My hips surge up to get as deep as possible and I clamp my fingers on the slippery fabric covering her hips, wanting to rip the dress from her body. All thoughts of denying her flee my mind as she rides me hard and fast, chasing the release she needs to satisfy the burn in her mixed blood.
When Eden drops her head forward again and meets my eyes, they are just as fierce and angry as when she came into the room. She plants a hand on my chest for leverage and rolls her hips with a bounce causing her to gasp as she tries to speak.
“M-mine! You…are…mine!”
The pleasure coursing through me has me echoing her in a guttural snarl. “MINE!” I feel the first flutters as she begins to tighten around my cock and I can’t not rip her skirt up the middle so my fingers can find her hot, slick center. I thrum hard and fast against her and feel the release take her as she thrashes against me and cries out over and over as her walls squeeze and milk me to my own release. She collapses onto me, her chest heaving as she tries to catch her breath. The haze of pleasure starts to clear and I curse myself for the weakness inside me that allowed this to happen and let my arms fall to the side even as I wish to gather her up and hold her.
With a groan, she lifts herself off my chest and blinks down at me. I expect soft love to shine from her eyes but what I see instead in those beautiful green eyes is a hard, challenging look. She tosses her hair back and pats me on the chest in a condescending way.
“It’s a simple choice. Spend however long I have to live being loved and full of happiness and then cherish it after I’m gone - or live a dead life full of misery and pain. Choose, Luca, but either way, you are done treating me like shit.” She pulls herself off of me and lets the skirt of her dress fall down to cover her legs and then winks at me. “Thanks for the sex, it really scratched the itch.” And then she turns and without looking back leaves the room.
I let my head fall back to thump on the floor and groan into the empty room. How the fuck can I not choose that?
Finn
Ikick the last body into the deep hole with a vicious kick, wishing he was still alive so I could tear him apart with my teeth. The fact that the bastard has no face left thanks to Eden is no comfort ta me at all. She shouldn’t have had ta do that. She should be safe. We just got finished talking about making sure she stays protected at all times a few day days ago and this happens. Our lass has only been here for a week and already we almost lost her again. I run my fingers through my hair and pull until I feel the sharp pain of it. The frustration and fear coursing through me has me feeling wild and out of control. I spin away from the hole as Bas and Cade start dumping dirt over the remains of the bloody menace that came onto our lands and almost took what we love the most. It has memories of the last time soldiers of the crown came on our lands and slaughtered our entire village flashing through my mind. I…we can’t let that happen again. Eden has told us that this war for independence is just getting started and it will be a long, bloody seven years before it’s over. Somehow we need ta find a way to protect her from all of it and keep her safe.
