“Protect yourself. Cel.” He clicked off. I smirked down at my phone, stopping to realize that Glenn was the closest thing I would ever have to a parent, and knowing he believed in me was worth its weight in gold.
I got out of the car and was immediately hit with the smell of the ocean. I took a beat, just stood there and sniffed the air, letting my body take it all in. I felt some of the fresh salty sea particles swirling around me like an old friend. That was the thing about being a siren, no matter how long I went without or how much distance I put between myself and its salty waters, I still needed the ocean with every fiber of my being. Could I continue a life without it? Sure. Would I be living completely unsatisfied? Yes.
I took in my last lungful, pulled out the scalpel I snagged on my way out, and went to face an insane vampire with a blood problem.
I walked carefully through the fog to the shore, using the crashing of the waves as a calling beacon. When my feet started to sink into the sand, I knew I was here. Almost like it knew I was a siren, the fog parted, letting me see the crystal blue water I had an internal craving for.
I watched as it took seconds for the sun to set, for the golden beacon of sunlight that sparkled along the surface to disappear and make that clear ocean blue turn into a dark wavy abyss.
“You're here on time. Good. I think you will make an excellent pet.”
I stiffened at the words a few steps behind me, the silky smooth voice that had a twinge of crazy, causing a shiver to run down my spine. I turned around slowly to see a wide-eyed, fangs out, vampire with a look in his eyes that let me know he was barely holding onto the edge of sanity. My gut quickly began to sink.
“I am so glad that you are all right. When I heard that fucking imbecile shot you,” his voice shook as rage boiled over in his eyes, making them blood red for a second before he took a breath and their normal dark color returned. He flicked one of his fangs with his tongue, and he eyed me up and down. “Let’s just say that he is lucky those wolves took him out before I did. I would’ve skinned him alive, keeping him on a meat hook until the skin grew back again, then done it again, capturing his sweet cries of pain as tribute to you.” I mean I had to give it up to the crazy vampire, that was a pretty cool way to execute some punishment, but coming from him, it just seemed creepy.
“Killian seemed to be an idiot anyway. Good riddance.” I tried to sound like I was on his side, letting him think that he was getting through to me.
He smiled widely, and I couldn't help but think that he was attractive. He had all the makings of a hot guy. The chiseled jaw, luscious obsidian hair that shined in the moonlight, the impeccable style in his all black suit ensemble, but the hit that there was something just off with him came out strong. Like he was a few marbles short of a set.
He zoomed up to me, and I sucked in a breath, trying to keep my cool in the situation, but I knew now that I might’ve bit off more than I could chew. “Shhhh.” His finger lifted to my lips, and I jerked back. “Don’t be frightened, little pet. You may come from her blood, may have a few features from her, but you are a completely different kind of beasty.” He leaned into me, whispering in my ear, “I have a feeling I’m going to like you even more.” He pulled back, grabbing the back of my head to meet our foreheads, and he stared into my eyes. “I think I could even love you. Would you like that, pet? For your master to love you?”
Oh shit. I think I made a mistake. I needed to come here with a full arsenal.
He sighed, “Oh, I know you would because I treat my pets the best. They get their own room, all the food they could want, and if they are good and obedient, they get lots of treats.” His hand slid down to the column of my throat, his eyes snagging on the pulsing vein as his thumb stroked it. “I'm a good owner.” Then he squeezed around my throat, cutting off my airway, as his eyes zeroed in on mine. “But don't be mistaken, pet, I am your owner. I own every cell in this body, every follicle on this head. It is all mine. Mine to play with, mine to destroy, mine to take and do with as I please.” I knew struggling would make the asphyxiation worse, so I grabbed his forearm and squeezed, letting him know I needed air.
He dropped me immediately, and I crashed to the ground, coughing and gasping for breath as he clasped his hands behind his back and paced in front of me, continuing, “Oh, stop exaggerating. That was barely a love strangle, but don't worry. You will be going through extensive training on my likes and dislikes.” He stopped and eyed me like I was dirt on his shoes. “Understand now that your wants mean nothing to me. Your desires, your thoughts, your opinions. Nothing. Don’t speak unless you are spoken to. I am a firm owner, so punishment is given freely, especially in the training period.”
Holy shit, this guy was mad. He changed from one personality to the next in a matter of seconds. Also, there was no way in hell I was going to be “trained” by this man. I would rather slice my own throat open than have to deal with him for longer than a day… and my mother choose to be with this fucker? Did he just go too far one night, and she left? What the fuck happened between them.
“Before you can take on your pet role, we do need to dispose of the other, which is why I wanted to meet with you here today. You are going to take me onto the siren ferry, bring me to your mother, and I will dispose of her once and for all.” He looked out onto the ocean wake, salivating at the idea. He blurred until he was in front of me, cupping my cheek. “It has to be this way, so we can be together, pet.” He yanked his hand out of my hair. “Plus, that bitch deserves it. She deserves to be drained dry for all of her little followers to see how fake she is. How the all-powerful queen was just a bitch on my leash, my personal blood bag, the whore who got away!”
As much as I hated my mother, as much as a piece of me would like to see this psycho have at her, I couldn't. I couldn't in my right mind take him over for his revenge. Who says he would stop there? If he was on the island, who was to say that he wouldn't just attack the whole colony, having hundreds of siren blood bags.
“No.” I knew I was probably in for the fight of my life, and I had a high probability of dying - I wasn't invincible - but I couldn't let this man terrorize innocent people. As much as I wanted my mother to pay for her sins, I didn't want it like this.
He slowly turned towards me, the moonlight at his back, making him look even more menacing under the shadows. “What. Did. You. Say?”
I got up into a fighting stance. “You heard what I said, psycho. I'm not taking you anywhere, I'm not going to sing for the ferry, and I'm definitely not going to be your pet, or blood bag, or fuck toy.” I started to think, how was I going to get through this? Since he was a vampire, he had amazing speed… but if I was able to get him in a more enclosed space, I could counter his moves better. I knew of a small cove around the corner, and I moved my foot back, ready to turn around and make a run for it, trying to draw him in.
His whole body started to vibrate, his movements were jerky as he straightened. “I think you will change your mind after some punishments. I guess we are going to need to start training today.”
Before I got a chance to take more than three steps, he burst forward, coming at me at full speed. I knew it was too late to try and get him into the cove, he was just too fast, so I stood my ground. Waited for the right time to strike.
I felt the wind move as he tried to grab at me, and I ducked, moving to the side. I slid out the scalpel and sliced it through the air and into the crook of his neck. I pushed with all my might, knowing that I would need to cut off the head for it to work, but it caught on the neck bone.
I let go and scrambled backward as he got up, turned to me with half of his neck sliced open, a waterfall of blood falling out onto the ground as he stood up. He watched me as he yanked the scalpel out and threw it into the ocean. He held onto his head as he moved to do his vampire run, but stopped. His eyes flew open as he stared at me and took a few steps at a normal speed. His mouth gargled with blood dripping out, “You bitch!”
That must’ve been too much blood loss for him to go hyper-speed, which was to my advantage. I took a few steps back, thinking of trying to find the scalpel again but not wanting to take my eyes off the threat still heading my way.
I saw his neck start to stitch back together slowly as he made his way over to me. “I filled myself up with blood before I got here so I wouldn't be forced to take yours!” He screamed like this was all my fault, like a child that was saying I was ruining everything. The only thing he was missing was stomping around. He lowered both arms, his neck stitched enough to not have to hold it anymore as he straightened up.
“And now I'm going to need to feed. Know that this is your fault and your first lesson.” He stalked forward, knowing that he was stronger than me, and filled with confidence that he would win no matter what, but he forgot one thing. I was a siren royal, and that meant I had powers to defend myself.
I took a few steps back, making full contact with the ocean, calling it to me. I felt the ocean respond as it lapped at my legs, wanting to play and have fun. I raised my hands up, forming the water into a huge wave that rained down on him hard and fast.
He stood his ground, digging his heels in, and braced himself. He covered his head as the wave crashed down and popped it back up when it fell. “Is that all you got, pet?”
I growled out my frustration, cursing vampires for their stupid strength as I sent an onslaught of water attacks his way. I threw daggers that cut him, but he kept dodging the ones headed for his heart. I created snakes made of water and tried to squeeze the life out of him, but that was fruitless as he somehow would escape. I even tried to have them slither into his mouth, effectively trying to drown him, but, for some reason, right when we got to the point of death, my water would break away. I was starting to get really fucking frustrated.
