“I honestly don’t know why, but I think that tapestry, or rather what it means, has something to do with whatever is going on. The Made who poisoned me told me he’d know when I was ready to work with them. He said the Blood Lust virus isn’t their doing, that it’s been designed to pit vampire against vampire.”
Sor scoffed loudly. “Oh my goodness! He thinks Bal is spreading the virus? No. He’s broken our hearts, he’s used us, and I’ll never forgive him for that, but I don’t believe he would commit genocide against his own kind.”
My top lip curled back as I huffed. “Really? How do you know that? He’s lied from the moment we met him. He’s ancient, and over all the time he’s lived, he’s fought countless wars and killed the Mother only knows how many souls. Look how he treats his enemies, magically tying them to poles and enslaving them.He uses degradation and humiliation like they're going out of fashion. We have no idea what he’s truly capable of.”
And there was the stubborn lift of her chin that I loved so much. She crossed her arms over her chest. “There has to be a reason for all this. I don’t…” Her voice caught. “I can’t believe that everything between us was a lie.”
“Why not? Because he treated you well? Because he let me fuck you? Because he fucked us? Told you he loved us? Vampires use seduction to get what they want, and he’s ancient. How many people has he manipulated or used over his long life? Let’s face it. He played us. And we were stupid enough…No, I was stupid enough to let him. Jesus fucking christ, I should have seen this coming. When has my life ever been anything other than a total fuck up!” My voice had risen to a loud yell, all the hurt and pain coalescing into my chest, and the heartless words left my mouth before I could stop them.
Sor’s breath caught, and her face turned into a mask of hurt. “You…you think I’m a fuck up in your life?”
“No, No. Ah, shit, I’m sorry. No, that’s not what I meant.”
She didn’t answer, just turned her head away and looked out of the window. I grimaced. How did I manage to constantly mess things up? “Sor, please, I didn’t mean that at all.” I gave her thigh a gentle squeeze before pulling her nearest hand into mine. “I love you so much.” Jesus, could I make this whole situation worse? My wolf whined his answer.
“Okay.” But her whispered answer didn’t reassure me. She kept her gaze trained out of the window, and I could hear her sniffles as I drove. Fuck, I hated that I’d hurt her. It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I couldn't seem to form the words to tell her that, not when I was so messed up. Maybe she’d be better off away from me…
After a while, I put the radio on. The atmosphere was so damned strained, it left me tense and unable to even try and talk. The only reprieve was when Sor fell into a fitful sleep.
The morning was almost over, and fatigue dragged at me as we hit the outskirts of London. Well away from the Gambit and any Original vampire territory, we ditched the car. Keeping our heads down, we wound through back streets and residential areas, using my past life on the streets to gauge where would be safe and away from supernatural territories. I had no desire to come across one of Jasper Dean’s rogue Alphas, nor did I want vamps of any kind on our tail. In a supermarket near a station, Sor grabbed some money from her bank account. I hadn’t wanted to risk Bal’s tech team tracing us, but I was too damn tired to walk miles across London, and we needed cash. I had no bank accounts or money of my own that I could access, which was fucking embarrassing. I grabbed us a couple of hoodies and a cheap rucksack, and got Sor to tie her beautiful hair back and hide it under the hood. We had no phones on us that could be traced, and we paid for the tickets in cash. I told her when to duck her head from the cameras as we took the underground to Hyde Park, then hopped on a bus to the embankment.
Cameras were all over this damned city, so it wouldn’t be long before Bal figured out where we were. I was hoping we’d be found by my sexy attacker well before then. He said he’d be watching and waiting. I could only hope that was true. Grabbing us a coffee and two bacon sandwiches, I firmly took Sor’s hand and guided her to a seat, where we could watch the water of the Thames swirl by, or she could. I stood with my back to the railings, keeping an eye on the people moving around us.
Sor looked exhausted, and I just wanted to take her in my arms and promise her everything would be okay, but I couldn’t. I had no idea what was going to happen.
“Eat up, sweetheart. I doubt it’ll be much longer, then we can rest.”
Despite my empty belly, I couldn’t eat more than a couple of mouthfuls. The bread sat like an ever-expanding sponge in my belly. The latte I sipped didn’t settle much better, either. Sor stared at the concrete under her feet, looking so dejected, I couldn’t stand it. There didn’t appear to be any threats nearby, so I knelt beside her and took her coffee cup, placing it on the ground.
“Don’t let him win, baby. Don’t let him destroy all the confidence you’ve built recently. I’m sorry for what I said in the car. I was angry. I adore you, and not for one minute do I regret us. But I let myself love him, and I should have known it would end like this.”
Her chin lifted, her eyes meeting mine. “No, you still love him, Shane. And he loves you, I know he does. There’s something else going on here…there has to be…”
The raw emotion on her face was too much to bear. My heart shattered all over again, because she was right. I still loved him. I might not have told him, which I was glad for, but she was right. I loved everything about him: his stupidly stunning face, his powerful yet elegant body, his dark moods that tipped so easily into lust, his amused smirk that was often at my expense, his strangely beautiful eyes and the way they bled to the most stunning red when his emotions raged. The way he ensured we were well cared for, the way he sometimes prepared our favourite food with his own hands, the soft touches and glances that I didn’t think he even realised we noticed. There were so many things, not least the way he stoked an inferno of desire between us all and played our bodies until we danced to his tune. I loved that he took control in and out of the bedroom, so I didn’t always have to. It was liberating. It had made me feel wanted, and safe—until the rose-tinted glasses broke, and hewas revealed as the lying, cheating, fucking bastard that he truly was. But rather than say any of that to this sweet woman, who would forgive anyone for the insults she endured at their hands, I gently kissed her with all the respect and love I could.
“Touching,” said a voice that sent ice through my veins. I shot to my feet and glared at Bal. I took Sorcha’s hand.
“Touch her and I will kill you, Count.”
Bal’s pale eyes truly did look like chips of ice. How had I ever thought them warm when he looked at me? His face remained utterly devoid of emotion. Pain tried to dampen my fury, but I wouldn’t let it. I needed to stay objective and controlled, just like him. If he’d taught me anything, it was to rein in my emotions.
It’s easy to manipulate an enemy who loses control… His words.
Silently, I faced him, walking around the bench and putting myself between him and Sor. She stood and tried to look past me.
“I understand. But the thing is, fledgling, she is not yours to protect. You have not claimed her. Besides, you are no longer a shifter, and she is a member of my House. As such, I can do as I please with her. As I can with you.”
It took everything I had to appear as detached as he was. I wasn’t, but I could fake it—or I could try. He’d forgotten that I had plenty of experience at portraying confidence and detachment that I didn’t feel.
“Why?” asked Sor, her voice nothing but a whisper.
Bal glanced at her, his face remaining icy, but I didn’t miss the way his hands fisted in his trouser pockets. My eyes narrowed. So he felt…something about all this. Fuck only knew what, but it didn’t matter. Around us, I saw Elliot, Dav, Vito, and at least eight other elite vampire guards. This wasn’t going to end well for us, but maybe I could give Sor a chance to run.
Bal tilted his head and studied Sor. “Because you were a distraction for the king’s new pet…and you were fun to play with.”
“I don’t believe you.” Sor took a step forward.
I reached for her arm. “Don’t.”
