5
Declan
He could scent Riley.Her blood. Spilled. He followed his nose, pushing himself faster and faster until he burst into a courtyard. His snarl echoed off the walls of the building as he recognized the stench of other vampires. Vampires he’d once known. Once considered brothers. But not now. Not after they’d tried to kill him.
And they had Riley.
Declan’s eyes turned red—he felt the change, and the night around him became…brighter, more vivid. He took in the scrapes of her heels in the light coating of dust on the cobblestones. A drop of blood next to a bench. Another a meter away.
Stilling his body, he listened. Nothing.
Fuck. Why hadn’t he used his enhanced speed to catch up with her as soon as he’d left the pub?Because you did not want to scare her.But now, she would certainly be terrified. If she still lived.
The South Dublin gang was known for their viciousness. They’d attempted to end Declan’s immortality when he’d refused to help them kill humans for food. He had no idea where they’d moved the lair, but the elder, who’d personally turned at least two of the five, had certain proclivities that necessitated thick soundproofing.
They’d be deep underground. Declan closed his eyes and reached inside of himself, trying to call upon the tenuous connection he had with Riley. Her blood was still coursing through him, and oddly, he felt none of the usual waning of his strength—even after more than twenty-four hours. He was sated. Full. Strong.
There. He turned to his left, taking two steps forward. West. They’d taken her west. Striding to the opposite end of the courtyard, he found a small gate, and his preternatural vision picked up a couple of strands of her black hair caught on the rough wood.
Another drop of blood. More scuffs on the ground. She’d fought. Until—he dropped down to one knee and brushed his fingers over the cobbles—here. They’d either knocked her out or glamoured her.
“I will find you, Riley,” he growled. “And when I do, those fuckers will pay.” Rising, he refocused on the pull of his prey, and took off at a run.
* * *
Riley
Where was she? Her body felt leaden, and she was lying on something bumpy and uncomfortable. She opened her eyes to slits, but as thick metal bars came into focus, she gasped and tried to sit up.
Her head banged into more bars above her, and stars obscured her vision as she collapsed again.
“She’s awake,” a rough voice with a thick, Irish accent said from somewhere on the other side of a bright light. She squinted, but could see nothing but diffuse, dark shapes moving around the cage. “Hello there, pet.”
“I’m…not your pet,” she managed as she tried to push herself up on one elbow.
“Oh, that is exactly what you are, lass.” One of the dark shapes knelt next to the cage, and his face slowly came into focus. His sneer exposed long, sharp white eye teeth that looked almost like…fangs. “You will sate us for at least a few weeks. Until we tire of you and drain you completely.”
His hand shot out and grabbed her around the neck, and she choked and clawed at his arm, her legs flailing and banging into the sides of the cage. Panic flooded her, and she couldn’t think. Her captor shoved her, hard, and her head slammed into the bars.
Before she could even take a breath, he had her on her feet, the cage door slamming behind her.So…fast…how?
Struggling to force air into her lungs, Riley tried to scream, but only a weak whimper escaped her lips. At least she was out of the cage, so she kicked and punched and thrashed about until another set of hands grabbed her arms and pinned them behind her.
“This wee one is feisty,” a higher-pitched voice said as he tightened his hold, and a bone in her wrist cracked. This time, her scream carried, and pain radiated all the way up her arm and down to her fingers. “It is so much better when they fight.”
The sound of chains made Riley’s body go rigid, and she looked around wildly, but the men moved so fast they were only a blur. Something heavy wrapped around her body, all the way from her elbows to her knees, and then she was shoved to the ground, where she landed on her broken wrist and started to sob.
“What…do you want?” Riley asked, only able to wriggle helplessly onto her back. Four large, hulking men approached, and she couldn’t understand why they all had those super sharp teeth.
“Should we show her, Patrick?” the smallest of the four asked as he knelt next to her and ripped her sweater open halfway down her chest.
The one on the far left, who had a scar running along his cheek and long, black hair, smiled wider, and his fangs glistened. “Aye, Stephan. But as your sire, I get first taste.”
“T-taste?” She barely got the word out before Patrick grabbed the chains wrapped just under her breasts and hauled her to her feet. Spinning her so her back was to him, he used his other hand to fist her hair and force her head to one side.
Riley bucked and thrashed, but his grip was like iron, so much stronger than it should have been. Her scream died as something pierced the skin of her neck, and she couldfeelthe blood leaving her body…being sucked out,oh shit, by Patrick’s icy lips.
“No, no, no,” she whimpered as the strength started to leech from her limbs. She tried to keep fighting, but when Patrick shoved her into Stephan’s arms, she could only manage to flail weakly.
