Lucien had told her how vampires came to walk this earth, but this thing was about as far from a vampire as it got. She felt sorry for the humans who mated with these things to create the hunter and vampire line. There was no way that joining was consensual.
This thing was worse than any painting or story she ever heard about Hell, yet those things hadn’t prepared her for this. This thing needed to die. She didn’t know why they’d kept it alive this long.
“I’ll take you outside,” Lucien offered.
She didn’t argue with him.
Lucien led her past the chained monster and toward the glass door. When he slid it open, she almost ran outside, but she managed to keep herself controlled.
The salty air hit her, as did the spray from the sea. Eagerly inhaling the fresh ocean air, she closed her eyes and savored the warmth of the sun spilling over her while she tasted the salt on her lips. It had been far too long since she was near the sea, and she relished the healing properties it emitted as she listened to the waves lapping against the shore.
Opening her eyes, she turned back to the room. Her eyes widened when she saw the creature’s back through the slats of the chair. Red and black coloring ran down the length of its spine. The small capillaries branching out in hundreds of different directions from that spine entwined through its skin before vanishing beneath its flesh.
Callie almost ran across the sand toward the others as she sought to flee this thing, but though its back was to them, she sensed it would somehowknowshe’d run from it. She wouldn’t give it another reason to laugh.
She wasn’t a coward, but she never wanted to be close to anything like it again. Unfortunately, Callie didn’t think she’d have a choice; she was determined to be a part of this battle, and that meant she would encounter demons and Savages again.
She didn’t want to back down from that thing, but she’d just become a vampire; she would give herself some time to adapt to her new world before plunging into it.
Lucien kissed her forehead as she settled into an empty chair at the table. He kept a smile in place and didn’t raise a hand to shield his eyes from the sun’s burning rays. She would only become concerned if he did, but its rays stung his skin and eyes in a way they never had before he killed Carter.
However, he would gladly take the uncomfortable sensations, and more, if it meant keeping her safe from assholes like Carter and Yannis and it would eventually fade.
“I’ll be back soon,” he promised.
Callie smiled reassuringly and squeezed his hand before releasing it. When she turned to watch him stalk back to the room, guilt tugged at her, and she almost rose to follow him.
He shouldn’t face this alone, but he wasn’t alone. He had his brothers with him, and he didn’t want her there. It would only be worse for him if she went after him.
Burying her guilt, she turned to face the other women and smiled as Kadence leaned over and rested her hand on top of Callie’s.
“Are you okay?” Kadence asked and squeezed Callie’s hand before releasing it.
“Yes,” Callie assured her before turning to Simone. “Lucien told me what you did. Thank you. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”
Tears clogged her throat and burned her eyes as she pondered what almost happened, and what would have happened to Lucien if she died. She blinked them away. If she started crying, she wouldn’t stop, and now was not the time to become an emotional mess.
Simone’s pretty green eyes danced as she grinned at her. “I’m glad I could help.”
Settling back in her chair, Callie stared across the smooth sand to the flowing ocean. Usually, the briny scent of the sea and the soothing rhythm of the tide calmed her, but she couldn’t find any tranquility with that thing so close.
She turned to look back at the room.
“He’ll be okay,” Elyse said.
She faced the women again. “Will he?”
“They all will,” Kadence assured her.
“That thing….”
“It’s awful,” Elyse said when Callie couldn’t say anything more.
“It’s almost over,” Simone said.
“I hope so,” Callie murmured.
“We have to leave here soon,” Vicky said.
