Page 98 of Sinful Mates

When she lets out the most heartbreaking guttural scream I have ever heard, the noise seems to burst straight from her chest. Light consumes everything as her bracelet explodes blindingly, and so does she. Her emotions knock me through the bond. Before I see darkness as I am thrown backward.

I hit the ground with a thud, having the air knocked right out of me. I roll to my side, trying to get to my hands and feet. Tobias groans loudly, making me look in his direction, but all I see is dust and dirt. I jump to my feet and gasp at the site before me. Imogen is still in the same position cradling her belly and rocking back and forth sobbing. But that isn’t what shocks me, it’s the house. Or the lack thereof.

It's gone, blown to smithereens like it never existed; I peer around as all the trees flatten, creating an enormous circle like a crater. Nothing is left standing. My mind is jumbled trying to figure out what she just did and how she did it.

“Did she do that?” Tobias whispers, coming through the dust toward me, his body covered in dust and dirt. I don’t know what to say. I can’t explain what I just witnessed. The dense forest literally has a huge part of it blown away, leaving nothing but debris everywhere. I walk over to Imogen, who is on the ground. I touch her back, and she flinches, turning her head to look up at me. What is she?

“She took him, she took him,” she repeats. Her eyes blaze with fury and sadness and that same strange look I can’t decipher. She blinks slowly, like she is understanding what she said. Her face transforms into hatred and darkness as her fangs protruded making me jump back. She looks like an angel of death. The feelings through the bond are dark and cold, a hatred so cold I would hate for it to be directed at me. I shudder, realizing the darkness she is surrounding herself with. The only thing I can work out is that she is a vampire, but vampires don’t possess power like she just showed. She looks crazed and her eyes shine brightly with a hunger I’ve never seen, in a color that is out of this world and ours.

“Who took him?” Tobias asks, holding his hands out like he is trying to catch a wild animal. Her eyes flick to him. He, too, takes a step back from her. I feel her anger coming through the bond, but this isn’t like any anger I have felt. This is burning hot, threatening to boil the blood in my veins, anger that is all consuming and rabid. Staring down at her, she used to be so pure, so innocent. Now, though, she looks lethal and murderous. I don’t like this look on her, it scares me wondering what she has become out of this.

“My sister,” she spat. I can feel her hunger as her anger takes over, the darkest parts of her taking over and she isn’t even fighting against the darkness, instead embracing it, letting it wash over her and take control. Stepping toward her, her head cocks to the side, her eyes snapping to mine, watching me like a predator. I can feel Tobias’s confusion through the bond matching my own. Imogen is an only child; who is she talking about?

“Bianca” she says, answering both our thoughts.

“I’m going to fucking kill her,” she spits, so vehemently, I flinch at her words because I know she means them. I stare at her and something is off about her. I would hate to be Bianca when she finds her. And I have no doubt she eventually will, nothing but determination and anger washing through our links, her emotions overriding everything we feel.

Chapter Thirty

The cold, I remember feeling cold, drowning in freezing temperatures. I never remember being this cold before. Too cold to even shiver. But that’s not all I remember. I remember the darkness ebbing and rolling over me as it sucked me in, swallowing me completely. So dark erasing the pain that is consuming my soul, the darkness that comes with each breath, shoving me deeper into my mind, I try to push against it, knowing there is someone waiting, something I need to remember. Yet, I can’t remember what my mind is trying to fight against. I just know it’s bigger than me, more important than me. Something worth fighting for. I continue to push against the darkness, catching glimmers of images dancing in front of my eyes. Each image warms me slightly, but not enough to take away the cold I am slowly being plunged into. The darkness threatens to consume me, my mind whispering something to me. I can’t understand what it is saying until I recognize one word. “Boy.” The words slowly slip into my mind louder and louder, echoing throughout me. Until I understand what the whispers mean.

It isn’t them talking, it’s her. I know the voice yet can’t remember her name. Her voice grows louder and taunts me, pulling at my heart, which feels like it has stopped as it twitches in my chest.

“Aw he is perfect, Imogen, a little boy.” The taunting voice grows louder, igniting something within me. Calling to me to keep fighting against the darkness, pushing me out of the numbness that is trying to consume me. Little boy, I had a little boy. My little boy. Every emotion I ever felt around that one word floods into me, crashing over me like waves on a beach, tumultuous and unrelenting. Light breaking through the darkness, shining like a beacon above me, showing me just how far I have fallen into the depths of my own mind, trapping me in the darkness.

I felt like I can’t breathe, choking on every emotion, choking on my despair, choking on the thought of my son. I try to reach the beacon of light glowing brightly above me, stretching myself. So close, yet I can’t quite break free of the binds trapping me within myself, weighing me down. I struggle with everything I have, my fingers outstretched trying to grasp the light, my fingertips lighting up as the light finally touches, warming me before I feel like I am rushing upward, reliving every pain, every memory flooding into me. Watching the time fly past me, my life flashes like an old movie before my eyes.

I am plunged back into my surroundings jolting me awake. I open my eyes, fearing what I will see, praying it’s not the darkness. Seeing green hypnotic eyes watching me yet looking straight through me. I peer around, the thunder and lightning cracking above us, seeing trees and the smell of damp earth. I breathe deeply relishing the air. It smells different, stronger. I can smell and hear everything, making me snap my head from side to side trying to pick up every little detail, only to see their green eyes again. I clutch my hands onto him, to make sure he is really here and not a trick of my mind.

His stubble feels rough under my hands, tears prick my eyes when I realize I am not dreaming, he is really here. I’m still alive, still breathing. I peer down to rub my swollen belly. Only to feel nothing, ripping at my clothes, trying to find what I know should be there.

“Where is he?” I ask, hoping he will have the answer, hoping they get here in time.

“Tobias?” he askes, watching me closely. I thrash around, trying to get him to release me.

“Where is my baby, Theo?” I yell, my voice breaking and echoing back to me. He lets go and I fall to the ground. I glance around before seeing the house up the path, I take off up the path, running. Please, please be here still. I run through the bottom floor singing out her name, begging her to give him back before running upstairs, throwing every door open and glaring inside.

“Bianca,” I scream, hoping to hear her taunting voice only to be met with silence. Running back downstairs, I skid to a stop in front of the fireplace, Theo and Tobias stare at me when I notice it. My life’s essence spilled on the floor. I drop to the ground running my hands through it, hoping and praying I’m wrong. I died. She killed me. I’m supposed to be dead. She killed me and took him, took my baby. Tore him right out of me. Every detail flowing into my mind as I relive the nightmare of my life.

“Where is he, where is my baby,” I ask, peering up at them, tears running down my cheeks.

“We aren’t sure, we got here too late,” Theo whispers. His words cut me deeper than any knife could. She has him, she has him. It’s all I can think at his words. She took everything from me. I’m breaking, she broke me. She said she would, and she did. The bracelet on my wrist glows brighter and brighter. How have I not noticed it before? But I can’t think of what it means; I can only think of her with my son. I feel nothing but overwhelming sadness, that is all-consuming. Then it lifts, shattering like a burst light bulb as it rushed out of me, bursting from my broken heart. I don’t even recognize the noise that comes out of me, I just feel it break everything, break my world apart, until it fizzles out, leaving nothing behind but darkness. I let it consume me, enjoying the feeling of power rage washing over me, igniting a storm within me.

Tobias touches my shoulder making me jump before peering up at him. I don’t know what he sees in me, but he takes a step back. I almost laugh, feeling crazed as my gums split, my anger at everything snapping me back.

“She took him, she took him,” I yell. The words leave my lips tasting bitter on my tongue.

“Who took him?” Tobias asks, holding his hands out like he is trying to catch a wild animal. My eyes flick to his. He, too, takes a step back from me. My anger takes over as they stare at me like they don’t know what I’m talking about. Are they hard of fucking hearing? It angers me that they can look so clueless. Do they not know what she took from us? I can feel their fear coming through the bond, before I can smell it running in their veins. Sweet and inviting, intoxicating, promising to extinguish the burn that is searing throughout me.

“My sister,” I tell them. Theo steps forward, making my eyes dart to him. I hear their thoughts running rampant as they try to piece everything together. They are wasting my time. I need to find her, not willing to wait for them to catch up. I scream her name at them.

“Bianca,” I spit. Feeling nothing but the desire to rip her apart piece by fucking piece and watch her die. I would take great pleasure in watching her beg for her life like I beg for my child. And she will beg.

“I’m going to fucking kill her.” I laugh at my newfound clarity. I’m going to kill her and am going to enjoy every part of her death.

Tobias tries to reach out to me, holding his hand out. I don’t want his hand; I wanted them to get here on time. Where were they when I fucking needed them? Where were they when our fucking son needed them? I know my anger isn’t for them, that they weren’t to be blamed. But I can’t help it, as it is the only thing keeping me going. I growl lowly, smacking his hand away. His heart rate picks up, that’s all I can hear, the soft thumping of his heart as it pushes blood through his body. My mouth waters at the intoxicating scent emanating from him and before I can even register what I’m doing, I lung at him.

Hunger takes over every thought as I wrap my legs around his waist, my arms holding his shoulders, my nails digging in as I sink my fangs into him. His blood rushing into my mouth makes me moan loudly. I have never tasted anything so sweet. Blood spurts on my face as I sink my teeth down into his warm, inviting flesh again. He groans before trying to shove me off. I growl, bloodlust taking over before I feel muscular arms wrap around my waist, yanking me off him. Spinning around trying to throw them off, only to realize it’s Theo. I watch him as he places his hands out in front of him.