Page 60 of Blood Day (Blood Alliance #7)

Cedric

I hate you. I hate you more than I ever thought possible. You’re a monster. A cruel Master. Was this all just a fucking game to you? Did you leave me here to die because it amuses you?

Those words had been the first to enter my mind when I’d removed the block between me and Lily. I’d been too stunned by her anger to reply, her fury a whip to my senses I hadn’t expected.

Helplessness.

Fear.

Sadness .

I’d anticipated all of those.

But not her vehemence. Her hatred .

Of course, I should have known it was only a matter of time for her to recognize me as the monster who had ruined her existence. I’d warned her from the beginning. I’d wanted her broken. Weeping. Dead .

All in an effort to free her from this life.

However, I couldn’t free her. Not anymore. I needed her. She was my heart. The air I required to breathe .

I would lose myself without her. Perish to my darker instincts. Wallow in my boredom. Lose my remaining shreds of humanity and become a cruel beast.

Like Silvano .

No.

I refused to let that happen. I needed my flower. My sweet, darling Lily. My other half. My soul.

Perhaps it was selfish of me to force her to remain in this cruel world, but I would do whatever I could to ensure her safety and comfort. I’d hide her for eternity. My one secret. My reason for being. My sole purpose for doing whatever Silvano demanded.

So long as he didn’t find her.

I had it all figured out now. I knew exactly where I would take my flower so that she could bloom. It would be without me by her side, but she would be safe. She’d live. And when I was able, I would visit.

That has to be enough , I thought, my mind focused on hers.

As I’d suspected, my reopening of the link had changed her scent, something one of the lycans had noticed almost immediately.

That was why I hadn’t reached out to her until it was time.

And now, I needed her to listen to me.

I needed her to trust me.

I needed her to survive .

Are you ready, Lily? I asked. Are you ready to follow my every command?

She hadn’t accepted my demand yet, her body frozen just inside that dark room. I could see her on the security feed, the night vision painting her in shades of black and white .

I’m not even sure you’re real, she whispered.

I am, I promised her. And I’m going to be really pissed off if you don’t listen to me. Because we only had one chance to make this work.

If those lycans returned for her before I could help her escape, they’d destroy our bond.

And I refused to let that happen.

Step out into the corridor and turn left, Lily.

She didn’t move.

Now, I commanded. We don’t have time to waste. Those lycans will return quickly after seeing my name on your file. So move your ass.

I didn’t have many friends in Clemente Clan for obvious reasons. The few I did have were helping me with this mission.

Lily visibly shivered. Why should I trust you?

Rather than respond with words, I opened my mind completely to show her why. To show her the last few days. My agony over losing her to the moon chase. My determination to find her. And my fear over what would happen to her if she didn’t listen to me now.

It was a thousand different emotions delivered to her over the course of seconds.

Which caused her knees to buckle as she collapsed to the ground on a cry of agony-filled surprise.

My heart stuttered at the sight.

But my ancient mind overrode my emotions, my sense for strategy kicking into play.

This hadn’t been the plan.

My ally on the inside was supposed to get her out. But while watching her in the cafeteria, I’d picked up on some sort of indecision in her features. A potential avenue she’d seemed to be considering exploring. I’d tapped into her mind to tell her to be patient, only to be slammed with her hatred.

All because of a banana for some female named Willow.

That had been her debate—whether or not grabbing food would have been worth the risk.

She’d intelligently decided against it in the end. But by that point, it’d been too late. Because I’d altered her scent by touching her mind.

Which had required me to move to plan B.

Walk out into the hall and turn left, I told her once more. I won’t repeat myself again, Lily. This is our one chance, or those lycans will shatter our connection.

And I wouldn’t be able to reach her in time.

Okay, she whispered, her mind telling me that she was at war with herself. She wondered if she’d somehow contrived this entire fantasy, but essentially decided she didn’t have much to lose.

Might as well indulge it, she was thinking. I’m wolf meat anyway.

Not if I can help it, I told her. But I need you to start running. Because the monitors showed the other two lycans already returning.

The one who had gone to his office had obviously found her file, and he’d no doubt seen my name as the Master who had personally delivered her final month of training at the university.

Faster, Lily.

She picked up speed, heading down the long hallway of morbid rooms. I only had those security feeds pulled so I could keep an eye on any lycans inside.

However, most of them were too busy with their “tasks” to listen for the human fleeing down the corridor.

They would assume that security had everything covered .

Which they would be wrong about, as my ally had manipulated all the feeds on a loop to hide Lily’s escape from anyone watching.

And on the off chance that one of those rutting lycans did smell Lily, they wouldn’t expect her to be trying to run. Most mortals were too terrified to try.

But most mortals also didn’t have me waiting outside for them.

Come on, Lily. Show me what you can do. I scanned all the monitors, searching for potential threats or incoming issues in her path. Turn left at the end of the hall. My gaze returned to the two lycans who were headed toward the black-colored room. You’re going to be spotted in five, four, three ? —

She turned the corner.

Good girl. Of course, the moment they realized she wasn’t where they’d left her, they’d start tracking her scent. We had maybe fifteen more seconds before the hunt began.

And those wolves would be much faster than Lily.

There is a door ahead of you. I want you to keep running even though it’s closed. It’ll be open by the time you reach it.

A hint of hesitation traversed our bond, her mind wondering yet again if I was even real or if she was about to hurt herself by running into a solid object.

Stop thinking, I commanded. I’m in control right now. Trust me to guide you.

Guide me, she repeated, her voice snarkier than usual. That’s all you’ve ever done, and look where I am.

I warned you about your fate, Lily. You literally ran right for it. Now I’m telling you to run for a new destiny—me .

Assuming you’re real, she muttered.

You’re about to see how real I am, sweet flower, I warned her. Then I’ll make you feel how real I am .

“Now,” I said, talking to Damien.

He was a vampire acquaintance of mine who lived near the border of Clemente Clan and Silvano Region. His maker, Ryder, was a recluse who resided on a property in no-man’s-land right between both territories.

Which made Damien a decent ally when I needed to sneak into Clemente Clan to deliver one of Silvano’s infamous messages.

Particularly when I wanted to enter the wolf den undetected because Damien was a whiz with technology—something he proved now as he keyed in the code to open the door at the end of the hallway.

He’d also been the one to bring up all the screens inside.

“I really hope your lycan contact is ready to come through because this is going to sound some alarms,” Damien drawled, his Texan accent accentuating his deep tones.

“If he doesn’t, I’ll handle it myself,” I replied, my gaze on Lily’s sprinting form. That door is going to open in three, two ? —

Sharp growls sounded through the speakers as the lycans discovered their toy was no longer waiting for them in the room. Lily nearly tripped, the sound obviously echoing in the halls.

Don’t think. Act, I told her. Go through that door . It had swung open, giving her entry. Now shut it. She did, and Damien pressed a key to lock it behind her. Not that it would matter—those lycans had access to every section of the building.

Now what? she asked, her voice holding notes of fear and annoyance in it.

“Next phase,” I said to Damien. But it wasn’t needed, because his fingers were already flying over the keyboard.

“This female of yours had better be worth the pain,” he murmured, his tattooed forearm reminding me of black vines in the low lighting streaming in through the van windows.

“You have no idea,” I replied, checking the ammunition on my gun again. Go right, Lily. The doors will continue to open as you reach them. Whatever you do, don’t look back.

Snarls erupted on the screen, the wolves already tracking her.

Either Lily couldn’t hear them through the closed door, or she was focused on her escape, but she kept moving with the grace I’d ingrained into her through several harsh teaching lessons.

I bit back the urge to praise her, aware that this was just the beginning. My timetable had changed when that lycan had scented her, which meant this revised plan wasn’t my ideal avenue.

But it would work.

Because I wouldn’t accept the alternative.

Howls bit into the night air, the alarms Damien had mentioned officially going off as the wolves realized something wasn’t quite right with their internal systems.

Damien had estimated that it would take them less than a minute to notice his intrusion.

Unfortunately, he’d been right.

I studied the monitors, searching for my contact inside.

He should be standing near the exterior doors, ready to grab Lily and shove her into a waiting trunk. The howls were his cue. Yet I didn’t see him anywhere.

My eyes narrowed. Where are you? He was the one part of this mission I’d felt uneasy about from the beginning. The lycan wasn’t one I’d worked with before.