Page 41 of Daring Her Vampires (Embracing The Bond #12)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sally

H er face is covered with blood. It’s matted in her hair, and her clothes are torn.

I’ve seen pictures, and she looks like me.

My vision featured my mom, and I had no idea.

Her heartbeat is slow. She is on the edge of death.

My whole life, I thought she was already dead.

All those years, my dad pretended she was gone.

He had to know she wasn’t. Why did she leave us?

Why did she leave me? How is she here? I forget about everything but the body not moving on the ground.

“That got your attention.” Fredrick crouches beside her, and I have to stop myself from diving at him.

“My spies informed me of your mate. A lovely rabbit shifter who had you wrapped around her finger. I thought I could provoke you into a trade where you give me Allie, and I would leave Sally alone. Imagine my surprise when a rabbit shifter who looks just like her was caught sneaking around.” He tugs on her hair, and I snarl.

“Motherfucker, don’t touch her.” Atlas wraps his arms around my waist when I lunge forward.

“I had an idea.” His grin widens. “Give me your sister, and you get the mother. She told me everything. She’s not built for torture; she couldn’t hack it.

Apparently, this was her way of protecting the daughter she left.

” He lifts his brows, and my stomach rolls.

How does he know more about her than I do?

My mind can’t focus, and everything is blurry.

My demon is hissing in my head, feeling my pain. My rabbit shifter whimpers.

“Let her go,” Luca demands, his eyes wild. I’m sure he can feel my confusion and anger. It fuels his and Atlas’s need to remain close, which is the only thing holding me back.

“I don’t think so. The minute I do, you and your friends are going to try to kill us. I can’t let that happen. Our work isn’t done.” He stands, staring at me. “Do you want her?”

“Yes,” I grit out.

“Give me Allie,” he demands.

“Fuck you,” I hiss.

“Aren’t you curious about her reasons for leaving you? Your questions will never be answered.” He looks down. “She doesn’t have long. I’m afraid we worked her over good.” He looks back at me. “There are more of us. Yes, you have powerful friends, but you are a new vampire. It will be a fight.”

“I’ve never been afraid of a fight,” I say, my fangs emerging.

I feel the rest of the family walking through the trees.

They always have good timing. I watch Fredricks's eyes flare, and his fear begins to bleed through his scent. “My family isn’t either. Let me have her, and we will kill you quickly.”

“What kind of deal is that?” he spits, his hands on his hips.

“The only one you will get,” I promise, and his vampires shift.

“I will kill her before you get to her,” he says ruthlessly.

“You will never know why she left you. All your answers will forever be lost.” I don’t look behind him to where Bash and Marie are, sneaking beside the house.

Their bodies are blurring in place. I’m confident in Bash’s skills; if I can’t get to her, he will.

“Why would I care?” The words are bitter on my tongue.

I do care, even though any excuse she has will never make up for leaving me with an abusive father.

“I have a new family. Allie is my sister, and I would sacrifice a woman I hardly know for her anytime.” Bash, will you get her?

I direct the question toward him, praying he doesn’t ask questions.

“We will have her before he can blink.” I have to concentrate on not showing the emotion his statement causes.

“You expect me to believe that?” His gaze hops around the family surrounding me. I don’t risk turning around, but I’m sure it’s a beautiful sight.

“Believe whatever the fuck you want,” I growl, and his eyes narrow.

“All of you will die today,” he promises, glancing around his crew. “We hold all the power.”

“Are we done comparing dicks?” I ask and grin when rage consumes his features.

“You’re going to be so upset when all your hard work dies.

” I flick my hand toward the men around him, and when he takes his eyes off of me, Bash has my mom in his arms, and disappears before Fredrick moves his head the other way.

He panics when he looks in the direction of where my mother was.

“Can we kill them now?” Luca asks.

“Do your worst, boyfriend,” I smirk, and Luca flies forward.

Fredrick was delusional. I laugh as a fireball rains from the sky and a vampire disintegrates.

“Go, Atlas, I got this.” He releases me and I blur beside him.

Allie moves to Fredrick, and the family picks a vampire to kill.

I stop and stare at Luca. I’ve never seen him fight.

He is a beast in action, fluid and beautiful.

I can tell he is toying with his opponent.

I forget what I should be doing, staring at my sexy mate, and someone tackles me.

I lose my breath for a moment, and Atlas roars.

“Don’t worry. I was just surprised,” I assure him as I wiggle my arm out of the attacker's hold and grip his neck. I grin gleefully. Just because I’m curious, I pull out my rabbit's foot and brush it across his face. “You don’t want to hurt me,” I sing, and his body relaxes.

“Stand up.” I move with him as he does, keeping my hand tight.

“This is so cool,” I whisper. “You’re going to stand still while I kill you. ”

“Yes,” he says. I barely restrain myself from jumping up and down.

“Bye-bye.” I rip out his throat, tossing it at our feet.

He drops, his eyes wide. “I need a fireball here,” I tell the dragons.

I step away, slide my tool in my pocket, and look around when I feel the heat of the blaze.

Heath is standing casually with Juliana under his arm.

Hunter is beside them, watching Bane make quick work of a brown-haired vampire.

“Really, Heath?” He flicks his whip, severing someone's head, and shrugs.

“Did you need help?” he drawls.

“No.” My lips twitch as he smirks. I turn away and find Fredrick.

Allie is fighting with him, and I move toward them.

I’m distracted when I spot Atlas. He has a vampire within his grasp.

My boyfriend's fangs are out, and his muscles bulge as he stands in front of a vampire, his back to him.

His hands are around the back of the bad guy's head. Atlas meets my gaze as he pulls, throwing him over his shoulder. The second the man hits the ground, his heart is ripped from his body. I shouldn’t want to fuck my mates while we are killing.

“You killed him,” a woman cries. I look toward the sound of the voice, and she is running toward me.

“Were you forced to be changed? Or desperately in love when you did all the bad things?” I ask, hoping she can be saved.

“Fuck you,” she growls, and I sigh. “I enjoyed killing my first human.” She grins, and I don’t move. She’s slightly taller than me, and I tilt my head.

“I was hoping to recruit you to the good side,” I mumble.

She doesn’t respond, and I wait until she reaches the distance I need.

I rotate slightly, jump, and kick, and her body collides with my leg.

As she clutches her stomach, I push with my toes on my other foot and kick her in the face.

My foot vibrates while her head falls back.

“Holy shit.” I stand straight and stand over her.

“I kicked her fucking head off.” I laugh and look around.

“Did anyone see that?” Micah is grinning and shaking his head. “You saw that, right?”

“Fierce hybrid,” he says, crossing his arms.

“Thanks.” I brush my hand across my shoulder.

“Fire here.” I move away and look around.

There are only a handful of bad guys left.

Luca is toying with different one. Atlas is showing his skill to another.

Allie is still taking her anger out on the man who tortured her, and Roxanne is teaching another a lesson.

I’m shocked to see Rowen fighting. The rest of the crew are watching them work.

They have formed a circle around the family member whom they want to root for.

Micah is keeping an eye on Allie, and I’m grateful.

I don’t doubt her skill; she's fighting like an animal, but my mates would be devastated if something happened to her.

“I’m hungry,” River says, stopping next to me.

“When aren’t you?” I ask. He cringes as Luca rips a vampire's finger off.

“True, but aren’t you?” he asks, tilting his head.

“I could eat.” I look at his neck and wiggle my eyebrows. He slaps his hand to his neck.

“You are cruel,” he pouts.

“Don’t worry. I don’t have an appetite for wolf.” I turn and watch my mates.

“I saw your little rabbit trick,” he mentions casually.

“I wasn’t sure if it would work,” I snicker. “It’s only worked on humans.”

“You’ve been hiding a lot of tricks,” he says, narrowing his eyes.

“A girl has to have some secrets.” I smile and walk closer to Allie. Fredrick has gotten some good hits in, and I want to be closer. My mates are still fighting, getting several tips from the crowd. I can’t think about my mother yet; we need to finish this.

“You fucking bitch,” Fredrick growls when Allie bounces around him, narrowly missing a punch.

“Watch your mouth,” I hiss, and he glares at me. His distraction causes Allie time to jump on his back, her knees pressed against him, her hands around his neck. He’s taller and stronger than her, but she has rage on her side.