Page 24 of Fated In Blood (Nocturne Vampire Clan #1)

24

RIORDAN

A s expected, the little beast ripped into me like an animal, the moment she got a chance.

No finesse, no restraint, just feral hunger, and a wild sense of hope filled me as I pinned her against me and prepared to fly her back to Crimson House.

We had a Silverwood heir at our disposal.

To use as our weapon, as bait, as a pawn in our war with Tyrell. For better or worse, the cagy old bastard had involved her, and now that I controlled Evangeline, we’d use her to destroy him.

Even Blake would see the logic in that, once he sobered up enough to listen.

Vengeance was what drove him, and this baby vamp would be our ticket to settling scores and getting Tyrell out of the way for good.

We just had to figure out Laurent’s end game and why he’d involved the daughters of our deadliest enemy. Clearly to fuck with Blake’s head, but Tyrell never had one plan, which meant there was something darker at play here, though I couldn’t see his real motive yet.

My sire was an evil cocksucker, but years of enduring his cruelty had taught me to look deep beneath the surface until I uncovered the plot within a plot, because with these ancient bastards, there always was one.

Often more.

As a bonus, Evangeline Silverwood was lightning in a bottle, and I tugged her tighter against me, her curves filling my hands perfectly, her body moving against mine, promising the sort of pleasure I’d never forget.

And that husky, wanton moan made my cock throb, already hard and aching to get inside her.

But beneath the soap and shampoo and coating of Collum’s blood, she was still covered in Blake’s scent, and my chest tightened with pity. The poor bastard. Obviously, discovering her identity had come after the feeding and the fucking, and once I got her home and locked up tight, I’d find my oldest friend and try to un-fuck his head the best I could.

Then we’d begin our campaign to dethrone Tyrell and put him in the ground where he could rot, right beside my shithole sire.

I was so lost in her soft, demanding lips moving against my throat and my plans of revenge, I almost missed the blur of motion coming from my right.

Almost.

I crushed her in my arms and spun away from the threat, casting out a whip of magic.

Devouring blue fire shot out from my hand in a perfect arc, carving a furrow straight through my attacker’s chest. The tips of those glowing flames were wreathed in white flames, hot enough to slice through everything they touched.

The attacker fell, nearly cut in half, no blood because heat cauterized the wounds, and I shoved the girl away as two more assailants raced out of the woods, her fangs ripping out of my throat as she crashed to the ground, blood spilling down my chest.

Euphoria flooded through me.

I didn’t have to hold back. Not where prying eyes weren’t watching.

Not when the stakes were so high and I had a secret weapon to end our war.

Not when my magic was clawing at my skin to break free, and it had been so very long since I’d truly wielded my powers with no real limits.

Another whip of magic and the second male dodged away, but too slowly. I took his arm with one clean blow, then his head when he stumbled, leaving his scream and a shower of sparks dancing in the air.

The third male was cagier, vanishing then reappearing, hopscotching across the rocky ground a few feet at a time, the red glow at the tips of his fingers growing brighter every time he re- materialized.

The girl rose up on all fours, growling deep in her chest, and I stepped between her and the oncoming aggressor. I wasn’t about to lose her. For all I knew, Tyrell sent these assholes and she was the real target.

Fuck, maybe he realized he’d handed me a ticking time bomb.

When the male appeared again, I was already cleaving the air in half with a lash of fire, waist high, taking out trees and stone…and the wide-eyed attacker, who got off one burst of magic before he fell in pieces to the ground.

“ Stay the fuck down ,” I shouted, and the girl threw herself back on the ground.

A streak of red lightning rocketed past us, heat searing across my cheek before striking the wall of stone behind me. Red veins of power spiderwebbed across the stone, then the entire cliff sheared off with a roar, crashing into the water below.

The echo rumbled across the valley.

I nudged the first attacker with my toe then flipped him over. His chest gaped open where my magic had caught him, revealing cracked ribs, his organs pulverized. Evangeline curled in on herself and heaved up a mouthful of blood as I frowned.

“I’d think you'd be accustomed to carnage, being a Silverwood.” I chuckled, wiping away the blood still streaming freely down my neck. I licked my fingers and sealed myself up.

She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as I reminded myself that a few days ago she was human. A bloodthirsty human, but human nonetheless.

Still, some strange, possessive impulse took over, jealousy or something just as worthless, when she stared up at me, a trickle of red marking her chin. Then she doubled over again, gagging.

That was my blood. Mine.

Male pride shivered through me. Since Blake feeding her was off the table, I’d give her everything she needed until she was stronger than she’d ever been. Until she became a weapon for me to wield.

“Don’t.” I pulled her to her feet. “You’ll waste my blood and will have to feed sooner than expected. Right now, you need sleep. I’m taking you back to Crimson House.” I gripped her chin and stared into those astonishing blue eyes. Clear. Focused. Still blown wide from feeding and the rush of adrenaline, but she was in full control.

Remarkable.

I’d seen seasoned vampires take days to get their faculties back after a rampage.

She was going to be absolutely fucking perfect.

I would mold her into whatever kind of weapon I required, and I didn’t feel a shred of guilt using Evangeline. Her family had decimated our kind. Hunted down innocent females and younglings and killed good males in their beds without a shred of honor.

After all the violence they’d wreaked, it was fitting she became my means of freeing my clan from the monster who terrorized us.

Balance would be restored, and Evangeline Silverwood would be the one to bring it.

No, not Evangeline.

I needed to keep the walls up between us, to not get attached.

I pulled her against me, trying to ignore those soft curves pressing against the length of my body, and the constellation of freckles on her innocent-looking face, and told myself she was only a means to an end.

Silver .

I’d call her Silver. Because silver was poison to our kind, and that’s exactly what she was.

Pure poison.