Page 10 of Feeding Frenzy (Crimson Coven #3)

TEN

jax

I couldn’t stand this. My Kitten thrashed in agony and all I could do was watch. I tried to move my fingers where they rested on the arm rests, but it was no use.

I exerted all my energy tying to move. Still, I could not save her. I sucked in a breath.

Imogen propped herself on one arm, leaning over Cat’s bared stomach.

Blood trickled down her side, painting lines across her flesh. Her soft tan flesh that should be worshiped, not shredded.

Imogen carved into her skin, but from this angle, I couldn’t see what it was.

“Stop,” I croaked. Gritting my molars, I fought to stand, to morph, to twitch even, but there was no use. My body betrayed me, but I didn’t stop struggling to free myself. Her cries wouldn’t allow me to. Panting breaths left my mouth.

Imogen had locked me in the basement while I checked on Bastien. Meanwhile, she enacted this bullshit plan. It was all a fucking ruse. The metal door had almost succeeded in keeping me sequestered.

I’d torn through the door and was up here as quickly as I could, but I should have stopped before slamming inside. If I had only taken a moment to think , I could have called the others?—

Cat made me weak and desperate. More than I’d ever thought I could experience.

I stared at a red droplet traveling down her side. I could do nothing. I was helpless.

My stomach pitched.

The echo of her screams remained in my ears, refusing to release me.

Watch her suffer, Jaxon, my love. And just know, you did this. Imogen projected her thoughts at me using her ability. Blood filled my mouth with how hard I bit the inside of my cheek.

I met Catalina’s damp eyes. She stared at me. Agony in their brown depths. I didn’t break eye contact.

“Please. Imogen.” The words felt ripped from my throat.

“Just for that, I will make you play. Jaxon, follow directions clearly.” Fuck. “I want you to grab her hand and break her fingers one by one. Nothing more, nothing less. Then you will sit back and watch her writhe.”

No.

“No.” Even as I said it, I leaned forward, reaching for Catalina’s hand. Hurting Catalina would destroy me. I didn’t want to do this.

She’d carved whore into her stomach. Deep enough that I could see the layer of fat. “No.” My voice was unrecognizable.

She tensed.

My chest felt like it was being crushed under boulders and more kept being added.

“And once she’s dead, we will fuck on her corpse.” I wouldn’t have a choice if she ordered it of me.

I wanted to rip her blackened heart out from pure revulsion. Imogen shattered Cat’s bones, so much that fractures of bone punctured through her skin. I gnashed my teeth.

Gore never phased me, but the vision before me was too much for me to handle.

REN

Calliope’s Progeny led us into a chamber located toward the back of Saphire Lounge. Secluded and far from prying ears. As I entered, I rapped my knuckles on the wall. Even sound proofed. I felt special. Her Progeny moved to the side and inclined her head. Calliope had them trained well. A quick sweep of the area showed this door to be the only entrance. Calliope lounged on a leather couch, her legs crossed as she sipped her bloody drink.

How she liked her theatrics.

She’d already made us wait longer than necessary. To the point that the Alistair meeting had to be postponed.

“Welcome, gentlemen,” she drawled, lifting the wine glass to her lips. Blood sloshed from one side to the other, leaving a thin layer of residue behind. She waved a hand around as if we couldn’t see the chairs neatly pulled out around the table. She’d upgraded her interrogation room.

Without compunction, I sprawled in the too-small wooden chair. The legs creaked under my weight. Tobias carefully took his seat beside me, meanwhile, Asher was already strolling around the chairs until he was at the far end of the couch. He reclined on it in a lazy drape. She did not like that. The corner of my mouth twitched.

“What was so urgent you needed a meeting with me again, Crimson Coven Sires?” The slight bite to her tone told me everything I needed to know.

“You’re still bitter about my threats,” I mused. Her shoulders tightened.

“Whatever do you mean?”

I raised an eyebrow. Her temper visibly flared.

“It was in my home,” she sneered. “You were a guest in a Coven Sire’s home and you?—”

“Come now, Calliope,” I mocked. “You’re putting on airs after everything we’ve been through?”

She straightened, leaning forward.

“You uncouth swine! I?—"

“We come to ask a favor,” Tobias interrupted what was surely about to be a scathing comment. I smirked.

That was nicer than I’d put it, especially since it wasn’t a request.

“What do you need from me?” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Now—"

“Take Imogen in.”

Tobias shot me an exasperated look I ignored.

Calliope’s eyes widened.

“You lot have officially lost it. Imogen is dead.”

“She is not.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Are you going to elaborate?”

“There was a mistake, she was on vacation,” Tobias offered.

We all went silent, not elaborating.

“Without telling any of you? You all believed she was dead.” Her eyes narrowed. “Something’s fishy here.”

“Enough hypothesizing,” I said, trying to keep my tone nice and even. Tobias held a palm up in my direction.

“What we mean is,” he said emphatically. I didn’t have to read his mind to know he was telling me to shut up. “We come to you asking a favor. You have a strong, loyal Coven that trusts you. You would be doing us a great service.”

Now he was blowing air up her ass.

“I don’t know if this would be a good move for me. She has many enemies. What if they come for her?” She shook her head. “I need to think of my Coven.”

I tapped my finger on the surface of the armchair. As true as that was, my patience wore thin—nearing catastrophic levels. Calliope eyed me. She’d increasingly grown stiff with each glance she sent me. The shuffling in her seat grated on my nerves.

“Will you take her in?” Tobias repeated the question. He’d made a strong case. Our alliance for her taking Imogen into her Coven. Without us, Imogen was as strong as Calliope. She could handle her, so she wouldn’t step out of line.

Calliope’s eyebrows raised high on her forehead.

“You know what a big ask that is. Imogen has always been unpredictable.”

“I’m sure she will eventually create her own Coven. She just needs safe harbor.”

“Away from us,” I tacked on to Tobias’s sentence. I was ready to be done with that cunt. The only reason I hadn’t taken her head off was because I’d have problems with Tobias. Killing both of them could fix the issue.

Tobias raised an eyebrow at me. I grinned, unrepentant.

“I would like to see you try.”

Stuffy vampire.

I only shrugged. Tobias returned all his attention to Calliope.

Her pink tongue wet her lower lip. She would say no.

“What if we offer you the ring?” Interest finally sparked in Calliope’s eyes. The corner of her lips moved the slightest bit. We had her. She’d been wanting that ring for ages. We’d held onto it because, if it was in the hands of another Coven, it would put ours at a disadvantage.

“Your precious ring?” She tried to hide the excitement, but I clocked it a mile away.

“You would never use it against us. If you do, we kill you, or one of our Progeny kills you. We’ll set precautions.”

Not only would we kill her. We’d take out Freya, the vampire who would take her spot as Coven Sire. In essence, inheriting all of Calliope’s assets.

“I am unsure . . .”

“Stop playing difficult.” I bristled, leaning forward to brace my elbows on my knees. The corner of her lips finally turned up.

“Deal. But I need to ask something from you.” Her eyes settled on Asher.

“Now, now, sweetheart, I always knew you had a thing for me but I’m a new vampire. I belong to one female now?—”

Calliope scoffed with a sneer.

“I need you to talk to someone.”

Asher looked over at Tobias. His eyes slightly thinned. He focused on reading Calliope’s mind.

“Do it.”

If Tobias agreed, he would have reason for it. Calliope looked over at the male standing near the door.

“Bring her.”

He only nodded and exited.

“One of my people was taken.” She turned her attention to Asher. “You know her.”

He hummed. “And what do you want me to do?”

“She’s been shutting everyone out. Get her to tell me who took her.”

“And her Sire?” She could be ordered to spill instead of tiptoeing around her.

“Died a century ago. She pledged loyalty to my Coven.” She turned away from me and back to Asher. “She’s refusing to open her mouth. She cringes and hides from everyone. We found her bound in shackles, weak and without blood. She would have turned to dust if we hadn’t gotten to her. But she’s always liked you, Asher, so I’m banking on her lowering her guard and Tobias can read her mind to see if she’s lying.”

“Why—”

“Let’s get this over with. If she’s going to take Tobias’s pain-in-the-ass sister, I’m all for this,” Asher interrupted me.

The door creaked with the entrance of a thin female. She didn’t seem to be paying attention to anything until she focused on Asher. Her eyes slightly widened, and she was suddenly clinging to Asher. His lips thinned and then he smoothed his expression. His hand dropped on her shoulder, and he maneuvered her until she sat on the couch. She let out a deep, wrenching sob. Red tinted tears left lines on her cheeks as she sniffled.

Asher patted her shoulder, using it as an excuse to keep her at a distance. I had no doubt she would toss herself at him again. Maybe I should take a picture and send it to Catalina. Then she could come sleep in my bedroom.

Tobias frowned at me. I sighed.

“What happened, Daniela?”

“My name is Ruby,” she said through sobs. Asher grimaced.

“Ah, that’s right, I remembered, I was just testing to see if you could hear me over that sobbing.” He smirked and all the crying tapered off as she stared up at him with mooning eyes. A load of bullshit. He never remembered women’s names. “You’re safe now. Nothing is going to happen to you.” His coaxing words were lies. Her shoulders relaxed a fraction. Her eyes remained glued to Asher like he was her savior.

“C-can I switch to your Coven?”

“Ruby,” Calliope hissed.

“I don’t think you can protect me.” Ruby curled forward, hugging her legs. The crying started up again.

Tobias cleared his throat. Calliope’s mouth shut and she plastered a fake fucking smile on. Asher scratched his temple.

“We can discuss that after. Who took you?”

“I d-didn’t know him.” She shuddered, rubbing her arms.

“Did he tell you what he wanted?”

“He wanted to know about the lounge and my job here. He would . . . he would . . .” She hiccupped. He lost her again.

“What did you tell him about my lounge?” Calliope’s voice lowered threateningly. She was about to lose it. I leaned back to enjoy the show.

Asher gripped one of her hands and squeezed. “Focus, Daniela?—”

“Ruby,” Tobias corrected.

“Ruby. Can you tell me anything about the male that took you? Hair color, eyes, anything at all?”

She seemed calmed by his touch. She sniffled in and nodded frantically.

“Um, he—he was tall, a deep voice.” She licked her lips. Was it the same male that was after our Cat? “He was?—”

“Wrenhaven,” Tobias snarled, standing.

A sudden boom rocked the walls. The male still standing by the exit shoved through, leaving it open behind him. A cacophony of screams echoed, mingling with the stampede of footsteps.

Calliope was already up and through the door.

Ruby gripped onto Asher’s arm, sobbing.

“Please take me with you, he’ll kill me.” She sobbed. Asher gently shook her off, leaving her on the couch, curled into herself.

“We need to get back home,” Tobias said. I followed after him with Asher at my back. We wove through the maze until it spit us back out at the main bar floor. A vampire smashed face first into Tobias. Blood leaked from multiple lacerations on her body. That was the only look I had before she was gone.

Chaos erupted in the Saphire Lounge. Vampires worked to tamp down literal fires dispersed throughout. A male dressed in military grade garb, slammed his stake into the chest of a female vampire. Blood smacked my cheek from the exit wound at her back. By the sluggish movements, the male was human, and he’d missed her heart.

“My shirt,” Asher whined from next to me, his fingers rubbing frantically on the red stains. “This is limited edition.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

Tobias and I were on the same page. A similarly dressed figure flung a stake at Tobias with speed and skill that a human would never have achieved. Tobias caught it before it slid into his skin.

“Close call.” Asher smirked. Tobias tossed the stake at me and avoided another blow. We closed rank, placing ourselves back-to-back.

The attack came from vampires and humans. In the madness, they were visually indistinguishable until they fought. This attack was coordinated and meant to confuse.

A broadly built one came at me, slashing with impressive speed.

I slammed my hand through his chest and ripped out the heart. The attacker crumpled into dust. I flicked some of him off my fingers. In a swift crouch, I swiped the long metal pike he’d been stabbing at me. I rubbed off some of the blood from the tip with the bottom of my shirt. Nice and sleek.

“A little help here,” Asher shouted, ducking and weaving from the stakes being stabbed at him.

I slashed the pike-like weapon into one of his attacker’s throats. Blood burst from the carotid vein being punctured. That one was human.

Still, they kept coming and we hacked, slashed, and ripped.

“They keep spawning,” Asher huffed.

The drag of the coming day made my movements sluggish.

A stake sliced into Asher’s chest, missing his heart by a hair. He staggered and ripped the wood out. “Ow,” he huffed.

I plucked the attacker coming at his back. I grabbed the neck and squeezed until blood and meat burst under my hand.

“Shit,” Asher hissed and snapped the human’s neck he held.

He swayed and pitched over.

“Help,” Calliope screamed, making a beeline toward us.

“You best get out of here, it’s the end of this place,” I mused. She bunched the front of my shirt. I would have slapped her away if her eyes weren’t shifting side to side wildly. I extricated myself from her hold.

“No. Please you have to help me,” Calliope screamed. I scooped Asher up and tossed him over my shoulder.

“It’s over, Calliope. You lost the place,” I said, arranging Asher’s legs to the side so he wasn’t hitting my cock.

“No!” she screeched. I raised my eyebrow.

“Leave this place or you’ll end up dust.” Her eyelids were struggling to stay open. Soon she would give in to the sun as Asher had.

Tobias matched my stride. We stepped over bodies and limbs.

“Leave Jax a message letting him know we will not be home tonight,” I said to him. He rubbed his face.

“Done already,” he said, low. “We need cover.”

Tobias swept his gaze across the madness. The bludgeoning continued. I would have gladly stayed to participate, if the drag of the sun wasn’t coaxing me to get to shelter.

“Asher’s Progeny lives on the east side, let’s go there.”

I nodded. “We’ll have to go on foot.”

Pieces of wall crunched under my boots. I climbed through the hole and into the night. It spit us out to the side of the building.

“Round to the back,” Asher slurred, but I was already on the path. I kept my focus on any approaching threats.

“Wrenhaven must also be behind the attack on Crimson Nights.” Attacking us and now Calliope?

“You know what that means,” Tobias said.

This was war. “A vampire world in strife will never allow Catalina peace. They will come at us, ruthlessly.”

My lips thinned. What was worse, war could be fought in many ways. I preferred a violent one opposed to the political upheaval all this would cause.