Page 9 of Feeding Frenzy (Crimson Coven #3)

NINE

catalina

I stared up at the ceiling, swinging my arm side to side as it dangled in the cuff. I didn’t think they’d put up such a stink about me leaving. Honestly, wasn’t I doing them a favor? They were obviously torn, their precious Imogen returned to take center stage, and I wouldn’t get in the way.

I dashed away the trickling tears with the back of my hand. Ridiculous, demanding vampires. None of my arguments had been heard, but I would not stop until I proved my point. My exit would benefit them.

The door creaked as it opened.

Maddy poked her head in.

“Maddy,” I gasped, sitting up straighter. “Can you get me out of these? My back is on fire.”

She grimaced. “Sorry, I was ordered not to. But I did bring you a tea.” She lifted the little plate with a teacup. The bed dipped as she perched next to me. She raised the plate, and I took the little handle. I wasn’t the biggest tea person, but I was damn thirsty.

I gulped some down and struggled to hide my grimace at the bitter taste.

“I should have added some sugar in it, huh?”

“Maybe a little.” I cleared my throat and drank the rest of it and set it back on the saucer. “Can you tell one of the guys I need to speak with them?”

“They’re not back yet. I think only Jax is here.” She fidgeted with her hair.

“Nevermind.” I grumbled. Jax didn’t make the list of anyone I wanted to see right now. Not that I wanted to see any of the others since they locked me up in here, but I could tolerate the others at least.

“Do you know where they went?”

“I think they went to Crimson Nights.” Maddy eyed me.

Ouch. I grabbed my aching throat.

My lip trembled, and I sucked in a deep breath, but upon my exhale, a sob exploded out.

They’d gone out?

I cinched my eyes tight, but tears tricked out from the side.

These relationships would lead nowhere , but they wouldn’t let me leave . If I went to another Coven, maybe to work for them. Could that work? If I were completely honest, I preferred Alistair to any other vampire I’d met. At least he seemed fair from what I’d witnessed, and he’d saved my life during that hunt. And he owned a mall, maybe I could work in a shop, instead of as a feeder.

“Earth to Cat.” Maddy snapped her fingers near my face. “What was it with them earlier, they looked like they were about to rip heads off?” Maddy brushed her hair back, looking around nervously, as if keeping an eye out for them. I squeezed my cuffed hand into a fist. The tingling was so severe, it was beginning to spread to my other hand like some phantom pain.

“I asked to change Covens.”

She gawked.

“You have bigger balls than I thought. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you were already with all of them, so I thought a lot of you, but that?” She whistled. “Their nature would rather kill you than give you up. I can tell you that much.”

“I learned that, thanks,” I said dryly and wiggled my cuff. “How do you think I ended up like this?”

And here came the tears again. I really needed to get out of these cuffs, my entire body was becoming numb.

Her lips thinned and then her eyes suddenly widened. She looked down at the teacup, horrified.

“I am so sorry, Catalina. She compelled me to forget.”

She was blubbering so fast I couldn’t make sense of her sentences. Her change in demeanor gave me whiplash.

“Maddy,” I shouted. Her sobs quieted. “What’s going on?”

“The tea had a paralytic drug.”

What? I could only blink, but that heaviness to my limbs I believed was numbness became more intense. I tried to move, and it took all my effort to hold my head up.

“I am so sorry,” she cried. She stood from the bed stiffly.

“Don’t go,” I choked out.

“I can’t help it.” Tears trekked down her cheeks. She slammed the door shut behind her. I breathed harshly as I dragged myself upright. My stomach felt unsteady. And it was so hot.

“Jax,” I shouted, the panic in my voice obvious. “Jaxon!”

A scratch at the door froze me. It sounded like someone dragging their nails down the wood. The hair on my arms stood and I scooted to the edge of the bed.

The door swung open with the hiss of fabric moving. A wide skirt rustled through the entrance.

Imogen . . . She closed the door. My body gave out and I slumped against Asher’s headboard.

I licked my lips nervously, digging my fingers into my palm. She took another step closer.

“I fucking knew it,” I said. I couldn’t lift my head.

Imogen clicked her tongue.

“I’m sure you know everything.”

“Condescending bitch,” I slurred.

Her eyebrows raised.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” She tilted her head like she would be able to understand me better.

“Ffff-k yhou.” My tongue felt especially heavy. She gripped my ankles and pulled them, spreading me on flat on the bed. My head flopped to the side. I followed her with my eyes as she approached until she stood over me with a grin.

“Would you look at this?” She clicked her tongue disapprovingly again. “Let me help you with that.”

I couldn’t even turn my head up to look as she gripped my forearm. I could feel it being lifted, but I had no control over my movement. My heart pounded a mile a minute. The cuffs clanged against the headboard. She jerked on my arm and excruciating pain traveled through my fingertips.

Tears flooded my eyes, and my scream was muffled behind my lips. A loud pop came on the heels of mind-numbing agony. A ringing filled my ears. I couldn’t move, but all I wanted to do was huddle into a ball. She patted my now free hand and it sent agony spiking up to my elbow.

“Don’t worry, the dose was just right.” She grinned down at me and smoothed my hair back. “You should be able to talk soon.”

She settled on the edge of the bed, staring down at me with cold eyes.

“You have been quite the thorn in my side.” She sighed. “Like a cockroach, refusing to die. A car didn’t take you out, a vampire I sent confused another female for you, and the mercenary I hired didn’t succeed.” Her laugh held a bite to it.

I knew it! She’d been behind the attacks. “Such accusation in your eyes. As if you weren’t the one invading my territory. Truly, it was a surprise how well you wrapped the stupid males around your fingers. It was quite disappointing.” She let out a deep sigh and returned to petting my hair back. Her face remained serene as she studied me. “What surprised me most was how you turned Jaxon and my brother from me.” She clicked her tongue. “But don’t worry, they’ll get over you quickly.”

My lips began to tingle.

“You like talking don’t you,” I said, slowly enunciating my words. My jaw and lips felt weird, but at least I could move them now.

“Quite,” she said smiling. “You know what else I like?” She leaned closer. “Screams.”

Her hand settled on my wrist, and she put weight on it. Stabbing agony splintered through my bone. I screamed so loud my ears rang. She didn’t let up on her weight, just continued to pulverize what was left of my fractured arm. My scream cut off with a grunt and a crunch reached my ears.

Nausea rolled through my stomach and the room spun. She lifted her hand off my injury. She smacked my cheek hard. The sting reached my temple.

“Don’t pass out on me now. I want to savor your pain.”

“Stop,” I croaked. “Please.”

She threw her head back.

“You broke much too easily—so disappointing.” She chortled. “Come now, make it fun for me.” I blinked with effort. “How about I tell you just what you’ve attempted to take from me? Hmm?”

My sight blurred.

“Do you know how hard it was for me to get them to agree to be in a Coven? They were always squabbling.” Her perfect eyebrow twitched in the same manner I’d seen Tobias do it.

“Even my saintly brother tried to convince me to stop my games. He always tried to grab onto the human ideology of morals.” Her eyes glazed slightly, her thoughts taking her far away from the bed. “Yet, you have taken him from me too.” Her gaze refocused. “They replaced me with such ease. I expected at least five centuries of pain.”

She seemed honestly upset.

“They thought you were dead. Why would you leave them in the first place?”

“Boredom.” She peeked at her nails stained with blood. “I wasn’t planning to return. I was having a great time in France, but when word reached me about their new little pet, curiosity had the best of me.” She shrugged. She was answering all my questions because she was going to kill me.

Please, God, all I asked was that Peter be left alone once I was out of the picture.

I focused on her face. Pride. This was all about her wounded feminine pride. She wouldn’t let me live, and she’d make me hurt with whatever time I had left.

“You were always like this, weren’t you? Manipulating them into being with you. Using them against each other—hurting them,” I said between my teeth. “Pathetic.”

She hissed, her sharp fangs flashing. She slammed her hands on the bed, corralling my head. My heart jumped, but I gritted my teeth, waiting for the death blow.

“You don’t think it’s going to be that easy, do you?” She wrapped her palm around my knee and squeezed.

Bone crunched and bile rose up my esophagus. The door exploded from Jax ramming through. His eyes scanned my body and all I could do was eye him from my limp position on the bed.

The shock of his appearance stopped the vomit from making it out.

“Cat—”

“Do not move, Progeny,” Imogen ordered. Jax immediately froze.

“Let her go, Imogen.” His nostrils flared.

I gasped. I didn’t expect this. Not even a little.

Imogen’s eyes widened dramatically, and her palm landed on her chest.

I managed to roll my head to keep them both in my sight.

Jax remained stiff with his eyes peeled wide.

“If I let her go.” Imogen sashayed over to him, her finger grazed across his chest. “What will you do for me?”

Jax’s jawline flexed. His eyes flicked to the side, but he didn’t look at me. His head rose higher.

“Anything.”

Imogen went eerily still.

I thought he wanted to be with her? They kept her things here like a shrine. I had truly believed they wouldn’t have given me a second thought if she’d been around. My story would have ended when I was dragged into Crimson Manor on day one, especially at the hand of the vampire currently speaking up for me, except now he was trying to bargain for my life?

“I’ll tell you what,” she announced, suddenly reanimating. She clapped her hands together and flounced over to the lounging chair near the door. The wooden legs dragged across the floor with an obnoxious squeak. She placed it about a foot away from me and patted the back cushion. “Take a seat here, Jaxon. Only observe. No matter what, you will not move an inch once you sit.” His teeth clicked together, and he jerkily approached the chair and dropped into it.

Imogen turned her attention back to me. She rounded the bed to stand on the opposite side. Now the bed sat between her and Jax. I kept my attention on her. She was a snake poised to strike, and I was her victim. She leaned over me, her face hovering an inch from my nose.

“They stayed together because of me. They are mine ,” she repeated.

The thickness in my throat throbbed.

“Doesn’t look like it to me.”

That pissed her off even more. Her hand settled on my thigh, and she squeezed it until the sharp nails ripped into my skin. My stomach turned over and my chest began to tighten. Sweat beaded at my temples. It hurt so much. I gritted my teeth, but I couldn’t contain my whimper.

Jax hissed, but the sound faded behind the ringing in my ears. Finally, she let up on the pressure. I gasped, watching her bring her blood painted fingertips to her lips, licking away my taste.

“Mmm.” She grinned, showing her bloody teeth. “If I didn’t want to hear your screams, I would just drain you,” she spoke conversationally as she hooked her finger into my shirt. She yanked and ripped it open, baring my lacy bra. A flush warmed my face.

Her eyes grazed over me with a sneer on her lips.

“I don’t get it. You’re nothing special.”

I struggled to swallow. How degrading.

“I will enjoy this.” She dug her nails into my skin. Searing pain burned my flesh.

I screamed.