Page 6 of Kentucky Nights (Dead Man’s Ranch #1)

I stand at the edge of my property line, analyzing the woods for any sort of movement. The scent of blood still hangs in the air, yet it has faded, almost like the person the delicious fragrance belongs to is further away than they were minutes ago.

Certain words keep playing over and over in my head, words I’m trying to ignore, but the pull to find the source of the person responsible for the chaos in my soul is too strong to ignore.

Beloved.

Fated mate.

Mine.

I remember Audrey teaching me about fated mates before she turned me. On top of the researching vampires on my own to learn who I am and how to be, I know having a mate is not something I want. I didn’t want it then with Audrey, and I don’t want it now.

Being born to live and die is the beauty of being a human. You have a certain amount of time to fulfill all your wishes, hopes, and dreams. That’s the wonder of being alive. You’re under a time constraint.

To love, to fuck, to laugh, and to cry.

There are only so many moments one can have before the peace of death takes over, making room for another soul to have their chance at the world.

The curse of living forever leaves no room for moments to be cherished or treasured. In my almost two hundred years, time has melted together.

What makes living forever so fucking special?

Even with all the negative emotions I have about living for eternity, I still can’t turn my back on my mate. It’s not the kind of man I am. It’s clear she is hurt, and I can make sure she is okay before sending her on her way to live the life she deserves.

Even the thought of not having her here has my eyes morphing red.

The heavy hooved steps of Romeo have me turning my head to see him meandering toward me. He has blood on his snout, and his thick tongue flicks, licking the liquid free from his top lip.

“Romeo, we have a human to find,” I tell him, staring out into the forest again.

The wind sways the branches, causing the leaves to rub together. In the distance, there’s a river rushing with cold water, which has me wondering if that’s why her blood is becoming so faint. She had to have washed it from her body.

“I smell her,” he says, trotting up to stand next to me. “Why do we need to find her?”

“She could be my mate, and she could be hurt.” I take off my hat and run my fingers through my dark hair, doing my best to come to terms with my new reality before placing the Stetson back on.

“You don’t want your mate. You’ve made that clear.” Romeo stomps one hoof on the ground, slinging his head up and down to make his point.

I grind my teeth together, not liking how much the truth hurts.

“I can’t leave her hurting. It’s not right.

” In the little bit of time I spent researching vampires, I didn’t find too much information about fated mates.

Some books said the two destined can deny the bond, sever it, and live how they want.

Other resources said, death was the only option if they did not mate.

I should know more than I do, but it’s not like I’ve made it my life’s mission to find any other creatures like me. I came to terms with what I am a long time ago, and I’m happy living in my corner of peace without being bothered.

The arrival of my fated mate might change all that though. I’m going to have to come to terms with dying sooner than I thought. She’s going to ask questions. She’s going to want answers to those questions that I don’t know.

This is the last thing I need. Why can’t the universe leave me the fuck alone? Why can’t I live and die on my own damn terms? Something or someone always gets in the way of those plans.

The universe is fucking with me.

“Shut up, Romeo,” I grumble, patting his neck before I grip his mane and sling my leg over his back to get settled. “I want to follow the scent. Let’s see where it leads.”

He neighs in response. I’m happy he isn’t a big talker. I’m not either. I prefer silence. With a sharp whistle and a very gentle nudge to his sides, Romeo begins to gallop using his vampire speed.

I stay low to his neck, careful to miss the low-hanging branches that would easily take off my head. There would be no healing from that.

He leaps over a fallen log. The sound of his hooves is thunderous, shaking the leaves from the trees with the strong force of his strides.

Anyone could feel the rumble beneath their feet, not knowing that it isn’t an earthquake or a storm, just a horse that could sling the flesh from their bones with one small kick.

Romeo releases a high-pitched neigh before sliding to a stop near a cliff. The blood is heavier here, weighted with iron, and the perfume of it has my eyes rolling to the back of my head. My fangs lengthen again, wanting nothing more than to feast on her jugular vein.

I’ve never had the pleasure of giving in to the ultimate urge.

My mouth waters from the thought of it. Her body against mine, my hand splayed across her stomach to keep her close to me, the other cupping her cheek, while her back is nestled against my front, and my cock is lodged deep inside her while I feed.

I slip from Romeo’s back, my spurs spinning when I land on the wet ground thanks to the storm that just passed through. There’s still a slight mist in the air that clings to my skin. My boots sink into the mud as I follow the scented path.

My body buzzes in a way I’ve never experienced before. I’m thirsty for someone I’ve never met.

Literally.

“Anything?” Romeo’s question infiltrates my mind.

“I smell her.” The mist turns to a heavier pace.

Water gathers in the curve of my hat, dripping down the front when I tilt my head down to see inconsistencies in the mud.

I squat, tracing the grooves of what looks like a handprint.

“She was here.” I stand, my heart pounding in my chest with horror and excitement.

I’m scared of how badly she is hurt, given the amount of blood sticking to the air, even after the rain has washed most of it away.

“Stay here.”

Romeo chews on the weeds, not paying me any mind at all.

My vision stays cloaked in red as I study the tree line, walking slowly to the edge of the cliff where I spot broken twigs and blood swiped against a green bush. The leaves must have been protected by the trees’ full canopies as it rained.

I’m tempted to taste it. The thought has my cock hardening in my jeans, pressing into the zipper. The thirst, the need, the lust to try the simple red swipe almost controls me.

I want to swim in her blood, drench myself in the one thing that’s meant to be mine.

Oh …to indulge in such fantasies will ruin any plans I’ve made for myself.

Damn, I should have brought my lasso just in case she was in the water and trapped. I could pull her free. I wasn’t fucking thinking. All I have is my gun.

A worn path is made from her slipping down the hill, the mud holding the imprint caused by her body. Touching the leaves she touched brings me closer to her somehow. She was here. Right fucking here. So close yet so far.

Anger wells in me, knowing I’ve made peace with wanting to die when I’m meant to, and now…

And now, I don’t know what to do.

All I know is I can’t let her die out here. My heart hasn’t gone that dark and cold.

Crouching, I leap to the bottom, my boots sinking in the soaked clay by the riverbank. My brows furrow when I trace the blood staining the bark on the tree trunk. She tried to hold on.

She’s a fighter.

I like that.

I stare out onto the waves in the river, a new fear clenching my breath as I watch the water rage. It smashes against large rocks, the current swift and unrelenting.

Sniffing the air, a low, aggravated growl rumbles in the back of my throat. I can barely smell her now. The rain, the river, they’ve washed her scent away.

All I can do is follow the current and hope I find her alive. What happens to me if she is dead? Do I die too? I grind my teeth together, growling like the storm above. My breath lulls from between my lips in a slow, cold fog.

I punch the nearest tree, the wood splintering and snapping. The large pine crashes across the river, causing a new makeshift bridge to get to the other side.

The temperature has dropped faster than I expected. It was hot and humid only an hour ago. If she is alive, she won’t be for much longer.

With a snarl, I leap to the top of the cliff. Romeo is soaked. His mane is sticking to his hide, and the end of his tail is dirty with mud. The neon red orbs pierce me through the rain. Blowing a raspberry, he trots his way over to me.

“We need to follow the river. She could be anywhere now that the current has her.”

He shakes his head, the spray of water slinging from his mane. “I’m hungry,” he huffs, not caring at all about my mate.

Typical.

I scoff while hopping onto his back. “You can hunt later. I need to find her, and I need us to be on the same page, or you can go back to the barn.”

“We will find her.” He turns his head and bumps his nose against my leg. “I can sense your worry. I don’t like it.”

“Yeah, me neither. Come on, head down to the riverbank. We will follow it.”

“Fast or regular pace?”

“Regular. I don’t want to miss anything.”

He neighs in response, rearing his legs into the air when lightning cracks across the sky.

I grip a fistful of his mane, tightening my legs against his sides.

His hooves slap on the mud, flinging it over my boots.

He bolts down the cliff using his enhanced speed, stopping at the riverbank like I asked.

“Follow the current, Romeo. Let me know if you smell her or if you see anything.”

“I will. I promise, Kentucky.”

I pet his neck, giving the muscle a few light slaps.

He trots the best he can, given the circumstances. More mud flings behind us every time he lifts a leg. I scan every inch of the river, hoping I don’t see her body floating or stuck in between rocks.

I check for drag marks along the riverbed, hoping she found enough strength to pull herself to land.