Page 6 of Reign of The Beast (Immortal Passions #2)

6

~Mia~

The moment I opened my eyes, I wished I hadn’t.

To say I felt like hell would be a major understatement.

I was feverish, sweating, but shuddering from the cold at the same time.

Every muscle in my body was aching awfully.

I felt weaker than I ever had.

I looked down to find myself tucked up tightly in an unfamiliar bed with cheap, scratchy sheets.

As I tried to shuffle myself up into a sitting position, it became clear that I was also suffering from some intense dizziness.

My head smacked back down on the pillow.

“Dammit!” I yelled, thumping my fist down and instantly regretting it as my body burned.

“Calm down. You’ll make it worse.”

My eyes shot to the source of the familiar voice and I found Ryker leaning against the wall opposite, his arms folded, glaring my way.

Once again, he looked pissed at me .

“Where are we?” I asked, glancing around at the shabby surroundings.

Ugly paneling covered the room. Cheesy, motel-type artwork hung on the walls. And there were very few furnishings, all of which looked as though they were on their last legs.

“Sorry it’s not up to your snobby standards, sweetness, but our options are limited right now. This is one of your father’s safehouses.”

“What? Why here? Why not my place, for one?”

“This is one of the only places warded to block the scent of Immortal blood to outsiders.” He gestured at me. “Given the situation, I had no choice.”

“Situation?” I asked, looking down at myself. The covers had come loose during my struggle when I’d first woken up, and I saw my lacy blue bra was visible. I shifted and realized my underwear was all that I was wearing.

“Your clothes were covered in blood, ash, and dirt,” Ryker explained, the defensiveness in his tone clear.

But I didn’t care that one of them had stripped me.

Not in light of what else I was seeing.

My body was wrapped up in bandages, the wounds bleeding through each one of them, burns and blackened skin marring the remainder not covered with gauze.

“I don’t understand. I’m not healing?”

“You are , but pretty much at the rate of a human. Lucian fed you his blood, but the trace of Draco’s magic is blocking its effects.”

“What about your magic?”

He seemed uncomfortable and shifted his weight uneasily. “I can’t right now.”

“What does that mean?”

“I said I can’t. You know if I could help you and ease your pain in any way, I would’ve already done it. ”

“You would have, yes.” I struggled into a sitting position. “What about Jaxon?”

“Ingesting enough wolf’s blood to heal yourself will make you sick. Plus, Jaxon isn’t in any state to do much of anything at the moment. He’s grieving.”

“Grieving? I held Draco off so his pack could get away.”

“He had his recruits surrounding Silverwood pack lands and he slaughtered everyone, those who ran before you got there and those you thought you were saving. He was prepared for every eventuality, determined to decimate Jaxon’s pack.”

“Oh my God,” I gasped, pain lancing through me. Draco had murdered everyone Jaxon cared about, taken his home from him, his whole reason for being. I couldn’t even imagine what he was going through. “Is he—where is he?”

“He’s here with us in this house, just taking some time. He took some big hits from Draco too. He needs rest.”

“I need to see him when he wakes up. Either take me to him, or bring him here. He can’t be alone with all of that, he can’t suffer alone, Ry.”

“He won’t.”

I studied him. He was earnest. Extremely so. “You two are friends now?”

He nodded. “He’s a good guy.”

“He has a good heart. Like you.”

His expression softened briefly. But then he shook it off, his eyes hard as he pushed off the wall and headed for the door. “Get some rest. I just wanted to make sure I was here when you woke up to stop you from bolting out of bed and aggravating your wounds. I’ll come back in a little while and redress your bandages. ”

“Ryker!” I called, just as he was about to turn the doorknob and walk out. “Stop this.”

His back to me, he grunted, “Stop what?”

“You clearly have a problem with me.”

“Don’t,” he ground out.

I snapped then, the situation, Jaxon’s pain, and Ryker’s attitude all too much to maintain a calm state of mind. Before I could stop myself, I was yelling, “What the hell is up your ass?”

He spun, his eyes wide with surprise at both my phrasing and me blowing up at him.

Storming over to the bed, he fumed, “What you did back there was an epic fuck-up all around!”

“I was rusty.”

“Rusty?” he scoffed. “That’s an extremely generous way of putting it. You never should’ve gone there. I don’t get why the hell you did. You refused my pleas for you to come back in and yet the second Jaxon’s in trouble, you toss all your reservations out the window and rush straight to his side?”

“I just… reacted.”

He stopped short, frowning. “Reacted? To what?”

“The blockage that’s been in place between him and I fell and all of a sudden I felt him. His fear, his desperation, his need. It was so powerful, pulling at me so strongly that I was teleporting to him before I knew it.”

A look that I couldn’t place blanketed his features for a moment. But it was gone in the next second, as he told me, “You should’ve called me. Going there was foolish.”

“I did what I had to do to protect someone I care about.”

“Wrong. You made everything worse.” He shoved his hand through his hair. “And you can’t even offer up an apology. So fucking typical. Fucking Ice Queen. ”

“Watch yourself,” I seethed at his scathing insults.

“Or, what? You’ll glare at me? It’s about all you can do right now.”

“You infuriating, jealous asshole!”

“Fucking Ice Queen!”

“That’s it!” I screamed, tossing the covers aside, and swinging my legs over the bed, against my body’s painful protests.

A sudden gust of wind blew through the room, stopping me short.

Ryker spun toward the door right as Lucian appeared before us in a burst of speed. “Please employ some restraint, children.”

“Children?” I fumed. “How dare you?”

“Yeah, Lucian, how dare you actually tell her like it is? You know the Ice Queen can never put a foot wrong,” Ryker uttered, sarcasm dripping.

Before I could get another word out, Lucian pressed his hand to my chest, gently easing me back down into bed.

He stepped up to Ryker and caressed his shoulder lovingly. “I know you are upset, however—”

“Damn straight I’m upset!”

“Why? What’s this really about? Why are you so angry with me? Is it Jaxon and me, our—”

“Get over yourself.”

“Fine. Then tell me!”

He jerked from Lucian’s touch and shot forward, slamming his fist down on the bedside table, knocking the lamp off at the impact. “You almost died! Do you get that?”

Oh.

“Ryker, I—”

My words caught in my throat when a high-pitched ringing pierced through my very being .

I fell back on the bed, slapping my hands to my ears. “Ahh!” I cried.

“Mia?” Ryker called, coming to my side.

All of a sudden, Lucian snarled, vamped out, and launched himself at me.

I screamed as he landed on me, straddling me, pinning me to the mattress.

The piercing sound abated and I was able to summon rational thought again.

I shoved at him, hoping to throw him off me, but to no avail. I was still too weak.

My magic wouldn’t come forth either.

I was helpless. Not a familiar feeling to me and not one I’d ever wanted to experience.

“Lucian!” I heard Ryker calling, as he wrapped his arm around his neck, fighting to pull him off me. “Stop! Think!”

Lucian ignored him and jerked my robe down off my right shoulder.

He snarled dangerously, then dove for my throat.

I shrieked.

A ferocious roar reverberated through the room.

Ryker was knocked back and strong, heavily tattooed arms took hold of Lucian, biceps bunching and straining against the strength of an Ancient vampire primed for the bite.

With a final heft of impressive strength, they managed to haul him off me.

I heard a nasty thud, then a thundering voice, “Bloodsucker!”

Scrambling back up into a sitting position, I hastily pulled my covers up to my chest and looked out to see Jaxon trapping a rabid, snarling Lucian in a body lock over on the far side of the room. There was a massive dent in the drywall, clearly from Jaxon tossing him into the wall so brutally.

Fingers grasped my arm and I jumped.

That was when I realized how freaked out I was by what had just happened.

I was trembling, clutching my covers tightly to me, my eyes darting every which way.

“Come, sweetness,” Ryker called in a gentle voice.

I turned to see him holding my arm, trying to urge me off the bed.

“What’s going on?” I asked, as I let him help me out of bed.

He caught me against him as I stumbled into him. It had him staggering back a step or two.

I looked him over quickly, frowning when I saw just how weak and exhausted he looked. We’d been arguing nonstop so I hadn’t even noticed.

I smiled up at him. He was barely able to stand, yet he was fighting so hard to do so, while taking my weight against him as well.

“I need to get you out of here,” he urged, tugging me toward the door.

“No. Jaxon can’t hold an Ancient for long. Especially not when he’s like this.”

He grunted, irritated. From my refusal, or because of my concern for Jaxon? “It’s not a request, Mia. You’re down for the count and my magic is tapped out.”

“What? You’re tapped out?” I uttered on a gasp.

“Nobody else I care about is gonna be hurt today!” Jaxon yelled, capturing both mine and Ryker's attention.

He hauled Lucian around, shoving him against the wall, holding him there with his inked arm to his throat. He drew something from the pocket of his robe with such speed that it took me a few seconds to make out what it was.

A stake!

“No!” Ryker bellowed.

But it was too late.

Jaxon brought it down, driving it deep.

Lucian stilled and choked as blood spewed from his mouth.

He slid down the wall, landing on his ass with a heavy thud.

Ryker blocked my view, bolting forward, frantic.

As he skidded to his knees beside a fallen Lucian, I finally saw where Jaxon had stabbed him.

Relief filled me when I saw the stake protruding from his gut.

A non-fatal wound.

Jaxon stepped back, watching warily, still on high alert and ready for anything.

I could almost feel the tension leave the room when Lucian’s demon face dissolved, his human features returning, fangs retracting.

Ryker glared up at Jaxon. “Go!” he bellowed. “Get out of here now! Both of you!”

“Ry, I had to,” Jaxon started.

“I know, all right? Just go. Get to the farthest corner of the house! Your blood—both of yours—he can smell it.”

“What? How?” I asked.

Ryker looked at me, his expression grave. “You’re weak, so your veil has fallen. And now, that ringing you heard? That was Cornelius' backup veil surrounding the both of you falling. As you know, Immortal blood makes vampires rabid. So, go! Get away from him until I can find a way to help him deal with it. ”

I heard the urgency, the desperation in Ryker’s voice, but I couldn’t seem to move a muscle.

My father’s veil had fallen?

The block he’d erected between me and Jaxon had too.

It could only mean one thing.

“He’s dead, isn’t he? That’s how you found me, yes? His magic fell and it’s begun to fall all over now too, hasn’t it?”

“Draco took him two weeks ago.”

“Oh my God.”

Lucian snarled all of a sudden and fought against his wound to get up.

“Shit. Go, fucking now!” Ryker yelled. “Get her out of here, Jax.”

With a burst of speed, Jaxon was on me, hauling me into his arms. “Come on, princess. It’s all going to be okay,” he whispered in my ear.

I couldn’t respond. I barely even acknowledged what he was saying.

I felt him carrying me through the house, but it was all basically a blur as my thoughts consumed me.

My father had been captured by Draco.

He could be dead.

And I’d had no idea.

God. It was all my fault.

If I hadn’t taken off and hidden myself away like a coward, I could’ve stopped it.

I should’ve followed his orders immediately and fulfilled his Covenant plan.

Now Draco had him, he’d murdered Jaxon’s pack, and hell knew who else.

“I’ve got you, babe,” I heard Jaxon telling me.

“Thank you,” I murmured tiredly as Jaxon laid me down on a bed in one of the rooms farthest from Lucian’s current location.

“For what?” he asked, settling himself on the edge.

“Saving me from having my blood drained by a rabid vampire, for one.” Groaning, I shifted into a more comfortable position, something incredibly difficult to do considering the extent of my wounds. “Trying to protect me from Draco.” I smiled. “And for not hating me for disappearing like Ryker does.”

“Yeah, well. I know all about what happened at the Maven Coven. Figured you needed time to get past it. You nearly fucking died.”

The pain in his voice cut at me. I reached out and grasped his hand. He started at my touch. “What is it?” I asked him.

“I guess I’m just not used to you showing affection to me.”

“I know,” I said sadly. “Everything has been a whirlwind. The revelations, being forced apart, Draco… all of it. We haven’t had time to talk.”

Giving my hand a squeeze, he said, with a sexy smirk, “Guess we better start then.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I’d like that.”