Page 38 of Those That Don’t Exist (Hidden Vampires #1)

TY

I watch her walk away, wishing with every fibre of my being that I could follow.

I was surprised when Adicious allowed me to sit at the table with them, expecting him to want to be alone with her. Well, as alone as he could be, three others of the pack are within earshot at different tables.

Once Red is out of sight I try to leave so I can go after her, but as I stand, saying I had work to get on with, Adicious refuses me.

“No, you’re finished for the day. I need to speak to you back at the ranch,” he demands. I don’t argue, I can’t, so I nod and set off with them.

The entire way back I’m itching to take out my phone to contact Aurora. It would be too suspicious though. Adicious, Ronan and I share a ride back to the ranch house. The whole time I’m wondering where Red went, she looked like she was on a mission as she strode out of the cafe.

She’d handled herself beautifully throughout the whole exchange. I was fearful her strong will would land her in trouble, but it seemed to have worked for her.

Adicious would’ve beaten any of us males into line swiftly for the way she had spoken to him.

It’s what he does though, I now realise.

It’s how he played me into joining. Initially, he can manage to hide his true nature.

He appears reasonable and amenable, then once you’re under his control he uses force.

It’s eerily quiet as we arrive back at the ranch house, even the journey here had been stilted conversation and tense silences. I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to care.

Obviously, Adicious was pissed his charm hadn’t worked as well as he would’ve liked but he had got Red to agree to come here tomorrow.

Fuck if I was allowing that to happen, I just had to wait until I could be alone to come up for an excuse for her to use.

“Ty, join me in my office,” Adicious orders as we enter the house.

I pause, unsure why I’m still needed here.

“You as well Ronan.” Adicious nods to the male on my right before stalking off in the direction of his office, leaving us to follow.

I can feel my shadows ripple in the corners of the hall as we follow our pack leader.

I try soothing them, but with an ill-feeling in the pit of my stomach, they’re not buying it.

Adicious opens the door and strides straight over to his huge wooden desk.

He doesn’t go round it though to sit in the leather chair he commands from.

He turns, leaning against the front edge, crossing his arms over his broad chest. I cannot get a read on the blank look on his face, but his eyes bore into mine so I drop my gaze to the worn carpet immediately.

I hear a click behind me and realise Ronan is at my back, having closed the door. I briskly move to the side of the room so I can have eyes on them both. I wait out the silence which seems to drag on for minutes, days.

“How long have you been fucking her?” Adicious asks, in such an even tone I’m sure I’ve misheard. The ice in my blood, however, confirms I’m being asked the one question I’ve been dreading.

“Who?” I go for ignorance as a first tactic.

“Aurora. Unless you’ve found any other females I should be aware of.” His voice is still calm which sends sheets of shivers across my body, ones I feel right to my bones.

“I haven’t been fucking anybody.” I can say truthfully, grateful that whilst my willpower has been hanging by a thread it has indeed held.

“But you have been pursuing her for yourself.” It's not quite a question so I stay silent. I chance a glance at Ronan, the smug shit is smirking as he casually leans against the door. I note its to block my exit.

The realisation I’ve been set up speeds up my heart rate. Fuck .

“Have you been pursuing her, Ty?” Adicious amends and this time I don’t know a way out. The question is too direct.

“I’ve been spending time with her, as you ordered me to.” I force my brain to carefully select the words, fighting the bond which will loosen my tongue.

“Bullshit!” Adicious explodes, slamming his palms down on the wooden desk top. “You’ve been going behind my back to make her fall for you. You want her for yourself, don’t you?” he snarls and I look up to meet his gaze. I take two seconds to make a decision.

“I’d treat her better than you ever would.” My voice is strong as I force myself not to shrink under his authority.

“Is that so?” He takes a step towards me. “Can you give her a pack? Security? A place to live?” His eyebrows raise with each item he lists. I wince at each one knowing I have nothing to offer her.

“You know Ty, you think you’re so clever.

Bet you thought you could stay a step ahead of me didn’t you?

Did you really think I wouldn’t find out?

” He laughs in my face. I’m barely holding together my rage.

My fangs descend though I keep my lips locked.

“I own you Ty. I knew from the second she restarted at the university you were trying to play me.”

I keep my face neutral, lock my body tight so I don’t show the anxiety riddling me. I thought I’d covered my tracks well.

“What do you mean?” I go back to acting dumb. I need a few more minutes.

“Come on. You think I didn’t see how you omitted details in your reports. You think you were the only one watching her?”

I suck in a breath. Who else has been watching my Red? Before I can respond Adicious carries on.

“You come home smelling like her. You’ve been ignoring curfews and skirting me for months. I admit you were good, in everything you told me, in what you avoided telling me.” Adicious starts pacing the room, he seems to be enjoying finally informing me of how in the dark I’ve been.

“I’ll admit I’ve had to play this carefully. Half the pack looks up to you, respects you. I needed today to confirm your betrayal. Neither of you could hide your feelings for the other.”

That’s why he had Mitch and Atlas amongst the guard party. To my horror, I realise he’s set up the board perfectly. Those that would question his decision to turf me out the pack have seen my disloyalty with their own eyes .

Fuck it, I’m not going down without a fight.

“Then they also saw her refusing to fall in line to you.” I let all pretence drop. “They saw how she reacted to you, to your attempts at bringing her under your control.”

“They saw how I managed to expose you both,” he fires right back, his face red with anger. “When she gets here tomorrow, she won’t be leaving.”

I release a small chuckle.

“I won’t be letting her cross the threshold.” This time it's me stepping towards him as I stand to my full height.

“Is that so?” Adicious almost purrs. "And how will you manage that when you won’t be here?” He motions to Ronan and I see written on his smug face he was in on this showdown all along. They plan to lock me up, or kill me, here and now.

Yeah, not happening .

I launch myself at Adicious, managing the element of surprise. I get a quick right hook to his face before Ronan is on me. Adicious, caught off balance, nearly hits the floor but catches himself on one of the chairs.

Strong arms grab me from behind, hauling me back as Adicious rights himself with a growl.

“I’m done,” I shout. “Let me out of the pack and I’ll go.”

“Ha, do you honestly think I’d allow that?” Adicious sounds confident but the way he rubs his jaw tells me he wasn’t expecting me to be so strong. Sparring with Red these past weeks wasn’t solely for her benefit. I’m stronger and fitter than I’ve been in months. Years probably.

Ronan grunts behind me as I try to shake his hold.

“Kill him,” Adicious orders.

It unleashes something in me. It's exactly what I expected from him if he found out. It's been part of every scenario I’ve had running through my mind as I’ve been planning to get free. I also know Ronan’s moves.

As the vampire behind me swings a leg to take me to the ground I slam a heel onto his standing leg as a distraction. At the same time I swing my head back, making contact with his nose with a crunch.

In a blink I’m throwing myself forward, straight into Adicious’s punch which lands on my ribs. I don’t feel it as I wrap a hand around his throat, attempting to turn his head to the side. I need access to a vein. My fangs are already extended, I just need a clear shot.

Ronan recovers quicker than I anticipated, making it two on one. I take a punch to the kidneys and another to my ribs. I throw my weight back again as Ronan tries to pull me off Adicious. The twist causes us to lose balance in the small space and we all topple.

We crash against the chairs in front of the desk. Wood splinters as Ronan takes most of the impact but the wind is forced from my lungs too. They both make unsuccessful grabs at me as I roll out from between them.

The scent of blood permeates the air and I’m sure the noise must be alerting some of the others in the pack of something going down. I need to end this now or I am not leaving here alive.

Adicious and I recover to our feet quicker than Ronan, who is squirming on the ground groaning.

I think his back took the impact against the chair which is now nothing more than kindling.

I look at Adicious almost a second too late as he swings a piece of wood at my skull.

I manage to duck by spinning into him. Exactly what I needed. With his arm outstretched I lunge.

My fangs enter his forearm with no resistance. I drag them down hard and fast. Flesh and tendons rip as blood floods my mouth. I use the momentum of my spin to fling him off me, doing maximum damage in the process. As he roars in pain I spit the blood to the floor, not wanting to swallow a drop.

Magic washes through me on a tidal wave of relief.

It's a physical cleansing. The bond holding me to this pack snaps. My head clears as if it has been under a heavy fog. I see the shock on Adicious’s face as he stumbles back into the desk, blood spraying everywhere.

I injured him. Opened his veins from wrist to elbow.

Endangering his life. Ending the blood bond.

With the tendons snapped his hand hangs uselessly.

He will heal easily but it makes him vulnerable for now.

Whilst he’s distracted in finding something to staunch the bleeding I grab a heavy sculpture from the side and swing it down onto Ronan’s skull, knocking him clean out.

Pretty sure I hear bones crack. Again it's not a fatal injury but it buys me enough time to lunge for the door.

Not pausing for a second I sprint down the hall and out of the house. I hear shouting amongst general scrambling noises, but I don’t stop.

I’m out into the waning afternoon sunshine before I can think. It's all instinct, get out, get back to the city. Back to Red.

I run into the shadows of the trees surrounding the property and pull on my magic, setting my shadows free.

They swarm me, darkening everything around me, providing me protection.

I don’t head down the driveway, it's too obvious.

Instead I launch myself through the trees, into the thicker forest until I hit the stream.

Panting and dizzy I plunge myself into the water to hide my scent.

I pause momentarily to wash the blood from my face, my skin, and then I’m moving again.

I stay in the cold water, so my scent can’t be followed, and this way I leave no footprints either.

I run through the shallow bits and swim as it gets deeper, turning into a river.

My muscles scream at me from the abuse I’m putting them through.

My injuries from the fight make everything harder.

I follow the river until I can see the first buildings of the city, the streetlamps sparking on as dusk falls. I scramble up the bank, ducking into the shadows of a suburban house and pause to catch my breath.

I’m free.

I’m no longer bound to the pack. It feels surreal. I want to celebrate, I want to enjoy this moment I thought would never come. But I need to get to Red. I know they’ll go after her now. I must get to her first. Protect her. Claim her. Make her mine.