Page 44 of Blood Sacrifice

“Give it to me, and then we’ll cloak them again,” Salvator said. “Let me take this burden from you.”

Cracks formed around the edges of my memories, the fabric of the magic that held them in the void faltering. My legs wobbled, my knees starting to give way. Salvator’s hands clamped on my hips, holding me steady, his breath combining with mine as we stood pressed together.

The memories started to flow through my mind. They started with me being held in a small cage, and then travelled through a dark period of my life when I was tortured repeatedly to try and gain access to my magic. The skin on my back was in tatters, and pain shot through my body as the physical layer of my aura remembered the agony. My body arched at the memory of me being whipped over and over again, my blood smeared on the non-magical people trying to steal my powers.

I screamed when they placed hot coals on me to represent fire, ice to signify water, burying me in the ground in search of my earth powers. The very elements I controlled were turned against me, the runes on my skin peeled off to place them on the bodies of those seeking to use magic.

Flickers of their faces travelled through my mind, engrained in my dormant memories.

The binding of any part of magic was a crime in my world, because the person we are today is an accumulation of our experiences and emotions. I had been violated in every way they could contemplate, my body broken beyond repair when they left me for dead.

I was found with little blood left in my body and even less will to live. Somewhere in the middle of that darkness, I had found a friend who taught me that where there was life, there was the ability for redemption. Dominic was a vampire unlike any I had met in my long life. It was because of his kindness that I had agreed to help Tasha. He had lived through his own version of hell, and fought his demons every day.

He had let me live in his coven until I was able to walk again after my bones mended. He found a witch to help me suppress the memories when they rendered me unable to move forward, and he hunted each of the perpetrators down until he had claimed vengeance in my name. I trusted Dominic, and that was the reason why I had asked Maia to contact him. If he had wanted me dead, he could have stood and watched me breathe my last without having to lift a finger.

“I fucking hate every one of them,” Salvator said against my ear. “I hate that you faced that without me there to protect you. I hate the magical war that killed so many of our kind across the Americas.”

I felt his emotions crash over me, and the remnants of the spell fractured and crumbled until I was left emotionally bare and bleeding. My chest heaved as I tried to suck in air, panic flaring deep inside me.

“I can’t—” I whispered as I remembered all the details, the scars appeared on my skin that had been masked and hidden from view.

My knees gave way, and Salvator guided me to a kneeling position on the floor. Slowly, his fingers traced over my body, creating a path from my arms, over my shoulders, and to the worst damage on my back.

Salvator moved behind me, his sudden intake of breath shouting without words that the scars were still as deep and ugly as they were when an enchantment was created to hide them.The tip of his index finger mapped the lines that marred my skin. Tears trickled down my cheeks because even though I hadn’t remembered the torture, this had been the reason I had locked myself away from the world and lived alone for centuries.

“These are the scars of a survivor,” Salvator said in a low voice, his lips touching where my spine and neck met. “They show that even when evil and bigotry tried to destroy you that you had the strength to reclaim your power.”

His hands grasped my upper arms, physically lifting me to my feet, and drawing me back against his chest.

“You can utter as many denials as you want, but you are my mate,” Salvator continued in a low, husky voice. “My wolf recognised you when you arrived to work at the temple, and he has never once, in all the years you were absent from our life, even looked at another. You are my mate, Luna. The only way we can face the threat surrounding us and survive is to accept that fact, and complete the bond.”

The smouldering ember in my chest that burned for Salvator ignited into a flame. Life was made from a series of moments, and every positive memory had involved this man. He made me feel safe in a world filled with predators, and for the first time in longer than I could remember, I felt real emotions again, colour returning to my existence.

My eyes met Salvator’s, and his gaze bored into me as his eyes glowed amber. He was the most dangerous predator I knew, but the biggest risk to my safety was the hold he had on my heart.

Chapter Fourteen

Salvator

I had spent my life fighting against injustice, and keeping the members of my pack safe. My finger touched Luna’s back, and I experienced an emotion I had never encountered before—a helplessness that almost brought me to my knees. The only reason I was still standing was Luna needed me. I may not have been there for her in the past when she needed me, but I was here right now, and I could guarantee that no one would ever harm her again.

Luna shivered, her hands shaking as I continued my exploration. Images flowed through my mind as all her protective walls eroded and crumbled. I witnessed what they did to my mate in an attempt to access her magic, cutting her and draining her blood. The history of the immortal races was polluted by tales of the non-mages who craved stealing magical powers to try and infuse into their pathetic bodies.

“These are the scars of a survivor,” I said when I felt her try to shy away, kissing the sensitive area at the top of her spine. There was a mark that had caused her immense pain in the past, a metal collar placed on her so she couldn’t run from her captors while it suppressed her magical powers. “They show that even when evil and bigotry tried to destroy you that you had the strength to reclaim your power.”

I lifted Luna to her feet because she would never cower before these people, even their memories. Fuck them, she was a goddess they should fear.

“You can utter as many denials as you want, but you are my mate,” I said, needing her to understand that she belonged with me. “My wolf recognised you when you arrived to serve at the temple, and he has never once, in all the years you were absent from our life, even looked at another. You are my mate, Luna. The only way we can face the threat surrounding us and survive is to accept that fact, and complete the bond.”

Her body leaned back into me, and my arms curved around her waist to hold her against me. She shivered in my arms, and I tightened my hold until her body stilled. When I was sure her legs were steady, I moved to stand in front of her, raising her head until her eyes met mine. I didn’t want to keep fighting about this. Her unconscious mind sought me out every night, rubbing herself against me, and surrendering to my kisses.

The only way we could move forward was together. Her body was magical, but mine was a creature of transformation. As my mate, she would receive my gifts through our completed bond. My canines slowly descended, Luna’s eyes moving to where they appeared below my bottom lip.

“Do you trust me?” I asked, lifting her long, black hair over her shoulder.

Luna’s eyes fluttered closed but she nodded her head.

I moved behind her, my wolf pacing restlessly inside me, his claws digging into my spine in his need to get to our mate. Once I did this, there was no going back, no way to undo the bond that I was about to create. My fingers grabbed hers even as my other hand gripped the back of her neck to tilt her head. Luna didn’t protest, allowing me to control her body.

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