Page 53 of Fangs and Family
The rock hurtled toward Adam, almost flattening him, and the forest behind us erupted with wild, untamed magic.
‘Enough!’ Leszek’s voice cut into the whirlwind of aggression.
‘I will never acknowledge my spawn as the Master of the Tricity Seethe. Do you think this is the end? You saw what those bastards did to my wife. You really think I would leave without finishing what I started?’ Sapieha said through clenched teeth, his contour melting into the shadows behind him.
I watched as Adam shifted, following the retreating vampire, his body an explosion of leashed violence about to erupt at any moment.Fuck, he’s going to chase after the bastard.I thought as soon as his contours shimmered.
I bit my lip, hating myself a little as I spoke.
‘Adam, I need you,’ I said.
I didn’t raise my voice, yet his head snapped round to look at me, and his body returned to its solid form.
In a blur of movement, he was by my side, lifting me from the dirt and cradling me to his chest like his life depended on it. ‘I’m sorry, sweetheart. Please tell me what you need,’ he said. His voice was so rough, it was like he’d screamed till he was raw.
‘Let’s go home. I need to patch you up. You’re still bleeding.’ I said, and he nodded, turning toward the bike, but as we moved, my gaze caught the older vampire’s regard.
Sapieha looked me dead in the eyes. I saw the promise of pain and suffering in his gaze, but also something else. Envy, greed and hesitation, as though he saw me with Adam and wanted that feeling more than life itself. The vampire had almost disappeared, but the smile he gave me was cruel and filled with rage.
‘Enjoy this time, Nina. I will give you some to return my locket. If you fail, I will hunt you to the end of time to show my unruly child how it feels to lose a piece of your heart.’ His voice was barely a whisper, but it shook me to the core, and I was left breathless despite his shape completely melting in the shadows behind him.
We were alone. The vampire bodies Leszek had impaled turned into dust, but the Forest God ignored them as he walked toward the cabin entrance, likely to inspect it, but I suspected he was also giving us some space. As soon as Sapieha disappeared, Adam dropped to his knees, panting heavily, still holding me in his arms.
I placed my hand on his cheek in a soothing gesture, trying to slide from his embrace.
‘It’s alright, you can let me go now,’ I said with a reassuring smile.
‘Never. I will never let you go. Fuck, Nina, I thought I’d lost you. The things he said he’d do to you, the things he would make me do…,’ Adam growled into my neck.‘No, I need to take you away from here. Why did you leave our home?’ I saw the wildness creeping into his eyes, scarlet swirls taking over their infinite depths.
‘It’s alright, I’m safe,’ I tried to say, but before I knew it, Adam wrapped his wings around us, the world darkened, shifting into a void, and I fainted.
Chapter 19
Darkness surrounded me, and I blinked to test if my eyes were open, scoffing at my actions when I felt the softness that covered me, warming my shivering body. I could barely move as every twitch or deep breath pressed against the unyielding walls of my comforting cocoon. I didn’t know where I was or what exactly had happened, my last memory was being enveloped by Adam’s broken wings.
I drew a breath to curse the damn vampire’s stupidity for hurting himself that way when a rasping voice stopped me.
‘Nina, my heart, come back. Please don’t leave me.’ The curse died on my lips. Why did he sound so terrified? Instead, I stretched out, trying to reach Adam’s face. This time, I did curse as my cocoon refused to budge, tightening to keep me in place, and I realised what, or rather, who was holding me.
‘Adam?’
‘Nina, oh sweetheart, you were so cold. When your heart stopped…gods… I thought I’d lost you to the shadows. I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking…’ the broken answer came from the darkness.
It was Adam’s voice, but I’d never heard him so scared. I lifted my hand to where his voice came from, accidentally touching the torn flesh on his neck.
‘Are we dead?’ That explained the overwhelming darkness, the ice that flowed in my veins, chilling me to the bone and his injury. A raspy laugh answered my question.
‘I thought you were. I thought I’d killed you. The Shadows of the Nether are deadly for humans. Gods, I’m an idiot. I could only think about getting you home,’ he said, and I sighed.
‘Well, let’s never do that again. I feel like a half-frozen corpse. Are you sure this isn’t the afterlife?’
‘I long to spend eternity with you, but no, you are very much alive, and I will ensure it stays that way by any means necessary,’ Adam asserted, taking my hand and placing it on his cheek. I felt his lips graze my wrist, and my pulse quickened.I have a pulse, and I can feel him, I thought, but with this came another question.
‘Can this Shadow Walking make you blind? I can’t see anything. Where are we?’ Adam chuckled, pulling me closer, and I felt his chin resting on my head.
‘In our home, and you are not blind. It is simply very dark in here. I keep my walk-in closet pitch black and empty in case I’m forced to use this mode of transportation,’ he explained, and I exhaled, fighting with a sudden wave of relief.
‘So why the hell are we still in the closet?’ I asked, shaking my head and attempting to brush away the feathers from my face.
