Page 68 of Fangs and Family
‘I will do it, but I want your word that you’ll free Nina,’ I said, closing my eyes briefly when Nina screamed.
Rage, guilt, and betrayal filled the sound that pierced my chest like a dagger. My Obsidian fought with all she had to free herself, to hurt her captor, but nothing worked. After a brief struggle that broke my heart, the love of my life stood there powerless, clutching her hands to her chest, looking at me in disbelief. What shattered me was the hope, the tiny sliver of trust that made her believe it was all just a hoax.
‘It’s alright, sis, everybody dies.’ Pawel said, his voice hoarse from his injured throat. ‘Hey, at least your man won’t make it too painful, I hope.’
Pawel was trembling. A pale, dirty scruff of a human who, in his last moments, acted with dignity and courage whilst somehow still trying to comfort Nina. The older vampire released his hold on Pawel’s body, and he walked toward me, his head high, even if he was tense and visibly shaking.
‘No, just fucking no! Adam, you can’t, please,’ she begged before turning toward Sapieha.
‘You win. You can turn me. I’ll do anything: blood, sex, everything. You can even kill me, but let Pawel live, let Adam go, and I will never fight you again.’ Nina was crying, but he only gripped her neck tighter, digging his nails into her throat.
‘Watch!’ he commanded as she grasped his hand, fighting to free herself.
‘Do it quick, please,’ Pawel asked, tilting his head to the side, exposing a rapidly pulsing carotid artery. I moved to pull him closer, and this slight gesture sent shooting pain and a fresh stream of blood down my arm. I tensed my muscles again to increase the flow.
The thought of it made me smile. I pulled Pawel closer, pretending to play with the overgrown strands of his hair.
‘You don’t get to set the terms. We will do it slowly… very slowly. This is your fault, the heartache you’ve caused your sister, the families of the dead shifters; everything is your fault. I will enjoy feeling you die,’ I said, laying his head on my shoulder and brushing his hair to the side to obstruct the view.
‘If you want to live, drink as much of my blood as you can. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s the best chance you have. The wound is on my shoulder; now brace yourself, this will hurt,’ I whispered, slowly pressing my teeth into his skin. Pawel’s breath stuttered. I could only hope he understood what I offered because, seeing Sapieha’s fingers tightening on Nina’s neck, I knew I wouldn’t hesitate to end his life to save hers.
I sank my fangs into his artery and started drinking. I purposefully withheld my venom. I needed him to be conscious and able to follow my instructions, not writhing in my grasp, overwhelmed by a mind-altering substance.
His screams and sobs echoed around the car park, but I felt Pawel’s tongue lapping at the blood seeping from my wound.Good, let’s hope this works.He would be my first. I’d never spawned a vampire, but my body reacted instinctively. The world drowned in a red hue as I siphoned his blood, this time without reservation.
Nina closed her eyes, and I saw tears escaping from her tightly pressed eyelids, but our enemy didn’t allow her even this slight respite. Sapieha took her chin, his fingers turning her head toward her dying brother, a whispered command forcing her eyes open.
Pawel’s body stiffened before convulsing in my grip, his oxygen-deprived brain firing impulses uncontrollably as it shut down. As soon as his heart stuttered to a halt, I felt it, the newly forming link to the man who was dying in my arms. Vampire blood magic was potent, and it had already started transforming his body.
Pawel would survive, maybe not unchanged, but he would rise with the dawn. I hadn’t broken my promise. Now, I had to save my woman.
‘I trusted you, and you….’ Nina’s voice was broken and numb. She looked me in the eye as I let Pawel’s body drop to the ground. ‘Why don’t you kill me too, Adam? Just like this arsehole planned. You know he’s going to turn me anyway, so the three of us can be one happy family? That’s all you bought with Pawel’s death. The privilege of seeing me fucking your Master.’
The vitriol in her voice and the pain in her eyes told me the woman who loved me was gone.
It was my fault. I’d created a situation where she could be taken. I should have kept her with me when I went for Pawel or ensured she was adequately protected, but I expected Sapieha to come for me, not Nina. My oversight was to blame, and I could only pray to all the gods that she let me explain and that she’d forgive me for what I’d done to her brother.
Still, if I’d learned anything about Nina, it wouldn’t be easy to explain my actions.
Chapter 24
Adam had done it. He’d killed Pawel, all whilst looking me in the eye. I could barely breathe. Sapieha’s fingers tightened on my throat each time I tried to fight, cutting off my oxygen. I wished he’d killed me instead because watching my brother being bled dry by the vampire I loved was the most excruciating pain I’d ever experienced.
I stood there frozen in horror, clutching my hand to my chest, unable and unwilling to continue breathing. All my senses felt like they were shutting down, refusing to deal with what had just happened.
I thought I’d been through heartbreak before. The hopelessness after the betrayal of my ex-husband, seeing the truth after all the lies. All that had been nothing compared to this.
I’d trusted Adam to keep us safe. I believed he would make the right choice, knowing me well enough to understand I would never let him trade his or Pawel’s life for mine.Better die with honour than live in shame.I don’t know who said it, but those words rang true in my mind. Adam’s actions condemned me to live my life in shame. A plaything for a mind-fucking vampire, a leash for the man I loved, a pathetic life paid for by Pawel’s blood and Adam’s submission. A life where I would never be free. I wanted to hate Adam, but I couldn’t. Instead, I hated myself for still loving him.
‘I trusted you,’ I heard myself say as the numbness spread through my body.
‘I know,’ he answered.
Adam looked at me, and I saw the pain that filled those beautiful eyes. He was battered and bloodied, and I wished I could wake up from this nightmare. I loved him, and I hated myself for loving him. It hurt so much that I wished I could tear my own heart out to stop this feeling.
My heart.I looked at Sapieha’s locket, feeling the heaviness of the obsidian dagger resting against my chest. Adam thought he bought my freedom with Pawel’s death, but I wasn’t interested in living any more. All I wanted was revenge and to take Sapieha with me. I would happily rot in Veles’ cauldron if I could wipe that smug smile from that bastard’s face.
Hysterical laughter burst from my lips. Could my life get any more fucked up? Each time I allowed myself to love, my heart was burned and branded, the scars left behind for all the world to see. I thought this time would be different. I’d thought Adam was different. I could survive anything else, justify any other outcome, but not the corpse of my brother abandoned on the ground, staring sightlessly into the vast, indifferent universe. The voice of reason whispered that Adam was, in fact, different, that he’d had no choice, but reason had no place here, and I ignored its whispered platitudes.
