Page 84 of Fated to the Vampire Prince
A growl and the snapping of teeth followed.
My head spun, and my stomach was sick. Sweat trickled down the side of my face. I didn’t understand what was going on. I wondered if the throbbing spot on my eyebrow was to blame or if it was something else.
“Call off your beasts, Hera! If you don’t, so help me… I’ll kill every last one.”
I’d recognize that voice even if it were pitch black, and I was on the brink of death. I’d heard it inside my head more times than I could count. It was Bastien. And he wasfurious.
With that one look I knew deep in my core that he might’ve been one of them, he might’ve even helped them do this, but no matter what, I washis. He would always,alwaysstand with me. Something clicked inside me, like a key in a lock, and it opened a new emotion in me. One that fought back against every evil thing I’d ever been told about his kind. One that burned inside me.
The wolves growled, and they tightened around me, bristly tails brushing against my legs and arms.
I could only watch what was transpiring from between their feet.
“They aren’tmywolves!” the witch screeched. “They’rehers!”
Hers? As in… mine? Then it all came back to me. The wolf in the graveyard—the one with the yellow eyes. It wasmybeast? And so were the other four? Pride swelled in my chest. Myfamily might not be here to help me, but Diana had sent me a another.
The vampire lunged forward, eyes dark as night and fangs lengthening, but the wolves moved in unison, snapping and biting his limbs.
My heart cried out, “Don’t hurt him!”
Helplessly,I reached for him, and when I did, heat gathered under my skin, and a pulse of static energy raced through me. My hand burned like someone had set fire to it. I screamed in pain, inspecting it, sure my flesh had turned black. I knew I must’ve been hit by one of their spells. But there was nothing.Nothing. I was unharmed.
Confusion and fear set in, my pulse quickening. I looked to Bastien for explanation, but he was on the ground, flat on his back, and the wolves were reforming their circle around me.
Had I… Had I done that?
“She can’t control the power!” someone shouted.
“Only a true born witch can handle the gift of darkness!” exclaimed another. “Temperance’s power was unmatched!”
Grunts of agreement followed. My eyes found Bastien’s as he clambered to his feet. I’d seen him angry. I’d seen him lose his temper. But this was somethingdifferent. This was a man unhinged.
Hera’s voice rose above the madness. “Kill the wolves!And bring me the girl!”
Bastien opened the connection between us, speaking to me as only he could. “Run for the woods behind the house and make for the caves. I’ll be right behind you.”
I was in no condition to run. Not with the gash on my head. I could barely find the energy to stand. On top of that, I was scared. Scared of what happened in the graveyard. Of who that power went to. They couldn’t mean…me.
Flexing my fingers, I castmy gaze down to my hand.“Bastien,”I said, my voice small,“what is happening to me? Why do they want me?”
I felt the fear and regret stirring inside him even though his face remained impassive.“Right now, all I need you to do is run.”
The truth settled in my gut. I didn’t need him to tell me what happened. I could feel it. He was just as nervous and afraid as I was. This was why I felt like my blood was boiling. Or like something had taken residence in my chest and refused to leave. With shaking fingers, I pulled a few strands of hair free, revealing a burnished shade of copper.
No. No. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t. I couldn’t be…
I cast my gaze around the graveyard at all the witches shouting for my blood. Maybe I should let them kill me. Because I could never go home. Never. I’d become the thing my family despised. The thing my sister despised.
A Dark Witch.
How?Why?I was born from the light. This shouldn’t be possible.
“Claire, we will figure this out,”Bastien reassured me.“But right now, I need you to climb on the biggest wolf’s back and go. I’ll take care of the witches so you can escape.”
Concern knitted my brows together, making my gash sting. He couldn’t possibly fight them all. I knew he was a battle-tested vampire prince with the scars that prove his skill, but even in his monstrous state, there were too many of them.
If I was his to protect, then he was mine.
