Page 137 of The Firebrand
He propped his boots on the coffee table, his breathing finally regular, his pulse a slow beat. “Stronger than you’d think. But I won’t risk it. Not when there’s a chance I can get my shit together and still see her.”
Suddenly, Larisa, the vampire priestess of the Bludhunt, exploded into his mind. This time, she was a fucking lasso around his neck. The other end was tethered to a stampeding horse.
Rein jumped up from the sofa. “Elisabeta, I have to leave.”
“What the hell is going on? I’ll go with you.”
“No. The hunt has Braelyn.”
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Tall, regal, powerful, the Bludhunt high priestess Larisa, garbed in a crimson robe, waited at the ritual altar in a cavern in the Spirit Mountains.
Rein tipped a chin in deference, but snapped it up, eyes glowering, when he spied Braelyn off to the side. Lifting the hem of a red-hooded cloak, she raised a foot, preparing to step toward him. Larisa’s hand shot out, barring her way.
When he charged the priestess, she tossed him on his ass with a light tap to his chest. Rein picked himself up from the rocky ground. “No. Send her away. She doesn’t understand. I refuse the bond.”
“The female came to us,” said Larisa. “The Bludhunt did not call her.”
“I don’t care how the hell she got here.” Rein’s guttural words bounced off the cavern walls. “Get her the fuck out.”
“Do you not desire this human?” asked the priestess.
Rein turned angry, red-streaked eyes toward Larisa but spun toward Braelyn, fists clenched. “Listen, damn it. Vampire society is male dominant. This ass-old ritual is a vicious battle. You will not survive the hunt, the capture, or my domination. For thousands of years, it weeded out weak females so only the strongest mated. Here’s what will happen. I will track you. The longer you evade me, the more obsessed I’ll become. By the time I trap you, the compulsion to fuck and feed will consume me. I will not do this. That is final.”
“Please,” Braelyn said, ignoring Rein to speak to Larisa. “May I have a few moments alone with him?”
With a flat voice, the priestess said, “This is most unusual, but…” The priestess shadowflashed out of the chamber.
Rein held up a hand. “Stay back.” Between gritted teeth, he willed his fangs to recede. “You went home.”
“No. I belong with you.” Braelyn spoke matter-of-factly.
“Leave.” Even clipped words were hard to form with his jaw clamped tight.
“No.”
Rein crossed his arms over his chest. “My body wants to complete the bond. My temples ache like sonsabitches. A dull knife is flaying my guts, and I’m suffocating. Just look at me.”
Her stubborn gaze locked on what must be his maddened eyes, his clenched fists, his snarling lips. “I don’t care.”
Rein scrubbed a hand across his jaw, speaking as if Brae were a child. “Hours ago, I nearly lost myself to the bludfrenzy. If you had seen what I did, you’d desert me between one heartbeat and the next. Right now, I cannot feed from anyone, least of all, you.”
“I trust you not to hurt me, Rein.” She ambled toward him, a delicious sway to her hips.
He held up a hand. “Just being in the Bludhunt Cave screws with my mind. Stay away.”
“No.”
Claws bit into his palms. “You are fucking insane. My sole aim will be to stalk, capture, feed, fuck. A vampire bonds with a female only if she survives his total domination.”
Braelyn, as if weary of arguing, snapped. “Are you thinking of me, or are you being an arrogant, selfish, stubborn prick worried I’ll betray you? Newsflash. I won’t.”
Having sneaked up, she rested a soft palm on each side of his face. “I love you, Rein. All of you. That includes the beast. I love that every day you fight to be a better man. Please, trust me. I’m willing to risk anything for a lifetime with you. What will you risk for me?” Braelyn wrapped her arms around his waist, laying a tear-stained cheek to his chest. “I want you. No one else. Would it be so bad to be with me for the rest of your life?”
Rein gentled her chin up with a thumb, brushing away the tears. “I want nothing more than to be with you for the rest of our lives, but I refuse to lose you forever because of a sadistic rite.”
“All life is risk. I want this ceremony. So, stop being an ass. Mate me.”
