Page 139 of The Firebrand
Grinning, the vampire seized Braelyn’s hand, slashing her palm with his claw, dipping a finger into her blood. Lifting the prize to his nose, he sniffed. “Delicious.”
Striding to Rein, the acolyte reached out with the offering.
With a hand still fisting his cock, Rein used the other to clutch the male’s neck, heaving him across the cavern. “I know her scent well enough.”
Larisa raised her arms wide, the sleeves of her cloak falling to reveal pearly white skin. “Let the bonding hunt commence.”
The priestess chanted in an ancient language. The flames of the altar candles flickered, and dripping water echoed through the cave. Her tongue formed words that few outside the vampire breed had ever heard as she called upon the ancestors to determine the worth of these two, to test their strength and courage, to decide their fate.
Rein straightened his back, his fists clenched, growls erupting from his throat.
When Larisa told Braelyn to run, she did, a frightened gaze cast over a shoulder at Rein.
The vampire acolytes restrained Rein’s arms. His face warped with anger, and the blood vessels in his neck drummed. His pulse hammered. His heart pounded against his ribs, and his penis ached like a sonofabitch beneath the coarse robe. When they loosened the hold, he broke free. Charging from the cave, he sniffed the air. Pivoting, he caught the scent. His tongue swept from one sharp, pointed fang to the other.
How dare my mate run.
****
Braelynscrambled down the low cliff outside the cavern, the jagged rocks cutting her hands. At the bottom, she scanned the surroundings. To the right was a meadow. No cover. To the left was a dense forest.
Left it is.
She had no illusion about outrunning Rein. She hoped to evade him until his rage lessened. Entering the woods, she swiped a bloody hand along a tree trunk. Then another. Another. She backtracked to take a different route, performing these maneuvers three more times. When Braelyn came to a shallow stream, she waded in, washing the blood from her hands, ripping off two strips of robe at the hem to tie them around the wounds. After trudging through the water some while, she exited onto the same side where she had entered. With a drenched, heavy cloak, she dodged bushes, trees, and boulders, always sprinting away from the cavern.
Needing rest, Braelyn crumpled at the base of a large tree. She had used the only tricks she knew. Now it was a matter of time and distance. But first, she had to re-energize.
Braelyn rubbed sore calf muscles. Her lids fluttered closed for a quick nap. Then leaves rustled as if someone charged through the woods.
Rein.
She pushed off the ground, darting forward. To hell with being tired. Charging into a small clearing, Braelyn looked left, right. Choosing the densest woods, she powered straight ahead, weaving around tall pines and shrubs.
Footsteps. Close. Closer.
She refused to glance over her shoulder. Now each step was labored, her knees weak, legs trembling. Before Braelyn got very far, Rein tackled her from behind. With her nose in pine needles, he ripped off her cloak, pressed a thick palm against her naked spine, and plunged two fingers into her sex, thrusting in, out until she cried. He rolled her onto her back. Still invading, he cupped her mouth with a free hand to muffle the sobs.
He was too big. Unable to push him off, Braelyn squeezed her eyes tight, imagining her mind guiding an arrow into his brain.
Rein bellowed, releasing her to slap hands to his temples.
While he was distracted, she wiggled from beneath him, crawling through forest detritus, scraping her knees on rocks and twigs. Rein snagged her ankle, dragging her back.
When he licked the blood on her palms, he grew more frightening. The face was no longer Rein’s. It was stonier, the bones more angular. His fangs were impossibly larger, more pointed. His lips snaked, a growl erupting from them. His eyes were a solid bright red. Braelyn feared the vampire for the first time.
Her feet tangled with his as he trapped her beneath him again. Setting both hands against his chest, Braelyn shoved. Rein laughed while her arms shook, his beast’s mouth contorted into a mocking sneer.
She aimed another bolt into his mind. Though he snapped his lids down, his face twisting with pain, he didn’t release her. Rather, he threw back his head and roared.
Braelyn shouted, “Help me. Please be in there, Rein.”
Instead of responding, he yanked her to her feet, tore off his robe, and slammed her against a tree. Trapping her hands high above, he lifted her until her sex was level with his erection. One gigantic hand circled her neck.
Struggling to keep her toes on the ground, Braelyn was unable to breathe with his grip on her throat. Rein readied to force himself into her. She fought but grew lightheaded. In a few more moments, she would pass out, but she was frozen, her lungs begging for oxygen.
Though weakened, Braelyn sent another shot into his brain. When that didn’t work, she switched tactics, sharing images. When she first kissed him in the alley. Another when she went down on him in the shower. One of her snuggling against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. A moment when he laughed at something ridiculous she had said.
“Please,” Braelyn rasped, her voice like gravel as her life slipped away.
