Savage, page 22
part #1 of The Healer Series
Stepping forward, still extending my hearing, I begin my descent down the hill when I hear several sources of energy around me. “Shit,” I breathe and move to sprint when something stabs my neck. Smacking at it like it’s a bug that has just bitten me, I stumble as a burn trails down my body. “Shit,” I grumble again. Picking up my pace, I fight the pain and sprint down the hill when something stabs me in the ass, and the same burn courses through me. “Fuck,” I yell. Suddenly, I’m being stabbed everywhere and my insides feel like liquid fire. Losing my balance I stumble and roll roughly down the hill, coming to a sudden stop at the bottom. Heaving and gagging, my body lurches as it tries to rid itself of whatever poison it’s been injected with. My vision is blurred, and with only a small amount of light appearing from the emerging sun, I can only make out forms around me, dark silhouettes.
“I knew you’d come,” he says. I know the voice laced with what I can only describe as extreme satisfaction. It’s Bridge.
“I’m here to speak with Cleo,” I mumble.
“Did you really think you could just hand yourself over, and we’d let her go?” he asks as several hands grab onto me and lift me. I moan in pain, gritting my teeth. “You misunderstood my meaning, Daniel,” Bridge continues. “I didn’t mean we’d take you for her and the baby. I meant we’d take the baby for you and her.” He laughs and threads his fingers in my hair, grabbing a handful. With his mouth to my ear he growls, “Don’t worry, Daniel. Your woman will be brought here and taken care of until she delivers. Fierce is on his way to retrieve her as we speak.”
One of the lycan holding me laughs with Bridge’s words, and with my last shred of strength, I dart my hand up and rip his throat out. The others holding me shuffle to catch the extra weight as the dickwad whose throat I just ripped out gargles and chokes on his blood, fumbling to the ground.
“Holy shit,” one of the others gasps. I smirk. If they kill me, at least I took one of them with me.
Looking to Bridge, I grin. “You’re next.”
“I’ll tell Kitten you say hi,” he snickers.
Something stabs my neck again and fire scorches through me. My last thought please let them have left by now before I pass out.
Daniel brushes back a loose strand of hair from my face, his gray gaze fixed on mine. We’re on a beach, and the day is sunny and beautiful. Ankle deep in the surf, I tug on his hand and pull him to me, kissing him so softly as the salty mist of the water lightly sprays our skin. He’s wearing a pair of black board shorts, and he looks absolutely divine in them. The sun is kissing his immaculate body, and I must say it is a sight I will insist seeing more of.
“You’re dreaming, ya know?” he says pressing his forehead to mine.
Smiling faintly, I pull away and tug him as we walk through the water. “It’s a beautiful dream,” I answer.
“I like you in this bikini,” he notes, his dark eyes trained on me, saying all kinds of wicked things. “Hot girl, perfect beach. It doesn’t get much better than this,” he notes. Suddenly, his gaze flicks past me. “And look over there.” He points. “There’s our son.” I follow the direction he’s indicating and see a child, maybe four years old, loading a bucket with sand using a tiny plastic shovel. His dark hair is shaggy, and he keeps using his forearm to wipe it aside out of his eyes.
“Still think it’s a boy, huh?” I laugh.
“Hey, this is your dream. You made it a boy. Maybe you already know.”
I narrow my gaze at the handsome little boy. “Maybe I do,” I agree. “Or maybe you want a boy, and I’ve absorbed that fact from you.”
He smirks. “Touché.”
Pulling the hand he’s holding up, he kisses it. “His life will be in danger for a very long time,” Daniel notes.
“I know,” I agree. “But we’ll protect him.” I state adamantly.
“Kitten,” Daniel says my name, and I can hear the pain in the one word. When my eyes meet his, my stomach drops. Daniel has been hiding something yet again, and my subconscious is revealing it to me. “Remember when I told you I had to make decisions you wouldn’t like, but I needed you to understand? That I needed to know you were safe?”
“What did you do?” I ask, panic ebbing my voice.
“Bridge said they’d take one for two. They’d take me and leave you and our child alone.”
“Daniel,” I whisper as I cling to him. “Where did you go? Where is the compound?”
His jaw clenches and he looks away. My subconscious knows he wouldn’t want me to know. “Tell me, damn you!”
“New Mexico.”
I shove him hard. “Damn you, Daniel O’Sullivan!” I shout. “You thought I could move on just like that? Let you die and survive this world without you?”
He chuckles and grabs me, but I fight him and lose. Before I know it, I’m jerked to him, my body slammed to his, his hand fisting my hair so he can force my head up, making me meet his stare. “You are a feisty little kitten.” He smiles down at me as I glare at him.
“Stop calling me that,” I yell, angry tears streaming down my face. “I’m not your kitten. I’m not your anything!” I attempt to push away from him with absolutely no effect. “You lied to me! You left me! They’re going to kill you!”
“Hush, my sweet,” he says gently as he squeezes me to him, his mouth at my ear. “If I can prevent war, I must. I know you don’t understand now. I know all you can see is you need me as badly as I need you. But there is more than us. I told you, to be with me means we put ourselves second. Our hybrids, your family, those kids we saved, we’re responsible for them. I carry the weight of their lives on my shoulders, and because you’ve chosen to love me, you carry it, too.”
I’m sobbing as I continue to struggle to escape his hold. I want to hit him, rip his head off, tell him I hate him. But I don’t hate him. I love him more than I could ever love anything. “I don’t care about all of that! Please don’t do this. You promised to come back to me. You promised!” Lost in my emotion and devastation, I talk to Daniel as if he’s real. As if he isn’t only the image my subconscious has conjured to show me the truth.
Grabbing my arms, he shakes me. “Listen,” he growls. “You don’t mean that. You love them all. And even if you didn’t,” he glares, “there is more. One more.” His gaze moves beyond me to the child building sandcastles. When I look back, the boy is grinning ear to ear as he waves at us. “I know you will protect him,” Daniel continues.
Turning back to my hybrid lover, my head falls to his chest, and I hug him tightly. “I hate you,” I sob as I squeeze him. His body shakes as he laughs gently. “I know, but if hating me means you and our child live, I’ll gladly take it.” His hand strokes my hair, and I cry into his chest as the waves crash against our ankles.
“Will you try to come back?”
“Of course I will,” he assures me. “But if I don’t, keep him safe. Keep you both safe.”
He kisses me softly once more and backs away. As his image fades, he says, “I’m still thinking Daniel Jr. is a good name.”
Then he is gone.
My eyes flutter open as I wake, and even though my mind is on red alert, ordering me to move, I lay still for a moment, letting my hand drift down to my belly. There’s still no bump there, but I rub circles over the area.
I think long and hard about my dream, and about what Daniel wanted. He wouldn’t want me to come after him. After all, he did all of this to protect me, but how can I just sit here and do nothing? He’s my mate, my everything. We’re going to have a baby. He has to be here with me. If I walked out of this room and found Cassia and Eileen, I know they’d back me if I ordered them to go after him with me. Daniel is their family, their leader. They’d walk into hell for him. I won’t order it, though. I’ll let them decide, and we’ll vote. I know I have a child to protect, but I know this child deserves both parents.
Climbing out of bed, I slip on a pair of jeans and grab my brown cardigan before leaving the room. It’s still dark out, maybe four in the morning, and the air is crisp and chilly. My mind is a whirlwind of thoughts and second guesses, but just as I’m slipping one arm through the sleeve of my sweater, my mind flicks to alert. Freezing in my tracks, I crouch down and reach out, listening. There’s energy everywhere, vibrating inside my head. I pull back a little, to dull the intensity, but remain connected as I count sources. They’re lycan. I know because I want to vomit.
My eyes dart across the land as I search for silhouettes in the darkness, forcing my eyes to adjust to the non-existent light. I see movement, but can’t make out forms. Cassia, Eileen, and I decided to stay until dawn, just in case the guys came back.
I’m still counting sources when something grabs my shoulder, and I nearly jump out of my skin as I whip around to strike whoever it is.
“It’s me,” Flynn whispers, seizing my fist aiming for his head.
My heart leaps in joy as I tackle him to the ground. He’s back, so that means Daniel is too. “Where’s Daniel?” I whisper as I move from him and look around.
“I’ll explain later. Right now, we’re surrounded by at least thirty lycan with guns loaded with that shit they injected into you,” he warns.
“I count forty,” I say as we move to the side of the stables where Nick sits, leaned against the building.
“Where are Cassia and Eileen?” Nick asks.
“I think Eileen is sleeping. I’m not sure about Cassia. She said she would stay up to watch out.”
“Maybe they’re waiting for more light before they attack,” Nick notes.
“If they shoot us with that poison, we’re as good as dead,” I say as I rub my forehead.
“Any chance you could do what you did the day we found you?” Flynn asks hesitantly.
“I dunno. Maybe,” I answer, unsure. I hope so.
“Fierce is here. We need him alive,” Flynn says as he grabs my arm in emphasis.
“For what?” I practically spat at him. As if I’d let that asshole live.
“To trade him for Daniel,” Nick adds. That makes sense. If Daniel has been captured or turned himself over to the lycan, Fierce may be the only bargaining chip we have. Surely, Cleo will want his son back. Or maybe he won’t care when he discovers Fierce’s treachery. Either way, Fierce must live. For now.
Before anyone says another word, we hear a shriek, a cry of agony and Nick bolts in the direction from which we heard it. It was Cassia. Flynn and I don’t hesitate, we follow, our feet running in its direction. The sun has not risen yet, but the darkness of night has begun to fade and there’s enough light to see. Some humungous man is standing on the porch of the farm house, his massive forearm wrapped around Cassia’s throat. Nick bolts toward her, but collapses as Fierce shoots him in the thigh. Cassia sobs when she sees Nick stumble to the ground and groan in pain. Her face is pale, and I know without a doubt they shot her with the poison the doctor used on me. Flynn yells, “You mother fucker,” and moves toward Cassia, but crumples when he’s shot in the ass.
Everything seems to be happening at hyper-speed so when I get shot in the arm I don’t even see it coming. The burn seeps into my blood and pumps through my body, but the pain only fuels me. It somehow strengthens me.
When I move to stand, I’m shot again in the back, right in the kidney. This hurts like a bitch. “Don’t kill her,” Fierce orders. “Tie her up though. Quick.”
Another beastly man with blonde hair takes hold of me and begins yanking my arms behind my back, pushing my face in the dried dirt. Pain splinters through me, and I grunt. There are moments when survival instincts take hold. You move without thinking. You just do whatever it is you have to do to survive. The sound of a neck cracking is like no other. It’s a quick snap, vertebrae fighting each other, unable to stop the force that’s pushing to separate them. When blondie falls to the ground beside me, I smile. It was effortless for me to connect to him, to drain him. Alright my child, let’s kill these bastards and save your father, I think, wondering if it can hear my thoughts.
Whipping around, my fangs erupt, and I leap onto Fierce, yanking the gun from his hand. My arm is wrapped around his throat, the gun to his head as I use his body to shield me from his men.
“Let her go,” I order the one holding Cassia. “Now.” With a nod from Fierce, he releases Cassia and she rushes to Nick to help him up. Energy surrounds me, and I know Fierce’s men are moving in.
“If you leave here now, I will not kill you,” I shout, jerking Fierce with me as I move, attempting to block any threat. “Drop your weapons and walk away. No harm will come to you, but we keep Fierce. Those are the conditions.”
“We can’t leave without him,” someone shouts.
“He betrayed your people. He’s the one that exposed the compound the vampires attacked. He’s the reason so many have died.”
Silence falls for a long moment, followed by soft murmurs among the men as they decide what is true and untrue.
“I think they believe me,” I whisper in Fierce’s ear. “It won’t be long until everyone knows you’re a traitor.”
Fierce yells, “She lies. Take them down!!” I strengthen my hold on his throat and squeeze. His hands pull at my arm, but I’m much stronger than he is.
“I tell you now. This is the last time. Drop your weapons, and walk away!”
“Fight!” Fierce shouts and with that, his men move in.
“You asshole. You remember, you did this.”
Cassia, Nick, and Flynn are all poised for a fight, their fangs out and bodies rigid. Just as the first men raise their weapons pointing them at my fellow hybrids, I reach out and connect. Last time I did this, I held back on my pull, but this time, they fall hard and fast to the earth, one after the other. When they are all dead, I slam the butt of the gun over Fierce’s head, rendering him unconscious. We collapse to the ground together, and I begin vomiting and dry heaving beside his unconscious body.
“What the hell?” Eileen shrieks as she zips up to us. Her hair is a matted mess of bed head, and she’s wearing nothing but a tank top and a thong.
“Did you really sleep through that entire thing?” Flynn asks as he winces from the pain of where he was shot.
“Baby. You’ve been shot,” she ignores his question and moves behind him to view his wound.
“Eileen,” Flynn grumbles. “Please go put on some fucking clothes.”
“Oh shut up. It’s not like everyone here hasn’t seen a woman’s ass before.”
“Now,” he bellows, and his brows rise emphasizing his seriousness.
She zips away and returns, fully clothed; hair brushed and lip-gloss on. She couldn’t have been gone more than thirty seconds. “Happy?” she snaps, her green eyes wide with annoyance. Before Flynn can respond, Rachel comes stomping down the porch steps and kneels beside me.
“Drink,” she says as she holds her wrist out for me. I don’t argue; she doesn’t give me a chance to as she jams her wrist against my mouth. When I finish feeding, I heal the wound on her arm and smile. I didn’t have to fight to release her.
“Thank you.” I nod. Eileen has already restrained Fierce by the time I finish. The six of us stand and survey the lifeless bodies surrounding us.
“I’m glad you did not kill him,” Rachel says, and I train my eyes on her.
“This is who you meant?” I ask incredulously. She only nods in answer. “I really wish you had been a bit more specific about it,” I snap. “Might’ve saved us a lot of fucking trouble.”
“My gift has limits, just like yours,” she answers calmly.
There’s no point railing her about it. What’s done is done, and I have bigger fish to fry. “Do you know where Daniel is?” I ask no one in particular.
“He tried to ditch us at a gas station about forty miles from the lycan compound. Said he had to use the bathroom. Nick and I knew he would try some shit like this,” Flynn says as he pulls Eileen into his side.
“We trailed him. Normally he could’ve lost us, but I think he was still a little weak from killing the forest before we left,” Nick adds.
“So what happened?” Cassia asks.
“He walked right into the compound. He was shot several times with the same shit we were just shot with. Man that shit burns,” Flynn winces as he rubs his ass.
“There weren’t many lycan there, but Bridge was there. We probably could’ve taken everyone down and gotten him out of there, but we heard Bridge say Fierce was on his way to you with lots of men. They want the baby,” Nick says.
“They no get that baby,” Cassia practically growls, and everyone’s eyes go wide. “I kill anyone that touch Aldo or baby.”
In spite of everything going on, I smile. Cassia loves so fiercely. She would’ve made a wonderful mother. “Thank you, Cassia,” I say softly. “We have to go get Daniel. He thought if he turned himself over, they’d leave me and the baby alone.”
“No . . . they meant if he gave them the baby, they’d leave you and Daniel alone,” Flynn replies.
“I’m seriously ready to kill every single one of these fuckers,” Eileen pipes in. “And Bridge too. I want to see him die, slowly and painfully.”
“I think we all do, babe, but there’s only one person who gets that honor,” Flynn says before kissing her forehead.
It’s not me he means. Sure, after Bridge kidnapped me and handed me over to be tortured, maybe I should get the pleasure of ending his life, but it is Daniel who will kill Bridge. Bridge betrayed Daniel, stole his woman, and now threatens his unborn child. Perhaps the old me would’ve argued I have the right, but Daniel has opened my eyes. We both want the same things, but he has obligations and responsibilities to all of us, and because I chose to be with him, that makes those mine too. I want to kill Bridge. Daniel needs to kill Bridge.
And so he will.
“We should get going,” I finally say.
“I’m coming with you,” Rachel adds.
“No,” I argue. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Fierce’s betrayal killed my mother. Cleo has a choice. I have seen it. He will listen to me.”
