Page 18 of Master Oradea

My rage heats internally while I keep my hands out if his view. “Pretty hard to say. They’re not here, just two asshole brothers who think they can tell me what to do and say. I am an adult, or have you forgotten that little fact?”

His jaw locks tight. “We’re looking out for your welfare whether that’s how you want to see it or not.”

I scoff, “Seriously, from what? That vampire has protected me in ways that you could not even begin to believe, taken me under his physical wing to ensure the enemies you made did not come for me or capture me if they did. That’s what he’s done to deserve your hate?”

Michael slams his palm against the wheel, something so out of character for him that it catches my undivided attention. “He’s a vampire!”

I turn away. “I know exactly what he is and what I am. You don’t seem to like either of the two very much, do you?”

“Calm the fuck down,” Marcus growls. “We just want what’s best for you, and it’s not that bloodsucking vampire.” I grab the front of the seat and pull myself into the middle so he can see my face. “You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about. The vampires who are protecting me are fighting the bloodsucking vampires you talk about, trying to ensure they do not take over again and begin snacking on humans like me as we’re walking down the street at night!”

He snaps his head around and stares out the front window. “Vampires, they’re all vampires, and at one point or another they’re going to want to suck your blood. It’s just a fucking matter of time, and we’re not letting our baby sister get caught up in that shit. Count on it!”

I sit back in my seat, sullen and disheartened because at the end of the day, it doesn’t make a bit of difference if I stand up for myself. He’s never going to accept me for who I really am, and I’m never going to be a vampire no matter how much I may wish it to be. Leaving with Michael was the right thing to do. A clean break, end it before it becomes more than it was, before my heart is absolutely shattered, instead of this dull, painful ache that weighs heavy in my chest, and already I fear will never go away.

Chapter 17

Oradea

Natalia’s gone. She had a choice to make, and she made it. Why I ever thought she would choose me, knowing how her brothers feel is beyond me. It was bound to end this way. It seldom ever works with a human who has loyalties to another faction as strong as hers.

My phone vibrates with a message.

Lucas is on the move.

The fact that he’s within reach causes my mind to switch from her to the mission and my pulse to race. If he’s on the run, I plan to be there to catch the lousy bastard. He should meet with a fate befitting a traitor, at the end of my sword as I run him through, but Descallia shall hold that right as the leader of the vampires he truly betrayed.

I don my sword and ready myself, texting the others to meet me in the foyer, preparing to capture our mighty foe. I strap on my chest vest and slide both of my daggers into their slot, checking to make sure that my stakes are in order and I’m ready to face the traitor himself. When I reach the foyer, the others are already there, finishing their preparations to head out the door.

Luciana and Descallia come around the corner, eyes alight with the knowledge that soon this centuries-old battle and nightmare with the rogues will be behind us once and for all. Lucianna’s eyes glow green as she joins the women. Their hushed tones may belie the secret that they share, but my keen ears hear every single word. Embry. All they want to talk about right now is her. Even in the midst of the most important day of our lives, all they want to do is talk about that woman. Their loyalty for that female is undeniable and frustrating to no end.

I walk over to the men. “The women are talking about Embry again. I swear sometimes I think that’s all they have on their minds. Not the greater good for the vampires, just Embry. If we find she’s a traitor, we are going to have mutiny on our hands. I’m just glad the females are yours to deal with and not mine.”

Romano and Campania both look at me. Romano clears his throat. “You doing okay? It was hard not to overhear the commotion with the syndicate. We saw Natalia leave.” Big mouth fucker. He had to mention that in front of Descallia. It’s not like I wouldn't have told him myself.

Descallia’s eyebrows arch, but to his credit he doesn’t say a word in front of the others. I’m sure he knows I would have told him given time. Time to comprehend the entire situation myself and understand why she left, and why I’ve been left with a chest that feels like my heart has been pulled out of it and stomped on the ground. And there’s nothing about that feeling I want to discuss with either of the two or Descallia. At least not right now.

I opt for ignoring the question and moving on with the work we have to do, and my love affair with the forbidden virgin is not on the agenda; at least, not when there are bigger things at stake.

I glance down at my phone. “Everyone, it sounds like Sheba and the shifters have spotted Lucas. He’s heading back to Oradea. We knew he planned something big here for the vampires, so to be here makes perfect sense. We’re waiting for confirmation on the sighting from our soldiers, but time is of the essence, and we can’t wait. Let’s head out, everyone! If it’s him, we’ll capture him on the way into town.”

The flight to the edge of the darkened city where we can sit in the towering trees of the forest to wait for a sign of Lucas does not take long. We wait, having scared the birds and other animals who nest in the boughs of the same trees away quite some time ago. Sardinia turns to me after a while looking as anxious as I feel about the amount of time that’s passed. I glance at my cell, hoping for word from the boots on the ground. “Where’s Lucas? He should have been here by now,” I mutter.

Sardinia shakes his head. “Have you heard anything from Sheba that would tell us if we’re in the wrong spot?”

I pound out a message while inhaling the scent of the forest around us. “Not a word and not a scent of one mangy shifter anywhere. Sheba said the shifters lit out before Lucas; they would have to be here already with Lucas too. No matter the speed, we’ve been waiting too long.”

Lucianna flies from her perch atop an adjacent tree with Descallia close on her outstretched wing. Her eyes widen, glowing a deep green. “Embry is trying to connect with us. She said it’s a ploy to keep us busy while they get to Natalia.”

My head turns to her just as screams ring out over and over again in my mind, Natalia screaming my name at the top of her lungs.

I transport to the Benzini family home without a second thought. How they got in with the amount of security they must have is beyond reason, but there is no time to dwell on that right now. I appear behind one of the guards, a mangy shifter who dies from behind with one well-placed swing of my long blade, letting him fall to the ground as I make my way forward.

The sound of a gunshot causes the two shifters right in front of me to turn toward the house where it rang out from. I don’t give them a chance, sending a five-point star right through one of their necks while driving my dagger into the chest of another. The guard opens the gate and points. He’s probably happy to be alive and knows what help looks like when he sees it. I leave the others flying in behind me to battle with the other shifters as I transport into the house.

Lucas kneels over Natalia, blood dripping from his face while the rest of her essence spills onto the white Italian marble floor. My growl shatters the overhead chandelier and sends the crystal in a million pieces. I fly through the air, my fangs descended and sword out, anything to get him away from Natalia.

He laughs maniacally, as bullets from the Benzini brothers rip through his flesh, not hurting him at all. “You can’t touch me. You, them”—he gestures to the dark-suited brothers and Descallia, who has transported into the home. “Soon, you will all answer to me. Let this be a lesson to those who dare to work with the enemy,” he says, disappearing into the night right before our very eyes.

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