Page 14 of Awakening the Dhampir

When Damon didn’t move, I glanced up at him. He didn’t normally express emotion, but today he wore his agony clearly.

“I promised her this wouldn’t happen,” Damon said. “I’ve failed my mate.”

“This was not your fault, man,” Elliott argued, pushing his friend toward the door. “Go find something to burn this shit to the ground.”

The vampire and the demon both left, leaving the wolf and fae to deal with the dhampir.

“Are they coming back?” the dhampir asked, her voice sounding harsh and emotionless. It was definitely not Lorna.

“That depends on you,” I replied, not moving from my spot. “We need to have Lorna back in control.”

She tilted her head as if she found me interesting. “She’s not strong enough to deal with what we’ve done,” the dhampir replied.

She pushed Conrad to the floor and stood. His head bounced on the planked wood, but he didn’t react. He was too close to death.

My eyes moved back to Lorna, drawn to her like a moth to the flame. The woman I cared for wasn’t there, just the dhampir’s hollow eyes and emotionless face.

I could swear she was still wearing the same clothes I’d seen her in almost three weeks before. My heart ached for the woman trapped by the dhampir. She’d been caged by Conrad and was now caged again, this time within her own beautiful mind.

“Why don’t we let her decide,” I suggested, extending my hands to the side with my palms down. I worried she’d try to run or worse. If she attacked, I wasn’t sure I could hurt her, but I needed to be prepared regardless. “You do realize that Lorna is your only hope to live, right?”

The dhampir looked around the room at the carnage and death she caused. “They were starving us. They gave Lorna one disgusting sandwich a day.” Her gaze landed on the master vampire at her feet and sneered. “She caged me in her mind and told me I couldn’t have his blood. He left it for us every third day, but she wouldn’t let me have it.”

She kicked the vampire. He groaned, but it didn’t hide the sound of breaking bones. Clearly, she’d exchanged blood with at least one of the vampires. One single kick wouldn’t have that much impact unless she had enhanced her strength by sharing blood.

Her hatred for the vampire at her feet flared with a surge of magic. I could see it in her eyes and the curl of her lip. She would kill him, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to stop her. She had every right to dole out justice.

“Don’t,” Elliott growled. “Kenrid’s right. If you want to live, you need to give Lorna a chance to heal from this. We’ll help you and even protect you, but not if you destroy her.” He pointed at the dying vampires around us. “You know her heart. She will carry the guilt of each death. It will destroy you both.”

The dhampir stepped away from Conrad and hugged herself. When the fabric of her shirt stretched across her shoulders, equal amounts of anger and sadness gripped me. I could see the outline of every bone. Elliott must have seen it, too. His low growl hit me like a brick. It hurt to see her like this.

“You would protect me, even after this?” she asked, dropping her gaze to the floor. “I know what you said about the others, how they were hunted and killed.”

Elliott took a step forward. I reached for his arm, but he jerked out of my grasp, so I followed him. He could probably out-muscle her, but I knew he didn’t want to.

“When I was young, I had no control over my wolf,” he said. The tension in his shoulders told me this would not be an easy story for him to tell. “I spent two months locked in my wolf’s head. He controlled everything I did, everything I ate, where I slept, what I killed.”

He stopped a few feet from the dhampir. She looked up at him. Her eyes weren’t quite as black as they had been, and I sincerely hoped she was letting go.

“One night, my wolf found a small den with four fox kits,” he whispered. “The parents must have been out hunting or some shit. I still don’t know. My wolf saw the pups as an easy dinner.” He swallowed hard before continuing. “They were shifters, not foxes. I killed an entire litter and didn’t realize what I’d done until the parents came to my pack looking for vengeance.”

A flash of hazel flickered in the dhampir’s eyes, and she reached a shaking hand toward Elliott. He didn’t move; he just watched her. She jerked her arm back at the last moment.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I ran,” he replied. “I was young and stupid and thought I knew more than my elders. That family deserved justice, and I ran.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced over his shoulder at me. “Nathan found me and gave me a chance to make it right. He told me I couldn’t change my wolf, only make peace with him.”

Elliott turned his attention back to the dhampir. “You and Lorna need to make peace. If you don’t, we can’t protect you.”

The dhampir turned her back on us and fell to her knees. Her body twitched several times before a long, mournful cry escaped. I hoped she’d released Lorna.

Elliott had her in his arms moments later, pressing her face against his chest.

“There’s a duffle bag in the back of my truck,” he said, his eyes shimmering with anger and his wolf barely under the surface.

I nodded, watching him stroll to the nearest guest room and kick open the door. I raced across the foyer and ran into Damon and Nathan on the porch.

“Is she okay?” Damon asked, flexing his clawed hands. He’d released his demon.

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