Page 24 of Rescued By the Vampire Assassin

With a primal scream of rage, Keri charged at Anatol. The vampire lord's eyes widened in genuine surprise as she closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Anatol's centuries of experience clashed against Keri's primal fury and the raw power of her bond with Joshua. Every punch Keri threw was met with a counter, and every kick was blocked with frustrating ease. But she refused to give up, refused to let Anatol win.

"You can't beat me, child," Anatol taunted as he danced away from another of Keri's attacks. "I've lived for centuries, seen empires rise and fall. What hope do you have?"

"Hope?" Keri spat, blood and saliva speckling Anatol's immaculate shirt. "I don't need hope. I have rage."

She feinted left, then dropped low, sweeping Anatol's legs out from under him. The vampire lord hit the ground with a satisfying thud, his eyes wide with shock.

Keri pounced, straddling Anatol's chest and raining down blows with all her enhanced strength. Each punch landed with the force of a sledgehammer, cracking bone and pulping flesh.

But Anatol was far from defeated. With a roar of fury, he bucked, throwing Keri off. His hands closed around her throat, squeezing with inhuman strength. "I will enjoy watching the light fade from your eyes," he hissed, his face a mask of hatred.

Spots danced in Keri's vision as she clawed at Anatol's hands. She could feel consciousness slipping away, her lungs burning for air. This was it, she thought. After everything, this was how it would end.

And then, like an avenging angel, Joshua was there. Wounded, bleeding, but filled with a fury that radiated from him in waves, he grabbed Anatol from behind.

"Let. Her. Go," Joshua growled, each word dripping with menace.

Anatol's grip loosened just enough for Keri to gulp in a precious breath. It was all the opening she needed. With the last of her strength, she drove her fist into Anatol's chest. Bone cracked, flesh tore, and her fingers closed around something cold and unbeating.

Anatol's scream cut off abruptly as Keri ripped his heart from his body. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Anatol's eyes, wide with disbelief, met Keri's. Then, Joshua snapped Anatol’s neck.

A wave of dizziness washed over Keri as Anatol's lifeless body hit the luxurious carpet. The heightened senses she'd grown accustomed to suddenly dimmed, colors losing their vibrancy, sounds becoming muffled. A spike of pain hit her like a migraine from hell, and the bond that had hummed in the back of her mind since her joining with Joshua snapped like an overstretched rubber band, leaving a painful emptiness in its wake.

"No," she whispered, stumbling towards Joshua. He had collapsed to the floor, his wounds no longer healing with vampiric speed. Dark blood pooled beneath him, staining the carpet a deep crimson.

Keri gathered him in her arms, her vision blurring with tears. "Don’t you dare die," she pleaded, her voice cracking with emotion.

Joshua's eyes fluttered open, a weak smile tugging at his bloodstained lips. "It doesn’t matter. We are no longer bonded. You will not die if I do.”

Keri pressed her forehead against his. "I don’t want you to die.”

“I’ve lost too much blood. It’s all right. Go find Chrissy. Tell the vampires at the safehouse what has happened.”

“No.” She shook her head. “You can drink from me to heal yourself.”

“It’s gone beyond that,” he said. “I’m all right dying. I completed my mission.”

“You’re more than your mission,” she said fiercely.

“We’ve known each other less than twenty-four hours. You know nothing of me or of the horrors I’ve done. It’s over, and I will be at peace for the first time in over a hundred years.” He coughed, and shudders racked his body. “Let me sleep until one of my clan comes to snap my neck and take my heart.”

“But if you drink blood, you could survive.”

Joshua’s eyes closed. “Too much blood would be needed by the time my clan would arrive, and I am not worth the amount of lives it would take to reinstate me.”

“Yes, you are.”

His head rested back on the carpet. “Thank you. For being my mate, even if it was fake.”

“It wasn’t fake. It was just forced on us, but it was real.” She wiped blood from her wounds and painted it across his lips.

Reflexively, he licked them, and his eyes popped open. “Run from me.”

“I won’t. You won’t hurt me.”

“I will drain you dry and leave you a withered husk. I don’t want to do that,” he said with effort.

“Why not?” she asked, but she already knew the answer. The mating bond was gone as if it had never existed, but she still felt a pull towards him, this stranger — her soul mate.

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