Page 14 of Forbid Me

Conflict raged within me, a primal urge to protect her clashing with the violence that surged through my veins at the sight of her pursuers. I was torn between the desire to tear those vampires limb from limb and the duty I owed to the woman before me.

Her eyes met mine again, and in that moment, I knew what I had to do. The duty to protect her overrode everything else. The decision was made in an instant.

I reached out my hand to her. "Come with me if you want to live."

I saw the indecision in her gaze. I was a stranger to her. The men at her back meant her harm. I saw the calculation in her golden eyes as she decided to take a gamble on me.

The moment her fingertips touched mine, the ground was ripped out from under my feet. My entire soul was squeezed in a vise-grip. My vision blinked out. My heart restarted.

It had all happened in a split second. I wasn't sure if I'd died. But I knew I had been reborn. I also knew that the impossible had taken place.

The two vampires behind us had fallen to the ground and were scrambling to their feet amidst the glassware and fixtures falling down around us. My focus was solely on the woman with her hand in mine.

I pulled her close, my arms encircling her protectively. Her eyes were closed, likely experiencing the same soul-stirring realization that I just had. When those golden eyes met mine, I knew that I would do anything for her, not because she would be my queen but because she was my fated mate.

CHAPTER NINE

Stella

They weren't even running after me; they were walking. I glanced back and saw Uziah and Ken casually strolling, their smirks telling me they didn't believe I could get far in my precarious situation. That situation being that I was an out of shape big girl who'd never moved faster than a quick stroll in a park.

I wasn't in a park today. I was in mortal danger. So I picked up my feet and ran. And promptly fell flat on my face.

I could hear their laughter looming in the distance. It got closer slowly, slowly. There was no urgency in their movements to collect me. I was trapped. Where could I go even if I could run?

Something inside of me demanded I get up. It had the grit in Tori's voice. It had the dare in Niamh's. But mostly, it sounded like my mom.

On your feet, kitten.

I'd always been an obedient child. I did what my mother told me. I got first one, then the other heeled foot under me and stood.

You can't let them catch you, baby girl.

I hated to disappoint my mother. They probably were going to get me. But they wouldn't get me without a fight.

I took off again, my heart pounding in my chest like a trapped bird. The staccato rhythm of my footsteps echoed across the dance floor, the sound of my heels clacking against the floor as I tried to flee.

I had never been a runner, especially not in the kinds of shoes I was wearing now. They were more suited for sitting on a bar stool waiting for a guy to buy me a drink than fleeing from danger. I'd never been in danger a single day in my life. Which I knew was all kinds of first world privilege while living in a third world territory.

But I had no choice. I couldn't stay with Uziah and Ken, not after what I had witnessed. They had been using me all along, manipulating my visions for their gain. Now that I knew the truth, I couldn't stay.

I felt cheap. Like a prostitute. Even though it had been my mind and not my body that had been used. But they'd used my body to get to my mind. Now they would keep using me without any of the perks.

Fear clawed at my chest, making each breath a struggle. They wouldn't play nice anymore. They wouldn't treat me with the same faux affection they had before. They would see me as a threat that they had to contain.

I stumbled on the steps. I knew they were gaining on me, their heavy footsteps and angry voices closing in. I needed a plan, a way to disappear, to hide my unique gift and stay one step ahead. But I couldn't even climb stairs properly. I was doomed.

My breaths came in ragged gasps. My legs were jelly. The ache in my side was unbearable. It hadn't even been five minutes of running. Barely a couple of yards of fast movement. I needed to keep moving, to find a place to hide, to disappear.

As I reached the top of the steps, I straightened myself, trying to regain my composure. There was someone blocking my way. Another of Uziah's many goons. Niamh called the men who worked for Uziah minions, but after seeing an old children's film about adorable yellow workers, I could never use that term to describe the imposing men that did Uziah's dirty work so he didn't have to get his dark clothes… Well, dark clothes didn't show off blood, did they?

The muscle blocking the door was also dressed in black. For some reason, he didn't scare me. In my messed-up mind, this guy screamed safety.

It's him.

I wanted to shout at my mother's disembodied voice. What did she mean this was him? Was this the man who would end my life and bring on our ghostly reunion?

He reached for me, his hand outstretching toward me. I knew I should recoil, but the closer his fingers got to me, the slower my heart rate became. I thought I was supposed to see my life flash before my eyes before death. Instead, all I saw was the gold of his eyes. They looked like a window to forever.

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