Page 98 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

The jarring impact of Shakespeare’s motorcycle cut Sonya’s words off, slamming into the back of their vehicle. The force sent a shock through the car, but Tristan escaped unfazed, his focus locked on the battle ahead as Shakespeare flew right at him.

Macy Lynn stoodwith hands on her hips, surveying the camp. Her team had successfully erected the protective barrier, keeping the guardian and consiglieri out. She watched the approaching headlights with a satisfied smile. To witness the consiglieri crash into the force field and kill that bitch guardian, Kaida, would be her greatest joy.

But the car came to a stop.

“Commander?” one soldier asked.

“Shh…” Macy Lynn warned. She took a cautious step closer to the forcefield. The car idled quietly, the energy barrier strong but not completely invisible. She couldn’t make out the details inside the Bugatti.Was she wrong?Maybe it wasn’t Tristan and Kaida after all. Then the car door opened, and Tristan, the consiglieri, stepped out.

“They know the camp is fortified,” Macy Lynn murmured, her confidence faltered for the first time. She turned to the women under her command. “Run.”

The alarm blared a shrill sound that echoed through the camp. Chaos erupted as the camp’s defenses activated.

Chapter 41

The Force Within

Mojave Camp Ground Zero

April 19, 2018

(2 Days Before Death)

Shakespeare descended with a feral roar;his fangs sank deep into Tristan’s throat. The sheer force of his attack sent the two vampires hurtling through the air, bodies entwined in a vicious struggle for dominance. Sonya barely had time to react. Her mind reeled from the raw power and brutal way Shakespeare hit the car. She expected he’d be a formidable opponent, but this—this was different. He was a beast unleashed, a dark force fueled by nothing human or kind.

The vampires hit the ground, their impact sending tremors through the earth. Shakespeare was relentless, his claws raking across Tristan’s chest, ripping flesh from bone with a sickening tear. Blood sprayed in all directions, darkening the sand beneath them. Sonya could feel the agony radiating from Tristan, a deep, visceral pain that echoed through her own soul. But it was Shakespeare’s rage that shook her to her core—a rage so consuming it threatened to take her next.

Tristan fought back with everything he had, but he was weakened, his strength drained by the mating bond with Sonya’s sister Charmaine. His eyes, once so defiant, now flickered with the growing fear of imminent death. Shakespeare, however, was beyond reason. His grip tightened around Tristan’s torn and hemorrhaging, bloody throat. Shakespeare’s eyes burned with a hatred that seemed to consume him entirely. With a guttural snarl, he plunged his hand into Tristan’s chest, fingers wrapping around his ribs, bones cracking under the force of his grip. Sonya watched in horror as Shakespeare tore Tristan’s ribcage open, his hand inches away from Tristan’s heart.

Sonya had seen Shakespeare’s fury before, but nothing as wild and untamed as this. The sheer brutality of it stoked a fear she had never known. These were creatures of the night. Monsters. How could she have forgotten that? Tristan was barely conscious, his chest a gaping wound, ribs shattered and exposed. And Shakespeare…he had lost himself entirely, a beast feeding on the blood and suffering of his prey. The sight of him, drenched in Tristan’s blood, gnawing at the exposed heart, sent a shudder of emotion through her.

But it was not just fear—it was also an overwhelming surge of empathy. Sonya could feel Shakespeare’s suffering as well. It was as if it were her own, the years of torment that had led him to this moment. He was a man driven to the edge of madness, consumed by his need for vengeance. If she did not intervene, he would kill Tristan and lose whatever shred of humanity he had left.

“Kaida, I need you more than ever. I need…” Sonya whimpered. She closed her eyes, summoning the ancient power within her.

I am with you.Kaida’s voice echoed in her mind, a soothing presence amidst the chaos. It was her own voice. Of course, Kaida was her, and she was her. But she needed the reassurance.

Sonya opened her eyes just as Shakespeare was about to deliver the final blow. Tristan was slipping away, his heart seconds from being ripped out. Without hesitation, Sonya stepped forward, her voice cutting through the carnage.

“You want me, vampire!” she shouted, her body radiating with a fiery dark energy that crackled through the air like her voice. A ring of flames erupted around her. It burned bright against the darkness. Shakespeare’s head snapped up. Blood dripped from his lips, his eyes wild with the thrill of the kill. But something in Sonya’s voice, in the force of her will, gave him pause.

Shakespeare had unleashed his Draca. He had quit. What was before her was the darkest, most vile creature to ever exist. His chest heaved as he stared at her. Tristan’s blood stained his mouth, and his teeth. Sonya searched his eyes for the man beneath the monster—the man who had once loved, who had once believed in love, who had suffered.

Sonya’s heart clenched at the sight of Tristan’s lifeless body, his chest caved in, ribs exposed. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and reached deep into the power within her. She channeled the realm from the core of her being. She sent a wave of healing energy toward Tristan, her soul reaching out to him, knitting together the shattered pieces of his body and spirit.

A blast of dark, fiery energy erupted from her. It knocked the two vampires apart. Tristan gasped for air, his chest slowly mending as the energy worked its way through him. Shakespeare, however, was not done. He came at her with the speed of a tornado, a blur of fury and rage. But Sonya was ready. She did not need a weapon; she had his pain and Tristan’s suffering as her shield.

As the Defender of Pain, a disciple of the Great Guardian Kaida, Sonya harnessed not only her power but theirs as well. She spun a cocoon of light and fire around them, trapping themtogether in a world of energy and emotion. Shakespeare’s hands seized her, his grip bruising, but she did not resist. Instead, she let him take her, let him bite into her neck, and as his fangs pierced her skin, she entered his heart.

Their bodies tangled together, their souls entwined in a cosmic dance of suffering and redemption. She felt every ounce of his torment, every moment of his loss, the darkness that had hardened him into the beast he was now. But beneath it all, she found Beaux—the man he used to be. The husband who had once loved with all his heart, who had lost everything in a moment of greed and selfishness.

As he drank from her, Sonya reached into Beaux, healing him, soothing the wounds that had festered for decades. They spun together in the cocoon of light, their bodies merging into a lovers’ embrace, their souls touching in a way that transcended the physical. Their clothes fell away, their skin pressed together, slick with sweat and blood. His lips left her neck, finding her mouth as her thighs wrapped around his waist, pulling him in deeper.

He entered her with a fierce, desperate need, his body moving against hers in a whirlwind of dark and light energy. Their connection was raw, primal, fueled by the suffering they both carried and the need to be healed. As they moved together, their bodies locked in a rhythm that was as old as time, Sonya felt the darkness within him begin to lift. The shadows receded as the light of their union grew brighter.

Mating with a consiglieri differed from anything she had ever known. It was not just a physical connection; it was the merging of souls, the sharing of pain, and the desperation was intense.

They climaxed together, their release a burst of energy that rippled through the cocoon, sending electrified waves through the desert night. Beaux’s eyes met hers as they lay together, their bodies still entwined. For the first time in decades, he did notsee Camille when he looked at the woman in his arms. He did not see Sophie. He saw Sonya, and the forgiveness in her eyes, the strange glow that radiated from her, healed something deep within him.

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