Page 87 of Destined for Shadows
“I didn’t know what I was accepting,” she argued, though she knew it was pointless. He was pissed that she’d ever bind herself to another man aside from him. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t intentional.
“Don’t give me that shit.” Griff reached out and put a hand around her throat. “Your subconscious knew what was happening, and it accepted the bond for you. That wasn’t right. You knew you were mine, and that I had already returned for you when you gave yourself to that nephilim.”
Cori tried scooting away from him, but her back hit a post. She was trapped, and her ex-husband’s grip on her throat was tightening. It was all she could do to squeeze out her next words, “I’m not yours.”
“You bitch.” He let go of her throat and backhanded her.
Pain exploded in her cheek, and she keeled over onto the floor.
“Get up!” he commanded.
Gasping through the discomfort of her throbbing cheek, she struggled to wrench herself back into a sitting position. It wasn’t easy with her hands bound behind her back. Griff watched with eyes so cold glaciers would have seemed warmer.
When she didn’t get up fast enough for his liking, he yanked her up by her neck. “You will be mine once I’m finished with you. That ugly-looking nephilim only thinks you’re his now, but not for much longer.”
Cori couldn’t breathe. Griff was clutching her throat in such a vise-like grip that he’d closed off her airway. Her vision began to swim before her, and her thoughts became cloudy. While he continued to stare down at her with malevolent intent, she lost sight of him as everything went dark. Cori let herself go, sinking into the oblivion unconsciousness could bring.
She’d used that escape many times with him.
Sometime later, maybe only a few minutes, she woke up slumped against the post. Griff had moved a few feet away and sat with his legs bent in front of him and his arms resting on his knees. He didn’t look the slightest bit concerned that she’d passed out. If anything, he appeared annoyed that he’d had to wait for her to open her eyes again. That was normal behavior for him. Cori had been on this roller coaster ride enough times that it was hard not to revert to her old self—the woman who didn’t fight and gave the man whatever he wanted if it meant the pain would stop. She’d thought she’d gotten past this.
“If your lover had been smart, he would have had you turned into a vampire,” Griff said, shaking his head.
She took a deep breath. “Why? Would it make it easier for you to torture me?”
“Yes. I owe you a lot of pain, but turning is a delicate process.” He paused, considering. “And it takes time we don’t have.”
Cori was used to Griff’s moods swinging from one direction to another. He was becoming reflective and chatty now, which was a lot easier to handle as long as she followed along. “Why come after me now? It’s been almost four years.”
“That’s complicated,” he replied.
She’d figured as much. “I’ve got time.”
He stared at her with narrowed eyes. For a moment, Cori worried she’d pushed her luck.
“I was turned by a vampire named Variola,” he finally replied.
Cori nodded, having already suspected that.
“I wasn’t with her for long. She had a master as well—a nephilim who wanted me for herself. I was told my vengeance would have to wait because she wanted me in New York.” Griff worked his jaw. “It wasn’t until recently that I was given a new mission, and a chance to see you again.”
Cori’s thoughts raced as she put the pieces together. There was only one female nephilim who he could be talking about. “You mean Zoe told you to come here? I thought she was in Russia.”
Surprise flickered in Griff’s gaze. “You know a lot for a human.”
“I helped the supernaturals kick Zoe out when she tried to take over Fairbanks last year,” Cori explained.
Since she was human and able to resist compulsion, Melena had used her to do missions in the city while they were stuck outside of it. Zoe had an army occupying the town, including her own team of sensors, so there’d been no easy way for the sups or Melena to infiltrate the area. Cori was the only one who could move freely through the checkpoints, faking her answers whenever the guards asked her questions under compulsion.
“Russia turned out to be the perfect place for Zoe,” Griff replied, pulling a black stone with silver veins running through it from his pocket. “It allowed her to track this rare item down.”
Cori frowned. “What is it?”
“One of several Gregorian stones she uncovered. It blocks the powers of anyone with angel blood in them, including sensors, as I’ve learned. Zoe was fairly certain it would work, but she made me test it out.” He rolled the stone across his palm. “It’s far more effective than either of us hoped, but there’s still one more test to run.”
Cori’s chest tightened. Something in Griff’s voice told her the final test would be the worst of all. “Why isn’t the stone affecting you? I thought vamps were originally born from nephilim.”
“We were, but the black magic used to create us corrupted our blood—and we’re technically dead.” He gave her a satisfied look. “The stone doesn’t work on us.”
