Page 88 of Destined for Shadows
She clenched her fists. This was bad, very bad. The female nephilim who had sent Griff was the worst enemy of Cori’s friends and had caused them all kinds of problems in the past. That was on top of her being power hungry and conniving. She also had a daughter, Rebecca, at the nerou training compound who wanted nothing to do with her mother. Zoe blamed Melena, Lucas, Micah, and Derrick for causing the rift. The archangels had confined her to Russia for now, but apparently that didn’t stop her from reaching out by some other method.
“So you’re here to get revenge for Zoe.”
Griff snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous. She wouldn’t send a young vampire like me for that. I’m just here to make sure the stone works properly, and get my reward for loyal service to her.”
“You get a second chance at life, and this is what you do?” Cori shook her head, unable to hold back her feelings. “You’re allying yourself with one of the most evil women on the planet. I can’t think of anything more disgusting.”
He moved so fast she didn’t see the fist coming until it had already connected with her jaw. Pain exploded in her head, and she hit the floor. Griff picked Cori up and hit her again several times in the stomach. She cried out, feeling as if he’d just turned her insides to mush.
“Think you’re too good for me?” Griff asked in an angry voice, tossing her down. “I’m going to beat you until you’re an inch from dying, then bring you back with my blood, and start all over again.”
Cori rolled onto her side and spat out blood. She angled her face to look up at him. “Good luck with that. Do you want to know the real reason I’m not a vampire? Because a mystic predicted that I can’t survive the turn, and it would kill me.” She let out a bitter laugh. “So go ahead if you’re willing to risk it.”
Griff made a snarling sound and picked her up. “One way or another, you will be mine—even if it’s only in death.”
He fed her a mouthful of his blood, enough to heal the worst of her wounds without turning her, then he started hitting her again.
“You’re worthless,” he shouted. “I don’t even know why I want you.”
He grabbed hold of her ankle and snapped it. Cori screamed, tears of agony flowing down her cheeks. Griff looked down at her like she was less than the dirt she lay upon. She tried scooting away from him, but he just pulled her back. She couldn’t escape, and she couldn’t fight. This was her worst nightmare coming to life all because she’d been stupid and left Bartol’s home without protection. Maybe she was worthless. Maybe she did deserve the pain.
Griff kicked her in the side.
It was all Cori could do to suck in air. She glanced up at him through the tangled fall of her hair, knowing how pathetic she must look. “What do you want from me?”
“For you to beg like the bitch you are.” He picked her up by the shoulders and held her so high she couldn’t touch the ground. “And to admit that you’re mine.”
“Never,” she swore.
Griff tossed her into the nearest wall. Her spine cracked, and she slumped to the floor in a puddle. He stomped over to her, examined the damage with a critical eye, and fed her more blood. It took longer this time to heal, but once she was mostly recovered, he started in on her again. Cori became nothing more than a human punching bag—worse than anything her ex-husband had done to her before.
As she went through waves of horrific agony that shouldn’t have been possible, she wished for death. Anything would have been better than being at the mercy of Griff. The only thing he didn’t do was drink her blood or try to rape her. No, he focused on reminding her why she deserved nothing except pain.
“You’re a murderer,” he shouted after the third beating. “And not just because you tried to kill me, but you also killed that man I sent to hurt you a little. There ain’t nothing good about you, which is the real reason our daughter is dead. Even God knew you didn’t deserve her.”
She sobbed, lying in the fetal position on the floor unable to move.
“Be glad I’m helping you see clearly.” Griff kicked her in the back, sending piercing pain down her spine. “Because you can’t accept love from nobody—not even me.”
Tears ran down her cheeks. He was right. It only took a reminder for her to see that she didn’t deserve Bartol, her friends, or anyone. How could she have forgotten that?
