Page 12 of Vampire's Bite

Nothing survived my fury.

It wasn't just fury though, it was the sense of helplessness and shame as well. I couldn't stand the way we had no idea how to get Cordie back or that we didn't have any leads. The very thing I'd always depended on when I was nervous wasn't working, I couldn't sense her through the bond at all, which only made my fear for her skyrocket.

Would I be able to tell if they hurt her? Killed her?

I honestly had no idea.

The shame came from the fact that this happened at all. I'd told her that she'd be safe with the dagger and yet it may have only gotten her in more trouble if she showed it to the vampire hunters. If they didn't know she was feeding a royal before they saw that they sure as hell did after and what better game to go after than a member of the vampire royal family? They didn't care that I'd been exiled.

When I had first woken up and realized that Cordelia was gone, the air sucked from my lungs, and I couldn't breathe. The sense of loss and betrayal was profound maybe because I had been so sure that she would be there with me when I woke up. And when she wasn't, it was wholly and completely devastating.

Now, the one lead I had on finding her was gone. The bond between us was blocked again, and no matter how hard I tried, I had no way of tracking her. Every single thing seemed to be working to try to take Cordelia from me. The harder I held onto her, the further she slipped through my fingers.

It didn't escape me that if I held too tightly I might crush her with the weight of my feelings. How could I not try to protect and save her though? She was the most precious thing in the world to me.

That thought alone almost stilled the rage. Or at least it slowed me down.

Cross had followed my orders, and had immediately driven to Gran's house. He was no longer at the penthouse to bring me back down to reality, and I was losing my shit without him.

Why could I see Cordelia this time? Every chance I had, I would slip into the liminal space before true sleep claimed me, searching for her. Each time it felt as if something, or someone, was blocking me. But this time the obstacle was removed, if only for a moment.

I closed my eyes and saw Cordelia’s beautiful face, tears streaming from her eyes. She was scared, and I couldn't do a damn thing about it.

I wanted to find the person responsible and make them pay. But first, I had to find Cordelia. She was my priority, the only thing that mattered in the grand scheme of life. And I would do whatever it took to bring her home.

Rage still coursed through me, and I forced myself to find a spot on the floor without shards of glass or slivers of wood or metal protruding from the carpet. I sat down with my back against the wall and closed my eyes in yet another attempt to reach back out to Cordelia. I calmed my inner anger, focusing on our bond.

After an hour of trying, I realized it was no use. I couldn’t reach her. She felt muted and far away. Whatever had scrambled our bond before had returned, and I slipped back into a state of hopelessness.

I would find a way to get to her. I had to. Because without Cordelia, I was nothing. I hadn't been lying when I said I loved her, and that was something that had shaken me to my core. I'd never truly loved anyone before yet with her it was effortless, no that wasn't quite right. It still took effort, but there was something about her that made me want to put that effort in so I could keep waking up and choosing her over and over again.

After I got her out of this situation I wasn't sure she'd choose me though. Who would keep seeing the man responsible for getting them kidnapped twice?

12

Cross

I couldn’t get to Cordelia’s home fast enough. Rook had given me the order, and I flew out of the penthouse like a bat flying straight out of hell.

The city had the occasional speed camera and a few cameras for red lights as well, but I knew where they all were and how to avoid them most efficiently.

There was no racing along the freeway or through the wide streets of the wealthy areas of town anymore, now I had to slow down. Cul-de-sacs and subdivisions, especially ones as tightly packed as the ones I was driving through now, weren’t favorable to flying without wings.

Allowing my car to coast, I slowly drove through the rundown neighborhood and immediately spotted several shady characters, more than belonged in a single area of the city. Some were standing on the street corners, while others were parked in their cars. And there was no denying that these were hunters, sent to watch the house. It wasn't just because I suspected them or had been forewarned about them either.

The vampire hunters had Cordie and her grandmother’s house completely surrounded. Upon further inspection, it appeared that the fuckers had set traps, which made it impossible for me to get within several yards of the house. Wires criss-crossed the front path and I had no doubt that if they were pulled on by anything then something nasty would come flying at whoever was unfortunate enough to be standing there. And where there was one trap, there was likely to be more.

They had done their homework and weren’t going to make this easy for me. But this was important to all of us. In equal portions, though, Rook would say it was most important to him. It wasn’t.

I tried to call him to see what he wanted my next move to be, but he didn't answer, which worried me. If he had answered, he probably would've told me to get as close as I could without being detected. With that in mind, I drove to the end of the block and turned onto a side street, making sure there were no hunters around before I quietly got out of my car and made my way back up the street.

The shadows cloaked me, hiding me from view as much as they could, but I knew I wouldn't be able to get right up next to the house so I slipped around to the back side of the neighbor's house. I shifted to a spot behind a bush. At just the right angle, Gran came into view.

She was watching TV and eating without a care in the world, as if she wasn’t aware that there were people outside who were probably commanded to kill her when the word came down. And they calledusheartless monsters.

I let out a sigh of relief. But then I remembered Cordelia was still missing and my worry returned tenfold. Maybe Rook had obtained information, something that would lead us to her. I sure as hell hoped so because I had run out of ideas.

When it was clear that there was no immediate threat to Gran and none of the guys stationed outside her house were making a move on Gran, I made my way back to Rook's place. The seed of hope had taken root in me that all of this might work out, that Rook would have got the information from Cordie and we could mount a rescue operation while Gran was safely tucked away somewhere.

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