Blood Hunger (An Adult Paranormal Romance) (Deathless Night Series #1) (33 page)

    
Suddenly, a blast of ice cold air shot across the room as a large portion of the wall exploded out from within, sending pieces of rock flying across the room, and causing the wolves to scamper frantically towards the protection of the tunnel.

     Nik spun around and hunkered down over Emma, protecting her as well as he could from the flying debris.

     When the dust settled, Luukas stood in the opening, feet spread wide, one hand clenched into a fist at his side. The other hand wrapped around the wrist of a curvy, dark-haired female.

     Nik stepped out from the doorway, and Emma stumbled out from behind him. Pushing him out of the way, she ran towards the stairs, eager to get down to her sister. “Keira!” she sobbed.

     “Emma…” her sister breathed. Her hazel eyes, just like her sister’s, were wide with disbelief.

     Luukas’ dark head whipped around at the sound of Emma’s voice, his wild eyes focusing in on the tiny human running towards them, calling for his witch.

     Pulling his lips back in a snarl, he hissed at her menacingly in warning.

     Focused only on her sister and not realizing the danger she was in, Emma ran, ignoring the demented-looking vampire, until Nik was suddenly on the step below her. Grabbing her up mid-air, he forcibly held her against his hard chest.

     “Let me go!” She struggled hard against him, kicking his shins and pounding his shoulders with her small fists. Tears ran unchecked down her face.

***

     Nik held her tight, keeping his back to his brother, not wanting to entice him further by staring directly at him. He took the pounding she was giving him, repeating softly in her ear, “Sweetheart, just wait. Something isn’t right with him. Emma, something isn’t right with him.”

   
 
Nik halfway turned with Emma still struggling in his arms and curiously eyed up his older brother. His dark hair was long and lank, his T-shirt so riddled with blood and dirt, you couldn’t tell its original color. His jeans were also stiff with dirt. And he was barefoot. The girl he still held onto wasn’t in much better shape.

     But the thing that stood out the most to him were his eyes. His grey eyes had gone completely black. Skittering around the room, they seemed to have a hard time focusing on anyone in particular.

     He bared his fangs at all of them. Even Nikulas.

     Nik set Emma down with a stern warning to stay where she was. “Do not move. I honestly don’t know what he’ll do. Give me a moment to talk to him, Em.”

   
 
Once he made sure she was going to stay put, he glanced over uneasily at the wolves before he slowly eased down another step. “Luukas? Hey big brother. It’s just me. Nik.”

   
 
Apprehensively, he eased down another step.

     A snarl ripped from Luukas’s throat as his eyes swung from the pacing wolves to his brother. Cocking his head, he watched the tall, blonde vampire ease towards him, recognition finally flickering across his face. Sheathing his fangs a bit, he yanked Keira partly behind him with the death grip he maintained on her wrist.

     Nikulas noticed she wasn’t fighting him. Interesting.

     “The witch is
mine
.” His deep voice was raspy and broken. From lack of use? From screaming? Nik tampered down his rising anger at the sound of it. Right now, he just needed to get his brother calm.

     “Okay man, you can have her.” Ignoring Emma’s sound of protest, he eased down a few more steps. “No one is going to take your witch. I just want to say hello to my brother.”

   
 
He’d reached the bottom of the steps, and was now less than twenty feet from the hole in the wall where his brother stood. Checking the urge to run over and grab him up in a bear hug, he waited to see what Luukas would do.

     Luukas took a halting step into the room, scanning the area in that twitchy way he now had.

     “
Where is she
?” he ground out between gritted teeth.

     Nik knew whom he was talking about without having to ask. “She’s gone. She took Aiden with her.” His voice broke slightly as he briefly filled Luukas in on what happened once they’d arrived.

     Luukas growled low in his throat as his lips twitched back off his fangs in anger. “I’m going to rip her apart. Slowly.
Painfully
.”

   
 
Keira’s face twisted in pain as he unconsciously squeezed her wrist in his anger. “Luukas. You’re hurting me!”

   
 
He immediately loosened his hold, releasing her wrist but pinning her where she was with his eyes. He stared at her for a long moment.

     Never taking his gaze from Keira, Luukas told his brother, “Leave us.”

   
 
The wolves took full advantage of his distraction to slink past them, quickly disappeared through the edges of the hole to go find the rest of their pack.

     Emma ran down the remaining steps to Nik. Grabbing his hand, she silently pleaded with him to do something.

     Nik looked from her to his brother. “Luuk, man. Let’s just get out of here.”

   
 
Emma shivered, the cloud of her breath forming icicles as Luukas’s anger permeated the room.

     “LEAVE! US!
”
he roared.

     Nik chewed his lip as he looked at the back of his brother’s head for a minute, and then turned and took Emma by the arm, knowing Luukas would brook no argument when he was like this. “Come on. Let’s go.” Over his shoulder, he told his brother, “We’ll be at the hideout.”

   
 
Emma struggled futilely against him as he dragged her across the room. “What? No. Nik! NO!! Dammit, that’s my SISTER over there!”

   
 
Ignoring her pleas, he effortlessly pulled her with him towards the door. “Nikulas! Stop! I’m not leaving without her!”

   
 
With frantic eyes, she looked back towards Keira who was staring at Luukas in alarm. Now they were just
pissing
Emma off. She abruptly dug in her heels and ripped her arm from Nik’s grasp, turning her focus to Luukas.

     “I will
not
leave without my sister,” she ground out.

     Gathering all of her energy within herself, she focused all of her anger and hatred on the vampire holding her sister. The very air vibrated as the loose stone he’d knocked loose from the wall began to hover off the floor.

     Nik moved in front of her, his eyes filled with fear for her. “Emma, NO!” Softening his tone, he told her, “I don’t know what he will do if he sees you as a threat. He’s not the same as he was. Please don’t make me fight him to protect you now that I’ve finally found him.”

   
 
Emma ignored him. She’d had enough. Purposely focusing her magic for the first time, she felt it flowing through her, gathering strength. The feeling made her high, and she almost laughed aloud from the giddiness of it.

     Lifting her right hand, she swung it through the air, aiming a particularly large boulder just to the left of Luukas, not wanting to risk her sister by hitting him directly.

     Without looking away from Keira, Luukas flicked his left hand, easily deflecting her attack with nothing but the power of his will.

     “Nikulas. You
really
need to remove her,” he warned. “NOW. I’m not in the mood to play.”

   
 
Emma gritted her teeth in response and prepared to send another large stone flying at his head.

     With the threat to her family, Keira’s attention was torn from him to her sister. “Emma, it’s ok. Luukas and I have some things we need to discuss.”

   
 
Nik stepped in front of her. “Sweetheart, that’s enough. We’re leaving.”

   
 
She looked up at him as her eyes filled with angry tears. “He’s going to kill her, Nik!”

   
 
“No, he won’t. He’s very angry right now, but he won’t hurt her. You need to trust me here.”

   
 
She stared defiantly up into his stubborn blue eyes. “You don’t
know
that.”

   
 
“Actually, I kinda do.”

   
 
“It’s ok, honey. Go with Nik. I’ll be out in a bit,” Keira told her.

     Emma stepped around Nik and looked at her sister in hurt disbelief.

     “Keira?” She couldn’t believe her sister was telling her to leave her with that maniac.

     “Emma, just GO. I’ll be fine.” her sister insisted, silently pleading with Emma to do as she said.

     “Come on.” Nik put his hand on the small of her back to lead her out of the room.

     She flinched away from him. “Don’t touch me,” She hissed. With a last longing look at her sister, she turned around and marched from the room unassisted, Nik close on her heals.

     Emma stomped off as far as she could back down the passageway until she had to stop and wait for Nik and the torch he’d snagged off of the wall. As soon as he’d caught up to her, she continued on without so much as looking at him, staying in the circle of light.

     What the hell was Keira doing? She couldn’t really want to stay there with that…that…monster that was Nik’s brother. Could she?

     Angry tears ran down her face. She should have fought harder for the right to see her sister. Nik should have fought harder. It was his brother, after all.

     Her mind spinning and her heart breaking in too many different directions, Emma trembled violently as she trekked through the passageway, swiping at the tears that wouldn’t stop.

***

     Nik let her go, not blaming her in the slightest for the way she was feeling, but not knowing what to say to fix it. His own mind was spinning, worrying about Aiden, and worrying about his brother.

     The one thing he
wasn’t
worried about was his brother hurting that female. He saw the possessive way he looked at her. The way he immediately let her go as soon as he realized he was hurting her. No, he wasn’t worried about that.

     His brother’s mind, on the other hand…yeah…that was another story. He’d never seen him like that before. Guilt wracked through him like a physical blow. He should have found him sooner.

     Why didn’t he find him sooner? There was no excuse for it. Lukkas had obviously suffered severely over the years, to the point that his mind may never be right again. He’d never be able to make it up to him.

     He wouldn’t blame him if his brother never forgave him.

     They traversed the length of the tunnel, each lost in their own thoughts, until they hit the creek again. Emma picked up speed as the passageway widened and more light was available. Walking faster and faster, she followed the shoreline until, with a sob, she broke out into a run.

     With a curse, Nik tossed the torch he carried into the flowing water and picked up his pace. His chest ached with her pain. And his own too. He wanted to reassure her, if she would ever stop long enough to let him do it.

***

     Emma ran until she hit the fresh air, not stopping until she was completely outside of the evil place. Hearing Nik’s footsteps behind her, she stiffened with fury. Furious at finally finding her sister and not even getting to hug her. Furious at his brother for being such a scary asshole.

     But mostly, furious at Nik, for not doing anything about it.

     Breathing heavy, she eased off her speed until she was walking, then stumbling. When Nik reached out to steady her, she slapped his hands away. “Don’t touch me! Don’t you ever touch me!”

   
 
“Emma…” he pleaded.

     Whipping around, she raised her hands up and threw all her weight into shoving him away. “Don’t ‘Emma’ me! You son of a bitch!”

   
 
She covered her face with her hands, trying to regain some control. Taking a shuddering breath, she dropped them back down to her sides, her hazel eyes bright with tears. “You left her there. Just left her there…with
him
. He’s going to hurt her! He’s your brother! Why didn’t you do something! If not for her, then for me!” she accused.

     Nik stood helplessly, his own pain pouring from his blue eyes. “No. Emma, no. How could you think…”

   
 
“YOU LEFT HER!!” she screamed at him.

     Nik bared his fangs at her, his own anger and frustration getting the best of him. “I did leave her there! I didn’t know what he was going to do! And you wouldn’t STOP, Emma! You wouldn’t fucking stop! He could have killed you with a fucking
thought
. You don’t know what he’s capable of! I probably saved your fucking LIFE!”