Chosen by Blood (36 page)

Felicia tightened her grip on him. “Can I go with you? Please?”

Hesitating briefly, Knox nodded. After a quick farewell to his mother and children, Knox teleported to the Dome’s equivalent of a jail. He was surprised to find Zeph’s father, Councilman Prime, standing in the entry area. He was even more surprised to hear Prime arguing with his men, insisting that they release Lesander and Niles immediately.

Prime’s argument stopped the instant he saw Knox, but he only paused long enough to walk toward him and glare at Felicia before he started up again. “This is ridiculous, Knox. I’ve told your men that there must be some mistake. Whatever this woman has told you is clearly a lie. Your cousins would not attack her unless provoked.”

Knox glanced at Zeph, who was negligently leaning against a wall and watching Prime with a thin smile of amusement that didn’t quite mask his pain. Knox knew that his brother’s casual air was for show and that the smile of amusement was the calm before the storm. “And how do you explain their attack upon Zeph and myself? How do you explain the fact my son overheard them conspiring to kill humans and to overthrow me and my mother, even as they tried to tempt my own brother to join the plot?”

For an instant, Prime looked uncertain, then blustered onward. “Frustration. Fear of the continuing weakness of the clan, a weakness that she and her associates”—Prime pointed at Felicia—“brought upon us.”

Knox’s hand shot out to grip Prime’s wrist. “Don’t point at her. Do not accuse her. Not while you defend them. They are traitors.”

Prime glared at Zeph. “Talk some reason into him, Zeph. Tell him you misunderstood. Now.”

Zeph straightened. His relationship with Prime had always been a distant one, with Prime having been more of a sperm donor than a real father. Before his death, Jacques Devereaux had been Zeph’s primary paternal influence. Still, Zeph had been around two years old when Jacques had died and Knox knew that, deep down, Zeph had always longed for Prime’s approval. Which was why, when Zeph shook his head, Knox was surprised but proud of his little brother.

“I didn’t misunderstand. They tried to kill us, as well as the human.”

While Prime glared at his son, Knox snapped, “They will be punished accordingly.”

Prime’s eyes narrowed and he tried to jerk his hand from Knox’s grasp. He succeeded, but only after Knox, who paused for a few seconds before doing so, chose to release him.

“You mean, they’ll be punished if the Vamp Council finds them guilty, don’t you?”

Knox heard the threat behind the vamp’s words. “If the Vamp Council doesn’t, the matter will be handed over to the U.S. government. In this case, the victims involved not only vampires, but a human. That puts their actions squarely within the law of the humans.”

“You would dare—” Prime began.

“You have no idea what I’d dare.” Knox leaned down until he could stare directly in the vamp’s face. “This conversation is over. Leave.”

Prime looked stunned. Truthfully, everyone did. Usually, Knox took great care to show nothing but respect for the Council’s authority, Zeph’s biological father included. But he didn’t have the time for politeness now and he didn’t have the desire to dole it out—not with what the vamp was saying about Felicia or the men who had attacked her.

As Prime transported out of the building, Knox strode up to Zeph. “I’m sorry, Zeph . . .”

Zeph shook his head. “For what? Most of the time he doesn’t even remember I’m his. He always wanted me to be more like Lesander and Niles anyway. This time he just stated his preference out loud. Now, I believe you’re needed elsewhere. If you need assistance . . .”

Knox shook his head, ignoring the spark of hope that had brightened Felicia’s eyes. “You need to be here in my stead. What have the bastards said?”

“Nothing, but then there’s nothing they can say. Thomas was telling the truth. They approached me. They solicited my participation in the murder of humans, as well as your overthrow. They tempted me with pure blood, which I willingly took.” He gazed at Knox unflinchingly, but obviously still hoping that Knox believed him. “I needed to be stronger. I couldn’t reach you and didn’t know if you would be back. I hoped to get more information from them, to find out exactly—”

Knox shook his head. “I do not doubt you, Zeph.”

Zeph’s features relaxed, indicating his relief that Knox believed him.

“But if I ever catch you drinking from Felicia’s wrist or throat when your life isn’t on the line, I’ll kill you myself.”

His amused gaze darting to Felicia, who was blushing furiously, Zeph nodded. “Got it. Hands, and fangs, off your woman.”

Without bothering to see how Felicia reacted to being called “his woman,” Knox strode up to the cell and faced his cousins. Lesander stood straight and tall, his eyes blazing defiantly. Niles, on the other hand, sat with his face in his hands. At Knox’s approach, he lifted his head slightly, only to turn away and lower his head again.

“Besides the North Koreans, who are you and Lafleur working for?” Knox asked.

Lesander smirked. “I work for no one. I act to achieve what I believe in.”

“And you believe working for the North Korean government will benefit you. Giving you what? Power? Money? Validation that you’re worthy despite the fact that you don’t rule?”

Knox’s jibe worked. Lesander lunged at him, wrapping his fingers around the bars that separated them as if he could break them in half and escape. “ At least the North Koreans are Other sympathizers and honest about what they want from us. I’d rather enter into a business transaction with them than be led around by my dick like you are.”

“So principle and allegiance and global benefit are irrelevant in this business transaction of yours?”

Lesander released the bars and stepped back, shaking his head mockingly. “Poor Knox. Always trying to spout the more ‘enlightened’ position in hopes that it will cover up the stain of your past. Tell me, why are you working for the humans?” Lesander asked in response.

“I’m working for them to benefit my clan.”

“Then why is what I was doing any different? How are the North Koreans doing anything different than the federal government ? They’re doing the same thing—using Others, giving us what we want so they get what they want.”

Knox wanted to grab the vamp by the throat again and this time let Zeph burn his damn heart. “They’re imprisoning Others. Vamps. Torturing them. Using them for experiments.”

“What was the War if not the sacrificing of Others for the greater good?” Lesander hissed. “We are fighting for the same thing, for the same purpose—to save our people. If the North Koreans can help us do that, why shouldn’t we align with them?”

“Because saving our people isn’t just about saving our physical selves. It’s not about regaining our physical strength. It’s about holding to the tenets our society was built on. Integrity. Strength. Constancy. Or have you forgotten already?”

“Strength without vitality is impossible. Neither is constancy. Integrity in this case is a matter of opinion. Is it honorable to let one’s people—one’s Queen, one’s mother and brother—waste away to skin and bones while you work for the very people who caused their suffering in the first place?”

“Constancy is about more than resisting change, Lesander. It’s about staying true to who we are as a people. Who I am as an individual. Who we are—who I am—is not a vamp who would betray his leader or hurt an innocent female or sell himself to a group so clearly after world power and nothing else.”

“Once again, you forget your blood is tainted by a traitor’s, Knox, so how can you be so sure?”

Rage filled Knox. Everything he saw became tinged by a red film.

“Let him out of that cell so he can say that to me again,” Knox growled.

“Knox, no!” Felicia cried.

“There’s a difference between us,” Knox insisted, his gaze finding Felicia’s.

“Of course there is,” she snapped. “Don’t you dare have a single doubt otherwise.” Grabbing his arm, Felicia pulled him away until they stood outside the jail.

He breathed deeply, shaking his head. “You’re right. I let the bastard get to me and I don’t have the time for that. I have to go back.”

“You’re too weak,” Felicia said softly.

“It doesn’t matter,” Knox said. “I have to go back.” There was no other choice, Knox thought. Every second away from his team meant they were at escalated risk.

Silently, Knox cursed—they were already at escalated risk thanks to his damn cousins. Felicia was right. He had weakened. The strain on his body from his crash landing, the brutally cold walk to the compound, and then his repeated teleportation and injuries from Lesander’s attack, almost made it difficult for him to keep standing. How was he going to do what he needed to do and bring the team back safe?

Felicia grabbed his hand. It was dark out, almost too dark for him to see her, but she wasted no time in cupping her hand around his neck and pulling his head toward her. Not to her lips but to her neck.

“Drink from me. Lesander and Niles believe I have pure blood. If that’s true—”

Knox jerked his head back. “It’s the truth. I saw what it did for Zeph myself. You’ve got pure blood inside you, Felicia.” For a second, he felt the unwanted bite of suspicion. Had she known? Had she kept the knowledge of her purity from him all this time, knowing that while she couldn’t save his mother and brother, she could help alleviate some of their suffering?

“I didn’t know,” she said. “I swear it. I think Dr. Barker administered the antidote to me during my last physical, when he was supposed to be giving me vitamin shots.”

Knox licked his lips. “I—I—” He called himself a fool, but he believed her. And right now, it shouldn’t matter whether she’d known. He was drained and he needed to be at his optimal strength if he was to complete the mission and get everyone out alive. It was the smartest thing to do.

Part of him, however, knew that even if that hadn’t been true, he wouldn’t have been able to resist drinking pure blood from Felicia. That would be like refusing to drink ambrosia from a chalice handed down from the Gods.

“Zeph drank a lot of your blood. I don’t want to weaken you further—”

“I feel fine, Knox. I promise.”

He swallowed hard. Felt his mouth watering. “I’ll drink just a little. Just enough to . . .” Without another word, he gave in. The moment his fangs pierced her flesh, he wondered how he hadn’t known. He should have been able to smell the purity of her blood. Should have been able to taste it the minute the drops had hit his tongue the first two times he’d drunk from her. In disbelief, he realized that the reason he hadn’t noticed was because his ability to process that kind of information seemed to short out when he was with her. With her, he was always primed. It had seemed natural that drinking from her, lying with her, fucking her, would make him feel stronger and more powerful than he had in years. It had made him feel so much like himself that he hadn’t thought to ask why.

The why had seemed self-evident.

It was her.

Her taste filled his mouth, then his throat, then spread to every part of him. This time, maybe because he’d been so drained or because he was waiting for it, he felt the way her blood immediately nourished him, imbibing him with an instant vitality. He felt the urge to suck her dry, to drink and drink and drink until every last drop of her was inside him.

It disturbed him even as it made him a tad bit more sympathetic of Zeph’s response to her.

Still, he forced himself to slow down, to suck softer, to pull back slightly. He felt his renewed strength, even with the small amount of blood she’d given him. He didn’t want to take too much—

She pushed his head down deeper, whispering for him to take as much as he wanted, and her full acquiescence was too much to fight. He might not need more of her blood, but he
wanted
it.

He gave himself over to his hunger. Planting his hands on her hips, he rubbed his body against her as he drew on her vein in long, languorous pulls. He lifted his hands to her breasts, cupping them. He felt the strong urge to leave her vein so that he could suck at her nipples.

That’s when he knew he would always be drawn to Felicia for who she was and not what she could give him.

He would always want her more than he wanted her blood.

After several minutes, he withdrew his fangs and licked at the puncture wounds on Felicia’s throat until they closed. He kissed her ear, and then her lips. “Thank you,” he breathed.

She nodded her head, stroked his hair, then said something that struck him with terror. “I want to go back with you.”

 

 

Lucy was panting by the time she and O’Flare made it to Wraith’s side. She knew instantly O’Flare wasn’t going to like what he’d be seeing. Wraith was sitting on the ground, the wolf’s—Hunt’s—snout resting on her thigh while she stroked his coat. She didn’t appear to be in pain. Was it because Hunt was in animal form that she could touch him?

The guard that had been sent to search the area sat gagged and tied in front of them, the yellow stain around him indicating just how afraid he’d been of the wraith and the wolf he’d encountered.

“Shit,” O’Flare gasped. “You couldn’t have told us you were okay? We’ve been hauling ass to get over here.”

Not looking up from Hunt, whom Wraith was now scratching behind the ears, Wraith shrugged. “The exercise is good for you.”

Lucy saw O’Flare clench his hands into fists and take a step toward the wraith. She didn’t believe he was going to actually reach for her, but she wasn’t taking any chances, either. The last thing she needed was to have the three of them going for each other’s throats and attracting the attention of the rest of the guards.

“We need to send him back,” she said.

O’Flare turned around and looked at her. Even his incredulous expression was enough to send shivers down her spine. Closing her eyes, she cursed herself for her stupidity. The one time she was attracted to a man of worth and it was someone who had the hots for a ghost with big tits and the gift of immortality.