Destiny Calls (2 page)

He refused to accept that hundreds of years of living peacefully secreted away in the mountains of Pennsylvania, under the guise of being Amish, could be completely spoiled by the hands of one mouthy little woman. No. He wouldn’t permit their exposure, especially not at the hands of Destiny Santos. She had been an itch, a thorn in his side, since he had first met her meddling around these woods searching for a story for her English news program.

“That’s why I have the crossbow.” Cain crouched low and silently jumped into a nearby tree. This female was quite a piece of work. Her attire looked ridiculous against the backdrop of the cold dark woods. The more time Cain spent among the English, the more he realized practicality was not their strong suit.

She tucked her black hair behind her ear, exposing a flushed caramel-colored cheek. Her eyes were too big and darkened with coal somehow, causing the dark sweep of her full lashes to appear almost feline like. She was completely Americanized from her tailored clothing, ugly boots, and denim-clad legs all the way up to the high arch of her eyebrow. Even her hair was unnatural, the severe sweep of black covering her forehead. She was as manufactured as the heavy bag that hung from her shoulder.

The muffled male voice continued to shout out of the flat, square phone Destiny held to her ear. “Are you insane? There’s a fucking killer in the woods, and you don’t have the common sense to stay out of there. Why can’t you have a normal job?”

“Like who, all the strippers you work with?” At the mention of strippers, Cain’s head perked up. A fascinating thing, stripping. Growing up on an Amish farm where dancing was somewhat frowned upon and music consisted of biblical hymns, he found the English’s version of dance rather…refreshing.

Yes, he was an advocate of the establishments these so-called ‘strippers’ labored within, and so long as it wasn’t anyone he knew dangling from the pole he saw no fault in patronizing such businesses.

He bet little Miss Destiny would look rather delectable dangling her generous curves on the stage of a strip club. She was short and round in all the right places. Her breasts were more than voluptuous, making the nip of her tapered waist all the more defined. Then her hips swelled and filled her tight denim pants in a way that hid nothing.

That plump little rump of hers was the kind a man would definitely pay money to see displayed in one of those useless beribboned undergarments the English ladies were so fond of wearing. Although she was annoying, even Cain couldn’t deny that Destiny Santos was something to be admired.

“At least they’re safe. You, on the other hand, have a death wish.” Cain had to agree with the man’s opinion of Miss Destiny. She wasn’t the brightest star in the night. For a woman who reported on every recent murder in these woods, to Cain’s thinking, she was plumb stupid to be hanging around without protection. Although she did have some sort of bow and arrow weapon in her hand, the item looked as ridiculous and unnatural on her person as those English dogs dressed in tutus.

The telephone made a sound, and she pulled it away from her ear, looked at the bright screen, and her eyes widened.
“Look, V, I gotta go. My phone’s about to die.”

“Well, tell me where you are and do
not
go into those woods. I’ll be there in a little over an hour.” Cain relaxed. He could hang back and make sure the female didn’t get into trouble while the male came to retrieve her.

She seemed resigned to the fact that no one wanted her in these woods. “I’ll meet you right by the—” A musical, cheery chirping tune played from the phone, and she stomped her foot and stared angrily at the device. “
Merda!
”

Cain wasn’t sure what had happened. Where was the male going to meet her? She shivered and tucked the telephone into her coat pocket, the screen no longer illuminated. She fumbled to fit her chilled fingers into a pair of gloves and crossed her arms. She began to bounce in place, and Cain was mildly distracted by the sway of her large breasts.

Her calm dissolved as her large eyes darted from one shadow to the next. Her little white teeth began to chatter under her full lips. Cain had a fleeting sense of compassion and decided he should help the pathetic creature. Being that Cain was disciplined in controlling the elements, he figured he could at least send a warm gust of air her way. He dropped softly to the ground, landing almost silently in the shadows.

“
Who’s there?
”
She looked left then right, and Cain could sense her panic. He focused on her and tried to send a wave of calm her way, but it didn’t seem to reach her.

Suddenly, although hidden deep within the recesses, untouched by the silver light of the moon, Cain was being targeted. Destiny’s hands trembled, her eyes appeared unfocused, and Cain knew she couldn’t see him, yet that silly weapon was now trained on his chest. As silly as that weapon looked in her unsteady arms, he was in no mood to get shot, and unsteady arms weren’t to be trusted.

He stepped silently to the right, and the crossbow remained pointed at the space he had now vacated. He was slightly impressed as she stood perfectly still except for the slight way her body shook, tense for battle, for nearly ten minutes. He was so involved with really looking at her, noticing the way her lips trembled and that she had the daintiest little beauty mark just above her right lip, he barely picked up on the other’s presence. Destiny, however, permeating the air with fright, was on high alert.

A crunch of movement disturbed the silence behind her, and she whirled with the grace of an irrational arachnophobic female noticing a spider on her person. The scent of her panic filled him. “Who’s out there? I’ve a weapon, and I’ll shoot anyone who gets too close.”

Whoever gave this woman a weapon clearly had not thought the gift through. Cain had no doubt she would shoot anything, but he would also bet she was more likely to harm herself in the process. Trembling like the last autumn leaf clinging on a branch for dear life, she was almost comical. Then something else struck his senses, and he tensed.

Vampyre.

The other was male, older, and, unfortunately, aroused. Cain breathed in his scent but didn’t recognize it. Cain’s instincts told him the male was in an elevated position. The sheer stink of his possessive intent told Cain he wasn’t planning on sharing the female.

A limb whined and snapped high above the canopy and made a buffeted fall to the ground, nearly crushing the dark-eyed little vixen. She luckily dodged the heavy branch in time, but almost shot Cain in the process. While she clumsily jumped out of harm’s way, she jarred the shooting mechanism on the bow and released the arrow, sending it whizzing through the air directly at him. He zipped out of the way just as the arrow embedded deep in the trunk of an evergreen so close to him and with such speed that a droplet of sap splattered on his skin.

Cain focused on the unseen whereabouts of the other male as he kept Destiny in his peripheral. At least her weapon was now rendered useless. She had fallen onto her back and proceeded to stand, again with the grace of a newborn lamb. Tremors shook her curvy frame, and Cain cursed as she pulled out another arrow and loaded it into the sophisticated weapon with trembling fingers. If that wasn’t bad enough, he now scented fresh blood.

As she scowled and batted at the mud covering a good portion of her curvy legs peeking out beneath her fawn-colored coat, she winced as her finger brushed over the wound. Distracted by the scent and her peculiarly irritating lack of survival instincts, he missed the other male’s advancement on her until it was too late.

An ominous growl echoed from above, and then she screamed. The male fell from the trees like a weather-beaten wild animal. Her already big eyes went huge, and she turned and began to run deeper into the woods. The sound of her breathing beat off the trees and reverberated in her wake, leaving the air laced with pure terror. Cain automatically took up chase.

Dark black hair trailed behind a dirty, naked masculine form. He was heavily muscled and grunted like a beast as he chased the girl. Like a cat leisurely torments a mouse, the other was not moving remotely close to the speed their kind was capable of, and Cain recognized the twisted purpose in his slowed pace. The beast planned to torment its prey.

The shriek of pain that cut off her panting retreat had Cain bursting through the trees. He stared in horror as the male swiped its filthy claws down her back, shredding her coat into tatters and flaying her soft flesh. He sensed the pain that lashed through her as she fell to the ground and screamed. Her weapon clattered against the knotted roots of a tree.

Cain burst into action, knocking the beast clear off his feet. As his own claws ripped over immortal flesh, dealing out a harsh retribution, Destiny’s screams rent the air. He rolled with the other male, his own body snapping under his fierce blows and his flesh tearing wide. He needed to protect himself in order to protect Anna. His sister-in-law, his near-destined mate, would be adversely affected should the rogue vampyre inflict an injury on him.

As Cain tumbled over the older, stronger, and dangerously unrefined male, he fought with everything he had in order to sustain the least amount of injury. Sweet, pregnant Anna would pay the price for any wound he sustained as their souls were linked with a curse that made his pain hers.

As the male pinned him, Cain viciously bared his fangs and sunk them deep into the other’s flesh, embedding his claws far beneath his exposed skin. Winding and locking his legs around the male’s naked thigh, Cain kicked out as hard as he could, and the other’s knee snapped with a gruesome crunch as flesh gave way to jagged bone.

The male howled and scrambled away like a wounded dog. He quickly fled into the woods and disappeared in the distance. Cain collapsed back into the cool mud and snow and panted as air burned through his lungs.

Cain dragged his thumb across his lower lip and tasted his own blood. He quickly took account of each of his injuries and was grateful none were too severe. Anna would definitely be suffering the brunt of his wounds, but there was nothing that would be too harmful for the child in her belly.

He hoisted himself up and went to find the female. With the scent of her fear and blood filling the air, she was easy to track. Cain found her lying against the trunk of a wide sycamore, her face creased with pain.

His heart still raced from exertion. He was a sight to see, fangs still distended, eyes gone feral. He didn’t care. Destiny would come with him, and he would wipe her mind once and for all. This woman was more trouble than she was worth. He stood with his booted feet planted firmly apart and his arms held away from his body, prepared to restrain her if need be. He sighed in exasperation when she retrieved the damn bow again, complete with new arrow.

“What are you doing here?” he barked.

Rather than answer him, because that would be too easy, she asked, “What are you?”

He rolled his eyes. He was furious that because of this damn woman’s insistent need to pretend to be some star reporter, she had not only endangered herself, but endangered Anna, his very sweet, innocent, and pregnant sister-in-law.

His twin, Adam, would now want to kick Cain’s ass worse than that beast had. Cain mentally smirked as he realized Adam, one, couldn’t kick his ass if he tried and, two, wouldn’t try because anything he did to Cain, he was essentially doing to his wife.

Pulling his mind back to the present, he looked at the rumpled heap of female before him and shouted, “You could have died!” She raised the weapon and he gave a sardonic laugh. “What do you plan to do with that? What? Did you get bored with your microphone? Decided you’d move up to bigger and better toys?”

“Don’t come near me!” she warned. “I’ll shoot you. I know what you are!”

Okay, time to take charge. He began to press into her mind. Calmly he said, “Put the weapon down, Destiny.” When she ignored the command and pointed the weapon directly at his heart, he frowned. “I said, put it down.”

“No. Did you kill those women?”

Why wasn’t his compulsion working? He scowled at her. “Put it down!” Nothing. “Why won’t you do as I say?” Taking a fortifying breath, he cleared his mind and tried again. “You will drop the weapon and then come with me to the bottom of the mountain. You will forget everything you saw here tonight—”

His command was interrupted by her shrill shout. “Are you crazy? I’m going right to the police—”

He growled. Enough was enough. He began to march toward her. He was going to rip that damn bow and arrow out of her hands. Stupid little mortal toy. What the hell did she think she would do with that? Let her see how brave and disobedient she was once he disarmed her.

She scrambled back, and he grinned slowly and evilly at her first and sudden sign of intelligence, of fear. She should be afraid. She had pushed him far enough.

The tight snap followed by the swift whizzing sound was the only warning he had. The arrow punched through his chest and embedded its sharp little metal point right in the center of his heart.
No
.

Bewildered, he worked to raise his weakening arm to the wound and was again slammed with shock that the bitch had shot him when his fingers brushed the rod protruding from his chest. The slightest movement sent a jolt of pain lancing through his body. A pool of crimson began to bloom across his white shirt.