Robert (13 page)

He cursed, moving away from her. He took a huge gulp of whisky from the bottle. He would do anything to numb these feelings.

He glanced down at his watch again. She’d been under for almost twenty-four hours. But it was working. He could see the colour returning to her skin and her body beginning to awaken of its own accord. Sometimes, after a forced blood feed like he’d done, the body could not sustain itself and would need reawakening before the bond could begin. With Katie being a witch, it helped to speed up the process. What didn’t help was how weak she had been to start off with, but all was well. She was waking up.

“Come on, sweet cheeks.” He looked at the time. “I haven’t got all day.” As he got older he’d found that he didn’t need as much sleep, so his days were longer. He’d spent all morning watching her for any sign that she was reviving. Watching her and wanting. Katie wasn’t like any other female he’d met, not because of her magic but because of what she’d gone through. She’d experienced loss.

These morbid thoughts would be the death of him.

He was pleased he hadn’t killed her. Taking just enough blood had never been his strong point.

Her groan made him look at her face again.

Her eyes were open but she’d raised a hand to her temple.

Should he tell her he’d had to knock her out to stop the fire erupting from her hands? On second thoughts, he could keep information like that to himself.

She rolled over, coming to her knees.

“What happened?” She got to her feet but missed her footing and nearly fell flat on her face.

William caught her. “I’ve got you, little one.” He spoke to try to calm and soothe her.

Her head shot up as soon as he spoke.

“You bloody bit me.” She raised her hand to her neck to inspect the damage. A good thing she’d been out for the count. Her neck was healed even though his feeding hadn’t been clean. Usually women flocked to him and he could take whatever he wanted. Katie had been the first person he’d taken by surprise. Her blood had tasted pure, but with the hint of sunshine.
 
 

“I only took a little blood,” he lied.

“It bloody hurt.”

She tried to move away but he could see that she was dizzy.

“Tell you what, darling—you rest on me while I get us to the car.” He began escorting her out of his house.

“Whose dress is this?”

The question startled him. “My sister’s.”

He helped her into the car, not bothering looking at her, then started the car up and they were on their way to the Vampire Council.

“How did I get it on?” she queried.

He smirked. “I put it on for you.”

Her gasp forced him to stop the chuckle erupting from his mouth. His little witch was such a prude.

“You’ve seen me naked,” she shrieked, making him wince. He was sure the sound had perforated his ear drum.

“I’ve seen a lot of women naked.”

He pushed down on the accelerator. Yes, he’d seen a lot of women naked, but none of them with the alluring purity that she projected. William was pleased the only thing he’d done was dress her. He’d been many things in his life, but a rapist wasn’t one of them.

“You’d never seen
me
naked before.”

“Well I can scrub it off my list of women to see. May I also say the beauty spot on your hip is quite eye catching? I struggled to dress you at all.
From the sweet honey smell coming from you, I’d say no man has ever seen you naked before. I’m privileged. Women in this generation have many lovers by your age.
”

He heard her growl of mortification but he couldn’t help but smile. He only spoke the truth. She was a beautiful creature and the sooner she got her powers under control the sooner she’d be able to grow and blossom. At the moment she was a shell, an empty vessel on the point of dying. He rubbed his chest, not liking the thought of her death.

He could smell the blood flooding her cheeks. The poor woman was embarrassed. He would have to remember how innocent she was.

“When will I see Sophie?” she asked.

She wasn’t going to like the answer.

“You’ll see her at the Council but you won’t be allowed to speak to one another.” He stopped the car outside the house where the Council would be meeting.

He tensed, sniffing the air. No…it couldn’t be. He looked around but he couldn’t see any signs.

“Why not?” she said, interrupting his searching.

He shook his head. It must be all the alcohol he’d been drinking. Shrugging his shoulders, he got out of the car.

“Showtime.”

“Why not?” she asked again.

“You’re being accused of withholding evidence. In vampire law, that is a serious offence. If you want my advice, stand, listen and keep your mouth shut.”

“I can’t do this,” Katie said, fear striking inside her as she glanced at the dominating building.

“You’ve got no choice. You and Sophie should have trusted us.” William made to grab her, but she pulled away, her hands going up to ward him off. “Don't even think about using your powers on me,” he warned.

“Let me go,” she pleaded.

William growled. Katie was begging him to let her go and, in his heart, all he wanted to do was let her run. The Council were not a friendly bunch and if they weren’t careful Katie wouldn’t be seen again. William hated the unfairness of their laws. It was one of the reasons he’d spent so long away from all that shit.

“I can’t do it. I promised Robert I’d get you here safely, and that’s why we started the blood—” He stopped, cursing his own stupidity.

“Started what?”

“We started the small base of the blood ceremony. I drained you and you drank my blood. It’s why you feel revived. I fed you and we’ve started the connection. Look past your fear and you’ll sense it, as clear as daylight.”

William watched her hand go to her throat, where he’d bitten down. The bite marks were still prominent but the bruising had lessened in the few hours they’d been alone.

“How could you do this to me?”

The pain in her words tightened his gut, the connection between them stronger than he’d anticipated.

“I did it to save your life, and after this meeting, if you’re still feeling pissed and on your high horse I’ll give you permission to blow me up. Or—with your control—at least to try.”

Katie nodded and William cursed as she started to run. He hated it when they ran.

“For fuck’s sake, you crazy bitch. I promise to keep you safe,” he yelled. Her little escape attempt was pathetic, and he caught her within seconds of her running.

“Never go up against a vampire when you’re already weak.”

He grabbed her roughly by the elbow, slammed the car door and escorted her indoors.

Chapter Nine

Sophie stood before the Council, just as she had three years ago. They all seemed older and more tired. Robert stood at her back, his hand on her waist reassuring her of his presence.

“I’m hearing some disturbing news, Robert, son of mine.”

Robert turned to his father, showing him the respect he deserved. “What news would that be, Father?”

Sophie glanced at the disapproval on the faces of each of the men.

“This is ridiculous. How dare you come to the Council and pretend not to know the crimes this human has committed?” another councillor interrupted.

Sophie bowed her head, shamed and mortified that she had put Robert through this.

“Enough, Cedric.” His father rubbed his hands over his eyes, clearly tired of it all. “What do you have to say, girl?”

Sophie was about to answer when a commotion interrupted her chain of thought.

“Let go of me, you disgusting brute.” Katie came into the room, being pulled by a man who looked like Robert. Everything else about the man was completely different. His presence did not provoke the same respect that Robert’s did, and he also appeared half crazy.

He took her to stand on the dais in front of the Council. As soon as he released her, Katie lashed out, striking William with an open-palmed slap.

He didn’t move a muscle but immediately a hand print was visible on his skin. Sophie winced, pleased it wasn’t her face.

William growled. He grabbed Katie’s wrists and yanked them behind her, holding them in one hand and placing his other palm over her mouth, attempting to silence her. Sophie tried to go to her friend but Robert stopped her, his bruising grip warning her not to move.

“Who is this?”

“The witch, Father,” William shouted for all to hear.

The Council erupted.

“How dare you try to fool us?”

“Is this some attempt to keep us from punishing the girl?”

“Blasphemy, I tell you!”

“Silence!” Robert’s father yelled to the entire Council. “Who is this woman, William?”

“She is, indeed, a witch. I’ve got a wrecked house to prove it. She is also the named female under the protection of the blood bond between Robert, my brother, and his mate, Sophie Ford.”

Sophie watched as he whispered something into Katie’s ear, then slowly let her go. Katie glared at him, smiled at Sophie, then faced the Council.

This had been the first time in years Sophie had seen her friend’s true spirit. She couldn’t help but smile. What had happened to her? She looked fantastic.

“The blood bond between the mentioned parties hasn’t been completed. So she is not under anyone’s protection.”

“Actually, Councillor Cedric, the bond is complete and the protection true and in place. I cannot allow any harm to come to either woman by our own bonded laws.” Robert spoke clear and true.

The fuss began to build again.

“Are you saying you’ll go against the Council’s word?” one of them asked.

“By the Council’s own laws, I have no choice.
You
have a choice.” Robert saw that he had gained their attention. “You have a choice. Over there stands a woman, a first-generation witch. It has been centuries since the apparent extermination of their kind, but somehow one family survived. There may be more, but for now she is our one key to protecting our race, and the humans, from the annihilation and the corruption of the wolves. They are growing stronger by the second. You kill her, you kill our chances of balance and survival.”

Robert was convincing. Sophie could feel the panic growing in her stomach.

“What of the girl?”

Robert glanced down at her and Sophie felt her heart melt under his searching gaze. “Without this girl, this woman—my mate—Katie wouldn’t have been brought to us. Everything they’ve done, they’ve done to protect each other. I don’t believe they should be punished. I think they should be congratulated.”

“Your thoughts will be taken into account.”

“I’d like to add a few words,” William interrupted.

Sophie was shocked to see how many Council members seemed to dislike him. William began without their permission.

“Already, the wolves have attacked. I don’t know if they intended to kill or capture Katie, but they know who and what she is. Surely we must protect her?”

The Councillors nodded, reluctantly taking on board what he had to say.

“We’ll conduct this meeting and get back to you,” Robert senior said. The Councillors started to move out.

Sophie turned to Robert, throwing her arms around him.

Everything was going to be all right.

Somewhere, glass smashed. Growls and screams erupted inside the house.

Robert tensed. “Attack! We’re under attack.”

Gunshots fired. The very ground beneath her feet began to shake.

Wolves crashed through the main hall, going straight for the Council. Sophie watched as Katie reacted, her hands shooting out and blowing up one of the wolves before going for the next. Another and another came in. The commotion was loud, fast and horrific. Many of the Councillors were slaughtered where they stood before they had time to react. So much carnage between two races.

Everywhere she looked, she saw destruction.