We Shall Rise (38 page)

Tatiana reached for her heart shaped golden charm necklace and beckoned for help.

Christian paused as he felt the tug at his heart warning him that Tatiana was in danger. He quickly ran to the side of the house. He was just in time to see some silver haired creatures running away with his child and Caleb. The rage instantly overwhelmed him. He almost shifted into the beast, but he knew his lack of control could be a greater danger to his child. Letting out a roar to warn the others, he took off at lightning speed to track down the kidnappers.

The music stopped and the others followed Christian’s roars. Reysa knew instantly Tatiana was in trouble.

Kaden wanted her to stay behind, but he couldn’t ask her to, not when her child’s life was at stake. They followed Christian’s trail.

With Christian’s speed, he tracked them down quickly and easily dispensed of several of the blue-eyed freaks despite the bullets they had peppered into his flesh. Rage erased all pain. All he could see was Tatiana’s frightened face and he knew that even if the silver-haired woman released her now, he would still kill her for scaring his child.

The woman backed away from him. “She must come with us. We won’t let them have her.”

“Give me my daughter and the boy,” Christian demanded as he fought the beast within who was clawing its way to the surface.

The woman was trembling, but she maintained her stance. She put Tatiana down, but the silver-haired man standing next to her placed a restraining hand on her shoulder keeping her from running into her father’s arms. “You can have the boy,” she offered as she let Caleb go, “but we have to keep her. She must die in order for all of us to live.”

Christian watched the woman gesturing as if trying to cast a spell. A portal. She was trying to create a portal to escape. His golden eyes flashed and darkened to eerie amber. He launched himself in the direction of the man who was holding Tatiana. The two of them struggled as Tatiana and Caleb tried to flee. The woman reached for her, but Caleb batted her hand away furiously clawing at her. The woman swatted Caleb off of her, the force of which launched the young cub into a tree.

Tatiana grabbed a stick and started drawing in the dirt. She rapidly waived her hand over the spot as she closed her eyes tightly. The woman reached for her again clutching Tatiana’s shoulders but before she could get a solid grasp, knifelike claws sprang from the ground right below the woman’s feet latching onto her ankles.

Christian dealt one final blow to the man and whipped around at the sound of the woman’s screams as something beneath the ground was clawing her skin and sucking her below. Christian grabbed Tatiana and Caleb to shield them from this being. Reysa and the others arrived in time to see the woman sink further into the depths of hell.

“We need to save her,” Kaden shouted. “She may have information we need.”

Christian was the closest, but Tatiana had such a death grip on her father that he couldn’t free himself from her without hurting her. He wouldn’t save the woman even if he could. He wanted her to die along with her secrets. Her words had drastic implications for the daughter he loved more than anything. He would allow no one to hurt Tatiana even if he had to destroy every immortal that walked this earth. She was his and no prophecy would change that.

He looked to Kaden who raced over to the woman and tried to unsheathe her from the being’s grip, but he was too late. She was sucked below and the ground sealed up as if nothing had ever disturbed it.

“What the hell was that thing?” Lucian demanded.

Kaden turned to Christian. Both men knew that Tatiana had created that being and both silently agreed to keep that secret for now. Reysa needed to know first and then a select few could be trusted with the truth, but no more. Tatiana’s gift needed to be protected. It was a danger that could easily be exploited.

“I don’t know what the thing in the ground was, but the silver-haired bastards were pureblood Nordic vamps,” Christian explained.

“Finnaens,” Lucian clarified. “A rare society of vampires who completely isolate themselves from the rest of the immortals. They live in the mountains of Scandinavia far removed from humans and other immortals. As they do not involve themselves in immortal affairs, the Council allows them to operate autonomously in their region. They are an odd bunch of vampires who engage in rather unorthodox practices, but they’ve never posed a threat. This is the first time I’ve ever heard of one leaving their lands.”

“Why would they do this?” Olivia asked. “Why would they take the children?”

“Because ELM had taken theirs,” Christian explained although he knew the real reason Tatiana had been targeted as he replayed the woman’s words in his mind:
She must die in order for all of us to live
. The prophecy, “the hope.”

Reysa was so exhausted that she nearly collapsed on her bed. She was grateful to be in the confines of her home and, of course, in the arms of her mate. Kaden had been by her side the whole time never leaving her alone for a minute. She needed his strength and his love to help her get through this mentally and physically draining day that started with a simple birthday party and ended with an attempted kidnapping and revelations that could change her life forever.

Christian told her and Kaden about the silver-haired vampire’s warning. Although Reysa was not convinced that Tatiana was “the hope” ELM was seeking, it was evident other immortals believed she was and that meant her safety was in jeopardy. They would continue coming after her. The pureblood vampires and lycans would want her dead and ELM would want her by their side helping them achieve their quest for pureblood annihilation. She was just a child. She had no place in this immortal war and yet she may be the most pivotal part.

There was so much more they needed to learn about the prophecy. That’s why they confided the truth to Lucian, Olivia and Lorenzo. Their pureblood resources could help them determine whether Tatiana was the one the prophecy spoke of or if, as they hoped, there was another. Either way Reysa knew that her family and her new extended family would help them keep Tatiana safe.

Kaden sat on the bed and pulled Reysa into his arms. He massaged the muscles of her shoulders, easing much of the tension of the last twenty-four hours. “Stop thinking so much. Just try to relax. We’re not going to figure this all out tonight.”

Reysa wanted to relax but she was just so worried about Tatiana. Ever since the attempted kidnapping, she had clung to Christian not allowing anyone else to hold her, including Reysa. “Is it wrong for me to be jealous of Christian? I want to comfort Tatiana, but she just wants him. She is pushing me and everyone else away right now.”

“She was afraid. It’s not surprising that she feels the safest right now with her father,” Kaden explained. “That doesn’t mean she doesn’t adore you and love you with all her heart, but Christian rescued her and so he’s her safe place right now. She’ll come around. Soon, that smile will be on her face again and she will be back to her little mischievously adorable self. We just have to give her time to heal. Kids are resilient. By tomorrow, she’ll be running around with Caleb again.”

Reysa pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss that quickly turned passionate. “When did you get to become so smart?”

“I’ve learned a lot from you,” Kaden smiled, pulling her close to kiss her again. “How tired are you?” he asked flashing that grin that could only mean trouble.

“Well, I think I just got my second wind. Are you up for twelve rounds?”

Kaden clutched her hand and placed it on his strained arousal. “Does that answer your question?” He flipped her on her back and quickly shredded her clothes as she returned the favor.

They were both beyond ready so he entered her quickly finally easing the longing that had tormented him for weeks. He wanted to stay buried inside her for eternity. This was home. This was where he belonged.

“Bond with me, Reysa. Be mine now,” he groaned as he continued to thrust inside her. Reysa nodded and Kaden lifted her so that she straddled his legs. He brushed her silken threads to the side exposing her neck. He didn’t need to feed from her as he had drank her essence before, but he wanted tonight to be a fresh start for the both of them. He wanted them to feed as one with their bodies connected, symbolizing the unity of their love.

He sank his fangs into her neck as she drank from him. He welcomed her flavor as he savored taste of the woman that completed his soul and saved him from the darkness and brought him to the light.

He cupped her cheeks in his hands. They needed to say the words. His jade eyes bore into her passionate crimson eyes. She pressed her lips to his and as they pulled apart, they spoke the words that would bind them forever, “Together we shall live forever or together we shall die. Always we shall love. Never shall we part.”

Kaden thrust deeper taking both of them to the heights of ecstasy.

Reysa kissed away the tears that Kaden shed. They were finally one. No more running, no more doubts. They were a family.

It had been a month since Tatiana’s birthday party and the attempted kidnapping. Julian knew that more trouble was on the horizon. Things had been relatively quiet these last few weeks, but Adam and Eve were still out there and so was ELM. Their silence was just a prelude to the inevitable next round of attacks. ELM was not about to give up just because one compound was destroyed. There were others out there, but no one knew where.

The Council was working hard to uncover them, but so far no luck. Julian had spent the last month at Reysa’s house waiting for a lead. Bust most of that time was spent trying to reconcile the complex mess his love life had turned into.

For years, he hadn’t even managed a date. He had been completely focused on his photography and keeping his distance from Kaden, but now he was in the midst of a convoluted entanglement that he wanted to unravel.

After begrudgingly accepting that Reysa was meant for Kaden, he had resigned himself to a life of celibacy. It seemed to be the most logical step for him. All of his relationships had been disastrous. Even before Helena, most of the other women he met were just using him to get to Kaden. Kaden was the bad boy who women chased. Julian was the good one that women used.

Julian had accepted his role as second best. There was no point in denying it. He had always taken a backseat to his brother until Helena. At least he thought she would be the one who put him first, but she turned out to be the worst one of all. That deceptive succubus had wrapped him in her web of lies and seduction and he fell for it. Julian cursed himself daily for that stupid decision. Part of him had known she was trouble, but her affection and attention catered to his need to be chosen. Except she really hadn’t chosen. He was a diversion until she found something better and when Kaden crashed into his life again, Helena chose him and he took her away. Despite that, Kaden ended up with Reysa, the greatest prize of them all while Julian once again was alone.

Well, he wasn’t completely alone, but he still did not have what he wanted. And what he wanted was Yasmine. The sensual witch he felt connected to the moment he saw her in Yanis’ den. With her caramel hair, hazel eyes, and Middle Eastern aura, she was unimaginably splendid. Julian could not have imagined a more divinely exotic creation.

He tried everything to secure a place in her heart, but she rejected him. He couldn’t blame it on Kaden this time. Yasmine just didn’t want him.

He had approached her a few days before Tatiana’s party and had asked her to dinner. A simple date, at least it should have been, but she flatly turned him down without a shred of remorse or regret. Julian should have been used to the rejection, but this one stung like no other.

He went to The Lore to drink himself into frenzy. Acting like a drunken boar worked for Kaden. Maybe it was time he tried the bad boy routine. Doing the right thing had never yielded anything good for him.

After two hours of steadily drinking himself to an obnoxious buzz, he ran into Anastasia, the siren that just oozed sex appeal from every pore of her skin. She was gorgeous, curvaceous and to Julian’s surprise, very interested in him. They danced for hours before going back to his room at Reysa’s where they spent the night in each other’s arms. A night that was so pleasurable that all others paled in comparison. Julian had never imagined such ecstasy was possible. Anastasia was a heavenly hell.

Julian woke the next evening feeling guilty for taking Anastasia to bed while wanting Yasmine. He told Anastasia the truth and apologized for using her. She laughed at him before she pleasured him again. To say he was perplexed by her response was an understatement, but he reveled in the delight of her tongue as she awakened sensations in him that Julian thought would remain undiscovered. He nearly passed out from pleasure, but he stayed conscious long enough to hear her say that it didn’t matter who he wanted. He was hers for now and she wasn’t ready to let him go. And Julian wasn’t ready for her to let go. He wanted her as well. Like the old adage, “if you can’t have the one you want, love the one you’re with.” He repeated those words to himself over the last month as he enjoyed Anastasia’s body, but craved Yasmine’s heart.

He felt like a lecher using Anastasia to sate his desire while wanting another, but he never lied to her or made promises he knew he could not keep. Still, the guilt was wearing on him. Being in the same house with both these women was too much. Every day featured the icy looks from Yasmine when he flirted with Anastasia, and every time he stared back at her, Anastasia would seduce him back to focusing his attention on her. It was a mess. Anastasia wanted him. He wanted Yasmine and Yasmine acted like she cared for him but refused to admit it. It was becoming a torturous love triangle that Julian needed to escape which is why he ended up at the airport, headed on flight to Phuket, Thailand. He would come back in time to help if there were any developments with ELM, but for now, he had to flee. He had to figure out the convoluted mess that was his heart before he ended up hurting two women that meant so much to him.