“Then we’d remain alone.” Rye glanced at me, looking deadly serious with his now rounded discs of silver and gold. I wanted to kiss him again, to feel that fire he had ignited burn again in my chest. I glanced away, restraining myself as I smiled at the naughty thoughts that flashed through my mind.

“How many are paired in your hive? Does the other hive experience the same thing?” I asked quietly.

“Yes. Seraphin has confirmed that this is not an isolated trait. The other hive suffers from the same compulsion. Many of us are paired, many are not. It is random, it seems, and it looks quite bleak for some of us.” Rye leaned back on the bed, slumping down with his hands on his belly, looking quite relaxed. I smiled and shifted to let my head snuggle his shoulder as he brought his arm around me. His closeness was like a calm in a stormy ocean. I had not felt so peaceful in a long time. I could almost call it happiness if it hadn’t been for my constant concern for my family. If only I could have them with me, here or back at our bunker, safe and sound.

Still, I felt he had not told me everything, but I dismissed the feeling for now.

I smiled as another thought occurred to me. “Not so bleak for us, right?”

His hand rubbed my arm and pulled me in and brought his face close to mine, his eyes shining like beacons flashing across a dark ocean.

“Definitely not.”

Chapter Twenty

The coldness of the room made me shiver slightly. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and glanced around, realizing Rye was gone. I was still dressed in my clothes from the night before, making me think that maybe I had dreamt up the events of the night before. Sitting up and looking at the spot where Rye had been lying when I had fallen asleep, I ran my hand over the bed, feeling a terrible loss without him near. It made me groan in frustration; I almost felt weak because of it. Falling for someone was not on my agenda, it had never been. It could be a liability in my search for my family but it didn’t matter. I knew he had meant what he’d said about never leaving me alone and promising to help me.

Standing up, I found another pile of clean clothes on the dresser. Someone had brought it while I had been sleeping, maybe Rye or Miranda. I wasn’t sure at all and it gave me the creeps to realize that they could sneak past me so easily. It was an unsettling feeling and I intended to get better at detecting them; it could mean the difference between life and death for me in the future.

I treaded to the showers and cleaned myself up. Donning the new pair of jeans and black shirt, I strapped my weapons over my body and sighed, wondering where everyone was. I was still restless, more so now than ever. Making my way back out into the hall, I paused and listened, hoping to hear Rye or anyone else for that matter. I checked my watch; it was early, seven in the morning. I was famished and was starting to feel neglected. I hated being dependent on anyone, so I decided to make my way to the dining area.

My neck had completely healed, as we had discovered last night. Rye had been impressed with how fast I’d healed. I shrugged it off, saying that I had always been a fast healer. Rye had looked at me with seriousness as he pondered what I had told him. Though he had shrugged it off as we fell asleep, I hadn’t thought much of it.

I made my way to the locked door that led out to the large tunnel room where the food would be set up. I hoped being out there alone wouldn’t put me in danger. I shrugged. What else was I supposed to do, starve? Not an option. I’d rather die with a full belly.

Turning the lock, I opened the door and stepped out into the tunnel. I closed the door behind me and heard the lock click into place. I gulped, wondering how I would get back in if I so needed to. I turned back and began walking to the far corner where the dining tables were set up. I grabbed a tray and began loading it up, ignoring the stares and whispers around me. The vampire in front of me turned to stare at me with widened eyes as his nostrils flared. I’m sure I still smelled like blood, or at least a little bit abnormal. I gave him a smile as the line moved on, and us with it. No one said a word but eyes aplenty dug into my back as I made my way through the food line and plopped down at an unoccupied table at the edge of the area. I prayed that I would get to eat something before anything started.

I had gotten halfway through my meal when it did happen. A burly, broad-shouldered man came to sit down in front of me, his eyes dark as coals, with a sliver of a gold halo around them. They must have already been dark in his prior human existence. His slicked back brown hair made me wonder how much gel he went through. It would be a sad day for him when the world ran out of gel.

I continued to shove food into my mouth and chew as quietly as I could, focusing my eyes on my plate, not wanting to start anything with this brick of a man. He had already finished his food and continued to stare as he tapped his fingers impatiently on the table. I could hear a soft rumble in his throat as if he was trying to intimidate me. I took a swig of my drink and looked up at him as I wiped my mouth.

“You don’t belong here,” the large man snarled. His hand slammed down on the table, making my heart lurch as I tried to keep as calm as I could. I wasn’t going to start this, but I was intent on ending it. I would need every bit of my energy if he was going to make me fight. His lips curled back in a snarl as his eyes narrowed into little beads. I wanted to slip away now with my full belly, but I doubted I was going to get out without a quarrel.

“Did you hear me, human?” He said “human” like one would say “stupid.” I stood up and took my tray to the trash, emptying what I hadn’t eaten. I was about to place the tray in the dirty dish pile when I lost my grip on it as my body was shoved forward. I slammed into the wall and scrambled to turn and get on my feet but Mr. Burly Man picked me up by my shirt and held me up in the air as if I was a small child. My legs dangled but I tried to kick at him anyway and slam my fists into his chest. It had little effect on him and he would not let go. His smile was widening into a malicious taunt.

“Where are you going? No one is here to help you; they left this morning to check one of our satellite hives. Trouble is brewing and I bet you have a lot to do with it.” His eyes were so black they seemed to swallow the gold ring that hugged his iris, like a full solar eclipse in the black holes of his sockets. I grabbed at his hands, uselessly scratching and slamming my own fists into his.

“Let me go!” My legs weren’t even long enough to reach him and his arms were long with bulging muscles that held me easily. He began laughing at my efforts. The crowd around him was eerily quiet, obviously not sure what to do with the situation. I was sure there might have been some that would’ve helped me but they were too afraid of this man to try and go against him. I sucked in a breath and stopped flailing, feeling much like a fish on a hook. His grin widened at my supposed surrender, his glowing white fangs flashing in his mouth, looking as though they were growing longer.

He shook his head at me as though what I had yelled at him was a stupid question. “No, I can’t let you go. You see, you’re not mated and I’m looking for one. I think I might just stake my claim on you. You could give me loads of fun and when I’m done, you might make a tasty meal.” He licked his lips and tongued the sharp points of his fangs as he dropped me to the floor. My hip slammed into the concrete with such a force it sent a numbing pain shooting down my leg, rendering me too stunned to stand up. I pushed up on my arms but my legs wouldn’t cooperate. I pulled up on the wall and grunted as I reached for my machete.

He promptly slapped my hand away from it. My other hand flew to the one on my other hip as I tried to stand. He shoved it away and pulled me against him as I slapped him hard on the face, making his grin morph into a grimace of anger, contorting his face demonically. He growled at my horror as I again struggled against him. His body shook with his haughty laugh when he suddenly bent forward, his hot breath rushing past my neck and ear.

I realized with terror just exactly what he could have done if he’d wanted to. He could have drained me dry right there. There was no one to back me up and no one to even care.

Rye, where are you?

“You smell good, human, like the sweetest nectar, and I really miss drinking.…”

He inhaled my skin like a rare perfume, making me cringe away from him. I reached up and snatched a small knife from my bandoleer, sly enough so that he wouldn’t notice. I swung it up in an arc, aiming for his head, but a flash of his arm flew by as I slammed my arm down, catching the knife in his forearm before I had gotten any closer. A gasp flew through the crowd gathering around us. I wanted to yell out at them to not just stand there but to help me out a bit. Darn bastards were no help at all.

Mr. Burly Man stared at the knife protruding from his forearm as he shoved me to the wall. My head bounced off the wall and the room spun as my sight wavered and threatened to throw me into darkness. I concentrated on breathing as I blinked and tried to focus on him. He was fuming. His lips snarled and a low growl was definitely forming in his throat.

He reached over and pulled my knife from his forearm, staring at the blood that was dripping down his arm and blade and splattering onto the floor. He came into focus as a surge of pain ran through my head, making me grip my temples to subdue it. I watched as a horror built inside me, my stomach dangerously queasy as he moved the blade to his lips and gave it a long, savory lick.

Gross!

I scrambled to my feet again. The world lurched, sending me off-balance. I was hoping I wouldn’t lose my breakfast; it would not be worth this fight if I did. I began to walk to my right, the crowd parting just slightly, when I heard his booming voice hit me from behind like a freight train.

“You aren’t going anywhere, lady,” Mr. Burly Man said as I turned, watching him as he dropped my knife to the floor. It clanked and skittered across the cement to disappear into the crowd.

My head was throbbing but my anger was rising at his incessant battering. I wanted to get back to the tunnel and lock him out, make him remember that he was not a leader of this hive at all. I was sure what he was doing was quite against the rules and would not be tolerated by Blaze at all.

“Why don’t you get lost? I’m pretty sure Blaze is not going to let you stay here once he hears of this,” I stated to him, my voice calm and cold. I was sick of him already–I didn’t want to dance anymore.

He gave a haughty laugh and shook his head. “Blaze is a nothing, a washed-out leader who is weak and oblivious to what really goes on here. You think he will save you? When I take you to my dwelling, he’ll never find you and no one here will tell him for fear of my wrath. Right? Right?” He yelled at the vampires nearest him, making them shake and unanimously answer back in agreement.

“Yes, Charles!” Their voices squeaked out as they backed away from him, as if his touch would burn them like acid. He turned back toward me and sighed with delight. He was immensely frightening–his dark eyes gleamed back at me, malicious and psychotic. He had no problem doing what he was doing; I wanted to end him so he wouldn’t hurt anyone else ever again.

I pulled out my machete, pushing the gasps that echoed around me to the back of my mind. I wouldn’t let him win; I would die before he would ever have his way with me. Gripping the hilt, I bent my knees, ready to pounce on him. This time I was ready and I didn’t intend to lose. I watched his sinister grin, one that made me sick. I wanted to slice it off, like the feral vampires I had hacked up before. He was no different a creature. He may have been able to talk and act more human than the ferals but he was just the same inside, wild and vicious.

I wondered if the virus had changed him or if he was just a dick by nature. I was betting on the latter.

I waited, gripping my blade patiently, letting him advance toward me. I was in no hurry. There wasn’t any way he would win; I was ready now and nothing survived my wrath when I was determined. Even my head had stopped throbbing enough for me to focus. I wasn’t bleeding but I was sure I would be full of bruises to agonize through later. I was going to end this now and if it was the end of me, so be it.

His smile wavered just enough for me to notice. His eyes narrowed even more as he watched me in my determination. I was sure no one had ever stood against him before, especially a small-framed woman like me, not even another vampire. I was willing to bet that he wasn’t sure of himself for once, even if it was for just a single hesitant moment. He tried to cover up the edge of fear that flashed across his eyes but I had seen it, and that was all that I needed.

He lunged, yelling out as he rushed in and flung his full body weight at me, expecting to crash into me like a bull. I side-stepped as quickly as I could and turned to bring the machete around toward his neck as he dove forward. It connected and black-red blood sprayed from the wound as his head went thumping across the floor, leaving the heap of his body behind to crumble into a convulsing pile.

I held my stance, watching the blood drip down my machete to pool onto the floor, reflecting the bright overhead lights in its smooth surface. My breath came out hard as my eyes flashed to the crowd before me. Their whispers and gasps rippled across the room as they backed away slowly, none of them wanting to be the next to meet my blade. I stood up and walked over to Mr. Burly Man’s body. I heard people repeating the name “Charles” in hushed murmurs. I gave him a swift kick, feeling my tension relieve with it. His head was a few feet away and I walked to it, bending down to swipe it up, holding it by the slick black hair that stuck out in every direction. I lifted it up above me to show the others. I wasn’t above making it morbid. I wanted them to know that I was not weak; I would take down whoever crossed my path–Charles now being my prime example.

“Anyone else have a problem?” I snapped at the crowd. They shrank back, turning their eyes away from me, cowering like fools.