Henry shook his head. “I don’t like this, but since you’ll go with or without me, I guess I have no choice. Let’s do it.”

  “I’ll gather those I think best suited for this mission,” Seeley said. “We’ll keep it small so we can go undetected.”

  I smiled, feeling confident that we could do this together. “When do we leave?”

  “Tonight.” Henry still didn’t sound like he was thrilled about it. “We need to get away from my father and Lars quickly. They’ll know we’re planning something otherwise. We’ll leave out through the kitchen door. It’s quieter in the back.”

  “Great. Meet there at midnight and we’ll go.” Seeley turned toward me, kissing my forehead. “I’ll be back shortly. In the meantime, Andrew wants you in the training room.”

  I nodded, gathering a fresh change of clothes. Back from one journey, and right onto another. I should have felt tired, but instead I felt rejuvenated, useful, and strong for what I’d been able to see and learn. I made my way to the training room with a newfound confidence, determined to keep improving so we could end this war, maybe before it really began.

  I made my way toward the training room but heard voices as I approached. I frowned, leaning up against the wall when I recognized Henry’s voice along with his father’s.

  Eavesdropping may be wrong, but what if Henry was telling Andrew the plan? Would he do that?

  I listened, hearing something about guardians. Henry was talking about their kind, not the plan, and relief rushed over me.

  “You know your role, son. I’m proud of how far you’ve come. You’ll know your mission soon enough.” Mr. Thornton’s voice comforted.

  I furrowed my brow. I knew guardians were sent on specific missions here, but I wasn’t sure what Henry’s was. I knew he didn’t either from our previous conversations.

  “I know mine, Father.” Henry’s tone was soft and quiet. There was a silence that seemed like it went on for eternity as I leaned closer to the wall, even though I had no need to. I could hear it perfectly but could barely keep the anticipation at bay, waiting to hear what Henry would say next.

  “Once you accomplish it, do you stay, or do you have to leave immediately?” Henry’s voice came again. I held my breath. He was speaking my fears out loud exactly. I didn’t want him to leave, and now that he knew his mission, I feared that time would come sooner than I wanted.

  “It depends,” Andrew responded.

  “You eavesdrop now, too?”

  I snapped my head around to see Rebecca approaching from down the hallway. I pulled myself away from the training room entrance quickly, hoping they didn’t hear inside that someone was outside the door.

  “Rebecca,” I said curtly. “Can I help you?”

  “What are you doing lurking around outside of this door?” She raised her eyebrows at me and offered an unfriendly smirk.

  “Oh, uh—resting?” I leaned back against the wall awkwardly. I knew I looked ridiculous.

  She laughed. “Sure, you were.”

  I pulled off the wall, feeling the need to defend myself, even though I’d been caught in the act when the training room doors opened.

  “Jules? Are you ready?” Andrew’s voice sounded behind me and I turned to face him. Henry slipped out quietly and disappeared down the hallway.

  “Of course,” I answered as I tried to process what I’d just heard before Rebecca had interrupted.

  Thinking about their conversation would have to wait, though. Mr. Thornton looked all business as he strode over to the weapons wall and gathered some additional supplies we had yet to train with in his hands.

  My training sessions were becoming much more intense, and I didn’t need another distraction. Instead, I threw myself into the lesson with everything I had. I may need the teachings sooner than he realized.

  9

  The soft rapping at my door alerted me it was time to go as I slipped on a dark sweatshirt I’d pulled out for the journey.

  I opened the door to find Seeley standing there. “Come in.” His hesitation was coming off of him in waves. “I didn’t realize it was time to leave—”

  “It’s not,” Seeley said, looking distraught in a way I hadn’t seen in a while.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He took my hand in his and led me to sit on the edge of the bed. “Jules, this isn’t safe for you.”

  I brushed the side of his cheek and smiled softly. “We’ll be there together. I’ve learned a decent amount so far, enough to stay out of trouble at least. Hopefully we’ll be in and out with no one being the wiser.”

  Seeley shook his head. “We have always known where Mathias was, Jules. It’s a fortress; he named it and everything: Blackmire Castle. The chances of getting in and out with no one noticing are slim, but we have ideas. I’ve been there before. I just,” He paused, sighing as he ran his hand through his thick hair before it fell back into his face again, “I can’t risk your life on something so dangerous.”

  “Good thing it’s not up to you then,” I replied smugly. I was all for someone caring, but I wasn’t about to be sidelined when the whole point of my life was to be a warrior.

  “I figured you’d argue.” Seeley turned brushing his thumb gently over my face and I closed my eyes, relishing the sensation.

  “I trust you,” I whispered.

  He gently brought his lips to mine, and I could feel a small quiver run through him. “There’s something else.”

  I raised my eyebrow and watched his mouth twist as he tried to get out whatever it was that weighed on his mind.

  “I’d imagine, your connection with Kellan could be replicated by any vampire. That bond could …” He stood suddenly, folding his arms and backing away from me toward the door. “Never mind. Let’s go.” His voice changed to the commanding tone he used when in charge of others.

  I knew where he was going, and I wasn’t going to let him back down. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t thought about this before. “If you drank from me, and something happened, you’d be able to find me,” I said, finishing what he couldn’t.

  Seeley watched me intensely. “We don’t know for sure. And what of the risk of biting you instead? Or losing myself? Jules, I can barely focus when we kiss, can you imagine what would happen if I took your blood? Have you forgotten how disoriented I was when you took mine?”

  A blush rose to my cheeks as I recalled a very intimate moment on a public park bench. How could I forget the night I learned he was a vampire? He saved my life that night by giving me his blood.

  And this time, the reverse could save it again. Forget the fact that it was something I was dying to have him do, anyway. In my lust-driven mind, it made me think we’d be closer. And if what happened with Kellan in the aftermath when he tasted my blood occurred with Seeley, it would not only bring us closer, but keep us safe.

  “I want you to.” My voice was confident, and I wanted to ensure he knew that, too.

  Seeley stood with one arm resting on the doorframe out toward the hallway and hung his head.

  “You started this conversation,” I teased in an effort to lighten his mood. “Why bring it up if you don’t want to?”

  “You know I want to. The thought of doing something that might hurt you, though, brings me to my knees.”

  I approached him, holding out my hand and praying he’d take it.

  When he turned away from the door and closed it behind him, my stomach flipped. I couldn’t hide the excitement or smile that crept over my face. He pulled me close to him, and sealed our lips with a heart-stopping kiss, pressing his hands into the small of my back and harder into his body. Our tongues melded together as if we had been doing this for eternity, and yet the sensation of kissing him felt new every time.

  His hands hitched under my legs, lifting me effortlessly as I wrapped my legs around him, feeling his excitement growing. I pushed harder into him, gasping for a breath of air as his hand held the back of my neck gently. I leaned back, thrusting again into him.

  A growl emanated from his throat as he threw me onto the bed and crawled over top of me. I trembled in anticipation and could hear the ragged edge to my breathing. A few kisses and I was undone.

  His hands slipped beneath my sweatshirt and T-shirt as he made quick work of both of them.

  “I was planning on wearing that,” I panted out breathlessly.

  “Too bad,” he murmured against my skin. His mouth moved slowly up the center of my body, tortuously slow, and his tongue flicked over me teasingly.

  I squirmed underneath him, moaning as I grew more and more desperate for his body on mine. He didn’t torment me much longer, and soon we were kissing again, fervently attacking the other to convey what we’d kept pent up for far too long.

  Seeley, the strong-willed vampire king held a fire in him that fully ignited the passion between us. I knew it could be our downfall. I was so easily convinced to follow my heart without thinking, and it got us into trouble when it didn’t involve Seeley. I couldn’t fathom what it would lead me into if it did involve him.

  But Seeley started my heart and opened my eyes to what love was, and what it could mean to share my heart with someone. To think about something other than just my goals for once in my life. He made me feel alive. He woke me from my dull, endless days like I was Sleeping Beauty come to life.

  My breath grew heavier as I stared at him, and a heat washed over my cheeks. I knew that my blushing was something I couldn’t help around him, but right now it felt like I was on fire.

  He was flawless. He was mine.

  This spark between us was evolving into something deeper in a way that would terrify me if I dwelled on it too long, because—how could we make it work? A vampire and a hunter? He could kill me in the heat of the moment. But to lose him would devastate me in a way that I wasn’t sure I’d recover from. The longer we were together, the more it felt like a tether was winding us around and around, closer and closer, binding us in a way that would never let go.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, running his hand down the curve of my neck.

  I shivered once as goosebumps skated across every place his fingers touched. “I trust you.”

  He smiled, still slightly apprehensive, but continued. He ran both hands up my legs, and to my waist as he pulled me up and held me, straddling his thighs. I cried out as a shock of pleasure jolted through me, and he caught my lips to silence me. For heaven’s sake, his clothes were still on, and I was acting as though he were inside me.

  Seeley moved his mouth from my lips and licked over the soft spot right above my collarbone. I whimpered at the touch.

  “I love you,” he whispered before I felt a sharp pinch at the base of my neck.

  I gasped, frantically clutching him as I skyrocketed to a high I couldn’t have dreamed up on my own. He held me there as he drank from me, and I felt an orgasm rip through my body. I shook under his touch until finally he released my neck and placed a gentle kiss where his teeth had been moments before.

  I trembled from the aftershocks and he held onto me, brushing my damp hair away from my face. The fear I’d felt when Kellan had drunk from me hadn’t been there, and in its absence, the intimacy and closeness Seeley brought was overwhelming. I was convinced I was invincible and was wrapped in a security I’d never imagined possible. It was as if the feeling of his physical arms around me would be there forever, whether he was near me or not.

  “I love you.” I finally found my voice.

  I could feel his smile against my skin as he pulled me back onto the bed and lay beside me. He eyed the clock on my nightstand, and he groaned.

  I turned to see for myself, noticing we were about to be late meeting everyone in the kitchen. “Guess there’s no rest for the A-team.” I giggled, starting to feel giddy from the high still rolling through my body.

  He was quiet as he traced over my neck where he had drunk from me. “Are you all right?” His eyes held a sort of fear that I couldn’t bear to look at.

  “I’ve never felt better.” I brushed my fingers over my neck and watched Seeley’s eyes grow possessive.

  He leaned down and I kissed him once more, before climbing out of bed and searching for a new set of clothes to wear, since mine had been destroyed.

  “I love you, Jules.” His smile had grown more comfortable now, sending my stomach into a tangle of knots. I grew embarrassed again under his gaze and swallowed nervously.

  “I’ll meet you downstairs?”

  “Of course.” I nodded. He got dressed in mere seconds and left, looking back once until I reassured him that I was good.

  I couldn’t stop smiling, or biting my lip, or running my fingers over my neck. I looked in my mirror and noticed there were no marks. I sighed, blowing the air out slowly through my parted lips.

  I never thought he would hurt me, no matter how nervous he seemed to be about taking my blood. I’d put my life in his hands thousands of times over, especially now. I hadn’t noticed anything different about myself after Kellan took my blood. But now it was as if there was a rope tying me to Seeley. I knew he was close, even if we weren’t in the same room. I didn’t feel so alone.

  Enough now, I told myself. Time to focus on saving Nadia. Seeley and I would be here when we got back, and I could swoon then. I laughed to myself before heading down to the back door of the kitchen to meet the others.

  I walked in on an angry discussion that slowed my entrance into the kitchen. Of course, it was a discussion in hushed tones and whispers, but amped none the less.

  “Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” Gabe had his back to me but was whisper-shouting at Seeley. “You’re not doing this without me.”

  Seeley kept his calm, reaching for his brother. “And if something happens to me, who leads the others?”

  My stomach was queasy at the thought of something happening to him, and I had to forcibly push the thought out of my mind to focus on what was playing out before me.

  “Nothing will happen. We’re stronger together,” Gabe insisted, throwing out a line I was becoming all too familiar with using myself.

  “I know that. But I’m taking ten of our best with me and I need you here. This is your place right now.” Seeley remained unwaveringly calm as Gabriel’s anger grew.

  Rebecca touched his shoulder and he turned, looking at her before his eyes softened. “We’ll be back before you know it.” The look between them made me think again that there was something going on there.

  “About that.” Seeley interrupted their moment. “I need you to stay behind with Gabriel.”

  “What?” Now Rebecca was furious.

  Henry stood to the side, his arms folded, watching the scene as it played out, so I slowly crept over to stand next to him. “How long has this been going on?”

  “Gabe was in a rage looking for Seeley earlier, but couldn’t find him. It’s all coming out now.” Henry’s eyes didn’t leave the vampires in front of him as he spoke.

  “Rebecca, I need you here with Gabriel. If anything happens, you two are the only ones I trust enough to continue on.”

  “Nothing is going to happen.” Rebecca spoke through clenched teeth as she seethed. It was obvious she didn’t like, nor was she used to, being left behind.

  “I know that, but as your King, I will take precautions to protect my people.” Seeley forcefully yanked a black leather jacket on and tugged it down. “The conversation is over.” He held his hand out and grasped his brother’s arm.

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” Gabe said before turning his attention to me. “That goes for you, too.”

  I nodded once, seeing the fear in his eyes for his brother. “You have my word.”

  Gabe and Rebecca stormed off, and we waited for the rest of Seeley’s vampires who silently made their way, one by one, into the room once the two had exited. Seeley nodded at each of them as they arrived and, after a few moments, he turned toward Henry and me.

  “This is everyone. Let’s go.”

  We exited the safety of the house and walked toward the edge of the property. I felt a familiar tug, and I knew we had left the comfort of the wards of protection that Nadia had put in place around the hideout.

  Seeley stopped us all and turned to address everyone. “You’re here because you volunteered to bring back one of our own. She may not be a vampire, but she’s important and she’s our ally, our friend. That said, this could very well be perilous, and any of you who have doubts can turn back with no shame, no hard feelings.” He paused, watching, and I snuck a few glances around to see the reaction of the group.

  They confidently raised their chins higher, stoically accepting the threat that could befall us and choosing to head out with us anyway. In the little I’d learned about my history, I had a feeling I knew enough to know that my parents would be proud of the way vampire, hunters, fae, and guardians were working together for peace.

  We treaded along a path led by Seeley, and I jogged up to stand beside him. “How far are we going?”

  “It’s closer than you think.” His eyes stayed in front of us, darting around every few seconds as he kept his watchful attention on the task at hand.

  “Close?” I repeated, surprised.

  Seeley nodded. “Mathias’ location isn’t a secret to our world—he doesn’t need it to be. He doesn’t think he’s doing anything wrong. Leaders like Mathias, who believe they are in the right, rarely feel the need to hide. Your grandfather chose this location strategically so that he could keep an eye on things, but remained hidden to do what we needed to in order to overthrow him when the time came. When war came.”

  The realization of how much planning, strategy, and time it took to prepare for this battle with Mathias was humbling. This had been my world for what felt like a minute. To others, it had been years, decades even. At least since my parent’s death.

  After two hours of walking, Seeley stopped and let everyone rest. Okay, I’ll admit it, to let me rest. The vampires could go on for hours, and Henry, too, appeared to be in perfect condition. I was starting to breathe deeper and clearly, I was not as on top of training as the rest of the team.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21