Chapter Twenty
Macgrath
The lust and pain were agonizing. I couldn’t think past the tortuous mixture of sensation, nor could I gain control of myself. The female beneath me smelled delicious and I was torn between the desire to sink my fangs into her neck and sink my cock into her pussy.
Or perhaps both at the same time.
I growled low in my throat when she tensed, ready to pin her to the mattress if necessary.
Mine.
I wouldn’t let her leave me again. She was mine, had always been mine. The centuries without her were at an end. I would never be apart from her again.
Then I smelled the other vampire and a snarl erupted from my mouth as I twisted around. As soon as I spotted him, hovering behind me, I leapt.
She was my mate. No other male could have her. I would kill them first.
We went down in a tangle of limbs, flying fists, and flashing fangs. His voice buzzed in my ears as he tried to speak to me, but I couldn’t focus on his words. Not when I wanted his blood.
We rolled and I was on my back, my body bucking as I fought his hold. Something distracted him and he looked up, his strange purple eyes glowing as he barked a command.
It was a brief distraction, but it was enough.
I threw him back, rolling to my feet as he flew through the air. My rage increased when I saw that he was sprawled on top of my mate. I rushed to them and ripped him away, throwing him across the room yet again.
My eyes ran over my mate, checking her for injuries. The fear and shock in her gaze gave me pause. Why was she looking at me like that? There were tears in her eyes.
I reached for her, unsure of how to comfort a human, but she shrank away from me. As though she feared what I might do to her if I touched her.
I frowned. Didn’t she know I would never hurt her?
Before I could voice the question, something solid connected with the back of my head and I pitched forward into blackness.
I rose to consciousness in gradual waves. Awareness would briefly rush in, only to seep slowly away. I could hear voices and smell another vampire and my mate. Then there were the witches. I scented two of them and wanted to snarl.
“What’s wrong with him?” the human asked, her voice low and soft. I liked the sound of it and her scent. I would leave her unharmed.
“I’m not sure,” another woman answered and I struggled to remain relaxed. She was my mate. As I drew in another lungful of her scent, I realized that she was one of the witches. Peculiar that my mate should be a witch but it wasn’t my decision. My fate belonged to the Goddess and it was she who chose my mate. “I had another, uh, moment. A flash of memory. And then I heard a name in my head. When I spoke it, he just lost control. He’s feral.”
“What can we do?” the human woman asked. “We have to help him. I can feel his pain and his desperation.” She paused. “And that he’s awake.”
My eyes flew open when she told the others. As soon as I saw her, I realized she wasn’t a human as I believed. She might have been once and enough of that remained in her scent to throw me off, but she wasn’t fully human any longer.
The witch standing next to her, my mate, was petite, the top of her head likely wouldn’t reach my chin. I liked that. I would be able to hold her and wrap myself around her.
“Macgrath,” my mate murmured, leaning over me.
I closed my eyes as her long hair brushed across my chest and chin. I tried to reach for her, but I couldn’t move my hands. I growled and tried to jerk free from my invisible bonds.
“Macgrath,” my mate repeated. “Look at me.”
I opened my eyes once again and stared up at her. “Free. Me,” I commanded.
Her beautiful lavender eyes were sad as she looked down at me. “I can’t,” she answered, brushing her hand over my cheek.
Unable to help myself, I turned my head toward her hand, leaning into the caress even though I felt the rage and the pain building within me once again.
“I’ll keep you…safe.” Each word was a struggle as I pushed it toward the tip of my tongue. I understood what I wanted to say but my mouth refused to cooperate.
Her smile was as sad as her eyes. “I know you will,” she assured me. “But right now, I need to protect you.”
I growled when I saw the other vampire behind her. He stood too close to my mate. Then I saw it. As they looked at me, it was clear. Their eyes were the same, indigo and purple. He was a relation, not a potential mate.
I relaxed slightly against my bonds. He would not steal my mate away, but that didn’t mean I would allow them to keep me restricted.
I reached out toward my mate. She took my hand and her small, slim fingers clasped mine. I felt her power then, the magic that thrummed in her very veins, as though it had given birth to her. It was her sustenance in this life, keeping a curse at bay.
With my abilities, I could almost see the shapes and colors of her magic. I could very nearly taste it.
She put me in the magical shackles that currently held me. Once I was familiar with her brand of power, I let my own magic fill me. It began to resonate with my mate’s, echoing it until I was satisfied that I had control.
With a single thought, I broke through the spell holding me in place and sat up, pulling my mate toward me.
She resisted. “You’re hurting me.”
At her low, calm voice, I stopped pulling at her and frowned. Why was she refusing my touch?
“Fuck me,” the vampire muttered. “How did he break through your spell?” he asked my mate.
She stared at me and shook her head. “It can’t be,” she said.
“What?” he prompted.
My mate didn’t look away as she took one of my hands and held it between her two small palms. I sat perfectly still as I felt her magic prod me gently as she sought answers. I allowed her to look as long as she wanted. I liked the warmth of her mind brushing mine and of her hands on my fingers.
“He can borrow magical ability,” she answered softly. “Once he knew what my power felt like, he simply echoed it and broke the spell.”
The other vampire’s eyes grew wide, as did the human woman’s.
“He’s an Echo?” the vampire asked.
My mate nodded, her expression growing hard as she looked at me. “It also explains how Rhiannon got into my house and stole the grimoire.” She took a step closer to me, but released my hands. I felt the prickle of her magic on the back of my neck as she moved, her eyes bright and her hair moving in the faint breeze her power stirred in the air. “If you’re working for Rhiannon, I will end you myself.”
I frowned at her. “Rhiannon? The woman from my village? I told father I would not marry her because I love…” I gazed at her as the end of my thought escaped me. I could not remember whom I loved. Only that it wasn’t Rhiannon.
My mate’s head cocked to the side, her long blond hair falling over one shoulder as she considered me. “She lives in your village?” she prompted.
“Yes.”
“And what year is it?”
I stared at her, my mind a jumble. “I do not know.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Where are we?”
I shrugged, also unable to answer that question.
“What is your name?” she asked, moving another step closer.
“Alaunus.”
Her movement stilled then as she stared at me. “Would you help Rhiannon if she asked you?”
From her expression, I did not think she meant help Rhiannon in her time of desperation. “How would I help Rhiannon?”
“Hurt people,” she responded. “Kidnap someone and drain them of their power and their very life.”
I scowled at her, biting back a growl. “No. Never.”
She considered me for a long moment, but didn’t speak.
“What is your name?” I asked her.
“Ava.”
I shook my head. I didn’t know her name. I couldn’t. But it still didn’t ring true.
She turned to the vampire behind her and they shared a look. Before I could decipher their silent conversation, she faced me again.
I barely felt the stirring of her magic before her hand lifted and she said, “Sleep now, Alaunus. And may your memory be returned when you wake.”
I didn’t want to leave and I fought the compulsion, but she overpowered me. The spell pulled me under and I slept.