Fourteen
sat on the bed in Lilith's chamber, his agitation clear as he tapped his leg up and down as he did whenever he got nervous. He'd been forced to take a shower and get changed into a black silk, button-down shirt and pants. Clothing he would otherwise never wear out of feeling it was too high class.
He felt like one of those rich playboys who spent most of their time at strip clubs to see how many women they could score and take them home to their beds.
His heart sank as he thought about Jill. He rested his elbows resting on his knees. His head in his hands. She’s coming. I know she is.
His chest tightened with growing anxiety and fear at the thought that he wouldn't be able to see her again. Kiss her soft lips or hold her warm body against his or hear her sweet voice say his name. He regretted his decision to wait until Christmas to have sex with her. Now, he may never get the chance.
I can’t just sit here. He thought, getting up to go and test the doors. The shadows underneath the cracks made him aware of the guards placed there to prevent his escape. Okay, not getting out this way.
His next idea took him to the window. At first glance it looked like a normal sliding window; easily unlocked. The problems were the werewolves and the guards patrolling the outer perimeter.
Escape seemed impossible. Even if he somehow managed to slip out through the window, he didn’t know where he was or how to get back to Big Timber. The situation seemed hopeless.
Damien decided if he was forced to become a vampire he wouldn't stop begging Jill until she ended his life. He wouldn’t be able to exist without his soul. His heart frozen in his chest only to be forced to steal the life force from another to live.
The thought of it made him sick to his stomach.
Even if he didn't come to hate her, there was no way he would allow himself to touch her. He would feel as though he were defiling her. He would be the very thing responsible for her pain.
Damien watched as the sun fell below the horizon heralding the hour of twilight. An hour of magic when the sky was painted a mix of the heated oranges of the day and the cool purples and pinks of the night.
These moments were often seen as times to take a good photo. This time it was filled with stress and anxiety.
All Damien could do was wait to see what Lilith might do to him when she finally arrived. Every footstep he heard outside of the door made his heart race with fear since Jill hadn't arrived.
Lilith came in as if on cue followed by one of the house servants carrying a tray of wine that looked as though it would cost Damien his life's savings. Two glass cups with gold accents accompanied the bottle on the tray.
The vampire’s eyes lit up with underlying lust when she saw him.
“Still so breathtaking. Welcome Damien. It is a pleasure to have you in my home finally. I do apologize for the tactics I had to use to get you here. It was the only time we could find when you were away from your dog long enough for us to get a hold of you. I do hope you're hungry.”
Damien’s stomach growled. He hadn't eaten anything since he was dragged all the way out into the wilderness the night before. His lack of trust in Lilith not to poison or drug him with anything made him deny her offer.
“No thanks.” He rose off of the bed to get as far away from the vampire as he could. He was careful to keep his eyes away from her as his back pressed against the nearest corner.
Lilith's laugh was surprisingly sensual despite her dark nature. “Oh, come now. You think I would go through the trouble of having Rayes bring you here if all I was going to do was poison you? Oh no, for you precious, I plan on enjoying every moment of your company. Come, sit back down.”
“I'd rather not. After nearly being killed three times, stalked, hunted and having my head bashed in, I'm fine staying on my own side of the room. Oh and I’m pretty sure you almost raped me, so no. I’m staying here.” Damien didn't try to hide annoyance and sarcasm.
“Damien, it was my father who tried to have you killed. As for Stoker, I can assure you, he was severely punished for his little stunt with your truck. Rayes was a bit anxious. I will let him know I disapprove of how you were treated.”
Lilith smiled seductively, rubbing her pale fingers over the blood red sheets of the bed. "As far as that pitiful excuse of a school, I wouldn't have taken you in such a crude place. You deserve to be taken in sheets so soft, they tickle the senses of your already gorgeous body,” Lilith said motioning for him to take a seat next to her. “I'm willing to forgive our little incident at the college. Come sit down and enjoy some of this delicious wine with me.”
She sniffed the wine, taking a drink and licking her lips. “I give you my own word that you will be taken the greatest of care of. That dog of yours doesn't know how to give you what you deserve as I do. I've told you before. She only cares for the soul you carry.”
Damien glared at her, his eyes rolling at the toxic words she'd just spouted.
Lilith rose up from the bed in a single smooth motion. “I know what is hiding behind those beautiful jeweled eyes of yours,” Lilith said, flipping her platinum bangs out of her face before continuing.
“From the smell of you, I can tell you hadn’t even had sex with her yet. So tell me something, why is that? If you were Lucius instead of Damien, do you think she would have waited? I don’t think so. What exactly do you think you mean to her? If you didn’t have Lucius’ soul inside of you, she would never care you existed. She would have given herself to...”
Lilith spit the name out in contempt. “Alexander Kain.”
Damien's heart skipped a beat in his chest, his blood cold in his veins. He knew Jill and Kain had history but he didn't know she'd once loved him and entertained the idea of becoming his mate.
“I don’t believe you.” Damien spoke low through clenched teeth. His fists balled up as he fought the overwhelming rise of betrayal and hurt in his chest.
Lilith rose from the bed, closing the distance between them in only a few short seconds. She pressed her breasts into his chest, her pelvis she placed against his.
Taking Damien’s jaw in her hands, she leaned in close enough she could have kissed him if she wanted. Her eyes half-closed under dark eye shadow as lust darkened her red eyes.
“Why else would she just happen to be in the exact same place just as he was about to get killed by Rayes? What makes you think she's not still in love with him? That she’s only entertaining you until you die so she can be with him? Stay with me, Damien. I would give you everything you could ever want. Everything a human heart lusts for would be yours in an instant. I would even welcome your father into my coven. He would never be changed unless you or he asked.”
Pain set his heart on fire, the blood rushed from his head as Damien tried to shake away the thought that Jill wasn't coming for him. He'd given her everything he'd never given to anyone else; opened his heart so deep to her. It would devastate him to learn she was just using him.
“No.” Damien shook the negative thoughts away as he held on to every time Jill looked at him with sadness, her eyes full of longing that he would accept her love for him every time he saw her. Her willingness to take things slow and get to know him.
The night she listened to him as he struggled to tell her the secret he’d held onto. No one who doesn't love someone would do what Jill had done.
“Excuse me?”
“I said no. Jill’s done nothing but proven her love to me. Unlike you who constantly threatens to make me something I don't want to be. If I had the ability to choose who I would put my trust in, it wouldn't be you, Lilith.”
Lilith's eyes flashed red as she dragged Damien over to her bed and threw him down, locking his hands above his head with one of hers. The other tore the shirt open as though it were paper.
“It doesn't really matter. I've been kind long enough. After I meet tonight with some of the elders from my cousin's coven, I will be sinking my fangs into your throat whether you want it or not. Then we'll see how much your dog loves you. Maybe she'll be merciful and end your life.”
Damien tried to struggle against Lilith's hold, knowing full well it was futile. He flinched when her hand went between his legs, rubbing him.
“Maybe I'll enjoy you first. Might be fun to feel the warmth of your body against mine. I hear your blood is quite rich to the taste. Either way, cherish your last few hours of being human, Damien Pierce. Soon you will belong to me.” She licked her ruby, red lips, bending down to kiss the side of his neck.
Her lips were cold when they met his. Her tongue forced its way into his mouth so she could taste every part of him she could reach.
“So sexy. I can't wait to bind you to me for all of time.”
Lilith pulled away, ending her forceful kiss. The hold on his hands released.
Before Damien had the time to get up from the bed, she was gone. The door locked from the outside behind her.
He walked over to the window, furiously trying to get the feeling of Lilith's kiss off of his lips. It had been forced, demanding and bitter with no love behind it at all.
To her, he was just a possession. Something she could do what she wanted when she wanted. His heart ached as the anxiety welled up inside of him to the point of making him dizzy. Jill. Please. Please hurry.
****
I'm coming, Damien. I can hear you. Just stay strong. Jill ran as fast as her four legs could carry her. Her chest heaved with each stride as she pushed her body beyond its natural ability to get to her lover. His blood inside of her allowed her to hear his desperate cry for help. The fear he felt burned in her chest.
Kain, Lune, Gabriel and Holt all followed closely behind her. Their hard panting served as reassurance that they supported her decision to infiltrate the coven despite how dangerous it was for them.
She knew they would have to make it before dawn or they would be too late. Lilith wouldn't wait past the night to turn Damien. In her mind, she'd waited too long and would most likely be infuriated once she'd learned he would never give himself to her even if she turned him.
When they arrived at the mansion, Lune took the lead. Shifting quickly and scaling the outer fence via a large oak that had a single branch overhanging the bars. Kain went with Holt around the back of the mansion while Gabriel and Jill went with Lune from the front.
“I can smell him. He's in the room on the second floor, first left from the front entrance.” Jill channeled her anger so she could get to Damien, fighting the urge not to pull anything reckless though she knew she couldn't be killed.
His emotions and thoughts were a whirlwind that almost dizzied Jill too much to run. He'd gone from overwhelming fear to hurt, back to anxiety and helplessness.
It angered her to think about all that had been done to him to cause him to suffer such a variety of emotions.
“At least his location is easier than it could be. Kain and Holt will take out the security in the back. Once we get their signal, we can move in. Be careful, that room is Lilith's. Odds are it'll be guarded not only from the outside but from the inside doors as well. She wouldn't risk him being taken so easily,” Lune ducked back down.
A werewolf began sniffing the air, its red eyes glanced towards the brush only to be pushed by the vampire holding its leash.
Jill's nails raked strips off of the bark of the tree. “If I have to face the bitch, I will. She's hurt him for the last time.”
“Don't get overly cocky. The vampires may live the high life but they've proven themselves formidable. After all, their numbers are still increasing because they prey on the weakness of human fear.” Lune warned, kneeling on one knee.
The arrival of a black limo made them hide deeper in the brush. It stopped in front of the main entrance. The driver got out to open one of the doors in the back. A tall, beautiful woman adorned in a black sequined dress with a mink fur around her neck got out of the back. Her features were rounded, her black hair done up in a tight bun at the top of her head giving her the look of a red carpet celebrity.
She looked around before walking through the double doors of the mansion, greeted by Lilith.
Lune’s eyes widened in visible surprise. “That's Desdemona Cardoza.”
“Who?” Jill asked, confused. She hadn't made it a point to learn vampire nobility.
“She's Lilith's aunt, Demetrius' sister-in-law. The matriarch of their sister coven in the nearby city of Great Falls. Her son Anthony, is no laughing matter. He's recognized as the Don of that city and rules it with an iron grip. He will kill anyone who dares stand against him without hesitation. She must be here to question Lilith’s murder of her father. This could get ugly, really fast. The Cardozas rarely ever leave Great Falls.”
For once in centuries, Jill felt the shiver of fear run up her spine. “We have to hurry. We have to get Damien out now, Lune.”
A soft bark from Kain signaled Lune, Gabriel and Jill to make their move.
Gabriel broke the neck of the werewolf that crossed in front of Lilith's window, dragging the body away while Lune took down the vampire guarding the corner of the house, crushing the vampire’s head in his jaws like a grape.
Jill easily scaled the ivy-lined trellis of the wall to perch in the window. Peeking in, her heart fell through her chest to the ground.
Damien lay on the bed in clothes she knew he would never be caught dead in. The look on his face was nothing short of sheer hopelessness and defeat.
Seeing Lilith wasn't anywhere in sight, Jill tapped the glass with her nail.
Damien looked up to see her, practically running to her. “Jill! Thank God.” He put his hand on the glass, leaning his forehead against it. Relief replaced the anxiety inside of him when he saw her.
Jill put her hand on the glass, smiling in her own relief. She had gotten to him on time. “Get back, babe. I'm getting you out of there.”
Damien stepped back as Jill prepared to shatter the glass to get to him. He didn’t want to linger a moment longer knowing what was in store for him if he stayed.
Kain and Holt sprinted around the house. Jill tuned into them talking.
“We have to go. Now or we won't be leaving alive.” Holt was breathing heavily, sweat covering his brow as he bent over to catch a breath. “I know you saw who came in that limo.”
“We did. Jill almost has him.” Lune replied.
Well no time for subtlety. Jill slammed her elbow into the glass, tearing the window from the frame of the house. The noise was bound to attract some unwanted attention. “Come on, quickly. Jump. Lune is below me, he'll catch you. We have to go, now.”
Damien jumped to get caught by Lune before hitting the ground. “Jill. Jill, come on.”
Jill was just about to jump down when Lilith came storming into the room, throwing the doors open hard enough they bounced off of the walls, rattling the foundations.
“You filthy bitch!” Lilith hissed as she charged at Jill.
“Get him out of here!” Jill yelled to Lune.
“Jill! Come with us!” Damien called out to her, afraid to leave her behind.
“Kain! Take him!”
Kain grabbed Damien and the four of them took off, running as fast as they could. Scaling the fence, sprinting at full speed. They were pursued by some of the werewolves guarding the house.
Jill stood face to face with Lilith, making sure she kept her body between the window and the angry vampire.
“You will never and I mean ever touch him again, Lilith. Do you hear me? You think killing your father will make you half the lord he was?”
“Silence, dog! My father lost his ferocity in dealing with you filthy beasts! Every single one of you deserves to be wiped from existence. Under my rule I'll make sure that happens! Your lover may have died at my father's hand but he was a fool to leave you alive. He should have killed you as well!”
A dark and demented smile curved across Lilith's fangs. “Maybe I'll make you watch as I sink my fangs into Damien's throat. How would it feel to know the cycle will end and your precious Lucius will be in the arms of a vampire? Doesn't that piss you off?”
Jill bared her fangs, growling as she lunged at Lilith with such great speed the vampire didn't have time to move. Her claws raked down Lilith's face making her scream in agony as the sting of pure silver burned into her skin.
Lilith's hand trembled as she reached up to her face, taking the black blood from her cheek and looking down at it in her hands. “You...you disgusting...filthy dog!” She yelled, lunging toward Jill only to miss as she effortlessly jumped backwards out of the window. “You're dead! You hear me! I'll find a way to end your life, Jillian Styles! You can't run from me forever!”
After scaling the fence Jill shifted into her wolf form, sprinting through the waning night towards Gabriel's call in the woods.
****
Damien paced beside the car as Gabriel let out another howl, perking his ears to try and hear a reply.
“She should be back by now. What if she's hurt? Kain, I have to go back.” Kain's hand on his shoulder kept Damien where he was. He lowered his head.
“She's coming. I just heard her call. From the sound of it, she's alright. Be patient.”
Damien’s mind wandered back to what Lilith said as he stared at Kain. The lycan alpha was definitely a match for Jill's affection. His dirty blonde hair, tall size and well-defined musculature would be a match for any male. Combined with the inhuman beauty of his people, Kain was, to Damien, more appealing than he was.
“Kain. Lilith told me you and Jill...”
“We didn't. Not once. The most we ever did was make out for the sake of companionship. It never went further.”
“Then what's your history? Lilith said Jill wouldn’t care about me if I didn’t have Lucius’ soul. She would have given herself to you. Is that true?”
Kain sighed. “My father, Pentacost saved Jillian as a puppy. Her pack was nearly destroyed by the vampires. Her mother held out as long as she could but took her last surviving pup and ran. She lay dying beside a brook when my father found her. She begged him to take her. I was about a century younger than Jillian so I guess you could technically say we grew up together since our years aren't the same as yours,”
Kain looked up at him. “Damien, whatever Lilith said to you, most of it wasn't true. I do love Jillian, more than anyone in this world but she's chosen you. I will give my life to protect you for her sake.”
Jill came up through the woods. Her fangs and jaws wet with blood from fighting with some of the werewolves in the forest.
A huge bite taken from her left shoulder made her limp, her breathing heavy from fatigue.
Damien ran up to her without hesitation, his arms wrapping around her thick neck. Her huge paw rested on his shoulder in a half hug.
“I knew you would come.”
She shifted back into her human form, her breathing heavy as she tried to heal the wounds inflicted on her.
Kain reached in through the window of Gabriel's back seat to pull out a backpack containing a spare set of clothes. He tossed it to her.
“Thank you, Kain.” Jill got dressed quickly. “The wound in my shoulder is something I won't be able to heal completely. It'll scar, that much I know for certain.”
“At least you are safe, Jillian. Want to tell me why Lilith was screaming?” Kain smiled, his own relief evident in his voice.
“I nailed her in the face. Silver nails and all, it'll most likely leave one sun's hell of a blemish. We all know how much she loves her face.” Jill let out a slight chuckle. She was one of the few lycans left with claws made of pure silver. Yet another dying trait in the lycan race.
“Ouch.” Gabriel snickered.
Lune was less than thrilled. “This is not the time for laughing. She was just paid a huge insult and now she knows there are at least three alphas in Big Timber. Luckily for us, Desdemona really couldn’t care less about Lilith. The Cardozas rarely ever get involved personally but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep our guard up.”
Holt patted his friend's shoulder, his eyes meeting the other two alphas in front of him. “Stay alert. War is coming. It's just a matter of time. I'm going to be calling in as many of the neighboring packs who are willing to help as possible to join our meeting. I won't force those who don't want to fight to do so. Don't draw any attention, the humans are already spooked as it is. Damien, you're a part of us now, we're going to need help in the human world as well.”
“You’re kidding, right? I've already proven I'm not strong enough to handle avoiding getting kidnapped. Jill got hurt because of me.” Damien cursed under his breath. His own weakness pissed him off. Not only had he gotten Jill hurt again.
Now Lilith was beyond furious and this Desdemona character knew about the three alphas. All of this, in his opinion was his fault for not finding one single excuse to stay inside to keep out of trouble.
“Let Charlie know it's not the wolves doing the killing. If you need to, have Jill or Kain explain things. Whatever it takes to avoid a panic. You have to do this or our families are going to suffer even more than they are. We won't be able to hunt out of fear of being trapped or killed which will starve our pups and pregnant mothers.” Holt replied.
Damien thought back to the pup he'd held in his arms. That little ball of fuzz wouldn't harm a fly, let alone a full-grown person. The thought of her starving made him angry.
“I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll try.”