We all step back and gasp in shock.
‘Wands! This cannot be happening right now of all the times, places and species!’ Soren says, looking between Lord Talon and me.
‘This is not good…’ Nadia says with worry.
I point my finger at Lord Talon, ‘Liars!’ I yell, ‘His eyes are red. You did kill them. You killed them all!’ I shout, tears escaping my eyes. I withdraw my dagger.
I’m glaring at the vampire who killed my beloved Micah, my fated mate. His eyes flicker like fire, and he doesn’t break eye contact with me. I want to kill him, but I feel drawn to him as if something is pulling me toward him. He is incredibly handsome and attractive, with a mysterious aura about him. My eyes change from light blue to dark blue every second with mixed emotions. I close my eyes tightly for a moment and tell myself he is responsible for Micah’s death. He killed Micah. I have to kill him now while I have the chance. Lord Talon takes a step forward. I lunge angrily toward him and thrust my dagger towards his chest. He swiftly grabs my arm, and I feel a sudden but quick burn on my wrist, followed by the sensation of sparks where his hand is gripping me. I try to pull my arm from his grip, but he won’t budge. I glare at him, making eye contact again. I gasp and lose my breath momentarily as I become lost in his now deep blue eyes. He stares at me in utter disbelief and shock as if he can’t believe what he sees. It must be because he recognises me from the night he killed Micah.
The pack warriors rush forward to attack the vampires. Nadia screams, sending a wave of sonic energy at us. My father, brothers and warriors are thrown back and clutch their heads in pain. I fall to the ground in agony from the sonic wave. Lord Talon releases my arm. I immediately try to cover my ears to block out Nadia’s scream. I didn’t know something like this was even possible to do. I notice blood trickling out from some of the warrior’s ears and noses. Lord Talon holds his hand up, gesturing for Nadia to stop. She immediately becomes silent.
‘I am warning you all to cease fighting. We are not your enemy,’ Lord Talon says. His husky voice creating butterflies in my stomach again.
He killed my fated mate but has the gall to claim he isn’t our enemy? The slight burning feeling on my wrist begins to itch. I tug my leather brace down just enough to see a symbol I’ve never seen before on my wrist. It’s a sword, but it has a circle around the handle like a halo.
‘What in the wands is this? What does it mean? What did you do to me?’ I shout angrily at him.
Lord Talon steels himself, and a sad look flashes across his face as he fights to avoid eye contact with me before returning to his straight face, now showing no emotion at all.
My father and the warriors take this chance to strike the vampires. They shift into their wolves and Lycans and attack. Soren punches a wolf in the stomach with so much strength that the wolf flies five metres into the air.
‘Tumultuous Volley!’ I hear my mother shout. A large cloud appears above the vampires, and lightning begins to strike at them. They manage to dodge the strikes. A glass vial is thrown by Kayla towards them and smashes at the ground near their feet. Green smoke emits, and the vampires cover their mouths, stepping back and coughing.
Kayla grabs my arm, and a look of terror appears on her face as she stares at the symbol on my arm. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, I yank my arm away and run toward Lord Talon. I swing my dagger and slice his arm. He holds the deep cut and gives me a hurt look, but it’s not the look of physical pain but emotional pain. A feeling of guilt takes over me. He killed Micah. He deserves this! He deserves to die! Why do I feel guilty and sad that I hurt him?
Soren tosses the warriors into the air like ragdolls and punches a few more, sending them flying back. Nadia screams again, sending us onto our knees, clutching our ears. The vampires then back away. They are retreating. Like hell, they are getting away.
I force myself up onto my feet as they flee and chase after them. The pain from the sonic wave is excruciating. My nose begins to bleed, but I ignore it and think of Micah. I think of his death and how close I am to his murderer and avenging his death. The vampires are darn fast, faster than werewolves, for sure. They suddenly decrease their pace, just enough for me to catch up to them. They must be planning something. Nadia has stopped screaming. My eyes focus on Lord Talon. They are talking to each other, but I can’t hear them.
‘I’ll kill you! You monster!’ I shout, lunging through the air toward Lord Talon, but flinch when that look of hurt appears on his face again. It makes me lose focus, and I falter to the ground and roll.
I hear my mother screaming my name, looking for me back through the woods. The vampires have come to a stop and stare at me silently.
‘Monsters!’ I say in a harsh tone. This time they all flinch. I race towards Lord Talon. He stands still as if he has no intention of moving as my dagger is about to strike his heart. I’m suddenly grabbed from behind—my dagger drops from my hand. I try to grab it, but it lands in front of Lord Talon’s feet. Soren tightens his grip on me as I try to reach for Micah’s dagger. Lord Talon notices the urgent look in my eyes as I try to grab it. He picks it up and runs his hand over it, admiring the craftsmanship.
‘Don’t you touch that! Give it back!’ I snap.
‘Why? So you can kill me?’ he says, still looking over the dagger.
I elbow Soren in the stomach, surprising him. He lets me go from the impact he wasn’t expecting. I roll and swing my leg around, knocking him over. Nadia is about to scream, but I knock her down quickly with a high kick. My fist is an inch away from making contact with Nadia’s face. But my arms are grabbed, and I’m pushed onto my stomach with great strength. I try to roll, but I can’t. So instead, I kick Soren's shin. ‘Agh! This one’s feisty and a decent fighter. You’ll need all the luck you can get with this one,’ Soren says to Lord Talon.
‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’ I yell, kicking him in the other shin.
‘Alright, that’s it!’ he says, tying my wrists behind my back.
‘Let me go!’ I scream and try to fight him off of me, but his strength is too powerful.
‘Soren. What are you doing?’ Lord Talon asks him.
‘I’m clearly wrapping your present up for you. Complete with a bow,’ he replies, smiling, tying the last knot.
‘You bastard!’ I yell at Soren. ‘I’m not an object you can tie up and give away!’
‘Oh, really?’ he smirks, stands me up and shoves me forward into Lord Talon’s chest. Sparks tingle all over as our bodies touch. Furious, I step back but fall over.
I watch as Lord Talon tucks my dagger under his shirt and gently grabs my arm to stand me up.
‘Give me my dagger back!’ I yell. The arrogant bastard completely ignores me. Still holding my arm, I try to pull away but fail. I don’t like that I can feel sparks from his touch. It’s something I only ever felt with Micah because he was my fated mate.
Lord Talon looks at Soren. ‘We can’t take her with us,’ he says.
‘It’s too late. You don’t have a choice now. You know what will happen if you don’t stay near each other.’
‘I know, but her pack won’t allow it. They will want her back.’
‘If her pack want her to live. They will have no choice but to let us take her with us,’ Soren says.
‘Of course, you monsters would rather murder me than give me back to my pack alive!’ I yell.
Nadia walks right up to my face, ‘You don’t get what has happened, wolf! So I suggest you keep your yappy little mouth shut for now as you’ll be thanking us for it later!’ Nadia says.
‘Me? Thanking murderous monsters!’ I laugh, ‘I think not!’ I reply, glaring at Nadia.
‘I knew this was going to be a bad idea. We need to keep moving. Let’s go,’ Lord Talon says, pulling my arm.
‘No! I’m not going with you.’
‘You don’t have a choice,’ Lord Talon says.
‘Then kill me!’ I say. He stops and turns to look at me. My eyes begin changing shades of blue again as a strange sensation runs through my body from his deep gaze. I force the feelings aside and glare, ‘I’d rather die than go with you, and I will be sure to make your life hell if you take me with you. I won’t stop trying to kill you until you are dead!’
Lord Talon reaches his hand out to cup my cheek, ‘Your eyes. They change?’ he says, gazing deeply into them. ‘They’re beautiful.’
My heart races.
As his palm brushes against my cheek, sparks explode between us, and I find myself staring at his perfect lips. I blink a few times and breathe heavily. This can’t be happening. This isn’t right, yet it feels so right. I step back and glare into Lord Talon’s eyes.
‘I’m going to very much enjoy killing you,’ I tell him.
Lord Talon gazes deeper into my eyes as if trying to read me. His lips form a small smirk, and he swiftly lifts me to carry me and cradles me against his chest. I want to kiss him, I mean, punch him in the face, but my hands are tied behind my back. ‘We’ll see,’ he says, and with great speed, runs into the distance with Soren and Nadia by his side.