Blood Vengeance (An Adult Paranormal Romance) (Deathless Night Series #2) Read online

  After a few moments, she sighed, and walked towards the kitchen until she was out of sight.

  It could not be true.

  She could not be his mate.

  Fate would not be so cruel!

  Nikulas walked out the front door and jogged across the road to join him, dodging cars as they beeped at him angrily.

  "Did you find out what you needed to know?" he asked.

  "It seems so," Luukas answered.

  "Ya know, for a while there, I wasn’t sure if your instinct for vengeance would be stronger than your instinct to protect her."

  "That’s still up for debate," Luukas growled.

  Nik shot him an uneasy look. "I was in the lobby talking to the front desk, when I saw you out here. I'm taking off for a few days."

  He didn't bother to ask where his brother was going. He assumed it had something to do with the missing Hunters.

  "I'll be leaving tonight."

  "All right." Luukas finally tore his eyes from the window. "Be careful."

  Nik smiled at him. "Always."

  Chapter 28

  Keira

  Keira jumped as the front door slammed shut and Luukas came striding through the foyer, not stopping until he reached her.

  He was angry.

  Very angry, by the looks of him.

  Taking the water glass from her hand, he threw it across the kitchen, smashing it against the cabinets.

  "What did you do to me?" he bellowed at her.

  She scowled up at him, opening her mouth to give him a good piece of her mind for his behavior, when she caught a strange scent coming off of his clothes.

  Sticking her nose right up against his chest, she took a deep whiff of his hoodie. Pulling back, she looked up at him, hurt pouring out of her eyes before it was replaced by her own anger.

  Hauling back her arm, she slapped him as hard as she could.

  "You fucking bastard! That's where you've been all night? With another woman?"

  His eyes lit up dangerously and his lips pulled back from his fangs, his face more frightening than she'd ever seen.

  Instinctually, she took a step back, but continued to rail at him.

  "I've been here alone for hours, worrying about you, you son of a bitch!"

  She went to slap him again, but he caught her arm before she could, holding it midair in his iron grip.

  "Don't," he hissed out.

  Keira had never felt such fury. Not even while in the torture cell. There she'd felt impotent, and sad, and frustrated, but nothing that compared to the white-hot fury that was burning through her at this moment.

  Tears ran down her face, and she yanked her arm out of his grip to dash them away. Without another word, she walked around him and headed towards the bedroom.

  Screw this.

  "Don't walk away from me, witch. I asked you a question!"

  She ignored him.

  Stupid, stupid. She'd been so stupid. Allowing herself to care for someone who would do this to her.

  But, he's been through so much. Even though he seems to be getting better, his mind can't be right. I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you.

  Oh, shut up! She told the rational side of herself. She was in no mood to be rational. He'd betrayed her! After all they'd been through together, and all they'd experienced together since. So much for the "fated mate" stories.

  Bastard.

  Violently yanking open a drawer, she searched for some actual clothes that wouldn't fall off of her.

  She was so out of here.

  "What are you doing?" Luukas asked from the bedroom doorway.

  She didn't answer him. She couldn't. If she stopped, if she looked at him, she would break down. And she refused to show him how much he'd hurt her.

  Little late for that, isn't it?

  Oh, shut up!

  You could always just zap him into the next room, or put a containment spell on him so he'd never be able to leave the apartment like that again.

  SHUT UP!

  "Keira! What are you doing?" he yelled. He sounded panicked.

  Finding a pair of sweats with a drawstring, she threw them on the floor and pulled open another drawer to look for a heavy shirt.

  She'd just yanked out a navy sweatshirt when she was gripped by the arm and spun around.

  "What are you doing?" he asked again, his voice barely above a whisper.

  She refused to look at him. "I'm packing. What the hell does it look like?"

  "Packing? To go where?"

  "Anywhere away from you."

  He visibly recoiled at her words, and her heart clenched painfully in her chest.

  "No," he insisted, his eyes unnaturally bright. "No. You're not going anywhere."

  She yanked her arm away again. "Watch me."

  Turning away from him, she yanked open his sock drawer, only to find herself spun back around into his arms.

  "No, witch. You can't leave me," he whispered hoarsely.

  She tried to push him away, tried to get away from the sweet perfume that was wafting from his clothes, but he held her tight.

  "Let me go, Luukas!"

  "No. I won't. I can't."

  Taking her face in his large hands, he starting raining kisses on her forehead, her cheeks, her nose. He kissed her tears away.

  "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

  Her chin quivered as she tried to pull his hands away from her face.

  "Keira, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," he repeated.

  Finding her lips, he kissed her urgently, passionately, gently trying to get her to open to him.

  With a sob, she wrenched her face away. "Stop! Stop it! You reek of another woman, and you expect me to kiss you? Are you insane?"

  At her words, his entire body stiffened, and Keira stopped struggling.

  Shit. Why had she said that word in particular?

  His hands dropped to his sides.

  She reached out a hand towards him. "Luukas, I didn't mean..."

  "I'll go take a shower. Do not move, witch." Turning on his heel, he strode into the bathroom.

  Standing there in front of the dresser, she listened until she heard the water come on.

  Why had she said that?

  Because it was true.

  Looking down at the floor, she caught his sweatpants out of the corner of her eye, and angrily grabbed them off of the floor.

  If he thought she was going to stand here like a good little girl while he washed another woman off of him before coming to her, he was insane.

  She was dressed and out the door in record time, credit card she'd found earlier gripped tightly in hand.

  The elevator was open when she got there and she took it down to the front desk, formulating a plan to get some shoes. She just prayed it would work.

  The concierge looked up in curiosity as she approached, a girl in too-large sweat clothes with her hair in a ponytail and no shoes.

  She smiled easily. "Good morning! I think I left my shoes in the gym yesterday, did anyone happen to turn them in?"

  He relaxed immediately. "Actually, yes. They did. Sneakers? Blue, with white laces?"

  "Yes! It sounds like them."

  "One moment, I'll go grab them from the back."

  She held the smile on her face until he was out of sight. As soon as he was gone, she watched the elevator, her heart beating rapidly every time it began to ascend, breathing again when it didn't go to the top floor.

  On her left side, the rising sun was warm where it shone in through the front windows.

  Come on, come on, come on.

  After what seemed an eternity, he returned with the shoes.

  "Here you go, miss," he announced with a smile.

  She grabbed them out of his hand. "That's them! Thank you!"

  Scuttling towards the door, she heard the elevator ding behind her just as she walked out into the rare Seattle sunshine. Quickly sliding on the shoes, which were only a half-size too big, she took off towards the intersection without tying them.

>   Suddenly, the hair rose on her arms and neck, and she thought she heard a beast roaring from the rooftop behind her.

  But maybe it was just her imagination.

  Keira walked for blocks without stopping, needing to be as far away as possible, until her growling stomach and need to pee forced her to find a coffee shop. Logically, she knew he couldn't follow her while the sun was up, but she still looked back over her shoulder every few steps.

  Bladder relieved and juice in hand, she was back on the street. She needed to get to the airport.

  She briefly thought about getting some new clothes, but she really didn't want to owe Luukas any more than she had to when he found her. Because he would find her, of that she had no doubt. She wasn't stupid. Her little adventure here would end in the not so far future, probably as soon as darkness fell.

  He'd had her blood, and she'd had his. He would be able to find her anywhere in the world. There was nowhere she could hide.

  But maybe she could at least see her sister for a bit before he locked her away in his tower again. Maybe Nikulas would still be there and he could help her. She hoped so.

  Ok. Airport, airport. She assumed by the platinum status of the credit card in her hand that she'd be able to purchase a ticket without any problems.

  Walking to the edge of the sidewalk, she looked for a cab. Did they even take credit? Guess she'd find out. If not, well, she was a witch after all; she'd just convince him to take her there for free.

  Shading her eyes, she peered down the street looking for a car with a 'taxi' sign on the top. She was so engrossed in her search that she didn't even notice the black van pull over to the curb right behind her. She didn't hear the door slide open, or see the male sitting inside in shadow, just out of reach of the sun's rays.

  She didn't notice until she heard a deep voice say, "Hello, Keira."

  Chapter 29

  Luukas

  Luukas showered quickly but thoroughly, his mind racing nearly as fast as his heart.

  It was true then. Impossible as it seemed. Keira really was his.

  A comforting peace filled him at the thought.

  Keira was his.

  His witch.

  His angel.

  Now, to get things straightened out with her. He needed to let her know that nothing had happened. Needed to explain why he'd run around the city half-cocked trying to drink from others. Needed to explain that sex had never been in the equation. He'd only been trying to prove the "mate" thing wrong.

  But obviously, it was he who'd been wrong.

  He wrapped a towel around his waist and barged back into the bedroom, eager to rid her of her uncertainty of him, but she wasn't there.

  "Keira?"

  The clothes were gone from the floor.

  No.

  No, no, no!

  He ran out to the main room, searched the other bedroom.

  "Keira!" he yelled, more frantic with every passing moment.

  The sun was coming up, if she'd made it outside, he wouldn't be able to follow her! She could be anywhere in the country by the time he could leave the building.

  He ran over to the window, protected by the special glass, and searched the street below. It took him less than a minute to spot her charging out onto the sidewalk.

  Pressing his hands to the window, he watched her rush awkwardly towards the intersection, her shoes untied.

  An animalistic roar of pain tore from his chest at the sight of her running from him.

  "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

  He punched the glass, not caring if it broke and killed him instantly.

  Fucking sun! It was the one thing that crippled him at times like these.

  He began to pace.

  There had to be a way to get to her, something he could travel in.

  They could get a human driver for the SUV! The back windows were tinted especially to protect ones such as him. He'd be fine as long as he stayed back there.

  Nikulas would know how to get one. He wasn't leaving until tonight.

  Luukas rushed back into the bedroom and threw on the first things he could find. Taking the stairs down to Nik's apartment, he beat on his brother's door, letting himself in when it wasn't immediately opened for him.

  "Nikulas!"

  His brother came out of his bedroom, his pajama pants and his hair equally rumpled.

  "What the fuck, man? It's sleep time."

  "Keira left."

  "What do you mean, left? To go get food or something? She'll be ok. No need to panic."

  "No. I mean she left. She left me, and I need to get her back. Now."

  Nikulas stumbled his way into the kitchen, and Luukas noticed for the first time that his brother wasn't looking quite right.

  "What's going on with you, Nikulas?" he demanded.

  "What? Nothing, man. I'm good." He threw a bag of blood into the microwave.

  Luukas joined him in the kitchen and narrowed his eyes at him, taking in his pallid appearance, bruised eyes, and sunken cheeks. The signs were subtle, but they were there.

  Why had he not noticed this?

  "Don't lie to me," he reprimanded him.

  Nik took the blood out of the microwave and shook it up. Tearing off a corner, he chugged it down quickly, grimacing at the taste. He threw another bag in and hit the start button.

  He glanced at his brother with an almost guilty expression, and then sighed, and seemed to make up his mind about something. "Emma, Keira's sister, is my mate. That's why I've been so sure the stories weren't just old wives tails. That's how I know that it's true."

  Luuk frowned in confusion. "But, you let her go home, and the legend says..."

  "Yeah," Nik interrupted, "I know what the legend says."

  Luukas looked back and forth between Nik and the door, caught between the need to find his female, and the need to find out what was happening to his brother.

  Then he remembered something.

  "So, if you know what the legend says, and you know these stories are true, then without Emma's blood, you're dying?"

  Nik finished chugging down his second blood bag, tossing the empty plastic into the recycle can. "It appears so."

  "I don't understand." Luukas paced away and back again, rubbing his temples. "Why not just go get her?"

  "Now you sound like Keira."

  Grabbing his brother by the shoulders, Luukas shook him slightly. "You must go get her. Bring her here! Why did you let her leave? What the hell is wrong with you?"

  Nik shrugged out of his brother's grasp. "I wanted to give her a choice."

  "A choice?" Luuk asked incredulously.

  "Yes, a choice," Nik reiterated. "A choice to live her life the way she was supposed to."

  "She's supposed to live it with YOU!" Luukas was having a hard time keeping his calm. "Do you know where she is?"

  "Yeah."

  "Then go get her, Nikulas," Luukas gritted out, "Or I will go get her myself, by whatever means necessary. I'll drag her back here tied and gagged if I need to. I will not stand by and watch my only brother commit suicide. Do you understand?"

  Nik raised an eyebrow. "Chill out, man. I'm heading there tonight. That's where I'm going."

  Luukas took a calming breath. "Good."

  Nik grinned at him. "You know, you're acting more and more like yourself everyday. And your eyes are almost back to their normal color."

  "They are?" He hadn't noticed. He still avoided mirrors whenever possible. And why the hell were they talking about his fucking eyes?

  "Nikulas, I need to go find Keira. Do you know where I could find a human driver?"

  "You can't go out now, it's daylight."

  "I can go in the SUV, the windows are tinted in the back. I just need a human to drive."

  "It's still a crazy risk, man. It looks like it's shaping up to be an unusually sunny day out there. Besides, she probably just needed some air. She won't go far. She has no ID, no money. Why don't you just hang out here with me, give her some space in case she com
es back on her own. If she doesn't, we can set out as soon as the sun sets. I think you're freaking out over nothing."

  Luukas rubbed the back of his neck. He knew Nik was probably right. She was just angry. She'd come back in her own time and then they could sit down and talk.

  He just felt so shaky without her around. She did something to his psyche, calmed him somehow. Which was weird, considering their past, but there it was.

  And his instincts were burning inside of him, telling him to go after his female. He didn't know how Nikulas had lasted this long so far from Emma. No wonder he looked like shit.

  Was he just overreacting? He didn't know anymore.

  "Yeah, ok. But I'll go on my own, you need to go get Emma."

  "Are you sure? You gonna be all right?"

  No. "Yes."

  Nik eyed him dubiously, but after a moment, gave a nod. "Ok. Let's get some sleep then, shall we? You can crash in Aiden's room."

  Luukas went to head that way, but stopped. "Nik?"

  He paused, "Hmm?"

  Luukas opened his mouth to attempt to express all that he was feeling, but found he couldn't get the words out. So instead, he pulled his brother to him and wrapped him in a bear hug. "Thank you."

  Nik patted him awkwardly, "Uh, you do realize that I've been a horrible brother, right?"

  "No. You haven't. You weren't prepared for what happened, and that was my fault. I should've spent more time with you, kept you up to date with things, trained you for an emergency such as that. I should've listened to you in the first place and not have gone there alone. None of this would've happened. You all did as well as you could, and you've been great since I got back. With me. With Keira. And I want you to know that I appreciate it."

  His brother gave him a quick squeeze and pulled away, embarrassed. "Come on, let's get some sleep."

  Smacking Luukas on the shoulder, he turned and went back to his room.

  Luukas watched him until he closed the door behind him, and then headed to Aiden's room.

  Chapter 30

  Luukas