Undying Hate~ Book Three

Elias

The second she was taken, Elias knew. With a vicious grip on the steering wheel and a dangerous manoeuvre on a winding country backroad, Elias made a U-turn and drove recklessly back the way he came. Then, slamming his fingers against the hands-free screen, he made a call.

After one ring, Kian answered, the strain in his voice palpable through the speaker.

“Vampire, on the borders.”

“How,” Elias grated his teeth, feeling the wrath take over and his iris’ burn red.

“Rowan’s cousin was marking a trail. She must have overshot the border, and a vampire copied the marks, and Sylvie followed it.”

“Fuck.”

“Elias-”

“I fucking know.”

A wave of calm came across the call, but Elias shrugged it off. It wasn’t time to be calm, and Kian knew better than to manipulate him.

“Don’t.”

“I can’t help it- after Rowan marked her, I can’t-”

“I know that too,” he sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair. Godamn mate bonds. He had felt the inexplicable changes after the four of them had been completely bound. His strength and immunity to the sun had grown along with other more location-based skills. That’s why he knew she was trapped in Argyncia, a place he couldn’t reach for at least an hour.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Kian said then, “and we can’t. Kerensa and I used up the last of our energy on the final wards.”

“How long?” The frustration mingling with uncomfortable fear filled him as he pushed the gas pedal to the floor so hard he thought it might go through it.

“Days.”

“Fuck!” he roared as Kian muttered something unintelligible. Elias could almost see his expression, the visual apparitions of his kindreds growing as each day passed. He wondered on occasion if its frequency would increase if he, Kian and Rowan were intimate too. Still, none of them ever tested the theory, their eyes permanently glued to the perfect body of their perfect mate.

His wife.

His Queen.

The thoughts only compelled him to spiral further. Visions of her at Hayes’ mercy forced a fury into his body beyond all the times before. Hayes loved a challenge and always did. Any girl or woman Elias ever showed any interest in; he was certain to manipulate, lie and coerce them to his whims.

Hayes broke things.

It was his favourite pastime as children, and it was sure to be the same now.

But Elias knew Sylvie better. She was not breakable. Her stubborn strength and unyielding power in such a small frame were something he had always admired. No, Hayes could not break her spirit, but the challenge would only quell him so much until her relentless smart mouth got her tortured and killed.

He’d done it before with Elias’ past lovers. Twice.

It was so much easier for Father to cover up back then; the unexpected deaths of the presumed unkillable. Nothing besides shifters and combustible liquids could do the trick, the poison of the shifters conflicting with the Vampire’s enchanted blood and good old fire burning them to a crisp.

Hayes often used a bit of both, his guards milking the shifters they occasionally stole like a writhing rattlesnake. Everything about his brother was monstrous. How they shared almost identical DNA baffled him daily, especially in his younger days. With hundreds of years to have grown up, Elias could not understand Hayes’s desire to continuously repeat history.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes,” Elias said, clearing his throat and mind with a short sharp grunt. “I’m about forty-five minutes away. Round up the Shifters.”

“Rowan’s done it. They’re all accounted for. All except their Alphas.”

Elias grunted again, knowing that Rowan’s wolf would be going ballistic, knowing his mate was out of reach and in danger. Elias worked the inside of his lower lip between his lengthening teeth. He hoped Rowan couldn’t sense Sylvie’s pain across realms, or he’d be useless to his pack.

“Where is he?”

“The lake, I believe.”

Elias drew a sharp breath between his teeth and slammed his palm on the wheel. “Fuck. Find him and bring him back, dammit. The last thing we need is two missing mates.”

“Rowan’s wolf is-”

“Kian!”

“Careful, Elias. I’m not your pet.” With that, he hung up, and Elias worked his jaw. Kian was right, of course, and the steadily rising guilt consumed him. Years of proficiency in working under the most stressful environments in the corporate world, through famine and war, were gone.

She was gone.

And it would be his undoing.

Rowan took the bed, sleeping atop the covers virtually naked in case his rabid wolf decided it could wait no longer and needed to destroy things in the middle of the night.

Kian slept on the couch, the dark, sunken bags beneath his usually vibrant eyes a signal his sleep was far from restful while Elias sat on a large chair in the corner, watching over them, digging his nails into the wooden arm until his fingertips split and healed around splinters.

Every once and a while, he would trail his fingers across her mark, the weaving pattern of indigo and emerald a mix of two crests from her parents, the vampire crest so familiar but not one he could place. It was as if her father’s identity were floating so precariously on the fringes of his mind like he did not want to be found. It had been centuries since he learned the different Born-vampire family crests and the mixed patterns were enough to stump him.

It was infuriating.

Sometimes he would feel a sting, and the unknown would send his fury skyrocketing. No amount of blood from his stores could quash the furious bloodlust. He wanted blood and flesh, destruction and death, but it had to be Hayes. No one else would do.

He didn’t know when he fell asleep, but he knew when he woke, his cock straining in his pants and the surprised groans of Kian and Rowan in their respective spots.

“What the fuck?” Rowan grunted, his sleep-riddled voice mingling with his animal.

Kian sat up, rubbing both hands over his face. “She’s so fucking powerful,” he muttered.

Adjusting his pants, he narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying that was-”

“She realm jumped astrally,” Kian confirmed his thoughts. “And pulled us all for the ride.”

“That felt-” Rowan sat and pulled the blanket across his lap, the obvious tenting of the fabric distracting him momentarily. “Real,” he finished.

“It was,” Elias said, standing to stretch. “If she can do that and be comfortable enough to want to fuck us, I’m guessing she’s safe. Could you locate her from it?” he asked Kian.

“No. It was too quick, and I was- I was distracted.”

“Fuck.”

“What can we do then?” Rowan growled from the bed, his head swivelling between both men.

Kian answered first. “All we can do.”

“And that is?”

Elias clenched his jaw, ignoring the sharp slice of his canines through his lip. No matter how great it vexed him to say it, and the fact his companions already knew, he couldn’t help but feel he was letting her down. She was no damsel needing to be swept off her feet and saved, but he wished to do that for her whether the need was there or not. He wanted her to need him. But this time, he’d have to trust she would find her way home.

He growled low in his throat and stood, crossing the room to the door in a split second. Kian jumped up to stop any rash decisions, but his fury needed an outlet.

With one last look at Rowan, he finally answered him. “We wait.”

Sylvie

“We have to wait.”

“Oh, for fuck sake!” Sylvie stomped away from Deacon and Kol, ready to tear their hair from the root and crossed her arms. Why her anger had piqued so fiercely was beyond her, but the burning fire over her mate marks surely had something to do with it.

“It’s only for a few more hours until Kol can open a portal for us,” Shan said soothingly while still giving her a wide berth.

“No. Kol is just dragging his fucking feet because he disapproves of me for his son,” she grumbled, making sure to speak just loud enough for him to hear. “Bloody racist.”

“I don’t know what you speak of,” Kol grunted with just as much attitude. “I’d be careful if I were you-”

“Oh, is that so?” She spun completely then, taking in his crouched body and ratty clothes. “Do you think, after knowing the importance and power behind bonded relationships, that you’re son would be happy knowing you’re delaying our reunion? Do you?” Her voice rose as did the uncharacteristic anger taking over every inch of her, right down to her nerve endings, currently throbbing with an itching ache. That was new.

Kol had the grace to look ashamed for less than a second and sighed, his frown merging with a sense of resolve.

“Fine,” he said, cracking his knuckles with his thumbs. “But you owe me.”

“Kian will owe you,” Sylvie corrected, not wanting to get somehow roped into the weird powertrips of the fae. For all she knew, he could’ve been an evil mastermind all along, and she’d be damned if she returned here for any other reason than to save the innocent vampire populace.

Kol’s hateful exterior cracked for the briefest moment, and Sylvie was glad she glimpsed it. Maybe there was some of his son in there after all. The playfulness, at least. Or perhaps cheekiness.

He knew that she knew he was trying to trick her, but she didn’t fall for the bait. And thanks to Kian, she never would. As long as she didn’t say sorry or thank the damn bastard in the next few minutes, she might actually make it home free.

“I’ll need to draw from you to get enough power for the shift. Do you consent?”

Sylvie almost told him to shove his question up his ass when Shan stepped forward. “You may take from the four of us just enough to get us all safely to the earth realm.” Mila, Deacon and Brodi affirmed her statement and bowed their heads to Sylvie. “You will not take any essence from our Queen.”

Kol scoffed, his eyes shifting toward her with a frustrated huff. Sylvie couldn’t help but snort slightly, imagining him saying, ‘foiled again,’ like a book villain.

“You haven’t even completed the ritual,” he said, rolling his eyes. “You are not her subjects yet, and she is not, nor will she ever be, the Queen. Your devotion is misplaced.”

Despite Sylvie believing Kols grumbling thoughts about her, she tilted her head towards Shan and raised a brow, completely ignoring him.

“Ritual?”

Shan worked her jaw and gave Kol a withering look. “It is from the old ways, and as you can tell, the time for that is over.”

Shaking her head, Sylvie stepped towards her new guardians and searched their eyes. “No, no... I would like to know what he’s talking about.” She jutted her chin to the man in chains, and Shan sighed.

“It’s a blood-sharing ritual,” Brodi said then. “Just like with kindreds.”

“Oh-”

Sylvie ran her tongue across her teeth and hummed. That wasn’t what she expected, but she totally should have deduced it. What was the harm anyway?

“Okay. Let’s do it then.”

Mila’s mouth dropped open, and Shan stepped forward, displaying her palms as if steadying a rearing horse. “Let’s not rush into this. It is a permanent bind. We will know where you are and be compelled to save you no matter the cost.” She inclined her head, and her eyes darkened, forcing Sylvie to swallow. Oh.

“Right. Well, I’d never force any of you to do that-”

“No,” Mila quickly amended Shan’s words. “It is our ultimate wish to serve our Queen, Sylvie. It is you we do not want to force.”

Sylvie sighed long and loud, throwing her hands in the air. “Well, I don’t know- the offer still stands, I guess.”

“No,” Brodi grunted, taking her hand and placing his forehead against the back of her fingers. “We will wait.” He said softly, lowering her hand to her side and straightening to full height.

The other vampires nodded, turning back to a bored-looking Kol, his expression dripping with contempt and a sprinkle of disbelief. “If you are done, then I suggest you move. Ilaani’s cohort is due back shortly, and you will pass them if you don’t go.”

Sylvie nodded and stood still as Shan and Mila threaded their arms with hers, holding her tight to their side. “You won’t let go of me, right? I have a habit of losing my mind in there.”

Brodi shook his head in front of her and narrowed his eyes. “Never.”

With one last look over her shoulder, she dipped her head toward Kol. “Goodbye, Kol. I will see you again soon, next to your children and Wife.”

His eyes widened a fraction at her mention of Kathryn, but he had no time to question her as his portal opened and sucked them into oblivion.