CHAPTER 27

 

Cora stood on top of a snow-covered mountain.

The sky was blanketed in the darkness of the night. A crescent moon rose in the sky, offering only a sliver of light. She looked down, surprised to find herself wearing an over-the-top wedding gown that had her looking like a frigging marshmallow. She felt something on her head and reached out to find a tiara nestled in her hair.

“My bride,” a voice whispered in the wind.

No!

With a burst of speed, Luca stood before her.

“And what a ravishing sight she is,” another voice spoke.

Luca smiled at her smugly, as Michael appeared beside him.

Dread sliced through her, but she bolstered herself, trying to appear unaffected. She knew they could smell fear, and it really wouldn’t do her any favors.

“How are you doing this?” she demanded. No one should be able to breach her dreams anymore. Since she’d bonded with Ryan, it’d erected a block that’d kept all others from her thoughts and subconscious. Only her husband had that privilege now.

“Your pain has left you weaker than normal,” Michael explained. “Making this visit possible.”

“Pain? My attack? How do you know about that?”

“We made it happen. With you weakened, Luca was able to regain his betrothal bond access to you. Combined with my power, we were able to trigger your power. Unnaturally, of course. Hence, your agony. If you’d let it out in the first place, this wouldn’t be possible. So, I thank you for your ignorance of what you truly are, my dear.”

“Why? What do you want?”

“Only what was promised, my princess,” Luca said, his eyes dark with desire.

She raised her palms. “Remember what happened the last time you crossed me.”

“You won’t be doing that today,” Michael told her.

“If either of you lay so much as a finger on me, I’ll do much worse.”

Luca laughed. “So naïve, little princess.” His eyes flashed. “You won’t want to.”

“What?”

“Not after I compel you.”

“You can’t. You admitted that.”

“Ah, but it turns out that I can. When you are weak. Michael is here to ensure that you remain in just enough agony in reality to keep you helpless here.”

“It won’t work.”

Michael told her, “We’ll know soon enough.”

“What the hell does that mean?” She was more than a little worried, because she did feel a great deal weaker than normal. If their theory was correct, then, no, she really wouldn’t be able to stop them.

Luca stepped into her personal space and snarled, “It means that I’m going to make you beg me.”

A rush of terror gripped her. “No. Stay back!” She thrust out her palm. Nothing happened. Not even a spark of magic. “No. What’s happening?”

“I am blocking you, my dear,” Michael told her.

Cora shook her head vehemently. Eyeing Luca, she warned, “I will stop you.”

“You can’t even stop me from doing this,” he said, snapping his fingers.

She felt a sudden chill. She looked down to see that she was no longer wearing a wedding dress. Instead, she stood only in a tiny, black robe that barely covered anything. She shivered and pulled it tight across her chest to conceal her exposed cleavage.

“Mmm. Much better. Feel free to resist me for as long as you can, Cora. It just makes me want to fuck you all the harder.”

“I am Ryan’s wife. He will kill you, if you touch me.”

“Yes, as a rule, wolves are extremely territorial. But Ryan is beyond even that. Especially, when it comes to you, the woman he’s waited centuries for. This will anger him immensely. But it will hurt him even more. And that’s exactly what he deserves.”

“This is old news, Luca. Ryan isn’t responsible for the crimes of his father. Why can’t you just let it go?”

“Because of the shame it has caused me!”

Before she could respond, his hands gripped her arms painfully and he jerked her against him. She squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away to avoid his gaze.

“Let me tell you a little secret. I don’t require eye contact to compel you. I am no ordinary vampire. I am the Vampire Prince. All I need is close proximity and my voice.”

She shuddered and tried to push him off her, but her strength was next to none, thanks to Michael’s interference. He was blocking her with great success.

“Now, let’s begin, shall we?” He spoke in a velvety smooth tone, “Stop struggling.”

She seized her struggles instantly. She couldn’t stop herself. It was working!

“Good girl. Open your eyes and look at me.”

Her eyes snapped open and met his gaze. She saw the triumphant smirk on his face.

“Respond to me like you mean it,” he ordered, just before his mouth smothered hers.

And she did respond, kissing him back as insistently as he kissed her. She felt his tongue demanding access and she opened her mouth, allowing him inside. He tasted her, his tongue massaging hers with ruthless determination.

Behind the powerful haze of his compulsion, she was screaming out in her head, willing him to stop, to release her. But she couldn’t summon her words to the surface. They were being held back by him, along with her free will.

He pulled back and she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

“Delicious,” he said, licking his lips.

His hands slipped inside her robe and he summoned his talons. He raked them over her breasts and down her stomach, drawing blood and making her scream out inside her head.

And then his tongue was on her, licking the wounds, tasting her blood.

He turned to Michael. “Such powerful blood. I can see why you’ve coveted her power for so long.”

Michael nodded and smiled. “Enjoy her for now, my prince. When I’m done with her, there won’t be a drop of blood left to spill.”

Luca turned back to her and scented her. He frowned, his gaze darting between her thighs. “You are not ready to receive me, princess.”

He seemed shocked. Hurt flashed in his eyes. It quickly morphed to rage, and he lashed out, tossing her across the mountaintop with a roar of fury. She hit the ground hard. The compulsion shattered at the brutal impact.

She scrambled to get back to her feet, to defend herself. Although, what she could do, given the helpless state they’d forced her into, she had no idea. Groaning, she managed to make it to her knees.

She looked up to see Luca storming over, bellowing at her. “You were promised to ME! Not him! The magic of the betrothal bond was created by the most powerful beings in existence! You were to be my bride! You should want that as much as I do! Why, then? Why do you continue to deny me? You would choose a mangy, ill-tempered, trashy wolf over me? He offers you rundown accommodations, a life where he is King, and you are merely the trophy at his side. With me, you would not have been second. We would have been equals. I would have helped you to harness your power, to grow into who you were meant to be. You would have been surrounded by lavish luxury for your eternal life. I would have made love to you, instead of the rough fucking I’m sure my brother subjects you to. He is wolf and it is in his nature, something that can never change.”

He dug his nails into her arms, making her wince, and hauled her back to her feet. “Instead of all of that, you’ve forced me to make a deal with Michael! To hand you over to him, just so I can guarantee a short while with you first. He’ll drain you and kill you. You’ve driven me to these extremes, Cora.” He shook her violently. “Why? Tell me why!”

He’d come unhinged. A quick glance behind him to Michael standing in the distance told her even he was shocked by his major outburst.

Luca shook her again, demanding, “How could you favor him over me? Tell me! Now!”

She swallowed hard, because she knew he wouldn’t like the answer. She forced herself to meet his irate glare. “I love him.”

He released her and took a step back, scrubbing his hand over his face. “You think you do.” He shook his head sadly. “You are too young to know what that really means.”

“The betrothal bond was manufactured, Luca. Not real. Ryan is my true mate.”

“By destiny.”

“Yes.”

“Is that not another manufactured joining? By fate’s design? It is still not free will, is it?” His eyes flashed with victory, knowing he’d made a connection that would unsettle her.

“No. That’s not—that’s—”

“You know I’m right.”

A thunderous crack sounded from above. Michael sped to them, cursing. All three of them looked up at the sky to see a rip in the fabric of the dream.

A rush of power shot through Cora.

Her silver fire sparked to life on her palms, letting her know it was back in play. She felt her strength surging.

“Hurry it along, Luca. Take her!” Michael urged.

“Sorry, princess. We’ll have to skip the foreplay,” Luca said, reaching for his belt and stepping closer.

“Never,” she seethed.

She shot out her hand and grasped his neck.

She hauled him off the floor and squeezed hard, making him gag. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at her. She was dressed again, in her own clothes, her signature biker attire.

She felt Michael rush her and she raised her free hand, holding him back with her magic.

“I will kill you here and in the real world,” she warned them both.

An explosion of white light shot through the dark night inside the dream. Something was trying to force itself through. Two shimmering, ivory gates.

“The gates to the White Realm!” Michael exclaimed.

“Get… the… location,” Luca struggled to eke out against Cora’s tight grip around his neck.

“Already working on it.”

“No!” Cora screamed.

But then everything disappeared.

Cora woke up suddenly in a major panic.

It took her a moment to realize that she was screaming. She glanced around frantically.

She was outside. In a forest?

“Cora!”

She looked up to see Ryan gazing down at her. He was carrying her through the forest, holding her tightly to him.

A white-haired woman, wearing a black velvety dress that flowed down to the floor, was speaking to her. Her eyes seemed gentle, reassuring, even. It took her a while to regain her equilibrium and get her bearings.

“Center yourself. Breathe,” the woman was saying.

“Cora! Tell me you’re okay! Please, my love,” Ryan called.

She stopped struggling, calming down, and looked up at him. “I’m okay. I’m good,” she said. “Put me down.”

He gently eased her to her feet. “Is the pain gone, my love?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I feel fine. Angry. But fine.”

“Angry?”

“Luca and Michael were in my dream.”

Ryan’s eyes snapped to the woman’s. “You were right.”

The woman nodded sadly.

“What happened, my love? Did they… did Luca… hurt you?”

Cora could tell from his hesitation that it wasn’t what he really wanted to know.

“He didn’t rape me,” she told him, answering the question that he couldn’t bear to ask.

He released a sigh of such relief that she saw just how terrified he’d been.

She watched his expression shift, as he looked her over. He’d picked up on something. Damn his wolf senses. He sniffed her and reached out, trailing his fingers lightly down her chest. “You’re bleeding.”

She shuddered at the memory of what had happened to her in that awful dreamscape. But she managed to play it off, shrugging. “I heal fast.”

His eyes narrowed. “He hurt you. Tell me, Cora.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine now. Just let it go, please.”

“Let it go? Like you made me promise not to make you talk about what happened at his mansion, to let it go then too?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck!” he roared. He thrust his fist into the trunk of a nearby tree. The force of his punch took out a good chunk of it. He howled in pain and fury, the sound reverberating the ground beneath their feet. “I’m gonna kill him! He’s dead! He hurt you, Cora! He hurt my wife! I won’t fucking let it go! I won’t! I’m not gonna let this stand!”

“Ryan!” the strange woman called to him.

“If I were you, I’d calm down, before you shift, brother,” Luca’s voice sounded suddenly. “The White Realm won’t allow a wolf passage, even if you have bound yourself to the King’s daughter.”

The bastard stood a few feet back, flanked by an army of twenty vampires, along with two of Michael’s wolves.

“I will kill you!” Ryan thundered. “You dare to touch my wife? I’ll rip your undead heart from your fucking chest!”

Luca smiled, clearly enjoying Ryan’s pained reaction. Cora grimaced as he just piled on. “She has the most exquisite taste, doesn’t she, brother? And the power rush of her blood?” He licked his lips. “Incredible.” He glared at him with contempt. “She’s all the sweeter when she’s resisting, too. Not that it did her much good against my compulsion. She was too weak this time to withstand it.” His eyes flashed. “She just had to take it, to let me do to that delectable body, what I wished.”

Ryan roared and lunged forward.

But Cora grabbed his hand, tugging hard to pull him back. “Please, Ryan. There are too many. It’s what he wants.”

“He hurt you,” he said, shaking out of her grip.

“There will be another time. Please, baby. Please.”

Ryan kept his furious glared fixed on Luca.

She reached into his mind with their link. Please, baby. Step back. We can’t take them all. And Michael’s wolves are here. I don’t want any of us to suffer that pain from their poison again. I am angry as well. It was me who went through it, after all. I need you right now, so, please, stay here with me.

Ryan grunted and he turned to her. His gaze softened and she could see the pain in his eyes, pain for her and what she’d had to endure at Luca’s hands.

He stepped back and wrapped his arm around her protectively.

Enraged that Ryan had calmed down, Luca signaled his army to attack.

“Stop!” the mysterious woman bellowed.

She clapped her hands and a shimmering wall appeared between them and Luca’s army.

A magical barrier.

Luca snarled. “You cannot hold it against so many of us for so long. You are out of practice, witch. It’s a shame the princess’s magic is so unstable, or you could have pushed us back.” He took a step back and called out, “Michael! Some assistance!”

A gust of cold wind ripped through the forest and Michael appeared in a flash of vampire speed beside Luca. He smiled with amusement as he took in the scene in front of him.

“Shaye, it’s been a couple of lifetimes.”

Shaye? That’s her name.

Michael went on, “Say, didn’t you and the wolf have a thing once?”

Shaye caught Cora’s eye and looked away awkwardly. Oh. So, she was Ryan’s ex-girlfriend, the one he’d messaged for help. “Stop it, Michael!” Cora ordered. “No one cares.”

Michael turned his attention to Ryan. “Planning to stay on your leash, wolf? Or, would you rather let loose?”

As Ryan emitted a low growl at Michael, Cora was distracted by a sudden, sharp pain shooting through her belly. She slapped her hand to it.

Her movement caught Ryan’s attention and he eyed her out of the corner of his eyes.

His concern poured into her head. What’s wrong, my love? Are you hurt?

No. Just an ache. Probably just hungry. It’s been a while. She knew none of that was true. But, now wasn’t the time to stress him out more. Things were bad enough with a frigging army facing off with them.

It was possible Ryan may have seen through her bravado, though, because his voice was back a moment later. I need to get us out of here.

Where exactly are we?

We’re standing at the gates to the White Realm.

What? They were? She couldn’t see any sign of them. She didn’t get the chance to ask him what that was all about.

Luca’s voice interrupted their telepathic conversation. “Shaye, you can’t hold that barrier and conjure the gates. It’s one or the other.”

Another sharp pain shot through Cora, the sensation far more painful than the first. She couldn’t help it. She collapsed onto the grass, gripping her stomach, grunting in agony.

Ryan dropped to his knees beside her. “What’s wrong? What is it, my love?”

“How disgustingly sweet of you, Ry,” Luca commented of Ryan’s endearment.

Cora tensed, worried it would set Ryan off again. She was incapacitated, unable to hold him back if it did.

But she needn’t have worried, because he didn’t pay it any mind at all. He was focused wholly on her, his worry for her trumping all else. He was frantic that she was hurting.

He stroked her hair gently and whispered, “Talk to me, Cora.”

The awful sensation started to subside, just a suddenly as it had come on.

“I’m okay,” she breathed. “It’s gone now,” she said, trying to get to her feet.

Ryan pulled her up and supported her weight against him, his arms wrapped around her, protecting her. He eyed Shaye in question, clearly hoping she might know what was happening.

Shaye’s eyes met hers and she saw some sort of realization in them. Her eyes widened, then she looked away abruptly.

Ryan caught it too. “What, Shaye?” he pressed.

“You know what’s wrong with me, don’t you?” Cora said.

Shaye hesitated as she looked between them and their enemies. “Not in front of them.”

A blinding, silver light swept through the forest, obscuring everyone’s vision.

And then everything disappeared.