Page 97 of Come for Me
My mother, sister, and I function like zombies, void of our own thoughts and plans, afraid he’ll sense them and use it against us.
At dinnertime, Mother is serving us food, and a knife falls from a plate she was holding and knicks Dad’s arm. The chair flips behind him as he stands and throws her against the wall.
After taking River upstairs, I hide her in the closet.She’s only nine. She can’t keep seeing this crap.This time, I don’t stay with her but instruct her to cover her ears and not come out until I came to get her.
When I return downstairs, my mother is already gone. I see red, and none of my next moves are calculated. I don’t intend to kill him. I don’tknowwhat I intended to do.
I just did.
Unfortunately for my father, he had turned me into a machine. The very monster who could kill without giving it a thought.
* * *
I don’t tell Alaina everything, just enough that she can fill in the rest. It’s easy to piece together what happened, as I became king next and gained his power of seeing people’s intentions. Word has spread of the power-hungry heir, wanting the throne bad enough he’d kill his own father for it. Some even believe I killed my mother.
I don’t like to talk about the past, but when I do, she doesn’t look away from me, just listens. She realizes we both have lost our mothers. She sees me now as the boy who lost someone, not the man who killed for power.
She kisses me, the first kiss I didn’t have to seduce out of her or steal from her. It’s soft, loving, and meant to comfort. I’ve made peace with my past long ago. Nothing else matters anymore but her. But I let her comfort me anyway.
The kiss ends, and our foreheads rest against each other. Our breathing syncs, and we don’t speak. At this moment, Alaina doesn’t hate me or wish I was someone else or for her to be anywhere else. For now, she’s here.
Ruffling leaves comes from the forest. Instantly, I guard Alaina behind me and look around.
Like my father discovered when I ended him, unless you can see them, you can’t know their intentions. I stay still, waiting for whatever it is to show itself.
I growl, a warning to rethink whatever attack they might be planning before I end them.
The pounding of Alaina’s heart reaches my ears as she picks up on the same thing I have.
A vampiric presence emits great power. The familiar putrid smell tells me he or she is not alone, and the hissing and snarling grows louder.
I mindlink Sam and my guards for backup, but it’ll be awhile before they get to us.
“Get ready,”I mindlink to Alaina.
Her eyes glow violet, canines forming.
My darling queen looks like a bloodthirsty demon. I note when we aren’t in danger to do whatever sexual thing I can to get her to look at meexactlythat way again.
They emerge from the brush. Rogues foaming at the mouth, saliva dripping as they lick their canines. Vampires jump from trees, hissing and baring their fangs.
“Do you see what they want?”
I nod. “To kill me.”
“Why?”
I roll out my neck and call on my wolf.
“Because it’s the only way they’re ever taking you.”
Scanning the horde, I know the powerful vampire isn’t among the visible but lurking somewhere around us. Whoever it is, they won’t show themselves.
More vampires and rogues file in behind the rest.
“Dax, there’s too many of them,” Alaina panics.
She’s right.Even with both of us, we’d have to take on ten at once to have a shot. The ledge behind us is too far a drop, unless we were able to shift. Even then, it’s too risky.
