Page 17 of Immortal Hunter
“As long…as it…takes.”
But she was wrong. After twelve days, when she could do little more than force her eyes open when Hagen came to her, she caved.
“Give yourself over to my control, daughter. And you will never hunger again,” Hagen said. He smoothed a gentle hand over her hair, and her tears soaked into the wood.
“Please,” she whispered. “I’ll…do…anything…”
“Take my blood, daughter. The first time you drank from me, it brought your body back from death. This time, it will do so much more. Your thoughts will be mine to control, and together, we will do great things.” Hagen offered Kára his wrist, and her fangs lengthened, sinking into his skin as he smiled at her and rubbed her back in soothing circles. “The day I made you, I knew you would be one of my greatest accomplishments. You and your sisters will be unstoppable.”
As Kára swallowed, she knew she’d made a terrible mistake. Her mind fogged, and her body went slack. Hagen’s voice, when he spoke again, seemed to be everywhere. All around her, inside her head, woven through her very being. He loosened her chains, then commanded her to rise and stand before him.
“Let us see how much you have learned,” he said as he led her up a set of stairs to a lavish parlor. A human sat in a chair, ropes securing him, and a thick piece of cloth secured between his teeth. Kára scented his blood and her stomach rumbled, making the man whimper through his gag.
Hagen rested his hand on her bare shoulder. “Make his death painful, my child. And drink your fill.”
She came back to herself with a wail, curled on her living room floor, the last echoes of the human’s screams filling her ears.
“I will not force Ewan to love me. I cannot.” If she took his choices away by glamouring him, he’d stay with her, but he’d never trulybehers. And worse, she would not be able to live with herself. The day she’d broken free from her sire’s control, she’d vowed to live a better existence. To make up for all the horrors she’d committed.
She could not do anything but let Ewan decide for himself, and in her current state, she feared once she saw him, she would lose control.
Fuck.
She needed to hit something. Or…make something. With a sniffle—and when had she started crying again?—she pushed to her feet and dug the mangled blade from the pocket of her black leather coat. Hagen would not stop until he had her back, and she had to be ready.
After she’d changed into a pair of leather pants and a black tank, she donned a thick leather apron and took the blade into her workshop. This…would make her feel better. If it didn’t…well, she would go hunt down Hagen and slit his throat.
Nowthat…thatwould make her feel much better.
Chapter Eight
Ewan
The restof Ewan’s night after his conversation with Alfie had muddled by the drink and his own dark thoughts, and when he opened his eyes the next day, it was almost sunset. He’d tossed and turned for hours after his shift, sleeping in fitful patches until his cock would wake him, throbbing, and he’d recite football stats over and over until he’d fall asleep again.
His head pounded and he ran the water in the shower as hot as it would go. But that only reminded him how cool Kára’s skin had been. How she’d tasted. Like the first sunny spring day after a long winter.
He’d tried everything the previous night. The hangover was proof of that. Scotch. Beer. Eventually, vodka. And still, when he’d collapsed into bed close to sunrise, he’d thought of nothing but her. Dreamed of nothing but her.
And blood. What had she been through? The scars on her back, the deep, long-healed wounds across her hips, her thighs…
“Stop it,” he muttered to himself as he wrapped a towel around his waist. “She’s a vampire.” And what about the evil the witch, Vesper, had spoken of? He held the little vial up to the window. The liquid didn’t look like anything special. Pale green, thin. Pulling off the cork, he gave it a sniff. Mint. And something vaguely…sweet.
A thin curl of mist wove around his hand, and he brought the draught closer to his lips. What was he doing? Pain seized his chest, like an icy blade slicing through his ribs, and he braced his free hand against the pane of glass. He couldn’t breathe. All he wanted was an end to this agony.
Whispers in his head.
Drink. Once the bond is broken, you’ll be free. You want to be free. You need to be free.
Free? Ewan had never been free. Not since his parents had died and he’d been taken by the Hunters. Was it really as simple as this? One sip, and he’d forget Kára? What had Vesper said to him?
“She’s been hurt worse before. She will recover. But if you don’t do this, the rest of us will not.”
He wouldn’t hurt anymore. And Kára would heal. Even with the distance between them, he’d felt her pain every moment of the previous night, and now…it was even worse.
Take it.
The mists thickened, binding the vial to his palm. The whispers in his head got louder. Like a drum beat he couldn’t ignore. He wanted this.Neededthis. Upending the small glass bottle, he sucked it down in a single swallow. Bitterness coated his tongue, but then…everything slowed. A single memory from the hospital after the crash that killed his parents ran through his mind.
