The only saving grace I have now is the fact that Abbadon used regular steel chains and not silver. He did a good job wrapping the chains around me, and even if I could shift, which I can’t, I won’t be able to break free. Everything hurts. Everything. Even my eyes hurt, and I have no idea why.
He almost killed me, came so close that I saw the other side wink at me. I don’t know what happened, but when the world reappeared, Gabriel was kneeling next to me, dripping blood into my mouth. “What were you thinking?” he hollered at Abbadon. “Do you want her to die?”
Abbadon said nothing. There was no remorse. I would have been able to deal with it better if he showed even an ounce of regret for the little girl he had murdered or got upset that he almost killed me and that another vampire had to save me. Edric would have gone batshit if Gabriel gave me his blood without his permission, but Abbadon didn’t seem to care at all. Does
Abbadon's POV: I wake up with a pounding headache and a raging thirst, a sure sign that I gave in to the bloodlust last night. Nothing will help for this hangover, not even blood. I’ll just have to tough it out. For some reason Maya is sleeping next to me, her left foot dangling off the bed. What bothers me more than anything is the pile of chains on the floor. I look up at the ceiling. The remnants of a chain still hang from the hook. Shit. Fuck. What did I do? I lean over Maya and look over the edge of the bed at her foot. Dammit. At least I had the foresight to put a barrier between her and the metal, but I tied it way too tight and the chain is eating into her skin. How the hell can she even be asleep right now? That must hurt like hell. I kneel next to her, breaking the chain off her ankle. What in the name of all that’s unholy did I do last night? “Maya?” I gently shake her awake. Her grey eyes fly open and I can see the fear sw
Edric's POV:It cannot be this easy. Killing him. He must be up to something. Must have some sort of plan to get out of this.It’s been a laughably easy infiltration. None of the vampires saw us coming, as Maya said they would, and with her help, we entered the compound within minutes, shielded by my mate’s powerful magic. “I thought you said Abbadon knows we’re coming?” I asked while she was in the shower.“I thought so,” she said. “But he has some kind of blood hangover. He can’t remember what he did last night.”I shuddered at the thought. “Vampires are disgusting.”She didn’t agree with me, but she didn’t disagree either, so I guess that was better than nothing. When Abbadon walked into the room looking for her, I almost lost my nerve. My wolf growled, just itching to rip the vampire’s throat out.We sat on the bed, Maya’s arm
Edric slips from the room. I’m hyper-aware of the pain I’m causing him, but I can’t stop it. I don’t want to hurt him, but I’m torn in two here, and I want to save them both, even though I know it’s impossible. And despite all the hurt and his desires to have me by his side, Edric’s still the better man, because he doesn’t want Abbadon to suffer needlessly, despite everything he’d done. Abbadon takes my hands in his, sending those beautiful mate sparks careening through me. It’s upsetting to see him cry – this powerful, nearly immortal, godlike creature. “I should never have done this to you.” I shift around uncomfortably. Remorse doesn’t sound right coming from him. “He’s a good man. A good wolf. He doesn’t deserve to die, even though I really, really want to kill him. If it can’t be me, I’m glad it’s him.” “He is a good man,” I agree. “But you are not awful. You are just--” “You saw what I did, Maya. You are making excuses for me. I am
Edric's POV: We’ve been back with Dark Moon for three days, and Maya barely moved in all that time. She just sits on the back porch looking out onto the lake that runs through Darius’s territory. On our first day back, Clarissa tried to give Deimos to her, but Maya didn’t want anything to do with him. Her milk has dried up, and I think it’s just one more bit of hurt she can’t deal with right now. “It should come back,” I tried to tell her. “When you hear him cry.” But she just turned her back on me and kept staring out at the lake. She’s damn-near catatonic, and it’s killing me. Another male’s death shouldn’t affect her this much…and I can’t even get angry at her, because she can’t help what she’s feeling. The only ones I can get angry at are the ones that did this to us and of those, one is already dead, the other is a Goddess, and the third will die today. I stand on the porch watching her, because it
It’s hard. I’m so empty inside. It’s the kind of hole nothing can fill, not even Deimos. What kills me is that Edric is trying his best to make it better, but he can’t. And I know he’s angry. I know he’s going through a difficult time too. He must hate me. I’d hate me if I were him. ~ Fake it, ~ my wolf says. ~Fake it ‘till you make it. ~ * I can’t even do that. * She is happy to be here with Dark Moon, happy to be with Edric. I’d rather be anywhere but here. I want to get away from the other wolves’ pitiful glances. Deimos gurgles on my lap and gives me a huge toothless grin. “It’s a good thing you don’t know what a mess your mom is,” I say, and tickle his chubby little neck. He just keeps cooing and makes a grab for my hair. “Maya?” Edric asks from the open backdoor. “Are you ready?” “Yes,” I cradle Deimos close to me, stand up, and look out over the lake. It’s the same one that flows into Mountain Fire’s territory. I’ll miss this place, I t
PART 2 I wake up in a cold sweat, my heart hammering in my chest, tears streaming down my face. I dream about him every night. I miss him. I knew Abbadon for less than three weeks, but it feels like we had a lifetime together, and a part of me died when he died. That part isn’t coming back to life, and even though I’m happy to be home with my mate and baby, there’s a constant, nagging emptiness in the pit of my being that’s not going away. I try my best to hide it from Edric, but he knows. He doesn’t blame me. Doesn’t resent me. Never even brings it up. But he knows, and it’s killing me, because I know he’s hurting too. I swing my legs off the bed. The nausea hits me out of nowhere, and I make it to the bathroom just in time. Falling on my knees in front of the toilet, I start vomiting. I’ve been throwing up nearly non-stop for three days now. At first, I put it down to the stress of returning to the swamp and the sickening, cloying humid hea
Edric's POV All the fear leaves me at once, and I have to grab the bed to stop myself from collapsing to the floor. “You’re sure?” I ask, still not trusting that I heard Winston, one of our doctors, correctly. “Pretty sure, yeah.” He grins at the look on my face. “She’s three weeks pregnant at least.” It adds up. She conceived the night we left Mountain Fire. The night I chased her in the woods. The night everything clicked back into place and I knew we’d be okay. Although, the last week or so, I started to doubt her. I started to think that the loss of Abbadon was too great and that I’d never get her back. I started to resent her for it, and many times all I could do was walk away because I was afraid of what I’d say to her if I didn’t. I have to keep reminding myself that she chose me, and that’s what matters. “She’s been so irritable lately,” I say, more to myself than the doctor. “I thought she…” I shake my head, cutting myself off before I give away too much. “A lot of she-wo
“Do you need a bottle?” Edric asks. God, he’s a good man. Back when I still lived a human life, I knew girls who dreamed of having a man like him – one that anticipates your needs and just does it for you, because he loves you that much. “No.” I smile up at him. “I’m good.” I stopped throwing up two days ago, and they finally agreed to let me come home this morning. Edric sits up behind us and looks over my shoulder at the nursing baby. “Goddess, he’s growing up fast.” “Didn’t you tell me that’s what babies do?” “Yes, but he’s growing faster than a normal baby.” “Oh.” I cast my mind back, thinking about Natalie and Thomas, trying to remember if they grew this fast as babies, but it’s too long ago and too far away now. “Do you feel up to taking a drive with me today? I want to show you the progress we’re making on the new compound.” What I really want to do is shift and go for a run. The last time I shifted was just over two weeks ago on our first full moon back here. “Is it too