Hot Blooded (Jessica McClain #2) 0

It was time to play.

I slid forward. “Of course I want to claim my prizes, Selene. That’s what I came here for, right?” I drawled in a lazy tone. “But more important, I’d like to remove your head from your body. After that, I’m sure I’ll have enough time to free my lover and whatever else you have in store for me. Where do you keep the clean sheets, by the way? Your bed looks so wonderfully inviting.”

Hatred reverberated around the room in waves as she snarled, “Your mate will be hard-pressed to fulfill his duties as a lover before he takes his last breath. Why don’t you step into the room and see for yourself? It’s such a shame you never got to taste him or feel his hardness rock your core. He is divine and such a very, very skilled lover.”

My wolf surged so quickly I dug my claws into the wall so we wouldn’t gallop into the room in a blind rage. She’s playing with us! Calm down!

I cleared my voice. “There will be plenty of time for me to feel all of him as soon as you’re dead and gone, Selene. We’ll start the minute you die; no need to worry yourself needlessly. Your bed will be well used.”

“He’s a lover worthy of a goddess—not,” she spat, “a mongrel such as yourself. If he were to live, he would bore of you within a week. He would be back in my bed where he belongs, his cock firmly embedded inside me for all eternity.”

“Unfortunately for you,” I answered as I took a step forward, “I’m extremely talented in the bedroom. Boredom won’t be an option.”

“Show yourself!” she raged. “I’ve had enough of these games!”

“Selene,” I taunted, “you sound a little stressed.”

“I am not stressed!” she yelled. My head snapped to her location. She was in the upper-left corner, just out of my sight. Keeping her enraged was working. Her spell was wavering. “I am a goddess. I have immense powers; nothing stresses me—”

“Having to tell people you have immense powers defeats the purpose entirely.” I shifted closer. I was almost ready to spring. “Maybe you’ve lost some of your mojo with all your beheadings—”

“Enough!” Selene raged. “Show yourself!” A shock wave hit the boulder in front of me. It exploded. I dove to the right, rolling into a shallow recess. “Come forward, wench, and we’ll see who is stronger and has more stamina.”

I crouched, waiting. Selene needed to be lost to her anger. No matter what we see once we clear this wall, we go straight for Selene. Understood? Keeping her from spelling us is our top priority. My wolf whipped her nose down, but I didn’t trust her not to react to Rourke. His scent still rocked us, making us distracted. My wolf’s instinct would be to go to him, to save him above all else. He’s going to look bad. There’s no way around it. If we don’t defeat the witch, we all die. She was barely listening. I inhaled, at her urging, and scented for trouble. Stop trying to figure out the smells. We can’t be distracted—

Naomi.

Selene had the vamps.

The traces were faint, but Selene’s masking spell was breaking down because of her rage. She hadn’t wanted me to know yet.

“You are too late, coward,” Selene called. “She dies now.” Power filled the room. It was time to act, and I needed Selene focused on me, not Naomi.

I sprang, bounding out into the open.

This was exactly what Selene wanted, but I had no other choice. Once I cleared the barrier, the scene in front of me was almost too much. I stumbled for a single moment as I took in the whips and sinister devices lining every inch of the vast cavern, each alcove adorned with shackles, implements of torture, spikes, and chains.

Blood, old and new, drenched the walls and ground like a thick carpet of red paint.

This woman was deranged.

A huge blast of power hit the side of the cavern above my head as I ran. Good. She’s aiming it at us. From the angle of the explosion, I knew she was behind me. I blocked the revulsion that had erupted in my gut as quickly as I could. Don’t look at the walls! I instructed my wolf as we ran. Once I hit the middle, I leapt over the dais in a single lunge. I spun in midair, so I faced her, landing on the balls of my feet. I crouched low, protected by the angle of the stairs. I tilted my head toward the ceiling, following my wolf’s lead. I glanced upward, past all the candles, into the deep shadows and recesses. My eyesight was excellent. Selene must have made herself invisible. Can she do that? “What’s the matter, Selene?” I called. “Too worried I’ll take you down if I can see you? Come and show me your immense powers.”

“You think to hide from me?” Selene laughed. “There is no place to hide.” Another huge ball of energy raced through the cavern.

I spotted a warped, wooden table covered in matted tissue and leftover parts. I jumped at supernatural speed, and with a running start, slid under it like I was stealing a base. Selene’s red lines hit the ground two feet behind me in a rush, rocking the cave floor, leaving a deep, rutted crater in its wake as rocks rained down from the ceiling, thumping and cracking onto the big wooden top.

The table wasn’t going to protect me from the next spell.

I poked my head out, my eyes darting around the room for the next cover. I couldn’t fight something I couldn’t see and I couldn’t throw a spell. Dammit. Do you see Rourke or Naomi? His smell was still everywhere, but I couldn’t see him. “Who’s the coward now, Selene?” I taunted. “Glamouring yourself is such a pansy way out. I’m a weakling compared to you, right? You must really be scared to take such precautions.” I eyed my next cover, a cranny ten paces away. It might hold one strike if I was lucky.

“I do not fear you, wench,” Selene spat. “I’m just not foolish enough to put myself within an animal’s reach.” Her voice tinkled around the room. “Come and look up. See what nice gifts I have waiting for you here.”

I do not want to look.

I looked.

My breath hitched inside my diaphragm, threatening to never leave my body again. No, no, no, no, no, I cried. My wolf echoed her painful howl right along with mine.

Selene’s glamour slowly evaporated, like a fog lifting from a mire, exposing Rourke for the first time. He hung from the ceiling upside down thirty feet in the air. From what I could see, his chest was eviscerated by a long, jagged incision. All his organs had tumbled out, masking this torso completely. My gods. His beautifully tattooed arms were bound with silver chains. They swung listlessly below his head, as thick, coagulated blood covered them. Most of it had congealed, but a few slow, fat drops hit the ground as I stared in horror.

Selene had done this unspeakable thing recently. She had cut him open and bled him dry, wanting me to witness his agonizing death personally. If she’d done it before, there would be no fresh blood.

An agonized sound came out of my mouth as I willed his skin to knit back together with my mind. Please, baby, please start healing! Is his chest pinned back with something to keep it from mending? I asked my wolf. She couldn’t answer me, because her muzzle was foaming with rabid anger. I crawled from under the table, mesmerized by his pain, my heart shattering. Candlelight flickered and something glinted off his side. It’s silver. She’s secured his skin back with silver. He can’t heal! My wolf stood motionless, her ears pinned back, a feral sound issuing from her throat. We have to get to him quickly. I started to run. She hasn’t severed his spine. We can save—

“Do you like what you see?” Selene cackled. I didn’t stop running. “He’s a little busy dying right now, but do you see how wonderfully he glistens? Ahhh, and that smell! Death radiates a special kind of scent. Don’t you agree?” I was almost to him. “Stop!” she screamed. “Or he dies now.” An explosion hit the wall closest to me.

My head snapped to her voice and I slid to a stop.

She must have dropped her glamour at the same time she dropped her hold on Rourke, but I hadn’t even noticed. There was a small alcove running along the cavern directly across from where Rourke hung. She was just outside it, swinging on something. Is that some kind of trapeze? My wolf didn’t answer. She refused to tear her mind away from Rourke.

The thing Selene sat on was attached to the rocky cavern ceiling by thick chains and she swung idly, like she was bored, dressed in her ridiculous biker-chick outfit: all black leather, corsets, and spikes. Her long, red tresses flowed out behind her, her porcelain skin glowing in the candlelight. I focused my eyes harder. What she was on was too bulky and too thick to be a regular swing.

My stomach gave a wild lurch.

The only distinguishing human feature of the thing wrapped up in dark netting was the chestnut hair flowing through the holes. The body was drenched in blood and unrecognizable. But I knew who it was. I’m coming for you, Naomi. We will avenge her together.

Selene caught my eye, making sure I took in every ounce of her dramatic unveiling, and then tossed her head back. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to have my revenge on this hateful traitor? More than three hundred years. I gave this bitch everything and she threw it all in my face the first chance she got.” She smiled, her pouty lips straightening in to a grim line. “It was so deliciously wonderful that you led her right to my doorstep. You did something her brother failed to do for three centuries! I should reward you, but honestly it will be more fun to kill you. But, because of your generous gift, I’ll save you for last.”

Eamon had failed to bring her here? That means he’s been working as Selene’s spy the entire time. He never left her service. Things fell into place quickly. My wolf was still inconsolable, pushing me toward Rourke with all her might. Before I could get her full attention, there was a small noise behind me.

“Seize her!” Selene yelled, laughing. She was enjoying this way too much.

It was time to change things up.

I spun without looking. With incredible speed I collided with Eamon, shoving my foot into his rib cage, smashing him back into the nearest rock wall. The side of the cavern blew apart on impact. Eamon sprang out of the broken pieces immediately, seemingly unharmed, except for a line of blood lingering at the left corner of his mouth. His lips curled at the sides as his chin started to slid down, his cheekbones twisting ghoulishly.