Eternal Breath of Darkness (33 page)

She heard the dark lust, the
sinful intent in his growl and saw it in his eyes. “Be careful, Joseph.” She
smiled down at him, her lips parted in a way reminiscent of an angry wolf
baring its teeth. “There are certain things the devil would regret attempting
to do.”

Smiling, savoring the
threat, he lifted his hand to caress her leg. Sure, he experienced a certain
amount of pleasure in touching her, but pleasure wasn’t his immediate focus. He
was studying the bone cancer that was attempting to kill her. There was no way
in hell he would allow it to win. He sent waves of healing energy through her
body. He sent it deep into the marrow of her bones.

She felt the heat of his
healing power; she felt the relief. “What the hell are you doing?” Getting
madder, she pressed her heel harder.

“Oh, yeah.” He couldn’t
prevent the lusty growl from rumbling in his chest. Her temper was spurred by
hatred and lust for him. She was so damn hot in every way imaginable. Locking
his gaze onto hers, he grinned. Then, the gravity of her illness struck him,
and he frowned. Rage filled him and caused the floor and walls to shake.

A large-framed man in a
security uniform grabbed her arm and yanked her to the side. She tried to hit
the man, but he let go of her arm. Losing her footing, Mia stumbled. “Shit.”
She fell to her knees, coming down hard on Joseph’s chest. The man grabbed a
fistful of Mia’s hair to pull her off Joseph. Before Mia could reach for the
man’s hand he let go and Joseph was on his feet. And so was she. Joseph had
moved so fast. She didn’t know how it happened, but he’d managed to bring her
up with him as if she weighed nothing.

Joseph kept one arm tightly
wrapped around Mia’s waist while he wrapped his other hand around the security
guard’s throat. “Don’t fucking touch her again!” People were gathering around.
It was only a matter of time until someone else tried to intervene. Mia’s heart
was racing. It was her fault. She needed to stop Joseph before he killed the
man. But the moment the thought entered her mind, Joseph released the man and
turned her to face him. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“What the hell is wrong with
you? You could’ve killed him. He was trying to help you!”

“I didn’t ask for his help.
I didn’t ask for him to touch you. Are you hurt?” His voice was a deep, ominous
whisper. It sent chills from her feet all the way up to the top of her head. It
definitely wasn’t a human sound. And his eyes were so dark, nearly black, but
tiny red, flame-like flecks were burning in them. “Let go of me, Joseph.” She
tried to sound firm, but there was a tremor of fear in her voice.

He felt Mia’s body trembling
against his. He heard fear in her voice. He saw it in her eyes. He felt the
pain deep in her bones. The constant, terrible pain she’d lived with day and
night for far too long.

He was aware they were
surrounded now. It wasn’t easily missed. People were openly gawking and
whispering. He was aware of a camera flashing. He knew it was a reporter. When
he’d jumped up to deal with the security officer he’d inadvertently revealed
his true identity. He heard his name and Teresa’s name, but he didn’t care. It
didn’t matter,

“There’s no reason for you
to be in pain.” Catching the nape of her neck, he bent his head. Needing to
taste her, he pressed his lips against hers as he sent healing energy into her
body and transferred her pain into his body.

He was so deeply merged with
her that he knew she wanted to rip his flesh from his bones, but first she
wanted to rip his clothing off his body and take as much pleasure from him as
he was willing and able to give. Unconsciously arching her hips, allowing her
body to move against his, she kissed him deeply, savoring the feel and taste of
his kiss. No. She wasn’t simply savoring his kiss. She was loving it, needing
it, her body demanding it.

One second, he felt the rush
of her desire merging with his, and then she pulled away him. Growling, he
forced her back. He dipped his head. He wasn’t done. He needed more. So much
more of this woman. She made his blood boil.

Mia was lost in the pure,
erotic pleasure of the moment. She returned his kiss, helpless to do anything
else. Her body was burning up. She wasn’t supposed to want this. He was a
vampire. A murderer. She stepped back and stared at him.

“It’s never happening.”
Needing to put more distance between them, she took a few more steps back.
“Stay the hell away from me. I don’t want anything to do with you.”

She turned and walked away.

He was surrounded by people.
The reporter was in his face taking pictures. He heard questions being shouted,
but he ignored them as he watched her walk away. Then one voice shouted above
the rest. “Does your wife know you’ve returned?”

Mia turned and locked her
gaze onto his.

Joseph saw the intense anger
of Mia’s wolf flash in her eyes. He expected her to come back and beat the hell
out of him. He looked forward to it. But she didn’t. He was so deeply saddened
by the pain and disappointment that hid just behind the anger in her eyes. He’d
hurt her deeply. Shaking her head, she turned and walked away. He needed to go
after her and explain. He started to push his way through the people
surrounding him, but he was swarmed by more.

~
Twenty Three ~

HADEN TOOK CAYLEE outside to get fresh air. He quickly realized
that something was wrong. It was too quiet. Too still. Too dark. He sensed
Paul’s presence, but there was no tangible evidence of the vampire, only a
subtle presence of black magic, wrought by a human, in the air. He immediately
recognized the foul vibes of it. Mary Tate was the creator. They were being
hunted by the vampire. He scanned the surroundings to get an idea of where Paul
was lurking, thoroughly studying their surroundings for something out of the
ordinary.

“What’s wrong?” Caylee
whispered.

“I’m not sure.” Just then,
Haden picked up on Paul’s scent. But where was he? He knew the vampire was out
there somewhere, but he still couldn’t pinpoint his exact location. Under the
circumstances, his best option was to take to the sky. Securing his arms around
Caylee, his wings began to take form. “We’re going to fly.”

A split-second before his
wings were fully tangible he heard a loud bang. Haden felt a bullet slice
through the back of his shoulder and exit through the front. Rapidly losing
blood, he was having trouble holding his body up upright. What was happening to
him? For a moment, struggling to right himself, his body leaned to the side,
weighing heavily against Caylee’s shoulder. He shouldn’t be so weak. Something
was wrong—something more than blood loss.

In his desperation, Haden
tried to reach for Nikolas. Nothing. He struggled to straighten and lift the
weight of his body off her, but it was nearly impossible. Where were his
strength and power? Where were his wings? The answer came suddenly. He felt
poison burning through his bloodstream. “Damn it.” He felt the rapidly growing
warm and wet sensation of it on his back and chest. His body wasn’t
replenishing it as it should. He was losing too much blood, too quickly. His
head was spinning.

His vision blurry, he tried
to reach out to Joseph, but he failed. He tried to send another call out to
Nikolas, but once again he failed. He had no powers. None at all. His eyes refused
to focus as he struggled to remain upright and fight off the poison. He was
losing consciousness. He struggled to remain in control of his body, but the
blood loss was too rapid. He pushed Caylee toward the building. “Go inside!”
Internally cursing his body, he forced it to cooperate. Haden’s vision started
to darken. Unable to see anything, he fought to remain upright and conscious,
his weight pulling Caylee to the right.

He was too big, too heavy;
she tried to hold his body upright, but within seconds they fell.

“Get up, Caylee, and go
inside.”

“No.” She climbed off him
and tried to pull him upright.

Seeing their struggle, Mia
ran toward them. “What happened, Caylee?”

“Haden!” She tried to help
him upright, but he was too heavy. “Mia, help me. He’s been shot.”

He felt the women trying to
lift him. He opened his eyes, but he could barely see her.

He stood up, everything
swirling around him, but he stumbled to the side. He would be damned if Caylee
wasn’t trying to hold his weight upright. “Damn it.” No one had ever cared so
deeply for him. He knew she was willing to die for him. He couldn’t allow it to
happen. Forcing his body to function, he pulled her in front of him and shoved
her toward the building. “I love you, Caylee. You need to leave me. You need to
get inside. You need to find Nikolas or Joseph.” Haden stumbled and fell to the
ground. Once again she was trying to help him. “I can’t die. It’s impossible.
You need to leave me, Caylee. You need to get inside. Mia, take her now. Find
Joseph or Nikolas.”

It was too late. Caylee felt
someone watching her. She sensed danger. A foul odor filled her lungs. Her mind
shrouded in layers of a heavy fog, she struggled focus her eyes. “No!”

Reaching out, Paul touched
her face. “You’re not disappointed to see me, are you?” He turned her around so
her back was to him. Pulling her nearer, he wrapped his arm around her neck.
“We’re leaving now.” She cringed as he pressed a kiss on the side of her face.

“Let her go!” Mia struggled
to pull Caylee away from Paul.

Paul hit Mia in the face
with a closed fist and knocked her to the ground. Her head hit the pavement
hard. Unconscious, she lay absolutely still.

* * *

Joseph swung his head around. He growled, instantly placing a
hedge of protection around Mia. His image was a blur as he moved toward the
front the building. He pushed and shoved his way through the crowd. As with any
male of his kind, he didn’t care if hurt anyone.

Haden managed to get up. He
looked into Caylee’s eyes. He couldn’t merge his mind with hers, and that
terrified him. He couldn’t let her out of his sight. The fear in her eyes mixed
with his and stirred a powerful rage in his heart. “Let her go!”

Invisible flames burned
Paul’s hand. Snarling, he exposed his fangs. “There’s not a chance in hell of
that happening.” He nuzzled his chin in her hair. “I’ve grown very fond of
her.”

Haden completely
transformed. He was more demon than man. The poison was still inside his body,
but his anger was momentarily fighting its effects on him. Dark, deadly power
surged through his body as Caylee’s fear rushed over and through him,
overwhelming his senses. Lightning raced overhead, and thunder echoed loudly.
Black storm clouds billowed overhead. A terrible noise rumbled in Haden’s mind
as large-size hail pummeled the ground a few hundred yards away. He couldn’t
process a coherent thought. The poison took his control.

Tears filled Caylee’s eyes.
A terrible pain stabbed inside her skull; crying out, she made eye contact with
Haden.

A black mist swirled around
Haden as his appearance changed. His flesh turned ashen gray. His eyes briefly
flashed red before returning to black. Seething with rage, he glared into
Paul’s eyes. “Let her go!” he commanded as he thrust forward a surge of energy.

Caught off guard, Paul and
Caylee stumbled backward, but Paul quickly regained his balance. “You have no
control over your power. You have no ability to harness it. If you follow us,
it’ll be her death.”

Haden’s body was hurled
backward by an unseen force. He couldn’t get up. He lifted his head, but he
couldn’t get up; he couldn’t get her.

Pulling Caylee nearer, Paul
forcefully kissed her, bruising her mouth. “Your demon has offered you nothing.
I offer you immortality.” He ripped his wrist open with his teeth, and then he
forced his blood into her mouth. “He refuses to give it to you. What future
would you have with him? You’ll age while he remains the same. You can’t hide
it from me. I know you want me.” Pulling her hair he yanked her head back,
forcing her to meet his gaze. “Now you are his enemy. He will hunt you until he
kills you.”

Nikolas and Brianna
materialized behind Paul. Nikolas created a barrier to temporarily block
Demetri’s power from Paul. Paul instantly released Caylee and fell to his
knees. It was too easy. Demetri’s power could’ve easily penetrated the barrier.
It was obvious that Demetri hadn’t even tried to stay connected to the vampire.
Demetri was playing a game. A dark, deadly game. It was only a matter of
minutes before Demetri showed up to finish it.

Caylee’s body started
convulsing violently. Barely conscious, Mia managed to crawl to Caylee’s side.
Haden’s unknowing gaze locked onto Mia. Some small portion of Mia’s brain
warned her that Haden viewed her as a threat to Caylee. Waves of rage rolled
off Haden’s body, causing lightning and thunder to erupt. Deep below the
surface, the earth shook violently.

Joseph moved quickly, his
image a blur. Haden towered over Mia; his fury was as explosive as the storm
raging. As Mia stared up at him, a cry of terror welled up in her, but she held
it back. Joseph pulled Mia out of Haden’s way. Powerful gusts of wind tossed
dangerous, deadly debris all around. Lightning struck the ground, and
torrential rain fell from the sky. Joseph pressed Mia against the building,
using his body as a shield from the storm.

Covering her ears, Mia
looked up at Joseph. His eyes were black. He looked inhuman, murderous. But he
wasn’t a vampire. He was too strong. His wings were spread wide, shielding her.
“What the hell are you?” She struggled to get away from him, but she was
unmovable.

“Stay still.” His voice was
a low, angry, threatening growl. Attempting to calm her, he cradled her head
against his chest. He immediately felt the warmth of blood on the back of her
head. He sent healing energy into her to close the wound.

“No! We need to help
Caylee!” Crying hysterically, Mia struggled to get away from him, but then her
body went limp.

“Haden will help Caylee.”
Joseph lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “He’s the only one able
to help her.” Mia was breaking his heart. He felt her pain, her love for her
friend, and her need to take care of her friend.

Mia turned her head to look
over her shoulder. The sight of Haden towering over Caylee terrified her.
“What’s wrong with him?” He looked wild and ferocious, surrounded by strange,
black, incandescent flames. She felt enormous waves of rage and hatred rolling
off him.

Studying the poison in
Haden’s system and searching for a spell to eliminate it, Nikolas held Haden in
a trance-like state with his gaze. “Haden, we don’t have much time. Stop
fighting me. Allow me to take the poison from your body so you can help your
mate.”

Haden fought to break the
power of Nikolas’ gaze, but his effort only caused him pain. He was unable to
move or speak. He saw it. He knew Caylee had ingested Paul’s blood. All he
could do to save Caylee was to kill her.

“You’re right. The vampire
has turned her, but as long as she’s with your child she won’t fall victim to
the curse.” Nikolas was already taking the poison from Haden’s body. “Long
before your birth I witnessed such a thing as this. If it’s necessary, you must
force her to take your blood. Your blood is powerful. It will destroy the
vampire blood in her, but after she takes your blood you must take her breath.
You can’t put if off. Your blood will kill her if you don’t immediately give
her immortality.”

“You believe it will work?”
Haden asked.

“I won’t lie to you. It’s
only been done once before. It’s considered impossible. As a vampire, she is
your natural enemy. When she takes your blood you will need to fight the
dragon. Its first and greatest instinct is survival. It will attempt to use you
to kill her.”

“I would never harm her.”

Nikolas nodded. “Well then,
the poison is gone from your body. When I release you, kill the vampire first
and then take care of your mate.”

“She belongs to me,” Paul
hissed, rising to his feet.

Nobody else made a move, so
Mia wrenched herself out of Joseph’s arms and smacked the back of Paul’s head.
“You’re an idiot!”

Joseph managed to get between
them before Paul was able to strike her. “You’re going to be big trouble,
angel”

Mia glared up at Joseph.
“Haden had better kill the bastard.”

Paul glared at Mia. “You’re
going to die too, bitch!”

Joseph grabbed Paul’s arms
and held them behind his back, and then he turned Paul around to face Mia. “Go
ahead”—he nodded at Mia—“but make sure it hurts.”

And Mia did. She kicked Paul
in balls as hard as she could. Paul buckled over, but Joseph tossed him to the
ground. Mia looked up at Joseph. She didn’t say a word, but Joseph knew she was
thanking him.

Calm, Haden slowly turned to
face Paul. “You’ll beg me to end your suffering long before I kill you.”

“You can’t save her. She
belongs to me now.”

Haden released a surge of
power in the form of a powerful, icy gust of wind forcing Paul to his knees,
and then he took a single step toward Paul. “Stand up.”

“It’s not possible.” Under a
strong compulsion Paul obeyed the command and stood. “You will never do it.”

“You will not die until you
know the pain and fear you’ve caused my mate.” Haden could’ve used his mind to
destroy Paul, but he needed to take his life with his hands. Taking a hold of
Paul’s throat, he hurled him across the parking lot.

“I’ll take her again!” Paul
struggled to move, but he couldn’t break the invisible shackles holding him
captive.

Surrounded by black and
silver glittery flames, Haden tortured and burned Paul. Paul screamed and
begged for mercy, but his agony and desperation meant nothing. Haden had no
intention of letting him off easy. He dragged out the destruction of Paul’s
body, as slowly and as painfully as possible. He wanted him to suffer even
though no amount of suffering would satisfy Haden’s hunger for revenge. Gaping
wounds covered the vampire’s body, but it wasn’t enough. Tainted blood and foul
fluids began to ooze from every wound until the atmosphere was filled with the
terrible stench of rotting flesh. Haden raised his hands, and a swirling mass
of black flames grew in his palms; he allowed it to intensify, and then he
hurled it toward Paul’s tattered body.

Nikolas lifted his face to
the sky. Demetri was coming. He looked at Brianna. He didn’t want to leave her,
but there was no other choice. He looked at Haden. “Demetri is near. I need to
stop him. I’m holding Caylee’s pain—are you strong enough now to take over for
me?”