Dark Exodus (The Order of Vampires 2)

She blocked her mind. Eleazar doubled his speed, desperate to reach her before the rogue. Isaiah would not recognize her as his niece. Nor would he respect another male’s claim. Dear God, the crazed vampire would attack her, then brutalize and kill her.

“Larissa!”

He raced after her scent that led to the perimeter of the forest. The rush of mortal vehicles crowded the road as dawn broke over the horizon. Isaiah was a hundred yards ahead of him, gaining on Larissa, and the creatures in the woods closed on Eleazar from behind.

Screams howled and cackled as branches whipped at his clothes, tearing them to tatters as he raced after his mate. He’d never forgive himself if Isaiah reached her first. He couldn’t bear the thought. His mind was so distraught. He couldn’t spare the focus to create obstacles, terrified that any attempt to slow down Isaiah would cost Eleazar the time he needed to find and protect his mate.

The further they raced to the edge of the forest, the louder the car traffic hissed. Sunlight filtered in as the foliage thinned. The odor of gasoline and mortals crowded the trace of Larissa’s immortal scent. Then Isaiah screeched an agonizing howl and all the tree creatures screeched too as if in pain.

They fell back and Isaiah cried out like a wounded dog, wailing in pain and limping back from the interstate, retreating into the shadowed woods. Eleazar didn’t turn to chase the enemy. His focus was only on reaching and rescuing his mate.

He squinted as he burst from the tree line and sunlight exploded over him. Had that been the cause of Isaiah’s agonizing scream? As a rogue, it made sense that he would not be able to tolerate the sun. Perhaps Larissa thought it safer to hide in plain sight among the mortals.

Or not…

He growled, spotting his mate strolling down the center median of the busy highway in broad morning light, not a care in the world for her surroundings or the danger of the cars and trucks rushing by.

“Larissa!”

She glanced back at him but kept walking—her anger rolling off of her in waves.

Every vehicle that drove by alerted her of their passing by blaring a horn, their immense weight roaring and speed fast enough to sever a limb. “Larissa, get out of the road!”

“I will not stay put!” she snapped.

Exhausted, injured, and in no mood to coddle a hostile female through a temper tantrum, he leaped through the traffic, onto the median, and raced toward her. Then, grabbing her by the upper arm, he halted her progress.

For once, he had the advantage of catching her off guard. Served her right for severing their connection.

“If you will not listen, then you will sleep.” He shoved the command into her mind with acute precision and made sure his own mind was blocked in case she pulled any tricks and deflected the compulsion back at him.

Her body went limp, and Eleazar caught her safely in his arms. Sending out a short scramble for any mortals passing by, he carried her off the median, onto the highway’s shoulder, but carefully stayed within the sunlight.

“We are going to talk about your attitude when you wake up.” His molars locked. He needed to feed if he wanted his injuries to heal sooner rather than later, but he would not take from her while she slept. “I don’t expect your submission on all things, but when I give you a direct order, I expect you to obey.”

He was wasting his breath. She was out cold and he expected her to remain unconscious until he got her safely home.

It was a long reflective walk back to the farm, one slowed by cramping hunger pangs and his fury with Larissa’s disobedience. His nerves worked raw as he wondered how long it would take to find and destroy Isaiah Hartzler before the vampire hurt another soul.

As much as Eleazar wished to focus on his mate and iron out some boundaries about their communication, he had an obligation to report what he’d found to The Council.

Isaiah Hartzler, who disappeared nearly a century ago, was alive and crazed beyond redemption. There was no cure for a feral vampire, certainly not after eighty years of living in the wild surviving by mortal blood and laced adrenaline sucked raw from the veins of each victim.

It galled Eleazar that Cain Hartzler had been right. He was not fond of the young male.

Soon that male would become his brother-in-law.

The thought sank like a boulder into a placid pond, disturbing enough to alter Eleazar’s peaceful view of what lay ahead. It was the only drawback to marrying Larissa, but not nearly enough to make Eleazar question his intentions. No consequence could keep him from claiming his mate in every way possible.

Cain Hartzler would be a trial he’d learn to tolerate over time. Eleazar was loath to dispense any effort toward liking the young male, but for his mate, he would try.