Captivated

ChapterNine

Angelina

Iwoke sometime in the night, surrounded by warmth emanating from Luca and Salvatore. Making love with them had been the pinnacle of my life so far. Intense. Loving. Incredible. I could go on forever. Untangling myself from them would be difficult, but I needed the bathroom. They both murmured in their sleep.

“I’ll be back soon.” I placed the tenderest of kisses on their lips.

For long moments, I stood at the bottom of the bed and watched them while they slept. They were beautiful. My heart squished in my chest. They were mine. I was theirs. I could sense the shift inside my body at the realisation that I couldn’t live without them. Whether it was the intense emotions of losing my virginity, or the fact our mingled blood was beginning to transform me, I had no idea. My first dilemma would be telling Cassie I was moving out quicker than I’d initially thought.

I wasn’t quite ready to head back to bed and decided to fix myself a drink. Although their home was warm, I felt a little shiver of coolness cover my skin. I grabbed one of their discarded shirts from the floor and put on a pair of socks. The house was eerily quiet and there were creaks and groans which always accompanied such an old building.

It was while I sat at the kitchen table nursing my drink, I heard it…

“Angelina, come to me.”

Initially, I thought it was one of the boys, but there was something different about it. But who else could it be?

“Who is this?” I demanded.

“Come down the drive and meet me at the gates. Then I can introduce myself to you.”

I knew I should tell them before I left the building, but I felt the urge to deal with it on my own. I almost relented, but it felt like the path to Luca and Salvatore was blocked. My resistance to do as the voice told me was low. After placing my mug on the table, I grabbed my coat and trainers and headed outside.

The frigid air hit me, and I gasped. My breath hung in the air around me like wisps of smoke. I made my way down the winding drive. It was longer than I remembered. An owl hooted in the air above me, sounding like a warning signal that I should return. My steps faltered, and I turned around to go back to the house.

“Come to me, Angelina. I can make your life complete.”

“My life is already complete. Go away and leave me alone.”

“I can’t do that. You are as yet unmated and deserve better.”

I imagined Luca and Salvatore waking up in bed without me. Their expressions came to me. The love I felt for those two beautiful men was pure and very real. Something about this voice sent shivers of warning down my spine. Whatever lurked beyond those gates would not be kind to me. Danger and death were there, I knew it.

A gasp of surprise left me when I glanced up to see I was at the large metal gates at the edge of the property. How had I gotten so far without knowing it? The trees outside the gates and wall rustled. I caught the scent of rotten eggs in the air.

Demon.

“Salvatore, Luca. Help me. I’m at the gates. There’s a demon on the other side!”

* * *

Salvatore

The sound of Angelina’s plea brought us awake instantly. Without a word, we slipped on our jeans, opened the window, and flew to our mate’s aid. Somehow, Viktor had got to her. If she opened the gates and let him in, it would spark a major shitstorm.

“I’m going to fucking tear him to pieces for this,” Luca roared by my side.

My fangs lengthened and a feral growl came from me. “Focus, brother. We need to get to her before she opens those gates.”

We got to the gates in record time to see Angelina reaching for the hidden control panel which would open the gates to our sanctuary. Luca hit the ground first, grabbed her away from the controls, and held her close. I landed in front of the gates as Viktor sauntered into view with one of his familiars. The stench was overpowering and was probably what woke Angelina from the thrall he held her under.

“There’s nothing here for you, asshole. Go back to your hole and cower there. We’ll be coming for you soon. Your days are numbered.”

He threw back his head and had the audacity to laugh. “But you haven’t fully mated with her, have you? What kind of men are you? You should have fucked the life out of her and staked your claim on her. She’s vulnerable… and so are you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. We will soon join as one. And when we do, you know what will be waiting for you. Death.”

Angelina’s emotions rolled over me, almost bringing me to my knees. She was frightened, angry, and felt guilty. I’d had enough of this dickhead for now. I wanted to rip him into pieces so small that it would be as though he’d never existed.

“We need to get Angelina back to the house, Sal. Deal with Viktor now.”

My brother was right. Now wasn’t the time to confront and defeat him. I used the one quick fix to rid his presence from our home. With my preternatural speed, I headed to the house, retrieved what I required, and was back within two seconds with the items needed to banish him. Reciting the incantation I’d learned since becoming a Hybrid, I took to the air and hovered above Viktor. Then I deposited the bottle of salt over him. His scream was loud and echoed around the area. His familiar thrashed about on the floor before turning to dust.

“This is not over,” Viktor roared and vanished from view.

“Luca, take Angelina back to the house. Prepare a hot bath. I’ll be back soon.”

Without a word, Luca took to the skies with our mate. I landed by the dust of Viktor’s latest victim. After pouring holy water over the remains and reciting the release incantation, I sent the poor soul on to find peace in the afterlife. I retraced Angelina’s footprints and discovered a mug of tea which had gone cold. I prepared more drinks and took them upstairs. What our mate required now was comfort and love.

* * *