Seeing all the emotions swirling in his eyes, I asked, “Who do you hate more? Chanel for killing that woman? Or yourself for still loving Chanel in spite of it?”
His nostrils flaring, his grip on my hair tightened until my scalp stung like a mother. “I am done talking about her. She no longer matters.”
I shoved him hard, but he didn’t budge an inch. It was like trying to push a damn wall. “Let go of me.”
“No, that is not part of my plan.”
Dread filling every part of me, I fought him hard, punching and kicking. The bastard only laughed, never once loosening his hold on my hair. Growling, I struggled harder, desperate to be free, and scratched at his face. He hissed long and loud—
My head whipped to the side as a hand came down hard on my cheekbone, shattering it. Pain rippled through my face, making it feel as though my eye had exploded. A little dazed, I blinked and swayed, a horrid ringing sound filling my ears.
Castor put his face closer to mine. “I told you I mean to end your life here. That is true. Your human life will soon be over. But you will then begin another life.” He smirked. “You think you’re too good for vampires? Let’s see if your view changes after I’ve made you one.”
CHAPTER TEN
(Damien)
I stilled as Jared teleported a large group of us to yet another part of the rainforest. Concentrating on the tug in my blood, I realised it was no longer pulling me in the same direction as it had before. “We’ve gone too far North this time,” I told him. “Go back, but not too much.”
Jared nodded and relocated us again.
Frustration beating at me, I shook my head. “We need to go back a little more.”
It took two more tries before, finally, the pull I felt toward her was so fucking intense I knew Lexi was nearby. My pulse leapt. “Yes, here. She’s close.” Following that pull, I’d taken only a few steps forward when an almighty scream split the air. My heart stuttered. Fuck. I left my physical body, able to move faster in my astral form, and rocketed toward the sound of her cries … just in time to watch Castor toss her to the ground.
I skidded to a halt as shock slammed into me. She was convulsing violently, her back arched, cries of sheer agony erupting from her throat. Blood stained her tee, dripped from a bite wound on her throat, and was slathered around her lips. The bottom dropped out of my stomach. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Ah, Damien,” said Castor. “How lovely of you to join us.”
I didn’t look at him. Going to her side, I dropped to my knees. “Lex.” She didn’t respond. Didn’t even seem to hear or see me, lost in a sea of excruciating pain—the kind that was part and parcel of a vampiric conversion. He’d drained her to the point of near death and then force-fed her his own blood.
Anger roaring through me hot and fast, I snapped my head up to snarl at Castor. “You fucking bastard.”
“It would not be a good idea to kill me,” he said, lifting a hand to ward me off. “My blood-link with Lexi is already in place. If I die, it will break. She is too weak to survive that.”
He wasn’t wrong. She’d need the link to get her through the transformation. Plus, in this state, she’d never survive the torment of it breaking anyway. Fisting my hands, I spat out a curse.
He sniggered when I made no move toward him. “Right decision, Damien.” He flicked a look at Colm. “Get us out of here before the others arrive. Sam and Jared will surely be close.” But Colm didn’t teleport them anywhere. Castor glared at him. “What are you waiting for? Get us away from here.”
“I-I can’t,” Colm said through clenched teeth, his body unnaturally still.
Castor’s brows snapped together. “What?”
Colm ground his teeth. “I c-can barely m-move.”
There was a rustle of branches and then … “That’s thanks to Cassie’s grip on your mind,” Sam said as she, Jared, and the female squad members stepped out of the trees.
Castor froze, his eyes darting from person to person, searching for a weakness in the circle they’d formed around him, Colm, Lexi and me.
“Don’t do it, Castor,” said Sam, the mercury glint to her eyes glowing. “I can see you’re ready to flee, but just don’t. I’m really not in the bloody mood to chase you.”
I looked down at Lexi, my gut twisting as she convulsed yet again, her eyes unfocused and unseeing. I’d never felt so fucking helpless. So fucking useless. I glanced up at Paige. “Can you do something?”
Her face a mask of anguish, Paige slowly shook her head. “Even if I could take the bite and transfer it to someone else, I can’t take his blood from her system,” she said, an apology in her voice. “She’s already changing. I’m sorry, Damien.”