“He’s not one of you. He couldn’t be one of you.”
“Oh, but he is. Who do you think rescued your dear Alaric? Ugh, I am disgusted with your insane bond to him. I will destroy it once I make you mine.”
“Has old age seeped in Vlad? Bond? Leave me be.”
“Amusing, my pet.” He runs his fingers through my hair, making me wish I had tied it up. “I’ve had the help of some warlocks to put you under my spell. Nothing and no one can stop me from taking you tonight. Now go and dress for me. It’s all been prepared.” Unbeknownst to myself, I do as he commanded. My body involuntarily complies with his demands. A lone tear falls as I’m forced into compliance.
Chapter 2
Alaric
He’s found her. She came back here. Why did she come back? His power is most active during Halloween, and she walked into his trap. I can’t let him take her. She’s mine. She has been mine from the moment my transformation took place. I felt it in my soul that she belonged to me. I won’t let him have her. Alessandro has taught me everything he knows over the years, but he left one thing out. One thing I learned on my own—Allegra is his daughter. The photo he carries along with him and the fact that he likes to keep track of her whereabouts was a telltale given. But it’s the pain etched on his face when she visits his grave that let me in on the truth.
I will kill Vlad before I let him take my mate. Alessandro has to stay out of it tonight for fear that she will be too distracted, and he is right. Besides, I cannot claim my mate with him around. What I plan to do to her will unite us completely. Breeding her and making her mine must be done in private. I’ve already set up our estate away from here up further north in the Canadian wild, warming our bodies with the heated hunger of mating.
“Allegra,” I call out, wondering if she can hear me. I sense her, but it’s weak. Normally, I can feel her penetrating my being, but it’s as if her thoughts are no longer her own. “He has her,” I tell Alessandro.
“We must get to her. How did he get ahold her?” he exclaims.
“I don’t know. He has to have help. Who would help him?” Over the years, other vampires feared him, but no one has the capabilities to ensnare her without physically restraining her.
“No vampire has ever been able to control my family,” he remarks. The hunters have been given extra abilities over the years.
“He hasn’t turned her, has he?” I ask, hoping that it’s not possible.
“No, he can’t until the sun is down.” He’s right, but I’m fucking scared. It’s the first time since I’ve been turned that I’m afraid of him. “But I don’t doubt he’s going to try.”
“She’s mine,” I roar, forgetting that he’s her father.
“I know,” he says, nodding and playing with the cuff of his sweater.
I stare out the window, watching the town come alive with the festivities, then I ask, “How did you know?”
“It’s written in your actions. If you think I didn’t notice what these past four years have done to either of you, you’re mistaken. The lore is that the last of the hunters will mate with a vampire and he will be all-powerful. My daughter is the last of our family.”
“That means he believes that if he mates with her, he will have ultimate power.”
“I need to find her.” I bang my hand against the wall as I train my eyes, searching the crowds for her.
“Then listen for her. You’ve been the one to lead me to her several times whether you know it or not. I’m trying. He’s blocking me. I know it. Damn it,” I growl.
“I’m going to search,” I say before, stepping out and slamming the door closed. I can fly around as a bat or even a transform into a bird, but I won’t give in to the risk of Vlad having help. There’s no way he’s doing this alone.
I’ve learned so much over the years, and one thing is human blood smells different than a supernatural being. I breathe in the air, scenting for a different creature.
“Allegra, call for me,” I whisper repeatedly.
She doesn’t answer, but I can hear her cries. They are low, weak. I follow them, and a part of me knows that I’m walking into a trap, but I have to find my mate. There’s a large mansion up ahead, but that’s not where I sense her. I move up the road to a small cottage on the outskirts of town. And that’s when I see through the window, my bride preparing for a ball.