“You and I both know he’ll never let us be together. You know it’s true.”
“You left me! You left me for that cunt! The human!” she screamed. “You left me with him!”
Viktor smiled as the final straw broke. Sebastian had shattered her heart into a million pieces all those years ago, and she still held the torch. Viktor gave a knowing look to Quintus and Rafe who still lingered in the shadows. Three. Two. One.
Viktor flashed to Waverly. As he laid his hands on her body, Adam sliced the sword through the air, missing them as they flashed away.
They reappeared beneath a tree nearly a hundred feet away from the melee. Viktor pressed his lips to hers, holding her in his arms.
“Waverly. I’m so sorry,” he told her. “Jesus, what has she done to you?”
“You have to stop her,” she breathed.
He rested her body onto the grass. Within seconds he’d removed his shirt and draped it over her. “Are you okay? Your neck is bleeding.”
“You have to stop her,” she repeated.
Viktor leaned over her and lapped his tongue over her wound to stop the flow of blood. He brushed her hair away from her eyes, looking down to her.
“I’m so sorry. I’ll never let her hurt you again. Here,” Viktor removed a gun from his ankle holster and unlocked the safety. “Do you know how to use this?”
“Yes, yes. I go shooting every month.” Waverly took the gun into her hands and held it to her chest.
“Stay here. Anyone comes near you, shoot them. I promise this won’t take but a minute.” Viktor stared into her eyes, his soul swirling with emotions. No regrets. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she breathed. Tears brimmed in her eyes, a small smile on her lips. Now go kill that bitch.”
Viktor pressed his lips to her forehead and flashed away to Théa. Chaos erupted, smoke and ash in the air. Screams and gunshots echoed in the night as Quintus flashed from human to human. In the distance he caught a glimpse of Rafe, as wolf, tearing into the throat of a man wielding a gun.
Sebastian held Théa by the shoulders as she slashed a silver knife toward him. “Let me go! He’s coming.”
The ground beneath their feet began to shake, the earth cracking and erupting. The tips of horns punctured the earth. Demon.
Viktor flashed to Sebastian and Théa. “May I have this dance?”
“He comes! He comes!” Théa screamed.
“Sorry, lovey. But I promised my brother a go,” Sebastian told her.
As Viktor flashed in between them, clasping his hands onto her shoulders, Sebastian released her.
“No!” she screamed. “He comes! He comes!”
“This is over,” Viktor told her.
“There are more of us,” she spat at him “This was my test! This was my test!”
“Well, then, you failed.”
“Father is here!” She raised the silver knife to strike him.
“No, he isn’t. He’s in Hell and that’s exactly where you’re going.” Viktor dropped his fangs and tore into Théa’s throat, ripping her trachea in half. With his claws extended he ripped her muscles and ligaments, tearing her head clear off her spine.
Viktor held it up by her hair and stared down the horned demon whose eyes bored a hole in him. With the earth cleaved open, the fire licked up into the air.
“Now it’s time for you and this bitch to go join Baxter in Hell. Give him a little message for me…he’s never getting out.” Viktor tossed the head at the demon, and it burst into flames. The ground shook as it sucked it back under the earth. “Fuck you, you sadistic son of a bitch. You’re going to rot forever.”
Quintus and Greyson flashed to his side, the wolf running to join them. Darkness fell as the flames retreated into the ground, the stench of silver and sulphur hung heavy in the air.
“Where’s Sebastian?” Quintus asked.
“I don’t know. Flashed I guess,” Greyson answered. “Every human and vampire has been neutralized.”
“Did you get Adam? Where’s Ivar? I’ve got to go get Waverly. She’s—” Viktor began when he heard her call to him.
Viktor!
Gunshots sounded in the night as he disappeared.
14
Waverly’s hands trembled, her grip still tight on the gun. She stared at Adam and Ivar lying dead at her feet, blood pooling onto the ground. Her mind and body went numb. For the first time in her life, she’d killed someone. She looked to her shaking hands. What have I become?
Only hours earlier, she’d been abducted, stripped and humiliated. From the cold interior of a dog cage, she’d witnessed Théa and Ivar murdering humans. As they slashed their throats, warm blood splashed onto her face through the wired barrier.
Although Théa threatened Waverly with the same fate, they’d kept her alive, planning on using her as bait for Viktor. Starved and dehydrated, she’d begged for water. When they’d finally brought her a drink, she’d gulped it. Within seconds, she’d realized she’d been drugged and immediately lost consciousness.
Terror seized her as she’d woken in a new location, restrained and lying on the ground. With Adam looming above her and drugs still flowing through her veins, she struggled to move.
After Viktor flashed her to safety, her body began to tingle with awareness, but her legs still weren’t stable enough to allow her to stand. Although he’d left her in the darkness, Viktor had given her the gun. Kill Théa. There was no other choice but to kill the diabolical vampire.
Waverly clutched the gun to her chest. In the distance she’d heard the screams, Viktor and Théa arguing. She startled as she heard Viktor’s scream, his rage tearing through her as if it were her own. In the silence that soon descended upon the night, the sound of a branch snapping set her on alert. She’d curled her finger around the trigger and readied her aim.
Adam came into view first, his sword held high into the air. She knew he’d kill her on the spot. He’d threatened her more than once. Ivar appeared behind him. With his fangs bared, dripping with saliva and blood, he’d also promised he’d kill her.
“Look who is here,” Adam had growled. “Whore of a vampire. Spread your legs wide for him, didn’t you?”
“Little cunt is going to die. But I need a taste first. I ain’t drinking a dead slut’s blood.” The sadistic vampire hissed at her.
Waverly didn’t engage in discussions. She waited patiently as they descended upon her. With no hesitation, looking straight into their eyes, she pulled the trigger, emptying the cartridge.
“Waverly!” she heard Viktor call as he ran to her.
As he reached her, her body went limp with exhaustion. Her fingers fell open, dropping the gun onto the ground. Her vision blurred, a swirling black tunnel closed in as Viktor took her in his arms. As darkness blanketed over her, she heard her name on his lips. Waverly.
As the wave crested, Waverly paddled hard, the ice-cold water splashing her face. Distracted, she lost her balance as she jumped to stand onto the board. Tossed into the churning sea, she fought to swim upward. She sucked a hard breath as she breached the surface. As she swam toward her board, her mind continued to race.