Page 25 of Justice

She was the opposite of any girl I would have gone for before being cursed. She was pale, deathly so. Tiny. Her dark hair made her blue eyes almost electric against her skin. And the dress, why did I like it so much? Images of her in black silk and floral crossed my mind, and I had to blink the thought away. I cleared my throat. “What’s it like?”

“What?” She tilted her head to the side as she watched me, confused.

“To be one of . . . them?” Disgusting creatures from what I know, living their life by stealing from others, draining life forces.

“Ask me in a week.” She sighed before offering a little laugh. “I might be able to tell you more then. Truthfully, I’ve only been this way for like three days.”

“Three days?” That would mean – “Which one of them turned you?”

I felt furious for her, but I suspected that had to do with the mate bond. Anger surged in me, and I fought the urge to shift right then and tear at all three of their throats. But she just shook her head as if she felt my fury, her hand hovering over my blanket-clad knee but not touching it. She pulled her fingers away, flexing a few times.

“None. It’s my genetic curse. They only woke it. But, I suspect it would have woken regardless.” She pushed some of the raven hair behind her ear. “They’ve saved me. A lot. And- and I would have never believed this was possible, any of this really, but they – they are my destiny.”

I was jealous that she felt she needed them, those other men, other beings, but not me. She didn’t feel like I was her destiny, though she wore my mark on her fair skin like a bold declaration of ownership. Wasn’t that purposeful enough? Didn’t that scream to the fates that she belonged to me? What did they have to show for their ownership? Where was their mark?

“Your destiny,” I began slowly, “You believe this?”

“I don’t know what to believe,” she admitted. “But I can’t deny the power our blood has on each other. I can’t deny Ellis’ feelings. Or the fact that Sterling has healed me. I can’t pretend that Oak isn’t dragged to my rescue countless times.” She looked down for a moment before dragging her eyes slowly to meet mine. “And I can’t deny and pretend that the mark of your people isn’t seared into my skin. A week ago, I was human. And now, now I don’t know what I am.”

“Vampires shouldn’t be able to drink from each other.” I mused; it was a fact that it was human blood that kept them going.

“I’m human, remember?”

“Sentimentally, but your heart doesn’t beat as a human’s should.” It was fact, and though I know the look in her eye said the statement was painful, it didn’t alter the truth.

“That may be so, but it is only their blood I can take. And when they drink from me, magical things happen.”

I growled. I couldn’t help it. There was no secret that a vampire’s bite caused euphoric pleasures, and I heard them last night, locked inside the tiny room at the cottage. It took all the inner power I possessed not to break down the door on principle that she was my mate.Mine. And they were pleasuring her. Even though I didn’t want to do the job, it didn’t mean I approved of them doing so.

“I meant they glow, heal, feel stronger than average blood,” she clarified.

“Blood is sacred in our traditions.” I offered, and fuck, but I didn’t even know why I brought it up; it didn’t matter. I wasn’t planning on mating with her anytime soon—correction, ever.

She yawned before she brought her legs up to the seat, curling them under her body. She reminded me of a kitten, compacted tightly in a ball, ready to sleep. “How so?”

Her head fell against the seat as she watched me, her skirt billowing around her so that only her tiny, bare feet peeked out from under the material. She was a distraction. Having her near made me forget, caused my thoughts and fury to leave me, and I cursed the fates once more. I Forced my eyes away from her pink-colored toes. “Blood is intimate.”

“That goes without saying. What’s more intimate than taking something from someone’s body into ones own for sustainability?”

“We don’t use blood for sustainability,” I corrected. “It connects us. Links our minds to our mates.” I felt my skin heat up, and I was thankful that my tone and the cabin's shadows hid my blush. “When our mates are in heat, their blood gives us renewed strength. It’s a charge to our senses. Our abilities.”

Her eyes fluttered closed. “This whole world, I have a lot to learn.”

I felt like at this point so did I because all these vampires and curses and being trapped for six decades, well it was exhausting my mind. “Humans aren’t supposed to be part of this world.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” her voice was faint.

“Unfortunately, this world gives no choices.”

I learned that the hard way, long before now. Long before I became trapped. But I guess I had forgotten. Years of leading my people, years of not letting them stray on the wrong path, and loneliness got to me, loneliness jilted me of my actual future. Now? Now I had a half-human half-vampire as a mate, and I wanted to scream that I didn’t want her. That I didn’t want this. That she already had too much power over me even when I was fighting it. But what good would that do? Nothing short of a miracle would remove my mark from her skin. The only defense I could think of was to push her away, any way I could.

Her breathing leveled out as sleep claimed her and my eyes roamed around the plane’s cabin, noting that they all were asleep now. Trusting bastards. I scratched my neck as I sat up, watching her sleep peacefully. She reminded me of a porcelain doll, so damn delicate. I doubt she could survive in this world long. I took the blanket off my lap and spread it over her, feeling warmth spread over me as she pulled it close to her chest in her sleep.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I would work on pushing Liberty away. Tonight, I prefered to watch her sleep and take in the beauty of my family seal on the perfect backdrop of her skin.

Chapter 13

ELLIS