the spells that can easily end bloodlines.
"Sir, she looks upset, and is saying something about two young children..."
A woman upset about children? Hope? I'm out of the chair an instant later, practically jogging to the front door. What I find stops me short.
Hope, looking so damn young and innocent, is standing in the foyer wearing jeans and a white sweater, her wavy strawberry-blonde hair streaming over both shoulders. Tears pour down her cheeks. When I see her neck I barely contain my growl.
"What happened?" I ask, taking a step closer to tilt her head up, so I can see the angry, red marks on her neck. There's at least three fucking sets of puncture wounds.
"They have my boys!"
The air is knocked out of my lungs when she breaks down sobbing. I wrap my arms around her, holding her while her body shakes.
“Who has them?” I ask. It sounds like she says “vampires” but she’s too distraught to understand.
"I know you’re upset, Hope, but I need you to tell me what you know, so we can try to find them and get them back, okay?"
Her head nods against my chest.
"Kayla...my best friend...vampires at her house."
"You think the boys are still there? With vampires?" I ask and when she nods again a cold chill of dread runs down my spine. "Where does she live? Give me her address."
"719 Bridge Street, apartment—apartment 1B."
“Who are the vampires?” I ask, having a bad feeling that I already know.
"Last night...after you left, another vampire came into the room…with Simon…asking questions-"
"What was his name?"
"Um, a Mr. Drake. I think…I think that’s what he called him."
"Son of a bitch!" I yell, holding her tighter. Fucking Drake . Her sons are in danger and it's my fault. The weight of the guilt is so immense it almost brings me to my knees. I've never experienced anything like it, and I know that I've got to do whatever it takes to get them back for her.
"What did Drake want? Did he ask you about me?"
"Yes, and he told me…that when you came back…I was to...keep you distracted for him."
"He did this to you?" I ask, running my fingertips over the red puncture marks on her neck. My other fist clenches so hard that my lion's claws threaten to break through. I close my eyes to calm the anger. Me shifting into an enormous beast is not something Hope needs to see right now.
"Yes, he…he struck me…whenever he thought I was lying."
If he thought she was lying then she probably was since vampires are walking polygraph machines. That means she'd tried to lie to protect me, even though she knew they'd hurt her for it. I owe her for getting dragged into this shit all because I was weak and had to fuck her again.
"You look pale. How much blood did that bastard take?" I ask.
“I-I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Please, Eric…just…help me. Help me find my boys.”
"Charles?" I yell, knowing he's always close by, trying to be all helpful and shit. He appears in the foyer seconds later. "I need you to take care of her while I'm gone."
"Yes, sir. Of course."
I let Hope go, turning her over to the old man. "We're gonna get them back right now. They'll be safe in your arms within an hour, you hear me?" I assure her, and I hope to hell it's not a lie.
"Thank you. Just...be careful," she says before Charles leads her away down the hallway.
I pull my cell phone out of my slacks and call Ryan, the commander of our small army and head of my security, as I walk out the front door.
"Sir?" He answers right away, as he damn well better.
"Get someone over to 719 Bridge Street, apartment 1B now, and do a headcount. I want twenty men ready to go as soon as he reports back, and twenty more ready as backups. Got it?"
"Yes, sir. I'm on it."
By the time I walk the few hundred feet to the guard house, three black Suburbans are being loaded with large bodies and a shitload of ammo. Not that we'll probably need it, but I want to be prepared.
When our lookout reports back that there are two kids, a
"Sir, she looks upset, and is saying something about two young children..."
A woman upset about children? Hope? I'm out of the chair an instant later, practically jogging to the front door. What I find stops me short.
Hope, looking so damn young and innocent, is standing in the foyer wearing jeans and a white sweater, her wavy strawberry-blonde hair streaming over both shoulders. Tears pour down her cheeks. When I see her neck I barely contain my growl.
"What happened?" I ask, taking a step closer to tilt her head up, so I can see the angry, red marks on her neck. There's at least three fucking sets of puncture wounds.
"They have my boys!"
The air is knocked out of my lungs when she breaks down sobbing. I wrap my arms around her, holding her while her body shakes.
“Who has them?” I ask. It sounds like she says “vampires” but she’s too distraught to understand.
"I know you’re upset, Hope, but I need you to tell me what you know, so we can try to find them and get them back, okay?"
Her head nods against my chest.
"Kayla...my best friend...vampires at her house."
"You think the boys are still there? With vampires?" I ask and when she nods again a cold chill of dread runs down my spine. "Where does she live? Give me her address."
"719 Bridge Street, apartment—apartment 1B."
“Who are the vampires?” I ask, having a bad feeling that I already know.
"Last night...after you left, another vampire came into the room…with Simon…asking questions-"
"What was his name?"
"Um, a Mr. Drake. I think…I think that’s what he called him."
"Son of a bitch!" I yell, holding her tighter. Fucking Drake . Her sons are in danger and it's my fault. The weight of the guilt is so immense it almost brings me to my knees. I've never experienced anything like it, and I know that I've got to do whatever it takes to get them back for her.
"What did Drake want? Did he ask you about me?"
"Yes, and he told me…that when you came back…I was to...keep you distracted for him."
"He did this to you?" I ask, running my fingertips over the red puncture marks on her neck. My other fist clenches so hard that my lion's claws threaten to break through. I close my eyes to calm the anger. Me shifting into an enormous beast is not something Hope needs to see right now.
"Yes, he…he struck me…whenever he thought I was lying."
If he thought she was lying then she probably was since vampires are walking polygraph machines. That means she'd tried to lie to protect me, even though she knew they'd hurt her for it. I owe her for getting dragged into this shit all because I was weak and had to fuck her again.
"You look pale. How much blood did that bastard take?" I ask.
“I-I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. Please, Eric…just…help me. Help me find my boys.”
"Charles?" I yell, knowing he's always close by, trying to be all helpful and shit. He appears in the foyer seconds later. "I need you to take care of her while I'm gone."
"Yes, sir. Of course."
I let Hope go, turning her over to the old man. "We're gonna get them back right now. They'll be safe in your arms within an hour, you hear me?" I assure her, and I hope to hell it's not a lie.
"Thank you. Just...be careful," she says before Charles leads her away down the hallway.
I pull my cell phone out of my slacks and call Ryan, the commander of our small army and head of my security, as I walk out the front door.
"Sir?" He answers right away, as he damn well better.
"Get someone over to 719 Bridge Street, apartment 1B now, and do a headcount. I want twenty men ready to go as soon as he reports back, and twenty more ready as backups. Got it?"
"Yes, sir. I'm on it."
By the time I walk the few hundred feet to the guard house, three black Suburbans are being loaded with large bodies and a shitload of ammo. Not that we'll probably need it, but I want to be prepared.
When our lookout reports back that there are two kids, a
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