Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
First, she was going to find her mate, protect him, and then they were all going to destroy this cult.
She wanted to live in peace. She wanted to live with Alexander. No one, cult or otherwise, was going to get in the way of that.
“Brandon,” Elle said. “You cannot let them win. They nearly destroyed us and I’m not going to sit by and allow them to destroy Alexander. He removed the enthrallment and gave me you. I’m not going to give you, or this up. I owe Alexander.”
Seconds passed and Layla was fast losing patience.
The Alpha, attempting to dominate, subsided, until he finally backed down.
“So, I guess the real question is….” Crazy Lizzie said, “are we going to drink?”
Layla looked at the glass that had suddenly appeared. To save Alexander, she had to give a part of herself, and she was more than ready to do that. She imagined a knife, and one appeared in her palm.
I love being a witch.
Me too.
Layla smiled as she slid the blade down her palm, and then watched as each droplet spilled to the bottom.
“You don’t have to drink.”
Elle was the first one there after the cup had been filled to a quarter level. Her best friend drank a small mouthful.
“Wish I could say it tasted sweet,” Elle said.
Layla watched as a glow appeared around Elle. Crazy Lizzie leaned in. “Oh, did I forget to mention the little benefits for humans drinking your blood? It enables a protection spell around them.”
She looked toward Brandon. He could see the bright glow encapsulating his mate.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Brandon asked.
“All of this had to be Layla’s free will and nothing could manipulate her into doing this. If she knew Elle would be protecting, to a certain extent, it takes away free will, and plays with her emotions. Duh.”
Layla reached for her friend and hugged her. She’d been so afraid for her. The dreams she had, the nightmares, terrified her.
“Let’s go and get your mate,” Elle said.
Layla watched as Brandon, Lewis, and her parents took a sip of her blood.
“I’ll help you,” Lewis said. “And I’ll make sure your mate comes out alive.”
****
The last time Alexander was chained up was when he was a human and the vampire who turned him enjoyed torturing him. He never thought of those final moments when he’d been alive with a beating heart. They were long behind him, and he didn’t like to dwell on the past.
Right now, he wasn’t happy. The chains bit into his flesh, but they reminded him of a time when he was weak.
The wolf before him looked like a disgusting beast. Not quite human, not quite wolf, but a mixture of the two, as if it had been trapped between two worlds.
“Painful, isn’t it?”
“Kind of itches a little,” he said.
The humawolf glared at him. A wooden stake was in his hand, and he went to thrust it into his body, but a sudden whistle stopped it.
So, this was the cult of Disaster of the Otherworld. Alexander was in no doubt, this wasn’t all of them.
He saw the humawolf, there were at least three of them. Two witches, as well as a single warlock, a vampire, a few hyenas, a panther, and a few wraiths. He heard them say that one wraith hadn’t made it back alive, which was unheard of. Wraiths couldn’t be killed, at least he hadn’t heard of a single story that saw them dead. It was why they were such pests. He never dealt with wraiths as their loyalty was so easily swayed, and they were fucking ugly. Some of them had putrid flesh all around them. Just looking at them now made him sick.
“I want to kill him,” the humawolf said.
They were not going to kill him. Layla was nowhere to be found, and he’d already seen the two witches were pissed off that they’d failed in their mission.
There didn’t need to be a second or third clue as to where he was either. This was where Layla had been conceived and then born. There was something about the spot that called to him and reminded him of Layla.
One of the witches screamed, hissed, and then moved toward him.
“Where is she?” she asked, snarling.
Alexander looked at her and shook his head. “No.”
She shoved her hand into his chest, and Alexander gasped. Her fingers were wrapped around his heart. “Weren’t expecting that, were you, little vampire?” She chuckled. “I enchanted my hand to be the hardest thing around that could gouge out a vampire’s heart. I know wood should do the trick with new vampires, but you oldies need something a little stronger.”
“You’re a fucking coward,” he said, spitting into her face. “Kill me, and you’re fucked.”
They couldn’t take all of Layla’s blood if he was nothing more than a pile of dust. He wanted them to kill him. The moment they did, it meant his Layla would be safe. That was what he needed them to do. The realization struck him hard and fast.