Forbidden Love (2 page)

Katrina turned to the women, saw them frozen with shock. “Go!” She struggled against the hands and legs holding her down, scratching and biting,
needing
to escape.

The sound of the boat motor fading into the distance made the situation she was in worth it as the grip on her throat tightened, cutting off her scream of fury and pain as a vampire crushed her throat.

Come on, just a little closer.
Keta raised her crossbow until it pointed straight at her target—an unsuspecting vampire.
Come on, you bloodsucker. Turn around.
With a steady hand, she braced the crossbow against her shoulder. It packed a punch and with an already bruised shoulder, shooting the vampire was going to hurt.

It would all be worth it.

The vampire turned around.

Tall with light hair and a handsome face, Keta didn’t let his good looks get to her as she aimed for his chest. She didn’t shoot just yet—he was speaking on the phone, and as always, curiosity got the better of her.

Quietly putting the crossbow on her back, she inched down the rocky hill she’d hidden in. If she could get closer, maybe she could hear the conversation. If it led to more suckers to kill, she’d sleep well tonight.

Creeping closer, sliding down the hill until she could hear the vampire’s words, she made sure both her scent and herself was hidden and listened closely.

“Aye, yes, yes. No one knows. Apparently she came out of nowhere. The Silent Killer they call her…”

Keta smiled.
They’re talking about me.

The vampire laughed. “I’ll keep an eye out. She’ll mess up sooner or later. Aye.” He hung up and turned to walk away.

Keta launched herself at the vampire and knocked him to the ground before he suspected a thing. With a knee in his gut and a stake poised over his chest, she raised an eyebrow at the vampire and smiled with satisfaction.

He raised his own eyebrows, but the surprise didn’t last long. He bucked, knocking her off his body.

Keta twisted in midair, landing on her feet as he ran at her. Knowing how fast vampires could be, Keta leapt in the air with a powerful push of her strong legs, twisted and landed at a crouch behind him. With the stake still in hand, she punched forward.

The vampire was quick and turned, knocked the stake from her hands and head butted her in the face.

Keta stumbled back a few steps and fell on her ass. Her cheek throbbed and burned.

The vampire chuckled. “Ahh, the Silent Killer graces me with her beautiful presence. I am honoured.” He bowed at the waist, his smile still in place. “It seems your day has come to an end. You have no stakes left and only your physical strength to help you.” He chuckled again. “Well, I think we both know how well that is going to go. Any last words?”

Keta flipped him off angrily when he laughed at his own joke and, growling, he pounced. She waited for the right moment and then lifted her legs up, putting her feet in the vampire’s stomach before pushing hard. She flipped him over and slammed him to the ground while pushing herself onto her hands.

The vampire got to his feet as Keta put hers to the ground.

Before he turned, Keta raised her crossbow, locked a stake in place and fired. The crossbow slammed into her shoulder and pain seared through her body, knocking her to her knees as she watched the stake shoot towards the vampire as fast as a bullet.

The vampire turned to face her fully now, his fangs bared and his eyes glowing with rage. The stake sank into his chest so hard that it knocked him right off his feet. He landed in a heap on the floor and didn’t move a muscle.

Keta put her crossbow on the floor and breathed through the pain. After taking a couple of deep breaths, she climbed to her feet and made her way to the vampire.

He was definitely dead. The angry expression on his face was still there, but no life showed in his eyes.

Ugly fucker.
Keta bent to grab the stake and pulled hard. It slipped out from him easily with her strength. After wiping it on the vampire’s clothes, she put it back on the crossbow and made her way around the large building.
There’s more. There has to be in a place like this…

The building was large and old, the red stones faded and cracked. The largest mansion she’d seen yet with most of its lights on. Yeah, there were more and they were in for a big shock soon.

Going to go out with a bang.

When a smile came to her face, it made her feel calm as she inched closer to the entrance, and towards the two vampires talking quietly by the entrance. Moving quickly, she kicked out and twisted to knock the gun from the other vampire’s hand before kicking him in the head and turning her attention to the first one.

After staking him, she threw the dead vampire into the remaining one and, as he staggered back, she threw a stake at him and watched him fall to the floor.

That was easy.
She knew it wasn’t going to be easy once she was in the house. She’d have to be careful.

Keta moved around the mansion, sticking to the wall to avoid being seen by those inside.

* * * *

Elijah and his men headed through the trees quietly, fanning out when they got to the edge of the rocky mountain that overlooked a large old building. “Gather a search party, go around and search the area. I’ll take some inside. They can deal with the men.”

“And you will search for the woman?”

Elijah nodded to Blake. “Yes, if she was indeed sighted here, I will find her.”

Blake clapped him on the shoulder. “Just be sure none of the rogues escape. I do not wish to hunt twice in one night, especially when I am getting nothing out of it. She will be here, do not worry.”

Elijah grunted, hoping to hell the vampire was right. He hunted the one who was killing the vampires. The Silent Killer. Her name was well known within the worlds and he planned to put an end on the unnecessary murders.

The Silent Killer was a wolf and a strong one at that. It would be interesting when they finally met.

Blake moved away from Elijah, motioning for the others to follow him as he made his way down the rocky hill and towards the mansion.

The vampires occupying the mansion were rogue, living off the fear of human women, kidnapping them and then setting them free so they could chase their meals. They also dealt in antique marketing, selling stolen prized possessions and fine artefacts for an unreasonable price.

These vampires needed to be stopped as much as the Silent Killer did.

Elijah, come.

Elijah shivered at the command, searching through the trees behind him.

Rio was out there somewhere, waiting for him.

Knowing the wolf never asked twice, Elijah turned to the waiting vampires. “Wait here for me to return. Blake needs time to ensure that others are taken to safety before we make ourselves known.”

The vampires nodded, not questioning him when he walked past them.

Elijah knew exactly where to go. The command was still strong, pulling him as though Rio was there himself. He headed further into the trees until they thinned out into a small opening, exactly where his men and he had gathered to go through the plan for the last time.

As the alpha male and pack leader of
the
biggest pack out there, Rio was one of the strongest wolfs around. His pack consisted of around seven hundred wolves.

Rio and he had gotten into a fight centuries ago, and he’d come out worse. Rio had bitten him to assert his dominance and the result had been deadly. A change had taken place as wolf and vampire had fought inside him, much like Rio and Elijah had earlier that night.

Hours of exhaustion and pain, Elijah had woken up in his own home, hungrier than before. It all seemed like a dream until his first change. Rio had showed up at his door and at a simple command, Elijah had turned into a wolf, much to the vampire’s shock.

He had gone hunting and when it was all over, the vampires strung him up in the dungeons to question him.

Although he could turn into a wolf at will, he still hungered for the blood of humans. The vampires had been kind enough not to kill him and he had proved that their decision was not wrong with his time with them.

“Rio.”

Rio turned, his eyebrows rising. He was a large male with a thick mane of brown hair and dark eyes. He stood poised, ready to attack.

“I have told you before to call me master.”

Rio deep voice pounded against Elijah’s skull as his command washed through his senses. Elijah resisted it, unwilling to give in and call Rio master when he was not. “What do you want?”

Rio narrowed his gaze, his jaw twitching but answered him without a comment. “I am in need of your help.”

“Why me?”

“You know why.”

Elijah clenched his hands into fists. Rio wanted his help because he wouldn’t put his pack in danger and it didn’t matter if Elijah survived or not.

“What do you want?”

“My daughter, Katrina, she has gone missing.”

Elijah raised his eyebrows, his anger evaporating instantly.

Katrina was known as the princess of her pack. She was born a leader, destined to take over the pack when it was time. She was filled with kindness and everyone loved her.

“How long?”

“Three months now.”

“Where was she last seen?”

“Last I knew she was coming to see you. She did not come back that night.”

“And you didn’t worry?”

“She comes and goes as she pleases. I do not mind. However, when the full moon arrived and she did not come back home, I began to worry.”

As a pack, during the full moon they would all work together to hunt and teach others how to survive.

“Why was she coming to see me?”

“To ask if you were joining us for the full moon ritual.”

“The full moon ritual?” He had never heard of a thing.

“My son has been mated, and his wife has given birth. She did so during the full moon.”

“Ahh.”

Though he had never met Katrina in person, many stories circled around where she was concerned. All he knew was that she looked a lot like her father with shorter hair and had lighter eyes.

We’ll see if she acts like the bastard.

“What is it you are doing?”

Elijah turned back to Rio. “I will help you look for her, not because you have commanded me, but because she means as much to me as she does you.” Though he was not born wolf, it was still in his nature to search and find someone missing from the pack.

“You dare?” Rio’s entire body vibrated. His hands clenched into fists.

Elijah didn’t care. “I dare. I am not a part of your pack, nor will I ever be. Our kind hates each other and because of you I am in the middle. As I said, I will help, but of my own free will, not by your command.”

Rio stepped close to him, putting them nose to nose. “Kneel!”

The command slammed into him hard, knocking him to his knees. Elijah braced his hands in front of him, his head bowed as humiliation swept through him. If the vampires were to see this weakness within him, they would surely have his head on a plate.

“You
will
look for my daughter on my command. You
will
find her and bring her back to me. Is that understood?”

Elijah shook. Sweat dripped from his brow as he forced his head up so he could see the dog that stood before him. “You may be able to command me to do your bidding, but you will
never
be my master.”

Rio growled loudly.

Elijah held himself up for as long as he could before he gave in unwillingly, dropping to the floor, held down by an invisible foot on his back.

The command was sealed. He
had
to find Katrina and bring her back. He had no choice in the matter.

Elijah felt the weight lift from his back as Rio disappeared. He pushed himself to feet.

Rio was long gone.

Turning to head back towards the others, he lifted his top to expose his chest.

The hand shaped bruise over his heart served as a burning reminder of his task.

If he failed, it would be the end of him.

Inhaling deeply, taking in all the scents, Keta knew there was one vampire on the other side of the door. She even knew that he was relaxed, not aware of what was about to transpire. Keta slipped into the room silently and raised her stake.

The vampire never suspected a thing.

After pulling the stake from his chest, Keta moved to the window, her good hearing picked up the commotion outside and her curiosity got the better of her once more.

Outside, vampires hovered around the mansion, each one carrying weapons.

Vampires hunting vampires? That’s new.

“Elijah, you take some men into the house. They will gather the rogues while you search for the Silent Killer. I will take some men around to search there. She is here and it seems she has no qualms cleaning up after herself.”

A pang of surprise shot through Keta when she heard her nickname. She searched through the group for
Elijah
when her eyes met another’s.

Dressed casually in a black t-shirt and blue jeans that hugged him snugly, Keta didn’t have to use much of her imagination to know how much he packed underneath.

His dark eyes bored into hers, heating her entire body. He stood tall, tanned muscular arms crossed over his chest. Straight, slightly spiked light brown hair that left Keta’s fingers tingling to touch.

Her lips parted in wonder. Though the enemy, she had to marvel what made her attracted to him as she was, especially when he knew who the Silent Killer was.

As the men moved towards the mansion, Tall, Light and Handsome stayed where he was, keeping his eyes on Keta’s.

When the door opened slowly, Keta shot under the desk.

“They may not realise that we know they are there, but that will soon change. Spread the word, let the others know. I don’t want anyone left alive.” The vampire walked towards the window Keta had just been standing at and peeked carefully out.

“Yes, sir.”

Keta carefully climbed out from the table and threw a stake at the vampire. He fell silently onto the settee. Keta pulled another one from her strap and eased closer to the vampire at the window, peaking through a gap where the curtains parted.