Fractured (The Deep in Your Veins Series Book 5) (20 page)

“I know you are, because you don’t have the option of leaving me.”

She burst out laughing. “See, you make me happy.”

At first, I’d found that hard to believe. But now I saw it clearly. Saw that I’d somehow lived up to my promise. I was now the one who made her smile and laugh. I swore to myself that I’d keep on doing it.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

(Butch)

The island where the battle would take place wasn’t much different from The Hollow; there was the white sandy beach, the thick, vine-covered trees, the waterfalls, the light sea breeze, and the sounds of tropical birds and other exotic wildlife.

We spent hours learning every inch of the island, searching for the best places to lay in wait. Meanwhile, other members of the legion were picking off the vampires that belonged to The Order. A squad had also captured the blogger, Marvin, and placed him in a containment cell. Sam and Jared intended to deal with him at a later date.

One thing that was aggravating everyone was that Mona and Cedric couldn’t find an address for the founder of The Order. In fact, there was no record of Beau Irons ever existing, even as a human. I was more pissed—and, quite frankly, panicking like fuck—about the fact that Imani would be part of the battle.

In Sam’s professional
opinion, Imani was fit for battle. In my personal opinion, my girl was
barely
fit for it. So when I came close to objecting, Sam reminded me that she couldn’t make that decision based on her personal feelings on the matter and, as such, neither could I. Maybe, but I’d still objected, even knowing that Imani would be pissed at me. I’d rather she was pissed than dead.

Instead of yelling at me as I’d expected, Imani had leaned into me and said, “Thanks for caring so much, but the last thing I intend to do is die and leave you. Trust me to keep my word.” With that, she’d walked away, determination in every step. And I’d had no choice but to accept that there would be no talking her out of it.

As we came to a halt on the beach, having completed our tour of the island, Chico turned to Sam and Jared. “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow night?”

Standing solidly, Jared replied, “One squad will remain at The Hollow to be ready if any dragons manage to get past us. The rest of the legion will be lying in wait on the island. That’s a lot of vamps, I know, but forty dragon shifters can cause a lot of damage and mayhem.”

“They’ll all be huge, strong, powerful, and covered in thick scales that act as seriously good armour—they can also bloody fly,” said Sam. “Hopefully my shield will stay in place because we can’t afford to let them pass this island and reach The Hollow.”

“When they realise the Grand High Pair are here,” began Max, “I don’t think they’ll bother trying to pass. You two are their main targets—as long as they end you both, they’ve completed their mission.”

“You could be right,” said Jared. “If they
do
pass, every squad will be teleported back to The Hollow and we’ll continue the fight there.”

Making strong eye contact with each of us, Sam slowly paced. “Whatever our location, the plan of attack will be the same: as you already know, our aim is to
get them on the ground
. That’s the priority. While they’re flying, they have an advantage.”

Brow wrinkled, Chico said, “I’m seriously doubting my darts are going to get through their scales.”

“That is an issue,” said Sam. “But Lazarus told us that it’s hard for these shifters to maintain their dragon form if they’re weak. If any are shot down and return to their human form, kill them.”

“Remember that they don’t just breathe heat, smoke, and fire,” Jared warned. “They can breathe air so cold it encases whatever their breath touches in ice.”

Denny rocked on his heels. “I have a feeling this will be the hardest battle we’ve ever fought.”

A small smile graced Sam’s mouth. “Are you sorry you wanted some action?”

“I will be if I become encased in ice.”

Harvey frowned at Denny. “If you’re encased in ice, you probably won’t think or feel shit.”

Denny snorted. “Whatever.”

“I doubt it’ll be easy to target them,” said Jared. “They probably fly pretty fast. We’ll have to—” He stopped as Sebastian appeared at his side with a blonde Pagori female who couldn’t have been much more than five foot tall. I instinctively moved closer to Imani. Unsurprisingly, Paige did the same.

Sam smiled at the newcomers. “Sebastian, I take it Keeley’s made up her mind.”

“Keeley?” echoed David, brow raised.

“Well, I knew that fire-breathing creatures were going to be a big problem,” said Sam. “And they say fight fire with fire, right? But that ain’t gonna work here. What we need is someone who can put
out
the fire. Those within the legion who can create or call on water will have to do our best to calm the flames, but there aren’t enough of us for that. So Mona and Cedric checked the register for any vampires with gifts that can help. Sebastian then tracked down Keeley for us.”

“You can create water?” Imani asked.

Sam’s smile widened. “She can do something even better. She can create rainstorms.”

It was hard to imagine that a little thing like her had that kind of power. “Storms powerful enough to put out a bushfire? Because it’s a big possibility that the dragon attack will have the same effect.”

Keeley’s voice was strong and confident as she replied, “I can create rain so heavy, it’ll feel more like rocks hitting your flesh.” Impressive. So impressive that all the females smiled.

“You must have some kind of limitation,” insisted Max.

“The rainstorms never last long,” Keeley reluctantly admitted. “It’s pretty tiring to keep them going.”

“
But
if Reuben amplifies her gift, we won’t have to worry about that,” Sam pointed out.

“Are you combat trained?” Chico asked her.

Keeley lifted her chin. “Enough to hold my own.”

“Does that mean you’re joining the battle?” Sam asked her. “If I didn’t need to concentrate on keeping up my shield, I could feed on the small amount of energy leaking from you and have your gift for a while. I’ve created a storm before, though it wasn’t a rainstorm. But I can’t concentrate on creating, sustaining, and containing a rainstorm when I have to focus on my shield.”

Keeley was silent for a moment. “I’ll join the battle.”

“You’ll have protection at all times,” Jared assured her.

I had one concern. “You can keep the storm under control?”

She nodded curtly.

“What happens if you’re hurt?” I asked. “Will it go out of control?” That would be seriously bad and possibly make a shit situation even worse.

“If I’m hurt or killed, it will quickly die off.”

Fair enough.

“When do you think the dragon shifters will come?” Sebastian asked Sam and Jared.

“As soon as The Order realises its members are being hunted,” Jared replied. “It will be the only way they can stop us from going after them.”

Ava kicked at the sand. “How will we know when they’ve figured it out?”

“When the squads can no longer find the members they’ve been assigned to kill,” said Salem. “It will mean they’re in hiding.”

“According to the register,” began Jared, “one of the vamps at the top of the list is a telepath. He’ll have psychically warned the others before he died. They’ll be angry, scared, and they’ll feel forced to move forward with their plans and kill all of us before we kill the rest of them. I’d say we have twenty-four hours at most before the dragons arrive.”

Sam nodded her agreement. “All of you go have a long rest and tank yourselves up on NSTs. Or, in Imani’s case, have a little munch on Butch. Meet us outside the mansion at dusk.”

(Imani)

Later on, I was snuggled into Butch’s side while he lay in bed, his fingers brushing through my hair. Deliciously sated, I was on the verge of falling asleep when he spoke.

“It’s at times like this, when there’s a battle coming, that I wish we were officially mated.”

Instantly awake, I blinked. “What?”

“If I hadn’t messed up a year ago, we’d have been together long enough for you to feel secure and so sure of my commitment to you that you’d have agreed to Bind with me by now.”

I knew that part of the reason he was worrying so much was that Jared had ordered Butch to personally guard Sam throughout the battle. Vampirekind knew plenty about Sam’s abilities, and The Order will have passed on that knowledge to the dragons. That meant that as soon as an energy shield covered the island and trapped them, they would know that the shield was hers. They would do their best to get to her. Butch’s shield would keep her safe while she concentrated on maintaining her own shield.

His strategic mind would understand and agree with Jared’s decision. But the rest of Butch was no doubt balking at the thought of parting from me during the battle. I’d promised him I’d stay close enough for him to see me at all times—not just to placate him, but because I didn’t want him distracted, wondering where I was. He still wasn’t happy about it.

“I know that’s not a reason to Bind with someone, but we both know that’s not why I want to Bind with you. It’s just a plus.” He tapped my lower lip. “But you’re not quite there yet, baby.” There was no judgement in his tone.

“It’s just that—”

“You need a little time to be sure I’m not going anywhere. I don’t blame you for it. I understand.”

“That’s not what I was going to say. It’s not that I doubt
you
. I trust you and I—”

“You don’t have to justify it, Imani, I’m not trying to pressure you. I walked away from you once before, so of course you’ll want to be sure it isn’t going to happen again.”

“That’s not it. If you’d let me speak, I could explain,” I said a little haughtily.

Lips twitching, he swept out a hand, inviting me to continue. Smart ass.

“Like I said, I don’t doubt you. I just find the thought of Binding a little...worrying.”

He blinked. “Worrying?”

“I’m not a full vampire anymore. I’m physically weaker than I was before. I bruise and I don’t heal as quickly. It’s why you and Paige are panicking about me being part of the battle. There’s really no such thing as immortality—anyone can die. And now that I’m a little vulnerable, I could die a lot easier. If I was mated to you and that happened to me, you’d die too.”

Eyes narrowed, jaw hard, he arched a brow. “Let’s get something straight. You are not rejecting the idea of Binding with me out of some misguided idea that it will protect me. No fucking way.”

“Butch—”

“If you want to make this about protecting me, let’s look at it another way. If we were officially mated, I’d be able to feel you through the connection; I’d know where you were, that you were alive, and I could help boost your strength. It would keep me sane in battle, which would mean I wasn’t distracted worrying about you.”

“Yeah, but—”

“And if we were mated, I’d fight harder, faster, and dirtier to keep you safe. And you would do the same, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course.”

His mouth curved smugly. “So your worries are pointless, baby.”

“It’s easy for you to say. If you thought mating with me would make me vulnerable, you would be just as hesitant as I am.”

“Yeah, I would,” he admitted instantly, not at all repentant. “And what would you say to me?”

That there was no way I’d let him refuse to Bind with me out of some stupid idea that it would help protect me. I’d be prepared to take the chance. I sighed, “Point taken.”

“Good.” He kissed me, his tongue licking into my mouth as his hand slid into my hair. “I hope you’re done fighting me on this. I want us to Bind. You’re it for me. There never has and never will be anyone who’s as important to me as you are. I know what it’s like to be without you. I know how much better my life is with you in it. Got no intention of letting you go again. As far as I’m concerned, you’re already mine. Binding would just solidify that.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He lifted my hand. “I want to look at this finger and see a Binding knot that says you belong to me. I want a matching knot on my finger. Can’t say you’re getting a good deal here, but I’m not kidding, baby, I’m not letting you go again. Not ever.”

“Why would you think I’m not getting a good deal?”

“I’m a realist, Imani.”

Not when it came to himself, thanks to his past. “If you want, I can hunt Kylie and smack the bitch down.”

He chuckled, dragging me on top of him. “I’m not sure she’s even alive. If she is, she’ll be in her seventies by now. Anyway, she probably messed up her own life. But the gesture is appreciated.”

“I don’t think you realise that I’m completely serious.”

“What I think”—he flipped us so that I was beneath him—“is that we should forget about her.” He sucked at my pulse, making my inner muscles spasm. “And you should lie there like a good girl while I pound you into the mattress.”

“So romantic.”

“Ain’t it though?”