Sanibel Surrender Vampire Werewolf Menage (Fanged Romance Series Book Five) (27 page)

Another male was now running down the pathway, and Molly could literally smell his skin burning. Ashamed of herself for gagging, she caught her breath and held it for as long as she could do so. But it wasn’t long before she had to release it again, to inhale the same stench. Werewolves were literally on fire, which was
one
of reasons Heath wouldn’t allow her to move. He didn’t want her hysterical, making decisions that could get her killed. “We have to move, Heath.” She wanted to move instead of playing sitting duck.

“Not yet,” said Heath, his breathing labored. But she knew he shook his head, because his hair slid over the side of her face and neck. “There was another Gryph flyin’ above the highest building, and I suspect he’s lurkin’, waitin’ for the others to run off so he can take you.” She felt him tense before a wave of coughing racked his body. Luckily, he flattened his palms on either side of her head and relieved Molly of some of his body weight. In the distance, she heard a girl sobbing, and she wondered if it was the woman, who she'd met yesterday. The one Ail tried to ignore. Towards the beachside, she heard a smaller round of explosions, shouts, and the clomping of boots coming across the wooden walkway. And even though it was in the middle of the day, shadows darkened the sky, nearly eclipsing the sun.

“Do you see Ail’s car, lass?”

She blinked again several times. Something grey was in her eyelashes but she could see Ail’s silver car. It hadn’t been hit, was sitting there waiting like her chariot. “Y-yeah.” She shoved down more bile, refusing to give in to hysteria. More shadows darkened overhead, casting the walkway in deep shadows.

“Slip your hand inside my front pocket and pull out his keys,” he said and released another pained gasp.

“Heath, what’s w-wrong with you.” A waft of thick smoke suddenly covered the ground, followed by low rumbling beneath her body.

“Just do it,” he said in a steely voice and she felt his compulsion come her way. “We have no choice but to…try.”

Reaching behind her, another searing pain tore through her stomach when she found his pocket. She breathed through it and quickly retrieved the keys. “Got them.” There were only two keys on the ring, and she pushed her finger through the circlet of the fob, securing them.

“Get ready and when I say move, head straight toward that car without looking up or to the sides. You’re to concentrate on getting to the car and nothing else. Not even me.” Another wave of compulsion came her way, but it was a feeble effort on his part and Molly was truly horrified at his weakness.

She shifted, ignoring the pain in her stomach. The cobblestones cutting into her raw flesh only seemed to make it worse, so the benefit of moving was two-fold. Mimicking his hands, she pressed her palms flat on the walk. “I know this isn’t a good time,” she stopped and took a cleansing breath to dull the pain, “to say this…but when I said I was falling…hard.” Her bones felt like they were grinding together. “I meant that I…”

“You love me, too,” he declared against her ear, his lips pressing the outer shell. “Thank you…for lovin’ me. Move!”

Molly pushed off the walkway, staggered, and then ate up the distance between her and Ail’s car as fast as she could possibly go. Debris and ash were floating down from the sky and those ominous shadows were overhead, but she didn’t look up, kept going just like Heath had demanded. All the sudden, she heard absolutely nothing, as if someone pulled the plug on the earth, right before a painfully bright burst of light encompassed them.

Heath moved ahead of her, tugging her hand, running for the car. And she soon realized why he wasn’t carrying her. She could barely recognize him. In fact, not one inch of his body appeared to have any skin left. She nearly fell at the sheer terror of seeing him that way, going down on one side, her elbow and knee banging excruciatingly against the parking lot. He gripped her and pulled her forward, right when the sounds came back to her ears. Her feet flew from beneath her as he raced on and she was certain her shoulder nearly dislocated with his efforts, but it was better than dying.

With the pain growing in her stomach and her throat filling with clogging ash, she nearly collapsed when they reached the car. She hit the button on the key fob and heard the locks open. And suddenly Heath wasn’t there. She spun and caught him backing away several feet with wide eyes and a determined forehead. With a warning leaving his lips for her to drive off, a whooshing sounded over her. A Gryph was heading straight for her and Heath’s intentions were clear: he was going to fight it hand to hand while she took off, which wasn’t going to happen. “We stick together!” But her words landed on deaf ears because he took off to the left. One hand pointed at Ail’s car and the other reaching up to claw the low-flying Gryph.

Molly knew the second Heath realized his maneuver was out maneuvered, when another Gryph dipped towards her. She ducked out of its way and it landed right on top of Ail’s car, its feet leaving good-sized dents in the hood. There wasn’t any reason for her not to reach for the door and make an effort to leave the scene and pick up Heath on the way out of the compound. And when she made that move, arms were around her, knocking her to the ground, and they didn’t belong to Heath. Instantly, she struggled, her face scraping the asphalt. From the immediate and excruciating pain, she realized her face had been severely burned. Whoever pushed her down used enough force to knock the wind out of her burning lungs. He pressed her harder against the asphalt as the Gryph took off, leaving them.

“Calm down,” Extol whispered and what was left of her skin literally crawled. He flipped her over, none too gently, and propped himself on both hands, looking down at her. She could see his strange butterscotch eyes taking in her injuries, but he didn’t seem too concerned. So either she wasn’t hurt as badly as she felt or he was the coldest bastard she’d ever encountered. Considering the death and mayhem surrounding her, she knew the answer immediately. His pristine clothes were covered in ash and streaked with dirt, his buttons torn from his shirt. He reached down and cupped her face. The actions stung her painfully but she refused to say so.

“Isn’t it ironic?” Extol said, caressing her cheek, the flesh severely charred. “Your Heath used a Druid curse to keep from claiming you until you divorced your husband. Out of simple courtesy, he’s going to die, ending his lonely centuries on this earth without living his life with his celestially appointed female. And your Ail, isn’t he a handful? But not to worry, even if he never makes it to a Blood for Blood court and dies by my father’s hands, a Gryph will surely kill him.” He laughed manically. “One male cursed for waiting. One cursed for saving you.”

Her throat was impossibly dry, but Molly managed to say. “But I’m strong enough for the three of us.”

“You see,” Extol said, his eyes darkening. “That’s what I find so endearing about you.” He looked to the side and she followed his line of vision. Even in the unnatural overcast, she could see the silver gleaming over Heath’s body, in the form of a large net. And without any protection of skin, he was burning to a painful crisp. He had taken the brunt of the earlier explosion that landed next to them, saving her life. By the looks of him, Molly would have never survived. Tears over Heath’s ultimate sacrifice stung her failing vision. “You want me, not him,” Extol breathed out in a tormented whisper. “Stop looking at him and look at me. I killed your husband for you. Killed him! You have to realize this, by now.”
A nerve jumped in her eye, ticking nervously. “I was no longer married to Wilson. Maybe you forgot I left him. I wouldn’t have…kissed you at the Edison Estate.” His body stiffened with obvious excitement and her heart beat frantically in fear, but she kept talking, “Remember the kiss, when you said you would see me after the next rain.”

“And I’m here, ready to take you home.” He rose slightly above her, stupidly relieving most of his weight, and waved a hand between them, his claws soaked in blood. “I kept my promise.”

“Then, Extol, I have to trust…a male who…keeps his promise.” Molly saw part of the net was sinking into Heath’s throat. She was told silver could devastate some werewolves and not harm others. Unfortunately, Heath was in the former camp and the intensity of his pain was written all over his face. He said nothing, was staring across the length of the parking lot and the yards that separated them felt like impossible miles.
I can feel you
, she wanted to say.

“Could you want me?” Extol’s voice was hopeful, though he eyed her shrewdly.

“I, too, am drawn to you.” She fought to keep her eyes on the lunatic in front of her, shakily reaching up with her fingers and brushing his chin lightly. “Of course, I’m full of your blood, aren’t I?”

“Yes, yes, and I’m sure it will eventually close that stomach wound of yours, which is the only reason I’m not misting you to safety right now. I don’t know if you can tolerate my bite, in your current condition.” He took a deep breath. “We have to wait until after the revolt.”

“The revolt?”

“I take credit for dreaming this up, but the hard work belongs to the Gryphs. The royal guard doesn’t want werewolves attacking its own so they’re showing them who’s boss. When the fighting dies down, my favored Gryph will transport you safely.”

“In the air?”

“Of course. And after you heal, I’m sure I can feed from you very soon,” he whispered, his eyes closing at that relishing thought. “I dream of feeding from you again and again – without you dying on me. I’ve been practicing, you know.”

The females he’d killed, feeding them his blood and, in turn, trying to feed from them without killing them. But it had never worked. “Well, I want that, too, Extol. To feel you at my throat would be a pleasure.” Her eyes flicked to Heath and he wasn’t watching her, was staring behind her. He opened his mouth in another wordless warning. When Extol noticed their exchange, he hissed in the way of vampires. In an effort to pacify him, Molly whispered throatily, “I need to be with the strongest male. And if you can take down an ancient werewolf such as H-heath then I need to be with
you
.”

He then pressed his lips to the side of her throat, his fangs grazing her back and forth. “For what it’s worth, I loved Wilson.” He shuddered against her body, keeping his face buried against her. “I wanted to share you in the way your werewolf males share you, but Wilson would hear none of that.”

“In many ways, Wilson was selfish,” she offered, reaching up to stroke his gleaming blond hair. She pulled a few pieces of debris away, a loving gesture. When she gently worked her other hand behind his head, she fixed the two keys between her fingers, the metal cutting into her scorched flesh, but she didn’t care.

“Wasn’t he selfish?” he asked on a pained sob. “I found out that he was cheating on us. But don’t give it a second thought, Dibosa met with an unfortunate accident just this morning.”

“You fed from her?” Molly closed her eyes, readying herself, and when she did, white sparks popped in the darkness of her vision. No doubt, she had retina damage.

With a voice nearly lifeless he said, “No, I would never touch her after Wilson fucked her. She was driving, I coerced her to take a wrong turn. From there, she ended up in a canal. Since it wasn’t yet daylight, the roads were slow, no one around to notice.” He shrugged and she realized he’d stayed and watched Dibosa drown.

Sure, Molly had loathed her, but she couldn’t imagine wishing a drowning death on anyone. She noticed Heath trying to move. Something was shifting all around them, Molly could sense it, but she had no clue if it was good or bad. “Kiss me again,” she said finally, “like you did the other night.”

His breath caught as he quickly lowered his lips to hers. When he brushed them once, twice, she heard Heath’s strangled growl. “Don’t worry about him,” Extol whispered, his breath tasting of tin and copper, “he cannot transform with the silver pressing on what’s left of his skin.”

“T-that’s a relief.” She gripped his hair, pulling him closer, tightening her grip on the keys. When he again brushed her lips, she position a key right at his ear and slammed inward as hard as she could.

“You bitch!” He pulled back and bared his fangs at her, blood pouring from his ear.

Before he could register her next move, she wrenched the keys from his ear. When he made to grasp them, she thrust her knee in his stomach. It wasn’t enough to hurt a vampire, but she caught him off guard and he was disoriented from the undoubted pounding his ear injury caused him. With the same grip, she slammed the keys in one of his butterscotch eyes, not even stopping when he dug his claws into her wrist, pressing all the way in until she felt his orbital bones meet the metal and wrenched them out. When Extol turned to the side, she reached for the door handle on Ail’s car and managed to get herself inside, locking it behind her though she knew it would only buy her a second or two.

After wiping the goo from Ail’s keys on her thigh, she shoved the key in the ignition, nearly breaking them off in her haste. She wasn’t alone for long. Faster than any human could move, Extol opened the door, his blood literally pouring from the side of his face and head.

He bared his fangs at her. And in one svelte move, he was attached to her throat, his fangs buried deep in her jugular. The burning was nothing she had felt from Dru, the pain overshadowing all other pain before it. Her body was loosening, going limp with lifelessness, her heart stuttered a few times. She had no idea how long it went on, maybe a few seconds, minutes, or hours. But she heard someone frantically call her name. When she opened her mouth, she tasted blood…her blood. At the sound of pounding boots, Extol increased the pressure, sucking the very life out of her.

The opposite door opened. Familiar fingers pressed against her throat, trying to disengage Extol’s fangs without ripping out her throat. She knew it was impossible, the vampire had transformed into a nightmarish monster the minute he had tasted her.

“Molly!”

Ail, she thought, just leave. Her upper body was pushed back, Extol leaning into her, and she landed in the tiny space behind the front seats. Ail was screaming alongside Bane, and in the corner of her dimmed vision, she spotted Ail’s quiver.
You only have one wooden arrow left.
Would it work? Using her shoulder, she moved her arm incrementally. It was sluggish, as though she’d been sleeping on it all night, but she managed to grip the tip. As if Extol knew what she was trying to do, he left her throat. Next grabbed her hand and nearly crushed her bones, leaving the arrow in two pieces. Ail had him by the throat and reached for the sharpened tip. In a reddish-purple blur, he brought the arrow to Extol’s throat and stabbed him, his blood immediately arcing out in sprays timed by heartbeats. Ail had
hit
his jugular.