The Lightning Prophecy (The Lightning Witch Trilogy Book 1) (23 page)

“It’s simple, Delaney, I have over ten pack members in the room with Reid. If you fight or hurt me, they kill him. If you accept your fate, I won’t kill him.”

And there it was. I met Reid’s eyes. He knew what Mitch said. He knew through the expression on my face. He shook his head and mouthed, “NO!” I had no doubt that I could agree to this and when he let me out of these restraints I could kill him. But, then Mitch’s pack members would most definitely kill Reid.
Shit!
What if the prophecy was real? What if I did come back? God, Mitch better hope I didn’t come back because I would kill him. Would he kill Reid anyway? How did he plan to control me if I turned? Shit, I had so many questions.

“What do you think will happen if I do change, Mitch? What do you expect to happen?” I needed to either keep him talking or find out as much as I could.

“Once you turn, and you WILL turn, I will use you to bring down the witches.”

“Why do you care about the witches? Why do you want them destroyed so much?”

“When they fall, the weres will rise. We will become public and will infiltrate society,” he said with conviction.

“You’re deluded.”

“ENOUGH! Delaney, do not think for one second I do not have a plan. There is so much more you don’t know. It’s comical, really.” He gestured over to the window.

A man walked over to Reid and pressed a knife to his throat.
Oh God!

“Wait!” I screamed. Mitch held up a hand to the window. He walked over to me and brushed his thumb down my cheek, trailing the path a tear had made.

Here was the biggest question of all, could I die for Reid? I looked up and met Reid’s stony gaze. I loved him. I didn’t want to live without him and, frankly, I didn’t know that I could. But, did I love him enough to die for him? Did he love me? Did it really matter? I made up my mind when I crashed into him standing in front of my apartment.
That seems like years ago
.

“I want to talk to Reid.” I couldn’t even look at Mitch.

“He will be able to hear you, but you will not be able to hear him.” Mitch walked over to the window and pressed a button on the wall. “Go.”

“Reid?” My voice was so shaky the word seemed to come out in letters only.

He looked up at me.

“I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t know what the right answer is.” A tear leaked out of my eye. He mouthed the word “NO!” again. Three of Mitch’s men came in the door at that moment. One walked over to him and replaced him at the intercom. Mitch began to strip. I knew what he was doing. The other two began unchaining me from the wall. The words of the man in my dream hit me.

“I will take the pain if you let me. Remember, night cannot last forever. The moon will set and the sun will rise. I promise you no matter how bad it gets it will get better. I love you, my little lightning bug.”

I closed my eyes as the men tugged and peeled at the restraints. I sent the fear out as though it were a physical object, turning it into a ball just like Sierra taught me long ago, and set it free. My heart slowed and I opened my eyes. The two men undid the last of the shackles. I stood there in my pretty white dress from the night before.

“Reid, I need you to know I love you.” My fear was surprisingly gone, but the tears still flowed. It felt like my heart was breaking.

Reid was raging now. He was pulling and thrashing against the chains. I noticed that his cheeks too were lined with tears.

I looked over at the impossibly large black wolf now pacing in front of me. It was him who attacked Troy and me. Not that I doubted it. “You better hope I don’t come back. Because if I do, you’re dead,” I said, glancing over at Mitch, then back at Reid.

“I will love you in this life and the next.” I was glad I couldn’t hear Reid’s protests and screaming. Then he mouthed the one thing that I knew would make this even harder.

“I love you.”

“This life to the next, Reid, remember that.” My heart lay on the floor with the dust and dirt. It lay there in pieces. They lay there throbbing and trying to beat, but I knew it would never beat again. Not without Reid. That’s why I had no choice. I looked at Mitch.

“I give myself freely to Reid, never to you.”

Mitch snarled. But, I knew that was all he needed. I didn’t know how I knew, but I did. No matter the path I took I would have ended up here. I would have given myself to this fate or any other for him.

I didn’t see it coming because I wanted my last sight to be of Reid. His rich caramel eyes, the feel of his touch on my skin, and his soft kisses. Mitch’s teeth sank into my neck. There was a rush of pain. But, I did exactly what I was told and balled the pain up and sent it away. I sent the ball of pain hurtling away from my body. I felt my throat ripping with every tug and pull of his jaws. My chest and front grew warm with my life’s blood, but little to no pain.

I collapsed to the floor, staring up at the mold-covered ceiling. I grasped at threads, trying to see him one more time, but they were slipping through my fingers, much like the fog in my dream. I felt the world shrink to a single pinpoint. That pinpoint throbbed with the beat of my heart. It expanded and contracted.

I thought of Reid and let go of the last tread.

IT’S HER. IT
has to be her. If not I am so screwed.
I was positive Reid told the son-of-a-bitch Coven it was me. So, time was not on my side. This had to work. I had a meeting with all of the alphas in the country in a matter of two weeks. This would be my only chance to show them our new weapon against the heavy fist of the Coven. The last thing I needed was some pretentious witches knocking down my door. I put all my eggs in this basket and now I hoped it held.

I walked over to the extra bedroom in my Atlanta apartment. Delaney lay on the bed. Killing her had been easy, much like it had been with all the others. This was the only chance I had to have a weapon to use against the Coven. The Coven had long been the driving force stopping the weres from organizing and taking control of the supernatural world, and in time the government. My phone buzzed in my pocket.

“Saldana.”

“Alpha, did she wake?” Mark’s tinny voice questioned.

I looked over at the dead witch lying on the bed. It was the height of the new moon tonight. She should rise today. If she was able to change. I squashed the nugget of doubt and walked into the room. I placed my hand on her softly rounded cheek. It was cold. No sign of life, yet.

“No, Mark. But, she will raise today I am sure of it. Has there been any news from our leaks within the Coven?” We had infiltrated the Coven right before I killed Delaney.

“No, sir. But, the girl, she will rise, right?” Mark’s voice was unsure. The pack was restless. They knew what was on the line and if they didn’t agree, they needed to shut the fuck up about it.

“Yes, she will. And, Mark, spread the word - if anyone else calls me, they better be dying. Or they soon will be.” I hung up the phone. I did not answer to my pack; they answered to me. What would they do? Kill me? I was the maker of ninety percent of them. It was physically impossible for a wolf to kill its maker.

I walked over to Delaney and stared at her dead form on the bed. Even in death, she was beautiful. Her curves were soft and begged for me to touch them. Her skin was a beautiful shade of cream with a slight blush to it. I yearned to see her full of life again. I fully expected her to hate me above all people, but she would get over it. I needed to use her to bring down the Coven.

There was a large brown leather chair next to the bed and I sank into it. I had spent much of the recent days and nights in this chair with hopes that Delaney would indeed rise. If it did not happen today, the chances of her rising were greatly diminished. I crossed my arms over my chest and began to plot. I had to be sure there were no loose ends to tie up.

Reid was the biggest loose end. I could just kill him and, man, I wanted to. He was more dominant than I, and in a fair fight I would be willing to bet he could take me. It was a good thing I made a practice of not fighting fair. When Delaney woke, she would be assured Reid was still alive. There was that old adage, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.” Well, I had to make Delaney do as I wished. Holding Reid over her head was going to be the only way I could do that. I had to keep that smug bastard alive.

I smiled at the thought of Reid. He would have never guessed his only friend in the world would be the one killing people. He was as naive as Delaney, thinking she knew the whole prophecy. There was so much she didn’t know. That whiny bitch of a great aunt made this so easy. She tried to keep Delaney out of danger so much, she neglected telling her anything. It was so easy to let them just simmer in their own stupidity.

I leaned up and rested my hands on the bed. I watched her chest for a telltale rise and fall, but there was nothing. I often fantasized about her. It pissed me off to know she chose Reid. I would kill him eventually, but right now he would be my little pawn.

I pulled out my cell phone and glanced at the screen. It read 8:23 P.M. The last of the sun’s yellow rays had just set. The night’s sky was just coming into view. I got up and leaned over her.

Her lips were full, but not so much that they looked fake. Her dark-brown lashes fanned on her cheeks, begging to be kissed. I let my eyes do something I had been fighting since she was put on this bed in my house. I let them wander down her body. She was still dressed in the bloodstained white dress she had worn when we went out. The sight of that dress reminded me of what her blood tasted like and I groaned out loud. I loved the thrill of the chase, but for me the real thrill came with the taste of the kill. The feel of a pulse ending under my jaws. That rush of warm blood filling my mouth. And Delaney’s blood had been different from any other blood I had before. She had tasted like power. A power I wanted to control. A power I couldn’t help but be envious of.

I could just reach out and touch her, cup her. It took all my willpower not to grab at her. I reached a finger and ran it along the smooth skin on the tops of her breasts. I snatched my finger from her skin as if it burned me. It hadn't, but getting a hard-on from a dead girl wasn't the plan.

“Delaney, I have big plans for you. It’s time to wake up.” Nothing happened. I didn’t expect it to, really. I leaned over her face, only a few inches from our noses touching. This was absurd; I was acting like a child. I took one more glance at her luscious chest and then back at her eyes.

Looking back at me were glowing silver eyes.

“Hello, Delaney.”

OTHER BOOKS BY EMILY CYR:

THE VAMPIRE FAVORS SERIES:

Push and Pull (March 2015)

Emily Cyr is a stay-at-home mom turned writer. She holds a degree in middle grades education with certification in English and social science. She has always had a love of all things paranormal and fantasy, but it wasn’t until Emily’s husband said the words, “Why not?” that she considered putting her thoughts and ideas into the book, The Lightning Prophecy. This trilogy was just the start for Emily. It seemed to open a creative door that had been locked.

Emily has always been an avid reader. Through reading came her love of writing. The more she read, the more she knew she wanted to create her own world. Many of her first works were fan fiction.

Emily and her family currently reside in Jacksonville, Florida. She has an incredibly supportive husband. They have two sons, ages 2 and 3. Somehow, even with the demands of being a parent to two little boys, she finds time to escape to her fantasies and write them down.

Though this is Emily’s first published book, it will not be her last. She is currently working on book two in the Lightning Witch Trilogy and book one in the Vampire Favors series, titled Push and Pull.

All information regarding book signings and release dates can be found on her Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/EmilyCyrAuthor
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