Beta (14 page)

"Why
would you force me to hurt you," he demanded angrily.

I
couldn't even open my mouth to respond. I tasted blood in my mouth
and forgot all pain as I looked at Andre. I wasn't the only one to
notice my mouth filled with blood. He gripped the back of my neck
and pulled my mouth to his. He forced my mouth open with his tongue
and drank from me. I tried to pry him off but he was so incredibly
strong, I just couldn't. Granted, I was holding up better than a
human would but vampires were known for their strength and speed.
His lips moved against mine as I struggled to push him away but my
struggling only seemed to encourage him. He broke away from my lips
only to cock my head to the side and sink his fangs into the soft
skin of my neck. I cried out, tears involuntarily escaped my eyes,
as he drank from me. If I thought the slap was painful, that was
nothing compared to him drinking from me.

Slowly,
my world started to spot and turn black but he never released my
neck from his clutches. I could feel my breathing slow, my
struggling turned to nothing more than weak slaps on his
chest.

He
slipped his fangs out of my flesh and let me slump down in the
seat.

"Next
time, you will watch what you say."

He
stepped out of the car and turned back to yank me out. He stood me
up but he had taken so much blood, I couldn't stand on my own. I
wobbled and started to fall but he gripped my upper arm and drug me
inside. God, I prayed Titus would find me in time.

********

Titus:

I didn't
bother turning off my car. I ran inside the house and upstairs to
find Christian sitting, huddled in a ball in the panic room. I
scooped him up to make sure he was okay but he wrapped his arms
around my neck, crying.

"Are you
okay? Did they hurt you?" I asked. I knew I sounded panicked and I
was.

He shook
his head, "They took Momma."

"Did you
know them?"

"No," he
sniffled, "Momma said she knew them. She said the vampire raised
her and she had to go with him."

A
vampire? We've never had an issue with vampires. I didn't know of
any werewolf that did have a problem with vampires.

"Are you
sure they were vampires?"

"She said
so," he insisted.

I pulled
my phone from my jacket pocket and called Zac. This wasn't
something I could do on my own since I didn't even know what I was
up against.

"Hello,"
he answered.

"Elizabeth is gone," I said. I felt my anger with the
situation finally setting in. I would kill whoever took my mate
from me and scared my son.

"Gone?"

"Christian said a vampire that raised her took
her."

"Do you
know where they would take her?"

"I have
no idea what he's talking about," I admitted.

I felt
like a damn idiot for not knowing more about Elizabeth but I never
wanted to push her to tell me. I figured if she wanted me to know,
she would tell me. Now I regretted not prying more, finding out
everything I could.

"Earlier
today, when she talked to Rachel, she talked about growing up in
this thing called Order of the Mystics. I guess Claire's mate was
part of it so I assume she had something to do with
this."

"Shit," I
muttered, "Can you meet me at my house? I'm going to get Claire
here."

"Yeah.
I'll bring Rachel. She'll probably know where to find this
group."

I hung up
and brought Christian to his bed. We sat down as he stopped crying.
I kept my arm around his shoulders since that seemed to be what was
calming him down.

"Sorry,
Dad," he mumbled.

"For
what?"

"Momma
told me I needed to be brave like you but I cried," he said in a
shaky voice.

I hugged
him closer as I sighed in frustration, "Mom's going to be proud of
how brave you were. It's okay to cry sometimes,
Christian."

"But I
didn't stop the man from taking her."

"That's
okay. I'm going to get her back. I promise. Can you tell me what he
looked like?"

"He was
tall like you but skinny and really white. He had long, black hair
and red eyes."

"Did you
hear his name?"

He shook
his head, "Where's Momma?"

"I don't
know but I'm going to find her. You're going to stay with grandma
and papa for now, okay?"

He
nodded, "Tell Momma I love her."

I kissed
the top of his head, "I'll tell her, buddy."

I looked
around the room for any clues but there was nothing odd other than
the scent of vampires. Why the hell would vampires want her? We
have always gotten along with vampires and as far as I knew,
Elizabeth didn't have a past with them but I guess I was wrong.
Clearly, there were many things she didn't tell me about her
childhood. I knew I should have pressed her for
information.

I needed
to relax. I wasn't thinking clearly because this was Elizabeth. I
knew that her parents belonged to a religious cult apparently
called Order of the Mystics. Claire's mate also belonged to the
cult and so did the girl Zac had in his possession. Vampires took
Elizabeth and she told Christian the man raised her. That had to
mean Order of the Mystics was a vampire led group with werewolf
subordinates since she said her family was not ranked. A ranked
werewolf would never fall victim to a cult unless they were leading
it.

I called
Claire, waiting for her to answer. I knew she would because she was
desperate to get me back. She would do anything if it meant having
me back. I needed to convince her to come here so we could press
her for information.

"Hello,"
she answered timidly.

"Claire?"

"Titus?"
She perked up.

"Yeah.
Look, I'm sorry about what I said in my office. Do you think...do
you think you could come over?"

"To your
office?"

"To my
house. My wife is gone right now and I think it would be a good
time to actually talk."

"About
us?" She asked, hopeful.

I rolled
my eyes, "Yeah."

"How long
will she be gone?" She asked coyly.

I knew
what she wanted me to say and I had to play along to get her over
here before Zac. I hated myself for it but gritted my teeth and
looked back at my son who had passed out on his bed.

"Long
enough for me to know you again. In detail," I added.

She
laughed a breathy, sultry laugh, "I'll be over in a minute. Wait
for me in your bedroom."

"Already
waiting."

I set my
phone down on Christian's night stand and sat next to him. Jesus,
how did everything spin out of control so fast? One minute I'm
planning a vacation for Liz and myself, the next I get a phone call
and she's gone. I should have increased patrols of the house when I
knew Claire was back. I should have known, right after our
conversation, to go home and protect my family. But none of that
mattered because now they had her and I had to focus on getting her
back. I would do anything to have her back safe and unharmed. She
was my life and I would kill anyone that stood in the way of
getting her back. Including Claire.

After a
few minutes, I heard a car pull down the driveway and stop in front
of my house. For the first time, I hoped it was Claire. She needed
to be here before Zac so she wouldn't know I was setting her
up.

She let
herself in and started up the stairs. I came out of Christian's
room and quietly closed the door behind me. She met me right in
front of the door and wasted no time trying to unbutton my pants. I
gripped her wrists probably more rough than necessary and pinned
her against the wall. A low growl escaped my throat at the thought
of Elizabeth being harmed because of Claire and it took everything
in me not to shift and tear her to shreds.

"What
have you done," I growled.

The
sultry look was instantly wiped from her face as fear replaced
it.

"What do
you mean?"

"I know
you had something to do with these vampires taking my wife. Tell me
what you did and I won't kill you."

"You said
you wanted to sleep with me," she choked out.

"I never
said that. I told you Elizabeth is the only woman I want. It will
never be you, Claire. Now tell me how to find her," I
demanded.

She
cowered away from my authoritative tone but tried to ignore the
command. She was weak and her wolf wouldn't allow such
insubordination for much longer.

"Say it,"
I commanded.

"She was
born to be with him!" She blurted, "She was created for the Master.
He always had the intention of getting her when he wanted so I just
told him where she was!"

"What do
you mean created for him?" I asked.

"He is
going to blend the lines with her. She will produce the first
hybrid as it was foretold."

"A
vampire, werewolf hybrid? He is going to rape my mate until she
produces a child?!"

Everything started to click at that point. Realization of the
situation hit me like a ton of bricks. He wasn't going to kill her.
He was going to keep her. I couldn't decide which was worse but
either way, I was getting her back immediately.

"Don't
worry. After she produces a few, he will put her out of her
misery," she said as if that would make it okay.

A snarl
ripped through me but I was pulled away from her before I could
hurt her. I felt Zac holding me back, trying to get me to calm down
but I wasn't about to calm down.

"We might
need her," he reminded.

Claire
bolted for the stairs but I grabbed her by her neck and threw her
back. She gasped in pain, a few tears fell down her face but she
stood up.

"Stay
where you are," I demanded.

She
whimpered in response but made no move to run again.

*********

I sat on
the bed in my holding cell. The room lacked windows and the only
door was steel plated. I had already tried looking for a lock but
it seemed like it was sealed tight from the outside. The walls
sounded thick when I tapped on them, searching for a weak spot.
Eventually, I gave up and sat on the bed which was the only thing
in the room.

I still
felt the affects of Andre taking too much blood from me and my jaw
still hurt from the hit. I must have looked disgusting; pale, and
bruised, shaking and half alive. I knew he wasn't going to kill me-
not yet anyway. He had bigger plans for me and he needed me alive
to complete them. I was racing against the clock though. It was
only a matter of days before he started his attempts to produce a
hybrid. But I wasn't banking on his word. He said I had a week to
myself to adjust but I didn't believe a word he said. If he felt
like he wanted sex from me, he would take it and there wouldn't be
a damn thing I could do to stop it. The most I could do would be
minimize the damage he would cause by submitting. I needed every
ounce of strength I could muster for when I was going to escape and
I couldn't waste it by struggling against the inevitable. I may be
strong but I was physically weaker than Andre and I couldn't change
that. I had to be tactical.

The steel
groaned in protest as someone opened the door. Andre stepped inside
the room with his long fingers laced together in front of
him.

"Come
along, ma chérie."

"Where
are we going?"

"To our
room," he said as if the answer was obvious.

Panic
rushed through me, "You said I have a week."

"I
changed my mind."

Shit. I
wasn't ready for this. I had never been with anyone other than
Titus and I never wanted to be with anyone other than
Titus.

"But you
said so," I said on a shaky voice.

"What did
I say about bad behavior, Elizabeth? Now let's go."

"I can't
get pregnant under pressure. My body will reject it," I said
quickly. I had no idea if that was true or not but it was an old
wives tale that I was hoping he believed in.

"Is that
so?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Hm.
Well, you are the doctor," he said as he locked us both in the
small room, "But I'm willing to take my chances."

"Titus
will kill you," I warned.

He
laughed, "He has no idea where you are. Do you honestly think
Claire will tell him? I wouldn't be surprised if they are already
together."

"He
doesn't want her," I said confidently.

"I
wouldn't be so sure. Why do you think he couldn't ban her? Nothing
in your laws states he can't so why wouldn't he protect you and
Christian from her?"

I really
couldn't respond to that. He had a point.

"Give it
up, Elizabeth. Accept your destiny," he urged as he pushed me to
lay on the bed.