Feral Instincts (The Feral Series) (28 page)

Lifting
her chin defiantly, Ava ignored his challenge and instead began taking
inventory of her surroundings. Apparently no longer concerned she might escape,
she had been left to wonder the room freely. The room they were in seemed to be
some sort of living area and Ava could see what looked to be a bedroom behind
the only other door in the room. No help there, no way in hell she was setting
foot in his bedroom. There were also no windows since they were underground.
She was well and truly trapped.

Knocking
echoed through the chamber from the steel door. “Enter.” Salvatore sighed in
annoyance. In walked one of Salvatore’s rogues. He seemed familiar to Ava.
Perhaps he was one of her kidnappers from the night of her car accident. He
stood tensely with his fists clenched.

“Master,
we lured the guardians to the location you specified and detonated the
explosives.” Neither man turned at Ava’s horrified gasp.

“Did
everything go as planned?”

“Well,
no sire. We are not sure why but the guardians pulled back at the last minute
and didn’t enter the building.”

“What!”
Salvatore roared in anger. Bruno barley resisted taking a step back but he
dared not show any weakness in front of his master.

“Have
the men pull back and double the guards on the perimeter. I want scouts sent
out to make sure no one has followed us back to the tunnels.” Again they had
failed to destroy Victor’s guardians. No matter, all he had really needed his
rogues to do was to lure the guardians out of Claymore so Ava would be free to
come to him. Now she was finally his.

“Leave
us.” Bruno quickly bowed and rushed out of the room to carry out Salvatore’s
orders, relieved to be able to walk out at all after delivering his report.

Salvatore
paced for a few moments in frustration, raking his fingers through his dark
hair. Ava held her breath, waiting to see if he would turn is anger on her.

With
a sigh, he seemed to shake himself out of his brooding and Ava could feel his
dark gaze raking her body. A stiff smile graced his lips as a calculating
looked entered his eyes. “Please, my sweet, come sit down.” He held out his arm
regally, toward the sofa in the room and walked around his desk to lean his hip
against it. For all intents and purposes he looked like a man at his leisure
but Ava could still see the predator. He was just biding his time, waiting for
the right moment to pounce on her. He was obviously a monster that enjoyed
playing with his prey before devouring it.

Salvatore
released a deep sigh of satisfaction. He had waited a long time for her and
wanted to savor his triumph. Ava settled stiffly onto the leather sofa and
waited to see what his next move would be. “Relax, my dear. I thought perhaps
we could get to know each other a bit. After all, we will be spending eternity
together.”

Ava
considered her options for a moment and decided it would be prudent to just
play along for now. “Okay.” She murmured softly.

“So
tell me, how has your transition gone? I can already see by your little trick with
the knife that your speed has increased. How is your strength coming along?”
Ava tensed as Salvatore changed positions and came to sit next to her on the
sofa.

Ava
flinched as he suddenly gripped her chin painfully between his fingers. “You
will answer me when I ask you a question.”

“I
am stronger than before.” Ava hissed at him and he released her chin only to
rest his arm along the back of the couch and lift one of her ebony curls
between his fingers. Ava struggled to remain seated when her whole body was
screaming at her
run, run, run!

“
Good,
good. I knew you would make a beautiful vampire. I think often of our first
night together. Your blood was some of the sweetest I have ever tasted. I must
say that I am curious to see if your blood is just a sweet, now that you are a
vampire.” Salvatore’s soulless eyes began to glow the horrible red that haunted
her nightmares. With a laugh he looked at her hands, clenched so tightly that
her knuckles had turned white and her short nails were leaving crescent shaped
moons on her skin. “Relax love, I don’t plan on feeding from you just yet. It
will weaken you and it’s ever so much more fun when you fight back.”

Salvatore
ran the back his fingers across the spot on her neck where he had originally
bit her that horrible day. His wondering fingertips were coming dangerously
close to Teagan’s mark on her neck. His confident demeanor suddenly became
stiff. Ava flinched as he leaned in close to her and seemed to pull in a slow
deep breath.

Icy
tingles of warning raced down her spine, every muscle in her body tensed, ready
to flee. She could sense a horrible rage begin to build inside of him. “So tell
me little Ava, who have you been feeding on?” Ava froze with fear at his gently
phased question. Her breaths coming out in short terrified pants. “Did Victor
bring you one of his little human friends? Hum?” Ava tried to calm her racing
pulse but failed.
Oh god, he knows.
“Perhaps you have developed a taste
for something more exotic? Perhaps werewolf!”

Ava
screamed as Salvatore suddenly grabbed the collar of her shirt and jerked it.
The buttons tore free down the front and some of the fabric ripped as he pulled
it down to expose her shoulder. Teagan’s bite was laid bare for Salvatore to
see.

Jumping
up from the couch Ava didn’t even get one step away from Salvatore before he
sank his long black claws into her arm, piercing her skin and preventing her
escape. Writhing in pain he spun her to face him. “What have you done? Did you
think I wouldn’t find out you stupid whore! You let him mate you!” He had
picked up the werewolf’s scent on her but didn’t think she had actually gone so
far as to be mated to him. How was it possible that a werewolf would take a
vampire as a mate? Her once perfect body was now forever stained with the mark of
the werewolf! She was ruined!

Ava
gaped at the monster that held her in his grip. In his fury Salvatore’s face
had begun to shift, revealing the monster he had become. His hands were tipped
in horrible black claws and his pale skin drew tight as the bones of his once
handsome face became more pronounced, taking on harsh, sharp angles.

Not
only had she betrayed him but her bond with the werewolf could lead him
straight to them! The little whore was like a werewolf homing beacon! With a
roar that sounded like it came straight from the depths of hell, Salvatore drew
his hand back and brought it slamming against the side of her face. With a
heart wrenching scream, Ava was thrown across the room from the force of the
blow. Her world exploded in pain as she was sent crashing onto the unforgiving
concrete floor. Had she been human the powerful blow surely would have broken
her neck. Blood trickling from her lip, she struggled to lift herself up so she
could brace herself for Salvatore’s next blow. Her time was up, help wasn’t
coming. She was going to have to face the devil by herself.

“How
could you do this to me Evangeline! Again you have betrayed me! How dare you
allow a filthy dog to touch what is mine! I gave you everything! You exist
because I gave you life! It is
my
blood that runs in your veins!”  

Anger
surged through her at his words, giving her strength. Ava could see the
surprise in the rogue monster’s eyes as she determinedly staggered to her feet.
Wiping the trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her
hand she glared her hatred at him. The time for playing along with his sick
little game had come to an end.

The
blinding fear she had felt was slowly being pushed aside by pure rage. She
could feel all of the hatred she carried rising up in her chest, hatred for the
monster standing before her. Ava clenched her fists as she felt power coursing
through her body. Gone was the simpering, weak little girl she had once been
when cowering beneath Salvatore’s fatal bite. In her place was the strong and
courageous woman she had become. She realized now, the strength had always been
there, she just needed the courage to stand and use it. She may die here
tonight but she was going out on her own terms. No longer would she be this
man’s victim. If he wanted to see her cower in fear, he was going to be
disappointed.

“So
what, you want me to thank you? Thank you for murdering me? Thank you for
ripping my throat out? Thank you for ending my life as I knew it? You are
nothing but a monster! You disgust me!” Ava screamed all of her pent up rage at
Salvatore. “You did this to me so you could have a little play thing to
entertain you? You are a sorry pathetic excuse for a man! I would rather die
than have you touch me! You are not even half the man that my mate is! All you
gave me was death! He gave me life! And guess what psycho, my name is Ava, not
Evangeline!” 

At
first Salvatore had looked excited that she was going to put up a fight but
after listening to her words his blood red eyes glazed over in rage. With a
roar he charged her. Time seemed to stand still and then tick by one frame at a
time. Using his momentum against him, Ava deflected his slashing claws and spun
to the side, ducking under his arms and spinning out of his reach.

Almost
charging head first into the brick wall, Salvatore seemed confused that Ava
wasn’t in his hands. Clearly someone had been training his little consort. With
a roar of fury he gathered himself for another attack. “You will beg me for
death before I am done with you! I will carve his mark from your skin piece by
piece!” Foam flew from his mouth as he yelled at her. He tensed as though to
charge her again but suddenly froze. Tilting his head toward the door he
listened closely to the sounds coming from down the corridor. Ava could hear an
echo of Salvatore’s ear splitting roar from behind the heavy door.

With
a screeching of steel against brick, the heavy door was ripped off of its
hinges and was sent sailing into the room. Ava pressed her back against the
wall to avoid the debris. Coughing and waving her hand at the dust that filled
the room, she struggled to see what it was that now stood in the doorway. A
dark shape immerged from the shadows, the light from the corridor glowed behind
him, revealing a sinister silhouette.

Like
a predator stalking its prey he moved cautiously into the room. Eyes wide with
shock, Ava stared at the beast standing in front of her. Before her stood the
massive werewolf she hadn’t seen since that horrible day in Salvatore’s hotel.

Her
beast had come to her rescue yet again. He seemed even more dangerous than when
she had seen him last. She could feel the rage rolling off of him in waves,
heating her skin with its intensity. In his beast form Teagan’s body was bigger
and more muscular than before. Dark hair covered his chest and arms and then
thinned out again as it approached his waist. His face retained Teagan’s own
characteristics but had become more lupine and his lips were pulled back,
revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

Ava
covered her ears with shaking hands as he suddenly let out a roar and charged
Salvatore with his giant claws extended. Salvatore eyed the doorway but had no
time to flee from the rampaging werewolf. With a thundering crash their two
bodies collided together. Snarling and growling echoed off the concrete walls
as the two men moved faster than any human eye could follow.

With
an inhuman screech Salvatore was knocked to the floor by one of Teagan’s
powerful blows. Salvatore was back on his feet in seconds. Four strips of
ragged skin now laid open, revealing white bone beneath.

With
a growl Salvatore snarled at Teagan. “You’re going to pay for that Lykan.”
 

With
a single leap Salvatore jumped the distance to Teagan, connecting several blows
of his own. Ava watched in horror, unable to do anything as the battle played
out in front of her. With a flinch she watched as Salvatore landed a powerful
blow to Teagan’s chin, snapping his head back.

Shaking
his head to clear it, Teagan slammed his fist into Salvatore’s already damaged
ribs. The ancient vampire screeched in fury as he stumbled back and fell to one
knee. He didn’t rise as quickly this time but still managed to regain his feet.

With
a roar Teagan attacked. Blocking the next blow Teagan aimed at his ribs,
Salvatore managed to slip inside his defenses and slash his own claws down the
front of Teagan’s massive chest. Unfortunately, it only seemed to enrage the
beast further making him a more unpredictable opponent. Salvatore began to have
doubts that he could defeat the Lykan on his own and knew he needed to end this
quickly.

Teagan
fought while trying to keep his body between Salvatore and Ava who was backed
up against Salvatore’s desk. He could feel Salvatore weakening and he could see
by the desperate look in his eye that Salvatore knew he was losing.

Salvatore
was an exceptionally strong vampire but he had lived as long as he had, by
being shrewd. Rarely did he fight his own battles. He had always found it more
sensible to send other’s in to do his bidding. It was a strategy that had kept
him alive for hundreds of years.

Blood
ran down his arm and dripped off his fingertips from the latest slash of the
Lykan’s claws, rendering his left arm almost useless. Realizing that he was no
match for an enraged mated werewolf Salvatore frantically considered his
options.