Hunted (50 page)

“Things are not the same as they were, little one.  You are no longer part of the world into which you were originally born.  In this new world, we are re-born and we may do as we like without regret,” he told her, pressing his mouth to hers again.  “My own mate sired you, so you belong to me by rights.  You are sweet and this life hasn’t had time to twist and bend you.  It will be a beautiful change for me.”

Lanie found herself being whisked toward the door of the office, but Allison was suddenly there, blocking the way and causing Frederik to jerk to a halt.  Chase Wylie was behind her, his eyes gleaming like polished gemstones. 

Lanie wondered if she looked like that, if her eyes were the color of deep red rubies.

“I did not want her so that you could replace me, Frederik,” Allison said, shaking her head.  “She is
my
sister, not
your
new mate.”

“She is part of my family, Allison,” Frederik stated easily.  “Just as your new plaything is part of my family.  I will do as I please with either of them.”

“And what you please to do with Lanie is take her off to your bed?” Allison asked.

“Is that not what you did with your plaything there?” Frederik questioned.  “Did I speak against my own mate sharing herself with another man?  Have I ever spoken against it?”

“Frederik, this is different.  Lanie is my—“

“I will have my way with those in my family, Allison!  And you will not say a word to the contrary!” Frederik barked at the girl, his easy tone abruptly vanishing.

Allison’s beautiful face simply broke into a smile.  “Well, what’s good for the goose, I suppose.  Just be careful with her.  She’s only fed once.  She’s still weak yet.”

“I’ll not hurt her,” Frederik vowed.  “When we have had our time, we’re leaving here.  Be ready,” he said sternly.

“Maybe the boy and I will join you in a bit,” Allison suggested, planting a kiss on Frederik’s cheek.  “I can tell that he’s very interested in Lanie.”

“I’ll think on it,” Frederik told her.  “Now, away with you.  But, do not leave the house, Allison.  If you do, the consequences will be…terribly unpleasant.”

Something in his words sent a chill over the room and Allison nodded stiffly, taking hold of Chase and pulling him along.  Frederik left the office, following behind Allison and Chase as they moved back through the maze of rooms and toward the staircase and Lanie, her mind racing, was desperately trying to figure out a way out of the situation she was in.  She did not want this to happen to her.  Not with one vampire let alone
three
!

And then something occurred to her.  She was a vampire now.  Whether she wanted it or not, she was a vampire.  She knew what that meant.  She knew.  She’d seen…

Lanie knew what she wanted to do and then she was just…doing it.  She was fighting against Frederik’s arms around her, her fists landing rapid blows to his face, blows that she heard but didn’t quite feel.  She was swinging at him, kicking and bucking against him and Frederik’s eyes widened as she suddenly broke free of his grasp. As soon as her feet hit the floor she shot forward, shoving Allison as hard as she could, sending her flying sideways through the air and crashing into the wall of the foyer.

There was no hesitation as Lanie bolted for the front door and shoved it as hard as she could.  Her ears were filled with the sound of the door exploding outward in a hail of splintered wood.  A part of her was surprised that it had happened, and with almost no effort from her, but that part was at the back of her mind because the forefront of it was taken up with the thought of getting away from the three vampires who wanted to have a ménage à trois.

As soon as she hit the front steps, Lanie was flying through the darkness, her feet pounding the ground so fast she could barely even feel it.  She was flying through the shadows, the wind screaming in her ears, the world around her reduced to nothing more than fleeting shapes that were jetting by, yet she knew where she was heading. 

She was familiar with these streets and sidewalks and yards.  She knew where she was and she was aware of everything around her, every outline and shadow, every street crossing and stop sign.  She was so keenly aware of her surroundings that she could safely race her way through the night with no trouble at all. 

She knew to anyone who might be able to hear, her footsteps would sound like soft thunder rumbling in the distance.

Suddenly, a flash of shadow beside her caught her attention and she was hit by what felt like a brick wall.  She was jolted sideways through the air, her feet leaving the earth, and a split second later her body smashed against the ground and an instant weight dropped down on top of her, compressing her bones.

“You can’t leave us, little one!” Frederik rumbled at her as Lanie’s gaze focused on his face hovering over her.  “You can’t be out in the world on your own!  You’ll kill anyone who crosses your path!”

Lanie was struggling to get Frederik’s weight off her, but he had her hands pinned above her head and his heavy weight pinning down the rest of her so that she could barely move.  “Please, let me go!” she growled at him.  “I don’t want to be with you!  Just let me go!”

“You’re part of us now, Lanie,” Frederik told her evenly.  “If it’s me you’re afraid of, you needn’t be.  I won’t hurt you.  And I’ll keep Allison and the boy out of things if that’s what you wish.”

“I
wish
you hadn’t done this to me!” she hollered, trying to free her wrists, but it was no use.  “I didn’t want this! 
I had a life
!”

Lanie found herself upright and cradled in Frederik’s arms so fast it made her head spin.  “Poor child.  I truly am sorry it had to be this way.  I am sorry that so many were taken from you.  But, you will forget.  In time.”

So many.  Stacy and Devyn and Chase.  And Gretchen.  He’d killed Gretchen right in front of her.  He could not lay that on Allison. 

“You killed my aunt,” she told him, suddenly feeling numb inside.  “You made me watch.  And now you want me to be your…plaything?” 

She would never.  She would keep trying to get away until she succeeded and then she would find Kyle and beg him to put a stake through her heart. 

“I don’t want you to be my plaything, Lanie,” Frederik told her softly.  “I want you to be the mate that Allison has never been to me.”

She would never.  She would keep trying to get away, no matter what it took.  “That’s no better,” she told Frederik, but he didn’t seem upset by her words.

“I’m sorry about your aunt, but sometimes there are casualties, Lanie.  Allison wanted you and if I hadn’t done what I could to bring you to her, she would have done much worse than killing a few people.”

“If she’s so bad then why don’t you kill her!  You don’t have a problem killing everyone else!” she hissed, burying her face against his shoulder. 

It seemed Allison was a burden to everyone.

“I wish I could kill her.  But, could you kill a child that you bore, even if that child was damaged?” he asked her, spinning around on his heel.

Lanie felt sympathy wash through her, even though she knew she should not feel anything but hate for this man.  He’d killed people.  He’d killed her aunt.  He’d killed her friends.  He’d hurt her dad.  This monster did not deserve sympathy.  Yet, it was still there.

“Things will seem alright soon enough, little one,” Frederik told her.  “You’ll be surprised at how easily one slips into this way of life.”

Lanie didn’t want to know how easy it was to become a monster.  She’d already killed a person.  How far was it from that to becoming Allison?  She was afraid it wasn’t very.

“I’ll take you from here, little one,” Frederik said, starting forward.  “We’ll collect Allison and we’ll be on our way.  You’ll be more comfortable in your skin once you’re away from the reminders of your last life.”

That said, Frederik took off down the darkened street at a dead run and Lanie knew she’d never be able to make it to where she’d been headed.  She would never be able to get home and tell her dad goodbye.

Frederik was whisking her through the darkness at a breakneck speed, but suddenly Lanie was flying from his arms, soaring through the air and then abruptly crashing to the pavement so hard the world was blotted out. 

Lanie couldn’t say how long she was lost in the darkness.  Her eyes were just suddenly flying open and she was on her feet and pounding down the street, away from the sounds of Frederik snarling and growling as he fought with…Kyle.  She knew it was Kyle.  She recognized the sound of his enraged snarls.

Lanie’s heart tore, but she didn’t look back.  She had to keep going.  She had to get home.  She had to get to her dad so she could tell him goodbye because she would never see him again after tonight.  She had to tell him that she loved him.  Surely, the Universe would allow her that much. 

She felt herself bank to the right and knew she was flying across Maple Street.  She was almost there.  A few more streets and she could see her father.

“Lanie!” a voice shouted at her over the sound of wind screaming in her ears.

It was Kyle.  But, she couldn’t stop running.  She had to get to her dad.  That was the only thing that mattered.

She whipped around a corner and then shot down Oak Street, flying to the end and then jerking to the right, her feet pounding hard, carrying her toward her destination.  And then she was slamming to a halt so fast that everything inside her sloshed against her ribcage. 

Lanie blinked several times and realized that she’d made it.  She’d made it…home.  She was standing on the front walk, looking at the light spilling out from the windows and the fancily dressed scarecrow still standing at the bottom step.  The front door was closed.  Her dad had obviously had it fixed. 

Everything looked the way it should.  It looked…like home.  If she didn’t know there was a gaping hole in the side of the house, she never would have been able to tell.

Glancing to her right, Lanie saw the patrol car sitting in the driveway.  A wave of desperation surged inside her and she bolted forward, hitting the front steps, determined to make it to her dad even if it was just for a few seconds.  Her dad had to know that she loved him and that she was okay. 

“Lanie!  Wait!” a voice blasted in her ear and a hard hand clamped down onto her shoulder, spinning her around. 

Lanie found herself facing Kyle, and for a very long moment they stared at one another, unmoving.  And then Lanie watched as something…gut wrenching…rolled over Kyle’s ruggedly handsome features.  For a second, he seemed staggered, as if some unseen fist had just struck him a blow, and he stumbled backward a few steps.

“Lanie, no,” he whispered in a coarse, gravelly voice.  “No.  God, no.”

Lanie felt her throat choke and she opened her mouth to say something, anything that would wipe
that look
off of Kyle Vincent’s face.  That look of weight and guilt and…repulsion. 

At that moment, Lanie knew that she looked like Frederik.  She knew that she had that same ashen, gaunt face, those same gleaming, blood red eyes.  She knew she looked like a monster.

  “Lanie, I’m so sorry.  I’m so sorry.  I’m…I didn’t want this to happen to you,” he rasped, shaking his head and still moving backwards away from her. 

It was then she knew that she couldn’t ask Kyle to drive a stake through her heart.  She would just be another stone around his neck.

Lanie glanced over her shoulder at her house, which looked like a beacon shining through the night, and then she bolted away through the darkness.  She’d made a mistake and she’d wasted precious moments that she didn’t have.  Instead of going to see her dad she should have been heading out of town, away from Sam Bancroft and everyone else.

If her father saw her like this, if he saw her face, he would be haunted for the rest of his life and she didn’t want that.  Sam didn’t deserve it.

Lanie made it to the end of Rosetree Lane before she was jerked to a halt and spun around so fast the world tilted crazily.

“Lanie, what are you doing?  Why are you running from me!” Kyle demanded angrily.

“I’m leaving.  Let me go!” she cried, struggling to shake off the hands holding her.

“You can’t be out on your own.  You’re newly turned!  You’ll kill someone!” he growled at her.