No Escape From Destiny (14 page)

The boys had explained to her that the vampire race was created by the goddess Hera, who was the wife of Zeus. Hera was the goddess of, among other things, childbirth and kings and empires. Hera had wanted her own race to worship her, so she created them and insisted on Zeus giving them the special power that they all had. The vampires were made in the gods’ likeness, which included the need for blood.

Many people did not know this about the gods, but they lived off the blood of one another. The
kynigos
were created by the goddess of night,
Nyx
. She did this in retaliation to Zeus. Zeus had come after her son Hypnos, whom she protected and saved from Zeus’s wrath many times. She knew hurting Zeus’s beloved wife’s children she would hurt Zeus.

In exchange for their loyalty, the
kynigos
received the enhanced senses and strength needed to fight the vampires. Most of them were pale as snow with dark, black hair, and their eyes shined red when fighting. Some of the newer members were just regular people that the original
kynigos
had recruited to do their dirty work. They all had a moon either tattooed or branded somewhere on their body to pay respect to the goddess.

The boys had gone out on patrol tonight, and Anstice went exploring. She found the biggest home gym she had ever seen with a gorgeous sauna. Across the hall from it was a movie theater with seating for about twenty people. There was an Olympic-sized, heated swimming pool and a hot tub big enough for ten enclosed completely in glass. The roof retracted in the summer for fresh air.

She ran a few miles on the treadmill in the gym, hoping to burn off some energy, but she was still restless. Now she was in the game room trying to decide what to do next. Something was wrong tonight, but she just couldn’t put her finger on the cause. She was used to being alone, but for some reason she wanted company tonight. Maybe it was because she hadn’t been alone for more than five minutes since she got here, or maybe it was because she had already seen firsthand what the boy’s enemies were capable of, and they were out hunting them.

She didn’t want to think that was the cause of her restlessness, because that would mean she was indeed getting attached to them. She didn’t need to get too close to them. That would make it harder for her to leave when the time came. And the time would be coming soon. Even though they gave her freedom to roam the grounds, she still had not been able to use the phone. They had contacted her boss and told him that she wouldn’t be in for a while, and he had given her as much time off as she needed.

The only place she really wanted to go that she couldn’t was to her daughter’s grave to visit with her little angel. She was sure the boys would take her there if she asked, but was afraid to tell them about her little girl. Plus, they had said they couldn’t go out in the daytime, and cemeteries were just creepy at night.

She hadn’t told anyone she met since the fire about her little girl. As far as anyone she met in the last three years knew, she was single and without children. She hated telling people the story. It brought back too many old, horrible memories. Thinking of her daughter, she placed her hand over her chest and held onto the locket with the little girl’s picture in it. It was the only picture she had left of the baby who would now be five years old if Anstice had been stronger and able to save her.

She was still thinking of her beautiful little angel when she heard a commotion in the hallway. She stuck her head out through the doorway and saw Lucian, Marcus, and Mikhaila headed toward the front door with a stretcher. Her heart stopped. She knew it was one of the boys that was hurt.

Marcus flung the door open, and Anstice was right behind them, heading out to meet the SUV that was just pulling up. When the rear door opened, her fears were confirmed.
Nikkos
lay unconscious across
Adrian
’s lap.
Adrian
was topless, his shirt wrapped around
Nikkos
’ thigh, soaked through with blood, and his black leather jacket covering him to keep him warm. She met
Adrian
’s eyes and knew instantly that it was bad. Not to mention, she had been a paramedic for about seven years now, so she could judge by the amount of blood loss that he was in danger.

Adrian carefully placed
Nikkos
on the stretcher, told the five trainees to come in and wait in the game room, and helped push his friend into the house and down to the med room. When they got inside the med room, Mikhaila and Lucian went right to work. Anstice stayed close to
Adrian
, looking at him with tears in her eyes. The male appeared devastated.

“Are you injured?” she whispered. It was the only thing she could get to come out of her mouth. He had so much blood on him, she thought for sure some of it had to be his.

“No, I’m fine.”

“You’re covered in blood. Why don’t you sit down and let me check you out just to make sure.”

“I’m fine. It’s all his.” He looked down at her like his whole world had just been torn apart. She knew the feeling. She had felt it several times and couldn’t believe she was headed down that road again. How did she get this close to them this fast? Maybe
Nikkos
was right when he’d said the three of them were mates. Maybe they did all need each other. What was she going to do if they lost
Nikkos
?

She couldn’t think like that. Mikhaila and Lucian had saved her life, and she was just a weak little human.
Nikkos
was a huge, strong vampire. He couldn’t die. She took
Adrian
by the arm.

“Please, just let me look and make sure.”

He let her lead him to a chair in the corner, where he fell more than sat down. Trying to stay out of the doctor’s way, she went through the supply cabinets until she found a metal bowl and some clean towels. She filled a bowl up with warm, soapy water and placed it on the counter next to
Adrian
’s chair. She didn’t have to worry about taking his shirt off, as it was already gone, used to try and stop
Nikkos’s
bleeding on the way home.

She started washing his chest, making sure to stay to the side of him so he could keep his eyes on what the doctors were doing. She had his chest clean and went to wash his side. When she touched him with the cloth, he flinched and let out a loud hiss. That was when she saw that he was indeed injured.

There was a puncture wound between his ribs that was oozing blood. She carefully washed around it, but as soon as she did, more blood bubbled from the wound. By the looks of it, whatever had cut him had also punctured his lung. She saw an extra stethoscope hanging on the wall and quickly put it to use. She listened to his lungs, and sure enough, there were no breath sounds on the right side where he had been stabbed.

* * * *

Adrian
had known that he was hurt, but all he had cared about was getting
Nikkos
back to the house for help. His head hanging low, he looked at Anstice from under his long lashes.

“How bad?”

“Your lung is punctured and probably collapsed. How bad does it hurt to breathe?”

“Doesn’t hurt at all. I told you, I’m fine,” he lied.

“Liar, I have been doing this a long time, and I know you have to be in pain. If I can find what I need around here, I can bandage you up and help you breathe a little better, but you’re probably going to need Mikhaila to fix your lung.”

“No,
Nikkos
needs her help. Don’t worry about me.”

“You’re both going to be fine. I’m just gonna help you breathe a little better until she is done and can fix you, too. Of course, as fast as you two heal, maybe she won’t need to do anything. You may heal quick enough, but I’m still gonna see if I can find the right bandages now.”

“Your bag from the ambulance is over there, if that will help,” he said, pointing to the far wall. She brought the bag over and placed it at
Adrian
’s feet. Five minutes later, he was bandaged up and breathing a lot easier. When she was finished,
Adrian
spread his knees apart, pulled her into him, and let his head drop down onto her chest. Anstice wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held him. They both needed the comfort right now.

She wasn’t sure how long she had stood there before she heard Mikhaila call her name. She turned just her head toward her.

“Yes?”

“I have done all I can do, but he needs to feed if he is going to live.”

Adrian
lifted his head and started to get up. Anstice could see his determination to take care of
Nikkos
. Anstice held him in place and told Mikhaila she would be right there. Looking down at
Adrian
, she said, “You have lost a lot of blood yourself and are still not healed. Please let me do this for him.”

“No, your blood isn’t strong enough. He will need too much, and you are human. He could kill you.”

“He would never do anything to hurt me and you know it.”

Mikhaila agreed with Anstice. “
Adrian
, you have lost a lot of blood tonight, and you need to feed also. Anstice has
Nikkos’s
blood in her now. Hers will be strong enough.”

Anstice could see in
Adrian
’s eyes that he wasn’t sure if he should believe Mikhaila or not. She knew how strong
Adrian
’s feelings were for
Nikkos
. She also thought she knew him enough to know he would make the right decision and let her do this for them. She knew he came to that conclusion when he took her face in his hands and kissed her, one short, sweet little kiss, and let her walk away.

Chapter Fourteen

Anstice was a little afraid as she walked across the room. Both of the males had fed from her already, but that was different. That was for pleasure. They had explained the need to feed to her. Apparently when they hit their puberty, which was around the age of fifteen, they began needing not only real food but blood. While they could drink from anyone, it was usually a family member or close friend that provided the blood until one found their mate. After that, they only fed from their mate or mates. A regular healthy vampire would only have to feed about once or twice a month. They would need to feed more often if they were injured.

When the men had taken blood from her while they were having sex, they explained to her that it was an unexplainable need one felt while being with their mate. They couldn’t seem to stop themselves from biting her and each other. They said it made their bond stronger and also helped to mark her as theirs, should anyone else think to touch her. They always bit in the same place. One on each side of her neck, and she now had twin scars there. They told her that they would never heal. Something about the reaction of a mate’s saliva causing a permanent scar. She wasn’t sure. She still didn’t understand it all yet. Every other time, they had taken blood from her didn’t seem important.

This was to help save
Nikkos’s
life. What if Mikhaila was wrong, and what if her blood was not strong enough for him? What if he really did need blood from someone of his own kind? She wasn’t afraid that he would hurt her. She was just afraid that she wasn’t good enough for him.

She approached the table he was laid out on. “He’s not awake. How can I feed him?”

Lucian spoke up. “Don’t worry, as soon as he tastes your blood on his tongue, instinct will take over, and he will feed.” She studied him, wondering what he meant. The boys had told her that Lucian had never fed anyone, but he’d obviously fed
from
someone or he wouldn’t still be alive. She’d have to remember to ask them later when
Nikkos’s
life didn’t depend on her.

“Okay, but how is he gonna taste my blood if he can’t bite?”

Lucian pulled a black blade out of the holster at his back. Anstice just about fainted. She had never had a problem with pain. Sometimes it was a stress reliever for her, hence all her piercings and tattoos. But the sight of this huge, very scary-looking male holding the blade looking at her was frightening as hell. She put all her fears away and held out her wrist. Lucian took her hand into his and placed the blade at her wrist.