Unforgiven (The Forbidden Bond 2) (7 page)

So he took great pleasure in making a show of beating the hell out of Derek at the slightest provocation, and in doing so, proving to the rest of The Nest that he was the greatest warrior. Only he could knock the pegs out from under Derek and then have him carried away and hidden to preserve the image of a perfect vampire. God forbid anyone find out his secret. If only they knew how he gladly accepted the beatings in exchange for his mother’s safety. Now, when he was weak and vulnerable the Master would come and remind Derek of his vows. He would remind him of his humanity and the fragility of being such a pathetic creature like his mother. How easily her life could end.

Again he felt shame for wishing the Master would just go ahead and kill him. It would be so much easier than being his whipping boy. It would be so much easier than going out and collecting cattle for the Master’s pleasure. It would be better than wandering the streets, picking up human girls to bring back for the vamps in The Nest to abuse and drain. Human girls, who would have grown to be mothers just like his, followed him gladly until he entranced them into his web. He captured vampire youth to be tested for power and killed whether they had any or not. He was a traitor to both races.

He was the perfect vampire. That’s what the Master had told him. The humans couldn’t resist vampire charms and the vampires couldn’t resist the faint, elusive scent of human blood. Yet nobody knew Derek was a demi-vamp mongrel. He wanted to die for his crimes against man and vampires because living with the guilt only made him meaner and colder by the day. But what would happen to his mom? If she wasn’t needed to keep Derek in line, would she be the next woman dragged down the corridor, screaming and begging for her life? He didn’t know the answer to that question and he never would.

A memory flickered in the back of his mind and Derek savored it for a moment. She had been such a surprise. In the chapel entryway a little brunette fireball had tried to take his head off with a golf club. At first anger swelled in his chest and he gripped her tightly, pressing the gun to her head. He would have killed her. He should have killed her, but the warm honeyed scent of her hit him, and the heat of her body against his chest made him hesitate. Until the heat of her hand literally burned him. She was pyrokinetic.
Holy shit!
  

The Master would kill for a prize like that and he knew he should have taken her. If he could figure out how to do that without ending up well-done. It would require waiting for another shipment of Hypnovam. But he didn’t want to see her die at the Master’s fangs. She had a spark, a fire in her that was about more than just her elemental ability. The fight he saw in her eyes needed to live on. The courageous fire-starter needed to live and breed more vamps like her, if vampires were to have a chance of surviving people like him and his master.

Derek’s head fell to the blood blackened stone beneath him. She had been shot. She took the Master’s prize from the back of the van and took off. He had seen it and so had Darren. Darren pulled his gun and Derek knew he would hit his target. Darren was an ex-Wrath leader and a sharpshooter. He wrestled with Darren for the gun, saying it would be stupid to take the chance of hitting the prize, but Darren wanted his mate back. The man had been slowly going crazy with the need to possess his mate. He knew she was out there with another male, and every day was torture for him. He lived in a hell of his own making.

They struggled for the gun and just as Derek lifted his head, a fireball came roaring through the night to ignite the van fifty yards behind them. It had been magnificent. She was breathtaking, until Darren stood, braced his feet, and put two bullets in her back. He didn’t know if she had survived, but when he got out of that pit, and he would eventually get out, he would find her. He had to know if the fire in her eyes survived. A foreign sensation twisted in his gut and he didn’t like it. He couldn’t allow himself to care. She wouldn’t thank him for it. She wouldn’t care for the bastard mongrel son of human woman.

FOUR

The ceiling above the bed Dani woke up in was, unfortunately, very familiar. She was really sick of coming to consciousness in the damn infirmary at the Enclave. How many times can one person end up there before the wing gets renamed in their honor? Seriously, it should be called
The Danielle Vaughn Center for the Constantly Unconscious and Terminally Stupid
.

How the hell had she gotten into this situation again? After forcibly being turned into a full-blooded vampire by her trusted guard, Darren, and the Rogue, the only benefits had been that she believed her life with Chase would be easier for him because he wouldn’t live with the stigma of a half-human mate. Also she had retained most of her power. They realized the hard way when the Rogue tried to drain her of her extrasensory vampire abilities and failed, that her power was rooted in her humanity. Now that the humanity was gone she had lulled herself into believing she was safe. The Rogue didn’t have the ability to absorb human power. She hadn’t even really thought of Darren as a continued threat until it was too late. 

Dani’s mother was human, but she was also a powerful psychic. Tessa had dreams that were actually premonitions. The dreams she had could be changed if the person’s path changed, but usually Tessa was very accurate. Dani had inherited power from her mom that wasn’t known until she came of age as a vampire. That was when the shit had hit the proverbial fan.

Dani realized that her mind was wandering and wondered how long she’d been out. Movement caught her attention and shifted her gaze from the familiar cracks in the plaster above her to the bottom of her bed. The sight that greeted her had her heart thudding instantly. Chase and Cayden stood facing off as if a battle would break out at any moment.
Shit!

They had been best friends until Dani came between them, a fact that still weighed heavily on her heart. When she couldn’t have the man she wanted, Dani had turned to another guy for comfort and distraction. Cayden gladly stepped into the role of her main distraction with full knowledge of her feelings for Chase. The logical excuse he’d given was that Chase was engaged to be bonded to another girl and therefore had no right or reason to be angry with him. He believed Chase would see the truth in this and forgive him this one trespass. Cayden had been wrong. Chase would not relinquish his claim on Dani and fought tooth and nail to win her back. She prayed fervently that they would come to an understanding, once all the smoke had cleared. It hadn’t happened and Cayden avoided her and Chase at all cost.

Now the two men stared at each other intently. The thick tension in the room had her holding her breath. Dani had had enough of their male posturing. If either one of them threw a punch she was going to give them both the mental smack down of their lives. Then, she would lock them in a room together until they came out acting like grown men instead of stubborn little boys.

Cayden stepped closer to Chase, a challenge in his eyes and a cocky smirk on his lips. Chase, never one to back down, stepped up and cocked an unimpressed eyebrow at his oldest friend and then he smiled. Cayden shook his head and looked away. Then, by some miracle of fate, the two men embraced each other tightly. Chase was pounding Cayden on the back and smiling widely.

“I have missed you, brother,”Cayden choked, “I’m sorry for… everything.”

Chase pulled back slightly from the tight embrace to look Cayden in the eye.

“It’s enough now, Cayden. You have punished yourself enough. I love you, man. Dani loves you so much. I know she’s afraid to tell me how much, but I know. You were her best friend when I couldn’t be. You protected her and supported her. You did the right thing when I was making all the wrong moves.”

“I did not do the right thing. I hurt her more than any of the people that were out to harm her. She should hate me. I made promises. I told her she was perfectand I’d love her no matter what, but the first time I was tested I failed. I’ve stayed away because I don’t want to see the disgust I know she must feel for me. But, I’ll tell you this. She
was
perfect just the way she was and I
will
love her always. You are one lucky bastard and a better man than I could ever be.”

“Are you done yet? Can you let it go? Because we already have. I made more mistakes and hurt her just as much as you did, Cayden. We were a couple of kids playing at being men. It seems like a lifetime ago. We have both learned from our mistakes and grown up. I want you in my corner. I need my best friend back in my life,” Chase tried to reassure.

“I think you should talk to Dani before we make any decisions about the future. The last thing I want is to make her unhappy.” Cayden hung his head with a renewed bout of shame.

Finally after six months of silence and separation, they had both said their peace and come to an understanding. Forgiveness was given, and received, by both men. The past was in the past and the future felt more secure with the two men she loved the most standing there like brothers instead of enemies. They had been an unstoppable force in the past and Dani believed they would continue to be overwhelming in the future. Only now, as men, they would conquer the enemies of their people and lead the future generations side by side. Cayden would be the backbone of the warriors and Chase would step into his post on the Council. Together they would create and enforce a new era of tolerance and acceptance in the vampire nation. It wouldn’t be easy but, together with the help of a few select Council members and youth of the nation, it would someday be done. This was the greatest wish in Dani’s heart and she finally released the pent up air in her lungs, drawing the attention of both Chase and Cayden. Chase rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms, burrowing his face in her neck for a moment.

“Damn it, Lovely! I swear I’ll be gray before I’m twenty-five. You scared the hell out me.” He began to place kisses on her neck and stroke her hair. Dani met Cayden’s eyes over Chase’s shoulder and smiled. In that moment it seemed as if a heavy burden was lifted from Cayden’s shoulders. He took a deep breath and smiled back at her. He looked quickly away, embarrassed at watching her and Chase embracing each other.

“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to leave you at the altar. I hope you can forgive me.” She nuzzled the side of face and inhaled the essence of sunshine and home. Chase reached up and hit the button to call a nurse to her room.

“How do you feel? Does anything hurt?” Chase began to systematically check her limbs, testing for pain.

“I feel weak, but fine over all. Where is Brandi? How is she?”

Dani had to know what happened to her little sister, her rescuer. The last thing she remembered was the smell of her mother’s blood and silence.
Oh God! Her mom!

“What about my mom?” Dani tried to push past Chase and get to her feet. She had to find her mom. Now!

“Hold on there, Angel.” Cayden hurried to the side of the bed to comfort her.

“That is actually the reason I stopped by to see you and Chase. Please, relax. I have news on both your mom and Brandi. Ms. Tessa is right down the hall. Doc Stevens is keeping a close eye on her. He hasn’t left her side and he assured me that she’s stable. She lost a lot of blood, and to be honest, it was close, but she’s expected to completely recover.” He shyly took her hand after looking to Chase for approval. Dani pulled on his arm until he bent over and hugged her gently.

“Thank you, Cay. I’ve missed you so much. Please forgive me for pulling you into the mess my life has become. And please don’t hold it against Chase if you can’t forgive me. I asked too much of you and we both paid for it.”

Cayden squeezed her tighter and fought the tears of relief that threatened to well up in his eyes. He didn’t acknowledge her request for forgiveness. Instead, he sat back in a chair by the bed and continued to update them on everything they had missed.

“Brandi had two gunshots to her upper back. I went to check on her this morning. One of the bullets had become lodged in her chest and was preventing her body from clotting and beginning the healing process. The other bullet exited her chest and only added to the blood loss. We had one doctor and two critical patients.”

Cayden explained that a doctor had joined the Wrath teams and saved the day by wrapping Tessa’s wrist and getting a blood host for Brandi while he waited for Doc to arrive. Doc had taken over care of Tessa and the warrior had gone to the Vaughn estate to remove the bullet and sew up Brandi. He operated on Brandi in the kitchen with Griffin Vaughn, of all people, as his OR nurse. Chase and Dani both stared at him with open-mouthed amazement by the time he finished his story. A nurse bustled into the room accompanied by Doc Stevens. Chase and Cayden moved away to let them check Dani over. She tried to answer Doc’s questions, while keeping an eye on the men whispering in the corner. After her exam was finished, and Doc explained Tessa’s condition to Dani, he went to consult the guys while the nurse busied herself with removing her IV and getting her a set of scrubs.

No one was aware that Dani had woken from her drug induced sleep and that was the way they wanted to keep it. She still wasn’t welcome on the Enclave and they only got away with taking her there because Doc insisted he have both of his patients in the same building. Now that they were both stable, even though Tessa had yet to awaken, they were both being moved stealthily. Whether the Council or the Enclave was ready to admit it or not, there were traitors in their ranks. Moving the women before they drew any more attention was vital. Dani had barely gotten dressed and was still barefoot when Chase scooped her up and headed for the door. Cayden had a car at the side entrance ready to go. Just ahead of them Doc had Tessa in an ambulance and was taking her to his clinic for observation. Within an hour of her waking, Dani was on the way to the condo she shared with Chase, and her mom was off to a state of the art vampire clinic with Doc Stevens.

****