Claudio reached forward and snatched her thin nightgown off, the rip of material making Trevor's throat tighten. She had lost so much weight in the last few months. She'd barely been kept alive with IV nutrients. Claudio picked up a cat o' nine tails. “Shall we?” The electric snap through the air made him clench.

  Claudio beat her mercilessly until Trevor finally screamed. “You have to stop, Claudio! Please!”

  Claudio turned to him, his eyes milky green and face twisted in terrible pleasure. “Get out.”

  He ran up the stairs, the sound of torture filling his ears.

  ***

  Jeremy rode through the night on the cycle. Gena had offered to ride with him, of course, and her long, pale arms were wrapped tight around his waist. Her delicate fingers kept slipping down to casually brush his dick and it infuriated him. He grabbed at her wayward palms again and pulled her hands higher on his stomach. “Stop it, Gena!”

  She sighed against his back. “We could be good together, Jeremy. I could make you forget her.” He ignored the press of her full breasts against his back.

  “You aren't my mate, Gena, and nothing you ever do will make it so.” He gunned the engine and shot to the head of the pack, closer to Victor's cycle.

  Victor pointed ahead to a light glowing on the horizon. A town was coming up. They'd have somewhere to stay for the day and then they'd search the house at dusk. Some of the pure blooded vampires could handle the sun, they could even masquerade among the humans for short periods, but most preferred the dark. The sun didn't burn them; nor did it make them sparkle, like that movie indicated. It just drained them, gave them a fever, and made the blood lust unbearable, so they stayed in the shadows.

  Jeremy knew he'd never sleep, not being this full of adrenaline. He peeled Gena's wandering fingers from his dick one last time as they rolled into the small Italian town. Victor motioned for them to follow him to a tall, sprawling villa, the white stone exterior glistening in the moonlight. The smell of freesia surrounded them all and Jeremy breathed deep. The cycles sputtered to a stop as they cut the engines. The pack of misfits clambered off and stretched. Victor walked through the courtyard of the beautiful home and knocked on the door. Jeremy caught up with him, climbing the stone staircase.

  “You know these people?”

  Victor nodded as a light flickered on, the light streaming under the door. The knob twisted and a middle aged woman opened the door. She was nondescript, and you'd forget her in an instant if you saw her on the street. Her body was round and soft, and her hair was short and grey, cropped into a boyish cut around her face. Only when she smiled did her true beauty come through. Her brown eyes lit up and her face crinkled sweetly. “Victor!” She breathed, opening her arms to him.

  He stepped forward and picked the woman up, spinning her around. He kissed her fleshy neck and smiled. “Hello, Rose.”

  “You brought friends?” She twined her arms around his neck and kissed his mouth. “You know where they can stay. Then you come to me, Lover.” She kissed him again and sashayed away, her full hips undulating.

  Jeremy's mouth hung open. “Well alright then, Victor. You go get laid. Just tell us where to sleep.”

  Victor grinned like the cat caught in the cream. “I've only a couple hours before sunrise. She's demanding, this one.” He pointed down the hallway. “There are bedrooms that way. Excuse me while I relieve my tensions.” He streaked down the hallway after Rose.

  Jeremy shook his head and looked around the villa. “This is a beautiful place.” The rooms were done in masculine amber and chocolate, expensive fabrics and leathers on the furniture. Gena stretched, her shirt riding high on her stomach.

  “I could use some tension relieving too. Anyone care to scratch my itch?” She glanced at the vampires and licked her full mouth. One young vampire, by the name of Lane, stepped forward.

  “I can help you out.” Gena smiled wide, her teeth flashing.

  “Then come get some, little boy.” She walked down the hall, tossing a smirk back at Jeremy. She twitched her ass hard, hoping it would entice him.

  Jeremy sighed and rubbed his forehead. “We should sleep.” The rest of the vampires nodded in agreement. They walked down the hallway to separate rooms. Jeremy opened the door to the room he picked and admired the beautiful four post ebony bed, covered tastefully in a silver and blue comforter and pillows. He shrugged his jacket and shirt off and draped them over a brocade chair. He bent to slip his boots off and undid his jeans, the rasp of the zipper loud in the serenity of the room. He peeled them off and padded to the bed barefoot. He crawled between the smooth, cool sheets and sighed. This was definitely the nicest place they'd stayed at on their journey. His eyes slid shut as dawn streaked across the sky. Exhaustion consumed him.

  He woke startled, not long later, the room was light and she stood in front of the window; the sunlight gilding her copper hair. She was naked, her full breasts high on her chest with pert nipples. She was willowy and thin, her ribs and hip bones poking out of her creamy iridescent skin. He sat up quickly and rubbed his eyes. “Gena? What are you doing here?”

  She smiled slowly. “Getting what I want.” She shrugged one milky shoulder and slipped forward, her hips rippling forward.

  He jumped off the bed and she moved like lightning, pressing him to the wall with her cool flesh. “Gena, you need to leave.” She was stronger than she seemed and he fought to push her slight weight from him. Finally, he was able to slip around her and she laughed.

  “I want you, Jeremy, and I always get what I want.” She shifted forward again, and he found himself pressed back into the brocade chair, her legs spread wide over him as she rocked against his boxers.

  “Gena. No!” He pushed at her and she only ground harder. His cock betrayed him as it rose hard to meet her wet thrusts.

  “Your body wants me.” She grinned as she pushed him back against the brocade harder.

  “But my mind and heart do not, Gena.” He looked square into her eyes. “I don't want you and I never will. You are a bitch and a slut. Any woman who would tempt another's blood mate is no woman. You are a disgrace.”

  She hissed and jumped off his lap. “You are making a horrible mistake.” She shook her head firmly. “You will regret this, Jeremy.” She held her regal head high as she flounced out of the door. The echoing slam of it closing shut vibrated off the walls and he let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd held. The sooner he got his mate and child back, the better life would be. He could leave the vamps...

  ***

  Sasha woke to immense pain ripping through her body and her limbs twitching. Claudio stood before her, a garish grin on his face. “Welcome back to the world of the living.” He casually removed the electrocuting prong from her side and watched in glee as she slumped forward again.

  Tears poured down her face. “Why are you doing this to me?” She garbled out.

  He smiled. “Because torture turns me on.”

  She laughed, the barking sound shocking her. “Can't get a woman the normal way? Or is it that you don't like women? What is it, Claudio?”

  The slap hit her hard and her face jerked to the side. She turned back to him and spit blood in his face. “I'll die before you fuck me.”

  He casually wiped her bloody spittle from his face and then stuck his fingers into his mouth, slurping them clean. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as blood lust overtook him. “Do not tempt me, witch. You will help me create a new breed of vampire; a faster, smarter, better vampire. One that can enchant and entrance, seduce and violate. One that is so damn powerful none will know what to do with it. Your daughter will be my queen when you are too used up to continue on.” He shrugged as he palmed the prod. He shot forward, pressing it to her side again. She screamed in pain and he groaned in pleasure. As he removed the prod from her side, she quivered.

  “And Trevor?”

  Claudio blinked. “You care because? Why aren't you shaking in fear of me?”

  Sasha smirked. “Yes, I care. I want to know what to tell them when I kill you. I want to know where to find the bastard, so I can rip him limb from limb for what he's done to me and to those I love.” She spat a mouthful of bloody spit onto the floor.

  Claudio shook his head and placed the prod on the table. “Fine, we'll talk, for now.” He leaned against the edge and folded his arms. “Trevor was found in nineteen forty two during World War II. During those times, we often scavenged the scenes of war for those who were barely breathing, taking what blood we could, recruiting vampires into our coven as we saw fit, et cetera.” He waved his hand casually. “I found him sniveling in a ditch, not a scratch on him as those around him had died. I knew then and there he was a craven pussy I could bend to my will. I fell upon him and drained him until there was a mere pint left in his veins. I fed him one drop of my blood, just enough to keep him alive. As time has passed, he has proven himself useful and I've kept him alive, one drop at a time. It's enough to keep him young, although I've let his age accelerate a bit now so Jeremy wouldn't find anything suspicious. He's still plenty human, just barely contaminated. He so hopes one day I'll turn him all the way.” Claudio sighed in pleasure and leveled her with a cold look. “Does that satisfy your curiosity yet, my pet?”

  She shook her head. “No. Why would you do all of this to Jeremy if you hate him so?”

  Claudio grinned, and the smell of his breath wafted over her. She retched, blood and spit spattering the floor around her. “I have never hated Jeremy. I love him. He is my blood. His mother was a stupid bitch, fucking a werewolf, but I was prepared to bring him up as my own, until he thought he was ballsy enough to have a full vampire bitch. He had to be taught a lesson.” He shrugged. “Trevor was always there for him, keeping tabs, reining in that incredible temper and power, building him into the man he is today. Really, it was me, the whole time. I orchestrated it all, and things were going according to plan... Until you.”

  His milky eyes probed her face. “Me?” She whispered.

  He nodded. “I had plans of him mating with JJ; another human I keep alive for my purposes. She never took with his seed. It was infuriating, really.” He leaned forward and stroked her face with his cool finger. She fought the urge to bite the offending digit off.

  “JJ?” She whispered. “The ex?”

  He nodded. “If only she hadn't been such a jealous bitch. She let her station in life get to her head and drove him away. Then, you come into the picture, the little witch that doesn't know it. Of course you take his seed, even with protection. Why must the Gods be against me?”

  He smiled slowly and pursed his lips before he spoke again. “But I've tricked them again. Now, you are here with me, and I'll have what I want, either way. I have a piece of Jeremy, and the one thing he wants the most. He will come and, when he does, I'll have everything I want. He will stay so I won't hurt you anymore. He will conform. Last I heard our beautiful boy was full of blood lust, so it will be easy.”

  Sasha shook her head and grimaced at the pain rippling through her body. “He'll never do it.”

  Claudio gripped her chin between his fingers and pinched hard. She blinked and gritted her teeth against the pain, refusing to give him satisfaction. “He will.”

  ***

  Jeremy tried to sleep again, barring the door shut with the chair. He was on edge and jittery, but sleep came easy. A field flickered to life in his mind; he could smell the cool, green grass and feel the dew on the soles of his feet. A soft little laugh could be heard in the distance and he followed the sound, twining through the grass. He came upon a little girl in a patch of wild daisies. She held a baby doll and was braiding the flowers into its yarn hair. He stood quietly and watched her for a few moments. She looked up and smiled brightly, her vivid green eyes ensnaring him.

  “Hello, Daddy. Are you going to listen to me this time?” She cocked her head to the side and dark ringlets slipped over her shoulder. She was the spitting image of her mother.

  “Onyx?” He whispered, walking forward slowly, before kneeling beside her. “Is it you?” He reached his hand out slowly and touched one of her chocolate curls. She smiled beautifully.

  “Yes, Daddy. I've been coming to you, but I guess I needed to be a little older before you'd listen to me. Maybe you aren't so good with babies, huh?” She patted his knee. “Not everyone is, you know.”

  “You're real?”

  “Well, of course. I'm just still a baby, but I'm here in your dreams. Isn't it cool?” She grinned again and picked another daisy to braid in her doll's hair.

  “Onyx, how are you doing this?” He dropped to sitting beside her.

  She looked at him cheekily, her eyes sparkling. “Daddy, don't you know I'm magic? Billy tells me so all the time. I've talked to Mommy in her head. I'm special, did you know that?” She said it quite matter of factly, no ego to her words.

  “You are special, Baby, but I don't understand this.” He plucked her from the ground and pulled her into his lap. She felt like a real child; she smelled like one. The little arms that twined around his neck and squeezed were very real.

  “Daddy, you need to listen to me. I'm going to tell you where Mommy is.” She stood quickly, her pale pink skirt swirling around her knees. She held out one pudgy little hand and smiled. “Come with me; let me show you.”

  He stood quickly and took her slightly sticky palm in his. “Where are we going, Princess?”

  She looked up at him and pointed one finger to a hill. “Just over there, Daddy. Come on, we don't have much time.” She started to run and tripped over her own feet. He swept her into his arms and she giggled. He walked forward through the grass and climbed the hill. At the base of the hill, in a valley dotted with yellow flowers, was a large stone house with a tall metal gate surrounding it. She pointed. “That is where Mommy is. You have to help her Daddy. A very bad man is hurting her. Promise me you'll save us, Daddy. Promise me.”

  He watched the little girl in his arms get fuzzy and he knew she was leaving him. He pressed a kiss to her lightening form and whispered, “I promise, Onyx. I'll save you both.”

  He woke up with a start to see the sky going dusky. He jumped out of bed and pulled his clothes on rapidly, catching his cock in the zipper. He hissed at the pain of his flesh caught between metal teeth. He breathed slowly as he eased the zipper back down. His cock throbbed angrily and he shoved it down into his jeans. It would have to be worried with later. He bit his bottom lip against the ache and shoved his feet into his boots. He threw the door open and ran down the hall, beating the doors of the vamps as he passed them. Finally, skidding into the living room, he bellowed, “Victor, drop your cock and grab your socks! I need you guys now!” He waited impatiently as grouchy vampires poured out of their rooms. Gena was suspiciously absent and he shrugged it off.

  Victor strutted down the hall, a red satin robe barely concealing his naked body. “Yes, Jeremy,” he murmured drolly.

  “For God's sake, Man, cover yourself.”

  Victor laughed and tied the robe tighter. “What's up, Man? We've still got a few hours of good sleep, or sex, to put away.”

  Jeremy shook his head. “No, we don't. I had a dream and my daughter was there. She was older... and she knows where her mother is. She showed me. I can describe it and you can tell me if it sounds familiar.”

  Victor's eyes lit up. “Your daughter can do dream telepathy? At this young? Holy shit Man, if Claudio found out...” His eyes went dark again. “She'd be even more prized.”

  Jeremy ran his hand through his hair. “I know. I know! God damn it, we have to get to them.”

  Victor looked around and frowned. “Where is Gena? Someone go get the princess out of bed.”

  Lane shrugged. “She's gone.”

  Victor frowned. “Gone?”

  Jeremy sighed and ground out. “She tried to fuck me last night and I rebuffed her.”

  Victor's nostrils flared. “Slut. She knows you have a mate.” He shook his head and rubbed his forehead. “Fine, she's gone. She was more a pain in the ass than a help anyway. Tell me what this place looks like, Jeremy.”

  He closed his eyes and recanted the dream, the details fresh in his mind. “Do you know anywhere like that, Victor?”

  Victor tapped his lips and nodded. “Yeah. I do. It's the next place I was going to look. It is a town called Orbetello, a Province of Grosetto; near the coast. The place is very near the water; it's the perfect spot for Claudio. I'm sure he has a helicopter on site to get away.”

  Jeremy clenched his fists. “We can't let that happen.”

  Victor nodded. “We won't, I promise.”

  “How far, Victor?”

  He thought for a moment. “If we ride hard, about two hours.”

  “Can we leave as dusk falls?” He paced the floor, his boots hopelessly scuffing the beautiful wooden floors.

  “Yes, we ride at dusk. Brethren, ready yourselves. There will be a battle tonight.” Victor turned and walked back down the hall. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I feel the need to spend the next couple of hours in bliss.”

  ***

  She glared up at him through her curtain of hair and her mouth curled up in a sneer. “Is that the best you've got?”

  “Not quite, Sasha.” He clasped a band around her throat attached to a chain. He undid one arm, then the other, pinning them in front of her. She screamed involuntarily as her left shoulder dislocated. Now both arms were incapacitated. He jerked the arm harder for good measure. She screamed again, nearly passing out from the pain. He released her legs from the shackles and she fell forward, slumping to the cold concrete. He jerked the chain attached to the metal collar on her neck and she gagged.

  “Stand, bitch.” She clambered to her feet slowly, her legs wooden and numb. Her breath came shallow and fast and stars clouded her vision. A feeling of simmering water built in her core again, fury rising deep inside her. He jerked the chain and she came forward, stumbling as she stepped. “Come on. This will teach you to mock me.” She found herself against the edge of a porcelain tub. He kicked the backs of her knees and she fell forward, her face hitting icy water. She struggled as water filled her nose and mouth, and kicked out, trying anything to get out of the tub.

 

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