Chapter 44

Chapter Forty-Four

T atyana woke up in a haze of hunger and torment. Her gut was still churning from her fight with Oleg, and a tearing sensation in her chest told her she’d broken something delicate and irreplaceable.

Ask me for my protection, and you will have it. You will be my lover. No one will touch you. You will be cared for, your family will be protected, and you will want for nothing again.

The temptation to give in, to bend to him and fall into the safety of his power, had been nearly too much.

Call me your lord, and I swear you will never be alone again.

In the watery consciousness of dusk, she curled into a ball, realizing that it would be so easy, so so easy, to fall into his arms.

He would give her safety, but it would be false safety. His clan would be her clan. His army, her army. But it would all depend on Oleg’s pleasure. The moment he became angry with her, disinterested or detached, she would be alone again, only this time it would be isolation for eternity.

She couldn’t do it, not even to protect her mother.

Love shouldn’t feel like a trap.

Her grandmother’s words came back to her tormented mind, and Tatyana took a deep breath and felt her resolve settle.

Love should not feel like a trap. And every moment with Oleg Sokolov felt like she was walking into a trap. A beautiful, soft, pleasurable trap.

But always a trap.

A familiar scent filled the air, tugging at her attention while she mentally composed a short message to her mother. Tatyana would write it out as soon as she fed.

She already had the small cylinders the birds could carry on their legs. Her mother had secreted them into the clothes she’d packed.

Tatyana and her mother’s phone were monitored because of course they were. Mika wasn’t going to take chances again after Elene.

And her mother didn’t know how to troll anonymous message boards under an alias like Grimace.

She would write out her message and release all the birds tonight. And then…

Voices outside her room.

She bolted up in bed when she realized what she was smelling.

Humans.

Her mouth grew bloody as her fangs grew long, cutting her lips and whetting her appetite. Human blood. Fresh blood. Warm, living, delectable blood.

Thoughts of contacting her mother flew from her mind, and she could only think about the blood outside her door.

Tatyana slid out of bed, clad in a pair of silk shorts and the camisole she wore to sleep. At the scent of humans, her instincts moved to the front of her mind. She barely comprehended how she came to the door, pressing her hands against the cold wood, reaching out her amnis at the scent of fresh prey.

Tatyana knew there were humans who patrolled the house during the day, but Oleg sent all of them away at night.

There shouldn’t be any humans outside her door.

Her blood hummed at the scent and the challenge.

“…wait here?” They were speaking in Russian. “When are we supposed?—”

“They’ll be awake soon.” The other voice sounded nervous. “Shouldn’t we be trying to break down the door?”

“Is the sun down? It’s early.”

“This isn’t Moscow, you idiot. We need to go in now . She might already be?—”

“Shhh! Did you hear something?”

Tatyana stared at the brass knob as she unlatched the heavy bolts securing her door.

“Fuck, she’s awake!”

“Don’t kill her. Remember what Zara?—”

“Fuck that crazy vampire.” There was a crack against the door, as if a heavy weight had been smashed against it.

Tatyana crouched down and twisted the knob so that when the crash came again, the two men fell through the doorway, both tumbling over her body crouched near the threshold.

Her heart gave a fast thump, and she leaped on the first man, tearing the black mask from his head and yanking his neck to the side to sink her teeth into the soft, scented flesh of his neck.

“Dmitri!” the other man screamed.

Something burned across her shoulder, but she ignored it, drinking like a glutton at the human’s neck.

A second burn, however, caught her attention, and she lifted her head from her kill, snarling at the wide-eyed man who was holding a gun on her.

A gun? Was that the burning sensation? She looked at her shoulder and saw a red trail scraping down her arm while a fire burned down her back.

She didn’t wait for him to fire again. The man looked like he was moving through water as Tatyana leaped on him, batting away the irritating firearm as she tackled him to the ground and straddled his chest.

She ripped away the dark mask and didn’t look at his face once she saw the racing vein at his neck.

The scent of his blood was metallic, but she didn’t care. This was hot, living elixir and she was born to prey on these animals. She yanked his shoulders up as she straddled him and sank her fangs into the base of his neck.

The man screamed, and something in her chest crowed like a rooster at dawn.

Yes, this.

Yes, this death.

Yes, this terror.

The scent of his adrenaline was as fragrant as his blood.

She thrilled in his struggle as he tried to shove her off, but though he was twice her size, his efforts felt as helpless as a bird battering a window.

She was so powerful, and the intoxicating rush of it only made her drink faster.

The heated blood slid down her throat and left her amnis flush. The water in the air drew to her skin, and she could feel the silk clinging to her.

“My, my.”

A familiar voice at the door sent Tatyana to her feet, spinning around in search of its source. Her heart leaped in her chest when she saw her.

Her sire’s hair, a wild cacophony of dark brown curls in a halo around her head. Her voice soft and soothing like a mother comforting a child.

“Zara?”

“Look at you.” The pride in Zara’s voice nearly sent Tatyana to her knees. “You’re even more gorgeous than I thought you’d be.”

Tatyana dropped the body of the man she’d been feeding from. “You came.”

She longed to run to Zara’s arms. She wanted her to hold her. Please her. She wanted…

Zara held out her arms. “My daughter.” Pink-red tears rose in her eyes. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know how I would feel, but I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too!”

Tatyana ran to her, and Zara’s embrace was fierce as Tatyana fell into her arms.

She sobbed, the cleansing tears wiping away her fear and uncertainty. This was her family. This was her blood. Everything else meant nothing. Her pathetic human mother? She was nothing compared to Zara. The humans she’d killed? They were only food for this living, pulsing bond.

Zara nuzzled Tatyana’s temple. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Why did you leave me?” Tatyana sobbed. “Why?”

“Shhhh.” Zara pulled back and brushed Tatyana’s hair away from her face. “Look at you. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it when you were working for me before. I was blind.” She kissed Tatyana’s forehead. “Forgive me, Tanya. I couldn’t imagine how valuable you could be.”

“What do you want?” Tatyana was desperate to make Zara happy. “What should I do?”

“You know.” Zara smiled. “Of course you know. I can smell him on you.” She leaned into Tatyana’s neck, inhaling the scent of her skin before she drew her into a gentle embrace. “My lovely girl, you’re going to help me kill Oleg.”