17. Oradea

Natalia's gone.She had a choice to make, and she made it. Why I ever thought she would choose me, knowing how her brothers feel is beyond me. It was bound to end this way. It seldom ever works with a human who has loyalties to another faction as strong as hers.

My phone vibrates with a message.

Lucas is on the move.

The fact that he's within reach causes my mind to switch from her to the mission and my pulse to race. If he's on the run, I plan to be there to catch the lousy bastard. He should meet with a fate befitting a traitor, at the end of my sword as I run him through, but Descallia shall hold that right as the leader of the vampires he truly betrayed.

I don my sword and ready myself, texting the others to meet me in the foyer, preparing to capture our mighty foe. I strap on my chest vest and slide both of my daggers into their slot, checking to make sure that my stakes are in order and I'm ready to face the traitor himself. When I reach the foyer, the others are already there, finishing their preparations to head out the door.

Luciana and Descallia come around the corner, eyes alight with the knowledge that soon this centuries-old battle and nightmare with the rogues will be behind us once and for all. Lucianna's eyes glow green as she joins the women. Their hushed tones may belie the secret that they share, but my keen ears hear every single word. Embry. All they want to talk about right now is her. Even in the midst of the most important day of our lives, all they want to do is talk about that woman. Their loyalty for that female is undeniable and frustrating to no end.

I walk over to the men. "The women are talking about Embry again. I swear sometimes I think that's all they have on their minds. Not the greater good for the vampires, just Embry. If we find she's a traitor, we are going to have mutiny on our hands. I'm just glad the females are yours to deal with and not mine."

Romano and Campania both look at me. Romano clears his throat. "You doing okay? It was hard not to overhear the commotion with the syndicate. We saw Natalia leave." Big mouth fucker. He had to mention that in front of Descallia. It's not like I wouldn"t have told him myself.

Descallia's eyebrows arch, but to his credit he doesn't say a word in front of the others. I'm sure he knows I would have told him given time. Time to comprehend the entire situation myself and understand why she left, and why I've been left with a chest that feels like my heart has been pulled out of it and stomped on the ground. And there's nothing about that feeling I want to discuss with either of the two or Descallia. At least not right now.

I opt for ignoring the question and moving on with the work we have to do, and my love affair with the forbidden virgin is not on the agenda; at least, not when there are bigger things at stake.

I glance down at my phone. "Everyone, it sounds like Sheba and the shifters have spotted Lucas. He's heading back to Oradea. We knew he planned something big here for the vampires, so to be here makes perfect sense. We're waiting for confirmation on the sighting from our soldiers, but time is of the essence, and we can't wait. Let's head out, everyone! If it's him, we'll capture him on the way into town."

The flight to the edge of the darkened city where we can sit in the towering trees of the forest to wait for a sign of Lucas does not take long. We wait, having scared the birds and other animals who nest in the boughs of the same trees away quite some time ago. Sardinia turns to me after a while looking as anxious as I feel about the amount of time that's passed. I glance at my cell, hoping for word from the boots on the ground. "Where's Lucas? He should have been here by now," I mutter.

Sardinia shakes his head. "Have you heard anything from Sheba that would tell us if we're in the wrong spot?"

I pound out a message while inhaling the scent of the forest around us. "Not a word and not a scent of one mangy shifter anywhere. Sheba said the shifters lit out before Lucas; they would have to be here already with Lucas too. No matter the speed, we've been waiting too long."

Lucianna flies from her perch atop an adjacent tree with Descallia close on her outstretched wing. Her eyes widen, glowing a deep green. "Embry is trying to connect with us. She said it's a ploy to keep us busy while they get to Natalia."

My head turns to her just as screams ring out over and over again in my mind, Natalia screaming my name at the top of her lungs.

I transport to the Benzini family home without a second thought. How they got in with the amount of security they must have is beyond reason, but there is no time to dwell on that right now. I appear behind one of the guards, a mangy shifter who dies from behind with one well-placed swing of my long blade, letting him fall to the ground as I make my way forward.

The sound of a gunshot causes the two shifters right in front of me to turn toward the house where it rang out from. I don't give them a chance, sending a five-point star right through one of their necks while driving my dagger into the chest of another. The guard opens the gate and points. He's probably happy to be alive and knows what help looks like when he sees it. I leave the others flying in behind me to battle with the other shifters as I transport into the house.

Lucas kneels over Natalia, blood dripping from his face while the rest of her essence spills onto the white Italian marble floor. My growl shatters the overhead chandelier and sends the crystal in a million pieces. I fly through the air, my fangs descended and sword out, anything to get him away from Natalia.

He laughs maniacally, as bullets from the Benzini brothers rip through his flesh, not hurting him at all. "You can't touch me. You, them"—he gestures to the dark-suited brothers and Descallia, who has transported into the home. "Soon, you will all answer to me. Let this be a lesson to those who dare to work with the enemy," he says, disappearing into the night right before our very eyes.

I drop to my knees, tracing a finger along the side of Natalia's neck. Barely a pulse. I look to Michael and Marcus who stand with the other two, shell shocked at the sight of their near-dead sister lying on the floor. "She is beyond saving medically in the human world. She's lost way too much blood. I can save her, but it means turning her, bringing her into my world."

Marcus empties his entire magazine of ammo into the large mirror over the fireplace, sending shards of glass everywhere. "She'll be a fucking vampire!" he screams.

I turn, growling my frustration because there's no way I'm letting her die on this fucking floor. "She'll survive or die now!" I look to Michael. "Make the call, or I will. I won't give you more than a minute," I tell him, which even that is time we don't have.

Michael knows exactly how this goes. He may not fucking like it, but he knows it's the only way to save his baby sister, and he doesn't make me wait. "Do it, Oradea."

My fangs sink deep, tuning out the protests and yelling between the brothers as I remove the rest of Natalia's blood, creating an empty vessel with which to receive all that I have to give. I slit my wrist with one of my daggers, a long line to ensure blood is received as quickly as possible while the brothers watch me in a semi-dazed look of shock, watching as the essence of my lifeblood is dripped into her mouth in a continuous stream until I know she's had enough.

I pick her lifeless body up and stand with her cradled in my arms. "I'm taking her back to my estate where I can keep her safe." Marcus starts to say something, but Frankie grabs him by the arm. "One more fucking word and I'm going to shut you up myself. You're not helping."

I give Frankie a nod of appreciation. "If you're able, see if your men can round up any and all the shifters left who aren't already dead. Maybe one of them will talk. In the meantime, our team will be following Lucas; they were outside taking care of the shifters while I was in here."

Michael's eyes glisten as he looks at his little sister. "Will she make it?"

I swallow through answering the question that only she can answer. "It's up to her and destiny. If she fights hard, and her heart is in the right place, she'll make it through, but it's not an easy battle. It will take everything she has and more to get through those gates of transition."

He nods. "Thank you. Take care of Natalia."

I don't respond, because her brother doesn't need to be reminded that is exactly what I was trying to do before he brought her here, where I could not defend her and keep her safe. I transport with her in my arms, right in front of them. Fuck the masters' rules of not transporting in front of humans. It's not like they haven't seen a hundred other vampires do it day in and day out around the cities. Why should the masters be different? Especially after what they just saw me do.

The minute I transport into the bedroom, Elda appears. "I'll run some water and take care of her," she says. I should let her do that and go and help the others, but I'm not about to leave Natalia for a minute.

Lucas hates to lose…

He's always been that way. He put time and energy into a ploy so that he could kill Natalia to teach them and me a lesson. There's no way he doesn't come back, and this time he'll deal with me.