15. Three Centuries Too Late

FIFTEEN

three centuries too late

Micah's asleep within minutes of the jet taking off. Thorne is sitting next to me, and I'm grateful for his comfort. Being around Jimmy brought up memories of Kragen I'd rather forget. In fact, I thought they were gone, but now, in the stillness of the jet, my mind keeps flashing to the horrors of my time with him.

"Are you okay?" Thorne whispers.

"Yes, no…I don't know." Long fingers wrap through mine, offering comfort. "Being around Jimmy and feeling his energy brought some old wounds to the surface. After I left, I vowed never to allow myself to feel that way again. For the first time in two hundred years, I did."

"I'm sorry, Elsie. For what it's worth, you were amazing back there."

"If I'm going to get away from Kragen forever, I'm going to have to be strong. I can't let him get to me. "

Thorne pulls me close as the plane begins its descent. We're on the ground in Charleston less than an hour after leaving the Outer Banks. The drive back to Francis's house from the airport seems to take longer than the flight.

"How'd it go?" she asks the moment the front door opens. She and Luna are crocheting something that resembles a blanket.

"We didn't find Kragen, but we found one of his men," Micah answers for the team.

"What happened?" Luna asks.

"We met Jimmy in a bar that Kragen, now known as Kraver, visits frequently," I answer.

Francis abandons her blanket project and is at her laptop minutes later. "Kragen may not have pulled up anything, but Kraver might."

"Can I ask the obvious question?" Luna says, buried under pounds of yarn. "What would you have done if you would've run into Kragen? Waved at him and left quickly? From what you said, he's deadly, and walking into a bar that he frequents was dumb." She looks around the room. "Am I the only one thinking clearly?"

I sit on a chair, defeated. "I don't know what I would've done," I answer truthfully. "But I had to find out if he was there."

"Gunner Kraver. Born in 1965 in Raleigh, North Carolina, residence now shows a small town in the Outer Banks," Francis says from her laptop. "That has to be him. "

Something inside of me snaps. I stand, turning toward my new friends. "I can't do this. I thought I was ready, but I'm not. Thank you all for trying, but I have to leave. I can't stay here and put you in danger any longer." Without turning around, I run through the front door and don't stop moving until I'm standing in front of the Atlantic Ocean. The same damn ocean that brought all of this on. The same ocean where both true love and Kragen found me.

"Leave me alone, you son of a bitch!" I scream at the empty sea in front of me. My life was stolen from me. A life with Thorne by my side. The life I imagined. Gone. All at the hands of a monster. I don't fight the tears that fall. All our little extravaganza to the Outer Banks did, was alert Jimmy that one of Kragen's creations is still alive. Why the hell did I let them talk me into something so stupid?

"I'm sorry, Elsie," a familiar voice says from behind. "The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you."

My eyes close at the sound of Thorne's voice. "I know. It's not your fault. I let myself believe that maybe there was a chance that I could escape. There's not."

"I love you," he starts.

I turn quickly. "This is something that love won't fix. He's going to hunt me down, now more than ever. All we did was piss him off even more. He's not going to stop until you, me, Francis, and whoever else dares to get in his way are dead. I was stupid to think this might work. "

"There's a chance it will work," he argues.

"They can't survive off of a chance."

"I'm not giving up on you. Not this time. I refuse to stay in the background any longer. Together, we will fight. The lycan are prepared to join us. We stand a chance against Kragen and his men." Thorne moves closer. "Hell, if I need to, I'll call on every vampire I've ever met to join us. We will defeat him, Elsie. I will not accept anything less than that."

I step forward, crashing my lips into Thorne's. The moment we make contact, a desire I've only read about surfaces. I want him. I want every part of him and refuse to wait any longer. The intensity of our connection is indescribable, and I can't get close enough.

Tearing the fabric of his shirt, I rip it from his body, leaving it in shreds behind him. Seconds later, my hands work their way to his belt and pants. It doesn't take long until he's standing in front of me naked. Evidence of his desire stares me in the face.

"Acushla." He sighs. "Are you sure about this?"

"More sure than I've ever been about anything." I step back, pulling the T-shirt and leggings I'm wearing off, making sure not to take my eyes off his.

"God, you're beautiful," Thorne sighs. "Can I touch you?"

Chill bumps cover my skin with his words. "Yes," I whisper. Thorne takes his time as his large hand covers my bare breasts. The moment his skin touches mine, I sigh loud enough to be embarrassing .

Thorne lowers to his knees, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer. He buries his head in my stomach, kissing every inch of my bare skin. Soft kisses work their way to my breast. His mouth covers one nipple, caressing it with his tongue, while his hand gently rubs the other. This is what helped me to survive. Imagining this moment with Thorne is what kept me alive.

This is what love is. This is what I've been dreaming of. Thorne is my future. Desire takes over my body with the intensity of his touch.

"I want you inside of me," I whisper.

"I'm okay with that." He pulls away, sitting on the sandy beach behind him.

I lower myself, straddling his hips with mine. His erection touches the softest part of me, bringing me to the brink of orgasm almost instantly. Lifting higher on my knees, I line him up with me and slowly lower myself onto him. The sensation nearly sends me over the edge. Thorne fills me completely as I slowly begin to move the length of him.

"I've dreamed about this moment." He sighs, covering my mouth with his own, his tongue matching the tempo of my movements.

He flips me over, hovering above me as he moves faster. Grabbing hold of his ass, I push him deeper until pleasure explodes through my body. Thorne follows seconds later, pushing deeper until there's no space separating the two of us .

Thorne raises on his knees, pulling me with him. "That was everything I imagined it would be," he says, working to catch his breath.

"Aye."

An energy I hoped to never feel again, hits me like a brick wall, interrupting the bliss of our connection. I freeze in place, staring into the distance, willing it to not be true. "Elsie?" Thorne asks. "What is it?"

"We have to go," I demand. Thorne doesn't question my words, and we dress in vampire speed.

My nose fills with the undeniable smell of sulfur. I grab Thorne's arm, pulling him away from the coastline and into downtown Charleston.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Kragen's here." My mind is a collage of confusion as I look around the city, searching for an escape.

"Where?" Thorne looks through the crowds of unsuspecting humans, going on with their lives. "Are you sure?"

"I spent one hundred years being held captive by him. I know his energy and smell. There's no denying it. Kragen's here."

"Francis," he whispers. "I have to protect her."

"We can't risk going back to the house. If he doesn't already know about her, we'll be leading him straight to her."

Thorne runs a hand through his messy hair. "Dammit, I will not leave my granddaughter to die at the hands of that man. I refuse to lose anyone else to that bastard."

I close my eyes, understanding his pain. "Micah and Luna are there."

"Micah and Luna don't stand a chance against someone like Kragen." He turns toward the house. "I have to try, Elsie. What if it were Bonnie or Charles?"

He's right. I'd do anything to save them. "Go. I'll lead Kragen away from the city."

"No, I won't leave you. There has to be another way."

"You're going to have to make a choice." My words are harsh, but we're out of time.

"Dammit!" he screams to the sky.

"I can take care of myself," I reassure him. "Get them to the lycan bar. I'll come to you when I can." I fight the tears threatening to fall. "I love you, Thorne."

"I love you, too. This is not the end, Elsie."

I watch as he disappears, heading back to the home he built centuries ago. "I'm here, you insufferable asshole," I scream. "I know you can hear me, mother fucker."

The smell of sulfur fills my nose once more, telling me he's following. I move at vampire speed, leading him away from town and away from the people I have to protect. The irony of the situation isn't lost on me. I sacrificed my life to save my family once before. It seems history repeats itself.

Each time the smell recedes, I stop, waiting for him to follow, and each time, he does.

Our chase continues well into the night and through several states. While waiting for him to follow, I've checked my phone several times, and try not to focus on the reason why Thorne hasn't messaged me. Wiping the "what ifs" from my mind, I continue moving, pulling Kragen further away from Thorne and the people of Charleston.

I'm in the middle of a wheat field, when I stop again, checking my phone and searching for Kragen's scent. There are still no messages from Thorne, and the smell of sulfur is further behind than before, which means I can rest for a few minutes.

Running uses my energy. On cue, my stomach growls loudly, letting me know I need to eat if I plan on keeping up this cat-and-mouse game.

Approaching the outskirts of a town, I stop, listening for a quick hit. Bars and the homeless are the easiest places to hunt. Preying on someone while they're in a weakened state is a cowardly move, but I'm fresh out of chivalry at the moment. I pick up on faint laughter and bad music not too far away, focusing on what sounds like a bar or nightclub still holding on to a few remaining patrons.

I follow the sound, ending at a small building on the side of a dead-end road. Motorcycles fill the parking lot, along with a few older model pickup trucks. A few people are stumbling toward their vehicles, clearly too inebriated to be driving.

Stepping inside, I find my victim quickly. A large man at the bar is yelling at the bartender, who has cut his alcohol off for the night.

The young female bartender seems unfazed by his tirade. "Go home, Gary. You're drunk."

"I want the beer I paid for, bitch," he yells.

I move to his side. "Gary, is it?"

He turns toward me. "What's it to you, whore?"

I look into his eyes. "I love a big strong man. I have some beer in my truck. I'd love to share one with you." I rub his arm for effect.

Gary's angry face turns in a minute. He smiles, and his breath reaches my face before his words do. "See, I don't need your beer," he spews at the bartender. He turns back toward me. "Take me to your beer," he says as I lead him away from the building.

I move toward a truck in the back corner of the lot and pretend to have trouble opening the door. "What's the matter, little lady? Is that big, bad door too much for you?"

I laugh. "I guess so. Would you mind using those muscles of yours to open it for me?"

Gary smiles, moving in front of me. He pulls the handle, finding the door locked. The moment he turns back to me, I'm on top of him, pushing him against the metal. Within seconds, his heart rate slows as I drain him of nearly every last drop of blood. I pull away, leaving him alive, and watch as his body slowly slides down the side of the truck, his eyes fixed on mine.

"Thank you for your service, Gary," I whisper, wiping the blood from my mouth. "Be nicer to women."

I turn, ready to continue the game I've played with Kragen all night to see an image from my nightmares. Standing at the edge of the parking lot is the man I've been running from for two hundred years.

He's wearing a pair of khaki pants, a plaid button-up shirt, and a pair of loafers. His dark hair is tied behind his neck, making him look like a model, rather than the psychopathic killer he is.

"He's still alive," Kragen states the obvious. "Seems you're losing your edge." His words are no louder than a whisper as he speaks for my ears only.

"What do you want?"

He laughs deeply. "What do I want? I believe you know the answer to that question already. Don't bore me with menial conversation. It's beneath you."

"Fuck you."

"If you insist. However, I believe you need a shower to wash the stench of that captain off first. I smell him on and in you." He wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"How'd you find me?"

One side of his mouth lifts higher than the other. "I never lost you, my dear. I just let you run for a little bit. I do hope it was fun while it lasted."

"I won't go back."

"I don't remember offering you a choice. "

"You're going to have to kill me," I retort.

In less than a blink of an eye, he's in front of me. "What would be the fun in that?" He runs a long finger along my cheek. "No, my dear. You're far too much fun to play with."

I jerk away, spitting in his eye. "I hate you."

"I have missed that tongue of yours, but flattery will get you nowhere." His hand wraps around my throat, and he pushes me against the truck door. "It's time to go now, Elsbeth Abernathy. It's time to go home ."

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"This feels strangely familiar, doesn't it?" Long arms wrap around my body, lifting me high into the sky.