Chapter 33

HAVEN

I didn’t waste a second. I bolted straight for Clark’s place. If anyone knew where my brother was hiding my mate, it was him.

I dialed Phoenix as I raced to Clark’s apartment, hoping he could start the search. Maybe he could find some other leads.

“Sire?” He answered his phone.

“Silas took Grace. Find her. ~Yesterday~, Phoenix.”

“I’m on it,” he said before hanging up.

Phoenix was reliable. He was quick and lethal. He was a former Northman, after all. They made the best vampires, always ready for a fight.

He didn’t have any reason to fight anymore, except for the ones I gave him. I knew I could count on him for this rescue mission.

I crashed into Clark’s apartment through the window without even knocking. The great thing about a vampire’s place was that I didn’t need an invitation to enter.

Clark pulled his fangs from Ms. Dickinson, who was so entranced she didn’t even notice my arrival. Clark straightened his clothes and stood up, bowing his head to me.

“My lord, what brings you here tonight?” he asked.

I wanted to punch him. I was barely holding it together, and he was acting like nothing happened while my Grace was probably terrified.

“Where is he, Clark? And make it quick if you don’t want me to hurt you,” I growled.

“Who, my lord?”

I grabbed his neck and bared my fangs next to his throat. I didn’t have time for his games! God only knew what Silas was doing to my poor Grace. I would make him pay for this.

“Where is my damn brother?” I roared at him.

“He’s...he’s hiding her at an old storehouse. That’s all I know. I swear,” Clark whimpered.

“Did you tell him where to find Grace?” I growled. “Did you betray my human to Silas?”

“No, I swear my lord. It wasn’t me! It was Raja. She was supposed to follow you and grab Grace when she was alone. I swear that’s the truth.”

I released him but kept my hand on his collar. I could tell he wasn’t lying, but I wanted him to know he better never cross me.

“If I catch you messing with what’s mine, I’ll bathe in your blood and make you watch before I stake you. Got it?”

“Yes, my lord.”

I flew out the window and dialed Phoenix again.

“Track Raja. She’ll know where my damn brother is. I know where to find Grace.”

“Do you need backup, Sire?” he asked.

“No. I want to be alone with her.”

“As you wish.”

I hung up and flew as fast as I could to the part of town where the abandoned storehouses were. My rage was like a cloak, and I wanted to kill my brother, but I had to find Grace first.

I focused on her scent and flew into one of the large buildings. It used to be a meat storehouse, and it still smelled like death and blood. That damn bastard.

I walked into the place and tried to locate her heartbeat. It was faint. What had he done to her?

I found her curled up on the ground, unconscious, her neck covered in blood. The bastard. He’d drunk her blood and nearly torn her neck in the process. I picked her up as gently as I could, but she didn’t stir.

“Grace...” I whispered, resting my forehead against hers. “I’m so sorry, princess. This shouldn’t have happened.”

I took off again, spreading my large, black wings to get home as quickly as possible. I hoped she wouldn’t get too cold, or it could be worse, and I couldn’t warm her with my body.

I landed in front of the house and rushed inside, laying Grace down on our bed. I called for a doctor who worked with the kiss.

He made sure all the humans we drank blood from were healthy. We didn’t want to catch any diseases.

I filled a bowl with water and soap and started cleaning her face and neck. The rest would wait until she woke up.

The bite wound above my mark looked terrible, and anger surged inside me again. I would kill Silas this time, and nothing would stop me. To hell with the fact that he was a son of Judas.

There was a knock on the door, and I opened it to find the doctor behind it. I led him to my lady and told him to be extremely gentle with her.

“That’s a nasty bite,” he said, looking at her neck. “First, I need to give her iron and nutrients so she can regain some energy. How long has she been unconscious?”

“I don’t know. I found her like this,” I answered.

“All right. I’ll work fast, then.”

He prepared two IVs, and he inserted the needles into her small arms. I wanted to kill him, seeing what he had done, but I had more important things to do. I also knew that he was doing this for her sake.

I called Phoenix from the bathroom, where I could still see the doctor working on Grace. He picked up almost immediately.

“Did you find Raja?” I asked.

“Yes, I did,” he answered. “She’s ready to be brought to the coffins.”

“Bring her here. I’ll deal with her when I’m sure that Grace is out of the woods.”

“Is she...”

“Unconscious for now. He almost ripped her throat out,” I growled low.

“The bastard,” Phoenix growled as well.

“I need to call my father. He’s responsible for Silas being here.”

“Sure. I’ll let you know when she’s locked in a coffin.”

“Thank you, Phoenix.”

“Don’t mention it, Sire.”

I ended the call with Phoenix and dialed my dad. I knew Silas wouldn’t be dumb enough to just waltz back home after what he’d done, but my dad needed to know.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Silas nearly killed Grace,” I managed to say, my anger barely contained.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. He did it to get back at us for giving his damn house to Alphonse.”

“I’m sorry, Haven. Is she okay?”

“She will be once the doctor’s finished with her. I won’t stand for anyone disrespecting my girl. I want payback for what he did. That’s two women he’s hurt in a short span of time, Dad. We can’t let this slide.”

“Silas wasn’t aware that Grace was your girl since we didn’t discuss it with him. But I get it, and your claim is valid. You can’t kill a son of Judas, though.”

“No, but I can lock him up for the rest of his life,” I growled. “That’s what I want, and that’s what I’ll do as soon as I find him.”

“He...he won’t let you,” my dad replied, sounding uncertain.

“I’m not asking for his permission. He’ll end up in one of my coffins downstairs, and I’ll keep watch over him for a century.”

“You know he’ll likely lose his mind in there.”

“Isn’t he already? At least the other women in the world and our family will be safe. Grace nearly died again, and I would have killed him for real. Nothing would have stopped me.”

“I understand, Haven.” He sighed. “Very well. A century in a coffin.”

“Glad we’re on the same page.”

I ended the call and turned to the doctor. He seemed to have finished bandaging Grace’s neck. I stepped out of the bathroom and back into my bedroom.

“She needs to rest now. If she’s still unconscious when the IV is empty, call me,” he instructed.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

I escorted him to the door and found Phoenix waiting in the hallway. He held off speaking until the doctor had left.

“How is she?”

“Resting for now. My dad agreed to a century in a coffin.”

“That’s good. I’ll start tracking him immediately.”

“Hold on. Maybe Raja knows where he is,” I suggested, turning towards the door that led to the basement stairs.

As the Lord of the City, it was my duty to discipline my kiss. I had coffins chained with silver and blessed with holy water to keep them imprisoned for as long as I deemed necessary.

Raja’s coffin was still open, but she was immobilized because the coffin was already draining her. She tried to smile when she saw me, but I wasn’t in the mood for games.

“Where is he?” I demanded.

“He didn’t tell me,” she managed to say.

I knew she was lying.

“I won’t ask again, Raja,” I warned.

“You can’t hurt me more than he did,” she retorted. “And telling you would kill me.”

“Did you think I’d let you live after you kidnapped Grace? Phoenix, bring me the tools. I’m going to enjoy this.”

Raja’s eyes widened at the sight of the silver tools. It had been a while since I’d tortured anyone, but I was confident it was like riding a bike.