30: As Fast As You Can

SIERRA

The moment it happened, I knew. Something was wrong with Harper. It’s a sensation any mated pair would recognize, but for vampires, the mental bond makes it even more intense.

I sprang up from my desk so abruptly that Axel nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Harper’s hurt,” I gasped out, my breath hitching in my chest. But it was more than just hurt. For a terrifying moment, I couldn’t feel his mind at all.

Was he…dead? Panic surged through me and I bolted for the door, but Axel was faster. He lunged, grabbing my arm to stop me.

“Hold on! What are you talking about? Explain,” Axel demanded, his eyes darkening to a pitch black.

My own eyes stung with the threat of tears. “I…I can’t feel his mind. Let me go, Axel. I need to find him,” I pleaded, reaching out with my mind again.

I could feel Harper, but his thoughts were a jumbled mess. Axel was already dialing a number on his phone, his grip on my arm unyielding.

His first call went straight to voicemail—Harper’s voicemail. He dialed another number.

“Let me go, Axel!” I insisted, my voice shaking. I needed to get to Harper. I could feel his pain, a strange numbness creeping into my knee.

He was hurt, and I could feel every bit of it.

“Did Harper leave the territory?” Axel demanded into the phone.

A voice responded on the other end. “Yes, he left a little while ago by car,” Zen’s voice confirmed.

Axel glanced at me, his expression hardening. He knew something was wrong. He let out a harsh sigh.

“Get a team on route seven, where Harper and Grace went. Something’s happened. Send the fastest and the best. I’ll fill you in on the way. Start moving, I’ll catch up,” Axel ordered.

I could hear Harper in my head now, and he told me what happened. I relayed the information to Axel.

“Son of a bitch!” Axel cursed, his anger flaring. I could tell this was how he dealt with worry—swearing and rage.

But I didn’t expect him to shove me back into the office and storm out the door, dialing yet another number. He wasn’t going to leave me behind.

“Wait, Axel! I’m coming with you,” I called after him, even as I continued to communicate with Harper.

“Like hell you are. Mates can’t think straight when the other’s in danger. Layla, I’m leaving. Harper’s been in an accident!” Axel shouted, already heading for the door.

Layla’s voice echoed from upstairs, filled with confusion and concern. But I ignored her, following Axel out the door.

“Keep an eye on the house. I swear to God, I’ll kill you if you don’t,” Axel barked at Miguel, who had arrived a little while ago.

Miguel just nodded, looking bewildered. I told him to do as Axel said. Then I chased after Axel, who was already on the phone again.

“Jasper, Harper’s been run off the road. His mate says it was an enemy. Can you back him up? You’re closer,” Axel said.

I relayed this to Harper, who told me no one had reached his car yet. There was so much happening.

“Good. I’m on my way. If I get there and he’s dead, you’d better start running,” Axel warned, then hurled his phone back at the house.

It narrowly missed me. He wasn’t aiming at me; he just didn’t expect me to be there. He growled at me.

“Get back inside,” he ordered, then shifted into his lycan form. His clothes ripped apart as he transformed, and he took off across the ground at a speed that rivaled mine.

But I was a full-blooded vampire of an ancient line, and I caught up to him easily. I even started to pass him.

~You need me, Axel. My mental abilities, my rank—it doesn’t matter if I’m a woman. Try and stop me,~ I challenged him mentally, then sped up, leaving him behind.

He growled but didn’t try to stop me or talk me out of it. We were moving faster than any human could.

I let Axel communicate with Harper through my mind. Harper and Grace were under attack. My heart pounded for more reasons than one.

If Kaven took one more thing from me, I was going to lose it. I would kill him myself for this. It had to be him. It had to be a calculated ambush.

That was always Kaven’s style—lie in wait, then strike. When I crossed the border, my side ached from running so hard.

That’s when Harper blacked out again. The drugs and his injuries were pulling him under, but he wasn’t dead. I could still feel our bond.

So I ran harder, and soon I came upon a fight. Grace was in the road, a vampire locked in her jaws. Several fae were there too.

I looked around, but Harper wasn’t there. It felt like he was moving away from me again.

“Hey!” A tall, muscular fae called out.

His deep violet eyes were a clear indication of his heritage. He pointed a wicked-looking blade at me.

Grace looked up, her wolf eyes black and her muzzle coated in blood. She shifted back to her human form.

“Wait! She’s on our side!” Grace shouted.

The fae—Jasper, I assumed—quickly moved to Grace’s side as she collapsed, clutching her stomach. He draped his jacket over her naked body.

“Shamis! Get over here and help her, goddammit!” Jasper yelled at another fae, who rushed over.

I turned away from them, assuming the other fae was a healer. “I’ll follow him, Grace. They’re from the Red Coven,” I said, recognizing the remains of one of the vampires.

I didn’t care about the carnage. I was in shutdown mode. If a few of them had taken Harper in retaliation, it was over if they crossed the boundary line.

I knew it. Kaven would kill him.

“Yeah, you’d better get him,” Grace growled at me.

I nodded and heard Axel approaching with others. I took off, and he only paused long enough to check on Grace.

Jasper said they would get her to their hospital. Their healing fae was with her, so Axel followed me, with a few others at Grace’s insistence.

I was already ahead of them, and they were driving fast. I bolted as fast as I could, with Axel and a few others managing to keep pace.

I was still in the lead, but I wasn’t pushing myself to the limit. I wanted to conserve my energy, knowing that a serious fight was likely on the horizon.

If there was ever a time to embody the vampire that humans feared, it was now—for my mate.

I had a gut feeling that a serious fight was imminent. But that was okay. It was now or never, and I had made it clear that I wasn’t backing down.

I was prepared to fight for what was mine. I was more than ready, because if Harper crossed the territory line, I knew I would never see him again.

HARPER

I began to regain consciousness as I felt the vehicle slowing down. The ride was rough and bumpy, and I was pretty sure I was in the back of a truck.

The vehicle came to a halt, and I could hear muffled voices from the cab of the truck. Someone in the back with me jumped out quickly.

I heard the tailgate drop and felt the truck bounce slightly. I tried to roll over but was abruptly grabbed by the legs.

“Get him out. We do it right here. They will be on us shortly!” one of the male vampires commanded.

I kicked out, grabbing the end of the gate as I was pulled, trying to prevent myself from falling onto the road. My kick landed solidly on the vampire who was holding me.

He stumbled back, and I tried to shift, but the drug coursing through my veins prevented me.

Another vampire grabbed my head and slammed it into the tailgate. My nose broke and blood spurted out, but that didn’t stop me from trying to fight back.

Despite the drug and my injuries, it took three of them to drag me toward the edge of the road. My vision was starting to clear, but a punch to the face caused my right eye to start swelling.

“I hope you enjoyed your time, Harper. I’m glad you’re going to be the example for the rest not to cross Red Coven. You should have sent her back. You animals are all the same, and Axel needs to learn he’s not as powerful as he thinks,” Kaven’s voice echoed from a speakerphone.

The leader of the group held the phone while the other three tried to restrain me. I continued to struggle.

“Gut him, take his head, and spike it. Leave it for those things to see. I want to hear it done,” Kaven ordered.

So, I was to be Kaven’s sacrificial lamb, was I?

“You’re a dead man,” I shouted, knowing he could hear me. Even if they killed me, he was a fucking dead man.

I didn’t care if it made me sound arrogant. There were plenty who would seek revenge for me. This fucking bastard deserved the deepest, most painful pit of hell.

If he responded, I didn’t hear it over the struggle with the three vampires. The fourth moved quickly to carry out Kaven’s orders.

They wanted to get this over with and retreat back to their territory. I was sure we were close to the border now.

They were planning some sick, twisted revenge kill that Kaven thought was appropriate. How fucked up was this? This wasn’t the goddamn middle ages!

I managed to free one arm and slashed at one of the vampires with my claws, damaging his eye. He cried out in pain.

It was getting pretty dark now, which meant these twisted fucks were getting stronger. The lead vampire grabbed my arm to restrain me.

He was an older vampire, with a dead look in his red eyes. He was going to enjoy this.

I kicked at him, but he didn’t let go. Instead, my kick caused his aim with the large blade to go off, and it plunged into my thigh instead of my stomach.

My vision was getting blurry from my one good eye. My nose was broken, and now I had a bowie knife in my leg.

But I was too stubborn to just lie down and die. They were going to have to work to take my goddamn head.

The third vampire, the one whose face I had slashed, grabbed me again on command.

“You die here, lycan. I’ve killed your kind before. I’m older, just like you. You’ve met your match,” he sneered.

I didn’t even know this asshole, but he seemed to hate me with a passion. He pulled the blade out of my leg and aimed for my stomach.

I tried to push back, but we all flinched or jumped when blood sprayed over us.

The lead vampire was yanked back by what looked like thin scarlet ribbons. They sliced into him like razor blades.

He did something, and the ribbons loosened for a moment, but then a powerful voice echoed through the air.

“You will kneel!” It was Sierra’s voice. She stepped forward, her eyes glowing a dangerous red.

From her hands, where there were puncture marks, came the red ribbons of blood. It was blood magic, harnessed as a weapon.

If anyone doubted her heritage, here was the proof. At the sound of her voice, the lead vampire dropped to his knees.

Suddenly, a deep growl sounded behind me, and the two vampires holding me let go and ran.

The last one pulled out a blade to stab me in the neck. I moved, but a large black lycan grabbed him before he could take another breath.

I fell sideways, overwhelmed by the pain, injuries, and drugs. But if there was ever a time I felt like crying and shouting for joy, it was now.

I had truly thought I was going to die there, but it seemed death would have to wait for another day.

I cursed through the pain but breathed a sigh of relief knowing I wasn’t going to die yet.