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Chapter Sixty Seven
After some discussion the group decided Anna would not go to Stokes unless ten o’clock rolled around and the vampiress and whomever was with her, had not emerged from the house indicating they didn’t buy Leo’s presence as being one of the four, or were waiting for Anna to be seen at the bar. Instead she would wait several blocks over at a crowded place for word on what to do next.
Anna could barely stand the waiting, thought briefly about ordering a bottle of liquor to calm her frazzled nerves, then decided being in full possession of her wits was far more important and settled on having one strong drink.
At ten minutes to ten she received a text message that alleviated some anxiety; Matthias had met with success and was now en route to Michael’s with the female scourge.
She raced from the bar and blurred to the house to find Matthias struggling with the furious female. She stared at the vampiress with a new understanding of Jared's reaction to herself, if this is what he thought she was, there was little wonder why he wanted no part of her.
The other males arrived several seconds later and rushed in to help pin her to the floor. Matthias drove a fist into her face and her nose exploded. She howled in pain before it began to mend.
“I can continue doing that all night without growing tired of it, so I suggest you accept the fucking situation,” he growled into her contorted face.
She let out a hiss but stopped fighting and changed tactics. “Well, aren’t we all clever? Who would’ve thought that a Dog would be among you, it certainly made it plausible for the human animal to be in your little group.” Her eyes were narrowed into furious slits. “So I suppose you intend to trade me for the girl.”
“Girls,” Anna snarled leaning over her.
“Oh, you didn’t believe my claim? It’s unfortunate really, her death was accidental….
Matthias plowed his fist into her face again, just as Anna’s expression fell.
When her nose and cheekbone mended from the blow she hissed, “Whatever is done to me I will be certain to have my…
Matthias didn’t wait for her to finish the threat before breaking her face once more. As she squealed and writhed he leaned in close to her, “I wouldn’t open my mouth again unless asked to do so.”
She shot him a venomous look but stayed silent.
“This is what you are going to do. You will call whomever it is that currently has Jenna…
Matthias was cut off by the sound of a phone ringing from inside the female’s purse. Coderin fished it out and flipped it open. “Hello?”
“Who’s this?” A female voice demanded.
Matthias had clapped a hand over the bitch’s mouth and she was struggling violently.
“You have something we want,” Coderin stated.
“And you have taken Terrina.”
“That’s right.”
“Look, I don’t want any trouble with you. I was not involved in the death of the other one, all of this is Terrina’s doing.”
“Coderin!” Matthias held a hand out for the phone as the others continued to restrain the now livid female.
He spoke quickly, “If what you’re saying is true, then we have no argument with you. Release the girl and you’ll hear nothing more from us.”
Terrina began to thrash and Coderin had to stretch out over her to keep her from breaking free. “This strength she has…” he trailed off at a sharp look from Matthias who glanced briefly at Anna.
“Oh it is true,” the other female was saying, “she’s angry because your female was seen with Jared and she wants him for herself. I will put the human in a car and send her to you, but all of you must vow that you will not seek to harm me.”
Matthias looked around the room and everyone nodded for him to go on. He gave her the vow and the others followed suit.
“I will send her now.”
The phone went dead and Matthias smiled triumphantly. He locked eyes with the female whose expression had changed to fear.
Anna stood over Terrina, rage welling up from the bottom of her soul. This creature had taken Jess’s life. She wondered if she had her friend’s blood running through her veins and thought that draining it back out sounded like a perfectly fitting idea. She said as much in a voice she didn’t recognize as her own.
Matthias closed a hand on her shoulder. “We have to wait for Jenna.”
Thirty minutes later a car pulled up the driveway and the group tensed. Anna couldn’t bring herself to stop seething down at the abomination, so Matthias went outside.
He led Jenna through the door and she stopped to survey the scene. She met Anna’s pain filled eyes, her own filled with ice cold fury.
“She’s mine,” Jenna hissed, “I kill her. I kill the evil murdering bitch.”
Matthias left the room and returned with a dagger. He stretched his hand out to her, the knife lying loosely in his palm. Something in his face conveyed the desire for her to understand her decision. She met and held his stare then closed her hand around the hilt of the knife. “Show me what to do.”
The others continued to restrain the vampiress but Coderin released her mouth allowing her to make her final pleas.
“If you do this, you will be hunted down by males who revere me,” she screeched.
Jenna leaned in close and spat, “And I will take great pleasure in killing each and every one of them.”
Coderin replaced his hand muffling her outraged curses while Matthias went down on one knee and put his hand over her breastbone, showing Jenna where to aim. “You have to twist violently and continue doing it until her body stops all movement,” he told her.
He helped the others hold Terrina still as Jenna knelt down and gripped the dagger tightly with both hands.
“Jess,” she whispered and closed her eyes briefly then raised her hands up and brought the knife down hard, twisting it sharply.
The female’s face contorted and her eyes rolled back inside her head. Her body thrashed violently for several long minutes while Jenna continued to twist.
She finally went limp but Jenna continued to lean into the knife, tremors racking her body as she stared down at the dead female. Anna dropped onto her knees beside her and placed a hand over hers squeezing hard, a tropical storm of grief welling up.
The silence in the room was shattered a moment later when Jenna screamed down at the corpse, no words just a fevered, anguished, furious sound, pushing the knife in deeper.
She finally let go and spun into Anna, throwing her arms around her shoulders. They sobbed together, terrible silent tears that felt as if they would never stop. They were vaguely aware of the corpse being removed from their presence, and a while later they felt large hands on their shoulders as the males knelt around them to offer comfort.
They moved into the smaller living room, Anna and Jenna curled up on one couch with the males sitting listlessly on the other. The front door flew open with a sudden bang and the males leapt into attack mode racing from the room.
Several seconds later they ushered Aunt Harriet in. She stopped short when she saw the anguished girls. She closed her eyes and crossed her hands over her heart, head bent forward, concentrating on her inner sense and intuition. After a moment she opened her eyes and sat down beside her niece on the couch. Grabbing Jenna’s hand she stated, “She’s alive sweetheart. I feel her and I had a vision of her on the way here…I don’t have a sense of what it meant, but I know that she still breathes.”
Epilogue
Jared stood on the border of Misiones and Brazil, the mist off the Mocona Falls bathing his body with its refreshing cool spray. The water pouring down sounded like continuous thunder. It was the first place he’d been that helped accomplish what he’d set out to do….ignore her existence. He was far enough away now that he couldn’t feel her, but he’d discovered during his journey that no matter the distance the ancestral pull to care for and protect his mate was a constant. In fact the moment he no longer sensed her he was struck with a nearly crippling urge to get closer again, to know she was safe.
But here the constant roaring of the water seemed to fill his mind and vibrate his body, fading all else into the background. He had made camp early that morning intending to wait there as long as it took for her to sever the tie between them.
He eased his towering frame to a sitting position and stretched his arms behind him on the bed of leaves and myriad river debris, staring into the shimmering endless swirl of water. Then closing his eyes he willed his mind to be lost in it.
Generously created for me by @son-of-satire
Are we feeling a bit of shock right now?
Did I just put the cliff in cliffhanger?
Before everyone panics, remember, Book Two of this series is also complete, and you my lucky friends, will not have to wait the inordinate amount of time to read it that is generally the case with these things :)
Stay Tuned for a post on the details for my release of Renewal, coming later today.