The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 58

REMY

My brain instantly started calculating my chances of survival as this vampire held my hands in his life. I could feel his extended nails pressing into my skin just hard enough to add pressure but not hard enough to pierce my skin. Yet. One wrong move on my end, and that could change in an instant. Blade flipped around and his jaw visibly clenched. "Let her go now." His voice shook with anger.

Draven laughed in my ear as he dragged his nails across my neck. I swallow hard, trying to keep my wits about me. I had plenty of defensive training, and I knew the right moves to get out of the situation, but the problem was I wasn't sure if I would be fast enough. I had to move faster than Draven to make sure he didn't slit my throat before I had the chance to throw him off of me, but based on his previous movements, he was faster than I ever hoped to be.

I kept still, knowing it wasn't worth the risk of getting myself killed. I wished I had more magic. If I could shift, I would be able to transport myself to safety. I thought about all of the things Ginger had told me. Magic was controlled by breathing, so if there was any chance of using my magic, I had to stop holding my breath.

I released the air in my lungs and tried to stabilize my breathing, but my heart was racing with fear, and I was struggling with getting it under control.

"I'll let her go after you answer my questions," Draven said.

"What questions?" Blade demanded. He curled his hands into fists. I knew he wanted to rush over to me. I could feel his body reaching out for mine, but he stayed still, playing Draven's game for the moment.

"That's better," Draven said. "Now, tell me how you are stopping the dark demon before it can fully break the chains holding it back."

"I'm not," Blade said simply. "I haven't intervened with that creature."

"Then how was it stopped?" Draven asked.

"I don't know." Blade kept his answer quick and short. I could see the gears turning in his head as he tried to create a plan to get us out of this. I wished I could link with him, so we could figure it out together, but I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to link with him, even if we marked each other.

Draven tightened his grip on my neck, making it impossible to breathe. "Don't lie to me. Your girlfriend's life is at stake." Blade took a step forward, but Draven only tightened his grip more. "Don't even think about it, or I'll end this here."

"There's a sorcerer here. She used her magic to stop the beast." Blade's voice lost its confidence as the panic took over.

Draven released my neck, and my body started coughing the moment the air flooded my lungs once again. It was making it difficult to control my breathing, but I had to keep trying. I didn't trust Draven to just let me go, even if Blade did as he said. It was people like Draven who always won. They weren't afraid to break their words and play dirty.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Draven said. He stroked my cheek, and I found myself twisting my neck to try to get away from his touch. "Interesting that there is a sorcerer here among werewolves, though. I didn't think they played nice together." Draven sounded very interested in the fact that there was a sorcerer here.

"I answered your question. Now, let her go," Blade demanded.

"Oh, little brother. Did you learn nothing from my lessons? You shouldn't show your hand so early. Knowing that you care about this mut tells me that I'm in complete control here. As long as her life is in my hands, you have to do what I say." Draven moved his mouth closer to my ear, and his hot breath tickled my neck. I hated every second of the sensation. "So you will keep answering my questions until I decide I'm done."

Blade didn't respond right away. He looked off to the side and let out a frustrated breath. "Fine. What else do you want to know?"

"I'm curious about why the creature of darkness is coming here? I called it to the city, yet it keeps coming to this nothing town. It's not listening to me like it should be." Draven was annoyed by this, which was the first emotion he had shown other than amusement. "Are you intervening with my plan?"

"No," Blade said sharply. "I came here because I followed the presence of the creature. I wanted to stop it before it caused any harm." He locked his eyes with me, and I knew he didn't want to say more. If Draven knew the reason the creature came here was for me, then it would only make the situation worse.

"What aren't you telling me?" Draven responded without missing a beat. He was reading Blade like an open book.

Blade didn't open his mouth right away. He was searching for a solution to get out of this situation without endangering me, but I wasn't sure that was possible. He looked into my eyes and pulled his lips tight. There was an apology in his eyes.

I smiled at him before closing my eyes. None of this was his fault, and he needed to know that. I didn't know what was about to happen, but I just focused on my breathing once again, hoping a miracle would happen and a sudden burst of magic would allow me to shift out of this position, but I wasn't having any such luck.

"We don't know why it's here," I said, keeping my eyes closed. "I approached Blade, thinking he would know since he arrived here, but he was as clueless as me."

Draven spun me around so I was looking directly at him. He moved his hand around my waist and pressed me closer against him. My body fidgeted under his touch. There was something about the way he moved his hands on me that made me feel sick. "I'm sure I would be much more useful than Blade when it comes to replaceing out answers. Why don't you ditch him and come with me?" Draven suggested. Blade hissed, and I could feel him move forward, but Draven pressed a nail against my neck, this time causing a small stream of blood to trickle down my neck.

"You can't let him take you," Raven's voice echoed through my head. "If he takes you, you won't come back." Raven hadn't failed me before, so I trusted her words. I couldn't keep hoping to use my magic to escape, since it wasn't working. I couldn't rely on a miracle. I had to do something now.

I spat into Draven's face and grabbed his hand as quickly as I could. He was faster than me, and he grabbed my neck with both hands. I tried to pull him off of me, but he was stronger than me in this form. I kicked my feet, kneeing him in the groin, but he still kept a hold on me.

Blade used the distraction and ran over to us. He stabbed Draven in the side with his hand, and that was enough to get Draven to drop me. He turned his attention to Blade and slashed him in the chest. I could see the red pouring down Blade already, and I knew I needed to act fast. I rolled away from the two of them before starting to transform into my wolf form. I knew there was nothing I could do like this, but I was stronger as a wolf.

Before my transformation was complete, a hand grabbed my wrist and chucked me through the air, stopping me mid-transformation. I landed on the ground with a thud, still in my human form. My breath was completely knocked out of me, and it felt like I couldn't move for a moment. I had never been interrupted in the middle of transforming before, and my body didn't understand what had just happened.

I felt a rush of air, and I saw Draven rushing towards me, but I couldn't get my body to move fast enough. Before he reached me, Blade slammed his body into Draven's, making them fall to the ground. Blade punched Draven in the face, but he only got one hit in before Draven sent him flying.

I didn't understand how Draven was so fast and strong. I thought Blade was fast, but Draven took it to another level, which made me worry about any future fights with a vampire. I tried to transform again, but Draven was on top of me in an instant. He grabbed me by the face. "How dare you cross me? Do you know who I am? Of course you don't, because if you did, you would have been willingly signing your death warrant when you crossed me." "And what makes you so special?" I spat back.

Draven tightened his grip on my face, making my cheeks squish together. "I am the leader of the vampires, and soon I will be the leader of this world. Nothing will get in my way."

A howl drew Draven's attention away from me, which was enough of a distraction for Blade to pull him off of me. Draven flew through the air, but he landed on his feet with ease. He hissed and made his nails extend even further as he looked at Blade. "You might be my brother, but don't think that means I'll go easy on you. I'll rip your throat out without a second thought," Draven warned. His face twisted and his eyes darkened. This was no longer a game to him, and he was ready for blood.

Paws bounding on the ground echoed around us, and seconds later, four werewolves sprung from the trees, entering the little clearing we were in. I instantly recognized them and couldn't believe Caulder had brought our parents here or how he knew to bring them in the first place, but I was grateful for their presence.

Harper's wolf immediately moved to my side, shielding me directly, while the other three began stalking forward, all focused on Draven. My father snarled, and his alpha energy filled the air, making it nearly impossible to breathe. The sound seemed to shake Draven, and he took a step back.

Draven locked eyes with Blade. "This is only the beginning." Then he disappeared. My father took after him with my mother by his side. They weren't ready to let the vampire disappear.