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Rand scrambled out of the way, taking Dovia with him. He retreated to the farthest corner, holding her close, keeping them clear, though it was the last place he wanted to be. Fuck, he would have preferred to be bound head to foot, rather than be unable to go to the vampire's aid. It was too much like that helpless feeling all over again, the day his family had died.
Cai had fallen against the wall and slumped down to the floor. Dropping to his heels and bracing his hand next to the vampire's head, Goddard spoke in a reasonable tone that sent chills up Rand's spine. "That will take some time to heal without blood. More, with the sun draining your energy while you're tied in that narrow shade spot outside. You will suffer greatly, Cai. And when I bring you in tomorrow night, you'll do what you said you'll do, yet you'll do it not as a demand, but to survive."
Goddard's gaze shifted to Rand, eyes empty as a hell pit. "Today, your wolf will not be touched, because I want to emphasize to you that I respect a servant, a piece of shit fuck toy and blood bag, more than I respect you. You are not my equal, you are nothing. You were not born a vampire. You were human chattel brought here because we thought you would be useful. When you weren't, you somehow clawed yourself to a level of acceptance that was tolerated by all but me. Your return is a dream come true. I did hate Megan, but you destroyed her, an act far above your station. You must pay the price for that."
He rose and jerked his head at Brutus. "Put the girl on the cot. Chain one wrist to keep her there, but that's all. Treat her as Cai said."
The male vampire came and plucked Dovia out of Rand's arms. Dovia clung to Rand, and Rand wanted to hold onto her, but he saw Brutus was following Cai's direction. His grip was firm but not cruel. Rand still didn't like it, but he relinquished her.
"Now," Goddard said pleasantly, turning back to Cai. "Should you come back tomorrow night and still be stubborn and putting on airs, I will not only fuck your wolf, but while I'm doing so, I will tell Hector to start skinning him, whatever form he takes. His pain and suffering means nothing to me. And as much as he detests you, I know that feeling is not mutual. You've always been a liar, and you are lying when you say he means nothing to you. You will give me yet one more way to hurt you, Cai, and that brings me immeasurable satisfaction."
He straightened, slipping the brass knuckles off and tossing them on the table with a clank that made Dovia jump. Brutus had put her on the cot as instructed. It had a drawstring curtain around it, but it was pushed back so Rand could see her as she curled on the bed, arms wrapped around herself. She was shaking.
"On the brighter side," Goddard continued, "since it seems you have made seed quicken in her womb, I will give you sanctuary from the Council until I tire of you. But you will do so on your knees, lower than that human dung out there, and you will suck my cock every day and do whatever shit jobs need to be done. You're my slave, Cai. Should that baby not survive, your life will become far worse."
Cai coughed up more blood, but the look he shot Goddard was glittering with hate, and he bared his one fang. "That's your problem, Goddard. You're a fucking hypocrite. You aren't a Trad wanting to promote your race. You're just a fucking psychopath. I think you want the baby to fail."
He looked toward the other three vampires. "Watch her close. Because if anyone's going to try and sabotage that pregnancy, it will be him."
That set off another round of pummeling from Goddard. Rand leaped at him, shifting in mid-air to wolf again, blood lust taking over everything else. Goddard ducked the charge and Rand hit the unguarded door hard, rolling out into the yard. He was on his feet, prepared to leap back in to Cai's defense, but Brutus reactively slammed the door, locking him out. Rand threw himself against the door, but it wouldn't yield. He backed off but started to circle the cabin, letting out short howls of frustration.
Fortunately or unfortunately, with Cai's mind available to him, Rand could hear the conversation inside clearly.
"You're right." Goddard chuckled. "The wolf within him protects you, even as the man hates you. Perhaps you enjoy the more complex levels of torture better than you let on, Cai."
"Careful. You sound like a proud daddy, Goddard. Fucking lunatic."
Cai grunted as Goddard kicked him in the side. Hector glanced out of a slit between two of the logs. "He's still circling. Dumbass bitch doesn't know he could run away right now."
"You weren't listening," Cai rasped. "He's bound to me. Even when he goes to hunt, he comes back. Man knows I can track him; wolf responds to the marking. Loyal. Dogs. Bet you wish you had someone who felt like that about you, asshole."
More beating, this time with Hector's participation. Dovia's cry of distress at being a front row witness made Rand howl louder. He circled the cabin again, pawed at the ground, but somewhere amid the distress, his human side picked up the need to further Cai's ruse. Rand backed off to the edge of the clearing, taking a seat. Panting and distressed, but to all appearances, he looked like a wolf who wouldn't be going anywhere without his Master. If they would just stop hitting him. Goddamn them.
At length, they did, and he heard Goddard give the order to Hector and Malvin. "Take him out and stake him by the shed."
"Don't mess with my fucking stuff," Cai said, and Rand knew he was looking toward the tote that had been tossed in the corner, probably when the vampire was first hauled into the cabin. "Got a bottle of wine in there I've been saving for a special occasion. Baby shower, you know..."
So much for human logic. As they dragged Cai out, his face a bloody mess, his psyche laden with unimaginable pain, physical and emotional, Rand charged. He was going to fucking kill every one of the sadistic bastards. He was--
Malvin kicked him in the face and Hector followed up with more of the same, driving him toward the door of the main cabin.
Let them get you back inside. Even overcome by stress, Cai was adamant.
Rand made that as difficult as possible for Goddard's vampires, within reason. He felt Cai's alarm with how close he cut it, dodging, weaving, snapping. He caught flesh a couple times. Which meant he took some hard hits of his own, but at least it looked real.
Yeah. They snap your spine, it'll look real...authentic. Backpack. Go...sit on it. Make them take it from you.
The direction, the hint of a plan, distracted Rand from the vampire's obvious pain and his own desire to tear the Trads apart. At one last kick from Hector that lifted Rand over the threshold and had him thudding onto the floor of the cabin, he whimpered and staggered to his feet, but slunk toward the backpack. When he crouched over it, Malvin bared his fangs in an ugly smile.
"Oh no, mate. That's ours now."
More kicking, growling, snapping. When they finally drove Rand from it, he ended up next to Dovia's cot. Dovia reached out to him to hold him back. She didn't fear him.
Stay with her. Protect her. That's it...for now. Brian's serum...in the wine. Let's see how stupid they are. Stay wolf.
It was a miracle that Cai's voice remained so clear in his head, even though agony haloed the words.
He could protect her. Stay a wolf. Those things he could do. Rand planted himself before Dovia, her fingers adjusting but still curled in his fur. He wouldn't deal with these males in a human form. He didn't want to engage in conversation, and this was the way he could fight best if fighting was needed. Though he knew four vampires could overpower him in a heartbeat, the wolf side of him obviously made them warier of him. What was it Cai had said? No one liked getting dog bit.
Rand remembered how his wolf had brought Leona comfort. Now her daughter gripped him the same way, stroking him. She burrowed he
r fingers in even more deeply, as if she could feel her mother's touch, and was trying to bridge that distance by putting her hands where Leona had.
As Hector tossed the backpack on the table with a hard clunk from the wine bottle, the others took a seat around it. They cast only cursory glances his way, mainly to be sure the fight had gone out of him. Then their attention shifted to Dovia.
"We clean up the cellar before dawn," Goddard said shortly. "Put the cot down there, some other things for her comfort. If the spoiled little cunt needs that to carry the babe to full term, that's what she'll get. One of us will stay with her during daylight, but hands off, just as he said." He pulled the pack over to him and rummaged through it, bringing forth the wine. His brow crinkled, and he gave a sour smile. "Decent label. Wonder what he was really saving it for."
He pulled it out of reach when Brutus extended a hand. "We prep things for her, then we split it to celebrate." His lips split in a thin smile. "We're going to be daddies, boys."
Rand...
As the vampires moved to make the arrangements, the impending dawn making their movements more hurried, Rand heard Cai's whisper in his mind. He could feel the dawn, too, and he was out there in it, so close to the heat.
You have to get away. Cai's voice was strained.
Not leaving you. Or her.
Mostly her. Cai's acid chuckle bugged him, but the vampire continued without pause. I'm not being noble, you idiot wolf. If they drink that wine, they'll be out for a while. And remember Brian said their reflexes will be slower, at least for a short time, when they wake at twilight. Get out of here, activate Plan B. Bring Daegan up to speed. Soon as you can make it work, start sniffing around like you're looking for a place to piss. Don't let them lock you in when they go to ground. Don't know what kind of security measures they put in place on the door. We've bought the girl some time. Let's not waste it.
Rand didn't think about how Cai had bought Dovia time, mainly because he still wasn't sure what to think about the amazing, terrible thing Cai had been able to do. What it meant, what the vampire thought about it, how it would impact...all of this.
Instead, he sat with Dovia for the next half hour while the vampires acted with surprising efficiency, ferrying down a cot, linens, and even a couple old magazines they'd dug up from somewhere. Though Rand wasn't sure how much she'd enjoy Guns & Ammo and Survival Daily. They didn't speak to her, and the looks they cast her way were far from kind, but they left her alone. It was the best she could hope for among their company.
