Page 117 of Viktor

“Now it’s time for you and this bitch to go join Baxter in Hell. Give him a little message for me…he’s never getting out.” Viktor tossed the head at the demon, and it burst into flames. The ground shook as it sucked it back under the earth. “Fuck you, you sadistic son of a bitch. You’re going to rot forever.”

Quintus and Greyson flashed to his side, the wolf running to join them. Darkness fell as the flames retreated into the ground, the stench of silver and sulphur hung heavy in the air.

“Where’s Sebastian?” Quintus asked.

“I don’t know. Flashed I guess,” Greyson answered. “Every human and vampire has been neutralized.”

“Did you get Adam? Where’s Ivar? I’ve got to go get Waverly. She’s—” Viktor began when he heard her call to him.

Viktor!

Gunshots sounded in the night as he disappeared.

14

Waverly’s hands trembled, her grip still tight on the gun. She stared at Adam and Ivar lying dead at her feet, blood pooling onto the ground. Her mind and body went numb. For the first time in her life, she’d killed someone. She looked to her shaking hands. What have I become?

Only hours earlier, she’d been abducted, stripped and humiliated. From the cold interior of a dog cage, she’d witnessed Théa and Ivar murdering humans. As they slashed their throats, warm blood splashed onto her face through the wired barrier.

Although Théa threatened Waverly with the same fate, they’d kept her alive, planning on using her as bait for Viktor. Starved and dehydrated, she’d begged for water. When they’d finally brought her a drink, she’d gulped it. Within seconds, she’d realized she’d been drugged and immediately lost consciousness.

Terror seized her as she’d woken in a new location, restrained and lying on the ground. With Adam looming above her and drugs still flowing through her veins, she struggled to move.

After Viktor flashed her to safety, her body began to tingle with awareness, but her legs still weren’t stable enough to allow her to stand. Although he’d left her in the darkness, Viktor had given her the gun. Kill Théa. There was no other choice but to kill the diabolical vampire.

Waverly clutched the gun to her chest. In the distance she’d heard the screams, Viktor and Théa arguing. She startled as she heard Viktor’s scream, his rage tearing through her as if it were her own. In the silence that soon descended upon the night, the sound of a branch snapping set her on alert. She’d curled her finger around the trigger and readied her aim.

Adam came into view first, his sword held high into the air. She knew he’d kill her on the spot. He’d threatened her more than once. Ivar appeared behind him. With his fangs bared, dripping with saliva and blood, he’d also promised he’d kill her.

“Look who is here,” Adam had growled. “Whore of a vampire. Spread your legs wide for him, didn’t you?”

“Little cunt is going to die. But I need a taste first. I ain’t drinking a dead slut’s blood.” The sadistic vampire hissed at her.

Waverly didn’t engage in discussions. She waited patiently as they descended upon her. With no hesitation, looking straight into their eyes, she pulled the trigger, emptying the cartridge.

“Waverly!” she heard Viktor call as he ran to her.

As he reached her, her body went limp with exhaustion. Her fingers fell open, dropping the gun onto the ground. Her vision blurred, a swirling black tunnel closed in as Viktor took her in his arms. As darkness blanketed over her, she heard her name on his lips. Waverly.

As the wave crested, Waverly paddled hard, the ice-cold water splashing her face. Distracted, she lost her balance as she jumped to stand onto the board. Tossed into the churning sea, she fought to swim upward. She sucked a hard breath as she breached the surface. As she swam toward her board, her mind continued to race.

The day after Viktor killed Théa was the last time she’d seen him. He’d flashed her to safety, set her up in the Ritz Carlton and told her he’d return in thirty-one days. Thirty-one days to decide if she’d choose to remain mortal or to bond eternally with a vampire. He’d insisted she needed enough time to decide on her own, time without him.

In the moment, she hadn’t argued. Numb and exhausted, she’d slept for three days, waking ravenous and disillusioned. Though loved burned in her heart and soul, she’d nearly died and had killed with her own hands. Théa confirmed every reason she’d ever had for avoiding vampires.

Yet Adam and Teagan, both human, had also chosen evil, to embrace demonic energy to suit their lives. Adam had immersed himself in the occult, drinking the blood of humans, and had been singled out by Théa, to help her inflict pain upon them. Adam had been ready and willing, engaging in the wicked, doing her bidding.

Waverly would never get to know the truth about Teagan, the extent of her innocence. Whether she’d been willing or had been manipulated, Teagan had successfully lured Waverly to Miami. Unfortunately for Teagan, she’d breathed her last breath the day Waverly had touched down in Miami. No longer needing her services, Théa had proudly confessed that she’d ordered Ivar to torture and kill her.

Like clouds clearing from a storm, the truth had become apparent. No single kind of paranormal or human who walked the earth did so without sin. For a millennium, evil had been perpetuated, often in the name of virtue.

Even though Baxter had sought to hurt Viktor, to eternally torture him to the point he’d forever lose his humanity, he’d failed. And though the virus of evil still spread among humans and paranormals, both could choose light. And on rare occasions, they’d go above and beyond, protecting the world by fighting the demons that lingered in the underworld.

I love you. The first time she’d spoken the words to Viktor, the decision to bond with him had been made. In her heart, in her mind, she’d fallen in love with an incredible man, who just happened to also be a vampire. And every single second since he’d been gone, she yearned to taste his kiss on her lips, to hear his heart beating as he held her in his arms.

As she reached her board, another wave rolled toward her, forcing her focus to the sea. Waverly instinctively dove into it, breached the water on the other side, and exhaled a deep breath. As the sun dipped into the horizon, she gazed at the skyline.

A set rolled toward her, and she caught sight of a surfer paddling toward the beach to catch the swell. He popped up on his board and began shredding the wave. As he turned his head and winked at her, her heart caught in her chest. Viktor.