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Her scream rips through the air, whipping at my heart. He’ll kill her. I know the vampire will the second he gets what he wants. I throw myself from the bed, stumbling until I hit the vampire’s back as he bends Mya’s neck to the side. His nature doesn’t allow him to murder her without trying to drain her first, and it’s our only saving grace.
My whole body explodes with tingles and pain and something indescribable. It’s as if my spirit leaves my body, and my monstrous nature takes complete control. I scratch my fingers across the vampire’s neck, cutting him and sending his blood trickling down his throat. I rip his collar, fighting against his strength.
He thrashes backward into my chest, and the two of us stumble away from Mya, colliding with the floor. Bending my head, I sink my teeth as hard as I can into his shoulder, tearing at his flesh as his blood fills my mouth. Mya snatches the lamp again and whacks the vampire over the head, nearly hitting me in the process. But her fear takes over and her eyes remain locked on mine. She hits him again and again until his weight lands heavy on me. I mold my mouth to the bite mark and suck as hard as I can, trying to get every drop of blood he has to offer.
My body buzzes and hums, and I shove him away from me, knocking him onto the floor. But he’s not dead. He manages to scramble to his feet. Instead of fighting, he rushes toward the door and flings it open.
I can’t let him escape. If he escapes, he’ll come back for me. Alexander said he needed him, and what I need is for him to die and never hurt me again.
“Help!” Mya screams, her voice ringing through the air.
I rush after the vampire, my body aching, my legs barely managing to keep me upright. It hurts to move. The only thing keeping me going is the thought of this man escaping to harm me again.
Mya continues to yell, her voice echoing through the room, hopefully drawing attention from someone nearby. I would join her if I didn’t hurt so much. My voice is hoarse from screaming, and I can barely even suck in breaths without pain.
I make it to the hallway and watch as the vampire picks up speed, blurring away. Blood streaks across the floor where Cooper had been lying, and my heart nearly explodes. I forgot about him. Everything happened so fast that I couldn’t even process what was going on. Where did he go?
“Cooper?” I call, his name sounding soft on my lips. I can smell his blood everywhere, but the streak disappears into another room. The renegades slit his throat. They disabled him, but the vampire working for Alexander stopped them from ending his life...I hope. I pray with everything in me.
“Cooper.” I stumble another few feet, clutching onto the wall, following the blood trail. I need to go after the vampire, but I need to find out if Cooper is behind that door.
What if he is? What if he’s dead? The renegade donors attacked him. They wouldn’t have just allowed him to live, would they have? I can’t imagine why they would. They called themselves renegades, after all. They wanted me away from Cooper, and the only way to ensure that happened was if—I can’t think it. Cooper is strong. He’s resilient. He’s been through as much hell as I have.
I jerk my attention to the hallway, watching as the vampire vanishes around the corner, leading to another wing of rooms. It’s pointless to chase after him. He’ll be gone before I can even run twenty feet. I know I have it in me to summon my dhampir nature, but a huge, more dominant part of me doesn’t want to. I can’t exactly fight him on my own. I need to count my blessings that we scared him off before he could manipulate my mind.
Stepping forward, I turn toward the closed door, my hands trembling and my nerves getting the best of me. The adrenaline that pushed me to fight now vanishes as I stare at the blood—Cooper’s blood—streaked across the carpet.
“Cooper?” I ask, keeping my voice low. “Cooper, can you say something?”
Silence greets me. I should run and get help. I should grab Mya and Pearl and get the three of us somewhere safe until the Bella Crew realizes something is wrong.
But Cooper is more important than my own wellbeing right now. I’m scared and a little roughed up, but it’s nothing I haven’t dealt with my entire life. All I should focus on is Cooper. I got a good look at the vampire who attacked me, and I know that my guys have security cameras everywhere to track the renegade donors. I trust the Bella Crew will be able to find all our enemies, even if the ones on this floor’s visuals have been cut off. It’s the only explanation I have as to why no one gets here sooner.
Unless something happened... The vampire did say that the renegades were going to create some sort of distraction. What exactly? Hell, if I know.
“Hayley, you’re bleeding. Come back here. We need to lock ourselves in the room until someone finds us. Security will realize something is wrong. They’ll come. Your guys are overprotective. They’ll be here in seconds. I know it.” Mya grabs my hand, trying to pull me away from the door and toward her.
My chest tightens, her words igniting fear inside me. “I’m not so sure. I think it’s been...maybe an hour.” I can’t be certain apart from feeling like I was trapped in my mind forever. “This wasn’t a random attack. I heard Alexander—”
Mya’s eyes widen. “What? Alexander?” Fear pales her skin as her eyes shift around. I regret mentioning his name at all. Just the thought of him triggers her. “Please, Hayley. If this was him...he’ll send somebody else after us. He’ll take us back to Aris. I can’t go. Please, just come back to the room with me. I think Pearl needs us. She was hurt.”
I shake my head and pull away from her. “Go stay with her until I return. I have to find Cooper. They attacked him. He needs me too.”
Mya frowns. “But Hayley—”
“Mya, please. Go to Pearl. Lock the door and wait for me. See if you can reach one of the Bella Crew members. Try the com device in the bathroom. I think the donors cut the line in the bedroom. They might’ve been in too much of a hurry to check there.” I’ve never been so thankful for the weird-ass setup of this hotel. Monroe claims the back-world donors felt compelled to have communication devices even while on the toilet. It’s ridiculous, but useful now, all things considered.
I don’t give Mya a chance to argue and motion toward the room. She finally relents, her eyes glossing over, but she blinks away her tears. I try my best to force my mouth to offer a reassuring smile despite the heavy pit in my stomach. I want nothing more than to run back to the room with her and hide. It takes everything in me not to, but I’m not the donor I thought I was. I’m a dhampir. I can handle whatever bullshit is thrown at me. The Bella Crew taught me that. Cooper cemented it into my mind.
My abuse, my fear—it no longer defines me. I’m not Alexander’s baby doll. I’m not Ruby Vixen or Violent Violet. I’m Hayley Noble, the girl of the Bella Crew leaders, and I won’t back down.
“Please, Mya. Hurry. You can do this. I know you can.” I squeeze her hand. “Trust me.”
Slowly nodding her head, Mya releases a long breath, gathering her nerves. I tug away from her and stride toward the door where the blood trail leads. If I don’t enter it now, I’ll lose my nerve. I’ll run and hide with Mya. I’m afraid of what I will find, but I’m also afraid of what will happen if I don’t face whatever could’ve happened to Cooper. My heart aches just thinking about it.
I touch my fingers to the doorknob, slowly pulling it down to see if it’ll open. Nothing happens. It’s been locked.
I tighten my jaw and wiggle the handle. “Cooper? Can you hear me? I need you to open the—”
