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Chapter two
Hayley
Rise
Adeepgrowlreverberatesthrough my bones as a figure blurs toward the man, snatching the gun from his hand. A pop sounds through the air, the gunfire shocking me. Brain matter and blood splashes across my face and chest. I stumble, skidding to a stop, but my feet hit the man’s body and I trip.
Two strong arms wrap around me, and I scream out. Panic grips my chest, stealing my breath. I need to fight. I need to do something, anything. I can’t let this bastard take me. I can’t get a good look at him, and my panic steals my senses.
Ramming my head back, I knock my skull into the man’s chin. “Let me go!”
I catch the familiar scent of Cooper too late. I spin and jerk forward, sinking my teeth into his skin. I bite hard, tearing into his throat, tasting his delectable blood. It triggers my dhampir side, and I suck with enough force to weaken his knees, my body demanding it takes what I need. The blood hunger turns into bloodlust as his hands encircle my waist and he uses me to steady himself against. He doesn’t fight or ask me to stop. All he does is hold me closer, pressing his hips to mine as he murmurs my name.
“I got you, my showgirl. You’re safe now. Did anyone hurt you?” Cooper rolls his shoulders, using his strength to ease me away before I take too much.
I moan and lick my lips, using all of my will power to stop myself from biting him again. I can’t help it. My wild nature consumes me. The fear and anger rolling through me won’t relent. Men tried to violate me. Both vampires and donors. They were nearly successful too. If I think about it any longer, I’m going to lose my mind. I need to forget. I need to do something.
My lips quiver as I meet Cooper’s gaze. “I was so scared for you. Are you okay? You need blood.” Tilting my head, I expose my neck, silently offering him a bite.
Cooper shudders and shakes his head. His eyes flash silver as he captures my gaze, staring deep into my eyes. His hunger mirrors mine, but he resists me. He won’t take what he needs until he knows I’m okay and unharmed.
“Hayley, I’m not drinking from you right now. I’m okay. I’ll be all right until I can get some gen. pop blood. Let me just get a good look at you. Tell me everything that happened. Where are the renegades? We can’t let them leave.” Cooper touches my cheek, combing my hair from my face.
A dozen responses cross my mind, but I don’t say anything. I can barely think. What I learned right now scares the shit out of me. How can I be pregnant? I’ve only slept with vampires and not humans. Vampires can’t procreate, can they? But the renegades mentioned something about me being able to create a being more powerful. Does that mean...? Shit. What if I’m different? I’m part vampire, after all. Maybe we’re compatible because of this.
“You’re in shock. Let me take you to one of the rooms. We need to call Knox.” Cooper doesn’t give me a chance to speak, picking me up and cradling me in his arms.
I relax at his comforting closeness, my body no longer on guard. In his arms feels like the safest place in this moment. I can think clearly as long as he carries me. “No, wait. Mya and Pearl need us. They’re in that room.” I lift my hand and point toward the door where the body of another man lies. “Their minds have been messed with. Mya managed to break out of the manipulation, but Pearl might be hurt. They were manipulated to tell the Bella Crew that we were hanging out together. Someone triggered the alarm though. There’s too much going on. The renegades were going to create a distraction to steal me, but they didn’t know their companions were dead. That’s why the other man was here,” I say, referring to the guy he killed. Everything comes rushing back to me, and I wiggle, needing to be on my feet. I don’t want to be coddled. I want to get my friends and get to the lobby. I need to make sure Knox, Monroe, and Sawyer are fine.
Cooper only grips me tighter. His need to protect me overpowers his need to give me any sort of independence. I can’t really blame him, so I accept his desire to hold me a little longer.
“We will figure it out. I’m not taking you to the lobby yet. I already deserve a good ass kicking for failing you. I can’t allow it to happen again by putting you in unnecessary danger. I’m not going to go charging in blindly, risking something happening to you again.” Cooper strides toward the door I motion to and jiggles the doorknob, but it doesn’t budge.
I clear my throat, my body aching. “Mya? It’s me and Cooper. He’s healing and safe. Let us in.”
Something clatters inside the room, and Mya clicks the door open and peeks at us. A chair rests between her and the door. It’s the only piece of furniture she could move to barricade herself inside.
Tears water her eyes, her gaze glimmering in the light overhead. Cooper tenses at the sight of the hotel room. It’s a mess with dismembered bodies across the floor. The renegades never stood a chance.
“Shit, Hayley. You did this?” Cooper sweeps his gaze over the room, staring at the massacre.
I shiver, looking at the human on the floor with a bloody crotch. I guess I did do that. He freaked me out so badly that all I wanted to do was punish him. I wanted to ensure that he could never hurt another woman again. He almost raped me, and living with that thought...I would mutilate him all over again. The disgusting bastard. I wish I could erase his face from my mind. But I’ll have to wait for Sawyer. The sudden need to find him grabs a hold of me. My heart races. Tears burn my eyes, matching Mya’s.
“I only did that. He was trying to—” My voice hitches, the words unable to come. My body cools, and I squeeze my eyes shut and hide my face in the crook of his neck. “It’s all so fucked up. Cooper, they were here to impregnate me.”
He intakes a sharp breath. “Fuck, Hayley. I’m so sorry. Did they...?” He swallows, his Adam’s apple shifting in his throat. He clenches his jaw, his body rigid, his fear of knowing something happened to me getting to him.
I shake my head. “He never got the chance. Someone else intervened. A vampire. He was working with Alexander.”
“Dr. Rathborne.” Mya whispers the words, her voice soft as she keeps herself together. “I’ve met him before. He’s in charge of donor obstetrics.”
Cooper whips his head from Mya to me. “What? Why...” His eyes widen. “Holy shit. Did he...?” Again, he struggles with voicing his racing thoughts, making his eyes flash silver.
A strange cry echoes through the air, stealing my attention away from Cooper. Pearl opens and closes her mouth, her words unable to escape her lips. Blood trickles from her forehead. It looks as if she hit it falling down. The renegades and the other vampire were far too careless.
“Fuck, Pearl. Cooper, you have to help her. Give her your blood.” My heart races as Pearl’s eyes dart to mine.
Cooper glides forward, refusing to put me down. We make it within a foot of Pearl before the lights flash off and to the shock alarms blare again. Cooper wobbles on his feet, but it doesn’t affect him like it does me and other vampires. The Bella Crew has been working with him, training him how to handle the noise. They have particular pitches that they use that others can’t stand. I’ve tried a couple of times, but as a dhampir, my hearing seems to supersede theirs.
