Werewolves Be Damned - By Stacey Kennedy Page 0,75

when suddenly her boots slipped on the grass.

Bending down, she ran her finger along it, and noticed the ground was drenched with blood. A long path of shiny, dark liquid trailed ahead. She hurried forward, following the path of red, when a soft whimper drew her gaze up.

She spotted the figure chained to the tree, and her heart sank.

Forgetting everything around her, she rushed to Kyden’s side, and dropped to her knees in front of him. The bloody grass below soaked her legs. Raising her hand, she instantly brought it back to her lap, her throat tightening. Her chest hurt with a pain she could barely endure, as tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn’t even want to touch him, not wanting to cause him more pain, and the ghastly scene stole the warmth from her veins.

Metal chains held Kyden caged to the tall oak tree—a tree Nexi used to sit under to watch her mother garden. Now, perversely, he was bound to the tree by his wrists so that he hung limply.

She scanned him from head to toe, and the almost unrecognizable sight of him sickened her. She tried to deny the horrendous truth staring her dead in the face. He’d been beaten so badly, with two large gashes cut deep into his stomach and hundreds of lashes spread over his body. His skin wasn’t its normal tanned color, but was mottled with the dark red of his blood.

“Oh, god…” she breathed.

Kyden lifted his face, but his eyes were swollen shut, black and blue. “N…e…xi,” he moaned.

“Yes, Kyden.” She reached out for him again, but even his legs had so many cuts on them she suspected that if she touched him, he’d scream out in agony. “I’m here.” Doing the only thing she could do, she rubbed a toe.

Seeing someone die horrified her, but this…was worse.

Kyden suffered. He’d endured such pain that the guardian who had been so strong looked as if he’d beg for his death.

A sob broke free from her throat in the same moment a sudden tsk came over her shoulder, cutting through the silence around her. “All alone, Nexi. Didn’t the Council train you better than that?”

The low, smooth tones of the voice radiated danger, but now she wasn’t afraid. As she stared at Kyden’s beaten face, fury burned in her blood, making it difficult to breath. Her emotions were raw and vengeance, finally, was hers for the taking.

Pushing herself off the grass, she noticed her hands and legs were covered in Kyden’s blood. Once on her feet, she slid her sword into her scabbard. She craved to pummel Lazarus into a fine pulp, not give him any easy death.

She backed away from Kyden, keeping her focus on the dark, cruel eyes set in a thin pale face. “You’ve taken everyone I’ve ever loved. Of course, I’d come.”

Lazarus slithered by and kicked Kyden in the leg as he passed, eliciting a deep, pained moan. “I planned on making Talon an offer he couldn’t refuse.” Lazarus glanced at her with an arched brow. “His son for you. Now it looks as if this one is no longer needed.”

Her muscles tightened, as she continued to put distance between her and Kyden, anger pulsating in her veins. “Don’t touch him.” Her voice did not even sound like her own, it was so consumed with abhorrence.

Lazarus matched her steps, moving into the center of the yard. His grin was nearly as wicked as the evil in his eyes. “Ah, what will you do to stop me?”

Hatred for him burst through her veins. “Let’s find out.”

Charging forward with all the strength she had, she landed a right hook to his jaw. His head whipped to the side, but as she’d expected, he recovered instantly. Angered, he reciprocated with a lightning-quick blow to her shoulder, sending her flying across the yard.

She crashed into a tree trunk and cried out as her bare back scrapped against the bark, but she fought the pain. “What are you after?”

Lazarus ran a hand over his dark hair, as he continued to circle her. “It’s time to bring the darkness out of the shadows.”

Nexi rose to her feet, ignoring the ache of her back, unsure of his cryptic statement. But only one truth mattered. “The Council will never allow you to succeed. You failed before. You will fail again.”

A slow smile spread over his sleazy face. “That was then, and this is now. Your powers will fulfill my destiny to lead the vampires in a new