Bound by Danger (The Alliance #6) - Brenda K. Davies Page 0,12

The sounds of the battle, the hunger churning inside him, and even the woman faded away as he gazed at a face he hadn’t seen in hundreds of years.

It was a face he’d hoped never to see again. A fiery rage rose to replace his astonishment as he gazed at the man he’d hoped he killed centuries ago. Thrust back into the past, he felt the fingers clawing at his flesh and the punches pummeling his ribs while battering his torso. Slick blood coated his back as he and his brother rolled across the floor.

He recalled his struggle to breathe and his determination to kill as his fingers bit into his brother’s throat and his thumbs pushed under his chin. Flesh gave way as he dug his thumbs into his skin to tear his brother’s head free.

Then something went wrong, and he found himself staggering toward the open doorway as the retreating figure of his brother fled across the field of their family estate. Fire leapt from his back as he ran into the sunlight.

“Yannis,” he breathed.

A cruel smile twisted his brother’s mouth before he couldn’t tolerate the sun anymore and vanished back into the tunnel. For a moment, Lucien remained unmoving as the past and present collided.

Without thinking, he lunged forward to go after the bastard and tear him apart. Yannis should have died all those years ago, he shouldn’t be here now, but since he was, Lucien would make sure he finished what he started so long ago.

The woman slipped on the rocks and cried out as stones clattered away from her feet. His concern for her rushed to the forefront. Yannis would die, he would make sure of it now that he knew the evil fucker lived, but he had to take care of her.

For the first time in his life, his need to protect someone overrode his obsessive impulse to kill. When no more Savages poked their heads out of the tunnel, Lucien sprinted across the opening.

His toes curled into the slippery rocks, and he used his hands to help keep him stable as he pursued the Savage closing in on the woman. The Savage had one hand extended toward her, and little flames danced across its fingertips when Lucien snapped its neck. He kept twisting until he tore the head free. He kicked the body into the ditch and threw its head after it.

The woman turned back and squeaked when she spotted him. He heard the frantic beat of her heart as she fled up the rocks, but she wouldn’t get away from him. Winding his arm around her waist, he clasped her against his side as he lifted her off the ground.

Looking back, he spotted two more Savages coming after them.

Chapter Six

Callie bit back a cry of frustration when the man locked his arm around her waist again. However, she couldn’t be that upset as he propelled her up the rocks a lot faster than she could go herself. His chains rattled, but he had enough room in them to grab her with ease.

When they arrived at the top, he hurried her forward, but when she didn’t move fast enough for his liking, he lifted her over his shoulder again. As she found herself staring at his lower back once more, the blood rushed back into her head, and she slapped her hands against his back as her irritation over being treated like a sack of potatoes mounted.

Don’t hit the vampire. It was probably some pretty sage advice, and she decided to take it. However, when this was over, she’d… she’d what? Kick him? Hit him? None of those things would have any effect on this beast.

More than likely, when this was over, she’d be his breakfast. That possibility didn’t sit well, so she decided not to dwell on it. Right now, all that mattered was getting away from those things. And though he was as deadly as them, he seemed like the lesser of two evils.

But when both of those evils are after your blood, does it matter which one is the lesser of them?

She had no answer for that question, and she also had no other options as he had a good grip on her, and she was no match for his strength.

Lucien’s feet slapped against the pavement as he ran between buildings and into a street. Despite the fact it was still early morning, tires squealed and cars screeched to a stop as he plunged into traffic. One of the vehicles