hay bales. I screamed and fought against Reid’s death grip, crying. “I’m anxious to see who won, too. Shall we take a look?” He asked with a sickening joy.
He dragged me to the back of the barn. I could not make my feet cooperate with me. I stumbled as he pulled me along. When we turned the corner to look at the bales, everything was painted red. Blood soaked everything in sight, including someone hunched over with their back towards us.
“Marcus, what have you done?” I asked sadly as he slowly turned around to face me. With the blood soaking his face, it took me a moment to realize who I was staring at. “Grayson!” I screamed in horror as his blue eyes peered at me from behind the blood.
“Eva, I’m so sorry,” he huffed behind labored breaths. This is why Elijah wasn’t going to bring me back here. He must have found out.
“Beautiful,” Reid cheered and clapped his hands. “I love a good plot twist, don’t you? Now you know what you have coming if you ever run from me again,” he hissed as he grabbed a handful of my hair at the nape of my neck and yanked harshly toward him. A tear streaked down my face and a squeal escaped my lips. Grayson’s lips curled up in disapproval. “Seize him,” Reid commanded nonchalantly to his cohorts.
The others surrounded Grayson, grabbing and clawing at him to keep him from escaping their clutches. Reid circled in front of me, turning his back to the crowd. His mouth turned upward into a smile that repulsed me.
“Why?” I choked out as I glanced past him to Grayson, who was seething with anger, unable to escape the others. Reid glanced over his shoulder and paused for a moment in thought.
“I thought it added a sense of drama,” he replied, letting his fangs protrude. “It’s really not so bad. I can give you the nine lives every pet dreams of,” he explained as he brushed my hair from my face and stroked it with mock tenderness. “Just look. I’ve given you Grayson as a show of good faith. You can share your eternal life,” he continued as he motioned toward a bloodied Grayson then back to me. “From there you can choose whoever you want to join you, Eva.” His eyes locked onto mine as he got lost in his own twisted dream.
“Why me?” I cried, cupping my hand over my mouth as I tried to keep some sense of composure. Reid looked amused by my question.
“Elijah needs to pay his debt. Killing him would be too easy and leave me another hand short. It’s just business.” He nodded his head and two others were at my side in the blink of an eye, gripping my arms so tightly I couldn’t feel my hands. “Now are you going to cooperate or do I have to convince you further?” he asked, turning toward Grayson, who continued to struggle.
“Fuck you,” I snapped through clenched teeth. Reid laughed deeply before digging his fingers into Grayson’s throat. His body writhed in pain. He slid one of the vials of my blood from his pocket and let the dark murky liquid pour down Grayson’s throat. He sputtered and growled but reluctantly gave in and swallowed the crimson cocktail. “I will kill you if it is the last thing I do,” I hissed, the anger heating my body from head to toe. With unparalleled speed, he spun around and backhanded me across my cheek. My skin burned and my jaw felt as if it had been broken. The metallic taste of my blood filled my mouth. My head spun as I struggled to regain composure. I pushed my eyes closed tightly as I sucked on my lip trying to mask the smell of my blood around my captures. I could hear Grayson growl as he struggled to reach me, this time, to kill me.
“Good luck,” Reid retorted with a snicker.
“She doesn’t need luck. She has me,” a familiar voice called from behind. I blinked my eyes and Elijah was in front of me. His hand traced my sore jaw. I winced at the pain that shot through my face. His eyes were filled with sadness. I blinked and my body crashed to the floor below. I kept my head down and crawled to the nearest wall as bodies clashed together around me in a violent brawl. Blood sprayed the room as Elijah struggled to save me.
Hands suddenly latched onto