William (The Valentines) - By Sam Crescent Page 0,3

a rare find.

“Had me worried there, little Em. Didn’t think you were going to wake up.” He handed her a cloak to cover her bloodied body.

She took it. He could see her fingers trembling.

“Spell go wrong?”

Once she’d placed the cloak around her shoulders, she got to her feet. She flipped her hair over one shoulder. “Spell went perfectly, didn’t you think?” She placed her hand on her hip.

She was saucy and hot, and he’d come to appreciate her over these past months.

“It sure had William convinced,” he agreed.

She didn’t even bat an eyelash.

“Not concerned that your one and only mate thinks you’re dead and innocent?” James asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. “You gave him the chance to join us; he wanted to stay with his daddy. That’s his business. I’m not prepared to go back.”

“Did you honestly think he’d join me—us?” James leaned against the tree, taking her in.

“He doesn’t agree with his father. I guess he just thinks he’s bad.”

James hadn’t been able to believe it when he’d got a visit from this witch, some months ago, late at night. She had wanted to join forces. She’d known it had been him who had started the hunts of the witches and vampires. Emma was an evil witch to the core and she was tired of being the good girl.

There was no love and no compassion in this package—just pure hatred.

The partnership worked very well.

“Remember what you promised me?” He walked over to her, his power and energy clashing with hers, sending tingles of pain shooting along his nerve endings.

“Yes, I know what I promised.” She took a step back. A huge mistake. His wolf liked to see her scared. He could smell her fear.

“You’d better not mess with me, witch,” he warned.

“I came to you, remember? No messing from my end. You’ll get what you want and I’ll get what I want.” Her tone was insolent.

He didn’t like it.

Within seconds he had wrapped his hand around her neck and was squeezing. “I want you to remember, sweet Emma, I don’t care about you. I’m not William Valentine. You’re one witch in a sea of others and any time I want I can pluck the next one out. You get on my nerves and your days are numbered.” He thrust her away and turned from her.

“It’s because of her, isn’t it?” Emma cried.

He stopped, stood rigid and turned with a snarl on his face.

“You’re doing this because—”

“I suggest that if you like breathing you keep your mouth shut.”

He didn’t speak again. He didn’t need to. His warning was clear.

Chapter One

Present day

The sound of glass smashing could be heard in every corner of the bar. The audience looked on at the spectacle in silence, each doubtless wondering if they would be the target of the vampire’s wrath.

“Where is she?” A fist was raised. Usually, bar fights were great sport, but in a predominantly vampire-filled bar there was no sport, just information gathering—and it wasn’t acquired over tea and biscuits. It always got bloody and it never ended well. A Valentine was on the prowl and no one was about to get in his way—even if the vampire William targeted was scared for his life.

The way the other customers saw it, the guy getting pummelled shouldn’t have earned a reputation for being a messenger to the wolves. A man supporting both sides of the war.

“I don’t know, man. No one has talked.” The guy covered his face, denying all knowledge. Adam stood and observed from the dark corner as he watched his older brother lose control. William was completely out of it.

Since another witch had been taken—Katie, the best friend of his brother Robert’s bonded mate—it was like he was losing his sense of reality. No one could reason with him.

“Tell me where they are,” William snarled in the young vampire’s face. Adam winced. He was here as a favour to Robert and he loved his brother, but this was too damn much. There was no thought, no consideration of the chaos he was causing. It had hit him worse even than losing Emma. It was like someone had carved out his heart and left him hurt and bleeding.

Katie White, the last remaining witch, was still alive, and that made it worse. At least Emma had been dead and he’d known there was nothing he could do to change that. But William knew that Katie was out there, and he was leaving a wave of destruction everywhere he went in his efforts to