William (The Valentines) - By Sam Crescent Page 0,7
lost to the alpha wolf.
Shaking his head, William looked at his brother. Adam had aged in the weeks since their father’s murder. Strange, considering that vampires aged at a slower rate than humans. William could see the outline of too much crap and not enough time to deal written all over Adam. His stance—his very energy—had changed.
He shook his head. This was not how their lives were supposed to be.
“I promised her I’d keep her safe,” he said.
“The witch?” Adam said.
She’s more than a witch. Katie is my salvation.
“I promised her, gave my word, and this is something I’ve got to do. Alone,” he added for good measure.
Shaking his head, Adam looked at him. William stared back. He’d nothing to hide. This was what he had to do.
“What makes you think she’s still alive?” Adam tried to reason with him.
Because I can still feel her. I would know if she’d died—no magic in the world would be able to mask that.
“I know,” William replied.
Adam hesitated, glancing up and down the street. “Call Robert, okay?” he said.
William nodded. He’d phone Robert at some point but he wasn’t ready to talk to his older brother just yet.
Robert had everything he wanted, while William was still hunting for what was his.
Adam sighed and William watched him disappear around the corner. The younger man shouldn’t be worrying about this. He was no part of this war. William didn’t want to be part of this war, either. He wanted to be with his mate and at peace.
Life didn’t always go to plan.
William waited for a few moments, until he could no longer sense his brother nearby. He took time to gaze at the moon and the stars.
The stars, lonely and bright in the sky, with so much space to immerse themselves in.
“William.”
The words whispered through his mind. He tensed, spinning around, trying to see who had spoken his name. No sign of life down the alley. William frowned but went back to looking at the night sky.
“William, help me.”
He held his head as a sharp pain zapped through his skull. He screamed, lost and alone in the empty street.
Her voice—Katie’s voice was speaking to him.
He collapsed to his knees, crying out in agony, not only from the pain in his head but from the pain piercing his heart as well.
“Where are you?” he asked the empty space.
For the first time since her disappearance, he sensed her emptiness, her lack of life, her resignation. She didn’t believe he would come and get her.
“I’m coming, Katie. I’ll never give up.” He muttered the words to no one but himself.
William prayed that she would hear him, that she would feel his determination to get her back. Feel the love filling his heart.
But there was no answer. The buzzing in his head disappeared as if it had never been there, the pain leaving his body. William mourned the loss. He would have borne any pain to know that she was there, in some distant part of his mind.
Was Katie trying to connect with him somehow? He didn’t know.
Was he imagining her trying to reach out? Had his insanity taken hold and ruined his already scrambled mind?
He would never give up, no matter what.
William got up from the ground and walked down the alley until he was out in the open street. Dawn was fast approaching and he had a few more spots to hit before the night was over.
Only then would he allow himself time alone.
Time spent dreaming about her.
Poppy watched the men from a secluded corner of the street. They were certainly not human, but then as soon as she’d seen them at the bar she’d known who they were. The Valentines were hard to miss. Their reputation preceded them—gorgeous and all deadly. At least, these two were sexy and dangerous.
She tensed, tempted to move from her secluded spot when she saw the crazy one—William—turn on his brother, the one with the sandy hair and shockingly expressive face. An aged vampire who still wore his emotions on his face was someone she would love to meet.
She tensed, wondering what she was supposed to do. She didn’t want to see him hurt. He looked like he could handle himself but he was fighting his brother, being pressed against the brick building by the crazy vampire.
Moments later, after a brief talk that she didn’t quite catch but that looked important enough to have the crazy vampire retreating into himself, she watched the other man leave. Moving down the street, pausing