Awakened (28 page)

I took a deep breath, turned around, and called through the door for Deacon.

“Give me a minute, Ella,” Deacon yelled back. “I kinda have my hands full here.”

Kale

I knew that Ella was there and that everything that I did—including each word I spoke—pushed
her further from me. All the trust that we’d built was slowly crumbling.

She wouldn’t take my hand. She was afraid of me, and once again, she was trusting
Jace over me.

I wasn’t angry with her but with myself. I had been crazy enough to believe that a
beast like me had a place in her life. Jace’s smirk when Ella refused to take my hand
was all the beast inside me needed, and before I knew it—before I could even comprehend
Deacon’s words—my fangs descended, and all I could think about was not the sweet taste
of Jace’s blood, but the look in Ella’s eyes as I leapt into the air.

Just a day earlier, I’d seen her eyes sparkle at the possibility of starting a life
together. All that was now broken and impossible, because the need to drain Jace was
more than my need to punish him for his role in the deaths of Ella’s parents.

It was the need to make him bleed, the need to take his blood as he died. Even when
I was rational, I killed Council members for self-preservation, not for the lust I
felt now as I sank my teeth in his neck and frantically drank, drank as Jace thrashed
against me.

Deek’s kick wasn’t enough to keep me off of Jace for long, and when I returned to
his neck, I felt his pulse speed up in panic and anger. He pounded me on the head
with one hand. Though his blows did nothing to break me from his neck, they did stop
me from sucking the blood that was rushing from his vein to my mouth.

I released Jace’s neck just long enough to grab him by his collar and shove him up
against the wall so hard that it crumbled and dented beneath him. I sent a fist, filled
with all my anger at the Council’s actions, into his ribs and smiled deviously as
he expelled a choking breath. Anger raged inside me, and I kneed Jace in the same
spot I had punched him, sending him to his knees.

“How did that taste?” I taunted as I lowered myself to my knees, to meet Jace’s gaze.

I leaned in closer to take what would be the final taste of the immortal waste. Deek
grabbed my neck and waist, he used all of his strength to pull me away from Jace,
giving him time to stand up and recover some from my attack. I fought like a caged
animal, but with each grunt and snarl, I felt my head start to clear.

My limbs felt light and could no longer fight Deacon. I could still taste Jace’s deliciously
fragrant blood in my lips, and I felt a sense of calm. A dizzying wave of clarity
swept over me.

“You hear me, man?”

From the annoyance in Deek’s voice, he’d been trying to get me my attention. Even
though I believed that immortal blood could help with
la Luxure
, it didn’t seem to be a permanent cure.

“Deacon?” Ella called, and I closed my eyes, feeling Jace’s blood race throughout
my system.

“Give me a minute, Ella,” Deacon yelled through the door. “I kinda have my hands full
here.”

I looked at him, knowing that I had proven what he would soon tell Ella: That I had
lost control and that I was a danger to her, just as I had believed from the beginning.
I could no longer deny it, because as I drank from Jace and looked into Ella’s eyes,
my first thought was: Would her blood be as sweet as her kisses, as warm as her lips,
or as willing to come to me as she was?

“Deek, take me to the basement and lock me up.”

“Are you sure, man?” Deek’s voice was low and sincere. “I think you just let your
anger get the best of you. It could have happened to any one of us. There’s a lot
of stress going on; too much for us to handle.” He let me go and caught me when I
wavered on my feet. “The call from Ana shook me up too. We need to send for them;
she can’t handle him on her own.”

He’d called me away from Ella earlier because Ana was having problems controlling
her progeny and needed our help. All I could do for her was send Deacon to her to
help; I would not let her bring him here.

Still, that was not the only problem. I looked at Jace’s neck and remembered how good
it had felt to know that his immortal life was in my hands, how sweet his blood had
been as it passed over my lips, pooled in my mouth, and flowed down my throat.

“I said: Lock. Me. Up.”

***

I’d spent a week in the cell. Deacon had told me that Ella was pissed off at me, Jace
was threatening to take Ella and run, and Deacon himself sang my praises to them.
He blamed Jace for purposely pushing my buttons, and Ella blamed me for trying to
fix everything on my own. They were both right.

Jace had thought showing Ella what I would become would’ve been enough to make her
leave me. Ella and Deacon also thought that this would be an easy fix, that all they
had to do was hope and wish that I got better, and that would be enough.

I wasn’t feeling as optimistic as they were, and for good reason. I had waited a full
two weeks before I allowed Deacon to let Ella see me, and I regretted it as soon as
she walked through the door. Her face was red and swollen, and she held onto herself
for the comfort she needed from me that I was unable to give. I hated myself for it.

She was so strong before she met me. She had lost so much, but I had never even seen
her cry. She thought that world saw her as fragile, and maybe they did, but in my
eyes, there was no person stronger than she was—and I was the one who’d broken her.
I could have hunted and killed Laurent never revealing myself to Ella.

“How are you?” she asked, her voice strained and low. She avoided my eyes and looked
to Deacon for comfort. He approached the cell, eyeing me suspiciously. I nodded to
let him know that it was all right, and he placed his large hand on Ella’s shoulder
and squeezed. Jealousy roared inside me that he was able to touch her and comfort
her while I was locked in this cell.

“I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”

“I’m okay. It’s just—” Ella drew closer to my cell, and I retreated further inside.
Disappointment flared in her eyes; I ignored it. This was for the best. “I just got
a little emotional when Deacon told me that you would see me finally.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not,” she insisted, to my surprise. “You and Alex have that in common.
You aren’t sorry for doing what you think is right, even if it hurts my feelings.”
She unwrapped her arms from around herself and placed a hand on her hip.

“How we get you better, so you can get out of this—” —she gestured to the cell bars
and frowned— “cell and back into my life?” Her smile was forced, so she finally knew
the severity of the situation.

“Saving me isn’t worth your life, Ella, and it could come to that.” I realized how
harsh my words were only after I’d said them.

Ella’s stunned expression changed to annoyance. “Are you saying that this isn’t worth
fighting for?”

Ella

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Kale glared at me through the bars. His
anger was clearly evident as was my own.

He was right. That wasn’t what he’d said, but I could read between the lines. This
relationship couldn’t go anywhere and wasn’t worth fighting for because
la Luxure
would claim him, and he couldn’t keep feasting on immortals.

It was a slap in the face. After he had saved me from Laurent and told me that he
would die protecting me, I thought he understood that I would do the same, that I
would fight for him no matter the cost. How could he not know that?

Before I could speak, Deacon entered the room with a warm cup of blood for Kale, and
that was my cue to leave. I hesitantly stood up and headed toward the door.

“Ella,” Kale said.

I stopped short.

“We will talk about this when you come back down tomorrow.”

I could only stare at him. Deacon looked nervously between the two of us, and he was
the only reason I didn’t lay into Kale. “There is nothing to talk about. I’m not leaving
you here to rot in this cell, the same way you didn’t leave me with Laurent. I know
what I want from this, and that’s you. We will figure out a way to make it work.”

I headed out the door without looking back. Jace stood in the hallway, waiting for
me. He hated bringing me down here. He worried that Kale wouldn’t be able to resist
temptation and break through the bars to attack me, although we already knew that
he couldn’t get out unless the door was opened for him.

Little did Jace know he was worried about the wrong person opening those damned bars.
I missed the feel of Kale’s arms around me and his kiss. I was so angry that I couldn’t
touch him that sometimes I wanted to risk opening those doors, if only for a second.

“Let’s go?” Jace asked.

“No, I need to wait for Deacon.” I passed Jace and headed toward the living area.

“Why? You just saw him. What do you need to say to him that you couldn’t have said
to him down there?” He looked annoyed. He hated coming here, but that was part of
the agreement when I said I would leave and stay at the lodge with him.

I rolled my eyes. “None of your business, Jace.” I continued past him to the restroom.

When I was done, I entered the living room where Mia was sitting on the sofa. Deacon
was leaning against the bar, smiling into his phone. I smiled. He and his girl were
great together, even with the threat of
la Luxure
.

I stood off to the side, willing him to look at me. When he did, I pointed to the
door, silently asking him to meet me outside. He nodded. I put on my coat and headed
out the glass door. He followed me.

“I need you to take me to the Council.”

Deacon’s eyes widened, and he shook his head no.

“I need to figure out how Kale and I can stay together, and I only have one solution
for this.”

Deacon frowned. “Look, Ella—”

“No, you look. I know you would do whatever it would take to be with Chelle. You would
kill, maim, and fight, and all I’m asking you to do is help your best friend do the
same.”

“Yeah, you are right, but you seem to forget something, here.” Deacon placed his arms
across his chest and towered over me. He was intimidatingly massive, but I knew he
wouldn’t hurt me. “I am not
your
best friend. My best friend has already made his request of me, and I’ve followed
through. We made this plan before you came back in order to protect you, and I promise
you, there is nothing you can say or do to make me go back on my part of the deal.”
Deacon’s tone was rough and unyielding, and a part of me broke.

Though I didn’t show it, I could feel my heart tearing in two. Jace couldn’t help
me; he’d finally admitted that his “sabbatical” from the Council meant he’d defected.
Darke was missing and presumed dead. Alex was dead.

Deacon, my last hope, was turning me down.

His lips thinned as he moved closer to me. “Don’t do that.”

My brow furrowed in confusion. “Don’t do what?” Why was my voice nothing but a whisper?
I needed to be stronger—I had to be.

“Cry. Please don’t cry.” His voice had softened, but his gaze still didn’t waver.

I touched my cheeks, surprised to find them wet. I sighed and turned away. Deacon
didn’t need to see me cry, and though I wanted to use my tears to make him bend to
my will, I knew that that wasn’t going to work with him.

“Tell me why you want me to defy Kale and take you to those people.”

“I need—”

Jace came outside. He looked from me then to Deacon, no doubt wondering why I was
crying. His expression hardened, and he held his hand out to me. “Let’s go, Ella.
Please.”

“Start the car. I will be out after I say goodbye to Kale.” I turned back to the pensive
Deacon. Jace stood there for a moment longer before he turned around and headed back
into the house.

Deacon stared at me. Not only had I not convinced him to help me, he might actually
relay my request to Kale.

“Just think about it, Deacon. If I can get Aleixandre to change me into an immortal,
then Kale and I would have forever to figure out how to keep
la Luxure
at bay.”

Deacon’s gaze held mine and betrayed nothing of his thoughts.

“It’s my only option. I know that he is strong enough to beat this, and I think if
he has something to look forward to… well, then maybe he will try harder, fight harder—Hell,
I don’t know, but I can’t do this without him, and I can’t do it without you.” I placed
my arm on his. “Please. Please just think about it.”

“Have you told him you love him?”

Deacon’s question shocked me. I hadn’t told Kale, but I thought that my actions would
have at least—

“A man needs to be told as well as shown, just like a woman does.” Deacon sighed and
shook his head. “You are so young and understand very little about this. I wouldn’t
want you to place yourself in harm’s way for a simple crush.”

“Dude, I am asking you to take me to someone who ordered my parents’ death, who tried
to have me captured, and who wants to use me as a pawn the same way Laurent wanted
to do—all for a favor where I am sure I will have to promise him something precious
in return—and you want to question my love for the man I am doing this all for?” I
asked incredulously. Yes, I loved Kale; and, yes, I was going to sacrifice my well-being
for our future, and this muscle-headed jerk was going to help me.

Deacon smiled and uncrossed his arms. “I like it when your pretty eyes shine with
passion and determination. It reminds me of what Kale sees in you and why he was willing
to die for you, twice.” He pointed to the door. “Go, and when you come back, I will
let you know what I’ve decided.” His tone left absolutely no room for argument.

I glanced at him as I headed inside, but he was already in a conversation on the phone
and no longer interested in me. I went downstairs to say bye to Kale.