Kindred (Book 1 The Kindred Series) (48 page)

   Julian’s eyes gleamed, flashing momentarily red
. “The delectable treats in this town. Three
little treats
to be exact
, just so plump and ripe for the taking
.
Especially th
e
blond
,
that
sweet
,
delicious
blond
that
you
ha
ve been cozying up
to
at night
.
She is so young, so innocent and pure, so full of powerful blood just
begging
to be savored
.
I give you credit, to be that close to such
a
wonderful temptation, and not
t
aste it, not take it
.
I could never be so restrained.
”

   Fury tore through Devon, shaking him to the core of his being. For a brief moment a red haze clouded his vision
, his protective urges drown
ed
out the rest of Julian’s words
.
He didn’t understand what the hell Julian was talking about, but he didn
’
t want him anywh
ere near Cassie, or even
remotely
thinking about her.

  
“You stay away from her, or I’ll rip your damn throat out!” he snarled
, his fangs elongating at the mere thought of Julian getting close to her
.

   Julian grinned back at him;
his white blond hair f
e
ll into one of
his ice cold eyes. “Temper temper,” he taunted lightly. “We’ve shared before, we can share again.
”

   “I’d
kill you
first!”

   Anger blazed from Julian, his lip curled in a contemptuous
sneer
. H
is ice eyes
raked Devon with a hate filled glare.
“
You truly have changed Devon; you’re such a disappointment, turning against your nature
, your own
kind
!”

  
Devon met his gaze, trying hard to keep the fury boiling through him under control. He couldn’t let Julian bait him into losing his temper. Julian was t
o
o deadly for that.
“
Y
ou
will
die
before you ever touch her.”

   “And if she kills you first?” Devon bl
inked in surprise, unsure
what Julian
meant by that statement. “You truly do not get it, you
stupid
fool
!
She has you completely blinded. Could it be that Devon, the master of death, destruction, and torture has been blinded by love?”

   “I have not been any of those things in a very long time
Julian!
” Devon
hissed. “Y
ou need to leave this town
,
you are not welcome here.”
   Julian
laughed coldly
and
sh
ook
back his tussled hair. “I am not leaving until I get a taste of that treat Devon. It will be delicious,
” he purred
.
“
Maybe I’ll even keep her for myself
, she is a beauty.”

   Rage tore through Devon, shredding the thin
c
ontrol he
had managed to keep
.
The very thought of anyone touching Cassie, of turning her, of taking her for themselves was enough to br
ing the bloodlust surging forth
.
With a roar of fury, the beast
burst
free
o
f him
, clamoring for death and destruction
.

   He sprang forth as Julian tossed Marcy aside, his eyes lighting wit
h red fire as he braced
for Devon’s attack. They collided
brutally
, slamming into each other with the force of
two
Mac trucks. The sound
of their attack
rumbled through the forest, their snarls
echoed through
the air.
Devon
swung hard into him, slamming his fist into the underside of Julian’s jaw,
and
snapping
his head
forceful
ly back. Julian spit and hissed;
his face twisted in pure fury as he swung
out
wildly
,
his claws rak
ing
deep
across Devon’s chest. He didn’t feel the pain as
Julian flayed his shirt and skin open
, spilling his blood.
Seizing
hold
of
Julian’s shoulders,
Devon
picked him
easily off the ground
.
S
pinning around
,
he
used his full strength to
heav
e
him into the air.

   Julian
flew backward, his face mutated and furious
as he sailed across the clearing
.
S
lamm
ing
into the top of an ancient oak,
the force of his
impact
shatter
ed
the top of it
.
Julian fell over the back of the tree, momentarily disappearing in
to
the darkness of the woods.
Satisfaction spurted through
Devon
as he braced himself, waiting for Julian to renew his attack.

   His satisfaction was
quickly doused
with
horror
,
and shock
,
as
his eyes landed upon
Cassie
. She was standing
at the edge of the clearing
, her hands fisted at her sides
, her shoulders thrust proudly back
.
Her hair cascaded around her, a golden ray of light against the dark night. She looked beautiful and furious as h
er
startling
eyes
smoldered
with
barely contained
rage.

   He blinked in surprise, unable to fully believe that she was here.
Confusion tore through him as he met her fierce gaze. What was she doing here? And why she was
standing there glaring at him instead of running away screaming
in terror?

  
He knew what he looked like now
, knew that he was ugly and twisted into something she would barely recognize
. At the sight of the monster inside him
she should
have
be
en
fleeing
in horror, running
for her life
.
Bolting
like any sane person would do.
Instead
,
a
small
tremor was wracking through her;
however
it was not a tremor of fear, but one of pure
anger
.

  
His gaze darted to her
fisted
hands,
widening as he took
not
e
of
the stake clenched tight in her right hand.
He stood for a moment, trying to deny what was before him,
trying not to recognize the truth that was slapping him in the face. B
ut
it was impossible. U
nderstanding and
shock tore through him
, r
ock
ing
him with the awful realization of what Julian had meant
about her
,
and
what had
drawn Julian
here. Wha
t had more than likely drawn
him
here, though he had been
to
blind
ed by
his feelings for
her
to realize
the truth
.

  
Now everything made sense. Now he knew why he had so many questions about her
, and her friends
.
Why they had seemed so odd and different to him.
He knew exactly
who and
what she was
now
.

  
His enemy.

***

   Cassie ducked, covering her head as shards of
bark and branches rained down upon her. It seemed like forever, but
was probably only moments before
the debris stopped falling
about her
. She uncurled slowly, rising swiftly to her
full height
.
Pain
and hurt
twisted through her, anger blaz
ed
hotly forth as her gaze found Devon across the clearing. His teeth were extended, so long and sharp that they cut into his
full
bottom lip. The same lip that had kissed her so gently
and reverently
now
had blood seeping from it.
The magnificent face she had come to love
so dearly
was
now
twisted into that of a monster
,
and a murderer.
Twisted into the face of the one thing she hated most
,
and had been born to destroy.

   Though she had already expected this betrayal,
had already known what she would find here,
to see it so closely was a knife to the chest that pierced her heart, tearing it wide
,
and bleeding her dry.
The red in his eyes vanished, shock fill
ed
them as they widened upon her, the beautiful green of them blazing to fierce life
once more
.
She saw the confusion in his gaze, but also the realization, the
dawning
knowledge
of what she
had come here to do
.

 
“Cassi
e.
”

   He breathed her nam
e;
the wonder in it briefly disarm
ed
her.
He sounded so surprised;
he
looked
so surprised
.
But if he had known who she was all along, and had been toying with them, then
sh
ouldn’t he
be
expect
ing
her
to show up to stop him eventually
? Wouldn’t he already know exactly what she was, and why she was here? But he
seemed completely baffled and astounded to see her in the clearing with him right now.
Confusion filled her, for a moment she was disarmed by the wonder in his eyes.

  
Then her gaze flickered
t
o the body jus
t feet away from him. Marcy lay
curled on her side, her
coffee hair
gleaming in the moonlight. Fury tore through her
again
as her eyes flew wildly back to his. “You bastard!” she spat. “You murdering bastard!”

   She took a step toward him, determined to ignore the guilt and agony slithering
through her like a poisonous snake
.
It was a
snake that would only make her slower, only hinder her movements
if she acknowledged it for t
o
o long
.
His gaze darted briefly, uncaringly, to Marcy. Th
e
negligent look only
served to
infuriate her more.

  
“
I can explain
this
. Look out!”
he shouted at her.

  
The terror in his voice
rattled and unsettled her; she didn’t understand wh
y
it was
there
. She caught a brief glimpse of
Devon
lurching forward as she swung
toward where he was looking
. H
er eyes widen
ed
in surprise and horror as someone
, no some
thing
,
moved
swiftly from
behind
the
ruined
tree. She had been so hurt and infuriated with Devon, that she had not taken the time to think about what had
cause
d
the
shatter
ing of
the giant oak. It was no
w
coming at her like a bat out of hell. She had only a brief glimpse of ice cold eye
s and white blond hair before it
was upon her.