Soul-Mate (Immortal Love 1) (31 page)

The first shock of seeing me had passed. He was trying to appear courageous and fearless again. From the corner of my eye, I saw Shane holding on to his shoulder and breathing hard. He knew I was there, but he was weak. He could barely open his eyes. Not far from there, I could hear Aaron shooting at the vampire who was running in circles, trying to avoid the deadly bullets.

“Vincent,” I called him, acknowledging his words but not answering him. Kage was my codename in my group; it meant shadow in Japanese. My enemies knew me by that name, not my real name. It was how I had survived all that time, living a double life. Making their lives a living hell. “How is your hand? Did it grow back?” I asked, so he would remember the pain I had inflicted on him the last time we’d encountered each other.

“It’s all good now,” he said, showing it to me.

I smirked and looked from the corner of my eye at Aaron, who was being beaten up by the vampire after running out of bullets. I almost sighed with frustration. Then I saw all the werewolves’s kids jump on the guy, trying to help Aaron. Some were thrown in the air and others were trying to control the vampire from moving and hitting them.

Vincent noticed me look at Aaron. He folded his arms in a relaxed position. I frowned, perplexed by his attitude. Then he looked around and smirked again.

“You are alone,” he stated.

I looked at the girl, who seemed to be really calm considering what was going on around her. It was like nothing affected her. She had empty eyes. But I knew she was scared. She had urged Vincent to leave. All I could think was how young she looked. “Stupid move,” Vincent added, staring at the witch himself.

Before I could say anything, I flew back with a rather strong pull, being held by Shane, who smashed his back against the wall, protecting me. I was going to curse, unsure what the hell just pushed me back when Vincent spoke again.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Where are my manners?” he asked ironically. “This is Myra, she’s my new addition to the group. She’s a witch, but I think you already know that.”

“Are you okay?” Shane asked, kneeling on the floor and releasing a painful groan.

I tried hard not to look back and show my concern for him. Instead, I growled in annoyance and gazed at the girl. She was strong, I didn’t even hear her recite the spell that sent me back in the air. However, I noticed that her palm was glowing. I glimpsed at her rune.
She was an elemental witch! Just my damn luck!

I stepped in front and reached Shane in our mind link.
Whatever you do, don’t show affection for me,
I asked him.
Don’t protect me, don’t even look at me.

“
Why?
” Shane asked, hurt by my words. He thought I was rejecting him because of what had happened.

Shane
, I whispered sweetly in his mind.
They will kill you just to hurt me. Please, do what I ask you–if you love me,
I said, explaining myself and trying to get control of my feelings. I couldn’t show weakness, and Shane was my weakness.

“I didn’t know you were recruiting,” I said, trying to stall until Jessica got there.

I gazed at the witch with an overconfident grin on my face.

“Sir, you should leave. I can take care of her and the wolf,” the witch said, impassive again. Most of the witches were arrogant like that. Without their stupid spells, though, they were harmless and weak just like any other human.

“You can try,” I replied to her, tilting my head to look at her from head to toe with disdain.

She looked really young. She was dressed like a teen, with heavy gothic black clothes and chains on her pockets and jacket. She had black lips and black nail polish on her nails. Way too much makeup on her face! It was probably to make her look older. She must think she’s some badass black magic follower. I didn’t know what to think. She was strong, but she was just a kid. She had probably been forced to work for Alaric or she was just plain evil and enjoyed killing and harming innocent people.

“What are you looking at?” the witch snarled. She pulled her black hair behind her ear, pursed her lips, and moved her nose with a distasteful sniff. She was not pleased about my scrutinizing stare.

Two more vampires appeared in a flash behind her and Vincent. I was not expecting them, but their arrival made the witch smirk at me and arch an eyebrow cockily.
So, she was not alone, big deal!
I could take two vampires with no sweat.
It was with her nasty spells I was worried about. I rolled my eyes at her, releasing a bored sigh, and then I made a cocky face myself, smiling wickedly. First rule in this business: don’t ever look scared. Looking fearless makes your opponent doubt himself.

“Have fun,” Vincent said and jumped in the air, flashing away in super speed.

Coward
!
He was leaving to save his butt, like always.

“Guess it’s just us and you three,” I said.

I noticed that the werewolves had succeeded in knocking out the vampire. However, they were just kids; they should run instead of getting in the middle of that fight. I was hoping that Aaron was wise enough to take them out of there.

The witch frowned and stared at one of the vampires behind her. “Make sure to kill the hybrid girl and leave these two to me,” she ordered, and before I could move, the vampire left to attack the boys, and the witch started to recite a spell. Once again, her spell made the wolves start yelling in pain and drop to their knees, holding their ears.

The vampire was going for the girl. She began to scream in fear, because she wasn’t affected by the noise, either. She was a hybrid like me. Vampires and hybrids weren’t affected by the spell. There was only Aaron left to protect her.

Aaron tried to stop the vamp, but he was hit hard with several blows to the face and stomach until he kneeled, coughing blood. We needed a miracle.

I growled at her, hearing Shane’s pain behind me. Whatever she was doing, I needed to stop her. I went to her to make her stop talking, but the other vampire stood in front of me. We measured forces, sword with sword, sending sparks of fire each time our swords collided. He was skilled enough, and he was strong. However, after a few blows, I was able to shred his shirt and slice his chest, which bled. It was not extremely deep, but it was enough to make the witch lose her breath when she noticed I had harmed the vampire. And before I could understand, she had thrown me again in the air with her rune power. This time, I stabbed my sword in the floor and tried to hold my place, but the sword broke and I hit the canister, rolling on the ground until hitting the wall painfully hard.

At least the pain in their heads had stopped, and one werewolf boy was grabbing the vampire’s leg so he wouldn’t harm the girl. The vampire got mad and held the boy by his neck, choking him. The girl reacted, jumping on the vampire’s back so he would let go of her boyfriend. It was only a matter of time until he would kill both.

Meanwhile, I had to jump and roll again, because the witch was throwing the canister against me, and I didn’t want to be squashed. As I was getting up, I heard a neck snap, and I shivered in sadness. Someone had just been disabled, hopefully not dead. Werewolves wouldn’t die of a snapped neck, but it meant the girl had no one to protect her.

“I hope you don’t get too sad when I take your vampire lover’s head off,” I teased the witch, who was concentrating on attacking me again.

The canister fell on the ground, making a loud noise. I made her lose her concentration and I smiled, pleased to find her weak spot.
A witch in love with a vampire—so interesting, especially because it was forbidden inside their cult
. No-mixing-races rule.

“Don’t threaten my mate,” the witch growled, losing her calm attitude and holding a fire orb on her hand.

I didn’t have time to be surprised by her new power. It’s really unusual for witches to control two elements. I barely had time to flip backward before seeing the orb hit the wall and leave a dark stain.

I noticed the shocked look on the vampire’s face at her words. He looked back at the other vampire in his group, afraid he might have heard. It was a secret. Of course it was.

Well, he didn’t have to worry about it. I smiled when I saw my cousin with the vampire’s neck in his hands.

“Did I arrive in time?” he asked, throwing the vampire’s body onto the floor and helping the girl get up. He had killed the vamp temporarily, just in time to save the girl.

“Perfect timing,” I said, glad to see him.

“We should leave,” the vampire said to the witch, looking around. “The master is safe. We can go back home.”

“I will kill her first,” the witch said in disagreement, smirking at me. “Friends of yours?” she asked, turning to Jason and throwing him against one wall and then against the opposite wall like he was a ping-pong ball.

I gasped and ran to stop her. Her mate grabbed me. I hit him in the face and turned his arm around, making him scream with pain when I broke it and made him flip forward to hit his back on the floor. I was going to put my foot on his neck and pull his arm to crush him when suddenly she used her hands to push me from her lover. Her hands burned on me, making me step back and try to erase the fire she had left on my jacket. Well, at least she dropped my cousin on the floor, unconscious, and stopped beating him up.

“You bitch!” she snarled at me after looking at the damage I had done to her vampire.

She looked mad! I unintentionally looked at Shane to see if he was okay. He was weak, breathing with difficulty. He opened his eyes when I stared at him, sensing my concern. He tried to smile to reassure me, but I knew he was losing a lot of blood and had broken bones. Vincent had beaten him several times before I got there.

I heard bones crack. The witch had put the vampire’s arm in place so it would heal. She was also helping him get up. His arm was around her shoulders and her hand on his chest.

“You know,” she said softly, like she wasn’t mad anymore. “It’s the second time you looked at him.”

I couldn’t make a straight face when she spoke those words. I think she saw the fear reflecting in my eyes. She held a hand, making a fire ball swirl on her palm. I hated witches and their sneaky powers.
And where in the hell was Jessica? She was taking her sweet time!

“Let’s go,” the vampire begged with a pained voice.

“Let me just teach this bitch a lesson,” she said, smirking and pointing her hand at Shane. “I thought so,” she said when she noticed my gasp of fear and my eyes widen in concern. “I saw the bite mark on his neck. He belongs to a vampire—you, I bet.” She looked extremely cocky about her reasoning as she made the orb float higher.

Before she could open her mouth again, I jumped on her neck. The vampire fell to the ground and I held her up by her throat.

“You blinked,” I whispered, deadly in full vampire mode, showing my fangs as she fought for air. I should have snapped her neck right away and finished her off, but she looked so young and vulnerable! She couldn't have been more than sixteen! I was a year younger when I was orphaned. She was a child! I couldn't kill a child. I saw the fear of death in her eyes. The tears were building up as she tried to free herself. I waited for her to fall unconscious from lack of oxygen but was interrupted.

Her mate, weak and hurting, tried to grab me but was held by Shane, who grabbed him and knocked him onto the ground. The witch used the distraction to put her two hands on my shoulders and make her fire burn me. I screamed in pain, letting her fall. It hurt so much I could have cried, but I didn’t have time. She was aiming her hands at Shane. I shouldn’t have let emotions cloud my judgements. I should have just killed her. But I had no time for regrets. I had time to jump at Shane to protect him as I saw two orb balls come in our direction. I held my breath and wrapped Shane in my arms before he could protest. It was going to hurt, and I really hated fire! But I was a damn vampire-panther hybrid. I would survive. I hoped!

One orb hit something, but it wasn’t me. At the last second, it changed its course and crashed against the wall. The other orb just stood there, floating in the air in front of me and Shane. And then I understood why.

“Hello! Did I arrive here in time, love?” Jessica asked, walking in her high heeled boots and bouncing her hips with all the calm in the world. “Why don’t you play with someone of your own category?” Jessie asked the witch with a playful smile.

Then she turned her hand around, and the witch’s fire orb was gone. That girl knew how to make an entrance for sure! But was I mad at her for being late! Or maybe she’d arrived just in time.

“Where in the
hell
have you been? Why did you take so long to get here?” I snapped, annoyed. I helped Shane get up, also. He was still bleeding from his shoulder. It should have stopped already. I made him sit away from the confusion.

“Hey!” Jessica complained, putting her hands on her hips. “I walk at normal speed, and I’m in high heels! Jason parked far from here!”

“Whatever,” I replied to her. “Have fun,” I added and made a movement with my hand for her to take care of the intruders. Jessica could handle the witch. I was worried about Shane.

“Why isn’t your wound healing?” I asked him.

“I have shards of silver inside,” he explained, pulling the jacket away and showing the ripped shirt with the bleeding scar.

“Let me introduce myself,” Jessica said, staring at the vampire who was holding the witch in his arms, protectively.

“Let’s go away, now,” he urged her.

“I’m Jessica,” she said after clearing her throat to get their attention. “And I’m a witch,” she added, stroking her blonde hair back. Jessie must have lost her focus because of the vampire. “Is he your lover? I’m so jealous now. He’s so gorgeous!”

I rolled my eyes at Jessica’s girly voice drooling for a vampire.
Seriously
?
She couldn’t see a hot vampire!
I smirked when the witch roared at her in a possessive way, making sure she understood that he was hers. Jessica just giggled, amused.