The Chosen (23 page)

No doubt he would not be welcome, but he could handle himself, and the outcome of this little detour would be well worth any repercussions. He arrived at his destination in no time, pulled into the wide driveway, and made his way toward the front door. The sun was bright in the sky, but he knew everyone in the building was awake—

could sense them.

He smelled the male’s scent all over the female he captured, and it had been an easy hunt. Even through the thick brick and plaster of the building, he envisioned the male inside, could feel his anger and anguish pour out and through him. He didn’t bother cloaking himself since they already knew he was here. He got out of the car and walked up the stone steps to the huge double doors. A security monitor was mounted in the far corner, and he turned and stared at it.

176

Jenika Snow

“What business do you have here?” A deep voice came through the little speaker beside the monitor.

“I know where she is.” That was all he said, knowing the male on the other side would know exactly of whom he spoke. There was a loud click, and then the doors opened. He walked into the darkness, knowing he was about to get his ass kicked.

* * * *

Aleksei paced back and forth as he glared at the intruder. He was fully changed and so pissed off he could have ripped the fucker’s head off with his teeth. He refrained from lashing out at him since he claimed to know where Lana was. The fact that this being had the nerve to take what was his and then show up at his doorstep flaunting it made him roar inside.

He called himself Osip, and from history, Aleksei knew he was the banished
Seeker
, the damned one.

“You dare come to my house after you took what was mine?”

He sat in a chair, his hands neatly folded in his lap, and he looked at them nonchalantly. Ten warriors stood around him, all fully changed and eyeing him like they were thirsty.

“I can understand why you must be angry.”

Aleksei charged at him, his fist making contact with the
Seeke
r’s nose. He felt satisfaction course through him as bone crunched beneath his fist. Blood poured out of Osip’s mouth, but he didn’t flinch, didn’t even bother wiping the blood from his nose.

“I know where she is, and if you kill me, you’ll never find out.”

“What did you say?”

“I know where she is, and I’ll lead you to her if you swear on your honor you will to go once you have her.”

Aleksei thought about what he said, furious over the fact that this male wanted to negotiate with him over his
Chosen
. He reached out
The Chosen: A Tale of the Blood Breed

177

with his mind and tried to penetrate the
Seeker’s
mind. A steel wall blocked his probing, and he cursed out loud.

“How do I know you will take me to her? How do I know this isn’t a trap?”

“I can feel you probing my mind, but don’t bother. You can’t read a
Seeker
.” He spit out a mouthful of blood and finally wiped his mouth. You can smell her life force on me and know that I speak the truth. What choice do you have? You want her back, don’t you?”

Aleksei cursed again loudly, so pissed he wanted to crush the fucker in front of him. He was fully changed, his body so primed and pumped he could have snapped the
Seeker’s
neck like a twig. “How do I know you truly know where she is?”

“Do you really have any other choice but to trust me? I know this for sure, though, without me, you will never know where she is.”

He paced in front of Osip, his warriors cracking their knuckles and growling in hopes of killing something. He was slowly dying inside without Lana, and as much as he searched for her, he seemed always an arm’s length away. His rage spiraled out of control, and he shook from the force of it.

Not able to help himself, he bared his fangs at Osip and backhanded him again, relishing the fact that pain flickered on the banished
Seeker’s
face. Blood continued to pour out of his nose, and he shook his head. Right in front of him, Osip’s body started to heal itself, kitting the broken bone and open cuts together.

“I can give you the one who contracted me. We don’t have much time because come night fall she will be given to him.”

Aleksei’s breath stopped, his anger dimming as fear took its place.

“Fine. It’s settled. You take me to her and you can go free.”

* * * *

178

Jenika Snow

Aleksei paced his office, surprised there wasn’t a track in his floor. The hours ticked by at a snail’s pace, and he was getting itchy waiting for that blasted fire ball to sink.

He double-checked his ammo and weapons, adding a knife or a gun every time. Strapped to his back was his ancestral sword—the same one that was tattooed on his back—along with knives of various sizes and guns. He was probably over doing it, but with Lana, he wasn’t going to take any chances. He continued to watch the clock as he paced the room. He could hear his warriors getting juiced up for the hunt, their voices loud and their excitement high. A knock sounded on the door, and he already knew it was Adrik.

“Come in.”

“The Breeds are ready for your orders.

Aleksei nodded and did a double check of all of his weapons.

Yup, strapped and loaded. Only a few more minutes before the sun finally set and it would be safe to venture outside.

“Everyone move to the garage so we can leave as soon as the sun sets.”

Tonight there would be blood, a lot of blood, but it wouldn’t be the Breed’s.

The Chosen: A Tale of the Blood Breed

179

The first thing that penetrated her disoriented brain was the sound of classical music. Her head hurt so bad, and the room spun even though her eyes were closed. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes, thankful the lights were dim. She rolled over and groaned with nausea.

The canopy of the bed she lay on was bright red with gold inlaid thread and gave her a head ache. Whatever they slipped into her food left a bad taste in her mouth and made her head pound furiously. She sat up and clutched her head as it started to pound something fierce.

She definitely wasn’t in her room—or better yet, her prison. This room was exceptionally exquisite in its decor and furniture. Silk adorned the walls and furniture in deep, masculine colors. Candles were sporadically placed, giving the room the soft glow of ambiance.

The biggest fireplace she had ever seen sat in the center of the room and blazed fiercely. Two red leather chairs sat in front of the fireplace, a dark wooded table between them and two wine glasses and a bottle of wine in its center. A large, intricately carved wooden door stood off to the side, and she slid off the bed. She felt woozy and lightheaded and kept stumbling and bumping into the wall. She gripped the door handle, groaning to find it locked. A husky and thickly accented voice came from behind her.

“I really don’t wish to lock you in here, but understand I must take precautions with my future.”

She turned around, the quick movement causing her already disoriented brain to scream in frustration. She pressed her back
180

Jenika Snow

toward the door, her eyes squinting in the dim light to find where the voice came from.

“No need to be frightened. I would never harm you.”

She finally registered the voice coming from a shadowed corner.

She tried to penetrate the darkness, but it was no use. Even though she couldn’t see who owned the voice, she knew the man speaking was dangerous. She expected to see another one of those creatures, the ones with the monstrously huge bodies, black, endless eyes, and impossibly big fangs, but instead, she was surprised to see the man who walked out of the shadows.

* * * *

Aleksei stood in a small clearing staring at a huge protruding rock coming off the mountainside. Five Breeds stood behind him, two of those males being Luca and Milo. Two others stood in front of Aleksei, holding Osip’s massive arms. The
Seeker
took them just barely out of Stone Brooke and high into the mountains that lined the town.

“We’ve already searched this area. What’s the meaning of this?”

Aleksei didn’t bother keeping the venom out of his voice as he stared at the banished
Seeker
.

“No need to change into your freakish form.” Osip held out his palms as best he could and nodded toward the boulder. “Look closer.”

Aleksei clenched his fists and looked again at the rock. Several seconds went by, and the boulder started to waver, the image becoming blurry. It was so quick that if he hadn’t known what it was, he would never have noticed it.

“There is a
blur
in place?” How could he have not noticed this before? “We searched this area. Why didn’t we realize this before?

Why didn’t we feel the power surging through the rocks?”

Aleksei knew only certain beings of the
Otherworld
had the ability to
blur,
and
Seekers
, Blood Breeds, and the
Bloodless
were not
The Chosen: A Tale of the Blood Breed

181

among the select few who had that special gift. The rogues had help from a being from the
Otherworld
that could
blur,
and without Osip, they would have never found Lana.

He motioned for Osip to continue walking since they were just wasting time, and God only knew what those monsters were doing to Lana. If someone were looking at them from the outside, it would have seemed that they were walking right into the rock. There was no rock, though, and they walked right into a tight opening on the side of the mountain.

It was dark and cold inside—the sound of water dripping loud in the distance. The tunnel curved down, going farther into the core of the mountain. All Aleksei could smell was rock and dirt—the smell of earth spearing through his nose and penetrating his senses. After what seemed like they walked miles, Osip abruptly stopped. The smell of depravity filtered through toward them, masking the strong natural smell of dirt. Two
Bloodless
males walked toward them, their attention on the ground as they got closer. They seemed to not even notice them, but all the warriors tensed for a fight.

Osip looked behind him and smiled as he held his finger to his mouth in a gesture to be quiet. Aleksei remembered
Seekers
had the ability to cloak their appearance and any other being they chose to. If he wanted Lana back, then he had to trust the male who kidnapped her, and that proved to be the hardest thing he ever had to do. He could see the struggle for Osip to cloak all of them, his large muscles shaking and straining from the effort.

The males passed them, not even aware of their presence.

“No need to tire yourself when we might need you to fight. Boys, let him free.” Aleksei nodded to Adrik and Garrik, who had a tight grip on Osip.

The two Breeds reluctantly let go, all the while grumbling under their breath. Osip rubbed his forearms and started walking again, this time taking the way the
Bloodless
had come. Aleksei motioned for his men to follow as they made their way through the stone tunnel.

182

Jenika Snow

Lighting crested in front of them, the dull light showcasing an entryway.

Osip held up his hand to stop and tilted his head to listen. He turned around and spoke quietly but quickly. “There are four rogues ahead. If we keep down this tunnel it will branch off into three chambers. There are four males in the last chamber on the left. Work quickly because once they sense you, they will attack and alert all others of our presence.” He shook his head. “Listen, I know you guys are bad motherfuckers, but the
Bloodless
in these caverns are not what you’re used to.”

“What do you mean?” Aleksei’s voice was a gruff whisper, and he continued to scan the tunnels around them.

“These fuckers are bad and are trained ruthlessly. They have been fighting from the moment they turned and are taught to fight to the death, and that doesn’t mean their death.” Osip ran a hand through his hair and breathed in deeply. “They fight dirty and they revel in it. All I’m saying is watch your backs.”

“Why the fuck do you care? You took my female from me!”

There were seven fully grown Breed males ready to fight to the death for their king’s
Chosen
.

“Don’t think for one minute that I am not doing this for purely selfish reasons. That bastard in there is denying me what is rightfully mine, and I want my revenge. I may have power and be able to seek vengeance on his ass by myself, but why not make a few allies on the way?”

A low, feminine squeak sounded within feet of them, and all heads turned in that direction. A small female stood in the path, the light showcasing her slim body. In her hand, she held a woven basket filled with fruits. Her little heart beat faster, and her breathing grew shallow.

“Easy, little one.” Garrik spoke behind Aleksei in a soothing manner.

The Chosen: A Tale of the Blood Breed

183

She looked around the tunnel and spotted Osip, her eyes growing big in what was clear shock.

“Kasia, be calm.” Osip’s voice was as soothing as Garrik’s except it lacked the actual compassion the Breed male’s voice had. “Run along to the kitchen.”

She looked around before nodding and audibly swallowing. She tightened her grip on the basket and dropped her gaze to the dirt floor.

The girl smelled different, and he couldn’t put his finger on where he smelled that scent before.

“Oh, and Kasia?” Osip’s voice was a whisper, but she heard it nonetheless. She stopped and turned around, bringing bright green eyes up to Osip. He smiled at the female and brought his finger to his mouth. “Shhh.”

She nodded and hurried away, a few pieces of fruit falling from her basket in the process.

“What is a mere child doing living here with these vile monsters?”

“I have no idea. They feed and clothe her and treat her fairly well.

As well as a leech can, that is.”