The Corollaria (12 page)

“He’s conjured up demons to help him,” Vanessa confessed, pulling away from John. The pain that flashed in both their eyes was unmistakable.  “He’s coming here.”

John gripped her shoulders and pulled her to him again.  “Then we’ll be ready.”

~000~

It was early morning when Luke woke up. Before he even opened his eyes he felt her soft lashes against his hot skin, the warmth of her pressed against his chest. He took a deep breath to steady himself. Part of him—a very, very loud and insistent part—was screaming at him to kiss the curve of her neck, to run his fingertips over every inch of skin she’d let him touch.

Instead, he took several deep breaths and caref
ully extracted himself from her.   He looked longingly at her a moment as he pulled on his jeans and slipped out into the brightly lit hallway.

Sunshine splashed against the cream-colored walls and sparkled against the glass windows. He saw the shape of his brother’s shoulders, bent forward, on the balcony.

Luke sat down next to Carson, and let a few silent minutes tick by before he turned to him and asked, “You think Mom and Dad are really dead?”

Carson sighed heavily, “Honestly, I don’t know. It would have taken more than whatever underling was sent to retrieve Emily. Dad’s pretty powerful and strong.  And
he and Samuel have a history.”

Luke raised his eyebrows questionably when Carson looked over at him.

“Dad was there the day Samuel killed Emily’s parents,” he paused a moment. “Emily’s dad, Jacob Ashworth, and dad were like best friends.”

“What happened?”

Carson shrugged, “I’m not really sure. I just know that Samuel is crazy. He had been obsessed with Emily’s grandmother Elaine, but then she had married her wolf.”

“Her wolf,” Luke echoed.  He closed his eyes and thought about the way Emily looked at him, the feel of her silky skin beneath his hands, her warm body pressed up against his.

Carson chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Luke scowled. Carson’s lips quirked up in a rare smile.

“Luke! Carson!” Curtis flung open the patio doors, his face flushed with panic. The smile quickly fell off Carson’s face, his lips thinned.

“What’s happened?” Carson asked.

“Vanessa. She showed up on the edge of the city late last night with a message,” Curtis recalled. He remembered the way his father had looked at her, held her.  The truth he’d learned.

“What was the message?” Luke swallowed hard, panic and dread churned in his gut.
Emily Emily Emily,
flashed through his mind.

“Samuel’s conjured up demons.  Ordered them to come into the city and find Emily,” Curtis’s voice shook.

Carson and Luke exchanged a wary glance. Carson already knew that Samuel was a powerful vampire. That he had not only an army of other vampires under his control, but he’d heard the rumors that he was able to summon demons as well.

“We have to go meet with the pack,” Carson told Luke, then turned his slate eyes on Curtis, “Tell your father to assemble the Hunters and meet us
here.”

Curtis nodded. All three of the guy’s attention turned to the doors as heavy footsteps sprinted down the hall towards them.

“Where’s Emily?” Jenny burst onto the patio breathlessly, her eyes glowed a deep rich honey. “I looked in her room and she’s not there.”

“She’s, uh, in mine,” Luke coughed awkwardly, his cheeks heating up as he met Curtis’s eyes.

Jenny snorted and then shook her head, her lips curled into a knowing grin.

“Curtis, I’m, uh...” Luke fumbled for something appropriate to say, but Curtis waved him off.

“Look, man, I care about Emily, but I always knew you were her choice. Even if I didn’t want to admit it, and hoped she’d eventually get over it. But now I know she never will,” Curtis told him honestly.

Luke studied his face a moment and then nodded.
Her choice
, he thought.
What about his choices?

~000~

“Demons,” Carson breathed, his voice was laced with both surprise and disgust. The emotion he was showing was unusual to say the least. It made Emily feel unnerved and even more frayed.

“Mmm,” John acknowledged, his fingers were clasped together and his
brown eyes were unfocused. Vanessa stood next to the large window across the room. His gaze never faltered from her.

The room was silent. Emily had hoisted herself up on the kitchen counter and Luke leaned against her thigh. Carson stood and continued his pacing. Jenny sat at the breakfast table with John, watching Carson, her brow furrowed. Cutis sat next to his father.

“We’ll find them,” Jenny said softly, as though she was only speaking to Carson. He looked up, and stopped his pacing momentarily. His throat felt thick with emotion. His eyes asked the question his mouth couldn’t form.

“Somehow,” she answered.

Tristan and Cara Lyall were missing still. And even if Vanessa knew where they might be, Samuel’s compound in New York could be crawling with his soldiers, and the demons he had unleashed when he had been greedy and blinded by power. Consumed by his bloodlust.

It wasn’t over.

That knowledge terrified Emily. It echoed inside the recesses of her mind over and over again.
Would someone else come for her? For Luke?

“I want you and
Emily to stay here,” Carson told Luke. Luke’s jaw tensed slightly, but he couldn’t argue with the deep alpha timbre of Carson’s command.

“I’m still
going to go back and look for Mom and Dad. John and Curtis and the Hunters will guard the north and west side of the city. Luke, you should take a couple of shifts with Trent patrolling.”

Carson turned to Emily then, “
Emily you cannot leave the courtyard.”

~000~

              Two days had passed since Allison had entered the Hidden City. It was dark and she hid in the shadows of buildings, watching and waiting just as Samuel had instructed her to do.

Short dark hair fell across her face, as she wiped the crimson smear from her cheek with one perfectly manicured finger. Sh
e stuck her finger in her mouth and licked off the thick liquid. The temporary feeling of strength and fullness didn’t last long. It couldn’t satisfy the bloodlust, the unquenchable urge for revenge that fueled her thoughts.

Samuel had promised her he’d
make things good for her.  That all she had to do was help him lure Emily in.  There was a sudden sharp coldness in her veins and she briefly wondered why she was so cursed.  Why the Faeries got to have all the power, all the magic, and immortality? She couldn’t help the jealousy she felt towards Emily. Maybe she wasn’t a Faerie but she had the magic Allison craved in her blood.

A
nd she had Luke.

Something dark had become unleashed inside her. It boiled
in her gut, spilling over like a thick black oily liquid, erasing all traces of her former humanity.

The way
Emily looked at Luke made her stomach burn. She knew the way to get Emily was through Luke.

Allison
stood, her black leather pants hugged her curves, and she kicked the leg of the man’s unconscious body in front of her. He wasn’t dead. And she didn’t have the thirst to continue feeding or the compassion to heal him.

She tucked the loose strands of her hair behind her ear and walked in the other directio
n. Her high-heeled boots echoed off the narrow brick walls of the alley, as the shadows consumed her.

Ready or not, here I come, little flower girl.

T
he next day, Luke found himself alone with Emily again. Unable to resist her, to deny his desire.  Every time he kissed her the whole world slipped away.  He tried to fight it, but he was powerless. 

“Luke!” Emily giggled. He pulled the thick comforter over their heads and continued to kiss her neck. She shoved uselessly at his shoulders, his muscles tensed and he gripped her to him tighter. “Seriously, I thought you had to go!”

Luke shook his head and rubbed his nose along her jawline, taking a deep breath as he went. His husky whisper was muffled by her soft skin. “But you smell so good, Em. I can’t leave.”

He raised his head and their eyes met. Hers were a deep violet, dark and desirous.  Her skin prickled with awareness, as his fingers glided up under her t-shirt, along her ribcage, caressing her tenderly. The air between them crackled with intensity. 

Emily’s breath caught, her lips parted and she licked them as she waited for him to capture them with his once more. The anticipation building was at a fever pitch. A crescendo of want.

“I can’t leave,” he whispered
again, his voice deep and thick. He lowered his head until their lips were brushing together, not even a breath apart. He glanced at her parted mouth and then his gray eyes moved back up to hers. Luke brought his hand up to her face. His long fingers swept the blonde curls from her forehead. 

Emily’s heart stuttered and then his mouth
slanted across hers. The brush of his lips was a spark that spread like wildfire through her veins. Emily gave in, her body arched towards his.  She grabbed his face, her fingers slid back to tangle in his shaggy brown hair.

Luke’s lips were hungry and insistent. His hand wrapped around her waist and slid over her soft curves.
Kissing her was like falling backwards, plunging into a raging waterfall. A thrilling, consuming, and irresistible, undeniable rush. He grabbed the back of her jean-clad thigh and hooked it over his hip. She moaned softly against his lips.

“I
want you,” Luke breathed as his mouth left hers to trail warm wet kisses down her throat. Emily wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer. He groaned and pressed his face into her neck, his warm breath tickled her skin.

Emily pressed her lips to his ear, “I
want you more.”

Luke looked up and grinned. His steady gaze locked on hers, as he lowered his mouth to hers once again. “Not possible, Sweetheart.”

And for a moment, the world around them disappeared, the darkness receded, reality and time were pushed aside.  It was just them. Just Emily and Luke, lost in each other’s sweet embrace.

After one more long lingering kiss, Luke pulled away.  Emily pouted.

“Honey, you’re killing me. We have to stop now before I can’t,” he told her seriously. His muscles were tense and sweat beaded on his forehead.

Emily took a slow
measured breath.  She wanted to tell him not to stop but for reasons she couldn’t name, she swallowed back the words.

~000~

An hour later, Emily stood in the shower, letting the hot steam replenish her muscles. She felt both thankful and guilty for Luke’s almost constant presence.   Carson and Jenny had gone back to the city to look for Cara and Tristan the day before and Curtis was almost constantly with his father and the other Hunters. A black cloud hung over her, over all of them. An ominous prickling stung her skin, and squeezed her chest.

Emily felt
guilty for Luke staying with her when his parents were missing. But she was unable to send him away. Guilt over hurting Curtis, and the ever present anticipation, the anxiety of what was to come, all clouded her thoughts. Only Luke’s presence could push it all away. When they were together it was like they were in a bubble, a suspended moment in time.

It’s not over.
That thought caught her off guard every time she was alone. It felt almost like someone else’s voice whispering a warning in her ear.

“Tink, I gotta go meet John and
Curtis and Trent,” Luke hollered, interrupting her black thoughts.

Emily pul
led back the shower curtain, peering out and frowned at him. “Ugh. I hate that nickname!” He smirked.

“Would you rather I called you Tinker Bell, or just Belle?” His face spli
t with a full obnoxiously cheeky grin.

“Ugh, no!” Emily groaned. “Anything but that. It’s
much too close to that girl in those vampire books.”

Luke chuckled. “Aww, you mean you don’t want your sparkly prince charming?”

Emily narrowed her eyes at him. She shut the water off and reached out to grab the fluffy pink towel from the hook, wrapping it around herself before stepping out.

His gray eyes twinkled with mirth and his lips curled into a mischievous smirk. “Or I could just call you Soo—”

Emily lunged forward and covered his mouth with her hand. “You wouldn’t dare!”

Luke laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her hard against his chest. His white t-shirt stretched taut over his tan skin.
The smile faded from his face. Luke kissed her palm and she shivered from the contact. He leaned forward and kissed her hard on the mouth, intoxicated by the scent of her—all girl soap and steam. 

He pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers, his eyes remained closed.
Luke tried not to focus on the fact that she was naked beneath that towel, that it would be so easy to pull it away, to feel her skin, and learn her curves. Something very primal inside him wanted nothing more than to make her his.  He swallowed hard.