Hunt the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #11)(59)

Roke struggled to open his eyes, briefly wondering if he’d been on a bender.

His head was throbbing, his mouth was dry, and his bones ached as if he’d been beaten by a rabid troll. Always the signs of a fantastic party.

Then, he at last managed to focus his gaze enough to take in the familiar sight of his private lair.

As always he took comfort in the plain stucco walls and dirt floor covered by simple Navajo woven blankets. The ceiling was open beamed and the furniture hand-carved from sturdy oak.

It was like him.

No fuss, no frills.

As his senses slowly came back online, he turned his head, sensing he wasn’t alone.

“Zoe?” He wasn’t entirely surprised to discover the small, blond-haired vampire perched on the edge of his mattress. Zoe had been attempting to convince him that she belonged in his bed for the past decade.

Now, however, he shuddered at just how . . . wrong her presence felt next to him.

“So, the dead decides to awake,” she murmured, reaching to run her fingers through his hair. “You scared the hell out of me.”

He instinctively pulled from her light caress, desperately searching his foggy mind for the cause of his throbbing fear.

He was missing something.

Something that was more important to him than life itself.

Baffled by the strange sensation, he tried to raise his head only to flop back on the pillow with a groan.

“What happened?” he moaned.

Zoe returned her hand to her lap, her expression hardening with a frigid fury.

“You were poisoned.”

He jerked in shock. Vampires could be sickened by toxic substances, but their swift regenerative abilities kept poison from being an effective weapon.

“Impossible.”

“Not impossible.” Zoe lifted her hand, as if to touch him only to return it to her lap. “It very nearly killed you.”

“How can I be poisoned?”

“It was a unique combination of a human blood-thinning drug laced with particles of silver.” Zoe pointed toward the IV stand with several empty blood bags that was tucked in the corner. “We had to drain your blood and replace it with clean. You’re fortunate to be alive.”

Jesus. Someone truly wanted him dead.

Nothing surprising in that, of course.

But the rising anxiety that was making his body tremble was new and original. And wholly unwelcome.

He frowned. “How did I get here?”

“We think through an imp portal.”

“An imp?”

“That’s something we can discuss later,” Zoe attempted to soothe. “For now you need to rest.”

“No. I need . . .” What did he need? It was there, deep inside him. He could physically feel the raw, aching need. The savage desire to leap from the bed and find what was causing his ruthless pain. Hell, he could even smell . . . peaches? Oh, shit. His roar shook the room. “Sally.”

Zoe widened her eyes, leaning forward to pin him to the bed with her hands.

“Shh.”

His fury made splinters of wood rain from the ceiling. “Where’s my mate?”

“She’s fine,” Zoe muttered, struggling to keep him flat on his back. “Don’t move.”

“She’s not fine,” he snarled, infuriated by his weakened state. His mate needed him, and he was failing her. Again. “I can feel her pain.” He grasped Zoe’s wrists, trying to pull them off his chest. “Dammit.”

“Dyson,” the female vampire called, her muscles trembling as she went to her knees to gain leverage.

Any other day, Roke would have already tossed her in the corner and been on his way to Sally. He wasn’t clan chief because of his charming personality. But he was even more weakened than he’d first suspected and it was taking everything he possessed to continue the fight.

“Where’s Kale?” he demanded, referring to the vampire he’d left in charge of the clan.

The younger vampire didn’t have Roke’s sheer power, but he was a steady, cool-headed leader who could be trusted not to allow his emotions to overrule his logic.

Unlike Zoe who was temperamental, and dangerously obsessed with claiming a place at Roke’s side.

“He’s in Las Vegas negotiating a new treaty with the local curs.”

“Call him,” he commanded, his gaze shifting to the large vampire who hurriedly entered the room and crossed toward the bed. “Dyson release me.” Roke snarled in shock when the male instead wrapped a heavy chain over his legs and attached the other end to a bracket beneath the bed. The chain wasn’t enough to hold him, but it had been enchanted to prevent his escape, even if he was at his full strength. “What the hell?”

“You’re weak,” Zoe murmured, climbing off the bed to regard him with a wary expression. “You have to rest.”

Roke glared at the bitch and her partner in crime. “I’m your clan chief.”

“Yes, which is why we intend to protect you,” Zoe insisted.

“I don’t need your protection.” His hands clenched as he futilely struggled against the unseen spell holding him down. “I need my mate.”

Zoe’s pale blue eyes darkened with unmistakable envy. “She’s bewitched you. Once we break the mating you’ll realize we’ve only done what is necessary.”