A Gate of Night (A Shade of Vampire #6)(7)
Author: Bella Forrest

Derek was prophesied to bring his kind true sanctuary. I was prophesied to help him do just that. Both of us were convinced that true sanctuary was the cure to vampirism, but by discovering that cure, we’d created enemies. Our lives were in danger and I knew it. Derek knew it.

As I stared at him, trying to make light of each moment we spent on our honeymoon, trying to just enjoy the temporary reprieve we’d been given, I caught myself wondering… How could this possibly be true sanctuary?

Chapter 6: Derek

“Woman, why would you do this to me?” I groaned at Sofia, who gave me a grin as she wiped the sweat off her brow and grabbed a towel to wipe away mine.

We’d been “exercising” for the past hour and a half and every muscle and bone in my body was screaming in agony.

“I’ve trained at the Crimson Fortress’ battle grounds for hours every day for weeks. I never ached like this.”

“Welcome to being mortal, Derek. You’re flesh and blood just like the rest of us. You need to get used to experiencing pain in order to get what you want.”

“And what exactly do I want? Remind me again why I’m doing this.”

She smiled at me as she slipped her hands under my shirt and over my lower torso. “We want to keep those abs of yours, Derek. That’s what we want.”

“No.” I shook my head. “That’s what you want.”

“Maybe so, but as my husband, you’re supposed to make sure that I get what I want.”

“Oh, is that so? I never thought you could be so selfish…”

“And yet you’re still madly in love with me.” She stepped forward and gave me a peck on the cheek.

“The things I let you get away with…” I heaved the duffel bag containing our belongings over my shoulder. “Could we get something to eat? I’m famished.”

“Again?” She wrinkled her nose.

She managed to convince me to settle for a salad—something she was easily able to do with a few suggestive quips and gestures. I wolfed down my dinner. I couldn’t wait to get Sofia back to our hotel room. I already had her on the bed and was about to undress her when I heard quick footsteps and a voice I was sure I’d already heard somewhere before saying, “Find them.”

I swallowed hard and looked around the room.

“Derek? What’s wrong?” Sofia asked from beneath me.

“We have to get out of here.”

“What? Why?”

A shadow moved from the terrace. Vampires. I motioned for Sofia to look towards the veranda. “That’s why,” I whispered.

Her eyes widened. “Who could possibly…”

“I don’t know, but we don’t want to stay to find out.” I got off her and quickly replaced my clothes, my eyes set on the terrace. Now there were two figures. “Sofia, hurry.”

She was already moving as quickly as she could, but the glass doors that led to the terrace slid open. My heart dropped when I saw who our intruders were. Kiev and Clara. The Elder’s children.

My stomach turned. Never before had I ever felt as incapable of defending Sofia as I did at that moment. When Kiev’s red eyes settled on Sofia—her hair a mess and her clothes still disheveled—I wanted to rip his throat out. I pulled her closer to me, stepping forward to block her from his view.

Kiev only scoffed as he eyed me from head to foot. We both knew how powerless I was against him.

I was so focused on Kiev I barely noticed Clara until she was standing right beside me, tracing a claw over my arm.

“I love the tan, Novak,” she drawled before pushing the point of her claw into my skin. I winced when blood trickled down my arm. She smirked when the wound didn’t heal. “I wonder what Emilia would think if you hadn’t killed her. She became a vampire because you were a vampire. Now, you’re nothing but an ordinary man.”

“Yes, which is why I’m wondering what you could possibly want from me.”

“Who says anything about wanting you?”

Kiev’s stare fixed on Sofia. “We’re here for her. We’re here for the immune herself.”

Sofia shivered and her grip tightened over my biceps.

“You’re not touching her.” I shook my head. “You’d have to kill me first.”

Kiev and Clara exchanged glances before chuckling.

This time, Kiev pried his eyes away from Sofia and stared straight at me. “Oh, trust us, Novak,” he said in a slurred accent, amusement glimmering in his red eyes, “after what you did to our sister”—his claws came out with a glimmer against the moonlight from outside our hotel room—“killing you would be both our honor and our pleasure.”

Chapter 7: Aiden

A full orchestra played a Bach classic through my earphones as I hit the punching bag in front of me over and over and over again. I wanted to see it in pieces. I wanted to tear that bag apart.

I want it ruined… just like my marriage.

I’d loved Camilla with all my heart and I couldn’t understand why she would choose to be a creature of the dark—how she could choose it over our daughter, over me.

I refused to break down. From the moment I’d found out what she’d really done to me and our daughter, I’d determined that this wasn’t going to destroy me.

Camilla was just another thing that the vampires had taken away from me and they were going to pay. The vampires were going to pay dearly for ruining my life… mine and my daughter’s.

Burning midnight oil at hunter headquarters, I spent all my energy and anger at the atrium, where the hunters held combat training. Every ounce of my strength was being expended to muscle out the rage I felt inside. I had an endless supply of it and all I had to do was think of my little Sofia. Every time, the rage would shoot up to an all-new high and I would begin hitting that bag with all the might I could muster as I contemplated questions I had no idea how to answer.

How am I going to tell Sofia about this? How am I going to tell her that her mother left us in order to become a vampire? How am I even going to raise her? How on earth could I ever be the father that she deserves? How could Camilla do this to us? Does she not realize how much we need her? How could Camilla stand losing her own daughter?

Memories of how sick Sofia had been came back to haunt me. I’d thought I was going to lose her. Ever since Camilla had left, Sofia’s life had been placed on the edge by some sort of disease that doctors could not even diagnose. She’d been in and out of a high fever for days. I’d been in way over my head, going crazy over how to take care of her. I was supposed to protect her and keep her safe and in the span of those days, I realized that I had absolutely no control of her fate. If anything ever happened to Sofia, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself, but there would be times when all I could do was stand and watch and hope that she would make it.