Daric’s Mate (The Vampire Coalition #5)(16)
Author: J.S. Scott

Blank your thoughts. Don’t think about this. Keep Daric away.

Claws pierced her flesh in other places on her body as she fought to get away, red eyes everywhere she looked. Heart slamming like a jackhammer against her chest, Hannah fought, but was no match for the fallen that pierced her skin with every touch.

Screams shattered the night, cries of anguish, pain, fear and panic. One shrieking voice was closest to her, loud enough to nearly pierce her ear drums. It was a voice Hannah recognized as her own as she finally succumbed to darkness.

*****

Where the f**k did she go?

Daric had woken from his day sleep edgy and alone, his only thought to find his mate. It was dark, and Hannah wasn’t in the house.

Dammit. He loved his stubborn mate more than he ever thought possible, but there were times when she pushed him too far, tested his patience too greatly. He was nearing the end of his ability to stay in control, the overwhelming instinct to protect and mark Hannah as his, nearly making him insane.

I love her. Goddamit, I love her.

As he stormed into the kitchen, bellowing Hannah’s name, he admitted that he loved his mate to the point of derangement, his rational mind leaving his body as primitive instinct pounded him. After having absorbed her memories and emotions from her body, he knew her, probably better than he knew himself. And he f**king wanted her more than anyone he had ever desired, making him fight the flare of the mating instinct that had occurred days ago, the overpowering desire he had to dominate and hold his mate to him.

In the beginning, he had tried to wait, had tried to give Hannah time to adjust, time to love him back, his love for her making him want to have her love in return. However, the time for all that had passed. He didn’t have the strength to hold back what destiny intended any longer.

Fucking need her. My mate. Mine.

Daric raked a trembling hand through his hair in frustration, his whole being on fire to find his mate, his rational mind completely slipping away.

Should have taken her earlier. Made her mine earlier. Now it’s bad. Really bad.

He had been so cocky about his ability to control the flare – the lunatic desire to brand his mate – even though it had grown worse with every passing day. I wanted her to love me. Now, he had pushed himself to the brink, he was more animal than vampire, unable to control any of his actions.

Fuck control! Hannah. Mine. My woman. She’s never getting away from me.

As he stomped into the living room, he stopped abruptly, his face turning red with rage, his eyes burning flame as he sought and found his mate’s mind.

Fallen! In Temple. Touching my mate, hurting Hannah.

His fury became a towering, overpowering violence as he saw his vulnerable mate in the hands of the fallen that were taunting her, injuring her.

Kill. Protect. Rip the bastards apart piece by piece for touching my mate.

Completely crazed, Daric summoned the power to teleport himself to Hannah, his wrath exploding from his body in a powerful howl for vengeance, his urgency to get to his mate nearly incinerating him.

“I’m the f**king King and nobody touches my mate!” he bellowed, his eyes wild, sweat pouring from his muscular body.

He growled, his mind so lost that he couldn’t do anything but grasp the sword that suddenly appeared in his hand, not even questioning how it had gotten there or how it had manifested itself into his grip. It was heavy, and it would kill well. That was all that mattered.

Daric disappeared in flames, his maniacal instincts finally consuming him, leaving nothing but a vampire in complete mating fury, ready to destroy anything and anyone that got between him and his mate.

*****

Hannah fought the darkness, trying to push into the light, forcing her eyes open. Large, muscular arms held her immobile, but they weren’t Daric’s arms, and she fought the imprisonment.

Fallen. Sunken faces. Brutal pain. Claws shredding my skin until my whole body felt like it was on fire.

“Let go of me,” she hissed, her arms flailing and her legs pumping to get free.

At that instant, Hannah registered that strangely, she no longer felt any pain. As she tried to free herself from the arms of the unknown man holding her, she realized that she had somehow been healed.

“Shhh…calm down, woman. My name is Liam. I’m here to protect you, not to harm you. Daric left you in my care after he healed you. He’d have my head if anything happened to you,” the unknown protector told her gently with a touch of amusement.

Hannah stopped struggling, looking up into a face that was anything but ugly. The vampire had dark hair and dark eyes, and she recognized him from Daric’s memories. “You’re the healer who recently found your mate?”

“Yes, with the help of our prince,” he agreed readily, his voice reverent.

“Where’s Daric?” Panicked, Hannah scanned the surrounding area, aware of distant voices and the sounds of battle.

She and Liam were some distance away from the battle, but she could see several unknown warriors in the street, all of them cutting through the horde of fallen. Her eyes frantically raked over the violent scene, finally finding her beloved mate. Sword swinging and dressed in nothing but a pair of jeans, he was cutting down fallen with dizzying speed. Mesmerized, she watched his muscles rippling as he wielded his blade again and again, his expression that of a man gone completely berserk. At his side, four additional men, dressed all in black, a belt of weapons around their hips, were fighting with skill, as though they had done this many times before, but Daric fought like a man possessed, taking down fallen at an alarming rate.

“No!” Hannah broke away from Liam’s hold, scrambling off his lap. “He can’t do this. The backlash will kill him.”

Desperate to stop Daric, she stumbled forward before Liam caught her by her jacket, his iron grip keeping her steady, preventing her from moving forward.

“You will not interfere. Daric made his orders clear and I will follow them. He has my brothers and Adare to help him. The fallen nearly killed you, nearly completely drained you of blood. Had I been in his place I would have done the same,” Liam told her sternly, his arms tightening around her as she resisted his hold. “Daric healed you and joined the fight. He’s my prince and I owe him my life. You will stay here until they have disposed of the fallen. I would be fighting myself if I had not been ordered to protect you.” Liam sighed heavily. “He needs to do this. Daric knows you’re in danger and he needs to eliminate the threat to his mate.”

Hannah watched helplessly, tears pouring down her face as she watched Daric kill without a single thought to the pain he would later experience, his expression wild and determined. “He’ll suffer, Liam. Terribly,” she sobbed, swiping tears impatiently from her face.