Daric’s Mate (The Vampire Coalition #5)(17)
Author: J.S. Scott

“It’s his choice. After seeing what the fallen had done to you, there was no stopping him. He won’t cease until the threat to you is gone. He’s a vampire protecting his mate. He won’t die, Hannah. But his pain will be great; I won’t lie to you,” Liam answered gravely.

“I did this to him. I’ll never forgive myself,” she choked out remorsefully.

“They would have found you. My brothers and I have been watching this group, wondering why they were gathering together to make their way to one particular small town in the middle of nowhere. We waited, hoping we would have the chance to eliminate them all at the same time. We didn’t know they were coming after the mate of our prince,” Liam muttered, obviously unhappy that he hadn’t known that Daric had found his mate.

Hannah listened to Liam, but her eyes never left Daric, flinching every time he took down another fallen , his total disregard for his own pain making her want to start sobbing all over again. Was there nothing he wouldn’t do for her, to protect her?

No. Nothing. Protect. Kill. Keep you safe.

She started in surprise as she heard Daric’s ferocious, guttural voice in her head. In her anxiety about his safety, she had forgotten that their minds were connected.

Please stop. I love you. I don’t want to see you suffer. Let the others finish this. Hannah begged, sending her thoughts to him with her mind.

Daric didn’t answer; he just kept swinging, sometimes beheading the creatures before he struck a brutal blow to their heart.

Scared for Daric, Hannah’s breath came harshly, sawing in and in out of her lungs at a frantic pace that matched the hammering of her heart. “Please, Liam. There must be something we can do.” Something. Anything but sit here helplessly watching the man she loved seal his fate to suffer excruciating pain just to ensure her safety.

“It’s almost finished,” Liam answered stoically.

Hannah’s eyes finally left Daric to survey the surrounding area of the battle. It was dark, but the streetlights illuminated the street enough to show the horrors of the fight. The pavement held puddles of blood and ash, fallen in all stages of death. Some had already faded to dust, some were writhing on the streets and others were oozing black secretions onto the pavement.

Very few fallen were left standing.

Hannah searched for bodies of humans, citizens of the town that may have gotten caught in the crossfire, but there were none. “No one in Temple was hurt?” she questioned Liam softly.

“No humans. Their safety was a priority and they were sent back to their homes. We’ll have clean-up to do to erase their memories of this night but they’re all physically well. But my brothers, Adare and your mate look a little wasted,” Liam answered, his voice concerned.

Hannah struggled to move forward as the last fallen hit the pavement, Liam releasing his hold on her only after her mate had dispatched the creature.

Oh, God. How will Daric survive this? So many fallen, so much pain.

Tears streamed from her eyes, nearly blinding her as she ran to her mate, oblivious to everything except him, and her need to reach him.

Daric stepped out of the carnage to meet her, catching her fast-moving body around the waist, bringing her to an abrupt halt.

“You will never leave me like that again,” he stated with a feral grunt, his eyes boring into hers with a savage expression that took Hannah’s breath away.

Before she could formulate an answer, his mouth crashed down on hers, showing no mercy as he pulled her body against his heaving chest and sweat-soaked skin, demanding her surrender. The embrace was rough, a brand of ownership, but Hannah yielded, needing the raw possession, the brutal passion. His tongue swept through her mouth with a carnality that sent a chill down her spine, flooding her panties and making her body weak with need.

Daric yanked his mouth away and sank his fangs into the tender skin of her neck. Hannah moaned, her body flooding with erotic heat as he fed, lifting her hands to spear through his damp hair, cradling his head against her flesh. She could feel his hunger, and there was nothing she wanted more than to meet his need. “Yes,” she hissed as he drew deeply from her, sucking ravenously against her skin, taking what he wanted, what he needed. He needed blood after the battle, but Hannah knew that he also took from her to reassure himself that she belonged to him.

Daric sealed the punctures with a coarse sweep of his tongue, his face no less intense after he finished taking her blood. Yanking her to his side, he turned to all of the Hale brothers and Adare. Without a word, he closed his eyes, and Hannah could feel the power vibrating from his body as wounds healed and the streets cleared of nasty spots of debris and blood.

Hannah gaped, staring first at her mate and then at the five men in front of them, one dark blond, and the others all dark like Daric. In seconds, the scene went from one of post-battle carnage to the usual street in her small town of Temple, the men blending in with the darkness. Not a drop of blood or a single wound remained on any of them.

Yes, she had known that Daric was powerful, but actually seeing that power, feeling it radiate from his huge body was still a shock. And the results were nothing less than staggering.

Completely healed, all five men came forward, dropping to one knee in front of her.

“Your Highness.” All five spoke in unison, their voices reverent.

Hannah shook her head in confusion, trying to figure out why these powerful warriors were kneeling in front of her.

“Only Liam is a healer, but they are all pledging their loyalty to you. They are showing respect to their future Princess,” Daric answered aloud, his voice graveled.

“No. They are showing respect to their future Queen,” a loud, booming voice proclaimed from the shadows.

Hannah’s head whipped around, watching apprehensively as a very large man walked out of the darkness and into the glow of the streetlights, her shocked mind not certain if he was friend or foe.

“Father?” Daric’s fierce expression turned to one of bewilderment.

Hannah recognized him from Daric’s memories. His father was dark, frightening and so very much like Daric. Stunned, she watched as he approached Daric, hearing her mate’s confused thoughts as they joined with her own inside her head.

How? It’s not possible. He’s dead.

Daric’s father didn’t look at day over his mid-forties, even though Hannah knew he was many thousands of years old…and supposedly…dead. But here he stood, right in front of her eyes, dressed in a scarlet robe, his hands sparkling with jewels.