Reclaimed(64)
Author: Diane Alberts

“I said, go to hell, you nasty bitch.” The pain of her arm being broken came immediately, and she bit her lip without a sound. She felt her teeth rip through her lip and tasted the metallic flavor of blood on her tongue, but she refused to budge. The pain doubled when Louisa twisted the arm at an unnatural angle. Still, she didn’t cry out. It was the only thing in her control at the moment, and by God, she’d remain silent.

Louisa studied her with wide eyes, and exclaimed, “What the hell is wrongwith you?”

It would have been almost laughable in any other circumstance. The woman who made a habit of torturing women and breaking bones asked what was wrong with her. But the irony got lost when Louisa released her arm and ripped the tree off her legs to throw it at Isaac. It landed against his chest, the thick crunching sound causing Sabrina to cringe. The tree rolled to a stop at his feet.

His eyes were open, and he looked pissed. He’d changed into a vampire; it showed in the hard lines of his face. He roared, murder written in his eyes, and threw the tree off of himself. He jumped up and charged at Louisa. He halted when Louisa grabbed Sabrina and held her in front of her like a shield. Louisa had one hand on her head and another on her shoulder.

“One more step, and you can say goodbye to her head,” she warned. “You’ll never be able to save her if she’s headless, no matter what beast you become.”

“Don’t listen, Isaac. She’ll kill me no matter what you do.”

“Shut up, you insignificant human.” Louisa growled in her ear. She turned to Isaac and taunted, “What a predicament, Isaac. What should you do? You can’t come save her. She’d be dead before you even get close to me. And if you don’t come to her rescue, she’ll die anyway.

“So will you step forward now, knowing she will be put out of her misery quickly, like a dog? It’s what your brother did to Amelia—stabbed her like a sick animal. She didn’t deserve his mercy. Or, do you wait, holding out hope that some way, somehow, you will overcome me? Now, that’s a laughable prospect.”

Isaac hissed. “I will kill you, Louisa. Have no doubt.”

“You are such a man, all talk and no action. All these promises you men make to women, but never follow through. Love, honor, respect—revenge.” She sneered in an unnerving imitation of humor. “I’m sure you swore to keep Sabrina safe from me. Yet here she is. Broken and bloodied. And soon? Dead.”

Louisa backed away, and Isaac took a casual step closer. She glared at his movement. “Stay back.”

He obeyed her command, holding his arms up in a gesture of peace. “Louisa, we can work out a deal, I swear. I’ll let you walk away, if you just give me Sabrina,” he said in soothing tones. “We can make this work….”

Louisa sneered at him. “No, and don’t move again.” She looked behind him and her eyes widened in horror. Isaac whirled around to see what stood behind him, only to see nothing but the gloomy forest. He cursed and spun back around. He’d fallen for the oldest trick in the book, damn it.

She’d left.

***

Louisa looked down at her bundle in disgust.

Weakling.

Though even she had to admit she had been impressed by the strength Sabrina had shown thus far. She’d refused to give in to Louisa, and she knew Amelia wouldn’t have been so strong. She would have been screaming and crying like a baby long ago.

Sabrina had hardly uttered a cry the whole time, and she’d been much rougher on her than she had been Amelia. Louisa felt a reluctant respect for this woman, this mere human. She didn’t want to feel any kind feelings toward her, but found she did.

Louisa almost wished she didn’t have to kill her. She reminded Louisa of how she, herself, had been, so long ago. Stubborn, strong, beautiful. Even with broken bones throughout her body, Sabrina’s strength and beauty shone through into the night.

She ignored any and all feelings of pity or sympathy for Sabrina, and increased her speed. She almost made it to the cliffs when something hit her from behind. She fell on top of Sabrina and heard another bone break from the force of her fall.

Maybe I killed her.

She jumped to her feet, but before she could reach a standing position, she got hit from behind and thrown back on the ground.

Elijah launched off the tree at his side and landed on Louisa, snarling. She twisted within his grasp, her hair whipping around them, and they rolled around the ground in a battle for control. Their breathing came out in harsh pants as each fought to get a grip upon the other, a grip that could give an advantage. They slammed into an old tree near Sabrina, and it shuddered from the strength of the impact.

Louisa fought against his hold desperately and kicked him in the stomach. He soared through the air and bounced off an enormous boulder. She leapt to her feet and sprinted for Sabrina.

Isaac only spared a cursory glance at Sabrina before he joined in the fray. Her biggest threat wasn’t lying alone in the forest; it was Louisa. And Louisa ran straight for her. He growled and launched himself at her.

The tree shook under the force of the blow, but she whirled around the trunk and climbed the tree. He followed suit, gaining speed as he got higher and higher. As Louisa reached the top of the towering tree, she froze. Her eyes looked from where Elijah perched on the outside of the thick branch to where Isaac stood on the inside. She’d gotten trapped between them, and judging from the panicked darting of her eyes back and forth between the brothers, she knew it.

Isaac took a step closer to her in unison with Elijah. She growled as they took another step. Isaac looked at Elijah, and Elijah nodded imperceptibly. He would lunge for Louisa, and Elijah would rip her head off while he held her captive in his arms. Isaac roared and jumped at her. His arms groped thin air, and he plummeted to the ground below.

He heard Elijah cry his name as he bounced off of branch after branch. He tried to grab the branches as he hit them, but still got beaten in the face, back, and side by the unyielding bark as he flailed for a stronghold.

Blackness threatened to overcome him, and he cursed when he realized he’d changed back to human form. He needed to start controlling his emotions better so he could in turn control his changes. He spent the rest of the short fall trying to concentrate on changing back into a vampire, or a wolf, or anything.

He failed.

He crashed to the ground below.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Wake up, Isaac.”

He heard Elijah’s voice as if it came through a train tunnel, as though he yelled from the other side. He moaned and opened his eyes to stare at his brother for a moment, then his eyes widened.