Page 99 of Sinful Mates

I laugh and it sounds foreign, making me laugh harder before I see him take a step forward and I move quicker, side stepping before jumping on his back and sinking my fangs into his neck. He stops and shock registers through the bond. But my hunger is insatiable as I drink greedily until I can’t drink any more. I slide off him, falling to the ground. He spins around, clutching his neck as I wipe my mouth with my thumb before sucking the blood off.

“Looks like you’re not the only predators around here,” I chuckle before jumping to my feet making them step back. I sniff the air and can smell something familiar, something that reminds me of them, yet different.

“Can you smell that?” I ask, my head snapping toward them. They both shake their heads.

“Imogen, I know everything feels different, heightened, but you need to fight it. You’re not thinking, you need to take back control.” I nearly burst out laughing at Theo pleading with me. My head has never been clearer; they are the ones not seeing clearly.

I know what I am, and it isn’t the weak, pathetic girl they knew. No, I have never been clearer, never felt stronger, and most of all never felt the sort of power surging and charging throughout every piece of me. Yes, things have changed, yet I like the darkness, the slickness of it rolling over skin igniting every cell in my body. Not wasting any more time, I take off running. They chase me and I figure they will catch up as I go to find her. She couldn’t have gotten far. I don’t know how long I have been out for, yet I can feel a pull in the direction I’m running. Feel something tugging me in this direction, feel the power running through me, showing me the way, showing me images flickering in front of my eyes.

I can sense him, sense he is still alive with every fiber in me. Which only fuels me more, making me run through the trees at blinding speed, everything around me slowing as the air whips around me. Pushing myself faster, I finally catch a whiff of her scent and the scent of him. He reminds me of Tobias and Theo. They smell the same, yet my son smells purer, innocent. She is running farther into the storm, moving toward the safety it offers as it washes her scent away. Only I don’t need her scent with the urge that is pushing me toward them.

I can feel I’m getting closer. I don’t know how it it—like a sense ringing loudly through my body, like a teether pulling me in her direction. Breaking out of the dense forest, I come to the edge of a town; the thunderstorm is raging and all I can hear is thunder and the crack of lightning as it rolls over the town.

I sniff the air, before catching a glimpse of blonde hair disappearing around the corner at the end of the street. I follow the feeling tugging me toward my son. Getting to the corner, I peer down the street that is lined with houses, not a streetlight in sight and no lights coming from the houses. I close my eyes, trying to listen to my instincts, listening to the Magic that flows around me thick and strong like a band protecting me from the storm and showing me the way. Shadows form, creeping along the ground, licking at my bare feet, leaving a tingling sensation in their wake. I know I should fear the shadows trying to entice me, whispering to the darkest parts of me. Instead, I embrace them, letting them show me the way. I don’t care what the cost is on my soul. I can live with them, but I can’t live without my son.

I know the price I will pay, yet I don’t let it fear me. I know Tobias and Theo will save me from myself when the darkness comes for me. At least I hope they can. My sanity won’t last long with the shadows attaching themselves to me. I read about it in the Grimoires, how with death comes the shadows. Witches stay dead until reborn. I came back unnaturally, and I’m sure it’s because of my father’s DNA running through my veins. I know I have never consumed blood. I would have realized with the cravings I had. So, it is the only thing that makes sense. The shadows are the only things urging me here; without them I would have never found them, so I know I need to let them have what they want even if it costs my soul. My son is worth every piece of my soul.

Chapter Thirty-One

She took off, leaving us behind to follow something only she can smell. Theo and I stand stunned at what just happened. She fed off both of us. Something that I have never seen before. Vampires didn’t feed off vampires. Not only did she feed off us, but she also marked us in the process. Not that I wouldn’t want to be marked by her, I just didn’t think it would be under these circumstances.

“That’s because she isn’t just a vampire, Tobias, haven’t you noticed? There is something seriously wrong with her. Did you see her eyes, feel the darkness surrounding her?” Theo asks, wiping his neck.

“The worst part though, I think she liked it consuming her, like she was letting it,” he mumbles.

I move toward him, examining his neck that has already healed but left a black mark from where her teeth had sunk in. This is the first time I have seen markings that are tinged with darkness. Examining mine, it’s the same.

“We need to find her, come on,” I say, taking off running, shifting mid jump. I can faintly smell her scent, Theo tears ahead of me, chasing after her. I hate that I’m not as fast as him. But I now doubt he will be faster than her. She is a newborn vampire on a warpath. Her senses in overdrive will fuel her like air to a fire, a raging inferno. I just hope we can get to her before she does something reckless. Killing Bianca won’t do anything but cause more trouble. Our laws are not to be broken lightly. No matter the crimes, everything is meant to go before the courts first.

My father is paying for his wrongdoings now, for killing his own kind, for killing Alaric. Imogen wouldn’t survive that torture. My father knew the consequences of doing what he did. Imogen has no idea the torture they will put her through for killing Bianca. I won’t let her pay that price. She has been through enough already without being subjected to such barbaric cruelty.

I’ve been running for what feels like ages when I finally hit the town. Theo is nowhere to be seen, yet I could feel the bond pulling me toward the piers. We’ve been here before, searching every part of this town already and are quite familiar with it. Shifting back, I trudge through the backyard of the property I come out beside. Praying a man lives here and not some old lady. I need clothes or people might become curious about a random man walking around butt naked.

I cuss when I see the only thing on the clothesline appears to be women's clothes. I quickly grab the floral denim shorts off the line. They seem to look big enough and other than that there were only a few pieces of children’s clothing. I quickly slipped them on, my balls being squished in the tight fabric. I try to do the zip up, nearly howling when I zip the sensitive skin of my family jewels.

I don’t have time to be picky and instead readjust my large length down my leg and take off running toward the piers. I look like a fool, but the things you do for those you love, right? Coming to the piers, I see Imogen’s glowing figure at the end of the pier, her hands outstretched, I can feel her burning anger through the bond but also something else. Fear. Feel Theo’s disbelief through the bond. I run toward them, my feet creaking on the wooden pier, making Imogen and Theo turn to look back at me.

I never should have run onto that pier, my heart skipping when I see Bianca, our child in her arms. Noticing me running toward them, she uses their distraction to her advantage as she acts, hurling the blanketed bundle in the air before diving off the pier. My voice echoing as I scream to them. Theo reacts just in time and catches our child before falling into the ocean. I hear Imogen’s bloodcurdling scream as she looks on frantically into the black water raging below. Bianca is long gone, as we wait for Theo to resurface.

Breathing only when we see him break through the water’s surface. My heart is hammering in my chest so hard I think it’s going to burst. The sounds of crying are like music to my ears as Imogen collapses on the deck in relief. Theo moves through the water swiftly before climbing the pier, the baby no longer inside the warmth of its blanket as he screams loudly.

I follow the pull which leads me to sand; I’m on a beach and I can see Bianca running with all her might before she darts onto one of the piers; she knows I’m chasing her. I don’t know when she figured it out, but she s now running like her life depends on it and it does. My heart stops as I see her run toward the end. I skid to a stop as she holds her arm outstretched over the water. My baby tucked in the confines of the blanket. I stop in my tracks.

“Give me my baby, Bianca,” I tell her. I meant to plead with her, yet my voice comes out as a growl threatening, not hiding my murderous intent.

“How the fuck are you alive?” she screams angrily.

“Bianca, you don’t want to hurt him, you don’t want to hurt your nephew,” I tell her hating even calling her any relation to my son. She looks at him and I move closer, making her eyes dart to me as she moves closer to the edge. Theo appears beside me, stopping when he sees what is in her hands. I refuse to look at him, not able to take my eyes off my precious boy clutched in that vile woman’s arms.

“Perfect, he’s here,” she growls, glaring at Theo.

Theo tries to reason with her while I just want to kill the bitch, but I won’t risk endangering my son.

“Isn’t this great? Not only did you impregnate your mistress, now you’re going to help her kill me, Theo. I bet you're getting a real kick out of this, aye Immy?”

“Don’t call me that. I just want my son. You had no right to take him. He is mine,” I scream. She took a step back, her foot falling off as I get ready to jump in after her, but she steadies herself. My heart rate returns to normal when I see him still tucked in her arm.

“Now that was close,” she snickers enjoying the torture she is putting me through. I growl, taking a step forward.