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  “Da hell?” She cut her eyes at the hilt and saw the blade missing. It had shattered to pieces and now rested on the floor as a bunch of shiny shards. Through the reflections of the scattered steel, she caught a glimpse of herself. Her eyes flickered like lightning, and her skin gleamed like the stars in the night sky. She looked otherworldly, not human at all.

  “Careful. Not many weapons can handle your growing mana. You need a spirit blade, or an immortal blade, one forged by your kind.”

  Utterly annoyed, she threw the bladeless hilt at him, which he dodged with the simple tilt of his head. Dammit it all to hell! Looked like this newfound power would be more of a headache than a cool ass advantage. She sucked her teeth and claimed another sword. With a growl, she assailed him again.

  Scampering backward, he went on defense.

  Alexis matched his speed, a quirk that made him smile. Using the dagger in unison with the sword, she changed her form, swiping at him in a whirlwind formation. The blades fanned out in brilliant sweeps. They cut through the air so fast, the steel disappeared. Although she was one of the few knights who could execute this style, she never used it. Yeah, it was dope as hell, and it gave her bragging rights in the military, but it was severely taxing on the body. As an advantage, it forced an opponent to block from different angles. If you weren’t fast enough, you would surely catch a blow and lose your head.

  Unfortunately for her, Tristan was fast as fuck!

  “Damn, girl,” Tristan mused as he parried each strike with a nonchalant grace. “You ain’t gotta put it on me like that.”

  She was outmatched. She knew it, but she couldn’t stop. It wasn’t just because he was a deadly threat to every human being within these walls. It was her own need that pushed her on. The second she stopped attacking, the second she took a moment to catch her breath, the fiery desire within would rise up and consume her. If that happened, she would no longer see him as the monster he was, but as the charming man who made her gush and quiver like no other could.

  Silver streaks sparked out between them. As it did, bolts of lightning bounced around the hall, piercing the walls and flooring with large holes. Some of the deceased were caught in the crossfire. More blood and remains splattered everywhere.

  “There are so many other things we could be doing right now.” All while repelling her attacks, he pulled his lower lip between his teeth, showcasing his fangs and winked at her. “Don’t you agree?”

  She clenched her teeth in pure rage. Here she was putting all her strength and efforts into landing a single blow, and he warred her off like he was taking an easy stroll in the park. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was mocking her.

  In a sudden flash move, he surged forward, meeting her driving force. His guard clashed with hers.

  The impact sent a rapid pain shooting through her wrist.

  He arced his weapon upward. The blade was yanked from her grasp and thrown across the room. “I’m not mocking you. I just don’t know how to go up against you and hold back.”

  “Hold back?” she damn near screamed. Now she was down to one blade again. But that didn’t hinder her resolve. “What a way to insult the fuck outta of me, diamond boy.” Bending her knees, she dropped low. At the same time, she spun the dagger on her palm. She gripped it into a backhanded hold and sliced it toward his torso.

  He skipped backward just as she struck. Though his reaction time was swift, it wasn’t swift enough. The sharp edge slid into his side, tasting flesh.

  “Ha! Gotcha!” The second the blade made contact, a stabbing sensation bit into the side of her waist, in the same area where she struck him.

  She released a growling yelp then leaped back, palming her torso.

  Dammit, I timed that attack perfectly! When did he cut me? She looked down where the pain throbbed. There was no blood. No wound. No nothing. What in the hell just happened? She lifted her hooded glare and rested it on him.

  Dark blood spilled from the fresh gash in his side. Then right before her eyes, his flesh knitted over the open wound, healing within seconds.

  Slowly, the pain subsided on her nonexistent injury.

  His eyes glimmered in excitement as he gifted her with that boyish grin of his. “That was pretty damn amazing, Lexi. You cleared your thoughts at the last minute, making it impossible to read your next move. Master that ability, and you will be unstoppable.”

  “How’d you do that? Did you somehow thrust your pain into me?”

  “Not exactly,” he replied, caressing her mind with his voice. He smoothly sheathed his sword. “I’ll explain everything if you care to calm down and listen.”

  Ah-okay! The link they shared. That’s gotta be it. Back at the room, he bonded with her when he kissed her. They were physically connected now, which meant if he got hurt, she would feel the repercussions of it.

  “And vice versa,” he added, reading her thoughts. “I would feel your pain as well.”

  Dammit, this situation just got a lot tougher. “Earlier, you said you couldn’t confide in me. But now you wanna explain everything. What changed?”

  “There’s a lot to tell you, Lexi. I didn’t want to dump more info on you than you could handle.” He frowned and looked away. “But now that you’ve seen me at my darkest hour—”

  “Seriously, Tristan? Your darkest hour? You say that so casually, like it’s no big deal. Look at this shitshow!” She swept her hand in a roundabout way, motioning toward the carnage that damn near covered every inch of the hall. “Does it even register to you what you’ve done? Is there any part of you still in there?”

  “I’d like to think so. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be begging for you to listen to me. I wouldn’t be suffering the agony of having my heart reach out to you so desperately.” Pulling his lips tight, he glanced around at the destruction. “I know what I’ve done, and I know what I have to do. It’s not pretty, but it’s justified. This is a war, Lexi, and you can’t have a war without death.”

  “Wow.” He had no remorse. None whatsoever. Why am I not surprised? “Know what? I don’t wanna hear shit you have to say anymore. I don’t even know why I asked.”

  “You asked ‘cause you love me!”

  “Oh shut up.”

  “And you’ll never stop loving me.”

  “Look at you with yo presumptuous ass.”

  He stepped toward her. “You feel the need to save me from what I’ve become. That’s why you’re hesitating. That’s why you’re battling the burning passion within you. I feel it too.” His silky voice dipped in lust as he took another step. “Every bit of it.”

  Ugh, this fuckin’ sucked! The pleading gaze in his unnatural eyes tugged at her soul. She wanted so badly to believe the spirit of the man who owned her heart resided in the body of the devil standing before her. Suppressing fresh tears, she shook her head. “None of it matters…” she whimpered as she waved the dagger at her side.

  “Please, Lexi…despite everything that has happened, there’s a part of you that wants to know the truth. More so, the reason I would go through all of this. I know you do.”

  Not like she could deny that. She wanted to know, she wanted to feel…Her heart and mind screamed. Make me understand! Tell me why you would do this? Hold me! Make love to me! Tell me everything’s gonna be okay.

  “Everything’s gonna be okay,” he whispered.

  “Stop that shit,” she growled. “Nothing could excuse this. Nothing! I don’t care to know why anymore ‘cause the why…” Her throat tightened. She damn near choked on her words. “It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, you and I are on different sides of the spectrum, with different goals.”

  “You have no idea how wrong you are. No more fighting, okay. Just hear me out. Once I disclose everything to you, my actions will become so much clearer.”

  Alexis found herself pacing back and forth, breathing erratically. Her energy waned. Fighting with Tristan—if she could call it that—took everything out of her. Fatigue was setting in, but she coul
dn’t give up. The memory of him holding the councilman in his death embrace as he drained the blood from his body haunted her thoughts. “And you had the nerve to do that shit in my face! The audacity of it all!”

  “You weren’t supposed to see all of this. That’s why I asked you not to leave the room—”

  “Oh, fuck you and your sorry ass excuses, Tristan! You want me to hear you out? Really? Naw, son. You’ve shown me exactly who you are. A monster. So, on that note, you can kiss my entire black ass all the way back to your grave.”

  He palmed his chest and stumbled back as if she’d just struck him. “Whoa—ouch. I know you’re ticked off, but you don’t have to be so goddamn mean.”

  “Oh you think this is mean? Wait ‘til I catch myself. I’mma show you mean.”

  “You’re hurting my feelings, Lexi.”

  “Boy please.”

  “Yeah, I may be a monster, but you know me, sweetheart. You know I wouldn’t do all of this for nothing.”

  “Stop trying to tug on my heartstrings. That shit won’t work.” The tears left her eyes and trickled down her cheeks as she squeezed the grip of the dagger and assumed a battle stance. “On fuckin’ guard.”

  “Goddammit, Lexi!” Rolling his eyes, he threw his head back and groaned. “So stubborn and bull-headed. You are infuriatingly sexy when you’re like this.”

  As he stood there, his face turned upward, he bared his throat. It was like a fuckin’ invitation, one she shouldn’t accept. ‘Cause it was obviously a trap. Yet still…She went on the move. In an instant, she was bounding through the air, with her blade aimed for his neck. The gleaming edge came within inches of his flesh.

  He thrust his arm out and caught her by her neck, in mid-lunge. With his free hand, he gripped her wrist and squeezed, pinching her blood vessels.

  A shooting pain darted up her arm. Pretty sure a few of her bones were cracked. Beneath his crushing force, her hand was forced open. “Shit!” she gritted out on a cry. The weapon fell from her grip and hit the floor with a loud clamor.

  A slight smile curved his lips. “I believe you actually wanted to kill me that time.”

  “Still curious to see if your head will grow back.”

  Chuckling, he tried to pull her in. She brought her leg up and smashed her knee into her chest. She then swung the other leg toward his head. Before she could land her kick, he slung her off.

  Again, she found herself flying backward against her will.

  Tristan dashed after her. He closed in the distance between them, caught her shy of hitting the wall, then pinned her to it. “There’s more than one way to make you listen, Alexis Moonlight.” Wrapping his powerful arms around her, he fastened his mouth over hers. Upon contact, his lips were cold, but they quickly turned warm.

  An inferno exploded within her core and dashed through her body. She tried to wriggle free, but his embrace was unyielding.

  Suddenly, the world blitzed around her, and darkness clouded her mind.

  “Because of what I’ve done, I know your feelings toward me are shrouded in uncertainty. Regardless of what happens, regardless of the awful things you’ll witness me do, never forget how much I love you.”

  Chapter Four

  Butterfly Virus

  “Okay, we track her whereabouts. Then what?” Legs crossed, Bishop sat in the corner chair of Cole’s office and watched him tap feverishly on the illuminated keyboard. “If we go after her, there’s a good chance we’ll putting ourselves in a situation we won’t be able to get out of.” He shook his rock glass, making the ice cubes clash within the double shot of bourbon. “What do we plan to accomplish here?”

  Again, his question went unanswered. The silent treatment continued.

  Cole hadn’t said a word to him ever since he rushed into the office and plopped down in front of the computer. He was angry, and he had every right to be. Only problem now, he didn’t have anyone to take that anger out on.

  The sound of his fingers repeatedly meeting the surface of the keyboard filled the void with a pecking noise. It reverberated through the room. As it did, coded data strolled across the screen, which meant Cole was flexing his diving skills. This was so unlike him. Hack into a highly secure Federation server? That was something Cole would never do. But for her, he would risk the chance of getting court-martialed.

  Bishop took a sip of his drink and rubbed at the vein bulging from his temple. “Baby, your silence is deafening.”

  Cole’s strumming fingers slowed to a halt. Finally, he swiveled around in the chair and rested those deep brown eyes on him. His jaw clenched before he spoke. “Can’t reach out to the MP. Can’t send an anonymous tip to Central Command. Can’t even reach out to Sanjay ‘cause we both know he’s a Federation dog. So, that leaves only me. And seeing as you’re not the least bit interested in helping me—”

  “Oh please, don’t be a dick. Of course, I’m gonna help you. I just need you to get your head together. You get irrational when it comes to Moonlight.”

  His right knee bounced rapidly, something that only happened when he was anxious. “Look at you. Alex was just abducted by a fuckin’ vampire! And you’re sitting there, chilled out, sipping on my secret stash of bourbon.”

  “Just because I’m chill doesn’t mean I’m not processing the situation. It’s best we stay calm. Remember, I’ve been in her shoes before. I know how this works. Let me ask you one more time. What’s the plan?”

  Head cocked, Cole arched his lip and gave him an awkward stare. “Get her back.”

  “How?”

  “Whadda ya mean how?”

  “I mean just that.” Uncrossing his legs, Bishop scooted to the edge of the chair. “How do you plan to get her back?”

  “You said it yourself. He’s not gonna kill her. No vamp would go through all the trouble of possessing a human just to kill them. It makes no sense, so she’s good until we can get to her. And for the record, my head is all the way in the game. I’m just fuckin’ livid right now!”

  “Which is why I need you to chill. Take a breath and see this from all angles. This wasn’t a regular abduction, so we have to be careful on how we approach this. While I’m definite he won’t kill her, that’s not to say he won’t kill us.”

  “Whateva, man.” Cole flicked his hand at him, shifting in his chair. “If he wanted to kill us, he would’ve done that shit here. Now that I’m thinking about it…kinda sounded like he wanted us to track her,” he murmured, stroking his goatee. “Why would he…?” His voice faltered, and his eyes danced. “Doesn’t matter. We gotta get her away from him. I don’t want her to become a fuckin’ Black Swan. You know that will mess her up.”

  “Oh?” Bishop sat back and folded his arms over his chest. “So there’s no redemption for a Black Swan? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “No—that’s not what—you know what I mean.”

  Bishop quirked a brow and gave him the side-eye. “Do I?”

  Cole huffed out a sigh as he turned back to the screen. “Don’t do this. Not now,” he grumbled. “You pick the worst times to get in your feelings over bullshit.”

  Hell, I can’t help it! Sometimes he got a little jealous over Cole’s affection toward Moonlight.

  The man was absolutely crazy about her. Not just because she was a badass chick and a major hottie. She reminded Cole of his deceased sister. Witnessing her get taken that way, by a vampire at that, had to drum up some dreadful memories for him. It was part of the reason he was so unhinged. As if he needed another reason to fret, this vampire may be the very demon who had haunted Cole in his dreams for years.

  “You’re scared to lose her to his compulsion. I get it.” Bishop dragged in a heavy breath as he rose from the chair and approached him. “Let’s go over what we know. The Master who took her shares an intimate past with her. That was obvious, given the way he held her. We also know that he bypassed a high-tech security system and infiltrated a Cross Knight building without getting tagged by a drone. Which is physically imposs
ible unless you’re a God. Or, in league with someone mighty powerful.” He sat the glass of brown liquor on the desk next to him. “That suggests he’s not working alone. Someone had to give him a window to get in, grab her, and get out. Take a drink.”

  Face drawn tight, Cole shook his head. “Okay, what’re you saying?” He grabbed the glass and took a swig. “I should just sit on my hands and do nothing?”

  “I’m saying that you have to get a bigger scope on what’s going on before you bust in, sword swinging. He didn’t just scoop her up and whisk her away to reconnect with an old lover. No. There’s something else at play here, something bigger than the picture presented before us, something bigger than this blood war…something that has everything to do with Moonlight.”

  Leaning back in the chair, Cole eyeballed him, his brows furrowed. “Sounds like you know a lot more than you’re willing to tell me.”

  Bishop offered a smile. “Nah, hon. I can only make assumptions off of what I do know.”

  “She didn’t break protocol on a probation order and rush over here just to have a face-to-face chat with us. Why was she here, Bishop?”

  Bishop shrugged. “Maybe this probation debacle was too much for her to handle and she wanted to be with friends to help her get through it.”

  Cole clucked his tongue, then whirled his chair back toward the screen. “If that’s all you have to offer me, you can leave. I’ll get her back myself.”

  Ah Dios! “I promised her I wouldn’t tell you.”

  “Seriously, yo? You think keeping a promise to her is more important than saving her life?”

  “Her life isn’t in jeopardy, Cole. Ours is, and the less you know…” Dammit! This was what he was afraid of. If he didn’t tell him, Cole would move heaven and earth to find out, and that could mean his death. “Ugh, fine! She was looking for alerts, anything that would tip off the security team that there’s a vampire within the walls.”

  Turning his head slightly, Cole asked, “She was trying to protect him?”

  “Not only that. She asked a lot of questions about…” He leaned over the console, studying the series of numbers and letters racing across the screen. “This is gonna take too long. You should’ve just used my code.”