But I was even more shocked by the scene in front of me.
Chains rattled as an angry voice ripped through the air. “Nice of you to join the party, Hannon. Glad you could finally pencil us in. Do you like what you see?” His irises shot silver one beat before a blanket of cruel black cascaded over them completely, leaving no white. He looked feral. “This is your fault,” he accused. “You did this to me.”
“Ray,” I whispered.
“No, not Ray anymore.” He hissed, his fangs snapping down sharply, distorting his sneer. “Was this your plan all along? To make me into a freak? You wanted me to sign up for your cult from the very beginning. But then on the road you made me start to trust you. Hell, I even helped you. And this is my reward? I’m going to eat your intestines once I’m free. Do you hear me?” He raged against his chains, which were wrapped tightly around his chest. They held, but just barely. “I’ve got nothing better to do than hunt you down, Hannon. For a goddamn eternity!”
“I am sorry,” Naomi said, her head bowed, her hands crossed in front of her. “He has been … difficult to control.”
“I thought newborn vamps were fledglings? Shouldn’t he be concerned about where his next meal is coming from instead of exacting his vengeance on me?” Rourke paced over to the tree where Ray was chained. “I was under the impression new vampires were incoherent in the beginning.”
“He did not go through any of the normal stages.” Naomi shook her head, her soft French lilt barely above a whisper. “I do not understand it. He awoke in a rage. I was able to find these chains, but he breaks them often. He is weak, because he has refused to feed, and he cannot fly, so I am able to catch him when he … flees. But it has taken its toll. I had no choice but to come here. I had hoped you would come early, because I could not risk bringing him into a populated city to find you.”
I wrenched my gaze from a furious Ray to take in Naomi’s appearance again. Her clothes were tattered and full of blood. Fresh claw marks stood out along her neck and arms, healing as I watched. Her normal chestnut locks hung in dirty strands. “Naomi, I’m the one who’s sorry. I should’ve known this could’ve been a possibility. Ray was a volatile human, and he died a horrendous death at the hands of your brother. I should’ve stayed with you to make sure there were no issues. This is all my fault.”
“Non,” she said. “We could not have known. I have changed two others before him and this is … unnatural. He is too strong. His thoughts should not be so well … formed. He should be eager to gain my approval, to learn the new ways. I am his Master, but he does not seem to feel any connection to me at all.”
Ray started raging again, and surprisingly I felt a tiny flare of his emotions in my blood. My brows furrowed as I peered at him more closely. I’d given Naomi my blood to heal from an attack she would’ve died from when we’d been on the road, and she, in turn, had given her blood to Ray. It made some sense that he would have a bit of my signature inside him now, except I’d never felt a spark of anything from Naomi before. I’d attributed that to her being a vamp, and the emotions and feeling that were tied to my blood with the wolves didn’t apply to her—that it was a species thing. That wouldn’t be the case if I were connected to Ray.
“It’s a conundrum,” I finished.
“What did you expect, huh?” Ray snarled. “Why would you think I would ever want this? You should’ve let me die in peace, Hannon.” Ray still referred to me by my alter ego, Molly Hannon. It was a habit I’d given up trying to break. I’ll always be Hannon to him.
Rourke met my gaze. “How do you want to work this?” he asked.
I turned to Naomi. “We’ll knock him out, and you fly him up to Rourke’s cabin. We’ll deal with him up there. I’ll give him twenty-four hours to see reason. If that doesn’t work—”
“What?” Ray sneered. “If I don’t cooperate, you’re finally going to kill me? Put me out of my misery? But guess what? I refuse to die without payback. Do you hear me? I will kill—”