The blood drained from my face, and I felt faint. I’d rather be dead than be part of what he’d described. Shaz was staring at the floor. I was sure he was waiting for the right moment to make a move, but I prayed he wouldn’t do anything to get himself killed.
Claire shocked me by leaning in close, invading my personal space. She breathed deeply of my scent. “She smells good alright, but she’s not pure werewolf. I think I’d rather keep her for myself.” Before I could cuss her out for talking about me like I wasn’t there, she drifted back over to Shaz.
The urge to pull on power through Arys was strong, but I knew it would be a mistake if I couldn’t pull enough to take on Maxwell. He had weakened me. I was mortal, and he was not. The odds were not in my favor.
When Claire leaned in to sniff Shaz, he pulled away with pure disgust etched on his face. She huffed, clearly offended even though she was the one holding us against our will. She swallowed the contents in her glass, watching him as she licked the rim. In a blur of motion, she grabbed Shaz’ injured wrist and bit deep.
He didn’t even flinch. I came up off the couch with a snarl, instinct driving me. Drawing on Arys, I lashed out at Maxwell with a blast intended to keep him from stopping me. I just wanted Claire. The other three vampires sprang into action. One of them dragged me down to the floor where I fought to be free of him.
Maxwell’s snicker as he watched was infuriating. It took all three vampires to hold me. I was forced to watch as Claire held her empty glass so that Shaz’ blood would flow into it. She spared me a smile.
“You f**king bitch!” I spat. “I can’t wait to tear your throat out.”
Though my wolf raged, my inner vampire was surprisingly calm. My power immediately sought out a source, finding the three vampires holding me immobile. I grasped their energy and pulled hard on it. I could have drained all three of them like I’d done with the vampire at The Kiss if Maxwell hadn’t been so quick to react.
I threw up a circle just in time to block his expected attack. However, I was momentarily stuck. I wasn’t at full strength. Either a physical or a psychic attack on Claire would compromise my circle and make me vulnerable.
“Clever.” Maxwell eyed me with a renewed interest. “So, you have a few tricks up your sleeve for a self-professed werewolf. Too much trouble.”
“She’s going to give us what we want. If she doesn’t, we’ll take it out on her little friend here.” Claire’s eyes sparkled with malevolence. She ran a hand through Shaz’ hair with excessive force and raised the glass to her lips. Her pupils dilated as she tasted the blood of my mate. “You certainly are a divine thing. I could just take you home and keep you as a pet.”
Watching her touch him made me crazy. Shaz pulled away from her, but she held tight to his hair, earning a growl from him which she ignored. After finishing the wolf blood in her glass, she roughly jerked his wrist to her mouth and ran her tongue over the bite. Her eyes were glazed as the heady werewolf blood affected her.
“Play along, Alexa. Let’s make a deal, and we can all go our separate ways.” Maxwell spoke to me, but he watched Claire with perverted intrigue.
“I have nothing to give you.” I also watched Claire, waiting for the right moment. I couldn’t stay trapped inside my circle. I had to do something.
“Help us get what we want. Nobody else you love has to die.”
“If you want me so bad, you’ll have to take me against my will.”
A burst of power shattered my circle. Maxwell grinned. “We just did.”
He was on me in a heartbeat. I found myself flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling as I gasped for breath. Maxwell straddled me, his perfect composure gone as he wrapped his fingers around my throat. Smacking my head against the floor a few times seemed to please him. Adrenaline prevented me from feeling any pain. I tried to strip his power, but he had a tight shield in place. I couldn’t breach it.
I felt him digging deep inside me, tearing at the energy I’d just consumed. He wanted me helpless. I couldn’t blame him for that, but I had to stop him from succeeding. I resisted, throwing up every metaphysical wall and barrier I could muster. He punched holes through them all.
In my peripheral vision I saw Shaz snap at Claire. She shoved him back in the chair and climbed on his lap while I watched helplessly from the floor. Old and strong, she didn’t have much trouble pinning Shaz in place. The empty goblet in her hand became a weapon, and she smashed it against the side of his face. The sound of glass shattering was met with a yelp.
Maxwell dragged me to my knees, forcing me to watch as Claire fought for Shaz’ throat. Bloody cuts marred the side of his face. I was desperate to get to him. Fire scorched my insides as Maxwell’s power burned through me. I might have been powerful, but he had centuries of experience on me. Once again, I was at his mercy.
Only when I sat motionless and fighting for every breath did he release me. “That’s enough, Claire. Take it slow, sweetie. We don’t want to kill them yet.”