Dev finally pulled himself together and went in search of Kate. Ultimately he was a Vampire Lord and his responsibility, first and foremost, was to protect all those under his reign and he could not—would not—let Xavier subvert that. He would ascertain if Kate was a traitor. God help her if she was. He may be bonded to her already and his life now inextricably woven with hers, and while his soul would die a thousand deaths being parted from her, he would do anything to protect those that relied on him for their safety and their very lives.
He would get to the truth. By any means necessary. But deep inside he fervently prayed to a God he didn’t really believe in that this was just some giant, unbelievable cosmic fucking coincidence.
___________
Kate
Running on the treadmill, Kate just started her fifth mile at the twenty-one minute mark, while Dev caught up on work. She glanced at the beautiful intricate mating mark gracing her left thumb and butterflies took flight in her stomach. He was hers. That magnificent man was hers for all of eternity. It was both a terrifying and comforting thought.
She could hardly wrap her head around how different she felt now. How powerful she felt, after bonding with Dev. The changes she’d felt happening after she’d met Dev were now more noticeable, more pronounced after their bonding. She was getting used to her speed and agility. The constant loud pounding in her head had finally diminished and she could only hear it if she concentrated. She hadn’t tried flashing yet. She was petrified where she would end up. Dev said he would teach her when things calmed down a bit.
As she ran, she berated herself for the lack of work on her dissertation, as that’s really what she should be doing with her downtime, but she’d been unable to concentrate. So many crazy things had happened over the last several days, she felt like she was on a merry-go-round and couldn’t get off. And this merry-go-round was going at warp speed.
If anyone had told her a week ago there were vampire sex gods, freeze frame abilities, flashing, eternal mates, a vampire sadist, and dreamwalkers, she would have suggested a good psychiatrist and a nice big dose of Prozac. And maybe some much-needed time off of work—in an inpatient mental institution. At times, she wondered if this whole thing was a very long, very strange dream, from which she could not wake.
But one look at Dev and she knew all was right with the world, she was where she was supposed to be, even as messed up as things were. She was completely lost in her own head when she glanced up and noticed Dev standing in front of the treadmill. Something was wrong.
She hit stop on the treadmill and jumped to the sides while it slowed down, pulling her ear buds out. She was barely winded. Being a vampire mate definitely had its advantages.
She couldn’t help but smile when she saw him. “Hi.”
He didn’t reply.
She frowned, her brows drawing inward. “What’s wrong, Dev?”
“Come with me.” His face was completely impassive. Completely unreadable. Not at all like the Dev she’d come to know.
He held out his hand, which she gladly took as she jumped off the treadmill. She loved touching any part of him and it never failed to deliver a large dose of lust straight to her core.
“Okaaay. You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
No response.
He pulled her close and she felt the telltale dizziness that accompanied flashing. What the hell?
She was just getting her bearings, when she realized they were back in the underground room he’d held her in the night of their mating. She was already strapped down on that horribly hard table.
“Dev, what the hell are you doing?” she yelled. Something was terribly wrong here. She tried to struggle free, to no avail. Even her enhanced powers didn’t help her.
Then he simply stepped back and exited the room. He didn’t look at her or utter a word.
“What the hell is going on?” she screamed. “You can’t leave me like this! Dev, why are you doing this? I don’t understand!”
She continued to yell for several minutes into the complete silence of her barren prison. Dev didn’t return.
Chapter 47
Mike
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Mike said, pulling her into one of the interrogation rooms. He’d only met Giselle a few short months ago and she might be the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on, but the fact remained that she was a predator, just like the rest of them. Except, possibly even more deadly and volatile.
“Now, Detective, is that any way to treat a woman?” Giselle purred.
“No. But you’re not a woman, so the same rules don’t apply,” he responded, a smirk turning up the corner of his mouth. He was being an asshole, but he didn’t care. They hadn’t pried any more useful details from the professor in their earlier interrogation, he was still sporting the mother of all headaches, and he’d barely slept in days. So yeah, he felt like an asshole and she was the perfect target to take it out on.