Blood & Wine Read online

  Blood & Wine

  Book Seven of the Caprice Chronicles

  Selena Page

  Blood & Wine

  Copyright © 2016, Selena Page

  Copyright © 2016, Selena Page

  First electronic publication: November 2016

  Selena Page

  www.selenapage.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Caprice Chronicles

  Love & Accusations

  Smoke & Longing

  Roads & Royalty

  Sin & Redemption

  Roses & Haunts

  Dirt & Desire

  Find Selena Page online at www.selenapage.com or e-mail her at [email protected]

  Please visit Selena’s Amazon Author Page and leave a review if you enjoy this book!

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 1

  All Miah wanted was sleep. Just a few hours of blessed silence and peace.

  The pain wouldn’t let her. The sharp, scream-inducing pain had ended days ago. Maybe weeks, but who’s counting? It had settled into a low, dull ache that seeped into every inch of her body. Blood trickled down her arms from the sores on her wrists where the manacles bit into raw flesh. She couldn’t put weight on her broken right leg, which made escape impossible, even if she had the energy to try and break out.

  She had tried. Goddess knew she had tried. For weeks, she battered herself against the iron chains like a sparrow; screaming, begging, pleading to be released. She threatened her captors with a slow death, before swearing to give them anything they wanted. All she wanted was to go home. But the Vampire needed her--he needed the information he thought she possessed, and he had grown addicted to the magical essence of her blood. Until she told him where Marbok had been buried and how to control the vicious ravenger her sister Carmina had bound, she would be his prisoner. And when he had what he wanted, he would kill her. If she was lucky.

  The fight was all gone. She still struggled when they came for her; it was an innate part of her nature. She writhed and fought, and every now and then, she got a good hit in. Those therapy sessions, as he liked to call them, were the worst.

  They always threatened to drug her, but they never did. She suspected, deep down, they wanted her to fight. They wanted to see the life and passion slowly draining out of her body. And surely, every time they drained her of blood--sometimes almost to the brink of death--the passion and will to survive died a little.

  He was coming. She could feel him, his presence settling deep into her bones, the raw wound on her neck tingling. She twisted against the manacles, feeling the fire lighting inside her belly. Maybe this time she could escape, maybe they hadn’t tightened them enough. Maybe she could break free. Maybe he would change his mind and let her go.

  Maybe, maybe, maybe.

  Terror and guilt warred inside her. If she hadn’t attempted a Seeking on her own in an unfamiliar city, she wouldn’t be in this situation. She would be home in New York and safely ensconced in her beloved library.

  She pushed against the chains, bracing with her broken leg and ripping a scream from her ragged throat. She tried to bite it back--he liked it when she screamed--but she couldn’t stop herself.

  He stood outside the door to her cell. His “guest bedroom” as he liked to refer to it. He stood silently, and she knew he was toying with her. Heightening her fear and anxiety before taking her again. He wanted more than just her blood; he wanted her fear and hate and anger. He wanted to devour her from the inside until she was nothing but a dried up husk.

  As the door swung open to reveal a tall, skeletal figure, Miah closed her eyes, a tear slipping down her cheek. She had given up praying for salvation weeks ago. Now, she only prayed for death.

  Chapter 2

  Finn watched the cabin silently, his body motionless. He had been tracking this particular vampire for months, hunting down lackey after lackey and demanding information from them. It was a particularly nasty sort of creature; ancient and intelligent, with an unslakable lust for blood.

  This was not a normal situation for the pack. While they all despised the vampires, all-out war between the groups was unwise. Finn left the vampires in peace, as long as they were discreet about their feeding habits and left their victims alive. And as long as he didn’t come across one in a dark alley, of course. But this? A flat attack on one of their ancient monsters and his clutch? It was stupid and suicidal, even for him.

  He frowned deeply, shaking his head as he fingered the blade at his side. He had been watching this creature Thaddeus for months, learning his habits and murdering his people. The ancient vampire was crafty, a twisted and hideous shadow of a man. One of his lackeys had been stupid enough to attack a packmate, and the pack demanded retribution. She survived the attack, but would always bear scars from the creature, and he could not let it go without retaliation. Thaddeus would pay.

  Rory slipped silently through the trees, the handsome young werewolf wearing his usually cocky grin. Finn peered at him and growled low in his throat, communicating with his young packmate mentally, one of the gifts of being in a pack. The younger wolf tilted his head to bare his throat, before turning to gaze down at the cabin.

  Well? What did you find? Rory was their best tracker, damn near silent when he wanted to be. When he wasn’t annoying the hell out of the pack with his terrible jokes.

  Four vampires in there. Three human guards. A pile of dead bodies in the basement.

  Thaddeus?

  He’s in there. Rory hesitated for a moment, shooting a look to Finn. There’s a girl.

  Finn quirked a brow and waited silently, allowing the young tracker to continue.

  Can’t be older than 20. They’ve got her locked up in there. From the looks of it…Christ almighty, poor thing has been in there for weeks.

  Finn blinked in surprise, his eyes drifting back to the cabin. Vampires rarely kept blood bags in their holes. They had the ability to feed without being detected, and many of them choose that route. Of course, some of them preferred to keep things old school, and destroy everything they touched. Of the four nests they’d found in the last three months, not a single one had a survivor.

  I see. The kindest thing would likely be to put the girl out of her misery.

&nb
sp; Rory flinched, but Finn knew he wouldn’t argue the point. His packmate had a soft spot for damsels in distress, and time had yet to make him into a hardened killer.

  Finn sighed, shaking his head. That could be his sister Elise in there, or any one of his other packmates. We’ll let Elise assess her. But I won’t let her suffer.

  It was the best he could offer. He wouldn’t make a promise he might not be able to keep, and he wouldn’t allow a child to languish under the pain of the bond.

  First things first. He would kill Thaddeus, and see the Vampire’s head on a pike. Remind the other vampires that they weren’t the only bloodthirsty creatures in the world.

  Chapter 3

  Something was different. She couldn’t quite place it, but the air around her felt heavy. The hair on her arms stood on end, and every joint in her body ached, begging for freedom.

  In the distance, she heard the deep howl of a wolf. The world stood still, and then it exploded.

  Miah screamed as something heavy slammed against her door, over and over again. As it cracked beneath the pressure, she saw something furry peeking through the cracks. She inhaled sharply to scream again, the sound dying on cracked lips as heavy footfalls padded away from the door.

  Her ears filled with the sounds of violence. Growling and snarling was matched by gunfire and screaming.

  Confusion and anxiety raged in her mind. Through the cracks in her door, she could see movement in the hallway, but she had no idea what was happening. Some kind of attack on the cabin. Werewolves. She could feel their energy, a suffocating heaviness that promised power and violence. But who? And why? She knew enough about werewolves to know that they wouldn’t attack vampires like this without a very good reason, and she was pretty sure that reason wasn’t her.

  She tried to squirm from her manacles, crying out as the sharp metal bit deeply into her wrists, reopening wounds that never had a chance to heal. She had no idea who these people were. She had no desire to stay with the Vampire, but she didn’t want to fall into the hands of something worse.

  Miah bit her lip, holding back a scream as the cabin suddenly filled with silence. Blood streamed down her arms, and she couldn’t hold herself up anymore.

  A quiet sob escaped her lips as her head fell forward against her chest. She couldn’t fight anymore.

  Chapter 4

  Finn was pissed. The fight was brutal, but nothing more than he expected. Their entrance had taken the enemies by surprise, but the human minions of the Vampire were surprisingly well trained. They threw themselves into the way of the wolves and distracted his pack long enough for Thaddeus to escape.

  He slammed his fist into the drywall. He would burn this goddamn place to the ground when they were finished. And when he managed to hunt Thaddeus down, he would pull out the bloodsucker’s goddamn heart himself.

  Boss? It was Rory. He sounded subdued, which often happened with him after a fight. Particularly one as bloody as this. I found the girl. You want me to get her?

  No. Finn knew his mental tone was sharp. The lust of battle combined with the bitter loss of his enemy left him raw and on edge. He didn’t want any of the others to see her. It was better that way. If she had to die, he didn’t want it on their consciences. I’ll take care of her. Get Elise and have her meet us at the rendezvous point. This girl will need healing, as will the rest of us.

  If the girl survived, that was. Finn found himself silently hoping he would find a corpse in the room. No one should be forced to live through something like this. No one should be forced to hold those memories forever. Death would be a kindness.

  He strode to the cracked door, kicking it open. The wood bounced in the hinges, swinging open and crashing against the wall.

  The room assaulted his senses. All he could smell was blood and despair, anguish and torture. He’d been right to protect the others from this. Deep inside, he felt his wolf snarling and pacing. His beast was as riled up as he was.

  She hung in the center of the room, suspended by chains from the ceiling, feet barely skimming the ground. Finn inhaled sharply as he took her in, his hands balling into fists.

  He would murder Thaddeus slowly for this.

  Blood dripped down the girl's arms, pooling on the floor beneath her, fresh wounds from where she’d struggled against the manacles on her wrists. He stepped forward slowly, and he could smell the infection in the air. Her right leg had been badly broken, and had set at a terrible angle. It would have to be broken again and set properly if she ever hoped to walk efficiently on it again. And then there was the wound on her neck. Raw and open, Thaddeus had ripped into her pale flesh over and over again, with no apparent regard for her well-being.

  Finn growled, his rage filling the room.

  Boss? You need help?

  No. Do not come in here Rory. That’s an order. Get everyone out, meet me outside.

  The girl?

  She’s dead.

  Finn moved closer to the woman, feeling his heart constrict in his throat. He’d seen many horrible things in his life, but he never got used to seeing torture. Particularly not women and children.

  The woman in manacles let out a loud, rattling gasp, followed by a ragged sob of pain. The sound tore at his soul, to hear her suffering and pain. He couldn’t believe that she was still alive.

  Her chest rose and fell unevenly, and he knew he had to make a choice. Silently put her out of her misery, or bring her to the compound and hope like hell that Elise could save her life. He knew what his sister would pick. He knew what Rory would choose. Hell, he knew most of the pack would support trying to save her.

  There was still a part of him that couldn’t bear the idea of her suffering any longer.

  “God dammit.” He reached out, wrapping an arm around her body and hoisting her slightly, trying to take the pressure off her wrists and the injured leg.

  The girl screamed at his touch, her head snapping up. Brilliant green eyes with flecks of gold burned into him as she thrashed, screaming and begging, “No, no, Christ, let me go!”

  She thought he was going to hurt her. Fuck. This poor kid.

  Finn grabbed the chain and yanked, pulling enough slack to take the pressure off and hopefully ease her pain. The girl took the slack and tried to hit him, screaming unintelligibly. “Dammit, girl! I’m trying to help you! Stop fucking hitting me!”

  She sobbed again, her eyes unfocused and furious. Damn. The kid still had some fight left in her. He found himself grinning fiercely at the idea. Maybe that’s why she was still alive. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

  Finn ignored the blows. Normally, he’d be ripping the head off someone attacking him with a chain, but this was a special case. The girl was out of her mind with grief and rage and pain, she deserved a pass. One pass.

  He eased her down onto the ground, grabbing the manacles and ripping them carefully off her wrists. The wounds there made him wince, and her struggling eased once she realized he was trying to release her.

  Finally, her eyes focused up on him, the brilliant green boring into his soul, and a heart-breaking look of hope dawning in them. She whispered quietly, her voice torn from screaming, “Are you gonna help me?”

  Finn stared at her for a long moment, caught in the brilliance of her pained eyes. He would kill Thaddeus slowly. And then maybe have Elise resurrect him, and do that shit again. He shoved his rage away. She didn’t need to see it. She needed gentle touches and care, not his hate and death.

  She reminded him of a bird. A tiny, fragile thing that beat itself against a window until it was nothing but a mess of broken bones.

  Finn gave her a rough smile, pulling off his flannel shirt and carefully wrapping it around her as he gathered her into his arms. “Yeah, little bird. I guess I am.”

  Her eyes flashed once with a look of gratefulness and then her head slumped against his chest, and he just thanked Christ that she could be free of pain for a brief time.

  Chapter 5

  Everything hurt, a fa
miliar deep ache. But she wasn’t hanging anymore, and the manacles were gone. She flexed her fingers, just to make sure it was real, and she could have sobbed to know they had been removed.

  Miah kept her eyes squeezed shut. She had a feeling it was a dream. Or perhaps Thaddeus fucking with her again. He could do that, get into her mind and make her think and feel things that weren’t really there. He liked to bring her sister, Carmina, to her mind. Just as a reminder of what she’d never see again.

  She’d had a dream. A man had appeared in the door of her prison, and he had saved her. He was gorgeous; tall and broad chested, standing at least 6’3”. When he gathered her into his arms and pulled her close, she could feel his muscles working beneath the surface of his chest. His hands were strong and rough--hands that could kill--but he handled her gently. He smelled faintly of cinnamon and vanilla, underneath she’d been able to feel his anger. But it was the eyes that kept drawing her back. So dark she could almost see herself reflected, and filled with more emotion than any one man had any right to. She’d seen sorrow and loss, pain and anger. And when he looked at her, she saw hope.

  Miah’s fingers explored carefully, moving slowly so as to not call attention to herself. She was covered in a thick, downy blanket, all warmth and comfort and safety. She wasn’t in the cabin anymore, and she couldn’t feel Thaddeus here. It smelled different; this wasn’t like the last three places she’d been with the vampires. There was no scent of death and hate here. It was warm and clean, she could smell lilacs blooming somewhere nearby.

  Tears slid down her face and she let out a quiet sob. Miah was afraid to look, afraid to see where she really was. Afraid that she would wake up.

  A soft, feminine voice broke through her fear, a gentle Irish brogue coloring the words, “It’s all right, dear one. You’re safe here.”

  Miah refused to open her eyes. She couldn’t. Not yet. She couldn’t bear to realize it was just another illusion from Thaddeus. She wanted to keep her hope alive, just a little longer.