Gem tasted blood as she bit down on her tongue and the inside of her cheek. The coppery taste of her own blood made her want to throw up but she refused to scream. She would not give this woman the satisfaction! She was sitting in a wooden kitchen chair, her hands tied behind her back and her legs tied to the legs of the chair. Blood dripped from her arms onto the floor where the woman sliced at her forearms and biceps. Drops of blood dripped onto her cheeks from the strands of hair that were plastered to her forehead. She wasn’t sure where those came from. Pain radiated through her whole body, and she’d lost count of the places that the woman had cut or burned. She moved so fast that Gem’s vampire body hardly had time to heal in between the rounds of torture. On top of that, she’d not fed in too long and her body was weaker than she’d have liked. Gem spat blood onto the floor and glared up at the woman. Paine had left more than half an hour ago, and the woman before her hadn’t even w

Paine was panting as she stood in her small kitchen. Her whole body felt like it was on fire and her mind raced as she watched the blood pool and run in the cracks of the small kitchen. She had lost it. She’d lost it and now what was she going to do? That moment of intense pleasure she’d felt when her hand had punched into the body and she’d felt the heart in her hands, felt the heartbeat, beat, beat, and then, slow and then stop, as she squeezed it. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. The power, the pleasure she’d felt, was still coursing through her. But now, she had a problem. A big, bloody, problem. They couldn’t stay here now. And she didn’t have a backup plan for this backup plan. She looked around the room and ran her fingers through her hair. Too late she realized that her hands were covered in blood. And she tracked the sticky, thick liquid through her hair. She tugged at the strands in frustration and spun around the room. Her eyes met those of the woman still tied i

Hunter paced in front of the door. She’d been fighting with herself for the past ten minutes. She knew it was late, knew she shouldn’t even be where she was, or do what she was about to. But damn it, she didn’t know what else to do! She stopped pacing and lifted her hand to knock. The door opened before she could touch it.“Took you long enough.” Isis said. She stepped back and opened the door wider. “Come in.”“I’m sorry, I’m not even sure…”“Yes, you are.” Isis said. “You don’t strike me as a liar. Just tell me what you want.”“I’m sorry.” Hunter shook her head and lifted a hand to grab at her hair. “I’m going to go.” She turned and reached for the door Isis closed behind her.“Hunter, don’t be stupid. We both know what you need. And I’m a witch, I’m used to this.” Isis shrugged and Hunter, looking over her shoulder, saw the casual gesture for what it was, a barrier, a thin disguise to the hurt. “Just tell me what you want me to do, and if I can, I’ll help you. And don’t say sorry a

Gem woke slowly. She felt like a heavy blanket had been thrown over her and she pushed at it, trying to break through the fog. She felt fury rise inside her as she realized that Paine must have drugged her. Why? She knew they were close to Silver Moon, the cave they were hiding in, which was on the lake that ran through the compound. And she’d seen the smoke from the fires when they’d eaten. The blood! Gem realized that was what must have been drugged. It was the only thing she had to eat. Or drink. She gathered her strength and sat up. Her legs weren’t tied up, but her hands still were. Paine had obviously thought that the drug would keep her down. She looked around and realized she was alone in the cave. She pushed harder at the fog, and tried to stand. She immediately dropped to one knee and swore as pain rocked her leg. All she had to do was get up, get enough strength to run, and she’d be out of the mad woman’s grasp. And she could lead Hunter and the rest to her hide out. She to

Hunter paced her room. She could feel Gem’s pain. It tore through her at intervals. Intervals, that had become shorter and shorter. Wherever she was, she was running out of time. Nothing had ever scared her as much as this. Not even when Gem had left her on their wedding night. She’d known then that one day she would get Gem back. Now, it was so hard to keep the hope inside her alive when she knew how much pain Gem was suffering. How much more could she endure? Yes, she was a vampire, yes, she was resilient, but everyone had a limit. What she’d learnt about the ruffian woman, Paine, she scoffed, fitting. What she’d learnt, was that the longer Gem stayed with her, the less chance they had of getting her back. She’d roused the witches and Alex, but she waited, stalled really. Because she was afraid of hope. Afraid to go down and be told that Gem could not be found. That Isis and Morgan can’t track Paine.She picked up her glass of scotch and took a sip. She realized it was empty and thr