Leah

CRACK! The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed loudly across the room. Leah’s head snapped back as she staggered from the force of the blow. She reached out to prevent herself from tumbling to the ground and whimpered with pain as her sprained wrist protested when she caught the edge of the table.

Watching her, Della chuckled, a harsh cruel sound that grated against nerve endings. She stalked towards her victim, her stiletto heels clicking against the polished wooden floor. Blood red tipped nails reached out and grabbed the front of Leah’s shirt, hauling her closer.

“Pitiful human!” she snarled, pushing her face close to Leah’s. “You think you are so clever. You think you can defeat me? You are so wrong!” Releasing Leah’s shirt she backhanded the younger woman sending her flying across the room to land in a crumpled heap by the wall. “Pitiful,” she scorned as she watched Leah try to raise herself up. “I cannot understand why he feels so strongly about you humans. You are weak and pathetic. You can do nothing for yourself. You are nothing but a food source to us!”

Leah lay on the floor gasping for breath. Her entire body was racked with excruciating pain that stole her breath with every movement she took. There was a coppery taste in her mouth from the blood oozing from the cut on her lips. Her left eye felt swollen from where Della had hit her and her jaw ached every time she moved it. Her wrist felt tight with limited movement, she didn’t know if it was sprained or broken. Every breath she took was pure agony as broken ribs protested against the movement. She didn’t know if she could continue but she was determined not to give in without a fight.

“Without us pitiful humans,” she gasped through numb lips, “you would be very hungry. You should be nice to us because we could give you indigestion.” She looked up at Della, a faint smile teasing the corners of her mouth. “Sorry, I forgot, you don’t do nice, do you?”

Della screamed in frustration and lashed out with her foot, connecting with Leah’s battered body. “Shut up, you pathetic creature!” She bent over Leah’s prostrate body. “Oh, I’m going to take great pleasure in draining you dry, bitch. I won’t do it in one go , though. I’ll take just enough to keep you quiet so that you can watch me drain all those you hold dear. Your son, your sweet little sister, your best friend Connie is it? No, Carrie, that’s it. Your insolence and disobedience will cost you dearly, Leah. You think this is painful? You haven’t known real pain, yet.”

Anger flooded through Leah at Della’s words. Whilst she could take the beating that Della was giving her, she could not let her hurt the people she held dear to her. She would kill the vampire queen before she allowed her to harm one hair of their heads. Gritting her teeth she pushed herself to her feet and stood swaying before Della.

As the queen approached her, anger flashing in her dark eyes, Leah balled up her good hand and delivered an uppercut that had Della’s head whipping around like a balloon in a storm. An angry scream rendered the air as her hands reached up to touch her now bleeding face.

“You little bitch! You stupid, pathetic little bitch!” she raged, spittle mixing with blood at the corners of her mouth. “You will pay for that. Pay dearly!” Her hand lashed out and closed around Leah’s neck choking her as she was lifted off the ground and flung with great force across the room.

Leah’s head cracked against the wooden floorboards whilst her lungs struggled to get oxygen past her crushed throat. Darkness swam at the edges of her vision whilst her head felt as though it was filling with cotton wool. She was losing it and there was nothing more she could do. She closed her eyes and saw her family, laughing and joking over one of Carrie’s stories whilst he stood in the background, watching, protecting. Why had she not believed in him? She wanted to cry at the sense of loss and defeat moving through her body.

‘Leah?’ His voice teased across the tortured planes of her mind, soothing, filling her with a warmth that took the intensity of the pain away for a moment.

‘I can’t do this,’ she whispered in her mind. ‘She’s too strong.”

‘You are stronger, my love. You are the strongest woman I have ever met. No one can beat you.’

‘She is.’

‘You can beat her. You have the power within you. All you need to do is accept it.’ His tone was neutral, neither encouraging or dissuading her. She had a decision to make and it was not for him to influence her into which option to choose no matter how much he wanted to.

‘You mean, become one of you?’ No matter how much she loved her dark, mysterious warrior, she was not certain she could take that final step into his world.

‘Leah, my love, you are already one of us. We are not that different, you and I. All you need to do is accept the mating bond and you will have full access to everything I have and everything I am.’

‘And if I don’t? What will happen to me then?” She had to know what the alternative was. What her future would be dependent upon the choice she made, and if she survived Della’s tantrum.

‘The mating bond will wear off and you will return to as you were.” There was a finality to his voice that triggered alarm bells in Leah. Rejecting the bond would mean more than just returning to normal.

‘Will I see you again?’ Her eyes drifted closed as though protecting her from his answer.

‘No.’ He didn’t elaborate any further but he didn’t need to. His kind mated once, for life, but if the bond was rejected then they were doomed to an eternity of aloneness whilst she would forget who he was.

The idea of a life without him was far more abhorrent to her than becoming like him. It ripped through her body like a physical pain, seeking to rip out her heart through her battered chest. She could not reject what they had between them.

Footsteps echoed across the bare wooden floorboards as Della once more walked towards her with forceful intent. She knew she had angered Della to such an intense level that the other woman was intent on killing her now. Once she was dead, the vampire queen would go after her family and anyone else she felt like killing. She could not allow that. Ever.

Reaching into her mind she found the memory of the mating bond, a broken chain waiting for the ends to be joined together. Once joined, they would be combined for all eternity, an unbreakable bond. In her mind’s eye, she pictured herself putting the two ends of the chain together, feeling the heat as the links forged themselves together, sealing their union.

As she stared down at the joined links she felt a strength flooding through her body, warming her, healing her. Broken bones knitted together, torn muscles healed, strength returned along with a sense of belonging that she had never felt before. She could feel his presence enveloping her, bathing her with a warmth that seeped into every cell, every fibre of her being.

With renewed determination, Leah placed her hands on the polished wooden floor and pushed herself to her feet with a purposefulness that was not missed by Della. Confusion marred her cold features as she stared at the revitalised figure before her. As Leah stood before her understanding dawned in her dark eyes as she recognised the glow in Leah’s blue ones.

“You’re mated,” she breathed, her anger rapidly replaced by a mixture of fear and confusion.

“Yes,” Leah replied in a strong voice. “I am. I guess that changes things, now. Doesn’t it?” Her arm flashed out and sent the other woman flying across the room to land with a crash against the display cabinet. Advancing across the room towards Della, Leah smiled as she watched the woman now struggling before her. Words were no longer necessary at this point.