Dad stormed into the office just before I leaving, demanding to know what happened to me yesterday. He was furious with Grandma. I decided to avoid talking about dead cousins so I made up a small lie about her introducing me to a victim of a vampire. He bought it for now, then left saying something about being on call assuring me that he will have a serious conversation with her.
I was hoping that Nathaniel was willing to take me out tonight as our plans were crushed yesterday.
‘I’ll pick you up after five,’ he said once I picked up one of the office phones. I was surprised that he didn’t call on my mobile.
‘Great, I can’t wait to see you,’ I sang, slightly taken back. ‘My grandmother was a nightmare, but I’ll explain later.’
‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll see you in an hour.’
Nathaniel was already waiting for me outside.
‘Hello stranger,’ I said kissing him deeply on the lips. You didn’t need to pick me up. I could have used Roberto’s car.’ It was rush hour and we needed to get to central London, which meant that we were going to be stuck in traffic for a while.
‘I like driving this car,’ he said not changing his expression.
I shrugged. ‘Don’t you want to know what happened to me yesterday?’ I told him about it, but I wasn’t quite sure if Nathaniel was listening. He seemed absent during the whole drive while I talked about my grandmother. I sunk into my seat as the silence settled between us. He seemed lost in his own thoughts. I’d hardly had any sleep last night so it wasn’t long before I dozed off. When I woke up we were still driving. I looked outside the window realising that we weren’t in London anymore. We were driving through a misty country road.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked him.
‘It’s a surprise,’ he replied turning a sharp left with a wide smile on his face.
Chapter forty-two
Nathaniel won’t hurt me.
I smiled back and relaxed. We passed through a small quiet village heading south. I was expecting a romantic dinner with candles in an exclusive restaurant, away from everyone. The darkness had fallen as we were driving through the empty roads surrounded by trees. I was stunned that we hadn’t passed by any other cars in the past ten minutes. It was still early and the nearest village was only couple miles away. Unexpectedly Nathaniel turned away from the main road. We drove in silence for another five minutes before he stopped the car in front of a tall metal gate.
‘Where are you taking me?’ I asked.
‘Always so impatient,’ he whispered. ‘Wait and see.’
I gasped, pressing my palms over my mouth when I saw the view in front of me. In the distance we were moving slowly towards a magnificent mansion. Nathaniel smiled and squeezed my hand. He’d never mentioned that he had a property outside the city, but there were so many things that I didn’t know about him. Maybe this was the way he wanted to apologize for not telling me about Geneva.
‘Nathaniel, what is going on?’ I asked as he switched off the engine.
‘I don’t want to ruin my surprise,’ he replied, getting out of the car. He walked around and opened the door so I could get out. ‘Come on, everyone is waiting.’
Three men appeared at the door. They weren’t humans. One of them was a werewolf looking more like a hairy biker than a porter who was ready to greet us. I looked at Nathaniel, who shoved his hands in his pockets, staring at me with a strained expression. His eyes stayed on me for a moment without a smile. We had to be in the middle of nowhere, and the silence was unnatural, tense as we were, waiting for something to happen.
‘I don’t get it, what are we doing here?’ I asked, confused, picking up unfamiliar scents.
‘Boys, she is all yours,’ said Nathaniel, pointing at me. I wasn’t sure I was going to like whatever surprise he had planned for us. Two trolls approached me as I stumbled backwards, feeling a little overwhelmed.
‘Nathaniel,’ I repeated, but he didn’t move.
‘Shut up, Julia, that’s just part of the deal,’ he barked, turning around. I screamed as the shorter troll stormed towards me. I landed on the ground when he hit me unexpectedly. Hot pain spread over my left cheek. At first I didn’t quite register what had just happened. I was too numb to figure out if this was a joke or not.
‘Come on, sugar, we’ll have a fun tonight,’ growled another one, grabbing me. I shivered, refusing to believe that I was being captured by my own boyfriend.
‘Nathaniel!’ I screamed, but he didn’t react; he just stood there staring at me.
The shorter troll scooped me off the ground and threw me over his shoulder. He smelled of burnt flesh and sewer. Knots formed in my stomach, and my face throbbed with pain as he carried me on his back. I couldn’t understand why Nathaniel was doing this. I imagined that it was just a game. He soon would step away from the house and tell me that it was a stupid joke. He wasn’t a bad guy. He wouldn’t sell me out after what we’d both been through. I jerked screaming. My magic settled back. It seemed like someone or something was blocking my energy. The taller one hit me again. This time I was blinded with pain and passed out.
I felt like part of my face had been peeled off when I opened my eyes. Judging from the stiffness of my body I must have been lying on the cold floor for a few hours. I tried to sit in the most comfortable position I could, but my hands had been tied behind me. Rope dug into my skin, bruising my wrist. I had no idea where I was. I took a few deep breaths to regenerate my energy, hoping to call out my magic. Nothing happened and I cursed, wondering why my body wouldn’t react. The whole place stunk of mold; the air was thick with the metallic taste of blood. I thought about Nathaniel and my pulse started racing. He must have been under some kind of spell; otherwise he wouldn’t have let those trolls take me. He cared about me and wanted to ruin McGregor for what he did to Isabelle. This just didn’t make any sense.
My clothes were sodden with blood. Dad had cast a protection spell for me, so why wasn’t he here yet?
Then I heard frantic voices, someone opened the door and I was blinded by the light. My mind shut off, my body tensed.
Nathaniel won’t hurt me.
It took me a moment to realise that I was in the basement of the building after all the lights has been switched off. A group of people surrounded me.
‘Wake up, sleeping beauty, time to play,’ sang a deep husky voice. I recognised the two trolls that dragged me in here. Behind me I saw Nathaniel and hope poured into my stomach.
‘Nathaniel, please, what is going on?’ I whispered. He cocked his head to the side watching me intensely, his eyes were empty.
‘Your magic is useless here,’ he finally said.
‘Why am I here? Please, Nathaniel, why are you doing this?’ I asked, moving away. No one responded.
A few seconds passed by, then I heard more steps. Another person entered the basement. I blinked rapidly, feeling like someone had punched me.
McGregor stood in the door watching me silently.
He looked like he had just left a very important meeting, wearing a tailor-made suit. I had a sick, sinking feeling in my stomach that I wasn’t going to leave this basement alive. He squatted in front of me. His skin was ugly, pale, almost ghostly white. His rich brown eyes found mine quickly. I didn’t dare to move. My heart crawled back into my chest, beating faster.
‘Miss Taylor, you can’t even imagine how happy I am to finally see you,’ he said, running his tongue over his teeth. Fear ripped through my pores, but I held his look. Nathaniel was here; he wouldn’t let him touch me.
‘Fuck you,’ I spat, crawling back towards the wall.
‘Miss Taylor, language,’ he said and got up, ignoring me. He turned towards the trolls and shouted. ‘Get him inside, now!’
I was shaking, but I fought with the knots, trying to free my hands. Nothing was working. I felt certain that Nathaniel was spellbound by some unknown magic, and we were both at McGregor’s mercy.
There were more voices in the background, and
someone was struggling. Then a werewolf entered, pushing a man towards me who fell on to the ground. He was in a hell of a state. His clothes were in pieces, he had a long tangled beard, and his hair was filthy. He moved a little and turned his face to me, opening his bloodshot eyes. The nausea grew as I slowly began to realise that I knew the man lying in front of me. My regional manager, Rufus, was looking straight at me. I darted my eyes over the long wounds that stretched over his back and legs. His clothes were soaked with blood.
He is alive, oh my God, he is still alive.
‘Rufy,’ called out the giant who brought him in. ‘Hey, don’t you fucking pretend that you can’t hear me!’
He kicked him, and Rufus moaned, lifting his head a couple of inches away from the ground.
‘Stop you piece of shit!’ I screamed. The giant laughed. Rufus turned and his eyes found mine again. The tears welled, but I refused to let them see me crying.
‘We thought that you might like company,’ McGregor said, folding his arms together. My heart was going to gallop out of my chest, but I no longer cared what they were going to do to me. I was happy seeing Rufus alive.
‘What did you do to him?’ I spat. ‘He would never help you, he hates you!’
‘Oh my dear Julia,’ McGregor sang, shaking his head, ‘I’m sorry to be the one to have to break this to you, but while Nathaniel has been fucking you, he has also been working for me.’
‘Bullshit,’ I snapped.
‘Sorry, firecracker,’ said Nathaniel, smiling, and my heart leaped in my chest. Then McGregor wasn’t lying—no one else knew about my nickname.
I clenched my fists, staring in disbelief at Nathaniel. It was clear that he betrayed me.
‘Miss Taylor, I had no plans to be involved in your life,’ said McGregor. His skin shimmered in that dim light. Rufus stopped moving, his eyes were closed. ‘But you ruined my blood, my plan.’
‘Fuck you, why don’t you just get on with what you have to do,’ I snapped, swallowing the tears.
‘We are waiting for someone very special; we don’t want him to miss all the fun.’
‘Police will be here in a moment, you piece of trash!’
Everyone laughed. McGregor narrowed his eyes. I hated him and wanted to slash his perfect face with a razor, and watch as he bled to death.
‘Police have no idea what is going on with you. Now, I don’t want to waste any more time, let me show you.’ He sighed and nodded to the werewolf.
Then the door opened for the third time. Roger, one of Dad’s subordinates who was supposed to keep an eye on me emerged from the shadows holding another man. I gasped before I could stop myself from looking at the face of the traitor. Roger’s expression didn’t reveal anything; he wasn’t even looking at me. Horrified, I darted my eyes to the man that he was holding. The blood was dripping off his face, and he mumbled something, but whatever he said sounded like a raspy growl. His suit was torn and his arm was turned at an odd angle. His eyes were closed and for a split second I wondered if he was going to be alive for long. Roger, who was still in his uniform, pushed the man over so he slammed down onto the floor.
‘You cowards,’ I yelled, swallowing up the tears. ‘What have you done to him?’
The man opened his eyes and groaned, but he was soon silenced. The werewolf kicked him straight in the stomach. I stared horrified as blood pooled from under his motionless body.
‘You will love my surprise, Julia,’ McGregor’s eyes were glowing with excitement as he paced around the man. Time stopped for a moment, then it sped up twisting my insides. I couldn’t stop the tears that poured out of my eyes like a raging current.
‘My love,’ Nathaniel said, approaching me, ‘I’m sorry that you had to see this.’
‘Fuck you!’
I wanted rip his guts out with my bare hands. Anger consumed me, crawling through me, latching on to every cell. The minute Nathaniel betrayed me he was dead to me.
‘You will all die in hell for this, you sick psychopaths!’ I roared.
‘Don’t be so dramatic, darling, we are having fun,’ McGregor said, rubbing his hand.
‘You need to focus now, because here comes the best part of the show.’
I had no idea what he was talking about. I kept glancing at Rufus, he was pale but I hoped that he was determined to survive through this nightmare. The man that was brought in wasn’t a human, but that didn’t matter anymore, because he was probably already dead.
‘Jake, it’s time to shift,’ said McGregor flexing his fingers and appearing behind me. He leaned over and cupped my face so I was looking straight at Nathaniel. ‘Watch, Julia, you will enjoy the entertainment.’
His palms were cold. I kept jerking away, but he held me tightly. All of a sudden, Nathaniel’s posture went rigid. His eyes widened as he fell on his knees roaring in agony. His sandy hair started to grow, turning into dark brown in a matter of seconds. He grew a few inches and his face changed shape. The air cracked with an electric current and I saw a new man standing in front of me. I freed my hands pressed them against my mouth and screamed. The relief washed over me, despite the shock rippling through my face.
‘Let me introduce you to Jake Grover, one of my best shifters,’ said McGregor smiling. I couldn’t breathe. I felt like the air had been knocked out of my lungs.
‘He isn’t Nathaniel?’ I whispered.
‘No, sadly he isn’t, but we were enjoying having fun with you.’ McGregor sneered, moving away from me. I should have known that the man in front of me was not my Nathaniel. I should have felt it. McGregor must have noticed my sudden relief because he said.
‘Fortunately for me, I managed to snatch away your lover. I have to admit it was a struggle, but he didn’t expect me to show up in his apartment. He nearly killed one of my guys, but we managed’
My mind clouded with pain and confusion. I still didn’t get what he was talking about. He moved closer and squatted by the injured man who was brought here a few minutes ago.
‘Julia, meet your boyfriend, Nathaniel La Caz.’ He finished turning the bloody face of the man on the ground towards me.
Chapter forty-three
Dead and drained.
I must have blacked out for a minute or two. I opened my eyes and found that I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I was drowning and water was swirling into my lungs, choking me slowly. Minutes rolled by and I didn’t make a sound. McGregor held the injured man’s face till the man parted his eyes. Thoughts rolled through my brain, I kept telling myself that he was still alive but I didn’t want to believe that it was him.
‘I don’t believe you’ I whispered, trembling.
‘Don’t worry we were prepared for that,’ he replied.
A tall werewolf whom I saw outside held a grey bucket in his hands, he approached the tortured man. McGregor moved, cleaning his hands, a wicked smile appeared on his lips. The werewolf threw the water over the man, washing away the dirt and blood. It was enough for me to realise that Caleb McGregor was telling me the truth. In that scary, swollen and wounded face I recognised my Nathaniel. He was pale; his body had been battered, his spirit broken. I wanted to scream but no sound came out. I felt empty.
McGregor approached me, his dark eyes shimmering with hunger as he inhaled my scent.
‘I need to start from the beginning, Julia. I wanted to let go of the fact that you had made me bankrupt,’ he explained, smoothing his brown hair, ‘So I disappeared. I had to think really hard about my next step. You see, I needed you because Nathaniel cared about you.’
I wasn’t listening to him. I was keeping my eyes on Nathaniel. He was spellbound with a suspension charm or something much worse, otherwise he would have moved or have said something.
‘Julia.’
Rufus moved, darting his eyes around the room, clenching his teeth as he lifted himself and sat breathing hard.
‘Rufy, good you’re awake, I want you to hear what I have to say as well,’ said McGregor.
‘Fuck you, Ca
leb.’
McGregor ignored him and continued. ‘After our beautiful Julia ruined my plans, I decided to pay a visit to the rivals of Paranormal Personnel. That ugly troll from StaffSpell owed me a favour.’
I didn’t care about what he had to say. We both knew how this would end. He was going to kill me, and then he would drink from me. I could see from how pale he was that he hadn’t fed; he waited until they brought me here. He won’t spare any of us.
‘The troll was reluctant at first, but as you know I can be very convincing. It turned out that Fiorillo knew our Rufy here. It is such a small world, you see. I was planning to kidnap you a few months prior to this. I wanted to motivate Nathaniel, I wanted to see him suffer,’ continued McGregor. ‘Unfortunately I didn’t know that my old mate Nate was a few steps ahead of me and hired someone to keep an eye on you. The wizard that I hired failed me. From that day I knew that you were protected, so I decided to shape up a new plan. The police were after me, but I still had people who were loyal to me. Rufy here wasn’t particularly interested in my money. It’s hard to admit that he was more loyal to the business of Paranormal Personnel. Fiorillo couldn’t quite convince him.’
‘I’m sorry, Julia,’ whispered Rufus, staring at me.
‘You should be sorry. Maybe this would have ended much better if you would have agreed to work for me.’ McGregor wiped the sweat off his forehead.
‘Anyway, it turned out that Fiorillo was useless so I sent my people to gain some information from our old Rufy here. One of them showed him a nice picture of his family. That kind of motivated him to talk but only for a short while. Then he started complicating things, he wanted to protect you.’
I was still silent, trying to find the way to get my magic back. Elena was right: McGregor had blackmailed Rufus. I should have known that he was coming for me.