William Read online

  “I bet you’d love to suck my cock. Maybe I’ll make you do it. In my house, where I made you mine. Would you like that?”

  She grunted.

  “I want your mouth on me. When you’re dripping and ready I’ll take your virginity and treasure it for all eternity.”

  He fingered her pussy and watched as she came apart, her release sending his cock jerking and spilling his seed onto her body. They cried out in completion and when the feelings subsided, he wanted to do it all over again.

  Katie lay panting in his arms. “That was amazing.”

  “It was merely a taste of much more to come,” he said.

  “Please, come and find me, William. I need you.”

  “I’m here.”

  Then harsh reality thrust in.

  A ringing in the distance.

  “Shit, not now,” William protested.

  “What is it?” she asked, the laughter dimming in her eyes.

  William was about to answer…when he disappeared.

  He woke to the ringing of the telephone.

  Chapter Four

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Adam held the struggling female as he marched her into the Valentines’ house. His youngest sister, Rose, stood waiting for him.

  “Robert is waiting in the study for you,” she informed him, moving away.

  “How’s Mum?” he asked, holding on to the squirming woman to stop her from escaping.

  Rose sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “She’s coping as best as she can. She misses Dad and the peace he brought.”

  “Where’s Dawn?” Dawn was another sister, younger than him but older than Rose.

  “Out. No one knows where she goes these days.”

  Adam nodded and dragged the necromancer down the hall to the study. He didn’t bother to knock. He opened the door to see some of the council members and his brother Jason.

  “Where’s William?” Robert demanded as soon as he saw Adam.

  “Doing his own shit. Sit,” he ordered Poppy.

  He saw her fists tighten as she pulled her cape closer around her body, covering herself up.

  “This thing with Katie is going to get him killed.” Robert placed his hands on his hips and stormed around the room.

  “He’s going to do what he needs to do.” Adam would defend his brother’s decision. Someone had to.

  The other men in the room stayed silent, glancing around at nothing, whilst avoiding eye contact.

  “What did you want, Robert?” Adam kept his eyes on Poppy.

  “We’ve got some information…” Robert said. Then he stopped, looking from Adam to Poppy. “Who’s the girl?”

  Adam turned his gaze his brother. “She was following me and William. Says she’s a necromancer.”

  “Impossible!” Jason spoke for the first time since Adam had entered the room.

  “How dare you?” Poppy stood, her rage directed at the whole group.

  Jason stepped across and went toe to toe with her.

  “I dare because necromancers are horse shit. A bullshit theory.” The aggression came off him in waves.

  “Jason, back off.” Adam pushed past him and stood between them.

  “Get her out of here, Adam. She’s a waste of space,” Jason sneered.

  Poppy pushed Adam out of the way and went for his brother. “You want me to prove I’m not some bullshit theory? Test me, boy, and you’ll be sorry.”

  She barely reached Jason’s shoulder. She pulled her hood back and showed him her face, her eyes sparkling a vivid red as she approached him.

  Adam tensed, wondering what the hell was going on with his youngest brother being aggressive to a woman. He shook his head. They really didn’t need this right now.

  Poppy showed the men her scars and the power within her eyes. A true necromancer could radiate a spiritual force that helped them to find their target when raising the dead. After a nasty assignment, though, her spirit self was taking a rest—she wouldn’t be able to call it forth for a while.

  Raising the dead was a dangerous business, especially raising immortals.

  Poppy could sense this man’s discomfort with her. He was afraid of necromancers, frightened to believe that they might be a reality.

  Shaking her head, she turned back to Adam.

  “I came to help you. I’m not going to take being insulted,” she said softly, her eyes changing back to their natural colour, grey.

  “We’ll talk once I’m done.” He helped her outside and found her a chair. He clearly thought she was in pain because of all of her scars. Poppy liked the help. For once, she could feel like a female with a man to take care of her.

  Poppy watched him go back in and shut the heavy door behind him. She could sense the death surrounding the family. It hadn’t been long since they’d lost a loved one. Necromancers couldn’t contact spirits but they could sense them; feel them around. Whomever they had lost wasn’t passing over. If she wanted to raise the body, he would be easy to find.

  Her arm tingled from Adam’s touch. She glanced at the door.

  She wished she didn’t have all the scars. But some dead bodies still had another fight left in them.

  Poppy didn’t understand why she was feeling emotional. She had no clue who this family was, but she couldn’t stop the reactions within her body. When fate wanted to throw her into someone’s path, there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  She listened to the vampires in the other room, her body calming down as she realised she was supposed to be here. Being a necromancer heightened her hearing far above that of vampires and humans. She heard spirits from the other realm, for crying out loud. A thick wood door was nothing.

  “What is your beef?” Adam asked as soon as they were in private. Jason glanced at the other men in the room as if looking for support.

  “No, you don’t just stand off with a woman and expect other people to fight your battles. Be a man and take responsibility.”

  Jason was the youngest male in the family and the most coddled. Even more coddled than the women. Even though Rose was the youngest of them all, she had been forced to deal with her own problems.

  “She’s a necromancer,” he murmured.

  Adam pointed at him, his rage surfacing. “I don’t give a fuck what she is, you don’t take to fucking threatening a woman,” he yelled.

  “Do you even remember what necromancers can do?” Jason stuttered back.

  Adam threw his hands in the air as he glanced at each man individually.

  “Last time I checked, brother, you were the youngest vampire in this room and had never even met a necromancer.”

  Jason bowed his head, embarrassed. Adam wasn’t going to feel guilty. Jason deserved the harshness. He needed to be brought down to earth.

  Robert finally spoke up. “He’s right, Jason. You shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Until we know what the hell is going on, she stays.” Adam pointed to the door outside which Poppy was waiting.

  Adam knew she was important in some way. What shocked him, though, was his lack of fear. He knew the rumours about necromancers controlling the dead and, with him being a vampire and all, he didn’t want her controlling him.

  Poppy was obviously a warrior, from the scars dotting her hands and face. He’d bet she had scars all over her body and, in this house, she would be treated with the respect a warrior deserved. She’d been through enough.

  He hated how he’d responded to her earlier. He wasn’t sickened by her scars—he admired her.

  A woman of worth.

  “I’ve got some information about the compound where they’re holding Katie,” Robert said to the group. “I want to know who’s in and who’s out.”

  “How reliable is this info?” Adam questioned.

  “A source I can trust,” he answered evasively. Since their father’s death and the start of the war, Robert had been more like a commander than a brother. Adam didn’t know how to relate to him anymore.

 
“You’ll need to phone William.”

  “He doesn’t need to know,” Robert argued.

  Running his hand through his hair, Adam tried to hold on to what precious sanity he had left.

  “If you don’t involve William in a mission to rescue Katie, you will lose him. He is close to losing it already. We need to find her.” It was the best advice Adam could give.

  “I’ll come as well.”

  All heads in the room turned to the door.

  Don was standing there in a leather jacket and blue jeans, his arms folded, everything about him the commanding soldier he’d once been.

  “Well, I’ll be damned. Don Hargreaves.” Robert went over and embraced the older vampire.

  “Sorry about your loss. Your father was a great man.”

  “You here to kick my butt?” Adam asked.

  Don chuckled, shaking his head.

  “I felt this coming—war with the wolves, right?”

  “Killed my father, took our witch and pretty much declared war,” Robert confirmed.

  “Figured as much. You can feel the tension everywhere. I’m here to help,” Don said.

  “And me.” Poppy was standing inside the door.

  “What can you do?” Robert queried.

  “I may be a woman, but anyone dead—young or old—I can find them and get the answers you need. You’ll need me at this compound where you think the witch is being held.”

  Adam’s heart raced. He rubbed his chest. He didn’t like the thought of her going on a mission like this.

  She stared at all of them. A bad-ass girl.

  “I’ll call William. We do this tonight at sundown,” Robert said to the group.

  Adam took Poppy by the arm and guided her out of the room, refusing to let go until he had them both safely locked away in his room.

  * * * *

  William glared at the light flashing on his mobile. Running a hand over his face, he mourned his return to the real world.

  But he couldn’t ignore his brother for long, even if he wanted to.

  Flipping open the mobile phone, he pressed it to his ear.

  “Yeah?” His voice croaked and his hands were shaking. He got up from the floor and moved to the bathroom. The mirror showed him how rough and unkempt he looked.

  “Will, it’s Robert.”

  “I figured that one out when it flashed on the screen. Call screening, Robert,” William said to his brother with all the sarcasm he could muster.

  “Whatever Will.”

  “Stop calling me that.” Will was from another time—a nicer time.

  “Fine, how have you been?”

  “We’re going to make small talk?” William knew he was being a bastard, but he couldn’t help it.

  “This is how it’s going to be between us?” Robert asked him.

  “While my big brother is trying to stop me looking for my witch, yeah, expect this.” He splashed some water on his face, making sure he didn’t splash the mobile, running the water through his hair, wiping the dried blood from his face.

  “I’m phoning because I’ve got some info about Katie.”

  William stood up straight, waiting. “I’m listening.”

  “It’s a possible location where she might be. Alive or buried—”

  “She’s alive,” William interrupted him.

  “How do you know?” Robert asked.

  “She visited me in the other world,” he replied honestly.

  He heard Robert’s hesitation.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” William said.

  “You saw Emma even after she died,” Robert reminded him.

  “This is different. Katie isn’t dead. She’s a fighter.”

  William knew Robert doubted him but he didn’t care. Katie was alive and he was going to find her. “Count me in.” He flipped the phone shut.

  He stared at himself in the mirror. His sandy blond hair flowed in wet waves around his face. The stubble on his face had grown over the last few weeks. Shaving would have been a waste of time. He ran a hand over the growth on his face, not sure what to make of it. His eyes were lifeless. The sparkle that had returned for a short time while Katie had been with him had faded with each of his failed searches.

  The one woman in over a century he’d promised to protect with his life and she was at the mercy of the Alpha wolf of the Beyer West pack. The fiercest pack in the world. The same man who’d searched the globe, murdering witches until no one knew if they even existed anymore. Katie had been the first one in decades.

  Inexperienced, innocent and beautiful.

  He wanted her for his own.

  His heart ached to feel her close. He’d been with her for such a short time, her fiery attitude and crazy powers a warm welcome against this bitter loneliness.

  He’d lost Emma and finally come back from the brittle edge of sanity. If he lost Katie, he would go over the line and never return.

  This ended with Katie by his side as his wife and mate, or it ended with his death.

  He refused to continue without her.

  He jumped into the shower, preparing for the night ahead, the smell of peaches soothing his bitter beast.

  Chapter Five

  “They’re coming again, witch,” said the man in the other cage opposite.

  Katie didn’t care. She was touching her lips, where William had kissed her. Had it been a nightmare or a salvation, going to sleep? Feeling William wrapped in her arms for even a moment had been so beautiful.

  He’d asked her to fight and that was what she would do.

  “Witch.” The voice echoed off the walls. The voice of the man who had taken her.

  Katie refused to move, to give him any power over her.

  She closed her eyes and pictured William. She wished he was here to comfort her.

  “Witch.” The sound louder now and closer.

  When she sensed that he was by the bed, she rolled over and glared at him. “Fuck off,” she growled, shooting her arm out to spit her magic at him.

  He was faster and, already weak, she couldn’t stop him. He grabbed her wrist and knocked it aside. The magic hit the wall and died. Wasted energy, magic and power. He jerked her to her feet.

  “When are you going to learn your place?” he snapped in her face.

  She kneed him in the balls. “When you learn yours, dog.”

  He fell to his knees and his grip on her arm loosened. Being with William had brought back her fighting spirit.

  Katie lashed out and kicked him in the balls again, then ran for the door. He scrambled up and caught her around the waist, hauling her off her feet and tossing her over his shoulder. Katie pummelled his back.

  “Let me go, mutt.”

  Her little fists did nothing against the strong back. She knew her knuckles would be bruised. His muscles were like rock.

  He smacked her ass. Outraged, she bit him. He tensed and howled in pain.

  Katie waited for retaliation but nothing came. He simply straightened up and kept walking.

  Katie didn’t know where he was taking her. She couldn’t see anything.

  He dumped her on a huge bed. Katie scrambled off to the other end and ran for the door, but he grabbed her by the waist and threw her down. Katie knew it was hopeless. Moving to a sitting position, she sent daggers his way with her gaze, folding her arms.

  “A little fire left in you,” he complimented her.

  Katie turned away, not caring if it made her look childish. The man was a monster.

  “Want some wine?” he asked.

  She refused to take the bait, her heart pounding, her mind spinning. She refused to allow the panic to come through.

  “No? What about some fruit?” He came to her side and tried to catch her eyes. Katie refused to give him any attention. But she decided against moving. He could still kill her at a moment’s notice. She’d promised William she’d stay alive.

  “Not going to talk to me at all?” He caressed her cheek.

  Katie fli
nched away from the contact. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

  He chuckled, grabbing her chin.

  “The little witch has claws, does she? I suggest you be careful how you use them.”

  Katie pulled away from his grip.

  “What do you want with me?” she asked him. She hated the wobble that erupted as she spoke.

  “To get to know you.”

  Katie snorted. “You kidnap me from the Valentines, test me, then pass me around your dogs like some sort of prize, and now you expect me to talk to you?” she mused.

  “What about it? You’re beautiful. And, all right, you haven’t done what I wanted, but there is nothing to stop you enjoying my company.” He took a sip of wine.

  Katie knew he was up to something. “I have no desire to get to know you. You might as well take me back.”

  “This because of William Valentine?”

  Katie stopped and glanced at him, her body tight. She didn’t say anything, just stopped and waited for him to continue.

  “Ah, William Valentine. The second in line and the one who is closer to the devil than any of them,” he said.

  “You don’t know him,” she replied defensively.

  “I don’t know him? Little witch, I was there when I took his first mate from him. Emma. She was the woman he really loved. A beautiful, powerful witch who sacrificed herself in order to save him.” He reached out to touch her again.

  Katie slapped his hand away.

  “You know you’re powerful, too. Killing a werewolf with your own hands without chanting some sort of spell makes you powerful. You would make the perfect queen for my pack.”

  Katie burst out laughing at the absurd suggestion. “Me, be your queen? You think I’ve got some sort of Stockholm syndrome? I want nothing to do with you.” She yelled the last part at him.

  “Are you sure about that?” he asked, crawling onto the bed.

  She backed away until she was against the headboard. He moved in closer. Katie tensed, not knowing what to do.

  “I wouldn’t touch you.”

  “No?”

  “Never.”

  He was perched a breath away from her. “Maybe this will change your mind.”