Destructive Embrace Read online

  Destructive Embrace

  Destructive Embrace

  Midpoint

  About the Author

  Destructive Embrace

  Robyn M. Pierce

  Darkest Embrace

  Robyn M. Pierce

  Copyright 2012 by Robyn M. Pierce

  Smashwords Edition

  Destructive Embrace

  Copyright © 2012 by Robyn M. Pierce

  All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without prior written permission of copyright holders.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to real places, people, or events is coincidental. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only.

  Dedication

  To Kayla R.

  You’re the best Alpha reader/best friend I could ever ask for, and I can honestly say that without you, this book never would have been finished.

  Thanks girly, I love you.

  Elyssa

  I clutched the small book with both hands as I stood outside Zeke’s dungeon doors. Each time I lifted one fist to knock on one of the doors, I’d snatch it back toward my body. Tired of the indecision, I decided to keep my hands busy with the journal.

  Reid’s journal. My dead Mate’s private thoughts.

  I had no right keeping this journal, since I was the one who stabbed him in the heart with my silver Kodachi. But why could I not bring myself to get Zeke’s attention and hand it over to him?

  “Why does Zeke need to have it?” I asked myself out loud. My voice startled me – it was raspy from disuse and it was difficult to form the words I wanted to use. “Reid had other brothers…”

  As I spoke about Reid in the past tense, tears flooded my eyes and I turned away from the door to sprint off. Because Zeke was there with you when you plunged the blade into his heart…

  I couldn’t be alone. But I knew that the one person who knew what I was feeling – and was probably feeling a thousand times worse – was the one person I couldn’t face.

  So I went to Dmitri’s tower. I barged in without knocking, and was grateful to find that Olivia was nowhere to be found. Probably off painting somewhere…

  “Elyssa?” Dmitri was reclined in his bed, a book propped up on his lap. The confusion in his voice was evident on his face.

  The tanned vampire furrowed his brows at me. There was more stubble along his jaw than I’d seen on him since my arrival at the castle. In another situation, I might have poked fun at him for it. However, nothing about my visit was fun and games.

  I wanted to comfort Dmitri about his absent Mate, but found myself launching into his arms instead, my arms locked around his neck in a death grip. Sobs overtook my body, and I fought to breathe as Dmitri, clearly startled, hesitantly squeezed his arms around my waist.

  He moved one hand to the back of my head, stroking my hair gently. The motion was soothing, but the embrace felt too intimate, and the sobs renewed themselves, forcing my shoulders to shake uncontrollably. It felt like I was betraying Reid.

  “Shh,” he whispered, pulling away to push my hair from my face. He met my eyes and took slow, deep breaths, motioning that I should follow along. I matched my breathing with his and lost track of time as I worked to calm down.

  “Good girl,” Dmitri finally whispered, brushing his thumbs just under my eyes to swipe the tears away. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

  I sniffled and took his hands in mine. “He’s gone.” He eyed me without saying a word. Suddenly he snatched his hands away and shoved me away from him.

  “What are you saying?” he asked. He shook his head before I could even get the words together. I brought my hands to my mouth and pursed my lips.

  I lowered my hands and inhaled. “Reid is –” I was cut off as Dmitri’s hand flew out to slap me across the face too quickly for my eyes to see; I only felt the stinging afterward. More tears filled my eyes and I lifted my left hand to set it against that side of my face.

  “That is definitely not funny, Elyssa Smith!” Dmitri hissed, gripping my shoulders harshly. He shook me violently for a few moments, until my face crumpled and tears flowed freely once again.

  I bit my lower lip, shaking my head slowly. “Why would I joke about that, Dmitri?” I asked softly. I was tempted to laugh; even my best friend at the castle thought I was a liar.

  At least Reid forgave you for the dungeon fiasco before he died…

  I shook Dmitri’s hands from my shoulders and climbed off his bed. As I neared the door, I realized that I was missing the journal, and spun around to find it. Dmitri had it in his hands.

  “What is this?” he asked. I gently took the book from him and shrugged one shoulder.

  “So no one knew that Reid kept this,” I whispered. It was unbelievable. The journal dated back to a few years ago, and I wondered how many others he had kept over the years without anyone realizing.

  I hugged the journal and left Dmitri’s room without looking back. If he thought I was a liar then that was his problem. If he refused to believe the truth about his brother being dead, it wasn’t my fault.

  Like I needed his anger. I was already pissed and hurt at the situation, and he wanted to… I laughed and tucked the journal securely under my arm.

  “I need to leave,” I mumbled. “This place isn’t one I wanted to stay in, in the first place.”

  I began the trek back to my room to pack, but froze. I couldn’t go to that room... The room connected to his. Yet, if I wanted to leave, I had to collect my things…

  I crouched down on the floor and leaned my forehead against the cold stone wall. The journal dropped to the floor beside me, but I made no motion to pick it up. My dark hair fell from behind my ears and I pushed it back out of my way. As the long strands were parted by my fingers, splotches of red caught my eyes. It became impossible to breathe as I realized that they were blood splotches from when I set my head down next to Reid’s body.

  My stomach began to clench, and quickly I scrambled into the nearest room and burst through the bathroom door in time to get sick.

  When my stomach stopped convulsing, I rinsed my mouth with hot water and examined the extent of the damage in the mirror. Blood was caked in my bangs and matted locks of hair together on each side. I wondered how Dmitri hadn’t seen it, or how he’d refrained from commenting on it.

  Flashes of Reid’s betrayed expression as he woke from his slumber clouded my vision, and I clenched my eyes shut as a wave of pain made me double over.

  I steadied myself after a few minutes and nudged open the cabinet beneath the sink in search of shampoo and soap. Nothing.

  I steeled myself for being back in the room connected to Reid’s and left the spare room I was in. I was conflicted between rushing to get the blood out of my hair and taking my time to be away from the room as long as possible, so I walked at a human pace, the journal tucked at my side again.

  When I arrived at my room, I gripped the doorknob in my shaky hand and twisted. I paused before opening the door, inhaling deeply to give myself another moment to gather more resolve.

  The first thing I saw when I opened the door was Dmitri. He sat on my bed, face shining with tears. The scent of blood was overwhelming, and I realized that the door to Reid’s room was open.

  “You couldn’t have moved his body?” Dmitri rasped, bringing his hands to his face to swipe at the tears.

  “You couldn’t tell me I had blood
in my hair?” I countered halfheartedly. A ghost of a smile flickered across his face before the pain returned. I moved toward him and wound my arms around his shoulders. He drew his arms around my waist immediately, his frame shuddering as sobs overtook him. I rubbed his back, fighting to not break down.

  Several minutes later, he calmed down and withdrew himself from the embrace, scrubbing his face with his hands. I looked away; certainly he wouldn’t want me watching him as he rid his face of tears.

  I silently moved about my room, gathering the clothes I’d come with so I could pack them away. As I passed him to dump the clothes on the bed, Dmitri grabbed my arm harshly. The things I held fell to the floor, and I jerked my gaze up to meet his.

  “Where are you going?” he demanded. I scowled.

  “Do you think I can remain in this room?” I retorted. Did he think I was trying to leave the castle? Sure, I planned to, but not so soon... I was thinking a little more clearly already; I had to deal with Reid’s body. “Why would I leave now?” I asked softly.

  He sighed and released my arm. “Won’t you at least stay even after things are handled?” he asked, avoiding my eyes as well as my question. I was surprised that he realized I didn’t want to stay for too long.

  “I have no place here,” I murmured, sitting next to him. “I hurt him before… I don’t have a right to stay here anymore.” Dmitri’s cold hand found mine and he squeezed gently.

  “You’re welcome here, as his Mate. As my friend, as well…” I turned to look at Dmitri, only to find that he still wouldn’t look at me. When I took my hand away, however, he snapped his gaze up to meet mine and I smiled.

  “I’ll visit,” I promised. “But I never wanted to stay on this island in the first place. I just got sidetracked…”

  Dmitri laughed once. “By love?” he asked, shaking his head. “I’m not sure that it’s really worth as much as everyone made it out to be.”

  Now was the time to comfort him about his Mate, but before I could get the words out, he stood and vanished before my eyes. “There are supplies in the main supply room, which is next to the dining hall. So you can take any room.”

  I wanted to thank him for the information – as well as inform him that disembodied voices were creepy – but I didn’t know if he was still there to hear it. Instead, I shoved my clothes in my duffel bag.

  When my eyes found the red dress that Zeke gave me, I hesitated. Was I supposed to take the gift from the brother of my Mate? The same man who’d professed his love for me…

  I doubted that his feelings were real, but I wasn’t entirely sure.

  In the end, I couldn’t leave it in a room full of things given to me by my Mate. So I carefully packed the dress in with the rest of my things and ran from the room, slamming the door shut behind me.

  What was there to do? What, exactly, could I do without the aid of his family? “Nothing,” I said to myself.

  I didn’t know where to go, either. Should I set up shop in a room in Reid’s section, or venture off into another brother’s domain? It felt wrong to remain in his area, since I was the one that drove the blade into his heart. Yet staying near Zeke would be a definite betrayal. As for Dmitri, his Mate wouldn’t like it too much. And I certainly didn’t know Wyatt well enough.

  Zeke was the only real option I had, and yet the worst one for me to choose… “I won’t be staying here too much longer,” I reasoned with myself. “Plus, it’s Zeke who I want to have this journal…”

  Slowly, like taking my time would change my decision, I made my way down to the main hall. At the top of the main staircase, I paused, gripping the banister to steady myself.

  As I stood at the top of the staircase, my eyes roamed over the front hall. I could remember my arrival clearly, though the memory itself was a little foggy – viewing it through human eyes was nothing compared to my new sight.

  The human girl was ushered into the castle through one of the doors. She wrung her black hair out as she migrated over to the tapestry hanging on the wall; the Lanistter family tree. Her intense focus as she tried to translate the Latin phrase that served as the family’s motto.

  “Vivere commune est; sed non commune mereri,” I whispered, prying my hand off the banister. Numbness began to spread through my body, starting with my chest. “Reid deserved to live.” Slowly all emotions drained from me, and I was calm, uncaring.

  A small voice in the back of my mind whispered that I should care; that the best part about being a vampire – not caring – was not the best route for me. But the rest of me shoved that voice into a dark corner. Right now, I desperately need to not feel any of this, I thought.

  Dmitri

  “He’s gone.”

  The words echoed over and over in my mind as I wandered through the castle. I was numb. How could my lively baby brother be dead?

  I heard shuffling coming from around the corner and immediately made myself invisible. It was that human girl, Roxann. Silently, I headed in the opposite direction, keeping my mind blank until she was out of my range.

  Roxann was Zeke’s plaything, right? I had no doubt in my mind that Zeke was involved in the death of my brother, and feared that I would attack his human pet in retaliation.

  I was nearly to the stairs that would take me to the quiet of my tower when I sensed Olivia’s presence. Shit, I thought, closing our bond before she could figure out where I was or what I was thinking about; what I was feeling. There was a chance that she would be able to catch my scent and follow me, but I didn’t have a choice but to take that risk. Plus, when I got to the garden, her ability to scent me should be impaired by the different aromas in the garden.

  As I high-tailed it to the gardens, I realized that I shouldn’t be in my room, anyway; it was where Elyssa told me about Reid.

  “Reid,” I whispered as I emerged into the garden. It was the middle of the night, and the moon’s light made a bush of white roses seem to glow.

  As I took in the section of the garden, I laughed once. Of course. My luck…

  I was in the part of the garden that Reid’s storm had hit the hardest. The one area of my garden that would remind me of him. I dropped my invisibility as the first tears fell.

  “Why?” I asked. I shuffled further into the garden, thrashing out at plants as I passed them by. The destruction didn’t help me, but I didn’t want the remaining beauty to be there when my brother wasn’t.

  A noise nearby in the castle startled me, and I whirled around in time to see the doors I’d emerged from open once more. It was Olivia. Apparently I hadn’t gotten away from her as I’d hoped to.

  She eyed me warily, and I glanced down at myself. All covered in dirt and bits of plants, I was a mess. Ollie, on the other hand, looked impeccable as usual. Maybe she’s scared of how I look, I thought hopefully, feeling bad for the thought right away.

  “Dmitri,” she said, frowning at me. I scowled at her tone: impatient, like me not volunteering my problems was a waste of her time.

  Please.

  She crossed her arms over her chest, apparently realizing that I wasn’t going to be forthcoming with my issues. “What is going on?”

  "Maybe if you were around more, you would fucking know, Olivia!" I snapped at her, hissing as she began to step toward me. She immediately stopped in her tracks, and I smirked. Finally, she was taking me seriously. I'd hoped I wouldn't have to scare her, but whatever needed to be done to make her see things in a different light, so be it.

  Olivia narrowed her eyes and bared her fangs at me. The action was supposed to be threatening, but I just laughed. She was my Mate. I'd made her, and she was no match for my strength; not at her young age, not being my inferior. "Give it up," I told her with a smirk. "You are no match for me as my Mate, darling."

  She scowled at me like it would make a difference. "What is your problem?" she asked, huffing like the brat she'd always claimed not to be.

  I shook my head. "Like I said, Ollie. If you were around more, maybe you would actually kn
ow. I shouldn't have to explain things to you every time something new comes up. Do some digging. You have a lot of potential, if you'd just try," I told her. My tone said that I couldn't give a damn if she tapped into her potential, but I was testing her. Let’s see if you care enough, I thought.

  "But you're my Mate," Olivia told me softly. She furrowed her eyebrows and a frown touched her lips. "You're supposed to be able to turn to me when you're in trouble or when you need something."

  "What do I need?!" I snapped at her, taking a step toward her. She was doing a good job of pissing me off, stepping into an area where I didn't want her trotting. Having her as a Mate wasn't turning out to be anything good.

  She appeared taken aback, and she opened her mouth to speak, only to close it once more. After a moment, she tried again. "You need to talk to your Mate about your problems," she whispered. Her soft voice and seemingly calm exterior didn't fool me. I could read her like a book, and she was beginning to boil, same as I was.

  "No. I need for my Mate – who should have my best interest in mind – to leave me the hell alone while I grieve the loss of my little brother!" I clenched my jaw shut as I realized what I'd said. "It isn't your business, Ollie," I told her, rendering myself invisible once more.

  I left the area silently and quickly, moving too fast for her to be able to keep up with me. I needed to be alone more than anything. Or, I needed to be with someone who cared about more than painting and sex. If anything, I thought, I should be with my family...

  But who actually knew? If Zeke really had anything to do with Reid's death, as I suspected, then I wouldn't want to be around him. Did Wyatt even know?

  The only person that I was certain knew about Reid's death was Elyssa... But I couldn't handle being near her. She planned to leave the castle. I wasn't sure when she would actually leave, or if she would really visit when she was gone, but I knew I couldn't handle losing her – my only real friend – right after losing my little brother. My favorite brother.