The Vampire And Her Human Mate

29| On to Rome

Bianca had wanted Beau to stay home while she did all this, but he had insisted he come. It sent an anxious gnawing in her stomach- a brewing fear that she was risking everything by letting him anywhere near where Cordon and the Council were.

She had left him at the airport while she headed into the city to conduct her meeting with the Council. Raven and Bronson were coming back to Europe with her but Rose had decided to stay behind. Turns out David's real father was actually an Alpha of a pack that had settled into the human realm many years after fleeing Therien during a civil war there some decades prior. His pack lived in the northwest of the USA. David was planning to go up there to meet his people with his sister and Rose was going to go with him. They were assured her vampirism wouldn't be a problem- it sounded like Americans weren't as hung up as the European counterparts- were-people and vamps did not mix there.

She felt nervous. The time to fly from New York to Europe they had been brainstorming what Cordon's end game had been by withholding marrying her off. Maybe he had a bigger plan on who he would cast her to. Maybe the Americans were just not worth expending her on.

In any case, she needed to get this over with and then she could lay out to Cordon that not only did she have both organisations ears, but she had the evidence to bury him with both.

She had her message to him already written up, ready to hit send the second she finished with her meeting.

She sat in the backseat of her car, being driven. She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, just focused on what she would say to the Council.

She looked up as they came to a stop. They shouldn't have arrived yet.

"Excuse me," she spoke to the driver sharply, realising they were in a parking lot. "Where are we?"

"This is where I was ordered to go," he said simply and got out of the car.

Bianca didn't wait for him to open the door, she flung it open and stepped out, feeling the approach of, she counted, twelve vampires.

The vampires came into view around the carpark, each one wearing tactical uniforms. These were Cordon's personal army.

She clenched her jaw. She had really become soft since finding her mate- this was the second time in days she had been led into a trap.

"Bianca," she looked at the vamp that spoke. She knew her, Vanders. "Come quietly. This doesn't have to be a scene."

"What right-" she started to mentally flick through all the ways she could get out of this, the first absolute indignation and try to bluff her way out.

"Not going to work," Vanders said simply.

Bianca shrugged, "I had to try." The second the last syllable left her mouth she was moving. She took out the closest three vampires, sliding along the concrete of the floor knocking down and throwing another into the third as she rose back up.

She spun, avoiding the bullets that sprayed after her- if they were silver, this was going to hurt a lot. She could only hope they were standard in which case it would still hurt but briefly. She took down another four, using one as a vampire shield as someone started firing at her again.

She felt one clip her calf, hissing as she launched herself behind a car. Silver.

"Hold your fire!" Vanders yelled. "Bianca. If you had let me continue I could have shown you this."

"Say hello," the sound came out of an electronic device. That was Cordon's voice.

There was silence and then the sound of someone being hit and a grunt. Her breath caught.

A yell of pain came from the device Vanders held.

"Bianca," Vanders called, "you want to say something?"

Bianca clenched her eyes closed. She stood and came out in front of the vehicle she had sought cover behind.

The phone in Vander's hand was on video and Bianca could see the image of Beau. He was sitting with his mouth closed, a look of fear in his eyes. He looked a little roughed up. His eyes opened as he saw her through the camera. He shook his head slightly.

Her shoulders slumped and let them take her in.

~*~

Beau felt anger boiling in him. He didn't quite know what happened. He, Raven and Bronson had been waiting in the plane- they had planned to fly to Berlin where they had their main home base once Bianca returned from the meeting.

They'd left the plane open as it had just been refueled and that was a safety precaution- then there had been a swarm of what looked like military flooding into the plane. He'd been knocked out within minutes and woke up here.

Freya had been there when he woke, unable to tell him where the two vampires were and why he'd been brought here. He'd been able to guess immediately who she was. Bianca looked so much like her. She had helped to soothe his wounds.

And then Cordon had arrived. "So Mr Fox, we meet again."

Beau just looked back at him impassively.

"I am yet to find exactly who you are, but we'll be tidying this all up very quickly."

"What are you going to do?" Beau asked.

"I'm going to sever your bond. I don't care what alliance you were hoping to make here, but Bianca is not available."

Both Freya and Beau glanced at each other. "What's it to you?" Beau asked. Though he was getting it.

Cordon ignored him and answered a call. He smiled ruefully and turned the phone onto Beau. "Say hello."

Beau couldn't see anything on the screen. It was dimly lit. His head snapped back as he was backhanded across the face, a grunt of pain leaving him. Holy shit, he thought, stunned. That was fast. And hard.

"Bianca," a woman's voice said, "you want to say something?"

Beau sucked a breath in. After a few seconds he saw Bianca step into view. She had a downtrodden look on her face. They stared at each other, their eyes meeting just before the video call was cut off.

"Not long now," Cordon said with excitement.

~*~

Bianca kept herself stoic as she was led through the abandoned building. The room they took her to had battery powered lamps set up and what looked like a torture corner.

She couldn't see Bronson or Raven. It made her worried but she didn't think Cordon would be foolish enough to hurt or kill them. They were from some of the most prestigious families in the world.

Beau was sitting on a chair stiffly, her mother standing as she wrung her hands not far from him.

And Cordon. He was standing by the instruments of torture.

Vanders pushed her as she slowed down, directing her to a chair.

Beau sat up straight as he saw her enter. "Bianca..." he whispered, a look of pain on his face.

Cordon turned at the sound of her name. A look of extreme displeasure on his face.

"What is going on here?" She asked immediately. "This is-"

Cordon took a threatening step towards Beau and any bravado left her.

"No!" She cried and leapt towards him. Vanders hit her in the back of the head and harshly pushed her down into a seat.

Cordon stopped his movement to Beau and instead came towards her.

"Now now Bianca. Let's not play these games anymore."

Vanders commenced chaining Bianca to the chair.

"What do you want?" She asked. Her eyes went to Beau. He wasn't tied up- she could only assume Cordon had no fear of him. Her mother looked like she desperately wanted to say something but she remained quiet.

Cordon looked up at the ceiling for a second, "What do I want?" His eyes came down to her. "You."

~*~