Creatus

In the meanwhile, she’d stay as far away from Reece Buckley as she could. Unfortunately, since she hadn’t been wearing her ski mask, he had seen her face, so now the responsibility of silencing the human would fall into her hands.

Chapter Forty-five

Kris felt her mother’s warm hand check her head for fever. She’d always loved when she’d come into the room in the middle of the night when she was sick and just check on her. Even if Kris wasn’t sleeping, sometimes she’d pretend to be asleep so she could just enjoy her hands as they caressed her head and hair. Though on occasion, she’d open her eyes and her mother would question why she was still awake, and then she would sing to her until she fell back asleep.

The knife flashed in front of Kris again, then everything in the room turned blood red, and she remembered that her mother was dead. The rogue had killed her mother. No… the rogue had killed Kris, not her mother. She had stood on the tiny ledge, listening as Derrick and the rogue had fought, and then she’d heard the crack of the ledge below her feet and seconds later had felt the shelf beneath her fingertips bend as she’d tried to grab onto the wall, but she’d clawed nothing but air as she fell.

“Derrick!” she screamed.

“It’s okay, Kristina. You’re safe.” A woman’s voice.

Kris tried to open her eyes, but they were heavy, and an annoying beep filled her head, which throbbed. That voice. She recognized that voice. Victoria? Was she the rogue? No. The rogue had a male voice, she remembered.

“Where’s Derrick?” she tried to push out, but she wasn’t sure if she’d spoken audibly. Had the rogue killed him? No… Derrick had told her to hang on to him, and then she’d passed out again.

“I just rang for him when I heard you waking up,” the woman said. “But I’m sure he’s running after he heard you scream.”

Kris attempted to turn her head to the voice, but every muscle in her body ached. “Vic?” she tried.

“No, sweetheart. It’s Sabrina.” The woman touched her face again, and Kris forced her eyes to open, knowing she was safe. “Don’t cry,” her mother-in-law said, kissing her forehead. “Derrick will be here in a moment. You’re safe, honey.”

Kris hadn’t realized that a tear had escaped. She wasn’t sad, however, she was happy. Her mother-in-law was here, and she’d said that Derrick would be here soon, and that was all that mattered. Her body felt so sore though, and she was thirsty. She licked her lips, attempting to get moisture.

“Here, sweetheart.” Sabrina held up a spoon of ice chips for her, and Kris accepted gratefully. They tasted so good. Kris opened her mouth and she offered her another.

“Kristina,” Derrick said on an exhale, appearing in her line of sight. “Thank God.”

Kris attempted to smile, but even that hurt. Why did her body hurt so much? “What… happened?”

Derrick ran his hands through her hair and kissed her forehead. “Honestly, woman. You’ve been through more stuff, and still, you greet me with a smile. We’ll talk later. You’re okay, and that’s all that matters. Just extremely dehydrated, and your body took quite a shock. Humans aren’t meant to drop thirty stories.”

“No… I guess we’re not.” She closed her eyes, just wanting to sleep, but she didn’t want Derrick to leave either. “Please don’t leave me.”

A soft chuckle escaped her husband’s throat. “Baby, I will never leave you. It’s you who needs to promise that.”

She released a labored breath. “I’ll never leave you, Derrick.” And the world faded to black again, but this time she knew everything would be okay.

Epilogue

He bolted down the stairs, watching that Derrick didn’t come through the building after him. But he was certain that Derrick had been too preoccupied with Kristina and had completely lost focus on him. Maybe he’d just go to another family. He didn’t need New England to make his plan work. He’d find another family who was tired of living the way they had for centuries. Together they would build an army and take on Derrick’s family. And when they were gone, they’d have control.

The familiar truck pulled to a stop in front of him. The window lowered and the driver stared out at him, as if he knew. “Hop in.”

The rogue—as he’d come quite comfortable thinking of himself—hopped in the cab. He turned to the driver. “You knew?”

“Yep. I’ve always known.”

He nodded and then smiled. “Where to?”

“You’re the boss, brother. Just say the word.”

“What about Mom? Won’t she be upset?”

“Who do you think told me to call you? We’ll pick her up on the way. After what Dad did, she hates humans more than you and I put together.”

He dropped his head, not sure how he felt about dragging his mother and brother into his plan. Of course, he had said start a new family. Well, they were family. “Okay, Ry,” Jonas said. “Let’s go get Mom and decide what we need to do next.”

Ry squealed out of the parking lot and headed north. From there, who knew? He’d have to come back to Boston of course. The one thing he wouldn’t leave behind was Victoria. She’d be his one way or another. He’d make certain of it. As soon as they were settled, he’d come back for her. Hopefully, she’d come willingly, but if not, he’d take her anyway.

And then, he’d deal with the Ashtons and anyone who stood with them. Creatus were meant to rule this world, and he’d make certain his kind did just that, once and for all.

Sneak Peek

Rogue

Book 2 in the Creatus Series

Coming Christmas 2013

Chapter One

“You want me to do what?” Vic threw up her hands, turning her back on the man she’d once loved. Staring out the window that overlooked Boston Harbor, she tried to comprehend how he could ask her to do such a thing. “You’re kidding, right? I said I was sorry. I told you I wouldn’t bother you or Kristina.” Knowing he wasn’t kidding, she walked back to his desk and plopped down in the chair.

A burst of air popped out of Derrick’s mouth as if she’d said or done something funny. There was nothing humorous about this situation. “Vic…” He sighed. “We don’t have a choice.”

“What does Mike have to say about this?” she asked. “I bet your brother wouldn’t agree.”

Derrick shook his head. “Of course he doesn’t agree, but when has Michael ever agreed with me? He’d be happy to take care of this issue. The last thing he wants is for you to be anywhere near Reece Buckley.”

“And yet, you want me to fall for him, as if that’s even possible.”

“It’s possible. You seem to forget that my mother and wife are human. My mother reciprocated when my father fell, and Kristina fell for me with only a kiss. It’s clear we have more in common with humans than we thought.”

Vic jumped up from her seat again. Hearing about Derrick falling for a human wasn’t something she liked to