“Hello,” I replied, feeling lame. My soul radiated pleasure, and I gasped when my pain lessened. But that only enabled me to sense the pain that tormented the jaguar shifter. God, he suffered. I sensed the turmoil plaguing the other shifters too, but his was greater. They made an example of him because he was the most dominant. He led, so he bled. Rude.
“What are you staring at, shifter? Need me to remove your eyes so visions no longer plague you?” A vampire hissed, and I growled. The jaguar smiled despite himself and shook his head.
“Peace, omega,” he murmured. “You can’t help here.” Like hell I couldn’t. Before I thought better of it, I stepped towards him. He didn’t move. Oh. So I’m allowed to approach this shifter, huh? Whatever. Within seconds, I knelt beside him.
“Don’t,” the vampire from the center hissed, and I jerked my head from the shifters mesmerizing eyes to find an inky shadow behind him. “He sees something you cannot. Do not touch him.” Ignoring the vampires, I returned my gaze to the shifter who shouldered as much pain as he could to spare those who followed him. They relied on him. Listened to his advice, and he never let them down. I sensed their loyalty, love, and faith curling around him.
With tears burning my eyes, I cupped his bruised cheek, wishing he didn’t suffer so much for daring to exist. He never asked to be born. My pain increased until my teeth ached and my soul wept, but I refused to leave him to suffer. However, the pain chased away a shadow. I remained transparent, but the vampire in the center, the lord of the house, was no longer shrouded in darkness. And he saw me. Or a shadow representing me.
“Well, well,” he laughed with delight filling his eyes. Oh god, they were so cruel. “So we have an omega and an empathy healer in a neat little package. Female to boot judging by your slight form, hmm? Don’t make me put you in your place.” My eyes jerked backed to his since I had looked down, and I discovered he glared at the jaguar shifter.
“You shouldn’t have come here,” the jaguar whispered, his hand laying over mine on his cheek. The next second, he jerked me behind him while he growled at the vampire lord. Freaking manhandled again. Still, I hadn’t stolen all of his pain, so I huffed. His amusement wrapped around me a moment later, and his fear of the vampire who knew of my existence.
“I had no choice. My soul brought me here,” I replied, and he glanced at me over his shoulder, his growl dying a sudden death in his throat. “I think we need you. And you need us.”
“We?” He asked, turning back to face the vampire with a low snarl while the man watched us with amusement.
“Me and a few other shifters,” I replied. I kept my response vague, in case the asshole could hear me since I heard him.
“Definitely female by your voice,” the vampire chuckled. “Perfect. While I can’t see you, I assure you, my dear, I will find you. Change of plans. Don’t hurt these shifters. Reward them instead. They’ve given us a precious gift since we now know there’s an omega who is also an empathy healer. And a shifter even, unless I miss my guess. There have been a few who’ve had out-of-body experiences while they changed. Keep my shifters calm and don’t antagonize or harm them. When we bring our newest shifter home, we don’t want her miserable because she senses their pain. No. She will have… other things to worry about.”
A low growl tore from my throat when shame filled the shifters on the floor and the jaguar trembled with rage. How dare he torment them like that? Mocking them and making them feel as if they betrayed me. If I could, I would steal their pain too. But I couldn’t even touch their emotions, although I sensed their turmoil. I hated him. Loathed him. Wanted to wipe the smirk off his face and beat him with it.
“Over my dead body,” the jaguar warned with a low snarl.
The vampire laughed in response. “Oh no. Never. You draw her. You will be wrapped in cotton and protected since your pain angers her. Building a pack, are we? If you want him as your third, you must come get him, dear.” I growled again, and he laughed with delight. I looked around, panicking, when everything darkened until I could only hear his voice. Was my pain pulling me back into the darkness? Or was my time up? “Very well, I’ll bring him to you. How about that? I must find you first, but I know someone up to the task. Yes, tracking down young women is his specialty. He does it with precision and cruel intentions. Why, some might even call him a monster.”
