Free Darkness Comes by A.C. Warneke Page A

it’s all right, baby. Grandpa will watch over you; he’ll keep you safe. I need you to be safe, Toby.”
    She looked up at her father, silently pleading with him once more. Gus stepped forward and grabbed Toby, whose little body thrashed as he reached out for Malorie. “No!” Toby wailed. “No, I won’t leave you, mommy, I won’t go.”
    “I love you, Toby.” Tears blurred her vision as she watched her father take him away, the little boy’s limbs flailing as he fought to remain behind. Her sobs caught in her throat and the tears burned in her eyes; she was just so tired. She fought to keep her eyes open until her son and her father were out of sight. She could only pray that they would have luck finding a car and being able to hotwire it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she felt the liquid trail new paths down her cheeks and she let herself cry. She had to hold onto the thought that one day she would see her son again; one day she would kill the Aradian bastard who tore her child from her arms when he placed the hateful mark upon her neck.
    She hated this weakness; if it weren’t for the mark, she could have fought. Hell, if it weren’t for the mark, she would have been able to stay in their tiny apartment and give Toby some semblance of a normal life. But how could anything be normal after what her father told her? She still hadn’t been able to process everything that he had said; she doubted she would ever fully comprehend it, especially now. She had been expecting to live out the remainder of her years quietly, working in the nursery and watching her son grow. But now…
    Was her life to be as long as her father’s? Could she bare living five hundred years, watching the world change around her, watching the people she cared about grow old and die? Would she be able to live with herself if she never found Toby again?
    Oh, God; the thought of never seeing her son again felt like a vice grip crushing the air from her lungs, the blood from her heart. As soon as the Aradian released her she would run, no matter the obstacles, no matter the dangers; she would run and find Toby, find her son. She would fight.
    “You cannot fight the inevitable,” a luxurious voice murmured above her. The masculine sound was rich and deep, tempting even in her defeat.
    Warm fingers moved across her face and she opened her eyes. Luminous green eyes stared down at her from the devastatingly handsome face that had been haunting her dreams for years; the face that stared back as she lay on the floor of that mall. With a quick intake of breath, his dark, spicy scent filling her, wrapping around her, she breathed, “You.”
    His lips curved upwards in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. As much as she needed to keep her eyes open, she couldn’t and she hated her weakness. She wanted to fight; she wanted to give in to him. Anguished, she asked, “What have you done to me?”
    His fingers trailed over her throat, tracing the markings on her flesh. “I have claimed you and I mean to keep you until I decide to let you go; I may keep you for a while.”
    Everything her father said was true; he was going to enslave her. He was going to make her his sex toy and she wasn’t sure she was entirely opposed to the idea. It had to be the mark he had placed upon her neck; she would never willingly agree to be a vampire’s whore, even if he was warm and overflowing with life. Swallowing back her panic, she forced herself to meet his green gaze. “Why? Why me?”
    “You have something I want.” His voice was so soothing, calming her and arousing her in equal measures. His scent became fuller, richer; it was intoxicating and she was drowning in it.
    “What?” She was feeling almost languid, melting into his lap. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, living to please her master. As long as she felt so… exquisite, she wouldn’t mind.
    Oh, fuck, what was she thinking? She struggled to move but her body wouldn’t obey even a simple command. Tears welled