Free The Awakening by Nicole R. Taylor Page B

the
darkness. Someone was down here and chances were it was Rix. Who else could it
be?
    Zac edged around the spy and took point, moving
forward silently. The moment he stepped into the light, hands grabbed the
lapels of his coat and he was flung across the room. He collided against the
stone with a bang, dirt and grit raining down on him as he landed face first on
the floor. Strong hands circled around his throat and began squeezing.
    "Rix," Nye exclaimed, pulling the vampire
off Zac. "Calm down, mate. It's only us."
    "I know who it is," he said, shoving the
spy away. Pointing at Zac he snarled, "That is for the car crash and your
lack of loyalty."
    "I won't apologize for that," Zac
replied, scrambling to his feet. "If honor is your thing, then you'll
understand I was bound to others before Regulus ever showed up."
    "What the hell do you want?"
    "We've come to ask for your help," Zac
said, dusting himself off.
    "You want my help? Not fucking likely."
    Nye stepped between them and if Zac knew what was
going to happen next, he might've pushed the spy out of the way. "You
think by hiding yourself away down here you're gong to bring back
Jocelyn?"
    "Shut up," Rix roared, pushing Nye back
into the wall.
    "She's been gone five hundred years,
mate."
    The vampire's hands were curled tightly in the
front of the spy's shirt, chest heaving and eyes starting to change.
"Don't talk about her."
    Zac watched the exchange, not sure what to do. Who
the hell was Jocelyn?
    "Do you really want to waste away to a
shadow?"
    "Who was she?" Zac asked and Rix's eyes
fixed on him.
    "I loved her…I loved her and they took her
away from me."
    If it was one thing Zac knew about, it was lost
love. "Let Nye go, Rix. Hurting him won't solve anything. It might shut
him up, but it won't fix anything."
    The vampire let go of Nye's coat, taking a step
backward.
    "Why are you down here?" Zac asked.
"What is this place to you?"
    "I met her here. At night."
    "Who was she?"
    "Lady Jocelyn was a noblewoman at court. I
protected the King. She was his plaything. He cared not for her and when he was
done and cast her from his bed, I would escort her back to her rooms."
    Rix had loved the King's mistress. The vampire was
built with hard muscle, broad shoulders and a hard face, not exactly what some
would consider handsome. She'd loved him for who he was under all of that. No
wonder the memory of whatever happened next still stung deep.
    "No one defies the King. We met right under
his nose, night after night. We were fools to think that no one would
notice."
    "He found out?"
    "He killed her," Rix said, dropping to
his knees. "The moment he found out about us, he had her executed."
    "Who did?"
    "The King . He let the guards have their
way with her and then they cut off her head. There was nothing I could do…I
couldn't save her."
    "Hiding down in your secret meeting place
isn't going to bring her back," Nye said a little too bluntly.
    Rix went to stand, his eye darkening, but Zac put a
hand on his shoulder.
    "He's right," he said. "He could be
a little more tactful about it, but he's right. We need your help, Rix."
    "You need my help?" the vampire scoffed.
"You should've thought about that before killing Regulus. You have no idea
what that man did for me."
    "No, I don't. But, what's done is done and the
future is still here."
    "He saved my life, don't you fucking
understand?"
    "He turned you," Nye said in disbelief.
    "Yes, he turned me. I was left to rot in the
dungeons in the Tower all for loving a noblewoman. He found my pathetic arse
and we struck a bargain."
    "Servitude in exchange for…"
    "The heads of Jocelyn's murderers."
    Zac frowned, glancing at Nye.
    "I could never get close to the King,"
Rix said. "Not without a bloodbath and not without revealing what I'd
become. Regulus forbid it. I was compelled not to destroy the Tudors. When it
was done, I returned to him and never left. I was the first of the Six, but not
the last." He looked at Nye who nodded. "You