Free Daric's Mate by J. S. Scott

surrounding her were or what they wanted – having seen a few of Daric’s darker memories, she already knew. Fallen . Vampires that had turned evil.
    Hannah tried to break the hold on her wrist, but it only caused the claws digging into her arm to tighten, drawing blood. Despite her terror, thoughts of Daric popped into her mind.
    I shouldn’t have waited to watch the sun set. I should have listened to Daric.
    He had warned her, over and over, about the dangers she faced as the mate of a vampire prince. The fallen were preying on mates who hadn’t completed the mating process yet, and Daric had cautioned her about the creatures that might be able to sense her, even in a remote community like Temple, simply because she was the mate of a powerful prince.
    I’m sorry, Daric. So sorry.
    Hannah trembled as the horde grew larger, more aggressive, swarming around her until there were too many to count. With sunken, hairless faces and freakish red eyes, they were worse than anything she had ever imagined, even in her darkest nightmares.
    Panicked, Hannah tried to close her thoughts. If these things were awake, then so was Daric. There had to be at least a hundred, maybe more, of the fallen. If rescuing her didn’t kill him, the backlash from killing so many just might. She had only seen the backlash in his memories, but she knew he had never killed this many fallen , and that the resulting backlash would be catastrophic. She’d die before she let these disgusting, ugly things take Daric to his death.
    The beast holding her wrist moved closer, its fetid breath nearly causing her to retch. Kicking her legs up, she struck the fallen in the groin, twisting to get away, to somehow get out of its grasp. It didn’t falter, didn’t even seem to feel the pain, but it grabbed her shoulder with its other set of claws, slashing her flesh open.
    Shit. These bastards are strong.
    Male voices rang out in the night, some panicked and others forceful. Obviously, chaos had begun in the small town of Temple with the arrival of a large number of fallen.
    Blank your thoughts. Don’t think about this. Keep Daric away.
    Claws pierced her flesh in other places on her body as she fought to get away, red eyes everywhere she looked. Heart slamming like a jackhammer against her chest, Hannah fought, but was no match for the fallen that pierced her skin with every touch.
    Screams shattered the night, cries of anguish, pain, fear and panic. One shrieking voice was closest to her, loud enough to nearly pierce her ear drums. It was a voice Hannah recognized as her own as she finally succumbed to darkness.
    *****
    Where the fuck did she go?
    Daric had woken from his day sleep edgy and alone, his only thought to find his mate. It was dark, and Hannah wasn’t in the house.
    Dammit. He loved his stubborn mate more than he ever thought possible, but there were times when she pushed him too far, tested his patience too greatly. He was nearing the end of his ability to stay in control, the overwhelming instinct to protect and mark Hannah as his, nearly making him insane.
    I love her. Goddamit, I love her .
    As he stormed into the kitchen, bellowing Hannah’s name, he admitted that he loved his mate to the point of derangement, his rational mind leaving his body as primitive instinct pounded him. After having absorbed her memories and emotions from her body, he knew her, probably better than he knew himself. And he fucking wanted her more than anyone he had ever desired, making him fight the flare of the mating instinct that had occurred days ago, the overpowering desire he had to dominate and hold his mate to him.
    In the beginning, he had tried to wait, had tried to give Hannah time to adjust, time to love him back, his love for her making him want to have her love in return. However, the time for all that had passed. He didn’t have the strength to hold back what destiny intended any longer.
    Fucking need her. My mate. Mine.
    Daric raked a trembling hand