Forbidden Love, J.M.Hurley [thriller book recommendations TXT] 📗

choices?” he asked and Mark shifted uncomfortably but still didn’t move.

“One, you lead me to Tori no problem, and everyone plays nice, or two, I bite your throat and suck you dry,” she snarled animally at the end and Daniels heart gave a shudder.

“I’d love number one, really I would, but I don’t know where she is!” Daniel insisted and Dakota smiled.

“Well, I suppose if you don’t have the information…” her smile curled up and she bent down closer to him and ever so slowly, ran her lips over his throat. He shuddered from pleasure then mentally kicked himself, this isn’t Mystica seducing you, this is Dakota, her sister, trying to kill you!

“Wait!” Randy called frantically and Dakota’s eyes flicked up to meet his, her lips still brushing lightly against Daniels neck.

“What? Wait so you can kill more people? I don’t think so! No, I warned you that you were going to pay, and now, you will!” she shouted at him then with one more glare, she leaned forward and extended her canines longer.

Time seemed to move in slow motion, Dakota’s fangs approached Daniels skin, Daniel struggled under her grasp, Randy yelped and tried to run towards them, and Tori panicked. “NO!” She screeched and suddenly, she felt the tugging sensation and was popped back into a body. Dakota’s senses disappeared as Tori’s soul made itself present.

Dakota gasped and sputtered as she clutched at her throat and Daniel was finally able to push her off of himself. “You will not kill them!” Tori reprimanded her and Dakota’s eyes widened.

“Tori?” Dakota asked through coughing fits, her eyes wide and scared. Satisfied, Tori gave in to the slight tugging in her stomach and was again transported away.

Falling, darkness consumed her and she began to panic, “Wait, no! I want to go back to the forest!” she insisted but it had no effect, she continued to fall.

“Tori, where are you?” Randy asked as he looked around the forest with concerned eyes. “She’s gone…” he said with a frown and Dakota shook her head.

“No, that’s not possible! She was just here!” she insisted with tears forming in her eyes. “That’s not possible…all of this isn’t possible…” she continued to mutter to herself and Daniel caught Randy’s concerned glance.

“Go,” Daniel assured him and Randy nodded.

“No worries, Dakota, I’m going to go ask Ted where she is, and then, I’m going to find her!” Randy said then raced off through the trees and brush.

“You have to help me!” Dakota said as Daniel sat down next to her.
“Help you? With what?” he asked and she laughed.

“Well, I thought it was obvious! If Tori’s alive, so is Terrance, same with Jeanine, my mother, and my father!” she said with a smile and Daniel’s stomach did a flip.

“Dakota, you friends and family died, they aren’t alive, but Tori is,” he said gently and Dakota shook her head defiantly.

“No, they are, and you’re going to help me find them!” she insisted and Daniel laughed lightly.

“Whatever you say,” he muttered then offered his hand to her.

“We should probably get out of here,” he said as Dakota’s small hand clutched his.

“Yes, I have to go make sure my sister is okay,” Dakota said and Daniel’s smile brightened at the thought of seeing Mystica. “Well, I’d better go,” Dakota said and Daniel frowned.

“You don’t want me to go with you?” he asked and Dakota giggled.

“Of course not! I’ll be fine,” she said and Daniel nodded slowly.

“Okay…scream if you need help, okay?” he asked and Dakota rolled her eyes.

“Sure,” she said then waved, “Bye.” She turned her back on him and began walking back towards the road, her boots crunching heavily in the leaves, and her hopes soaring higher than they had in a very long time.

***

“Bye,” Dakota’s voice echoed in Blaze’s ears as he continued to stare at Daniel. That, evil damnation

! He thought angrily as he pictured Dakota’s vulnerable look once they’d convinced her that Terrance was still alive. They’re just setting her up for more heartache,

he thought to himself as he began to creep back, out of the forest. Once he was nearly out of the forest, he was finally able to relax again.

Sighing, he plucked his phone out of his pocket and saw he had nearly 5 messages from Anne Marie and Mystica. He quickly dialed her number and Anne Marie’s panicked voice answered on the first ring, “Hello, Blaze? Have you found her? Is she alright?” she asked and Blaze sighed.

“No, I’m sorry, but we haven’t found her…there’s no traces here,” he added and he heard Anne stifle a sob. “I’m sorry-” he began but Anne cut him off.

“No, there’s no need for apologizes…You’ve been very brave tonight and that’s all that I asked for…” he voice trailed off and Blaze assumed she was fighting back tears.

“Just stay safe, and bring Dakota home soon, everyone’s worried about her,” she whispered and Blaze felt his heart sink.

“Yeah, will do,” he assured her but as he spoke the words, he wasn’t sure if he could live up to them. You aren’t the only one worried about her

, Blaze thought nervously as he muttered a hasty goodbye then hung up the phone. “Time to start looking for Kota,” he spoke softly as he began tromping through the brush once more.

***

“Do you think she’ll be all right?” Mystica asked as she leaned her head against Marks shoulder. Mark looked down into her mysterious gray eyes and smiled.

“Come on, it’s Tori we’re talking about, of course she’ll be okay,” he said jokingly but as the words left his mouth, his gut flipped over considering the other possibilities.

“Mark?” Mystica asked and Mark took a calming breath before asking, “Yes?” Mystica leaned more of her weight onto his shoulder and began fiddling with the ring on her finger, trying to think of how to word her next sentence.

“Are we going to die?” Mystica asked calmly and Mark chuckled.

“Why on Earth would you think we’re going to die?” he asked and Mystica looked up at him with tear rimmed eyes.

“I don’t want to die, Mark!” she insisted and the tears began spilling over her eyelids, streaming down her face in wet rivets. Mark’s smile disappeared and he pulled her close to himself.

“You aren’t going to die,” he assured her and she sniffled a bit before nodding her head.

“Yes, I am. I’ve fallen in love with a werewolf, do you know what that means, Mark? I’ve fallen in love with a murderer!” she sobbed and Mark shook his head at her.

“Daniel isn’t a murderer, Mist! Look, vampires are murderers too, you can’t judge him on what his race does,” Mark replied and Mystica sobbed even harder.

“You don’t get it Mark! It was his pack! He was with them that night! I’ve known that all along, and yet I still love him, and I hate that I love him, I just hate it!” the tears were running steadily now and Mark’s jaw was on the floor.

“How do you know it was him?” he asked and Mystica shook her head sadly.

“It was the first day, when he caught me before I fell. I notice the necklace around his neck, it’s symbolic for his pack…the pack that killed my parents,” she finished and Mark pulled her back into his arms.

“Listen Mist, there’s no way in Hell I’m ever going to let someone hurt you, okay?” he asked and she nodded.

“Mark…I have to see him,” she whispered after a moment of silence and Mark nodded slowly, almost cautiously.

“I know, and tomorrow, we’ll call him, but right now, you need to get your rest,” he said and Mystica shook her head fiercely.

“No, Mark, I need

, to talk to him, now

,” she said it so fiercely that Mark almost shuddered.

“Mist, what do you want me to do?” he asked and Mystica smiled.

“I need you to cover for me,” she replied and Mark looked up at her in a concerned way.

“Are you okay Mist?” he asked and Mystica sighed.

“Just cover for me, okay? I need to talk to him, to get some reassurance,” she stated and Mark sighed in frustration.

“But the last time one of my friends went somewhere alone, they didn’t come back!” he insisted but Mystica brushed this off.

“I’ll be fine, but this is something I need to do be myself, Mark, you can’t go everywhere with me,” she replied as she reached for her purse.

“Fine, but be back before 2:00 A.M. or I’m going into panic mode okay?” he asked and Mystica rolled her eyes.

“Yes, no worries Mark, I’ll be back in no time,” and with that she strutted out the door and started off to go see the man of whom she’d betrayed her own race for.


Chapter 7

Tori blinked cautiously, sitting up and rubbing at her blurry eyes. Her head ached dully but it was nothing compared to the pain protruding from her chest. Clutching her ribcage, she tried to sit up but found chains wrapped around her waist and ankles. Her head gave a throb as she tried desperately to remember where she was and the previous events of the morning. Footsteps echoed slightly on the stone floor, alerting her someone was nearing and she quickly laid back down, shutting her eyes tightly once more.

“Oh shit, I thought someone moved her,” a voice murmured to her right.

“Nah, Ted wants to have a little fun before we take out the trash

,” another voice called and several others joined in with his laughter.

Tori felt nausea consume her being as she resisted the urge to hiss and thrash at them, it would do her no good. She desperately coaxed her fangs back to a normal length, though it took all of her will power to do so, as to not give away her appearance.

“We sure she’s dead?” a voice asked and Tori’s mind gave a start.

Now who is that…I know I know that voice!

She racked her brains as a couple of the other men laughed around her.

“I don’t, you want to check?” a guy asked and she heard the room go silent. How do you check if a vampire’s alive?

She thought frantically as the silence continued.

“N-no! I was just asking…..” the voice trailed off and it seemed to set off alarm bells in Tori’s mind. Randy! That’s who it is!

“Look you freaking moron, we stabbed her through the chest with a wooden branch, of course she’s dead!” the instigator yelled and Tori’s mind came up to a blank wall.

A wooden stake, huh?

She thought cockily, looks like you don’t have very good aim.

She felt a laugh creep up in her throat, but forced it back down with the thought of being caught and tortured some more. Apparently done with poking fun at Tori, the men began to shuffle out of the room until Randy was the only one left. He stood in the corner, his arms trembling as