Page 54 of Beautiful Madness

Only because of her obsessivelove for him did he remain alive. Somewhere inside the madness in her mindlived the hope that she would end up with the alpha. He would love her, andthey would happily and peacefully rule the pack together. That hope had neverdied.

Not even now, as she sobbed in Eli’sarms but never once took her stare off Jared. “Get away from him,” she screamedonce, and even though she was missing a hand and her wand, I felt her powershiver through me.

I also felt her pain. Not justthe pain in her heart, but her physical pain. Her determination never wavered,no matter what obstacles she faced. Her hope didn’t fade. Her desperationdidn’t, either. Lennon had been powerful, and she’d been spectacular. But now,she really was only pathetic.

And no matter what she’d doneor how I felt about her, that was hard to watch.

“What will you do?” Sammurmured. He stood beside me, but Wyatt, repelled by a magic he had littledefense against, stood back.

I glanced at the daywalkers. I’dhoped they would remain in their strange, oblivious states for a while, buteven now they were sluggishly pulling themselves away from the charger. Wakingup. It was only a matter of time before they came for our blood. That was fine.

But I had to free Jared first.

Somehow.

“Sam,” I said, “you might wantto back up a little.”

He stared at the glittery wallof magic and the alpha behind it, fascinated. “I’m good.”

I shrugged. “All right then.” Ilifted my hands, took a deep breath, and called my magic. I didn’t push outjust a little, either. There was nothing tentative about my determination tobreak the vampires’ magic with my own.

I kept my stare on Jared, and Imade myself really look at him. He’d lost weight, and his ribs stood out insharp relief, as did the long, silver spikes puncturing his tortured body. Hisonce shiny, beautiful hair was dull and lifeless, and there was not a singlegleam of life in his almost unrecognizable face. I needed him to open his eyes.I needed to see that glittering, fierce stare.

But it would have to be enoughthat I could feel him. I could feel him feelingme,too, but there was adark, bottomless pit inside him, created from rage and shame and doubt, and itwas consuming him. It was so huge it made me want to run far, far away. Ididn’t believe he’d be the same when he emerged from his magical bonds.

If. If he emerges.

“Kait,” Wyatt called, his voicestrained. “The daywalkers. Hurry.”

Shit.

“Sam,” I whispered.

He said nothing, but finallyturned away from the heat of the magic and the sight of the alpha, pulling two woodenstakes as he went. He’d do what he could, but alone, not even Sam could takedown dozens of hungry daywalkers.

Colorful magic swirled aroundmy hands, and without another hesitation, I sent it at the wall of power. Iclenched my teeth and threw my magic so hard that my hands burst—and that shithurt.

I’d known, somehow, that itwould hurt, but it wasn’t the pain in my hands that took me down.

It was that fucking wall ofmagic. Magic created of blood and darkness, of desperate strength and light andhope. I’d never felt such magic, but part of it was familiar. I’d been touchedby Axton’s magic before, and I recognized it as well as Avis Vine’s. I evenfelt Lennon’s magic. But Kaloni’s—that was a whole new thing, and it kicked myass.

The power not only repelled myown but flung it back at me, along with a little something extra, and Iexploded backward—all the way across the cavern to slam into the slow-movingdaywalkers.

And even over the slowly risingroar of dozens of mutant vampires, I heard Lennon give voice to her mad glee.Her laughter pierced my skull and seemed to call forth my own madness.

It was as though my bodyhitting the daywalkers broke something free inside them. Whereas before thecollision they might have taken a while longer to stumble about, drunk on thepower of their charger, when I was flung into their midst, they seemed toabruptly…wake up.

That they were starving wasbeyond doubt. That they believed I was food sent by the vampire god was,unfortunately, also beyond doubt.

I also believed the sounds theywere making—a low roar that sounded like an oncoming train—were calls to therest of them. They were bringing in the daywalkers that were out in the cityeating.

Overcome with terror that I’dbe bitten and turned—I mean, apparently I absorbed every damn thing from ademon’s magic to an angel’s voice, and becoming a vampire, absorbing their needfor blood and their fangs and their inability to face the sun and their fuckingundead, soulless selves was just something I wouldneverallow myself tolive through—I lost my mind for a few terrifying seconds.

I panicked, and when I did, mymagic became chaotic and messy. It broke the damp cave walls, brought downdangerous debris from the ceiling, and put craters in the floor. It also killedimmediately any daywalker it touched, but I knew if I didn’t gain control ofit, it was going to hurt someone I loved—like the alpha.

Some of the daywalkers panickedtoo, and they began to rush from the caves and into the world. And even as theydid, new daywalkers rushed in. They were clear-headed, recently fed, andintelligent. And they werefast.

In the mayhem, Lennon screamedsomething, words I didn’t understand, but even so, something made me look atJared—just in time to see the magic around him begin to waver. She was breakingthe magic wall, which, at that moment, was the only thing protecting him.