Unleashed, p.1
UNLEASHED., page 1
UNLEASHED.
Copyright ©2024
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, Characters, and incidents are from the author’s imagination or used fictionally. For information about the author, visit her website. https://tjsn23.wixsite.com/traceyschick. You can also follow her on Instagram @ T.L.SCHICK and TikTok @tlschick2023.
Huge shout out to the man behind my kickass cover design, Lou Designs.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, to my friends—what can I say? You’ve stood by me through all my wild and wonderfully hair-brained ideas, and somehow, you haven’t run away screaming yet. I owe you all the world (and probably a few drinks)! Ashley, I wanted to leave out all the commas on this page just to drive you crazy! I owe you more than drinks but until I make my first million you will have to settle for cheap wine and lotion! Tim, thank you for lending me your wife's attention. Oh and Tim, did you see that moon?!
To my son and his charming wife (who also happens to be the most amazing mother to my grandchild)—your unwavering encouragement and relentless positivity keep me going. Even though I’ve strictly forbidden you from reading my books (trust me, it’s for the best), I know you’re cheering me on from a safe distance.
And last, but by no means least, to my incredible ARC team—thank you for signing up for this crazy ride. Without your support, I'd be completely lost (and possibly crying in a corner somewhere). You’ve helped make this journey so much more fun and fulfilling, and I’m endlessly grateful for every one of you and all the emails and TikTok messages of encouragement.
Playlist
Songs mentioned in book or just inspired me.
Sick like me- in this moment
Crusader- Howie
Half God half Devil – in this moment
God sent me as Karma- Emlyn
Vicious- Halestorm
Heavy in your arms– Florence and The Machine
In the Middle of the Night- Elly Duhe
Love is a weapon- Letdown.
See you next Tuesday- Diggy Graves
Dirty Little Secret- Niki Idol
Angel- Toby Mai
Falling Apart- Michael Schulte
Play with Fire- Sam Tinnesz
A little wicked– Valarie Broussard
Whore– in this moment
Dedication
For the good girls who beg to be shown the darker side, who crave the thrill of surrender and the sharp bite of danger. May you find pleasure in the shadows and excitement in every forbidden kiss that leaves a mark.
Warning
This is not an innocent, clean romance. I do not condone any situations between the characters. This book is strictly for your not-so-innocent pleasure. It is an adult Paranormal Romance, not meant for anyone under 18.
If you have no triggers, feel free to skip the next part and jump right in!
Triggers include but are not limited to:
Violence of a Sexual Nature.
Forced Proximity.
Blood Play.
Aggression.
Murder.
Dubcon.
Possessive / Obsessive MMC.
Toxic Hero.
Taboo Situations!
Contents
1. Chapter 1
Daris
2. Chapter 2
Presly
3. Chapter 3
Presly
4. Chapter 4
Presly
5. Chapter 5
Presly
6. Chapter 6
Daris
7. Chapter 7
Presly
8. Chapter 8
Daris
9. Chapter 9
Presly
10. Chapter 10
Daris
11. Chapter 11
Presly
12. Chapter 12
Daris
13. Chapter 13
Presly
14. Chapter 14
Presly
15. Chapter 15
Daris
16. Chapter 16
Presly
17. Chapter 17
Daris
18. Chapter 18
Daris
19. Chapter 19
Presly
20. Chapter 20
Presly
21. Chapter 21
Daris
22. Chapter 22
Presly
23. Chapter 23
Daris
24. Chapter 24
Presly
25. Chapter 25
Presly
26. Chapter 26
Daris
27. Chapter 27
Presly
28. Chapter 28
Daris
29. Chapter 29
Presly
30. Chapter 30
Daris
31. Chapter 31
Daris
32. Chapter 32
Presly
33. Chapter 33
Presly
34. Chapter 34
Presly
35. Chapter 35
Daris
36. Chapter 36
Presly
37. Chapter 37
Daris
38. Chapter 38
Presly
39. Chapter 39
Presly
40. Chapter 40
Daris
41. Chapter 41
Presly
42. Epilouge
Presly
Chapter 1
Daris
“Tell me where he is. I will make your death quick and somewhat painless,” I growl at the man on his knees in front of me. His sobs bounce off the concrete walls of the basement in my New Orleans home. The sounds of his pain are the only thing keeping my demon satisfied.
“Kain, please, man. I don’t know anything. I haven’t heard from him in weeks! The last I heard is he was after some little witch bitch. She has something he’s after or some shit. I don’t know who the fuck she is or what she did, but that bitch is going to pay,” he sputters, shivers racking his body.
He is speaking of my sweet girl. My fist connects with the side of his face once again. This time, the sound of breaking bones fills the air, which is goddamn music to my ears. It has been too long since I’ve brought this kind of pain to anyone. Christ, I missed it. He screams and sobs, begging for his worthless life. This piece of human feces is nowhere near good enough to lick the ground she walks on.
It’s been days, maybe a week. I don’t know because all the days have blurred into one hellish nightmare since I heard the sound of my sweet little witch’s voice. I feel as if whatever heart I had has been torn from my chest and nailed to the floor. There is a gaping hole inside me that only she can fill. She brought something to life inside of me that I never knew existed. Passion, lust, pure obsession.
“That bitch is my fucking prized possession. If you or anyone speaks of her in anything other than complete adoration, I will rip their tongue from their pleading mouth and feed it to them. You fucking got that?”
I’m losing control, and without Ian here to calm me, more people will suffer.
“Yes, yes. I’m sorry, man. Please, Kain, please let me go. I’ll get the word out that you’re looking for Lucas.” He holds his now broken jaw, blood pouring from his nose. He coughs and sputters; a tooth hits the ground before him.
This piece of garbage may be onto something with that idea. I have been working blindly, trying to locate him. If I can get the word out, it could hurry things along. Although I’m certain when he hears that many have been executed and everyone who lived or worked in his not-so-secret home is all gone, he will know I am not stopping until he faces me and is made to pay.
I bring myself down to meet his eyes, my elbows resting on my knees. I can see the terror flash in his hazy shit-colored eyes. A wicked smile pulls at my lips. Pure joy fills the darkest parts of me. Watching the pain cross his face excites me.
“Keep looking at me like that, and you’re gonna give me a hard-on.” I hear a low chuckle from behind me. I look over my shoulder to see Jax and Nathan enter the room. They nod, leaning against the back wall, arms crossed over their chests. I turn my attention back to the asshole in front of me, one of Lucas’ many human minions. These people know what we are but are either too afraid to say anything, or they are benefiting somehow… power, money.
“Alright, asshole, this is how it is going to go down. You get the word out about Lucas. Tell them your broken jaw and missing fingers are for disrespecting my girl. If anyone so much as breathes her fucking name, I will gut them and feed their innards to their goddamn family. You got all that, you worthless piece of shit?” I stand, looking down at him and see the confusion flash in his eyes.
“What is it, Mick?” I taunt, glaring down at him, knowing exactly what he is thinking. I grab a towel off the metal table that’s lined with a few tools meant for inflicting pain and dismemberment. I clean the blood off my hands and grab two tools off the table. I turn to the men leaning against the wall, handing each a pair of pruning shears.
“One off each hand. Then take him home.”
“No problem, boss,” Jax smirks, turning to Mick.
Nathan and Jax are old friends. We have always had each other’s backs. These two don’t mind getting dirty. I head to the door as Mick begs the men not to take hi s digits. He is fucking lucky that is all I ordered them to take.
The house is quiet now as I sit in the dark, sipping my whiskey, staring out the back window into the pitch-black night. Countless days have slipped through my grasp since the nightmarish scene etched itself into my memory. Each passing moment only served to deepen the wound that refuses to heal, a gaping chasm of despair and torment. The haunting image of her lifeless body sprawled on the unforgiving floor is a relentless vision, a scene I can’t erase from my consciousness. I exist in a purgatory of my own making. This was my fault, and I knew it.
No matter how desperately I try to banish the haunting picture from my mind, it clings to my thoughts like a venomous parasite, injecting its poison with every recollection. Lucas was behind this, but who was aiding him? Who is the witch helping him? No matter, they will die a painful death just like anyone else who dares cross me.
Every time I close my eyes, my lids are painted with his contorted figure, hunched over her perfectly broken body, lingering like a grotesque shadow, forever etched into my psyche. The fury that surges within me is a white-hot inferno, consuming my every fiber with an insatiable hunger for torment and torture.
I swore an oath to Satan himself that Lucas would be made to answer for the irreparable harm he had inflicted upon her, for the innocence he had ruthlessly stolen, and for extinguishing the radiant light that once defined her soul. Presly wanted to become like me. She wanted to be turned, but it should have been me who decided when. It should have been me to drain her perfect body of that sweetness. My stomach revolts at the thought of another man laying his mouth on her, let alone tasting what is mine.
My now empty glass is thrown across the room, shattering as it hits the stone fireplace. “FUCK!” My body shakes. I lost control days ago. I fucking need her. I cannot exist in this world without her. I have waited lifetimes to feel this deeply. I need Presly Landry like I need blood. She is all-consuming, a constant presence in my mind that I can’t escape. Every thought leads back to her. Her influence is intoxicating and overwhelming, leaving me craving more with each passing moment. She isn’t just a part of my life; she is my life, an obsession that courses through my veins.
Fucking Lucas is going to pay with pain he has never felt before for touching what belongs to me. Even if it means descending into the darkest abysses of hell to exact vengeance for the woman I love and to ensure that Lucas faces the full weight of my rage. My purpose is clear. I will not rest until Lucas pays the ultimate price. I will take everything from him. I will make them all suffer for what he did.
I arrived in New Orleans days ago, expecting him to run back here to hide under a rock someplace, but I keep coming up empty-handed. The few humans he was close to lay dead in his home. I painted the walls with their blood, leaving him a message he won’t soon forget. He will get word of the carnage I’m bringing to his doorstep and come running back. He had a lot of backup months ago, but I have dismembered them and burnt the pieces in mere days. For the simple reason that they stood beside him. Stand behind the wrong man, and your demise is inevitable.
Enlisting the help of “The Dark Reign,” as they have named themselves, was not a simple task for me. A group of vampires with a board and head like any good society, they are the ones who wanted my head not long ago. They try to keep order among us as best as they can, but I have a way of fucking shit up. The more of us that back the Reign, the more control they have. There are rules, and Lucas has broken a few too many now—apparently more than I have. So The Dark Reign has no issue with me disposing of him; however, they will not approve of the slaughter of humans. Too fucking bad. They were out for my head before, but I came to them and humbled myself because I needed them. I would have told them all to go fuck themselves if they weren’t the best way to find him. I need them on my side.
I do not answer to anyone. They will prove useful, and when they no longer serve me, I will have no issues cutting ties. I won’t be answering anyone’s rules anymore. I’m stronger, smarter, and far more menacing than most vampires nowadays. Young vampires usually care about money, sex, and not much more. Their egos cloud their judgment, making them easy targets—easy to destroy if need be.
I need to be in control if things go sideways with Presly. We don’t know what she will become or how unhinged she will become. The thought of my sweet witch unhinged makes my cock twitch. My innocent girl giving in to her dark side is a fucking turn-on, but I know that is not who she truly is. She is sweet, kind, and so innocent. Her becoming a powerful dark witch is a scary thought, even for me. I shudder at the thought of The Dark Reign or anyone coming for her. I will protect her at all costs, even my own life. She is mine, and I protect what’s mine. I will die for what’s mine.
My phone buzzes, the screen lighting up showing a text from Ian. He hasn’t stopped calling me since I took off that night. I don’t want to know what he has to say. I am… afraid. I need her to be alive. I open the message.
Ian: Get your ass here NOW! She’s up.
It takes moments to run out the door and head to the airport. The hunt can wait. I need to see her, to hold her. She’s awake, which is a good sign. I’m coming, my sweet girl.
Chapter 2
Presly
Tick, tick, tick. A clock is the only sound I can hear. No beeping from monitors that you would expect from a hospital room. No far-off chatter of nurses or patients. Assuming I’m in a hospital, that is. I can feel tubes around my face and something down the back of my throat, which I assume is a feeding tube. Unquestionably not in heaven. Hmmm, maybe this is hell. Nah, not hot enough.
I blink a few times, trying to get something, anything, to come into focus. My vision starts to clear, and I’m definitely not in a hospital. The room is cozy-looking but dark. A fireplace is off in a corner, which doesn’t keep the room at a comfortable temperature. I’m in a huge four-poster bed you would imagine royalty would have. Dark wooden posts reach so high I imagine they almost touch the ceiling, but I can’t tell because a mass of black material covers the tops and flows down the sides. The duvet that covers me is black silk to match the black silk sheets I feel beneath my fingertips.
There are no signs of hospital equipment. I turn my head to look to my left, and to my relief, no pain shoots through me. I must have been out for a long-ass time to heal everything I felt break in my body. My eye catches on a pole to my right, with what looks to be a blood bag attached. I guess that tracks, as I probably lost a lot of blood. My mind is still so blurry. I know I was hurt, but… realization hits me like a bolt of lightning. Lucas! Where the fuck am I? Did Lucas take me after he killed Daris? Ian… and, well, everyone there. Eva… was she working with Lucas? None of this matters if Daris is gone. My chest constricts. I don’t want to be alive if Daris has been taken from me.
My head is reeling with so many questions, but I need to get out of here… wherever here is.
