“Wait. I’m not ready to wake up. Tell me more, Orion,” I begged, clinging to his shirt. But I could feel the world fading me around me. Darkness closed in and then I was falling.
“I’ll be seeing you soon, my sweet.”
Chapter 15
JASPER
I stared up at the craggy face of the mountain in front of me as I mulled over what I had learned in the Med Bay. I didn’t understand it. There was absolutely nothing wrong with me. I felt like I had been royally mind-fucked, but the Doc said I was merely showing signs of exhaustion. I just didn’t get it; how was that even possible?
I thought back to all the pain Lori had dragged to the surface as she somehow managed to connect her mind to mine. All those memories I thought I had buried, all that anger, hate and pain I thought I had forgotten, now burned at the forefront of my mind with a vengeance. I could feel their oppressive weight bearing down on me like a burden I’d been cursed to carry for my sins against the world. My soul felt like it had been stripped bare by whatever Lori had done, and she’d feasted on whatever pain she could get her hands on. I had never, in all my hundreds of years on this earth, come across any supernatural creature that had the ability to do something like that. I felt like she had viewed my soul, judged me, found me wanting and then punished me for it. I could only hope this feeling didn’t linger.
I was stood outside the Pit. After she collapsed in the square I ordered Cassian to put her in here for her own safety and the safety of others. It worried me that I had no idea what she was. I’d spoken to Levi, the Doctor here at the Conclave, and he said he had a few theories before disappearing in the direction of his lab. I could only hope that we could manage to deal with whatever this was. But the more we learned about Lori, the more we seemed to be confirming she was part of this prophecy.
The Pit was where we stored prisoners when we had them. It was a holding facility and we usually only held prisoners for twenty-four hours before having them shipped off to Mortegate Prison so the ten cells were never fully occupied. I bet Lori had the place to herself down there.
It was a sinister looking place, built into the foot of the mountain that overlooked the Conclave. It went deep underground and stretched out for miles. If you didn’t know your way around, you’d most likely lose your way and be claimed by one of the numerous dead ends, never to be found again.
I loved this place. All the dark tunnels and dim alcoves were perfect for a predator like me. The darkness called to me and awakened the sinister, bestial parts of me. I thrived in the dark. It was my natural habitat and I basked in the way the shadows sank deep into my skin and claimed me as their own. I was stronger and faster, my senses were sharper. As soon as I stepped into the shadows I felt relaxed. I felt at home.
De Santis stood at the entrance to the holding cells, his unsmiling gaze giving me a once over.
“You look like shit, Farrow.”
“I feel like it, Sir.”
He grunted. “Alec said you witnessed an aurora burst?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“And now she’s done…whatever that was.”
I nodded. I was glad that he was as confused as I was. I had no idea what she’d done to me and it was comforting to know that I wasn’t the only one suffering with a serious gaping hole in my knowledge as to whatever the fuck she was. I had never come across any power like the one she’d displayed. The aurora blast I could explain to a mage heritage but that mind invasion and emotion feeding thing, that was completely new to me. Perhaps the demon had changed more than her eyes? It did certainly seem like a demon trait. It was a dark and evil thing to feed off emotions that were buried in secrets.
“Let’s go see if she’s awake,” de Santis commanded, before marching deeper into the Pit. I followed him through the tunnels until we came upon the holding cells. Bright white light glowed from behind the thick glass, spilling out into the shadows surrounding de Santis and me. It was a tactic, putting the perp in the light whilst we interrogated from the shadows and it was effective. It kept them on edge. But Lori wasn’t a perp. She didn’t deserve to be locked up.
“I wish this wasn’t necessary.”
“I know, Farrow, but she is an unknown entity and she attacked you. That makes her hostile.”
When put like that, he had a point, but as I looked at her through the glass the image of her begging for my help, the fear burning deep in her eyes as she lost control, I couldn’t help but feel that she was just scared.
I turned to de Santis. “I don’t think she had control over what she was doing.”
He looked back at me, his expression sour. “Explain.”
“It was the way she looked at me. She looked frightened.”
De Santis harrumphed but didn’t say anything.
“Sir, let me go in there and talk to her. I don’t think she’s dangerous.”
He fixed me with a cold stare. “Farrow, you just said she didn’t have control over whatever is happening to her and you want to go in there to what? Play nice?”
“Just trust me. I’ve managed to attack her twice and I am still standing here. I don’t think she really has any intention of killing anyone.”
“You mean she doesn’t have any intention of killing you.” He levelled his gaze at me. I could almost see the cogs turning in his brain as he analysed the situation. She was part of something big, and he was trying to decide the best way to keep her safe while keeping her close enough to watch. I knew what he was going to say before he even said it.
“You want me to keep protecting her, don’t you?”
“Yes,” he replied. “From what you say she clearly has some sort of connection to you. I’m keeping you on this case, Farrow. Watch her, bring your team in on it and keep her alive. I will have to postpone your request for the True Death. I need you and so does she.”
He pointed to Lori behind the glass where she lay preternaturally still. Rage clawed at my chest as I let his words sink in. Once again, life was going to fuck me over because I was too useful. I wanted to shout at the world, and I was just about to rip de Santis a new one, but Lori chose that moment to wake up screaming. The sound made my heart jump in my chest and, before I knew what I was doing, I’d opened the door to her cell and had wrapped her in my arms. As she trembled in fear I looked out at the King of the Vampires standing in the shadows beyond the glass. He just stood there watching her as she clung to me, and in that moment, I knew that I was now part of this whether I wanted to be or not. For whatever reason, Lori had chosen me and now I was going to suffer for it.
“Jasper?” Lori’s voice quivered over my name and I looked down into her face that was now all blotchy from the tears.
“I’m here.”
She looked up at me with relief in her eyes. She had been worried about me.
She brought her fingers up to my cheek. “I thought I’d hurt you.”
“It’ll take more than that to get rid of me.” I felt a smile creep up my face and I realised I was happy that she was ok.
“What’s a Sin Reaper?”
My blood ran cold at those words. How did she know about them? They were fucking scary. I had never met one, but they were the monsters in the tales you told your kids. Don’t be naughty or the Sin Reaper will find you and devour your mind. Even I feared the Sin Reapers, but there hadn’t been any for centuries. I figured they were either really rare or never left anyone behind to tell the tale.
“Where did you hear about those?”
“Orion. He told me to ask about them when I woke up.”
Motherfucker. Who was this demon that kept playing with her, tormenting her? I didn’t like it. “You saw him again?”
She bolted upright and scowled at me. “Do you think I had a choice? Do you think I wanted him to invade my mind and use his demon mojo on me?”
I scrubbed my hand down my face. She was so infuriating. Why did she have to go into defensive mode all the time?
“No, I don’t think that. I do think we
need to find a way to keep him out of there though.”
She folded her arms across her chest, making her look very much like a petulant brat, but it was hard to take her seriously when all I could think about was how tight that top was across her figure. I could see everything, and boy, did she have some curves. My mouth watered as I lost focus for a second. Man, she was distracting. I tore my gaze away from her chest which was a bad move. How had I not noticed the leather pants? Fuck. They looked like they had been spray painted on and I suddenly wanted to know what her leather clad legs would feel like wrapped around my hips.
“How do we do that?”
Lori’s snarky voice snapped me back to reality. “I know a guy. He’s a mage, and a very powerful one. He may be able to help train your mind.”
“You don’t sound hopeful.”
I wasn’t. I’d asked Fenris to look into late manifestations in mages and what he had discovered so far was anything but hopeful. But she didn’t need to know that. I didn’t want to worry her if I didn’t have to. “It’s a long shot, but he’s the best person I know when it comes to powers of the mind.”
She huffed. “Are you going to tell me what a Sin Reaper is?”
I levelled my gaze at her. I didn’t know with any great certainty what they were, but I bet Levi did. “Let me make a call.”
She slumped back against the wall, defeat written in her features. I dialled Levi and prayed he didn’t have his nose stuck in a book. He answered on the third ring.
“Jasper, what do you want? I am right in the middle of something.” His tone was exasperated and I could tell I had indeed interrupted him.
“Lori asked about Sin Reapers.”
I was met with stunned silence. “I’ll be there in five.” He clicked off. I guess I’d piqued his interest. I turned back to Lori and found her deep in thought. Her eyes were staring off into the distance, and she was trailing her finger across her bottom lip.
“Lori,” I called, making her jump. “A friend of mine is going to come and ask you some questions. You can trust him.”
She looked warily up at me. “How am I supposed to trust anyone? I can’t even trust myself.”
I turned my body towards her and took her hands in mine. “Levi will have some answers and whatever he doesn’t know, he’ll find out. He’s happiest when he has a puzzle to solve and trust me, he’s going to love solving you.”
She raised her eyebrows. “He’s not a mad scientist, is he? Will he cart me off to his secret laboratory and perform experiments on me to see what makes me tick?”
I laughed, something I seemed to be doing a lot more since Lori walked into my life. “No. He can be a little bit peculiar, but he has one of the most brilliant minds I have ever seen. You can trust him, Lori, and you can trust me. You have my word; I will protect you.”
She stared deeply into my eyes, probably looking to see if what I had said was true. I held her stare. I may be many terrible things, but I was a man of my word. She exhaled deeply and gave me one short nod.
I let go of a breath I didn’t even realise I was holding. She trusted me. My heart jumped in my chest. She trusted me to help her and keep her safe. For the first time in a long time, I felt something other than the need to take life. I wanted to save her. This feisty woman who burst into my life unwanted, suddenly had power over me in a way I had yet to understand, and that fucking scared me. But in this moment, I was grateful. She’d given me a gift and I bet she didn’t even realise what she had done.
I brought one of her hands up to my lips. “Thank you,” I whispered against her skin. Surprise flared in her eyes, and she made to pull her hand away, but my fingers tightened around her wrist. It was like a switch had flipped somewhere deep inside of me and I couldn’t stop myself. The moment she nodded a flicker of something burned hot and bright in my chest. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it was there because of her.
Her hand was still against my mouth, her finger flat against my lips. The taste of her skin against my lips had my arousal skyrocketing. I touched the tip of my tongue to her knuckle and her breath hitched.
“Jasper.” My name was a breathy moan. I could hear the frantic beat of her heart, feel her rapid pulse against my tongue as I wrapped it around her finger before pulling it into the warm heat of my mouth. I dragged the tip of my fang over the pad of her finger and a shiver of desire went racing through me and had my bloodlust creeping to the surface with a desperate need to be satisfied.
I really should stop. I was breaking my own rules by getting close to her. I was supposed to protect her not fuck her. But the way that she looked at me, her plump bottom lip caught between her teeth and the short, sharp breaths she was taking was sending all my blood rushing to my cock. I was fucking hard and I couldn’t stop myself even if I wanted to.
As I pulled her finger from my mouth Lori deliberately pushed her finger onto the sharp point of my fang.
Fuuuuck. The full flavour of her blood flooded my senses. The flavour of it exploded in my mouth and my eyes rolled back in my head with the pure, euphoric taste of her.
I nearly came on the spot.
I released her finger from my mouth with a pop.
“You’re a bad girl, Lori.”
A devilish grin spread across her beautiful face. “What are you going to do about it?”
She squeezed her finger causing the blood to pool on the tip again. She was tempting me and it was fucking working. A growl rumbled in my chest as the beast crept to the surface. I knew my eyes were now black. I needed to step away before I did something I’d regret. But when it came to her, I was like an addict. I needed to taste her.
Just. One. More. Time.
My gaze homed in on the little drop of blood teasing me on the end of her finger.
Didn’t she know how much danger she was in? I was going to devour her, and she didn’t even look worried.
My hands flew to her waist and I pulled her into my lap. She yelped in surprise before groaning delectably as her weight settled over my hard cock. Those little mewls were the most fucking gorgeous sounds I’d ever heard. I wanted to hear those moans as I buried myself in her over and over again.
“You sure you want to do this again?” I growled like the beast I was. “I nearly killed you the last time.”
“Yes,” she replied breathlessly. “I trust you.”
She took her bloody finger and stuck it in her mouth, licking it clean. Her cheeks hollowed as she sucked her finger and fuck me if that wasn’t the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. I pictured those lips tight around my cock as she looked up at me from down on her knees.
As soon as she released her finger from her mouth, I gripped her chin and forced her mouth wide open. I swallowed her gasp as I pushed my tongue deep inside. I thrust it to the back of her mouth, determined to get every last drop of her delicious blood. She moaned as I claimed her mouth, her hands running into my hair, pulling the strands painfully.
A cough sounded in the distance, and we both froze immediately. Lori pulled back, her hands moving to my shoulders, and her chest rose heavily. Her eyes were bright with desire and her lips were swollen with my kiss.
That certainly intensified quickly. Part of me was glad we were interrupted. I didn’t want to have to think about wiping the Pit’s surveillance footage.
A blush crept up her neck, turning her face an enticing shade of pink. I moved my hand from her chin down her throat. I enjoyed the way her pulse beat wildly under my hand. It was beating like that for me, and the beast in me purred like a satisfied kitty. She looked deliciously dishevelled and I had the sudden urge to tell Levi to fuck off.
I was in some dangerous territory here if the beast was enjoying her too. The beast never bowed down to anyone, not even me, but here he was, flat on his back offering his tummy up for a tickle. What the fuck did that mean? I took a deep breath and then resolutely took hold of my desire. Gripping her hips I slid her off my lap, and we stood together. Her hands were still on my shoulders and
I could see she was reluctant to let me go. But I needed space. I needed to think, and I couldn’t do that with her so close to me. I deliberately walked away from her and over to Levi.
“Levi, thank you for coming.”
He raised his eyebrows at me. “Well you’re certainly looking better than when I last saw you.”
Cheeky fucker. If Lori wasn’t here, I’d be tempted to punch him in his smart mouth.
Wait, no I wouldn’t. Crap, the beast though Levi was intruding. This was not good. The beast was getting attached; was he staking a claim? I looked over at Lori and a warm glow pulsed through me. The desire to be close to her again, even just to touch her skin or breathe the same air as her, was overwhelming.
Mine.
The single word growled from the back of my mind with such force and conviction that my stomach dropped and my heart clenched painfully. The beast really was staking a claim, the eternal kind. He was claiming her as his mate.
Fucking hell, this just got complicated. No wonder I had an incessant need to protect her or that I allowed her to get under my skin. I wanted to. Or at least subconsciously the beast had let her make a mark. No wonder he was fucking purring.
I absent-mindedly rubbed my chest feeling torn for the first time in my life. Up until this moment the only thing I wanted was to finally feel at peace but now, as I stared at Lori, was there a possibility that I could want something more?
I needed some time away from her to get my head on straight. Every single thought I had right now involved her and considerably fewer clothes. I could smell her all over me. The need to mate with her was insatiable. I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes, trying to stop the stem of pure need roaring through me. If I didn’t leave now, I was going to fuck her. My gums prickled as my fangs grew.
Oh, god. I needed to leave.
Right now.
“Levi, I have to go.” My voice was a growl. My chest tightened as I realised I was barely holding on.
Levi looked over to me and frowned. He knew something was wrong but thankfully he didn’t say anything. “Ok, I will look after Miss Monroe. Take care of whatever you need to do.”
To Crave Darkly: Trials Of A Morta: Book One Page 12
