by Katie Reus
His dark eyes seemed to glow under the moonlight. “I want to be more than just mates. I want to bond with you, Larissa. You’re mine.”
Bonding would unite them until death. They’d never be able to leave each other. And she knew she wouldn’t want to leave this male. No sane woman would walk away from him. “And you’re mine, Aiden.”
She crushed her mouth to his, savoring his groan of appreciation as he gave back just as hard. As he ground his hips against hers it took all her restraint not to shove up her dress and coat, wrap her legs around him and let him push deep inside her. But she had more decorum than that. Maybe not.
“Wake up, Larissa. You have to wake up.” A vaguely familiar female voice invaded her head. Larissa pulled back from Aiden as her surroundings started to fade and morph.
Fear slammed into Larissa as Aiden’s face started to grow fainter. What the hell was happening? “No,” she yelled at the unseen female. Mentally shoving away the voice, she grasped onto Aiden’s shoulders and continued kissing him until her surroundings came back into focus. She didn’t want to leave Aiden. She wouldn’t.
Chapter 22
Aiden held Larissa in his lap in the backseat of Angelo’s SUV, his grip tight but not suffocating. Her head lay on his shoulder, her petite body lax, but not as if she was unconscious. Almost as if she was in a deep sleep. He tried to temper his fear, but he was losing that battle.
“Come on, Larissa. You need to wake up. I know you’re in there.” Brianna’s voice was soothing as she worked her healing magic on Larissa. Her hands glowed that soft green as she held Larissa’s hands in her own. She’d been trying wake Larissa for the past hour since leaving Magda’s house and Aiden was starting to get worried the female fae was draining too much of her power. But he was more worried for Larissa. After her nose had started bleeding, she’d passed out. He’d caught her before she’d hit the floor, but she’d lost so much blood. He’d sliced open his arm and fed her.
That was when he’d guessed she wasn’t exactly unconscious so much as asleep because she’d actually taken from him. It hadn’t been much, but she’d drunk and had stopped bleeding.
Sighing, Brianna pulled her hands back and leaned against the seat. Her face was paler than normal. “I’m sorry, Aiden. There’s nothing more I can do for her. She’s not in pain or even injured. I would be able to sense it. She’s just . . . sleeping for lack of a better word. She’ll wake up when she wants. Whatever she did in that basement expended a lot of energy and sleeping is likely the only way for her to recuperate. I’m not asking about her gift because I can tell you want to keep it private, but have you ever seen her do that fire thing before?”
He nodded. She’d shown it to him right after they’d bonded and it had been . . . magical. He could still envision that night, watching the way she let her flames run all the way around the lake he’d taken her to. The fire hadn’t burned anything in its path, just lit up the area like the best fireworks show ever.
Brianna seemed to relax at that. “Good. Have you ever seen her overextend herself?”
Feeling sick, he shook his head. “No. But she never had a reason to overdo it front of me. It was always about having fun with her gift when we were together.” And she’d been full of rage in that basement.
They both turned as Angelo slid into the front seat. The vehicle was still running so he quickly pulled out of their parking spot at the hospital. “Dropped the human off in the ER and hurried out. Made sure to avoid the cameras,” he said. “Baby, how are you feeling?” he asked Brianna without turning around.
“Good, just a little tired.”
“How’s your female, Aiden?” Angelo flicked him a quick glance in the rearview mirror, his packmate’s expression worried.
“Okay.” He knew what Brianna had told him, but he still wasn’t convinced Larissa was okay. Nothing could convince him of that until her eyes opened. His throat tightened and he couldn’t force himself to continue. Right now he was barely hanging on to his sanity. The only thing keeping him in control was the fact that their bondmate link was the strongest it had been since he’d found her again. It seemed like each second that passed, the link was tightening and strengthening to where it had been back when they’d first bonded. Though he wasn’t sure how that was even possible.
“You should let one of us take you back to the ranch,” Angelo murmured as he turned down a side street.
Aiden glanced out the window and watched as cars and homes passed by in a blur. He tightened his hold, resting his chin on the top of her head. “No one has time to make an extra trip right now.” And they couldn’t afford to lose even more warriors guarding the ranch. Whether he was there with Larissa or here, it wouldn’t change her condition.
Angelo grunted as he turned down another residential street, taking them closer and closer to their meeting point with Connor. After Larissa had passed out they’d turned their cell phones back on and Angelo had gotten in contact with Connor. Connor and the rest of the packmates who’d come to Winston-Salem had managed to lose the reporters attempting to follow them.
Thankfully Ana and one of the warriors had brought different vehicles and traded out with Connor and the others, so it would be damn near impossible for anyone to track them. Now his Alpha and packmates were meeting up with the four of them back at Magda’s. They needed to start cleaning up the mess, including disposing of the witch’s body and locking down the house in case Magda’s vamp “master” showed up. Aiden also planned to give Ryan all the cell phones they’d found at Magda’s house in the hopes he could work his magic with them. Ryan had said he could do something with the GPS, but Aiden didn’t really care about the specifics.
As they turned onto Magda’s street, Aiden grew even more tense. The homes in the historic neighborhood were far enough apart that everyone had a lot of privacy. Not to mention the hedges or walls surrounding each house. He wasn’t worried about being seen by humans, he was worried about his bondmate. All the reassurances in the world wouldn’t help him right now.
Wake up, Larissa. Please. Closing his eyes, he buried his face against the top of her head, inhaling her sweet familiar scent. I can’t survive without you again, sweetheart. Come back to me.
* * *
“I had no idea you could dance so well.” Larissa linked her arm through Aiden’s as they left the local pub.
A few drunk men stumbled out behind them, singing off-key as they headed in the opposite direction.
“You shouldn’t be so surprised considering how well I dance between the sheets,” he murmured, his seductive voice wrapping around her like a warm caress.
“Is that what you call it?” Grinning, she looked up at him. The night had turned out nothing like she’d expected. Larissa had been so worried that he’d been going off to meet a human lover but had found him giving presents to friends instead. Then he’d taken her to a local pub and sang and danced with such abandon. Watching him so relaxed, so happy, made her feel freer than she ever had before. She knew that life with him would be the greatest adventure and though she was worried about both their families’ reactions, there was no turning back for her. Without a doubt she knew he was the male she wanted to be with forever.
He hummed a familiar Christmas melody as they made their way down the quiet streets. By now most humans would be asleep. In a few hours the sun would be up and everyone would be celebrating Christmas. But she was celebrating something else entirely. The start of a new life with the male she loved.
“This way,” he murmured, reaching into his sporran and pulling out keys as he turned them down another side street. She spotted his car immediately, one of the few parked along the curb.
She snagged the keys from his hand and was thankful when he didn’t protest. It took a lot to get a shifter drunk, and while he wasn’t, he was definitely tipsy.
Once he’d settled in, she started the drive back to his pack’s
land. But they’d made it only ten minutes outside of town when he pointed down a beaten pathway she’d have missed if not for his direction. “Turn here, I want to show you something.”
Curious, she slowed the car and turned off the main road. The road wasn’t paved and was bumpier than she’d expected as they drove through a thicket of trees. Eventually the trees started to thin and the dirt road grew even more uneven.
“You can stop here,” he murmured in a tone she might mistake for sleepy if she didn’t know him by now. There was something wicked in his voice that sent a pleasurable shiver down her spine.
Before she’d pulled the key from the ignition he’d gotten out of his seat and was opening her door. Taking her hand in his, he plucked a bag from the backseat before he led her down the rest of the pathway until it opened up into a lush valley. Even at night she could see how beautiful the place was.
A wide lake glistened under the moonlight, surrounded on all sides by sloping hills that couldn’t quite be called mountains. She could imagine how beautiful it would be in the daylight hours with the sun shining down on all the greenery. A pale mist seemed to cover most of the surrounding grass and sloping land, giving it a magical quality.
“What is this place?” she whispered though she wasn’t sure why she did.
“My favorite place to run as a wolf. Most of the pack runs near the castles, but I love it here. It’s peaceful.”
She was touched that he’d brought her somewhere so special to him. She’d already seen him in his wolf form and he was a magnificent animal. So beautiful and fierce. “Thank you for showing it to me.”
He just nodded and continued walking until they reached a grassy patch in front of a cluster of rocks that lined the lake. Releasing her hand, he unzipped his bag and pulled out a folded blanket. “Take the other side,” he said as he let it fall open.
She did and they worked to open it up and lay it flat on the grass. As she sat on it, she frowned. “Why did you have this bag in your car?”
He chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I’d planned to bring you here tomorrow morning, but tonight is better.”
She leaned into his embrace, soaking up his warmth. Though she wasn’t affected by the cold like humans, Aiden put off the best kind of heat.
He nuzzled the top of her head, his warm breath teasing her. “You know why tonight is better?” he asked.
“Why?” She buried her face against his chest as she wrapped her arm around him. The male smelled like pure heaven. She wanted to bottle his scent.
“It’s a full moon.” His quietly spoken words left no doubt what he meant.
Vampires didn’t undergo any rituals when they mated for life. Not in the way shifters did. For an instant, she went still before she looked up to meet his dark gaze. His eyes glittered with so many emotions. Love, lust, and just a hint of fear. That one nearly knocked her back. But she planned to make sure he never felt fear again where she was concerned.
When she stood, she saw his fists clench at his sides, as if he had to restrain himself from tugging her back down to him. Her thick coat pooled around her feet seconds after she slipped it off.
Aiden sucked in a sharp breath, his wolf in his eyes as he watched her slowly reach around and unzip the back of her dress. After it joined her coat on the blanket, she stepped out of it and straddled him.
He shuddered, his big arms coming around her in a tight grip. “You’re sure?”
“More sure than I’ve been about anything in my five hundred years.” She’d lived long enough to be secure in her decisions. And she knew there was nothing about tonight that she’d ever regret. She wanted Aiden to claim her, to mark her under the full moon with his canines so that everyone would know they belonged to each other. Afterward he would be marked with a tattoolike symbol so the world would know he was hers and she’d carry small scars from his canine piercing. He’d been so damn careful about not marking her so far because he could have mated her without bonding. But she knew it had been a lesson in restraint for him. Now they didn’t have to show any restraint. And in a few hours, the world would know what they’d done.
“Larissa, come back to me.” Once again Larissa’s surroundings blurred as Aiden faded away. She wanted to shove the voice away again, but this time it was Aiden speaking.
Aiden begging her to come back. She’d do anything for him. Confusion slammed through her until she opened her eyes and found herself sitting on Aiden’s lap in the backseat of a vehicle. His head was tilted back against the seat, his breathing steady, as if he was sleeping or dozing.
Larissa barely moved her head as she took in her surroundings, not wanting anyone to realize she was awake. A female shifter she didn’t recognize was sitting in the driver’s seat muttering under her breath about some male’s pigheadedness and a male with a computer in his lap sat in the passenger seat talking to himself. The vehicle wasn’t moving or even idling, but where were they? And how had she gotten here?
Aiden? she shouted through their telepathic link.
His eyes popped open as his head snapped up. Relief flooded his expression before he pulled her into a crushing hug. She let out a yelp of surprise as he buried his face against her neck, inhaling her scent in that shifter way she loved. Eventually he pulled back, his dark eyes warm as he locked with hers. How are you?
Okay, I think. Who are the people in the front seat? Are they safe? What happened to me? Where are Angelo and Brianna?
Yeah, they’re my packmates and Angelo and Brianna are at Magda’s. He cleared his throat. “Kat, Ryan, this is Larissa, my mate.”
Larissa half turned to find two sets of curious eyes on her. The beautiful female gave her a warm smile. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m glad you’re finally awake.”
“Nice to meet you too.” She nodded at both of them before turning all her focus on Aiden. Where are we? What happened at Magda’s? She remembered the female stabbing herself, then Aiden trying to get her to feed, then feeling weak. Did I pass out?
More or less. Brianna said it’s more like you’ve been in a deep sleep. And you’ve been out a couple of hours. I got you to feed a little, but you need a lot more. You expended a lot of energy using your gift. We took that human male to the hospital, but now we’re back at Magda’s. He nodded once and she turned to look out the windshield.
That was when she realized they were at the end of the long driveway at the front of the dead witch’s house. They’d come in the back before but she recognized it from the recon they’d done.
My Alpha and a few other packmates are inside right now sweeping for clues and Ryan is running scans of the phone records from the cell phones we found at Magda’s. They’re all disposable phones. He thinks he might be able to find something useful.
She nodded slightly and shifted against Aiden’s lap. His hold tightened, soothing the disorientation she felt pushing up inside her. Coming out of that sleep where she’d relived some of her memories was jarring, even if the memories had been good ones. It had felt real, as if she’d been there. Not like a dream at all. I remember more between us. I remember falling for you and Christmas Eve.
His dark eyes went molten. Do you remember bonding?
She shook her head. I woke up right before that.
Disappointment flared in his eyes for a brief moment before he said, You need to feed. It’s the only way you’ll gain back your strength.
She nodded because he was right, but still protested what she knew he wanted. I’ve already taken too much from you in the past couple of days, so please don’t insist I take now. We’ll find someone else.
His jaw tightened and she knew he wanted to argue. Instead, he looked around her. “Kat, we need to take a trip into town and find a semi-populated area where Larissa can find someone to feed from.”
Before Kat responded, the other male spoke without looking up from his compute
r. “Why not just take her to a vamp club? There will be plenty of willing donors.” He shot her a quick glance. “You can even pick blood type.”
Larissa’s eyes widened. “There are places like that? That humans know about?” The place Magda had sent her to days ago had been only for supernaturals and she hadn’t been there long enough to discover much about it. Even though Larissa knew that vampires and shifters were out to humans, it would still take some getting used to this new world.
Ryan nodded. “Yeah. I can look up some places and we’ll go to the closest one.”
“Or she can just feed from some of us,” Kat said. The female shifter’s casual offer left Larissa speechless. Shifters didn’t just willingly offer up their blood to vampires. “You drink from Aiden, so you can drink from us, right?”
“Yes, but . . .” She glanced back at Aiden questioningly. Is this female serious?
“You can take my wrist right now,” Kat said before Aiden could answer.
“That’s very generous, but . . .” Larissa felt as if she was under a microscope as the pretty shifter watched her expectantly. “Why are you offering?”
Kat shrugged. “You’re Aiden’s mate and he’s not only my maker, but my friend.” All she saw was sincerity in the woman’s expression.
“Kat, you don’t have to do this,” Aiden murmured.
She rolled her eyes as she held out an arm and pushed her sleeve up. “I know that, but I want to. Take it or leave it.”
Feeling insecure and still out of sorts, she glanced back at Aiden. Are you okay with this?
He nodded. Of course. And I didn’t ask her to do this, in case you’re wondering.
Larissa had wondered and she was glad he hadn’t. It made the female’s offer more significant. And it said a lot about Aiden’s packmates, or at least this one in particular. Larissa turned back and gently grasped the female’s wrist. “This is very kind. Thank you. I won’t take much, but if I drink too long or you feel weak, please tell me.”
