Pure: A Paranormal Romance

by D. L. McKinsey

  Nothing else mattered right now.

  All I could do was feel that undeniable pleasure he was giving to my body.

  I could feel the build up like I did every time we made love.

  It was so close now, I could scream. I wrapped my arms around his neck, closing my eyes tightly and allowing nothing but the feel of him to consume me. And just like that… Boom! I exploded inside. My orgasm was so spectacular, I lost control of my ability again and blue bolts exploded from my body, filling the water with a burst of unnatural beautiful light. I felt Seb stiffen inside me, and I knew he, too, had reached his peek.

  Once finished, we broke through the surface again. This time, it was for good, but as I looked around the lake, I was stunned by what I saw.

  “Holy shit!” I screeched. Bobbing on top of the water around us were hundreds of dead fish. “Oh my-did I do this?!”

  Seb flinged one of the fishes away and shrugged.

  “Yeah, your powers are stronger,” he said casually.

  I looked at the fish, feeling guilty for killing them by accident and equally grossed out by the sight them.

  “I can’t believe I killed all these innocent fishes.” I murmured.

  Seb laughed, kissing my cheek.

  “Ana, it’s just fish. Just think that you made some fisherman or animal’s job easier today. Besides, you already killed a shark. This should be nothing.” He added.

  I splashed him with water. The thing with Bruce was different, and he knew it. But like usual, he was right. I couldn’t undo it, and killing a bunch of fish was probably last on the list of terrible things I’d done as a vampire.

  Seb took my hand and we swam back to the shore. Once there, he changed into a wolf, I got dressed and we left our love cocoon to face the problems that awaited us at Cora’s.

  With our combined speeds, we had reached Cora’s town limits within a few hours. We ran the whole way and only stopped twice to make love. It was worth it, too.

  Now, it was just past five in the evening and most families would be heading home from work or preparing to eat supper. The thought made me miss my mother, Lucy. She always tried to cook these wonderful dinners to create somewhat of a normal family environment, but it never happened. Instead, she had a psychotic daughter, another daughter who ate her feelings away before fleeing and becoming a vampire, and a neglectful husband who spent his nights in the arms of other women. I instantly began to feel guilty about my last conversation with her. I had to see her after all this and make it right.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Seb, gently taking my hand in his. He’d changed back to human form and we’d slowed our run to a walk if only to enjoy the last minutes we had alone.

  “Just thinking of my mom. My human mom. I miss her.” I confessed, squeezing his hand for comfort. He squeezed back, looking at me like he knew exactly how I felt.

  “Once this is all over and it’s already safe, I’ll take you to her.” Seb vowed, his words almost mirroring the ones I thought just seconds ago. I managed a smile, and we continued down the dirt road. Cora’s small house came into view. We were about a half mile away when I first noticed Jace standing in the driveway. Even from this distance, I could tell something wasn’t right. Seb stopped beside me, following my line of sight to Jace.

  “I need to talk to him alone,” I said, releasing my hand from his.

  “No.” Seb replied simply, sliding his hand back into mine.

  I loved his protectiveness, but glancing back at Jace, I knew I had to speak to him alone. Jace’s stance was too tight and ridged. His fists were balled at his sides, and his eyes showed no signs of the Jace I knew. My instincts told me he somehow knew about Seb and I, and judging from his face, he wasn’t going to be giving us his blessing anytime soon.

  “Just give me five minutes alone to talk to him. Please.” I begged.

  Seb stared suspiciously at Jace, and I had to give my best pleading expression to finally get him to cave.

  “Fine. But I’m staying right here where I can see and hear everything. If anything goes wrong, I’ll be by your side in a flash.” Seb insisted, and I knew he would be. It was the best I was going to get so I took it.

  “Thanks.” I gave him a quick kiss before turning and slowly walked towards Jace. I didn’t know what mood he was in and using vampire speed could only startle him.

  Once I was half way to Jace, I realized how bad the situation was and was about to get. Jace’s body was shaking with rage, and his eyes were looking directly past me to Seb. He was locked on my mate like a target.

  “Jace?” I called out to him with my hands up in a non-defensive gesture. His eyes shot to me briefly but then returned back to Seb. Still, I approached him cautiously like one would a wild bear. A smart person wouldn’t approach a wild bear but run from it, but I can’t run from Jace. He was in pain, and it was my fault. The least I could do now is help him through it.

  “Jace?” I tried again, this time more firmly. No response. Not even a flinch. I was now closer to Jace than Seb, and I could see the sweat beads forming along his forehead. He was exerting himself. But why?

  It wasn’t long before my unanswered question was answered.

  A loud pop filled the air as Jace’s fists burst into flames.

  My body instantly started running to him before my mind could register what was happening.

  I could feel Seb worrying from behind me and knew Jace had just blown his chance at speaking with me semi-privately.

  Jace screamed an agonizing cry of pain that stopped me in my tracks. In the same instant, the fireballs left his hands and began to dance around his body. They circled him angrily, leaving trails of fire around him like a sparkler but they never burned him. He just stood there as they created a swirl pattern around him. Tears streamed down his face, and the two fireballs sprung out from their relentless circling heading right at me. They were coming at me too fast for me to dodge so I latched on to my ability, hoping I could counter the heat that was coming.

  They sizzled through the air, leaving bright orange trails in their wake.

  But they never reached me.

  The fireballs moved like they had a mind of their own and ripped past me, only fanning me with their heat but avoided direct contact.

  It was then when I realized why.

  I was not their intended target.

  Seb was.

  Chapter 49

  Secrets

  Gwyn

  I snatched one of the human servants from the kitchen. The platter he was filling with fruit clattered to the ground with a loud bang, but I didn’t care. His heart rate kicked into overdrive, but he didn’t fight as I practically dragged him along with me through the blood castle. I was on a mission, and the human knew better than to speak or question my actions. He only began to squirm when we descended the old steps leading to the prisoner cells.

  “Resist again, and I will tear out your intestines.” I snarled in his face, flashing my fangs, my eyes completely black.

  The human stilled. Nothing but fear poured off of him now. That was all I needed as I travelled the remaining distance until we stood outside of Cassius’ cell bars. The Prince lay on his back on the ground with an arm draped over his eyes. He appeared casual, almost bored, or sleeping, but I knew better.

  “Come to gloat?” Cassius spoke without moving.

  “On the contrary.” I replied, pulling the cell key from the pocket of my black silk jumpsuit. “I came to help.”

  And with that, I pulled open his cell door and pushed the shaking human inside. Cassius was on his feet in a blink of an eye. For good measure, I left the cell door wide open. He stared at me a moment then sniffed the air around the human who had begun to cry. He was checking to see if I’d poisoned the servant’s blood first.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Why are you helping me?”

  I shrugged.

  “Think of this as me starting to bite back.” I answered with a slow smile.

  Cassius ret
urned my smile, remembering our previous conversation about my broken heart caused. The Prince may have been harsh, but he was honest and the words he spoke to me were the ones I needed to hear. This would be the first of many strikes I would take against Catalina. The last time I had my heart broken, my mate had died. I swore to myself then that I wouldn’t feel that type of pain again. But I let myself slip and fall in love with Catalina even when a part of me knew I should have stayed guarded. Cata was good, I would give the Princess that. She had fooled me like no one else could.

  I would make the spoiled bitch pay.

  “Well,” Cassius began, wrapping his hand around the human’s throat without him even having to turn, “Ill drink to that.”

  In one fluid motion, he brought the sobbing man to him and sank his fangs savagely into the side of his neck. I watched as the Prince drank every last drop of the servant’s blood before dropping him lifelessly to the ground.

  “Hm-mmm, AB negative, one of my favorite blood types.” Cassius stated, wiping the excess blood from his lips and then licking it off his finger. He slowly stepped out of the cell to stand before me.

  “Anything for you, Prince. So, what’s your next move?”

  I knew all too well that Cassius was cunning and was not a fan of punishment. He was also my best ally in making Catalina pay. I only hoped he had a plan that would benefit me in that aspect.

  “I’m assuming you’re asking this because you need help in the biting-my-sister-back category.” Cassius replied casually, stretching his neck and arms. The smirk on his face made it evident he was back to feeling like himself. The gray sunken skin of his face had changed back to its usual pale marble state. The growing signs of a starving vampire faded fast.

  “You would assume right.” I replied back, not breaking eye contact.

  Cassius studied me for any sign of weakness. I refused to show any. Weak vampires didn’t survive in the world she lived in. I masked myself in the cold shell I was so accustomed to.

  “What’s in it for me?” Cassius inquired, stepping impossibly closer to me.

  I held her ground

  “A trade. Information I can use against Catalina for information of your father’s plan to capture and kill your mate, Analise.” I stated boldly.

  Cassius hissed fiercely at the word mate, startling me into taking a small step back.

  “Don’t ever call her my mate again!” He hissed through his teeth, fangs elongated.

  I was shocked. Just days ago, he tried to attack his father and Raven over the girl, and now, the look in his eyes screamed hate. The change of events was not in my plan. I was betting Cassius would do anything for the information of his father’s plan to protect his mate. Now, I wasn’t sure, and I had nothing else to bribe him with.

  “Why the sudden change? Isn’t she the reason you’re in the prisoners’ cells in the first place.” I knew I was pushing it, but this was the only chance I had. For the past three days that Cassius had been locked up, I searched relentlessly for dirt on the Princess only to come up empty-handed. I knew Catalina had secrets and Cassius was my last hope of finding them.

  “That’s not your concern.” He snarled. “However,” He added, taking a much needed step back, “I could use that information of yours so I’ll agree to the trade.”

  I wanted to jump up and down and whoop in delight, but I kept my composure and just showed him a small smile.

  Cassius tilted his head in a small nod for me to proceed and fulfill my end of the deal. Normally, I would make him go first, but considering the circumstances and his mental state, I decided against it, only hoping he would keep his word.

  “Your father and his witch are planning to attack the girl in three days’ time. He plans on taking five thousand elite guards with him to secure or kill her. Raven wanted more, but your father doesn’t see her as that much of a threat. He wants her alive but any resistance and she’s dead. Raven has been tracking her, but a few hours ago she went off the grid. Raven believes she’s near a powerful witch and the mix of power is throwing off the signal. Still, she’s confident she can work around it with more time and strong spells.” I informed him. It wasn’t much, but it was almost all she had.

  “Is that all? Don’t play with me, Gwyn. The information I plan to give you on my sister will cost you more than that.” Cassius warned.

  I cleared my throat and stood taller.

  “Fine. There’s only one witch that powerful that lives within three hundred miles of here. My guess is that’s where Analise and her friends have gone. Her name is Cora. She’s a strong three-eyed witch, and I know exactly where she lives.” I told him, putting all my cards on the table.

  “How do you know this?” Cassius wondered once again as he invaded my personal space.

  I didn’t want to tell him, but my thirst for revenge had the truth falling through my lips.

  “Cora may be powerful, but it’s the girl she keeps that never ages, Zara, who has the rarest power in the world. When humans die, they go to heaven or hell, but monsters like you and I are sent to The Hallow; the eternal darkness. No matter what good we do in our existence, when it ends, the true torture begins as our black souls are sent there. Anyway, it’s rumored the girl could not only communicate with those in The Hallow but could reach in and pull them out.”

  I couldn’t speak anymore. The memories that began to surface came with pain I long ago buried.

  “I see now. When your mate was killed, you turned to witches for help. Not just any witch but a long-ago extinct necromancer. You were thinking they would pull a vampire from The Hallow for you, another vampire.” Cassius theorized with a smirk.

  He was right, of course. I narrowed my eyes and forced all the darkness inside me to surface.

  “Yes! I did! My mate was dead, and I was lost without him. I would have done anything to get him back! But I failed. The witch slammed the door on my face and banished me from her land before I could even see her supposed granddaughter, and that was the end of it. For all I know, it was only a rumor that the girl is a necromancer. So, now, you know it all, Prince. I held up my end. I expect you to do the same.” I sneered.

  Anger boiled in my blood and control was something I was about to lose. I had never told anyone that, and I certainly didn’t think Cassius would be the one I spilled my own secrets to.

  “Very well, Gwyndolyn. Your information has proved to be very useful to me after all. As for my little sister, well, there is only one thing you can do to truly hurt her; one thing that she hides from world, her only weakness and fear…” Cassius was dragging it out, and I was becoming impatient.

  “Out with it already!” I demanded. Cassius laughed me off.

  “Catalina despises love so much because she fears it. She fears it because even she can’t stop herself from feeling it and the power it has over her. My mother had a vision once of our family. She told us our father’s lust for power and ego would be the death of him, she herself would die because of love, and that Catalina would follow in her footsteps. This was before my mother even met Marcos, and thus, sealed her own fate. I believe that was the reason Cata went through such great lengths to be mean and hard and distant. Dying for love is weak to her, and my sister, like my father, only wants strength and power. She refuses to love anyone including her own mother.” He explained with a hint of sadness at the end.

  Cassius may be bad, but his mother always had his love.

  “She loves your father.” I countered.

  “Love? No. She respects and admires him, but she doesn’t love him. There is only one person on the planet who has my little sister’s heart much to her own dismay. But even she was powerless to stop fate from giving her the one thing she never wanted: A mate.” Cassius announced, looking pleased with the stunned expression on my face.

  Catalina had a mate?! It seemed so impossible that someone so filled with hate could possibly feel love. How’d she keep it a secret? And why? I knew the princess had lovers, but she used them as mer
e playthings. This piece of information had my head spinning!

  “Who is he? Where is he? How do you know? How lon…”

  “Slow down.” Cassius interrupted, putting a hand up. “I found out about fifteen years ago. My sister has a way of making enemies so I began to tail her whenever she left the palace. I needed dirt on her in case she ever made an enemy of me. One day, I followed her to a park of all places. She stood in the shadows near some trees watching the children play for an hour, and I couldn’t make sense of it. That was until a little boy accidentally kicked a ball her way. I watched as my sister picked the ball up, and when the boy approached her for it, she got down to be eye-level with him and gently wiped the dirt off his cheek before handing him the ball back. I was speechless. Even that small act of kindness was out of character for Catalina. It wasn’t until I looked in her eyes and saw the glistening love shining there that I knew for sure.”

  Light bulbs began to go off in mys head “Are you saying that…”

  “Yes. Catalina the snake has a mate, and the best part is he’s a weak vulnerable human.”

  ***

  Ana

  The fireballs were closing in on Seb fast, and I simply couldn’t let them hurt him. Doing what I was best at, I used my kinetic bolts and sent two quick ones at the fireballs. I didn’t know if it would work, but it was all I could think to do at the moment. Luckily, as soon as the blue blots made contact, the fireballs exploded into smoke with a loud pop. I let out a sigh of relief and searched Seb’s face to make sure he was okay.

  My love was filled with rage. His chest was heaving up and down, and sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was getting ready to change and was making a poor attempt to stop it.

  Turning around, I faced Jace once again, mouth opened to demand why he threw fire at Seb. But the sight of him had the words caught in my throat. Jace was surrounded by hundreds of fireballs in the same dance the first two had done. His eyes looked void of any emotion or even recognition now as if he wasn’t himself anymore.