by Leia King
He kneaded her breasts. The sensation was incredible. He knew just how to touch her, how to please her. She responded, rolling her hips and grinding down on him hard. He panted beneath her and she saw the strain in his jaw, as he tried to hold back his release. She leaned in and he wrapped his arms around her, taking her in a hungry kiss. He thrust his hips up, driving so deep that she ripped her mouth from his and screamed in ecstasy. She was so close. So incredibly close.
And then his fangs clamped down around her left breast, sinking into the soft flesh.
The sweet bite of pain had her losing control. She came hard around him, an earth-shattering orgasm racking her body.
He thrust deep. Once. Twice.
And then he roared, as he shot his hot seed inside her.
He fisted his hands in her hair, guiding her mouth back to his and kissing her wildly, as he rode his own intense release.
“That was… intense,” he breathed.
She collapsed on top of him like dead weight, all her energy expended. She murmured against his chest. “We nearly brought the entire library down around us.”
He stroked her hair, chuckling. “You were incredibly turned on by it.”
She laughed.
“I have never made a habit of undertaking such feats of strength during sex, but if that is what it takes to bring out the wild side of you that I just experienced, I can work with that,” he teased.
“It was hot,” she admitted.
“Hot, was it?” he asked, amused by her using such a word.
“Yes,” she chuckled.
He shifted his weight beneath her and gestured to the bite marks etched into his chest. “This was hot.”
Her eyes widened as she got her first look at the damage she’d done. “Oh my God. I’m so s—”
“Please do not apologize, angel. I thoroughly enjoyed it, believe me.”
“I… I lost control.”
He lifted her chin with his finger, forcing her to look at him. “As did I. We already knew this about one another, remember? We both weaken one another’s control. It matters not, because we are both strong enough to withstand that mutual loss of control. Do you agree?
“I….”
“This is pure, unadulterated passion, angel. There is no room for control. Just enjoy it. You do not need to rationalize everything.”
She took his words in. “You’re right.”
With her senses returning now that all blood was rushing back to her brain, an awful realization dawned on her. She sat up abruptly, breaking his hold on her. “I must warn the White Realm about Oriana’s return!”
“Right this instant, angel?” He waved his hand over her and a robe appeared, covering her naked body. She looked down, surprised, and he explained, “I shredded your top and I cannot have you walking around my castle naked, can I? That is for my eyes only, Marella.”
She smiled briefly at his comment and then she returned to the business at hand. “I need to warn the White Realm immediately. I should have done it right away, but I’d wanted to find out more about Ryan’s son first.” She climbed to her feet. “I must return, Nathanial.”
In a flash of vampire speed he was dressed and standing before her. Pain blanketed his face. She had never seen such raw emotion from him before. “You cannot leave.”
“What?”
“I can create a magical link from here to the White Realm, enabling you to converse with Vazra from my castle. There is no need for you to go there in person.”
She shook her head. “I must, Nathanial. Vazra will want to assemble the Royal Court to discuss the best options for dealing with Oriana’s return.”
He stepped into her path, insisting, “You cannot leave.”
“Nathanial, what is this? Why are you being so possessive?”
“Aside from the fact that you are my destined mate, you mean?”
She studied him, searching his face for answers. “You are more intense this time.”
“I need you to remain here under my protection.”
She scoffed and brushed past him. “That is very sweet of you, but I am a capable, grown woman.”
“You are with child!”
She stopped in her tracks. For several moments, she couldn’t move a muscle, couldn’t utter a word.
Finally, she managed to eke out, “You’re sure?”
“Yes. When we were holding one another a moment ago, I felt for what I had suspected a few nights ago. The child made herself known.”
She spun around, her eyes wide. “She? It’s a girl?”
He grimaced and slapped his hand to his head. “I am sorry.” He smacked his fist into one of the stacks. “I am awful. I ruined it for you.”
She walked back to him and took his hands in hers. “No, Nathanial. It’s all right. I would have wanted to know anyway.”
“You are… happy?” he asked, studying her intently.
“In all my life, all the centuries that I have lived, I have experienced everything, had everything. All except one incredible thing. A child of my own.”
“You understand that, with the weight of my dark power, I cannot produce a hybrid child. Not one of white magic?”
She nodded. “She is a pureblood vampire.”
“Yes.”
“Why would you think that would bother me?”
“I thought, perhaps, you would not relish creating a purely dark creature, given how much you value your white magic.”
“Not at all.” She threw her arms around him. “We have created life together, Nathanial. There is nothing more precious. I am overjoyed!”
He smiled and wrapped her up tightly in his arms. “I am overjoyed too, angel. I never imagined I would be fortunate enough to have a second child.”
His words sparked a sudden realization in her. She looked up at him. “This child is your heir. Your second chance to have someone worthy of the throne. The chance for you to finally have someone take your place, enabling you to retire at long last.”
“While that is true, she will be my daughter first and foremost.” He tensed. “I will protect her with my life and every ounce of power at my disposal.”
“I know that you will. And I also know that statement was more than a little pointed.”
“I cannot allow you to leave.”
“Nathanial, I understand your concerns, but—”
“I am at my strongest all the while I remain in this realm. No one can harm me, or those I love. You are safe here with me. But, as soon as you step beyond the gates, my reach is limited.”
“If I do not return, Vazra will become suspicious. I cannot give him any reason to suspect anything is happening between the two of us. You know, firsthand, how destructive his temper can be. He could call for war. We would be risking our child more so, if I do not return.”
He broke away from her and fell silent, frowning in deep thought.
“You know I am right,” she pressed.
He grunted, but gave a reluctant nod. “We must conceal this pregnancy from him.”
“I have no idea how Oriana did that with you when she was pregnant with Ryan.”
“I do,” he said, coming back to her. He pressed his hand to the small of her back and began ushering her through the Great Hall. “We must combine our magic. Not out here. In my bedchamber.” He pulled her against him. “I will come to you every night in a dreamscape to check on you. I do not want you gone for too long, angel. Those are my conditions for allowing you to leave here.”
“I accept.”
“If anyone lays a finger on you, I will tear their heart from their chest without so much as a warning.”
I believe you.” She nuzzled against his chest. “But it will be fine. Everything will be fine.”
3
Cora held her hands outstretched before her.
Sweat trickled down her brow. Her body was trembling. Her mind was awhirl, her concentration faltering.
And she was failing in her task.
She eyed t
he dragon statues carved from heavy white stone over on the far side of the palace courtyard. Each one weighed approximately two tons. She was attempting to lift them with her magic. They currently hovered three feet off the floor. She summoned her strength, lifting them higher. The strain had her gritting her teeth.
It wasn’t the act itself that was causing her so much grief. It was what kept happening as she performed the feat of magical strength. The unsettling sensation that kept rising up within her.
She’d been practicing magic for a while now and she’d been pulling on more power each time she did. In the beginning, when her father had tutored her, she’d felt a wave of euphoria whenever she’d unleashed her magic.
But, lately, an awful darkness had accompanied it. It begged to be set free, willed her to give in to it wholly. It was like some sort of killer instinct. It started in the pit of her stomach and quickly spread through every fiber of her being.
Feeling it starting to overwhelm her, she panicked, and lowered the statues as quickly as she could, without breaking them.
She started to reabsorb her power, but the dark pull within her resisted. “Ah! Stop!” she cried out.
The exertion of fighting against it and trying to reabsorb so much power, forced her to her knees. She managed to succeed, but the terrible sensation still lingered. She slapped her hands to her head. “Leave me,” she ground out. “I command you to leave me!”
It took several long moments of quiet concentration and complete serenity, before it finally subsided. Thank goodness.
Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, she climbed to her feet.
That was when she noticed Shaye watching her.
“How long has this been happening?”
“What? Uh… have you been standing there for a while?”
“Cora,” she pressed.
She blew out a breath. “Fine. Since that night I stormed the vampire mansion, trying to rescue Ryan.”
Shaye approached her. “Every time you expend such extreme power, it is a risk.”
“A risk?”
“Of opening a door to the darkness. It is a door that’ll become more and more difficult to close. Great power doesn’t come without a price, Cora. The universe doesn’t give anyone anything for free. You need an anchor.”
“An anchor?”
“Something that ties you back to yourself. Something that grounds you. Do you remember what I told you before you went after Ryan at Luca’s mansion that night? I warned you that Michael would try to manipulate you, attempt to make you lose control?”
“Yeah.”
“This is what I meant. This loss of control that you are fighting now, the rise of the darkness within. Your anchor has to be something personal to you. I would suggest Ryan. Or, your son. Your love for them is pure and untainted. It will be a powerful anchor.”
“What’s yours?”
Shaye smiled. “My coven.”
Cora nodded and then something occurred to her. “I wonder why my father didn’t tell me about needing an anchor when he was training me.”
She saw Shaye start in surprise at her words. So, she thought it was odd, too, then? But, instead of addressing it, she went on to say, “You need to tell Ryan about this, Cora. He should know, in case anything happens. He will know how to help you then.”
“I will.”
“Good,” Shaye said with a smile. “I came out here to tell you that King Vazra received news from the Dark Realm a few moments ago.”
She didn’t like the look on Shaye’s face. It put her on edge instantly. “What is it?” She swallowed hard. “Is Ryan—?”
“He is fine. Your son is fine. Oriana has returned. She showed up in the Dark Realm.”
“What? Ryan’s mother has resurfaced? After all this time?”
“A shock to all of us. Especially, Ryan and Nathanial, I’d imagine. After a failed attempt to take the thrones, Luca and Michael have been imprisoned at the edge of the Dark Realm. Nathanial suspects she is still out there too. He has his hunters searching. Both he and Marella believe her to be a threat to the White and Dark Realm alike.” She paused briefly, before revealing, “And, to your son. The bridge.”
Fury took her over at the thought of Orion being in danger, her maternal instincts kicking into overdrive. She ran up the palace steps, taking them two at a time. “My son!” she thundered. “Oriana thinks she can threaten my son!”
As she strode into the palace, storming through the lobby, she heard Shaye calling after her, “Cora, your father will not like this! He is in session with his Royal Court. You cannot just burst on in there.”
“Watch me!”
She reached the throne room, stopping outside the closed doors. Narrowing her eyes with determination, she thrust her hands at them and pushed on through. Instantly, all three remaining members of the Royal Court turned at her sudden entrance. Asha, Marella, and her father.
“What is the meaning of this?” her father thundered. “Cora, you cannot just—”
“I believe my son is a factor in this discussion you’re having.”
“That may be the case, but—”
“Then it concerns me, too.” She took a seat at the table, directly opposite her father. It was the other position of power, normally reserved only for reigning monarchs. He glared at her, not at all happy about the statement she was making. He eyed her outfit and shook his head with disapproval. She was clad in her usual leather biker jacket and jeans. Not exactly appropriate for a Royal Court meeting. Well, it was just too damn bad.
“You want to challenge me, father? Please go ahead.”
He took a deep breath. And then he turned away and addressed the members of his court. “Currently, we are just grasping at straws. We are not certain that Oriana truly poses a threat.”
“She made it quite clear, your majesty,” Marella said. “The look in her eyes. The way the child reacted to her. He still has not shifted back to human form.”
“My son shifted into wolf?” Cora asked, incredulous. Why hadn’t Ryan told her that? In fact, why was she hearing about the entire thing with Oriana from everyone else, but him?
“Ryan didn’t want to worry you, Cora. Rest assured, your son is healthy and doing very well,” Marella said, clearly trying to appease her.
“Marella, we are talking about the senses of a child. He is barely a few days old. That is not enough to go on for me to act,” Vazra told her.
“This child is special. His senses are extremely attuned,” Marella pressed.
“A supernatural creature’s senses are never wrong, your majesty. I can assure you of that. Age is not a factor,” Asha cut in. Being a dragon shifter herself, she knew what she was talking about.
“Even if I accept that, Oriana is currently contained within the Dark Realm. She is Nathanial’s problem. I have every confidence that he is quite capable of dealing with her.”
Cora watched Marella’s eyes narrow. “It is not just Nathanial’s responsibility. It is a responsibility that the White Realm shares. She is of White Realm birth and she was once a member of this very court.”
“Is that support I hear for him, Marella? Did your brief stint in the Dark Realm cloud your memory so much, that you’ve forgotten his crimes against this realm? His crimes against my daughter, her husband, Oriana, and myself?”
“Of course not, your majesty. I am just concerned about the threat that Oriana poses. That is all.”
“Fine. We will keep a close eye on the situation in the Dark Realm. But, until, there is a true threat to us, we will not act. It would be foolish to do so.”
Cora caught Marella’s eye. It was clear that they shared the same aggravation at her father’s laissez-faire attitude to the situation.
Before anyone could get another word out, he rose to his feet. “You are dismissed. Thank you for your counsel.”
Cora huffed and pushed back her chair. They all filtered out of the room.
“I don’t need White Realm support to protect my son,”
she muttered to herself.
She stormed down the corridor, determined to figure out her own plan to stop Oriana.
Inside the throne room, King Vazra waited a few moments for his court members and his unruly daughter to disperse from the corridor outside.
When he was satisfied it was all clear, he called out, “You may come forth.”
A shimmering film materialized. It was glamor he’d erected to conceal his guest from his Royal Court. It shattered, as she stepped through it.
He smiled at the sight of her. “Oriana.”
“My king. Very well done. They don’t suspect you at all.”
“The most they suspect is that I have a soft spot for you.” He crossed to her and wrapped his arms around her.
“It has been several lifetimes,” she said, pulling from his embrace.
“Too long, because of Nathanial’s Dark Realm advisors.”
“Merely one of the many reasons for our quest to destroy it.”
He looked away pensively.
“Are you having second thoughts?” she asked. “You know it needs to be done. With the arrival of the bridge and your daughter’s return to the White Realm, it is only a matter of time before the realms move towards unification.”
“I am well aware.”
“You have done a good job of keeping her role in all of this quiet.”
“I had hoped she would remain in the human realm, none the wiser. Unfortunately, both of your sons made that impossible.”
“That was unprecedented. Luca has difficulty restraining himself when he wants something. It just so happened that the thing he wanted was your daughter.”
“I had no choice but to send her to Ryan after he approached her. I needed to ensure she would be protected, and Ryan had the ability to do that.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “It does not matter. We cannot undo what has already been done. There are other ways to fix this. That is why I am here, is it not? You need my black magic.”
“The child is not to be harmed.” When Oriana only smiled, he pressed, “Oriana! I mean it. It would kill my daughter if anything happened to him.”
“There will be casualties, Vazra.”
