by Pace, Pepper
“If … if you can’t do this with me anymore then I understand.” Paul moved away from me and reached for something on the bedside table. When he returned to his position against the headboard he pulled me back into his arms. He opened his hand and showed me a diamond ring. My diamond ring!
“I had this fixed so that I could put it back on your finger.” He studied the ring while his other arm held me securely against him. “Rings represent a bond that continues without end. But sometimes rings can bind and hurt.” He looked at me and my stomach dropped in fear. “Like when you change and it no longer fits. That’s when a ring is not necessary.” He closed his fist and squeezed the ring. I opened my mouth to protest but he continued. “The bond isn’t what’s on the outside but what’s in our hearts. I’m bound to you in a way that no ring or piece of paper can define.”
I hugged him in relief. “Love you.” I sighed. “Love you more than I can ever express.”
“I know that, honey.” He swept his hair to the side, exposing his neck. “Feed now. You need to heal.”
“I can’t feed from you again.” We had exchanged a great deal of blood while in my walk-in closet yesterday. “You need to heal too-“
“I have enough to heal myself and you. My blood is stronger than the other donors and it will give you what you need to heal quickly.” His expression told me that he wouldn’t take no for an answer so I nuzzled his neck until I found his rapid pulse. I licked his neck a few times enjoying the sensation of his flesh in my mouth and then my teeth dropped and I sank them into his neck. He relaxed a moment later and sighed in pleasure.
We have bonds that are more important than rings and paper … I wanted to show him that I understood this.
I ran my hand gently over his torso, feeling his skin react to my touch. His nipples beaded beneath my fingertips and he sighed in pleasure. I worked my thumb over one repeatedly until he tensed and groaned. I stopped feeding when he reached beneath the bed sheets and removed pajama bottoms. I quirked a questioning look at him for coming to bed dressed when he normally slept nude. He shrugged.
“I wasn’t going to assume anything.”
Instead of answering I reached down and closed my fingers around his shaft. He gnawed at his lower lip while I worked him in my fist and resumed my feeding; stroking and sucking pulling and squeezing. His hips began to move in rhythm to my stroke and then I felt his palm glide across my thigh. He burrowed his fingers beneath my lounging pajamas until they met my crease. Expertly he slid one thick digit along the crease until it was covered in my hot liquefied honey. Spreading me gently he then teased my nub.
My mouth opened in a sharp gasp as my body reacted. Quickly I remembered to seal the holes in Paul’s neck before he could waste one precious drop of his delicious blood. I lapped at the flesh like a Wolf would do to her mate, my hand pumping and squeezing his cock while his finger circled my clit and probed at my opening.
With a loud cry his hips suddenly left the bed and he pushed two fingers into me, pumping them rapidly as my cries of pleasure joined his. We continued to stroke and pull and finger fuck each other until the last shudder and every drop of cum had been squeezed from our very depths.
He rolled over and kissed me long, licking the residual blood from my lips before he sank between my legs and lapped every bit of our love from between my thighs.
CHAPTER 12
There are surely moments in ones life—or afterlife in which they make a life changing epiphany. Post make-up sex with my husband, I had one such moment. He had said that we had to embrace the monsters … that is the only way that we would ever learn from them …
I bathed carefully, soaking in my tub and thinking about all of the things that I had not wanted to admit to myself. And then I replayed those words in my head finding truth in them.
I dressed and then told Paul that I had some things to settle. His expression was curious but he responded with just a nod of his head.
“I love you.” I kissed him and his uneasy look disappeared. His lips lingered against mine and my heart swelled with love for him. His brief smile showed me that he felt the same way.
Trust me baby. This is one more step towards accepting who I am. I thought this but didn’t share it with Paul.
Then I flashed myself to the manor house and to Alexis.
I stood there in the front room, amidst the beautiful artwork and expensive designs and felt nothing more than the coldness of an empty house.
I thought back to the time when I had traveled to Spain to rescue Alexis from Epic Cu. I intended to whisk the man I loved from his prison and to live happily ever-after with him.
How naive I had been. I felt a stab of emotion at the memory of my disappointed when I thought he had not been happy to see me. And I remembered how much it had lifted my heart when he told me how much he had loved and missed me.
You hold men hostage …
Yeah. I do.
“Alexis?”
In my mind I felt his awareness of me. “My love? I will be there shortly.”
Not a minute later Alexis appeared before me. Of course he looked just like Ran, which was an initial shock because in my head he sounded like Alexis. He was dressed in jeans and a casual sweater that caused me to wonder where he’d gotten the clothes. What a hypocrite I am. It should have been me that clothed and cared for him. I should not have had to wonder where he was because I should have been at his side. He was and would always be my love.
I had to embrace all of my monsters …
“What is wrong?” His brow furrowed.
Instead of answering I closed the space between us and held him in my arms. He froze momentarily before his arms went around me and we stood there wordlessly holding each other.
“Look into my thoughts,” I whispered and instantly I felt the tickling sensation that let me know that someone else was in my head.
I didn’t try to think of anything or to avoid thinking of anything. I had nothing to hide. I wanted him to see and feel everything that I had learned and now understood.
He pulled back from me slightly, his hands now on my shoulders.
“No,” he said simply. “I will not share you-“
Ignoring his words I slipped back into his arms and let him feel all of the love that I had for him—love that I could not hide nor pretend did not exist. I loved this man.
“I am so happy that you are here,” I closed my eyes and imagined that it was Alexis’ arms holding me and not Ran’s. But in my heart I knew that the man before me was my Alexis and no other. “With you I always feel protected. You amaze me and you complete a portion of me that no one else can. I feel you down to my very soul, Alexis.”
His arms tightened around me and I felt his muscles relax. After a long moment where I was content to just linger in his embrace, he pulled back again and searched my face.
“You would have me and your Werewolf?”
“Yes.”
And that had been my decision. There was no choosing when the men I loved were so embedded into my very being. I wasn’t human enough or demon enough or succubus enough to dictate the course of that love. I just had to accept it.
“How do we make this work?” I replied.
Alexis pressed his forehead against mine and just held me, his eyes closed. We stood that way for longer than I can recount before he reached up to cup my face. I looked up and met the chocolate eyes of Ran but saw Alexis looking back at me.
“You are light and dark,” he whispered, “sweet and bitter. Your very nature is conflict as your entities try to find a fit within you. But you are in control. Do you know who you are?”
My mouth parted but I didn’t speak, surprised at his response.
“You must figure that out.”
I was finally able to get my mouth to work. “Are you saying y-you don’t want … ?” I searched his eyes and he lowered his hand and took a half step away from me. Oh my God! Did Alexis just turn me down?
“You will change, Kim,
because you have a long life ahead of you. You will find and lose loves. You will watch the years pass in a blink of an eye. You will live multiple lifetimes and in each one of them you will be a different version of the one that stands before me now. But one thing you can never do … is to lose sight of what you want to be. The monsters are inevitable—they will come. You do not have to meet them so quickly.” In other words, stay human as long as I can.
My face warmed. Did he think that I was just giving in to some sordid desire? He had to know that I had put a lot of thought into this decision. This was a decision that would change everything!
“Thank you,” he smiled.
I blinked. What--?
“You gave me the answer that I sought.”
“What was the question?” I asked feeling a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment that he had just rejected my offer.
“Whether or not you would have come to me willingly once I am free of my prison.”
I smirked evilly. “And you think you know the answer to that?”
His smile faltered, which gave me a sense of pleasure--as wrong as that might sound.
“Do you really think I can not see the truth within your soul?” His hair ruffled in an invisible wind that I could not feel. His eyes grew black—even the whites. It was frightening, not just seeing him change Ran’s body, but knowing that he possessed so much power that he could affect the atmosphere around him.
I searched his eyes and after a moment I nodded. But one last thought crossed my mind before I retreated back to my home.
“You don’t know what the future holds.”
~***~
I didn’t see Alexis again for another two days, which is when we all reconvened at Johan’s house. I learned that Ran had taken up with Alexis, trailing him whenever possible in order to make sure his body remained in good condition. He allowed Alexis to pretend to be him and to interact with his humans so that they would not be left wanting when it came to the donation of blood.
Through him I kept tabs on Alexis. I knew that I was chickening out by not facing him after our argument but I had to prove to myself that I could be stronger than the demons inside of me.
The meeting happened after our weekly Council gathering. We decided to test our ability to shield our intentions from Malarias before formulating a plan of attack. No need to have him detect our plans before we were ready to act. It worked like a charm. Frank took a great deal of joy playing his part as the one to share gossip with the decrepit Elder. I played my role pretty well by being silent, brooding and morose-- which was pretty normal. Paul was present and he still wore the wounds of his recent battle as well as our violent sex play—as Alexis described it.
Malarias seemed more bored and annoyed than interested. The only thing he appeared to pay any attention to is when Frank described my Creature. And then I had to hide my nervousness that Frank was going too far and possibly getting too detailed. But Paul handled it when he spoke in a low growl, “Careful Vampire. You don’t want to see that Creature again.”
Frank gave Paul a dismissive look but took the hint when he finally shut his damn mouth! Malarias never even looked into our heads. He had no idea that Alexis was right here in the city.
And now that we knew that we could conceal what we knew, we felt it was time to formulate an actual plan to both clear our names and to rid the Vampire Nation of the Rogue Werewolf threat.
When Paul and I entered the room everyone’s eyes were on us as if they expected a repeat of two days ago.
Cyrene and Kaniji stood stiffly beside the fireplace and somehow I knew that at some point during the last two days the two of them had been plotting. They simply did not like each other enough to be standing so close.
Tony and Monica stood close together by the window and away from the other Council members. It was plain to see that a connection had formed between them and I found myself wondering about the basis of their relationship. Were they in love? Was it just sex? How long? Had Tony been attracted to her while we … ?
Those were dangerous thoughts and so I dismissed them so that they wouldn’t take root in my head and fester. I looked with curiosity at Ran and Alexis who stood side by side. Alexis appeared comfortable wearing another pair of Ran’s jeans and a simple black button down. It was such a normal look that I had to remember that this was Alexis wearing jeans and Timberland boots and not Ran.
“My love, I … ” He spoke hesitantly into my head. I met his eyes.
“What, Alexis?” I spoke aloud. He’d had two days in which to speak secretly in my head and now was not the time.
“Thank you for reminding me that I am here for a purpose.” His eyes settled on Paul and I braced myself for what might happen next. “I would like to ask the Pack Master if his Wolf Pack will join us for this meeting?”
Paul gave him a curious look and after a moment he nodded his consent. He used his cell phone to call Jason and Tyler who agreed to meet us.
Frank grumbled at the prospect of being in the same room with Tyler. But I knew that she would keep her ‘weapons’ under cover.
“What is this about?” Paul asked.
Everyone stood stiffly as if on guard, waiting to see what the two volatile men would do next.
Alexis responded simply. “This is about showing the Elders that they do not control everything.”
Jason and Tyler arrived within the hour. In the meantime, Alexis explained his idea and I could see that although Paul was doubtful he was still intrigued. I was doubtful as well, but knew that our choices were slim. Alexis’ idea could work.
When Jason and Tyler arrived Paul shared the idea with them.
“What do you think about us increasing the Wolf Pack?”
~***~
The plan was simple, they would select willing humans wishing to be turned. These select humans could then be assigned as protection to the territories controlled by our Council members.
“How many?” Paul asked Alexis.
Alexis clasped his hands behind him. “Enough to form an army.”
“Yes, well this could backfire on us.” Cyrene spoke.
“Right. Werewolves are unpredictable and dangerous to our kind,” Tony said while staring pointedly at Paul.”
Paul took my hand. “Not always.”
Frank grinned. “I would like to have my own Werewolf.”
Paul glared at him. “We won’t be your fucking pets-”
“Or food,” Jason added, his back straight and eyes wary. “That just doesn’t work out too well unless the relationship is passive.” So true. Vampires were dominant by nature, and so were Werewolves.
Kaniji spoke calmly. “Do we really want an army of dangerous Werewolves so close to us? It’s not just the Rogue European shifters that are a threat, but any supernatural being.”
“I believe that the Elder’s plan is brilliant.” Monica said while staring at Alexis. Alexis turned his attention on her. “The Elders can be a selfish lot.”
That was a bold thing to say directly to an Elder and I watched uneasily.
Monica continued, “But they also take advantage of … opportunities to increase their power.” She gazed at the others in the room. “Vampires cannot control the Werewolves; they can’t implode them with a mere thought and they can’t move through a Werewolf’s mind. The European shifters have kept themselves undetected for decades. The Elders must be shown that an alliance with the Wolf Pack is the only way to protect themselves and to locate and eradicate their enemies.”
All eyes were on Monica and no one could argue against the point that she had made.
Paul, Tyler and Jason turned to each other as if in silent communication and then Paul nodded once and turned his attention to the rest of us.
“We will increase the number of the Wolf Pack … but …” We all waited and I could feel the tension in the air. “We won’t be your slaves or your army. But we will agree to aid in your protection … as long as you do the same for us. There will be rules and a
lot of them which we can negotiate, but this is a hard one; you don’t attempt to control us and we will willingly aid you.”
Kaniji tilted her head in interest. “And your Wolf Pack agrees not to war against us?”
Paul nodded once. “As long as your Vampires don’t break our agreement.”
Frank grinned. “This is exciting. I would agree to your terms just for the excitement factor.”
“You are an idiot,” Cyrene shot out with a dark look. “This can easily backfire on us. We live freely among the humans because we are stronger than they are and can control them-“
Paul smirked. “Doesn’t feel too hot having another big dog on the block, does it? And now you know.” He crossed his arms, pleased. “Let’s make this happen.”
CHAPTER 13
Before the night came to a close we had formulated a simple plan. In one months time—maybe two if things didn’t move as expected, the Wolf Pack could have the numbers they needed. Until than we kept ourselves under the radar. When we felt that our army was ready we would travel across the seas … and the Wolf Pack would spread out, undetected, unknown by the Elders until called upon by their Pack Leader.
“And then I will make them an offer that they can’t refuse.” Paul had a dark look in his eyes. Paul was not a man easily controlled and I wasn’t dumb enough to think that he didn’t have his own agenda in this.
We returned home but had no time to talk about my suspicions. I was exhausted and couldn’t fight sleep enough to be productive. So while I slept Paul met with the Wolf Pack. They were still meeting in Jason and Tyler’s cottage when I awoke.
I searched for BJ for our evening cuddle but only Sam was in the house. I flashed into the office where I caught her by surprise, typing on the computer. She jumped and clutched her chest with a squeak.
“Sorry, I’ll remember to come through the door next time.”
Sam chuckled. “No, it’s okay. But I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the way you just pop up sometimes.”
