Marked by Blood: Book 2 of The Marked Series

by Ford, Rinna

  He audibly moaned as his exquisite blood hit the back of my throat. It tasted different from Matias’, but not in a bad way. No, not bad at all. The more I drank from Xander, the more I craved it just like I craved Matias’.

  Xan’s cock grew impossibly stiff underneath me and I reached in between us and into his pants feeling his silky hardness. He moaned again and my hand worked him up and down with every pull of blood I took from his body.

  When I felt his heartbeat began to slow I released him, and immediately licked across the puncture holes, closing them up. Then I fell down to my knees and unbuttoned his jeans revealing his beautiful cock to me. I swallowed him whole and within seconds he came down my throat.

  When his cock began to soften in my mouth and his seed was spent, I stood up and tucked him back in. Xander stared at me, exhausted but in total and complete awe at what had just happened. I winked at him then turned to Matias who had stepped back and watched the whole thing. He certainly seemed affected, although he tried to seem as if he wasn’t.

  “I want more,” I told him and fused my lips with his.

  He didn’t fight me, but picked me up like he did the day before and carried me to the other chair where I straddled him. Without hesitation, I struck, sinking my fangs into his neck. After the first few gulps, I realized I didn’t wait to hear his heartbeat, so I stopped in a panic and I waited until I heard the familiar sound. Once I felt it against my lips, I continued until I got my fill, which was long before his pulse began to slow. I licked the wound closed and sat up, looking deep into his eyes.

  Both of my hands reached for the sides of his face and I kissed him sweetly. My fangs had descended back into my gums and my hunger was satisfied. I didn’t like that I couldn’t offer Matias the same release I gave to Xander, but I knew he’d turn me down if I tried.

  “Thank you, Matias,” I whispered against his lips. Then I rose off of him and walked to the bedroom door, turning the knob and walking into the hallway. I didn’t stop walking until I reached outdoor patio chairs on the back porch.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The reality of what had just happened hit me the moment I sat up in Matias’ lap after licking his wound shut. I couldn’t believe I just did that with them, with Xander who had been adamant that he’d never share me. Ever.

  I curled my knees into my chest, wrapping my arms around them and sat as the sun rose behind me. The wind that whipped around me and tousled my hair was a welcomed sensation. I sat there for several minutes, until I heard the back door open and close.

  Xander walked out and past me into the grass where he stripped off his shirt and began toeing off his boots. “I need to spread my wings. You coming?” he said. He paused for only a second more before he took off the rest of his clothes and began the transformation into his dragon form.

  I stood and walked out into the grass too, taking off my clothes as I went until I was completely naked.

  “Ninto kimota,” I whispered into the wind, covering both Xander and me in an invisibility spell to everyone outside of it. I found it in Dev’s spellbook on our trip over to the west coast and used it when we stopped in the state park to let our dragons out. It worked like a charm and I knew it would work when I needed it to. I didn’t know how long we would be out there, but I’d stay with my bonded mate until he was ready to come back. I owed him at least that.

  Soleil took over without any coaxing and before I knew it, I stared at Xan from much higher up off the ground. I took a step toward him and rubbed my large golden head against his. He paused for a second before returning the gesture and stepped away, giving himself enough room to begin flapping his enormous wings.

  He took off into the sky and I wasn’t too far behind him. He headed toward the wide open ocean and I knew he was itching to fly out over the sea since we first arrived at the mansion. I was too, if I wanted to be honest.

  We soared wing to wing as we passed over large whales and schools of fish. Xander, who must have felt hungry, tucked in his wings and shot down toward the sea when he saw an especially large school of fish and scooped up a mouthful with his first try. I tried to do the same and only came up with a mouthful of salty water. I shook my head and tried to spit it out and some of it came out of my nostrils, burning as it poured out.

  Xander let out a deep chuckle at my fishing folly and I crashed into him in retaliation. That turned into him chasing me as we dipped and dove through the sky.

  It was exhilarating and exactly what we needed after what happened that morning. We flew around for the rest of the day. He taught me how to catch fish and I let him win the races we had.

  The sun was starting to set when we turned to go back to the mansion. We made it just in time, Xander gathering our clothes off of the lawn and carrying them over to the boulders overlooking the sea we spent so much time near.

  We both dressed quickly and sat down to watch the rest of the sunset in peace and quiet. When the sun finally dipped below the horizon, Xan reached over and covered my hand with his.

  “I’m an asshole, Emi,” he said to me. I didn’t quite understand what he was referring to, but my first thought was the fact he participated in the feeding this morning. I began to panic, but before I could ask him about it, he continued. “You need him like you need me, don’t you?” I closed my mouth and nodded. “I’m an asshole because I’m not putting your needs first, my mate. I selfishly want you all to myself and here you are, sacrificing what you need because of my pride and dragon-sized ego. I’m sorry, baby. Can you forgive me?”

  I parted my lips and nodded. “There’s nothing to forgive.”

  He breathed in deeply and broke eye contact with me, looking back out over the dark sea. “You need to mate with him. Make him yours, like you made me yours. I hate to admit it, but he’s exactly what you need.” I began to argue with him, but he squeezed my hand and kept talking. “Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m what you need too, just in a different way. You need us both because of who you are and there’s nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all. I was a fool to think I could keep you all to myself because of how special you are, but now I see it was never a possibility. I’m okay with it now, I promise.”

  “Do you mean it?” Hell, I hated how weak I sounded, but I didn’t know where I stood with any of it.

  He lightly laughed. “I mean, it’s gonna drive me a little nuts to see you with him for a while at least, so please for my sake, tone it down in front of me, will ya?”

  “I’ll do my best,” I joked back, “that is, if he’ll accept me.” I sighed and looked away. “After what happened this morning, I wouldn’t be surprised if he already left. He made it perfectly clear he didn’t want to be anywhere near me from the moment I stepped into his room.”

  “Baby, that’s self preservation. That vampire has it bad. He’s just protecting his heart from getting crushed by you. Trust me, I know when I see a man so far gone they can’t do anything else but pray for you to be close, and he is that far gone. I don’t think you have to worry about him leaving.”

  I leaned across the distance between us and kissed him on the lips.

  “I love you so much, Xander Liu. Now and forever.”

  “I love you too, my Emi. You’re almost there, baby. You’re almost to the point of coming back to me. I believe when you mate with the vampire, you’ll be you again.”

  I stiffened against him and what he was saying. I agreed with him that fully mating with Matias would go a long way to calm my vampire side, but what about my third mate? My caster mate? I hadn’t forgotten about Ronan and the kiss we shared in the woods. I replayed it and his devilish smile over and over in my head so many times, I knew I’d never lose the images from my memory. It was a shame those few moments were all I had of him, but I didn’t know where I stood with him. I still felt that hole inside of me. Would I need to mate with him too in order to really come back to Xander like he wanted me to?

  I decided not to bring up Ronan because it was a huge step for
Xan to accept Matias as another mate of mine, and I didn’t want to push him. But I hoped for the best and the possibility of what could be.

  Kissing Xan one more time, I rose from the boulder and led him into the dining room where people were just sitting down to eat dinner. Xan and I sat in our usual seats and I waited for Matias, but he never showed. Disappointed, I ate and drank my meal in near silence.

  Xan was in the middle of offering to walk me back to my room, knowing I still didn’t have a complete handle on feeding from the source, but then some of the other shifters talked to him about a wrestling match they were putting on. Apparently, it was a big thing in the shifter community, something they do for fun. I could see the merriment dance in my mate’s eyes, so I couldn’t let him miss out on it. With a kiss, I told him to go ahead and that I’d see him in the morning.

  I grabbed a glass of blood from the kitchen counter and walked into the hall. I didn’t know where Matias would be, so I opened up my senses to give my hunting instincts a try and find him like he did for me when we first met.

  I closed my eyes and tried to find him. It took almost a minute, but I could smell his unique scent coming from the hallway on the first floor. I opened my eyes and followed it to the indoor part of the indoor/outdoor pool.

  I didn’t know what I was expecting to see when I found Matias, but it wasn’t Di draped all over him as a lover would. My vampire side flared and my fangs descended as the glass of blood slipped from my hand, crashing onto the concrete floor.

  Both Di and Matias looked over toward the sound and immediately paled. She got up out of his lap and straightened her dress, smiling sweetly at me. Matias turned to stand up too, his expression more subdued, but I held him down with caster magic, deciding to deal with him later. He stared at me in horror and tried to wriggle free, but it was no use. He was held down tight.

  I thought he was going to destroy her if he ever saw her again. I guessed that was just all talk, especially when he was horny and needed an outlet. Or maybe, he was playing me all along.

  I didn’t realize they weren’t alone until three of Di’s minions sloshed up out of the pool and began making their way toward their leader in protection. I froze them in varying positions around the pool, making Di panic even more. If I could do that, what else was I capable of?

  “Emelia! I thought you were gone for the day!” Di smiled, trying to appear friendly.

  I didn’t answer with words, but with magic. Her body lifted off the ground, floating in mid air as she struggled against my magic. It was fun to watch as her limbs helplessly flailed. She was afraid I would let her fall, but more afraid I wouldn’t let her go.

  “What? What are you doing? Let me go! I made you! You need to obey me! It’s the law! Now let me go, Emelia! Right now!”

  She tried her best to sound authoritative, but to me, she sounded afraid and weak. I smiled menacingly as I slowly approached her her prone body.

  “I clearly remember warning you,” I told her. “I told you to never come near me again…”

  “But I didn’t! You were away!”

  “So you thought you could try to take what was mine?”

  “You, you refused him! You didn’t want him! It’s only fair he can look elsewhere! You weren’t here! Please! Please, let me go! I promise I’ll never come back and I’ll never try to seduce him again.”

  “Oh, so you were only trying to seduce him even after he threatened you too? You see that makes everything all better now, doesn’t it?” I tilted my head to the side and smiled sweetly.

  “Yes! We didn’t do anything that would warrant your jealousy! He stayed true to you!”

  “But you were going to if I hadn’t come in, weren’t you? You were going to fuck my mate and try to draw him away from me, right? Make him yours instead?” I turned my attention to Matias. “Is that what you want? If it is, I’ll let you go and you can go on your way.”

  He began struggling against my magic’s hold, again to no avail. He wasn’t used to being helpless, it was obvious. “Of course not!” he groaned against the spell. “Let me explain! I made a promise…”

  “And I’ll release you from it if you don’t want me.” I meant it. I cared about him enough to let him go if that was what would make him happy. Even if it meant with despicable Di.

  He stopped struggling and looked at me with sad eyes. “Emelia, no…”

  “Please, Emelia!” Di screamed again. “I don’t want him, I swear! I was only trying to get back at you!”

  My eyes cut back to her, my anger returning even more than before.

  “Oh, really? And you thought he’d just play along? That you could take my mate from me, hurt my feelings, and what? Make me come back begging for your mercy? You forget what you made me to be, Di. I’m meant to be the savior of the supernatural world, remember? Which means I’m more powerful than you. I could pull your limbs off one by one…” My magic flared pulling at each of her extremities until she began to cry out in agony. “Or I can cut you with a million little knives, making you bleed all over the floor, driving my vampire crazy…” Slashes began to appear on her skin making her blood ooze out and slide down her body.

  “Please!” She screamed. “Please! Stop! I promise I’ll never come near you again!”

  “And you’ll never go near my mates again either, right?”

  “Yes! I promise!” She let out a shriek of pain as more cuts formed all over her skin.

  I watched her body writhe in pain and listened to her screams with a look of neutrality. I wasn’t put off by Di’s misery, but I wasn’t excited by it either. My vampire wanted more. She needed more. She needed to exact Di’s punishment instead of letting my caster side take care of it.

  Everything stopped and Di crashed to the floor when my magic pulled away from her. Matias and the three stooges were still stuck in place, though. I wasn’t going to let them spoil my fun.

  On shaky limbs, Di pushed herself up off the floor and swayed on her feet. A look of sheer and utter relief lit up her face when she realized I had set her free. If she only knew…

  “Thank you, Emelia! I, I promise I’ll stay away.” She looked over her shoulder and saw the three vampires she brought with her were still frozen in place. “You can let them go now,” she told me. But when I made no move to release them, her elation began to slip away.

  “Did you honestly think I was going to let you go?” I asked and took another step closer. “I warned you and you didn’t listen. I told you what would happen, didn’t I?”

  Before she had the chance to answer, my red vampire eyes grew brighter and I launched myself at the disheveled former leader in front of me. She put her hands up to defend herself, but it was no use. Somehow, my dragon’s claws emerged and they latched onto her body, holding her in place. I made sure not to let my sharp nails puncture her skin, infecting her with my poison. My vampire wanted the kill.

  She hissed and tried to squirm away, but I was much stronger and faster. My fangs plunged into her neck without warning. She screamed again, this time feeling the worst pain she’d ever felt in her life as I drained the life force from her body with the intent of killing her.

  Matias was right. Feeding could be a vampire’s greatest weapon and I planned on using it to its fullest against those who sought to harm my family and me. I felt the strength begin to leave her as I drank more and more. Her heartbeat began to slow and I let go for only a second so I could see the life begin to drain from her eyes. When I was satisfied, I plunged my fangs back in to finish the job.

  At that point, her neck was practically ripped to shreds, blood and gore everywhere but I didn’t care. My only goal in mind was ending Di’s life in the harshest possible way because that was what my vampire wanted.

  Di gurgled her final plea but it was too late, not that I’d give in. Her life was mine to take and I did so without mercy. When her body went limp in my arms and there was no heartbeat to find, I released her neck and dropped her at my feet.

  I
closed my eyes and tilted my head back savoring the blood and the victory. It was easier than I thought it would be, to battle an ancient vampire and win. To take her life because of how she wronged me. She wronged me so many times.

  My fangs slid back into my gums and with it, the hunger and need for vengeance disappeared. All that was left was the horror and understanding of what I was capable of. My eyes popped open and I jerked my head back down, looking at the carnage in front of me.

  I covered my mouth with my hand and knelt in front of what was left of Di, more afraid of what I had become than the fact she was dead. I killed without remorse and I knew I’d do it again and again, and not think twice about it. It was who I was, who I was meant to be. I was every supernatural being all rolled into one. I had all of their strengths, and all of their weaknesses. I knew I was capable of such amazing feats, but also great destruction. Just look at the mangled mess of a vampire in front of me.

  In my grief, I must have released Matias and Di’s friends from their holds because as I was staring down at Di, I heard scuffling going on. I turned my body to see Matias holding one of Di’s vampires by the throat while he punched his hand through the chest of another. He pulled out the vampire’s still beating heart and dropped it on the floor and turned his attention to the third vampire who was charging toward him.

  Without breaking his hold on the first guy, he latched onto the newcomer and sunk his dangerously long fangs into the man’s neck. He squealed out in pain but Matias didn’t let him go and he didn’t stop until the vampire was dead. When he released him, Matias looked down at the first one savagely and squeezed his fingers together, literally ripping out the vampire’s throat and larynx. He fell to the ground, gurgling until Matias raised his boot high in the air and stomped down, smashing the vampire’s skull.

  With all three minions despatched, Matias turned his blood red eyes onto me.

  Chapter Twenty-Four