Blood Craving

by Gabrielle Bisset

  Declan flashed her a devilish grin and squeezed her ass in his hands. “I’d say so. The perfect size for two people on their honeymoon. Guess what I’m thinking.”

  She felt his cock hard against her skin and looked down to see it standing at attention, ready and waiting for another round of newlywed lovemaking. Chuckling, she said, “I don’t have to guess. Your body is screaming what you have in mind.”

  Looking up, she saw in his brown eyes the desire of a man crazy in love. Only he had ever looked at her like that.

  “Let me feel you on my cock, Solenne. Let me feel my wife ride me.”

  His words edged with need she shared, so Solenne rolled her hips and took him into her, loving the feel of him filling her body. Slowly, she rode him as he stared up at her, their lovemaking sweet and sensual as it always had been. One hundred years of love and passion undimmed by the separation that had been forced on them, they finally were husband and wife, like they’d wanted to be before they’d been torn apart.

  As she inched toward her release, Solenne reveled in the feel of Declan’s hands on her body and the feel of him inside her. The only man she’d ever loved, he was finally hers and nothing and no one would take him away ever again.

  The memory of their first night together as husband and wife brought a smile to her face, even as she worried Vasilije might not reach Declan in time. She just prayed that he could stop him before he made the biggest mistake of his life.

  Eleven

  Nico’s call came in just as Vasilije set off to find Saint. In a far more serious voice than even he usually used, he said, “I need you to head off to the east with Terek to see the dragon brothers. We’re going to need their special skills when the fight begins and we need to know they’re solid.”

  “I have something I need to take care of first for Solenne, but as soon as I get back, I’ll be happy to take a vacation to the east. Anything to get the hell out of Greece. But Sion already secured their support.”

  Nico immediately corrected him. “No, I need you to go right now. We don’t have any time to lose. The Archons have the European coven’s witches for sure and may be on their way to getting the American coven.”

  Witches. Fuck. Of all the supernatural beings, the Archons had to bring in those bitches. Like most vampires, Vasilije hated witches more than any other enemy of his kind.

  “Nico, I need to find Saint. He’s gone off half-cocked, and we can’t afford to lose another one of us. Just give me a few hours and I’ll be happy to go on your errand to the dragons.”

  “Sorry, Vasilije, but this can’t wait.”

  Nico ended the call, leaving Vasilije unsure how he was going to help Solenne and not put the rest of his brothers in danger. He hurried to Terek’s home to find him ready to go, along with Ilona.

  Pulling him aside as she packed her bag, he said, “Terek, I didn’t realize we were doing this tonight. I have something else I have to take care of, and from the way Ilona is packing, it looks like you two were planning for this to be more of a vacation than what Nico needs us to do.”

  Terek’s green eyes stared into Vasilije’s, and the Romanian felt sure his friend was trying to read his thoughts, something he rarely did with him. Quietly, Terek explained, “I want to take Ilona because I’ve begun training her to fight alongside me when the final battle occurs. I made the mistake of not keeping up with my vampires’ training, and the result was disaster, my friend. I would think of all vampires you’d understand my feelings on this matter.”

  Vasilije sighed. He understood all too well. He knew what it felt like to lose vampires from attack. And from other means even more painful.

  “I do understand, Terek. I don’t begrudge you anything, especially your happiness with Ilona. I know everyone thinks of me as some heartless fuck, even more now since I released Sasa, but that’s not the reason I need for us to get this done and over quickly. Saint has gone off to confront Verrater. I promised Solenne I’d find him and bring him back, but Nico has me tagging along with you two.”

  Terek’s face showed his concern about Saint fighting an Archon all on his own. “He’s never been able to find a place of peace about what Verrater did to Solenne, and I worried this might happen. We can’t lose Saint, and after what Sion told us about Solenne, we can’t lose her either, but if Saint is killed, she won’t have any will to go on.”

  “Exactly. I don’t know why the fuck Nico has us doubled up on this eastern trip. You can handle the dragon brothers as well or better than I can.”

  “Perhaps he feels your shared heritage will make them feel more comfortable,” Terek suggested.

  “So we’re all from the same area of the world. That likely doesn’t make up for my lack of patience with most things, especially these days. You’re the much better choice for this mission.”

  “I agree, but Nico has information we may not know about. He does deal directly with the Order, so I imagine he sees a much bigger picture than we do.”

  Vasilije thought about that, but something about the whole thing didn’t ring true. “Maybe, but if he has this information, why isn’t he sharing it with the rest of us? We might be able to do something with it.”

  The two vampires stood quietly as Vasilije tried to come up with a way to be in two places at once. He couldn’t let Solenne and Saint down when they needed him most, but despite having a number of impressive powers, being able to be in two places at the same time wasn’t one of them.

  “What if we send Dante to keep an eye on Saint, maybe pester him to keep him occupied?” Terek suggested. “I know they aren’t close, but if he could give you a few days to at least start the meeting with the dragons, that would enable you to do both what Nico wants and what Solenne needs from you.”

  “Perfect!”

  Pulling his cell phone out, Vasilije called Dante and told him to get his ass to Terek’s house ASAP. As usual, the clyten sounded less than pleased to be ordered around by a senior member of the Sons, but he did as he was told and appeared in mere seconds looking like the world’s most disgruntled surfer boy.

  “What the fuck, Vasilije? Am I just some lap dog you order around whenever you feel like it now?” Dante barked before he saw he wasn’t alone with his fellow Sons. A sheepish look came over his boyish face, and quietly he said, “Sorry, Ilona. I didn’t realize you were here. My bad.”

  “It’s fine, Dante. I was just about to go upstairs to get a few last things. You guys talk, but try not to get into a fight and break anything. I’m looking at you too, Vasilije.”

  Ilona walked away, leaving the three males to talk about what had to be done. Turning to face the clyten, Vasilije said, “I need you to find Saint in Corsica and make sure he doesn’t get killed. Do whatever you can, short of getting yourself staked, and see to it that he doesn’t get anywhere near that Archon that held Solenne.”

  “Holy fuck! Are you kidding? He went to find Verrater alone? That’s no bueno. How much time does he have on me?”

  “Less than an hour. I’ll be able to take over in a few days, assuming you two haven’t been found or Saint hasn’t tried to kill the Archon.”

  “Wait a minute. Why not just let him kill the fucker after what he did to Solenne? Problem solved, right?”

  “Wrong, Dante. Very wrong. The Archons have already killed one of us. No matter how much Saint may want to kill Verrater, we need all of the Sons together when the final battle comes. He can kill him then.”

  Terek added, “Dante, I know you and Saint are going to want to go all cowboy with this, assuming Saint will even speak to you since he’s not exactly in a talking mood lately, but I need you to be more like me or Sion on this one. Calm and rational is the way you’re going to keep the two of you alive.”

  Dante clapped his mentor on the shoulder and smiled. “I got it, Terek. Grasshopper has learned well. You don’t have to worry about us. You’ll see.”

  Vasilije liked this. With any luck, Dante would find Saint before sunrise and then it would just
be a matter of keeping him busy. No one could pester another soul like the clyten. He just hoped Saint wasn’t too far gone that he’d do the unthinkable to Dante in order to get to Verrater.

  “Dante, one last thing. Saint’s not thinking straight, so don’t approach him like a fellow Son or someone you could see as a friend. Don’t let your guard down. Understand what I mean?”

  Dante nodded and pushed his hair off his face. “I get it. Keep him safe, but watch out for myself since I piss him off on a normal day and won’t much like me stopping him from killing the fucker who raped his wife. Got it.”

  “Call me when you find him. I should be able to be there in a few nights.”

  Clapping the Romanian on the shoulder just as he readied himself to leave, Dante chuckled. “I got it. Find him. Keep him occupied. Call you. Do more babysitting of the crazy man. See you in a few days. Easy peasy.”

  Before Vasilije could once again explain how this job was anything but easy, Dante disappeared into thin air, leaving Terek and the Romanian questioning if they hadn’t just made a mistake that would cost them two Sons’ lives.

  *

  The Draco brothers’ home made Vasilije miss the monastery, even if the very thought of it reminded him of Sasa’s betrayal. Pushing down the ache that always came from thinking of her, he looked at the brothers’ lair and admitted he loved being there. He was never more at ease than when he stepped foot in the east, but no matter how good coming home felt, he needed to keep his focus on rallying the dragons to the Order’s side in the war with the Archons that every night seemed more and more inevitable.

  The front door to the castle opened, and in front of him stood Kerik Draco, the oldest brother and one the Sons of Navarus had always dealt with. A fire dragon shifter, he stood well over six feet tall with dark hair and dark eyes. Vasilije had once seen him so angry with a fellow vampire that his eyes turned red like when he shifted, and even to the Romanian, it was impressive. Kerik always seemed just on the verge of rage, walking a fine line between remaining in his human form and shifting to the huge red dragon that showed his true nature.

  As he looked out at Vasilije standing on his doorstep, he held a gun in his hand, his fingers stroking the barrel as he smiled. “It’s about time one of you Sons showed up. I’d expected they’d send Terek or the one who reminds me of a robot, though.”

  Vasilije extended his hand to shake Kerik’s. “No Sion this time, but Terek will be following soon. He’s just getting himself and his mate settled in nearby. For now, you’ll have to do with me.”

  The dragon shifter’s grin spread wider into a genuinely warm smile, and opening his arms, he took Vasilije into his hold and clapped him on the back. “Good to see you again, my friend.”

  “Good to see you too. It’s always nice to be back here.”

  Kerik stepped back and welcomed him into his home. As they walked through the vast stone entryway, he said, “I thought you’d settled down with a mate. She won’t be joining you on this trip? We must be close to war, I assume then.”

  The ache he’d felt when he thought about the monastery and Sasa returned with a vengeance, and Vasilije swallowed hard trying to push down his emotions. “No, no mate for me. I am as you’ve always known me. But we are close to war.”

  Extending his arm, the dragon shifter offered him a seat in the enormous two-story high living room that resembled a ballroom more than somewhere people gathered together to talk and remember old times. Kerik sat down opposite Vasilije and laced his fingers behind his head, completely relaxed in his surroundings.

  “It would only be polite of me to offer some distraction for you while you visit us. If I remember correctly, you were always a fan of the local girls. I’ll be happy to hold a dinner and invite the most beautiful women in the area. All work and no play makes any male miserable.”

  Vasilije forced a smile and nodded, only half-heartedly agreeing to his offer. “You do remember my tastes. Thank you. A dinner will be most appreciated.”

  Kerik leaned forward and grinned, obviously pleased with his idea. “Wonderful! I haven’t been as sociable with the local women lately, so this will remedy that problem too. But I know meeting women isn’t why you’ve come all this way, so let me call my brothers and we can begin to discuss the reality at hand.”

  Vasilije studied Kerik as one by one he called his fellow dragon shifter brothers. All Alpha, he worked on pure power, no matter how cool and controlled he appeared. While his behavior bordered on aloof, he knew from past experience all it would take would be one wrong word from someone and that calm façade would disappear, leaving the dragon who was ruled by fire to lash out.

  First to join them was Ivan, the water dragon shifter. His brother’s true opposite, he was ruled by emotion, but in his effort to hide his true nature, this dragon appeared icier than anything else. His pale blond hair and light blue eyes only added to his coldness. But his lack of emotion came from his need to completely control his feelings. Not surprisingly, he and Sion had enjoyed each other’s company when they met.

  “Vasilije, my brother tells me you’re alone for this trip. I’d hoped to show Sion and Terek my newest addition to my collection.” Slipping a sword out of its scabbard near his hip, he held it up so the light danced against the metal. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

  Instinctively leaning back in his chair, Vasilije smiled at Ivan’s newest toy. “Nice. Make sure to bring your swords when the Archons finally make their move.”

  As he sliced through the air with his weapon, another of Kerik’s brothers appeared. Stefan, a dragon shifter ruled by earth, he couldn’t have been more different than the first two Draco brothers. Sensual and hedonistic, the dark haired dragon with a love of all pleasure reminded Vasilije of himself, so of course he liked this dragon shifter the most.

  “Vasilije! I heard you were here and came as fast as I could. When we get finished with all this Archon business, we have to visit the village down the road. There is the most beautiful woman you have to meet.” Stefan closed his dark eyes and moaned. “Elena. Mmmm…her kisses taste like the sweetest wine. They are not to be missed.”

  Ivan’s sword cutting through the air next to him made Stefan’s eyes fly open, and Vasilije worried at any moment he’d be treated to another of their famous quarrels. While he had no problem with the brothers getting out their aggression, being anywhere near a dragon fight wasn’t what he wanted at that moment.

  “Get that fucking sword away from me!”

  “So testy. You need to learn to relax, big brother,” Ivan taunted. “You’d be so much happier if you had some control of yourself.”

  “I’d be so much happier if you got the fuck away from me,” Stefan grumbled as he sat down on the couch in front of Vasilije.

  The youngest dragon shifter brother appeared suddenly as if out of thin air. Navar had not come into his powers the last time the vampire had been there, and as he assessed the young male who stood quietly near the massive floor to ceiling window, Vasilije wondered if he’d finally been given some ability. As a dragon shifter, he’d undoubtedly be useful to the Sons, but possessing some special power would be all the better.

  Navar looked like an ordinary human compared to his brothers. Light brown hair a little too long hung in his eyes giving him an unkempt look, and although he certainly was bigger than most human males, nothing about him said he was special like everyone else in the room.

  “Vasilije, it’s nice to see you again. I’m not sure how helpful I’ll be for what you need, though.”

  His insecurity from being without a power came through loud and clear. In a rare moment of sympathy, mainly because he had a sneaking suspicion one day this dragon shifter could be far more lethal than his brothers, Vasilije said, “I would think being a dragon is going to be impressive all on its own.”

  A shy smile turned up the corners of Navar’s mouth. “Then you can count on me to help as much as I can.”

  The last Draco brother came bounding down the sta
ircase into the living room, as cocky as Vasilije remembered him. Victor Draco was a dragon shifter related to the element of air, so his talents often showed themselves in what he said. The problem was much of what he said came out as irritating bragging and bullshit, neither of which the vampire appreciated much.

  “And now the vampires want our help, do they? Can’t fight your in-house battles on your own?”

  “Nice to see you too, Victor,” Vasilije said with all the diplomacy he could muster. This dragon annoyed him from the first moment they were introduced to each other years ago, and nothing he’d ever done had changed that opinion.

  Kerik sat down next to Vasilije and waved his arm toward his brother. “Find a seat and open your ears instead of your mouth, baby brother, or I’ll let our friend here show you what kind of power he possesses.”

  The air dragon rolled his eyes and sat down hard in a chair away from the rest of his brothers. “I’m not impressed by vampires. If they had any real powers, they wouldn’t need us.”

  Already tired of this brother’s mouth, Vasilije leaned forward toward him and said, “We don’t need you to fight fellow vampires. Your help is needed to fight the Archons’ allies.”

  “What allies? You might have us, if you play your cards right, and I hear you already have the werewolves on your side. What else is there?” Ivan asked in a tone of dismissiveness.

  “Witches.”

  With one word, Vasilije had succeeded in not only silencing Victor but shocking the rest of the brothers. Witches were the one group vampires, werewolves, and dragons had all traditionally hated. That they’d come in on the side of the Archons showed just how far those vampires had fallen. Witches were the lowest level of supernatural beings, hated for their cruel punishments of vampires and dragons particularly. All those fucking spells and potions they used to control and manipulate their fellow paranormal beings had made them pariahs for centuries.