by R. E. Butler
Chapter Sixteen
Waiting for Cyrus to come back to the chamber made Cella feel like time was running in slow motion. Every time she looked at her phone, her delicate gold and mother of pearl watch, or the clock on the nightstand, the time had barely moved. She wished she’d been able to go with him, not that he would need her help but just because things were still so new with him being changed. Top that off with him being a unique and pretty much legendary creature such as a tribrid? Well, she’d just be happy when he got back to their chamber.
There was a knock on the door, and she hurried to it, aware that Cyrus wouldn’t knock but would just come in.
Harmony stood on the other side. “I thought you might like some company. I have a feeling the guys will be gone for a while.”
She opened the door further and stepped aside to let her friend in. “I’d love some.”
Harmony followed her to the small seating area she had in one corner of the chamber, with a fluffy white rug, couch, coffee table, and stained-glass lamp on a small end table. Cella sat and tucked her feet up under her, and Harmony sat on the other side of the couch.
“How are you doing?”
“Good, I guess,” Cella said. “I mean as good as can be expected when I’m not really sure what’s going on with Cyrus, or what the turning did to him.”
Harmony nodded. “I understand. It’s got to be a little scary and frustrating. Plus, it’s weird.”
“Weird?”
She shrugged. “A little, I think. Your average run-of-the-mill turning changes the human fully into a vampire. There’s no half-breed vampire-slash-humans running around out there. A human ceases to be human when they become vampire.”
“Right,” Cella said.
“The general consensus is that shifters and wiccans can’t be turned at all. The draining of blood followed by the induction of vampire blood would pretty much just be rejected by the shifter or wiccan sides and the person in question would simply die – because the nature of shifters and wiccans is DNA deep and can’t be changed by the introduction of the vampire blood. Cyrus was already dying. You and he hadn’t bonded as beloveds. When you fed him your blood, it didn’t kill him; it changed him into something new, a mixture of three natures, which is amazing and weird.”
Cella let out a laugh. “Yeah, it is. We took a gamble and it paid off, but I’m still a little worried about what it means.”
“Since Mishka and I became beloveds, it’s been interesting to have the memories of the people he turned. We know what’s normal when it comes to a human turning, but Cyrus is a new animal, forgive the pun.”
“He seems entirely in control of himself. He’s not acting like a newbie at all.”
“Which is a very good thing. Were his parents upset?”
“No,” she said, thinking over the frantic phone call. “They were thankful he was alive. Cyrus said he’s fine with things, but we still need to really talk it over. His plans for our future have changed in ways neither of us anticipated.”
“Best laid plans and all that.”
“Yeah. I’m not sure why he was so adamant about me being part of the ambush though. I guess I’ll find out when we talk.”
“I’m sure he had a good reason, but he’s probably wishing he’d become your beloved before the bomb, so he would have been harder to kill.”
Cella was wishing for that too, but she put it quickly from her mind. She and Cyrus didn’t have to become beloveds in order to have a wonderful mating. They were truemates, and that was what mattered. He was hers and she was his. Period.
Harmony looked around the chamber. “Are you planning to remodel? No offense, but it’s pretty girly in here.”
She smiled as she looked around her home. Girly was an apt term. The four-poster bed in the opposite corner had a floral comforter with matching throw pillows, and a cedar chest at the foot where she kept linens. There were feminine rugs on the polished wood floor, and a walk-in closet that she could get lost in. She’d made a place for Cyrus’s clothes, but realized she’d done nothing else to help make a home for him. Not that they’d been together all that long, but long enough for her to know she loved him and she wanted to spend eternity with him.
Turning her attention back to Harmony, she said, “I don’t know what we’re going to do, honestly. I would like to make it not so feminine in here, but we’d been talking about having a place in the ambush territory so we could safely stay during the full moon, and we never got around to talking about this place.”
“Well, you’ve got time now.”
“True.”
Their conversation turned to Harmony’s band, the upcoming Valentine’s Day party in the club, and speculations about whether every vampire really did get a beloved, or if it were only a few. Cella had wondered that herself. There was simply no way to know. Before Brone found Arissa, Cella had never known any vampire who’d found their beloved. It was a special sort of mate and bond that couldn’t be replicated or forced. You were either beloveds or you weren’t.
“It’s too bad that vampire couples can’t be beloveds,” Harmony mused. “But you did know that you were beloveds before you turned him, so at least you have that. Your bond will be strong because you were supposed to be beloveds. Whether you share memories or not isn’t what matters, it’s getting to be with the right person forever that counts.”
“Agreed.”
They talked for a while longer, and then Cella felt Cyrus’s presence, as if he were coming toward her. Cella walked Harmony out, stepping into the hall and watching the elevator doors open and Cyrus stalk out of them like a male on a mission. He nodded slightly at Harmony as she passed him, and Cella stifled a chuckle when Harmony pressed the button for the doors to close and gave her a thumbs up.
Cella moved back into the chamber and Cyrus followed, slamming the door shut. He made a motion with his hand and the lock clicked.
She peeked around him, looking at the door. “Did you just?”
He cupped her face with his warm hands, interrupting her train of thought. “We can talk later.”
“It is later. You’ve been gone for hours.”
“I have a need.” His lip curled, and she had a feeling that’s what he’d looked like in his shift when he snarled. Upper lip high, teeth bared.
Then she noticed his teeth.
“Your fangs!”
His tongue ran along his blunt upper teeth and he nodded. “I can make them come and go. Now about this need.”
She pulled his hands from her face and kissed his knuckles. “Cyrus. You just locked a door with your mind, and you can retract your fangs. Only natural vampires have teeth like that, not created ones like me. What the heck is going on?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart.” He ground his teeth together and she heard the scratching of his fangs descending. His shoulders hunched and he let out a growl that was the same odd sound as before, a muted tiger mixed with a hiss.
She wanted to talk so she could figure out how to help him. But he seemed to be suffering, and that was not acceptable.
Fisting his shirt, she pulled him close, her lips hovering over his. “For now, just tell me that we’re safe. You, me, my family, the coven.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now tell me about your need.”
He glanced to the bed and lifted her into his arms. A few steps and he set her down in the center of the bed but remained standing. His chest was heaving, and his eyes were entirely blue, a gorgeous color she’d never seen before, reminding her of a sapphire that was lit from within. She inhaled, scenting the air, and found it smelling fully of tiger, wild and dark.
“I don’t really know what’s happening,” he said. “I can’t think straight. The minute I left you, I was focused entirely on figuring out the bombing. Once that was settled, I was overcome with the need to be back here with you. It consumed me. I almost took off a male’s head when he got in my way in the club. It feels like a heat cycle, almost, but that makes no sense
because only females have that. It’s just... I need you, Cella. I know you want to talk, but the only thing I want to talk about right this moment is us getting naked and shouting each other’s names.”
She was concerned about all the changes he was going through, worried about how different he was. But she didn’t want him to suffer.
“Whatever it is, whatever you need, Cyrus, I’m here and I’m yours.”
He curled his fingers under her knees and pulled her to the edge of the bed. He stroked up the outside of her thighs, the suede mini skirt riding up a little with the motion, following her curves until he was tracing her collarbone with his fingertips. Everywhere he touched, her skin was on fire, her sexy male gazing at her as if she was the source of all his happiness.
“Is this special?” he asked, tugging on the collar of the form-fitting cold-shoulder top.
“Not particularly.”
She felt a claw graze her collarbone, and shivered, looking down to see that he’d extended his claws, the deadly-looking talons gleaming in the overhead light. “Sexy female,” he said, his voice low.
In one swift move, he shredded her top, the claws making fast work of the fabric. The bra came next, and in seconds she was bare, scraps of fabric and lace scattered on the floor. He leaned over, planting a clawed hand on the bed and curling his other hand around the back her neck, lifting her to his mouth. The kiss devastated her senses as he stroked her tongue with his. He nipped a line of heat down her throat to her chest, and when his lips closed around one of her nipples, she threw her head back and let out a loud moan. It was too good. Too hot. Too perfect.
He sucked on her nipple until she was writhing under him, her toes curling as heat swirled inside her. Leaving one for the other, he gave the same attention to it, until her tight buds were sensitive to every swipe of his tongue. She wasn’t aware that he’d scored her skirt with his claws until she felt cool air hit her exposed skin. She rose onto one elbow, watching as he curled his claws into the waistband of her panties. He met her gaze, his eyes narrowing as he ripped the seams and laid her entirely bare. The claws disappeared from his fingers and he stroked his hands down the sides of her body before dropping to his knees on the floor.
He lifted her legs until her knees were over his shoulders. She watched as he inhaled and his eyes flashed from blue to gold for a brief moment. His fangs descended and then ascended once more, and he blinked beautiful blue eyes at her before her whole world disappeared as he lapped at her pussy, tonguing her expertly, sliding his hands under her bottom and lifting her more fully against his mouth. She kicked her head back with a groan, letting herself fall flat to the bed as he played her body like an instrument. He licked and sucked her clit, rubbing his tongue along the sides until she was clutching his head with her knees, her fingers digging into the blanket as her body spiraled toward pleasure.
Then he laid his tongue flat against her sensitive bud and growled. It was a fierce sound, more tiger now than it had sounded before, and everything within her tightened and heated. She lost herself in the throes of pleasure, everything going supernova within her. She screamed his name, clawing at the blanket as her vision blurred, and then she was in the center of the bed on her stomach, her now-naked, sexy mate lifting her hips and slamming himself into her.
She let out a deep groan that matched his as their bodies met, tossing her hair back and looking over her shoulder to meet his gaze. He flashed his fangs at her, tightening his hold on her hips.
“Mine.” The word was more growled than spoken and held so much emotion in it she felt like he was laying himself bare for her. He meant it.
“Yes,” she said, breathing the word.
His eyes flashed from blue to gold and then mixed, and she wondered if the vampire and tiger within him were fighting for dominance.
But then he flexed his hips, gliding from her depths before slamming in to the hilt, and she stopped thinking. He took her hard and fast, holding her where he wanted her, tilting her body and spreading her legs with his knees until every time he plunged into her, he bumped against a part that made her vision blur and her stomach clench.
She chanted his name, urging him on as she crested the edge of another mountain of pleasure.
“Come with me,” she shouted, the bed knocking against the wall with every thrust.
He moved faster, thrusting and retreating, until her body locked up in a spiral of pleasure so deep and powerful that she felt like time stopped. It was only her and Cyrus, their bodies linked in pleasure as he followed her into bliss. He curled over her, letting out a growl that made her spine tingle, and then he bit her neck. She felt the connection as mates snap into place, solidifying their bond.
“One for my mate.” He snarled the words as he extracted his fangs, grasping her hair and pushing it aside to bare the other side of her throat. “One for my beloved.”
He struck again, sinking thick fangs into her neck. Her mind spun as pleasure arced through her again, and she was aware of him sliding his arm under her cheek. Without thought, she sank her fangs into his wrist, feeding from him as he fed from her throat. His blood tasted amazing, like shifter blood on steroids. The center of her body lit up, electricity tingling through her and setting her world on fire.
In a heartbeat she saw his memories in her mind like a movie on fast forward. She was vaguely aware that they shouldn’t have been able to become beloveds because he was part vampire, but she ignored that thought in favor of watching his memories. From his earliest memories with his family to the first time he shifted, to the moment he knew she was his truemate. She was overwhelmed at the raw emotion she could feel from him, how deliriously happy and content he was that he’d found her. And then she saw the explosion, that his last thoughts were for her safety, and how he’d woken up – confused and starving, not wanting to hurt her or anyone else.
She extracted her fangs from his wrist and carefully licked the already healing wound, and he did the same to her neck. He rolled to his back and she settled against him. He stroked her back and let out a soft purr that made his chest rumble. Her eyes grew heavy and she felt herself drifting off to sleep.
He gave her a firm hug and kissed the top of her head. “Fucking love you to the ends of the earth, Cella. Beloved. Mate.”
The last thing she said before she fell asleep was what had already been on her mind before the explosion. “I love you too.”
Chapter Seventeen
Cyrus woke sometime later, Cella snuggled perfectly against him. The chamber was dark save for the red glow of the digital clock on the nightstand. He looked at it, seeing it was nearly four in the afternoon. He willed one of the electric candles to life to give himself enough light to find his jeans. He was aware of the power that sang through his veins, some combination of tiger and vampire that allowed him to have powers that were part of both his dual natures. The human side of him was the bridge that linked the two.
Without disturbing Cella, he slipped from the bed, found his jeans on the floor, and tugged them on, then grabbed his phone from where it had fallen on the floor and left the chamber. He closed the door silently and leaned against the wall, finding his dad’s number in the contact list. His mind was filled with questions over what had happened between him and Cella, and although he knew his parents didn’t have any sort of answers when it came to exactly what he was now, he still needed to talk to them.
“Cyrus!” his dad said as he answered on the second ring. “We were just talking about you. How are you doing?”
He smiled. “I’m good, thanks. It’s all new still, of course, but I’m alive and we’re safe and that’s what matters.”
“Exactly. So you’re a vampire. How does it feel?”
Cyrus rubbed his cheek. “I’m not fully vampire.”
“Um, what?”
His dad put the phone on speaker, and after Cyrus greeted his mom, he explained what happened as best he could. He didn’t understand everything that had occurred, and he definitely needed
to find some more information and explore his powers.
“I’ve never heard of a tribrid,” his mom said. “Can you shift?”
“I don’t think so. I can feel my tiger, but it’s not like when I could shift. Cella said my eyes change color depending on whether I’m feeling more tiger or more vampire.” He let out a breath. “I think that I was close enough to death that even though she shouldn’t have been able to change me into a vampire, something about our bond as beloveds saved my life.”
“When she told us that you’d been turned, we didn’t believe her at first,” his dad said. “It was too fantastical. We’d always heard that shifters and wiccans were unable to become vampires. But here you are.”
“Yep. We became beloveds earlier today. We shared memories, and I saw her anguish at losing me. She didn’t think it would work, and if it did, that I’d be angry at not being a shifter anymore.”
“Were you?” his dad asked.
“Yes and no. I wanted us to be joined together before we became beloveds because I wanted her to be under the protection of the ambush, and able to be with us on the full moon. She has her vampire family, but I wanted her to have my tiger family too. I was upset that I couldn’t do that for her. For us.”
“She’s still our daughter through your mating,” his mom pointed out. “You becoming other than a tiger shifter hasn’t changed that. We love you, and we love her.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“When can we see you?” his dad asked. “We can come visit or you can come here. You might not be a full tiger anymore, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t our son and welcome in our home.”
He smiled at his father’s kind and emotional words. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he remembered nearly attacking the shifters in Mishka’s office. He didn’t want to put his parents’ safety on the line if he couldn’t control himself around shifters.
“I need to figure some things out first,” he said after mulling the situation for a few moments. “I’m still not entirely sure about my abilities and my needs, and it would be horrifying if I harmed either of you, or anyone else, while I’m processing what I am.”
