Serena stared. Though she knew that it wasn’t Zane—not in the sense of who was driving the body, anyway—it was, day-by-excruciating-day, becoming a chore to not let that fact simply be forgotten. How simple would it have been just to let herself forget that the body she was staring at—the body she’d come to know and love—no longer contained the vampire she’d come to know and love? What she and Zane had had was, though based on a fleeting and chance encounter, far more meaningful than she’d even come to fully appreciate before it was taken away. Now that she was face-to-face with a walking, talking reminder of who had been taken away, the potential to forget that pain within the actual arms of who’d been taken was a throbbing possibility.
Except that it wasn’t.
He wasn’t Zane.
He wasn’t hers.
And that hurt.
“Did you tell her what you found out, luv?” Raith asked Nikki; the faint hint of an Australian accent riding on his words and forcing Serena’s boiling blood finally cool. It wasn’t Zane’s voice; it wasn’t Zane’s posture or gestures. Even his eyes had changed; the once silver and alluring right eye now showing as a dull brown, though the left was still the same blue that Serena remembered.
Serena frowned, “Did you tell me what?”
“What did you find out?” Zoey chimed in, stepping forward to join Serena at her side.
“It looks like we have some competition heading in,” Nikki frowned. “Word on the street is there’s a new clan in the works on the South side of town and The Council has already offered their support.”
“Why the hell would The Council agree to another clan in our jurisdiction?”
Zoey frowned, “Do you think this is all in response to Axle and his gang?”
Serena growled, “This is bullshit! The damn file even said that he was a minimal threat!”
“The overall theme I caught drift of is ‘added security’,” Nikki offered. “Whether or not this Axle character actually poses a threat might not matter to them. Maybe they feel more manpower in their court will keep any potential plans to be reconsidered.”
“Decrease the threat of crime by increasing the threat of punishment,” Zoey nodded slowly.
“Fuck! As if there isn’t a big enough turd on the goddam table, now they gotta invite Michael Moore to dinner?” Serena shook her head, “Between doing our damn job and trying to track down that Kristine bitch I’m not sure how I’m supposed to be expected to play the charming neighbor housewife.”
“I’m not sure who in their right mind would see you as the charming neighbor housewife,” Isaac frowned.
Serena glared at him, “Blow me, Donkey Dong!”
Zoey gave Serena a look, mouthing “Donkey Dong?” before finally turning her attention back to the group, “It may not be that bad, actually. Think about it: they can help us and that way we have a lighter workload. That lighter workload means you have more free time; free time that you can use to work on tracking down Kristine.”
“And Zane,” both Serena and Raith chimed in before looking at the other with a startled-but-appreciative stare.
Nikki bit her lip, “Do you really think that he’s still… y’know, around?”
Raith nodded, “I really do. It’s hard to explain, but being ‘tied’ to a person like we were for so long creates an undeniable bond.” He shrugged, “I can’t say how he’s still alive, or where he is, but I know he’s still with us and that the key to finding him is with that Kristine-twat. It would be nice to see my buddy again and actually have a chance to hang out like we used to, rather than just swimming around in his head.”
Nikki bit her lip and looked away.
Though Serena wasn’t happy about Nikki’s reluctance to help them find Zane—to restore the proper owner to the proper body—it wasn’t something she couldn’t bring herself to understand. Though the details of their history were still unknown, Nikki and Raith were, at one time, very much in love, and though circumstances had removed Raith from his body and, Serena was sure, even seen an end to that body, they still had feelings that transcended the flesh. Though the turn of events were like something from a bad 70s sci-fi movie, the aura of Nikki’s dead lover was now in control of the body of Serena’s disembodied lover. Though everyone’s effort to find and return Zane to his body was an undeniable priority, it did force Nikki to worry about what would happen to Raith’s mind when things were restored.
And, though Serena was eager to have Zane returned to her—mind and body—she couldn’t shake the crippling empathy of what it would do to Nikki.
“You alright over there, Ink-Doll?” Serena asked, giving Nikki a gentle shove.
Nikki smirked at the nickname and nodded, “Doing great, Goldi-fucks.” She smiled and returned the shove, “Hey! Why don’t you visit the clan tomorrow, Serena? You know, bring them some baked goods and introduce yourself. And by ‘baked goods’ I mean your typical snark and by ‘introduce yourself’ I mean remind them not to step on any toes.”
“That’d probably be a good idea,” Serena nodded and turned to the others, “I’m calling it a night for now though. See you all tomorrow!”
With that, she turned from the group and headed to her room, closing her inside her solitude and the only time she could ever let herself remember…
“Do you think she’s going to be alright?” Zoey frowned, turning to the others as soon as Serena was out of earshot.
“She will be. It’s going to work out. I know it.” Nikki smiled, though Zoey could see the shift of pain clouding her aura. “Hey, I’m going to go take a shower and get some rest as well.”
Raith grinned and started forward, “You want me to join you?”
Nikki noticeably wavered at the offer, but finally shook her head and took a step away from him. “I… We can’t. It wouldn’t be fair to Serena and Zane.”
Raith’s excited eyes sagged and he looked at his hand as remembering that he wasn’t in his own body, “Oh… right.” He shook his head, “Sorry…”
Zoey frowned and offered Raith a pat on the shoulder, “We’ll figure this out. No matter what, we will make things right.”
Raith nodded his thanks to Zoey before smiling at Nikki. “See you in the morning, luv,” he leaned in and kissed her cheek—the only gesture they seemed to allow themselves—and headed towards his own room.
Zoey watched the two part ways, feeling an immense weight of sadness grow greater with every step that divided them. They had finally been reacquainted after such a terrible tragedy—a tragedy that even she had not been able to get Zane to explain in the many years they’d been together as colleagues and friends—but, despite regaining what they had lost, they forced themselves to keep their boundaries in respect to Serena and Zane, the two who had done so much for them both.
“Everything okay?” Isaac looked over, the nervousness in his eyes bringing Zoey back from her thoughts.
“Yea,” she blushed, taking in the sight of him and feeling a calming warmth crawl over her, “I was just thinking.”
“Thinking, huh? Isn’t that that thing that turns your hair blue?” Isaac smirked and nuzzled her, “You want to head to bed as well?” Isaac’s voice was a husky growl that crept up her throat and tantalized her ear.
“I’m… uh, not very tired,” she confessed.
“That’s okay,” Isaac brought his carnal gaze to meet hers and smirked as he reached around and pinched her backside. “Neither am I.”
Zoey squealed and grinned, turning to face her lover, “So what did you have in mind?”
“Let me show you!” Isaac scooped her up and carried her bridal style towards their bedroom.
Zoey giggled and smiled. She had never been happier before meeting Isaac, and, since the Vail Clan had opened its doors to therion members and taken in Isaac’s pack, she’d no longer had to hide her otherwise taboo relationship and had been allowed to finally grow closer to him. Though the process of assimilating with the clan had come as something of a culture shock for Isa
ac’s packmates, they’d looked to the two of them as a symbol that the union was possible; that vampires and therions could co-exist and even come to know each other as so much more.
It had given her a whole new degree of confidence.
Though Isaac still had some irritating concerns to work past:
“So… a lot of people have seemed surprised when they find out we’re together. They say my kind can hurt others that aren’t of our own kind. I was just nervous that maybe… you know, uh…” Isaac frowned, fumbling on his words, “I mean, I’d never asked before but… does being with me hurt you?”
“Isaac, baby, I’m a big girl, and I can handle you just fine. Trust me, you’ve never hurt me,” Zoey smirked and pulled his head down and captured his lips with hers.
Seeming satisfied with the answer, Isaac kicked the door closed and he let out a fierce growl as he threw her on their bed and began to rip off Zoey’s top. Crying out at the ferocity, Zoey watched as her lover worked her free of the confining articles that concealed her eager skin from his gaze and whimpered as his lips began to trace their way down her neck. Stalking further down, he captured a hardened nipple between his lips as he rolled the other between his thumb and forefinger. She cried out, arching her back in pleasure as he continued his teasing.
“Ah! M-more!” She gasped and watched as he began to kiss down her stomach. Not wanting to wait for him to rid her of her pants, she worked her shaky fingers to rid her pelvis of the denim so that his wandering kisses offered him the perfect view of her black thong when he’d finally arrived.
Seeing this, he grinned up at her, “You sure this isn’t just dental floss?”
“I’ll let you decide that!” Zoey shivered as she pinched her nipples in reaction to the sight of her carnal lover’s bestial gaze emanating mere inches from her heated depths. Unable to bear the lingering torment of waiting for his touch, she hooked her legs behind his head and pulled. Though those of his kind had enough strength to easily resist far greater, he was easily guided into her core.
The feel of his tongue on her set her off and her hips raised as she let out a loud cry as waves of ecstasy began to tremor through her body.
Isaac looked up for a moment, letting his fingers continue what his tongue had paused, and grinned, “Ooh! So sensitive already?”
Unable to answer, she watched as he sat up, quickly ridding her of both her pants and thong before he began to slip out of his shorts. Stretching the waistband to its limit, he worked his semi-hard member into view.
Reaching out, she gripped his hardening length in her fist—her hand unable to reach all the way around its width—and marveled at how much remained on either side of her hand. “Oh my… it’s so beautiful,” she purred.
“Beautiful is not usually the term men like to hear about their—AH!” he growled in pleasure from the contact, instinctively thrusting against her touch and looking down at her, his fierce gaze watching her every move.
Feeling an erotic rush at the sense of the power she held over such a massive organ, Zoey shifted so that she could wrap both her fists around him—still grasping less than half of what he had to offer!—and began to pump her hands back and forth. She squeezed his member tight and he growled out louder. Moaning at the reaction she was earning, she grinned up at him, “But it is beautiful,” she smirked. “I think you just need to reacquaint yourself with true beauty to understand what I mean.” Pulling her hands away, she offered the tip of her prize a prolonged kiss before she lay back and spread herself.
“Mm… Now that’s beautiful,” Isaac smirked as he moved forward and pressed himself to her entrance.
Zoey groaned and nodded, thrusting her body forward and taking the crown inside of her. As the two began to meet the other’s thrust, each of their moans carried the others and the two fell into a blissful union.
Zoey couldn’t sleep…
Though sex with Isaac always knocked him out—any vitality within the therion was always spent after they’d reached their respective climaxes—it seemed the total opposite for her. Serena, one of the few people who Zoey felt comfortable discussing her sex-life with, had explained that she wasn’t alone in this phenomenon. However, whether this had something to do with their being auric vampires and they were possibly draining some vitality in the coital process or if it was just one of those men-slash-women things had yet to be explored to any great extent.
“Who knows,” Serena had shrugged off the question at one time, “maybe all women are a little bit vampire, huh? We’re just that kickass!”
Serena…
Despite all her efforts to convince people to hate her, she was the nicest, strongest person Zoey knew. And though Serena’s typical outward abrasiveness had only grown thicker and thornier since Zane had been taken, everyone that cared about her could see past it to the strong and loving friend who’d struggled against all odds to make things right for all of them.
She’d lost her mother and, in her pain and confusion, blamed her father and ran away from her home.
Loss.
Heartbreak.
She’d found promise in the arms of a human fiancé, Devon, who had been cast into the literal flames of jealousy by Kristine.
More loss.
More heartbreak.
She’d fought to maintain her strength and independence while bound to Devon’s disembodied aura; an aura that, despite his sincerest efforts, warped and faded until a jaded and jealous shadow remained.
And then she’d met Zane, a vampire who’d seen more pain and loss than any should ever have to suffer in a thousand lifetimes; a vampire who had the terrible burden of delivering to an already shattered girl the news that her father—his beloved mentor—had passed.
More loss.
More heartbreak.
And in that moment—a moment where two broken and pained minds had come to cross paths—a bizarre and beautiful thing had happened: an accident that changed everything. Devon’s body-starved aura had seen a chance in Zane’s arrival; a chance to once again lie with Serena as lovers should. But, though the possession of Zane’s body had blocked the night of passion they shared from the body’s rightful owner, there was another mind present to watch their moment of passion.
An owner that was never meant to know love or pleasure or happiness.
Maledictus.
A monster—a curse!—that had dwelled deep within Zane and ripped free every time he lost control. And, in seeing Serena in the throes of ecstasy—a moment the curse had no way of understanding—it grew to love her; to, despite its most basic purpose, not kill her.
Serena had found purpose and promise in her new family with the clan that she’d inherited, and Zane had found the hope that he’d long-since given up on. And Devon, no longer human enough to see the promise of true happiness for Serena, had been extinguished in a jealous attempt to destroy Zane and the curse so that he could occupy the body.
Even more loss.
Even more heartbreak.
But the two broken souls had come to find strength in one another and in that support they were able to rebuild what they’d once been.
And in rebuilding themselves, they’d become one.
Until Kristine—still harboring the lingering rage of Serena’s history with Devon—had returned to do to Serena what she blamed her for:
Not knowing of the other minds existing within Zane’s body, she’d ripped Serena’s lover from his body.
Zoey shook her head.
How much loss could one soul handle?
How many times could a heart break before there was nothing left to mend?
Though even Serena may have believed that she was too callous of a bitch to feel any pain, those who knew her best could see that she was suffering.
“Serena…” Zoey whispered.
Though his aura still lagged with the weight of sleep, Isaac whimpered at the meek sound of his lover’s sadness and rolled over, draping a strong arm around her waist and pulling her close to him.
Blushing at his protective nature, Zoey nuzzled against his chest and reminded herself that, first and foremost, Serena was a fighter.
If anybody deserved pity, it was the ones that got in her way.
“Serena?” a familiar voice caressed her skin with ghostly warmth and she opened her eyes as was met with Zane’s mismatched gaze.
“Zane?” She frowned, biting her lip, “How are…?”
“Serena… I miss you. I miss you so fucking much,” Zane frowned, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Serena sat up, still not sure what she was seeing.
Was she dreaming?
His form was hazy and seemed to be lit by his own personal source; the strange, white glow faded in-and-out over his face.
“I… I miss you too, Zane! I swear I’ll find you soon! I swear! I’ve never stopped looking! Once I find that bitch, she’s dead; she’s fucking dead!” Serena whimpered, crawling to the end of the bed to join the spectral shadow of her lover, “I won’t rest until I’ve found her.”
“I know you won’t, babes; even if I told you to move on and be—”
“No! I’m not giving up on finding you!” Serena choked on a sob.
Zane smirked and nodded, “See? Just as stubborn as ever!”
“Zane…” Serena felt a rock lodge in her throat and her eyes began to burn.
“Shhh. It’s going to be alright,” his voice was calm and a wave a reassurance rode on his words and rolled through her body.
She welcomed the feeling.
It was him!
Though she had no idea how he was there, this was all the evidence she needed that he was still alive.
That she wasn’t crazy to still be looking for him!
“I’ve been at such a loss without you,” she felt the first few tears roll over her eyes. “You goddam asshole! I’m not supposed to cry like this…”
The warmth and affection in Zane’s eyes did not sway. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anybody.”
Serena laughed and clenched her jaw when she had enough control to do so, bringing her fist down on the bed. “Dammit! That’s what I mean! I… I can’t even stay sad with you there as… as…” She shook her head, “Dammit, Zane, what’s happened to you? Where are you? Please… Please tell me where you are!”
Scarlet Dawn Page 4
