by Michelle Fox
We navigated a narrow hallway with high walls of smooth rock soaring above us. A few feet down, glowing rocks once again led the way.
"What's with the rocks? They're everywhere." I touched one and its glow rubbed off on my finger.
"It's from glow worms. Vamps have been decorating with them for at least a hundred years. They make the dye in New Zealand somewhere."
"So, you're saying this is like, glow worm guts?"
"Yeah."
I made a face and wiped my finger on my pants. Gross.
"Believe it or not, there are vampires who specialize in making art with the stuff."
"Oh, I believe it." A vampire killing something for their own ends? Totally fit the blood sucker stereotype. And I'd seen the intricate patterns on the way to Zion's house. Someone spent a lot of time arranging rocks and making them glow in the City Oscura.
After several minutes of following the glowing rocks, the hallway widened into an airy cavern that I could see because here, at least, there were lights. I stopped and just took in the scene.
A bed covered in blue satin stood to the side. A square pine table with matching chairs filled the center of the cave and a leather couch sat in front of that, with just enough space to walk behind it. A large mahogany desk with claw feet crouched on the other side of the cavern buried under papers and books. Abstract paintings had been hung around the cave and I spotted an easel tucked away almost behind the desk.
I pointed to it. "You paint?"
He nodded. "When I have time, which isn't often." Gesturing to the couch, he said, "Please sit. Make yourself comfortable."
I settled into the couch and my stomach rumbled. "Do you have anything to eat?"
Davian shook his head. "No. I'm sorry. I don't get guests."
"How about water?"
"That, I have." He opened a desk drawer and tossed a bottle of water my way.
"I thought vampires didn't drink or eat?" I opened the bottle and drank half of the water in one big gulp.
"You see anyone for me to feed off of here? If I get thirsty and can't feed, water works."
"Fair enough." I sipped the remaining water and told my stomach to be quiet.
Davian sifted through the papers on his desk and I studied him now that his focus was elsewhere. He looked the same as when I'd last seen him—like an angel tinged with darkness. Black hair curled over his ears, contrasting with porcelain skin and red lips. His eyes, when they caught mine, glittered like onyx in full sun. His black jeans and T-shirt hugged his sculpted frame, moving with the flex of his muscles and outlining every tantalizing inch.
The attraction between us hadn't been fake, at least not on my end. I'd been drawn to him before he'd bitten me.
"Why did you really ditch me?" I asked. "I want the truth. Not this bullshit that we don't belong together because I know you feel what I feel. I can see it in your eyes."
"I told you. This is no place for the living." He gave me a hard look.
"I don't think it matters," I said.
Anger flashed in his eyes. "How can you say that? Don't you value your life? Or am I the only one who does?"
"Life without peace is worthless. Ask me how I know," I said, my tone sharp. "I'm not living out there. And a million Zions don't matter if I have you."
"It's not going to happen. We can't happen."
"Then I can't happen," I said, struck by the clarity of it. "There's no me worth having without you, Davian."
He shook his head. "It's only been a couple months. Let's see what you say in ten years. You'll find your mate, have pups and I'll be a memory of your wild youth."
"No. It won't happen."
"Of course it will. You're a young, healthy wolf."
"You don't understand. I'm not right anymore. Something...happened to me. You did something to me." I tapped my head. "There's a dark blob up here now, and it hugs my wolf like it wants to take over."
He frowned at me. "A blob?"
"Yeah. A blob, or a...a cloud. Something dark and formless. It showed up when you left."
Davian came over to me and captured my face in both hands, staring deep into my eyes. His own eyes narrowed and then widened. He let me go and stumbled back. "No. It can't be."
"It can't be what?" I followed him, refusing to let him put any more distance between us.
"I have it, too."
"You do?"
He nodded. "It showed up after I left Huntsville."
"How is it that we both have it?"
"I don't know." He rubbed his chin.
"Then what is it?" I wracked my brain, trying to come up with what had happened to us. Mates ended up in each other's heads, but as wolves, not black clouds. My stomach contracted and I began to shake at the idea of what the clouds might mean. I could picture us together, bound like mated wolves. I liked that picture but it wasn't possible. "No. No way."
His gaze met mine. "What?"
"Mates," I said. "But that's crazy. It has to be something else."
"Yes. I'm dead, which takes me out of the mating pool. And there are things about my past that make me different from other vampires. That could be it." His voice softened. "You think you're the only broken one? The only piece that doesn't fit? I'm the same as you in some ways, Adele."
"And yet we both have these shadows. We're bonded somehow." I stepped close to him, pulling his scent into my lungs and aching to kiss him.
He sidestepped me. "We're not mates. Forget what you're thinking."
"But what if..." I didn't dare say it. "Why are we in each other's heads?"
"We're not. Shadows aren't mate bonds." He waved at his cave lair. "Besides, this is as good as it gets for me. It's not good enough for you."
I growled and stalked toward him. "Don't you get it, Davian?"
"Get what?"
"It's not about what's good enough. We're past that. If this is possible, if we actually mated, it's a done deal. And maybe it's different for vampires, but werewolves mate for life." I hadn't known the words were going to come out, but my wolf crowed in my head like we'd just won a battle with a major foe.
"There must be another explanation."
"Why do you fight it? You like me. I can taste it when we kiss. Would it be so bad?" I crowded him and let my lips hover right over his. He didn't back away, proving my point.
Seeing him again had been a hit to the heart. I wouldn't let him walk away without resolving whatever it was between us.
But he shoved me away with enough force that I stumbled. His expression darkened and his eyes flashed. "Stop it, Adele. This is madness. We're not mates. It's not possible, not for me."
I crossed my arms and glared at him. "How do we fix this then? How do I live with this...this thing in my head? How do I get back home?"
"I can get you out of here, but Zion will be a problem. He'll just track you down again. You're linked by his blood."
"I know. I have to kill him. What about the rest of it?" I refused to let him off the hook. He'd hung me there with him after all.
"The rest...we'll discuss after Zion. He's the biggest threat, so he comes first."
"Okay. Fine. But don't think I'm going to forget the other stuff." I tapped my nose. "I can probably track down Zion by scent. You want to do that?" And then, even though he'd killed an alpha bigger and stronger than me, I would find a way to rip off his head, giving him no chance to survive. So long as he hadn't recently gorged on shifter blood, I might have a shot at actually killing him.
"I have an idea, but I need some time to put it together." He grabbed a black cloak hanging on the wall and wrapped it around his shoulders. "Wait here. I'll be back in a few hours."
"What? You're just leaving me here?"
"No one can see you. They'll know you're not a vampire."
"But if they see you, Zion will find out you're free."
"He already knows. Remember the surveillance cameras? What he doesn't know is how to find this place. We're so deep in the rock, he can't track you throu
gh your blood bond. That has limits."
"Like a bad cell phone connection?"
He gave a grudging nod. "Yes. Similar to that. Nothing goes through rock without an explosive, not even a vampire bite. If I take you into the City Oscura now, he'll pick up your trail quickly."
"Oh. That would be bad."
"Yes. It would. I'll bring you something to eat."
I brightened at that. "Bring a lot. I'm really hungry."
He chuckled. "I remember how much you can eat. Don't worry. I'll get more than enough."
"Are you sure I'm safe here?"
Davian stepped close to me and cupped my cheek in his hand. "Yes."
I leaned into his hand with a happy sigh. "You're always saving me."
"And putting you in danger, too. I thought I'd set you free after what happened at the club. Thought I'd given you your life back. I had no idea that Zion would come after you."
"He had cameras at the club, too."
"I should have known. I didn't think of it."
"He came to find me."
"I'm sorry. If I could have spared you this, I would have."
"No. Don't be sorry. He brought you back to me." I darted in, slipping past his arms to press my lips against his. He stiffened in surprise, but then his lips moved under mine, taking over the kiss.
"Mmmph—" I tried to talk through our kiss and failed. Pulling away, I said, "I thought you didn't want me."
He put a finger to my lips. "Shh. Just let me taste you. One last time."
"Does it really have to be the last time?" I asked.
"I have nothing to offer you, Adele. I'm the undead, and you...are so very alive." He moved his finger, resting it on the pulse at my neck.
"You're wrong. You have everything I need. Everything." I grabbed him by the back of his head and slammed my mouth into his, too hungry to be gentle. My wolf howled in my mind and need burned in my blood. I'd tried not to think about him, which had worked when he wasn't standing in front of me. In his presence, though? I couldn't contain myself.
Davian met the ferocity of my kiss with his own, his arms tightening around me. He drew me close, my heat into his cold. His tongue overtook mine and his fangs pricked my lower lip, stopping short of drawing blood. My knees trembled, my heart skipped beats and my breathing became frayed as a wind-whipped flag.
I tilted my head to the side, baring my neck. "Bite me."
Davian froze, his gaze hungry and fixed on my pulse. The tips of his fangs peeked out from under his upper lip, sharp and gleaming. I ached to feel their razor edges plunging into my body, but shaking his head, he let me go and stepped away. "No. I can't."
"Oh." Disappointment flooded me. Story of my life. The fix I needed was always just out of reach.
He covered his mouth with one hand, seeming to wipe away our kiss.
"Some things can't be undone, you know." I crossed my arms and watched him try to wipe me away.
"For your sake, I hope you're wrong." He turned away from me and headed for the opening to the trail that led back to the city.
"I'm not going to change my mind about you, Davian," I called after him.
He paused mid-step, but kept his back to me.
"Maybe if you'd left your claim on me in place, you could say it was our bond talking, but you and I aren't connected anymore, and I still want you, still need you." Hot tears pricked my eyes, burning but refusing to fall.
He looked at me over his shoulder, his eyes seething with darkness. "There's something you should know about loving a vampire, Adele."
"What?"
"It's a good way to die." With that he spun away from me and raced out of the cave.
***
Alone, I paced the cave Davian called home, his touch reverberating through me and keeping me on edge. The papers on his desk proved to be in a language I didn't know. It didn't even have letters I recognized so I moved on. His paintings were pretty, but banal. I flipped through the canvases. Sunsets. Sunrises. Someone missed the sun.
Tired and not knowing what to do with myself, I climbed into Davian's bed. The scent of his aftershave enveloped me until I felt like I'd entered a cocoon, one where Davian was my shield. My wolf gave a mournful howl as I pulled the blue satin comforter over me. The smell of him wasn't enough for her. She didn't like that Davian had left and wanted him back.
My brow furrowed. I knew why I liked Davian, but I still didn't quite understand what my wolf saw in him. She should be pissed that he wasn't a shifter—or even alive—but she'd always liked him, although she'd only ever seen him through my eyes. I'd never shifted in front of Davian. Since he wasn't a shifter, we didn't go on runs or do anything that required animal form.
He didn't need my wolf, but she wanted him, bloodsucking fangs and all.
Chapter Seventeen
Adele
A rough shake of the shoulder woke me. "Adele. Wake up."
I bolted upright, battling with the covers that had somehow wrapped around my hands. My heart fluttered like a bird trying to out-fly a tornado. Once I caught sight of Davian, I relaxed.
"Oh. Hi."
"Hey." He pointed to a large paper bag on the table. "I have food."
My stomach yowled, louder than a starving pup. I made my way over to the table, fighting not to drool at the smell of fried food hitting my nose. Digging through the bag, I laid out everything, my hands shaking with hunger.
"Are you all right?" he asked, catching a Styrofoam takeout container before I dropped it.
I nodded. "It's not that shifters want to eat a lot, we need to eat a lot. We need calories."
"I know. Here. Start with this." He pulled a foil wrapped packet from a plain brown bag and handed it to me.
I unwrapped it, pleased to find it was pizza topped with ham, bacon and sausage. In two big bites, I shoved it into my mouth, barely chewing before I swallowed. Then I attacked the various takeout boxes Davian laid out on the table for me. I picked one and ripped it open, happy to see chicken with broccoli from a Chinese restaurant. I dumped the food down my throat while I surveyed what remained, debating what to eat next. There were barbecue wings, teriyaki wings and ghost pepper wings. On top of that, I spotted a gyro, chili cheese fries, chocolate cake, cheesecake and a banana split.
I smiled at Davian and went for the gyro. "You remembered all my favorites."
"I guess I did." He laughed. "You ordered a lot of takeout when we first met. Eating it didn't go so well, though."
"Yeah. I remember." I grimaced, recalling the mess I'd made. "That was rough. Sorry. Thanks for giving me another chance." Finishing the gyro, I went for the fries. I was so hungry, everything disappeared in two bites.
"It was either feed you or listen to your stomach growl. I assume last time wasn't the norm."
"No. I'm good this time. Promise." I slurped down a large soda, doing my best to discreetly burp behind my hand when I finished. "Tell me what's new. Anything on Zion?" I sniffed the wings, deciding I would go for the ghost pepper ones first. I liked how the spices made my nose tingle.
"He's looking for us, but that's about it."
I blinked back tears from the ghost pepper's heat. "Are you sure we're safe here?"
"Yes. I'm sure. No one has ever found me here. As much as vampires like the dark, they hate caves. They don't think anyone goes this deep in the City Oscura."
"But you do."
"I've had to. The work I do sometimes puts me in the middle of some dangerous politics."
"Why do you do it then?"
He shrugged. "If you leave vampires alone long enough, they start to think they can get away with anything. I exist to remind them immortality isn't a free pass. They don't, in fact, get to do whatever they want."
"Like Zion." Done with the wings for the moment, I dabbed my face with the wet naps that had come with the wings, eyeing the cake as I did so. Gooey chocolate icing sat an inch high on top of the cake. Whoever had made it had a werewolf's understanding of the proper cake-to-icing ratio.
"Yes. Like Zion."
"Why did he lock you up? He should have turned you over to the Vampire Council."
A pained expression crossed Davian's face. "We're going to have to do something about the things Zion has told you to believe, but to answer your question, I think he was hoping if I disappeared the Vampire Council would lose interest in the whole thing and move on."
"Would they?"
"Lose interest?" At my nod, he said, "Sure. Eventually."
"What's eventually in vampire years?" Finishing the cake, I went for the cheesecake next. A strawberry swirl ran through it. Perfection.
"Around a century."
I paused, fork halfway to my mouth. "He would've left you there for a hundred years?"
"He would've left me there as long as he needed to. Two, three or five centuries. What does he care so long as he gets what he wants?"
"Whoa," I said quietly, setting down my fork. Maybe I knew Davian, but I didn't know jack about vampires. Their darkness was bottomless. "Why aren't you like Zion and the other vampires? What makes you hide in a cave and police them?"
"I just do," he said, his voice growing cold and remote.
"There's more to it than that," I said. "I can hear it in your voice."
"Don't assume you know anything about me, Adele. I'm a vampire, and at the end of the day, that is all I will ever be, fangs and all."
"You're nothing like Zion, or the rest of them, for that matter. You're way more than just a vampire," I said with a stubborn jut of my chin. "And for the record, I'm a werewolf and that's all I will ever be, too. Fangs, fur and all. What makes you think your fangs are worse than mine?"
"Because."
"Because, as in because I said so?" I rolled my eyes. "You sound like my mother."
He cleared the table of empty takeout containers. "Believe me, the thoughts I have about you are nothing your mother would approve of."
A triumphant smile curved my lips. Something inside me steadied itself like a turtle finally flipping from its back to its feet. I'd doubted myself when Davian left me, blamed it all on my addiction, but my instincts had run true. We had a connection. I wasn't just craving him like any other junkie. I could believe in myself again. "Thank you."
