A fuzzy white creature hopped closer for inspection. Mercy shied back while also wanting to grip the creature and study it at the same time. She heard Tavish chuckle. He went to the fluffy creature, scooped it up and brought it to her. He dumped it into her arms.
“It’s a bunny,” he informed her. “She’s harmless.”
Hesitantly at first, Mercy felt it then cuddled it. It was the first time she had ever touched living fur. She’s so warm and soft. The bunny’s heart beat under her hand. She rubbed her face against the creature and marveled at its feel. Tavish took it from her, his large hands handled the creature so carefully. He released it. The bunny hoped a short distance then stopped to nuzzle a twig. A small being of sorts fluttered and landed on a branch. Mercy went over, intensely studying it through squinted eyes. Curious, she looked at Tavish.
“There’s not an ounce of decent meat on this creature,” she declared.
Tavish howled with laughter. “I would hope not. It’s a bug, a butterfly.”
“Butter fly’s? I’ve had what my mother calls butter; it never once moved. Seal milk is rich and when she could get some, which wasn’t easy as much was spoiled with blood, she would make butter.” Mercy examined the creature. “How do you extract its butter?”
Laughter could be heard from behind them and Mercy spun around. A group of six children ranging in age from four to ten stood watching them. Mercy was overwhelmed. She hadn’t seen a child before except herself when she was tiny, had she been this small? They looked like pint-sized adults with cherub faces. They were beautiful; almost all of them were dark-haired. All of the children wore very little. They were tanned and healthy, smiling. They didn’t look terrified of Tavish.
“Run and find your mothers, children. You can see our new addition tonight at the dinner table,” he chided.
They broke like a pack to obey immediately. They left giggling. All but one. A tiny little girl stood sucking her thumb. She had short blond hair and big brown eyes. Mercy looked up at Tavish, expecting to see the white glow of his eyes, but he was smiling fondly at those who left. When the others had gone, Tavish scooped up the tiny little girl.
A woman, dressed much the same as Mercy, came from a bush and hurried forward. She looked frightened and shifted from foot to foot when she stood before Tavish. She eyed Tavish holding the child, nervously. The woman’s light hair was askew, her face was red. Discreetly, Mercy could see the opening of the teddy indicating this woman was used for breeding. The front bottom of the garment was damp and Mercy wondered at it. She had an odd notion the woman had been engaged in sexual activity. Perhaps she was sweating.
Mercy was surprised when another vampire appeared. He was large and handsome and dark-haired like Tavish. His look was more rugged, in a nice kind of way. Tavish put the child into the man’s arms. The little girl looked up at the man holding her. She didn’t struggle. Her thumb never left her mouth. The vampire looked the child directly in the eyes.
“I can’t turn my back on you for a second you’re so fast,” the vampire admonished the child. “Are you sure you’re not part vampire, Perrin, my little wanderer?”
“So you’ve named the child?” Tavish said. “It suits her.”
“Yes. Her mother is pleased with the name,” he replied then cast a glance to the young woman who was hanging back shyly. “It took me forever to convince Kia she wouldn’t be punished if the child was given a name.”
“Humans call us cruel. We aren’t the ones who would pretend a child doesn’t even exist,” Tavish said with disgust. “Ryker, have you posted the visuals?”
“I did,” he replied. “Then took them down and posted them again.”
“Why?” Tavish asked.
Ryker looked a bit sheepish. “I had them at my height. I had to repost them at the child’s height. She had been with me when she wandered away and her mother was busy. Every so often the visuals will need to be checked as she grows taller.”
“I found something we can use,” Tavish said. “Remind me at dinner. I found a string of bells we can tie around her wrists.”
Mercy lifted her eyebrows in shock. They would bell the child? “Surely someone so young won’t run?” she asked.
“She doesn’t run, she wanders,” Tavish explained.
“All children wander,” Mercy countered.
“Yes, but not all children are deaf. This one was used to being left to her own devices—‘out of sight, out of mind’ can be learned early. This little one of Ryker’s and her mother have been with us a month and still she has yet to learn her boundaries; she’s only three. We need to know where she is at all times. Once, she wandered beyond the perimeters and was lucky Lucile found her.”
“Lucile?”
“You’ll meet her soon enough.”
Mercy understood now why the child’s mother held back looking afraid. A child that young must have been born illegally to the human race. Not given a name or any kind of acknowledgement. Mercy was surprised she had been allowed to live. But her mother looked young; perhaps her father had been as well. It wasn’t the child’s fault she had been conceived. Perhaps the mother was shunned, the child ostracized. What a lonely life. To exist in your ice cave but be ignored or treated like a villain just for being born. Life was cold enough. Then hunted by vampires and brought here wondering if these men would be even more cruel.
Ryker held the child comfortably. He tickled her under her chin, but the child didn’t laugh. Instead, she ducked her face and cuddled closer to him. Ryker ran a hand down her hair and kissed the top of her head. Perrin’s fingers slid over his chest in a self-sooth gesture. Mercy could understand the child’s need for contact.
Mercy had been denied close contact for as long as she could remember. But at least she had been loved and wanted by her family. What they didn’t show they said. Perhaps it was a blessing the child had never heard any scornful words aimed in her or her mother’s direction. Yet she would be twice damned. No words and no action. Mercy’s heart ached for her. Until Ryker, obviously a persistent man, stroked the hair from Perrin’s forehead and again kissed the child. His fingers tickled her tiny ribs. A small fleeting smile curled the young one’s lips.
Tavish took Mercy by the arm and led her away in a new direction. Mercy wasn’t used to the warmth of the sun. She lifted her face to bathe in its heat. It was heavenly. This new world was heavenly. To wander almost nude without fear of retribution was so un-confining. To actually feel the ground under her feet. Mercy stooped and grabbed a handful of the earth.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Earth, dirt.”
She squeezed it between her fingers. It crumbled and filled her nostrils with a delicious foreign scent that she could have eaten. A cluster full of beautiful red buds caught her attention. Tavish picked one and rid the green stem of two sharp looking points then handed it to her. Mercy brought it to her nose and inhaled. She had never smelled anything so wonderful. Tavish took it and tucked it behind her ear.
“This is a flower, a rose, and if you like you may pick some every day and bring them to my room.”
“Am I staying with you?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Can I have your baby? Or do you not want children that will be human? Or would they be born like you? A hybrid child?”
“I’m not a hybrid, no matter what your father said. I’m a vampire, you’re human. I can’t give you a baby. It’s not physically possible. But I will make certain your body enjoys trying to create one.”
“How?”
Tavish led her to a huge secluded tree. He cupped her chin and tilted her head. Mercy was ready for this kiss. The wonders she had seen took her breath away and now so too did Tavish. In the clean air, under the shade, it felt right to be with a man who had saved her life and saved her from a lonely life of misery. Her father had been wrong. Any man who made children giggle and saved little ones wasn’t a monster; he was just different. Men and women were different. It didn’t make one
better than the other.
What was so treasonous in wanting to live? She wanted to live. All creatures wanted the right. As her father had said, a polar bear would kill a human and even then the creature wasn’t as despised as the vampires. In her innocence, Mercy wondered if it were more ego-centered. Vampires were a race of superior humans, at least power-wise, they hunted man, and therefore they were to be feared by regular man. Tavish had created something he thought was beneficial to both kinds. The children looked like they were thriving. If Kia had been raised the same way Mercy had and she didn’t appear affronted by sex perhaps it wasn’t so bad.
The idea made Mercy think of something that had always niggled at the back of her mind. If sex was as bad as her father had said then why did he and her mother have sex? Her mother loved him; he hadn’t made her. Her father must have wanted to as well. Mercy couldn’t imagine anyone forcing her father to do something he didn’t want to. They must have had to have sex at least once to conceive her. Her father had committed treason and he was allowed to live, so was her mother and Mercy. She was beginning to wonder if it was a lot of ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ The idea astounded her that she would think so brazenly. After all, she had only been apart from her family for a short time. Yet, the thought was there, out in the open. It stayed there.
Mercy allowed Tavish to lay her back into the tall grass. She heard chirps and bird songs. How could this astonishing place be evil? Tavish lifted her teddy over her head and captured a breast in his mouth. Mercy gasped. She didn’t know what she had expected but this was so strange. To have a man suckle where a baby would. She didn’t know men did this. When she had touched her breasts and it felt good she was beaten and told it was wrong. For a second she grew angry. Her father had said a woman’s breasts were for babies and that’s all. He lied. What else had he lied about? Had he lied to aid his own venture?
Tavish sucked her leisurely then mumbled. “Your tits are perfect.”
Mercy was confused until she realized it must be another name for breasts. Tavish kissed at her flesh going lower. She thought for certain he would stop once he reached her forbidden area but he continued and she cried out when his lips found her opening. She shuddered when his tongue circled a small bud Mercy had seen when she relieved herself. Round and round his tongue laved until Mercy pulled at him. If her breath was any more ragged, she would get no air in at all.
“You need to be ready,” he said throatily.
“For what?” she whispered.
Tavish groaned and dragged himself to his feet. “Have you ever seen a naked man?”
“No. It’s forbidden.”
“Here, it’s common,” he replied.
Tavish tugged his shirt over his head and kicked off his foot coverings. Next he lowered his pants. Mercy stared at the long thick growth where his forbidden area was. That was a man’s sex. It was remarkable. It was so different from her own. And confusing. That would go inside her to create a baby? No, he said he can’t give her a baby. Then would he use it the same way? She didn’t have much time to ponder her deliberations when Tavish dropped back down. He kissed her until she fought for air.
“Do you want me?” Tavish asked.
She wasn’t exactly certain what he was asking of her. She could feel his long male part pressed against her. Did he mean did she want that part to go in her? Her thoughts raced as her heart pounded. Everything he had done so far felt right. It must be what they both wanted.
“Yes.”
Mercy could feel her legs spread beneath him with his knee. She had been right; this was what they needed to do. She was both fearful and excited. The feelings he aroused in her were ten times what she had done to herself. There was no fear of punishment. This was Tavish’s coven and this was his law. When the tip of him found her opening she waited to see what would happen. So far she hadn’t been struck dead, there had been no wrath.
With his first thrust Mercy screamed. It hurt, he was hurting her again. Was she being punished after all? Mercy pushed at him. He was so big he filled her. His body was so strong she couldn’t make him budge. Tavish remained still when she began to sob. His tender words shushed her and he pulled back. Again he pushed into her. Mercy cried out. Back and forth he rocked against her. His powerful hands gently caressed the side of her face. His fingers stroked her hair. She realized he didn’t mean to hurt her. He wasn’t crushing her with his weight. She heard him say something about her first time being painful, but the pain would ease. It did.
“Move with me, little cub,” Tavish whispered.
She did, at least she tried. His huge maleness thrust into her completely. His massive body pinned her yet felt comforting. In and out he stroked, faster. It was so odd to be joined with another. Finally she wrapped her arms around his back and buried her face into his neck. She felt his hand lift her hips and soon he moved more rapidly. Mercy gasped. An odd sensation swirled around her body from inside. It was pleasurable. Her hips were lifted higher and her neck was turned. Mercy knew he would feed off her now. She wasn’t afraid. His eyes remained blue. This was Tavish, not the monster.
When his fangs sunk into her throat she stiffened then quieted. She had told him he could. Her throat was impaled and she couldn’t move. Her body was curled under him and her hips pulled high so he could take her as he sucked from her. Mercy could again feel him in her thoughts, fighting to control her, this time she let him in. He was, after all, already inside her. She could hear words in her mind as he drank from her. Sweet sounds filled her. Loving words with action was a gift. No more tender caresses with just eyes. Mercy wanted it all. She wanted to feel everything that had been denied for far too long.
Glimpses of her life flashed before her as he drew them from her and she knew he was watching her memories. The beating she had undergone for touching herself, that she was ashamed of, was met with his rage, she could feel the power of his anger and surprisingly she knew if her father had still lived, Tavish would kill him. He was angry she was beaten, not appalled she had touched herself. She felt his fury towards her father. Mercy wanted him to see the love as well. She wanted him to know not everything was bad. She made him see her father talking to her after, his tears. His love. She knew Tavish did see it, she felt his surprise. Now that he knew, he didn’t seem to feel as superior, just sweet confusion. She sensed it, being so connected to him and she relaxed.
Tavish allowed her to see a few of his memories. She knew he was careful what he showed her. His childhood, him laughing, him happy. She watched him grow from a boy to man. His life had been so different from hers in some ways. His coven had loved him, hugged him. In a way he was like her, the youngest and most coddled. The only difference was in touching. Very rarely had Mercy been touched, even as a child. Tavish’s mother, his beautiful mother had kissed his cheeks if he fell and was hurt. His father had hugged him often in pride. She envied him that. But she could do the same with a child of her own.
It was beautiful what they shared together. Mercy didn’t want it to ever end. She gave herself to him, willing him to show her more, begging him to continue. She never wanted him to stop. Every inch of her was fused to him like the points they made for hunting. Two separate entities in union to create something even more perfect than when separate.
Her eyes fluttered as she grew tired. She knew him now. His love, his laughter. He was no monster. A wave of emotion washed over her with the slapping of his thighs. Joining, he was joining with her. What a wonderful way this would be to make a baby. If only it would be Tavish’s. Mercy was spent. She closed her eyes and whispered she must rest now. The last thing she remembered was Tavish lifting her into his arms and the feeling of floating over air. She felt safe cradled to his chest, filled with his memories of wonder. Mercy blacked out.
* * * *
“Here, little cub, drink this.” Tavish lifted the glass to her lips. He was still shaking.
Mercy was pale and lying before him on a bed, unmoving. Tavish had been filled with her—
her thoughts, her begging him to stay joined with her. Never had he tasted sweeter virgin blood. She had the most intriguing memories. She had let him in. She showed him she had been loved, he had been astounded. He had wanted to share his own memories of what loving could really be like. Her entire young life invaded him and he couldn’t get enough of her innocence. Mercy laughing, Mercy happy. She had loved being loved. She was so open and giving and kind.
Tavish hadn’t wanted it to end. He had almost taken so much blood he would have had to kill her or turn her. Neither scenario was acceptable. Now she lay limp in his arms while he willed her to live. Mercy took small sips from the glass he held while Tavish wanted to down the entire amount past her lips.
“Drink, damn it,” Tavish growled under his breath.
“Drink, Mercy, it will help you,” the man to Tavish’s left said, his words were calm and coaxing.
“Caine, she needs to take more,” Tavish said; he was trying not to panic.
“Tavish, it was her first time; you took a bit more than you should have, though, that surprises me.”
Tavish looked at Caine. He was a vampire but doctor to his humans. The man was five thousand years old and brilliant; he was the type who inhaled knowledge. The drink Tavish was trying to pour down Mercy’s throat had been invented by Caine who abhorred any suffering. Tavish had turned him when Caine discovered what he was. He had begged him to be allowed to continue to learn. Since he had in actuality been begging to save the lives of others, Tavish was moved to assist him. Human or vampire, the man was an astounding doctor. Tavish never regretted his decision.
One glass of Caine’s concoction and human bodies were restored to normal. All the humans needed to do was drink, which was easy since they normally woke parched. On the whole the concoction was guzzled. But Mercy was swallowing in a small exaggerated motion, it was maddening. She was refusing to give up the mind joining.
The Brethren Of Tavish [Vampire Coven Book 1] Page 6
