The Brethren Of Tavish [Vampire Coven Book 1]

by C. L. Scholey

  “They eat human women.”

  “Lucile doesn’t. Most often the human bodies are found by the wild animals. My Anivamps have a taste for warm blood. After the carcass is gone the Anivamps go after the wild animals that have fed. It’s the circle of life.”

  “It’s an oxymoron—death is the circle of life.”

  “Have you been reading more of my books?”

  “Yes, many, and the more I read, the more I learn and the more I think,” Mercy said then smiled. “A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Christmas is a fascinating concept. Everyone happy and loving. Why don’t you teach the others to read?”

  “Because ignorance is bliss,” Tavish answered. “My vampires only give miniscule glimpses of memories to humans to keep them happy. Once I can increase the human population, the law will change. After the ice age, the world will be washed clean. No more wars, no more famine and racism, no discrimination about sexual preference. You asked if I wanted to run the world. Who better than a man who has seen almost everything?

  “You’ve witnessed both extremes, little cub. In your world, a woman was killed for becoming pregnant. In mine, a woman must carry. But with these humans there has never been a case of assault here. This is what they know from birth and accept it. Sex is taught to be open and caring. My men are shown how to love gently. I won’t allow a woman to be bullied into fearfully being taken. This is their life. Their home. Because they accept it, I am responsible to make certain they want to accept it. Every man, woman and child is taken care of. Never will they go hungry; never will they be denied medical care. Never will they be denied love and hope and happiness. Never will they be denied a home where they are safe and feel protected. If we must have one law it will be to live, but to live happily. Without happiness there is no life.”

  “The world really will be yours, won’t it?”

  “Yes, mine and my men’s.”

  “Your sons?”

  Tavish looked startled. “I have no son.”

  “You could have,” Mercy said. “I could give you a son, or a daughter, with the man of your choice. After Jarrod died and Ursus came to me, I realized you don’t want to be alone. Ursus has been your friend forever; she is your family. She practically shoved me out the door after you. She was worried about you, she loves you. Ursus can’t have a baby, but you can. She would love your child too; you wouldn’t raise him alone. You don’t need to turn me. It would be enough to know my son would have you forever.”

  “I don’t know that I want a son of my own. All the children here are mine in a way. I take care of them, provide for them.”

  “Would you deny yourself the love you felt for your father?”

  Tavish looked irritated. “My father died for me.”

  “Does that scare you? To love like that?”

  “I have enough to worry about.”

  “But it’s okay for me to love like that and know I’ll lose my child to wild animals,” Mercy snapped.

  “Where is this coming from?”

  “You want me to breed like all the other women. I can’t, Tavish, I won’t lie with a man I don’t love unless it’s to have your child. Otherwise it’s assault—yes, in your books I have read what rape is. Your law comes dangerously close.”

  “It is law,” Tavish thundered. “The women here are not raped.”

  Mercy held her ground. “Then give me to your Anivamps. First my father and now you. My body is mine alone. I’m done having a man make my choices for me.”

  “You talk treason,” Tavish said with a snarl.

  “Yes. Do your worst. I won’t ever change my mind.”

  Tavish strode to a tree and punched it. His fist went in a foot. Mercy regarded him calmly. He glared at her. “You are putting me in a difficult position. This is why the humans are not schooled.”

  “They will be eventually. What then, Tavish? What will your vampires do when women realize they may not want to get pregnant? Will you keep a law thousands of years old? With perhaps thousands of women? Even you can’t control that many.”

  Tavish took to the sky. Mercy sighed. She had made up her mind. The only way to keep her child safe was to have Tavish agree to be the father. He could have his utopia, but she was making a ripple.

  * * * *

  “Damned woman,” Tavish growled.

  “Problems?” Caine asked.

  “She wants me to agree to be her child’s father. I don’t want to be a father.”

  “Odd you should say that, about having a child, I mean,” Caine said.

  “How so?”

  “I’ve been pondering your dilemma with Jarrod and his memories and how Mercy had tasted his blood through you, and I may be able to give you a vampire child.”

  “What? How?”

  “It’s not exact science but—”

  “What? What? How, damn it?”

  Caine chuckled. “For a man who says he doesn’t want a child, you certainly seem interested.”

  Tavish slumped into a chair. “I won’t kill a female breeder for treason. But I can’t force her to lay with a man when she doesn’t want to. My little cub understands the concept of rape. The others don’t, not that any have opposed me before. It can’t go back to the way it was. The fear, the suffering and hurt. The sadness would be deplorable.”

  “The law allows us to live. It allows all of us, humans and vampires, to live.”

  “I know. I battle moral with justifiable ends. The women here are happy. They are excited when they become of age because I’ve stressed how important they are to everyone’s survival. They are the ‘chosen’ and it makes them feel special. Wanted and loved. If my little cub goes on a rampage I’ll need to silence her somehow. I can’t. She’s irritating, infuriating, smart, and sweet. Shit, she’s driving me insane.”

  “Sounds like love to me,” Caine said and smiled. “It was bound to happen sometime. You can safely say it was later rather than sooner in your case, old man.”

  “Tell me your hypothesis.” Tavish rubbed at his temples.

  “If Mercy takes a man of your choice, he would and must really be a man of your choice.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When the man reaches orgasm you will need to turn him. Your fluid and his must flow together at the right moment he’s turned. His sperm will be rendered useless almost exactly the second he’s turned. That means you need to come at the same time he does. Your semi-viable sperm must join with his viable one before it dies to keep it alive and moving.”

  “Semi-viable sperm?”

  “I’ll get to that. Bite him while he bites Mercy. Turn him and then bite Mercy while he still drinks from her. With the three of your essences joining, technically, that baby will be yours too, because you will flow through a man you turn and Mercy will flow through you both. It’s feasible that because our hearts beat, a vampire can make at least one semi-viable sperm. I’ve seen it. Alone it’s useless. Vampires absorb human fluid. That single sperm must mix with a viable human sperm, join as one. Because it’s the sperm of a vampire, it will seek to conquer. It will only happen if man and vampire join at the same time.”

  “But how can it seek to conquer when we’re each in a different end?”

  Caine chuckled. “Do doors and walls keep you out?” Tavish lifted an interested eyebrow. “Your vampire fluid flows where it wants. It’s attracted to its own kind and will seek it out in conquest. It’s how we’re made. Designed for control. It’s why human blood can flow in our veins, our veins control where it goes.”

  “We need to come at the same time?” Tavish was skeptical. That would take some precision timing.

  “Yes. And there’s no guarantee she will get pregnant the first time. One vampire-human viable sperm is a hell of a long shot. The chances are greater the older the vampire. Your need to dominate is very strong, so your fluid will be too. Sperm are created knowing what to do. With a vampire push in the right direction to make its way, you might just be successful.”

 
“Well shit, Caine, I don’t want to go turning all of the men here for one baby.”

  Caine chuckled. “I guess we’ll find out how far you’re willing to go for a little Mercy.”

  * * * *

  “The child will be mine,” Tavish said. For days, he had wandered around with indecision. His mind was finally made up. If there was even a slight chance….

  Both Mercy and Tate were in Tavish’s room. Both were staring at him wide-eyed and openmouthed. He had explained his demands, reasoning. Later he would tell Mercy of his love. He was in love with her. The idea was as thrilling as it was scary. The last people he had loved as much had been murdered. The idea of losing her was a nightmare memory he couldn’t live with.

  “You’re turning me?” Tate whispered and swallowed hard. “I will be one of you? A gift. I’m being given a gift for sleeping with your chosen.”

  “Only if you pledge your allegiance to me. I realize if this works you will be fond of the child but make no mistake, he’s mine,” Tavish said. Even he realized he sounded possessive.

  “What if she’s a girl?” Mercy asked.

  “She’ll have the choice just like my son would if she wishes to be turned.”

  “What if she wants children? What if she doesn’t?”

  Tavish was ready for her. “She can decide if she wants them. They will be given a choice. I’ll incorporate it so fast, the humans will never know what happened.”

  Tavish meant it. For thousands of years he had groomed and coveted his brethren of men. Something had been missing. A mother’s love and warmth. A woman’s sweet touch. Tavish was going to convince Mercy when the time came she was meant to rule at his side. He had thought all night about the repercussions, but it came down to one thought. Could he dump his little Mercy’s body over the fence when the time came? No, he couldn’t. The mental image alone brought him to his knees. What then? Build a shrine? Then have the other humans question his actions.

  “You really mean it, don’t you?” Mercy whispered. She rose to her feet and went to him; he wrapped her in his arms.

  “I can’t live without you. I can’t let you break a law. This is the only way. But,” he paused and took a breath, and at that moment Tavish felt the beat of his heart. It wasn’t an annoying blip and he didn’t brush it off. He felt his humanity and he basked in it. The timing couldn’t have been more symbolic or perfect.

  “But what?” she asked.

  “When the child is weaned I want you to be by my side. Stay with me forever, Mercy.”

  Her chin rested on his chest as she looked up at him. “A family forever,” she whispered and closed her eyes.

  “Can I be Uncle Tate?” Tate asked hesitantly.

  Tavish laughed. They would all be family. “Why not? Uncle Tate.”

  Hell, why not?

  Chapter 11

  Mercy lay in bed with Tavish. She played with his numerous dark chest hairs. She rolled them in her fingers; she tugged on them. They sprang back. She was in deep thought. She and Tavish and Tate were going to attempt to make a baby. Tavish’s baby. Her baby. Their baby. Mercy was astounded he had agreed. She was going to have a family again. One she could touch and hold and love openly. She could have cried with the love she felt for Tavish. She had asked Tavish to let her get to know Tate better. He had agreed and Caine had told Tate no sex for two weeks. No masturbation, nothing. Tate was eager to obey.

  The pair had been able to find quiet moments and just talk. Tate was kindhearted and gentle. He knew of secret hiding places where Tanya couldn’t interrupt them. Once the coven learned of Mercy’s new elevated status, she was treated with a great deal of reverence, except by Tanya. The woman made it her mission to sidle up to Tavish when Tate and Mercy were together. Mercy would have been jealous, but Tavish treated the woman with indifference. Mercy knew he found her to be annoying. When Tanya had hinted she and Tavish had spent the afternoon together while she was off with Tate, Mercy had simply said, “Good.” Tanya’s smirk was replaced with loathing, realizing Mercy knew Tavish wanted nothing to do with her.

  Tavish stilled Mercy’s hand. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “How do you know there’s something wrong?”

  “Because when you’re worried I always manage to lose a few chest hairs.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Well?”

  “I want to have your baby. It was my idea after all. It’s just we’ve never… With two men I would have to… You haven’t… We didn’t… I mean once your finger did but—”

  “What?”

  “You never took me there,” she muttered uncomfortably.

  “Where?” he asked.

  “You know, there,” she said and when she looked up at him he was grinning at her. Mercy whacked him. “Oh, you knew all along what I meant.”

  “Yes, I know what you mean,” he said and chuckled. “We should before we try with Tate.”

  “I thought so. I don’t want Tate to be ready to come and you not able to even get in.”

  “I’ll get in.”

  Mercy thought that sounded a bit sinister. “Will it hurt as much as the first time you took me?”

  “In a different way. I’ll be very gentle, little cub. Don’t be afraid.”

  Mercy knew he was sincere, she wasn’t afraid. “Can we do it now?”

  “Just get it over with, huh?”

  “I don’t mean it like that.”

  Tavish rolled on top of her. He kissed her forehead. He stroked hair from her face. When his head dipped and his mouth claimed hers, Mercy’s breath caught. Their tongues rolled together lazily. When the kiss ended, Tavish was panting. He kissed her cheeks and forehead and spoke between breaths.

  “Tonight will be the last time I take blood from you until we join with Tate,” Tavish said. “And if we prove successful, I won’t be taking blood from you at all again until you stop nursing.”

  “And then?”

  He stopped kissing her and gazed into her eyes. “And then let me indulge one last time before I turn you.”

  “Do you need to turn me right away?”

  “I’m sorry, Mercy. But yes. The longest I can wait is three years. I know you don’t like the humans kept in the dark about certain things, but breeding is law. Breeding is survival or I wouldn’t have made the law. I love you. I can’t allow you to commit treason in the coven. The others would question. If they question and rebel then they would have to be bred whether they wanted to or not. Fear would return. Don’t do that to the women here. We all want to live.”

  “Don’t you think they would choose life?”

  “Most would. But for now there are very few humans. You need to think about that because you will depend on them for food. So will our child one day.”

  Mercy was appalled. “But Caine said he had synthetic blood.”

  Tavish grimaced. “It’s gross.”

  “I think I’ll take my chances.”

  “Will you trust me?” Tavish asked.

  “Yes.”

  Tavish kissed her again. She could feel his hands trail up and down her body calming her. She spread her legs when he sought entry and he went deep. He stroked within her, back and forth before removing himself.

  “Are you ready little cub?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  Gently he turned her onto her belly and pulled her hips up. Mercy groaned when his fingers slick with a substance went into her behind. It didn’t hurt, it just felt different.

  Again he stroked in and out of her until he removed his fingers and Mercy felt his long hard erect cock pushed up into her behind. She squirmed, but he held her still. She was gasping. It hurt, but not as much as her first time. It was a strange feeling of stretching to accommodate him. There was no barrier to breach. Her breath caught and she was reminded of how huge he was. Finally, he was buried deep. When he pulled from her she moaned and gripped the bed sheets. He thrust again and she cried out.

  In and out he moved until both of them were breathle
ss. Her cries increased with each thrust. Tavish pulled her higher. His fangs sunk into her throat. He rammed harder and faster while he drank from her. Mercy was gripping the head board tighter. She could imagine what it would be like with Tate doing this to her pussy at the same time.

  Tavish was speaking to her within her thoughts. Calming her fears. He took her to the springs where they had sex that afternoon. Mercy couldn’t believe it. She was remembering the sex. The feel of Tavish pumping within her pussy as he now took her behind. It was as though she were being taken by Tavish front and back at the same time. This was what it would be like. Powerful men in front and behind. Sandwiched between them. Helplessly coveted. It was amazing.

  An orgasm washed over her. It enveloped her as she sank deeper into the memory and still Tavish took from her. Mercy collapsed when Tavish howled out his release. Both memory and man pumped into her slowly now. Mercy slipped onto the bed onto her belly. She was unconscious, but before she fell into the deep blissful sleep, she was happy.

  * * * *

  Tavish was nervous. It was an uncommon feeling. Mercy and Tate were nude. Caine and Laken were close. Not exactly watching, but they needed to be around in case Tavish had problems with Tate. It was tricky turning a vampire. They could wake in a fury, fearful, rabid. Tavish didn’t want Mercy hurt. She would be Tate’s first conquest. A vampire could be covetous of his first. Tavish knew of one vampire who kept his dead victim with him in his home unwilling to part with her for weeks until Tavish and a few other vamps had no choice but to eradicate the situation when the authorities became involved.

  Tavish would be keeping Mercy close until he was positive Tate would obey. Once turned, a vampire was full of himself, his power. You couldn’t always count on the good man being the good vampire. All the humans were wary as well. One of their own being turned was a big deal. A friend would now be a master. How different would he treat them?