She lowered her gaze, a crease forming between her brows. Pulling her knees up, she hugged them close to her chest. Silent.
It appeared as though processing the emotions caused a war within her. He suspected her brain shouted betrayal and violation but hoped another part of her, a small voice, would whisper about fate.
“I was drawn to you before the bite. I sought you out on a subconscious level. The bite makes it stronger.” Aric was trying to make it better, but part of him felt as though he only made it worse. He cursed his impulsivity. He should have given her time. He may have royally fucked up his mating by rushing it.
“So you have to be around me to make the pain stop for both of us?” she asked, still not looking at him.
“Yes,” Aric said simply, trying to avoid digging himself any further into a hole.
“But being around me will only increase the bond. Which means the pain of separation will hurt more?”
Aric winced at the question. “Yes and no.”
“Explain,” she ordered.
“It’ll grow stronger, but slowly. The way to get it to beef up is to be together, on an intimate level. I don’t just mean sex. I mean, sex was great with you—like, amazing. The best I’ve ever had, which makes sense since we’re mates and made for one another. But what I mean is, the more time we spend being intimate—sharing, touching, just being together—the stronger our bond will be.” He spoke fast, as though getting this part out quickly would somehow make it better. It felt like each word was another shovelful of dirt as he dug himself deeper.
“This is a lot to take in,” Divina responded in a faraway voice.
Aric nodded. “I’m sorry. I never meant to complicate your life. I want to make your life better. I want to protect you. I want to stand beside you in all things. I want to be near you as much as you’ll let me.”
When she looked at him, her expression was a mixture of sympathy and hope. His wolf sat up, the swish of his tail unmistakable. It was almost like a tickle in Aric’s back.
“I need time,” she said.
He nodded. “I have all the time in the world.”
CHAPTER 15
Rori should have spoken to the advisors before they filed off the dais. He should have spoken up, announced he had no interest in the throne. He should have. He didn’t.
Instead, Rori sat contemplating. He watched how the others behaved, their postures, their interactions with those they had brought with them. He watched their attentiveness to the advisory panel and their inattentiveness to the vampires behind them.
With the advisors gone and the potentials standing to mingle with the others, he observed how each one of them gazed upon the throne with longing in their eyes. His faith that others saw it waned when the advisors left. It turned Rori’s stomach that one of them would lead his race. They were all self-serving bastards.
Klaus had found a balance between the ruthlessness it took to rule predators and the compassion of the human side they all still possessed in some degree. He was unsure what he’d expected from this group, but leaving the incompetent ones as standing candidates seemed wrong. But was he the right one?
The basement throne room cleared around Rori without his notice. The murmurs and shuffling quieted. Looking around, he found himself in an almost empty room; only Jonas remained at the entrance, waiting. With a heavy sigh, Rori pushed himself out of his seat and glanced at the throne, the weight of the decision on his shoulders. He turned back to Jonas and made his way to the doors. Nodding goodbye to him, Rori exited the room. Five paces later, he realized Jonas was following him. He’d assumed Jonas’s duty was only to bring him to court.
Turning, Rori cocked his head. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
Jonas shook his head. “I’m where I need to be. I’m assigned to you. The advisors need daily reports regarding your activities to evaluate your fitness for the throne.”
Rori’s forehead creased. “I don’t need a shadow. This is unnecessary.”
Jonas smirked. “You have one. And I assure you, it’s very necessary.”
“I don’t want the throne,” Rori said, despite not sounding as convinced as he had when he arrived at the vampire court.
“With all due respect,” Jonas began, “it doesn’t matter. The advisors make the decision based on the candidates. From what I’m told, Klaus didn’t want it, either.”
Rori had once prided himself on controlling his emotions, but gaping at Jonas, he’d obviously lost that. Pulling his mouth closed, he straightened his vest. Clearing his throat, Rori collected himself. “This is a waste of time,” he asserted.
Jonas shrugged. “I’ve got nothing but time.”
Lacking the emotional energy to fight, Rori gave in, and allowed Jonas to lead him outside and to the driveway.
Silently, the pair rode in the town car. Scrolling through his phone, Rori tried Divina’s number one more time with no response. A glance out the window, through heavy eyelids, revealed that the night had slipped away from him. Stars disappeared as the darkness lightened. While the sun had yet to crest, it was only a matter of time. With the new moon approaching, Rori felt the pressure.
He cursed under his breath. The vampire court had delayed him, and he’d lost a night’s search for Divina. A night might not seem a lot, but a human could cover a lot of area when given twenty-four hours. He needed another plan to find her.
Unable to keep his heavy lids open, Rori closed his eyes. The witches would be the only ones who would be able to find Divina fast. He’d need to go to them. This final thought before the deep day sleep claimed him was against his better judgment.
Cupping her cheeks, he gazed into her light blue eyes, lost in her innocence. Her warm body pressed against his cool form, and his heart picked up speed. With her hands covering his, she closed her eyes, and he closed the distance between their lips.
Starting sweet, their kiss was gentle. Like their first, this one began timidly and with uncertainty. Releasing Divina’s face, Rori’s hands went to her hips, pulling her harder against him as he kicked up the heat and intensity. This was his woman. The urge to remind her of that overtook him. Nipping at her bottom lip, he growled. Fiery trails snaked up his arms and over his shoulders, spreading a heat like nothing he’d felt before when her hands gripped him. Moaning into their kiss, Divina tilted her head to the side, allowing him to deepen it.
Feeding off her fire, his cock stirred, straining within his trousers. Divina pulled away from him, sliding her hands up his neck. Holding his face, she searched his expression. Cocking his head to the side, he said nothing.
He dragged the backs of his fingertips down her jawline, her neck, then paused, lingering over his mark. Two small puncture wounds just over her jugular vein showed all that he had fed from her. Though, for the first time since he’d met her, he wasn’t hungry for her blood.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered.
Gliding her hands down his face, over his arms, Divina held both of his and stepped back from him.
“What—” was all he got out before she faded. Divina became transparent, and through her, Rori saw an unclear figure. Like smoke, her visage swirled upward. His hand went through her as he tried to touch her once more. “Divina!” he cried.
“It’ll be okay,” the familiar voice said as he approached.
Blinking away the tears of losing her, Rori swiped at his eyes.
Large hands cupped his face, bringing his focus to what was now before him. Jonas, with his chiseled jaw, closely cropped black hair, and chestnut eyes focused on him. Confused, Rori tried to pull away.
“It’ll be okay,” Jonas repeated before closing his eyes and bringing his lips over Rori’s.
Freezing, Rori wasn’t sure what to do. Since Divina had started his heartbeat again, he hadn’t been able to be with anyone else. Their kisses turned his stomach. Any intimate touch made his skin crawl, and his dick never responded to them.
However, Rori’s lips parted, allowing
Jonas’s tongue to slide past them and explore. The palpitations of his heart sped up, and his erection stiffened when the kiss deepened. Unable to stop himself, he took hold of Jonas, pulling him closer. Lost in the exchange of nips, the two men quickly disrobed one another. Buttons ripped from shirts; hems came untucked. Soon they were bare chest to bare chest. They broke the kiss, the two men panting, taking in each other’s bodies. Rori trailed his fingers along Jonas’s skin, the scars of knighthood decorating his chest as marks of valor.
When Rori’s hands found Jonas’s fly, their mouths crashed together. The passion between the two men ignited a fire that rivaled the one Divina had sparked within Rori. He growled into the kiss as his tongue grazed Jonas’s sharp canine. The coppery taste of his own blood graced his senses.
Once Rori undid Jonas’s black utility pants, he stuffed his hand inside, searching for the vampire’s thick shaft. Wrapping his fist around it, he squeezed, pumping the impressive girth. Jonas chuckled into their kiss. The unexpected hunger for Jonas slammed into Rori, nearly knocking him off balance. If Jonas hadn’t had his thick fingers digging into the globes of his ass, Rori would have fallen back.
His cock twitched, straining against his trousers for release, for relief. While he swirled his thumb around the mushroomed head of Jonas’s uncircumcised cock, Rori broke their kiss. The two men panted, eying one another in a way that only predators could. The need for Rori reflected in Jonas’s chestnut gaze. His muscles visibly tightened, and the thick veins in his neck strained with each stroke of Rori’s hand down his shaft. Jonas was breathtaking. Rori wanted him.
Rori’s arms flailed out at his sides, and he sprang up from his bed. Gasping, he awoke with a start, his painful erection standing at full attention. He scanned the hotel room, not immediately recognizing it. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the heels of his hands. The pangs of morning hunger stabbed at his stomach, slowly deflating his cock.
To his right, he spotted a second bed. This was not the hotel room he had stayed in with Divina. However, the furnishing, carpet, drapes, and decor were similar. Same hotel, different room.
Jonas strolled out of the washroom. He used a small towel to rub at his hair, though he was fully dressed. He smelled of Irish Spring soap and laundry detergent.
“Someone likes to sleep in.” He chuckled as he flopped onto the corner of the other bed, pulling on his shoes.
Rori glared at him, pushing back the memories of his dream. “This isn’t my room.”
With his foot propped up on the bed, Jonas tied his black boot. “It is, while we’re here,” he said without eye contact. He swapped feet to put on the other shoe.
Rori huffed. He didn’t need a goddamn babysitter. He had shit to do, and none of it involved vampire politics.
Once his shoes were on and tied, Jonas slapped his palms on his wide-spread thighs. The smile on his face mocked Rori.
Rori needed to lose his damn tail.
His throat cracked. It felt as though a dozen tiny needles prickled along the lining. He needed to feed. He hadn’t been this hungry in ages.
Without speaking to Jonas, Rori got up and went to wash. The separation would help him think. Several scenarios for losing Jonas played out in his mind. He couldn’t overpower the vampire; Jonas’s pinpoint pupils made it obvious that he still had shifter blood flowing through his system. The man had reached the rank of knight in the vampire court, which meant he was adept at military skills. That killed Rori’s ideas of using force to get him to submit. He’d have to give Jonas the slip somehow. He’d need to distract him.
Once he exited the bathroom and had dressed, Rori left the room. Hot on his heels, Jonas followed. Neither spoke as the two entered the elevator. Rori attempted to swallow with his dry throat. Images from his dream flashed before his eyes, making his dick twitch. He did his best to drown them out with plotting.
The first stop would be the bar. He needed breakfast. Perhaps there he would find someone to take Jonas’s attention.
The hotel they stayed in catered to vampires but outwardly, to any human it’d appear no different. The bar though, had a private section meant for the undead clientele. Once inside the dimly lit area, decorated in the cliché gothic style associated with their kind, Rori’s gaze panned the area and he found just what he needed. Gesturing to the lounge area when he caught her eye, he led Jonas to a secluded spot for a meal.
She was short but curvy. Her hair, teased high above her head, reminded Rori of a Texas oil tycoon’s wife. The corset cinched her waist, offering an extra flare to her hips, not to mention her enormous fake breasts that all but spilled out of her top. Rori at one wrist and Jonas at the other seemed to send the woman into convulsions. Not because they drained her, not because she was dying—no, those were pure erotic spasms. The woman got off on vampires. Rori never understood the fetish. However, he noted it seemed to be Jonas’s thing. The bulging erection in his tailored pants was on display for anyone to see.
Rori could use that to slip away. It was perfect. He had several hundred years of practice at being stealthy. Surely he could escape an aroused knight feasting on a vampire whore bimbo without too much trouble.
When Jonas pulled away from her wrist, Rori nodded to her leg. “Femoral blood is supposed to be thickest,” Rori informed him with sparkling eyes as though the man didn’t know.
Jonas nodded and placed fingers on the woman’s neck to check her pulse. Rori had only sipped from her, just needing to take the edge off. He wanted Jonas to enjoy the woman, to take his fill. Rori needed her as a distraction; he could feed fully later.
Rori licked his bottom lip. “Plenty of blood in there,” he urged.
Placing a hand on the female’s thigh, Rori pulled, suggesting she open her legs. The woman moaned and leaned back. Her legs parted invitingly, the scent of the woman’s arousal thick in the air. Jonas’s eyes went straight to her thigh.
The thing about being on shifter blood is that it’s laced with testosterone. Sure, it gave vampires increased abilities and much more strength than they would have on any other blood, but it had other side effects. It lowered inhibitions—not that vampires had many of them anyway. It also increased impulsivity, leading to poor decisions.
Sitting back, he watched as Jonas curled his fingers around the woman’s leg. She ran her fingers through Jonas’s hair as he lowered his head. Once the vampire’s attention seemed focused on consuming the woman’s blood, Rori took off.
Utilizing preternatural speed, Rori fled the hotel. It wouldn’t be long before Jonas noticed his disappearance, and he needed to get as much distance between them as possible. He also needed to keep Jonas guessing as to where he would go.
Taking a lengthy and winding route, Rori finally arrived at the Ursuline Convent, taking twenty minutes longer than it should have. With a last glance behind him, he entered through the gate of the convent.
They were his only resource for finding Divina quickly. He had no idea where to start. They could surely do some sort of locating spell to find her.
He wasn’t surprised when he spotted the older witch, with her wispy gray hair tied in a braid over her shoulder, standing in the doorway of the convent. Smiling warmly upon him as he approached, she relaxed against the doorframe as though she hadn’t a care in the world.
“Where is she?” Rori demanded through gritted teeth. The sight of her smile grated his nerves.
Her grin widened. “Where she needs to be,” Esmine responded.
“I want her. I need to find her.”
She shook her head slowly. “In time, Roricus.”
“No,” he barked, stepping closer and placing his hands on Esmine’s thin arms. He squeezed and found the woman to be unexpectedly frail. Caught off guard for only a moment, Rori recollected his rage and glared. “I don’t want your prophecy. I want my Divina.”
She frowned at him. “You don’t have to want the prophecy. The prophecy will play out regardless of your desire for it. Your actions, even those year
s ago, set it on course. It continues to make progress.” She chuckled as though unaware of how tightly Rori held her. “It may not be the easy path we had hoped for, but it’s on its way to fruition.”
“I’m not going to be the emperor,” Rori announced, his chin high in defiance.
Esmine smiled at him with condescension. “Oh, but you are. And your rule over vampires will be the most magnificent in all of history.”
His eye twitched, and he shook her again. “I don’t want it!”
His attempt to rattle the witch only spurred laughter from her. “The best rulers are reluctant, for they know the true weight of what it means to rule.”
“I want Divina!” Rori snarled, shaking the woman and causing her head to flop back and forth.
The burn stopped his movements. A million miniscule, invisible fire ants danced up his arms, tiny pricks of pain peppering his body. He released the witch and fell to his knees. Swatting at his arms, he tried to stop the agony.
“I grow tired of this, Roricus.” Esmine glared down at him. “Your chance with Divina is done.”
Still swiping at his arms, he looked up at her with ire in his eyes. “I can get her back!”
She snorted and turned away. “The wolf has claimed her. There’s nothing you can do. Focus on your throne.” She glanced out to the street, as though she had lost interest in the conversation.
The words speared his barely beating heart. Rori fell back as the burn subsided.
The wolf. She had found the wolf. The wolf at the vardo—he had claimed her. The hope within Rori dwindled, a candle about to be snuffed out. “No,” he said weakly.
Esmine cupped his chin and lifted it so his eyes met hers. “Focus on your fate, not on that which cannot be.”
CHAPTER 16
With the sun beating down on Divina’s back, the black T-shirt only made her sweatier. She surveyed the yard. Not a weed in sight. Feeling accomplished, she grinned. Glancing toward Aric, who lay on his back with his fingers interlaced over his belly, she realized they had been in comfortable silence for well over half an hour. Something could be said about that, though she wouldn’t say it.
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