by Cate Farren
“I don’t have a condom,” he said.
“Vampires can’t have children. Weres can’t get non-weres pregnant.” She laughed. “I think we’re covered.”
She said it in jest, but the words wounded her.
We’d have the most beautiful children in the world.
Sucking her taut pink nipples, he travelled slowly up her neck. Her excited gasps and heated body were going straight to his cock.
Her arms wound around hi and pulled him into an embrace so tight that she could feel his heart pounding. Her hips arched against him, the petite loins beating rhythmically against him while she nuzzled his neck. His excitement sent shivers down her spine. Capturing her mouth again, she let emotion wash over her.
As his tongue flickered in and out of her mouth, sweet yet demanding, Alanna could only think of one thing: she wanted him inside her. They would never get this chance again and she wanted him now.
The full throbbing erection was hot and hard against her. Tipping her hips, she paused a moment to revel from his driving need.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Then, looking straight into his loving green eyes, she arched into him. The hot swollen shaft drove into her, and entered her fully in one, piercing thrust. He was gasping, his eyes half shut with want as he plunged deeply inside her.
His arms were tight around her as the words ripped from him, “Dear God, you feel so good!”
The gentle loving fierceness sent a delicious warmth that spread out from the center of her body. The fire deep inside her flamed, and propelled spreading, elated love flooding through her.
Thrusting her hips slowly, enjoying the hardness that pulsed into her, her body tightening. He was moving slowly, grinding against her, puling out a little and then plunging deeply again. Each movement added to the fire, fanning the flames to white hot incandescence.
Holding on to the hard, tight shoulders, her fingers digging into his moistening skin, she lay suspended in time, gasping as she savored the sensation of her mounting passion. Then, with a groan, she began moving her hips.
Circling slowly, grinding herself against him, she arched to meet each possessive thrust. Her breath was now rasping in her throat, her body slick with sweat. Flexing slowly against him, her body bucking in the age old rhythm of passion, she let her emotions take over.
The spice was now swirling around her, the heat of him soaking into her, blending their bodies as one. When he raised himself so he could see her body writhing underneath his, she spread her legs, and her breath caught with exhilaration as she watched him slide in and out of her.
Her swelling need was flooding her senses now. The blood was drumming in her ears, her clit thumping a wild tattoo. Lying back, she lifted her hips to his thrusting body, and welcomed the pounding hardness that drove in and out of her.
The heat was flaming now, erasing all conscious thought. Her body was driving her outside herself. She was vaguely aware of her hands gripping his hard shoulders, of her ankles travelling up his back as she spread herself wider, accepting the fluid driving thrusts that were powering her to the cusp of joy.
Her rapid moaning gasps were driving his need into overdrive. He took his weight on his elbows and began pounding into her with frenzied fervor. The long lean legs that wrapped around his waist, her plunging hips, half shut eyes and wails of pleasure drove him to move faster and faster.
The powering, pulsing, driving hardness of him drove her onwards. For a moment she was floating, stuck on the precipice of sweet delight. Then he dipped his head and nipped her neck.
The slight sharp silvery pain sent her screaming over the edge, into shattering release. She arched into him, and squealed as her pleasure peaked. She could hear herself wail, her hands and legs pulling him into a tight embrace, her body surging as she exploded in fiery, cataclysmic response.
She was pulsing around him, her hot tight depths shimmering around his hardness. As her hips jerked against him in a sharp, staccato beat, he came, rippling in ecstasy as he exploded inside her.
Bodies dancing together as one, they cried out as jarring, pulsing climax possessed them. It washed through them, driving their joy and sating their souls. Kissing, hugging, sucking in air in wild gasping delight, they were laughing as they shuddered to a halt.
For a time they lay half gasping, drenched in sweat, determined to bask in the glow of their love. Nothing need be said.
I told him I loved him.
Did he hear me?
Valko leaned on his elbow, his hair matted to his scalp with sweat. He cupped her face in his hands.
“I love you too, you know,” he said.
She flushed. “I didn’t think you heard me.”
“I heard you, and I love you too.”
She shuffled in next to him, and pressed their bodies against each other. He was already hard again.
The stamina of a werewolf. It can come in handy after all.
He climbed atop her, and pinned her hands against the bed so she couldn’t move. He growled and thrust inside her so hard that the bed almost broke in two. She gasped as pleasure and pain rippled through her. She laughed.
“Was that too rough?” he asked.
She pulled her left hand free and grabbed him by his hair, hard. He grunted in pain.
“I can take it,” she promised him. “Do your worst.”
He grinned and pounded inside her again, harder than ever. She bit her lip to stop herself from crying out in pleasure. It was intense. It was fucking amazing.
***
Alanna stared at the ceiling. Her whole body ached. She’d pulled muscles she didn’t know she had. She’d experienced pleasures she didn’t know she could feel. Valko had transformed her. He’d made her feel like a woman.
That sounds so corny, but it’s true.
She turned around to face him. He was staring at her lovingly. For a moment she feared she wasn’t worth his love. What had she done to deserve it?
I hated myself so much I moved to a cabin the woods and spent that entire time digging for a magical artefact.
Everything seemed so clear to her now. Her life and her quest to find the artefact had led to this very moment.
“I can’t allow you to go on your own,” she told him. She was as resolute as the day she’d murdered Randall. “I can’t love you and be with you, and then see you off to die.”
“I have to save my parents,” he stated.
“I know that. That’s why I’m coming with you.”
Chapter 13
Valko tried not to be shocked at Alanna’s declaration. After all he’d wanted something like this to happen, to have her join him, be with him. But this wasn’t her war. This was his mess. He had no right to drag her into it.
“What about your quest?” he asked.
He could almost feel the artefact he’d hidden under his mattress calling out to him for concealing it. He knew he should tell her the truth, but a part of him dreaded it.
She’ll never forgive me for hiding it from her.
“I’m immortal; for now.” She smiled and squeezed his hand tight. “I can put off my quest to help you.”
Tell her the truth.
“Besides,” Alanna continued. “I’d never forgive myself if I let you go alone. A vampire is handy to have around during a fight. Until you have your family back safe, then you’re stuck with me. After that…well, we’ll take it one step at a time. For now, we’re together. For now, we’re happy.”
He kissed her deeply, his guilt like a brand upon his face. If he told her about the artefact, she’d use it. She’d become human. Yet he knew her better than he knew anybody else. She’d still want to follow him to war, and that war would kill her.
But isn’t it her choice to make?
She snaked her fingers across his chest. “You’re different to him. At first I thought I couldn’t love you because you reminded me of him. You still do, in a way. But now I know I love you because you’re you.”
He
sensed this was a monumental epiphany for her. He kissed her, loving her more than ever.
“I love you,” he said, smiling, just enjoying those three words as they escaped his lips.
“So it’s not just Florence Nightingale syndrome then?” she teased, though there was a hint of suspicion behind the sentence as well.
A part of her thinks I only love her because she saved my life.
“Fuck that,” he told her. “I know I love you because I…because I love you. Only you.”
The words were true, deep. He’d never loved anyone like he loved her. Every person he’d been with had been a prelude to this meeting with this vampire. He’d loved before, but not like this. Never like this.
“I love you too,” she said. “Together we’re going to help your family and restore your pack.”
“You know I’m going to kill everyone who betrayed me,” he said slowly, to make sure she understood. “You’re okay with that? It’s going to be bloody.”
“I feel how you feel. You want revenge. Just don’t let it consume you.”
“I’m already partly consumed by it. It’s like a white hot poker sticking in my brain. But I want to rescue my family more than I want revenge. I need them safe more than I want Rian to suffer. But I admit I am quite looking forward to ripping Rian’s head off.”
“Is it weird that I’m finding your savagery quite sexy?”
“Yes. It’s very weird.”
She kissed him and straddled him, this time pinning his arms against the bed. She was very strong, almost as strong as he was.
No. We’re equals.
“This is our last night in this cabin together,” she said. The candlelight reflected off her mesmerizing eyes. “Let’s make the most of it.”
She trusted him, and yet he was lying to her. He couldn’t do this any longer. No matter how much Valko wanted this final night to be special he couldn’t deceive her. Not any more.
He held his hand against her breast, stopping her as she started to gyrate. She looked hurt for a second.
“I’ve got something I need to show you,” he said.
“Can it wait?” she asked.
“I found the artefact.”
***
Valko placed the disc shaped object on top of the quilt. Alanna ignored him, staring at the artefact with wonder in her eyes.
“How did you find it?” she asked, not looking at him.
She reached her hand out, but stopped short of actually touching it. It was like she was afraid.
“One of my ancestors woke me up and led me to a rock wall in the mines,” he explained. “He told me to dig, and so I did.”
She looked at him with shock. “Was it Valko?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It’s just…”
Alanna turned away from him again, and left whatever was on her lips unsaid. She picked up the artefact, and turned it around in her hands to examine it from every possible angle. The light from the candles made it glow, though it seemed the artefact itself was somehow absorbing the light and emanating it back at them.
“I heard voices when I picked it up,” he admitted. “Voices from the past.”
“What did they say?” Alanna asked, eyes still on the artefact.
“It was two women. One was giving the artefact to the other. They were sad, but also happy. The one receiving the artefact expected to die, probably because she was becoming human. Circe was sad, but happy to help.”
Alanna stared at him, open-mouthed. “Circe? She was the one who gave the artefact to the other woman?”
He nodded. “I didn’t know how I knew, but I knew the conversation was ancient. I could feel it. It happened so long ago…”
She switched her focus back to the artefact again. She lifted it to her left ear, like someone would do with a shell to listen to the sea. She smiled joyously.
“What do you hear?” he asked.
“I hear nothing,” she admitted. “But it showed me something. It showed me hope.”
She smiled and placed the artefact back on the bed. She began to dress, pulling clothes on quickly.
“Are you pissed at me for lying to you?” he asked.
She stopped and looked at him as she was pulling on her bra. She walked up to him and punched him in the face so hard he staggered back against the wall.
“That’s for lying,” she spat.
“Alanna…”
“But I forgive you. How can I not? Just don’t lie to me again.”
He grinned, touching his aching jaw. She’d hit him harder than Rian did when he tried to kill him. It impressed him in a way. It proved to him she could fight and was more than capable of holding her own. Perhaps he didn’t have to worry about her getting herself killed after all.
“So… we’re going now?” he asked, still a little confused.
“The quicker the better,” she said.
He started to dress, as eager as she was to get on with this. He wasn’t quite sure what the future would look like if and when he rescued his parents and ousted Rian, but he knew he had to have Alanna in it somehow.
Even if she is human…
As he pulled on his boots there was a polite tap on the bedroom door.
“It’s Adrian,” said Valko.
“Do you think he heard us moaning in here?” Alanna asked.
Valko grinned. “Most likely.”
He opened the door, revealing a sprightly looking Adrian. His hair was a mess, and his clothes were rumpled, but he no longer seemed to be suffering from a hangover. He looked positively healthy in fact, which was a mystery.
“I’m coming with you,” Adrian declared.
Alanna stared at her friend before saying, “I don’t want to offend you or anything but…you’re old.”
“I maybe old,” said Adrian. “But I know a few tricks.”
Adrian chanted some words under his breath. Valko felt the slight tug of magic against his skin. Before either he or Alanna could react, the old man was juggling a small ball of blue flame. He laughed and sent the ball of fire into the ceiling, where it vanished in an explosion of water, showering them all.
“You’re a witch?” Alanna explained. “Since when?”
“Since I was born,” said Adrian proudly.
Alanna nodded her head sagely, as if this somehow made complete sense to her. It didn’t to Valko, though then again, he hardly knew the man. People kept secrets.
“This has nothing to do with you,” Valko told him. “This is my fight.”
Adrian’s withering, jaded gaze speared Valko. “Do you know how long I’ve lived in this town, bored out of my mind, only practicing magic in secret? I’m the only member of my family that has magic, and I’ve kept it from them. This is my chance to do something with the gift I was born with. This is the chance for me to do something good with my life before I go back to running that damn store and being called ‘wrinkly old Granddad.’”
The man had spirit, and a witch was always a formidable enemy. He didn’t think Rian had any magic users on his side. This could turn the tide of battle.
“I’m a veteran of WW2,” he told the both of them. “I think you need me more than I need you. Besides, just think how handy my magic will be for you.”
“He’s right,” Valko conceded, having already made up his mind.
Alanna looked less than pleased. “Okay. Fine. But you better not die. I don’t want your grandson’s tears on my conscience.”
Adrian laughed with elation, and his eyes glowed with magical fire. Valko liked to think the old man had never been so excited about anything in his life before.
Something about that blue fireball seems familiar.
Valko looked at Adrian oddly. “Have we met before?”
“I had a feeling you didn’t remember,” said Adrian. He seemed to concentrate for a second or so before saying, “Here. Let me reveal some memories for you.”
Before Valko had a chance to protest, his head exploded in pain. A memory c
ame rushing back to him, a memory he’d blocked due to the pain and trauma of his injuries. He stared at Adrian in shock.
“What’s happening?” Alanna asked.
Valko said, “I came staggering here, half dead. I crawled behind some bins. I looked up and there was someone there. They created a fireball, expecting some kind of attack, but when they saw I was injured they took pity on me.”
“I infused him with some simple healing spells, and implanted in his mind the need to make his way to you, Alanna,” Adrian explained. “I also came back during the night and magically wiped away all traces of him so he couldn’t be followed back to you.”
“Why me?” Alanna asked.
“I didn’t know the first thing about werewolves. I hoped you did.”
Valko approached Adrian and pulled him into a hug. He’d never forget what this man did for him. He’d saved him and led him to Alanna. How could he ever repay such kindness?
I only hope I haven’t just invited the man who saved me to head to his death.
Chapter 14
“It’s a good day to get what’s coming to you,” a voice whispered.
Rian opened his eyes and yawned. He’d fallen asleep by Leonard Green’s desk. He’d been looking through the financial records for the ranch and the businesses the Greens had owned. They weren’t as well off as they made out. They were comfortable, but not exactly millionaires.
Correction; this is my desk now.
“Did you hear what I said?”
He looked around the study, finding the person he least expected to see staring back at him. He didn’t move an inch. He knew he was in a vulnerable position, just coming out of a long sleep.
“I thought you were dead,” said Rian, keeping calm.
“How could I die when I had so much left to accomplish?” said Valko. “Things such as killing you.”
Rian stood up, and pushed his chair to the side. The desk was swamped with papers and files, tax receipts and invoices. Why was striking a coup never as simple as you imagined? At least the buildings and the businesses legally belonged to him now.
“You’ve come for nothing,” said Rian staring across the room at his friend. “There’s nothing here for you.”
