Besides, she and Van might have this whole thing tidied up in two weeks anyway, and then they’d just be a regular couple, albeit with a somewhat complicated history, and there would be nothing to tell. Somehow, Sophia knew she was kidding herself by thinking this, but she also felt as if there weren’t too many other options available to her. So, instead, the friends talked about Sophia’s book release party in three weeks, Jane’s ongoing sex marathons with DJ Beatz – who appeared to actually be boyfriend material after all – and Willow’s new obsession with the Paleo diet. It was really rather therapeutic, and Sophia drove back out to Fir Lodge thinking about how valuable girlfriends were.
When she arrived at the lodge at eleven o’clock in the morning, mid week, it was clear that Van had been doing a lot of thinking of his own. She’d barely stepped out of the car when he launched at her with his plan.
‘I’ve decided that if you insist on coming through the stone with me on the weekend, we’d better make sure you’re prepared.’ He had an intense, almost frantic look on his face. ‘You need training. Intensive training. And we need to start right now.’
Sophia closed the car door and gave him a kiss on the cheek. ‘Okay, let me take my bag…’ she began, but he was already leading her around the side of the lodge to a clearing where he’d set up a makeshift training facility.
‘Ideally, we’d have a month or two to get you up to speed,’ he said while busily setting out equipment on a tree stump. ‘But I’ve been thinking about what you said about us having a limited time to execute the power of the Pure Soul, and I think you’re right. We absolutely need to go this month. Which means we’ve got four days and three nights to prepare. It’s going to be intense.’ He looked up at her, breathing heavily. ‘Are you up for this?’
‘Um, yes…’ Sophia said, feeling a little ambushed. ‘I really do want to be prepared, but I’ve also got some writing work to get done over the next few days…’
‘Call them and say you’re sick. You can write next week. This is much more important. This could be the difference between life and death for you.’
‘Whoa, way to freak me out!’
‘I’m not going to hide the truth from you, Sophia. You’re adamant that you want to come through the stone, so I owe it to you to give you all the facts.’ He put his hands on her shoulders. ‘I need you to be fully invested in this training. We’ve got to give ourselves the best chance of finding the Pack Leader without getting held up by the first sign of trouble. Weapons are no use to me when I’m in wolf form. I have to rely on my teeth, my strength, and my speed. Everything we take with us will be for your protection, and you need to know how to confidently use it.’ He gave her a gentle shake. ‘Are you in?’
She nodded firmly, catching his urgency and recognizing the importance of this preparation.
‘I’m in. Wait, can I go to the bathroom first, please?’
Back in the arena, Sophia’s training began. Van sat her down on a log near the stump where all the equipment was set out. She was pleased that they weren’t getting straight down to physical training. She needed to build up to that.
‘Both vampires and other werewolves will pose an equal threat to you once we’re through the stone,’ Van began. ‘I have some werewolf friends, but most should be classified as enemies. I’ve a feeling they’ll be able to sense that you’re a Pure Soul. Someone tender and vulnerable, yet powerful at the same time, is enough to draw them out with teeth bared. There’s no guarantee they’ll be hostile, but if they are, your best bet is to try and scare them off somehow, because once you’re engaged in combat, your chances won’t be great. Let’s take vampires first.’
The first item he held up for inspection made Sophia laugh out loud.
‘Seriously?’ she chortled. ‘I’m going to frighten away blood-sucking creatures with a string of garlic bulbs?’
‘There’s a reason stereotypes exist,’ he said with a glare that silenced Sophia’s laughter. ‘Because they’re usually true. Vampires hate garlic. Seriously hate it. Is it enough to put them off the scent of a Pure Soul? I’m not sure. That’s why it’s just a part of your arsenal.’ He placed the garlic down and picked up a weighty looking cross pendant, made from bone and strung with black cord.
‘This cross will offer you a good amount of protection, too. Again, it’s probably not enough in itself to scare a determined group of vampires away, but you’ll wear it visibly at all times.’ Finally, he held up a dog whistle. When he blew on it, it made a quiet hissing sound. ‘Doesn’t sound like very much to us, but vampires have very sensitive hearing and a much higher upper range – something that’s in their favor in a hunt, but we can use it against them with a blast on one of these. It’ll be physically painful to them, and hopefully stop them in their tracks.’
Sophia surveyed the equipment that Van had presented with more than a little skepticism.
‘Right,’ she said. ‘So far we’ve got some garlic, a cross, and a whistle. I’ve got to say, I’m underwhelmed.’
‘It may not seem like much, but in combination, I hope it’ll be enough to deter them. But, if it’s not working or if there’s more than one, that’s when things start getting serious. And killing vampires is no easy feat.’
With the word “kill”, a shiver of dread ran through her. Would she have it in her to actually kill another living being if the situation required it? In her ordinary life, she didn’t even kill flies and spiders, but shooed them outside instead. How on earth...?
‘Basically,’ Van continued, ‘you’ve got two options. You can cut off its head. I don’t know if you’ve ever butchered an animal…’
‘Gross, no.’
‘Then you won’t know how difficult it is to actually remove a head from a body. Well, believe me, the tendons and muscles in the neck are super strong, and unless you have a wickedly sharp sword and a whole lot of force behind it, you’re not going to manage it.’
‘Okay, so what’s my other option?’
He picked up a sinister looking wooden stake. The wood was deep mahogany in color, with a smooth circular handle that had a cross engraved in the side. It was chiseled down to a sharp point at the end. It was modest in size – perfect for her small hands – but clearly deadly.
He took Sophia’s hands and helped her to her feet.
‘The key to success with this weapon will be taking an offensive approach. Vampires are good at attack, but not defense. They leave themselves pretty open. You’ll need to spot your opening and attack quickly.’ He thrust the weapon forward, demonstrating on Sophia’s chest where she should aim it. ‘Drive it hard and fast straight into its heart.’
They spent the next two hours practicing her stake technique. At first she was dubious that she’d have enough strength, but with time and role play, she became more confident.
‘You’ve got to believe that you can do it,’ Van encouraged her. ‘Become like a lion; fill yourself with aggressive energy, masculine energy.’ He came at her quickly and she let out a little roar and drove the stake up, stopping only when she punctured the protective foam and steel layer he’d been wearing over his chest during their training.
‘Good,’ he said, appearing satisfied. ‘Now for the werewolves.’
Over the coming days Sophia prepared relentlessly. She drilled with her stake and the rifle barreled shotgun Van provided for killing werewolves.
‘Silver kills werewolves,’ Van explained. ‘But casting a silver bullet is a whole lot more difficult and less reliable than books and movies would have you believe. A better approach is a shotgun.’ He showed her the shells, which he’d filled with tiny silver balls.
‘Where did you get the silver balls?’ Sophia asked.
‘At the craft store,’ he said with a grin. ‘You can imagine the reaction when I came into the store. I had to resist the temptation to buy a bolt of lace just to make them wonder even more.’
Sophia practiced with regular shot shells until she was able to hit a moving target at fi
fty yards. Her shoulder was raw and aching from the kick back, but she was extremely proud of herself. In addition, they went out both day and night, and practiced survival skills. Van was also adamant that she needed to learn to move silently through the forest.
‘At the moment, you sound like an elephant,’ he teased her. ‘They’ll hear us coming in Bulgaria.’
By the afternoon of the day they were due to travel, Sophia was exhausted, yet energized at the same time. She’d never taken an interest in hunting or other such pursuits, but found that she had a natural ability. She could even move through the forest so soundlessly by the last morning that she startled Van as he tidied away their training equipment, despite the first autumn leaves that were scattered on the ground.
He lifted her up off the ground in a tight embrace. ‘Wow,’ he exclaimed. ‘Stealthy!’
‘Did you really not hear me?’ she asked with a grin. ‘I feel a little like Katniss Everdeen.’
‘Who?’
‘Katniss from The Hunger Games, silly.’
‘Oh. Is that a song?’
‘Never mind. I forget you’re a centuries-old hermit.’ She laughed, threw her arms around his neck, and planted a kiss on his lips. ‘You totally didn’t hear me, though. Hey, I’ve got a suggestion; let’s head upstairs.’ She shimmied against him. ‘We should get some rest before tonight, but I’ve got enough energy for something else first…’
‘Excellent plan.’
It wasn’t until they were naked in Van’s bedroom and kissing passionately on the bed that Sophia remembered about the draining effect that sex with Van had on her. There was no way she’d be in top form tonight if they made love right now. She’d be lucky to even drag herself off the pillow. She voiced her disappointment to Van, who surprised her by reacting with a wicked grin rather than regret.
‘I’d already thought about that,’ he said. ‘That’s why this time is going to be all about you. If we don’t have sex, I can’t take your energy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make you feel really good.’
‘Oh, yeah?’ she said, blushing.
‘Mm hmm.’
He circled his tongue around her nipple and gave it a playful nip before reaching into his bedside drawer and taking out a bottle of massage oil. He retrieved a fluffy towel from the hall cupboard and spread it out on the bed, and then gestured for her to lie on her stomach on it.
Sophia settled in with a broad smile on her face. After the intense physicality of the past few days, the feeling of Van’s strong hands massaging her tired muscles was close to heaven. He started with her back and shoulders, adjusting the pressure of his touch according to her responses. He moved slowly, not jumping straight to her pleasure centers, but working tantalizingly closer via her hands, arms, feet, and legs. By the time he poured oil over her butt and began rubbing it in smooth, upward motions, she was very wet and very eager for him to move those magic fingers down and between her legs.
But the teasing wasn’t over yet. He gave her pussy the briefest of grazing touches before asking her to turn over, and then repeating the process on her front. As he circled his hands over her breasts and stiff nipples, she felt achingly aware of his stiff cock just alongside her face. If she turned her face and bent over just a little, she’d have him in her mouth… But then he moved down between her legs and began massaging up from her feet, over her shins and knees and along the tender skin of her inner thighs. She opened her legs slightly, moaning in anticipation of those hot oily fingers.
When he finally touched her, it was electric. With extra oil on his hands, he explored every inch of her womanly parts, from the smooth nub of her clit to her soft lips to her tight asshole. He then went on to explore inside both holes, finding erogenous spots in that back area that Sophia hadn’t even known existed. With two fingers in her pussy and one in her butt, he finger-fucked her, slowly and steadily, building up speed as her breath grew heavier. He added another finger to her pussy and she felt so wonderfully full that it was as if his glorious cock was fucking her instead of his fingers. She opened her eyes, which had been squeezed shut with pleasure, and saw him looking at her with such an expression of desire that she tipped over the brink and felt the hot waves of orgasm roll over her. Never before had she felt so desired, so desirous. He didn’t stop after one climax, but bent his head and gently flicked her clit with his tongue. Her arousal stayed high with his attentions until she was treated to another orgasm a minute or so later.
Afterwards, she pulled up the blankets with a contented sigh. Whatever happened tonight, she’d been treated to something quite special. If that wasn’t something worth going out on, she didn’t know what was.
Chapter 17
That evening, Sophia climbed out of bed and went straight to the window. She wanted to see that big, low moon from last month. She didn’t just want a clear sky: she felt that she needed the moon’s blessing shining down on her and Van as they travelled into the unknown. But when she looked expectantly towards the heaven, she found the sky thick with clouds; the type of clouds that promised rain at the most inconvenient moment. She trudged downstairs to find Van. He was in the kitchen making a mushroom risotto.
‘A good hearty meal before we set off,’ he said. He sounded cheerful enough, but when Sophia rubbed his shoulders, they were very tight.
‘I wish it was a clear night so we could see the moon,’ she grumbled.
‘I’ve transitioned and travelled in all types of weather,’ he said, unperturbed. ‘It doesn’t make a difference.’
‘Yes, but it doesn’t feel the same, don’t you think? It seems like a full moon would bring more luck.’
He shrugged. ‘I prefer to make my own luck through good preparation rather than rely on things I’ve got no control over, like the weather.’ He presented her with a bowl of creamy risotto, which lifted her mood considerably, especially when he grated over fresh parmesan and added an extra knob of butter. ‘Just to make it a little richer,’ he said with a wink.
‘Mmm.’ She closed her eyes with bliss. ‘Are you sure you’re not an angel rather than a werewolf?’
He sat down next to her on the other bar stool. ‘I’m hoping to be neither in the very near future. I just want to be a man, plain and simple.’
Sophia held up her water glass and they tapped their glasses together.
‘Cheers to that,’ she said.
Van was waiting outside when Sophia came downstairs an hour later, dressed and ready. He whistled when he saw her.
‘You look the part. I’d be scared if I was a vampire.’
‘I’m a little scared of myself right now; I barely recognized my reflection in the landing mirror.’
She wore fitted black trousers, jumper, and jacket with blacked-out hiking boots. Her hair was tightly braided and she wore a thin black beanie over the top, with her hair tucked underneath. She’d mixed some black eye shadow with water and lotion to create a creamy facial camouflage, which she’d blended over her entire face, neck, and hands with surprisingly effective results. The shotgun was slung over her back, along with a small backpack containing ammo and a little food and water. The stake was tucked in the special leather belt loop that Van had created for it. The string of garlic bulbs was tied on the other side of her belt, and the cross hung around her neck. It rested heavily between her breasts, reassuring in its solidity. She felt ready. Well, as ready as possible for a girl who had no idea what was ahead of her. Just before she left the lodge, she tucked a pink ribbon from the strap of her bag into her pocket. For luck.
They set off for Trinity Rock. Van was in the same clothes as he’d worn all day, which made sense seeing as he was going to set them aside when he transitioned anyway. A thought suddenly occurred to Sophia as they walked.
‘We won’t be able to communicate once you change.’ A finger of panic crept up her neck and her voice went up an octave. ‘This is major. Why didn’t I think of it before?’
She looked over at Van, who was calmly continuing on. Seriou
sly, does nothing faze him?
‘We won’t be able to talk,’ he said a few moments later. ‘But we’ll still be able to communicate.’ He took her hand and kissed the back of it. ‘Don’t worry, beautiful. The majority of communication is non-verbal. We’ll be fine.’
Sophia wasn’t so sure. Sure, you could say a lot with your eyes, but what about a more complicated message? What if he needed to warn her about something or tell her some detailed directions? She felt thrown just at the moment when she needed confidence the most.
Curves & Alphas: A Paranormal Box Set: (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) Page 22
