Very few humans knew how to kill a Vampire. They would shoot them through the heart and then burn the body to make sure a healer didn’t bring them back before death was irreversible. A Vampire could arise from many injuries as long as a healer helped to restore blood flow to the heart and brain, but never the ash.
Thoughts of burning reminded Devon of their first time testing out the spell that would allow them to walk in the sun. “I couldn’t help but cringe the first time I stepped into the sunlight after Canella cast that spell. I halfway expected to feel my skin starting to burn.” Devon smiled at the memory of the gentle witch with whom they’d spent six months of their lives. For a brief time, he’d thought she was the one fated to be their mate, but none of them felt anything more than attraction and lust. Their souls never felt the pull that could be downright painful if they tried to deny fate’s demand to mate.
“Ah, Canella.” Kieran’s face turned toward the sun and the golden rays brought out the various shades of blond in his shoulder length hair. “Now that was one lovely witch. I was devastated when it didn’t work out with us and her own coven called her back to England. Now…” He shrugged.
Devon heard the unspoken longing in Kieran’s comment. Canella was a witch, and that meant she could carry a child for them. Vampire females were almost always infertile, so births with Vampire mates were rare. When a witch or human conceived a Vampire’s child, though, the Vampire’s sperm dominated the egg and she gave birth to a full-blooded Vampire.
As the sunset turned deep purple and the stars began to appear, the warm breeze turned cooler. “Well, we better get moving or we will be late.” Devon continued to walk toward their destination.
“I’d say we should have taken the car, but then we would have missed this beautiful sunset. I swear, I will never tire of feeling the sun on my face.”
“It is worth being a little late, isn’t it,” Devon agreed as he hurried his steps to make it to the dirt path that led out of the park.
They crossed a break in the trees and a side street to access a small shopping center. Halfway down the strip of shops was an adult store they visited often. It sold everything they would need to please a woman in the BDSM club, The Underground. The owner, Owen, made it clear in the contract that they would supply their own, never used, toys for any scenes or play. Owen took the safety of humans in his club very seriously. While Vampires had no diseases, other humans did.
When they arrived at the shop, Devon pushed the door open and they entered the darkened building.
Devon waved seconds before Kieran did. What happened next was a common occurrence with humans. He scented the cloying scent of fear from the owner, Bryan Carris, that was the natural instinct when a predator entered their vicinity. Bryan’s heart rate spiked and he shifted in his chair at the unexpected flash of fear.
Kieran waved with a disarming, I’m harmless smile to Bryan. “Hey,” he said while sending the human some calming energy to help his adrenaline settle even faster. The ability to calm or enchant a human was originally intended to give a Vampire the advantage when feeding.
During the years 1346–1353, the Vampires’ bloodlust decimated sixty percent of the world. History recorded it as the Black Death, but the humans didn’t face extinction from an illness. An ancient Vampire, Balvasar, called upon the Vampires to put a stop to the slaughter. Those that followed him learned to control their bloodlust, and the so-called plague ended. As time passed, many started buying the services of donors instead of hunting. There had always been Vampires that craved the old days, but those like Devon kept them in check.
Bryan took a calming breath, likely mistaking his fight-or-flight survival mechanism with the bell of the door startling him. Humans still retained that deep ingrained warning system that urged them to run from deadly predators. He sat back down and grinned as the pair walked by the front counter. “Hey, guys. Another night of play, huh?”
“Yes, we need supplies for whatever lucky lady we find tonight,” Kieran answered as he headed over to the section of toys.
Bryan chuckled and went back to his book so they could browse in peace.
“Do you think Rachel will be there tonight?” Kieran ran a finger down a pair of exquisite nipple clamps as he spoke telepathically to Devon.
Devon shook his head with a frown of disappointment. Like Kieran, he felt pulled to the beautiful woman with deep chocolate brown eyes and glowing brown hair. When he’d heard her speaking, he absorbed every word she spoke in that sexy Texas accent. “Even if she is, I doubt she will ever sign the contract allowing a Vampire near her. After what Mortef put her through, I doubt she’ll even look at one of us without going into a panic.”
Kieran’s blue eyes deepened to the color of the midnight sky and his pupils reddened. “One more reason I can add to my list of why I need to kill Mortef. I feel extremely protective of her and frustrated with Marcus for keeping her away from me. I can’t wait to go to the club in the hopes she would be there. She could be the one, but since we only see her at the club, it’s hard to tell.”
Devon nodded his understanding. He’d had the same insane protectiveness and frustration as Kieran. It was unnatural for him to leave her safety to others. The feelings were intense and instantaneous from the first moment he saw her at the club. She’d been beautifully submissive and proved she could handle more than one lover at once. “I feel it, too, but short of abducting her, there isn’t much we can do but wait.”
Kieran sighed audibly as they picked out some generic toys and walked to the counter. Devon understood the longing. “Sometimes I am tempted,” Kieran said with a dead serious expression. “I know that it would cause a major diplomatic incident between our races, though.” His expression grew pensive. “Joe handed out invitations to two human women he shouldn’t have, and one turned out to be the fated mate to Marcus and we think the other may be ours. I don’t think that was a coincidence.”
Devon had often thought the same thing himself, “I suspect that there was some divine inspiration in Joe’s oversight. He is not a novice and has never blundered like that before. Joe had always been careful to make sure only humans that knew about supernatural races received an invitation.”
Kieran raised his eyebrows as he placed their items on the counter. “Divine inspiration didn’t stop Owen from revoking Joe’s rights to hand out invitations to his club.” As the owner of the club that catered to all supernatural races, Owen was extremely protective of the club members, both human and supernatural. He only demanded that supernatural races leave their conflicts outside, and no unaware humans wandered into the club.
Bryan looked from Devon to Kieran in confusion as Kieran and Devon displayed the facial expressions of their telepathic conversation. “Uh, fifty-three twenty-nine.” His gaze darted back and forth between them as he blinked several times.
Devon pulled his wallet out of his black denim jeans and then a black credit card. He handed it to him while he continued to speak with Kieran. “The only thing that saved Joe from the supernatural council’s censure was Anna being Marcus and Derek’s fated mate.” No one knew that Anna had a previous encounter with the pack Alpha, Marcus, and his chief enforcer and Beta, Derek, after she witnessed a fight between Mortef’s coven and Marcus’s pack.
Bryan scanned the card and then bagged the items. “Have a good night.”
“You, too,” Devon said as Kieran waved. The door chimed again as Devon pulled it open and they stepped into the warm night.
They walked quietly for a moment while Devon debated whether to share with Kieran what he’d found out. Finally, he decided to just say it. “Mortef sent me that night sure I would die.”
Kieran stopped on the sidewalk and spun around. “Fuck!” he said out loud. “He actually plotted to kill you?” His eyes turned glacial cold.
Devon nodded with a grim look on his face. “I suspected, but I didn’t say anything. We were in a delicate time then, with the Lycans ready to kill us all. Then, before we br
oke away, I picked a bit of information off a soldier loyal to Veer that Mortef never expected Marcus and Derek to allow us to live. He was sure that after he sent Vampires from our coven to kill those humans, Marcus would have us all executed.” That was Devon and Kieran's first encounter with Marcus’s pack. Despite the fact that they had their asses handed to them by the Lycan pack, Devon came to respect the Lycan Alpha. When the Vampires that had killed the humans at the campground were dead, Devon fell to his knees in front of Marcus to yield. He needed to spare the lives of the Vampires loyal to him. If he lost them, then his plans to overthrow Mortef would be in jeopardy. Marcus had every right to slaughter them all. Soldiers loyal to Mortef had tried to kill a Lycan youngling, as well as several of their enforcers.
“Fuck.” Kieran stopped for a moment and put his hand on Devon’s shoulder. He gazed into his eyes and Devon saw the compassion shimmering. “I know that was hard to learn. He is your uncle!”
“I know. It was always a possibility though.”
Kieran took a step back and turned to walk again. “I wonder why he kept us both around if he knew we were working against him?”
Devon shrugged as he turned into an apartment complex. “Maybe he thought he could keep an eye on us.” It hadn’t worked out well for Mortef though, especially with one of Devon’s best soldiers, Vhlan, planted as a spy in Mortef’s top ranks. He’d been able to learn Mortef planned to take the Lycan enforcer’s mate, Emily, and record her rape and murder. Devon could only imagine that his uncle had gone insane in his greed for power. To incense the Lycans would lead to a bloody war they would never win. Devon followed the coyotes out to the woods where they hunted her and kept her safe until her Lycans arrived.
Devon had gone to the wood frantic to save the human woman and avert a war, but it ended up being the olive branch he needed for the Lycans to trust him. While they were not close friends, they weren’t fighting either.
Kieran turned into the opening of one of the complex’s buildings, and started up the stairs. “Why would a Vampire that has plenty of money choose to live in a condo?” Kieran grumbled as they climbed to the second floor.
“No yard work, a pool, plenty of females to gaze at as they swim,” Devon supplied right before he knocked on the door.
The door opened and Raeff’s tall, muscular frame filled the doorway. Raeff was one of the Vampires from Mortef’s coven that chose to stay with Devon. He had also refused to hunt humans like cattle or terrorize innocent humans for Mortef’s sick enjoyment. He only hunted among the criminal element, and still he never killed them unless he had a hundred percent proof that the human was irredeemable and evil. He’d made a good soldier for their small but growing nest.
Silently, he welcomed them into his home, and Devon’s gaze drifted to the massive door and window overlooking the pool. Now that it was dark, the pool was lit up and there were still people swimming.
“We’re running late, Devon. Kieran and I can go if you’d rather just sit here and watch people swim.”
Devon let out a chuckle and held his arm out toward the door. “After you. I will be sure to lock the door.”
Kieran laughed as Raeff led them down to his SUV. The large Suburban would fit the three of them without any problem. As much as they enjoyed a good walk, it was dark now and they were already late.
Within five minutes, they were pulling into the parking garage behind The Underground.
“I’ve got the toys,” Kieran said as he got out and they made their way to the basement entrance reserved for Vampires. “We’re so special,” he added with a laugh as the door opened for them automatically.
Even though he was a Vampire himself, Owen had strict rules about them in his club. They couldn’t just walk in without signing a contract. Every time there was the same process for the ones that did not have a mate. The trio walked up to the counter and smiled at Sheila.
“Devon and Kieran. Now the fun is here.” She smiled at them and then her eyes rested on Raeff. Her lips parted, and she ran her tongue along her bottom lip. Her skin flushed a pink hue and she thrust out her chest slightly.
Raeff met Sheila’s attraction to his head on. “Hey, girl. It’s been a while.”
“It has. I still have my contract signed, too, if you want to play around later.”
Raeff winked at her. “I’ll remember that, sweetheart.”
“Here,” she said, thrusting a large tablet at Devon. “Repeat the rules to me as usual.”
Devon almost didn’t need to read them, but still, he expected his soldiers to obey him, so he obeyed the rules Owen set down. “There is no feeding or sex from any human not wearing the stamp that indicates they wish to play with a Vampire. There is no arranging to meet a human that does not have the stamp indicating they wish to play with a Vampire. Only talking, kissing, and touching are allowed. Red is the club’s safe word. If a human says red at anything, everything stops. Period. Failure to heed these rules will result in immediate termination of all rights at The Underground, and the Supernatural Council will be informed of the infraction.”
Kieran took the tablet and recited the same rules, and they both signed their names. There was a good reason for the strict rules. Vampires could easily compel a human to allow them to feed, have sex, or meet with them after they left the club. While kissing, touching and talking wasn’t completely safe from a Vampire’s compulsion, neither was stepping into a BDSM club full of supernatural predators. Owen believed there was a line where humans had to accept there was a certain amount of danger when they were in the presence of Vampires and werewolves.
They walked away from the counter and toward the entrance to the club. Devon glanced behind him before opening the door, and saw Raeff and Sheila were deep in conversation already. Devon doubted Raeff would even bother to enter the club. Sheila was always up for some Vampire love.
* * * *
Rachel stood by a bar area where people could get a drink and stand around in the open area between a sitting area and one of the dance floors. She loved how the club had areas where she could simply stand and rest her drink on a waist high counter and watch without feeling awkward. She felt the condensation drip down her fingers as it ran down her glass. The thudding music from the dance room wasn’t overwhelming, but it did fill the area with the perfect amount of background noise.
She watched as some of the couples that were in a Master/slave relationship stood on the other side of the room. The sub female knelt on a thick cushion as the male Master fed her bits of food. The sub’s face was radiant as she opened her mouth to accept the bread and cheese from her Master.
From what she could see, the sub had already had some hard play, and she could see the shiny evidence of arnica cream on bruises and welts on her thighs.
She had been stunned the first time she saw bruises on a sub. She couldn’t imagine how anyone could feel pleasure from receiving deep bruising like that. Then she’d had her own experience with light play, and she started to understand. While she still wasn’t a fan of heavy pain, she understood that some people found pain very erotic and pleasurable.
She caught sight of three men and a lady in a dark corner of the dance floor. She wasn’t sure exactly what they were doing, but when the beam light from the disco ball moved over them, she saw the woman was wrapped around one of the men and she looked like she was in the throes of an orgasm right there on the dance floor.
That brought back the memory of her first time here. It was possible they were having sex, since she’d done it. Anything and everything was permissible except serious injury and ignoring a safeword.
While many supernaturals waved and smiled, no one bothered her. She could only imagine that her Lycan protectors had made it clear to leave her alone.
Although she appreciated their concern, she wasn’t about to break and her bout with being catatonic had long passed. The only thing that had her terrified in the middle of the night was the awful things Mortef had forced her to do. He’d used her in de
spicable ways and she couldn’t shake the thought that she was evil. How could anyone that was good kill people? She’d been around Lycans long enough to know what they were. They were fierce protectors of humans. Only the rogues seemed indifferent, but the pack Lycans killed supernatural threats to humans. Part of her feared they would see her as a threat, and eliminate her.
She met the gaze of one of the club’s Vampires. Her glance moved on quickly. While they didn’t trigger her anymore, they weren’t Devon or Kieran either.
Dylan walked by and she shuddered with dread. She could imagine him using his teeth or claws to rip her throat out. The Lycan enforcer was one of the apex predators in the packs. Other Lycan enforcers made way for him, so of course he scared her. She told herself that every time she felt her fear spike around him. He wouldn’t really kill her because Mortef thought she was some sort of supernatural weapon, but then Anna’s retelling of the fight she’d witnessed and the Lycans executing the guilty came to her mind. It was a spiral round and round as anxiety, fear, and then talking herself down all circled around. More and more she’d had the overwhelming desire to go home.
Home. That thought reminded her that she needed to call her mom. She would do that now, and maybe she could make arrangements with Marcus to go home. She missed her parents, brother, and sister dearly, and she needed the time to think about what she would do.
She stood up and made her way toward the back of the club where she could talk with some privacy. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared. Devon and Kieran were prowling around the club looking for a human to play with.
She put her hand to her chest as her heartbeat spiked fast and hard. She felt her body temperature rise as butterflies fluttered in her stomach and her body came alive with tingling. She could not help but to stare at them as they walked together. Her breath caught in her throat at the pull she felt toward them. She’d only seen them from afar and heard how Devon saved Emily, but she felt like a lovesick teenager whenever she caught sight of them.
Vampires' Embrace [Southern Supernatural Alphas] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour) Page 2
