“Venus…one more question?” Drake asked.
Drake knew that she had seen right through his lie but he hoped she wouldn’t pry. If she did, he doubted he could keep lying to her. He wanted to get closer to her, but what good would that do? Give him more heartache when she finally chose her mate. Yes, back to his question. He waited for her to give her consent.
“Why did you pick Arias over…” Drake almost stumbled and said ‘my brother’. “Prince Riken?”
“I don’t know exactly how to explain it,” Venus said softly blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face. “Um, I could feel the call from Riken but when Arias called me my body just responded. There was no thinking about it. It felt like I was meant for him, that I was his already.”
Drake didn’t want to hear that answer but he knew he needed validation. She wasn’t meant for Riken. Riken wasn’t meant to be prince. It was his birthright. If he didn’t claim it, she would be lost to Arias and the Descendants. Could he risk all of that for his own selfishness?
Days passed and Drake still hadn’t picked up the phone to call Riken…in fact, he had turned off his phone because Corbin was calling every few hours. Drake was being hard-headed. He knew that Venus would eventually have to go back to the castle, but he wanted to have her to himself for as long as God willed it. So, instead of following his duty to his prince, Drake set on the course to fulfill his promise to the Queen. As the sun rose to illuminate his living room, he prepared his exercise room for her training. He rubbed his hands together in excitement, eager to see how far he could push her and what kind of strength of will she had. He doubted he would be disappointed. He heard a light whisper of footsteps behind him.
“I hope you’re ready Venus,” he said with a smile without turning his head to look at her.
Venus let out a whoop and skipped into the room. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and she looked like she was ready for yoga, not a death battle. Her eyes were shining and a smile was plastered on her face. She bounded to the middle of the room and stopped directly in front of Drake.
“I thought you had forgotten,” she said eagerly.
Venus would have been bouncing against the walls if she wasn’t trying so hard to compose herself. The last couple of days were nice. Drake had made her stay relaxing, as she recuperated mentally and physically. She tried to spend every waking moment at his side because it just felt right but he obviously liked his own space. He would leave her for hours at a time and lock himself in his study or his bedroom. When she was alone, her mind raced on information overload. She had so many questions but didn’t want to know the implications of the answers. She was itching to get out into the streets again to hunt, to feel the adrenaline that coursed through her veins. Drake must have read her mind. She was ready for this.
Drake kept an amused smile on his face as he walked in a circle around her. Her muscle tone was excellent, especially for a young girl with no training, no knowledge of what her true nature was. His gaze started at her long, lean neck. Aristocratic by grace of her genes, she held her head proud and even defiant. Her shoulders were lean, small framed but when she tensed, her sinewy muscles bunched up in response to her reflexive mind. Her waist was tiny, she was almost too thin but if she chose to be turned and fed well after the turn, she would fill out a little more. Drake paused in the middle of a stride as he reached her backside. Seeing her ass in those fitted pants made it difficult for him to think or move. He struggled to think about anything else the last few days besides how well she would fit against him. How she was made for her. Examining her like this only made that feeling worse. He cursed under his breath and quickly cleared his thoughts.
“Get into a fighting stance,” he growled, angry at himself.
Venus crouched low, her body automatically reacting to the change in his voice. Her breath hitched as he placed his hands on her body, turning her hips slightly.
“You want to keep your body balanced, your center always strong.”
He threw out a blow, that was surely light by his standards, and she hissed as his blow landed on her bicep. She couldn’t keep track of his movements, his speed a blur to her eyes. As another blow landed at her hip and she inhaled sharply. What did he want her to do?
“Use your senses,” he growled to her again. “The Talmidim are as fast and strong as we are. You must learn to anticipate their movements. To use all of your senses, especially your brain.”
Venus strained to focus. His whispering movements and occasional blows were making her mind frazzled. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, feeling another errant blow land at her collarbone. She could smell him, it made her mouth water but she quickly beat the arousal down. She could feel him move, almost mentally picture his path in her mind. She saw the pattern of how it felt when he came close, how his smell became more pronounced, how her ears pricked as the wind whistled around her when he made a sudden lunge toward her.
“Come on little one, the Talmidim would have already feasted on you by now.” Drake was getting angrier each second. The flood of emotions was foreign in his veins. Subdued, calm, detached was his normal vibe. In her presence he felt so much. Anger was the easiest emotion to relate to so he fed it. It was much easier to accept it than the lust he felt, the desire to protect, the yearning to make her laugh and smile. Those were all too confusing for him. So he let the anger build, not caring if it was dangerous or that he might explode soon. He watched her stand there, knowing that she was trying to track him. As he landed blow after blow, his anxiousness grew. She wasn’t ready for a hunter’s life. Her skills would never be honed as a fledgling. She was going to get herself killed. He dodged and weaved , a snarl forming deep in his throat. He lashed out, a blow that was a little more forceful than the rest, aimed at her chest. As the snarl worked its way up through his lips, his body flew through the air and he waited for the blow’s impact with her tiny body.
Finally her senses merged into one. Venus was elated, it felt like a second sight. She tracked him with her mind and saw him tense for another incoming shot. Oh shit, she thought to herself. She dropped her body to the mats at the last millisecond and she felt him stumble from the missed blow. She heard his ferocious snarl and she popped up back into her stance. He closed the distance quickly and wrapped her in his arms from behind. Feeling his breath against her neck, she imagined him to be one of the mindless bloodsuckers going in for the kill. She landed a hard elbow into his midsection that knocked out a breath. She spun, her arm flying towards his face and he caught her hand in his own.
Venus was breathing hard, growing more uncomfortable with the look that was all animal in his eyes. He pulled at her hand making her body collide with his and she brought her knee up quickly feeling it meet its target. She scampered away, trying to get some much needed space. She ducked and rolled under another lunge but found that she had landed herself in the corner of the room. She pressed herself against the wall tracking his movements, crouching low, anticipating his attack. She scented him close again and placed a foot against the wall and launched herself into the air. It was pure instinct, her body reacting on its own. As she somersaulted through the air, she felt Drake rush beneath her surprising him with her agility. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she spun and threw up her forearm and pinned the larger man against the wall. With her other hand, she used an imaginary stake and hovered it over his heart. Her face was inches from his, his eyes wild, his fangs slowly lengthening. A power emanated from him that she hadn’t felt before. It didn’t strike her hard like Riken or Arias but it crept into her as if it was trickling out of him but all the same, her body melted against his.
Damn it, Drake cursed. He didn’t mean for his power field to surface but as soon as her body softened he realized it had. It made his frustration rise and he took her weakness as his opportunity. He twisted her arm and she gasped from pain and he swept her legs and let himself fall effortlessly on top of her. He pinned her onto the mat and she flailed helplessly in his arms.
Her eyes were wide with fear and the beast inside of him rose to the surface washing over her in a wave. He knew his fangs were down. Shit, they were scraping his bottom lip. But he didn’t care. He had his prey beneath him, vulnerable. It would be so easy to make her his right now, to turn her even against her will. She was his, his mind chanted to itself as he lowered his face towards her throat.
He was going to bite her, Venus thought frantically to herself. Part of her desired that more than anything else but the other part was terrified of this animal that had her trapped. Was he not so different from everyone else? What had brought this beast out? Did she do something wrong to set him off? Her teary eyes locked onto those fangs inching towards her exposed throat and she trembled and ashamedly felt her lower region clench up with desire. She struggled against his massive frame futilely, unable to budge him.
“Drake?” she breathed.
His eyes focused onto hers. There, she thought triumphantly.
“Drake, please let me go.”
He flew off of her, one minute pressed tightly against her, the next crouched in the farthest corner of the room. Venus let out a shaky breath and covered her face with her hands.
“God, Venus…I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?” his voice wavered.
She turned her head to look at him. The beast was gone. His hands were clenching and unclenching and he was breathing heavy. He slumped to his knees, his head pressed to the floor.
“My Queen, I’m so sorry. You…you are not safe with me. I must call Riken.”
Before she could utter a word, he darted from the room and left her alone, her ragged breaths deafening in the quiet.
Venus finally emerged from the room, exhausted and weary. She watched as Drake paced the living room, his cell phone plastered to his ear. He was a large man, not quite as big as Arias but it was close. Though, Drake was covered head to toe in black clothing, Venus could see the swell of his muscles, the definition of his back, the lean curve of his ass. He was a comforting presence to her from the first moment in the alleyway to now as he argued with Riken about her. Yes even now, even after she had been trapped in his arms and fear flowed through her. She quieted her thoughts to listen in.
“She refuses to come back to the estate Riken. I'm not going to haul her in there against her will.”
Venus heard Riken shouting over the other end but couldn't understand what he was saying.
“I watched her kill off three Talmidim, Riken. She is far from helpless.”
Another tirade from Riken.
“Yes my Lord. I would give my life to protect her.”
The words knotted her stomach. He barely knew her and he would die for her? Of course it was merely the fact that she was a Queen of the bloodline. All who served her should die for her, at least that was what Riken had said when he was explaining things to her. The phone closed with a snap and Venus looked up at Drake who had a frown on his face.
“What's the matter?' she asked. Drake’s lips pressed into a fine line.
“The Dark Prince requested a meeting as soon as you were found. Riken wants you there.”
“Arias?” Venus inspected her nails absently as she digested the information. Arias all but abandoned her back in Dubai and now he wanted something. Her? A little piece of her trilled in excitement to see him again, to feel the touch of his hands, to be in his soft embrace. The other three-fourths of her screamed at that little piece, demanded that she not be a pawn, not be someone who will be someone's doormat. She was strong, she didn't need him. Venus looked up at Drake and somberly nodded.
Drake watched the emotions bleed across her face and he wondered about the depth of Venus' involvement with Arias. He knew that she had chosen Arias over Riken, not that he could blame her. Riken could be an arrogant prick at times but her with that massive demon Arias? He shook his head not wanting to imagine what had happened between them.
“I guess I don't have a choice,” she said.
“You always have a choice,” Drake clarified earning another soul-searching look. She gave a nod.
10
The next night, Drake walked behind Venus' tiny frame as they entered Riken's estate. She was visibly tense with a mixture of anger and trepidation. But she held her head high and was looking incredibly sexy and dangerous in her black on black night prowler outfit. It hugged every curve that she had and had his mouth watering for just a taste of her. He shook his head miserably. It was just the call of the blood he told himself. He followed her closely, his senses heightened almost painfully as they triggered an ancient blood feud. Arias and his men were here already. His hands clenched as he honed in on how many there were. Thirty, Jesus! He exclaimed to himself. Arias had brought a freakin' army with him. As they neared the royal chamber, Drake felt his protective and possessive instincts fly up several notches. He had been an idiot to believe that he could ignore the fact that she was meant for him, that it was her that would complete him. He gritted his teeth as he stepped in front of Venus and pushed open the enormous gilded double doors. The chamber was full of enormous men, Riken was sitting behind his ornate executive desk, Arias was sitting directly in front of him and all the rest of the men were standing up, hands inches from their weapons. Drake held out his arm and Venus wrapped herself against him. He walked her slowly into the room and all eyes turned toward them. The two power levels of the princes made the room nearly insufferable. Drake looked down at Venus. Her eyes had fluttered shut and her breathing was shallow. The enormous bald warrior Arias stood as soon as he saw her, his eyes were dark and swirling.
“Who is this dead man with his arms around my Mate?” he growled, his fangs nearly cutting into his bottom lip.
Riken jumped up and moved forward intercepting any movement that Arias would have taken towards Venus.
“This is who found her Arias. He has kept her safe,” Riken said looking at Venus greedily from head to toe.
Drake's eyes narrowed on the two of them, looking like they owned her. Venus actually buried herself into his side a bit more and Arias snarled.
“Leave us,” he said in a barely audible deep voice. Riken glanced sharply to the immense Vampyre. “She is still mine. I said leave us.”
Riken glanced at Venus who refused to meet his gaze and he sighed waving two fingers at his entourage to clear the room. Arias took a few steps toward he and Venus, his muscles bunching and flexing as he neared. His fangs were still bared and Drake felt the hot wave of the blood feud storm through his veins. His fangs too lengthened wanting, no needing to protect Venus from him. A strong hand clamped down on his shoulder and he snarled.
“Easy Drake. We need to give them a minute,” Riken explained, his tone hard and commanding.
Drake reluctantly pulled back from Venus' arms and she looked up into his face, her eyes so wide and doe-like, the emerald beams aiming straight into his heart, into his soul. Drake cursed and turned and stormed out.
The door slammed shut making Venus jump slightly. She didn't want to look up yet, her eyes were still closed. A warm hand clamped around the back of her neck and pulled her forward. She peeled her eyes open and felt her breath rush out of her as her eyes met Arias'.
“My Queen,” he murmured as his mouth descended towards her.
She jerked back with all of her strength, surprising the prince in front of her.
“Don't touch me,” she managed to say turning her back to him, her arms coming around herself like a cocoon.
Arias immediately plastered himself against her, his arousal evident at the small of her back, his enormous arms pulling her arms away from herself. His lips touched her neck.
“I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you,” he said softly into her neck.
He kissed a line from behind her ear down the length of her neck.
“I'm so sorry for leaving you,” he continued.
Venus labored to take a deep breath, her chest was so constricted, tears spilling down her cheeks in a hot flood.
“Why didn't you come fo
r me Arias? How could you not come for me even after you found out the palace had been attacked?”
“I thought I was protecting you my love. It doesn't make sense I know...I thought my feigned indifference would throw off an enemy who's been watching us. Please Venus...I beg of you, forgive me.”
Riken sauntered off down the hallway leaving Drake standing outside the enormous double doors. His shoulders were heaving, his breath coming out in short wisps of air. His chest was on fire from the thought of leaving Venus in that room. Why was he denying his whole reason for existence? Every second that he’d known Venus filtered through his mind. She was It. He had discarded his title for too long…his bloodline needed him. Venus needed him. For the first time in two hundred years, Drake embraced his blood calling.
Venus turned to face Arias but jumped as the door flew open and Drake entered the room but with him came a power field that he had been hiding this whole time. It swamped her, it overwhelmed her. Her mouth dropped open and she collapsed against Arias' arms. Arias caught her deftly, lowering her into a chair nearby.
“Who the fuck are you?” he growled.
Drake let his power swell more making Arias falter back a few steps.
“I am Jace, son of Philip and rightful heir to the throne of the Rex Deus.”
Venus gasped from the chair and Arias stepped forward to mere inches from Drake.
“Impossible,” Arias growled.
“I am as old as you Dark One. Let us see who she chooses now,” Drake said with a confident smile of his face.
Arias launched himself at Drake and he ducked it easily anticipating the attack. Venus immediately jumped to her feet and planted herself in the middle to intercept any more conflict. The snarls from both males were deafening but Venus stood her ground, unwilling to be bullied and most definitely unwilling to see either of them injured.
Revelations Coming (The Dark Truth Novel Series) Page 10
