The Awakening (The Elders Trilogy Book 1)

by TL Travis

  As soon as I see David, I feel a ridiculous smile take over my face, but his appears to be the mirror image of how mine feels. We literally run into each other’s arms standing there for several minutes hugging and kissing, not caring who is around or what they might think. Tristan clears his throat, so we peel our lips apart and go down to the luggage carousel, not letting go of one another the entire time. Standing there in each other’s arms the only thought I have is I’m never letting go.

  Tristan helps him with his luggage and the three of us go to the parking garage. David and I take the back seat letting Tristan chauffeur us so we can make out like a couple of love-struck teens at a drive-in theater. When we come up for air, David thanks Tristan for keeping me safe.

  Tristan decids to go hunting so David and I can have some alone time. As soon as the dogs see him their little nubs wag crazily. We drop his luggage in the foyer and go to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. As soon as we are done, he scoops me up, whisking me away to the confines of our room. Luckily, Tristan fixed the wall while David was in Varna.

  As soon as the door is shut, we practically rip each other’s clothes off, buttons fly everywhere. Launching me onto the bed, he positions me on all fours. David runs his tongue down my back, in between my cheeks, teasing my rear and then further down through the little woman’s lips, spreading them before tasting me. Moaning, I am so wet, so hot, my nipples are throbbing and my need for penetration is overwhelming me.

  He grabs my hips probing and teasing me with his head. I shriek, pushing back trying to impale myself on his member. “Deeper, harder,” I beg.

  “Patience, mi Amor,” he goads, still not fully entering me.

  He pushes in, sitting just inside my lips before pulling back out. In the interim, his thumbs massage my pucker in turn.

  “Please, David, fuck me.”

  Finally, he gives in, entering me in one long thrust.

  “Amor, my God. I love being inside you.”

  He grabs my hips, pulling me tightly against him, deeply filling me. He holds there for a moment, I clench my muscles tightening around his erection.

  “I don’t know how you do that, Jess, but don’t stop. It drives me wild.”

  He pulls back almost leaving me empty before driving in with such force that had he not been holding my hips I surely would have been launched off the bed. Each tantalizing thrust pulsates through me, sending me over the edge.

  “David, I’m coming. Fuck... I’m coming.”

  “Yes, baby, yes. Fuck, come with me. Now.” He immersesd himself completely, cupping my breasts, pinching my nipples between his finger and thumb as he drew me upright both blowing like a volcanic eruption as I felt his seed release inside me.

  Winding down, he collapses on top of me. After pulling out, he lays flat on his back, I turn so I can see his handsome face as I tell him my news.

  “David, I’ve done a lot of thinking while you were away.”

  He raises his eyebrows. “Oh?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are your thoughts of, Amor?”

  “I’ve decided I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  His mood turns serious. “Do you fully understand what that means?”

  “No, I figured when the time was right you would explain it to me.”

  “To change would mean you’d have to die.”

  Die? He never mentioned anything about dying. Internal panic takes over, seeing this, he tries to remedy the situation before it escalates any further.

  “Amor, breathe deeply. There’s nothing to fear, I’ll be with you the whole way. I just want to make sure you understand the process because it will be very, painful.”

  Now painful, WTF? I think it’s time for details. “Um, can you please elaborate?”

  “Yes, of course. First you’d need to be bitten by a Vampire and drained of your blood until just before your heart stops.”

  I gasp.

  “Second, you’d need to drink blood from a Vampire. You’d be left to die with vampire blood in your veins. The process takes several excruciatingly painful hours,” he says with such finality that the breath I am holding escapes. He stares at me, waiting for me to say something, anything.

  This chills me to the bone, the whole thing is horrifying and now I’m second guessing my decision. It scares the shit out of me. But remembering what it felt like to be without David seems a far worse fate than this. He puts his head down on the pillow stroking my hair. I look up at him and he looks so sad.

  “David, if that’s what it takes for us to be together, then I see no other option. I know I cannot and will not live without you. Promise me you’ll be the one to change me and your blood will be the elixir that brings me my new life?”

  “Amor, I would have it no other way.”

  He gets up, races downstairs, and returns with a red velvet box.

  Kneeling beside me, he opens the box. “Amor, this ring has been in my family for centuries. It’s been worn by all the matriarchs except for my mother.” Suddenly David sees the irony in that statement. “Jessica, my love, you hold the key to my heart and with that all my love. Will you marry me?”

  I sit up, tears running down my face. “Yes, Yes David, I’ll marry you.”

  He slips the ringer on my finger. I jump into his arms kissing him without regard for the need to breathe. Hormones consume me as I slide to his side. Taking control of his manhood, I slide my hand up and down his shaft, squeezing slightly on the upward incline just enough to release that glistening bead. My need to taste David takes over as I swirl my tongue over his head before lapping up his pre-cum. He moans and then I slide my mouth down his shaft, taking him to the hilt until it reaches the back of my throat before sliding back up to the tip. David grabs my hair, relentlessly fucking my mouth. The rawness of our actions makes me so wet. I have needs, needs that can only be sated by having him buried deep inside me.

  “Jess, not like this.” He lets go of my hair.

  I lean over him, straddling his lap positioning myself above his manhood. “Is this what you want, baby?” I ask, teasing him with my lips crazing his tip.

  “Ugh, fuck ya, Jess. Need…to…be..inside..you.” He grunt while grabbing hold of my hips, forcing his entry.

  Swirling my hips in a circling motion, I ride him. A few spins are all he can take before he grabs my ass commanding me to go faster. The rawness of our fucking is spiraling out of control. The friction is causing sparks on the sheets. It is like nothing I could explain.

  David flips me over, bracing my legs upright continuing his carnal assault.

  “Oh, fuck, Jess,” he pants.

  “Ah..Ah.. David,” I scream as I come so hard. I am out of breath, panting.

  He releases a blood curdling howl at the same time. It is at that moment we become one, making our commitment to one another, our bodies are in sync.

  A couple hours later I wake, still daylight outside, but I am elated to see my Dark Prince sleeping soundly in our bed, where he belongs. Craving a PB & J, I cruise downstairs to make one, downing it in a record breaking thirty seconds. Once back upstairs, I still can’t rest, but I slide into David’s arms overwhelmed with the images his description of ‘the change’ left me with. I toss and turn wondering if I am strong enough to go through with it. I try my best to suppress those fears and am finally able to doze off.

  Being awoken by lips peppering my face is a great start to any morning. “Good morning, Amor.”

  I smile, my eyes still closed. After I come to, we race each other downstairs, landing in the kitchen. I bend over with my head buried in the fridge when he comes up behind me, smacking me on the ass while he reaches over my head to snag a Vampire juice box. When I look up, he is ripping it open with his teeth before devouring it.

  “Well, well, well I bet you two are famished?” Tristan gleefully chimes.

  “Jealous?” David bounces back at him.

  “Maybe…” Tristan’s voice trails off.

 
“Hey babe, we need to get our books and supplies in the next couple days. Classes start in two weeks,” I remind him.

  David starts kissing my neck making me giggle.

  Tristan notices the ring on my finger. “Um, is there something you guys want to tell me?”

  David removes his face from my neck, picking up my left hand spinning the ring around my finger. “Tristan, Jess has agreed to be my wife.”

  I’ve never seen him smile so big.

  “Congrats, you two, now let’s get your mother locked away so this marriage can actually happen while we’re all alive.”

  “Way to spoil a happy moment, Tristan,” David says.

  That shuts Tristan up.

  Things seem to have fallen back in place, feeling like all is back to our version of normal. That is until a couple of nights before school started.

  While I am outside with the dogs, their hackles shoot up and rabid barking ensues as they race around the perimeter of the yard. I am laying on one of the lounge chairs, so I peer around the yard to see what they are after, expecting to see them chasing a rabbit. At first, I don’t see anything, then out of nowhere, a pair of red eyes appears less than three feet away, staring right at me. Within seconds, a Rogue has my hair in his grasp, yanking my head back moving in for the kill. I am at his mercy, unable to move let alone produce a scream.

  As he bends to bite me, David and Tristan pull him from me, tossing him backwards across the back porch. I never even heard them come outside.

  The glimpse I catch of David is unnerving. The David I know is no longer visible. His face is distorted, eyes black, fangs bared like a savage beast – worse than the night he fought Tristan.

  “Go inside now, Jess,” he bellows.

  But I can’t move, I am in shock.

  The Rogue takes advantage of David’s distraction by attacking him, tossing David into the pool. Tristan grabs the chair, breaking off one of legs as David re-surfaces, pinning the Rogue’s arms behind him while Tristan stabs the wooden chair leg into the Rogue’s chest. David spins him around, landing a kick that pushes the stake straight through him. Blood shoots out covering me. They twist his head off, tossing it out into the yard followed by his lifeless body.

  My hands cover my mouth, filtering my scream. David and Tristan turn to me as their faces transform back to the men I know.

  “Jess, I didn’t want you to see this. Why didn’t you go inside?”

  I am so freaked out. All I can manage is a shrug.

  “Don’t you think we should bury him or something?” Tristan asks.

  “No, sunrise is approaching, so let nature do its job.” David then asks Tristan, “Do you recognize him?”

  Tristan shakes his head no.

  This is way out of my comfort zone. I’m totally wigging out right now, in full on panic mode. Not only did I just witness my first murder, but it is also the first time I’ve seen my fiancé transform into someone I don’t even know. And oh ya, I got attached by a fucking Rogue Vampire. Staring into those beady, red eyes felt like looking into the eyes of the devil himself.

  “Will there be others?” I finally manage to ask.

  David and Tristan look at each other before David answers, “Luckily, this was a youngling. I’m sure there’ll be others that are fully mature, including my mother.”

  Chapter 17

  Three nights later we are back in school and I am more than ready to be in a large group setting. Having not slept well since the Rogue attack is making it difficult to focus on anything else since the images are ingrained in my memory. I’m constantly looking over my shoulder because my mind is fucking with me.

  Tristan tells us he is hanging at The Hollow while we are at school to snoop around a bit. He’s hoping to make contact with someone who knows of any Rogues and where they might be.

  After class, we head home. We are sitting around working on our assignments when David looks at the clock. It is three thirty in the morning and Tristan isn’t back and he hasn’t texted David either. Since neither of us has a good feeling about this, we decide to head out in search of him. Because David doesn’t feel comfortable leaving me home alone, he drags me along with him and decides The Hollow will be our first stop.

  On the way there, David reads me the rules, “Play it cool and stay in the car with the doors locked. Although locked doors won’t stop them, it’ll deter them long enough for me to get to you if I’ve left the vehicle.”

  My heart is racing, my nerves escalate to overdrive.

  We pull up to what looks like a dilapidated row of old warehouses in the heart of downtown Phoenix. There are homeless people everywhere. Most of the nearby buildings appear to be abandoned, except for the new loft building east of the warehouses. We drive around to the back alley, spotting a pile of something lying on the ground directly behind the back entrance to The Hollow. Our first thought is it might be a homeless person, but when David rolls down the window to get a better look, he picks up Tristan’s scent as well the smell of freshly spilled blood.

  He bursts out of the car yelling, “Stay put, Jess,” running over to Tristan’s motionless body. He’s been attacked and it looks to me like he is dead. There is blood everywhere and you can hardly make out his gnarled face. Bite marks and lacerations cover his skin.

  David says, “He’s been drained of nearly all his blood and left for dead. His wounds aren’t healing like normal cuts on Vampires do, usually within seconds they’re gone.”

  I reach for the door to get out and help.

  David orders, “Stay in the car, Jess!” He retrieves Tristan’s body, placing it in the back seat.

  Once they are both inside I ask, “What could’ve made these cuts and why aren’t they healing?”

  “The only thing that comes to mind is a bladed weapon that’s been doused with holy water.”

  Well, that dismisses the ‘holy water burns Vampires’ as being a myth.

  David defies all rules of the road to get Tristan home quickly because not only is the sun rising, but he needs to get blood into Tristan or he won’t survive. He carries Tristan up to his room while I grab a couple blood bags from the fridge before running upstairs. We clean his wounds with warm water and a wash cloth and then David does something that startles me. He bites into his own wrist, dripping his blood into Tristan’s mouth. Tristan’s lips are cracked and graying. He is unresponsive which even I know isn’t a good sign, so David firmly presses his wrist to Tristan’s lips, forcing the blood inside.

  David knows I am watching, but he keeps his attentions focused on Tristan while explaining, “He’s in need of fresh, warm blood. Your blood would be best, but mine will do. This will help with the healing process.”

  About twenty minutes later, Tristan opens his weary eyes asking, “Where am I?”

  “You’re safe, my friend,” David tells him, patting his shoulder.

  “Ah,” is all he says before the need for rest consumes him.

  “Tristan should be fine in a couple days’ time. Tomorrow will be the real test. If he makes it through the day and is stable, I’ll see if he remembers anything. There’s much to consider and this has been stressful for all. Let’s try to get some sleep and when we wake we’ll put a plan of action together.”

  We tuck Tristan in then shower and go to bed. It feels odd not to make love as we do most every night, but I know David’s thoughts are elsewhere as are mine.

  As soon as David wakes up he goes to check on Tristan, only to find Tristan isn’t there. He high tails it downstairs and I follow suit, finding him seated at the kitchen table. His wounds are still visible, but show signs of healing and he is drinking a glass of blood which is a positive.

  David sits down. “You scared the shit out of me, man, what the hell happened?”

  Tristan sits there, swirling his wine glass staring blankly at the dark liquid. Finally, he looks David in the eyes and speaks the words David feared most, “She was there. She knows the truth.”

  David stares at him
, afraid to ask the question he already knows the answer to. “She who?”

  Tristan swallows hard. “Your mother.”

  David’s face blanches.

  “Did she do this to you?”

  “No, she stood by, cackling and cheering them on. Telling me how disappointed she was with me while her five Rogues had their way with me. She told them not to kill me because she wanted you to find me. They had weapons, which I didn’t fear until they started burning my flesh. When I saw my wounds weren’t healing, I panicked. It was a set up. I was sitting at the bar inside The Hollow when they grabbed me, dragging me into the alley. Once we were there, she appeared barking orders, ‘Akashi, dampen your weapons, drain him until death’s near.’ He whipped his blades around with a tornadic thunder. The burn I felt every time his blades contacted my skin were crippling, there was no way I could fight back. All I heard was your mother’s evil laughter in the background.”

  David bounds upstairs to get his phone, quickly dialing. “Dad, she’s here.”

  I am paralyzed with fear as he tells his father that his mother is here.

  The next thing he says before ending the call is, “We’ll wait here for your arrival. I’ll make sure Jess doesn’t leave the house or our sight. Safe travels.”

  He turns to me. “Jess, we won’t be returning to school this week.”

  “Why?”

  That’s when he proceeds to tell me, “The Elder Council is on their way to down her and her coven and take them into custody.” He also informs me, “She wants you dead and has offered a large bounty to any Rogue who brings her your head. The only way for the Council to catch them is to use us as the bait to lure them in.”

  David feels staying at our house is the best option across the board. I feel like a lamb led to slaughter.

  It would be the better part of two days before the council arrives. I hate feeling trapped, but the alternative sucks even more. I email our professors telling them that due to a family emergency we wouldn’t be able to return to school this week. They are understanding and email us the current week’s lesson plans.