by Laura Kaye
Unexpected color caught her attention and she stilled.
Beautiful, thin black knots covered her left hand.
She gasped and bolted upright.
Kael appeared out of nowhere, wearing the emerald silk robe again, and settled on the bed beside her. He placed a tray near her knees and held out a glass of water which she gladly accepted, nearly draining the entire thing as if she’d been lost in the desert. She lowered the glass against her leg and raised her hand, then looked at Kael.
He grasped her left hand with his right and kissed it. Her eyes drifted to his mirror markings and she gaped. The hair rose on her arms and neck. “What…?”
Kael shifted onto his knees on the bed. “Shayla McKinnon, this mark proves what I already suspected. You are my mate. You are destined to walk beside me, rule with me, share my blood and, through that, my immortality.”
“Mate?” Shayla’s mind raced as she traced the incredible marking with her fingers, then followed her tracings onto his hand. “What…I mean, I don’t…”
“I know, dearheart.” He kissed her forehead and sighed. “Just relax for a moment. We have time to talk.” He folded a length of tartan over her legs and waist and scooted the tray closer to her. “You must be hungry, yes? I brought you some food. I know it’s not much, but…” He shrugged.
She tugged the robe up to cover her breasts and glanced at his face, found him a little shy for the first time. “I’m starving, actually, and this looks and smells delicious.” She picked up some cashews and popped them in her mouth, all of a sudden ravenous for the feast before her. “Thank you.”
His smile was dazzling, proud, and grew as she polished off her piece of the savory frittata and, at his insistence, half of his, the spicy olives and artichokes, most of the nuts, and an orange. Her mind raced with questions and buzzed in amazement, but she was so ravenous it was as if she couldn’t think about anything else until that hunger was finally sated.
“I feel like I haven’t eaten in days, and this was fabulous.” With a satisfied groan, she pushed the tray away. Kael’s eyes flared at the sound, which unleashed a new hunger low in her belly.
How could she want him again so soon? But she was suddenly insatiable for more than just food…
Kael inhaled deeply and chuckled, ran his hand through his hair. “I like the way you think, Shayla, but perhaps we should talk first?”
For a split second, his words confounded her, but then he took another slow, deep breath in through his nose and licked his lips. Could he…? Oh, jeez. He could! He could smell her. She crossed her legs where they were extended in front of her.
Kael frowned and gently encouraged her ankles to part. “Never feel bad for wanting me,” he said, echoing her earlier words in a low, serious voice that amped up her desire further. “Because you can be sure I’m always hungry for you.”
Shayla shook her head, blushing and smiling as his expression softened into something she would’ve sworn could only be described as adoring. She drew her legs up to her chest and embraced them, rested her head on her knees so she could see him.
“So, talking then…” She admired the design on her hand. Realized the ache she’d earlier felt was gone. She gasped. “Is this why my hand has felt so odd all night?”
An oath in that strange language spilled from his lips, low and fervent. “You felt it, too?”
The awe she felt was reflected back to her in his green eyes. “Yes, but what does it mean?”
“That this…that we would make a very strong mating.”
She looked at the swirl of knots on her hand again. “Mating,” she whispered, trying out the word.
“Yes. Oh, Shayla. This pleases me. Greatly. I want you to know that. I hope it pleases you, too.” He tucked his right hand into her grip, once again joining their marked hands.
She thought of all she’d hoped for from this night. “It does, Kael, more than you know.” She squeezed his hand. “But how does all this work? What does it mean practically? For me and for us?”
He tilted his head. “More than I know? Tell me what it is I don’t know, then. Please?”
She nodded. “I will. I promise. But please explain all this first. I need to understand.”
He stretched forward and kissed her cheek. “Of course. In my world, Shayla, blood is magical, powerful, the source of all life. Some blood, when joined together, is especially strong, especially right. For a vampire, that rightness can manifest in a bond that identifies mates who would be a good match, who would bear strong offspring. And it is a rare, special thing.”
Shayla studied her hand, his words opening up new worlds in front of her, worlds she’d only dreamed of and never once thought would truly exist for her. “So, we’re mated now?” A cacophony of reactions flooded her mind.
Awe. Joy. Triumph. All awash in a sensation of utter surrealism.
Kael’s eyes flared. “No. Not yet. The mating mark lasts for three days. If the mating ritual isn’t completed within that time, the mark will disappear along with the chance to ever be together. If you agree, on the other hand, there will be a ritual ceremony to affirm the bonding and celebrate the start of our life together, with you as my queen, sharing my world, my blood, my immortality.”
She frowned and struggled to make sense of her thoughts.
Queen? Immortal?
So, getting what she’d always wanted came along with some things she hadn’t imagined. Did that really matter? “I see,” she said as her mind worked, compiling pro and con and to-do lists, weighing options, and imagining alternate paths. She knew she couldn’t accept the mating without some sacrifice on her part. She was twenty years old with a world of opportunity and possibility in front of her.
But then she looked at Kael and realized that everything that had ever motivated and interested her, everything she’d ever imagined would make life worth living, was sitting right next to her on the bed.
She could have eternity to ask him her questions about his life and times.
She could have justice for Dana. Vengeance against the Soul Eaters.
She had to tell him. “Before, when I said there were things you didn’t know?” He nodded. “When I was fourteen, my older sister was murdered by vampires.”
Kael gasped and moved closer, one arm threading around her shoulders. That preternatural light flared in his eyes, but it was darker somehow, more menacing. “Soul Eaters,” he growled.
“Yes. Before they drained every drop of blood from her body, they raped her. Then, when she was dead, they slit her open and ripped out her heart. That was how she was found. Those are the images my parents have to carry around in their heads.” Shayla held her breath and refused to surrender to tears and grief.
“Were you close with her?”
She smiled and released her breath. “Yeah. I mean, you know, we drove each other crazy like siblings do. But she was my hero. She’d just graduated high school…” She shrugged and braced herself internally against the rush of old but ever-present pain. “What happened to her, well, I have to play a role in bringing justice to the animals that did that. I’ve never known what that role would be, exactly, just that I had to do something. What do you think of that?”
He studied her for a long moment, then leaned forward and dragged his nose along the skin of her arm. Pressed a kiss there. “Many years ago, I was mated, and she conceived a child.”
“Yes,” Shayla whispered, reaching out and trailing her fingers through his hair. She’d learned Kael’s history, of course, it was part of why she imagined he might understand what drove her, but hearing it from the man himself was something else all together.
“When Meara was in her fourth month, the Soul Eaters attacked Dunluce. We’d been betrayed by one of our own whose treachery went as far as allowing them entry to the castle, and we were caught completely off guard. The assault began at four in the morning when they used our own cannon against us to destroy the walls, insuring there would be no protection from the sun w
hen it rose. Meara shepherded the women and children to the relative safety of the dungeons. There is no telling how many lives she saved. But she went into labor. It was too early and she was bleeding. I was above, engaged in the fight, pinned down and outnumbered when my blood felt her alarm. By the time I could get to her, it was too late. The newling was gone and she’d hemorrhaged so badly feeding her could not save her.”
“I’m so sorry,” Shayla said. Could she ever replace such a woman?
He turned his face and kissed her hand where it was still stroking him. “Thank you, but that is not why I told you about her. You asked what I thought of your need to act on behalf of your sister.”
Shayla nodded, a little scared of what he might say next.
His gaze met hers and held nothing back. “I understand it, completely.”
Kael’s words stole the breath from Shayla’s throat and wrapped themselves around an old, damaged part of her soul.
He wasn’t only her dream. He was her dream come true.
She threw off the covering of his robe, embraced his big shoulders and climbed into his lap, straddling him. She swallowed his groan as her center ground against his cock, already waking under her. The kiss was intense and sensual, full of compassion and shared grief and understanding.
Kael pulled back and rested his forehead against the bridge of her nose. Then he met her gaze again. “You must understand, though, my dearest heart,” he began in a strained voice. “I could never expose you to the kind of danger that took Meara from me. My intention would never be to stifle your dreams or impose my will as if…”
She lifted an eyebrow. “As if you were my king?”
One side of his full lips quirked up. “Is it wrong that I like the sound of that?”
The heat of a blush warmed Shayla’s cheeks. Truth be told, she did, too. “No, as long as you don’t think it’s going to get you your way in everything.”
“Sometimes, though?” His fingers made slow, teasing drags up and down her spine, igniting delicious shivers and chills.
She grinned. “Maybe.”
“Maybe.” He threw his head back and laughed, and Shayla loved the sound of it, loved that she’d been the one to make him laugh. After a moment, his expression grew serious again. “I only mean to say, I understand your need, Shayla, but I could never tolerate you out there…exposed…fighting.” He grimaced at the words. “My warriors are many, strong, well-trained. They will fight for you. As will I.”
His words were a promise, fierce and true and utterly male. She knew he was right about the fighting, but her heart ached at the idea there wasn’t something she could do. “I know, but, isn’t there anything, anything at all—”
“Of course there is.” He crushed a lingering kiss against her mouth. “You can stand by me, and give me the strength to face the fight. You can advise me—I’ll never hide from you the difficulties we face. You can facilitate our relationship with the Electorate Council, and secure the alliance between vampires and humans. You can feed me, and make me strong. And in turn, my warriors will feed more frequently, as they must, as they should’ve been doing all along. You can bear our children, and bring new warriors into the fight.”
So much passion imbued his words they brought tears to Shayla’s eyes. He made her believe she really could make a difference.
For Dana. For herself. For him.
“Oh, Kael.”
“And, another thing, I spoke with Simon while you were asleep. I wanted to assure him of your well-being, well, after earlier.” The lightest of blushes colored his cheeks. He shook his head. “I have learned you are quite a scholar, Shayla, of the history, culture, and languages of the British Isles, of the Celtic people in particular.”
She was almost embarrassed at the pride filling his voice. She hugged herself and nodded. “Yes. Though, how would mating impact my ability to finish my degree? Would I have to give it up?” The thought made her stomach flip-flop. On the one hand, he personally embodied the very history and culture that had fascinated her all these years. On the other, her twenty-first-century mindset balked at giving up her education and career to marry and have babies. Not that she didn’t want those things, for she truly did. And Kael’s words only bolstered that desire.
“Simon suggested the reminder of your studies might be doable through telecourses. We have archival collections and rare books here you could use for your research. Maybe you could even impose some order on our library, insure the records of my people are known among us and well preserved. And—” he twisted his lips and looked down “—we could send security along with you on any trips you might have to make to complete your degree.”
She wouldn’t have to give it up?
Would long-distance course work even be possible? Would her program allow it? And, what might be in his records, documents surely no one had ever studied before? Questions fired through her brain and energized her with the idea there might be a way to have both, do both.
“Kael. Thank you. Even if that can’t work out, just the fact you inquired about it, entertained the possibility.” She grasped the skin over her heart. “It means so much.”
“I’m pleased you are happy.” He tucked a thick strand of hair behind her ear, the gesture so full of caring. “So, does this mean…”
Only one other concern held her back from an enthusiastic acceptance.
He said the mating bond pleased him, but would it ever be more than that? Would he ever love her? Could she ever replace the love he must’ve felt for Meara?
A warm fullness in her chest told her she was falling for him, maybe had fallen for him already—after all, she’d had years of imagining them together. Having met him, she now knew that his beauty, his gentleness, his fierceness, his playfulness, his power—they comprised the real man, not just fantasy. But she wanted him to want her for her, to ask her to be his. She rubbed her hands together and studied the stunning, intricate markings.
She wanted it to be more than just some…mystical…biology that drew them together.
Kael let out a deep sigh and gently moved her off his lap. He rose and cleared the tray from the bed. Then he turned to her. “This is a lot to take in. And I’m sure the pressure of the deadline is difficult. I will prepare an apartment for you. Anything you need will be provided—”
“Wait. What? Why?” She scooted herself until she was sitting on the edge. Though she was entirely comfortable being nude in front of him, the air was chilly against her tired body. She pulled the robes up over her lap again and tucked them under her arms to cover her chest.
“I need you to be close until you’ve made your decision. I cannot send the woman who may be my mate out into the world unprotected. But I don’t wish to pressure you any more than necessary, so I will give you your own—”
“I can’t be with you?” Shayla didn’t know the protocol. No part of her training had covered this amazing possibility. But didn’t the mark mean they were to be together?
Kael’s mouth dropped open and his eyes flared. His cock stirred the silk of his robe “What are you asking, Shayla?”
She shook her head and pushed off the bed, then situated the robes around her shoulders. Kael hummed at the sight and the sound connected with every nerve in her body. “I guess—” she inhaled a bolstering breath “—well, I’m…not asking anything.”
“I do not understand.” He cupped her face in his hands. “Please, dearheart, do not torment me.”
Shayla smiled and held up her hand. “Is this just…chemistry? Biology?”
Kael frowned down at the pattern on his palm, then looked back to her eyes. He studied her for a long moment, then sank down to one knee and grasped her marked hand in his.
“Our mating is chemistry and biology. My body, my blood, needs you on a fundamental level. You. Your body brings me peace, comfort. Your blood restores my immortality and humanity. But I wanted you before this, Shayla. I brought you back because I knew, even then.” He held their joined hands to h
is heart. “You are more beautiful than my eyes can take in. Your eyes enchant me and hold me to you. You are brave and fierce and strong and bright and these are just the things I’ve learned in the few hours we’ve been able to share. I want to know more.”
Shayla bit down on her lip, trying to restrain the tears and joyous sob that threatened. Kael reached up and pulled her lip from her teeth with his thumb. He arched an eyebrow and she couldn’t hold in the laugh-cry that escaped.
“Be mine, love. Please.”
Love. Her heart exploded in her chest. “Yours? Forever?”
His smile was beatific. “If we’re lucky.”
She closed her eyes against his magnificent image and breathed deeply. Life flowed through her, and she knew at once it had led her to this moment, this man, this love.
“Yes, Kael. My answer is yes.”
Chapter 9
Kael paced his sleeping chamber, his bare feet sinking into the plush emerald carpet…
He smiled.
That was where the differences with the previous night ended. He could hardly believe only twenty-four hours had passed since he’d walked the length of this room cursing the Night of the Proffering.
Tonight, it was nerves that had him wearing a path into the thick pile. He and Shayla would be mated this night, in a little less than an hour. Anticipation threatened to explode him apart.
“Just an observation, my lord, but you have a big night ahead of you. Keep pacing like that and you’re likely to wear yourself out.”
Kael halted and whirled on Liam, arms crossed and leaning against the wall by the door. The warrior’s smirk was good-natured, and Kael chuckled and shook his head. He’d nearly forgotten Liam’s presence in wondering what Shayla would look like. But as his second in command, he’d helped the king ready his clothing and adorn his body for the ritual. His garments all shared the deep crimson and gold of his clan crest, though the red was more significant for its reference to the blood that would bind him and Shayla together. The leather hugged his thighs, tormenting his already sensitive body. He couldn’t don the cloak, though, until the blood marking his skin fully dried.
