by Jeff D Ellis
“Date? I was hoping you would say that.”
“Back to the ceremony. I don’t think you understand what you are getting into. The mating is going to create a connection between us. You will also have a lesser connection to the Pack.”
“What sort of connection to the Pack?”
“When the Alpha calls, you will feel it and come to the Pack’s aid. The Alpha can also pull energy from the Pack in time of need.”
Chloe hadn’t signed up for that. Did Greta know she would be getting into all of this?
“I think I can live with that. What about the connection between us?”
“We will be able to feel when each other is in danger and more. All of this is based on what happens to Shapeshifters. I have no idea if the connection will be as strong with you.”
“I am fine with that. I would be happy to have a stronger connection to you, considering we will be married.” She wasn’t actually sure she was fine with it, but he didn’t need to know that.
Mark removed his necklace and the ring it had on it. He removed the ring. “This ring will be given to you as a symbol of joining with me and the Pack. I want you to see if it fits.”
Chloe took the ring. It felt warm to the touch. It was gold with dark-colored circular engravings going around it, and a moonstone set in the band. She placed it on her ring finger and it fit perfectly. “A ring like this must have a story. I can feel it pulsing with warmth.”
Mark gently took her hand and looked into her eyes. “Each Pack member is given a ring after their first transformation. They wear it on a chain, letting it soak up their energy and who they are. It is the only thing that can transform with us when we change. During the mating ceremony, we place the ring on our mate’s hand. It allows us to give ourselves more fully to each other.”
“I am so sorry I don’t have a ring for you. It feels like you are being cheated.”
“It’s nice that you think so. Would you mind wearing this ring until Friday?” Mark handed her a necklace with a larger ring on it.
Chloe placed the necklace around her neck and the ring settled into her cleavage. It felt warm, but different than the other ring. Its warmth was strangely comforting. She felt her eyes get moist.
“I would be honored to take part of this tradition. Is it going to get a charge from my energies?”
“I expect it will.”
“Then we will need to be charging it up good over the next few days to make up for lost time!”
Mark blushed; how her hunger worked must have sunk in. She removed the ring from her finger and passed it back. Mark put it back on its chain and then returned it to around his neck.
“You hungry? Let’s go out for dinner and talk.”
CHAPTER THREE
First Date
MARK TOOK CHLOE to a Mexican place he knew. He was pretty sure they wouldn’t be busy on a Tuesday night and it would be easy for them to talk and get to know each other. He was happy she didn’t seem to have any issues with the mating ceremony. He was not sure about being bound to a Vampire, but she seemed very willing to comply to his traditions. He was impressed. He would have to work hard to set a good example for her.
“Is this place okay? I don’t know what type of food you like.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “With the way I grew up, I learned to eat anything that didn’t bite you first!”
“I am a simple guy with simple tastes in food. This is the most exotic food I like.”
“You’re a meat-and-potatoes type of guy?”
“I guess you can say that. I don’t care much for veggies.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing out on.”
He smiled. “Did you grow up in a big family?”
She looked down at the table. “I grew up in the Clan. My mother died in childbirth and my father couldn’t have cared less about a child. The only thing that mattered to him was going to parties.”
In comparison, he had it easy. His family may have always favored Sam, but to have been rejected by her own father as a child was beyond anything he could understand.
He reached over and touched her hand. “I am so sorry! I have no idea what that must have been like for you.”
“It’s the only life I knew. I was determined to make something of my life, and never become like my father.”
He nodded. “You are with me now. Things are going to be very different from now on.”
She pulled her hand away. “I don’t want your pity.”
“I can tell you are a smart survivor and will fit right in with us. We will be your family now.”
“I have some friends in the Clan and expect to work my way up in rank over the years. As a Vampire, I am considered to be still a child learning the ways of the world.”
“Can you do that while married to me?”
“Think of it as job advancement. My job is being the liaison to the Pack like you are to the Clan. You need to think of us working together in the Clan businesses as a real job. Being your mate is separate and not part of the job description, a way to keep things in the family so to speak.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think you’re missing part of the picture here. It’s not just me marrying into your Pack, but you are also marrying into the Clan.”
“What? That is not the way it would work if I married a girl from another Pack.”
“In your world men rule, but in ours, women do.”
“Does my father understand this?”
“I would think so, but it doesn’t matter if he does. He needs the Clan’s money and influence, and this is the only way the Pack is going to get it. The complication of our personal union is simply a byproduct. It’s really only the two of us that are affected by our groups joining in a personal way. Just as I gain some status in the Pack through you, you gain status to the Clan through me. It’s the only way this works.”
“Now I understand. I was so focused on welcoming you into our Pack I didn’t see the big picture. Do we need to have a Clan wedding as well?”
“Normally only our men get married and that’s not very often. They mostly father children and don’t have a legal connection to the women that have their children.”
Mark was really confused now. “I don’t understand. Your people don’t mate each other?”
Chloe paused and looked down. “Vampire women are infertile. Our men must find Human women to breed with.”
“We will never have kids?”
“I don’t know that. None of us have ever tried with your people.”
This was a complication he didn’t know how to deal with; he had always expected to have kids. It would make things better for the Pack if they did not have any half-breeds running around. It was part of the reason they only selected mates from other Packs.
“Mark, is that a problem?”
He could see she was worried and thought carefully before answering. “It won’t be a problem. I always expected I would have kids, but I had also hoped I would mate for love.”
Chloe grabbed his hand and he felt her warmth. “I am sorry, Mark. I will be a good wife to you and show you the advantages of being with me. You do know you have responsibilities as my mate, right?”
“Anything out of the ordinary?”
“You know we feed off lust and sex? That means unless you want to share me with other people, I will need to be feeding off you, often.”
Mark shifted in his chair. “How often?”
“As often as you want, but at least several times a week.”
“You are saying that not only I am getting mated to a hot woman, but we have to have lots of sex?”
“You say that now, but remember this could be for hundreds of years. Men tend to get bored over time. We can work our way through any sexual fantasies you might have. I can even get another Vampire to join us if you want.”
Mark had a hard time keeping a straight face. “Anything?”
“Anything that turns you on. Later ton
ight, we can do a little charging of the ring I hold for you.”
Mark swallowed. “We should move on to other topics. We can talk more about what we are in private.”
She nodded. “We should have talked about that at home. What style of furnishing do you like for the house?”
“I don’t know. Things that are comfortable and don’t break easily.”
“Wood and leather, or more chrome and glass?”
“Something simple in woods and leather would be great. What did you do in your apartment?”
“It came fully furnished. It was okay, but nothing great and I had no choice in it. I’m looking forward to choosing our furnishings with you. Do you have anything of yours to bring to the new house?”
“Only my clothes and such. It’s our job to do the rest. My family sees it as a chance to learn who we are as a couple.”
She smiled. “Then we should do as a couple. Tomorrow after work, let’s take a trip to IKEA and pick things out together. I think they will have what we are looking for and we can get it on short notice. I don’t want to still be camping when Friday comes along.”
Mark grinned. “Good, one decision down. We should stop at the grocery store on the way back.”
“Do you cook?”
Mark grinned. “I was just going to ask you that!”
“Sorry, the kitchen is not my best room.”
He wasn’t going to take the bait this time. “I am not much of a cook. I can heat something with microwave instructions.”
They finished their dinner. They hit the grocery store for some emergency kitchen supplies and went back to the house.
Mark carried bags into the kitchen and started to put things away. “Do you want something to drink?”
She yelled back from the bedroom, “How about a rum and coke?”
He grabbed a couple of plastic glasses. The ice maker was all hooked up in the fridge so he added some ice to cool down the warm coke and rum, and brought them back to the living room where Chloe had set up the camp chairs. Mark sat in the two-person chair with drink holders while he waited.
***
Chloe went into the bedroom to change her clothes while Mark was putting away the groceries. It was time to show Mark she was the girl of his dreams; she had a black lace trim silk chemise she knew would knock his eyes out, and put on some black high heels to go with it. Before the wedding, she needed to know her feeding would not hurt him. The curiosity of what he looked like naked also played a part in it as well. Could she stand having sex with him if he was a human rug? This was her chance for locking Mark into the arrangement. If this fell through, she would be stuck working the brothel or something worse. Some of her close friends worked at The Second Circle, but she needed freedom and wanted more from life than feeding and parties.
He was waiting on the double camp chair with the drinks when she walked in. “Wow! You look amazing.”
She noticed his pants started to tent up. It was exactly the reaction she was hoping for. Chloe winked. “I wanted to look nice for you, and you did say you wanted to have some more time in private getting to know each other better.”
She sat down next to him and took a sip of her drink. “Thanks for the drink, Mark.”
He gulped down his drink, almost choking on it. “You’re welcome.”
Chloe gave her best sexy smile. “Now, where were we?”
“Learning more about each other, I think.”
She was dressed like this and all he could think about was talking?
“What do you want to know?”
“Do you get anything special out of feeding? What is going to happen to me?”
“It keeps us young and it makes us faster and stronger than Humans. When feeding on Humans, we have to be careful to not over-feed. Our feeding can have a narcotic effect on them and they can become addicted and go crazy. On Veiled, such as yourself, there are no lasting effects. Your enjoyment will be enhanced, but I will not be able to pull as much energy from you as I could from a Human.” She put her drink down and looked at him. “Mark, is this really want you want to do, talk?”
“I’m sorry, Chloe. I guess talking is my way of dealing with being a little shy.”
“You’re not a virgin, are you?”
Mark laughed a nervous laugh. “I have been with women before, but never with someone like you.”
Chloe winked and asked in a sultry voice, “What do you mean like me?”
“The others were girls and the only expectations were a bit of fun. You are a dazzling woman I want to impress.”
She touched his arm. “That must have been hard to admit.”
He chuckled. “That’s me, a real ladies’ man.”
Maybe she was pushing too hard. “My turn, ladies’ man. What’s it like to transform into a wolf?”
His face relaxed. “It’s hard to describe. One moment I’m Human, and the next it seems like I am living in a different world filled with different smells, sights, and sounds. I have a more effective body than normal Humans, but as a Wolf, it’s amped up and was overwhelming when I first changed. Would you like to see me change?”
Mark positivity glowed over the chance to show off. She wanted to get on with things but she was curious. “Absolutely! Please show me what you got.”
Mark started removing his clothes.
“I get a strip show as well? I should have gotten some dollars toss at you.”
Mark smiled. “We can only shift when we remove everything but our rings. Don’t ask me what happens to the ring, I don’t know.”
Mark stood before her with nothing but his ring and a smile. Chloe was impressed. This was her type of man. His body looked like it was chiseled from stone. Every muscle was lean, but fully defined and powerful. Her mouth hung open.
He smiled as if it was some sort of joke. “Were you expecting me to be really hairy?”
“I wasn’t sure what to think. I’m happy to see you’re not a walking fur rug.”
Mark’s body was making her wet just looking at him. She was used to seeing hot Vampire men, especially the ones performing on the Clan porn videos, but Mark would make some of them envious.
He posed and flexed his arms. “Like what you see?”
Chloe tipped her head to the side. “You’re not shy about being naked?”
“I was at first, but after years of getting naked in front of Wolves before shifting, I got over it.”
“I bet the admiring looks of the Pack girls didn’t hurt.”
Mark only smiled in response. A shimmering fog surrounded his body, until she could no longer see him. When her vision cleared, a wolf stood in his place. Chloe’s face turned white. Mark must have sensed her fear at being this close to a wolf. He lay down and made a whimpering sound. The wolf had Mark’s blue eyes. Chloe lowered herself to her knees and reached her hand out as if he was a strange dog. Mark licked her hand. She laughed and tossed her arms around his neck. His fur was softer than any dog she had ever met. He tried to stick his nose in her crotch several times. She stood up and took a step back.
She grinned. “Mark, you are a naughty wolf. If you want some of that, you are going to have to change back and be a man.”
The wolf hung its head and changed back to Mark’s Human body.
Chloe smiled as she admired his very long and hard cock. “I guess someone is happy to see me.”
Mark dropped his eyes. “Your scent is driving me wild.”
Chloe’s hunger growled. She wanted to feed off the lust radiating from him in waves. She moved forward and put her hand on his chest. “Let’s see if I can help you with that.”
Chloe kissed him deep and long, drinking in his need for sex. He grabbed her ass, pulling her close.
Chloe giggled. “Watch what you are doing with that thing.”
“Sorry, guess I’m a bit excited.”
She reached down and stroked him. “I would say so, come with me.”
Chloe took his hand and led him to the bedroom, kicked off the
heels, and pulled him down onto the bed.
He kissed her. She got lost in the moment drinking in his lust as their tongues danced. Her nipples pressed hard against the chemise and her body tingled with anticipation. She ran her hand down his strong chest as they explored each other. He traced her curves through the silk, smiling as tingles of pleasure ran though her body. She moved his hand to her breast and moaned, and he rubbed her nipple.
“Why don’t we get this out of the way.”
Mark nodded and then surprised her when he ripped the chemise off her body, like a kid ripping off the paper from a birthday present. His mouth hung open.
She tilted her head. “Like what you see?”
“You’re more gorgeous than I could have imagined.”
Chloe gave his arm a little slap. “You thought I would be ugly?”
Mark laughed. “You know that’s not true. You’re my dream girl.”
She batted her eyes at him. “Really, nothing you wouldn’t have changed?”
Mark laughed. “You expect me to answer that?”
“Don’t make me punch you.”
“In my dreams, you had blue eyes and were a redhead. Other than that, you’re a perfect match.”
“Oh, hot for redheads, are you? I could dye my hair.”
He touched his finger to her lips. “I don’t want you to change a single thing. You are the complete package for me as you are.”
Chloe smiled and sucked the finger he had placed on his lips. He closed his eyes and moaned. She could feel his cock throb with need against her body.
She rolled onto her back and pulled him on top. He kissed her and thrust his hips forward. His cock missed the mark and jabbed into her leg. She rotated her hips and spread her knees farther apart.
“Try again.”
He again attempted entry and missed. She moved her hand down and helped guide him this time and was rewarded with him slowly filling her. Chloe’s body was alive with yearning.
She screamed, “Yes, give it all to me!”
Mark’s energy filled her, and hers flowed back into him. Their souls were joining in a way Chloe had never felt before. Her hunger fed but it was something more, much more. Her body felt more alive and electric. She could hear her own moaning with pleasure, but it was like she listening to a porn movie play in the background. The ebb and flow of their actions filled her senses. The room felt like it was filled with light as they climaxed together. It was his joyful laughter that brought her back to her senses.
