by Zoe Forward
Viktor interrupted, “Take Ambrose. Kill him as an example. Let it be a gesture of my desire to perpetuate the peace. Call off Michael. Dominic Scarpa is acting alone. We do not condone his skirmish.”
Shock reflected in Vee’s gaze she it met his.
“Dominic and your son acting without consulting you? Doubtful. Should another DiFalco attack me, or I receive indisputable proof you targeted the biologics on us, I won’t call before I send Michael your way. Be assured I’ll be right behind him to finish what we started long ago. Since you cannot handle your people, I will deal with Dominic and Ambrose.” Lexan hung up.
She whispered, “He just gave up Ambrose…his son? Like that?”
“He’s a vampire, no offense to you intended. Family means jack shit to leeches most of the time, especially if it gets in the way of a leader’s agenda. He has six sons.”
“But his own son? Would you give up your son to be executed by vampires to save the peace?” Vee caught a shadow of movement near the door they’d just exited. Ryder.
“Never. Wolves protect their own. We treasure our children. They are our next generation and our only hope of species survival. Vamps and wolves may both represent long-lived species I wish would’ve evolved deep ethical beliefs, but both have not. Vampires have long judged us to be animals. It is they who are the more vicious, often acting without sentimentality or compassion. I find you…different. Refreshing. Perhaps, it’s the wolf in you, but you tap into your compassion. That, Vee, is a gift. It’s more wolf than vampire. Maybe it’s the reason you incited Dominic’s anger for decades. He detected what vampires perceive as weakness and sought to eradicate this, whereas wolves value empathy.” His gaze slid to Ryder who he knew had been in the shadows.
“Did you make that speech because I’m standing here?” Ryder asked.
“No. You’re my son. You will always be my son. Regardless of how far apart we might’ve drifted and the crap that lies between us, I would die fighting for you before sending you to your death over political bullshit. This is why I want you to train with Blay. I trust Blay to make you into a wolf to be respected and feared. Then I will no longer need to fear for your safety.”
“Fine. I’ll train with him.”
Vee shot Lexan a gooey smile. A point for him on a good speech. He meant every word.
Lexan ordered, “Leave us, Ryder. We have personal business to attend to. Speak not of my conversation with Viktor to anyone other than Blay.” He watched his son disappear into the house.
Lexan lifted her fingers and rubbed the pad of her forefinger against his lips. His tongue swiped her finger. She jerked as if startled. The flash drive fell on the ground. She grabbed for it and held it out to him. “I’m not sure I should be privy to whatever’s on here. It’s about your people.”
“Thank you.” He tucked it into his jeans.
Breathing roughly, she moistened her lips. Hoarsely, she asked, “One taste before we…you know?”
He smiled wickedly. “No.” He sucked her finger into his mouth.
She licked her lips again.
“I want that tongue all over me. But after.” He tugged her top off, dropped it to the ground, and licked the mark he’d left on her shoulder. He nibbled at it with his teeth. “Let the animal out.”
“What animal? I feel no animal. It’s just me here.” She tried to crane away from his nibbles on the sensitive mark, but he held her tight.
“Look at the moon. Feel her lure. I know you can feel the animal roaring to get out.” He kissed the smooth skin of her neck over her jugular vein. He angled her head to look skyward. “You taste so good. I could die right here, right now, and know nothing else felt as good as you in my arms.”
“That’s a pretty good line, if not super mushy.” She smiled as she stared at the mysterious blue orb in the sky, relaxing against him.
…
Something deep inside her grew in power, calling to her.
He unfastened her jeans and helped her remove them. “It’s important to remember where you left your clothing or have a plan for what to do for clothing when you want to shift back. There are other guidelines to shifting…we can review them later.”
He rumbled, “Before, after I bit you, you needed to run, didn’t you? That’s why you fled. That was the animal, Vee. She needs freedom.” Without warning, he bit her shoulder over the mark. His sharp canines dug into her shoulder like an angry pit bull.
She screamed and tried to yank away from him, but he held her. Her vision became clearer than ever. Waves of color expanded in her sight, color she could now see in the dark. Bands of reds and yellows hurt her eyes. Scents assaulted her, everything from the mold on a nearby branch to the smell of snow. She hadn’t even known snow had a smell.
Her skin ached and itched beneath her clothes. She peeled the cloth away, practically ripping the fabric to get it off her skin, even while her bones and muscles stretched. She gripped her head and fell to the ground. She could actually hear the sound of her body changing as ligaments popped and muscles realigned themselves.
Hooked nails sprung from her fingers, which could no longer hold her head.
Terror gave way to panic. How could she embrace this change, which confirmed her a mix?
When Vee opened her eyes, Lexan was all fur. A dark wolf towering over her where she lay on the ground.
In her mind he said, “Be calm, catifea. I’m right here. We’re both right here.”
She glanced down. No pale skin. Fur. But not the black or dark brown of a typical werewolf. Silver fur. She screamed, but it came out a howl.
Oh. My. God. She was a fricking wolf. She was an abomination.
Her stand was more of a newborn horse wobble to get upright on all fours. All she wanted was to run. To get away from this. To find somewhere safe to figure out how to transform back to normal. Then, she’d never do this again. Ever. She fell.
She wanted to shift back and remain a vampire. Only, she wasn’t a vampire. She was a freak.
Vee got unsteadily to her feet again. This time she managed to walk a few steps like a drunk who’s convinced she didn’t have one too many and could walk the painted line. After a few more steps, she got the hang of it.
“Take it easy,” he ordered.
“Get out of my head.” She stretched, feeling the enormous strength in her muscles. Heart pounding, she moved faster, now at a trot, feeling her power grow with each step. She sprinted.
“Slow down, Vee.” His tone held an edge. She didn’t care to figure out what kind of edge. The bliss…the freedom in moving this fast pushed her to run harder.
She threw her legs out faster. The stressors disappeared. There was only her in sync with the world around her, running for the joy of it. The perfect rhythm of nature. The rustle of dead leaves. The sound of the stream far away. Her sleek legs reacted like springs as she leapt over branches and dodged ice patches.
She ran until she couldn’t breathe, until she was blinded by exhaustion and her feet screamed. No, they weren’t feet. Paws.
“Vee, stop. Can you hear me?”
“Go away!” she screamed back.
She ran for what seemed like an hour until she collapsed in a field. Finally alone, having left him—or at least she thought she’d ditched him long ago. She stared at the moon. There may be joy in the wild freedom of this form, but being this way left no doubt of her genetic blend. Her ability to have fur and run on all fours distanced her further from whatever life Lexan wanted for them, even if it made half of her more like him. Sorrow weighed on her as she curled into a ball. Lexan had responsibilities to his people who were now at war with her kind. Only, vampires weren’t her kind, either.
I want to be myself. Me. Not this dog. I never wanted to be a dog. She felt wetness on her face and touched. With hands.
Back to vampire. But, wait, she wasn’t really a vampire.
What was she?
She curled tighter into herself and sobbed.
A hand touched her.
She flinched away. “Leave me alone.”
“You were spectacular,” he whispered.
“I don’t want to be spectacular with fur. I’m a vampire. Only, I’m not. I don’t know what I am.” She sat and punched him hard. Then she pummeled his chest until her hands hurt. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight as the tears came again. She continued to hit his back, although the hits grew weaker until she quit.
He smoothed her hair and rubbed her back. “You are you. Unique and beautiful. You belong with me.”
“You can’t keep a mix as your mistress. You’re an idiot.” She giggled. “A naked idiot.”
“I’m not the only one who’s naked.” He kissed her forehead and then her lips. “Let me remind you how much you belong. And how much I don’t care what you are.” He placed his mouth to her neck. “How right this is and always will be.” He lowered her beneath his concrete-hard naked body, pinning her to the ground. She didn’t struggle as he moved between her legs. She should. He’d release her. Yet, she liked him surrounding her, and reassuring her. She hated that. Hated that he diffused her panic with a few reasonable words and his body. Damn his eyes so intense and hungry.
“Damn you, Lexan.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
He kissed down her neck to her collarbone then leisurely trailing lower. “Damn me if you must, but I’m not leaving you.”
His tongue curled around her nipple in exquisite torture. Her pulse pounded, loudly roaring through her ears. His neck, now exposed, tempted her to bite. Her canines throbbed and elongated, desperate for a taste. She couldn’t shake her addiction to his blood and his body.
He took one nipple into his mouth. She arched into him. “Lexan.” His name came out a sigh of longing she couldn’t suppress. “We shouldn’t. You and me…us remaining together will put you at risk from everyone, even your own people.”
“Nothing new. I’ve been a target since the moment I was born. Just feel. Stop thinking. No talking. Just feel.”
He drew the taut point of her nipple deep into his mouth and sucked hard with strong, hungry movements. Swirling sensation took over her mind and every nerve of her body. She couldn’t deny this or him. A guttural moan broke free.
“Yeah, that’s the most beautiful sound in the world—except for you screaming my name when I’m inside you.” The gravel in his voice, the straining in his hips, the hard length pressing into her…she almost climaxed right there.
The mess waiting for them back at the house, the reality and horror of her existence… All of it drifted away when his tongue plunged into her mouth. His mouth broke away from hers and moved back down to her breasts.
“Please…” she begged. Oh God. She needed this. Right here in the open on the ground with him. Only him. She licked his neck.
The growl that came out of his chest reminded her he wasn’t a vamp. He was a vicious wolf. Part animal. The noise incited more heat between her thighs. She teased his neck with her elongated canines. He shivered.
“Do it. Bite. Take what you need,” he ordered.
She complied with a gentle score to his neck. He entered her with a groan. So deep inside her. She spasmed instantly, climaxing so hard that her brain went offline. Despite the languor in the aftermath, she licked closed the bite on his neck, unsure how much she’d taken and hoping it wasn’t too much. She relaxed onto the dead grass. They’d emitted so much heat together they’d melted the snow beneath them.
“How will it work with the blood for me? Can I still drink human blood or will I always need werewolf?”
“I don’t know. I think you can do either. I haven’t known any demisangs. Are you okay after…everything?” He pulled her into him, sharing his warmth.
No. She’d never be okay.
“I almost got you killed by Ambrose.” She stared at the sky. “You being with me is too dangerous for you.”
Lexan moved hair away from her face and smiled. “My boys are good at what they do. They can protect both of us. I want you with me, not somewhere else. If you leave, I’ll follow.”
“You have political responsibilities.”
“I do. I’ve done it for too long. They can choose someone else to be their leader, if this is a problem. I’ve been waiting for someone else to step up for decades. The issue is everyone else qualified is scared shitless to do it or too young. Blay flat out won’t. I won’t lie to you about this…us. You surprised me. A few days ago, I could never have imagined being involved with a vamp on any level. I didn’t fare well prior to the War. Now…maybe I’ve gone crazy, but I want this.”
“No one else wants your job, because they’re not you. From what I’ve seen and heard, you do a good job balancing the hate between our species.” She wiped a smudge of dirt off his cheek. “How do you not hate vampires?”
“I hate the ones who still see us as inferior. There are newer-generation vampires who don’t see us this way. They don’t remember the past and are more open-minded. The war in this country, though, has bred a new generation of haters. But not you. The tension leading to this situation with Ambrose has been there for centuries. You were but the excuse. Not the cause. My stupidity almost killed you. If Blay didn’t have the antidote to silver poisoning—”
“What? There’s an antidote?” She pushed up onto her elbows beneath him.
“This has to stay a secret. You removing my blood didn’t work. You went into seizures from silver toxicity. Blay gave both of us the antidote. Once vamps realize they can’t kill us with silver anymore, their weaponry may become more barbaric.”
“Blay didn’t tell you he had this?”
“Blay is a bit secretive about what he has his scientific teams work on. I should’ve known he’d focus on our weaknesses in addition to finding a cure for the virus. The antidote’s a miracle.”
“It’s a game changer.”
“Yes.” His lips came down on hers.
She loved kissing him. She loved his strength. Crap, there was a lot of love in those thoughts.
“You are so beautiful,” he said in a hoarse voice. “You’re practically glowing with strength now.”
“This is lust talking.”
“Probably.” He nuzzled her chest again, licking. “This, whatever it is between us, is new to me. New is good. I haven’t felt anything new in longer than I can remember.”
She traced the tattoo on his back with her fingers. “What does it mean?”
“It’s old language for wolf slave. All who were slaves had this etched into the skin.”
“That’s awful.”
“It is what it is. Not many of us from the old days remain.”
“I don’t see how this will work. You’re worried, too. Don’t lie. It’s all over your face…and thoughts. I’m…whatever I am. And you are what you are. We are worlds apart. I don’t know if what I feel is real or about addiction to blood. Can you tell me with 100-percent certainty you know what’s between us is right? That this is not simply something to alleviate your boredom with life?”
He didn’t jump in to reassure her. Certainty of the wrongness of them floated to the fore of her brain.
Finally he said, “We are right together. You’ll come with me to where I can keep you safe.”
Her stomach dropped. “You’re answer is to hide me from your people and mine? Even you’re not sure how wolves will respond to me. I don’t want to be imprisoned, even if your prison comes with good benefits. I can’t live like that. I’ll find my own way from now on.” She pushed him away from her and stood.
“Vee, come on. What we have is a once-in-a-lifetime connection. My inner wolf chose you. This isn’t something that happens all the time. It isn’t random. You have to get that.” He caught her against him. “Don’t you feel it? Let me get you away from all that can hurt you.”
“I don’t want to be locked up. I need to be able to live and be useful. I can’t do that locked away.”
“You can’t gallivant all over the world. What if you get t
argeted with the virus? What if Ambrose gets you back? I couldn’t stand it if you died and I didn’t do everything I could to protect you. Please, Vee—”
“I do get it. You must do the alpha male protect-the-female shit. It’s who you are. What am I supposed to do in your house? Decorate? Spit out mini-Lexans?” Whoa. His face was a yes. “How does that make you any better than Dominic who I fought to get every measure of freedom I achieved? He used every opportunity to try to beat me into quitting work until he finally decided the best approach was to marry me off and force pregnancy.”
“That’s not fair. I’m not Dominic. I’ll never physically hurt you. I swear. But I can’t lose you. Your protection is imperative. This bond is a gift.”
She wiggled away from him and ran on foot, not fur, back to where she’d left her clothes, hearing him pad behind her, but terrified to look to see if he’d turned into the wolf again. The throb of each of his heartbeats tempted her with the need for more of the elixir flowing through his body. With jerky movements, she tugged on her abandoned clothes. The chill in the air, which she hadn’t noticed minutes ago, now caused her to shiver.
“Don’t run from me.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
She jogged into the house, a mansion in comparison to her two-bedroom apartment, and discovered a stocked bathroom on the second floor. She clicked the door lock into place. Absurd to lock the door. Any creature in this house could barge through the door with a pinky finger, but the illusion of privacy comforted her.
After a long shower, she hopped out and stumbled, stifling a scream. Trace sat on the closed toilet, picking at his nails. She yanked a towel off the wall rack and wrapped it tight.
He glanced up, unapologetic. “We’re leaving. Carol negotiated some sort of deal with Dominic.”
Her stomach dropped. Carol must’ve freaked out at her communication silence and no-show in Atlanta.
Trace held up his phone. “Got a voice message from Dominic earlier saying she flew back to North Carolina to negotiate a deal to get you out of everything—marriage, the treatment, the country. We go to them, you tell them all you know about Aleksander, and then they let you leave the country with Carol.”
