by C. M. Steele
“Allegra,” I call out, wondering if she can hear me. I sense her, but it’s weak. Normally, I can feel her penetrating my being, but it’s as if her thoughts are no longer her own. “He has her,” I tell Alessandro.
“We must get to her. How did he get ahold her?” he exclaims.
“I don’t know. He has to have help. Who would help him?” Over the years, other vampires feared him, but no one has the capabilities to ensnare her without physically restraining her.
“No vampire has ever been able to control my family,” he remarks. The hunters have been given extra abilities over the years.
“He hasn’t turned her, has he?” I ask, hoping that it’s not possible.
“No, he can’t until the sun is down.” He’s right, but I’m fucking scared. It’s the first time since I’ve been turned that I’m afraid of him. “But I don’t doubt he’s going to try.”
“She’s mine,” I roar, forgetting that he’s her father.
“I know,” he says, nodding and playing with the cuff of his sweater.
I stare out the window, watching the town come alive with the festivities, then I ask, “How did you know?”
“It’s written in your actions. If you think I didn’t notice what these past four years have done to either of you, you’re mistaken. The lore is that the last of the hunters will mate with a vampire and he will be all-powerful. My daughter is the last of our family.”
“That means he believes that if he mates with her, he will have ultimate power.”
“I need to find her.” I bang my hand against the wall as I train my eyes, searching the crowds for her.
“Then listen for her. You’ve been the one to lead me to her several times whether you know it or not. I’m trying. He’s blocking me. I know it. Damn it,” I growl.
“I’m going to search,” I say before, stepping out and slamming the door closed. I can fly around as a bat or even a transform into a bird, but I won’t give in to the risk of Vlad having help. There’s no way he’s doing this alone.
I’ve learned so much over the years, and one thing is human blood smells different than a supernatural being. I breathe in the air, scenting for a different creature.
“Allegra, call for me,” I whisper repeatedly.
She doesn’t answer, but I can hear her cries. They are low, weak. I follow them, and a part of me knows that I’m walking into a trap, but I have to find my mate. There’s a large mansion up ahead, but that’s not where I sense her. I move up the road to a small cottage on the outskirts of town. And that’s when I see through the window, my bride preparing for a ball.
“What are you doing here?” I spin around to see a lanky man in a robe staring at me with a raised brow.
“Just walking to see if I can sneak into the creepy mansion down the road. I hear it gets spooky around here at night.”
“Well, there’s nothing here this way. The woods is the place to go.” I nod and turn around and start in the other direction. He reaches for the door, and I’m on him, my claws at his throat. “Open this door before I shred you to pieces,” I warn him.
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with. I’m a warlock.”
“And you have my mate trapped inside. If I lose her, I’ve nothing, so test me.” He unlocks the door and leads me inside. My beauty looks radiant when she sees me her pretty blue eyes light up.
Fear comes over her, and she grabs hold of my shirt with terror in his eyes. “You have to leave, Alaric. He’ll be here,” she cries out.
“Oh, you have been so kind to make it. Tell me, Alaric. What do you think of my bride? The beautiful Allegra, the last of the vampire hunters. She’s mine. I will have it all.”
“The last of the vampire hunters?” the warlock shithead questions.
“Yes, my friend. I may have kept that information from you, but it won’t matter soon. She will be mine, and you will be rewarded. Get her out of here. I will destroy this interloper.”
“No,” Allegra screams.
“Oh, my pet. You mustn’t fight this. After all, your dear Alaric is just working for your father. Alessandro wants total power. That’s why he let me turn him all those years ago.”
“No, you’re lying,” she denies.
“Oh, but it is. Tell her, Alaric. Tell my future bride that you’ve been stalking the sweet Allegra with the help of her father.” She looks at me, and I can’t lie to her.
“It’s not what you think.”
She runs out of the door. “Follow her.”
Chapter 3
Allegra
I’m running blindly into the woods. My father is alive, and yet he’s pretending to be dead. “Stop. Allegra. Stop.” I freeze because the one who has the power over me isn’t Vlad. It’s this little wannabe Voldemort wizard asshole. I spin around in my red gown the creature of the night picked out for me. I hate red. I always have, and this only proves how terrible Vlad would be as a mate.
“Let me go. Why are you doing this for him?”
“He threatened me. The reward is he doesn’t butcher my wife.”
“If you can put a spell on me then you can do it to him.”
“You’re human, he isn’t. I’m not the best damn warlock. I’m fairly new in my family. If I could have gotten her out of her cell in his castle, then I would be fine, but it’s protected against regular enchantments.”
“I can help you with that,” a voice utters from behind me. “Allegra.”
“No, this can’t be happening to me. You’re supposed to be dead,” I cry out, dropping to my knees. “This can’t be.”
“I’m sorry, my little girl.” He throws his arms around me, and I feel the difference. He isn’t human anymore.
“What happened?” I ask. “Damn it, tell me what happened?”
“I was chasing Vlad like always. You know I left you with trusty Willis because I was afraid of Vlad getting his hands on you. I felt you were in danger, but I never thought he’d bite me and leave me there to turn. I struggled to decide if I should come back and confess, but I knew in your heart that you couldn’t kill me. I wouldn’t let you have that choice. I faked my death and prayed that one day when your vampire came to you, you could forgive me.”
“I can’t kill you, but Alaric is in there all alone. Now is not the time for a reunion. I have to help him.”
“We can’t until I get my wife.”
“Fine, we get her, and then we help Alaric. Where is she?” my father asks. He tells us where Vlad’s lair is and with a touch of my father’s hand, we’re no longer in the woods.
Chapter 4
Alaric
“You and I are about to finish this.” The sun begins to set, and I’m feeling twice as strong as before. Nothing’s going to stop me from keeping him away from my mate. An intense desire to finally bond with her is too strong to hold back a second longer. I must destroy Vlad before he can harm her, or even worse, claim her for himself.
“Yes, I’m about to send you on to oblivion,” Vlad laughs eerily. “Like I should have done all those nights ago.”
“Well, it seems that night left a permanent reminder on both of us.” I tap my eye, then point at his disfigured eye, laughing at the wound that she caused him the night she saved my life. His eye recovered mostly, but the scarring around it wasn’t quite cleared up after all this time.
He makes the first move hitting me in the jaw. I stumble back, but I manage to dodge the next blow. He’s swift, having two hundred years on me and a natural born vampire, but I’ve been training for this day. I deliver a kick to the side of his head, sending him into a table. We both center ourselves, wiping the blood from our mouths. Vlad comes again, attacking me quickly, punching me in the ribs, I uppercut him, sending him backward for a second. “It won’t matter for long. I’ll be the most powerful vampire around, and you will be dust,” he scoffs, then turns his head to the side.
If he thinks he’s fooling me, he’s wrong. I can’t lose; I won’t fail because that means I lose Al
legra. I’ll move heaven and Earth to make sure it doesn’t happen. I take a calming breath and listen to the noise around us. Centering myself, I sense his movements before he finishes them. The next three strikes are blocked.
His frustration is mounting, and he loses his control, making him vulnerable. His body lunges forward at me again, but I move quicker, shoving him back against the wall and thrusting a hidden stake filled with liquid nitrogen into his heart. With a press of my thumb, I release the gas inside his body, then I step back and smile. “Your frozen heart couldn’t handle her.” With a spinning kick, I shove the stake through him and nailing him to the wall. His body starts freezing from the inside out and then for good measure, I punch off his frozen head.
Now to find my mate. I run through the woods, but their scent is gone. I return to the apartment, hoping that somehow Alessandro saved her. I enter and sitting at a table are Alessandro, the fucking warlock, and a young woman with grey eyes and long white hair. “Ah, you’ve made it. Hoped you would make quick work of him.”
“Where is she?” I growl, snarling at them.
“Getting ready for your hunt in the most beautiful blue gown I could make,” the white-haired woman utters. “This is for you,” she adds, handing me a black tuxedo with a blue tie.
Tonight, they are having a ball of sorts, and she will be there. I change quickly and make my way there. The ability to move faster than the speed of light is worth a lifetime of drinking blood. Now, to claim my mate. I enter the main hall, greeted by the doorman who directs me to the ballroom the hall that is decorated in purple, black, and silver—an elegant Halloween. I nod, moving into the ballroom. I close my eyes and breathe in the air, and my eyes dart open as I smell her. That is when I see her flee the room through the farthest doors from me. I give chase…
Chapter 5
Allegra
Something in me four years go understood that he was different, unique. Even before he became a vampire, I felt something for him—like a school girl crush. I had a hard time staying away from him at the festival, even staying out well past my curfew.
I look myself over to make sure nothing is out of place. I’m meeting my fate with pleasure. Everyone smiles at me. Then my father takes my hand, and before I know it, we are standing in front of the mansion. He bends down and kisses my cheek. “Goodbye for now,” he says, disappearing into the night. There’s much discussion to come between us, but for now, I have a date with destiny. I enter the party, greeting old acquaintances. I may not have been in Manchester long all those years ago, but these people seem to have the minds of elephants. “Allegra? Is that you? I haven’t seen you in years. My you are so lovely. You should meet my son.”
I smile graciously, but I make my excuses, “Thank you, Mrs. Fernbach. I’m only in town briefly. I leave by morning.”
“Pity, he’s a handsome man.”
“Thank you, I have a boyfriend,” I inform her. It’s not quite a lie, but my life is so much more complicated than that. “Please have a wonderful evening.”
“Yes, you do as well.” I move through the crowds to find a place to watch the scene around me. Several men come up to me and ask for a dance. I politely refuse because my mind is solely focused on waiting for Alaric.
He’s here. I felt him before I saw him. He looks hotter than I remember. Everything about Alaric is bigger. He’s standing there in a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt open at the collar and no tie. A moan softly passes my lips, and our eyes meet. He smiles knowingly, and although I’m glad that he conquered Vlad, I’m not going to make it easy for him to claim me…not one bit. It’s been four long years, and yet I’m more anxious than I was when I learned that I would be mated to him. The whole thing is coming to a head.
“Come to me,” I hear, through the crowd which seems to open up, giving us an uninterrupted view of each other for just a moment. I arch my brow, smirk then run through double doors and into another room and then another. The tightness of the bodice is making this hard to breathe as I giggle and run. I lock a large wooden door and find the light. I’m in an extensive, spectacular library. A leather winged back chair is big enough to disguise me in the room if I can stop giggling. I’ve never felt so free in all my life. Maybe it’s the resolution that my fate wasn’t up to me, or maybe that my mate sends my pulse racing and my pussy tingling. I rub my breasts, wondering what it would feel like to have his hands on me.
He found me. I can feel him in the room. Now, I know why he was always on my mind throughout the years. I could sense his presence around me even though I couldn’t see him. He appears in front of me. I stare at my future, and I’m not afraid. "Don't run from me, my enchanting Allegra." He releases a few “tsk tsks” at me, wagging his finger. Can I run again? I think to myself. “I wouldn’t try it, my sweet.”
Before I can run again, he blocks me in with his strong hands on each arm. He stares at me like I’m prey. Eyes so blue, he can’t hide what he is. I whisper, “I’ve been waiting—now claim me.”
He leans forward, dropping his lips to mine, in my first kiss. I moan, clutching at the lapels of his tuxedo jacket, sliding my hands under it and feel his beating heart. It’s faster than I could have ever imagined. “Alaric,” I sigh. “Should kill you.”
He pulls back, and brushes my mouth with his, uttering, “But you can’t, little hunter. Soon you will be mine in every way. From the way, your heart beats to the sound of your cries as you come for your mate in ultimate ecstasy will be mine for the taking. I have longed for you these four years. I’ve watched you, wishing to take away your pain and waiting for you to grow up just a little more. It was hard to continue to wait, but now the time is over. Our eternity begins now, Allegra.” His mouth closes over mine again, kissing me until I’m panting and out of breath.
He pulls back and whispers, “Thank you for saving me, my love. I have a little retreat for us before we return to my castle.”
“Castle?”
“What is a vampire without his castle?” he jokes. I start to giggle, but it makes him growl. I bit my bottom lip, holding back the instant moan his power drags out of me. “No time for laughs, my love. Become mine. I don’t want to wait another minute to have you.”
“Please take me however you please,” I beg, clawing at his buttons. He slips off his jacket effortlessly, but he lets me handle his buttons while slipping his hand under my back and sliding down my zipper. “Ugh, I can’t get to you fast enough,” I complain. And with a swift movement of his, both of us are naked on the floor in front of a blazing fire lying on a rug, I didn’t notice before. His strong muscles tighten as he leans on his hands to stare at me. “So damn beautiful.”
Alaric lowers his head, and trails kisses down my neck, grazing my flesh. I turn my head, giving him more room to take my past and change my future. Only one night a year can they turn those they drink from. Tonight that will be me. My fate was written since my birth. My father and I knew it, but we tried to fight it. No more. I want to surrender to Alaric.
He doesn’t bite me just yet. Instead, he moves lower, gliding his tongue over my breasts, licking each one before taking my hard nipples into his mouth.
Chapter 6
Alaric
After four years my senses demand I make this quick, but I must take my time and make it special for both of us. I’ve never known the touch of another woman, vampire or other, and I’m grateful that she’s my only one even if the wait for her has been unbearable. I’ve longed to claim her, envisioned her in so many ways that the sound of her heart beating for me nearly undoes me. My cock stiffens more and more with every beat. Moving lower, I kiss her slender waist then her flat stomach that will soon be filled with my son. I nip at her, but I don’t pierce her perfect flesh.
Sliding between her thighs, I nudge them apart with my shoulders. I want to breathe her in, and savor the hot, wet pheromones that she’s releasing, making my mouth water. “Now, don’t make too much noise my love. I don’t want to have an audience as I take m
y bride,” I warn her, cupping her ass and lifting her pussy up into my face.
She moans, letting her legs fall to the side until my tongue grazes the seam of her pussy. “Alaric, oh my Lord.”
“That I am,” I growl against her. “Say it again,” I demand, nipping at her thigh.
She clenches her sexy thighs around my head and cries out, “Yes, my Lord, Alaric please claim me. I need you.” I smile against her sweet cunt, slipping my thumbs into her wetness.
I groan and grunt while she releases a long moan as I drink her juices and tease her clit that begs for my attention. I pull it between my teeth, taking my time sucking and licking her nub until her pussy spasms. Then she gives me all her cum. The tightness in my balls makes it hard to think straight, but I’m not even close to finished with my mate. I rise over her, my cock rubbing on her clit, rocking my length up and down until she’s ready for me. I’m going to hurt her, but that has to happen, and it gives me pleasure to know she’s only mine.
I bend down, leaning on my elbows and kiss her roughly running my hands up her body, feeling her tender skin under my fingers. “You’re mine, Allegra. I want to feel your body sing for me.”
“Do you want to come only for me?”
She thrusts her hips up, giving my answer while she drags my face down to hers kissing me and clawing her nails down my back. With a roll of her hips, she slides the tip inside, and I lose control. Jets of my cum spray her entrance, but my cock won’t go down any time soon. I complete our connection in one swift movement and take her innocence, then I take her blood.
Chapter 7
Allegra
His fangs barely prick my skin then I feel nothing but pleasure from his claiming. We were meant to mate. Thus his bite screams desire through my veins summoning a new hunger for pure passion. Releasing me quickly, he licks my wound which seals it closed. His bright blue eyes stare into mine, penetrating my thoughts. “You are mine, my sweet Allegra,” he whispers, thrusting himself deeper into my pussy. I shake with need all over again. I can feel my fangs sliding down from my gums. He smiles when he sees them, pumping even more violently into me. I feel my pussy throbbing, clenching for more. One more, long and deep claim on my core, and I’m coming for him as he empties out every drop of his cum into my womb.
