Talon

by Alice Wade

  Exasperated, Lainey crinkled her eyes, leaning forward, “Yes, you do. You could stay,” she urged. “I could get Kailani outside the gates, and we could find this coven. You don’t need to leave.” Her voice trembled with the suggestion, because it broke her heart to suggest parting ways. She’d just gotten him back.

  “You are to be my wife,” he said pointedly, her words stirring up anger. “I’ll not leave you. Out of the question.”

  Lainey sighed loudly before she approached and slipped into his arms. She didn’t want to leave him and didn’t like that she’d upset him either. Immediately, she inhaled and savored the intoxicating scent of blood flowing rapidly through his body. His heartbeat sounded like a drum, and she felt her restraint waver. The tingling in her gums signified the arrival of her incisors, but she battled the need to feed back and regained control.

  He felt her tense. “Are you hungry?” he asked, looking down into her strained face. “It’s been awhile since you last ate.”

  “I would rather you make that offer to Kailani. She has not eaten in a longer period of time. I’m worried.” A flash of jealously burned her judgment at the thought of Kailani feeding from Dace, but she swallowed it. This must have been how Kailani felt when Lainey was learning to feed off Talon. She immediately became more humbled.

  “Please?” she asked as her face turned more hopeful in his direction.

  “If you think it will help, I will.” He used his strong hand to caress her cheekbone before cupping her full cheek. “What about you though? Would it take away from you getting what you need? You’re my primary concern.”

  “I’ll manage.”

  He wasn’t so sure. “What if I ask one of the men if they’d be willing to help with Kailani and that leave me all for you?”

  There’s an idea she hadn’t thought of. “Who?”

  “Omar, of course. He’s really the only one I trust to not misunderstand the situation.” A light brightened his eyes, “Let me go ask.” He’d already detached himself from her embrace before his complete sentence was out. “I’ll be right back.”

  * * * *

  Deandra sailed high on the sensations that assaulted her. Her conversion consisted of three more rounds similar to what she’d experienced earlier. They fed from her, enjoyed her body, and ultimately eased the burning itch of sexual need that never seemed to go away.

  At the moment, she lay draped between the legs of Kaen’s naked body with her back resting on his chest. Against her back, she felt his hardening cock and knew it was probably getting close to the fourth round of her conversation. Her body responded. She found that the more the night progressed, so did her appetite for the acts they performed on her.

  They had moved to a room with a large bed, since she no longer required to be tied down. To her right lay one vampire; she absently stroked his cock softly while she rested. Between her legs, Warwick was presently licking at her, his face buried and the hair of his goatee sending shivers through her overly stimulated skin. He tasted the change in her arousal, lifting his head in question and smirked, “Ready?”

  She blushed at the memory of what they had recently completed. Kaen and Warwick had enjoyed her at the same time, working in tandem to bring her to the highest state of pleasure yet. While she rode both their shafts, Faelwen offered his cock for her to stroke, but the intensity of the other two prevented her from truly paying homage to his impressive shaft.

  She liked the dark-skinned Faelwen a lot. He’d shown up late, but joined in without hesitation. She regretted he had not been in the original group that fed first because she found him just as eager as Warwick at tasting what she had to offer.

  “Depends. What do you have in mind this time?” she challenged and received a wicked grin in reply.

  Kaen leaned down from behind and kissed her cheek. “You’ve impressed me, Deandra. I would have thought you’d fight us, but instead you’ve given us such pleasure.” He trailed kisses down her neck. “Has your feeling of our wedding night changed?”

  She sucked in a sharp breath as Warwick captured her clit in his teeth and began his sensual attack as he flicked her nub with his strong tongue. It was very distracting. Deandra couldn’t find her voice until he let up, looking up over her mound with a smugness. He knew exactly what he had done.

  Deandra laughed at his efforts while she ran her fingers through his short ash colored hair. “Yes, love. You’ve redeemed yourself greatly,” she finally replied to Kaen, while she continued to admire Warwick’s face from between her spread legs.

  Kaen watched for signs of her hunger. He knew that at any moment, the thirst would be awakening because they had completed the majority of the conversion. All he could sense from her though, was her never ending craving for sex.

  Throughout the night, he had introduced her to the ability of telepathic communication, and asked, “Do you feel thirsty, love?” She would need to feed from him multiple times to complete his effects of siring her.

  Deandra flinched at the sound of his voice suddenly in her head. She was still not used to this new form of speech. “My throat is dry, yes, but I don’t feel thirsty.”

  He chuckled. “That feeling is your hunger. It is time. You hunger is now replaced with a thirst and only blood will ease your dry throat.”

  Kaen looked down at Warwick, who had returned to slowly lapping at her folds while the two of them spoke. “Warwick, enough. She’s ready to feed.”

  The vampire snarled but reluctantly backed off.

  “Deandra, come here,” Kaen asked, plucking her hand off the cock of the vampire to her right, who also snarled but moved off. “Face me, darling.”

  She complied, but looked around in confusion as all the other vampires moved to stand at the foot of the bed. “What’s going on?”

  “You’ve reached the final phases of the conversion, wife.” Kaen collected her into his arms, slanting his head for a kiss and paused, “You will feed from me now for the first time.” When the last word left his mouth, his lips closed over hers and passionately caressed her mouth.

  At the mention of feeding and the closer proximity to his neck, she felt a burning need that clouded her senses. Deandra shook her head to clear it, but the burning remained. Her body told her to do something, but she wasn’t sure what to do.

  Kaen watched her closely. He wanted her to discover these things for herself and felt the trepidation over what was happening.

  Deandra felt a tingling sensation in her mouth, almost like her teeth were shifting. When she explored with her tongue, she discovered sharp razor pointed teeth on the top and bottom. Her eyes opened wide, and caused Kaen to chuckle.

  “I see you’ve discovered your fangs,” He had no complaints about her appearance after the conversion. Deandra was stunning before, now she was perfected. He enjoyed this transformation and knew she would too. He saw the recognition in her face when he mentioned her fangs and resisted a smile at her vanity. Deandra squealed and jumped off the bed. She had to shove a few vampires out of the way because they were blocking the mirror and she desperately wanted to see her teeth.

  Her hair was a flaxen gold now, streaked with amber highlights that practically shined. She widened her eyes to see her blue iris’ that seemed to glow now. Touching her cheek, she explored her features that were altered to give her appear she was created by the God’s themselves. Along with those changes, Deandra looked down at her body. It became firmer, her breasts larger, and of course, an increased sexual appetite which matched Kaen’s in ferocity.

  She didn’t recognize the woman in the reflection. She touched her silken skin, running fingers through her luxurious hair and finally, she barred her teeth, displaying both sets of fangs; top and bottom.

  “Are they always going to be here?” She turned to Kaen. “Yours aren’t.”

  He finally laughed at her vanity. Inst
ead of responding to the pull of his blood, she cared more about her appearance and ran for the nearest mirror. “Until you learn control, they may appear against your will when you are in the proximity of fresh blood. Once you learn control, you’ll be able to master when they drop.” He held out his hand, “Come,” he urged. “Try them on me.”

  Deandra took one last look at the gorgeous woman in the mirror before she climbed back into bed with Kaen. She practically crawled up his body, to sit on his lap.

  He shifted, lifting her enough to enter her body, “Trust me; you’ll thank me for that in a moment.”

  Distracted from feeding, Deandra moaned as he filled her completely. She would rather play with him and forgot about what she was about to do.

  Kaen laughed and pulled her head so she was looking at him straight in the eye. “Focus.” The scent of something tangy started to tickle her nose, making her want to sneeze, but not quite enough to complete the action. She wrinkled her nose in response.

  “You smell my blood,” he observed as he rubbed his neck along his jugular, “Bite me here. Drink. Drink from me, my wife.”

  A moment of insecure hesitation halted her. She wasn’t sure what to do. When she tasted the venom that dripped down her teeth, her instincts took over. The bite was deep and clean. She nearly gagged at first, but soon her body found a rhythm of its own and she swallowed large mouthfuls of Kaen’s blood.

  Kaen thrust upward, ramming into her depths with a driving force that intensified her first experience. That sent her into an instantaneous orgasm which fractured her mind and soul. It left her trembling and purring at the same time. After that, Deandra took over as she rode out her quake, and rhythmically rode her husband while she filled her mouth with more and more of his blood.

  What ran through her head as she felt both the incredible heat from his cock sliding inside her and the salty taste of his blood on her tongue was…she was finally a vampire. She was finally young forever!

  Chapter Twelve

  Even when the rest of the quarter was asleep and silent, the inn where Warwick discovered the renegades hide out stood ablaze with light. He absently scratched at his short hair thinking about this situation, while remaining cloaked under a spell of concealment in the shadows.

  Kailani was in there that was for sure. Her pull was insistent on his soul and practically called to him. The urge to rush in was overpowering. It always was with her, especially when he was nearby. That was precisely why he had not allowed himself to be within two hundred miles of her and had maintained that rule for a hundred and fifty years. He wasn’t ready to tangle with Talon again. Until now. He looked at the building, feeling a shiver travel down his spine. His rule broken and now here she was, not a hundred feet from his hidden location. Warwick felt the need to do…something.

  This discovery was a blessing and a curse. If Kai was there, then so was Lainey. However, it also meant Talon lurked about somewhere close by. He never left his mate’s side for long and that was the problem.

  Warwick couldn’t believe his good fortune when he took a different path home after being out. He never passed through this part of town for the poverty depressed him. He hated it. He came from one such quarter and avoided them whenever he could because it was a painful memory. So, it was total luck that tonight, he deviated to get home faster and stumbled across this inn.

  Kaen was still in the process of converting the princess and he really wanted to get back and rejoin the group. Deandra had a drugging affect on him, but it compared nothing to what Kailani did to him. When he felt that haunting tug at this heart and soul, he abandoned all need to return. That tug brought him here, to this run down building, surrounded by the stench of elven magic.

  A dog barked in warning at Warwick where he squatted and looked around the perimeter. He particularly searched for any sign of weakness or breach in the wards that Talon had set to protect the building. The barking became annoying so he growled at the dog, alerting the animal that of the two, the vampire was more dominant. That sent the cur scampering back to his shed, immediately silent.

  His attention immediately returned to the building when a light came on in the lower room of the inn. A face peered out into the night, probably checking what had the dog barking. Holding still, Warwick waited, hidden as he was in the shadows, but one could never be sure. Seeing nothing, the person retired and the light extinguished.

  Once it was again quiet, Warwick focused his attention to the wards that Talon had set. Along the entire parameter, he sensed Talon’s magic, which meant the entire building was protected by magic vampires couldn’t cross. He looked quite thorough, because Warwick couldn’t find even a crack in the defense. The vampire frowned in thought. Talon was known to use some truly wicked spells. Knowing that Kai was inside within Warwick’s reach, he assumed the worst.

  Inching closer, he tested his theory by extending his hand over the invisible line of the perimeter. Pain erupted in a burning sensation along his fingertip and the excruciating pain snaked up his wrist and arm, finally stopping at his elbow. He flinched back, shaking his hand to get the sensation to cease. It kept burning, causing Warwick to curse, and sticking his blistered finger into his mouth to help with the pain.

  “Damn.” His breath turning to mist in the cold air, “He had to use the one spell that would incinerate me if I crossed that line. Wonderful.” Closer towards the building, he sensed rather than saw more wards as a secondary defense in case someone breached the outer ring. If he recalled his former teacher’s methodology correctly, those would be constructed with a spell that not only burned, but also paralyzed the intruder as the magic killed them slowly.

  His trailed his vision and senses along the outside of the building all the way to the roof. Warwick whistled softly when he saw what the elf had done. Talon could never be accused of being anything but thorough. He had protected each completely. Not one was left untouched. More nasty traps waited for anyone stupid enough to try entering from above. The roof was rigged with enough wards to kill an army. He wasn’t messing around and that told Warwick a lot about Talon’s intentions–he would not lose Kailani or Lainey again.

  Warwick let his eyes drift back to the building, and searched the windows for Kailani. He didn’t sense her within the front rooms, deciding to shift locations to the back in order to continue his search. Up on the third floor, tenth window in from the left he found her and winced. The moment his mind brushed past hers, distress assaulted his mind, causing him to recoil. That level of distress meant only one thing—Talon wasn’t here, maybe not even in the city.

  A purely devious look flashed in Warwick’s eyes while the importance of that absence became clear—Kailani could be his again. He stared at the building for a moment longer and realized he could not only get Kailani but Lainey too. If he did that, Kaen would release him to leave the city and he could take Kai away. His cock pulsed to life at the thought of claiming Kai and his mind raced with possibilities. Realizing he had become distracted, he shook off the enticing thought and returned to the task at hand—how to get past the wards and inside the building. Time was of importance now that he knew Talon wasn’t inside. He needed to act before the elf returned.

  * * * *

  King Ondre was down the hall in the temporary dungeon when Deandra and Kaen finally emerged. She had fed twice from Kaen, enjoyed the explosive after affects with certain vigor and then slept. She had never felt this alive.

  The bald vampire didn’t have any regrets about the conversion he just completed. Deandra turned out to be a surprise and Kaen rather enjoyed the idea of being permanently attached to her for all eternity. It wasn’t love, but it was an appreciation someone who shared his eccentric flare. With a side glance at the glowing woman, he smiled. Now, if only he had Lainey on his other side, he would be complete.

  Deandra suddenly skidded to a halt, smelling human blood. It infused her mind,
and came from the room where she could sense Ondre. Instinctively, her incisors dropped instantly and her breathing became rapid, near hyperventilating.

  “Kaen…” she moaned through her labored breath. She understood what consumed her and was smart enough to know she was utterly unable to control herself.

  Kaen kicked open the door to allow her to see what was inside, startling Ondre and his male victim who hung completely naked from the ceiling by chains. Faelwen was in the corner, looking bored supplying the coercions that would work in tandem to Ondre’s techniques. Both men turned quickly to see what caused the door to fly open.

  Deandra continued breathing uncontrollably because the smell of blood was so strong, causing the burning itch to dominate her mind. Before she knew what she was doing, she moved but found herself frozen in place. Confused, she looked down and found Kaen’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist preventing her from entering the room. He effectively held her to his body and pinned her arms so she couldn’t move.

  “Let me go.” She snarled, spittle spraying for she drooled heavily from the smell of blood so close.

  “Darling, you are not ready for that yet.” Kaen kissed her cheek as she growled in warning, vibrating deep in her throat. Her thrashing was useless because she wasn’t strong enough to fight him.

  Kaen raised his eyes and looked wickedly at Ondre over her shoulder, “I hope you like the improvements to your lovely sister?”

  The king was furious. “What have you done to Deandra?” He stormed towards the open door and then his instincts told him to stop. He sensed the predatory nature Deandra exhibited as she bore into his with the eyes of a killer. It caused him to take a step back. “You stupid bitch. You’ve ruined yourself,” he spat.

  Deandra thrashed in Kaen’s arms, desperately wanting to break free. “I would be careful if I were you,” Kaen said smoothly. “She has not yet learned control.”