Blood Vow (Blood Moon Rising)

by Tabke, Karin

  She wanted them to come with her. She was so close, right there, on the edge. Not being able to move heightened her pleasure. Luca’s cock thrust deeper into her mouth, as Rafa’s tempo picked up rhythm. No longer was it a slow grind. Now they were precision twin pistons, slamming into her, driving her mad with desire.

  Then—

  She snapped.

  Her body braced for the impact but nothing prepared her for the intensity of what hit her. Her scream was drowned out as Luca came in her mouth and Rafa exploded inside her. She was impaled at both ends, and her body jerked and shook like a fish fighting a hook.

  Wild waves of heat swept through her body and as their climaxes reached a crescendo, power surged through them as if a switch had been thrown. Lit up, Falon grasped Luca’s hip, absorbing the pounding Rafa gave her at the same time she sucked Luca’s pulsating cock deeper into her mouth as he came wildly. And then, after they were spent, she collapsed into them in a crazy, vibrating mass of raw sexual satisfaction.

  For long minutes Falon lay gasping for breath. Rafa’s harsh breaths behind her, and Luca’s in front of her, made her smile. Lucien grinned and reached over to smooth her damp hair from her cheeks. He kissed her and said, “I love how much you love sex.” He shook his head, his smile widening. “The look on your face when you come, Falon, is poetic it’s so damn beautiful. It will stay with me always.”

  Rafa slid his hand up her back to her neck where he gently massaged her. “That was amazing,” he said, and kissed her backside.

  And that was how she fell asleep, sprawled out on luxurious furs nestled between two great alphas. She could not wait to wake up and explore more options.

  Later, however, she woke to a cold empty bed. And to a foreboding that sat on her chest like a two-ton weight. Something was going on outside, and instinctively she knew it had everything to do with her. Quickly she jumped from the bed and used the meager bathroom facilities. After she had washed and brushed her teeth, she slipped on black thong panties and matching bra. Then pulled on a pair of black jeans, a pair of doeskin moccasins and a thin, white fleece, long-sleeved T-shirt.

  As she exited the tent, she blinked back early morning sunshine. The air was crisp, the smell so clean and unaffected she inhaled it deeply into her lungs, the chill of it invigorating. She pulled her hair back and began to braid it as she followed Lucien’s and Rafe’s scent toward the middle of the growing encampment.

  It bustled with activity. More tents had popped up since they had arrived last night. As she strode down the main drag she sensed how each person stopped what they were doing and boldly stared as she walked by.

  It would have unnerved her two months ago, but the blood of the two most powerful alphas on the planet ran through her veins and their desire for her infused her with vital empowerment. She was on top of the world and nothing could knock her down this morning.

  She smiled as the cool morning breeze caressed her cheeks. Call it earned arrogance, but the bounce in her step came directly from the power of three.

  Halfway down the main thoroughfare Falon realized she was being followed. She didn’t play coy; she stopped and turned around to face, Sasha, Anja’s infuriated sire along with his entire pack, who appeared just as angry.

  She waited for them to fully approach, and when they came within ten feet of her with no intention of stopping, Falon held up her hand. “Say what you have to say from there.”

  Without hesitation, Sasha continued toward her. Fisting her right hand, Falon brought it to her chest, and then as if she were tossing high-powered dice, she flung it at the impassioned alpha.

  The velocity of the air she hurled hit him hard in the chest, knocking the wind out of him but not hard enough to force him to the ground. When he stumbled backward, his pack supported him. Falon held her ground as energy whipped around her with such force it unfettered her hair, rising madly around her as if it had a life of its own.

  “Take another step, sir, and you’ll end up in the Bering Sea.”

  “How dare you speak to me!” he shouted, his crystal-clear eyes so much like his daughter’s. She understood his anger; she would be angry, too, but she begrudged him his indignation given the circumstances.

  “As your equal, I dare to speak to you and more,” Falon said, stepping closer to him. “In an unfortunate sequence of events, you have been dealt a terrible blow. For that I am sorry, but your anger and embarrassment will mean nothing if we fall during the rising.” She took another step toward him. “Your daughter is beautiful and intelligent. Worthy of any alpha, including mine, but that will never be.” Only feet from him, Falon finished. “Consider it taking one for team Lycan. I am vital to Rafa in a way your daughter never could be. Rafa is vital to all of our existences. Take your petty hurt feelings away from here before you poison the entire well.”

  Falon watched his face go from furious afraid, to angry indignation, to vengeful.

  “You are a fool, Sasha. We need a united nation. Your selfish heart will tear down everything we have fought for.”

  “Watch your back, bitch,” he sneered.

  Falon cocked a brow, and said, “Indeed, watch yours, sir.” She turned and stopped abruptly when she saw Lucien and Rafe standing forty feet downwind of her. Their eyes blazed in fury. Not at her but past her to Sasha and his pack. Falon glanced over her shoulder and saw a hint of fear flicker in the old alpha’s eyes. But not enough to show respect. It would be his last mistake.

  Falon turned and when she caught her men’s gazes, she smiled and hurried her step toward them as they hurried their steps toward her.

  Twenty-three

  “I’D ASK IF you were okay,” Lucien said, “but all I have to do is look at Sasha to know you’ve set him straight.”

  “He’s understandably upset.”

  She reached for his hand, entwining her fingers through his. When she looked up at him with those big blue eyes so full of love and trust, Lucien wanted to drop to his knee and beg for forgiveness. He had been a prick when she was with Rafe. And he hadn’t made it easy for her in many ways since then.

  “I’m sorry, angel face,” he said softly.

  She slowly smiled, not taking her eyes from his. “For what?”

  “For all the times I hurt you. For all the times I doubted you. For all the times I was a colossal ass.”

  Her smile widened, and she laughed. “No need to apologize, Luca. I fell in love with that colossal ass.” She grinned, and scorched him with a lustful look. “And the other colossal thing.”

  His brows shot straight into his hairline but he grinned.

  That colossal thing had wanted to say good morning in a very special way before he rolled out of bed at dawn. Falon was something to behold in the low glow of the fire. Long, soft, creamy limbs, sprawled out all fuck happy on the pelts. She had a sweet ass and the dimples just above it begged to be kissed. He’d told himself that all he had to do was kiss her there, and she’d roll over and—sweet Jesus he was hard. “I love fucking you,” Lucien said.

  “I’d say get a room,” Rafe curtly broke in, “but we have to address the council.”

  Falon pouted.

  “I want to suck on that lip so bad,” Lucien said.

  Falon giggled, and squeezed his hand. “You two left me in bed. Alone.”

  Rafe cocked a brow. “You were snoring like a sailor. You needed the sleep.”

  “I don’t snore!”

  Lucien laughed, and said, “You kind of do, but it’s cute.”

  “I do not snore!”

  “I’ll record it next time,” Rafe said, trying hard to remain the serious one.

  And Lucien let him be the serious one. It suited Rafael. It was who he was, how he operated. One thing Lucien had always taken for granted about Rafa was his level head. He trusted his brother explicitly to do the right thi
ng. And though Lucien had a healthy ego it wasn’t the kind that would argue a good idea just because it wasn’t his. Rafe possessed every quality an alpha needed. He understood that to lead he did not have to terrorize. He was intelligent, he was a master tactician and ruthless when necessary.

  From the day they were born their father had groomed Rafe as the heir apparent. Lucien was groomed to second him in every way and step up if Rafe fell. While Rafe measured every move he made with methodical precision, Lucien was more impulsive. Both methods worked, some better at times, but they worked.

  They were both worthy of leading a pack in their own right.

  Lucien’s chest hurt a little bit when he thought how his hatred and jealousy had consumed his every waking moment as well as his dreams. So much wasted time. He had to have known that the Rafe he knew would never have slain his chosen one because he wanted full alpha rights. That wasn’t Rafael’s style. Lucien squeezed Falon’s hand. She’d seen right through him and called him out. It was what he needed, and he would forever be in Falon’s debt for reuniting him with his brother.

  “When will Vulkasin and Mondragon arrive?” Falon asked.

  “With all that had to be managed, they’re getting a later start, but I expect both packs will be here this time tomorrow,” Rafe answered.

  “Do they know—about us?” she hesitantly asked.

  “Joachim and Anton have been apprised of the situation,” Rafe said in a clipped, formal voice.

  Falon grabbed his hand and pulled back to slow his forceful stride. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  He stopped and looked at her. Lucien understood his frustration. By the Blood Law she belonged to Rafe. Lucien had absolutely no claim on her whatsoever, yet he loved her. And Falon loved him enough to ask Rafe to share her.

  “I am the eldest. I marked you first. You exchanged the mark. You are mine, Falon. In every Lycan’s eye you belong to me.” He looked from Falon to Lucien who wanted to remain objective but it was hard when Rafe could simply refuse to continue this setup. And they would have a serious problem.

  Rafe exhaled slowly, then looked back at Falon. Her cheeks had pinkened—from anger or embarrassment, he wasn’t sure. “Vulkasin opened their hearts to you and you embraced them as they embraced you.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “They never accepted losing you. They never accepted Anja. In their hearts you were their only alpha. As for them being separated so long from Mondragon—it’s going to take some time for the packs to reunite and reestablish trust.”

  “Like Vulkasin, angel face, Mondragon threw their arms around you, embracing you as theirs. You carry my child. Seeing you with Rafe is going to be hard. And—” He inhaled deeply, and held his breath.

  “And what?” she asked.

  He expelled the air in his lungs and answered, “Rafe and I have a reputation, a persona if you will, and I’m afraid it’s being severely compromised by our arrangement.”

  Her eyes widened. But why was she surprised? “They think you’re both pussy-whipped, don’t they?”

  Lucien nodded with his brother. It didn’t bother him, not in terms of his ego, but what bothered him was the chance that he could lose the respect or confidence of even one Lycan. He and Rafe were the alphas that would lead the battle and the nation would look to them for direction.

  “But that’s not true. This is about more than sex. Even though that is amazing,” Falon said.

  “We know that. For them to know it, it’s imperative we stand united at all times on all fronts no matter how difficult it may be at times,” Rafe said.

  “Of course we will,” Falon agreed.

  “The council is flexing their muscles right now by summoning us before I got to them first, and I’m not sure what to expect from them on a few matters but I ask you to trust me to handle it,” he said to Falon.

  “Of course,” she said.

  “No emotional outbursts,” Lucien warned.

  “Seriously?” she asked indignantly.

  “Very,” Rafe said.

  “I’ll have you know I can control myself quite well when I have to.”

  “Make sure you do. If things go south in there, the last thing I want is you going ballistic on the council,” Rafe said.

  Falon shook her head, and looked away from him. Lucien grinned. He knew her as well as Rafe did, and if she thought for one minute that either one of them was in jeopardy she would come unglued.

  “I don’t think it would be a bad thing to showcase the power of the three of us if the opportunity presents itself,” Lucien said.

  “Agreed,” Rafe said.

  Falon nodded as they continued down the two-mile road that cut the camp in half. The council’s large round lodge sat in the middle of the growing community.

  Pulling the wide flaps back, Rafe stepped through, and held out his hand to Falon, who took it. Still holding hands with Lucien, they walked united and proud into the large dome-shaped center past the hundreds of gathered Lycan to the wide dais where the elders awaited them. Voices tittered and smirked as they walked past. Some of the gathered Lycan were there genuinely concerned about the effect the threesome would have on the nation, especially so close to the rising. It was an honest concern, one Lucien would have if he was on the outside looking in, and so he didn’t begrudge any Lycan their genuine worry. He didn’t even begrudge the ones that were there to get a look at Falon and decide for themselves if she was worthy of two great alphas. Their opinion didn’t matter to Lucien.

  Regardless of why any of them were there, Lucien would do what he had to do: answer any question posed positively and honestly to show the nation that this was a good thing, not a detriment. And if they still had a problem with it? It was their problem.

  Despite his fortitude, tension gurgled in his stomach much like it did the day over a month ago when he last stood before the council. But that day he had been torn up inside. He hadn’t wanted to slay Falon if she was given to him to do so. He couldn’t have known, even in his wildest dreams that he was going to be gifted with her and, more important, that she would become devoted to him.

  He squeezed her hand. You’re amazing, angel face. Don’t let them pick on you.

  If they pick on either one of you, I’m going to kick some Amorak ass.

  I would expect nothing less of you, Falon, Rafe chuckled.

  * * *

  WITH FALON BETWEEN them, Rafe to her right and Lucien to her left, they stood united before the council and the pack leaders who had assembled. Sharia’s old eyes sparkled with mischief. Rafe wondered at her motives. When he’d thought she was on his side, she had turned on him. She spoke in riddles, never answering a pointed question.

  “It has come to the council’s attention that the decision regarding the Blood Law’s eye for an eye was made without all of the facts presented.” Sharia’s ancient voice crackled above the din of the structure.

  Rafe nodded, and chose his words carefully. “It had always been my contention that I slew a Slayer on the day in question. However, now that the facts have come to light, I realize I did not kill a Slayer that day.”

  Gasps and titters rushed through the dome. “You did not kill a Slayer, or the Slayer you thought you killed survived?” she asked.

  “The latter,” Rafe said.

  “Based on that fact alone, the council hereby rescinds the order to give Lucien Mondragon your chosen one to accept as his own,” Maleek, a senior council elder, said. The elder looked pointedly at Lucien. “You no longer have rights to Falon Vulkasin. Do you accept the council’s decision, Lucien Mondragon?”

  “I do,” Lucien firmly answered.

  Rafe held his breath, waiting for the other shoe to fall.

  “Lucien Mondragon, is it true that the one you chose to mark, a woman by the name of Mara, was in fact a Slayer?”

>   “Yes,” Lucien said, unwavering.

  Shocked gasps tittered among the gathered.

  “You understand the penalty for lying with a Slayer is death?” Maleek said with a little too much triumph in his tone.

  Rafael scowled, wondering at the elder’s intent.

  “I do,” Lucien clearly acknowledged.

  Sharia raised her shaking hand, halting Maleek from continuing. She stood with assistance. “Lucien, did you know when you laid with her, she was Slayer?”

  “No. Had I, I would have slain her on the spot. She used black magic to change her appearance and hide her stench. Her true identity was not revealed to me until several weeks ago when she showed herself to me in her true Slayer form.”

  “What did you do?”

  “What I should have done sixteen years ago—I killed her. She died a truth death.”

  “That does not negate the penalty!” a voice shouted from the crowd.

  Rafe swore, Lucien growled, and Falon hissed. It was Sasha Ivanov, and he was loaded for bear. Stay cool, Rafe said levelly. Let him speak his piece. Let them all speak, then I will speak.

  I want to tear him apart, Falon seethed.

  Steady, angel face, we don’t need you getting into trouble.

  The three of us are walking out of here together! she said.

  Sasha strode angrily up the aisle past them stopping at the base of the dais. “Lucien Mondragon laid with a Slayer! He was going to mark her as his chosen one! She would have bred her Slayers into the packs and destroyed us from the inside out!”

  “That is not being debated, Sasha,” Sharia said firmly. “Is there any new information you have to share?”

  “His life is the punishment!” he cried, turning and pointing to Lucien who stood rigid before his accuser.

  “Lucien,” Sharia said, her voice noticeably warmer. “Do you have anything to say in your defense?”

  “You expect me to debate the truth?” he asked in surprise.