by Anna Santos
“Oh, that sounds fun! Are you catching up on everything you didn’t do while you were a monk?”
“Do you want to keep breathing?” Anna menaced, and I almost chuckled out loud. Eavesdropping was fun, especially for a supernatural with super-hearing. But Anna would kill me if she found out.
“See what I mean? You are touchy and grumpy! You can’t handle a joke.”
“I can handle a joke just fine. I’m just hungry,” she explained, eating pie.
“Do you want to go out and find us some evil vampire to smack?” Jessie proposed with a wicked smile, making Anna laugh and cover her mouth.
“Don’t tempt me. I really need to sleep tonight.”
“Oh right, because you aren’t sleeping when you are with your mate. Just rub it in my face, will you?”
“I’m almost regretting coming to find you and spending some time with you,” Anna declared, making Jessie pout. “You really are in a terrible mood.”
“No, I’m not. I’m just teasing you and trying to get you to tell me the dirty details. Or maybe all that blood loss from the vampire feeding on me left me grumpy and hungry. Do you want to order another ice cream? We could share.” She seemed excited. I had no idea what was it with women and ice cream.
“Can we just go home? I need to rest. I’m feeling tired.”
“If you want. It’s not as if you seem happy to be here with me.”
“Don’t be like that. I’m just… feeling different tonight. But we’ll have plenty of other nights to go out and have long conversations about our mates.”
“Don’t try to humor me. I’m actually really happy you found Shane. You look much happier and calmer. Shane makes you really happy. I’m sure I’m going to like him a lot and give him a reward for taming you, so—” She didn’t finish her sentence because Anna threw a piece of pie at her face. Jessica blew some cream from her mouth and, with the napkin, cleaned the rest from her nose and left eye. “Not funny!”
But Anna was laughing at her friend’s face and then added, “He didn’t tame me. I’m going to the bathroom and then we leave.”
That was my cue to get up, put the money on the table, and leave the diner. I had to get going to talk to my master. I needed to get back to town as soon as possible. Anna would go back to her fortress home, and I would have to unfold some pending mysteries. And for that I also needed to talk to James. He had something that I needed to show the king.
Chapter Twenty-One
Anna
Sunday morning, I woke up early, grabbed my stuff, and went back as fast as I could to Shane’s house. I also had to attend the training at three o’clock, so I had to get back there anyway. However, I was missing Shane and feeling miserable because he hadn’t phoned or texted me back all night.
When I got back home, Shane wasn’t there, and our bed was untouched. He hadn’t slept at home. He wasn’t answering his phone, either. It went directly to his voicemail, trying not to worry. There could be a perfect plausible explanation for all of that. He would come back home soon, so, while I waited, I spent my time cleaning and haunting the house like a ghost.
Training hour arrived and still no word from Shane. I left for the training ground where the others were already warming up; I joined in and practiced the fighting techniques. I was a bit distracted and also feeling weaker than normal. I should have fed before coming there, but I didn’t and was regretting it. There were some asshole vampires in training. I would normally win without breaking a sweat, though they wouldn’t like it much, but I was weaker that day. Duncan and Samuel were there so Shane should also have been there, but he wasn’t. I was getting upset and worried, because either Duncan or Samuel always knew were Shane was. They hadn’t seen him all weekend, though, which was undeniably weird.
I was a bit off in the last fight. The vampire I was fighting got mad each time he lost. But I was not expecting him to play dirty after I won again. He didn’t take his loss well and, as a result, grabbed some dirt from the floor, blinding me so he could throw a punch and make me fall to the ground. It hurt when I bumped my head, and then I felt his hands on my neck. Meanwhile, his body pressed on my stomach, making it hard to move or breathe. I was being choked, and, before I fainted, I heard a loud sound like a crashing body against a tree that made it fall. I opened my watering eyes and witnessed Shane grabbing the vampire by the neck—wolf teeth and claws out—growling at the scared (he’d probably pissed in his pants!) vampire.
“I will bite your neck off the next time you try a stunt like that on my mate,” he growled, scary and serious, making my heart beat faster with love. I felt like crying, because he cared, he’d protected me, and I loved him. I’d missed him terribly! And I was an emotional wreck!
Other wolves and vampires surrounded Shane so he would let go of Peter, the vampire who’d played dirty. He eventually let go in order to come to my side and pick me up in his arms. Then he took me inside a little cabin nearby, away from prying eyes. The cabin was used as storage for all sorts of training materials; he set me down on some training mattresses inside. By then, he was already back to his human form, no wolf teeth or claws in sight. He looked at me as if I was some sort of precious thing. My heart could have just stopped beating right there. I was mesmerized by his ocean-blue eyes and gorgeous face.
“Are you okay?” he asked, after caressing the hair off my face. My eyes were already clean from dirt, but he used a cloth to clean them better and wipe out the tears.
“I’m okay.” But I was not. I was feeling all shaky and weak, all in love and silly.
“You look pale, and you are cold and shivering.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“Anna—” He paused, apparently unsure if he should say or not say something. I waited patiently. “You should feed.”
“I ate before coming here.”
“Not like that, darling. You need blood.”
Then it was my turn to pause and stare at him without saying a word. I felt embarrassed.
“You are a vampire. You need blood, sweetie.”
“I… can’t.”
“You look pale and weak. That vampire was no match for you, but you were unable to take him down. You need blood. You can drink from me. Please, drink from me. You won’t have to harm anybody, and you won’t harm me. My blood will be better for you. You are my mate. You won’t need to feed from anyone else.”
I almost opened my mouth in shock and surprise. I was still trying to understand his words, his pleading tone. He looked so worried. Did I really look that bad?
“I won’t need to drink from anyone else?”
“No.”
“But, won’t you get weak if I feed from you every day?”
“You won’t need to feed daily. Wolf blood is different. You will just need small amounts of it.”
“But… but… I shouldn’t drink from the source,” I explained. Besides, drinking from him would mean that I would mark him. And then I realized that I wanted to mark him and make him mine forever, just mine. I was tired of all the secrets; maybe sharing memories and thoughts wouldn’t be that bad.
“I can shut out all my thoughts from you, if you want,” Shane said.
I was surprised by that. I didn’t know that was possible, nor that he knew how to do that, but then he used to date a pureblood vampire princess. I shouldn’t look so surprised. “Would you do that with Sasha? Didn’t she have access to your memories?” I was feeling jealous about them but also relieved. It meant that she didn’t have any part of Shane inside her mind and soul.
“She didn’t have access to my thoughts. Besides, I was not her mate, nor was I her blood bag. I will just be yours, because you are my mate. I know you don’t want to hurt anyone. I love you, and I want you to be strong and happy.”
I think tears fell from my eyes, but I was not sure. My eyes were still hurting from the dirt. Shane kissed my eyes and made me stare at him, waiting for an answer.
“Will you let me feed you? Or do I have to get you some blood so you can
get better?”
“Is it true?” I asked, feeling extremely happy about his concerned voice and eyes.
“What, honey?”
“That the sex is even better if I bite you?”
“Oh, Anna!” he said with a big smile on his lips, kissing my forehead and making my stomach bubble of happiness. “For me, it’s already the best.”
“Will you bite me back?”
“If you want.”
“I want.”
“We should probably go home then,” he whispered with a husky, sexy voice, and I felt my cheeks turn red. His eyes were promising me a lot of love making and a bonding experience that would make my heart explode with happiness. I was probably spending my last shreds of energy blushing about my sexual fantasies, but it was worth it just to see Shane’s smile and feel the softness of his lips against mine. “This isn’t the place to mark you. I will take you home and take care of you.” He grabbed me in his arms again, and we got out of there.
***
I think I dozed off while he was taking me to our home. It felt like home, so I was calling it our home. I had just opened my eyes when he lay me on the bed and gave me a soft peck.
"I'm going to run a hot bath for you. You need to warm up."
All I was able to answer was “Okay” in a feeble whisper. All I could hear next was Shane in the bathroom, running the water. He filled the huge bathtub we rarely used, as we normally used the shower. A warm bath sounded nice to me if I could keep myself conscious. I was so hungry! Tired and hungry was a really bad combination, especially if I was planning to bite and mark my mate and then have a long and amazing romantic and sexual experience with him.
"Let's get you out of these clothes," Shane whispered, helping me sit up.
"You shouldn’t take advantage of me when I'm like this," I tried to joke. I won a smile and a kiss. I sighed with lust as he lifted me from the bed. I wrapped myself around him and he carried me to the bathroom. "I love you so much, Shane," I said, feeling emotional and more vulnerable than usual, probably because of the hunger. At the same time, though, I felt safe. I trusted him completely.
"I love you too, honey," he replied. "You'll feel better in a moment. After you bite me."
I breathed, barely conscious, sensing us entering the bathtub. When my body was submerged in the hot water, I shivered on contact. It was then that I finally noticed how cold I really was.
Shane held me tighter. I bit my lip harder, gulping with the overwhelming sensation of our naked bodies touching. Sadly, I could barely open my eyes and move my hands. I was exhausted. Then I felt his wrist against my mouth, opening my lips and dripping blood inside. It was sweet, and I lost my breath when I felt it go down to my stomach. Abruptly, a rush of adrenaline hit me. I opened my eyes wide and stared at Shane's sweet blue eyes. I was so hungry! My fangs came out, and I bit into his flesh. At that point, all went black, and I fell inside myself, like I had just fallen on my back into an abyss. Suddenly, my heart wanted to escape through my mouth; awful cramps took over my stomach. I think my entire body shook and my limbs went all stiff. It was scary!
Scary until I suddenly found myself inside the bar where I've first seen Shane... To my surprise, I watched myself come into the building and heard Shane's thoughts. I realized that I was inside Shane's memories of the night we first met. It was incredible! I was inside his head, his thoughts, and I could experience it all as if I was inside a movie, a three-dimensional movie, where I could hear and feel anything he heard and felt on that night. I experienced everything: his thoughts, his mesmerizing stare at me, the feelings that burst inside him, the awakening of his wolf that screamed mate when he sat next to me and smelled me. All that was amazing, unreal, and breathtaking! I realized that I had felt most of the things he had. I had understood that something connected us, that he was special…
Blackness hit me again when I swirled back from his thoughts and into the bathtub. I opened my eyes and saw that his wrist was no longer against my mouth. Also, Shane looked worried. I sighed and licked my lower lip with my tongue, feeling much better and stronger. Actually, I was feeling another kind of hunger.
I smirked at Shane with lust shooting across my body, tingling on my skin, and making me shiver. My fangs grew out again, my eyes shifted to purple, and my skin became paler because I was changing to my vampire form. But something was different. Shane's eyes narrowed, and he touched my hair, showing it to me. I no longer had straight black hair when I was a vampire. I had straight white hair, to my utter surprise.
"Side effect," Shane mumbled and then smirked. "You got some of my wolf inside you now."
"I love it," I said, touching my hair. "You let me see your memories."
"Yes, but they were good memories. Are you mad?"
I shook my head. "Can you decide what you want me to see?"
"I can try. I just have to think about it when I'm feeding you or not think of anything, so you don't see my thoughts. Did you see it?"
"Yes, I did."
"Good. I wanted you to understand how I knew you were my soul-mate."
"Aren't you going to ask me?" I said, feeling a bit embarrassed for bringing up the subject.
"What?" He didn’t seem to know what I was talking about.
"If my dad was a pureblood vampire."
"Well, I already knew it because of what you said in the cabin." He looked serious, maybe hurt by another secret I had been keeping from him.
"Are you mad?"
"I can partly understand why you kept it a secret. However, mates don't have secrets after they mark each other. Or, at least, they shouldn't."
I looked away, pouting and wrinkling my nose. His words were clear, I needed to come clean.
“Let’s not ruin the moment,” he whispered, kissing my cheek and drowning his head in the crook of my neck. “There’s nothing that you can say that will make me want you less. So… don’t worry, okay?”
“I don’t like to keep secrets,” I whispered in a sad voice, my heart clenching. “I just...”
"I wasn’t lecturing you. I was just trying to explain to you that it’s okay. I’m not going to pressure you anymore. We’ll have this conversation some other day. In this moment, all I need to know is if you are feeling better. Are you?"
I nodded. He smiled. “I’m feeling a lot stronger, and I’m no longer feeling cold.”
“Good.”
“I… drank from you, so… I sort of marked you, didn’t I?”
It was his time to nod. “Do you feel me inside your head?”
I searched inside of me for what he was saying. At first, I wasn’t feeling anything different, then I felt him. I saw the memories from the night we had met pulsing in my brain as if they were my own memories. Imprinted in me also was the happiness he felt when he realized I was his mate. It consumed me now. But I also felt his loneliness, the weight of the years he had waited for me, and the amazing feeling of love after the first fascinating impression of recognition swept along his body and soul. All that was inside me now. I almost wanted to cry, because it was overwhelming.
“Are you okay?” His voice sounded worried when he talked. He brushed his fingers on my face, leveling my head to stare at him. I didn’t answer; I simply snuggled him closer and laid my head against his shoulder. I closed my eyes and waited for the emotion to calm down. “Does it bother you?”
“What?”
“How much… I need you and love you.”
“No.”
“So why are you sad?”
“I’m not sad. I’m just… at a loss for words. There’s nothing I can say that… shows how happy I am to be your mate and how the… loneliness you had to endure makes me wish I had been born sooner.”
“I wanted you to understand,” he said, caressing my hair and rubbing my back, making my body relax, “that we are meant to be together. And you don’t need to be afraid of… Annabel, I’ll never leave you, and I’ll never hurt you.”
“Okay,” I whispered, aware that Sh
ane’s heart was beating fast and he was feeling anxious.
“You are really special, honey. You were already special to me, but I had no idea of how much more special you were. My heart is overwhelmed by it.”
“What are you talking about?” I wondered, intrigued by his words.
“I understand why it’s so hard for you to trust people. I can’t blame you for that. I didn’t want your life to be so difficult before we met. I have to thank the gods because you’ve survived this long and… you found me. You could have been killed and then… I would have never met you. I would have never known how wonderful and amazing it is to love you.”
I smiled, tears falling down my eyes. “You need to stop talking,” I whispered, trying to conceal my shaking voice, because I wasn’t crying in pain; I was crying in love. I shivered and he wrapped me tighter, pressing our bodies until I almost couldn’t breathe. I chuckled, brushing my cheek to his. “Can someone die of excess of love?”
“I don’t know. I hope not,” he breathed, kissing my shoulder and softly nibbling my ear.
“Shane, I don’t want to ruin this moment with confusing confessions and regrets. I just want to taste you again and make love to you.”
I moaned when I felt his body get harder against mine. It was nice, especially when he tilted his head and offered his neck to me. I could hear and see his jugular pulsing under his soft skin. His hand pulled my head closer, like he knew I was doubting myself. I was afraid I would hurt him or drink too much. It was not like I was a professional on the subject. His other hand touched my breast, making my fangs come out, and I plunged them in his skin, feeling a wave of pleasure slowly unfold on my body.
Moments after, I heard him gasp for air and then moan with pleasure, as if his entire body was burning with desire. His hand went lower, sliding down my stomach to my intimacy, and making me gasp against his neck. It was really good having his fingers rubbing me and feeling his stiff shaft against my leg. I moved, lowering my own two hands and placing them on his waist, probably bruising his skin in the process. I wanted him so much! I bounced my hips against his and moaned again, leaving his throat, stopping the feeding that was making me come under his fingers. He groaned, complaining because I had stopped the feed. Then he raised my legs, wrapping them around his waist as he slowly entered me. It felt as if I was coming again, just with the first thrust of his cock inside me. I gasped for air, grabbing my hands on his shoulders, feeling the need he had that was making him move faster. My eyes should be purple or black—I didn't know the color they would be after feeding from a source, but I knew I was in my vampire form.
