Claimed: Blood Ties

by Cathryn Fox

  Ayden took the bottle from Mikel’s grasp and refilled both their shot glasses. “I know.”

  Mikel blew out a heavy breath and stared at the dark water crashing against the rocks below. The waves were as black and as cold as the heart of the vampires seeking them. “We must prepare ourselves for an invasion.”

  “Yes, but we must both have clear heads, Mikel.”

  Mikel shifted to face Ayden and angrily took another swig of the bitter liquid. Ayden placed his hand on Mikel’s shoulder, easing the tension inside him. He stepped closer, until their bodies touched, and their groins meshed.

  Mikel let his head roll back. A low growl rose from his throat as Ayden’s flesh pressed up against his. Need rushed through him and brought on a shudder.

  “I am here for you, Mikel. In every way you need me.”

  Mikel reached out and clasped his hand around one side of his friend’s neck. Ayden leaned into his touch and exhaled slowly. His warm, scotch-scented breath wafted across Mikel’s face and trickled down his body, singeing his blood and firing his senses on the way.

  “As I am here for you,” Mikel returned.

  Ayden’s eyes turned a darker shade of blue as they locked with Mikel’s. “Let me take care of your tension, Mikel.”

  With his cock thickening in response, Mikel growled his consent. Raw, primal need filled him. Mikel had been in Ayden’s head all night, connecting with him on an emotional level. Now alone on the balcony, with the immediate crises over, his body tightened, hungering to connect with him again. This time on a physical level.

  Knowing exactly what Mikel required, Ayden tossed back another shot and took Mikel’s glass from him. He placed them on the small side table and brought his attention back around to Mikel.

  Ayden placed his palm on Mikel’s shoulder, drew a deep breath and briefly closed his eyes. Mikel threw his head back again and let Ayden’s calming energy rush through his bloodstream. When Ayden began to work the buttons free on Mikel’s shirt, sweat collected on Mikel’s brow.

  This was exactly what he needed.

  Mikel reached out mentally and let his mind meld with Ayden’s. There was no need for spoken words. They were now in each other’s heads, reading each other’s thoughts, feeling each other’s physical desires.

  “That’s better, Mikel. Let go of the tension. This is what you need. What we both need before we figure out a strategy to conquer Grayson.”

  Ayden’s strong hands kneaded Mikel’s chest and then traveled lower to slip inside his pants. Mikel gripped his friend’s shirt and felt his thoughts scatter. The feel of Ayden’s thick fingers sheathing his engorged cock aroused the beast in him. His eyes darkened. His nails grew into talons as sharp fangs pushed through his gums. It felt good to let go, to allow the animal in him to come out to play. He’d always restrained that side of him while making love to Dari. With Ayden, anything went. There was no need to leash his control.

  When their mouths met, the slow burning passion ignited. Fire licked through his veins as their scotch-soaked tongues mated. Mikel felt his lips peel back as an inhuman rumble sounded deep in his throat.

  None too gently, Mikel fisted Ayden’s hair. His body started to shake and when their tongues danced, Ayden squeezed his hand and stroked Mikel’s thick, steel erection faster.

  A strangled moan lodged in Mikel’s throat. Panting heavily, Ayden dipped into Mikel’s liquid heat swirling it over the tip of his cock, urging him on.

  “Yesssss…” Mikel bucked against his hand, grinding, seeking something more, and needing to answer the pull in his groin. “I need to fuck you, Ayden.”

  Ayden continued to work his hands over Mikel’s cock. Mikel’s heart pounded as he tore Ayden’s clothes from his trembling body and placed his hands on his friends throbbing dick.

  Ayden gave a lusty groan, pulled Mikel’s pants open wider, licked his palm and put it back on Mikel’s cock. He stroked him and cupped his balls, massaging them until Mikel felt himself teetering on the edge.

  Mikel grunted. The sound rumbled in the mountains around him. Wildlife scattered in the trees and took to the air.

  Ayden dropped to his knees and drew Mikel’s cock into his mouth. He swirled his tongue over his head, drinking in his precome and then moved deeper between his legs to draw his balls into his mouth. It was all Mikel could do to hang on. Mikel continued to fuck his mouth until he neared the point of no return.

  “Enough…”

  Roughly, Mikel grabbed Ayden, lifted him to his feet, hastily turned him around and bent him over the railing. Mikel wet his fingers and slathered his saliva over Ayden’s passage. He worked his fingers inside, spreading him, preparing him. Once his muscles were warmed, and loosened, Mikel positioned his cock near the entrance. “Are you ready for me?”

  Ayden’s breathing changed. Became labored, anticipatory. “Fuck me, Mikel.”

  Mikel leaned over Ayden’s back and gripped his friend’s cock, stroking him as he plunged his dick into his tight opening, spreading both rings of muscle as he entered. Ayden moaned, his ass opening for him, accepting every inch of him, taking all his girth and length deep into his body.

  Ayden bucked forward, shifted his stance and thrust back again, impaling himself on Mikel’s rock-hard dick. Together they found a rhythm, reaching a fevered pitch.

  There was an intensity, an urgency in his carnal hunger unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Perhaps it was from the events of the night and his desperate need to expel the tension from his body. It was frightening and exhilarating at the same time.

  Mikel bit into Ayden’s neck and fed as he pumped his cock in and out of his tight fissure. Warm metallic blood filled his veins, giving him a natural high. As a Nallie, he didn’t need blood to sustain him, but the taste proved to be most gratifying.

  Ayden moaned as Mikel’s teeth pierced his flesh. The puncture always excited Ayden and brought on a powerful orgasm. Ayden drove his cock harder against Mikel’s hands. “I’m close, my friend.”

  “As am I.”

  Mikel slowed his hand movements, knowing just how Ayden liked it when he gave himself over to release, softly stroking his shaft as Ayden’s orgasm rocketed through him.

  When Ayden’s climax subsided, Mikel gripped his hips and plunged as deeply as possible and let his own orgasm take hold. “So good…”

  “Ahhh…yes…Mikel. So good.” Mikel could feel Ayden’s pleasure, visualize the smile of satisfaction on his mouth.

  Mikel panted harder then completely let himself go. He dug his fingers into Ayden’s flesh and shot his seed deep into his ass. Ayden pumped his ass muscles greedily, until he milked him of his every last drop.

  Ayden straightened and turned to face Mikel. He placed both hands on Mikel’s shoulders and squeezed.

  “Thank you.” Mikel drew air into his lungs and took a moment to regroup. When his breathing finally returned to normal he added, “You were right. That was exactly what I needed to clear my head.”

  Ayden pulled Mikel to him, and Mikel let his friend’s warmth move through him as a myriad of emotions coursed through his veins.

  As the sun crested the horizon, Mikel knew he needed to gain cover, to protect his body before he turned to dust. Ayden glanced over his shoulder and peered inside the castle.

  When Ayden’s brow furrowed, Mikel asked, “Is she going to be okay?”

  “She’s stirring.”

  “I know,” Mikel responded, feeling it as well.

  “Long before she should be. She’s strong. Much stronger than I realized.”

  “We need to go to her,” Mikel said softly.

  After quickly dressing, they made their way back to the chambers. Dari’s small body lay twisted on the sheets. Pebbles of moisture speckled her forehead and dampened her clothes to her body.

  Mikel shook his head in frustration. “Jesus, it pains me to see her like this.” He lowered himself into a rocking chair and drew it close to the bed.

  Ayden sat beside her on the mattress
and placed his hand over her head, breaching her consciousness, and trying to soothe her. “She’s dreaming now, Mikel but I fear that since she has tapped into Grayson’s head and has managed to distinguish his voice from all the collective ones in her mind, her dreams are of his memories.”

  Mikel wondered how Ayden knew so much about his breed. Yes, there was written literature and yes, Ayden had read it all, but it was as if he too had been through it, as if he too was Nallie…

  If it were true, why would he keep it a secret?

  Mikel shook his head with incredulity. “How do you know all this?” he questioned.

  Ayden shrugged easily and said, “I wish I could tell you.” Which led Mikel to believe that Ayden was as perplexed about the origin of his powers as Mikel was.

  “What can we do to help her?” Mikel asked, refocusing his thoughts.

  Ayden gestured to the chair beside the bed. “Now that you’re much calmer, you won’t disturb her so we can sit and wait. Perhaps now your presence will even help comfort her and keep out the harsh nightmares. When she awakens she will have many questions. All we can do is try to answer.”

  Mikel adjusted his fatigued body in the chair. He planted his elbows into the cushiony armrests and braced his chin in his palm. He blew out a long slow breath as he watched the woman he loved slip into a lucid dream that had forever haunted her subconscious. Upon waking she would have many questions, and he had no choice but to answer the best he could. He just hoped she didn’t hate him for keeping her past from her all these years.

  Chapter Five

  Dari tossed restlessly on the bed. Perspiration dampened her linen dress as she slipped into one of her all too familiar, all too terrifying dreams. Her ears were immediately assaulted with the ungodly, painful cries of women and children. She glanced around but wished she hadn’t. Bodies bathed in fresh crimson blood were strewn everywhere. The loud clanking sounds of metal-coated wooden daggers stung her ears. Wind swirled around her body as wooden-tipped arrows whizzed past her head. She turned in time to see a flash of sharp white teeth before they sank into a man’s neck as soldiers fought against…vampires?

  The battlefield, filled with fallen men, extended as far as the eye could see. Her glance journeyed to the sky. Heavy, dark clouds loomed overhead as though waiting to open up and cleanse the Earth of its alien invaders.

  Strangely, this dream felt different from her others. She felt out of body, like her movements were not hers and everything around her was surreal.

  Suddenly, hundreds of voices erupted in her head. She winced, working to sort through them, to focus only on one.

  As though being controlled by another, she moved forward, stepping over bodies, searching for something but for what she didn’t know. Brush and broken arrows crunched beneath her boots as she hunkered down next to a listless body. She flipped it over to discover it was that of a slain soldier. His heart looked as though it had been torn from his chest. In this dream, pleasure, not fear raced through her at the horrendous sight. Beads of blood trickled from two puncture wounds on his neck. For some unknown reason, the sight and smell of his fresh blood didn’t immediately nauseate her. In fact it brought on a primal hunger unlike anything she’d ever felt before. Her mouth went suddenly dry and she knew the only thing that would quench her thirst was to drink the dead man’s thick syrupy essence.

  Leaving the dead soldier forgotten, she rose to her full height, lifted her gaze and turned her attention to one of the vampires on the battlefield next to her. She snarled and fisted her hands, although on closer inspection, the hands weren’t hers at all.

  “Find me a female. Keep her alive.”

  That voice. A man’s voice. It came from her mouth, yet it wasn’t her mouth. And it wasn’t her voice. Although vaguely familiar, she couldn’t quite place it. She’d heard it before, but the answer to the owner’s identity was trapped in the dark corners of her mind, just out of reach.

  Moving with inhuman speed, she searched through the fatally wounded bodies.

  For a female.

  An arrow grazed her skin but with a swipe of her tongue, the puncture quickly healed. She turned so fast, her image blurred. With lightning reflexes, she thrust her arm out and closed her hand over a young soldier’s neck. The wooden-tipped arrow poised at his shoulder, an arrow meant for her heart, fell to the ground with a clunk as she tightened her hand around his windpipe. With the utmost ease, she lifted him in the air. It gave her great joy to see him flail helplessly, his arms and legs struggling to grasp on to something as he fought for his last breath. The melodic sound of his bones crunching whipped through her blood like a powerful aphrodisiac. Her lips peeled back as her incisors descended. Had her hands not been closed around the soldier’s throat, she would have touched her sharp fangs to verify they were indeed real. Craving the fluid rushing through the soldier, she brought his body to her and sank her teeth into the blue protruding vein of his throat. The taste of warm metallic blood helped assuage the hunger in her. She drank and drank, greedily draining him until her own body had its fill. Once sated, she let his corpse fall into a lifeless lump with all the others.

  A wide-eyed man, panting for his next breath, came forward to stand before her. He lowered his head. “Grayson,” he said, as though waiting for permission to speak.

  Grayson?

  Oh God! She knew that name and suddenly recognized the voice coming from her mouth. As reality dawned on her, the pieces fell into place. Panic raced through her as she sorted the information. She now understood why the dream felt different. Because she was seeing it through Grayson’s eyes. She was in his head, in his body, feeling his thoughts and his desires. But how? Why? None of this made sense. She tried to shake it off, to wake up, to get out of his body and into her own, but her efforts proved futile.

  Watching helplessly through Grayson’s eyes, Grayson took a step closer to the man before her. The small, breathless man shifted, obviously nervous, knowing he was about to bear the brunt of Grayson’s rage. His fangs scraped his bottom lip as he anxiously glanced around, looking anywhere and everywhere but at Grayson.

  “Speak.” The hardness in Grayson’s voice forced the other man to rush on.

  “The Nallie are all dead and only a handful of our kind have survived the attack. There are too many soldiers to fight. We need to leave here now, and go back to Sayton while we still can.”

  Feeling Grayson’s emotions as though they were her own, anger poured through her veins faster than the blood she’d just devoured. “No.” Grayson grabbed the man’s neck. “Find me a female! We do not leave here until you have found one. Do you understand?”

  When Grayson let go of the man’s neck, he scurried away, never once looking back.

  As the battle ensued, Grayson moved forward, searching. He would not let a weaker species destroy what he had spent decades creating. He would find another female and breed her with his men. He would recreate the powerful Nallie breed again. Only this time, he’d rein in his patience, give it more time, create a stronger army and be better prepared. Then he’d come back and finish what he’d started. He’d invade Earth, kill all its inhabitants and take over the rich planet once and for all. Humans would indeed pay for killing his kind and forcing them from the planet centuries ago.

  Off in the distance, his supersensory hearing picked up the sound of a baby crying. He bolted through the battlefield and concentrated on the location. Branches sliced his flesh as he trekked into the surrounding forest. Ignoring the sting, he rushed forward, pushing past thick trees and brush. Wild animals scattered and cried out in warning as birds of prey took to the sky.

  The sound of the cries grew louder. He concentrated on the location until he closed the distance. The small child lay beside its dead mother. Grayson recognized the mother. She was Nallie. Hope stirred in his veins.

  “Hush, little one.” He bent down and scooped the infant into his arms. As though sensing his commanding presence, the child abruptly ceased crying. Stomach do
wn, he placed the small body on his knee and ripped open the back of her cotton shirt. A black X had been branded into her flesh, just below the shoulder blade.

  A wide smile stretched across his mouth. For he had found exactly what he’d been looking for. The creator of a new breed.

  Dari watched the action through Grayson’s eyes. Her heart leapt in her throat at the sight of the X. A cold shiver raced down her spine. She instinctively knew that baby he held in his arms was her.

  Grayson stood and lifted her in the air, rejoicing his glory. The baby whimpered. Then out of nowhere an arrow went zinging past his head, embedding itself deep into the flesh of the child he held in his arms. The whimpering stopped as the arrow lodged in the baby’s heart.

  Unable to relive the pain all over again, Dari jolted awake in a bed that was not hers. Her pulse thrummed in her ears as her heart crashed against her chest. She wiped the perspiration from her forehead and looked around, attempting to orientate herself but nothing, except the two men who flanked her bedside, appeared familiar. Asleep in a chair to her right, she found Ayden, the man who had saved her from Grayson. To the left of her she spotted Mikel, propped up in a chair. Her gaze moved over his body. His head rested against a cushion, his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling in a slow motion as he, too, slept. Her entire body responded to him with every fiber of her being. Everything in her screamed out to touch him, to claim him. Emotions whipped through her blood as her heart turned and tightened. The connection, the pull between them was as powerful in the real world as it was in her dreams.

  She pinched her eyes shut, and then opened them again. Perhaps this was just a dream? Blinking her eyes back into focus, she perused her surroundings once more. Nothing had changed. How could this all be real?

  When she found her fingers trembling, she linked them together and drew deep fortifying breaths. How? Why? How could Mikel exist outside her dream world?

  Pushing past her fears, she quietly climbed from the bed and fought to make sense of it all. Her bare feet touched the cold stone floor. A chill rushed through her. She started to rise then stopped as a wave of dizziness took hold. Fingers combing her thick hair from her eyes, she waited until the lightheadedness passed. She dragged herself from the mattress and shook off the feeling of disorientation. The need for answers, to understand what was going on, propelled her forward.