Monsters, Book One: The Good, The Bad, The Cursed

by Heather Killough-Walden

He felt Angel’s primitive response to the sensation beneath him as she arched her back and gave a sharp intake of breath. The vampire’s bite was a small pin-prick of slight pain followed by overwhelming pleasure, and when the vampire loved his or her victim, that pleasure was amplified ten-fold.

  Jake held Angel gently but firmly, and as her blood rose to meet him, he sank into her mind and poured into her all of the emotion he had possessed for her from day one. He let it flood her, wrap around her, and claim her.

  He swallowed slowly, letting every tiny detail of the act imprint itself permanently on his fevered brain. Every small, desperate move she made beneath him, every miniscule sound she made in earnest, every molecule of taste that saturated him and burned down his throat like the absolute finest wine… he took it all in. And he swore he would do it again and again once she was his.

  As he drank from her, Jake’s hands caressed her. He kept firmly implanted in her throat, not wanting to hurt her in any manner, but he had to touch her. He had to feel her silkiness under his fingers. He wanted to feel her heat, her quick jerky responses to pleasure, and he very much wanted to feel her wetness around him, squeezing him again and again as he took the last drop and placed his wrist to her lips.

  So as she drifted beneath him on his vampire-induced plane of bliss, Jake allowed one fingernail to sharpen into a claw, then used that claw to slowly slice down the side of her shirt. She didn’t notice a thing. The sleeves came next, and still she was oblivious.

  Before long, he had effectively torn her clothing to tatters from head to toe. All he would need to do is give a little tug, and she would be bared before him. Of course, there were dozens of other ways for him to undress her without pulling his teeth from her vein. His ability to manipulate inanimate objects went even further than Angel suspected.

  But this one was fun.

  Angel’s blood was becoming stronger in taste now, more undiluted, bolstered with the magic that made her a healer as he drew closer to the end of her reserves. It was always like that with blood; the truly good stuff was at the bottom. The last few swallows a vampire enjoyed from his or her mage or supernatural victim were usually composed of almost pure magic.

  But Angel’s blood was so unbelievably potent already, there was honestly a part of Jake that feared he would go insane for experiencing it in its undiluted form. Luckily, it was a very small part of him and easy to ignore.

  Jake lowered his body over Angel’s, bracing himself on one elbow to run his free hand over her body. She became increasingly agitated beneath his ministrations, and he dove into her mind to find that his little healer was thinking all kinds of dirty thoughts. He laughed a low, dark laugh, wrapping his fingers around the edges of her shirt.

  He gave a short, sharp pull, and the garment fell away from her entirely, exposing her creamy expanse of toned, tight muscle and smooth, tanned skin. She gasped at the sudden exposure as cool air touched her flesh, followed by the heat of Jake’s hands.

  He was heating up in his passion – everywhere. His jeans had grown very tight, and he was so hot, he was starting to sweat. Angel opened her eyes and tried to turn her head to look at him, but he tightened his grip in her hair and held her in place, then spoke to her in her mind since his mouth was busy.

  Don’t move, Angel. Stay as you are. I’ve no wish to cause you harm. Just let me do this and enjoy it.

  She moaned softly when Jake’s hand cupped her right breast and pinched her nipple. He sucked gently against her throat and swallowed a heady concoction of the most delicious fucking blood he’d ever tasted. Better than he’d dreamed, in fact.

  Now it was his turn to moan, and his dick pulsed painfully in his pants.

  Jake curled his fingers over the waistband of her jeans, tugged, and threw the shredded remains of her clothing to the side, underwear and all. Now she was completely naked beneath him, and with a smile against her throat, he decided it was only fair that he be naked this time too.

  With a simple thought, he willed his clothing to vanish. Angel could see what he’d done out of her peripheral vision, and fury coursed through her, though it wasn’t real fury. Just irritation in the extreme. After all, he’d destroyed her clothes completely when all he’d had to do was use magic to safely rid her of them.

  But that wouldn’t have been any fun. And besides… she didn’t have any backup clothing right now. Which meant she couldn’t go anywhere.

  And as Jake gently but firmly grasped Angel’s thighs to separate them, eliciting a groan of shy anticipation from the depths of her pierced throat, Jake decided it was damn well fine with him if they stayed in that bed and did nothing but fuck for the next three weeks.

  Jake had to pull a little against her vein now…. She was nearing the end, and his vampire power wound securely around her, keeping her heart beating, fueling her brain, maintaining her life as her vampire sire prepared to make this change in her. He felt the tip of his feverish hardness press against her opening, lined up and ready as he took her wrists in his hands and pressed them into the bed at either side of her head.

  This will be intense, he warned her. Trust me and don’t fight me, little warrior.

  Her reply was fast and sure. Okay.

  Jake flexed every muscle in his body, cleared his mind, and dug deep for his power. Then he pulled Angel’s final drops of precious, healer blood out of her vein and into his mouth as he thrust violently forward, spearing her core to the hilt.

  Angel shrieked with intense, absolute pleasure so vital, it changed her on a molecular level and tried furiously to rip her from his grasp. But he’d known it was coming, and he held on for all he was worth, pouring wave after wave of his influence over her and into her.

  Easy, his mind told hers. That’s it, Angel. Just let it happen.

  She cried out, sobbing and shaking, her beautiful body quivering uncontrollably beneath the onslaught. Each pulse of bliss contained the strength of ten orgasms. But he kept at it, always there in her head, always helping her along. Easy, now. That’s good. You can take this, Angel. Just give yourself to me.

  He pulled the intense heat of his hardness out of her inch by inch and slowly slid back in, building for her a second need that she could turn her attention to. As the violent struggle against the insane intensity slowly ebbed from her small form and became increasingly demanding in another manner altogether, Jake pulled his teeth from her throat with infinite tenderness and prepared to take the next step in claiming her.

  He rose above her on strong arms, his body pulsing with so much magical blood, he felt he could conquer the world. But instead he focused on the tender, precious creature beneath him, and kept her safely wrapped in the power of the turning.

  She gasped and sighed, tossed her head and clawed at the sheets. She was so very pale, a frail, ethereal appearance had taken her over. He was everywhere around her and in her at that moment, her very life continuing only because he allowed it to. It was a heady aphrodisiac to possess this much control over something he cared for as much as he cared for Angel. It was admittedly hard to concentrate.

  But he’d known it would be. And he was strong. And this was everything.

  Jake sat up completely on top of Angel, sinking deeper into her than he had so far. He listened in rapture as the sensation ripped a long, low moan of pleasure from her. Then he lifted his wrist to his mouth and sank his fangs into his vein.

  Blood welled up immediately. There was so much of it, and he so badly wanted to give it to her. It at once began to run down his arm. Jake leaned over his small, writhing treasure, and again ran his hands through the ultra-soft hair at the back of her head, fisting tight.

  Once he had her attention, he forced her to look into his eyes. He knew his had gone red. He watched the reflection of them in her eyes. But rather than frighten her, the sight of them only increased her longing – and that was nearly his undoing right there.

  “Drink, Angel. And don’t stop until I tell you.”

  He placed the command f
irmly in her mind as well, and then tripled the impact of it by willing her body to obey with the vampire magic he had wrapped so securely around her. Angel reached up, slid her little hands around his thick forearm, and closed her eyes, bringing his wrist to her lips.

  The moment they touched down over his vein, he nearly came inside her. The sensation was so fucking intense he cried out, barely managing to hold on. Angel’s body jerked beneath him, and that didn’t help any. The little minx was completely unable to hold back her own climax, and it rocked through her with beautiful savagery – the first of many this night would bring to her.

  Jake watched her drink, utterly fascinated by the pulsing of her throat as she allowed her mouth to fill with the wine-like blood and then took it down her throat. He was mesmerized by her. And then he began moving inside her again, pulling out and pressing forcefully back in with every one of her swallows.

  A rhythm of forbidden carnality began to rock through them, timing their movements to elicit peak amounts of pleasure. Jake could feel the ultimate turning point approaching. And he couldn’t hold it back. Hell, he didn’t want to. Not for anything.

  He moved faster inside her, thrusting hard and deep, and Angel’s mouth remained closed over his wound while her tongue swirled across the bite marks, urging him on. His pleasure took hold of him, unforgiving and unrelenting. It would not be denied. It could not be stopped. It came ever closer, closer, and hot on its heels was the final, potent pulse of magic that would seal Angel’s fate once and for all.

  He let it come.

  It struck him like an atom bomb. Angel screamed beneath him, arched violently, and gritted her teeth against the ecstasy that lay absolute claim to her body and soul. At the same time, Jake threw back his head and roared into the night, a pure animal sound that cut through the walls of realms and touched the rapidly beating hearts of fellow monsters everywhere. He emptied himself into Angel again and again, each almost painful pulse ripped from him with the brute force of primitive, primal magic.

  And when eternity ended, and Jake came down from that plane of euphoria, he lowered his head and opened his eyes.

  Angel was gazing steadily up at him. And her brown eyes were glowing gold.

  Jake held his breath.

  Angel smiled, flashing small, perfect fangs.

  Epilogue

  Cain grinned and shook his head when Angel made it to the Vincent motorcycle before Jake did, and rapidly straddled it. Damn, she was fine when she straddled a bike. He laughed softly at Jake’s discombobulated expression when she started the machine up with one kick, and it purred beautifully beneath her ministrations.

  “You lose,” she told her lover. “Fair is fair.” She grinned, flashing those cute little fangs she was so proud of. “I get to ride solo.”

  Jake swore softly and ran a hand through his hair. Then he mumbled something about women not playing fair because they were fucking hot and that was distracting, and Angel laughed, revved the bike, and tore out of the lot. Several Monsters clan members tore out after her, flashing Jake shit-eating grins.

  Cain laughed harder as his second-in-command stood with his hands on his hips for a moment, then broke into a blurred run toward the garage, and came out a split second later with another motorcycle, a Softail Springer from mid last-century. His tires ripped the tarmac up as he raced after his girl, and the remaining clan members laughed as they gradually followed suit.

  After a few seconds, Cain alone remained in the Monsters safe house lot.

  In the solitude and the sound of a V-twin idling underneath him, Cain leaned back in the saddle and looked up at the night sky. His vision was quite a bit better than that of a human’s. He effectively blocked out the light pollution from the city and gazed steadily into the milky substance of the cosmos.

  He thought about the events of the last few weeks – and what they meant for the future.

  Michael Clemens was still out there somewhere. No one knew where. Not even the seers. Victor Maze had been easier to find than the warlock. But then again, Maze had wanted to be found. There was no telling how much trouble Clemens was going to stir up in the days to come.

  Malek Taal and the Unseelie King had come to an agreement of sorts and things were tense but quiet. The fae were experiencing a kind of cold war. It was an uncomfortable time, and it would continue to be so until the Taal got this shit figured out.

  Cain had respect for Malek, in all honesty. At the very least, he could certainly relate.

  Dmitri Voronin was out there too. But knowing what he knew of Voronin now, and with Angel having been turned, Cain had a feeling the Apex wasn’t going to pose any further problems.

  Speaking of Angel, she’d decided to stay with her clan for the time being. The Vega clan was her family. But at Jake’s begging bequest, she agreed to move into the Monsters safe house any time the boys were in town. And of course, she reserved the right to change her mind at any given point in the future. She was a woman, after all.

  Cain took a deep breath and let it out through his nose in a steady sigh. He turned his head to face south, but remembered too late that his favorite star wasn’t there right now. It would be back in the winter. At that time, Sirius would once more shine brighter than any star seen from Planet Earth.

  He leaned forward, twisted the throttle a few times, and kicked up the stand of his bike. Then he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket to retrieve his skullcap. But when he did, his fingers closed over a folded piece of paper instead.

  He pulled it out and studied it a moment before opening it and reading.

  Wow, three brand new enemies in as many days. I’m impressed.

  But then, no one is better than you at antagonism, Cain.

  Hell, you’re pretty much the god of it, right?

  But one of these days, it’s going to come back to bite you in the ass.

  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

  – Forever, “A”

  The Good, The Bad, The Cursed

  Book One in The Kings series spinoff, Monsters

  by Heather Killough-Walden

  Copyright 2018 Heather Killough-Walden

  Smashwords Edition

  Discover other titles by Heather Killough-Walden at Smashwords.com:

  https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/HRKW

  Cover art by Nuno Moreira

  Monsters is a brand new open-ended PNR series that takes place in the same universe as the now complete The Kings series. For a taste of The Kings and get inside information on cameos and crossovers, read on….

  The Kings series, in chronological order:

  The Kings - A Big Bad Wolf spinoff series

  The Vampire King

  The Phantom King

  The Warlock King

  The Goblin King

  The Seelie King

  The Unseelie King

  The Shadow King

  The Winter King

  The Demon King

  The Shifter King

  The Nightmare King

  The Dragon King

  The Time King

  Withered – bridge novella linking The Kings to Monsters

  The Shifter King…

  Sam saw him enter the club at the opposite end of the room. Everyone did.

  He was a dark shadow against the night, no small feat but one he accomplished with frightening ease. His suit was expertly, precisely tailored, black and expensive, and it hugged every intended curve of his six-foot-five frame. The collar of his black shirt, crisp and sharp, brushed the dark blonde curls he almost never bothered to cut and set off the equally sharp black image of his leather eye patch. One ice blue eye lit up the shadows, stark and unavoidable.

  “Holy hell, sister. That is one beautiful, scary, beautiful man,” whispered Sam’s friend.

  “He can hear you,” Sam whispered back.

  Across the room, Jack Colton smiled. And it was a beautiful, scary, beautiful smile.

  Samantha O’Neill has been running for twenty ye
ars. She’s been fleeing from a man with an ice blue gaze, and possessed of a terrible magic. Two decades has seen her grown into a woman wise and self-sufficient, and unnaturally blessed with a powerful and unique magic all her own.

  For twenty years she’s managed to escape him. But all hunts come to an end. And now, in the lengthening darkness of an autumn Chicago night, an ominous footfall in the subway and a shadow over her solitary form force Sam to at last come face-to-face with her brutally beautiful pursuer – and her clouded and tangled feelings for him.

  Jack Colton assumes their forms in the night, shifting to become the predators that grown men still fear in the cold sweat of their nightmares. Powerful, sleek, graceful, and deadly, he moves through the darkness, watching. Waiting. And that powerful blue gaze finds Sam everywhere she goes. Because he knows something she doesn’t. He knows what she is, and he knows what that means. He knows the prophecy. He lives it every day.

  Jack has fought for twenty years to protect that secret, killed to protect the woman who keeps it, and if he must, he will die to see it come to its fruition.

  The Shifter King is the tenth book in the Big Bad Wolf spinoff series, The Kings, by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Killough-Walden.

  The Dragon King…

  Millennia ago, in the time of dragons, love and hate colored the very air monsters breathed. Ancient sorcery coursed through powerful wings like blood, pumped by hearts of magic, and timeless beasts of lore soared over the landscape, terrible and wondrous.

  Amidst these beasts of yesteryear, a forbidden love bloomed. A child was born of this love.

  But misfortune struck, and a murder rocked the world of the leviathans, tearing the family apart. Years piled atop this monumental death, legends faded and myths were twisted, and time made labyrinths of memories long gone.

  Now, in the heart of one of America’s busiest cities, thrives a young woman with no last name. Evangeline is from a time before human tradition and provincialism. She is strong, born of legendary parents, and trained by the hard luck of solitary existence and sheer willpower.