by L. C. Davis
“It wasn't just a whim,” I said. “Back then, I—I'm not a religious person, but there were just so many signs about the school that made it seem like it was where I needed to be. It had an incredible program in exactly the field I wanted to go into, and I seemed to get leaflets and e-mails or hear it mentioned at the strangest times. I was trying to get out of a bad situation at the time and it seemed like providence.”
“Like I said, hunters and coincidences don't mix,” he said, leaning forward. “Rule number one. You may not have been a vampire when you met this guy—in fact, I know you weren't if you didn't notice the smell of his blood—but he sure as hell knew what you were. The sooner you accept that, the better off you'll be.”
“He's right, Remus,” said Victor. “They can track us. He probably knew you were going to be at the store, too.”
“I can accept that,” I said hesitantly. “I respect Prentice, but the evidence is stacking up against him. What I can't understand is why the hunters would bother with me in the first place.”
“The hunters make me look like a hobbyist when it comes to their obsession with supernaturals,” said Hunter. “I'd bet anything that they think you're the mysterious hybrid child who's supposed to unify the children of night and give them the power to overthrow the Kingdom of the Sun—in other words, the hunters. If they learned about your existence when I think they did, that may have even been what got them all riled up after being dormant for so long.”
“That's a bit of a stretch,” said Victor. “Those texts are so ancient they could be referring to a hybrid or a million other things.” He glanced worriedly at me and I could tell what he was thinking. He was rightly afraid that I had followed Hunter's logic through and realized that it would make my existence the reason for both his pack being nearly wiped out and the looming threat to the Lodge.
“Maybe,” he shrugged. “Personally I don't buy any of it, but the hunters are good at nothing if not twisting obscure spiritual texts to fuel their vendettas.”
“He's right, Victor,” I said. “But I'm not even a real hybrid anymore. I'm just a vampire and not even a particularly powerful one at that.”
“I dunno, Victor mentioned that you suppressed your wolf side with a mind block,” he said, eying me like an intriguing science project. “That's some boss-level vampire stuff right there. You can't take it down, though?”
“No, and I don't want to. Especially not if being a hybrid is giving the hunters a reason to kill people.”
Hunter watched me with an intrigued snort. “You're definitely not all vampire. Not by a long shot.” He folded his note pad and finished his bourbon before standing. “Well, I've taken up enough of your time. Thanks for answering all my nosy questions, Remus.”
“They weren't nosy,” I said, standing with Victor. “It was nice to meet you. I'm just sorry for everything else.”
“Yeah,” he said, giving me a curious look as he shook my hand. “I think you actually are.”
“How long do you think you'll be staying?” asked Victor.
“Hard to say. Depends on how it goes with Ulric tomorrow,” he said. “Either way, I'm not really used to all this,” he said, gesturing around the lavish study. “I'll probably just pitch a tent in the woods.”
Victor chuckled. “I can't speak for Ulric when it comes to making declarations of war, but I can speak on his behalf when I say that you have a permanent place in our pack if you desire it.” He offered his hand. “There's always room for a worthy brother.”
Hunter gave what seemed like his first genuine smile of the evening and returned the handshake with gusto. “I appreciate that, I really do. But as long as there's a single wolf left in my pack, I can't just abandon it.”
“I can respect that,” said Victor. “Just know the offer is a standing one. Clara will have prepared one of the guest rooms by now, if you change your mind about the tent.”
“I did want to ask you one more question,” Hunter said, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye even though he was addressing Victor.
Victor looked at me as well and I couldn't help but guess what the topic of the question might be. “I'll go find Sebastian so you can talk,” I said, opening the door. I had to trust that if it was something I needed to know, Victor would tell me and if not, deal with it. If he was the next alpha—and with Sebastian's absences and flaky behavior lately, any other outcome seemed unlikely—the other wolves had to feel like they could come to him without my interference.
Especially now that I was a threat to them.
6
“Aren't you going to ask me what Hunter wanted to talk to me about?” Victor asked, crawling into bed. He had spent the past ten minutes showering and now he was wearing a pair of red cotton pajama pants that rode low enough on his hips for me to admire the deep V that disappeared into his waist band. Small droplets of water clung to his torso and made the still-damp hair that stuck to the sides of his neck even blacker. He was a sight for sore eyes and it felt like I hadn't seen him for weeks even though it had been less than one.
“No,” I said, moving over to make room for him. It was admittedly hard to be nosy about hunters of any kind when I had such a glorious distraction.
“Oh?” he grinned, pulling me to him. “Was the Remus who stuck his ear against the wall whenever there was a fight in one of the other rooms part of your werewolf side, too?”
I rolled my eyes. “No, it's just that I've been interacting with the other wolves—well, some of them—a lot more since you've been gone. It's just made me realize how important it is for them to be able to confide in their alpha without having to worry about what they say getting out.”
“We don't know that I'm going to become alpha,” he said cautiously. “Sebastian was always Ulric's first choice.”
“Yeah, but he's never here anymore. He's always flaking out on shifts. Brendan covers for him, but I can tell the others are starting to get sick of it,” I said, thinking back to my time with him. “He's making bad judgment calls.”
“Like what?” He frowned.
“Letting me go out, for one.”
“Convincing you that you'd killed Maverick for another,” he muttered. All the concern that had been in his voice faded completely. “Ulric will hear about that when he gets back.”
“You haven't told him?”
“I didn't want to distract him while he was on a case,” he admitted. “He's not going to be in a good space when he finds out what Sebastian did.”
“You don't think he'll get in trouble, do you?” I asked warily. I wasn't exactly sure what werewolf trouble entailed, but it probably wasn't good.
“He damn well better,” he said, a low rumble building in his chest. “The only reason I didn't go at him the second he entered the room was because Hunter was there. If Ulric doesn't punish him, I will.”
“Please don't,” I said, stroking his hair. “Just don't say anything, Ulric doesn't need to know.”
“Why are you defending him?” Victor asked, propping himself up on his elbow. “That was a hideous thing to do, I don't care if he is angry that we're together.”
“It was,” I agreed. “But Sebastian's not in a good place right now. He's not himself. He's acting like his mate died and in some ways, he did. The mark is gone, he said so himself.”
Victor's eyes widened although I could tell he was trying to mask his surprise. “He did?”
“Yes. I think he really was just trying to see if the old me was still there,” I murmured. “What he did was cruel, but in his mind he wasn't doing it to me.”
“My brother is a fool,” he said, cupping my cheek in his hand. “Neither of us deserve you, but he's incapable of seeing what I see.”
“Which is?” I asked warily.
He leaned in, pressing his lips gently against mine. “Old or new, werewolf or vampire, it's all the same. You're mine and I love every part of you,” he murmured, gently pressing my chin between his thumb and index finger.
His wo
rds and touch made me melt as only he could. I let him lay me against the pillows and wrapped my arms around his neck to pull him closer. “Every part?” I smiled against his lips.
Victor's warm hand slipped underneath my silk night shirt and roamed over my thigh. “Are there any parts in need of special attention, pup?” he asked wryly, nipping at my neck. The sensation drove me wild and woke the burning thirst that had gone dormant after being ignored for so long.
“I just want you inside of me,” I said, moaning as he stroked me through my tight shorts. He didn't need to know that I meant his blood, too.
“That can be arranged,” he said, kissing the skin he'd exposed as he pulled down my waistband. His touch left tingling nerves and electricity all over the insides of my thigh as he tormented me. When he finally tasted me, I cried out and prayed the walls were thick enough that I wouldn't be getting strange looks the next morning.
He continued to torture me with light caresses and flicks of his tongue until I was fully erect. Then he settled on top of me, positioning himself between my legs. He came up to taste my lips as he prepared me with a single finger. I squirmed against him and he laughed softly at my impatience. He withdrew his finger and a few seconds later I felt his shaft, hot and firm, pressing against me.
Desperation built between us, but the more eager I was, the more my body resisted him. “I knew I should have prepared you more,” he said, easing up a bit.
“It's fine, please. Don't be gentle,” I pleaded, dragging my nails across his back.
He shivered at the hint of pain and pinned my wrists down as he gave a more aggressive thrust. It was all I could do to stifle another cry as his tip drove into me. Another few thrusts and he was buried hilt-deep inside of me.
“Victor,” I gasped, relishing the sudden invasion and the dull ache that came with it. As much as I enjoyed his gentleness, sometimes roughness could be just as sweet. I had learned that now that our contract had been amended to remove my previous restrictions. I trusted Victor with more than just my life now, and it was hard to fathom anything I wouldn't feel safe leaving up to his judgment.
His grip on my wrists loosened as he wrapped his arms around me and held me close to his chest. I wrapped my legs around his waist and shuddered with the fresh wave of pleasure the new angle brought.
“I missed you so much,” I said, aimlessly groping his hair as he took turns alternating between slow, deliberate grinding and hard, desperate thrusts. He was evidently having the same trouble I was of alternately wanting to savor every touch and wanting to fuck until the lines between us had disappeared altogether.
A familiar thirst started to blossom deep in my stomach. At first it was just a seed sparked by desire, but soon its tendrils began to break through to the surface.
My tongue traced the path of his jugular and I felt it pounding beneath his skin just as surely as I felt it pounding inside of me. The scent put my earlier encounter with Prentice into a different context. The hunter's blood was maddening, Victor's was purely intoxicating. It didn't threaten to turn me into something I wasn't with its undeniable drive, but it was infinitely more pleasing.
“Go ahead, pup,” he said in a warm, husky voice, his movements becoming slower and more deliberate again.
As soon as permission was given, I sank my fangs into his neck and marveled at how much bolder the taste was when it was fresh. I had missed this inexplicable form of intimacy almost as much as I missed being in his arms at night. Intoxication mingled with heavy bliss as I came and all I could do was feel and taste him.
He moaned and thrust into me even deeper. With a deep growl, he came and collapsed on top of me. My nails trailed down his back as I continued to drink. I meant to pull away, but what seemed like a few seconds stretched out dangerously.
“Remus,” he said, his voice still hoarse with pleasure. “That's a bit much, pup.”
I really did try to pull away, but it was almost like sleep paralysis. No matter how I tried to stop, my body wouldn't let go.
“I said that's enough,” he scolded, prying me off him with a relieving degree of ease. He pinned me down out of necessity this time and stared down at me as we both caught our breath. It was only as his wary eyes searched mine for answers that I realized I was snarling.
I gazed past him for a moment, dazed from the taste of blood. I had taken so much, yet there was still a hole in the pit of my stomach and it screamed for more.
“Are you okay?” I asked when I was finally able to speak.
“Of course I'm okay, but what the hell was that? Since when do you disobey me?” he asked, pressing a hand against his neck.
My face grew hot as I sat up. “I'm sorry. I have no idea why, but I couldn't stop. It felt like I was paralyzed.”
He watched me anxiously, but I could tell the concern wasn't for him. It was for me. “That's never happened before. When was your last dose?”
“Of your blood?” I asked carefully.
“Yes, of course my blood. Who else's?”
“Well, Maverick's master made a scene in the infirmary and all the blood you left was spilled,” I said. “Brendan let me feed at the grocery store so I wouldn't go after Prentice.”
“You fed from Brendan?” I recognized the dark look that came over him. It was jealousy. I hadn't seen that look on him in a long time.
“We didn't have any other options. If he hadn't fed me and if what you guys say about Prentice is true, I'd be dead.”
He clenched his jaw but he seemed to be listening to my reasoning at least. “I'm sure he loved that.”
“It's not like that, Victor. Brendan and I have gotten close, but he's like a big brother,” I insisted. A really big brother. “Why does this bother you so much if you're fine with me biting humans?”
“It's different,” he said. “Humans are food to vampires, there's no intimacy.”
“Trust me, there was no intimacy with Brendan,” I said, grimacing. “Besides, he has a boyfriend.”
“Yes, the mysterious boyfriend no one has ever met.”
“I'm serious, Victor, Brendan is a good guy. He took care of me while you were gone and wouldn't let Sebastian leave with me until he knew you were okay with it.” That seemed to pacify him somewhat, because his shoulders relaxed.
“I still don't understand why this happened. When was the last time you fed from a human?”
“Um, when Maverick came in for his session,” I admitted.
“What?”
“Well, I blacked out for an entire day. I should have said something, but everything was so crazy and I didn't want to make it even worse.”
“You're incredibly lucky you didn't kill someone,” he said sharply. “You're a fledgling vampire, you can't control your thirst without staying on the schedule.”
I winced at his tone. “The thirst went away after a while.”
“That's worse! It just means you'll snap at the first sight of blood. Fortunately, it was mine.” He raked a hand through his hair and sighed. “I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at myself for thinking it was safe to leave you here unsupervised.”
“I wasn't unsupervised.”
“That makes it even worse. It's never happening again.” His tone left no room for argument.
I gulped, still able to taste his blood. It sat bitterly in my stomach. He was right, but that didn't make the scolding any easier to swallow. The cruelest words could do no damage coming from anyone else, not even Sebastian, but knowing that I had displeased Victor—my master—had shaken me more than I ever wanted to admit.
“Come here,” he ordered, pulling me against his chest. He wrapped us in the blankets and his warmth eased the coldness creeping through my insides. “I told you, I'm not angry. Not at you.”
“If you're angry at anyone, it should be me,” I protested.
“Sebastian knows what you're capable of and he should have acted more responsibly. He knew better and I'm already pissed enough at him for screwing with your head like that.”
He stroked my hair in what was probably his way of making sure I knew he had forgiven me. “I'm fine. You'd have to take a hell of a lot more than you're capable of to hurt me. Just tell me the next time you're even the slightest bit thirsty. All it takes is biting one person and we'd have to do some serious cleanup.”
I frowned. “You sound like you're more concerned about hiding the bodies than the fact that I could have killed someone.”
“If it sounds that way it's because I am,” he admitted.
I cringed.
“You're my mate, Remus. Protecting you will always be my number one priority.”
“What if you're protecting a monster?” I asked. His answer didn't sit well with me.
“I'm not,” he said immediately.
“But if you were?”
He sighed. “Then my answer would be the same. It's been a long day for both of us. “Try to get some sleep, pup.”
I snuggled against his chest and closed my eyes, knowing all was well between us as long as he called me that. Usually I could get at least a couple of hours in his arms, but that night sleep eluded me until the morning sun started to filter in through the curtains, its rays taking on a more sinister look with the hunters' legend fresh in my mind.
Maybe I really was becoming a true vampire.
7
When I awoke, Victor was gone. There were traces of blood on the sheets, so I gathered them up and shoved them in the hamper to take downstairs. I wanted there to be no evidence of the night before when he came back from his meeting with Ulric and Hunter. At least, that was where I assumed he had gone.
