by K. L. Kreig
“Feel better?”
“No.”
He chuckled a bit. “So…you want me, huh?”
She pulled back in disbelief. “That’s what you remember? Out of everything I just said?” Shaking her head, she mumbled, “Typical male.”
This time he laughed harder and she rewarded him with a small smile in return. She couldn’t help herself. He made her happy, even though she was incredibly terrified and angry at this moment. He gently cupped her cheeks and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. “Everything will be okay, love.”
“How did you know I was in trouble? How did you get me out of there?”
“I didn’t know you were in trouble until we arrived, but I knew you would be in danger by leaving.” At least he didn’t say I told you so. He probably wanted to. “As soon as we arrived, I could sense the enemy and then I heard you scream. When we flashed into the house, I disposed of your attacker and then I flashed you back home.”
“Who is ‘we’? Who else was there?”
“Ren, Manny, and Thane.”
“Are they okay? Did they get hurt?”
“Yes, they are fine, Kate. They are warriors and it will take far more than a few low level vamps to take them out. They’ve already returned home, unharmed.”
Chapter 36
Dev
Kate was visibly relieved. Irrational jealousy reared its ugly head once again. Of course she’d fear for his men. His Kate has the kindest heart he had ever known and once again he fell deeper in love with her. That moment solidified she was everything he’d ever wanted and so much more. More importantly, he knew there would be a ‘they.’ She was strong and determined and she would make an exceptional mate. He only hoped he could measure up.
“Why am I in danger, Dev?”
It was his turn to get up and start pacing. He knew he had to tell her this part, about Xavier, but he was dreading it. In the short time he’d known her, she’d demonstrated how inquisitive and intuitive she was and she wouldn’t stop until she had the entire truth pulled from him, like a rotten tooth.
So instead, he said, “You haven’t asked many questions about my revelation earlier…of being a vampire.”
“No, I don’t suppose I have.”
“Why?”
She grinned, shaking her head. “Nice try, but I’m the one asking the questions, Dev.”
“Kate, I promise I will tell you everything, but I need to know why you haven’t pressed me for any answers relating to the biggest myth you’ve probably ever heard.”
She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“You know, when I dreamed about Sarah I knew I saw vampires and I tried to pretend they weren’t real. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. So, I suppose it’s because from the minute you told me, I…I knew it was true. Even when I told you I didn’t believe you, I did. It just clicked, I guess. It probably explains why I’m so drawn to you. You have some sort of vampire spell on me or something.”
That made him laugh. “No. I have no spell on you, my love. It’s the mating bond that calls to us both, drawing us together like a moth to a flame. You are the flame, my dear. A light so bright I’m blinded by your goodness. I can assure you, a vampire has no compulsion ability over their mate. I knew you were mine from the moment I laid eyes on you, but the fact that I couldn’t compel you only confirmed what I already knew.”
She frowned. “You tried to compel me? When?”
He simply stared at her, waiting for the pieces to fall in place. She whispered, “You tried at the station, didn’t you? I remember feeling a weird pressure in my head. What were you trying to get me to do?”
“Agree to come with me. It’s true that you are in danger Kate. For more than one reason, but I’ll get to that.”
That determined, stubborn look that he’d come to know so well emerged. “Tell me everything. Start first with why I’m in danger.” Her eyes pleaded. “Please. I have a right to know.”
He nodded. “You’re what’s called a dreamwalker—”
“A—”
“Let me get this out before you ask questions, okay? I promise that you will know everything that I do when I’m finished.”
Her lips formed into a thin line, clearly displeased. She nodded anyway and he couldn’t help but grin. She was magnificent.
“As I was saying, you’re a dreamwalker, which is a special human female who can either enter another’s dreams or witness events that are happening in real time while in a dream state. Only human females can be dreamwalkers and they are very rare.”
Kate couldn’t help it…she interrupted anyway, raising her hand like a schoolchild, which earned her a big sigh from Dev.
“Olivia is a dreamwalker, isn’t she?”
“Yes. That’s why I had her come. There is much you can learn from her. You haven’t even begun to tap into the full capability of your gift, Kate.”
“Curse is more like it,” she mumbled. He ignored that comment, as it wouldn’t do any good to argue with her until she experienced the good her gift could do.
“As I said, dreamwalkers are very rare and, in the vampire world, they are revered and protected. In the human world, they are misunderstood and often labeled psychotic. Olivia is the bonded mate of one of my club’s general managers, Monti Morton. She’s had many, many years of experience honing her skills. As I said, she can teach you much.”
Interruption number two. “How many years of experience has she had?”
He thought for a moment. “I believe well over a hundred.”
Kate started laughing. “I think you need your eyes checked, Dev. She doesn’t look a day over twenty-seven. Thirty tops.”
“I’m sure she’ll be pleased you think so. But she has been bonded to Monti for over ninety years and I believe she wasn’t quite thirty when that happened.”
She blankly stared at him, her eyes blinking rapidly.
“If you’d let me finish without all of the interruptions, I’ll get to all of this.” She cocked her head to the side gifting him with a fine-I’ll-shut-up look.
“Vampires only bond with humans, not other vampires, especially since most vampires are male. Only bonded human female mates can carry a vampire babe. When vampires do bond, their human mate stops aging and will live the same longevity as their vampire mate.”
“And I’m your mate, like…your wife?”
Dev’s eyes were instantly glowing with desire. He no longer tried to hide his true nature or how much he wanted this woman. He answered thickly, “Yes, but a Moira is much more than just how humans define a wife or husband.”
Electricity cracked like lightning between the two of them. “How do you know I’m your Moira?”
“I already told you, a vampire knows when they’ve met their Moira. Instantaneously. You’re mine, make no mistake about that.”
“And how old are you?”
“Five-hundred and thirty-five years old.” He waited for her to freak out, to run screaming for the door. Instead, she continued to surprise him.
A slight smirk turned up the corner of her mouth. “Don’t you think you’re a little old for me? I mean, over five-hundred years is a pretty big age gap.”
He stalked toward her, grabbing her hand to pull her close as she squealed and tried, unsuccessfully, to scoot around him. Leaning down so their lips were inches apart, he whispered, “Ah, but I bring with me a wealth of experience, love.”
“Hmmm…I’ll just bet you do. But I’m not sure you’ll be able to keep up with a youngster like me.” She winked.
Dev laughed loudly. “I look forward to showing you—multiple times a day—that I most certainly can keep up with you. It is you who will have a hard time keeping up with me, love.” He grabbed her mouth in a hungry kiss, grinding his erection into her stomach as he pulled her hips to his.
Jesus, he wanted her. The adrenaline from the events of the last two hours hadn’t waned and the only cure was to fuck it out. He needed to be inside her hot, always-wet puss
y. Ensure she was safe, even though he could see with his own eyes she was. Know she accepted him for who he was and that she wanted him all the same. But she broke their kiss instead.
“We’re not done talking, yet. No kissy until we talky.”
He chuckled. “You are very strange, woman.”
“So get to the part about why I’m in danger.”
He told her about the call from Detective Thatcher and their arrangement with the local police. He explained that, as his Moira, he wanted her close to him, but also because of the types of dreams she was having, it truly did place her in real danger.
He finally told her about Xavier, who’d gone rogue and, in retribution for Dev ratting him out, killed Dev’s entire family, along with their entire village before he disappeared. He told her about Xavier’s sick obsession with wanting to rule over the human and vampire worlds and that he’d been kidnapping young women for centuries. They’d been trying to stop him, but he’d remained mainly elusive. He explained his role as Vampire Lord, their hierarchy and that each lord maintained order within their respective Regents. Even vampires had laws to live by.
“The other lords are here at the house and I’ll introduce you. What you walked in on last night was a strategy meeting we were having to track Xavier down once and for all.”
He knew the instant she figured it out. “But I can help with that, can’t I? I can help find him with my dreams. That’s what Olivia was trying to teach me.”
“Originally when we were called to the station, yes, we were hoping your dreamwalker skills could help us track down and kill him once and for all, but once I found out you were my Moira…well, no. Hell no. I’ve waited over five hundred years for you.” His voice hardened. “No fucking way am I putting you in any danger, so don’t even ask me. We’ll find another way to get the girls back and stop Xavier. We already have a couple of leads.”
They didn’t yet, but he didn’t want her anywhere near this debacle or this very dangerous vampire.
___________
Kate
Kate knew that wasn’t the right moment to argue, but there was no way in hell she was going to sit back and do nothing while young girls were being slaughtered by some psychotic vampire with a God complex. She may not have any fighting skills, but the least she could do was locate this Xavier person so those more skilled could stop him. For the first time in her entire life, she was grateful for her ability to dream.
And she knew with every fiber of her being that she was meant to be with this unbelievably gorgeous man, er, vampire, in front her. She’d known it from the second she laid eyes on him.
Information overload was knocking at the door, but she had a few more questions that needed answering now. Everything else could wait until later. “So…the whole blood thing?”
Smirking, he replied, “Are you asking me if I want your blood, Kate?”
Heart racing, scared of the answer, she could only nod.
He swallowed hard and his eyes shifted to her neck before locking on hers. “Fuck yes. More than you know. But I promise you it’s the most pleasurable sensation you’ll ever experience.”
Oh. My. Subject change.
“So what about these new abilities I seem to have?”
A weird look crossed Dev’s face. “Well, that’s a bit of a puzzle, love. After a vampire and his mate complete the bonding, she takes on his skills, as long as they regularly exchange blood. We haven’t bonded yet and even if we had, I don’t possess the skill of stasis, so I had the doc take some blood while you were unconscious from your fall earlier.”
Stasis? She didn’t understand at all what was happening. He must have seen the confused look on her face, since he continued explaining.
“The results came back this morning. That’s why I left you in the bedroom. I had to go talk to Big D, the doctor.”
She visibly paled. Her voice was barely audible. “And what did the results say?”
He hesitated for several beats, and she could tell this was going to be bad. Very bad. “They indicate you are part vampire.”
“What?” The words came out on a croak. There was no way Kate could have heard Dev correctly. She definitely wasn’t a vampire. Just the sight of blood made her a bit nauseous.
“You have vampire DNA, Kate. There is no doubt. Doc ran the test three times. And since only human females can carry vampire young, that means whomever sired you…is definitely vampire.”
Kate jumped off the bed. “That’s ridiculous! My father is most certainly not a vampire. I think I’d notice if he were having a goblet of blood with his damn meal sometime over the last twenty seven years!”
“I need to explain something to you. A vampire is born, not made. As I said before, a vampire can only come from a male vampire and his bonded human female. Unfortunately, our female vampires are infertile, so they cannot reproduce. So we are born as full-fledged vampires, but vampirism has to be activated by drinking blood several times throughout childhood. A small amount at birth, once at age fifteen and once again at age twenty. With each blooding a vampire gets stronger and more vampire abilities are formed, with full vampiric skills by age one hundred. However, if the appropriate blooding doesn’t occur, you’re just an exceptional human being, not a full-fledged vampire. You may have some underlying skills or senses, but are never able to fully tap into them, like a full-fledged, blooded vampire could.”
She stared at him, uncomprehending a word he’d said.
“I’m sorry, Kate. I know the last couple of days have been stressful. But there is no doubt you are an unblooded female vampire. I’m quite sure the man who has raised you as his daughter is not vampire. Just as I’m positive that the woman whom you call mother is not your biological mother. Have your parents ever mentioned you being adopted?”
“Adopted?” She sunk down onto the edge of the bed again, her legs unable to hold her. She whispered, “No. No. That can’t be possible. I’m not adopted.”
Dev rushed to her side, pulling her close. “I’m sorry, love,” he whispered. “But it’s the only explanation.”
Chapter 37
Kate
Kate sat in Dev’s office, while he finished up a business call. The past several days had gone by in a haze. Her dissertation paper was all but forgotten. She knew that her research in the area of sleep psychology could be part of the key to solving the kidnapping of these young women, so she made a vow to get back to that tomorrow.
She’d remained dreamless these past several days. Quite frankly, she was pissed, as she desperately wanted to assist in finding Sarah and the other missing girls and she finally had some new techniques to try. Kate hadn’t dreamed of Sarah in many nights and knew she couldn’t make herself dream of specific things. She just had to learn to make the most of her dreams when they happened. Maybe tonight would be different.
It was clear she couldn’t return to her home, as it was too dangerous. She’d taken a leave of absence from her teaching job and found a replacement for her classes for at least the rest of this semester. She spent her days working with Olivia honing her dreamwalker abilities. She spent her evenings talking with Dev and falling asleep in his arms after hours of sweaty, mind-blowing sex, but she’d wake every morning alone. She hated waking alone without him. Dev explained he didn’t really need sleep as a vampire and nighttime was when he got much of his work done.
She’d even been able to take Manny up on in a game of pool. While she’d lost, she held her own. He only won because she scratched on the eight ball. She couldn’t wait for a rematch.
Dev had introduced her to the other lords in the house. They’d talked in detail about his businesses. She was surprised to learn that he owned the new club Dragonfly. The same one Erin wanted to drag her to a couple of weeks ago. Because of this whole debacle, she couldn’t go with Erin as planned and she was disappointed, but Kate promised they would go another time. Now…she didn’t know how that would pan out. A problem for another day.
She’d manag
ed to avoid Giselle for the most part, but when they did cross paths, Giselle had at least been civil. It was a start, but she suspected that was Dev’s doing. Kate could tell that Giselle still didn’t like her and she wasn’t really sure why. It bugged her. While she and Dev had yet to complete the bonding, Kate planned on being around for a very long time and hoped they could be friends. She was the only other woman in the house, after all, and it would be nice to have a close girlfriend. She wasn’t sure how Erin would be able to fit into her life now that things were so different. She wasn’t sure about a lot of things, but she’d take it day by day for now.
Dev hadn’t mentioned bonding again since he rescued her several nights ago and she suspected he was trying to give her space to absorb everything that had happened over the last week. That was just fine with her, because there were so many facts to understand.
Fact: She was adopted.
Fact: She was a rare dreamwalker.
Fact: She had vampire DNA.
Fact: Vampires were real. (And man, were they easy on the eyes.)
Fact: One of those smokin’ hot vampires belonged to her. To her.
Fact: Her life was forever changed.
She had a feeling the fact-finding wasn’t over yet either. Over the last few days as she’d thought about her parents, they’d been nothing but loving toward her, but truth be told, she never really felt like part of the family. She always felt like an outcast, and she thought it was just because of her dreams. Now she wondered if it was because she wasn’t their biological child.
She was an only child and when she asked her parents why they didn’t have any more children, her mother said it was because she’d tried, but couldn’t have any more. They told her they were happy God had at least given them her. She knew they loved her greatly. It was apparent they had sacrificed much to have her.
Both of her parents were only children as well, so she had no aunts and uncles and her dad’s parents had died before she was born. Her mother’s father had passed away when she was too young to remember him. Her maternal grandmother had Alzheimer’s and was in a nursing home for the last several years. Even before that, they didn’t see much of her.
