Awakened (Auralight Codex: Dakota Shepherd Book 1)

by Shei Darksbane

  “It’s okay. Things were a bit hectic earlier. And we were a bit distracted.” I smiled, then stepped back from her. “That smells great.” I dropped onto the sofa.

  “Go ahead and eat. I will slip into something more comfortable, no?” She touched my shoulder softly and sauntered out of view. I turned my attention to the tasty-smelling boxes.

  I tore into the steaks. Swimming usually makes me hungry, but after running scared from a creepy, volatile vampire girl, I was practically ravenous. I was halfway through the second steak when Amorie stepped back into the room and all thoughts of food fled the scene. I stared at her with open desire, taking in the brilliant way her clothing accented her curves. She wore a soft black bodice which hugged her trim waist before blooming around her breasts in soft little flutters of bunched cloth that formed a lacy neckline just below the swell of her cleavage. The skirt she wore was also black, and poofy, consisting of multiple layers of soft fabric with varied ruffles that cascaded down the back into a short train, but which ended in the front at her mid-thighs. The open area of the skirt left a drool-worthy view of her very luscious legs, the lacy garter she’d adorned her left thigh with, and the delicate heels she’d replaced the stilettos with.

  Amorie paused and flaunted her curves, swaying her hip to the side as she grinned at me. I didn’t even try to hide my appreciation of her appearance. I looked her over from head to toe, smiling wider all the while. She seemed to appreciate the compliment. I rose from the sofa and crossed the distance between us. “You know, I’m feeling startlingly under-dressed.”

  Amorie fluttered her lashes at me. “You look perfectly fine to me, little wolf.”

  “You’re too kind.” Really, she was. My jeans and T-shirt assured me of that.

  “I am not saying you do not dress up well.” She circled around behind me and my skin was tingling with anticipation already. “I rather enjoyed you in the outfit you wore on our date. But I do not expect you to dress differently simply to please me.” She slid her arms around my waist and pulled me back against her.

  “But what if I want to please you?” I shuddered against her. She laid her head alongside mine and breathed a cool breath against my cheek.

  “There are many ways for you to please me, little wolf. I do not want you to change yourself for me.” She kissed my cheek tenderly. “Besides, if you wish to please me, ma chérie, you do not have to wear anything at all.” I gripped Amorie’s arms where they wrapped around me and turned my head to kiss her, heart racing with desire.

  Amorie held me tightly against her and slowly ran her hand up my side, her cool fingers playing against my warm skin. I shuddered at her touch and slowly turned into the kiss. Amorie caught my hand as I turned and broke the kiss to lead me, smiling, over to her bed. I grinned and chased her onto the soft mattress.

  Amorie caught my weight as we fell onto the bed together and rolled me to the side, coming up over me and taking my mouth captive once again. I felt an odd surge from inside as if the wolf had come to the surface again, but I didn’t feel any sense of danger, so I ignored it, and let her kiss me. I ran my hands along Amorie’s sides and appreciated her curves with my fingers. She repaid me by caressing my side beneath my shirt. I ventured up to the lacy edge of her bodice, and she didn’t seem to mind as I tickled along that fluttery hem. I laid my palm against her breast and groaned as she ran her chilled finger along the line of my jeans. I was on fire for her, and I couldn’t wait to let her go further. I craned my neck to look at where her hand met my hip, and she pressed her lips to my neck. I gasped at the teasing touch and arched my neck toward her further.

  Amorie hesitated, nuzzling my neck then kissing just behind my ear. “Are you sure you do not mind, my little wolf?” She licked my ear slowly and I shuddered out a moan.

  “Hey, you brought me dinner…” I quipped, trying to sound like I had more resolve than a puddle of gelatin at the moment. Amorie laughed softly into my ear and kissed it. I closed my eyes as she drew her mouth back to my neck. The wolf perked uneasily and I started to look up just as Amorie sank her fangs into my flesh.

  Everything melted away. I relaxed as the world slowed down, and Amorie was all I could sense within it. She must have unbuttoned my jeans at some point, because her fingers slipped below my underwear and I groaned out a sound of pure pleasure. I threw my arms around her and gripped her back, digging my fingers into the cloth of her bodice as she rocked me beneath her, drinking from my neck. I closed my eyes again and let the rest of the world fade into the background, as Amorie consumed me.

  23

  Pillow Talk

  I opened my eyes in the dark, cool bedroom and Amorie was all around me. We lay together, entwined, limbs among limbs, and her body was still and cold as the grave beside me. I nuzzled my face against her hair and sighed happily. “Well… That was a thing.” I grinned at her playfully. Amorie smiled up at me and pulled me closer, drawing our bodies together in the dark. I shivered slightly and she blinked, then bent to grab the duvet we had unsettled earlier and pulled it over us. I cuddled up to her, snuggling my way over with exaggerated motions and a happy smile. “Thanks.”

  “Forgive me if I forget such things, my little wolf.” She kissed me softly.

  “It’s okay.” Her body was still mostly cold, but I was plenty warm enough for the two of us after all that.

  Amorie smiled at me. “What is on your mind, little wolf?”

  “A lot, honestly.” I looked up into the canopy and sighed. “You, us… what we’re doing.”

  “I could tell something was bothering you.” She stroked my side softly. “What about us is upsetting you?”

  “Nothing about us… Well… I don’t think so anyway.” I squeezed her. “I guess, I just… What is this?”

  “Hmm?” Amorie tilted her head slightly. “What is what?”

  “This. What are we? Are we dating? Are you my girlfriend now?” I met her vibrant blue eyes with hope and fear in mine.

  “Is that what you want, little wolf?” She smiled her sly little smile.

  “Maybe. Yes. I mean, of course. Why wouldn’t I? I’ve only wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you. I love your smile, your laugh, the way you talk…” I frowned at myself suddenly and furrowed my brow. “Geeze, that sounds way more shallow than I’d like…”

  Amorie tapped my nose with her fingertip. “That is not shallow, ma chérie. That is just honest. You are attracted to me. There is nothing wrong with this.”

  “Yeah, but typically I put less emphasis on the physical.” I looked down, feeling guilty.

  “Oh, my little wolf, it is not something to be ashamed of. Every relationship must begin in some way. Some begin through common interests, or arranged encounters, and others begin through physical attraction. How it begins does not determine how worthy the relationship is.” She squeezed me softly and I settled into her arms, relaxing.

  “I guess… I guess you’re right.” I nuzzled against her hair. “I just… I don’t want to be shallow. I mean, I think you’re really interesting also. I like you for… just being you.”

  “Then what has worried you so?”

  I sighed. “I just feel like I don’t really know you at all. I want to. I’ve wanted to ever since we first met. I wanted to talk to you more, learn more about who you are. But there hasn’t been time. And we haven’t been able to see each other enough to make time for it.”

  Amorie stroked my cheek softly. “A lot has happened for you since we met, little wolf. It is nothing to trouble yourself over. There is not a limit of time upon our getting to know one another.” She kissed my forehead tenderly. “Ask me something.”

  I smiled, feeling a little better. “All right. Umm… What is it you do? I mean your job?”

  “I am more or less in control of the entire state, ma chérie. I do many things.”

  I blinked. “The whole state?”

  “At least the vampiric parts of it, yes. And much of the surrounding areas.”

  I
whistled lightly. “Wow. So you’re pretty important then?”

  Amorie gave me a coy smile. “Those who have entrusted me with such seem to think so.”

  I thought about that for a moment. “So you’re working for someone else? Someone even more influential?”

  “Hmm. One could say that. Whereas I am generally autonomous, I work alongside several others scattered across the country, all of whom are closely allied or turned by the one that turned me.”

  “Is it like in the movies then? The one that turned you commands you? Or…” I quickly swallowed a spike of jealousy. “Or, you’re enthralled with them?”

  Amorie laughed softly and tapped me on the nose again. “Nothing so melodramatic, ma chérie. It would be perhaps, unwise to delve too deeply into the well of vampiric secrets with you at this point, but let it suffice to say that no one controls my mind but me. Never forget there are many types of influence one can put over another. And whereas it is true that I care for her and she does influence me, I serve her out of my own preference to do so. Servitude, in fact, being possibly too strong of a word.” She grinned. “And you need not look so jealous, little wolf. I will always love my maker, but she is not in competition with you at this point.”

  I gave her a sheepish grin. “I can’t help it. I don’t feel like I have much of a position from which to hold onto you. You’re… amazing. You’re beautiful and smart and wonderful to be around… And I… I’ve got nothin’.”

  Amorie laughed softly. “You are adorable, my little wolf. And you make me laugh. You are sweet, and kind, and brave. There is much to love in here.” She traced her finger over my heart.

  “You really think so?”

  “I do.” She lay her forehead against mine and smiled at me through her thick lashes.

  I hugged her tightly and sighed happily. “I hope so.”

  Amorie caressed my back in a slow circle. “Do not doubt yourself so, ma chérie. You demean yourself far too much.”

  “Sorry. I try not to. Self-deprecating humor is just how I keep myself from getting out of hand with all the awesome.”

  Amorie laughed. “Well, try not to over do it then, no?”

  I grinned. “No.” She shook her head at me. I rolled my eyes back up toward the canopy as I thought about what else I wanted to ask her.

  “So, you didn’t tell me you had another vampire living with you.”

  Amorie sighed. “I should have thought to tell you earlier on. As you said, there has been little time for us to speak. Though I should have made sure to introduce you before leaving you here with her. She has made herself scarce of late and there was a pressing matter occupying my mind earlier.”

  “It’s okay, really. I just felt bad when I said you hadn’t mentioned her and she looked all sad. Then creepy. Then depressed. Then she wanted to bite me.”

  “That sounds like Miralina, indeed. She is… troubled. Though I love her very much, she can be difficult at times to understand.” I could see the sorrow in her eyes. I think she saw the jealousy in mine as she mentioned loving Mira. “Do not look so jealous, my little wolf. We are not together like that. We have not been for a long time.”

  I snapped my gaze back to her. “You mean you used to be together?”

  Amorie frowned thoughtfully. “We have lain together before if that is what you ask. Though we have never been together in a relationship quite like the one I have now with you.”

  “So you never dated? But you slept together?” I frowned.

  “She is very dear to me, Dakota. Miralina is my daughter.”

  I blinked. “Your daughter? But you said you were…”

  Amorie shook her head. “I turned her.”

  “Oh.” I hope Amorie couldn’t see me blushing in the dark.

  Amorie seemed amused. “Because she is my daughter, we have always been very close. And yes, for a time, we shared a bed. We used to spend much time together, but it is not the same as the relationship you and I share.”

  I considered that and nodded slowly. “I get it. I guess… I just worry that will make her hate me or something.”

  Amorie shook her head. “She may not like it at first, but Miralina will not resent my happiness, so I do not believe she will blame you for it either.”

  I hoped so. I thought about how she’d appeared in the pool and the wolf in me felt terribly uneasy. “Yeah. So you’re not… together… like that… anymore?”

  Amorie quirked an amused smile. “No, little wolf.” She seemed to consider for a moment. “I take it that you would prefer a monogamous relationship?”

  “Huh? Of course.”

  “Do not be so surprised that I ask. You are young, and there is only one obvious way for a relationship to work in the society you have grown up in. It has not always been so, nor is it as such in all the world right now, neither in all Unawakened human societies, nor in all Supernatural societies. In fact, many types of Supernaturals have never held monogamy as such a value as most humans currently do.” She shrugged a little. “I asked to be sure. If it is what you want, then as long as we are together, I will be with no one else.”

  I smiled at that. “Thanks, Amorie. That makes me feel a lot better.” I kissed her gently. “So, I’m going to need to go home tomorrow. I have to get some things in order and prepare for my trip to Canada.”

  “You should be very careful, ma chérie. I wish that I could go with you, but there is much demanding my attention right now that I can not so easily release myself from.”

  “It’s all right. I’m a big girl.” I grinned.

  Amorie grinned back at me. “Yes, but you are a very small wolf.”

  “Hey, no spoilers. No one’s even seen my wolf yet.”

  Amorie laughed and shook her head. “It is a shame you can not stay longer. If you were not going home so quickly, I believe I could take most of the night away for us tomorrow.”

  I widened my eyes with a silly grin. “You mean it?”

  “Mmhmm. It is most likely.”

  “Hmm. I guess I could hold off just one more day.”

  24

  Empty Walls

  I stayed with Amorie as promised. She told me how the dawn would go. “When the sun rises, I will become very weak. I will sleep to pass the time.”

  “So the sun just makes you sleepy?” I asked.

  “If only, ma chérie. If only. The sun’s light would burn me very badly if I allowed it to touch me.” She didn’t seem comfortable even talking about it.

  “I guess that’s why there’s no windows in here. I should have realized that earlier.” I snuggled against her side in the warmth of her bed.

  Amorie smiled at me. “I do not wish you to be afraid. As soon as the dawn breaks, I will want to go to sleep.”

  “But you’ll just be asleep, right?” I was a little nervous about the whole thing. Amorie could get a little creepy when she was being very still. I imagined she’d be even more still when she was sleeping.

  “Only asleep, my little wolf. You need not worry about me.”

  I tried not to, but it was a little difficult. When the sun rose, she caressed my face once before her eyes slid closed, then her body became death. I felt a pang of sorrow for her, and a touch of fear, at the look in her eyes as the light that made them her slipped away. I laid with her, held her, and in a way, doing so made me feel better even, but I couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that my Amorie was simply no longer there. Even the steady, if far slower than normal heartbeat dropped away to nothing, leaving a dead thing behind in her place. But the body that lay beside me was hers, and in a way, I felt better knowing that I was there to protect it.

  The night that followed was great fun. Amorie called off all her meetings and spent the night with me at her place. We watched movies, cuddled, talked, and just enjoyed each other’s company. At one point, when we’d lost interest in our movie in favor of making out, Mira drifted in unannounced, thoroughly creeping me out when I came up for air and found her just sitting there on
the other side of Amorie. She looked up at me as if there was nothing unusual about that, and waved her fingers at me daintily. I forced a grin back at her, while hiding how freaked the hell out I was. Amorie just smiled at her fondly and asked her how she was feeling. Mira commented vaguely about having been enjoying the show I’d given her, then she just drifted back out.

  When the night grew to a close, I laid down with Amorie once more as she prepared for the dawn. I kissed her as the sun rose, and just as she closed her eyes, I understood the look I had seen in them the morning before. She’d looked scared. My heart ached for her.

  I slipped out of the room and made for the door, but as I turned for the stairs, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Mira was standing in the hallway, staring at me as I came from Amorie’s room. I put a hand to my chest and panted out the scare. Mira tilted her head, almost birdlike, as if she didn’t understand what was wrong. “You are leaving?” she asked quietly.

  “Yep. I’m heading home.”

  I was just about to add that it had been good meeting her and all when she replied, “Good.” Then she slipped past me and into Amorie’s room. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but I imagined if Amorie lived with her, she trusted her. I had wanted to ask Mira how she was staying up after the sunrise if Amorie wasn’t able to do so, but she hadn’t really left me any opportunity. I sighed and peeked back into Amorie’s room just to make sure Mira wasn’t going to hurt her, but the creepy vampire had just curled up on the sofa, and appeared as still as Amorie had when I’d left her.

  I called a cab and slept on the way home.

  When I was back in my apartment, I stretched and sighed, and looked around the little one-room home and for the first time in many years, I truly felt the awful loneliness of my life. I hugged myself as I stood there alone, missing my Amorie and my pack. Nothing felt right.

  I dialed the pack house, meaning to speak to Ralof but Raelya picked up. “Ello?”

  “Raelya!” I was honestly happy to hear a friendly voice, even if it wasn’t the one I’d been aiming for. “Hey. Is Ralof around?”