Shifters Hallows Eve

by Lori King

  During my slow descent, we never break eye contact. Power, love, lust, and longing flow between us like a completed electrical circuit. The depth of the connection between our very souls fills my heart with so much love that I sob out loud, almost as though in agony. But this isn’t pain, it’s heaven. Pure heaven.

  “Let go of my godsdamn hands, Jenniene. I need to touch you, woman.” His earnest command warms my heart and compels me to obey. But I am feeling powerful, and I don’t want to cede even a modicum of control in this moment, so I shake my head playfully. I am eagerly savoring this passing sense of power as I willfully deny his dominance for this small portion of our sensual dance.

  When I begin to slowly move upwards, reluctantly allowing his thick shaft to withdraw from my wet heat, Zeke snarls and shakes his head. “I don’t want to force you to let go, but I gotta touch you. I want to play with those beautiful tits while you ride my cock. Let. Go.” The power of his primal command is unmistakable and irresistible, leaving me with only one option. I immediately comply, just as I plunge down forcefully to once again take my lover into my body.

  We both cry out in ecstasy, and Zeke cups my face to drag me down for a mind-bending, but all-too-brief kiss, as I continue to ride his manhood. He lovingly trails his massive, calloused hands down my throat, over my chest, to cup both of my breasts. Using his thumb to flick the nipples, before rolling them between thumb and forefinger, he orders me to ride him faster. “Ride me hard, bébé! I wanna watch these glorious tits bounce.” He grips my full hips hard, and uses his strength and filthy words to urge me on… faster… harder… deeper.

  When I know I am about to lose my ever-lovin’ mind to another soul-bending orgasm, I lean down and bite him hard at the spot where his neck meets his shoulder. His hot, coppery blood fills my mouth as my suddenly razor-sharp teeth rend his flesh. In the back of my mind, I am wondering if the demon’s soul is taking over, or if I am just borrowing physical characteristics for my own ends. I savor the sweet, heady flavor of my male for a moment before a flood of images, emotions, and sensations fills my consciousness while rocketing me into another climax. Instantly, the cosmic magickal connection between us vibrates wildly, widens, and empowers me, before I pull back to look into the eyes of my beloved, my forever.

  The second our eyes meet, all seems right in my world. I instantly know a deep peace and contentment, the likes of which I have never experienced – until I see the damage I have wrought on Zeke’s neck and I am nearly overwhelmed with empathy and sorrow for causing him pain. I lean down again to tenderly lick the jagged wound, as my beastly lover continues to viciously drive his massive shaft up into my body. I look again and smile happily because his rent flesh has healed already.

  When I open my mouth to tell Zeke how much I love him, I am cut off as he flips me to my back to loom over me like an avenging angel, bent on divine retribution. “My turn, mon coeur!” Just as he calls me his heart, his pounding assault gentles, his features morph from an animalistic mask of carnal need to a soulful visage of love and adoration. “Nuthin’ is gonna keep me from you, ever again. Nuthin’.” Sharp fangs sink into the mirror image on my neck, and another orgasm washes over me, dragging me down into the abyss of unconsciousness.

  9

  Zeke

  I’m still licking the wound I inflicted upon my mate to mark her as my own when I realize she’s unconscious. I can’t help but grin like one self-satisfied mother fucker. Not many males can fuck a strong female like Jenniene into oblivion. The wound heals almost instantly as I watch, and I am delighted to see that it will leave a faint scar – a mark of my claim on her. Any Immortal who sees it will instantly know this female has a mate. The indestructible connection between us slapped into place like iron manacles the moment my fangs broke her delicate skin and her divine blood filled my mouth, filling me with power like I have never before experienced.

  Joining my fate to my Jenniene is an eternal bondage I have craved for so long. I’ll never regret binding my soul to hers this way, and I have every intention of never giving her a reason to look back on this day with anything but pure joy. I reach up to delicately trace the full contours of her ruby-red lips, the delicate line of her chin, and savor the silkiness of her cheeks. I utterly adore this female.

  “Mine,” my wolf growls gleefully. I’m a bit surprised that the beast found an outlet with my human voice. And yet, it makes perfect sense, because I now feel more at peace with my wolf and demon natures. It’s almost as though bonding with Jenniene was the glue that I needed to bond all of my internally warring pieces into one fully functioning being. Before I can chastise myself for sounding like a love-struck pussy, I utter the inescapable truth. “You’ve made me whole, Jenniene Marie Xavier.”

  Her eyelids flutter like the wings of a hummingbird for just a moment before her eyes open to gaze upon my face. The deep regard, pride, and admiration I see in her glittering eyes fills my soul with peace and sends blood rushing to my cock. I smile when I realize every part of the male I have become today wants this woman with an undying fervor. I may want to devour her body again, to feed deeply upon her blood as I sate my feral lusts with her beautiful body, but first I need to make sure she’s okay with everything that’s happened.

  “How you feelin’, mon coeur?” I can hear a slight tremor in my voice, and I reach out to toy with those sexy, raven-black curls, while I watch her face for any indication of distress or regret. But all I see is a joy and a sense of peace that mirrors my own.

  “I feel like I could wipe out BonFreete’s Ghouls single-handedly,” she says with a satisfied purr, before stretching like a contented feline.

  That makes me chuckle and I give one of her bouncy curls a little tug. My woman is pretty bad-ass and taking on Ghouls by herself just might be doable. But I’ll be by her side from now on… whatever dangers she might face, I’m stickin’ to this female like white on rice. She smiles brightly when I say as much. “Same here, Joker-man.” Her expression turns impassive as she reaches up to trace the scar her bite made on my shoulder. “Uh… I’m not sure what happened here.”

  I chuckle and query drolly, “Remords de l'acheteur?” I lightly chuck her chin to tilt her face up to look at me. “Thinkin’ you got a raw deal bonding with me?” I’m askin’ in a playful tone, but a very small part of me wonders if she did get the dirty end of the stick.

  She smacks my chest with her open hand before stroking the defined bulges of muscle and flesh. Her touch soothes my soul and inflames my passion for her simultaneously. “No, dumbass.” She giggles prettily and the musical sound of her happiness makes my dick throb. “I’m not experiencing buyer’s remorse. I knew precisely what I was getting when I claimed you – the only male I want and need to make me happy.” She smiles so radiantly my old jaded heart nearly thoo-thumps out of my chest. Day-um! This female truly owns me, heart and soul. “I’m just not sure why my teeth went all razor sharp and demon-like when I claimed you.”

  I shrug carelessly. “I don’t give a fuck. I’m just proud you claimed my sorry ass.” Her expression is intent as she returns to tracing the faint scar on my shoulder. “I love that you left your mark on me, la bien-aimée.” I mirror her action to trace the scar I left on her perfect flesh. She meets my eyes and smiles knowingly. I’m pretty sure she’s just as proud of her mating mark as I am of mine. “I love seeing my mark on you,” I growl possessively before leaning down to kiss it sweetly.

  When I pull back, her hand continues to trace my slightly raised scar lovingly. “Yeah… me, too,” she admits with a grin and a dreamy quality to her voice. “But I’m wondering what it means that I suddenly had demon teeth and now they are back to normal.”

  No way am I gonna let my female obsess about this shit. I wrap an arm around her waist and roll over to lie on my back with her body covering my own. She giggles and quickly moves to straddle my hips, her splayed hands resting possessively on my chest. Our new position quickly reminds me of her aggressive lovin’ earlier. I usual
ly want to be in charge, but having a female bold enough to take what she wants and needs from me feels mighty fucking good. And my mate is certainly powerful enough to do just that. My Jenni has gotten much stronger and more assertive over the years we’ve been apart. I suspect the demon bond has something to do with that, just as it is likely the source of her inhumanly sharp teeth earlier.

  “You know, I’ve gotten a lot of strengths and abilities from my bonds with the wolf and the blood demon.” I reach up and cup her gorgeous face with both of my massive hands. “Perhaps those teeth and your kick-ass tracking and fighting skills came from the demon?” I smirk. “You are a strong woman, cher. Demon-bound or not. You have a core of inner strength. You easily take what you need from me, and I suspect that’s what happens with your bond to that demon. You take only what you need, and leave the less desirable traits behind.”

  I tease her bottom lip with one of my thumbs and say, “I think a lesser woman would be overwhelmed and lose herself in such a bond. But not you. You, my sweet, have taken the skills you need from the bond to become an avenging angel who protects the mortals of New Awlins.” She stiffens a bit at the mention of her home town, but doesn’t argue with me. I am left to assume she’s at least considering my assertions. “When it came time to leave your mark on my flesh, to tear my skin, to taste my blood and forge our bond, you simply took the available tool you needed… par consequent, the razor-sharp teeth.”

  Her hand has worked its way up from my claiming mark to cup the back of my neck. Her fingers are now playing with the unwanted tufts of hair there as she seems to be deep in thought. “Does the thought of taking on demon characteristics when you need them really bother you so much, Jenniene?” She shakes her head no. “Then what’s bothering you? Your thoughts seem a million miles away.”

  She shakes her head again and smiles wanly. “No, my male. My thoughts are not a million miles away, just about six-hundred and fifty miles.”

  The clatter of the penny rolling around in the cavernous spaces of my head is thunderous before it finally drops with a resounding clang, and realization of what’s truly troubling my mate finally hits home. “New Awlins,” I say quietly. “You don’t want to leave your home… for me.”

  Her smile is sad. “It’s obvious that your place is here now, with the Twin Ravens MC.” She leans down to kiss me tenderly before lithely scampering from my bed to stand beside it. Despite the tension of the moment, I can’t help but drag my gaze down the length of her naked body and devour the tasty sight she makes standing there in all her natural glory. Her next words immediately remind me that there are things more important than my cock, and its need to be buried balls deep in her curvy body. “I can do what I do anywhere.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal, but I can see the tension in her face. “It’s just, I’ve never called anyplace else ‘home.’ It scares me a little.”

  I rise to sit on the side of the bed and wrap my arms around her waist and pull her to me. I nuzzle the soft flesh of her belly and breathe in the intoxicating perfume of her lingering arousal for a moment before I speak. “Don’ you be frettin’ bout that stuff now, cher. It will all work out.”

  She chuckles dryly and leans down to kiss the top of my head before gently removing my arms from around her waist. She looks around my room until she spots an old tee shirt of mine draped over a chair and slips into it. I find her boxers lying on my floor and quickly snag them up to hand them off to her. Wordlessly, she slips into them and smiles uncertainly at me. “You know, Zeke, I am fully aware that worrying about where we will make our home is silly… especially when you consider we might not survive tonight…”

  I stand quickly, intending to take her into my arms to quiet her fears. I know she doesn’t fear the coming attack, it’s the uncertainty of her place in my life that’s bothering her. She’s been a strong leader of the supernatural community back home for over a century. There’s no doubt in my mind that it is a position she has earned and she fulfills her responsibilities admirably. I’m guessing she’s worried that now she will be relegated to the role of Joker’s old lady. No way, no how. Whatever city we decide to live in, my female will shine. She’s too strong and powerful to do any less.

  But before I can wrap my arms around her, she makes a mad dash for the door. I catch her just before she can slip out of my room. I can see the wild need to run away in her eyes. It’s the same crazed look she wore the night she cast me from her life over a century ago. Suddenly, the shit’s gotten real on so many levels, and she’s scared. Again. Oh, hell, no! There’s no way I’m letting her run again. We both have a date with fate.

  With a wicked chuckle, I embrace my fleeing female to inhale the heady combination of our scents that have once again been branded into her essence by joining our bodies. “You are mine, Jenniene. Now and forever.” When she tries to push me away, I can only smirk knowingly before I set her straight, once and for all.

  I trace the mark of my claiming on her shoulder and make her a vow. “My MC brothers may call me the Joker, but that don’t make me a fool, mon amour. I’ve finally, finally, got you back in my bed and my life. Ain’t nuthin’, not hordes of blood-thirsty Ghouls, psycho Gods hell bent on dominion of the earth, or even your own stubbornness, is gonna be enough to make me let you go. Not ever.”

  “Same here, Joker-man,” she assures me quietly before slipping out of my hold and dashing from my room in an instant. I debate chasing after her, but I’m thinking she might need a moment to absorb everything. And I know I sure as hell don’ wanna listen to all the shit I’d get from my MC brethren for chasin’ after my female without a stitch of clothes on. “Yeah, but she’s worth it.” Yet, I remain where I am, because I think my woman needs some time to come to terms with everything on her own.

  I glance over at the clock beside my bed and swear softly before heading for my private bathroom to shower. It will be dark in less than an hour. We aren’t sure when the horde of BonFreete’s Ghouls will hit us, but most of us agree it could be any time after dark. That’s why the strip club is closed, and Tara’s witch coven has bespelled the entire area to keep mortals away. No way we can protect a shitload of idiot humans as well as a helpless shifter child, all while flying under the radar of the mortal realm. Better to jes keep the humans away so we concentrate on winning this upcoming battle. And it’s definitely gonna be one helluva fight. Those Ghouls had some big n’ nasty plans for the human race, and they want the child at any cost. We all know that war is coming to Tulsa.

  * * *

  Thirty-six minutes later, I descend the staircase at the MC to find my female sitting at the bar. When our eyes meet, the connection between us sizzles, and we both take comfort from our physical nearness. I grin cuz my female don’ let no grass grow under her feet; she’s already in her leathers, and new armored vest, casually loading spare cartridges for the pair of Desert Eagles she carries in twin shoulder holsters. Her three Bowie knives are laid out on chamois cloths in front of her with a whetstone at the ready. Obviously, my mate has her own pre-battle rituals she observes. Hell, I guess we all do. I watch with an approving smile as she tucks each fully loaded magazine into specifically designed slots on her armored vest. My woman is a delightful cross between modern commando and an avenging angel of old. I like it. A lot.

  Tara is behind the bar, filling drink orders for our brethren before the shit hits the fan. I’m standing at the foot of the stairs, still admirin’ the sight of my bad-ass female in warrior mode, when my friend stops in front of Jenni with a tumbler and a bottle of that expensive ass hooch they both love so much. “Armored vest?” Tara snorts derisively. Her tone is derogatory, but I can see the teasing glint in her eye. Tara accepts my woman as one of us now; therefore, Jenniene is subject to a load of shit any time Tara feels inclined to share. “Girlie, if you are that afraid of getting an owie, maybe you better stay outta this fight.”

  Jenniene simply sips the Scotch and then grins knowingly. “Ghouls eat flesh.” Tara nods and has this expr
ession on her pretty face that says, Well, duh! But Jenniene isn’t gonna rise to the bait. “These particular flesh-eating fuckers especially like biting soft fleshy things.” She reaches across the bar and cups one of Tara’s boobs before she says, “You might be able to grow another tit if they bite one off, but I won’t.”

  My brethren fill the room with laughter at my mate’s remark, but I am one seriously sick fuck who just got a major hard-on when I saw my mate’s hand on a tit that was not her own. A flood of illicit images flash through my mind, and I readjust my package before I end up with permanent zipper impressions on my cock. Day-um! Saints preserve me from my own filthy imagination.

  I stride away from the stairs, intending to join my female, when there’s a knock on the barred front door of the clubhouse. Who the fuck has come a knockin’ right before a battle? I look around and realize my brothers are as much at a loss as I am. Only Blood and Jenniene seem completely unaffected by our unknown new arrivals. Jenni seems to sense the tension in the room because she looks up from sharpening one of her Bowie knives to look around the room at my fellow enforcers. “Uh… is anyone gonna open the door? That’ll be Breena Summers and her boys.”

  “Who the fuck is that?” Writhe snaps irritably.

  His tone and attitude piss me the hell off, and I’m ready to rip his ugly fuckin’ face off, when Wrath comes striding outta the kitchen with a sandwich that would do Dagwood proud. “Breena is my sister at arms. She’s Morna Michael’s sister and her mate is lead enforcer of the Blood Coalition.”

  “Don’t give a fuck,” Writhe snarls. “We don’t have time to play games with some cunt and her crew when we are facing possible annihilation at any moment.”

  Jenniene spins around on her stool and stares daggers at Writhe. “That’s one, asshole. It’s also the only one you get.” She rises from the stool gracefully to stroll over to stand in front of Writhe, setting off every single protective instinct in my body. Once she is standing two feet away from my cantankerous friend, she casually props her hands on her hips and says, “She’s my best fucking friend, jackass. Call her a cunt again and I’ll take your balls so I can wear them for earrings.” She pats one of the Bowie knives on her hip and smiles nastily. “She’s also the Chronicler of Airendell and one seriously bad-ass enforcer. We need her help. She’s put down more rogue Ghouls ‘round New Awlins than most folks have ever laid eyes on.”