Forgotten Kisses (SuperNatural Sharing Series Book 1)

by Rena Marks

  “And yet, every time I feed I’ll cause someone the Big O?”

  “’Til you learn how to control it. Problem is, I can’t explain it to you. It’s like trying to describe colors to a blind person.”

  Anna cut in. “So who will you pick him to feed from tomorrow?”

  I narrowed my eyes at her.

  I fed from Johnny again that night, before I went home.

  Early the next day, I awoke and knew none of them would have risen yet. I went to the gym, worked a while, arriving next door at eleven. I knew Johnny would be up then. He was older than the girls, although once in a while they could get up early too.

  I didn't have to speak, I just looked at him with the inquiry on my face. He shook his head. I closed my eyes to keep the tears from spilling over.

  Johnny reached for me and comforted me as he had Lily the day before.

  “Leah, we’ll find him. Let's feed you again, and he'll be fine for a while.”

  Grabbing a knife, he sliced his own neck.

  “How long? How long can I feed him this way?” I mumbled, even as I latched onto his neck, the sweet blood filling my mouth.

  “Maybe a few weeks. I don’t know, your relationship is pretty new but Julian is strong.”

  “We’re helpless, Johnny,” I said, pulling away and wiping my mouth with my hand.

  “I know. Which is actually very curious. No one has contacted us. There have been no ransom demands and he hasn’t been killed. All we can do is go about our days as usual and wait for the other side to make their move. It does make me suspect, though. Someone wants him dead and is not able to kill him directly. Therefore, humans aren’t the culprits, because they could kill him. I don’t want to assume too much too soon but I’m guessing it’s a vampire. Maybe the one who was involved in your kidnapping.”

  “Danielle?” I asked.

  “She’d be the logical choice but I don’t think so. She’s old and weak still. Obviously Julian never fed her. There’s no way she could have overpowered him and kept him. And she definitely wouldn’t be sticking around. We’ll keep our eyes and ears open and keep feeding him in the meantime. Unless—” he paused, “—maybe the wolves?”

  “Leo? I can’t believe that. He helped to find me, after all.”

  “Yes, because it was you. But he and Julian have warred for ages. Can we be certain that he’s not involved?”

  “I trust him.”

  Gigi walked up to us. Johnny nodded at her. “Gigi will walk you over to the gym. Remember, one of us with you at all times.”

  I nodded.

  “I’ll be over later.”

  He didn’t need to say it. I knew why.

  Gigi and I wend next door and sat at the front desk. We were both solemn.

  We'd spend several days waiting, several days of doing nothing. I was getting desperate. We'd searched everywhere up and down to no avail.

  The front door chimes sounded. I looked up, hoping it was Johnny, I was already getting hungry. It was beginning to get more frequent.

  Instead Lily, Nicki and Anna walked in.

  As usual, Nicki spoke. “Can we talk to you?”

  “Let’s go to the back. Gigi, will you watch the gym?” I smiled apologetically.

  She simply nodded.

  I followed the three girls to the back.

  “What’s up?”

  “Leah, Johnny’s busy. He has so much to do, trying to handle Bang’s and cover up Julian’s disappearance. Also, because of the murders, humans are getting hard to find for him to sustain himself on.”

  “He has humans from before, right?”

  “He didn’t need to use them as often. He’s feeding you and you’re getting hungrier. Girl, you need some variety in your diet.”

  “Oh, wait a minute. Who’s volunteering?”

  No one spoke but Anna draped an arm over my shoulders. I shrugged her off.

  “Forget it.”

  Nicki sighed. “It’s your girlfriends or another male vamp from the bar. A stranger. Your choice.”

  All the other male vamps were still virtually strangers. Julian had only let Johnny escort me when he was unavailable. Damn, I needed new friends.

  “Well?” Anna demanded.

  “I’m thinking.”

  “I can’t believe you’d prefer a stranger to us. Especially with your little problem,” she sneered.

  She was right. I was going to cause a major orgasm to whomever I fed from, and thought of that same thing happening with a total stranger. Johnny and I had become pretty intimate now, we'd agree to take our feedings in a private room, where he had a towel handy. He couldn’t keep bringing extra pants to work. Especially now since I needed to feed even more often.

  I looked at the trio. “Feeding is too much like sex. I can’t feed from women.”

  “No, Leah. It’s not sex,” Anna argued.

  “You have orgasms!”

  “Just a little reward,” she countered.

  But the fact was, I was starting to feed more and Johnny was busy.

  That and I was ganged up on, three to one.

  “Okay, who shall I start with?”

  Anna smiled. “Who do you think?”

  I took a deep breath and muttered. “What are the chances that this is the one time I learn to control it?”

  “What? And deny me my donation reward?”

  Nicki punctured her. I leaned forward and started to suck. Anna hugged me to her. Johnny never did that. Lesson one—stand behind Anna next time. Before she gets the idea to start fondling me.

  Her blood tasted different from Johnny’s. I wondered if this was the difference between male and female vamp blood. I fed until I heard her climactic moan and pulled away abruptly before I gagged.

  But her blood was so sweet, I gave it one last slurp. Then I pulled away, licking my lips instead of wiping them off. I didn’t want to waste any. I was definitely getting hungrier.

  “Mmm. Yummy,” I said to no one in particular.

  “You’re telling me.”

  Before I could respond, Anna kissed my lips and left.

  “Dammit,” I muttered.

  Lily snickered behind her hand.

  Nicki glared at her. “Just ignore her, Leah. She does it to get a rise out of you.” Nicki turned toward Lily. “You wouldn’t be laughing if it was Johnny Anna was bugging.”

  Lily sobered.

  * * * * *

  Feeding later from Nicki and then Lily, was the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life. Johnny had become easier, being male. Anna was surprisingly easy because I knew what to expect with her. Her teasing and innuendos were actually easing the way for me. But Nicki, whom I respected so, just caused knots in my stomach. And gentle little Lily, my good friend, I didn’t think I could ever get used to it. So I did lean toward Anna. Naturally, being Anna, she was more than willing to take one for the team.

  We continued the search for Julian. Johnny still didn’t want me asking Leo, not until it was absolutely necessary. I wondered if it was just years of constant battling making him paranoid. We had no clues to go on, no ransom request. So I took matters into my own hands, sick of doing what seemed like nothing.

  I went to my favorite little coffee shop, owned and operated by werewolves. It was one in the afternoon, not a usual time for coffee but a perfect time for my purposes.

  The coffee shop was empty. I smiled at the usual werewolf who was behind the counter. He was tall and lanky, dark skin and exotic eyes tilted slightly up at the corners. Green eyes, an olive green, set in the lighter olive tone of his skin. His hair was dreadlocks, and dark blond. His bottom lip was pierced, calling attention to the perfect fullness of that lip. His dreadlocks were the pretty, well-kept kind. Not the kind started by neglect but the type that you wanted as an actual hairstyle. I peered at his name tag.

  “Rhett? Is your name really Rhett?” Oddly romantic name for a violent wolf.

  He nodded carefully. I realized that I was truly one of those snobbish humans w
hom I despised. The man had been making my coffee for ages, and I didn’t even know his name. Even after I realized he was werewolf.

  “Rhett, I’m Anjelia Romere.”

  “I know who you are.”

  I nearly winced. A little more of the proof of my snobbishness.

  He continued on. “I’m a member of the pack in this city.”

  “Being a member of a pack is a little like union organization, right? You have a choice?”

  He nodded. “We’re stronger in numbers.”

  “Is there only one pack in the city?”

  He looked at me, surprised. Damn, it was something I should have known.

  “Yes, Leo’s my king,” he said.

  I looked around to make sure the shop was still empty. I leaned in toward the counter.

  “I’m looking for Julian.”

  He was still and just watched me with his eyes. “I know the master vampire is missing. I don’t know where he is,” he admitted.

  He was telling the truth. I’m not sure how I could tell but I could. I’d have to ask Leo if this was a result of our binding, the one between him and me. How awful it would be for him, if Julian had the same ability to see truth in the wolves since their binding. It definitely screws up any negotiations between them and the vampires.

  “Remember the woman who gave me her card in here a while ago? The born-again whatever? Do you know who she is?”

  “Human Hierarchy. They are not involved.”

  “How do you know?”

  “They learned their lesson. They were involved in your kidnapping. Our king has slaughtered two-thirds of their numbers in retribution. A lesson to others who think to harm you.”

  Leo had never told me that. If he was keeping something from me, what other secrets was he hiding? Perhaps I should visit.

  “Thank you for telling me the truth,” I said.

  “There are some who think you will still be our queen. It’s in my best interests not to lie.”

  Not exactly the truth. I could feel it. I continued to study him.

  “It’s the truth,” he defended. “The part I left out, the part that you sensed, is that not every wolf is thrilled with that idea.”

  Ahh, a politician. I grinned. This I was familiar with.

  After a moment, he slowly grinned back. It lit his entire face, pulling the corners of his tilted eyes and making him even more exotic.

  I left the coffee shop knowing I had to visit Leo but not knowing how I would do it with the vamps on my back. It was hard enough to just get coffee.

  I slowly began to sicken. I was feeding more and more often from the gang and feeding from the girls no longer bothered me. I was starting to get a little frantic. They could sense it and Anna didn’t even tease me anymore about not being able to control my orgasm-inducing sucking.

  I knew my health was related to Julian’s. I knew that our connection was fading, soon I wouldn’t be able to sustain him with the blood feedings. I knew he was dying. It was simply a matter of time, now.

  I was being guarded by the vampires next door. Even little Gigi wouldn’t leave me by myself. Constant bodyguards. I could hardly work out any more, my body ached so badly. Moving sluggishly, I found myself massaging my back unconsciously.

  Then it dawned on me. I wasn’t massaging my back, I was massaging my brand. It was painful, my vampire mark was no longer protecting me. I had to talk to Leo but it was a full moon.

  I called Johnny and told him of my plan.

  “It’s time, Johnny. I’m losing him. I’m going to talk to the wolf king.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  “No, he won’t harm me.” But he would definitely harm Johnny, especially if he was in an insane rage. “If he does, I don’t think Julian and I are going to make it another night anyway.”

  “You’re certain, Leah? You can feel it?”

  “Yes,” I whispered. “I feel it but I don’t want the girls to know. Distract them for me while I get down there, okay?”

  “Okay. Be safe, Anjelia.”

  “Thanks, Johnny.”

  I drove to Leo’s mansion. It was a full moon. A bad one, obviously, since I hadn’t been around Leo for a while. I knocked on his door. He answered quickly. He looked disheveled. He was barefoot, his shirt buttoned incorrectly. He avoided looking at me as he ran his fingers through his hair.

  “You shouldn’t be here, Anjelia.”

  “I don’t have a choice, Leo. I have to talk to you.”

  “I’ll be changing soon.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re willing to risk my Mr. Hyde personality?”

  “I’m dying, Leo.”

  He looked closely at me and stepped aside for me to enter. He walked me into his library.

  “I expected you sooner.”

  “You know?”

  He nodded. “I feel it, through the binding.”

  “Are you going to help us?”

  “I don’t know. The binding, it’s permanent. Forever. This is one way out of it.”

  “Through Julian’s death, Leo? And consequently, mine.”

  He sighed. “You always know what to say, don’t you? It’s easy to wish for Julian’s death. We’ve been enemies for decades. You, however…Dammit!” he howled at the top of his lungs. The scream echoed through the mansion, bouncing off the walls to startle me.

  It made me jump.

  “The sneaky bastard stole you from me and even now, I’m stuck in a binding with him that only his death will break. And yet, his death will cause yours. I’m in a Catch- 22, losing my power either way.”

  “How do you know you’ll lose your power upon my death? Perhaps you’ll get it back. Maybe you don’t need the extra power with Julian’s death. There will be no vampires to war with, once their leader is gone.”

  “And I have no purpose for life when you are gone. You were my mate. I’ll never have another.”

  I looked at Leo warily. Was he sane or not? How much could I get out of him before the insanity struck?

  “What do you know of Human Hierarchy?” I asked.

  He was still. “A bunch of quacks. But any organized group can be dangerous when it grows large enough.”

  “They became dangerous enough to kidnap me.”

  He nodded. “But not on their own. The Coalition actually kidnapped you. The Coalition is disbanded and Human Hierarchy punished. You do know about the Coalition of Human Hierarchy, Anjelia?”

  “Human Hierarchy is all I know of. I was given a business card by someone who belongs. She wanted me to attend one of their meetings. She was some sort of religious fanatic.”

  “They’re an organization of humans who want to keep it that way. They’d like to wipe out all supernatural beings but of course that’s impossible to do since humans are low man on the totem pole.”

  “Then the Coalition is different?”

  “The Coalition is two groups brought together for the same purpose. You know what HH is—there is a secret society of vampires that agrees with them. They fight together, one team. Ironic, isn’t it? Humans against vampires, with vampires on their side.” He held his sides as he laughed. “The rest of us get a huge kick out of it.”

  He then straightened, serious. “Until Val Grossler helped them out. He was the wolf who had to get me out of there, the renegade who owed me fealty. His own brother would have slaughtered him afterward, had Val not died in the fire.”

  “Leo, where is Julian?”

  “Julian, Julian, Julian. That’s all I ever hear,” he growled from deep in his throat. The growl sent a shiver down my back. His hands grew, the fingers shaping into claws. Hair sprouted along the flesh. He swiped at a table with them, all the objects went crashing to the floor. He howled and slashed at the curtains to expose the moon. His claws ripped the curtains to shreds. I couldn’t let him change fully, not without telling me. I was scared, but what did I have to lose? I walked over to him and cupped his face in my hands, trying to force him to c
oncentrate.

  “Leo, help me.” I kissed his cheek. He went still for a minute as he came to his senses. Then he growled and nuzzled my neck, his huge claws wrapping gently around my waist. His breath was hot and sweet and blew warm against me. I tilted my head back, the length of my neck exposed to his hyped-up temper.

  It was all about trust. And loyalty. That was what a wolf king valued most. My unprotected throat exposed to him in the middle of a change, he valued. His jaws were longer, his eyes now wolf. Sweat had broken out on his forehead. He was minutes from a change. He lowered his strange-looking mouth to mine and kissed me. I didn’t pull away. In fact, I let my tongue dance with his.

  Leo pulled away first. He went down on all fours and gasped in pain, his body ready for the change.

  “Your touch, Anjelia. Your touch keeps me sane.” His voice was desperate.

  I sank to the marble floor with him. It was cooler there and I kept my hand on the back of his head. I could feel the heat rising from his scalp and I leaned my face toward him.

  I kissed him this time, lightly and pulled away. It worked, his eyes were less crazed and he spoke again.

  “What else can hold a vampire but a coffin? That supernatural strength, the ability to fly? You can’t find him because he is right under your nose. His own coffin. One among you is the one who tricked him into it, for she could not overpower the master vampire.”

  “Danielle.”

  “She is draining the humans. It replenishes her strength, to have so much blood at once. It’s an old witch’s spell. Although her beauty can only be restored with her master’s blood.”

  “So she’s at full strength and hiding it from us?”

  He nodded and then threw his head back and howled.

  “How do you know?” I didn’t want to think that Leo was involved.

  “It takes one not involved to see it.” He panted. “Wolves are human most of the month. We notice things like when was the Coalition first formed? During the time after her punishment. How did the humans know to capture you to get to Julian? A vamp’s confession. And it was daytime when I talked to them when you were locked up. Sold them the idea of faking your death and sending blood to Julian. Danielle couldn’t get a signal to them that Julian would ingest it and find you. Or perhaps she wanted them to take the fall…you know the rest, we found you then—” His voice cracked.