She holds her wrist and sighs. “The only vampire who can turn a human is the queen. She wears the crown, bears the burden of all her subjects, and if she so chooses, can bear the darkness put upon a turned human.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“It means, I will need to be sequestered until the darkness I took from Sebastian leaves me, but he will be fine. I love you, Felicity. And I am so proud of all you have become.”
“But, I just got you back.” I hate the tremor in my words, but knowing she’s going to be gone for an untold length of time breaks my heart.
She closes her eyes and grimaces before taking a steadying breath. “And you’ll have me back with you again. You’ll ascend and take your place as queen with your four princes at your side, as you were meant to. When I return, I will be walking in the sun because of you.”
Thomas slides his hand over my middle and presses his lips to my cheek, knowing exactly what I’m feeling. “I can’t do this without you. I’m pregnant and I have no idea what to do. I’ve never cared for a baby. I need my mother here to teach me.”
A tear trails down her cheek. “That is such happy news. But you will learn the same way we all do. You’ll have this child, care for her, love her. That’s something you will do instinctively, daughter.” Her eyes flash from the same pale blue of mine to pitch black and she groans. “I’m sorry. I have to go now before I cause any one harm.”
She leaves, walking with the determined strength of someone who is gravely ill but wants to maintain dignity. I’m tempted to go after her, but when I make the move to follow, Thomas holds me against him.
“No. You heard her. She is fighting the dark. You know she wouldn’t leave without good reason. Give her time and she’ll come back once it’s safe—for all of us.”
Sebastian moans on the bed, so different from when Thomas turned, but he’s had a queen’s blood. Power and magic infused in her veins the day she ascended, just as it will mine.
Shrugging out of Thomas’ hold, I go to Sebastian. His fingers are moving, grasping at the sheets as he lets out soft noises and his brow furrows. I take his hand in mine and lean over him, bringing my lips to his ear.
“It’s okay, Sebastian. I’m here. I love you. Wake up.”
His fingers tense and grip mine, hard enough that I can feel the bones in my hand crush against each other. Sitting up, I stare at him and will his eyes to open. When they finally do, the same man I loved stares back at me.
“Felicity. You’re okay.” Relief coats his every word. He brings himself to sitting and cups my face, raining kisses over me without pause. “I thought I’d lost you. You were so badly hurt. I could feel the silver poisoning your blood and burning your lung.”
I can’t help but cry. Tears of joy for him being alive, of sadness for his fear as he’d saved me. “You brought me back. If it weren’t for you, I’d be gone.”
Confusion followed by realization flashes in his eyes. “I…I’m turned, aren’t I? You said you wouldn’t.” He gazes around the room as though seeing for the first time. “Everything feels…more vivid.” His pupils dilate and nostrils flare. “I’m hungry, but not out of control. Why aren’t I locked away?”
“I didn’t turn you. My mother did. She took your darkness into herself.”
A soft smile turns up the corners of his mouth. “I’m never going to have to leave you.” Strong arms engulf me and he pulls me against his chest. “I love you. God, how I love you.”
Knowing he’s still here with us, that he’s still himself makes my heart swell with joy. It’s a happiness only briefly eclipsed by the knowledge that my mother will suffer to see me happy. She loves me enough to sacrifice herself and I know I’d do the same for my child.
“You need to feed,” I tell Sebastian. “Tomorrow we’re mated and I will ascend.”
He grins. “And then you’ll be mine in the eyes of everyone.”
“Ours,” Garrett says as he crosses the room and puts a hand on my shoulder. “She’s ours and we’re hers.”
Sebastian nods and looks around the room. “Forever.”
Epilogue
The Mating
The mating ceremony is short but meaningful as we promise to love and honor each other in front of the entire court. The council sits front and center, watching as my four princes claim me as theirs and I take them as mine. We exchange rings and pretty words, but all I really care about is their guaranteed safety. The court knows who they are, why they aren’t to be touched, and how incredibly special our bond is.
After the ceremony we are supposed to return to the consort’s wing, but I’m ready for a change. I don’t want to have them be separated from me, from our people. Not anymore. I lead them to my chambers and though we’ve done it plenty of times before, we consummate our union. I couldn’t have asked for a life better than this one.
“You, wife, are the most beautiful creature,” Thomas says, sliding his fingers up and down the swell of my hip. He’s behind me, his body pressed against mine while Sebastian rests his head on my belly.
“What happens when you ascend?” Garrett asks from his place at the balcony. He’s leaning against the railing and staring out at the endless night. “How do you break the curse?”
“I don’t know. Maybe nothing will happen. Maybe the curse isn’t real.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon,” Miller says, walking to the bed in only a pair of thin cotton pants.
“Whatever happens, I’m glad I got you.” I run my fingers through Sebastian’s hair and sigh. “And this baby. I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Them,” Sebastian says. He’s been uncharacteristically quiet since we went to bed, but this one word is worth every unuttered sentence from earlier.
“What did you say?” I ask.
“I can hear their hearts. They’re thrumming wildly, like little hummingbirds. But there’s more than one.” He presses his ear to my belly again. “Four. There are four distinct heartbeats.”
My eyes go wide as terror and elation war for control. “Four?”
Thomas lets out a soft chuckle. “The fae healer said she sensed the blood of fae, a healer, a seer, and a telepath. I thought it was because you fed from us all.”
“It was them? Our babies.” I glance at each of my husbands with awe. They each gave me a piece of them.
Garrett comes to us as I sit up and soon I’m surrounded by the men I’ll live eternity with. “Ours,” he says, wonder in his one word. “Our vampire princesses.”
The Ascension
I’m still in shock with the news of the four babies I’m carrying when I step into the great hall and see the Night Court rise from their seats. I’m dressed in a deep crimson gown, my hair piled high on my head, and I know that from this moment on, nothing will be the same.
My princes stand to one side near the throne, smiles on their faces. They’re proud of me beyond measure and my nerves are soothed by their love. Locking eyes with Garrett, I walk with only my lovers in mind. I put one foot in front of the other until I’m there, at the throne, ready to receive my birthright.
“Felicity, princess of the Night Court, do you accept your rightful place as queen?” The highest member of the council asks me this question with the deepest sense of reverence.
“I do.”
“Will you serve the people of this realm with the care and dignity deserved by all people of all kinds? Will you uphold our values and protect the Night Court for all of your nights?”
“I will.”
Smiling and nodding, he turns and walks to a large box, not at all unlike the box that contained the crown that split for my men. When he opens the box a bright light illuminates the room and the crowd gasps. The crown glows brighter than the sun and the people cower, afraid of death. But the man holds on and lifts the diadem high over my head.
“I crown you, Queen Felicity of the Night Court.”
The moment the heavy circlet touches my head, a shock wave reverberates through
our realm. The night melts away and sunlight streams in through unprotected windows. Everyone panics, screams filling the hall, but I stand confident in a beam of light, warm but not burning. The curse has been lifted.
Soon everyone is looking at me and I realize it’s because they’re waiting for my first move. Garrett takes my hand and Sebastian grips my other.
“Shall we go for a walk, my loves?” I ask.
They nod, and Thomas takes up a place behind them along with Miller. The court follows suit, and we make up a strange parade as we walk toward the doors. Miller pulls the large wooden door until it stands wide open, light spilling inside.
“After you,” he says, winking.
I grip my lovers’ hands tightly and step into the light knowing our future is bright for the first time in history.
The End
Sneak Peek
Waking the Watcher (The Fallen Angel Trilogy #1) by Kim Loraine
Waking the Watcher
Chapter One
Galen
The darkness covers me like a cloak, keeping me out of sight and hidden from view. I need to hunt, need to feed, the urge so strong, my fangs descend before I’ve even zeroed in on my prey. In the almost one hundred years of my existence as a vampire, I’ve never been this filled with hunger. I watch the crowded dance floor as bodies writhe and sway. Sweaty skin, flushed cheeks, all ripe for the picking. Try as I might, I can’t find the one I need tonight. It’s never easy, choosing the girl I’m going to kill, but I always find her.
Tonight the club is filled with the same women I always see. Desperate for love, attention, and validation that they’re not too old to be there. Usually this means plenty of easy targets. I could have any of them up against the wall, my teeth in their necks. I like to pretend there’s more coming. Make them think I’m going to fuck them before I feed. I suppose I do, sort of. I send them off into oblivion in a rush of pleasure more powerful than any orgasm they’ve ever experienced. I just can’t do it with my cock.
I used to miss it, the feeling of blood filling my dick, the tightening in my balls right before I came. Maybe I still do, in a way, but usually it’s eclipsed by another sort of lust.
A busty redhead catches my eye, her lush, pouty lips the sort of thing I’d have gone for when I was a horny lad spending my nights at the pub. She grins and curls a finger, beckoning, and I head in her direction. She’s just the kind of woman I like to take. She’d give me a wild ride, and I’d leave her drained in the alley. As I move across the floor toward her, the smile she sends me tells me she’s been waiting for me to notice her.
“It took you long enough, handsome,” she purrs in my ear.
I don’t smile at her teasing. All I want is to feed, but something is missing in this woman. She doesn’t feel right. I could feed off her and be done with it, but I know she won’t fully sate my thirst. Her hand runs up my chest and into the hair at the back of my neck.
“God, you’re hot. Want to get out of here?” she asks, pressing her breasts firmly into my chest.
I barely hear her, though, as my heart gives an alarming stutter. I usually don’t feel its slow pulse. It thuds again—hard. What the hell? Turning my head, I see her. She’s not a ravishing beauty by any means, but there’s something innately sensual about her as she stands with her back pressed to the bar, talking to a friend, her long, dark hair falling over one shoulder. Wide blue eyes meet mine, and I’m instantly hard. What is happening to me? I remove the redhead’s hand from my neck and, without a word, stalk my way across the dance floor. I have to be with this woman. She’s the one I need to feed from tonight. The one I need to do so many other things to as well. So many things I haven’t been able to do for a hundred years.
Her brows rise when I reach her, and I don’t blame her for being startled. I’m standing inches away from her. I’m much too close for most people’s comfort, but I need to drink her in. To be surrounded by the heat radiating from her body. My dick twitches as I lean even closer and breathe in her scent. What is she doing to me?
“Come with me,” I demand, hitting her with the full force of my gaze.
She laughs softly and blinks up at me. “Does that work on anyone? Really?”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I’ve never had to do more than that. This is both frustrating and curious. Typically, I lay the Dracula hypnosis on them, and they do what I want.
“Usually every time,” I admit.
Her hand brushes mine, and we both take in sharp breaths at the tingle that starts to build where our skin touches.
“I’m Reese,” she says.
“Galen,” I offer. I don’t know why I told her my real name. I usually go with something overtly masculine like Trent or Dirk. Galen betrays my deep Irish roots. I’ve always thought it made me sound soft.
“Galen.” She tries my name out as if checking to see how it feels on her tongue.
I have to bite back a moan as an image of her tongue wrapped around my cock floods my mind. I’m painfully hard. If I’m not buried balls-deep in this woman in the next ten minutes, I might explode.
“Are you here to find someone to fuck or marry?” I ask. Tactful? No. But I need to get to business, right now.
Her mouth falls open into a little “O” of surprise, and I roll my eyes. She’s oblivious to the fact that she’s killing me.
“Look, I’m serious. I’m not looking for more than someone to share an amazing night with. I want that someone to be you. Come with me, Reese. I’ll show you more pleasure than you could ever dream of.”
She swallows and motions for the bartender to fill her drink, tossing it back as soon as the glass hits the bar.
“Promise?” she asks.
I feel a little guilty, promising her pleasure while planning to end her life. But then she accidentally brushes her hip against my crotch, and I know I have to take her. There’s something special about Reese, and I’m not going to risk missing out on that just because I have to kill her.
It takes everything I have not to press Reese into the alley and thrust myself inside her. A deep ache settles in my balls as they tighten and my shaft hardens even more, as if that’s possible. We walk in tense silence, my hand on the small of her back.
“Where are we going?” she asks, her words a soft, husky melody breaking through the quiet night.
“My driver is around the corner. I assume you don’t have a problem coming back to my place?”
She straightens her shoulders, stopping us in the middle of the sidewalk, and places herself directly in my path. “No. No problem.”
A jolt runs through me at the determination hiding in her expression. Leaning into me, she runs a tentative hand up my chest before pressing her body against mine. I know she’ll feel me, hard and ready, but I don’t give a damn. All I want at this moment is to keep feeling her. The heat of her skin and the soft scent of vanilla in her hair mix with the headier scent of her arousal, overwhelming me. Before I can react, her lips are on mine, and a fire overtakes me.
My hands tangle in her long, dark hair, taking her kiss from gentle to frantic in the space between breaths. Now that she’s crossed the threshold, I can’t keep hold of my control. I press my hips into her, making sure she feels what she’s doing to me, needing the friction to relieve some of the pressure against my fly. She parts her lips on a little moan, giving me the delicious opportunity to slide my tongue in her mouth. Fuck, she tastes like wine and honey. It’s intoxicating, and I want more. My head spins as her breasts rub against my chest and her fingers fumble with the buttons on my shirt.
“You’re cold,” she murmurs against my lips.
“Aye.” I hear myself speak but barely recognize the rough tone. My Irish is showing, but I couldn’t care less. “Aren’t you?”
As if she’d forgotten we were standing in the middle of the sidewalk, she blinks hard and quickly steps away. The absence of her heat is like a little death. I need her like a drowning man needs air. The town car is mere feet a
way from us, but I never want to stop kissing her. Pulling her to me again, I cover her mouth with mine and cup her luscious ass, lifting her with little effort. When she wraps her legs around my hips, a surge of victory runs through me. Long, drugging kisses keep me walking slowly toward the car. I hold her up one-handed while I open the door with the other. Never breaking contact with her lips, I maneuver us into the backseat, laying her out across the leather. It’s more cramped than I’d like, but for what I have in mind, it’ll do.
“Wait.” That one word, just a breath from her lips, hits my veins like ice water.
Her small hand pushes at my chest, and, although it physically hurts me, I move away. “Don’t stop this. Not now.” I’m still kneeling on the floor, hovering over her.
I can hear the erratic beating of her heart, the blood pulsing through her body, but all I want is to be with her, inside her. Sitting up and scooting to the other side of the car, she straightens her skirt and turns away from me. Panic sets in, gripping my chest.
“Let me out,” she says.
“Reese …” I don’t know how to stop her. I could just take her, here and now, but I’ve never raped a woman, and I’m not going to start now.
Her whole body is trembling as she reaches for the door. “This was a mistake. I…I can’t do this.”
Somehow, I manage to keep myself from following her out of the car, even though every nerve in my body is screaming at me to take her and sate my lust. Why am I reacting this way? I try to convince myself that her leaving is a good thing. Something must be wrong with me. Who knows what might have happened if I’d had my way with her? My cock throbs, straining against my pants, a painful reminder of Reese.
Ten minutes later, as my driver pulls the car into my underground garage, I shift uncomfortably, trying to rid myself of the erection tenting my pants. I need a release—that much is obvious. Aching with need, I rush through the door and into my home, pulling at my trousers as I make my way to the shower.
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