Branded (An Otherworlders Series Novel Book 1)

by Lena Moore

  “Morning sexy ass,” she crooned. “How did you know I was awake?”

  Draven’s body pivoted to face her, his eyes hooded with lust as he drank in her form. Aliyah had dressed in tight denim jeans and a tank top that read: Don’t trust the living. She flushed at his scrutiny of her. It was like he was mapping out her body, figuring out the best place to strike. His lips formed a crooked smile instead.

  “Don’t you look edible.” He licked his lips before continuing. “To answer your question, your scent, baby. It gives you away. Fuck, I could suffocate in it and it would be the best kind of torture known to any being.”

  Her core clenched. The tingling increased, accompanied with the heat that swirled in her pussy. How could she still need more of him after what he did to her last night?

  Draven’s knowing chuckle filled the air. “Sit. Let me look after you. We have a few things we need to discuss.”

  Those words sparked an alarming feeling within Aliyah. As if sensing her, he shook his head and pointed to the stool in front of the granite bench.

  “Stop it. Your imagination is running away again. I told you that I would tell you about Efah, remember? So after we’ve eaten, we will talk.”

  Aliyah was jolted from her thoughts when Draven dropped the spatula he was using in the pan. Sauntering over to her, his steps demanding and oozing dominance, he cupped her face in his strong calloused hands and directed her face so that her eyes met his penetrating stare.

  “I love you. Nothing is going to change that. Even in death, I will still love you.” He kissed her lips slowly and with determination, showing her that the syllables that left his mouth were honest and heartfelt with the flick of his tongue.

  Aliyah moaned into his mouth. Draven pulled away, resting his forehead on hers. “Later. Now we eat. Sit that perfect phat ass down.” He slapped her cheeks, extracting a yelp from her.

  She sat down and inhaled the mouth-watering scents wafting throughout the kitchen. Aliyah smelled eggs, parsley, lemon, salmon, salt, pepper, and crusty bread. What the hell? Vampire nose or what?

  The music was soothing, pacifying, washing over like when the water washes up to shore. Tranquil.

  Aliyah was thankful Draven listened to similar music because there would definitely be trouble in paradise if he listened to any of that pop shit.

  A clink from the plate jolted her from her ruminations again. Peering down in front of her, she saw a huge plateful of eggs benedict with ample amount of hollandaise sauce, just the way she liked it.

  The stool scraped along the concrete floor as Draven sat down beside her with a plate twice the size of hers.

  He squeezed her thigh slightly. “Eat, baby.”

  They ate in silence. Aliyah was too nervous to talk even if she wanted to. She sensed the restless energy pulse from Draven. He was apprehensive about the conversation.

  Once they finished their breakfast, Aliyah stood up and collected their plates. She silenced Draven with her hand, knowing he was about to argue with her over the dishes.

  His shoulders lifted in a shrugging motion and he smirked at her. “Be my guest. I’ll just sit here and ogle at your round ass.”

  Aliyah shook her head, holding in a giggle. She quickly rinsed the dishes before stacking them in the dishwasher, then sat down beside him.

  Draven had turned the music off. “Let’s go sit on the couch.” He offered her his hand and she gladly took it before he led her to the lounge area.

  He took in and exhaled a deep breath before beginning. “Efah is my mother, biologically speaking. She’s the reason for this.” He pointed to his ruby red eye. “She’s the demon part that lives in me. Efah is one sadistic demon and I hate her with every little piece of who I am and more.”

  Aliyah recognised the anger and pain flickering through his eyes. Reliving this hurt him. And because it hurt him, it hurt her. She figured there was more to the story. There had to be more than her just being a demon for the reason why he hated his mother so much.

  Aliyah sensed he was struggling to continue, so she reached up and pulled him down to rest his head in her lap. He came willingly, sighing as he closed his eyes. Aliyah ran her fingers through his course dreadlocks, playing with some of the beads that were threaded through one, urging him to keep going.

  “I haven’t spoken about this in years,” he scoffed. “Maybe since it happened, actually. I had a fiancé once before, many, many years ago. Her name was Delilah.”

  The words tightened around her heart. He’d loved before her and he’d planned on marrying her. Pushing her insecurities and jealousy down, she stroked his hair, waiting for him to continue. His body was tense—high strung.

  His eyes opened and searched hers for something she wasn’t sure. Worry? Jealousy? Aliyah relaxed the muscles on her face, hoping she wasn’t giving anything away and offered him a small smile.

  “It was a different love. It wasn’t like the one we share,” he replied as if sensing the question floating around in her mind.

  “It was a day before the wedding. I remember how Delilah had been fussing around with the final preparations for the big day. She’d kicked me out of the house because as tradition had it, I wasn’t allowed to see the bride the night before the wedding. I left with a spring in my step and elation flowing through me as I made my way to Dolph’s. He was my best man.”

  “Wow, you’ve know each other how many years?”

  “Over two hundred now.” He winced and Aliyah suspected he was thinking of their age difference. “Anyway. I never anticipated that would be the last time I’d see her, hold her or ever speak to her again. I woke the next morning with a sense of dread embedded deep inside of me. I knew something wasn’t right. I ignored the feeling to begin with and readied myself for the day. Dolph sensed that something was up with me. He said he’d ask Jadis to find Delilah to put my mind at ease…” He sighed. “She never found her.”

  Tears prickled behind Aliyah’s retinas before trickling down her cheeks. She felt the pain radiating through Draven’s body and somehow she knew the story wasn’t going to end well. Wiping her eyes on the back of her hand, she looked down at him. His eyes were closed again and she noticed the wet pooling in the corners of them.

  “Any reservation that everything was going to be ok evaporated. I remember leaving in a blur and running straight to her parents’ house. She wasn’t there and neither were they. I ran to the place we shared together, fear pricking every inch of my body as I walked into the house. I called her name out over and over, with no response. Every room was empty. The last place to look was in the shed outside.” He shuddered before continuing.

  “We’d transformed it into a studio so to speak. Instruments, painting stuff, that kind of thing. Sliding the door open, I remember feeling like my heart had been shredded inside my chest. Delilah laid there, motionless, in her wedding dress with a gold laced diamond dagger through her chest. That dagger is extremely rare and is the only one—the only instrument—that can kill any vampire with pure or royal blood thrumming through their veins. Other vampires are easier to execute than my type. That particular dagger is laced with power from extremely ancient witches. Pain, anger and surprise were the first emotions I registered. I thought they’d all been destroyed, but no, lo and behold there was one plunged inside her heart.” His voice shook on the word heart.

  Aliyah wanted to wrap him up in her arms and attempt to steal his pain away. Seeing him like this was almost unbearable. She felt worthless, helpless to assuage his affliction.

  His eyelids fluttered open, shimmering with unshed tears. “There was a note,” he whispered. “It was from my mother—from Efah. I remember the contents as if it was only yesterday.” Draven started to rattle of the words in a shaky tone:

  Beauty in white, beauty to be wed,

  Such a shame she’s prettier when she’s dead,

  Gold-laced diamond dagger to the heart,

  Tell me, son, will this be what truly pulls you apart?

&nbs
p; From the inside out, the price you pay for being who

  you are,

  Abandonment, betrayal, never looked so good as I

  carve another scar,

  Condemned—now tell me was it worth it?

  Seeping crimson, withering away, a love that was

  never infinite,

  I am in you, under your skin, within your blood,

  The darkness will prevail, an addiction, like a drug

  Forsaking you, I plunged that dagger, wishing it was

  you,

  Her screams rang loud, her last words were begging

  for you

  Now your heart will bleed the loss, alone, just like you

  left me,

  I bet this is something your precious little Goddess

  didn’t foresee…

  Aliyah gasped, “Your mother killed her? I’m so sorry, Draven.” She bent down and kissed the tears that trickled down his hard-edged cheekbones.

  “She did. And now you understand why I despise her, why I wish I could kill her all over again. I condemned her to the gates of purgatory. How she’s managed to escape is beyond me.”

  It dawned on her that she actually didn’t know a whole lot about Draven or his past. That was something she would need to rectify because she wanted to know everything there was to know about him: the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between.

  “I’m thankful you had Dolph and Jadis there for you when you lost Delilah.”

  “I pushed them away. Dolph and I hadn’t seen each other in a long, long. Jadis—” he laughed “—she didn’t let me push her away. As you can tell she is a force to be reckoned with.”

  Envy. That was the feeling that swelled inside her. She was envious that these two had been a part of Draven’s life for so many years compared to her measly few weeks. Aliyah paused and remembered this wasn’t about her right now. This was about Draven. She needed to be there for the man she loved and stamp out the jealousy before it ate her alive.

  Aliyah word vomited, “How many years ago was it? Did she work alone? What about your dad?”

  Draven’s body went rigid at the mention of his dad.

  “I’m not ready to talk about my dad yet. I’m sorry baby, but soon. As for how many years, it’s hedging two hundred this year.”

  Two hundred years! Draven had lived with this guilt, anger and melancholy for two hundred years! Even she wanted to kill his mother whom she’d never met. Suddenly, the madness she’d experienced last night swirled in her stomach and her body was hotter than she’d ever thought possible. She shook with fury, like a storm ready to throw lightning at anyone who’d ever wronged her love, her Draven.

  “Snowflake?” Draven was searching her eyes with his hand squeezing her own. “Baby, don’t let it succeed. You are stronger than that part within you. Fight it. I’m here with you.”

  Aliyah heard what he’d said; however, she couldn’t stop the momentum building. She was ready to explode. Her vision seemed more pronounce as she witnessed the black tendrils sliding in for the kill. Aliyah was scared. More than that she was resentful, enough to tackle their blows. And then Draven’s lips were brushing hers slowly, tentatively, pleading for her to come back to him.

  Aliyah blinked away the black spots until her vision phased back and it was just Draven and her sitting on the lounge. He released her mouth, his eyes darting between each of hers, looking for something other than madness, and his face showed he found it. He found her again, bringing her back to him. The Goddess’s words chimed loudly within her skull: You are stronger together than alone.

  “Thank you,” she breathed.

  “I’m here, baby. I’m not going anywhere. Come on, let’s lay down for half an hour until you calm your nerves. We can head over to Jadis’s after that to hunker down on a plan to save John and Jill.”

  Mum and dad, shit. She’d almost lost sight of what she was meant to be doing and submitted to the darkness. Culpability blanketed her. Aliyah needed to get her head on straight before it wasn’t only guilt she was feeling.

  Draven led her to his room and cuddled her tight until she felt light once more. Slumber welcomed her with open arms. Diving head first, she plummeted to the ground. Spent, she hoped when she woke all of this was just an insignificant dream—a nightmare—and nothing more.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  ~ Draven ~

  Aliyah was snoring softly in his embrace when he realised they’d fallen asleep instead of the half an hour lie down he’d suggested earlier. Looking at his watch, he was relieved they’d only been asleep for close to two hours and not the whole day.

  Draven felt emotionally raw and wrung out after he’d relived some of the most caliginous moments in his long existence. But he was lighter because of divulging and trusting Aliyah with part of his life. He’d not spoken about that formidable day since he found Delilah with the dagger hanging out of her heart. No one knew. Hell, he even thought Efah hadn’t realised that he’d kept that weapon. Draven dreamed often of the day he would get his revenge by plunging that dagger into his mother’s heart. She wouldn’t be easy to kill, he knew that. But one way or another, sometime in his life he would be sure to repay the favour by returning that diamond blade.

  He looked down at Aliyah. Her forehead was creased as if she was dreaming of something unpleasant. A sliver within in him still felt like a perverted old fuck for claiming her as his own. The possession was deep seated and he knew there was no way he’d ever let her go now. Ever.

  Softly, Draven smoothed the crease lines between her eyes. He hated seeing her so scared, so confused. He’d known immediately when the darkness sunk its claws in her. Aliyah’s eyes took on a different shade. The red speckles were more prominent than ever in that moment. He’d felt her fear, but also, he felt her acceptance of it. That was the dangerous part. Until they both learned how to harness and control the more sinister sides of themselves, they needed to be careful.

  Nudging her slightly, he kissed her forehead. “Aliyah. Baby. It’s time to get up.”

  “Aliyah moaned something incoherent to his ears and tried to roll away from him.

  “Uh huh. Up you get. We’ve got some important business to attend to.” He slapped her ass cheek, watching the way it wobbled from his smack.

  She bolted upright. “How long have we been asleep? Come on get up! We need to go see Jadis!”

  Aliyah launched out of the bed and almost fell over from being tangled in the blanket then threw on her converse shoes.

  Draven laid there, arms propped behind his head, grinning. “You’re adorable, you know that, right?”

  She groaned, “We don’t have time for this. Please. Let’s go.”

  He would never be able to say no to this woman.

  Draven hopped out of bed with his clothes rumpled from their siesta and placed his hand in hers. They walked quietly over to Jadis’s, both clearly lost in thought and praying she’d come up with some sort of plan.

  Draven swore every time he saw Jadis, Dolph and Dany, they were constantly surrounded by tension or lust or something else he couldn’t decipher.

  Jadis gave him the stink eye: a knowing look to say shut his fucking mouth. He smirked at her, issuing her a little nod, a quiet understanding between the two of them.

  She was in a short yellow dress that hugged her curvy form. Dolph and Dany seemed enamoured with her, but he noticed the sliver of hate flicker through his best friend’s eyes. Dolph hated her because he loved her so much. She made him weak, and Draven knew that wasn’t something Dolph liked being labelled.

  “So these parasites want Aliyah. We know as much,” Jadis hesitated. “I was gifted with something from the elders last night, an ancient spell.”

  “What is it?” Aliyah butted in.

  “It’s a spell that will help ward off anyone who wishes you harm. The only issue is that there’s a time limit and I would have to come with you to cast it.”

  “No. No fucking way,” that was Dolph putting in
his two cents. “You know they need you too, Jadi.”

  Jadis placed her palm up silencing him. “This is something I need to do. I’m a big girl and you don’t get to tell me what to do anymore.”

  Draven noticed the hurt slash through Dolph’s coal eyes and the tick in his clenched jaw at her comment.

  “Fine. Do what the fuck you want. Kill yourself for all I care.”

  It was Jadis’s turn to flinch. Dolph plopped himself in the chair and looked away from everyone.

  Dany’s eyes pinballed between the pair, then he sighed. “Would you two grow the fuck up?”

  Dolph flipped him off and Jadis ignored him. Draven watched Aliyah’s expression change. She didn’t like the way they treated her best friend. He had to admit he felt sorry for Dany in this moment.

  Diverting the conversation as not to escalate it further, he said, “How long does it last? And I hate to admit I’m with Dolph. I’m worried about you leaving the confinements of safety here.”

  “Oh for fuck sakes. I’m a big girl! I am over three hundred years old, or did you all forget that?”

  Draven saw the shock register on Aliyah’s face. She’d known how old he was but not Jadis.

  Dolph’s face softened. He got up and walked toward Jadis, his feet moving on their own accord. Finally standing in front of her, he lifted her chin with his fingers. The gesture seeming too intimate for an audience.

  Acceptance washed through the room. Like a wave always searching for the shore, Dolph and Jadis were always searching for each other.

  “Is it so bad that we all care about you, Jadis? So bad that we all want you alive, not dead to us in another realm somewhere?” Dolph whispered.

  Jadis sighed. “It’s not that. I don’t want to die any more than anyone else. I need to do this though, not only for Aliyah but for myself. Please, you have to let me go.”

  There was more than one meaning in that sentence. A double-edged sword whichever way anyone looked at it. She was asking for his blessing and also saying goodbye in case things went sour.