Ancient Blood- Masters and Servants

by Dora Esquivel

  Gabriel had never hidden his bisexuality from Galen or Bach, and they accepted him. They had shared so many cold showers out in the mountains of Afghanistan. He recalled the time he twisted his stupid ankle trying to climb the far north side of the Hindu Kush Mountains of Nuristan Province. Bach was the one who had carried him up the whole mountain range. Later that day, all three of them had survived one of the fiercest fights they had ever undertaken. He couldn’t understand how their relationship had gotten so twisted over the years.

  His old life was gone. His mother dead. Knowing that she died screaming like the rest of these hollowed-out people was unbearable to think about. The magnitude of those poor dead souls weighed heavily in his heart.

  “Stop feeling guilty. I spared his life because you turned him, he is your plaything. I bet this male has dreamed of you taking him, forcing him to do all the things he had been doing to you,” Lucien stated as he handed him two sets of cuffs.

  “We’re just leaving him alone?”

  “Roman, my second in command, will be here soon to pick him up. He is the only one in my pack whose mind can read my thoughts and vice versa. I was hoping you would be able to do that, but your mind is closed off to me.”

  Thank God for small favors, Gabriel thought. He still didn’t like the idea of leaving his friend like this. “Alpha, can we just take him with us. I plan to behave.”

  “You will behave no matter what. He will be fine with the others. He will also learn his place. You, on the other hand, belong to me.”

  The man was insanely hot. Sargon would want this one too. “Bach, look at me. Roman, my beta, will be here shortly. He will be taking you, and you are to obey every order as if it were from me or Gabriel.” Sea-blue eyes stared back at him with understanding.

  Time to go.

  He grabbed the other set of cuffs and motioned for Gabriel to come back to him. There was a moment of hesitation from Gabriel, but his mate did come back to him.

  The cuffs looked heavy on Gabriel; it was a breathtaking sight. Owned. His.

  Lucien grabbed his mate’s face. He could see the sadness of the loss of his mother in those deep chocolate-brown eyes. He pulled his mate close and nipped and bit until Gabriel responded back. Lucien’s thick tongue eagerly demanded entry into his mate’s mouth. He feverishly kissed his Gabriel. Lips firm and moist, his canine bit into the plump lower lip, blood pooled at the small injury and he sucked out the blood.

  His kiss was arousing Gabriel again. His mate’s cock was jutting out, demanding attention. Lucien continued to shove his tongue down his mate’s throat. Gabriel moaned soundly as it escaped from deep within him. He felt Gabriel shift his hips and start grinding himself against his body.

  Lucien stopped the kiss. There was no time for this, not here at least. He knew Gabriel needed to be fucked continuously as part of the claiming, but they couldn’t fuck here anymore.

  “My needy mate always seeking his alpha’s cock. You will only find release when I give it to you.” Lucien kissed Gabriel again and whispered, “Your mother is still alive; I let her leave early. Before you say or do something you cannot take back, your friend’s life is up to you to forfeit, so tread carefully.”

  Before Gabriel could respond again, Lucien sealed his mouth. His mother was still alive, his heart was swelling with joy. He couldn’t believe it. He truly thought Lucien had killed her. He didn’t understand this man. Why not tell him about his mother? Maybe this was a chink in the man’s evil armor. He wasn’t sure and he didn’t really care. All that mattered was that his mother was alive.

  “But … how … why would you let her live?”

  Lucien sighed heavily. “Long ago, I had a mother, she was taken from me. Let’s just say I have issues about killing moms.” He didn’t like the way Gabe was looking at him with pity. “Don’t think any less of my killing ways, Gabriel. I have killed women and others. I spared you her death, and let’s leave it at that.”

  Gabriel nodded and asked, “Can you please hand me her rosary? It belonged to her mother and her mother before her.”

  Lucien nodded and grabbed the small rosary off the table Gabriel had left it on. “I’ll hold on to it and place it in the glove compartment for safekeeping.” He wanted to assure Gabriel and make him feel safe. He was starting to care what his mate thought of him. His Incubi snarled in disgust while his wolf wagged its massive tail, pleased to have made his mate happy and calm.

  Lucien grabbed Gabriel and pushed him outside. The town was eerily quiet now because he had placed all the townspeople to bed. He hadn’t told Sargon about how far his powers had grown, but he would have to now. Even though Roman was his second in command, he would still report to Sargon, and the vampire could read Roman’s mind as well.

  He should have heard or sensed the other two beings, but he didn’t. One of them had masked their scent and the other scent was vaguely familiar. The one he could smell was a massive alpha dire wolf, one he did not recognize. The animal was stunning as it snarled and launched at him. He needed to change form, but he couldn’t see where the other assailant was until something with a blue flash hit him square on his chest. The pain was immense, and he had never felt anything like that before.

  Fae! The one who had hit him with the blue light was fae, and something else. Both creatures were dangerous, but the fae was the most worrisome of them all.

  Lucien got up, holding his side, the wound was not closing fast enough, and he was having a hard time changing into any of his forms. The fae appeared again in front of him, and so did the massive ancient alpha. This wolf was older than him and so powerful the floor shifted with each of his massive paws. The wolf was infused with fae magic, and there were runes decorating his fur. A gold collar surrounded the neck with small jeweled spikes. He had no idea where these two beings had come from.

  The fae was as tall as him with midnight black hair, his aura glowed blue and his scent was a mixture of something familiar. He was not a true fae. Strange.

  Gabriel had been thrown a few feet away and he looked to be unconscious. He needed to protect his mate but was unable to change to either werewolf or demon.

  The alpha blocked him from going to Gabriel, white-hot rage surged through his body. His wolf keened loudly in his head while his demon screeched in violence.

  The other alpha growled low, saliva dripping from its massive mouth and blue light swirling around him. Every time Lucien tried to get closer to the beast, the light intensified, burning him. He needed to change now.

  The fae-being had a cocky grin on its face. Lucien touched his side, the wound was still open— he wasn’t healing.

  “What the fuck do you want, fae? If that’s what you are.”

  The fae’s dark eyebrows arched, surprised that Lucien was able to figure him out. “My name is Frost. I’ve heard about you, Lucien, and I wanted to check out the competition. Where is your master, Sargon?”

  “How the fuck should I know?” Lucien answered back. He knew exactly where Sargon was— getting tortured by Sumuel— but this dust bunny didn’t need to know that.

  He noticed that Frost was also encircled with bright blue swirling light like the wolf blocking him from Gabriel. Sharp heat radiated from him, just like the wolf. Nodding calmly, Lucien answered back, “I don’t care what your name is, blue freak. You are declaring open war with vampire master Sumuel Kingum. I suggest you take your mongrel out of here.”

  The fae laughed hard while the big alpha slashed at Lucien, upset about being called a mongrel. Lucien hated this bastard. Not only had he ruined his plans with his mate, but he had also stopped him from changing into his form, so his wound was still open and leaking.

  Lucien took a longer look at the so-called fae and discovered that the man radiated an unnatural appeal. He had an olive complexion with midnight hair that reached his waist; his face was beautiful. He had no other words to describe the flawless smooth skin of this so-called Frost. Frost’s dark gaze spoke of intelligence. Lucien really hated thi
s man. Frost smiled again showing two white gleaming tips.

  Fangs?

  Lucien had not smelled vamp on Frost, but those slender, long fangs were the mark of a vampire. Who the fuck was this asshole?

  “Why don’t you get out of my way before I kill your ass, vampire.”

  Frost’s face scrunched up in disgust, the cool, collected mask Frost had been trying to show Lucien faded for a fleeting second.

  “I’ll be back for you, but you tell Sargon that Frost is looking for him.”

  “I’m not your message boy, why don’t you fucking tell him yourself, vampire.”

  “You have a mouth on you, don’t you? No matter, you are the thing Sargon gave everything up for. Well, just tell him I’ll be destroying his world.”

  Lucien wanted to laugh, but something about Frost made Lucien realize that Frost was a real threat.

  Suddenly, another wave of blue light hit him square in the chest and for a second, he couldn’t breathe. Every gulp of air felt corrosive, and he swore his lungs were melting. Fucking bastard. He was going to kill that asshole, he promised himself as darkness overtook him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Gabriel

  GABRIEL TRIED MOVING his body, but it all hurt so bad. He swore he had a concussion. Whatever had hit Lucien, knocked him out also. He remembered the monstrous beast growling at him, and then a flash of blue light hit Lucien violently, knocking them both down.

  Slowly, Gabriel opened his eyes, the night was cold, and his body took notice of the chilly air. He tried breaking the metal cuffs, but they wouldn’t give. He knew he had some super strength, but unfortunately, not enough to break the cuffs.

  Looking around slowly, he noticed the other creatures were gone. Those two beings scared the crap out of him. He had thought Lucien’s two-legged wolf was scary enough, but this other wolf was massive, even on four legs. The cold fear the wolf gave him made him shudder.

  As he looked around, Lucien was sprawled out on the street, two large wounds were still smoking; the one in his chest was a gaping hole and blue fire surrounded the skin. Lucien’s lungs were charred and so were his ribs, heart, and muscles. He had seen chest injuries before, but this was beyond his expertise. He wasn’t sure if Lucien was dead, but a small part of him was sad if that was true. What the fuck was he thinking? This bastard deserved to die. Gabriel wished his hands were unshackled so he could shoot the asshole.

  The cuffs weighed heavily behind his back; he needed to find the keys, but where? The casino was a mess. Shit! He needed to get Bach out of here.

  Before he could even take a step, a huge hand gagged him and pulled back to a massive chest. Clawed tips pinched his skin. What. The. Fuck?

  He tried struggling against this huge man but to no avail. Then he remembered Lucien mentioning his number two man, Roman; this is who it had to be.

  Roman spoke with a thick Russian accent, “Be quiet, fool.” Gabriel’s heart dropped. He was hoping to escape this nightmare, but again, he was captured and being hauled off to a big, black Suburban. The windows were heavily tinted, so no one would be able to see him. When Roman opened the passenger door, his heart dropped, there was no escaping his fate now.

  The big goon made him sit down and the cuffs pained his wrists. Gabriel noticed the massive male for the first time. The man had a blond mohawk with orange tips. Roman was taller than Lucien. Even though he was an impressive size himself, these other males made him feel small.

  “Sit and let me get you ready for transport.”

  Roman’s voice was matter of fact, so he didn’t even bother to respond. Roman seemed like the type dedicated to Lucien with unwavering loyalty. It wouldn’t do any good to beg for release.

  Roman leaned over him and unlocked his cuffs. For a moment, he was relieved until he felt something soft surround his wrists and then lock together. They were heavier than the handcuffs. He pulled, but nothing gave; he also felt slightly weaker.

  Roman looked at him and in a deadpan voice explained, “The cuffs are silver and are lined to keep the silver from burning you. They also make you very ill and weak. You will not be able to break them.”

  Gabriel smiled at the absurdity of what Roman had told him, a flash of violent pain, panged into his stomach and he wanted the silver cuffs off.

  “Just leave the handcuffs on. I won’t escape.”

  Roman scoffed. “I need to hurry and get Lucien and the other boy. Do not waste my time with your mouth. I will gladly rip it off and eat it in front you, so shut the fuck up.”

  Gabriel was sick of being threatened, but he was too weak to argue as Roman bent him over again, adjusting the cuffs and attaching them to a short-chain he couldn’t see. The chain tightened and Gabriel had no choice but to lean back against the seat. He tried to pull his hands up but there was no give; he was well secured to the damn SUV seat.

  He watched the big guy lean down and cuff his legs together and then do the same to the short-chain where his arms were tied to. It was uncomfortable. He was heavily restricted, and the waves of nausea and pain made it impossible for him to think straight.

  Roman was not done with him. He felt something thin wrap around his neck as a migraine hit his head. He was now seeing two Romans. “Dude, stop it. I can’t handle this silver shit. Take it off, please.”

  The punch to his stomach was like being hit by a semi. He swore his liver and pancreas had exploded. He couldn’t breathe. Roman tightened his grip on his hair and spoke directly to him, fire-orange eyes bore down at him. “You have no voice in what happens to you. You are wasting my time. Lucien’s orders were explicit before he passed out. My only concern is Lucien. If you cause any more harm to Lucien, I will make your life a living hell.”

  Teary-eyed, Gabriel nodded. He was hurting too bad from the silver and the punch to his stomach.

  The strap around his neck clicked and tightened to another chain attached to the backrest, making it hard to swallow or move his head. He wasn’t sure what was next, but Roman was being meticulous.

  Suddenly, something touched his lips, it felt rubbery. He looked down and in Roman’s hand was a penis-shaped gag, not too big, but he knew once it was inflated it would hurt. His stomach did flip flops, but his dick was responding to the humiliation of wearing a penis gag. He was so screwed up.

  “I see your little cock is responding to the gag. Lucien said you were a cock slut. Now, open your mouth. I can sense him trying to wake up.”

  Roman’s Russian accent made it difficult to understand what he was saying, but he understood him this time. “Why don’t you go to Lucien now? He has a fucking hole in his chest.”

  Roman shifted his eyes back to him, those cat-like eyes coldly stared as he grabbed Gabriel’s jaw tightly, puncturing his skin with his thick claws. He calmly spoke, “Before Lucien passed out, his orders were to secure his mate, to ensure his mate didn’t go anywhere, to leave him to recover and attend to you. I am making sure you are tightly constrained as he instructed. He does not want you thinking you can escape him. So, I will make sure you will never get away from my alpha.”

  Gabriel shook off the throbbing pain of his jaw and opened his mouth to tell meathead off, but Roman took the opportunity to stuff the bulbous rubber gag into his mouth. He wasted no time securing the straps behind his head. The straps bore into his cheeks. He tried speaking, but before he could, Roman was inflating the gag. Less and less he could move his mouth so he was quickly silenced.

  Rage filled him but there was nothing he could do. Roman looked at him with a cocky grin. “Finally, something shut that mouth of yours. The pack is excited to meet you. All twelve of us can’t wait to mate with you, cockboy. My penis will make you scream, it has barbs to rake your anal walls. I will take pleasure in hurting you, slut. Lucien is awake; I need to help him get up.”

  Roman tilted down and licked Gabriel’s face.

  What the fuck! Roman’s tongue felt rough just like a cat. He had to fuck this scary sonofabitch.

  As soon as
Roman turned away to go help Lucien, a deafening noise rumbled through the stilled night, so loud it made his ears pop. It startled him. After a few seconds, there was another loud boom. He recognized the undeniable sound of a 12-gauge shotgun cocking. The first blow should have dropped Roman, but he was still standing. The second hit blasted him to the floor.

  Gabe had no idea who had shot the bastard. He wasn’t sure if it was a rescuer or another strange being. A large, dark shadow was approaching, and his eyes widened when he recognized Galen.

  He was saved!

  “Damn, bro! What the hell is happening?” Galen asked as he went to unlock Gabriel’s gag. He shouldn’t be surprised that his brother knew how to handle BDSM toys.

  Gabriel anxiously tried to spit the gag out, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “Hold on, Gabe, let me deflate it.”

  Gabriel waited anxiously as the gag deflated slowly in his mouth. When he was able to spit it out, his jaw was sore.

  “We need to go now. Galen, listen to me. Get in the fucking truck and let’s go, the keys are in the ignition. These guys will get back up.”

  Galen was trying to uncuff Gabriel. “Where are the keys to your cuffs?”

  “Listen to me. These guys are not human. We need to leave.”

  Galen was bent over Roman searching his pockets for the key to Gabriel’s restraints. “Found them, Gabe.”

  Gabe’s heart was pounding erratically, he was excited to be free. Galen was able to unlock the chain underneath the seat and the heavy black cuffs came off. He looked down at the leather restraints and read, “Property of Lucien.”

  “Who the hell is Lucien?” Galen asked.

  How could he explain this? This whole night was a mess. He was exhausted and the silver from his restraints had made him feel sick and irritable. He just wanted to leave.