“No.” She tried to laugh, but it came out a rasping cough. She held her stomach tighter. “Vivienne would be upset she didn’t give me her blood earlier.” Morgana gazed down at her mother, fondly. “She’d do anything for me.” Brushing her mother’s hair back from her still face, Morgana lifted her wrist to her mouth, her fangs pressing into Vivienne’s creamy skin.
“Wait,” Gareth hesitated.
Morgana’s head and her brown eyes widened.
He rolled back his sleeve offering his own wrist to her. “Take mine.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you. And I’m hoping you love me, too?”
Morgana lowered Vivienne’s hand. “What are you saying, Gareth?” She watched him closely.
Gareth kneeled in front of her, taking her hands in his. “I’m saying I love you.”
“Really?” Her sarcasm was not lost on him.
“Yes, Morgana. Fuck, I nearly lost you tonight.” He rubbed his face. “Hell, I nearly died myself. I let my issues with Mariza get between us.”
Morgana averted her eyes.
He placed his hand on her left cheek, turning her face back toward him. “All that’s over now.” He stroked her hair. “I want you. I need you.” He pointed to her wounded stomach, “And I think you love me, too. Besides, you need my help again.”
Her brown eyes seared into his, “Yes, I do.”
“My help or my love?”
“Both.”
Gareth smiled before placing his lips to hers, but instead of reciprocating, Morgana groaned in pain.
He pulled back, sheepishly. “Sorry, I got caught up in the moment.”
Morgana grunted. “Just give me your wrist.”
He offered his wrist again, her fangs piercing into his skin. It was odd to feel blood draining from his body, something he hadn’t felt in years. Strange to now be on the other side of a feeding after so long.
Morgana withdrew her lips, tilting her head back in satisfaction. A moan escaped her lips. The wound on her stomach began healing.
“Are you going to be all right now?”
“There’s still a taint of silver in my body that needs to pass, but I’m mostly healed.” She regarded the three unconscious bodies. “We better revive them.”
They spent the next thirty minutes pulling wild rose branches out of her parents’ chests and feeding them blood. Alastor, with only his neck broken, needed to regain consciousness on his own.
“Morgana,” Oscar’s voice was stern, his eyes hard. This was not the wanting-to-be-human Oscar, but the Council Elder standing before them. “Why is Randalf lying dead in our living room?”
“Well, because he attacked us.”
“Yes, but there are procedures in place to deal with rogue Council employees.”
Morgana shook her head. “No, he was beyond saving.” She recalled Randalf’s attack and what he tried to make her do, eliciting gasps from Vivienne and grim looks from Oscar.
Oscar sighed. “The other Council Elders will not be happy to hear about this. But it’s not every day an employee attacks an Elder, his wife, his daughter, and her friends.” He studied both of them. “Both of you may be facing punishment.”
“But it was self-defense,” Gareth protested.
Oscar nodded. “And they will be able to come to the same conclusion. I’ll show them the footage from our security cameras.”
Gareth’s eyes widened. He thought back to the other night after the fundraiser. He winced at the thought of Oscar seeing what he’d nearly done and what had also occurred with his daughter. If Oscar had seen them, he gave no indication, his mind occupied on other matters.
“How did you come to possess a hawthorn stake, Morgana?” Oscar asked. “They’re forbidden weapons.”
“I had it in case…” she avoided looking at him. How was she to tell her father the reason why. When Oscar loved her sister just as much as her and her brothers.
“In case of your sister.” Oscar finished for her, rubbing his jaw, looking at Vivienne. “I suppose you have one, too?”
Vivienne only sniffled, looking away.
“Bloody hell, who keeps a stake around to kill their own sister?” Gareth’s blue eyes widened at Morgana.
She glanced at both her parents. Oscar nodded, looking grim.
Morgana opened her mouth, “Well, you see, Gareth…”
The sounds of Alastor regaining consciousness interrupted her.
“Where is he?” he bellowed, straightening his neck, and trying to stand at the same time. “I’ll kill the bastard.” His hazel eyes had a murderous expression.
“He’s dead, mate.” Gareth pointed to Randalf’s body.
Alastor nodded. “Nice work, Morgana.”
Morgana smiled. “It wasn’t me.” She turned her head toward Gareth.
“Ye, mate?” Alastor’s eyes widened.
“Aye.” Gareth pulled his chest up, beaming with pride.
“Well, this I’ve got to hear.” Alastor gave a wide grin and turned toward Randalf’s body. “Can I at least light the bastard’s stake?” he kneeled, lighter in hand.
“Not in the house!” Vivienne smacked his hand.
“Oops yes, sorry, Mrs. V.”
“We’ll move the body outside,” Oscar said. “If any of the neighbors ask, just say you had a bonfire this weekend while Vivienne and I were out of town.”
Morgana nodded.
Vivienne turned toward Morgana and Gareth. “I think there’s more to tell us.” She raised an eyebrow, and her blue eyes dropped to their clasped hands.
In all the commotion, Gareth hadn’t realized he was grasping Morgana’s hand so tightly. For strength or love, he wasn’t sure—maybe both.
He grinned at Morgana, who smiled back at him. She lifted her chin toward Vivienne, “Yes, Mother, Gareth is my mate.”
Vivienne clapped her hands together, squealing with delight. “She called me Mother!”
Morgana laughed.
Vivienne was beaming. “Welcome to the family, Gareth.”
Gareth wrapped his arm around Morgana’s shoulders. She turned to look at him. They smiled at each other. They were safe, for now.
“Welcome to the Van Wilden coven, son,” Oscar said to Gareth, extending a hand.
Gareth firmly shook Oscar’s hand. “I vow to look after your daughter for the rest of my life, sir.”
“I know you will.”
Vivienne shrilled, crossing the room to engulf Gareth in a welcoming hug.
“Me, too?” Alastor asked.
“Of course.” Oscar clapped him on the back.
“Ava, too,” Vivienne added.
“Really?”
“Yes,” Morgana agreed. “She wouldn’t be the first human to be part of a coven before she’s turned.”
“But she won’t turn for another twenty years or so.”
Oscar shrugged, “Twenty years is nothing to a vampire.”
Gareth turned to Alastor, “I’m glad to see you’re okay, buddy.”
Alastor snorted. “I was wondering when ye’d get around to me.” Gareth gave him a playful shove.
Gareth picked up Morgana’s right hand. “So you’re okay with working with all of us?”
Morgana looked around the room, smiling, and took her mother’s hand. “We’ll be stronger together, taking on our enemies as a coven.”
A few days later….
Gareth walked into the living room, dressed only in his black pajama pants, his chest bare. He suddenly felt a chill, making him shudder. The cold usually didn’t affect him, but there was something not quite right about this chill.
Gareth took another sip. The blood had barely touched his lips when he sensed a strange vampire in the room with him. He could tell it was female, but there was a familiarity about this vampire’s presence. Like he should have known who it was.
“Well, well, well, it’s been a long time,” the vampire spoke softly, gliding into view. She wore a smug smile.
Gareth froze. His nightmare was
coming true. His blonde creator stood before him. “Mariza,” he growled. Never in his life had he felt such anger as he did now. “What the fuck are you doing here? How did you even get in?”
She chuckled. “Silly, Gareth. This is my family home. I’m always invited.”
TO BE CONTINUED
Chapter One
Flying across the room, Gareth’s head collided with the dark-stained bedpost. He grunted in pain, the left side of his head throbbing.
His body was lifted off the ground by her hand grasping the back of his nightshirt.
“I won’t do it.” He wheezed. “I won’t marry you.”
She laughed.
Ugh, her laugh.
The cruel, taunting sound always chilling him through his skin down to his very bones.
“Of course, you will, my darling.” She sneered the endearing term, lifting him to her lips, whispering in his ear, “You have no choice.”
“Damn you to hell.”
She laughed again, sounding bitter this time. “This life of mine, having to resort to finding human husbands to marry for their wealth is my hell,” she hissed.
“I hope you die a slow, starving death.”
“No one will ever be able to kill me. But you, on the other hand…”
Sharp pain radiated in his neck where her fangs pierced his skin and flesh. Withdrawing her fangs from his flesh, she pressed her lips against his skin and sucked the blood out of his carotid artery. He struggled against her hold, but her grip clamped around him like steel. Dark spots clouded his vision as the life left his body.
Gareth’s eyes flew open. He sat up quickly, taking in his surroundings. Relief washed over him. He wasn’t back there in his old bedroom at his family’s home, but here in Morgana’s bedroom at the Van Wildens. He grasped his head in his hands. The nightmares were back.
He had hoped after he’d conquered his trust issues with women, the dreams would have stopped. They had for a while, making it much more surprising when another surfaced.
He scrubbed at his face, turning to look at his girlfriend who was now sitting up looking dazed, a questioning expression behind her chocolate brown eyes.
“Is everything okay?” Her voice was still groggy from sleep.
“Yeah, it was just a bad dream.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t anything more? I felt really scared for some reason,” she mumbled.
“Nothing more than a recurring nightmare. I can handle it. Go back to sleep.”
“We can talk about it.”
“Go back to sleep,” he repeated, stroking her dark hair.
“But−”
He helped her lay back down. “You need your sleep.”
“Okay.” She settled down on her pillow. Within minutes, gentle snoring filled the silence. He envied her for the ability to fall into such a deep sleep so quickly. She really did need her sleep. After the killing of Randalf, they were given a few days reprieve from the mission. Afterward, they’d declared their love for each other and had taken advantage of their time off.
They’d gone down to the training room. Alastor and Ava had left for her apartment, and Oscar and Vivienne were out to dinner with campaign sponsors. Gareth and Morgana were on a personal mission to recreate the moment of their first official mind-blowing kiss in the dirt. Only this time, they weren’t going to be interrupted. They rolled around on the ugly blue mat making love for hours.
After leaving her sated and boneless from the endless orgasms, Morgana snuggled on the mat. Barely able to keep her eyes open, she yawned every five seconds. Her vampire side gave her unbelievable stamina, but in the end, her human side wore her down.
“We should clean up down here, so they won't smell what we’re up to,” she’d said, another yawn at the end of her sentence.
“I will, but let's get you to bed.” He scooped her up and carried her to her bed where she grumbled and drifted quickly to sleep.
Now his dick was hardening again at the flashbacks of Morgana’s naked body writhing underneath and on top of him.
He’d also forgotten to clean up, instead choosing to hold Morgana while she slept. He should go down and get it done now. But first, he would drink some blood. Their escapades had also tired him out.
He wondered if he could lean over and take a quick bite of Morgana’s neck. He only had her blood twice, but both times it had tasted like the ambrosia of all bloods—a fine wine, delectable to the palette. But she would probably snap his neck before he even had a chance to sink his fangs into her. She’d told him countless times she wasn’t his personal blood bag. Besides that, being half-human, she needed to recover her strength.
He sighed. His only other option was to go downstairs and raid the Van Wilden’s fridge—they always had the good stuff. He didn’t know who their blood supplier was, but with Oscar being a Council Elder, he had some good connections.
Gareth raced down the stairs in the darkness, not bothering with flicking on the lights. He didn’t need to see where he was going. He opened the fridge, a small amount of yellow light pouring out. Gareth grabbed the first blood bag he saw. He bit into the plastic letting the blood seep into his mouth. He leaned back against the stainless-steel fridge, eyes half-lidded, savoring the taste. Yep, the good stuff.
Gareth walked into the living room, making his way down to the basement, dressed only in his black pajama pants, his chest bare. He suddenly felt a chill, making him shudder. The cold usually didn’t affect him, but there was something not quite right about this chill.
Gareth took another sip. The blood had barely touched his lips when he sensed a vampire presence in the room with him. He could tell it was female, but there was a familiarity about this vampire’s presence like he should have known who it was.
“Well, well, well, it has been a long time,” the vampire spoke softly. It was like someone had dropped an ice cube down his pants. He didn’t need the lights on to see her features. He remembered them clearly. The exotic beauty, hailing from a wealthy European lineage, had held many a man’s attention. Even his. Until he learned who she really was. She glided into view, a smug smile on her olive face.
Every fiber in him remained still. There was no way his nightmare could be coming true. Her—his most hated creator standing before him. Gareth nearly choked on the mouthful of blood he’d consumed. A few drops splashed onto Vivienne’s Venetian rug. She would not be happy. The blood was certainly going to stain. But right now, he didn’t care.
“Mariza,” he growled. Never in his life had he felt such anger as he did now. “What the fuck are you doing here? How did you even get in?”
She chuckled. “Silly, Gareth. This is my family home. I’m always invited.”
“You’re related to the Van Wildens?”
Mariza’s top lip curled up in disdain when Gareth coughed up the blood. “If you’re going to waste that, at least share some with me.” She walked closer to Gareth, her hand raised, reaching for the blood bag.
He stumbled backward trying to get out of her reach. “You still haven’t answered me.”
Mariza sighed, letting her hand drop. She turned to face him, her brown eyes sparkling. “You do know Oscar is my father, don’t you?”
Gareth gritted his teeth and squeezed the blood bag in his hands, more blood dripping onto the rug. Vivienne was going to tan his hide in training. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding.” His eyes widened, and he held his stomach, the blood threatening to come back up. Morgana’s eyes he’d been looking lovingly into these last few weeks were also Her eyes, the same as Oscar’s. His gut clenched. More than a few drops of blood were going to end up all over Mrs. V’s rug if he vomited.
Mariza smiled, pleased at having caused this reaction from him. “And I hear you’re dating my baby sister.” Mariza seductively slid her way over to him. She was inches from his face. Gareth stiffened. He shifted backward, uncomfortable by her closeness. His mind flashed back to his nightmare. The hairs on the back of his neck raised.
�
��I don’t know how you stand to be near her all the time,” Mariza whispered, moving her hands over his bare chest.
He cringed at her touch, but she ignored it.
“Her tasty blood pumping through her veins.” Her lips grazed his ears. “Have you bitten her yet?”
Gareth stiffened even more. Mariza laughed and clapped her hands with delight. “Oh, but you have tried her blood. Delicious, isn’t it? I took a bite out of her once. Seeing as you’ve spilled the contents of the blood bag all over my stepmother’s rug, shall we go upstairs and take a drink from her now?”
Gareth spun around, grabbing Mariza by the throat, crushing her windpipe in his hand as he backed her up against Oscar’s liquor table. “You stay away from her,” he growled.
She smiled as best as she could, taking his fingers and prying them away from her neck with ease. “Oh my.” Her eyes flashed with arousal. “I do like you much better as a vampire. Much better than that snot of a human you used to be.” She moved toward him, licking her lips. Her eyes raked up and down his naked torso. “In better shape, too, I see.”
Gareth shook his head, looking away from her. Blinding hatred coursed through his body at the woman who had turned him and left him to die.
“You know, I did love you all those years ago.” Her voice low and seductive, running her finger down his cheek and under his chin, trying her best to turn him on. But little Gareth wasn’t having anything to do with it.
“You loved my family’s wealth and power.” Gareth swatted her hand away.
“That, too.” She shrugged half-heartedly. “But you were always my favorite. And now look at you. We could still be together, you know. You could be with a real woman.” She moved her mouth closer to his. He could feel her breath on his cheek. His nightmare was coming true. “I bet you haven’t even slept with my frigid sister yet.”
“Wrong again.” He smirked.
Mariza raised an eyebrow. “Well, you must have been her first. Poor Randalf always kept complaining she would never give it up.”
“Jesus, do you ever stop being such a conniving bitch?”
Mariza’s eyes went wide, her mouth gaped.
The Van Wilden Chronicles Box Set Books 1-3 Page 22
