by Renee Rose
They fight over fries and sauce packets for a full ten minutes before I clear my throat.
“Right, lass.” Declan leans forward. The three stuffed into seats across from me. The better to steal each other’s food, I guess. “Your pack.”
“Shhh,” Laurie cautions.
“Sorry,” Declan says in an exaggerated whisper. “We got your file from the auction. Traced the address, but it was a fake.”
I knew that. Xavier would cover my tracks better than that.
“So we asked the shifter slavers. Real nasty fellows, them. They didn’t want to tell us anything, but we did some digging, and found your birth certificate. Selene Black of the Black Pine pack.” He slaps down a document. I zero in on my parent’s names.
I can’t believe it. Lucius was right, these guys are good.
“From there it was easy,” Parker continues. “The human news caught the massacre. A nearby pack had to come in and clean up--buy off the coroner and take possession of the bodies. Passed it off as a serial killer. Luckily there weren’t too many fang marks to pass off as needle tracks or whatever. The leech who did in your pack was in a hurry, and sloppy. Did feed, left ‘em where they lay.”
“Y-you okay?” Laurie asks, putting out a hand close to mine without actually touching me.
“Yes,” I find my voice. “I knew that. I have a picture of the clubhouse from...after.”
“Right,” Declan said after a long pause. “Well, we thought we’d spread out in a wider radius. Interview more packs in the nearby area, see if anyone knew what happened.”
“Yeah. Sounds good.” I cover my hand with my mouth.
“I’m s-s-sorry for your l-l-loss,” Laurie stutters softly.
I jerk my head. “It was a long time ago. Do you think…” I swallow. “Do you think you could ask around to find out what happened to my family, too?” I tell them the date my family died. Laurie looks even more stricken. Declan glares at the table.
“Do you remember anything from that night?” Parker asks.
A flash of pain sears my temple. “No,” I rub my head. “Nothing. It must have been traumatic. I usually get a headache when I try to remember.”
Declan and Parker exchange looks.
“Do…” I rally before I lose my nerve. “do you think you can find out the vampire who did this?”
“I don’t know, lass,” Declan says grimly, a muscle clenched in his jaw. “But we’re gonna try.”
Lucius
The air of my crypt thickens as night falls. The magic that makes me what I am tingles along my body, waking my senses. I open my eyes. The night stretches before me, filled with delicious possibility. I have a pet to catch and punish, or reward.
I taste the air as I leave my crypt.
I fully expect Selene has run away. No worries. I will find her. I won’t hurt her--I would never harm the little wolf, but I’m not finished with her yet.
I stop when I catch her fresh scent. Selene’s room stands open, but she’s still here, somewhere in the house. After all that’s come between us, she didn’t run.
“Pet,” I call, stalking barefoot across the carpet towards the telltale sounds. She’s on the Sybian, her hands and feet slipped through the bonds.
Oh fuck. Did it not release her? I hasten to her side. “Were you here all day?”
“No.” She gives me a tired smile. “I left when the cuffs unlocked, but I wanted to be back before you woke. I wanted you to find me like this.”
“Why, pet?” I stroke down her bare back. She’s a miracle. I’ve never known anyone like her, not in two thousand years.
“I wanted to please you,” she whispers, closing her eyes and pushing into my hand. She’s in that sweet space after a scene, when her resistance has blown away.
“Oh, pet,” I stroke back her sweaty hair. “You have. You do.”
She whimpers as I lift her off the dildos. As I carry her into the bathroom she twines her arms around my shoulders, settling close until I coax her into a warm bath.
“I take it that you no longer wish to kill me.”
“Jury’s still out.” The corners of her mouth tip up. “I talked to Declan and friends. They’re looking for my pack. They told me they’d help me, and I believe them. I think I can trust them.”
“You can. They help shifters of all sorts, and hate anyone who threatens the weak.” My mouth twists is self-derision. “They owe me a debt, otherwise they’d never work for me.”
“That’s not true,” she surprises me. “They spoke highly of you. Said you were okay...for a leech.”
I chuckle and hold a bottle of water to her lips.
Her throat works, her eyes on my face as she drinks. When she’s done, she lets her head fall back with a sigh. “So I guess we have a truce?”
“Truce,” I agree. “Now hush and let me take care of you.” She closes her eyes and I wash her, massaging her feet, her calves, her toes. She’s limp and pliant when I’m done with her, her skin pink from the bath. I slide a hand down her inner thigh and she closes her legs, tucking away from me with a whimper.
“Poor pussy,” I croon and give her a few painkillers. Her shifter healing has kicked in, healing her labia of all but some residual puffiness, but I don’t want her feeling any pain. She lays back, lets me wash her hair.
When I lean close, her lips part, her throat working.
“Shhh,” I tell her. “Just be quiet.”
She shakes her head.
“Pet. Obey me.”
“I watched the sunset,” she whispers, her throat hoarse. She sits up, capturing my hand. “It started with a glow. A yellow light on the mountains. The sky had already turned navy blue…”
I sit frozen as Selene describes the dawn, every minute.
When she’s done, she licks her lips. “Did I do all right?”
I blink. “Pet. That was perfect.”
Selene
I wake to cool air blowing across my face. Beside me, a giant form breaks his stillness to stroke the hair back from my face.
“Pet. You’re awake.”
“You’re still here.
“Where else would I be?” He keeps playing with my hair, spreading it over my shoulder, gathering it in his fist. He’s obsessed with it. “You feeling all right?”
“Not dead yet.”
We’re together, alone. The room is familiar. The master bedroom, on the giant king bed across from the fireplace where I was trapped.
I guess he’s forgiven me for tearing apart his bedroom.
I twine my legs with his.
“Pet, no. You’re sore.”
I take his hand and place it on my lower belly. “I’m ready. I want it.”
Lucius slides his hand lower, eyes glittering. “You know, you’re not really submissive.”
“I told you that.” I roll my eyes, my breath coming in pants.
“You’ve always been too brave for your own good. Even when you kneel for me, you show no fear.”
I snort. “I’ve always been afraid of you. I’m not dumb.”
He pinches my nipples. The pain rings through my body, sets my senses singing. I hook my bare leg around his hips, coaxing him closer, well aware that I can’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do.
“I want this.”
“So brazen.” His lips nuzzle my jaw. I turn my head, chasing his kiss. He withholds it, dragging his lips over my face while he pins me with his heavy body, forcing me to accept his dominance. When he finally presses his mouth against mine, I let out a triumphant growl.
He finishes the kiss, gazing at me with satisfaction while his cock pokes my thigh, a hard, distracting length.
“You’re an alpha, Selene. In any pack you would be at the top.”
I flinch at the mention of a pack. He reads my dismay because he slides his hand up my front. “Pet, I didn’t mean--”
“It’s okay,” I interrupt. “I know what you meant. I’m not in a pack, now.”
“No. You’re here, w
ith me.”
“The home of the Vampire King.”
“In bed with a monster.”
I crane my neck to find his ear. I can’t fight his pull, not any more. “There’s no place I’d rather be.”
With a growl of his own, he grabs my wrists, pinning them beside my hips as he works his way down.
“Be still,” he orders when he reaches my pussy, his hot breath blowing over my shaved skin, making me try to wriggle out of reach.
His fangs scrape my bare labia, and I shiver at how dangerous he is.
“My pet, so sweet, so tempting.” He nuzzles my inner thigh. “Do you know there’s an artery, right here?” His tongue swirls over sensitive skin, followed by his nipping teeth. “Delicious. A veritable buffet, right here.”
Do it. Bite me. I want to beg, but my pussy must look too juicy and appetizing because he turns his head and rewards me with a long lick. I’ve healed from the electric play the night before, but can’t suppress a whimper as he lashes my labia with his tongue, driving me to the peak. His hands push apart my legs as mine fist in the sheets.
“Beg me before you come,” he orders and I immediately start babbling.
“Please..sir, Lucius…”
“Come. Now.” He accompanies his order with two fingers pressing on my g-spot, and I come hard enough to crack in two.
I’m still gasping as he rises over me, grasps my wrists again and fills me. I’ve been stretched by his fingers and diloes, but nothing prepares me for the feel of his cock: Hard. Dominating. Perfect. My eyes water, it’s so beautiful.
“Pet,” he rasps, rocking gently, surging into me as my orgasm builds again.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“Fuck,” he mutters, eyes roving over my face. “So sweet.” His hips roll against mine, sending his cock deeper. “You gonna come for me?”
“Yes--”
“Yes?”
“Yes, please, sir, may I come?”
“Good girl.” He speeds his thrusts and my legs start shaking. “Come, beautiful. Come for me.”
I cry out, head flying back as his cock rams my cervix. It’s too much, it’s not enough, it’s just the way I like it. My nipples are chiseled points, rubbing against his firm chest as he gathers me close. His fangs nip my ear, a little pinch I feel in my pussy. He bites harder, sharp enough to break skin. “Mmmm,” he murmurs, licking my ear lobe. I come harder knowing he’s licking my blood, tasting me.
Lucius
My she-wolf howls under me, her pussy clenching me like a vise. The drop of her blood blooms on my tongue as I finish inside her. I reach between us, grazing her clit until she jerks hard, her eyes fluttering through her final climax. I lick my lips and pull out, admiring the glazed pink of her poor battered pussy. Her taste is addictive. I’ve never known anything so sweet.
I lounge beside her, trailing my fingers over her face, between her breasts, I could lie here forever, watching her.
But as always, my pet must push it.
Her arms slip around my shoulders and her mouth nuzzles my ear. “Bite me,” she whispers. “I want to feel it.”
I draw my head back to study her face. “It might hurt, at first.”
She meets my eyes, fearless as always. “I can take the pain.”
“Yes, I know you can.” I lift off of her, signalling for her to stay still as I settle between her legs. “I’ll make it good for you,” I promise, working down her body. I penetrate her with my fingers, working her slowly to a peak. She responds as she always does, fighting the rising pleasure, making me wring it out of her. As she gasps through her climax, I flip her over and drive inside her tight pussy. Her inner muscles are hot and grasping, pulsing with her orgasm, squeezing me like a fist. I spear her, gathering her in my arms and bowing her body back. One orgasm ends and another begins, tearing a cry from my beautiful pet’s chest. I wrap an arm around her middle, bracing and holding her up as I take her from behind. My free hand sweeps the hair away from her neck.
“Be still,” I tell her, pinning her with a strong thrust. I grasp her neck, forcing her head to the side. “This will hurt a bit.” My head whips to the opposite side, my fangs pierce her sweet skin. A pinch as I penetrate her, the promised painful moment. Her pussy clenches. I take a strong pull, pleasure blooming in my brain as the sweet rush of blood hits my tongue. Selene moans, and my fangs pump a pleasure serum into her body.
She comes, screaming my name, as I pierce her over and over with my fangs and my cock.
When it’s over, I clean her off with a wet cloth. I make her drink a glass of water and take another Advil. I don’t want her to feel the merest hint of discomfort. Unless I’m not torturing her.
The bed dips under my weight, and she rolls down the slope into me. I kiss her sweaty temple. “How are you feeling?”
She opens her eyes. “I’m not dead yet.”
I stroke her neck. “Are you sure?” I turn her jaw this way and that, examining the bite marks I left on her neck.
“Werewolves mark each other when they mate,” she murmurs.
“Do you wish these were mating marks?”
“No.” Her body hardens.
“You sure? Werewolves mate for life.”
She turns her face away, giving me her profile. “I’m not interested in a mate. Ever.”
I cup her chin, drawing her back to me. “You’re so young, pet. You don’t know what you want.”
“I don’t want a mate. I don’t want to risk…”
“Losing them?”
She’s quiet.
“We all die,” I remind her.
“Except you,” she mutters darkly.
“Except me. But even I could choose to face the dawn.”
That gets her attention. “Would you? One day?”
“If I ever loved someone beyond reason. Beyond my own good sense, and they were mortal, then yes. When they died, I would face the dawn.”
A furrow appears between her brows and I press my fingers to it, working to smooth it away.
“So, you see, you and I are the same. We both refuse to give into love. Do you know why?”
“Because we are incapable of being with someone?”
“No,” I tell her what she already knows. “Because we love too deeply and too much.”
She snuggles into me. “That’s why I like this.”
“Why, pet, I’m flattered. You like me?”
“No, not you. This.” She presses into me. “Snuggling. With a vampire king.”
“I can’t ever let you leave here. My reputation won’t live it down.”
“You’re going to kill me, remember?” she yawns. “Or I’ll kill you.”
“You speak of life and death so lightly pet.”
“I’m ready.”
“You’re young,” I remind her. “You shouldn’t throw your life away.”
“Are you lecturing me?” her eyes widen.
“Yes. You’re wasting yourself on a stupid cause.”
“It’s not a stupid cause.”
“Assassinating me? Foolhardy and impossible.”
“Well, you would say that,” she grumbles. “You don’t want to be assassinated.”
“Not only that,” I say, and I’m surprised to find it’s the truth. “ I don’t think someone as young and lovely as you should waste her life obsessed with me.”
She gives me a look. “Obsessed, huh?”
I squeeze the muscles in her hands and arms. “You’ve fought before. Did you imagine fighting me?”
“Yes,” she answers, tense.
“Don’t worry pet. I won’t question you anymore.”
“You don’t want to know why?”
“I’ve lived a long time. I’ve committed any number of abominations.” I turn her to her side so I can spoon her. “You have a very human view of justice. Does the lion regret killing the gazelle? This is the law of nature. Survival.”
“And if a lion kills senselessly, needlessly, should it die?”
“If it is stronger than its prey, than no. It has a right to kill.”
“Is that what you think? You have a right to kill? Where is your humanity?”
“It bled out with my life when the vampire virus took over.”
She stills. “So you don’t have a sense of morality.”
“I do, pet. I have been very moral, especially when compared with my colleagues.”
“Would Georgianna say you’re moral?”
I hide a smile. Selene’s obsession with my past love is more telling than she knows. My little pet has feelings for me. “She might. I treated her well. I know you have no reason to believe me--”
“I believe you,” she contradicts me softly and looks me in the eyes. No other creature looks me in the eyes like Selene does. Her lack of fear isn’t bravado. She wants to look at me, so she does. She might be the only creature who truly sees me. “You treat me well,” she says. “So I can believe you showed kindness to her.”
“Until she betrayed me. I killed her. She tried to kill me, and I… well, I’m the bigger predator.”
“You loved her.”
“Yes. And I believe she loved me.”
“What?”
“A vampire in love, is that so impossible?” I tease.
A little shake of her head. “She loved you and she tried to kill you? Why?”
My heart sinks, remembering. “Because, Selene, her maker told her to.”
“Her maker?”
“He was a vampire like me, old, powerful. He brought her to life. Loved her, I thought, like a daughter. But now I know he wanted more from her.”
Selene wrinkles her nose. “Eww.”
“Yes. It’s a tricky relationship, the bond between sire and sired, and he took advantage. He ordered her to kill me, and I doubt she thought to say no.” My sigh gusts through Selene’s hair. “I’ve never told anyone this.”
“Why are you telling me?”
