by Tamara White
I rip the corner open with my hands and my fangs pop out as soon as the scent of blood hits the air. I gulp it down greedily, keeping my fingers crossed, this time, it will stay down.
Talon called me out once Heather was gone. “Sorry about that. She’s just gotten really territorial since she found out about the soul-tie,” he explains, his eyes going to his name on my neck. I reach up rubbing my hand over it to stop him staring so intently.
“Oh, it’s alright. You wouldn’t want her to stop stroking your flagpole,” I grin, then slap my hand over my mouth. Fuck! The look on his face sends shivers of fear through my body, but he surprises me by bursting out laughing. It’s a beautiful, deep laugh that comes from the soul. Why is he laughing, and not trying to murder me? “Are you ok?” I tentatively ask, watching for signs he may attack me.
He stops laughing, wiping away a stray tear from his eye. “I’m fine. I’m just feeling a little stupid. Dev told you, didn’t he?”
“Uh, no, actually I heard it all. Nik and I were awake in the bed, so, technically, you told all of us,” I admit, looking down at my feet, ashamed to have been eavesdropping. Though if we hadn’t had overheard him, would he have ever told me or Nik? I lift my head looking him in the eyes, determined to know why he didn’t just tell me. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t just tell us to begin with. Do you really think, I would judge you for taking care of someone?” I tilt my head, waiting for a response but he doesn’t give one. Just stares off silently, lost in his own world.
A minute passes, then he shakes himself out of the thoughts that were swirling in that mind of his, “Let’s finish your training. Ax and Sie will want to spend some time with you afterwards to make sure I’m not going too hard on you,” he says, closing the subject of him and Heather without bothering to answer my question. “Remember what I showed you while we were moving? You need to close your eyes and feel the attack coming. Your sight will inhibit your fight if you rely on it too much.”
I close my eyes and feel the shift of air as he moves behind me, but he doesn’t touch me. I let my beast rise into my mind a little to help me. She senses he’s no longer behind us. He’s standing two feet in front of us. If I move forward or back, he’ll know I can tell where he is. Trusting my beast, I take a step to the side and feel the wind change as he rushes forward. I duck throwing him over my shoulder. I spin around and back up, getting into a position far away from him. I can’t feel him, which means he’s not too close. I start turning in a circle searching with my senses to find him, when my beast screams a warning in my mind. Too late.
We land on the ground a mass of tumbling limbs before he grabs my arms and pins them above my head. “Got ya!”
I groan, opening my eyes to see him hovering over me with a massive grin on his face. This would be a cute moment if my stomach wasn’t gurgling. Talon watches my face pale, and I push him away before rolling to my side and throwing all the blood back up. What’s wrong with me? Why won’t the bagged stuff stay down?
“Em, what’s going on? Did I hit you too hard? Did I hurt you? Emerald?” Talon asks nervously at my side. He’s smoothing my hair out of my face as I heave, the coolness of his skin feeling wonderful against my skin.
I cough up the last of it leaning back into his arms, “You need to call Nik or Dev down here. I need to feed. For some reason, the bagged blood doesn’t stay down, and when it has come up, my beast breaks control and attacks whoever’s closest. You should run and lock me in here for everyone’s safety,” I tell him, pushing away and walking to the changing room on shaky legs. I plan to lock myself in and hopefully the shed will contain my beast.
Talons hands grab me at the door, spinning me to face him “Why didn’t you tell me?! Why did you drink the bag Heather gave you if you knew I wouldn’t stay down? Why not just ask me? Here, take what you need,” he says, thrusting his wrist in my face.
“I can’t. It’s taking all my self-restraint to abide by your wishes and give you some space. Feeding is too sexual for me. You need to call the guys, quickly,” I moan. The scent of his blood is hitting me, I can feel my fangs elongating as the need to suck Talon’s blood into my mouth becomes almost unbearable. I don’t know how much longer I can control myself.
“Fuck! Em do what you’re told and take what you need. Don’t hold your vampire back, it just makes things worse,” he groans, turning me and holding my head against his neck, my fangs grazing his neck causing blood to well up. I try to hold back but his blood is too irresistible. My beast takes over ripping into his neck, enjoying the taste of chocolate as it hits my tongue. I climb up his body, needing to be closer and making us topple to the ground, me still sucking from his neck. He moans, gripping my hair, and thrusting against me as I take my fill.
After what feels like hours, I ease up, my beast sated and content. I pull back to make sure Talon isn’t upset. Or worse dead. I needed a lot more than I thought I would. It’s left Talon a lot paler than he should be, even for a vampire.
“Are you alright?” I ask, looking into his eyes. There’s a new light shining there, making my beast purr in my mind. She knows it was her who put that spark there. I crawl off him giving him some space to get up, and try not to acknowledge the very clear arousal showing in his pants...but damn, it's hard. The length of him is pulling the waistband of his pants, tight. Very tight.
I glance away and see the smirk on his pale face. He loved me checking out his dick. As he gets to his feet, wobbling slightly, I reach for his arm to help keep him steady while he regains his equilibrium. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Can you just go grab me the blood bag Heather brought down for me? It’s under my shirt, over there,” he gestures at his shirt and jacket lying on the side of the training area.
Grabbing the bag, I rush back over to him, watching as he tears into it. Within seconds his color is back and he looks stronger than ever. He finishes and throws the bag to the side before stalking towards me. I back away unsure of his intentions, when my back hits the wall of the shed.
Talon’s green eyes pierce straight into my soul sending shivers through my body. “Next time, don’t hesitate. I may not be with you because of Heather, but I won’t deny you what you need,” he murmurs, reaching up to cup my cheek, softly stroking his thumb over my cheek.
“We’ll go up and find Ax, Sie, Britt and Macie to see if one of them has an idea why you can’t handle the bagged blood. They may also be able to perform a spell to see if you being a cross between two different species has somehow affected the way your body runs. It may just mean you need a fresh supply but either way we need answers sooner rather than later. Until we know for certain though, one of us should always be near you just in case the hunger takes over,” he warns, his tone making it clear I don’t really have an option.
I let out a breathy sigh, my heart racing from being so close to Talon. “You need to back away. I can smell you, feel you, and it’s lighting things up that shouldn’t be on fire when you’re committed to someone else.”
Talon smirks, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he presses closer against my body, “What if I want to make you burn? Feel the passion of a thousand flames, feel my hands on your body, my tongue tracing over every inch of your body? Would you like that? For me to burn your body with my touch? Is that what you want? You have to say it, Em. I can’t do anything if you don’t tell me what you want.”
Feeling his body pressed against mine, in this moment there is nothing I want more than to take him up on his very tempting offer, but I know we have to rein it in. I find the willpower to push him away from me, “As much as I really want to feel your skin on me, to have you buried deep inside me, moaning my name in ecstasy, you need to deal with Heather. You either stay with her and live up to your arrangement, or you can be with me, but that also means Nik and Dev. It’s all or nothing. You won’t get me all to yourself so there is that to consider.” I pause, letting that sink in before adding, “Either way, we can’t do this with you right now. One taste won’t be en
ough. And even if your relationship with Heather is fake, I’m not the type of girl to sleep with another girl’s man. Even though I really, really want to,” I admit with a soft sigh. I slip out from under his arms, determined to get some distance.
“You’re right,” he says from behind me, making me stop and face him unsure of what he’s about to say. “I shouldn’t be doing anything until things with Heather are cleared up. I will talk to her tonight, I promise. I don’t know what will happen, but I don’t think I can continue to stay away from you. I’ve tried but I just need to be near you, with you. I can’t explain it better than that.”
I smile at him, glad he’s going to try and sort himself out. Secretly, I hope that he does ditch that bitch, but I just want him to be happy. If Heather makes him happy, then I won’t stand in the way of that.
My phone rings, shaking me out of my thoughts. I wasn’t going to bring it with me, but I texted Dad’s burner phone before bed last night to let him know that I was ok. He was probably worried sick since he hadn’t heard from me. I thought he would text me back straight away so when he didn’t. I started to worry hence why I brought the phone with me.
“Dad?” I answer, seeing his name flash across the screen. I’m so relieved to know he’s ok.
“Emerald, where are you? I’m in Kansas. Dad sent me to talk to you, he’s in trouble,” Brendan’s voice comes through panicked on other side of the line. It sounds like he’s running. How did he know I was here? Dad must have told him.
Talon’s at my side, when I go to answer, “I’m at the coven its-” The phone is ripped from me, and I watch as Talon presses mute. “Are you nuts? You can’t just invite a wolf into the coven. You’ll have to leave and meet him on the land the King uses for training. No wolves are allowed here without the express permission of our leaders since Sierra was taken as a princess,” he says, looking at me as if I’m stupid.
“Fine, where is it?”
He rattles off the instructions, and I repeat them back to Brendan. He agrees to meet me in thirty minutes to tell me what’s happened to Dad. He doesn’t think the phones are safe to discuss wolves after all the animosity between multiple packs.
I rush to my room, leaving Talon behind not giving a care about what he’s doing. All I care about is finding out what happened to Dad. I quickly get changed, a little concerned when I don’t see Nik or Dev. It would be nice to take someone with me, especially since I don’t know the area too well, but I guess I’ll have to make do.
Rushing out the door, I’m surprised to see Talon waiting for me, dressed in his black workout gear, ready to go. “You honestly didn’t think I would let you go alone, did you? My head would be on a stake if anyone found out I let you go alone. We should tell someone we’re going though. Just in case we run into any trouble with the local wolves.”
“No, I don’t want to scare Brendan away. You can come but only if you promise to stay hidden. If he senses a vampire anywhere near me, he’ll either run or try to kill you,” I tell him, the seriousness of the situation sinking in.
He nods slowly, “Fine, we can go alone, but at the first sign of trouble I’m calling the whole coven. If anything happens to you, Sierra and Axel will torture me to death. They only just got you back, it would kill them to lose you again,” he murmurs softly.
I hesitate, feeling horrible that I’m not telling them about leaving but it’s my Dad. I can’t wait. Talon’s coming with me so I doubt anything will happen to me, though it feels nice knowing if something did, people would care.
In the pack, Dad was the only one who cared what happened to me. Now I have Britt, Nik, Dev, my mother and father. Maybe even Talon. His feelings are still hard to determine, but I know there’s a lot of lust there.
“Do you want to take your car or my bike?” Talon asks as we reach the garage. I debate on it before deciding we might bring Brendan back with us, so it makes better sense to take my car.
“We’ll take the car this time, though I look forward to seeing your bike,” I grin at him, loving the idea of having my arms wrapped around him as we ride through the night.
He shakes his head at my playfulness and we run through the coven as quickly as we can, reaching the garage without interruption. He walks straight to my car and climbs into the passenger side, not even trying to drive. That’s a good boy, no one drives this baby but me.
Waiting for Brendan out here, I can’t help but glance back to where I saw Talon hide.
Stubborn bastard wouldn’t let me meet my brother by myself, so I compromised by letting him come along with me, as long as he hid somewhere no one would find him. As much as I wish Britt, Nik, or Dev, was here too, time wasn’t on my side. Brendan’s call left me absolutely terrified for Dad.
Talon’s voice in my ear makes me jump a mile into the air, “Are you sure he’ll show up?”
I huff, rubbing my hands against my arms in an effort to pretend I wasn’t frightened. “Yes, he will. He loves Dad as much as I do and he wouldn’t call to tell me we need to talk about him if it wasn’t bad. Trust me, he’ll be here. Now go hide. He won’t show up if he knows you’re here,” I say, shooing him back into the bushes.
Another ten minutes goes by as I wait for Brendan. I start to doubt he’ll show up and just as I’m about to call Talon to go home, I hear them. My heart starts racing at the sound of wolves surrounding me. What’s going on?
Brendan and Xander emerge from the trees, the only ones who haven’t shifted. Six wolves surround me, I recognize a few, but it begs the question, what are they doing here? “What’s going on?” I ask Brendan.
“Oh, Emerald, did you really think that after we found out what you are, we wouldn’t hunt you down? he asks, the condescension dripping from his voice.
Xander moves drawing my gaze, “Your ‘Dad,’ gave you up as soon as the council told him to. He knew you needed to be exterminated and sent us here to do what he couldn’t,” he gloats, a sick smile on his face.
Fucking asshole! I know Dad would never tell them to kill me. Why would he have sent me away to begin with if that was his plan all along?
“What are you talking about? Where’s Dad?” I ask, buying time and trying my hardest not to look over where Talon is hidden. I’ve got all my fingers crossed that’s he’s already called for back-up but even so I think the two of us can take them on if it comes to it.
Brendan’s face goes red with rage, “Don’t fucking pretend you care. You’re not even his daughter, you’re an abomination! I can’t believe he let you fucking live this long! He should have cut your head off the moment you came back to life!”
I gasp at the anger in his voice. Sure, we weren’t close, but I didn’t think he’d react this way. “Brendan, please calm down. I didn’t even know until the day I left the pack. I’m still the same person I was before,” I soothe, trying to keep a fight from breaking out.
I watch Brendan’s eyes, flashing with sympathy before hardening again. Xander however has other plans. “You think some sweet words will save you? We’re here to finish off the job your ‘father’ should have,” he sneers, emphasizing the word.
That’s it. The last thread of control on my beast snaps and I lunge at him, claws growing from hands as I grab him around the throat. Brendan reacts, ripping me off him and sends me stumbling back a few steps but my rage is still pulsing through my body.
A rustle of leaves has a wolf landing at Xanders feet, unconscious. All the others immediately tense as Talon waltzes from his hiding place, brushing off his hands as if he didn’t just casually throw a shifter. “If you touch her, then you’ll end up like your friend there. Dead, neck snapped. At least it was quick I guess. But dead just the same. Now I’m going to ask you this very, very nicely. Leave our territory and don’t come back. I’ve called our Queen and the local witches. They’ll be here any moment,” Talon grins cockily when their faces pale.
It takes a moment, but my mind catches up, “The pack doesn’t know you’re here, do they?” I ask, watchin
g as Xander and Brendan shuffle their feet awkwardly before becoming stoic again.
“I knew it! They don’t know! I can’t believe you! Are you an idiot? Killing me wouldn’t have solved a problem, it would have started a war! Do you know who I am? I’m the freaking vampire princess and after your actions today, I’ll end up being your Alpha.” I inform them, astounded at their stupidity.
“Fuck you, cross breed! I can’t believe I fucked something as filthy as you!” Xander shouts at me, shocking me at how childish he sounds.
Talon has been silent at my side, but I sense the shift in him as soon as the words leave Xander’s mouth. One minute he’s there, the next he’s pounding into Xander’s face. The first punch sets off everyone around us, and I’m attacked from all sides.
Using my newfound speed, I take most of them down quickly, until I’m left watching Talon beat Xander as my brother tries to pull him off. Part of me wants to let him beat into Xander, knowing he deserves it for being so crude, but the bigger person in me is telling me to stop it. Sighing, I go over and push Brendan away, while I grab Talon gently, pulling him off Xander’s beaten body.
He willingly backs off, panting as he watches Xander, his vampire in complete control. “You’re lucky I don’t fucking kill you!” Talon growls.
I stroke his back, pulling him further away, “Hey, it’s ok. Everything’s all good. Calm down, he’s just a douche who can’t keep his mouth shut,” I say, coaxing him back a few more steps.