by Juniper Hart
“I can try,” he agreed slowly.
He needed to even the score between them, but he could not imagine what Lara could possibly want from Kyla. He knew her well enough to know that it meant trouble but if it would get her out of their lives for good, it might be worth the heartache.
“Tell me what you need from her,” he urged when Lara didn’t respond immediately. “And if I can do it, I will.”
Her smile widened and this time, her eyes sparkled.
“I’m glad to hear that,” she chirped. “Because I need her to make me human again.”
15
The Previous Night
Lara made it back to the States and crept into her room before Franz noticed she had returned. She had no doubt that he had noticed her missing, but she had hoped to placate him before he went in search of her again. She would return to Cape Town again that night, but she needed to garner as much energy as she could before she did.
After a few hours, she was feeling strong enough to move but she dared not leave. She feared that Franz would sense her distress, which only seemed to mount with each passing moment.
I’ll have to confront him sooner or later, she thought but she knew she was putting it off.
She had gone above and beyond for Pascal, killing the target he had wanted dead, but for what reason? He had all but laughed her out of his house.
I was wrong about him? she thought grimly. Did I wait too long to contact him?
She had been so young in Souli, so inexperienced in the ways of the world. It was not until she had been turned into a vampire that she began to understand the emotions she was born to feel, senses that would never materialize because of her immortal status. The more time that went by, the more Lara realized that she had been robbed of the emotions which only mortals felt in such depth.
I would have been so much happier if I had just died with my mother and the other women on that cliff that night, she thought miserably. Why didn’t Franz just let us all die?
It was not until Franz stormed into her bed chambers in the late afternoon that she finally pulled herself up.
“Where the hell have you been?” he growled, striding to meet her side. “What have I told you about disappearing?”
“Disappearing?” she scoffed. “I am not your pet, Franz. I am free to come and go as I please.”
Franz leaned over the bed and grabbed her by the collar of her night shirt, yanking her upward to glower in her face.
“I was worried sick about you! I had half the tribe out looking for you!”
Yeah, right, Lara thought coldly. God forbid he looks like he can’t control his own house.
He trailed off and grunted when he saw the disinterest on her face. Abruptly, he released her and spun around to pace the bedroom.
“What were you thinking?” Franz snapped. “And why won’t you come to sleep in our room anymore?”
“I need my space,” she muttered, shooting her eyes away, lest he read more in her expression than she wanted.
“Space?” he echoed. “You have everything you have ever wanted, Lara, and still you act like you’re miserable.”
“Maybe I am,” she shot back. “Maybe I don’t want to do this anymore, Franz! You never ask me how I feel! What I want to do!”
“Bloody hell,” Franz barked, freezing to glower at her. “What the hell has gotten into you?”
“I want out!”
“Whatever crisis this is you’re having, I suggest that you get a handle on it. Your erratic behavior is casting suspicion on our people! All it takes is a few children to start rumors about us! We have enough problems without you losing it.”
Lara laughed coldly.
“Our people?” she echoed. “We are our people. We are illegally turned vampires who are barely tolerated by the realm and Monarchy because no one knows who is responsible for turning us. Or have you forgotten that? We have no right to be here, Franz, no matter how you spin it or how much you kiss Kieran’s ass. We are outcasts!”
His mouth pulled into a defiant line as he pondered her outburst. Lara knew how he despised being reminded that they weren’t real vampires, not like the originals. She used it to slap him in the face, relishing the little edge of power it gave her over him.
“Watch it, Lara…” he warned. “Don’t say something you’re going to regret.”
“There are no more like us,” Lara continued, hopping from her bed and sauntering toward the wardrobe to find something to wear. “I wouldn’t concern yourself with Monarchy backlash, Franz. After all, what else do they expect from us? We can’t be like them because we don’t have a pure bloodline.”
“Stop it!” Franz hissed. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you.”
“Don’t you? Don’t you know how I came to be here, like this?”
Shocked, Franz stared at Lara, mouth agape.
“Again, you’re bringing this up? Get over yourself, Lara, before I make you get over it.”
“I wish you would,” she hissed, whipping around to glare at him. “That’s all I want—to be done with all of this.”
Franz’s mouth fell open, his usually fair complexion almost opaque now as he stared at her.
Realizing that Franz was finally at a loss for words, Lara seized the opportunity to leave before he could stop or follow her. Suddenly it seemed unimportant that Pascal had acted so uncouth toward her. Anything had to be better than succumbing to a life of eternal nothingness. She wanted to feel again. Lara longed for the sun on her face and passion in her veins.
There is a reason that things have played out as they have, she mused. It has nothing to do with Pascal and everything to do with that beautiful witch. She’s the answer to my problems, not Pascal. He was merely the vessel. She is the medium.
And with that, Lara made her way back toward the coast to fly her way back to Cape Town. This time, she had no doubt that she would make it.
Franz stormed from the room, his face red and flushed as he put as much distance as possible between himself and Lara.
Ungrateful wench. She deserves to die. I wasted my powers turning her and everyone else, Franz thought angrily.
He did not stop until he slammed open the door to his office and planted himself behind the majestic pine desk where he struggled to keep his composure.
Then, his mind slowly went back to the day it had all come to fruition and how he had come to be so unappreciated.
He watched in horror as his best friend was wrenched from his house, the soldiers beating him about the head and shoulders, laughing.
“Not so powerful now, are you, Souloite?” they taunted as blood poured from Declan’s ears.
Franz stood back in the shadows of the forest, barely breathing. He resisted the urge to help his people. The act would result in certain death or capture.
The Turks were ruthless, stabbing at everyone in their midst without regard for gender or age. Lines of men and women stood broken in shackles, row upon row of his neighbors and friends.
Franz could not bear to watch anymore but before he could shift his eyes and flee into the sanctuary of the woods, he saw the women, sauntering toward the cliffs as if possessed by another being entirely. They did not resemble the women he had known his whole life.
Stealthily, Franz stole along the tree line, keeping them in view. Branches scratched at his handsome face indiscriminately and when he finally reached the cliffs, it was too late. He stared in paralyzing shock as they disappeared over the sides, one by one. The soldiers were momentarily stunned at the grotesque display of the village women sweeping off to their deaths in the middle of song and dance.
Franz’s hand flew to his mouth. He heard Lara’s anguished screams, but he had already begun to descend the side of the mountain, toward the furious waters below, hoping to save whatever souls he might find below.
The soldiers would capture whoever they came across, he knew. She would suffer a fate worse than death at their hands. The terrifying image of the women falling
replayed over and over in Franz’s head as he scurried down the treacherous mountainside toward the water. In his haste, he ventured into a swarm of bats, confused by the commotion, their eyes glowing in the darkness.
He reached up too late to shoo them from his face. As they descended upon him, wings fluttering around him, he thought he saw a set of glowing human eyes emerge from their depths, a figure in a dark shroud approaching, but Franz fell unconscious, attacked by the swarm of irate nocturnal beings.
When he regained his sight, he was no longer afraid.
Silence enveloped him and Franz gazed about with new eyes. Slowly, he ventured to his feet and found he was surprisingly agile.
As if he had not been interrupted, he continued toward the Ionian Sea. He knew he was too late to find his family alive but with unusual keenness, he made his way to the jagged rock formations below. The shore was littered with dozens of bodies but his eyes sought out Lara amongst the corpses as if she called.
Seeming to fly above the water, he was at her side, touching her delicate face as she clung to life, saved only by the bodies of the others before her. He leaned over her sweet face but felt nothing, as if all his emotion had been drained from his body.
Suddenly, Lara jerked upward and began to scream, her shrill wails echoing pitifully against the rocks. Even then, Franz mustered no emotion. He stared down at the young woman and uttered some words of comfort but even to his own ears, the words sounded hollow, empty.
“Shh,” he told her. “You are safe now. You are safe.”
As if possessed by an entity unseen, Franz’s lips made his way to the small of Lara’s throat, baring his teeth. He stabbed into her tender skin without remorse, acting on instinct rather than emotion, knowing that he was required to save her and this was the only way.
It was not until days later, when the aversion to sunlight and the lust for blood fully kicked in, that Franz understood what he had become.
His lips tightened and he turned to look out the window, his shoulders rigid.
I sacrificed so much for her and the others, he thought furiously. And I am never thanked. That’s all going to change. Going forward, Lara is going to show her gratitude, even if it kills her.
16
Present Day
Pascal could read the dubiousness in Kyla’s face as she stared at Lara, but the vampire held her gaze evenly.
“Do you want to elaborate on this?” Kyla asked dully. “Because I gotta say, I’ve never been asked something like this before.”
Lara’s chin quivered slightly and she nodded slowly.
“I’ll do my best to explain it,” she murmured. “But I don’t know if you’ll understand.”
“I’ll do my best to understand,” Kyla intoned, shooting Pascal a wary look. He shrugged helplessly. He wasn’t sure if he was dealing with a sane being here but he was willing to bring Kyla in to help him through this.
“I…I can’t feel anything,” Lara explained. “The only emotion I can feel is despair, a deep pit of unfillable emptiness. Sometimes, I feel like my sanity is starting to slip away.”
Pascal darted his eyes away guiltily, wondering if she had somehow read his thoughts.
“I know you think I’m crazy, Cal,” Lara went on, giving Kyla an apologetic sigh. “Especially since we come from the same place.”
“What place is that?” Kyla asked suspiciously. Pascal glowered at her, but Kyla didn’t seem to notice his warning look.
This is what happens when Franz tries to alienate the rest of the world, Pascal thought. The vampires in his care are all falling apart.
He didn’t dare to think about how Franz would respond if Kyla was able to honor Lara’s request.
Would Franz seek revenge on Kyla?
He didn’t know why the thought hadn’t occurred to him before but as he opened his mouth to explain his concerns, Lara went on.
“We were born mortals,” Lara said slowly, averting her gaze from Pascal’s face.
“What?” Kyla gasped. “You were turned?”
“That’s not really important,” Pascal started to say but Lara rushed on.
“We were and I’ve never been the same since.”
Kyla looked at Pascal in disbelief.
“Do you feel the same way?”
“Can I talk to you for a second?” Pascal demanded, grabbing Kyla by the arm and moving her toward the bedroom. “Don’t move, Lara.”
Lara didn’t respond and Pascal closed them both into the bedroom, shaking his head.
“She’s promising to leave us alone if you do this,” he sighed. “And I wouldn’t have asked this of you if I could think of another way out of this.”
There was a sudden knock on the door and Lara called out.
“I’ve made a mistake,” she cried. “I apologize. You won’t see me again. I shouldn’t have intercepted your lives. You’re happy here—”
Kyla threw open the door and shook her head.
“No, don’t go,” Kyla insisted. “I…I think I can do what you’re asking.”
“No, I think I messed up,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry.”
Immediately, Pascal was on his feet, stopping her.
“No,” he said. “No, I don’t think you believe you made a mistake. I want you to explain what you mean because I don’t feel the same way.”
“Actually, maybe we do need one more minute,” Kyla said, closing the door in Lara’s face again. “Don’t go anywhere.”
She turned and glared at Pascal.
“Why don’t you let her say her piece?” she muttered, dropping her back against the door. “She’s very conflicted.”
“I can see that, but I don’t know how she can be. We owe everything to Franz.”
“Franz is the one who turned you?” Kyla pressed.
“Yes and two days ago, Lara wanted me to kill him.”
Kyla blinked in surprise.
“She’s all over the place. She was talking about how she can’t feel… I don’t know what to make of her.”
“Or maybe you just feel like this is all hitting you a little too close to home,” Kyla said gently. Pascal started to shake his head but with less vehemence than there had been before.
“Don’t put this on me,” he growled. “This is Lara’s sideshow.”
“Oh yeah?”
She smirked and the expression fueled whatever it was burning inside him. Without warning, he pulled her into his arms.
“I don’t have a problem with feeling,” he growled, driving her back against the bedroom door. Kyla’s eyes widened in surprise. He grabbed the back of her neck and forced his mouth onto hers, the action catching her completely off guard. She tried to struggle backward but he held her tightly, his hard kiss softening.
Kyla’s heart pounded, her knees buckling slightly.
“Cal,” she gasped, attempting to withdraw, but he held fast and continued to explore her mouth with his hot tongue. When his teeth gently bit at her own tongue, Pascal instantly recognized the danger of their embrace. A tug pulled at his gums but he knew he wasn’t going to bite her. He had more control than that.
“Can you feel this?” he hissed, pressing his body against her. “Because I sure as hell can.”
Kyla could only sigh in response. Her hands reached out to encircle his back. She could feel the muscles rippling beneath the dark t-shirt he wore. Closer he moved and his hardness pushed against her crotch.
His hands moved lower, one remaining on her arm as if he feared that she would flee upon release. He cupped her small buttocks in one large hand, massaging them gently, and her hips began to circle slowly, maneuvering the form of his hardness against her thin, cotton pants. His hand followed her rhythm. He dropped his hand from her shoulder now, lifting her shirt to touch her rigid nipples.
His fingers were tracing over her taut breasts but before Kyla could succumb to temptation, he spun her around, bending her over the bed. She landed face first into the pillows, her track pants around her ankles.
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br /> Before she could protest any argument that might have been made, a soft, velvety tongue plunged into her. A moan escaped her lips as Pascal explored her softness. His mouth settled on her throbbing button and he latched, the tip of his tongue flicking gently. Kyla smothered her screams in the pillows. The fact that Lara was only a few feet away only added fuel to their passion. Her body tightened as she reached the ecstatic heights of climax.
Pascal lapped at her and Kyla tried to turn over, but he held her in place, one hand slipping his own pants just low enough to free his erection. Without a word, he jammed himself into her and this time, Kyla could not suppress her cries. She writhed beneath him, a flurry of pleasure and pain, bucking backward against him.
She felt herself begin to release again as Pascal grabbed her curvaceous waist, holding them both in place until he was as sated as she.
“Like I was saying,” Pascal purred hotly into her ear, “I have no problem with feeling.”
“Yeah, I sensed that,” she muttered. “Let’s go see what your girlfriend wants to do.”
He choked and coughed, swallowing a bewildered smile. Then he looked to the heavens as if wondering why the gods were mocking him.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” he grumbled but Kyla was already up and dressing herself, striding toward the door.
“Let’s do this, Lara,” she told the girl firmly. “Let’s make you human again, if that’s what you want to do.”
Lara eyed the pair warily, her cheeks slightly flushed as if she had been embarrassed by their lovemaking, but she made no comment. Excitement filled her face as she looked to Kyla.
“Really?” she asked with elation. “You know how to do it?”
Kyla nodded and folded her arms over her ample chest.
“Yes,” she replied. “But I’ll have to kill you to do it.”
17
“Wait, what?” Pascal choked. “What the hell are you talking about?”