Beyond the Veil (Vampires of Velum Mortis Book 1)

by Stephanie Summers

  “You dreamt of me?”

  A guttural growl tore through the night, cutting him off before he could answer.

  I jumped to my feet, as did the vampire. We both looked out into the forest, the crunching of leaves alerting us further that we weren’t alone. But what was stalking us in the dark? It wasn’t uncommon to hear tales of mountain lions or bears in the area, though it didn’t sound like either of those things.

  “What the hell was that?” I whispered, unable to contain my words.

  “Dogs,” the vampire said, disgust lingering on the word as it exited his mouth. “At least three, maybe four.”

  “Dogs? I’ve never heard a dog that sounded like that.”

  “You’ve likely never encountered this particular breed. Come on, back to back,” he commanded.

  I didn’t hesitate. With the cave cutting off danger from that direction, it was a smart move that would prevent anything from sneaking up on us. I didn’t really trust the vampire, but what other choice did I have in that moment than to work together with him? Both of our lives counted on our cooperation.

  “They’ll be after me. If it gets to be too intense, you run. Do you understand?”

  I wasn’t a runner, but the echoing of growls that had given way to spine-tingling howling had me considering it as I drew my sword from its sheath.

  Movement just in front of me caught my eye. The creature, nearly twice the size of a wolf, emerged through a large bush, trampling it to the ground as it moved. Air rushed into my lungs as I gasped at the sight and size of it. I tried to exhale but couldn’t.

  Werewolf, I thought to myself. I’d heard of their kind before and had even been coached on how to take one out but seeing one face-to-face was like nothing I could ever have imagined. Thankfully the silver-tipped sword I carried was not a friend of the supernatural, and it would wound the beast the same way it did a vampire.

  The wolf stared directly into my eyes as it took a step forward, baring its fangs as a low growl rumbled in its throat. Its eyes, pools of liquid amber, swirled and glowed under the bright light of the moon. I stood strong, not willing to give it the satisfaction of my fear.

  It looked past me, toward the vampire, before settling its gaze back on me, and what it did next was unlike anything I’d been told about werewolves. The damn thing shook its head and stepped to the side, focusing on the vampire as if it were signaling that I wasn’t its target.

  Werewolves were supposed to be rage-driven beasts with no control, baring little resemblance to their human counterparts, but he had said they’d be after him and to just run if necessary. Maybe he was right.

  Maybe this was the chance I could take to get away from him and get out of taking him to his people.

  Turning my head slowly, two other wolves surrounded us, bringing the total to three.

  The one closest to me continued to inch its way forward, branches littering the ground, all snapped beneath its large paws.

  “What do we do here?” I asked. “They’re definitely after you.”

  “I can handle them. They don’t know who I am, only that I’m a vampire. Just get yourself away. I’ll catch up with you.”

  That was good enough for me. Not that I wouldn’t defend myself if necessary, but I had never faced a werewolf before, not even in the training yard, and with everything that had already transpired, today wasn’t the day for it.

  I took a step forward, my eyes darting between the creatures to track their movements. My sword was still drawn and firmly in my hand. Steadying my breathing, I kept my muscles tight and ready to spring into action.

  One of the wolves leapt into the air toward the vampire, but he was ready for it. His fist hit the wolf in the chest, sending it flying through the air away from him. The other two descended upon him in a fit of rage.

  I tried to run, but the scene was too much to look away from. Claws ripped at his flesh, fangs sunk into his arms and torso. Blood spattered the rocks and ground around them.

  I took a few steps forward, determined to help him, yet confused as to why I cared at all. He was the epitome of everything I’d been taught to hate. I should’ve been thinking good riddance, but despair at the thought of losing him is all I could feel.

  One of the beasts hit the ground with a thud, changing into the form of a bloodied naked man lying still and unconscious. The other whimpered as the vampire grabbed its back legs and flung it into the woods.

  Our eyes met for a split second before the wind picked up so quickly that it nearly took my breath away. Dizziness set in, my head spun like I might pass out until it simply went away a few moments later.

  The vampire stood beside me in a clearing we hadn’t yet passed through, but I recognized it from a hike I’d made between Mallory Falls and Edgington City not six months before. He fell to his knees, gripping his side.

  “Are you okay?” I asked and knelt beside him.

  “I will be. Just need to rest a minute.”

  “You didn’t kill them,” I said. Why hadn’t he killed them?

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Contrary to popular belief, I don’t really like ending human life. Even if they occasionally change into beasts that want to kill me, they’re also human most of the time. It’s why some of my people turned on me, actually. I grew tired of the fighting between all the different species. Fae, wolves, witches, vampires, humans… It all became too tedious. I decreed that we make peace with the wolves and bring them in as allies instead of battling with them constantly. Obviously, that didn’t go on as planned after I was cursed.”

  Leaves rustled behind us. Before I could find the source of the noise, another one of the beasts charged at us full-force. Liam had spent his energy, or so it seemed as he didn’t seem to notice we were about to become dog food.

  I stood tall, gripping my sword tightly as the wolf leapt at us, its front claws aimed right at the vampire as if I were completely invisible. I used it to my advantage and thrust the sword forward, striking the wolf in its right front leg and sending it crashing to the ground with a yelp so loud it made my ears ring.

  It sprang to its feet, poised to strike when off in the distance a howl echoed through the trees. The beast snarled and ran off into the forest.

  I refused to let my guard down until I was sure the creatures had left us alone. Once I was satisfied they were gone, I sheathed my sword and approached Liam.

  “You’re hurt,” I said, eyeing the blood staining his fingers as they still gripped at his side.

  He nodded.

  “I’ve got bandages in my backpack, but I’m not sure we can go back there. They might be waiting for us to come back. Can you walk?”

  He struggled to get to his feet, and once he did, he was rather unsteady.

  “I can and luckily for us, we’re considerably closer to town than we were before. Guess those dogs were a blessing in disguise. We should be able to make it there quickly. I know a place we can go.”

  Thirty minutes later, we approached the edge of the forest, the lights of the small city lighting up the night sky like a beacon guiding us out of the forest.

  “It’s going to take a lot of my strength, but I can get us there faster. Hold on,” he said, pulling me close to his body. I wrapped my arms around him, holding on as tightly as I could, trying to ignore the way my body felt pressed so close against him. “Close your eyes,” he whispered.

  The strangest sensation washed over me, like I was weightless. A seed of a dandelion floating through the air.

  “We’re here,” he said softly into my ear before letting me go.

  I opened my eyes, unsure of what I was going to see or where we would be.

  The air was musty with a closed-up smell, as if no fresh air or light had penetrated the place in ages.

  “Where are we?” I asked. Focusing my eyes, I could make out that we were in some sort of a bedroom, almost like a hotel room, but not decorated like a modern one. This one reminded me as if I had been
transported back in time by about two hundred years.

  The vampire stumbled before catching himself on the post of a bed that sat off to the side of the room.

  “We’re safe here. A friend of mine was the original owner of this place. Used to be a little tavern with a couple of rooms to rent upstairs. It grew over the years to accommodate more travelers, but this room remains mine. It’s been spelled shut so that the only one who can access it is me.”

  “You didn’t run us here, did you?”

  “No.”

  “If you could get us here that quickly, why didn’t you do it to begin with?” I asked, annoyed that he’d not only forced me into coming with him but that there was no reason for trekking through the damn woods or coming face-to-face with a pack of werewolves. And I’d lost my backpack—the only thing I had left—in the process.

  “Because, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not exactly thriving at the moment. I had hoped to avoid completely zapping my energy, but here we are… You’re welcome, by the way.”

  I watched him shimmy out of the jacket that now sported tooth holes and slight rips here and there. It had fared better than expected. He unbuttoned his shirt, revealing muscles so delectable looking that I almost wanted to take a bite out of them. I tried to tear my eyes away, but how does one look away from a perfect work of art? He slipped out of the shirt, revealing a nasty wound on his side with several more along his arms. Teeth marks lined the outer edges of the gash, and thick dark blood, almost black, oozed from the opening.

  Slipping out of my jacket, I took the tattered shirt from his hands and sat beside him on the edge of the bed.

  “Their bite is toxic to you, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does this mean…”

  “You won’t be rid of me just yet.”

  “I thought a bite from a werewolf killed vampires.”

  “Mostly myth, though it does hurt like hell,” he said and winced as he glanced down at the wound. “A new vampire may succumb to the poison, but I won’t.”

  “Sorry to do this to your shirt,” I said, “But you need bandages.” Tearing the garment into several long pieces, I wadded some of them up and pressed them to his wound.

  “How will I ever greet my people properly now?” he asked. “Half-dead and nearly naked…”

  “Hold that there,” I said, trying not to engage the naked talk. “We should probably clean it out. Don’t suppose you have any alcohol lying about, do you?”

  “It’s fine,” he said.

  “Well, I guess you don’t have to worry about an infection anyway.”

  “No.”

  Placing my hand on his arm, I pulled him forward just a bit so that I could see if there were any other wounds on his body.

  “He shouldn’t have followed you there, you know?”

  Pulling back, I crossed my arms in front of me as if that act alone would keep my emotions at bay, and said, “No, he shouldn’t have, but clearly I wasn’t meant to get the job done anyway.”

  “It’s true you went against what they wanted you to do, but you held your own against me, and that’s admirable. You would’ve made a formidable slayer.”

  “Thanks, but I guess unless I go out on my own, that part of my life is over with now.”

  “A better one awaits you,” he said, pulling the tattered bits of shirt away from his flesh. The wound had stopped bleeding and was much smaller than it had been moments before.

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” I said, sarcasm coating my words.

  “You’re fierce, strong, and level-headed when necessary. All admirable qualities… You didn’t need his protection or his help.”

  Those words meant more to me than Liam could ever have known. A vampire could see these things in me, yet my own fiancé couldn’t. Ex-fiancé, I reminded myself.

  “We should get some sleep,” he said. “I won’t be able to pierce the veil if I don’t rest.”

  “Yeah, sure,” I said with a slight grin that held back the pride wanting to burst out from within.

  His words had warmed my soul and the urge to kiss him grew again, though it had never entirely gone away, if I were being honest.

  Get it together, Delia. Kissing him got you in this mess in the first place. But damn, how tempting it was.

  I kicked off my boots and pulled the bedspread back, wishing I could get rid of the rest of my clothes. Sleeping in jeans was never comfortable, but I didn’t trust myself around him.

  “So… You’ll be sleeping where?” I asked as I slipped into bed. “The floor?”

  “I’ll be sleeping in this bed,” he said, standing and pulling back the bedspread on the other side. “It’s fine if you want to take off your pants. I’ll be a gentleman. Promise.” Stepping out of his boots, his fingers unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down over his thick, muscular thighs a second later, kicking them to the floor at the foot of the bed.

  “I thought you said you were going to stay out of my head.”

  “It’s kind of hard when you think as loudly as you do.”

  “Ground rules,” I said.

  He lifted an eyebrow as he lowered himself into the bed.

  “You stay on your side. Don’t cross this line,” I said, pulling an extra pillow from the top of the bed and placing it between us. “And if you so much as touch me, I’ll ram my sword right through your throat.

  “Sure, but I don’t have the same rule. You want to come over here, well, then… Come on over,” he said and turned away from me, pulling the covers up over his body, stealing away the delectable view he’d given me.

  Shimmying out of my pants, I tossed them aside and snuggled down into the bed, my back turned to him and determined not to visit his side.

  I couldn’t recall a better night’s sleep than I had that night, waking up refreshed, warm, and cozy.

  And completely unable to move. Something warm and hard pressed against my back, arms wrapped around me, legs tangled.

  Anger. That’s what I wanted to feel, but I couldn’t convince myself. I’d be a fool to not notice how my body fit perfectly against his. Opening my eyes, I expected to see the same wall I’d stared at until I fell asleep. Imagine my surprise when it was the opposite wall that greeted me. Well, I guess he didn’t break my rule.

  “Good morning,” he said softly against my ear before giving it a soft nip.

  “What in the ever-loving fuckery is going here?” I asked, pushing him away. It might have felt nice nestled there against him, but I wasn’t ready to admit it or encourage it.

  “You don’t remember?”

  “No,” I said, stomping to the other side of the bed and picking up my pants.

  “Ah,” he sighed. “Well…”

  “Did we?”

  “No, but you did crawl on top of me and kiss me again.”

  “I what?” I gasped. He had to be lying.

  “You called out my name a few hours ago. The next thing I knew, you were on me, but I could tell you weren’t conscious, so I scooted you over and held you. That seemed to subdue you.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, my face boiling hot.

  “No need to be,” he said and stood.

  “Is there a bathroom?”

  “Over there,” he said and pointed toward the back of the room.

  I needed to pee and take a cold shower. How could I do such a thing? And why? Why would I crawl on top of him like that? I couldn’t be sure he was telling the truth, trying desperately to convince myself that he wasn’t.

  After doing my business and washing up in the sink since there was no shower, I returned to find him fully dressed in the same pair of jeans, though he now wore a gray V-neck T-shirt. I could only assume it was one he’d had stored there.

  “Did you say you would have to pierce the veil?” I asked, desperate to move on from our apparent midnight encounter.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “What the heck does that mean?” I asked, sliding my boots on and lacing them up.


  “You don’t know? I thought you slayers knew all of our vampire secrets.”

  “Well, this one doesn’t. Explain.”

  “I rule over the city of Velum Mortis in the underworld. We have to travel here to feed as there is nothing living on our side. The veil that separates our worlds is thin, but not all can pass through it. Vampires as well as a couple of other creatures inherently possess the ability to pass through easily enough wherever they choose to do so, and if we focus hard enough, we can land anywhere on this plane that we want. If I want to go to Los Angeles or Tokyo or wherever, I can be there in no time. There are others, like witches and wolves, who can also travel to the city through the use of portals, though wolves rarely chance it. Our hounds on the other side are much larger and more fierce, and they tend to like to give chase to lesser creatures. Though there are places where the dead can pass, living humans cannot enter at all without being accompanied, but soon, you’ll have the ability to come and go as you please.”

  “How’s that? And why would I even want to?”

  “Because you’re my mate,” he said confidently, taking my hand into his. “And you’ll be my queen.”

  “Your what?” I asked, pulling my hand away, though hearing the term ‘mate’ hadn’t shocked me nearly as much as I’d let on. Harmon had told me as much, but I didn’t want to hear it or explore it then.

  “You heard me,” he said, leaning in close and staring into my eyes. There was fiery passion in them and I thought for a moment that maybe he was trying to compel me into something I didn’t want. But I didn’t look away.

  “No,” I insisted. “Absolutely not. I already betrayed my town, my father, the council, my fiancé… No way in hell am I going to be your queen. I’m not a vampire, and I never will be.”

  “Why did you wake me?” he asked, his gaze intensifying.

  “I don’t know.” It was then I knew he wasn’t putting me under his spell because I would have answered truthfully if he had been. And the truth was that I wanted him. I wanted to quench the thirst deep down in my soul, fill the void that had always lingered there, embrace the epic love story I knew I was meant to live. And without knowing a thing about him, I knew he was the key to doing all that.