by L. C. Son
As she freefalls toward me, I glide upward, and she lands gently in my embrace. Her illuminating presence is as if she is encapsulated in flames, but she is not burned. The heat emitting from her is too hot for mortals and would almost set me ablaze if our Altrinion nature wasn’t synchronized.
Damina smiles at me and the flaming brightness around her subsides slightly, just enough for me to see her face without squinting. “Well hello, beautiful,” I say offering a smile bright enough to match hers.
“Hello yourself,” she says with a soft smile before gently thrusting her mouth onto mine.
“Are you okay? Why did you run?” I question, keeping her body close to mine. Though I have to work hard not to gawk at how her rain-drenched gown clings to her beautifully wet curves, I need to make sure we are good.
Damina’s face falls and her teeth chatter in the freezing rain and my heart races, fearful of her response. “I—I was afraid. I couldn’t imagine any of this—that you were actually real.”
“And now?” I smile, hopeful her response doesn’t break my newly beating heart.
“Now, I know more than ever this is where I am meant to be. Here. With you. I wasn’t ready to admit it before, but I love you, Dalcour. I love you!”
Damina’s confession overtakes me in a windfall of passion, joy, and a zealous love I never thought a wretched man like me capable. Gazing into the depth of her fiery eyes, I know without question that this woman is more than my love; she is my home. Cupping her chin, I pull her face to mine and once more delight in the sweetness of her lips.
“Come now, let’s get you out of this rain. Let’s go home,” I say staring at her perfectly wet body.
“I thought you said the mansion wasn’t your home?”
“No, I said home is where the heart is. Now that my heart beats for you—you are my home, Damina Nicaud.”
The strength of the storm dissipates as we soar through the night sky. While it’s not the first time Damina has drifted asleep in my arms, tonight there is a calming peace exuding through her that is different from before. Although it’s been clear for some time that she cares deeply for me, tonight is the first time she allowed herself to admit it.
As much as I want to search her mind and uncover what changed since she left me at the Hall until the moment she confessed her love for me outside of Bessie’s Tavern tonight, I dare not. Rather, I am merely thankful for whatever pivotal and transforming factor is responsible for her declaration.
Nearing the mansion, a swarm of butterflies seem to invade my being as nervousness takes over. With her body sodden with her drenched clothes hugging her and revealing all her glory, I have no desire to take her through the mansion for all eyes to see. So I’m taking her straight to my bedroom. Everything in me tells me this is a bad idea; but I can think of no better option.
“Almost there,” I whisper in her ear, beckoning her to awake.
As she awakes, we land on the balcony and she stares around, her face full of curiosity.
“Where are we?”
“My room,” I quietly reply as I open the doors to my suite.
It doesn’t take long for Damina to get comfortable. Perhaps too comfortable.
Something has changed. She has changed.
There’s a slightly new confidence to her stride as she walks around my room. She seems genuinely intrigued at everything from the sacred scrolls to the ancient mercy blades above my bed.
While I’m happy to oblige her interest, I can tell she’s become interested in more than my relics and artifacts.
She wants me.
Try as I might to avoid her advances through playfulness, my impressive music collection or even revisiting her declaration of love—it’s clear Damina Nicaud has one thing on her mind.
As desperate as I am to finally be one with her, I can’t help fear the wicked churning from my inner beast. I almost wonder whether this was Decaux’s wicked plan all along. I’m sure he knows I’m fated and as such I could only love one such as I. I can only imagine how the sinister hole of his would-be heart would delight should I kill the very one I loved with my entire being!
Anger fills my mind as I see the makings of his grand scheme at work!
Unfortunately, Damina isn’t making this easy. Her overpowering effervescence permeates my entire suite, making it difficult to breathe without her invading my pores wholly. The way she looks at me, touches me—hell, even the way she says my name makes me want to both devour and ravish her!
Oh, how I wish I were pure like her! If only blood didn’t call to me with such a primal force, perhaps my lustful longing toward her wouldn’t be so dangerous. But here I stand, a cursed soul, unable to enrapture myself in my heart’s pleasure without fear or pain.
Radiating heat seeps through my skin and a waterfall of feverish sweat covers my forehead as I work hard to resist awakening the darkness within me. Though I’ve asked for her to leave and give me time to compose myself, she remains defiant.
“Just—just go, Damina!” I shout at her and it’s all I can think to do to get rid of her.
“Dalcour, you’re scaring me. Tell me what’s wrong with you!” She demands.
“You—you need to go, Damina! Now!” I yell once more, toppled over at my waist as I feel my fangs protrude as a burning red film coats my skin. Staggering to the bathroom, I temper my tone just enough and say over my shoulder, “I’ll be okay in a moment. Come back after you change, okay. I promise I’ll be fine.”
Slamming the bathroom doors behind me, I try to catch my breath. Looking into the mirror, I see the makings of the malevolent mask crushing from beneath my face. Crimson and blood-stained eyes stare back at me in the mirror as razor sharp fangs rut through my canines and incisors. The stinging pain of blood-lust calls to me and I work hard to stifle the venomous creature within. If it weren’t for the bottles of blood Braelyn stored in the bathroom for me after my last faux pa with Claudia, I’d have to make my way to the CC to get a fix.
After crushing three bottles like the ravenous animal that I am, I gaze back in the mirror and see my normal Cherrywood hue frame my face. Thankful for only the usual crimson glint in my eyes, I smile knowing once again I’ve deterred the dark duplicity that desires his release.
“I won’t let you hurt her,” I declare confidently to my reflection and exit the bathroom.
Yet, as I see blood dripping from Damina’s palm I am certain my pronouncement is premature.
The pulsing of my heart fades and my vision is cloaked in blackness. Only a sliver of light remains, and my sight is set on the steady stream of blood pouring from Damina’s hand. A shiny red tint covers my skin and thick, barreling muscles erupt all over my body.
Taking thunderous steps toward her, I can no longer resist the blood-fueled invitation that calls to me. Her trusting eyes stare back at me, but I can’t withstand the lure of both her body and her blood. I want to drink her and fill her with me—all of me. The thought of her pleasurable screams as I take my refuge inside of her while partaking of her innocence sends me into a frenzy.
She sits like prey on the bed and I am on the hunt. Watching her squirm gives me merciless delight.
While I feel my better part pleading with me to turn from my savage pursuit, snarling hisses are my only recourse as my tongue lashes toward the blood seeping through her flesh. Even as she tries to hide her self-inflicted wound, I can still smell it. And despite the shrouded darkness of my vision, the glorious revelation of her nakedness shimmering through her wet gown engorges the strength between my thighs, returning my intent to relentlessly ravishing her body without release.
Though, unlike any prey before her, she somehow maintains her resolve. No longer does she seek an escape or even wriggle away from me. She is resolute. Calm. Perhaps she has accepted her fate? If that be her choice, I’ll take pleasure in making her beg for me to end her suffering.
Oh, the ways I want her to suffer! I want to bring her to the highest heights of ecstasy, take her to the edge of her demise and do it all over again.
With the fitting song, Demons playing in the background, I hiss once more as my tongue thrusts toward her. Nonetheless she remains unphased.
What is happening?
Through the dark fog clouding my view, a bright, sun-scorching ray exudes from her being and mysteriously calms the raging force rampaging inside of me. The light is almost blinding, but she remains in center view.
With her hand outstretched toward me, she gently touches my chest and utters my name, “Dalcour,” in a tone so sweet it’s almost too pure for my ears. She repeats my name but this time speaking in a long-lost Altrinion dialect too harmonic for mere ears to detect.
What is she doing to me?
I try hard to withstand her loving entreat, but I cannot. The darkness that once encapsulated my sight, gives way to the brightness of her light as the red sheen along my skin recedes. Her calmingly sweet vanilla and eucalyptus scent overpowers me, and I am lost in her trance.
The beast submits to her will and I feel a soothing shower that is the dew of her presence drift upon my body. As her hand rests on my chest, the loud thumping of my heartbeat resumes and I open my eyes, returning to the man she loves.
For the first time, it feels as though a thousand weights have lifted from me. The heaviness of my carnality and the wretchedness of my past fall away as a feathery freedom flows through me like I’ve never felt before. This must be love.
Chapter 22
Jackson
The Big Easy. It’s been eons since I’ve ventured the streets of New Orleans. Despite the glorious charm of this City, I know I will not be able to indulge in its many pleasantries.
We barely made it into Louisiana as a hurricane-like storm ripped through an unprepared New Orleans. While it was hardly reminiscent of Katrina’s impact, it caught everyone unaware. Though I’ll never admit it to anyone, I am certain Damina was indeed the eye of the storm. Haunting images of her blazing through the City in a furious rage because of what she perceived to be my duplicity wreaks havoc on my heart. This time, I won’t let her go until I make her understand the truth. My truth.
Following Dacari around isn’t easy. We kept our distance, but close enough to ensure her safety. Gregory is surprisingly inclined to keep her in his sights. I’ve been too worried about Damina to ask him about his affection for her; but I’m sure I’ll get around to it.
Still, nothing could prepare me for this. The one thing I dreaded is now a reality. Dacari’s path to Damina has taken us from a colorful tavern in the heart of the French Quarter to the one place I never wanted to find her.
The mansion of Dalcour Marchand.
What is she doing here? Why is she here? How long has she been here?
A cascade of panic, fear, anger, jealousy and rage floods my emotions and it takes all of Gregory and Shawn’s brute strength to keep me from marching up the steps of the mansion with Dacari to snatch Damina from this hell hole!
I’m surprised to only see a group of women at the door. From what I can see, they don’t want to let Dacari in, but I can also tell they are all human. That helps my angst a little.
“They’re foolish to think they can keep her from Damina!” Gregory scoffs.
“When did you become such an admirer of Ms. Peyroux?” I ask while never taking my eyes off the front door. Gregory shrugs his shoulders and laughs, doing his best not to look at me.
“Hey look, there’s Damina!” Gregory says, pointing at the front door. “She looks—um happy,” he adds and my heart falls to the pit of my stomach.
After all the worry she gave me last night and the wrecking ball she took to the City, I expected to see her less jolly than she appears. While everything in me only wishes for her happiness, I’m more concerned with why her demeanor has shifted and who is responsible for this change.
As the door closes, fierce feelings rage within me and it takes everything in me not to allow my wolf his release.
“Hey, Jackson! Stay calm, dude. Now we can go ring that bell if you want, but you and I both know if you ring that bell things can go a completely different way. We still don’t know what she knows or if she has even tapped into her Altrinion nature yet. This is not how you want to introduce her to your wolf.”
“Look around, Gregory! Of course she has! And even if she hasn’t, it doesn’t mean she’s not in any danger. Just being in that place alone is reason for worry!”
“I get it! Really, I do. But let’s think about this for a moment. This is Damina we’re talking about—and not just her, but Dacari as well.”
“Dacari?”
“Yes, Dacari. Do you actually think if Damina thought there was danger here she would let her cousin in? You and I both know she loves Dacari more than anything! She would never put Dacari in danger.”
“I suppose you are right,” I say as I think on Gregory’s words. “So what am I to do? Should I just sit out here forever? Waiting?”
“Dude, haven’t you learned anything from your time with Damina? If I’ve learned anything about those two is that there’s no way they’ll be trapped in that mansion for long. Dacari will have Damina out shopping in no time!”
We both laugh, shaking our heads in agreement. “So tell me, Gregory, when did you become an expert on all things Dacari?”
“I’m no expert, but I do pay attention.”
“Obviously,” I tease.
“Yep—hey—wait! Who is that guy?” Gregory barks as we watch a large, muscular man pick up Dacari’s luggage from the porch.
“Whoever he is—he is—”
“He’s a dead man!” Gregory shouts back, pulling the door handle.
Tugging his hand from the door, I squeeze his shoulder and laugh. “I was going to say that he must be a Dunes wolf—at least according to that tattoo on his arm. Now, what did you just tell me? Stay calm?”
“Whatever!” Gregory snaps back and keeps gazing out the window.
As we wait for them to come out of the mansion, Shawn catches a hitch ride with Tye in tow and looks for a place for us to rest. I haven’t slept in a full twenty-four hours and I will stay awake another twenty-four if it meant just one chance to make Damina mine again.
Thankfully, Gregory’s inclination was right and within the longest ninety minutes of my life, the door of the mansion opens. A small group of young people resembling the cast of an after school special are the first to exit. Most seem bubbly and upbeat, save the two girls who prevented Dacari’s entry. Two young men are among them and a part of me hopes Damina hasn’t indulged in their likeness. They are far too young—but they are wolves—Dunes wolves.
Dacari and Damina are the last to emerge from the mansion. Dacari makes it down the staircase of the porch first and Damina remains at the top. She smiles broad and waves sweetly, making me wonder who is on the other end of the door. Kneeling down in the limo, I get a better view of inside the dark mansion. Luckily, my enhanced vision grants me laser focus, but joy does not fill my heart at the sight.
My heart falters once more as I see Dalcour Marchand standing at the top of the stairs. His smile is broad as he stands next to a vampiric-goth girl, waving farewell to Damina. But it’s the freely given smile she gives in return that brings me to near death.
I thought that smile was mine. Heck, I even thought her air-blown kisses were only meant for me.
Less than seven days ago we were to marry. Now, someone has stolen my bride.
But I have every intent on reclaiming my bride for my own.
Crap!
“Not yet, Jack-O. Not yet,” Gregory says holding me back from my exit. “Let’s just see where they’re going. It’s better if we do this away from this mansion and it’s prying eyes,” he recommends.
Gregory was right again. Following them through the City as they shop, gives me time to quiet the erratic energy building inside me. My emotions pivot from an irrational ire to grief, making it hard to make sense of the point of it all.
Just when I thought I was only endangering my alpha status; I now see that perhaps my focus was misplaced. What good is it to strengthen my pack to aid me in protecting my beloved, if my beloved is no longer mine?
When they finally stop for lunch at a local bakery, I dash out of the limo. I can’t wait any longer. As I walk down the sidewalk, the loud sound of Missing You by Case taunts me from a passing car as I near the front patio of the restaurant.
How à propos?
Damina and her cousin saunter outside and look for seating as I round the gated entrance. Her name escapes my mouth before I can formulate my next thought. Halting her motion, she slowly turns about.
“Damina,” I say once more, and we are now face to face. Her lovely face is full of surprise and marred by disgust. Who can blame her? As far as she’s concerned, I cheated on her. But it’s time for the truth.
While I’m not sure how it’s possible, she looks more radiant before me now than ever. There’s a confidence in her posture that is unfamiliar to me. Damina’s hair is thicker and longer than when last I saw her. Even her curves are more pronounced. And with the way her clothes hug her body, unlike her normal, oversized garb I can’t help the spring of jealousy welling within me.
But more than anything, my heart longs to be near her and it’s taking everything in me to resist carrying her away.
“It’s good to see you, baby. You look beautiful.” I know what I have to tell her won’t be easy to hear. If my suspicions are correct, I am sure what I will tell her will turn her world completely upside down.
One thing is sure, I’ll gladly spin the Earth on its axis a thousand times if only it returns her heart to me.
Dalcour
I never knew love could be like this!
Had I known true love would feel this good, I would have spent the last five hundred years searching for her. Waking up with Damina next to me brings a joy to my once darkened soul I thought impossible. Now, however, I know nothing is impossible.