by Sarah Elliot
Only Disreli remained in any form of coherent sense, sitting on the chair where he had last seen him and the elder turned blazing yellow eyes onto the younger. “Good,” the voice was spoken carefully, rough and hewed with the greatest amount of control that could be present right now. “You have awakened when you should have. Go and find her, bring her back and don’t give into the temptation that will be given to you.”
Fiero nodded, not able to respond with the haversack in his mouth and turned away from the elder werewolf. It took a few good bounds in order for him to get running at any form of speed but seeing that virtually everyone else was crippled by this whole experience he was secretly amazed that he was managing this much. He was soon out of the Den and into the woods, following his homing instincts to locate his mate and taking little note of the world around him.
Chapter 13
Kiss of Blood
The Blood Moon cast eerie yellow and red light over the landscape, increasing the darkness of the shadows. Fiero couldn’t help but feel like he was in some surreal horror movie for a second but caught a whiff of freshly spilt blood and increased his speed. He found himself vaulting over fallen trees, dashing around dark shadows and barreling through twisted ivy vines, which previously had never bothered him. In this strange light however, it felt as though nature was being sucked dry, something was taking the very life force that was given to the planet and corrupting it.
It felt like a force against nature, trying to make everything crumble against a will that was not natural in the slightest and held a disdain for everything that was living of its own free will. This was a trapped monster, something that had been suppressed and denied its right of existence and the werewolf knew that it was trying its very hardest to latch onto his darling mate and make her become its vessel. What was worse was that the monster was probably far closer than it had ever been before but Fiero wasn’t about to lose out now. He had just gained what was rightfully his and there was no way that he was going to give it up without a fight.
Charging around a corner, Fiero found himself naturally changing back to his human form, he was near the spring and it shimmered a beautiful shade of innocent white light in the all-consuming darkness. He blinked and stared at the crystal-white water, which shimmered despite his current need to find Ekata and without pausing to think, the werewolf guardian stepped into the water. Tendrils of sparkling silver water rose up, gently caressing his arms, legs and body. For a second he thought that he heard soft words being whispered into his ear but a sudden cold dread passed over him as with a crash, a figure slammed into the ground just short of the waters he was standing in.
The figure rose, standing a little hunched over with his long black hair sticking wildly in a whole host of directions as it had fallen out of the black ribbon it had been tied back with. Pale skin and extended fangs immediately identified that this was a vampire and Fiero moved to grab the other to demand where his mate was but instead found himself pulling the unknown male out of harm’s way as a blur of black came at him from the shadows of the forest.
“Ekata!” he yelled, blocking the frenzied female’s attack with his own body and pushing her back. “Stop this! It’s me, Fiero.”
The shadow-thin girl flipped upright, a snarling hiss escaping from the monster with the white fangs whilst the eyes blazed a blood-red with a screamed demand to be satisfied. “Your attempts are pathetic, boy.” The voice that spoke wasn’t his mate’s but Fiero was not about to be put off by such a thing. “I am stronger than that.”
“No.” Fiero stepped forward, keeping his eyes firmly on the creature and scanning it briefly. “You are not stronger. She is stronger than you will ever be. Release her.”
Ekata hissed, animal-like and with a malice that should not exist in the girl ever Fiero thought. “You know nothing, and this girl harbor’s a great desire for darkness in her soul. She eagerly gave herself up; she gave in to the vampire.”
Shaking his head, Fiero just about kept his anger in check, aware that the figure from before was rising to his feet carefully with weapons prepared. “She doesn’t know what it means to be either a vampire or a werewolf! You forced yourself upon her and that is unforgivable.”
“She wanted this, she wanted the power and the ability to take on anything that threatened her or her brother,” the creature hissed, suddenly charging at Fiero. “That includes you.”
Fiero didn’t even flinch as the creature’s body slammed into him, hissing and clawing and desperately trying to draw blood. The werewolf simply stood his ground, holding the girl out at arm’s length and stared levelly at the blazing red eyes. The creature thrashed, slashed and howled at him, determined to get to its goal but the Volf’s body was just far too weak to do anything against the almost mature werewolf.
“Ekata,” Fiero spoke calmly to the wildly hissing creature being held at arm’s length, despite the fact that it continued to slash at him. “Ekata, I know you’re there, I know that within the heart of this monster you are there trying to reach out to me. I am here; I am with you… just search for the light. Ekata… my mate, my love… I am here. I am waiting, as I always have been.”
The creature continued its movements before it came to an abrupt stop. Fiero stared levelly ahead as he felt a slight shift in the flesh below his fingers. “Fiero?” a voice spoke, almost but not quite Ekata and the girl rose her head, “Fiero… it is me. Come with me to the darkness… come and be with me.” The effect would have fooled a lesser man, Fiero reflected as he stared into the wrong-coloured eyes.
Tensing his muscles Fiero gave the creature a hard shake, “Don’t try that one with me! That is not my mate. Release her.” He shook the creature again, more forcefully this time.
“You’ll kill her,” the creature hissed, trying to maintain its grip on its current host. “You’ll be responsible for her death.”
Fiero stopped the shaking. “No. I’ll be responsible for giving her life, for giving her a family of her own. I’ll be responsible for giving her love and making her never distrust me. I love her more than that to leave her alone in the darkness and even if I ever had to follow her there it would be purely to drag her back to be safely in my arms. Release her and allow her to make her own choice!”
“You cannot deny my existence,” the monster screamed as it was shaken again. “She still craves the hot blood of the living!”
“Then she can take mine,” Fiero virtually howled towards the creature. “She can take as much as she needs from me because I will never deny her!”
There was a flash across the blood-red eyes, turning them back amber and Fiero pulled the figure into his chest into a sharp hug, placing his lips straight onto hers and feeling the warmth of love and that special bond straight away.
“What if I don’t stop?” This time it was Ekata, sounding scared and confused and so unsure but her guardian just smiled in return and ran his large hands through her thick hair.
Gently he shook his head. “Don’t you remember, I told you that I would tell you when it was safe to take my blood, my lady.”
A look of recognition crossed Ekata’s face and slowly she moved towards his neck, her arms wrapping protectively around him. “I remember my knight, if this hurts, then I am sorry from the bottom of my heart.”
Fiero tensed as he felt her rough fangs brush his soft skin at his throat for a second before the slightest nip of pain as she punctured the flesh. They remained together, almost as if they were frozen in time and gently the foreboding darkness around them gave away, the shadows retreating rapidly into whatever hell they had come from and the blood moon started to wane, turning to a light pink colour above them.
Feeling her flop in his embrace, Fiero just caught the both of them from falling and stared at her with a smile. Her lips were stained with his blood but the colour had returned to her cheeks and she gently reached for him with her fingers. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, my love,” Fiero said, pulling her into a bridal-style ho
ld. “Not even a tiny bit.”
Ekata smiled and snuggled her head into his chest, her exhaustion clear to see. Fiero turned to go back to the Den only to find himself face to face with the vampire from before. “Alcarde wants to speak to you both,” the vampire said, a smirk of a smile playing on his lips. “I am more than impressed with her choice of mate.”
“Who the hell are you?” Fiero challenged, snarling at the vampire out of nothing more than a protective instinct.
“I am Raphael.” The vampire bowed courteously towards Fiero. “I am Ekata’s elder brother and believe you me, I have been trying to protect her since the day she was born.”
Chapter 14
Family Ties
“She needs rest,” Fiero said for about the hundredth time in a row. “I know that this Alcarde may want to speak to her but she’s exhausted.”
Raphael shook his head slowly. “In actuality she’s got more strength right now than she ever has in the entire time she has been with you, Fiero.” The way he spoke was gentle and firm, not condescending but more like that of a brother who was used to dealing with his younger bratty siblings, it made the werewolf think of Jared just a little too much. “Alcarde would not call the pair of you to his side if he believed that either of you needed rest.”
Letting out a sigh, the werewolf glared at the other vampire. “Does it even occur to you that I have no idea who this person is or what he wants with either of us? I just want to take her away from here, we can find some place to be safe and start a family together. Why must we go through all of this?”
“Fiero,” Ekata spoke for the first time in a while, still sounding a little on the scared side. “Please don’t talk about me as if I’m not right next to you.”
Grimacing a little, Fiero sighed and pulled the smaller female closer to himself, feeling relief at being able to do so. “I’m sorry, my love, but I just think the sooner we can get away from here the safer you and for the pack. I do not trust this vampire who has turned up and I have no wish to meet anyone else tonight who could potentially harm you.”
Feeling Ekata come to a stop, Fiero took a long look at the female Volf who seemed to have just noticed the presence of the other vampire. She blinked her amber eyes at him in question, frowning. “You are not…”
Raphael had to laugh when the werewolf took up a defensive stance in front of his mate, glowering dangerously at him. He shook his head, raising his hands. “Let her finish before jumping to conclusions, wolf.”
Ekata placed a hand on her mate’s shoulder before stepping around him to step towards the older vampire, a frown on her features. “You’re not like rest of them, are you? You’re different… somehow I don’t remember you but yet—” Her fingers reached out, touching his skin, which felt so cold and distant yet so warm and familiar.
Before she could utter a syllable, the vampire placed his fingers on her lips. “My name is now Raphael and it will remain so, even if I gain back that which was taken from me. I am sorry I was not able to protect you better but I was lost for a long time.”
Fiero blinked. “How can a vampire be lost?”
Raphael smiled sadly, glancing up at the werewolf. “You don’t want to know. We must hurry if we are late then Alcarde will not be best pleased.”
The black-clad vampire turned and started heading back through the trees. Stepping up behind Ekata, Fiero wrapped his arms protectively around her. “Can we trust him?”
“I would trust him to the ends of the Earth,” Ekata replied, “He speaks truthfully even when it would cost him what is most dear to his heart.”
“So he is who he claims to be?”
A silent nod was his answer and the girl blinked her strange amber eyes at the disappearing figure. “Yes… but also no. I do not fully know what happened but he is my real brother… the other is related by blood to me but he would never dare to accept me as his equal.”
Fiero thought that this all sounded just a little too much on the strange side for him but knew better than to try and argue the point out. Plus, they had to deal with Alcarde which was an option that presented nothing of value to him. Vaguely he had to wonder what made him so uneasy about the name and why he didn’t want to meet with the other. He wondered back briefly to his uncle, wondering why he had not spoken to him of his father. He still loved his uncle very much and would seek out his guidance but there was something that just didn’t sit right with Fiero. Like someone had told him something a long while ago that he should remember but he could not call it forth no matter how hard he tried.
How was it possible for someone, whether they be a creature of the night world or not, to alter memories but yet have it set on a trigger so that they could come back? Though as he now thought about it, Fiero realized that maybe there were many other things that he had forgotten and that unsettled him a little.
However, he felt Ekata shift slightly next to him, clearly the girl was worried and gently he wrapped his fingers around hers to hold them tightly. “It’s okay, I’m just being an overly panicky worry-wort, my love. I’m in no pain.”
Ekata smiled gently back at him, nodding. “I know and I’m not scared of that. Fiero, are you sure that your—” her words were cut off as his lips found hers once again, bringing forth a warmth in her chest that almost melted all of the ice within her heart and mind. Gently Ekata wrapped herself closer to her mate, taking strength from his abilities to keep her calm and balanced with one simple movement. Most wouldn’t be able to calm her after a feeding. “Sorry for going on,” she whispered as their lips finally broke, “but I hurt someone once when I fed from them, I hurt them really badly. I don’t want to see you like that ever.”
Fiero smirked a little cheekily. “Don’t worry, you never will. If it ever came to that, I’m pretty sure I could overpower you.”
“Clearly you’ve never annoyed my sister.” Raphael cut into the conversation with a tone of voice that said that he knew exactly what he was doing. “Out of the two of them she is the worst for biting, scratching and hitting.”
“Raphael.” Ekata coyly grinned back at her elder brother, “I do not know what you are talking about in the slightest.”
The elder gave his youngest sister a glare, grinning just a little but suddenly snapping his head to the side at the sound of branches breaking. Immediately the vampire had his sword drawn. “Go. Now. Back to the Den, seek out Alcarde before time runs out.”
Sharing a quick glance, both mates silently agreed to run as wolves and took off into the snow. The vampire wasn’t surprised that they didn’t even pause to say any words to him; they were good cubs with plenty of time to master the skills they had been born with. He was already looking forward to his nieces and nephews from this side of the family. A cruel smirk crossed his features. “Right, my little brother, let’s see what the blood moon made of you shall we?”
There was a growl of distaste from the shadows and slowly Mephistopheles stepped out into the white snow. He looked, quite frankly, to be far lesser than he had been before, more willowy and stretched out as if someone had strapped him to a rack and kept on pulling. His eyes were wild, ravaged by a desperate need to fulfil something that the younger vampire was not probably aware of and it appeared that he had lost some of his stolen status.
Raphael wanted to tease the other for his appearance, to get back at him for everything that had ever been done but he knew better than to try and play dangerous games. He smirked though, knowing that for a short length of time he would have the upper hand and would at least allow Ekata to reach the Den. “Well, at least I get to see what your true colours are now, Mephistopheles,” Raphael taunted the other with a low voice. “Or should I call you Angell and remind you of your place?”
The vampire in front of him hissed, fangs dropping as he charged at the elder with speed that in the past would have sent the elder vampire spiraling to the ground. Raphael nimbly dodged to the side, bringing the flat of the blade squarely across the attacker’s stomach and arm i
n what he knew was a stinging blow.
The younger vampire crashed into the snow, hurriedly pulling himself back onto all fours like some rabid creature and snarled again. “You! You are not supposed to be alive!” Mephistopheles charged at the man, trying to latch onto his skin but frustratingly finding Raphael always just out of reach. “You were nothing more than a mewling wreck when I threw you over that cliff edge!”
For a brief second, Raphael remembered that moment. Felt the cold wind on his body and looking up with terrified eyes towards the triumphant face of his younger brother who had just stolen everything from him. He felt the smack of the salt water as it rose to meet his body and then tried to consume it. It was one of the most frightening experiences of his life. But now as he held the younger vampire at arm’s length, within mere inches of taking the revenge that had almost gnawed away at his heart for the past quarter of a century, the elder understood what Alcarde had said to him many a time.
“Those who seek revenge are usually looking to correct a mistake in their own lives. Your brother, though he did a terrible thing to you, is but a pawn in this grand game of chess and he will fall like all the others. It is up to you if it is by your hand or by another’s.”
“You should have thought to kill me outright when you stole what was mine, Angell,” Raphael whispered, his eyes never leaving the raging boy in front of him. “But now I see you, I realise that you are just a child. Abandoned by our mother like the rest of us and desperate to gain what you believe will make her love you.”
“Shut up!” Mephistopheles yelled, clawing at the skin on the others arm. “I will finish the job this time and present your head on a platter to her before I rip out her own heart and devour it.”