Sitting down in his study he flicked on the light with his mind, the soft glow settling over the stacks of books and papers, each one marked up to highlight specific passages. The rolls of papyrus paper aged from centuries lay propped open on the thick table. He was just about to roll them up when something caught his eye. A symbol he had seen very recently, on the one person that he could not shake. Recalling each inch of her long sexy legs, then it was in his mind, the exact replica of the symbol. Grasping his cell phone, he pushed the little button until he heard a beep. “Call Maman.” His little piece of electronic wonder dialed the number, he smiled a shy smile when he heard the sweet aged voice of his friend. “Maman. I need your help. I am sending over a picture of something. Can you tell me what it means?” He waited what seemed entirely too long for her reply.
“No need for pictures, my child. I already know. We all know. Could feel it in my old bones. The time has come for you to take power. The shift has begun. You have found her. Which makes me ask why you are on the phone with me? You two have work to do.” He looked at the phone incredulously.
“What are you talking about?” There was a sinking feeling in his gut, and at that moment he felt a stab of pain in his chest, so deep, so painful it made him double over in pain.
“Your true mate. The mate of your soul, your heart, and your fate. Destined for you at the beginning of time. Hurry, Alexei. Hurry! She needs you! GO NOW!” The line clicked off, but he barely noticed. His body was contorted with pain; clutching his chest he reached down inside to a reserve of power, closed his eyes and centered himself on the pain that was happening, the pain that was touching him but killing her he had no doubt. The world shifted, phasing to colors streaking through the night; blues, purples, and red slipped by in seconds as he traveled through space and appeared in the dark alley. Stepping out of the dark he saw the beauty of his life doubled over on the ground, blood seeping around her.
Racing to her side he quickly picked up her lifeless body; she seemed so light, so weightless... Quickly, uncaring for the fact that someone could see he closed his eyes and phased them out and back to his home. Laying her down on the big bed he looked around. “Kitten, please don’t die. Please.” His mind ran through options, he could tell her life was ending. No doctor, no magic, nothing could save her. But one thing he didn’t want to do. He had faced this decision before with his own family. When their home had been invaded, they were slaughtered. He never forgave himself for not changing them. And because of that, he had spent eternity alone. Never wanting anyone else to go through the pain, the loneliness that he had gone through watching people you love grow old and die around you, leaving you again alone. But this was different. He couldn’t fathom the thought of letting her go. She was, for the first time, someone he could see himself with. She was not a passive girl, she was an equal, she was perfection. She was his. He raced through the house, closing it up, locking it with his mind and securing all wards.
Finally back at her side, he looked at the dagger that still stood out of her chest. Kissing her pale lips gently, he whispered against them, “Please forgive me. I cannot bear to lose you. I just can't.” He knew the dagger, knew it well. There was only one group that had them, and they would pay for this. Slowly and painfully.
In a swift motion, he pulled out the dagger and the open wound oozed a bit of blood, not enough to give him hope, but that didn’t stop him. Taking the dagger they had wounded his heart with, he sliced his wrist, blood dripping in a quick river straight down into her heart. Steam started to escape the wound, bubbling up out of the crevice. Moving up to her head he lowered his mouth down to her neck and bit, sucking the remaining portion of her blood out of her system, making room for the new essence of her life. When he started to taste the metallic flavor of the changed blood, he stopped and licked the wound, sealing it, before slipping his arm below her neck and pulling her to him. No more bleeding. No heartbeat. Now he just waited and held her as the pain that she was going through wracked his body.
“I won’t leave you, Kitten. I’m right here. I will always be right here.”
Chapter Nineteen
There was nothing. Only darkness. No more pain. Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, Kat wondered if there was supposed to be a light. Maybe living with Tussand all these years had tainted her soul enough that, if there was a heaven, she wasn’t going there. Or maybe this is what it was like to die. Darkness, nothing. She suddenly hated the dark. She cried out in her mind, over and over shouting Alexei’s name as she seemed to float forever. Just when she began to think that this really was it, she noticed things began to change. At first, a warmth seemed to start at her chest and spread through her body. It grew in intensity to what she could only imagine as hot lava flowing through her veins. She wanted to cry out, to scream, but no words would come. So, this is hell. Just when she thought she would be burning for eternity, the heated flow began to cool. First she became aware of sounds, birds chirping, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the gentle cooing of a voice... Alexei. She would know his voice anywhere.
“Come back to me, Kitten. If there is a God may He forgive me for what I have done but I cannot walk this earth without you.”
Then came scent. With a gasp, her back arched as her lungs filled with air. She caught the scent of the salty ocean air, horses, and the exotic musky scent that belonged to only one man. She finally opened her eyes, sitting up quickly and glancing around the room. Everything was so much clearer. She could see small particles twinkling through the air. Alexei was immediately there, taking her face in his hands. “Relax, Kitten, I’m right here. Just give things a minute.”
All she could do was stare. Words didn’t seem possible. It was like seeing Alexei for the first time, but she knew him. Somehow, he had changed. His features were chiseled. She searched his bright blue, gold-flecked eyes which seemed to dance for answers . While she had found him handsome before, this new Alexei was beyond that. She couldn’t find the right words in her mind - beautiful, a face of a God. Swallowing hard, she licked her lips, tasting something metallic. Her throat ached and her stomach clenched in pain. There was a bright flash in her mind, a memory. She pulled away from him, looking down at the blood-stained shirt as she clutched at her chest.
“I was stabbed? They were talking about you. They said I was a catalyst and had to die. What the hell is going on?”
Memories fast-forwarded through her mind: pain, blood, darkness, nothing until tortuous heat filled her. Alexei reached out for her, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind that she needed to get away from him, she was already on the other side of the room. Her hands wrapped around her stomach as it ached. The realization came quickly. She saw what looked like both relief and regret in his eyes. “You bastard! Oh my God, Alexei. No. What have you done to me?”
She didn’t need to hear the words. She already knew the answer. The one thing that she both feared and hated she had become. A vampire.
Chapter Twenty
He watched her realization seep into her mind what had happened. What she had become. What he had done. Her body slid down the wall, all the strength that had been holding her up slipping from her body as tears fell from her eyes. Instantly, he was across the room and standing in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her, his head hung low as he watched the hurt shake her body.
"I am so sorry. I never wanted to do this to you. I wanted you as you were, so full of life." He lifted her face to his, the feel of her skin under his finger so soft. "I had no choice. But this will be avenged. I swear to you. I know who those men were; they are not smart enough to do this. Someone controlled them, and I will find out who and they will pay for this." He slowly lowered his lips to hers gently kissing her, feeling her lips slowly relax and her body respond to his. Her arm slowly slid up around his neck. He reached below her knees picking her up, his strides no longer needing to be kept to the human speed they sped towards the room they had once used hours earlier. Laying her
on the bed, he took in the changes that had happened to her body, no longer human she was still just as beautiful. Just as stunning. And she was his and would have no doubt of it soon. "Tell me you want this; if not, I will hold you while you deal with this realization. But you are not going to run away. You are not going to leave. I will help you through. But trust me. Can you do that?"
Everything felt different, stronger, more intense. Kat struggled to make sense of everything. She wanted to laugh at the cards fate had dealt her, then to cry. She wanted to beat the hell out of Alexei and at the same time wanted to stay wrapped in his arms, protected. She winced as she spoke, her throat like a thousand needles. “You can’t hold me here. I can’t be a prisoner again. I’m not saying that I’m leaving now. You’re damn right you will teach me how to survive. How to not become one of the monsters that I’ve seen at Tussand’s.”
His hand moved slowly up and down her back as she spoke, his eyes never leaving hers. As she winced again, she watched as he brought his wrist to mouth, sharp fangs extended, biting down on the flesh. Before she even saw the first glimpse of crimson, she caught the scent of the fresh blood. A sweet, exotic scent that caused her stomach to cramp. Her entire body began to tremble with need as he brought his wrist to her mouth. “Open, take it. It will make the pains stop, I promise you.”
Hesitating a moment, she licked her lips at first drop of blood. The taste exploded on her tongue. Her hands went to Alexei's wrist, holding it against her mouth as she began to take greedy pulls. Each swallow filled her with strength, at least at first. She felt him inside her, his blood coursing through her veins. She gasped as desire blossomed inside her. Her leg tossed over his thigh as she rubbed herself shamelessly against it, seeking relief. Along with it came knowledge; Alexei would become an addiction she didn’t know if she could kick.
The heat that surged through him was nothing like anything he had ever felt, his body was instantly alive, power raced through him, pulsing into every pore of his being. His eyes instinctively closed, relishing the feeling of his body coming alive as Kat took what he offered. The feeling of her body pressing against him, undulating, was the equivalent of taking a match to a bucket of gasoline. Removing his wrist from her mouth, capturing her eyes with his, the shock reverberated through him as he saw the mirror image of his desire lingering there. Grasping her wrists, he lifted them above her head; letting go, she didn't move, she just watched and felt everything as he pulled her shirt up and off her body. The cold air created but a shiver before the look on his eyes warmed her. Her breasts raised by the movement, like gifts being presented to him for his pleasure, a pleasure he had no intention of passing on. Lowering his head, he brought one stiff peak into his mouth, letting his tongue swirl around the hardened pebble; just as her breath caught, he allowed the very tip of his fang to graze the sensitive skin. Her intake of breath was like a drug, and his free hand slid between them and down her silken skin, to the source of the fire against him. Separating the lips of her core he pushed his finger through the slick heat of her, delving deep inside her. The walls of her sex pulled at him, quivering against his finger. She was so tight, so perfect. And he didn't want to be on the outside of her. He wanted to be deep inside her, so deep there was no difference between them. With no further hesitation, he pulled his finger out of her and grasped his hardness, positioning it at her entrance as he looked down into her eyes.
"Mine." The single word was all he could get out, and with one swift movement, he was buried to the hilt in her heat. Magic surged through the room as he claimed her with his hard thrusts; he could feel nothing but her, everything swelled, his blood pulsed with each thrust as if his whole body was in unison with the sexual energy. Releasing her wrists, he reached down and slid his hands below her ankles, bringing them up and over his shoulders, giving him better access to the source of his desire. Thrusting deeper, reaching points he had only dreamed of within her he surged. His power melded into her, he watched as her wounds healed before his eyes with each thrust and her desire matching his evident in her eyes, her hands sliding around his neck as he took her over the edge, her climax causing the walls of her sex to cinch down on him, milking his own orgasm from him. Letting her legs down he didn't move, didn't separate them from their intimate placement, he just held himself above her, knowing his weight would be too much. When she raised her lips to meet his, he knew it was going to be ok. He slid out of her, grasped his earlier removed shirt and gently wiped her sex, removing any trace of their pleasure from her, before tossing it over to the edge of the room and returning to her. Pulling her close to him, wrapping an arm over her stomach, he laid listening to her breathing, the rhythmic movement of her chest soothing to him.
And just as he drifted to sleep, he heard one word. The word he knew she didn't mean for him to hear. But it was enough. He would let her think he didn't know... But he had no intention of ever letting anything happen to her. If it took all of his life, he would find out why this was happening and what it meant and most of all he would find a way to give her what she wanted. Even if her leaving him caused his death, he would give her the freedom she so desperately wanted. That one word slipped from her lips, that breathless whisper.
"Yours."
The word meant the world to him, and he didn't let those that were his not have everything they wanted. Especially Kathryn.
Chapter Twenty-One
She woke the next morning with a feeling of peace that she hadn’t known before. Most of her life she had felt like an outsider. For the first time, she felt like she belonged. She didn’t want to think of the meaning behind it; for now, she just wanted to feel it. To let the warmth wrap around her like a fur coat on a winter’s day. Turning to face Alexei, she watched him sleep.
Throughout the night his body spooned against her, one leg thrown over hers, his arm draped across her chest. She smiled, thinking tucked in against him would have been an understatement. They were nearly one. While she still had the fleeting thoughts to run, the thought of not being near him nearly caused a panic. Whatever was going on between them, they would discover together.
Leaning over his body, she let her tongue reach out, circling the tight bead of his nipple. He hummed softly in his sleep, and she smiled while working her way south. His hips raised as she reached her destination. He was, hard, ready. Just a stroke of her hand down the soft skin had a drop of his essence glistening from the broad tip. She gasped as his fingers slid through her hair as she moved down, positioning herself between his legs.
“Good morning to you too, Kitten. Glad to see you’re feeling playful this morning.”
“I have no plans on playing, I’m taking what’s mine.” Her eyes met his, holding his gaze, refusing to look away as she took him in her mouth. He tasted of man and musk, his essence driving her insane. Listening to his sounds, feeling his reactions she found what worked. The tip of her tongue on the underside of the bulbous head would cause him to groan. Flattening her tongue and taking him deep into her throat, she could feel his body tense and tremble. As much as she teased him, she teased herself. She wished for a third hand to rub her swollen clit. There was no way she was taking her hands off him, not when she felt the power she had over him. With one hand on his shaft, the other caressing his sac, she ruled him. He tapped the side of her cheek, she knew he was signaling he was close, for her to let go. She hummed and doubled her efforts. She wanted him in her mouth; she could have released him but that would have given him the opportunity to take control.
Her own body trembled as he growled out, “Christ, Kathryn! There’s no turning back now, take it, Kitten!” He palmed her head as his hips began to piston against her mouth. He groaned, then roared, and she tasted the first burst of his seed on her tongue. She drank him down, licking his still hard shaft getting every drop of his seed.
“If that is how you intend to wake me, I think I may start taking naps.” She loved the rough quality of his laughter as he pulled her back up his body. She kissed his lip
s as his hands roamed her body.
“Let me shower. Then I need food. I didn’t wake you like that so you would reciprocate.” The fact was, she wanted him like crazy, needed to feel him inside her. But she had been a pain in the ass and knew it. She wanted this to be about him, only him. It was a momentary softening of his grip on her that allowed her to jump off and run to the bathroom. He followed. It wasn’t until the water was cold and her legs were rubber before they emerged. Standing side-by-side as they dried she looked at the full-length mirror and cocked her head as she looked first at her birthmark and then to his. “Alexei?”
“Yes, Kitten, I know, you’re hungry. While the thought of you walking naked through my home appeals to me like nothing ever has, I doubt I would be able to keep my hands off you long enough for you to eat.” He laughed and kissed the side of her neck before his gaze followed hers to the mirror. “What the hell?”
“That’s what I was going to say.” He placed an arm behind her, easily lifting her, so their birthmarks were side by side. Lines seemed to appear and vanish, moving beneath their skin until the image held. “Do you notice how our marks placed together look like Europe?
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