Branded Wings

by S. I. Hayes

  “You’re irresponsible, Keegan. You know that. Bringing these men into your home, to beat and torture them? That is beyond idiocy. You don’t have the power of compulsion to take the memory of your face from them, so what were you to do? Hmm? Killing them would cause an upheaval we cannot afford to have. You are on your way to destroying everything you have worked so hard for these past two years.”

  “I know what I’m doing. Firstly, they have no idea where they are, we hooded them. And as for my face, do you really think that they would be stupid enough to-”

  “Keegan. They are Humans attacked by Otherkind. They absolutely will go to the Hunter’s Association.” He sighed deeply facing me. “But I will step in. It’s part of why I am here. I knew you would fly off. Do something extreme. I will compel them to put the beating on their friends, this way the others are punished as well. Will this satisfy your blood lust for now?”

  “You do understand that I had to take a stand here. I couldn’t let it go.”

  “I do. You were protecting your own. I understand that, but there are more diplomatic ways. There are laws now, ones of the Human Kind that we all must adhere to as well.

  “I know.” I ran my hands through my hair, smoothing it behind my ears. “In the future, I will try to think it through... Better... Have you found anything out about-”

  “The Ravencrest death? Very little. Not enough to speak on. Yet, there is something else I need your attention turned to. With the inclusion of over fifty new Deviant Class members it is imperative that you show a strong and decisive face to the community at large. That you have solid foundations and support behind you. Siegfried is a good start. I have added the young wolf Gage Louvell to your ranks as well. He will need guidance, but that is coming for him soon enough. In the meantime, he can manage so long as he gets the usual lockdown procedures on the moon.”

  “Right. The dorm’s outfitted for him. So that isn’t a problem.”

  “There is also the matter of a young lady that we are sponsoring now.”

  My eyebrow rose curiously. My father very rarely showed an interest in anyone outside of the family, so who was this young lady? “Sponsoring?”

  “I terminated our contract with the Fey this summer, but while doing so, I bore witness to the unfurling of a Dragon. She is now at Grigori, but the company she keeps is not the most ideal. She must be swayed to realize there is more than one path to choose.”

  “I really don’t have the time for this. What with acclimating Ryane, trying to figure out what happened to me, keeping the Deviant Class as a whole in line. When am I supposed to also take on a Dragonborn I know nothing about?”

  “Just listen to me, for once. Her name is Aella Rhonwena, but she has been exiled, so she is going by Aella Rowan. I cannot tell you too much more as it could sway things for her. Just make sure someone makes contact with her, that’s all that I ask. As soon as I have more information pertaining to Vanessa Ravencrest’s death, I will let you know.”

  I nodded as he clasped my shoulder and we headed downstairs. I had heard the door earlier, and if the smells coming up from the kitchen were any indication, I was sure that Ryane was here by now.

  “THANK YOU FOR THE KIND gift, Your Majesty.” Ryane put in the diamond and sapphire earrings that my father happened to have with him, for her. It was strange, ever since I made my intentions for her firm with him, how he had changed his manner toward her. Then perhaps his kindness to her had been going on longer, he had been feeding her blood addiction while I could not. Perhaps he felt her love for me was as genuine as I knew it was.

  “Call it an early engagement present. The real gift is still being worked upon. I did not want you to think I had forgotten. Please, call me Lord Herlihy, or perhaps even Father?”

  I coughed, as her mouth hung open with a tiny quiver. Even his Guardians seemed to gasp, surprised by his request. I know I was floored. My chest tightened and I could barely breathe. My father was many things, but never a sentimental man. Who was this standing in my kitchen? Just half an hour before he had excused himself to compel three stooges to forget that they had been beaten to a pulp by a pissed off Vampire and now here he was, telling a long fatherless woman to please think of him in that way. My head and my heart began to ache. I rarely experienced so much thought from him.

  Ryane hopped down from the counter and flew into his arms. He laughed gently as she squeezed him tightly. “Thank you...” He smiled.

  “For what?” She sniffed.

  “For excepting us all.” He kept the smile, Hell, he was near to beaming as he grabbed me by the head and pulled me into an embrace. I almost fell on the floor.

  “Oh, the feels...” Sig sniffed from the doorway. The bastard couldn’t help himself as he and Gage returned from taking care of the other matter.

  “Shut up Siegfried,” my father grumbled. There was the man I knew.

  “Yes, your Highness.” Sig still grinned as we broke our embrace. “I just wanted a hug,” he bemoaned. “I never get the hugs.” He fell onto Gage, who wrapped his arms around him.

  “Oh, the poor guy. Nobody loves him,” Gage teased, kissing Sig on the top of the head through his hand before shoving him off.

  Ryane bent over laughing as my father shook his head, trying to hide his amusement.

  “There. There it is again. I swear to God! I have been hearing it half the night. Every so often there’s this sound.” Gage tried to get everyone to stop laughing and not move.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, my ribs stinging.

  “Every once in a while, I hear this noise, it’s faint, so I can’t pinpoint it and it’s making me nuts.” He stepped towards Ryane as she shifted her legs uncomfortably. “There it is again. Do you hear that? It’s like a little... Click.” He flicked his tongue against his front teeth lightly, imitating the sound and I saw Ryane’s face drop and her breath stop.

  I sputtered, trying not to laugh outright. “Gage, don’t worry about it. It’s not your imagination, or your business. Okay. Just back off”

  He looked at Ryane, then back to me and exhaled slightly. “I don’t wanna know, do I?” he asked low.

  I looked at my father and Sig. My father shook his head, as always, and Sig was making faces. He knew exactly what I’d done to her, and nobody had even told him.

  “Think I’m going to walk your father out and do my perimeter checks now. I will see you in the morning for the ride in to Grigori.” Gage nodded his head to me and to Ryane, then turned to go with my father.

  “I will be in touch, Son. Ryane, have a good evening.”

  “Thank you,” she managed through an embarrassed smile.

  “OH, MY GOD!” RYANE laughed, mortified, as the door shut behind them, her hands covering her face. Every contraction of her stomach, I was sure, made those balls shift and move. “Get these things out of me! Now!” She went for her jeans button and I grabbed her hands.

  “Are you really going to strip down to your thong right here, in front of Sig, and push those out on the kitchen counter?” I was half laughing, but the thought of her doing such a thing made me rather angry at the same time. All day she had gone, and yet now that we were relatively alone, she still had little patience. What was I going to do with her? “You’ve gone this long, a few more moments will be of little difference.” I sighed and kissed her forehead gently, running my thumb across her parted lips. “I love you,” I breathed in a whisper. “Now go to the carriage house, you will find that your thumb print will unlock the door. Wait for me how I prefer. You do remember?”

  She looked down slightly, I’m sure she could feel my need for her growing in my jeans as I pressed it against her. “Yes, Sir,” she answered obediently, sliding by me and without looking at Sig, she let herself out through the back door toward the path to the carriage house.

  I ran my hands through my hair, a sure sign of my stress and Sig sighed.

  “Boss, what’s going on, other than the obvious? Your father doesn’t just stop
by for a cuppa and a chit chat, like ever.”

  “It’s complicated, and apparently getting even more complicated as we go, but no matter. I’ve a little job for you.”

  “Do tell, aside from shadowing you and Ryane, training Ryane, God knows when I’ll get back to that, arranging social events and going to my own classes, and trying to eke out some time to sleep and eat. What, pray tell, have you for me now?” His nostrils flared, and a bit of flame sprouted from between his teeth.

  My shoulders shook in a silent laugh. He was sorta right, he was getting spread awfully thin as of late, but this was the life of the First Guardian. Charles ran on very little sleep. Then again, Vampires could go weeks without it if need be. Sig was, however, not a Vampire. I needed to remember this.

  “Sig, I know this has been... A very long day. We will have more like them, I’m sure of it. This assignment will fall right in with your new social status and possibly your classes if you’re quick about it. It involves a freshman in the Deviant Class, Aella Rowan.” I used the name that would be on her transcripts, according to my father, so as not to raise any questions.

  He raised an interested eyebrow at me. “Go on.” He tried not to sound as interested as he suddenly looked. It didn’t work.

  “Well, apparently she is a Dragonborn, which should already have her on your radar. Also, my father is sponsoring her and feels she would do well to be away from the company she is currently keeping.”

  “So, you are telling me to do what exactly?” Sig leaned into the doorway with a smirk.

  I smiled open mouthed. “I’m saying, get to know the girl. Stop being so aloof and cagey all the time. I swear, if I didn’t know better I’d think you didn’t like women at all.”

  “I like um just fine and they tend to like me, but are we forgetting this particular one, just today, tried to melt my balls off!”

  “I think she was just trying to get your attention. Something tells me if she had wanted to hurt you, she would have.”

  “Possibly.” His smirk widened. “I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise immediate success.”

  “Of course not. She doesn’t particularly like you right now. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve a woman who’s going to kill me if I don’t go and take care of her right now.”

  “About that. The diversions were working, but next time, maybe something less audible?” Sig laughed as he walked me out.

  “What’s the fun in that?”

  Chapter 30 Ryane

  WHEN I GOT TO THE CARRIAGE house, I stuck my thumb on the security pad and the door beeped at me, a light above my head turned green and the door opened up. It was pretty nifty, actually. This was the first time I had been here since Sig and I had burned the original to the ground. I didn’t know what to expect. As the door opened, I had a sudden memory of the carnage that had been in the room; the bodies in pieces on the floor, the women Keegan had slaughtered in his feral fit. My heart raced at the memory of the smell of blood and death. There was none of that now. The once purple and white furnishings were gone, no longer stained in that thick red color. The dark paneling was replaced by cobalt wallpapering that had an intricate silver filigree running up the center and around the black lacquer crown molding. The couches were black leather. The place appeared significantly larger, curtains in that same stunning blue were off to my left side and deep red arched doors were to my right, with what looked like another thumb pad. I wanted to look around, but thought better of it, Keegan seemed to be in rare form when he ordered me in here. I needed to be ready when he came for me, and did I ever need him to come for me. I went to the arched doors and, sure enough, my thumb gained me access. Beep, beep, green light and the doors opened to complete darkness, but I could make out shapes. Lots of shapes. I had committed murder in the room that once stood here, taken a man by the head and cut his throat from ear to ear, and hadn’t looked back since. I’ve done so many things, so very wrong from where I had started, all for the love of this man... This Vampire. Frankly, I wasn’t sure I cared. In fact, I’m sure I would do it all over again and not change anything, except losing Sam. As soon as I stepped into the room the lights came up dimly. Keegan had made improvements, and there was more equipment than I remembered. I closed the door behind me and pulled off my tank top and sports bra. It felt good to get out of that contraption, I had to admit. Taking off my All-Stars, I slipped them onto a chair by the doors, along with my socks and jeans. All the bending and twisting had me on edge again as I kneeled down in just my black boy shorts. Placing my hands on my knees, palms up, my head tilted downward, I parted my lips in anticipation.

  It didn’t take long before I could hear Keegan in the front rooms, it seemed he was walking around, taking his time before joining me. I moaned softly, my body tingled with desire. The door beeped and he stepped in, looking down at me.

  “Have you looked around at all?” he asked, lifting my chin slightly.

  “No, Sir.”

  “Shall I show you what I’ve done for you?”

  I swallowed, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for this again. It had been quite some time since he had done much more than toss me over his knee. “If you like, Sir.”

  He put out his hand for me to take, wrapping his arm around me, he leaned down, kissing my lips gently. “Let’s have a look.” Pushing me by the small of my back, he made me walk ahead of him. “Go on,” he urged when I looked back unsure.

  The first thing I realized was there were more pieces of furniture along the walls, as if for others to observe, and more equipment on the main floor. A large mahogany box that reminded me of a kitchen island caught my eye for its sheer size, it was padded on the top and all around it were these huge thick metal rings, that I assumed were to tie me down with. The cross was back, only as I touched it, it flipped head over tail and I gasped, making Keegan let out a small laugh. He was stepping up the games it would seem. I walked awkwardly toward a chair of sorts and lifted my eyebrow at him as I ran my fingers down the padded armrest to the shackle and ropes that hung from it.

  He walked to me, taking my hand. “It’s a bondage chair, like the bench, it allows me to move you how I want, giving me full access. He slid his fingers across my nipples, making them stand and I let out a delicate moan. “Keep looking around... There is more.”

  I saw the horse bench and it occurred to me that the chair was its complement. Where the chair opened me up from the front, the other bent me over for his pleasure. In the center of the room was a wooden block and from that block stood a pole of sorts. I could feel him behind me, then his fingers trailed down my back.

  “You said you owned a vibrator... Well, this takes that to a whole other level.” He licked my ear, pulling me toward what looked like a well-padded free weight bench, only this had ropes and pulleys.

  “What is this for?” I asked as he laid me down upon it. Pushing my thighs apart, his fingers slid my soaked panties aside and slowly began tugging on the loop that hung outside of me from the Ben-Wah balls. My head fell to one side as he pulled them from me, leaving me very aware of the void left behind.

  “This is so that I can get those legs where I want them,” he said with a knowing smile, his fingers filling me up as he bent down to kiss me. I tensed right up around his thick digits, my body shivering. “Come for me, now,” he whispered hotly in my ear, pulling up on me.

  I lifted my ass off the bench, pushing against him as I moaned his name, coming into the hollow of his hand.

  “Good girl.” He flicked my nipple with his tongue.

  “More...” I breathlessly pleaded. I had been kept on the edge for too long and needed more of him, from him.

  He pulled from me, and I felt the thick leather as he lifted my hands above my head, strapping them in. Then he wrapped leather high around my thighs, lifting them up and pulling them apart, my feet dangled, my ass was almost completely off the bench. I watched as he pulled my legs even higher and wider, with a smile. Then he walked away. Before I could really protest I
could hear him fussing around. He had gone to a new toy chest... I maneuvered so that I could just see him as he approached with it.

  “Nothing too intense, just a bullet.” He tore my boy shorts at the seam to get me out of them. “Hmm... I love you wet like this, you smell so fucking good.” His tongue connected with my hot folds and I was instantly mewling as he slid the bullet up into my clit. The vibration was low, but it was going to do the trick. “Don’t you come, not yet. Feel the sensations and transcend them.”

  I don’t know how long I lay like that, on the edge of madness, every time I was about to be consumed he’d pull the little vibrating menace away, only to put it back and turn it up. The sound in my ears was so loud, it seemed like my whole body was moving at the speed of that little silver devil.

  “Would you like to see some of the things in your toy box? Or shall I torture you further?” He turned up the vibration, his tongue sliding back up into me. I threw my head back with a guttural moan. “Please, Sir. Let me come,” I begged, my body aching, my muscles clenching on the verge as he pulled the bullet from me completely. I growled at him and he laughed, shaking his head.

  “Patience. You have none, I swear woman.”

  “Oh, you wait until I get my hands on you.” I was so riled up I couldn’t contain it anymore and he was beginning to piss me off, even as horny as I was.

  “Oh, baby...” His lips sought to connect with mine and I bit him. “I could leave you here till morning, and with that attitude I might.”

  His teasing was not funny. I struggled against the binds, but it was no use, I wasn’t getting out unless he let me down. He stood back and watched as I twisted and fought. “You’re such a shit! Ugh, let me down.”