by Nora Ash
Warin finally lifted his head, supporting it on one hand so he could look down at me. “You wish to speak about this now?”
“Well…” I couldn’t really fault his surprised tone. It probably wasn’t the best post-sex subject, but it was infinitely safer than the frantic panic churning in my brain. “We didn’t really get a chance to before.”
Warin snorted, then sighed and rolled over onto his back, dragging me with him so I was resting against his chest. “It’s not good news. They have vanished into thin air.”
“What? The skinwalkers? Are you saying they’re... they’re gone?” The shock numbed my throbbing heart, and I raised up to stare down at him. “Can they just… how can they just disappear?”
“I was getting too close, and the vampire behind them must have decided to cover his tracks. Only by pulling them out so abruptly, I now have confirmation that it is another vampire behind their appearance in my city. And he’s… very strong. And extraordinarily devious. Every path I went down came to a dead end. Missing people, but always with a reasonable explanation for their absence, cleverly disguised Compulsion that you’d have to know what to look for to spot.”
“But if they’re gone… does that mean he’s given up?” I asked.
“Perhaps,” Warin sighed. “There is a chance we spooked him when it became clear we were zeroing in on their hideouts. But… without knowing the motivations behind his plan, it’s impossible to say. I do know he’s deliberately sought out my domain, since no other Ancient has experienced similar issues in his territory.”
“So what do we do now?” I worried my lip between my teeth, trying to shake the uncomfortable feeling that someone was out there, watching us. Waiting for another chance to pounce.
“I am going to monitor the situation, and if possible, make use of the witches’ network so I can be prepared if and when any skinwalkers return to the area.” Lifting both eyebrows in challenge, he put a hand between my legs and pressed up, sending a bolt of sensation through my much-abused clit. “Whereas you, my love… you are going to fuck me some more, since I clearly didn’t exhaust you as much as I thought I did, if you have the energy to ask me about skinwalkers.”
I laughed at his crudeness—it was such a change from his usually composed persona, and the glimmer in his eyes that accompanied it sent a wave of joy through me.
Clearly seeing it as permission, Warin rolled over and pinned me against the mattress. When his hips settled between my thighs, it was more than evident that he, at least, was ready for round two.
“Warin?” I asked softly, bracing my hands gently on his shoulders to stop his advances.
He brushed his mouth against mine, stilling. “Yes?”
“Why do you call me ‘my love’? Is it an expression, or something you just…?”
“Liv,” he whispered, one cool hand finding my cheek. “How can you not know…? How can you possibly think I am not in love with you?”
I blinked, swallowing thickly as the emotion in his gaze brushed over me like a near-physical caress.
He kept his gaze locked in mine as his thick cock parted my folds and slid home. And then he made love to me.
25
Warin was, predictably, gone when I woke up, but his scent lingered in my bedding.
I rolled over with a happy sigh as my stiff limbs and sore abdomen reminded me of the night we’d spent together. With a satisfied hum, I buried my nose in the pillow he'd used, inhaling the wild, crisp, earthy aroma he'd left behind.
So this was what it felt like to have a vampire boyfriend.
I chuckled into the pillow as I remembered the blasted romance novel that’d crossed our paths to begin with. I’d have to gift Warin a copy—I was pretty sure he’d get a kick out of it. Especially since his part was played by an emo vampire king who spent his nights stalking the girl he’d become obsessed with.
I smiled softly at the reminder of how Warin had called me his multiple times, both during and after the sex. It was pretty impressive how swiftly he’d gone from calm and restrained to over-the-top possessive the second we’d given in to the attraction between us.
It was also pretty impressive how completely okay I was with it.
It took me a little while to get my ass out of bed thanks to that delicate post-sex-with-vampire ache between my legs and in my muscles, and when I finally did, I was greeted by an entirely different kind of destruction.
The hallway between my bedroom and the living room had a big chunk of plaster broken off. It lay in a crumbled heap on the floor next to a broken picture frame. The living room situation was even worse—it looked like a small tornado had blown through my apartment.
Well, there goes that security deposit.
* * *
I puttered around in the kitchen for a bit, getting coffee ready for Roy and sorting through my mail. I put all the junk aside, pulling out the depressingly large pile of bills… and paused when I got to a square envelope with my address handwritten across it.
Did I even know anyone well enough to get invited to a wedding?
Curious, I shoved the bills aside and ripped the handwritten envelope open.
It turned out to be a note written on cheap, blue-lined paper. It read,
* * *
I know you’re a witch.
If you stay in Chicago, your vampire will know before next sunrise too. And even if he doesn’t kill you himself, his kind will never tolerate your union. There are other Ancients who would only be too happy to execute him for betraying his race.
You have a choice to make today, Olivia, but only today. If you wait, I will make it for you.
Leave Illinois, leave the Night Lord and never come back…
Or follow your lover into the Final death.
Clock’s ticking.
* * *
I stared uncomprehendingly at the note for several long minutes, the cold tingle at the base of my spine making my hands tremble.
Who would send this?
Who even knew?
Joana? But there was no conceivable reason for her to want me out of Chicago. In fact, as long as I stayed, she had the curse as guarantee Warin would be kept in line.
And how on Earth would she have known Warin was my lover?
How would anyone know? It’d just happened, for crying out loud!
It didn’t matter who’d send it. I couldn’t leave Warin. Just the thought made my chest constrict and a knot of despair build in my gut. Life without Warin? No. Never again. I didn’t know how, or why, but I belonged with him—I’d never felt this way before, this… complete. I wasn’t giving that up, not today, not ever.
I stared blindly at the letter. But if I stayed…
I knew the sender was right. From both Warin’s reaction to the mere mention of witches, and Aleric’s threats should he ever find out I was one… I knew there would be dire consequences if anyone ever found out the Night Lord of Chicago was dating one. I didn’t believe Warin would hurt me if he found out—not after last night. He couldn’t. He’d be angry, but he’d protect me from others of his kind. Keep my secret.
Until they found out through other means.
Cold crept up my spine until my torso went numb. If I didn’t leave, Warin would die.
I remembered the long procession of Ancient vampires at his meeting. Most had been respectful, but some… I shuddered at the memory of Zeth’s golden eyes. There was not a shred of doubt in my mind that some of them would grasp at this to get rid of him.
And that… that I could never let happen.
So what choice did I have? Wait until sundown, until the author of this damned letter took away my choices and spilled my secret?
But I knew Warin would never allow me to leave. He would rather risk his life than have us separate.
Which meant…
Which meant it was up to me to ensure that he was safe.
Without me.
With mechanical movements I stuffed the letter in my pocket and walked back to m
y bedroom. I pulled out an old weekend bag and packed the bare necessities—a change of clothes, toiletries, money, a few sentimental items—and then returned to the kitchen.
It took me twenty minutes to write the hardest note I’d ever had to write. I folded the white piece of paper in half and scribbled Warin’s name across it, leaving it on the counter where I knew he’d find it.
Then I cast a last glance around the small living space, biting my bottom lip when my eyes fell on the painting of a sunset Warin loved so much. It lay on the floor where it had fallen the night before.
Agony tore at me from the inside, but I gritted my teeth against the tears stinging my eyes. Now was not the time to cry. I could do that later. And for the rest of my life.
Pulling on strength I didn’t know I had, I walked to my bedroom and opened the window there as wide as it would go. There was a pretty good chance Roy would let me leave, if I told him I’d had a change of heart and I needed out of the vampire world, but I didn’t want him to risk Warin’s wrath. So instead, I climbed out my bedroom window at the back of the building, bringing only my weekend bag with me from the life I’d built in Chicago. I didn’t stop to call a taxi until I was two blocks away.
* * *
“Liv?” Joana looked at me, eyebrows raised in surprise as she opened the derelict shop door wider. It was her coven’s headquarters, Raven had told me when I’d texted her asking for her High Priestess’ whereabouts.
“I need your help,” I said. “Please.”
Joana’s eyebrows drew into a frown, but she nodded and opened the door wide enough for me to slip in.
The shop was as old and dusty as it’d looked like from the outside, the boards covering its windows only allowing a few cracks of light to reach its depths. From what little I could see, it looked like it’d been an antique store, once upon a time.
Joana led me out back and up a flight of rickety stairs. I could hear a faint murmur of voices from one of the rooms farther down the small hallway, but she opened the door into an empty space hosting only a few pillows on the floor, what looked like an incense burner, and a wooden bookshelf with piles of herbs and clusters of crystals.
“What can I do for you, Liv?” she asked as she knelt down on one of the floor cushions, motioning for me to take a seat in front of her.
I did, and took a moment to gather myself before I looked up at her again. Her expression was gentle, and it offered me the strength I needed to speak the words I needed.
“I have to disappear. And Warin can’t know where I’ve gone to.”
She nodded after a moment’s silence. “I see.”
I took another deep breath. “I have taken his blood—which means he will know where I am whenever he’s awake. I was hoping… is there a way to remove this effect? Something you can do? A spell?”
Joana hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded again. “There is a spell. It won’t sever your connection completely—only time can do this, and only if you have taken his blood less than three times. But, if we do this, he will no longer be able to tell where you are. Just that you are out there, somewhere. Alive.”
At least it wouldn’t be a complete severance. At least there would still be some small part of our connection lingering, even if I wouldn’t feel it. Even if it would fade with time. “Will it hurt him?”
Joana smiled softly. “No, child. He will only know you’re gone when he wakes and searches his bond for your location. You are not the first witch to need this spell, nor will you be the last. There have been instances through the centuries of powerful vampires capturing our brothers and sisters and forcing a blood bond on them, either through threats or Compulsion. This spell was crafted to give the vampire as little notice of their bond being broken as possible, to allow the witch time to flee.”
I nodded. “Good. Can we… get started? I need to be out of the city before dusk.”
“Of course.” She reached out and grasped my hands in hers. “Close your eyes, Liv. And see with your inner eye the last time you took his blood.”
The memory of Warin’s party welled up. I remembered the look of adoration in Warin’s eyes, his comforting presence as he held me to him so tightly as if we were the only people left in the world. The heat in my body and the zing on my tongue as his blood filled my mouth. His hardness pressing up against my legs and his moans of pleasure.
“Mother goddess, release your daughter from the bond of the Damned. Free her from his blood and protect her from his sight. Goddess of witches, goddess of life—protect my sister. Free her of her bonds.” Joana spoke clearly, but as she said the words to the spell, a rushing from deep inside of me mixed with her voice, turning it woolen. That same power from within me that had tried to fight against the curse rose up, struggling against the gentle press of her magic. But it was no use.
I felt the moment my connection to Warin dampened, as if a cold, clammy fog wrapped around a part of me I hadn’t even known existed. Cutting me off from the only source of warmth I’d ever known.
“Thy will be done,” Joana whispered. She reached out and brushed her fingers against my cheeks, and only then did I notice the tears trickling down my face.
I opened my eyes and wiped at my face. I didn’t have time to cry. Not yet. Not before I was out of the city and Warin was safe.
“I promised you that, when you were ready to leave the vampire, I would put you on the path to discover your magic,” Joana said, voice gentle. “I have a friend in Kentucky. Maggie. She is the High Priestess of a coven there. If I ask, she will take you in and help you open up the connection to your powers. Do you want my help, little sister?”
I drew in a shuddering breath before I nodded. Maybe if I hadn’t been so weak, I could have fought against whoever it was who was so adamant to rip me away from the only man I’d ever loved. Maybe one day, if I was strong enough to protect us both, I could come back. “Please.”
* * *
Warin,
I can't do this. I can’t be yours.
I have left Chicago, and I will not be coming back. If you truly do love me, let me go. Please, Warin. Let me go.
* * *
Forgive me.
* * *
Liv
26
3 months later
“Again!”
I gritted my teeth and steadied my shaking hands as I tried to force a connection to the green light. The tiniest thread obeyed, and the air around my fingers crackled… and died with a fizz.
Breathing heavily, I let my arms fall to my sides, too exhausted to even wipe the sweat off my brow. “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can! Do you have any idea how many witches would give their left tit to have a connection to their magic like yours?” Maggie, my silver-haired High Priestess, hocked a loogie at the barn floor and wiped her face in her arm. “Stop being such a fucking wimp, grab your power by the fucking balls, and do something!”
Maggie wasn’t your stereotypical High Priestess. Where Joana had given off sweet Earth Mother vibes, Maggie… Maggie was more “biker witch gone mad on power-trip.”
And she was no fan of mine. Apparently, my inability to connect with the green light within came from having been “pampered” all my life, and something about “millennials expecting to have their magic handed to them on a silver platter.”
But, our instant and mutual dislike aside, she had taken me into her coven to help “set me on my path” as Joana had said, and she’d helped me land a waitressing job and set me up with a rental trailer of my very own. I was pretty sure it was only to keep in good standing with Joana, but still. I’d have been royally screwed without her help, so I tried to keep my temper in check, even when she screamed at me.
“I’m telling you, I can’t,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m about to keel over, and I still have a shift at the diner to get through. Can we try again tomorrow?”
“Fine, whatever. Can’t have the princess fainting, can we?” She shot me a dark look. “I expect y
ou here tomorrow at nine a.m.”
I glared after her as she strode out of the barn. For someone who looked like a sweet grandmother, she sure was a mean old witch.
* * *
My evening shift at the diner was an absolute nightmare. I wasn’t too fond of waitressing on the best of days, but that evening, I spilled an entire liter of soda all over myself, got yelled at by my boss for being clumsy, got yelled at again by a customer wanting extra pickles, and had my ass pinched so hard I was pretty sure it was gonna leave a bruise.
When I got back to my trailer, I only managed to strip out of my uniform before I slid to the floor for a good cry.
It was my new pastime these days—sobbing in a heap when I was finally alone. I hated my life. I hated my job. I hated Maggie and her stupid coven.
And I missed Warin.
Oh, goddess, I missed him so much it hurt to breathe when I allowed myself to even think his name. So I didn’t. In the daytime, I would keep myself too busy to think, either with work or with training with Margie, and at night, when I was alone and the memories came crawling back…
I got up from the floor, a hand pressed tightly to my ribs where the ache of loss radiated from whenever I thought him. It was always there, always gnawing at me, but at night, there was only one thing that could dull the pain.
I scrambled to my little kitchenette and got a bottle of whiskey out of the cupboard.
And I proceeded to get hideously drunk. Sat alone in my trailer. High class ‘till the end.
I don’t know what was different about that night—drinking alone to numb the pain had been my evening ritual for the past three months. But tonight…
It had been so long since I’d even heard his voice. I closed my eyes and thought back to our final night together—remembered every touch of his body against mine, the taste of his kiss and the softness of his voice as he’d told me he loved me.