by Emily Bex
Taking her hand, he led her out the door, where Gi waited for him. He held the ancient and most precious book among the Medici treasures. It held the history of matings, births and deaths that recorded their royal bloodline. He’d placed a rose at the page that would bear her name this night, documenting for all future generations, her place in history as his mate.
Shade took the ancient text and handed it to her. “Please, mi amore, will you carry this to the chamber? It is my family’s ledger of our royal heritage. I will write your name upon the page when you come back to me. The ledger is sealed in a vault and only unlocked and taken out to record these events. You will carry no bouquet for a traditional mortal wedding, but for me, this is far more important.”
She took the ancient book from his hands. The pages were crisp and yellowed with age, the leather bindings were cracked, and the single blood red rose was inserted between the pages. They continued to walk through the long halls of the Castello. He had one hand holding hers, and the other placed at the small of her back, guiding her, as he’d always guide her.
As they walked the long halls together, the house staff appeared one by one and stopped whatever they were doing to see them on their way. They didn’t speak but nodded as a sign of respect to Shade and his chosen mate, and a silent wish for the safe turning of the beauty on his arm. He held his head proud. She would be his now, nothing would ever take her from him.
As they made their way down the long staircase to the below ground chambers, the stones were old, and the chamber he sought hadn’t been used since his birth five-hundred years ago. The walls almost spoke to him of the events that had come before them. It was a blessing, in a way, as their ritual surfaces bled water that trickled downward, and held the memory of their history. He wove his way through the torch-lit archways, carefully making sure bel didn’t fall or stumble, her beautiful gown trailing behind her. Madre would’ve been so damn proud and would’ve loved her in this gown. As they finally approached the enclosed chamber, the stone door was closed.
“Mi amore, once you go inside this chamber, there is no returning. There is only the two of us far beneath the ground. Do you wish for me to become your master this night, the maker you will forever cherish for the rest of your immortal existence? You will now be bound to me for all eternity. Are you ready to give your soul to me to carry?”
Her heartbeat picked up as he led her to a massive door and stopped. “Lover, I’m already bound to you for all eternity. Just promise me you’ll not leave my side. Will I hear you? During the turning, in my head... will I be able to hear you?”
“There will be times, mi amore, when you cannot hear me or feel me, but I will never leave your side. When you have turned, when it is time for you to come back to me, you must listen for me, concentrate and feel all of me. You will have to fight hard. The darkness of Hell will call you, the devil wants you and he will fight you for your hand. Do not let him win. You must feel my blood in your veins, make the remnants of your soul seek me, listen for my words. You will not feel them at first. You will only feel the pain of the changes inside you. You must fight! Your body will be an empty shell, open to the devil to inhabit, mi amore. He can claim you as his own. Let the beast I have given you come out and fight to return to me. Now, we must enter.”
Turning, he laid his hand on a raised stone, carved with the Medici crest and pressed his hand flat against it, speaking in the ancient code he was taught. Watching as a red glow flared beneath his hand, the chamber stone opened, and he willed the candles to come alive, lighting the very chamber where he was born, where his bel would be reborn, and all their bambinos to follow.
“I will not carry you across this threshold, mi amore, but I will carry you out as my mate. Come, my bel, it is time to welcome you to my world.”
Kate peered inside this cave, this cavern carved in stone, lit only by candles and it was silent as a tomb. She could see a raised platform, and centered in that platform a bed of stone... or an altar? Her mouth felt dry, but she stepped over the threshold and into the chamber. The room was cold as they were so far below ground, and the air was musty. She felt him step in behind her. The devil will fight for my soul? But Shade fights as well... and I will fight. She squeezed his hand.
He could feel her fear and that was good, she needed to be deeply aware of all her senses. Taking her hand, he led her up to the dais and sat her down softly upon the bed of stone draped in white silk. Kneeling at her feet, he took off each of her leather slippers and placed them aside, and looked up into her eyes, those beautiful dark pools, open wide and reflecting the candlelight.
“Mi amore, relax. I am going to make love to you, right here. I will play music for you as well, and once you are comfortable, I will take your blood, you will feel no pain, just pleasure, a lot of pleasure.”
Winking, he stood and slowly stripped for her, standing tall before her, he saw the wicked smile on her face and he knew she’d come back to him. Letting his hands slide up under her gown, he gripped her thighs gently and slid her back to lie down. He took the book from her hands and gave her the blood red rose, picked at its peak from their very own garden.
“Now, keep the rose, mi amore, take it with you, it will help you. Kiss me... kiss me like it is the last time you will ever kiss me. Let me feel how much you love me, how much you want to be my mate, how much you want to come back to me.”
Still holding the rose, she put her arms around his shoulders and drew him to her, until their lips touched. Their kisses gentle, soft, teasing. And then his lips covered hers, his mouth opened, his tongue probed, and she took him into her mouth, as she would take his blood and his soul before night fell again. And as she kissed him, long and deep, they felt their passion build.
He kissed her lips, her neck, her cheeks, her eyelids. He moaned softly and growled, feeling her come alive under his hands. Gently pulling on her tongue with his teeth, he broke the passionate kiss that lit up both their bodies.
“You cannot feed, mi amore, you must hold back. But I will not. You are so beautiful in this candlelight.”
Letting his lips slide to her breasts, he teased her nipples through the silken white material and felt her breasts arch up to him. He pulled her gown up around her waist, she was naked beneath the dress and his cock slid along her silken sex. She was wet and aching, and he felt her need to have him deep inside her.
“I love you, mi amore, I love you more than my own life.”
The moan escaped her lips as his hands pulled at her hips, drawing her to him. She slid her legs around him, the gown draping to the floor.
He felt her desire for him, but the timing must be right for her to feel no pain, just pleasure as he drained the life from her. Sliding his cock in deep, he sank his fangs into her neck, he began to draw deep, experiencing the exquisite sexual pleasure in her blood, gorging himself on her unique taste that was all his. He felt his body respond with her blood rushing inside him. He drew deeper, swallowing more and more of her blood, as his hips thrust harder and harder, wanting her to cum right before she was drained. He didn’t let go of her neck, keeping his fangs sunk deep into her soft skin, draining her as her orgasm built and he felt her bucking beneath him, wanting to cum for him. Her body would feel that erotic blend of orgasm and that moment of near death, a dizzying feeling for any mortal. He held her tight and for one second, he felt a burst of panic rush through her, she felt the dizziness taking her, and for a split second, she was scared, her mortal instincts for survival kicking in, but he caressed her hip, pushing inside her deeper, penetrating her like never before as he gulped down the sweetest blood of his life.
He laid over her, his weight on her, holding her down. She felt the sweet sting of his fangs and the erotic rush that always followed. She felt his cock, plunging deep inside her. He drank deep, much deeper than usual, as his hips pounded against her, thrusting hard, her legs latched tight around him, open to him. He took her, all of her, and she gave herself up to him.
She
began to feel dizzy, a light-headedness that she’d not felt before, and she realized he was draining her of all her blood, and she felt a momentary panic. She struggled as she felt his hands caress her and he pushed deeper, pushing her to the edge of orgasm. ”Lover, don't let me go.”
She felt the tension build inside her. It was a deep ache in her belly that sought release, when she felt his cock throb, and his mouth sucked hard and she let herself fall. Falling backward into this abyss, as the orgasm washed over her, wave after wave, and still, he didn’t stop. The pleasure overwhelmed… she needed it to stop... but he drank from her still.
He knew they were close, and then he felt her body respond with pleasure as they both came together and he filled her with his seed. Her body relaxed as he felt her heart take a slow struggled beat, and she dropped away into another world. Her weak heart told him she was near death, but for a short while, she could still hear him in that fog where she resided between the worlds of those who live, and those who don’t. Unlatching his fangs, he placed his lips to her mouth and whispered. “I love you, mi amore, come back to me. Come back to me...”
Sinking his fangs right above her heart, he took the last drop of blood and felt her heart stop. She was gone. He leaned over her, lifting her limp and lifeless body, his lips close to hers as he used his fingers to open her red lips, their color fading fast. Covering her mouth with his, he slowly inhaled her soul as it rose in a white mist into his mouth. He inhaled deeply, taking her and felt her spirit come to him easily, escaping the dead cage of her body and curling into him, taking refuge inside of him. His body shook as his soul wrapped itself around hers, his beast cradling her spirit, giving her love and protection until she could come back to claim it. He only hoped she’d fight the darkness to come back to him.
He brought his wrist to his mouth and scored it with his fangs and held the gaping wound over her mouth. He held her mouth open with his fingers and watched his blood slowly drip into her mouth. Kissing the top of her head, he massaged her throat with his hand to help her swallow his blood. She must get his blood into her system to make her body turn. His body was spinning with the intake of her blood and her soul and his tears began to flow. He must let her go, for now, she must fight the hand of the devil to return to him. He knew the first thing she’d experience would be the excruciating pain of his blood as it changed her body from mortal to immortal, giving her the gift of eternity. He sat up from her and stared, her blood mixed with his on his body, his face and his hands. His blood tears streaking his face, and all he could do now was wait. He could no longer help her. He must wait in this chamber for the process to run its course. She was dead. He had drained her. And now her battle began.
Kate felt herself dropping away, falling backward into nothingness, surrounded by darkness, and she heard his voice from far away, telling her to come back to him. She watched as, from a distance, his fangs sank into her chest and he drew the last drop of blood from her, and her heart slowed and stopped. She kept falling further from him, and looked back to see her mortal body, still on the stone altar, as he leaned over her, his face close to hers, as he parted her lips and drew her soul into him, and she felt it. She felt her soul as it left her body and entered his. She felt his soul entwine with hers, holding it safe. ”Lover... I am dead.”
She felt herself tumble into a free-fall, out of control, and she struggled to right herself. She looked back into the chamber once more, to see him biting his wrist and dripping his blood into her open mouth. He stroked her throat, and it was the last vision she had of him as she spun and fell further into the darkness, the white gown, now stained with her blood, a tangle around her legs. The single red rose still held tightly in her grip. She could feel the skirt of her gown fluttering around her in the fall.
She felt his blood in her mouth, tasted the salt and the metal. Felt it seep down her throat. Falling still, she looked back. Looked for the chamber, looked for Shade, but saw nothing but darkness and felt nothing but this never-ending sensation of falling. She reached out, tried to grab something, anything, but it was an empty chasm, and she realized in her panic to grab onto something, she had dropped the rose, her last link to him.
He knelt beside the dais. She lay dead, motionless, her lily-white skin now indistinguishable from the pure white silk gown. Her red lips were colorless, and her crimson hair cascaded over the sides of the ceremonial stone altar. One arm hung over the side of the altar, and in her hand, she held the blood red rose. He watched as the rose dropped from her hand to the floor. He wept like a child. She was gone, and already, he couldn’t bear her absence. His body screamed for her, needing her and wanting her, but she wouldn’t respond. All he could do now was wait, he laid his head beside hers and let his blood tears flow.
His hand slid through her hair and he cried out, “What have I done?” He kissed her cold dead lips, letting his fingertips trail over her white, colorless cheeks. Her beautiful dark eyes were hidden from him, as her lashes fanned out on her cheeks. She could no longer give him that smile to light his heart, no sparkle, no laughter. He raised his head to the heavens and screamed, “Bel! Come back!”
Collapsing over her, he let the music blast loud to comfort her... to reach her. Breaking Benjamin echoed through the cavern with Anthem of the Angels. ”I am here, mi amore. You are not alone. Just come back to me.”
The falling stopped, but she was nowhere, suspended in space and time. All she could see was darkness, pitch darkness. ”Lover, I’m scared.” Nothingness above her, nothingness below her, suspended in this abyss and this deathly quiet. There was no sound of her breath because she didn’t breathe. There was no sound of her heartbeat because her heart was silenced. ”Shade, can you hear me? Can you feel me?”
She strained to hear his voice in her head, but there was nothing. There was nothingness inside her. And then she heard it, music, faint... soft like an echo.
”I’m alone, lover.” She remembered his promise. ”Don’t leave me. I’m here, Shade. I’m here in the darkness.” She could faintly hear the lyrics of the song he played, and knew he spoke to her in this song.
Then she was falling again, falling in a pit with no bottom as the song faded away, too far in the distance to hear. She felt herself tumble once more as she went into a roll, an out of control fall, spinning and a part of her wished for an end. ”Pull me back, lover. Pull me back.”
The falling stopped again, and her body floated free, suspended in this darkness. She had no sense of time. How long had she been here? How would she get back? She felt a burning sensation in her fingers and toes. At first, it felt pleasant in this cold darkness, but the intensity of the heat escalated rapidly to pain. She felt it creep slowly up her arms and legs, the burning inside her veins. She threw her head back and screamed, her throat felt raw, and yet, there was no sound. Her mouth was open in silence, and there was no relief from this burning. She drew her body into a ball, suspended in this nothingness, curling up in pain, as it crept slowly, slowly through each vessel, burning its path from the inside out. ”Shade?” He’s out there. I know he’s out there. He wouldn’t leave me.
She opened and closed her hands, shaking them, trying to free them from the grip of this pain, and she felt the pain slide further up her arms. Her bones ached, a deep crushing ache that joined the chorus of pain that sang in her veins. Please stop! Stop! Stop! ”Shade?”
She pulled her knees to her chest, and wrapped her hands around her knees, making herself smaller, like there was less of her to hurt. She cried but there were no tears on her cheeks and no sound to the sobs that racked her body. Her head was on fire! She shook her head, her hair flying. She released herself from this tight ball and reached her hands to her head, but felt no flames, just this pain, this pain, this unbearable, unending pain searing through her brain, burning in her eyes, her mouth. She ran her tongue across her teeth, and she felt them... fangs. ”Lover, I’m turning.” She was slammed with a pain in her gut that caused her to double over once more,
curling into a ball, and screaming out once more that silent scream.
She heard something. ”Shade? Is it over? Is that you?”
She heard a low growl in the darkness, and she strained her eyes to see something, anything in this pitch black, when the space around her started to glow with a red light. She looked around and saw two eyes glowing red. ”Lover?” The growl got louder, and the eyes came closer, through the dark and into the red glow. Not Shade... not Shade... Oh God, what is that? A wolf? Not a wolf? Not logical.
It crept closer, fangs bared, growling, and saliva dripping. ”He’ll kill me. Surely, he’ll kill me. You’re already dead, Kate. Shade? You didn’t tell me this part.” She watched as the wolf crept closer, until she could feel his breath against her face. She closed her eyes against the inevitable attack and then... What? She felt him dissolve into her. She absorbed the wolf and felt him curl up inside, calm and warm. The wolf spoke to her, ”I will protect you and all that you love, but you too must fight.” She opened her eyes again, to only darkness, confused by the wolf, and yet comforted.
He lay for the longest time, just watching her. He knew it was futile, she wouldn’t move a muscle, nor bat those long beautiful lashes. He waited for endless hours, there was no clock, but he felt time as it passed. How ironic, to have to live eternally and feel the moments as they dragged by, second by second, hours never-ending without her. The candles began to drip, getting smaller by the hour, as if to remind him, this was just the beginning of the longest wait of his life. It seemed he’d spent his whole life waiting for her, and he’d wait longer, however long it took for his bel rosso, his Kate. He knew she was fighting the pain of the change inside her, turning her from mortal to immortal. It was nothing he’d experienced for himself. He could only go by what had been written, and what other mortals that had made it through the turning had told him. For him, it felt as though there was a sword through his heart, as he could only wait for her now. His beast was curled around her soul, awaiting her return.