by Eve Newton
“What about him?” I ask when he pauses. “He will play an important part in your life. Don’t dismiss him.”
With that cryptic comment, he vanishes in a dramatic swirl of gold.
“Well, great,” I mutter, wondering what exactly my father is setting me up for here. “Just great.”
Chapter 13
Mason
I face off with the Warlock–again. He is seriously pissed, but this time he isn’t going for me as he did last time. It’s not because I kicked his ass, I’d say we were evenly matched, but something has changed. Almost as if he knows he can’t keep me and Lilith apart.
“You got a problem?” I taunt him anyway.
“Not with you,” he says shortly and then vanishes in a fancy bolt of blue lightning.
That leaves me and the Vampire. “Do you?” I ask, glaring at him.
He gives me a slow smirk that only the self-assured can pull off. “Not with you,” he repeats and dismisses me by backing away, giving me the bird with both of his hands before he laughs and turns around to saunter out of the cavern.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Somehow, I feel that being with Lilith in the way I know I need her will not be as easy as I had hoped. She is clearly screwing the Warlock, that much was obvious from the tender touch he gave her during the ritual and the pain on his face as he hurt her.
Axl, on the other hand, is a bit of an unknown. They showed up together. He had her scent all over him, but it was faint. I don’t think he’s wormed his way in between her legs yet. Probably not for lack of trying. Thing is, it doesn’t bother me. When I first figured out who she was to me, it was like a fog had lifted. The life that I was barely hanging onto after losing the woman I loved and after years on the run, suddenly had meaning again. She gave that to me. I want to see the sun rise tomorrow and the day after that. So many nights I just wanted it all to end. So many nights I came so close to ending it myself, but something stopped me. Something so tiny and unknown at the time but is now blindingly obvious. My Fated mate was out there, waiting for me. I couldn’t let her down, even when I didn’t know about her. She is my everything, only she doesn’t know it yet. I can’t tell her. I will scare her away if I come at her with all of this. I still don’t understand it. As far as I know, she has no Wolf in her. It’s definitely not something that is advertised if she does.
So, the fact that she is currently involved with a huge douche doesn’t bother me. I have no intention of stealing her away from him. She can have him if she wants him. That’s up to her. As long as she knows she has to have me too, then I don’t give a fuck. I have to bide my time with her, spend time with her and try to understand what it is inside her that has bonded to me.
Seems that Philip, the utter fucker, has given me the perfect excuse to do this.
“You!” Lilith’s uncle calls after me as I head out of the cavern. “What’s your name again?”
I turn. “Mason,” I state.
“Yeah, that’s right. You’re an Alpha Wolf, aren’t you?”
It’s not an accusation, just a query.
“Of sorts,” I reply, folding my arms across my chest.
“Meaning?” he snaps.
“Don’t have a Pack, so not much of an Alpha to anyone.”
“Huh,” he mutters and gives me a raking once-over. “You think you can protect my niece?”
“I know I can.”
“You will do whatever it takes?”
I nod.
“Good. Something is crackling between the two of you, fucked if I know what it is and I don’t want to know, but I can see it.”
He has piqued my curiosity. “Yeah?” I ask quietly. “What can you see?”
“A red tie that connects you. I’m betting her father saw it too. I’d be very, very careful the next time you come across Draven.”
“Noted,” I murmur. “How can I help?”
He holds his hand out. A silver blade is glinting in the candlelight.
I glance at it warily. “What do you want from me?”
“Your blood. Whatever is brewing between the two of you is strong. It will help anchor the potion.”
“We aren’t involved,” I intone. “We barely know each other.”
“A Fated tie pays no attention to such trivialities,” he says, eyes boring into mine.
“A Fated tie?” I croak out. How the hell does he know?
“Play coy if you want to, however, I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m also the second most powerful person you will ever come across. Okay, maybe third once Lil grasps the full extent of her power.” He lets out a soft laugh. “You being here isn’t a coincidence, and it wasn’t a choice. Destiny brought you here. So, what’s it gonna be? In or out?”
“In,” I say without a shred of hesitation, my curiosity only inflamed by his words. He knows the information I’m seeking. I know he won’t spill it, so there is little point in asking him. I hold out my hand and hiss when he slices it across my palm.
“Good choice,” he murmurs, turning away from me and dropping my blood into a big copper bowl. “Now go. You have competition for her attention.” I can see his slight smirk and narrow my eyes.
He knows way more than he is sharing.
I head out of the cavern, already healed, and up the steps, taking them two at a time, to the next level up to where the barracks are.
I pause outside of the cell that was assigned to me. Her scent hits me hard.
I inhale deeply and lean against the door frame casually, arms folded, ankles crossed.
“Hi,” she says, standing up from the small bed she was perched on. “I hope you don’t mind me waiting in here for you?”
I shake my head, my mouth suddenly dry. I have a sudden attack of nerves which catches me completely off-guard.
She smiles shyly and looks down. “Uhm, what happened with us in the kitchen…I…what is this?”
“The beginning of something special,” I whisper to her.
Her eyes shoot up to meet mine, wide and full of questions that I wish I could answer.
She opens her mouth to say something, but I will never know what it is as the Warlock appears behind me and growls, “Lilith, we need to talk.”
I clench my jaw but step aside to let her pass. She brushes against me, pressing her body closer than is necessary. The fire of her touch takes my breath away. I stumble back into the cell and turn my back to her, closing my eyes tightly. All of my resolve to keep our bond under wraps until she is ready dissolves and I turn back, “Lilith, wait!”
But she is gone. Whisked away by her boyfriend before I could take the plunge, for better or for worse.
Only time will tell what will happen the next time we cross paths.
Chapter 14
Lloyd
“Are you okay?” I ask Lilith as I transport her straight to her bedroom, as far away from that Wolf as I can get her.
She nods carefully and looks around. “Bold,” she states, folding her arms.
I smile sheepishly and go to her, pulling her hands away from her body so that I can hold them. “I’m sorry, Lily. I’m a stupid ass and I shouldn’t have said what I did. I love you and you mean everything to me. I would give up the Coven, the magick, in a heartbeat if I had to for you.”
She presses her lips together, then blows out a breath. “I’m sorry too. I should’ve told you right away. I’m not a part of the Coven. I have no say in keeping you away from them. I didn’t think, but rest assured, it won’t happen again.”
I smile at her and pull her to me for a kiss and hopefully some make-up sex.
Sadly, though, she pushes me away and sighs. “We need to talk,” she says.
I gulp and let go of her hands. No conversation that starts with those four words is good for the asshole on the receiving end of it.
“After we fought, Axl came to me,” she says, crushing my heart with just those few words. “He bit me. It wasn’t planned and it was more that I pushed him into it, than him wanting to do it
. He wanted to wait until the right time. You said before that you were okay with that. I hope you meant it because that is now something that I will crave from him and I want to bite him too. There is something there, something very powerful, maybe my Dad can see it and that’s why he’s set up this mentor thing… I don’t know…” She trails off, her silver eyes fixed on me, frozen in terror that she is going to tell me to shove off because she wants the Vampire only.
“Say something,” she almost snaps at me as I stay silent.
“Uhm…” I stammer, having no words.
“Did you mean it?” she grits out.
“Yes,” I breathe out. “I meant it. Did you…did you and he…” Fuck, I can’t even say it. I feel like an awkward teenager again.
“Fuck?” she asks bluntly. “No,” she says before I can whimper out a response. “I wouldn’t have said no if he’d made the move, though. That’s what I’m getting at, Lloyd. I love you, and I’m really glad that our relationship is out in the open now. It will open us up to so much more of each other. I want you in my life. I need you in my life, but I also need him. Do you understand that?”
I bite my tongue to stop myself from backtracking what I’ve already told her. I want to, but I can’t. She needs to feed the Vampire inside her and that is something that I just don’t have the tools to do. “I understand,” I croak out.
“So, you meant what you said? That I can have him?” she presses, clearly needing me to say it.
“Yes, I meant it, Lily. I can’t give you what he can. It’s not fair for me to deny half of you, the stronger half. If you need him, then I won’t stand in your way, but please, Lilith, don’t leave me,” I whisper the last part.
She throws her arms around me, holding me close to her. “I won’t ever leave you, Lloyd. I love you.” She runs her hands into my hair, brushing her lips over mine. I wrap my fists around her gorgeous hair and plunge my tongue between her luscious lips.
“You said you love me…twice!” I say gleefully, pulling away slightly.
She giggles. “I know, and I do. It was the perfect moment to tell you.”
I kiss her again, ready to take this to bed, but again, she pulls away and gives me a thoughtful look.
“What?” I ask in dread.
She sighs. “Mason.”
“What about him?” I spit out.
“What if I…what if there was something…there’s a connection there. I don’t know what it is or where it’s come from, but it is strong and I know he can feel it too,” she whispers.
I take a moment for her words to sink in. “Are you saying that you want him as well?” I choke out.
She shrugs. “How would you feel about that?” she asks, looking away.
“Is there something that you should tell me?” I ask instead, hoping that she hasn’t betrayed me with him already.
“I just did,” she says gently. “I would never act on my feelings and betray you like that.”
I nod and turn from her, my stomach twisting into a tight knot. I knew that there was a connection between them. It was obvious in the way they were with each other when he first arrived. I tried to ignore it, but clearly doing that isn’t going to accomplish anything. However, he is a Wolf. She is not. So, using the same logic as I did for Axl, I can’t see why she needs him.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she says. “That he’s a Wolf and I’m not, so why do I feel like I need him, like I do Axl.”
I stifle my snort that she knows me so well.
“I can’t explain it, and I’m not saying that anything will ever develop between us. All I’m saying is that there’s something there, I want to explore it. I want you to be okay with me exploring it.”
It doesn’t escape my notice that she isn’t asking me anything. She is telling me. I either have to fall in line or risk losing her completely. That thought puts it all into perspective for me. I would rather share her than not have her at all. That’s all it boils down to.
“Do what you feel you must,” I mumble, not facing her. “I love you, Lilith, and I will do whatever you want me to.”
She breathes out, letting me know she was nervous about saying this. But I’m glad that she did. Had she gone ahead without discussing it with me, it would have been like a sword through my heart.
“I will always be honest with you, Lloyd,” she says, wrapping her arms around me. I turn in them and rest my cheek on top of her head. “I don’t want to ever hurt you.”
“That’s all I ask,” I mumble into her hair. “I will be anything I can for you, even if it is just one of three men who loves you.”
She sniffles into my t-shirt, so I tighten my arms around her. At least I have her to myself for now. I will have to make the most of it before she decides that waiting to see what happens with the Vampire and Wolf isn’t an option anymore and dives in headfirst.
“Thank you,” she murmurs, looking up at me.
I press my lips to hers and sweep my tongue over them until she opens up for me.
“Stay with me tonight,” she purrs, and not even the world crashing down around us would stop me.
Chapter 15
Lilith
I awake from a restless sleep, sweating and panting. I moan softly into the soft pillow, shoving my hand into my hair to get it off my face, feeling like I’m suffocating.
Turning my head, I see Lloyd sleeping soundly.
I’m glad that I didn’t wake him because I can’t tell him about the dream I just had. Or the one I had earlier.
“Damn Hunter,” I mutter and climb out of bed, feeling the effects of the dream resound through my body.
I’m thirsty for water and hungry for blood. I need both soon, so I pull on my robe and silently leave the bedroom, padding down the hallway in my bare feet, and tying my robe tightly.
I jump a mile, a silent scream on my lips when Mason steps out of the shadows at the top of the stairs.
“What the fuck?” I whisper at him. “What are you doing?”
He gives me a puzzled look. “I’m not sure. I was drawn here.”
“By what?” I ask, my heart pounding in my chest at his closeness. I bunch my robe together at the top in some sort of useless defense against his wily Wolf ways.
“By you?” he asks but sounds very unsure about his question.
“I’m not in need of assistance,” I say, wanting to get to the kitchen, but not being able to get around Mason unless I push against him. I’m all for exploring whatever this is, but right now I’m hungry, he smells delicious and I’m aroused by my dreams. I need to get away from him before I pounce on him in the middle of the hallway.
“Fair enough,” he says, just this side of coldly.
I wince as I didn’t mean to push him away, but I do need him to move out of my way. He gives me a penetrating stare before he turns and disappears down the stairs, two at a time with a Wolf’s grace.
I breathe out and count to three before I follow him.
I encounter no one else in the dead of night on my way to the kitchen. I shove open the door and come to a dead stop, my hand resting on the edge of the door.
“Hey,” I croak out, seeing Axl sitting on the countertop, a bottle of blood in his hand. “It’s late, I didn’t think I’d see anyone…”
“Vampire here, remember,” he says, his sexy accent sounding even more pronounced with the low, dark tone he used.
I curse my stupidity. He is a true creature of the night. I tend to forget because me and my mother don’t suffer from the sunlight problem.
“Of course,” I mumble and scamper quickly to the fridge to drag out a bottle of blood. I rip the cap off and without caring how inelegant I appear, I gulp it down, quenching my thirst, sating my hunger.
“Do you want to go Hunting?” Axl asks.
I spin to him. He hasn’t moved off the counter as he watches me closely.
“No, why?” I ask in a high-pitched voice that I cringe at.
He leaps gently down and stalks me wi
th that swagger that makes me drool just a little. He stops in front of me about half a foot away. My already erratic heart beats a bit faster. He can hear it; I know he can. He smiles, slow and sexy, and asks, “You nervous, my Queen?”
“N-no,” I stammer, lifting my chin higher.
“Have you ever been Hunting?”
“Of course,” I scoff. Okay, rarely but still. I have been.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“No problem,” I say, my voice stronger.
He reaches out and flicks a curl that has stuck to my neck away. His skin brushes mine lightly, hitching my breath involuntarily.
“I’m not dressed for a Hunt,” I point out, to deflect.
“I can wait,” he whispers. “Daylight isn’t for hours yet.”
I gulp. I have no choice but to nod and leave to change my attire to something more appropriate to bash through the forest in. He is challenging me, and I won’t look like an idiot in front of him. Not a chance. I hesitate slightly when I see Lloyd still fast asleep in my bed, also remembering Philip in my dreams. If, no, when, the Coven find out that I left the grounds to go Hunting in the middle of the night, they will go crazy on my ass. That is if I can even get out of here without causing a major disturbance.
I relax slightly when I think that I probably can’t. I will be let off the hook. Something tells me that Hunting with Axl is going to a world away from Hunting with my mother. It twists my stomach into a knot.
But I pull on a pair of black leggings and a t-shirt, adding my comfy flat boots to look the part.
With a last lingering look at Lloyd, I turn and head back down to the kitchen where Axl is waiting for me, casually leaning against the back door.
“Ready?” he asks in a low tone.
I nod, my mouth too dry to speak.
He opens the door with a flourish, gesturing for me to go first.
I brush past him and out into the night, my blood pumping wildly through my veins. I lick my lips as he steers me to a side gate that leads out deep into the forest away from the road.