by Lucy Lyons
“I can see why he loves you, Caroline,” Domonique smiled sadly at me. “You definitely aren’t the same girl I was trying to keep alive just a few short months ago. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’d appreciate that, Dominique. You don’t have to seduce your way into safety here. Don’t forget, you’re important to me, too.”
Dominique dipped her head, and the professor continued to sit with his mouth gaping. At least Dom had seen me since I’d left the Venatores. Poor Professor Eldritch was still getting his information from his ex-wife and Simi. The changes he saw in me must have shocked him more than I’d figured they would.
“Nicholas,” I continued, glancing at the amused face of my sweetie, “we both need to eat.” I turned back to Dom and the professor. “Dominique, I’ll send Rachel to get your room ready.” I almost made it out the door before turning back to Eldritch. “I’ve heard that nothing compares with watching and actual werewolf lunar rite. You should go check on Clay, he’s doing really well. Great tan.” Eldritch chuckled at the obvious envy in my tone, and exited with the hope that I’d ended it diplomatically enough that it made up for my unrelenting jealousy at Dom’s power plays. Rachel arrived to help Dominque, and I made my way to the bedroom wing to await my master’s leisure.
Every time Dom came around, those ugly feelings crept back up, and every time they did, I wasted time wondering if Nick would choose me if it came down to it. Neither of them had told me when or why they were no longer together or why they hadn’t bonded. But, he had chosen to do so with me almost the moment we’d met. I clung to that thought as I waited in Nick’s room for him to return and take me out hunting with him.
He was gone for what seemed like an eternity, but when he returned, he was happier than I’d seen him in a while. Irrationally, I felt rage and jealousy take hold of my heart as I attributed his cheer to the arrival of his old flame.
“We need to get this over with. Since you decided to evict several dangerous vampires at the full moon, I’m going to need to come back and help with security, and make sure they don’t come back looking for trouble.” I hate the peevish tone of my voice, but I couldn’t seem to help being childish.
“You didn’t have to let her stay,” he pointed out
“But if I didn’t, then that would mean I don’t trust you. I do. I don’t like that she’s so disrespectful of my place in your life, and I hate, hate, hate that you don’t demand that she stop. But, we’re stuck together forever. If she means so much to you that you’re willing to ruin the eternity you and I will have together, well, there’s not much I can do about that.” I took off the blazer and grabbed a black button-down shirt from his closet. I buttoned the front while he watched me, his thoughts hidden behind his carefully controlled blank face.
“I could watch you all day, if we didn’t have people to take care of.” He said. His voice was dark and full of desire, and I couldn’t help but let him continue to evade my questions. I smiled at him and moved into his arms, pressing myself against the long, hard line of his body. My head rested on his chest, and I breathed in his smell, a musky, earthy combination that made me think of the animals I’d raised in the forest, and how complete and happy animating them had made me. I wanted to sit down with Nick and tell him everything I’d learned with the wolves, but after the reaction that Henny had, I was worried he wouldn’t be as pleased with my new power as I was.
“I have so much to tell you about my training, Nick. But, first you need to feed, and I need to get some food as well.” I tilted my head back and he covered my mouth with his, parting my lips and letting me flick my tongue between his fangs. We’d become experts at kissing without drawing accidental blood over the months that I’d lived with the vampires, but sometimes it was even better when we did. I pricked my tongue and let my blood coat the kiss, drawing a moan from him as he crushed me against his chest.
“You make me crazy, Caroline,” he whispered, and I pressed my hips against him, making him moan again.
“Just remember that, Nicholas, because if our friend does anything to betray this clan, I will not just kill her. I will scorch the earth where she stands so that nothing can ever grow from the spot where I strike her down.”
The blood on my lips crackled with the magic I put behind my promise. I’d inadvertently made a blood oath to kill Dominique if she crossed me and my face blanched as I realized my mistake. My frightened eyes met Nick’s and he sighed and shook his head.
“Little one, you have so much to learn about the vast power you command.” He kissed my forehead and gently trailed his lips down the side of my face to my neck. “Perhaps now would be a good time to learn to be more careful with what you say.”
I gulped and nodded. My zombie petting zoo story could wait, I decided. At least until I knew I wasn’t just making more trouble by bringing it up. After all, if I could control the dead, what were the chances I could control vampires, the only creature that died before it lived again. The power that animated Nick sang out to me and I knew that if I really wanted to, I could tap into that spark. If that was possible, what would it mean for Nick and I, not only as a couple, but as a bonded master and servant?
Chapter 5
Nick and I slipped out the back door of the club after putting Fin on notice that he was on his own for a little while. Nick never fed on his patrons, which I appreciated and supported whole heartedly. Since being with me, he’d also begun limiting his feedings, and only feeding on men, unless I was his donor for the night. True to form, he took care of my stomach before his own hunger, and as he sat across the table from me at my favorite sushi place, I reached out to him telepathically, so he could ‘taste’ my very first Fugu, puffer fish sushi, with me.
After my supper, we walked down to the water and watched people stroll by in groups, until a man walking alone caught my eye. I walked towards him, and pretended to stumble when I was near enough for him to catch me. The moment he touched my arm, I knew I’d made a mistake, and quickly righted myself.
“Thank you, sir,” I chuckled nervously at the man in the black duster. I pretended not to recognize the soft black moccasins as Venatores issue, especially since I didn’t recognize him from when I lived there. I felt Nick press against my mind, asking why I’d pulled back, and I sent him an image of the cross, the symbol of the Venatores. We’d worked out a system of communication that was instant and expended almost no energy even at a great distance. Nick cut off the communication immediately, and his presence grew farther away as he hid from the hunter.
“You shouldn’t be out all alone, young lady.” He scowled at me and glanced around. I bit my lip and thought frantically for a second.
“I’m just heading to work, over at Pulse. It’s a club over on Pike.” His scowl deepened and he took a step back from me, slipping into an easy judo stance. It was a move I’d beaten more times than I could count, during my own training. I sighed and shook my head, matching his stance and running my hand over the gun at the small of my back for reassurance.
“What are you?” he asked, and I bounced on the balls of my feet, ready to dodge an attack or kick out if needed.
“I’m Caroline. What’s your name?” I refused to answer him as anything other than a Venatores, hoping he’d just move along so I didn’t have to hurt him.
“You’re the fang-banger who got kicked out of the order,” he scoffed. “So where’s your protection? I’d love to bag me a vampire and his slut at the same time.”
I threw back my head and laughed. “Oh, honey. You should be careful what you wish for. For now, I’ll pretend you didn’t just threaten me and let you get the hell out of here.”
Instead, he drew a sword from inside his duster and pointed it at me. “far as I’m concerned, you’re just a vampire without the fangs. Tonight, I’m going to pay you back for the trouble you caused the Venatores.”
“I didn’t do anything to the Venatores, except leave without asking permission. If you want to fight, we can fight, but y
ou’re going to be sorry.” I didn’t bother to pull my gun or blade, but waited for his attack.
He lunged forward and I easily sidestepped him, then pivoted to face him. It had been too long since I fought another human, and it was more difficult than I thought it should’ve been. While he didn’t have preternatural strength or speed, he fought like a human. I’d been fighting against super speed, claws, and magic for so long, I over anticipated and nearly lost a chunk of my arm for it.
“I don’t suppose you’d let me give you a power boost to make this a fair fight, would you? Because I swore I’d never harm a Venatores unless they forced me to, but you’re just pissing me off.”
“Yeah,” he snorted. “You’re so loyal to the Venatores that you abandoned them when they needed you and ran off with a murderous vampire.”
“Right,” I retorted, “and you’re so ready to tow the party line, that it never occurred to you that there was any other possibility than what those zealots are feeding you, right? So, what was their explanation for turning Clayton into a werewolf against his will? He never did anything but give his best to the Venatores, his entire life was being a hunter.”
The hunter faltered and his swing went wild. I stepped into his side and struck him, hard, on the pressure point of his wrist. His fingers fell open and he swore as the sword clanged to the sidewalk. I took the guns I found at the small of his back and his shoulder holster.
“Now. You’re going to leave your weapons and be on your way. I see you within the boundaries of our territory again, it had better be to apologize and retrieve them, peacefully.” I sighed and kicked the sword back behind me. “What were you thinking, starting a swordfight in the middle of the street? You’re lucky the master vampire you hate so much thought to put a dread glamour on the street so we’d be left alone.”
“What?” the hunter looked around and Nick made himself visible.
“What’s your name, hunter?” Nick asked. He crossed his arms and waited like a parent with an errant child.
“Louis,” the hunter replied, standing straighter. He stared at Nick. Almost defiantly, and stood a little taller. Nick responded by baring his fangs and advancing on the man until his eyes widened and he swallowed hard.
“Okay Louis,” I said softly. “It’s all right, He’s just trying to make you wet yourself because you threatened me.” I turned to Nick and touched his arm. “Stop, Nicholas. He’s new here, and has been told who knows how many stupid and pointless lies about us both.”
“You’re just letting me go?” he asked. His face was dark with skepticism, and I chuckled.
“We’ll always let you go, so long as you don’t actually hurt anyone. But tonight, we keep the weapons. It’s not like you can’t get more back at the compound.” I waved at him and he slowly backed away, before spinning on his heel and racing down an alleyway.
“I think we need to hunt further from home tonight,” he suggested and I shook my head.
“I think we need to stay in, Nick. He’s going to go home with some malarkey story about how we jumped him and he barely escaped with his life, and bring back a posse. Tonight, I donate, and you pay me with a back rub.”
He put his arms around me and tickled my neck with tiny nibbles. “I don’t know, Caroline. I feel like we may not stop once I get you out of your clothes.”
I giggled and pulled away from him, then pulled his face back down to me so I could kiss his mouth. The kiss lit me up like a furnace, and I whimpered as he lifted me so I could wrap my legs around his waist.
“Is the doom glamour still up? Because I feel really exposed out here.” I tucked my face into his neck and licked the artery pulsing weakly under his skin. “We need to go back and get you fed, Love.”
He sighed and nodded, then proceeded to carry me back toward the club. I held on as I felt him bunch up his muscles and he leapt into the air. He landed behind the club seconds later, and I struggled against him until he set me down.
“For future reference, that kind of wriggling is more likely to make me hang on, than make me let go.” He tipped my face up and kissed me. It was chaste by our standards, but my lips tingled with electricity at his touch.
“Duly noted,” I managed to pant as I stepped back and tried to catch my breath. “Let’s get you fed so you can schmooze the patrons, okay?”
We held hands as we descended the backstage staircase and slipped into my quarters without being seen by anyone. It was the perfect time of night to be in the underground fortress, with all the vampires either working, or looking for a willing human donor, and the corridors were quiet as a ghost town.
“Do you think Dom got settled in?” I asked as we reached my door, suddenly nervous to be alone with Nick and the physical needs we’d waited so long to feed.
“I think she’s fine, if she didn’t go back and report to the Venatores already. Do you really think it was a coincidence that a hunter was less than two blocks away on the very night we got a visit from your beloved professor and you mentor?”
I sighed and opened the door. “I can hope it is, can’t I?” I didn’t even think of it as a sign of betrayal if she was trying to buy her way back into the only life she’d known for centuries. Nick and I were pragmatists. We knew better than to be surprised by a survivor like Dom doing whatever she felt she needed to, to protect herself.
Nick closed the door behind us and led me to the deep sofa he’d bought when I fell in love with a picture of it online. He sat down and pulled me into his lap so he had easy access to the top of my breast, where I preferred he bite me.
Contrary to popular lore, there was no particular spot that a vampire had to bite to feed, and I tended to choose places that weren’t easily visible. It could’ve been good old-fashioned Catholic guilt, but if I’d had visible bite marks on me when I faced Louis tonight, he might have tried harder to kill me. Good clean common sense was always the best choice, and I straddled Nick to give him his choice of places to feed from.
With a groan, he looked up at me as I unbuttoned his shirt partway and slid it down over my upper arms, baring as much of my chest as I could without taking off my bra.
“You are too much, Caroline,” he muttered as he grazed my skin with his teeth, raising gooseflesh across my chest and down my arms. I shivered and ground on him, encouraging him to bite. He sank his fangs into me, holding me down on him as pain tinged pleasure surged through me.
We’d never crossed over to a fully physical relationship, but that didn’t stop me from pressing myself against him and rocking as he took my blood. Magic flowed between us and electricity built up in the air as he fed, until I thought it would explode. My body got closer to peak pleasure from the magic and the vampire bite, and I whispered to him, coaxing him to keep going. In the distance, I heard rapping, as though someone was knocking at the door, and I tuned it out, threading my fingers through Nick’s dark, shaggy hair and holding him to me so he’d keep drinking.
The rapping got louder and more insistent, and Nick broke away, dissipating some of the built-up magic by telekinetically throwing the door open.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” I panted as he tugged my shirt closed and sat me sideways on his lap.
“I couldn’t. That was more of a ‘witch thing’ than regular vampire power.” I nodded dumbly and stared at the figures in the wide doorway. “You had better have a good reason for the interruption,” he growled at Fin and Colette, who stood with twin faces of discomfort.
“What’s up, guys? Nick’s done feeding, we’re good here.” I stood up and walked towards my team, fighting the floating feeling Nick’s vampire glamor always left me with.
“Did you happen to talk to any Venatores tonight?” Colette asked, and I shrugged.
“Yeah, a few, actually. Why?”
“Um, one of them wasn’t.” she glanced at Nick, and the expression on her face gave me a sinking feeling. “Louis Coleville, servant of council head Grandmaster Caius, is requesting your presence.” She turned
back to me and grimaced. “And he said he’d like his weapons back.”
I turned to Nick, my mouth gaping as I tried to form words that would not come. He’d been a new face, but he wore the right uniform, and knew the right gossip about Nick and me. I’d assumed his slow fighting speed was because I’d become so much faster. It could have easily been because he was playing the part of a human and didn’t know how weak to make himself.
“Well, damnit to hell, Colette,” I said, pointing to the guns and sword I’d left by the door when we came in. “Make sure the guns aren’t loaded and he doesn’t get those back in front of the patrons.” I sighed and started to straighten out my clothing better.
“Caroline and I will be there shortly,” Nick said quietly. “See our guest to a VIP room and provide him with food and drink.” Colette and Fin backed out the door and I turned to Nick, who was licking a little stray blood off the corner of his mouth.
“Louis isn’t a Venatores hunter. Oh, my God. I was fighting with a member of the council?” My voice went high and breathy with panic. “How was I supposed to know?” I squeaked, and Nick grabbed my shoulders.
“You weren’t, and he isn’t on the council, he’s a servant, just like you,” he reassured me.
“Uh huh. The council sent a lackey the same night Dom came to us to protect her from the Venatores, and it just so happens to be the only night of the month that we don’t have any of the wolves by our side,” I pointed out, and he nodded. “Who saw you before you’d fed and immediately comes back, maybe hoping you were going to be weak from hunger,” I added, ticking points off on my fingers.