by Joey W. Hill
Stay with me, wolf. It’s okay. The vampire’s voice was easier, friendly. Come back this way. Lust is easy. Right?
Nothing is easy anymore.
I know. Which is why, if I was there, I’d put you on your stomach. I’d tie your arms and legs to the trees. You could tear loose if you wanted, but maybe for just a while you’d lie still, see how it felt to let someone have all the control. I’d put my mouth all over your shoulders and back, your ass. I’d grip both those muscular cheeks, part them, and tongue fuck you until you plowed the earth with your cock, and begged for release, for oblivion.
“God,” Rand breathed. Arousal building, he was pistoning into his grip, strong and sure.
I could give you that kind of oblivion; same kind I’m going to give you in a different measure now. Look at you, fisting yourself, getting hotter from the thoughts I’m feeding you. I’d keep you tied until I touched every inch of you with mouth and hands. I’d jack myself off over your back, mark you good. I’d work myself back up again with nothing more than the sound of your groans, your need to release denied you until I allowed it, all your muscles tight and flexing. I’d drive back into you, plunge deep, and we’d both spill… Fuck, look at you. Move your hips. Thrust hard and deep. Keep doing it.
Rand was doing it. He wanted to howl, to run, to let go of all of it. To just let go.
Come for me, Rand.
His cock convulsed and spurted thick, white fluid over his knuckles, his body spasming with the reaction, his head tilting back. The bark of the tree bit into his back, and he embraced the discomfort, using it to goad the climax, drive it farther, deeper.
A long pause later, all was quiet. Well, inside. The birds were singing, the wind was moving through the trees, and life was as noisy, chaotic and unstoppable as it always was in the woods during daylight hours. Rand would have thought the vampire had succumbed to sleep, but there was an odd current of feeling running through Rand, like a stroke to his heart and mind, a humming calm, helping his breath to even out.
“Did I save myself from Sesame Street?”
You did. I’m a little disappointed. There were some Bert and Ernie duets I thought the two of us could do together.
Rand coughed over an unexpected chuckle, his lips curving in a gesture that felt strange and unfamiliar. “You really are kind of a jerk.”
Only kind of? You’re more tolerant after getting off. Hold onto the feeling, wolf. Don’t overdo today, but enjoy the sun and wind for us both. Good morning. And in case you’re as confused as most are, that’s Good night in vampire. I leave you to your thoughts, but I’m not leaving you alone. Keep that in mind.
When Rand felt a slow withdrawal, a drifting away of that sense of other pervading his senses, he knew the vampire had given himself to sleep.
If the vampire offered any recognizable clue that he gave a damn about anyone other than himself, Rand might have concluded the whole scenario was designed to keep him from steeping himself in too much melancholy. Or keep him connected to his human form so he didn’t completely lose that link.
Sheba and Dylef had both warned him about that, coaxed him to stay human more often than he would have done if he was alone. Sheba said he didn’t like being human, and he ran alone more often than most wolves, maybe because he’d lost his parents young. But even before then, he’d been a more solitary wolf than most. For a pack animal.
When he was with Sheba and Dylef, staying connected between the two worlds had been important. It wasn’t so important now. And if it wasn’t that important to him, it made no sense why it would matter to the vampire. Yeah, Rand was imagining things. The guy just liked fucking him, which was fine. He was good at it.
So one less puzzle he didn’t have to solve. He felt better, which would have discomfited him if he didn’t attribute it to endorphin release from the sex. Time to go catch himself some breakfast. He didn’t want the vampire having to feed him, claiming Rand was dependent on his presence.
Yeah, that was never going to happen. Yet even as he had the thought, Cai’s mocking retort from last night came back to him.
That’s why the promise of tomorrow is so sweet, wolf. All the nevers that can be toppled.
Rand caught and devoured several rabbits, getting more confident with his speed and strength with each kill. He was supposed to eat about ten pounds of meat per day to stay at full strength. He’d been getting by on about five to seven, the amount a non-shifter wolf might eat, but he knew it had put him on the lean side. That didn’t matter to him, so he wasn’t sure why it mattered now, except he was hungry. Something new for him.
After consuming all that meat, he wasn’t in the mood to travel far. When he woke at twilight and stretched, he was surprised not to sense the vampire close by, but maybe Cai had slept in.
He wasn’t going to make it easy for him. Rand told himself that, but remembering the vampire’s provocative words, the fantasy he’d painted, Rand found his feet headed toward their last campsite. Though Cai’s belongings had been gone, Rand assumed it was the most logical rendezvous point for them, and it had the creek. Vampire or no vampire, he liked the idea of a bath and accessible fresh, running water.
However, some distance from it, he stilled, lifting his nose to scent the wind. Someone else was there, and whoever it was incited a deep uneasiness in him. As Rand fell into track and hunt mode, he kept his mind shifted enough to grasp all his human faculties. He also maintained his hold on his wolf’s instincts and tracking abilities, so he had that plus the type of complicated reasoning that most animals didn’t need in their daily lives.
It took several decades of maturity to handle that mental straddle without strain. He had that, but it still took more effort than usual. The skill was rusty, since he hadn’t needed to use it much until recently, first with the hunter and then with Cai.
He’d drawn close enough to the campsite to realize what had set off his alarm bells. Vampires. Three of them. Great. With three humans. He surmised they were servants because there was a different quality to their human smell that carried their blood link with the vampires. He bore some of that scent himself with Cai’s two marks, but these servants had stronger scents. Maybe because of the third mark.
As he closed in on the group with stealth and started picking up snippets of conversation, he realized two key things. They were looking for Cai. And they didn’t sound like they were friends. Maybe that was why there was no sign of Cai.
Cai, you awake? You have visitors.
Rand didn’t know if vampires were like humans. Some bouncing right out of their coffins perky and alert; others definitely not “morning” people, dragging their asses out way past full dark. If he had to guess, he’d say Cai was the latter.
Without any evidence of where the vampire had gone, it was possible Cai had left and was miles away. Rand could clear out of here himself, shrugging off the whole thing. But Rand wasn’t certain. If Cai was somewhere nearby, holed up and vulnerable…
He thought of earlier today, the vampire’s voice whispering in his mind’s ear. Whether Rand had wanted to live or not, the vampire had saved his life. He had a code, which had more to do with his respect for karma than a desire to protect Cai. The guy was an asshole, but if Rand left him at the mercy of enemies when he could help, well, fate would figure out a way to zap him in the ass.
But exactly what could fate do worse to him? He had no one left but himself.
Just shut up, he told himself.
“He’s close. I can sense it.”
“You said that earlier, and we ended up going another bloody ten miles.” A male voice sighed. “There’s something here, though. Some…vibration of energy. The sorcerer said the amulet would help, and it’s as red as it’s been thus far.”
Rand, on his belly in the leaves and well-concealed by foliage, saw one of the vampires hold up a red-stone pendant on a black cord. He was tall, with long golden hair plaited back to show a sharp-featured face, his slate eyes in concentrated slits. The other
male had short, choppy dark hair and a Goth fashion sense, an absurd choice for hiking, though his thick tread silver-buckled boots looked decent enough for the terrain. If he hadn’t been a vampire, he would have lacked any menace, a skinny male who looked barely out of college. But physical age was an unreliable measure with vampires. Cai looked about thirty, though he was over two hundred.
Scent always told Rand more about someone than they’d ever want to reveal. Gold Hair smelled older, way older than Cai. Maybe around four centuries. The Goth was about three hundred. The final member of their group fell somewhere in between.
She was a dark-haired woman wearing jeans, T-shirt and hiking shoes, the only vampire properly dressed for the environment. Her expression was steady, set. Determined. She was the hunter, probably the biggest threat of the three.
In comparison, Gold Hair was wearing freaking Armani and a Rolex. But he also appeared to be in charge and not unsettled by his surroundings. Not by so much as an out-of-place hair, and he looked coldly intent upon their goal.
The servants with them were one female and two males, properly deferential and quiet, unremarkable except they were dressed in adequate hiking gear and looked capable of handling any physical threat launched by a mere mortal.
Twilight grew deeper, darkness taking full hold. Rand wondered where the vampires had stayed out of the sun, this deep in the woods, then surmised they or their servants had scouted out one of the narrow caves that creatures of stealth and good observation skills could find throughout the mountains. Still, their being up and about this close to dusk probably reinforced their greater age, since Rand did know that older vampires had more tolerance for the approaching dawn, or being out sooner after sunset, than their younger counterparts.
Cai was outgunned, if they meant him harm. But why come to harm him? Who have you pissed off, vampire? Other than me?
Can’t keep all this charm exclusive to you.
Rand let out a held breath. He was awake.
Stay hidden, Cai advised. If they haul me off somewhere, you don’t need to worry about it. It’s been a pleasure, wolf. Maybe our paths will cross again sometime.
What? But why would they—
When Cai had told him he would go to ground during daylight hours, Rand had taken it as an expression. He couldn’t imagine anyone, even a vampire, willingly burying himself in the earth. Apparently, Cai was just such a vampire.
He emerged from beneath a covering of soil and dead leaves less than forty feet away from the cluster of vampires and their servants, startling them as well as flushing a covey of birds. The depth he’d chosen explained why his scent had ended at the edge of the campsite. Rand had to assume he used his magic to smooth the earth, rake the debris over him so that the living grave didn’t stand out from the rest of the forest floor.
He wore a long-sleeved shirt and an old faded pair of jeans. His version of pajamas, Rand supposed, preserving his other clothes from soil stains. Though he looked remarkably clean as he brushed earth off himself and gazed at the assembled vampires with cool eyes.
“I hear you’re looking for me.”
The golden-haired vampire recovered his aplomb first, giving him a sneer. “Burying yourself like the grub you are, Trad? No self-respecting vampire would do such a thing, except as a desperate measure.”
Trad? Rand frowned. The term was unfamiliar, but Cai’s reaction to it was telling. A flash went through his eyes, deep and sharp as a killing rage. While it was gone in a blink, it sent a dangerous ripple of energy through the clearing. The servants exchanged uneasy glances.
“Maybe you just haven’t learned to appreciate a good dirt nap. Or the irony of the undead taking one.” Cai’s gaze glinted. “Who are you, and what do you want? I assume you didn’t come traipsing up here in your city shoes to trade insults. I’m no Trad.”
“Save it. We’re here to take you to Lord Greenwald and a Council delegation.”
“I don’t know Lord Greenwald and could give less than two fucks about the Vampire Council. None of their business is mine.”
“We’ll take you by force if necessary. We brought the means to do it.” The woman stepped forward, unlooping a chain over her hands. Cai scoffed at her.
“If you think that will—”
Cai. Rand barked it in his head as the Goth male moved. Before Cai could whip around, he’d tossed a handful of what looked like innocuous pebbles at the vampire.
Cai’s expression was appropriately baffled, just a flash. Energy shimmered and the pebbles erupted into something very different. The rocks became the sharp points on a coil of barbed wire that whipped around Cai as if he were a magnet, holding him from shoulders to knees. When he fought the binding, it constricted around his calves, toppling him to the ground. As he struggled, the lines cut into flesh, causing blood.
Stay back, Rand. Don’t…let them see you.
Rand crouched in the forest undergrowth, lip curled back, animal body trembling with anger and nerves. Indecision. These weren’t his people. His fight. But the vampire was obviously in pain, and yet he was taking the time to warn Rand to stay out of sight.
“Amazing how often a woman can cause a man’s attention to wander at just the right moment,” the female said. “Nicely done, Chavez. And the pain element is a bonus. Did the sorcerer throw that in for free?”
“Hell no.” The Goth scoffed, as if he didn’t think much of what the sorcerer had offered them. “That’s a little gift from a blood source of mine who dabbles in the dark arts. She said it would save time, skip the negotiation step. Don’t care what they told us; everyone knows a Trad’s going to kill, not talk.”
“It only hurts if you struggle, vampire. Which should make this an entertaining trip.” Gold Hair aimed a kick at Cai that flipped him over and tightened the barbs as a result.
Pain…cruelty. Chavez’s eyes glittered with a look Rand knew all too well.
Go, Rand. Leave. Goddamn it…
The barbs cut into Cai’s throat and arms and made Chavez grin. The woman’s gaze remained impassive, disinterested in the games.
“Lord Greenwald told us to make sure you arrive in a condition conducive to instant cooperation,” Gold Hair added.
“Say…that…three times…fast,” Cai spat, his eyes alive with hate despite the quip. “Still not getting shit out of me.”
The Goth aimed another kick, and Rand sprang.
No!
Rand hit Chavez like a battering ram, the two of them rolling in a flailing, cursing tangle a few feet away from Cai. Chavez screamed as Rand clamped down on his shoulder, punching through skin and muscle to bone. The collar bone shattered under the power of his jaw.
Chavez managed to heave him off only because Rand saw the female moving in the corner of his eye. He sprang away from the Goth and back, landing in a hovering position over Cai’s body. His hackles were raised, increasing his already formidable size, and a menacing sound came from deep in his chest, a message loud and clear.
“What the fuck… Shoot it.” Gold Hair had pulled Chavez back out of range and three sets of wide vampire eyes were now on them. Gold Hair’s barked command was to the three servants. Two drew handguns from the shoulder holsters they wore.
Shift, Rand. Damn you, shift, or they’ll kill you right there. You’re outnumbered.
Trying to take out three vampires and their servants. Rand couldn’t think of a better way to go.
You and your fucking death wish.
“Goddamn it, don’t harm him,” Cai snapped. “Or whatever the hell you want, the chance you have of getting it from me goes from slim to not-in-this-fucking lifetime.”
The servants hesitated. Since their gazes didn’t leave Rand, Rand expected that was because they’d received a message from their vampires to hold. The female studied Rand and tossed an amused look at Gold Hair. “Who would have thought a Trad would have a pet? They sneer on having human servants, but this one’ll have a dog. Priceless.”
I will rip out her throat. The
urge to do it consumed Rand’s gut, and translated to his saliva glands.
She’d gut you before you have a chance. I appreciate the thought, but I’m not worth it. You know I’m not. You were a fun fuck. Run along and maybe we’ll hook up next time a hunter tries to shoot you.
If he didn’t know the vampire was trying to get him gone for his own well-being, Rand would have torn a strip off him for the patronizing tone. Most everything the vampire said was true or meshed with Rand’s own rational thinking. These were not his people, and he had no idea if Cai had done something to deserve whatever these vampires were doing to him. But Cai was outnumbered, which seemed unfair. And Rand couldn’t forget those couple of instances over the past few days where the vampire could have been consistently selfish and unkind…and instead he’d behaved the way a friend would.
The deciding vote came from a whole different line of thinking, though. The wolf said they weren’t going anywhere, and Rand was never disregarding that instinct-driven side of his soul again. His wolf had said they hadn’t seen the last of Grey; that Rand should have gotten Dylef and Sheba settled with an established pack, and then hunted Grey down to avenge Sylvan’s death. He hadn’t listened.
So it was the wolf who answered Cai. Rand adjusted so his back feet were against Cai’s bound side. He laid down, ears still flat and his warning growing in volume and ferocity, while all gleaming sharp teeth were on full display. He wasn’t going anywhere.
The female vampire drew her own gun and fired.
The three vampires had been considering their options, and Cai had been sure none of them would be good. The only thing working in their favor right now was a few minutes of time. The vampires were more than a match for one wolf, but no one liked getting dog-bit. Anyone who watched reality cop shows, where badass criminals reacted to K-9 units like scared babies, knew that.
Then the female vampire used her weapon.
No, goddamn it. Fucking hell.