by Marilyn Lee
Moonlight Madness Part 1
Marilyn Lee
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2005 by Marilyn Lee
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Prologue
Full-blood vampire Vladimir Madison paced outside the big dark RV parked in an RV court between Philadelphia and New York. An invisible barrier his twin brother Aleksei said was alive blocked his passage.
Vlad frowned. With the help of their younger sister, Katie Dumont, he and Aleksei had finally tracked down one of the twins who had been calling out to them. Aleksei had managed to penetrate the so-called living barrier. He’d been gone for what felt like hours. Left alone, Vlad’s anger raged. He raked a hand over his long, dark dreads, staring with glowing eyes at the RV.
Father. We need you. You must help us or I’ll be coming to call you to account for deserting us.
He sucked in a breath. Those words had haunted and tortured him since his unnamed son had whispered them into his mind weeks ago. At the time, he had no idea the individual calling out to him was his half vampire, half shifter offspring. He and Aleksei had spent what felt like an eternity searching for the twins. Each one had called out to him and Aleksei separately. The knowledge that one of the twins had been poisoned lent an air of added desperation to their search.
Vlad closed his eyes, remembering his response to his son’s cry for help. Whoever you are, I await you. Now here he stood, restless and angry. Using the special bond he and Aleksei shared, Vlad reached out to his twin. A combination of joy and anguish flooded his mind. Whoever Aleksei had encountered inside presented no threat, but brought a level of pain that made Vlad ache for him.
He shook his head, impatient to be allowed inside, to see the males… the men who were his… sons. His sons. Reaching deeper, he made brief contact with the male inside, touching his mind… and felt no particular connection. That was unexpected, as well as unwelcome. Vlad had resigned himself to being a father. Yet, strangely, he did not feel like a father. Was he a father? If so, why didn’t Aleksei and his sons -- no, there was only one other male inside with Aleksei -- but why didn’t he come out?
Vlad reached out again, issuing a soft command.
Come.
He felt an immediate and powerful response… one that did not originate from within the RV. In fact, it seemed to come from… Vlad swung around. He found himself facing a tall male with glowing gray eyes, short dark hair, and bared incisors.
“Bastard! Filthy bastard!” The male’s right hand shot out with blinding speed. Vlad tilted his head to the side. A clenched fist brushed his ear. Undeterred, the baby vamp pressed his attack. Vlad blocked a flurry of blows with his forearms before losing his temper. He lashed out with a speed of which only a centuries old vampire was capable.
Just as his fist was about to connect with the other male’s face, Vlad felt a strange tightness in his chest. Something inside him told him he did not want to hurt the male in front of him. He halted his fist and danced back from the baby vamp. The two considered each other in silence for several moments.
Vlad glanced at the RV. Whatever was happening inside, Aleksei needed to be undisturbed. Vlad turned and flashed toward the surrounding park with the other vampire racing behind him. It soon became clear the baby vamp could not match his speed. Without giving himself time to wonder at his actions, Vlad slowed down, eventually stopping. He turned to face his pursuer and would-be attacker. “I am Vladimir Madison.”
The other male took a deep shuddering breath. “I am Etienne Gautier and I know who you are… I know what you are.”
The other vampire’s voice dripped with venom. His eyes shot off hate-filled virtual stabs aimed directly at Vlad’s heart. He clenched his right hand into a fist and pressed it against his chest to assuage the sudden ache there. “Who are you?”
But even as he asked the question, he knew the other male’s identity. He could feel an undeniable connection to this baby vamp. It was that connection that had allowed him to stay his hand when he would have delivered a near fatal blow to the other. It was the same connection that had allowed him and this… boy to call out to each other.
This boy -- this angry baby vamp -- was his son. Vlad gasped, feeling as if the air was being sucked from his lungs. His son. While he had felt nothing for the male in the RV giving Aleksei such pain, he felt a wealth of emotion in connection with this male… his boy… his son.
Vlad allowed his incisors to ascend. He looked at his son with eyes that no longer glowed. What did one say to an adult son one had never met? How did one express an unexpected but powerful need to protect that son? The emotions assailing him were bewildering. He’d only ever felt real devotion with his elder siblings, Aleksei, Tat, and Drei… and now with this angry baby vamp.
Showing affection or consideration for anyone other than his siblings was alien to him. Yet the anger and pain he sensed in the other male tore at him, making breathing difficult. He had to do something to help his son.
Having no experience of his own on which to draw, he responded as Aleksei had to him and their younger siblings many times. He opened his arms. “I am Vladimir Madison. Come to me… my son.”
The other male stood facing him, breathing deeply, his hands clenched into fists at his side, his incisors bared, his eyes glowing. “You are a useless dog who deserted our mother when she was pregnant and left us to fend for ourselves when we needed you most! Now, when we are both adults, you come and want to play daddy of the goddamned manor? You dare expect to be welcomed with open arms? You insolent motherfucker! All you’re fit for is staking and beheading! And that’s exactly what you’ll get, you bastard!”
The venomous words cut through Vlad with the force of a razor sharp knife. But under the hate, he sensed a pain and anguish in his son with which he was all too familiar. It mirrored the feelings which had overwhelmed him when he’d encountered Palea Dumont, the mother he had spent centuries believing had abandoned him. This great grief was what she must have felt when he had flung words of hate at her.
He felt soulless and lost. Even when he had thought Aleksei, the person he cherished and loved most in the world, had abandoned him, he had not experienced this depth of agony and despair. No child should drive a parent to these depths of hell. And yet he had spewed hate and rage at she who had borne and cherished him for the first ten years of his life.
How his words and hate must have hurt her… torn into her… shattered her. He had done that to the woman who loved him enough to offer her life to bring him peace. He closed his eyes and called out. Mother… Mother, it’s Vladimir.
A distant response brought tears to his eyes and hope to his heart.
Vladimir… malchik moy -- my little boy… solnyshko moy -- my sun. Is it really you or is this but yet another sweet dream?
It’s me, M
other. Vladimir. I’m sorry… so sorry.
For what, solnyshko moy?
For bringing you grief and pain when you gave only love and devotion. Forgive me, Mother. Forgive me.
Were forgiveness necessary, I would freely grant it, solnyshko moy. You have nothing for which to be sorry. When you are ready, you will come see me. Yes?
Yes. I will come.
When?
I don’t know, but I will come, Mother.
He felt a distant but strong wave of love. I will wait an eternity if necessary, solnyshko moy.
Solnyshko moy. After all the hurt and pain they had both endured, she still thought of him as her solnyshko moy, her sun.
I will come.
I await you, malchik moy, my little boy.
Chapter One
“I will wait an eternity if necessary, solnyshko moy.”
“Palea? What’s wrong?”
She didn’t realize she’d spoken out loud. Palea Walker-Dumont opened her eyes and turned from the window. Across the darkened bedroom, lying naked on the bed they shared, was her bloodlust and the savior of her soul and her sanity, her husband of 108 years, Matt Dumont. She blinked, but could not prevent the tears filling her eyes from spilling over and rolling down her cheeks.
She wrapped her arms around herself, afraid she’d otherwise explode with happiness. “Matt! He called out to me, Matt! At last, he called out to me!”
He rose and crossed the room to her. He took her in his arms, holding her close. “Who?”
“Vladimir!”
He tensed, lifting her chin so he could stare down into her eyes. He had been ingesting her blood for a long time in human years. He had acquired many of the traits of a latent vampire. Still, she was surprised when his blue eyes glowed, because that only happened when he was angry. He was rarely angry in her presence. “Matt?”
“What did he want? I know how you feel about him, but I will not allow you to sacrifice yourself for him, Palea.”
She sighed. Their first real argument in over twenty years had erupted when he had learned how close Vladimir had come to killing her months earlier. He had left the house in a rage, threatening to kill Vladimir before he killed her. It had taken much begging and tears on her part before he had begrudgingly returned home.
That night, for the first time since their marriage, they had slept in separate beds. She had spent the night sobbing, feeling torn between her boundless love for Matt and her eternal devotion to Vladimir. Just before dawn, as she was on the verge of sinking into despair, Matt had crawled into bed with her, taken her in his arms, and gently fucked her fears away.
She shook her head. “It’s all right, Matt. He said he was sorry and --”
“And you believed him?”
“Yes! He says he’s coming to see me. This is a good thing. Yes?”
He tensed again. “I don’t know. When is he coming?”
“I don’t know, but whenever he comes, he will be welcome. Yes? I will be waiting.”
“And so will I.”
She heard the steel in his voice; saw the resolve in his eyes. “There is no need for fear. He no longer wants to hurt me, Matt. This is a blessing from God. Yes?”
“Yes… if it is true.”
She placed one hand on his arm, sliding the other down his body to cup his cock. She shivered with desire. Even flaccid, his cock was longer than most men’s erect organ. “Matt?”
He pulled her hand away from his cock. “I have borne a lot since I fell in love with you and I know how much you love him, but I will not have him in this house disrespecting you or threatening Mik. Do I make myself clear, Palea?”
She blinked up at him, hurt by his harsh tone. He had never been weak or indecisive, but he had long ago recognized that she was far older and physically much stronger than he. As a consequence, for most of their marriage, he had been content to allow her to play the dominant partner. Gazing into his eyes, she saw that was no longer true.
“Do you think I would allow him to harm Mikhel?”
“No. Of course not, but you need to understand, Palea, that if it comes to a choice between him and Mik, I choose Mik.”
She nodded. “As well you should. Mikhel is your son. But it will not come to that.”
“If it does, I am fully prepared to do what I need to do to protect Mik.”
This was the Matt Dumont she had fallen in love and in bloodlust with so many years earlier. While she feared for his response to Vladimir, she gloried in the return of the qualities which had first drawn her to Matt.
“Yes, my love, I would expect no less.”
“As long as you understand where I stand, Palea.”
“I do.” She stroked a hand over his chest. “Now I have other needs.”
They were both naked. Moisture pooled between her legs as she felt his cock lengthening against her. She had always found the greatest comfort while impaled on his rigid length. In the early days of their relationship he had often complained it was his cock rather than him she loved.
She reached down, closing her fingers over the thick, hard length. She pressed it against herself, shuddering as the big head slid between the wet folds of her sex. Leaping upwards, she linked one arm around his neck, while using the other hand to feed the rest of his length into her pussy. She kissed him, moaning with a combination of pain and pleasure as his cock drove into her body up to his large nuts.
Take me! Fuck me!
He cupped his big hands over her ass, drawing her closer. Thrusting his huge organ in and out of her, he carried her to their bed.
* * *
Feeling the distant connection with his mother broken, Vlad opened his eyes and looked at his son, Etienne. Vlad extended a hand. “I know I am not worthy. I have not been there for you when you needed me most. That’s a pain I understand all too well. I am no Aleksei, who would know what to say to make the hurt in you vanish, but I am here now. I am your father. You are my son, and I am here now. My entire life has been one long failure after another. I don’t know how to love or feel affection for any except my siblings. I don’t know what to say to you to make up for all you have suffered, except to ask -- to beg your forgiveness for failing you. If your forgiveness requires revenge…”
Vlad fell to his knees. Staring up into the angry, glowing eyes of his son, he spread his arms wide. “Take my life. I will not resist.”
Etienne whipped out a short sword and pressed it against Vlad’s neck. He felt it bite into his skin. He overcame a primordial urge to rip it away from his throat and attack -- kill. He had accomplished nothing worthwhile in his entire life -- except to help give life to this baby vamp. He would not undo that.
Vlad looked up into the gray eyes filled with fury. “Do it.” He closed his eyes and prepared to die. “Dispatch me.”
“You think I won’t, but you are so wrong!”
Vlad opened his eyes but quickly closed them again as the sword was drawn back before swishing through the air toward his throat.
“No!”
“Etienne, no!”
Vlad snapped open his eyes. There was a blur of motion, then the sword was ripped from his throat, and his son was snatched away from him. He bounded to his feet, ready to defend the son who wanted to kill him with his life.
A male who was definitely Etienne’s twin restrained Vlad’s struggling son from behind, while Aleksei, Vlad’s own twin, stood in front of him. Aleksei touched Vlad’s throat, his blue eyes darkening with fury when he encountered blood. “Vladimir? You are all right?”
He drew away from Aleksei. “Don’t interfere, Sei. I’m about to do the only worthwhile thing I’ve ever done in my life.” He looked at his son’s twin, a tall, dark, handsome male with long, dark hair. Strangely, he felt no particular connection with his son’s twin. “Release him,” he said. “This is between us.”
The twin obeyed. Etienne immediately rushed at him. Vlad stood still, making no move to defend himself.
“No!” Aleksei flashed in front
of him, knocking the sword out of Etienne’s hand with one hand and backhanding him with the other.
Vlad felt the blow as if it had descended on his own face. “Do not strike my son again, Sei,” he warned.
Aleksei swung around to stare at him. “If you think I’ll stand by and watch him slaughter you, you are sadly mistaken!” Aleksei leveled a hand at Etienne. “No one threatens my twin. Stand down, pup!” Aleksei looked at the other male. “You are the elder twin. It is your place to control him. Tell him to stand down, Acier. I will not allow him to dispatch my brother.”
The one called Acier knelt on the ground, cradling Etienne in his arms, his gray eyes glowing with anger. “You call yourself father and yet you dare strike my brother?”
Vlad watched the play of emotions across Aleksei’s cinnamon colored face -- pain, regret, and finally resolve.
“You call yourself humane and yet would stand by and watch another slain? I feel your devotion to your twin, Acier. I have a devotion to my twin that is even deeper, having been forged over three hundred years of being there for each other when we had no one else. Tell your brother to stand down… for all our sakes.”
Acier took a deep breath and then rose, pulling Etienne gently to his feet. “You would kill us both?”
“I would willingly die for you both, but I will allow no one to kill my brother… not even one of you.”
Vlad had not felt this close to Aleksei since his dispute with Mikhel. He knew the depth of feelings Aleksei felt for Acier. And yet Aleksei had aligned himself with his twin.
Etienne took a deep, shuddering breath before he buried his face against his brother’s shoulder. Acier put his arms around Etienne and glared at Aleksei. Aleksei sighed and moved over to the two brothers. He put his arms around them both.
Aleksei spoke in a soft voice. “Trust us.” He stroked his hands over both twins’ shoulders. Neither twin protested. Aleksei lifted his head and looked at Vlad. Come. They need us both, Vlad.
He crossed the distance. Aleksei pulled Acier into his arms and stepped away, leaving Vlad and Etienne facing each other. After a moment of uncertainty, Vlad shuddered and opened his arms. Forgive me, my son. Please?