by Stina
“If it is okay with Kesh, then it is okay with me.”
Kesh nodded, giving Calum the approval.
“I give you my blessing. I want all of us to be still standing at the end of this.”
“Sire!”
They all looked to the entrance of the library.
“Narum,” Talum tried to joke, “you must have a thing for interrupting me while I am in the library.”
“I . . . I was talking to Kesh.”
Talum looked taken aback, but he did not challenge his words. It was just something that would take some getting used to.
“Speak,” Kesh said. He’d recognized the young vampire as the one who had stolen the elixir from him when he and Talum had made the announcement to all of the Malum. It was then that Kesh took notice that Narum was just loyal to Talum. What he had done was nothing against Kesh personally; it was all for the sake of the long, drawn-out feud.
Narum’s face held a look of alarm that spread throughout the room. Whatever he had to say was not good. “Sire, it’s the Sefu. Word just got back from one of my human informants. It’s the hunters. They are planning to attack at sunrise.”
Chapter 15
Kesh hadn’t been gone for more than an hour before Adirah got into a funk. She was missing her son, and now she was missing her love. Without them by her side, she felt empty. Surprisingly, the Malum made her feel very welcome and catered to all of her needs, the ones they could fulfill, anyway. Although Calum had offered to train her, Adirah made sure to sneak away before they were to head outside to the training course.
Her thoughts were consumed with questions. She felt like she didn’t even know herself anymore. Everything had changed, and whenever she thought she finally had control, they changed again. And again. Now, whenever she looked in a mirror she would wonder if Kesh saw her, or Adie.
Adirah walked alone, offering kind smiles to any Malum she passed. She didn’t know what the base of the feud was but, boy, was she glad that it was over. Between the Malum and the Sefu, she didn’t notice a difference besides the name of their clans. Being around them made her miss nothing about being human. She’d lost her family a long time ago and, yes, they crossed her mind, but not as much as they used to.
“When this is all over I’m going to come and visit you, Mom,” she whispered to herself. “Things have changed so much since the last time you saw me. I hope my new appearance doesn’t freak you out.”
“Your appearance would freak anybody out!”
Adirah rolled her eyes, recognizing the voice. She kept walking without looking behind her, hoping that her point would be taken. No such luck.
“Aw, and here I am thinking that we made such a good team.”
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you that it’s not nice to sneak up on people, Calum?”
“Yeah, of course.” Calum grinned and appeared at Adirah’s side. “But I’m a vampire; there isn’t a lot of nice in anything I do.”
“You’re right,” Adirah agreed and grew quiet.
“You’re worried about Kesh, aren’t you?” That time when Calum spoke, her tone of voice was softer.
“Yes,” Adirah admitted. “I know this is something that he has to do alone, but I can’t help it.”
“You’re supposed to be worried, you know that, right? If you weren’t, I would have to tell Kesh that he needs to find himself a new queen.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“I’m just kidding.” Calum nudged Adirah’s arm with her own. “Look, if anybody understands you, it’s me. All of this Ancient Lykan talk is scaring the shit out of me, and I have fought many Lykans in my time. But—”
“This is different?”
“Very.”
“How so?”
“Well, for one, I’ve never fought a mega Lykan before.” She paused so Adirah could laugh before she continued. “And two, I have never seen Talum this worried.”
Adirah turned her head and studied the side of Calum’s face. It dawned on her right then that maybe Calum hadn’t followed her intentionally outside. Maybe she had to clear her mind of a few things too. Right then they both had one thing in common: they were both worried about the well-being of their men.
“Look, Calum, I’m sorry about, you know, kicking your ass last year,” Adirah said and, just like she thought would happen, Calum’s red lips spread into a wide smile. “But I’m glad that this has happened.”
“I hope you don’t think we’re like best friends or something now.” Calum’s eyebrow raised.
“No, of course not!” Adirah linked arms with Calum and then slyly added, “But I’ve always wanted a sister.”
Calum giggled and snatched her arm away. “Stop it!”
“Did you just giggle?” Adirah asked pretending to be shocked again. “A sense of humor is one thing, but I didn’t think someone as tough as the great Calum was capable of giggling.”
“I didn’t used to always be this rock solid, you know.”
“No, I didn’t,” Adirah said, and when Calum cut her eyes at her, she shrugged her shoulders. “Enlighten me.”
“Talum would have never fallen in love with me if I were a bitch all the time. He wasn’t always such a hard ass either. There was once a time when nothing mattered but our love for each other. When he first started the Malum, it was just supposed to be a place he called home. But he let his anger at Kesh consume him. He lost his way. I helped bring him back.”
“Really?” Adirah gave Calum a knowing look.
“Okay, okay! I might have fueled the fire a little bit.”
“A little bit?”
“Give me credit for something, Adirah.”
“Okay, okay. I will let you have this one. But just this one.”
“Thank you. I just realize now that we all have our own crosses to bear and we have always been stronger together than apart. There is room for only one king, and I’m happy that it’s Kesh.”
“You mean that?”
“Hell yes. Now I have Talum all to myself again!”
They both shared another laugh before sitting down under a tree facing the big house.
“Okay, I have to ask . . .” Adirah put her palms in the air, and Calum squinted at her.
“I don’t want to hear any more of your jokes, Adirah. I have too much on my mind right now.”
“No jokes, I swear. It’s just . . . come on. Talum, Calum? That can’t be your real name. It just can’t be!”
“How do you figure it isn’t?” Calum asked and looked out into the distance. “It could be, but you’re right. It isn’t.”
“Soooo?” Adirah pressed when Calum didn’t say anything after her statement.
“So what?”
“Tell me!”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because she died a long time ago.”
“But if I’m correct, so did Calum.”
Calum was shocked as she looked at the bold vampire woman next to her. She opened her mouth to say something mean, but she couldn’t. What Adirah said was the truth. Calum was a vicious queen who would do anything to cause another pain. She was a person who was hurting and lost herself. Calum was the name of someone who did not know what she wanted; and, even though she still did not know where she was going, she was positive that she would never be Calum again.
“My name was . . . is Ceela.”
“Ceela what?”
“Ceela That’s All I’m Telling You. Pushy ass.”
“All right, all right. I’ll take it,” Adirah said smiling. “Maybe I am a little pushy, so I’ll back off for now. You know what?”
“What?”
“I always wanted a sister named Ceela.”
Ceela punched Adirah softly in the arm, and the two of them fell back laughing with their eyes on the sky. Ceela’s mind was on Talum, while Adriah’s was on Kesh.
“Adirah?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think that Kesh can really convince the Sefu that the Malum
are their allies now? Without them seeing it for themselves? I mean, no offense, but Kesh did abandon them for a year. And our two clans have kind of had our differences. And I’ve heard things about these new hunters.”
“What kinds of things?”
“They’re more prepared for us than they’ve ever been. Narum says they can move like us and fight like us. I’m worried that the Sefu won’t be expecting that.”
“What are you saying?”
“I don’t think we should wait for Kesh to return. I think the Malum should move out tonight.”
Adirah sat up abruptly and leaned on her arm so that she could look down at Ceela. She looked for a trace of a smirk, but when she saw that Ceela was dead serious, she got completely to her feet.
“I couldn’t agree with you more. Let’s get everyone together to help the Sefu.”
Chapter 16
It had been so long since Mezza walked the earth. He’d forgotten the smells and the sights in his seemingly forever slumber. Everything was different from what he remembered. It was all so overwhelming that he didn’t leave the comforts of his home until his thirst was completely fed. He hadn’t tasted flesh for centuries, and he filled up on it during the first five days of his awakening.
He barely slept because the only dreams he had were nightmares of his last memories. The battle with the Ancient vampires was one that they were supposed to win. In the beginning, it seemed as though victory would surely be theirs, but then things took a turn for the worse. He saw his brothers killed while he and Tidas became prisoners of a witch’s spell. After he wiped out the vampires, he planned on going after the witch’s coven. They would pay for what was done to them. However, now, his focus was on the one who had awakened him.
The curse was written in hopes that the loophole would never be broken, but with the birth of the baby vampire, it was. Mezza knew it was out there somewhere; he could smell it. It had to be killed along with anything else that had the means to destroy him. He refused to be locked away ever again; and once he found where his brother lay resting, the two would rule the world together.
“Sire?”
The voice interrupting his thoughts made Mezza come back to reality. He was in his usual spot in his room, gazing into the fire. He was expecting the young Lykan to return, so he’d kept his door slightly cracked. Although his back was to the Lykan, he could see him just with his senses.
“Did you bring what I asked?”
“Thirty human hearts? Yes, sire.”
“Place them there.” Mezza pointed his dark chocolate hand to the place beside his chair. “What are the others doing?”
“Training. The full moon is only one week away, sire. We are preparing for an all-out massacre.”
“Have any new troops come to my door?”
“Yes. About ten more, earlier today. They heard your call and are ready to pledge their allegiance to you.”
“Good.” Mezza reached down and grabbed a heart from the bloody bucket the Lykan had set next to him. He brought it to his lips and took a big bite out of it. He savored the sweet taste on his tongue before he swallowed it. “Are there any women?”
“Yes,” the young Lykan answered.
“It’s been so long since I lay with a woman,” Mezza stated feeling his human form getting warm all over. “Send only one to my room.”
“As you wish.”
In the time that it took for the woman to show up to his room, he’d already cleaned his hands and his face. When she walked in the room, Mezza was lying on his bed completely naked. His muscular frame was exposed, and so was his thick chunk of meat, standing at attention.
“Do not be afraid,” Mezza told her, seeing the fear frozen on her face. “This is an honor. Are you hungry?”
“No, thank you. I just fed.” Her voice was tiny, but he heard her two hearts beating loud and clear. She was strong, and he wanted to see how strong.
“Take your clothes off,” he instructed, and she did it. “Slower. We are in no rush. What is your name?”
“Nara,” she said, unsnapping her bra and releasing her full breasts.
His eyes watched her intently, lustfully. Her light caramel body was curved in all of the right places. He could smell her womanhood from there, and it made the beast in him hungry to be released. Once every article of her clothing was removed, he motioned for her to get on the bed with him.
“Nara,” he growled in a low voice, “you are very beautiful. Show me what your mouth can do behind closed doors.”
He watched her breasts bounce as she walked and he bared his teeth. He could sense that she liked the way he was watching her and she began to grow more confident in what she was doing. She got sexily on the gigantic bed and crawled sexily up to where he was. Before he could instruct her on how he liked things to be done, she arched her backside in the air as she licked his long shaft all the way up to the tip. Once there, she wrapped her full lips around the three inches of girth and worked her way down. Her mouth was so wet, and soon the room was filled with sounds of her choking on his manhood. His hands gripped the back of her disheveled short hair as he shoved himself deeper and deeper down her throat. He fucked her face with no mercy, barely giving her time to catch her breath.
He let go of her hair and let her do her own thing on him. She licked, kissed, and slurped until he let out one gasp after the other. He couldn’t believe that he was sentenced to centuries of no pleasure. The night wasn’t even over, and he knew he would have to reserve more time for his sexual appetite.
“Can I please get on it now?” Nara begged him. “I’m so wet between my legs. I want you to feel me.”
Women had become bolder with their needs since the last time Mezza lay with a woman. Then, they were too prudish to tell you what they wanted. If they did, they would be perceived as a common whore. But Nara had no problem letting Mezza know how badly she wanted him inside of her, to which he had no objections.
Nara straddled him and slowly slid down on his thick ten inches. She hissed as he worked his way inside of her. She felt so tight to him, and he could barely keep his eyes open as she rode him. It felt like he was on the slipperiest slope, and he didn’t want to get off.
“It’s so big, sire. It’s so big!”
Mezza opened his eyes so that he could see himself sliding in and out of her. He noticed that she was not coming all the way down on him and he shook his handsome head at her. He pulled her down toward him so that he could taste her light brown nipples.
“Mmmm, sire! Yes, fuck me and suck my titties. Yes! Like that.”
She was so busy being pleasured by his tongue action she didn’t even notice his grip around her waist grow tighter. He thrust up at her so suddenly her scream pierced his ears.
“Yes!” he growled as he thrust up again, fitting all of himself inside of her tight hole. “I told you not to be afraid. Take it. Your king says take it!”
“Yes, sire,” she whimpered as he fucked her into oblivion.
It was like she was his property. She allowed him to do anything he wanted to do to her body. No hole or position was off-limits to him. He sexed her with so much power and authority that, by the time they were finished, she’d climaxed at least five times.
She tried to stand to leave, but she collapsed on the ground. Mezza stood up and scooped her into his arms and placed her on the bed.
“Rest,” he told her. “You have pleased me greatly tonight. For that, you deserve to sleep.”
She smiled weakly up at him and was passed out by the time he made his way back over to his chair. He’d released some of his pent-up frustration on Nara, but it was not even a quarter of it. His eyes fell back on the flicker of the flames, and he allowed his thoughts to consume him. All of that sexing had worked up an appetite for him. It was a good thing he had a bucket full of hearts to eat.
Chapter 17
“Do you think that he will succeed?”
Tep sat on the same bench as Dena as she watched the passageway. She’d
been doing that since Kesh and Adirah left. There was no word of them or about whether they had succeeded. She hoped they were okay and hadn’t run into any bumps in the road.
“I have much faith in Kesh.”
“I don’t see why. He reminds me of any other roughneck vampire his age.”
“His age?” Dena couldn’t help but chuckle. “Tep, you do realize that Kesh is centuries old.”
“That doesn’t matter. He’s reckless!”
“You don’t even know him.”
“I know enough to say he’s reckless!”
“How, for falling in love? Or for putting his family first?”
“For both.”
“Tep.”
“Okay, okay, okay. I guess he’s not that bad.”
“Not at all,” Dena said thinking about Kesh’s contagious smile. “Adie wouldn’t have given her essence to just anyone. Not even for love. Kesh is special, and it is important that we keep him knowing as much.”
“So then that answers my question.”
“What question?”
“Do you think he will succeed?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he has to. The entire vampire race is depending on him. Plus, we have his son. If Kesh does not come back, it is because he can’t, not because he does not want to.”
“Then I will trust your judgment,” Tep said after some seconds of silence. “What about her?”
“She is who I’m worried about. She needs more training. She is not ready for battle.”
“They all will when they get here. We will need to prepare them all for what can and will happen. I can’t help but wonder which one was awakened.”
“Mezza or Tidas,” Dena said shaking her head. “Both are monsters. It does not matter which one is awake right now. They both will suffer the same fate. Hopefully, Kesh comes back in the next day or two so that we can really prepare. We need the numbers, Tep. It is the only way we will survive this war.”
“I know; there is strength in numbers. I just hope they are good enough.”
“They will be. Two of the best warriors will be coming back with Kesh and Adirah.”