“Rathe, who is Julius Adams?”
“He was elected Leader of the Borne after my father died.”
“Do you know him?”
“Know of him. He does possess an advanced thinking. Julius was the first to support my father’s disbandment of the Slayers. I’ll ask Faeroes what he knows about Julius’s latest orders concerning the Enforcers Rand spoke of.”
“Have you fed tonight?” she asked Rand and his friends
They stared at her. Some looked away, while a couple of girls tried hard not to cry. By their reactions, she realized they had been on their own for a long time. No one had cared for their health or safety, except within the bond of their friendship.
Rand gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you for your concern. We have taken care of our needs.”
Rathe held her hand. “We need to return to our family. Will you come with us?”
The group conversed with each other. When an agreement was reached, Rand returned. “We will follow you.”
“Good. Let’s fly.”
Flying beside Rathe, she glanced back at the vampires, who spread out and formed a defensively behind them. When they reached the mansion, Simon placed himself protectively in front of the girls, relaxing when she waved at him.
Rathe introduced Simon to Rand. “Simon, my youngest brother.”
Offering his hand out to Rand, Simon grinned, “Welcome to our home.”
Rand shook it. “Thank you. I’m Rand.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen others of our kind.” Simon turned to introduce them to Lydia, when the girl with blue hair gasped.
“You were human!”
Lydia smiled. “Yes, I survived the Change.”
“You did more than survive, you kept you soul. Amazing.” The girl shyly held her hand out to Lydia. “My name is Lizzy.”
Headlights approaching had the vampires in semi-circle, ready to fight.
“At ease,” Rathe ordered. “It’s Faeroes, my other brother, and his wife, Anya.”
Several of the girls’ huddled together, chatting excitedly about meeting the legendary Anya Romulas. Wanting to know why, she didn’t have the chance to ask when the luxury car parked and Faeroes and Anya climbed out. By their grim expressions, the news they bore wasn’t good.
“What's wrong?” Rathe approached his brother.
“We are hereby ordered to appear before the Elders and defend our actions in killing members of the Damned. We are accused of willfully sabotaging the peace treaty to start another vampire war.”
“Great.”
“Gets better. Those we know, who we’ve defended, hell, protected, will not join us. They say our feud with Jarrod is a personal one, not an epidemic of vampires losing their souls. Basically, they will not risk angering the Elders, not even for us.”
Rand’s gray eyes flashed angrily. “We have killed more than a hundred demon vamps in the last month, and that’s just hunting here, in Southern California. Our allies have encountered the same across the United States. We are severely outnumbered! Word is that Jarrod is ready to declare war on the Borne.”
“Jarrod is no longer a threat to us,” Rathe replied darkly, his eyes glittering chips of black ice. “I killed him.”
Shocked at the news of Jarrod's passing, they stilled when Alexander and his men arrived. “The Damned!” Rand and his people drew their weapons, running to attack them.
Flying over them, Rathe landed in front of Rand, forcing him to stop. “Stay your weapons! Alexander Walker is not the enemy! He was misled, as were those who follow him. Think you have been betrayed? Think you’ve suffered? Imagine the nightmare he and his men have endured living amongst the Damned!”
She noticed there were only men with Alexander. “Weren’t there any women who wanted to join us?”
“The Damned seek the women first, ensuring our kind has no choice but to lose hope and turn demon.” He waved a hand at the thirty men who had accompanied him. “We are the only ones left who have possession of our souls. The others are lost.”
Placing his hand on Alexander’s broad shoulder, Rathe said to those gathered around them, “We have enough to make our stand, to make a difference.” Then he let out a deep sigh. “Faeroes, I leave tomorrow night for New York and will meet with the Elders, to address their accusations.”
“We will go with you,” Faeroes declared. Simon added he would, too.
“No, I go alone. You and Simon will be in charge here.”
“Tough. We’re coming. No arguing with us,” Faeroes said firmly, refusing to back down when Rathe glared at him. Simon wouldn’t either.
“Fine. Next rising we leave.”
Protests erupted. Alexander argued, “Rathe, we need to go together, strength in numbers.”
“The Elders will consider it an act of war. If we, three, go, we can perhaps make the Elders see how they’ve been wrong about the Damned and the Laws.”
In the vampires’ minds, she saw they were convinced Rathe and his brothers were dead men and the hope they had vanished. “Simon, Rand, let's build a bonfire and get to know one another.” She urged Mina and Kai to help them.
“Alexander, may we speak privately?”
“Yes. We need to talk.”
They walked to the cliff, away from the others. Gazing out at the sea, feeling the cool spray on her face, it soothed her frayed nerves. “Strange, isn’t?” She observed the quiet man beside her. “How I remember you when I was a child and you stand here, having never aged.”
A fond smile broke his somberness. “I see the child I saved and loved, yet, the woman before me has surpassed us all in her wisdom and capacity for love.”
Blushing at his compliment, she asked, “Alexander, why did Jarrod think I could bring his soul back? What is this prophecy he spoke of?”
“I have a theory about that.” Alexander hesitated. “I am uncomfortable in sharing because I do not want you to think me a man like Jarrod.”
Wary, she asked, “What is your theory?”
“Raising you brought joy into my life, after years of sorrow. My life had meaning.” He went silent for a moment. “Five years of bliss until I learned that Jarrod was organizing the Damned. Then he summoned me, proposing I become his second in command. I couldn’t refuse, not without rousing his suspicion. So, I had Relle take you to a couple, who were her clan. They agreed to raise you as their own. Then the Slayers found you.”
“In your dreams, I showed you the night Thomas and Rose died, so you could see why I had to do what I did for you. Why I wanted to protect you and your child from the monsters, Damned and Borne. I had to distance myself from you, broke the blood bond we had, to protect you. I became the cold monster I’d been before I met you. Until … until I saw Kai.”
It clicked his meaning when he asked her not to think him like Jarrod. “My daughter?”
Hastily, he corrected, “No, not anything perverted or sexual in nature. It was like an electric current had struck my heart, and I could feel again. Do you understand what I’m trying to convey?” Alexander implored to her, and she found she did.
“I think I do. Whenever Jarrod spoke of Aidan, remembered something about his brother, shared how much he missed him, I saw the Jarrod before he lost his soul. He thought it was me who brought some of his lost humanity back, but it wasn’t me. It was memories of his brother that was triggering it. Sadly, he never made the connection and would not listen to me.”
“Huh, I never thought of it that way. Perhaps we can save others who are close to turning by reminding them of their humanity?”
“Perhaps. There is another matter I must speak on. I know my family has asked much of you already, but in truth, you are the only one I trust to take care of what I love most in this world.”
“Ask me anything, and I shall see it done.”
“Swear you will protect Kai, even if it means abandoning me?”
Alexander placed his hand on his heart. “I swear to God, I will protect Kai with
my immortal soul.”
“Good. Let us rejoin the others and see if we can become a single fighting unit.” Observing Rand and his group, she was worried. “They’re so young. How can we ask them to fight, if war is declared?”
He assured her as they walked back, “Rand and his gang are good, very good, at hunting the Damned with their streetwise tactics. They can hold their own against the Slayers, too.”
Glaring at him, Rand said, “Walker, I have a bone to pick with you.”
Suspicious, he put his hand on his gun. “What's that?”
Rand’s anger disappeared as he grinned broadly. “Where do you find such cool clothes?”
Alexander’s men stared at Rand, confused until the girls started giggling.
Relaxing, Alexander grinned back. “I will tell you, only if you impart your knowledge how you hack into computers.”
“Deal.” Rand held out his hand, and Alexander took it.
With the ice broken, they congregated round the bonfire, talking until three shadows flew past them, and the new vampires landed near the cliff. A stately vampire, dressed in an expensive, brown suit, his long, silver-grey hair pulled back in a ponytail strode forth. He was followed by who she assumed were his bodyguards.
“Rathe Romulas, have you lost what little sense you had? Only the Elders have the official power to call a Borne meeting.”
Crossing his arms, Rathe gave the vampire a cold, arched glare. “Fredrick, you dare come to my house and tell me what I, a Slayer, can do?” His entrancing voice deepened with menace, black eyes glittered in barely suppressed anger.
Simon and Faeroes flanked Rathe. Fredrick stared at the other vampires as they stood behind the Romulas brothers. “You plan to overthrow the Elders!”
Outraged, Simon replied, “We plan no such thing! All we want is to stop the madness and save people. If you hadn’t noticed, the Damned are turning humans at an alarming rate, killing the Borne without restraint, and no one is stopping them.”
Fredrick snapped back, “You lie! Since we signed the peace treaty with Jarrod, there has only been peace!”
Alexander stood beside Simon. “Julius and the Elders allowed Jarrod to distort the teachings of the Borne vampires, giving him the opportunity to extract his revenge.”
Fredrick looked as if he had seen a ghost. “Why are you here? Where’s Jarrod? Does he know you’re here?”
“I and my men have recently learned we are not Damned and no longer have allegiance to Jarrod.”
“You have a soul? How is this possible?”
“Long story. What matters now, we must help others from turning Damned.”
“The Laws are in place to protect us. They do not need modifying.”
She couldn’t believe it. Fredrick thought nothing was wrong? “By your own laws, Alexander and others have been falsely accused of becoming soulless. You gave the one thing Jarrod wanted most — the destruction of our kind. If we don’t stop this, the Damned will overrun us, we and the humans will be destroyed.”
“Mind your place, woman! You are undead, a thing that should have been put down by these Slayers!”
“I am a not undead!”
“Mariah is Aidan Draco’s daughter,” Alexander said quietly.
“What?” Fredrick’s nostrils flared, his fangs dropped. “She is the half-breed child Jarrod searched for?”
“Yes, Mariah is his niece.”
“Abomination! Men, kill this-this thing!”
Before she could pull her gun to defend herself, Simon pulled her back out of the way as Alexander and Faeroes pressed the tips of their blades to bodyguards’ hearts. Rathe had Fredrick by the throat, lifting him off the ground as he snarled in his face.
Fangs long, eyes blazing, Rathe tossed Fredrick away. “Mariah is not an abomination! I warn you only once — try to harm her, I will kill you.”
On his feet, jerking his suit straight, Fredrick glared at him. “You just signed your death warrant, Romulas.” He and his men disappeared.
Faeroes was the first to speak. “Well, I guess we just declared war.” His dry humor won him a lethal glare from Rathe.
Scowling, Alexander laid his sword on his shoulder. “Why are we allowing Fredrick and his men to leave?”
“What do you suggest we do with them?” Rathe asked him.
“Kill them,” he stated bluntly. “Silence Fredrick and you may have your chance to speak with the Elders without dying first.”
“No, we will allow him to return to Julius and convey our intent.”
“He called Mariah an abomination! Hell, Fredrick would have killed her right here, in front of us, if we hadn’t stopped him. How can you allow him to still live for that?”
Shaken at how much Fredrick hated her, she flinched when Rathe tried to touch her. “You were right. To the Borne, I am less than the undead.”
“Not to me. Not to them.” He pointed at the vampires, who nodded their agreement.
Alexander glared at him. “Fredrick will tell the Elders about her. They’ll send the Enforcers to kill Mariah and Kai. We have to stop them first.”
“Alexander, I know how you feel, but to make changes, we must attempt a peaceful talk with the Elders. If it fails, we’ll take direct action next.”
Alexander gave him a puzzled frown, but stayed silent.
In her chest lay a dead weight, as if her heart had turned to stone as she saw only death and destruction in their future. “Rathe, you can’t go to New York. It’s a trap.”
Tucking a wayward curl behind her ear, he said quietly, “I know it is.”
“Why are you going then?”
“Because we need to force the Elders to show the Borne how far their duplicity has gone. How they made pacts with monsters at the cost of our children’s souls and lives.”
Staring out at the ocean, she heard him say to the others, “I suggest you use tonight to carefully think over if you want to stay and fight with us. I’ll not think you cowards if you want to leave and fight another day.” She gasped when Rathe swept her into his arms. “Excuse us, but I need to speak privately with Mariah.” And he jumped off the cliff with her.
✝✝✝
He had only one thought in mind as he flew to the hidden cove. Landing on the sand, Mariah clung to him as he claimed her lips, savagely kissing her. Their clothes melted away and he laid her down on them. She gasped when he left her soft lips and molded his along the slender column of her throat. His hands roamed freely over her body. He bent to claim a ripe bud, suckling deep, releasing it. Turning, he paid the same attention to her other breast before working his way down the flat of her stomach.
Shivering with anticipation as he pushed her thighs apart, Mariah moaned, burying her fingers in his hair as her hips moved in time with his thrusting tongue. When she hovered close to climaxing, he rose above her and plunged deep inside her. Groaning as her silken muscles reflectively tightened around him, driving Rathe to a furious pace. He heard a soft growl emanate from her, surprised when she rolled him onto his back. Her beautiful amethyst eyes glowed fiercely in the dark, her teeth long with the intensity of her emotions. Her tight sheath held him as her hot mouth trailed down his throat. Her sharp teeth scrapped his skin, he kept hoping she would her sink her fangs into him and feed on him, but she didn’t. He growled in frustration.
Her hips rocked in a hypnotic rhythm as her hands pinned his shoulders down as she had her way with him. Grasping her narrow waist in a bruising grip, he held her tight as he lifted his hips off the ground and drove inside her, grinning as she wildly tossed her head back, her long hair spilling over his thighs, heightening his senses to overload. They became one power and all fury, joining the storm in their passion. A strangled cry escaped her as she shuddered from the cataclysmic pleasure as she found her release. Shouting his to the thunder, a flash of white lightening ran jagged across the dark sky.
Mariah collapsed on his chest, laughing. “It appears we did it again. We’re never going to hear the end of it when
we return to the mansion.” She jumped to her feet. “I want to swim!”
“After you.”
They ran to the sea, diving into the foam-curled waves, the cool water revitalizing their worn out spirits. He swam alongside her, fascinated how the moonlight cast her skin in marble and shadows. Catching her to him, she threw her arms around his neck and playfully nipped at his neck as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Trusting him to keep her afloat, she leaned back in his arms. Water swirled, caressing her full breasts, nipples dusky and ripe.
Wanting her again, she smiled at him as she curled one arm around his neck and reached her hand down between them and grasped him. Using the muscles of her thighs, she rose above him and impaled herself on his erection. Her slick, hot sheath slid over him. She gripped his shoulders and rode him. Teeth lengthening with the force of her desire, she sank her teeth into the thin skin of his throat.
Mind and body focused on her as she set the wild pace and suckled his blood, he was a helpless prisoner, held in the throes of their passion. Throwing his head back, he shouted as she gasped, climaxing with him. Rathe found his legs were shaking as he carried her out of the water and set her down on their clothes. He saw her eyes glisten before she looked away.
Pulling her into his arms, he whispered, “Don’t worry. The Elders will not be so bold to harm me openly. It's against their political souls.”
Pressure built inside him, the desire to tell her how he felt when she was near him, how she made him smile, how she shattered his world when she touched him, kissed him, made love with him. But he stifled it, building the wall in his mind, hardening his heart. If he were killed, she could move on, as long as she didn’t know how much he cared for her. How much he.… He stopped himself from uttering those binding words, denying his feelings so she may live when he was gone.
The rest of the night they held each other, gazing at the sea, trying not to think what the next rising might bring them. When the dawn broke the darkness, they dressed. Rathe lifted her in his arms and flew back to the mansion. The others had already gone to ground, except for Alexander, who was waiting for them.
Whisper to Me (Borne Vampires Book 1) Page 27