by Jex Lane
He looked so sexy under her, a lascivious expression plastered on his face.
“No,” she ordered.
“Please?”
“You can look but not touch.”
A quiet whimper escaped him.
When she lifted on her knees then came back down, his whimper turned into a, “Gods help me.”
“I don’t think they will right now,” she said as she released his hair, planting her hands on his shoulders and gripping tightly for leverage. She adjusted herself, pivoting her hips to find the position that felt best…and—oh my god—stars burst in front of her eyes when she found it.
They locked eyes, and their breaths fell into sync with each other.
Each rise and fall met the same primal, desperate sounds. And—for a few moments—she felt as if they were one, connected on a level she’d never experienced in her whole life. As if they were meant to be.
Incubus and hunter.
Lovers.
“Come,” he whispered, and her body obeyed. A deep full-body orgasm, one so intense she was sure the world around her no longer existed, rolled through her. And he joined in. Emptying into her. The two of them sharing the same moment of pleasure with each other.
When it finished, she collapsed forward against his chest. He nuzzled her, his stubble scraping the side of her cheek, and wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her close.
“How did you do that?” she asked, mirroring his earlier question. She felt his chest rumble as he laughed quietly.
“I cheated and pushed a little pleasure into you.”
Playfully, she punched his arm. “You weren’t supposed to.”
“I didn’t want to come again without you.”
She nipped at the skin over his collar bone. “Do all incubi come so quick?”
“Hey now! I have plenty of stamina. The problem is you. You’re too hot. You taste too good… I want to add another rule.”
Pulling herself up a bit, she moved so that his softening dick left her. “What rule?”
“I want to be the only incubus who can feed from you. Unless we both agree on an exception.”
Kat shrugged. Not a deal breaker for her. “Sure. But what about injured warriors and stuff? I signed that contract.”
“Hunter duty doesn’t count.” He smiled wide, flashing his pearly white teeth. “We should finish our date sometime. The food at La Magie is spectacular.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Real food or sex?”
He chuckled. “Real food. I eat that too, you know.”
“Do you?”
“Couple times a week. Every Thursday is a family meal. If you have that night off, you should join me.” Darius mindlessly began running his fingers over her spine.
“Dinner with the Lord General? That might be awkward. He’s my boss. And Tane will be there, right? I don’t really want to be around that guy if I can avoid it.”
“Tane’s not that bad.” She scowled at Darius, who threw up his hands in surrender. “Okay he’s pretty awful. But yeah, the Lord General’s son is required to attend the family dinners.”
“Do you think I’ll get in trouble for kneeing him in the balls?”
Darius sat up slightly. “You did what?”
“He deserved it.”
“I don’t doubt it. My wildfire.” He pulled her closer. “If Tane tries anything, I’ll be sure everyone knows he was taken down by a new cadet. He’d never risk the social mockery.”
“Your people are weird. You care a lot about what others think of you.”
Darius nodded against her. “It’s our way.”
“Are you really super rich or is it like the general’s money?” She didn’t want Darius’ money—she had no use for it—but she couldn’t ignore how loaded he seemed to be.
“I’m wealthy. And I earned it myself. It wasn’t handed to me.”
“How?”
“I handle the budget for all of Ashwood, and I’m given a salary. Which I invest. Wisely.”
“You’re the money man.”
“Yeah. I went to Princeton and after I graduated it took me a while to prove to the Lord General that I could manage his estate, but eventually I did. Before then, Ashwood only existed thanks to the funding from our kings and queens. Now the estate generates enough money that the Lord General is no longer beholden to them. That’s when he made me a lord of his house. I think he was mostly thankful he doesn’t have to suck up to them as much anymore.”
She laughed against his skin.
“What?” he asked.
“It’s my fault, I asked, but I don’t care that much about money.”
“I like that about you. Others have tried to…tame me for my wealth and title. It’s nice to not have to worry about every action, every word being judged.”
Kat knew what he meant. She felt the same. Ever since losing her family, something inside of her—her soul?—had felt fractured; incomplete. Around him, she felt whole. The feeling was new, scary even, but also right. “This is the happiest I’ve been in a long time.”
He tilted her chin and met her lips with his. The cheater pushed pleasure into her and rocked his hips, his cock, already hard and trapped between them, slid along her abdomen. She pulled away.
“I want to see your incubus form. Last time I didn’t get a close look before you tossed me on the bed.” His horns emerged from his head, and she ran her fingers along the ridges, admiring the black then blue then cream coloring. She nipped the pointed tip of his ear. “Your ears are so cute.”
“You’ve mispronounced manly and sexy.”
“Adorable.”
“Keep doing that and I’m not going to finish transforming.”
She moved back a little and gripped his cock, stroking it slowly; enjoying its velvety hardness. “Yes, you will.”
He clenched his teeth, growled a little, and finished his transformation—no wings though. She had to adjust her knees slightly for his bigger frame.
It was his cock that she really wanted to see. Larger now, she studied its beautiful veins and ridges. The glans thick and red, eager for more of her.
She yelped when he grabbed her, pulled her to the couch, and ended up on top.
“I hope you don’t have training early tomorrow morning. You’re going to be up all night,” he said with a devious smile.
She did.
But she’d make that sacrifice.
23
Kat
It had been three days since Kat had seen Darius. He had work keeping him busy—apparently, the Lord General had to go to Russia soon, and Darius had to make preparations for that trip—and she had training, but they texted often. She found his overuse of emojis endearing.
They had plans to go out tonight—the first time they’d be hunting together for food. Nerves fluttered in her belly from both excitement and anticipation. After a long daytime training session, Kat looked forward to a shower before getting ready.
Both Kat and Dawn teleported to their room.
And both drew their weapons—Dawn a silvered sword, Kat a stake—when they realized there was an intruder inside.
“Don’t stab me,” Darius said, holding up his arms, looking sharp in a fitted suit. “I quite like being unstabbed.”
Kat’s eyes widened.
There were flowers everywhere.
All different types, in as many colors as she could think of. Some even seemed to shimmer unnaturally in the center.
“Great. I’m going to be sneezing for days,” Dawn said as she sheathed her sword.
Darius looked smug. “I got you something.”
She shook her head. “You got me a lot of somethings. This is an excessive number of flowers.”
“I did research. Humans enjoy flowers, right? We like them too, but they’re typically used for decoration, not for courting.”
“Courting?” Kat laughed, finding his worried expression adorable. She tossed her stake on the bed and sauntered to him. He met her halfway, sweeping her up
into a long, passionate kiss. The kind that had her mind floating and ears buzzing. She pressed into his hard body and moaned.
Dawn cleared her throat.
Kat and Darius broke the kiss, wearing wide grins.
“Do you like them?” he asked.
“Love them, but maybe next time get me like one bouquet, not fifty.”
Dawn began to unlace the side of her leather bodice-looking armor. “You owe me a new shirt, Lord Darius. And if Kat’s going to keep borrowing my shirts you need to show a little self-control.”
“And I suppose you’ve already picked out the replacement,” he said.
Pulling out her phone, Dawn unlocked it and showed Darius a picture on it.
He lifted an eyebrow. “That Maeki is a tad more expensive than the last season Losap I ripped.”
Kat understood a few of those words. Designers or something.
Dawn relocked her phone. “Yep. Consider it a goodwill gesture. Advance payment for all the times I’ll need to make myself scarce.”
“Alright. I’ll order you one.”
“How much can a single shirt be?” Kat asked.
“That one is six fifty.”
If Kat had water in her mouth, she would have spat it out. “Six hundred and fifty dollars? For a shirt?”
“Are you going to get Kat a new wardrobe?” Dawn said completely ignoring Kat’s outburst. “I wouldn’t mind having a few more options on hand…”
Darrius shrugged. “That’s up to her.”
“You want to buy me new clothes?” Kat’s wardrobe consisted mostly of cheap oversized shirts and leggings.
“I’m responsible for dressing all the lords and ladies at Ashwood. I’d have fun picking out clothes for you.”
“Fun? Ugh. You can’t if you’re going to spend six fifty on a shirt. I don’t think I could eat wearing a shirt that cost that much, I’d be too worried about spilling stuff on it.”
“You’re welcome to set a budget if—”
Alarms sounded.
They listened for a moment.
“Those are the prison alarms,” Dawn said and looked down at her laces, wearing a sour look on her face. “Senta.” The leather straps began to move on their own, relacing the bodice. A small amount of magic—lacing up, but not down—is weaved into the leathers, she had explained to Kat days ago. Besides getting them into battle quicker, the magic helped absorb heavy impacts, like taking a direct punch from a vampire. “I’m going to be pissed if this is a drill. I was looking forward to vegging in pj’s.”
“No drills are on the schedule.” Darius squeezed Kat’s shoulder. She wasn’t sure if he did it to comfort her or reassure himself. “Don’t worry. No vampire can escape the prison. It’s probably some vampires misbehaving.”
“What do you fight with, Lord Darius?”
“I’m most proficient with a long sword.”
Dawn pulled one off the wall and tossed it to him. He weighed it in his hand.
“You know how to use that?” Kat asked, putting on a hunter’s belt. This one had a few silver throwing daggers and two stakes.
“We’re in the middle of a war,” he said, offended. “All incubi are trained to fight, and I grew up around warriors. You managed to kill vampires with no runes and I’m far stronger than most humans.”
“Right, okay. Sorry.” Kat put the earpiece of her comm in and turned it on.
Chaos filled her ears.
Hundreds of hunters trying to figure out what the hell was happening.
“The wards have been broken,” Dawn said, also listening. “It seems they’ve all been drained of their magic.”
“How? Vampires would need their own witches. They refuse to work with each other.”
“Let’s go find out,” Dawn ran from the room, Kat and Darius trailing after her. Around them, hunters exited their own rooms and teleported outside.
When they exited the dorms, dozens of other hunters were waiting, weapons drawn, listening to their comms for orders. A handful of warrior incubi were in their massive full forms, wearing thick metal armor. Two of them jumped into the air, spreading their wings wide, and took off. They flew in a circle pattern, scouting.
An eerie silence fell upon the area. Both alarms and comm chatter died.
Everyone waited.
A single dispatcher broke through the PA system. “Ashwood Estate is under assault. Over forty vampires are scaling the outer walls. No response from teams Ashwood Black, Death Fall, or Ghostshot. Unable to locate Commander Cullip or High Lord General Tarrick. Backup requested. All hunters are to rendezvous with their team leader for further instructions.”
Kat looked to Darius, who kept his face hard and emotions hidden, but hearing that the Lord General was missing couldn’t be easy for him.
Teams began grouping, but before any could teleport out an explosion blasted from under the ground. A geyser of dirt shot into the air and rained on everyone. Darius yanked Kat out of the way of a softball-sized rock.
New voices filled the comm lines: “Prison escape. — All the guards are dead. — Civilians, fall back to the leystone. Ashwood Purple teleport them out of here. — Ashwood Estate is on its own. Backup is impossible. — We’re about to be overrun by over two hundred vampires. — Kill on sight. Do not leave them staked.”
The comms went dead.
A single vampire rose out of the ground, breaking through the earth, the dirt peeling away unnaturally. It never got the chance to stand as a hunter descended on it and drove a stake into its heart. It lost its head a moment later.
A few hundred feet away, another vampire emerged. A different hunter took it down.
“Holy shit, vampires can move dirt around?” Kat asked.
“Are you serious?” Dawn pulled out a silver dagger as a vampire broke out of the ground near them. She hurled the weapon and hit the creature in its blood pouch; dark red liquid sprayed the air. It hissed and lunged at her, only to be beheaded by another hunter. “It’s like on page one of the Vampire Manual.”
Chaos descended on the academy as hundreds of vampires began crawling out of the dirt.
Instructors and leaders were shouting commands. Bolts and arrows filled the air as hunters began firing. Vampires growled and attacked. Hunters teleported around, trying to either escape or fight back.
Kat watched a cadet appear beside a vampire only to lose his arm as the creature turned and ripped it from him as easily as plucking fruit from a tree. The hunter’s screams chilled Kat to the bone.
Dawn grabbed Darius’ wrist. “Come on, my lord, you need to evacuate.”
Darius looked at the vampires, gripped his sword. For a moment, it looked as if he might protest but he nodded and followed her back into Lincoln Hall.
A vampire broke the soil near Kat’s feet. She teleported back a little and tossed a throwing dagger, hitting it in the shoulder. It hissed and sped away, only to meet a hail of bolts, turning him into a pincushion.
Screeching came from the sky. Vampires with wings—lords—surrounded by a swarm of bats were flying to the academy.
The comms cackled, cutting in and out, adding to the madness: “Group up. — Fall back. — Ghost Wolves flank the south side. — Cold Calm don’t let that vampire escape. — Ashwood Silver, secure the arena. —We need to dust the area.”
Advance teams gathered and broke, targeting individual vampires. Lords were priority. A single lord could down dozens of hunters easily. Maybe more.
Kat had never seen anything like it. Some teams moved with practiced precision, keeping calm despite the bedlam, while others—mostly the cadet teams—were scattered, fighting on their own.
The screeching grew louder and Kat’s attention turned to the bats. They dove to the ground, and it looked as if the swarm disappeared into the earth. Moments later, the bats reemerged. They took the shape of two people: Mont, in all his pale glory, and her dad.
They stood between her and the doors to Lincoln Hall. Between her and Darius.
“Kat!
Teleport insi—” before Darius could finish, Mont was on her, moving faster than she could even see. He slapped the side of her head so hard her ears started ringing and everything spun. She tried to teleport away but couldn’t focus enough to activate the rune.
She staggered forward…into Mont’s arms. His limbs wrapped around her and she felt as if her body broke apart, dimly aware of Darius yelling and chasing after her. But he began to shrink.
Bats.
She had somehow turned into bats.
Unable to move her body, she could see the forest below her, and the academy in the distance. Smoke rose from it. Green flashed. Screams caught her ear.
She could make out incubi warriors fighting vampire lords in the night sky. Their weapons clashing.
Another figure flew after her, still some distance away.
Darius.
No.
Mont would kill him.
Her bat-swarm body began to ache as if Mont was unable to maintain this form any longer. The bats entered the forest, and she reformed, tumbling to the ground. Her head pounded. She turned on the rune that let her see in the dark, her eyes glowing green.
Thick, looming trees surrounded her. Not far, Mont clung to her dad. Embraced him.
“Sire,” Dad said, his fangs grew long and he sunk them into Mont’s neck like a leech.
Using a tree, Kat pulled herself to her feet and grabbed a stake from her belt. She staggered forward but couldn’t find her footing and returned to holding the trunk.
“This will be easier if you don’t fight it,” Mont said.
It took a second to realize he was addressing her. “I could say the same to you.”
The edge of the vampire’s lip twitched as if amused. “It is a shame I am not looking for another child. You would make an interesting one.”
“As if I’d ever let one of you bloodsuckers turn me.” She retrieved the vial of vampire blood from her belt and downed it. She ignored her own hypocrisy of calling them bloodsuckers, as the liquid healed her head wound.
Her dad removed his fangs from Mont’s neck and licked the already mending wound. “I could be with her again, Sire, if you turn her.”