by Tigris Eden
“I am to stay by your side.” Scion said down to her. Gen nodded as they walked closer. They didn’t disrupt the circle, instead they were close but off to the side near a bench. Scion gently took her hand and helped her to sit. He kneeled next to her. His eyes assessing everything.
“You are not dressed.” She meant no disrespect and thought it odd he would still kneel next to her.
“No, but I honor the tasting.”
A slow buzz began to invade the inside of her body. She felt dizzy but relaxed at the same time.
“Scion?” Gen could barely say his name, as wave after wave of nausea struck. She knew if she stood, she’d fall.
“Miss Blackmore, it’s the candles. Master Treegold always laces them with Phorem.”
Chapter 12
Phorem was a drug that relaxed the body and heightened a Pars’ senses. It was having the opposite effect on Gen. She wasn’t feeling euphoric but sick. Her father helped develop the drug. Back when Pars lost their heightened abilities due to the wars. Before the wars Pars were predators, the apex animal of Earth. They were stronger, faster and more potent than any other species, especially Earth. But that was when they thought they were alone in the universe. When they thought there was nothing out there that could touch them. They had been wrong, and it had cost them more than they were willing to give when it came to the Uni-wars. Phorem wasn’t used widely among Pars, and this wasn’t because they didn’t want to use the drug. It was because like water, it too had been rationed. Until the only way you were even able to get it, was if you had the right amount of credits. Now only the elite could afford the drug. Gen wasn’t surprised Xander could afford it.
“Phorem, why?”
“To heighten the males and relax the females.” Now, she remembered. Gen mused to herself. Phorem only heightened male’s sense, and females were made docile by the drug. She wasn’t relaxed at all, but hyperaware. The nausea had abated and now she was alert. The feeling was strong enough to amplify her body. It seduced her, weaved its way through her body and settled between her legs. It made her body quake with uncontrolled lust. Her vision sharpened when Xander stepped out from somewhere behind the altar. He looked powerful. His hair was wrapped around his neck. Wrists covered his gold torques glinting around his arms. He’d changed his pants. Gone were the leather gel replaced with the traditional white fabric. Images of the two of them danced in her mind. She desperately wanted to see his hair down. Wanted to run her hands through his hair. Sift through its silky strands and grip his roots tightly as he entered her body. Where did that come from? The Phorem was making it harder and harder to concentrate on what was real and what was her imagination.
When Xander got closer to the altar he glided across and approached with predatory grace. He was just as effected as everyone else. The hooded females bowed, then presented their hands palm up, exposing their wrists.
“Tonight, we honor Luna. We honor freedom. We honor the right to pass through this life and the next with our match at our sides.” His voice was loud and clear. The words rang true as he spoke.
There were nods all around including Gen. She couldn’t help but nod. The mood and the atmosphere were getting to her on a molecular level. Everyone deserved to have someone at their side. She did to.
“We are not parasitic, or Pars as the other verses have deemed us. No, we are life and death. We are the legends of old. The future of New Earth. It is our right as the Goddess decrees. Even if our true life’s blood is not there to greet us at the altar, we are still Strigoi.”
Voices united everyone said. “We are Strigoi.”
“I stand here before you, not as a male, not as your peer, but as your brother. Our people are a proud race and I hope tonight one of you, if not all, will find their match.”
With his final words each female in the circle removed their hoods. Even Bianca, who was not participating removed hers, and walked to the circle with the other females. Once again they offered their palms face up displaying their wrists. Each female wore bloodletting bracelets circling their wrists. In unison, they turned their bracelets counter clockwise, activating the bracelets. Blood flowed into the basin of the altar. Bianca’s wrists were bleeding as well. She had no bracelet, but used her fangs to spill blood. This was their pledge to the Goddess.
“May my life’s blood sustain the Goddess and my matched until the end.” Bianca said as her blood mixed with the other females. As she backed away, Adam was there to seal her wounds. He held her delicately and something inside of Gens body stirred. She couldn’t quite name the feeling that surged through her, but she didn’t like it. After Adam tended to Bianca’s wrist, he and Xander walked up to the altar and took the daggers from their waist and did the same.
“May my life’s blood sustain the Goddess and my matched until the end.” They said together. Each male and female spilled their blood into the basin. Scion was the last until everyone was at the altar except for Genesis. Xander looked to her and smiled. He was urging her to join the others. This part of the ritual was not hard. No one would be tasting her blood. It was harmless. The stone soaked everything up that spilled into its waiting pores. She didn’t have to taste or be tasted by anyone. Pledging to the Goddess would cause no harm to herself or others.
Gen rose from her bench. Her instincts felt muted and her head was light. Scion was there to catch her. Whether it was fear or anxiety causing her to be hesitant she wasn’t sure. But when she finally made it to the circle no one said a word as she removed her hood. This would be okay, this part was easy. She’d done this with her father plenty of times in private. He always made sure she spilled minimum blood. Three drops. She wouldn’t spill any more than that. Instead of activating the bloodletting bracelets, like Bianca, she used her fangs to prick her skin. The pain was dull as the three drops broke free of her skin and fell.
“May my life’s blood sustain the Goddess and my…” Gen hesitated on the last part but said it anyway “and my matched until the end.” She watched as her blood mingled with the others. Seeping into the porous surface of the rock.
There was an ominous silence that descended in the atrium. No one moved. Time stopped and everyone, save Gen, was harshly breathing. Gen pulled her wrist back away from the altar and put her mouth to her wrists. Before she made contact with her mouth Scion was gripping her arm in a painful grip.
“You’re hurting me.” She hissed. Scion didn’t answer. He began dragging her away from the others until Gen pulled them to a stop. She could hear the others behind her hissing, Xander included.
“Scion! Stop!” Xander’s voice was harsh, altered by the lengthening of his fangs.
“She’s mine.” Scion said. His nails dug into her flesh. She didn’t understand what was happening and things were quickly spiraling out of control. Scions grip was strong.
“No!”
That was Adam voice. Panic filled as she took a deep breath and tried to gather her thoughts. She needed to be free of Scion. Figure out what had happened to make him act this way towards her. She put her hand on Scions arm searching for a bone that would not cause too much damage when she broke it and pinched hard. She knew asserting her strength over him was a bad idea. But whatever was happening around her had the potential of being far worse than breaking a bone in Scion’s arm to turn her loose. She felt the bone crack and then Scion dropped her arm with a grunt. He was cradling his appendage, but seemed even more determined to get to her. His face contorted. The bones in his cheeks were more pronounced and the fangs in his mouth were dripping with saliva. Gen took a step back and Xander was there to stop her. His fangs rested on his lower lip and the fire in his ice blue eyes was back. There was a gleam in his eyes now. Something close to madness or the loss of one’s self control. She could see he was barely hanging on to whatever sanity he had left.
“Gen… you need to go… Now!” He spoke slowly trying to get his words to form properly around his fangs.
“I did nothing wrong.”
“Bring her back.” One of the males said. “She will be matched to me.”
“No… me.” Another said.
Even one of the females vied for attention to become mated to Gen.
Could this have been the effect of the Phorem?
“Where do I go?”
“You will go and wait for me at your home. Take the car.” Xander turned back to address everyone.
“Why is she leaving?”
Scion reached for Gen, his hand out in supplication and a sincere apology in his eyes. He pulled keys from his pockets and nodded his head while handing her the keys. She heard Xander talking as she left.
“You’re all reacting to the Phorem. Gen is not participating in this tasting. Let’s wrap this up quickly.”
Chapter 13
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Xander was frantic. She wasn’t a Par. There were definite physical differences between them. Everyone knew that but she was not a Par. He knew it in the deepest part of his soul. She was something else. Something everyone would want. Did Adam suspect? No one could know, especially not the Chancellor himself. Scion knew though. He’d reacted violently to Gens blood. Fuck! Was Scion trying to help her? And how did she take him out? Scion was huge. He’d been one of the originals that had fought in the first of the Uni-wars.
“You should have kept her here.” Roland was saying.
“No Ro, she isn’t for you. Besides, Gen and I are matched. Have been since before we left the Academy.”
“Bullshit.” Adam said. “Why were her wrists bound by bangles?”
“She was nervous and didn’t want to tell anyone until after Luna.” Xander was starting to believe his own words. The lie he told was going to be truth. But first, he had to keep everyone calm. He didn’t want to raise suspicions. This would be bad for everyone. He knew exactly what she was and he had to protect her at all costs. All.
“We should finish.” Bianca said.
She wasn’t even the least bit concerned about Adams remarks. It didn’t surprise him. Bianca was cold, calculating. She only did things that would benefit her. Up until recently, he had been the same way. Gen could benefit you. In more ways than one. He discarded the idea the moment he thought it. He hadn’t been the same male since meeting Genesis Blackmore. He wasn’t going to jeopardize anything with her. That included turning her into his father. Bianca would do it in a heartbeat. Maybe even Adam.
“No, this was private. So we don’t need to finish. You are all free to leave or stay. I must attend to Scion.”
“Yeah, how did she take him down?” Roland asked.
“She did no such thing.” Scion said. He seemed calm, collected. “I’ve been suffering from an old Uni-war injury, I allowed her to leave.”
“Thought she was yours?” Yasira questioned with a gleam in her eye.
“She is Master Treegold’s, which makes her my responsibility.”
Xander sighed. At least he knew that Scion was on his side. He would need someone on his side. Gen would need all the help she could get. He looked around and noticed the others weren’t leaving fast enough.
“Get the fuck out of the atrium! I have shit I need to attend to. Now!” He roared. His sister sneered at him and gave Adam a look. As Bianca walked past, Xander eyed Adam. The other male knew something wasn’t right, but he didn’t say anything. He wasn’t questioning Xander’s actions either, which gave him pause. If Adam reported this back to his father, there would be nothing but trouble for Genesis and her father.
When he finally reached Gen’s house, the solar panels were rising. The sun was slowly making its way across the sky. The door opened before he made his appearance known on her vid panel. She was standing there with her head slowly peering out to stare at him.
“Gen, may I come in?” She hesitated a moment before opening the door further to let him in.
“My father is at a meeting with the Chancellor.”
“Good, can we talk in your quarters?”
He needed them to be alone. He didn’t know if her father retained any servants, and he wasn’t going to take the chance. She led him to the other end of her house. Her room was messy and unorganized. She had seemed so put together while at the Academy. Now he wasn’t so sure. Not that the state of her room mattered to him.
“What happened back there tonight?” Gen asked as soon as her door shut them in. Did she really not know? She still had the bracelets on. She should have taken them off. The sight of those bracelets only made him want her more. She was wearing a pink camisole and some grey shorts. Her clothes were well worn, and didn’t look as new as her wardrobe at the Academy did. The one thing that drew him to her body was the fact that her neck was not collared.
“Where is your collar?” He snarled. Was she already matched and didn’t say anything? What game was she playing? “Are you matched to someone else Gen? Speak now and speak quickly.”
Surprised, she took a few steps back, Xander followed. Who was this male that had obviously garnered her affections? Was it the bastard Nimziri? Maybe. He thought darkly. It could be her lying father; there was no way that Gen was related to Vaggo.
“There is no one. My father doesn’t care about protocol inside our home, it’s just us.”
Xander pushed her into her desk, crowding her with his body and caging her in with his arms. It forced her to bend backward. Lifting her breasts in perfect view.
“Does he drink from you?” Her eyes were wide in confusion, not fear. Something was really wrong with this entire scenario. “Do you realize you could have been killed Gen? Drained to the very last drop?”
All the air had left him now. The lower half of his body was melting into hers. He wanted there to be no barriers between them.
“What are you talking about?”
He could have lost her. He couldn’t even think past the unthinkable. He was frozen in fear. Fear for her own safety, not his. Xander knew he was attached to Gen. Hell, he’d admitted as much that he wanted her; but to fear for her safety? That was talking it to an entirely convoluted level of weird.
“Not now, we’ll talk later. Now, I have something very important to ask you. It’s for your safety and my sanity. Don’t answer quickly, take your time and think on what I am about to ask.”
“You’re worrying me Xander. What is it?”
He could hear her heart beating behind her chest. Could only imagine the amount of blood it was pumping through her extremities. Goddess! He wanted to drain her himself. Take the entirety of all she had to offer and so much more. Xander struggled with his appetite. Knowing that if he did take all she had to offer, he’d have to do it the right way. The only way.
“Let’s move to the bed.” Xander moved away from Gen and sat at the edge of her bed. This wasn’t a stasis bed, like they had at the Academy, but an actual antique bed from before the Uni-wars. It was one of those four poster canopy beds with tattered sheer fabric hanging down on all four sides. It was comfortable and un-kept, like she’d just woken from sleep. When Gen finally sat down on the bed, he felt that their position was all wrong. He quietly got up from the bed and then fixed himself on his knees in front of her, between her legs.
“What is this?”
Xander couldn’t say a word. Didn’t know what he could say to express his feelings. All of this was so new to him. Instead, he laid his head in her lap and breathed her in.
“You mustn’t tell me no, Gen.” He looked up into her beautiful eyes and tried to will her to say yes to him. “Say yes.” He traced a pattern of gold veins in her thighs and tried to find the right words. She must have known he was having a hard time, because her hands were sliding into his hair, and she was staring at him with her incredible blue eyes ringed by molten gold.
“What is this thing between us Xander? Is this real, or am I only dreaming you are here with me?”
Xander turned his head and smiled against her thigh. He was glad she didn’t emasculate him further by mentioning the position he was in. Xander Treegold kneeled
to no one.
“Yes, precious. I am kneeling. Something I’ve never done before, even as a child. But for you, I would bow at your feet for a million lifetimes. Serve you in all things, if you would only allow me into your inner sanctum. I’m that fucked up over you.”
And he was. It wasn’t because of her blood either. Somehow, someway, she’d come to mean more to him than anything he ever thought to hold dear. She was a treasure. A precious gem and he wanted to protect her secret. Needed to. The moment was tense between them, as they peered into each other’s eyes. Words were said even though their mouths did not move.
Who are you?
I am yours.
Truly?
Always Genesis, I will protect you with my own life.
Xander reached up to stop her hands from massaging his scalp. She was staring too intently and her emotions were etched into her face, making her look younger than she truly was. He had to do this right. Make this experience more than agreeable for her. He needed her to be consumed by not only her pleasure, but his. Needed their emotions to be on the same wave length.
“The way you are looking at me is unnerving.” Gen whispered.
“That’s because I want you.” He could say the words all day, but he wanted nothing more than to show her that she could trust him. “Do you trust me Gen? Regardless of all the games and what others say, can you trust me?”
She hesitated in her answer and it almost killed him.
“I trust your good sense and your ability to persuade all females into wanting you.”
“I would never hurt you, beauty. Ever.”
He needed to prove to her, as well as himself, that he could be trusted.
“I know why you don’t want to be involved in the tasting, why you take those shots.”
Her eyes were wide and her hands came to rest at the sides of the bed, bunching the corners beneath her palms.