by Kai Leakes
“A’ight. You know I hate that shit, ya heard me?”
Khamun took the floating mug and downed it fast, out of annoyance for the bitter taste awaiting him. With a lick of his lips, he leaned forward to sit the cup down, but his eyes suddenly widened and rolled into the back of his head. A flash of the woman he craved for all day and all night hit his loins. Pieces of shattered porcelain and red fluid lay across his lap as his fangs crested, his nostrils flared, and he suddenly felt Calvin, Marco, and Lenox rushing to hold him down.
“What the fuck, Kali!” Khamun thundered as his breathing escalated and sweat saturated his shirt, making it cling to him as if ready to choke him. It felt as if his locks were rising on his head, while his body ciphered through the blood that merged into his system, hitting him where it counts.
“¡Carajo! What did you do, Kali?” Marco replied in disbelief, narrowing his eyes. Muscles bulged in his arms as he fought to hold his cousin down, ducking from the swings that threatened to connect with his skull. He swore he felt his cousin’s muscles constrict then bulk as the man fought his blood lust.
Kali felt like the odd woman out as she thought of ways to divert her actions. Backing away, tears suddenly shining in her eyes, she couldn’t help but open and close her mouth like a guppy. “I—I—”
“Speak, Kali, and speak fast, woman! What did you do?” Lenox demanded, his pupils expanding with power as he gripped Khamun’s pushing form.
“I gave him what he wanted!” Kali screeched, playing with the ends of her hair, her foot tapping in sudden frustration. “Don’t judge me! I hate seeing him go through this. Now that she’s awakening and crap, it’s like he’s losing his damn mind! I had to help anyway I could, and he’s been rejecting Marco’s blood, so I had to do what he wanted!” she said in a rush, stepping back from the glaring males around her.
“Which was?” every male chimed in unison, while Khamun snarled, swinging, trying to get to the rest of the spilled blood.
Khamun suddenly collapsed against the couch, his body jerking to stop its seizure. The massive swell in his pants descended as he slowly gained his breath.
“I, er, I gave him Sanna’s blood. Dr. Toure took a sample when she was seizing, and I happened to snatch the rest to protect her from Cursed spies! Don’t judge me.”
Every man in the room froze.
Kali backed up slowly again, almost falling over a chair as she thought about running but decided to hold her own. Male pride washing over her made the hair on the back of her neck rise as she fisted her hands and stared them all down.
“What? It helped him, yes. See. He’s looking a whole lot better now. Better than when he feeds from those asswipes. So there, I did good.”
Lenox shook his head and chuckled, Calvin ran a hand over his face, and Marco pulled out a trinity and lit it, giving Kali major side-eye as he slid his hands in his pockets.
“Kali, love, my man was already going through the effects of the mating lock, and now you just kick-started his damn Craving. He’s officially in heat. Damn, woman! Good intentions, but fucked-up results.” Lenox laughed and sat back.
Kali processed it all. “Um, oops.” She awkwardly smiled as she held up her hands in defense. “I didn’t think it was that bad. He can work through it, yes?”
“Hell, no!” every man in the room chimed at once, and they laughed hard.
Khamun slowly came back to reality, his hands flat on his thighs as he leaned forward. Head bowed, locks spilling like a curtain, his back expanded up and down as he inhaled then exhaled slowly. “Lock me up and don’t let me leave tonight or tomorrow,” he growled as he slowly stood. “Otherwise, your cousin is about to be introduced to a male Nephilim in his prime, and she doesn’t know shit about me yet.”
Marco walked forward and placed a reassuring hand on Khamun’s shoulder while he helped him walk it off and head to his private chambers. “I got you, cousin. Just breathe it out and mediate on that shit.”
Hesitating, Khamun kept his back to everyone, his fist clenching as his body shook again, “Kali, I’ll talk to you later about this shit right here.”
A reverberating punch into a wall made Khamun curse, his body shaking yet again. “Fuck! I need her, cuz,” he said through clenched teeth.
Calvin yelled, “Ey, you put your sweaty hands on my cousin, and we got a problem. Ya dig?” He laughed just to calm his boy down as he shook his head and continued his banter. “You know she can’t handle your Craving yet, and you fucked up the good couch, my man. Who gonna replace this shit?”
Lenox’s brash laughter filled the room as he looked over the shredded and broken couch, wondering what the hell they were going to do with that busted couch.
“Hey! Why don’t you all shut the fuck up and suck on a tic tac,” Khamun roared, his hands cradling the back of his head. Extremely embarrassed, all he could do was shakily breathe as he slowly headed to his chambers for a long, cold bath and shower.
“I’m sorry,” Kali whispered wide-eyed, before she skipped away with a sly smirk on her face. “I wish another female was in this house! Damn!”
Lenox ran a hand over the destroyed couch, using his gift to send it to storage and replace it with a new couch. “She did that on purpose. I hope you know, bro.” He calmly plopped down on the couch.
Calvin threw a leg up on a nearby ottoman and took a swig of his beer. “Naw. Not Kali. She was looking out for him, ya know. Naw,” he said out loud to himself.
Lenox shook his head. “Really?” He laughed as he reclined, remote in his hand, an apple on his knee. He flipped through the massive HDTV mounted on the graffiti-decorated wall. “She’s a romantic, and like you just heard, when Khamun mates with Sanna, that will bring not one but two women. No, four, because you have to count Sanna’s sister and Momma Tamar into our world or lives permanently. Kali won’t be the only female anymore.”
“Don’t forget Miya. Damn! Good thing Amara and Miya are in the A. The team there definitely will have their hands full. Feel me?”
Rounding the couch, Marco gave Calvin a pound as he smiled. “House full of females? ¡Carajo! Not gonna work, but damn if it won’t be interesting.” Taking a beer Lenox offered, he reclined in his chair. “I see why cuz is in love. She is sexy, and her spirit is beautiful. Baby got curves and softness in all the right places. So what we going to do to protect her?”
“Outside of the usual? Kali runs security twenty-four /seven. Calvin and I both drop by the house and Aset as much as possible. What you have in mind?” Lenox casually asked.
“So I was thinking, Khamun combs the neighborhood every night . . . why don’t we make sure we watch the surrounding neighborhoods? When she moves, we move. We stay her shadow.”
“Marco, man, that’s Khamun’s thang,” Calvin said, “but I like what you saying. We stay in the cut. We move as Khamun’s shadow when he can’t or as additional backup. Yeah, good thought, because he’s chilling now, so one of us can chill and watch her now.”
Lenox kept an eye on the TV as he idly replied, “Exactly. We act as Khamun’s blind spots. Hit up the enemy before they get at her.”
“Drink to that shit!” Marco laughed. The hazel ring around his grey eyes, also known as a soul ring, marking him as something unknown, briefly emitted his Arch power as he roared.
The Bulls flashed across the screen. They’d won another game.
Chapter 14
“So you are telling me that the Initiates are gone?”
Light flickered and danced around, illuminating everything in its touch, leaving nothing but icy white tendrils in a cold, clean chamber. White and black glowing handprints that seemed to move adorned the resonating walls.
“Princess. They were immediately cloaked. Taken as they only know how to do. We couldn’t risk any losses until we were sure we could obtain them.”
“You couldn’t risk any losses?”
“Yes . . . we—”
Pain suddenly sliced through the kneeling demon. He only wanted to appease
the Princess, but he definitely now knew his choice of words was unfortunate. He looked down in utter shock at the well-manicured, razor-sharp nails, home to immaculate shining rings that now protruded, covered in his shiny black and red blood from his chest.
“I have a low tolerance for stupidity.”
The Dark Lady dropped her mouth seamlessly against the demon’s neck, tugging at the threads of darkness that sustained their kind. Moaning in ecstasy, she drank deeply, her hand that rested in the middle of the demon’s chest slowly turning to clutch his rotting heart. Her fangs sank deep, ripping flesh. She pulled back a piece of flesh nestled between her delicate now ruby shining lips while she chewed then spat out gristle, as the husk of a demon lay at her feet like fallen sheets.
A soft chuckle flowed through the chamber as the Medusa slowly circled the husk of a shell, enjoying its once solid body now becoming dust. She wore her usual attire—thigh-high venom boots, black leather leggings that opened down the sides, held together by barbwire strings, accenting her deep-set curves, and black halter that cut down the middle and gave a peek of supple chocolate breasts and a bare back. Her braids were parted down the middle and fell down her back in two French-braided twists with pearl hair shells and African ornaments neatly braided into each strand. Around her neck was her tag, her black inlaid-diamond choker that marked her part of the Royal House. Along the side of her ribcage and right near her breasts were African tribal motifs beautifully tatted in script that stopped above her hipline.
Flicking her long, snake-like tongue, she walked slowly, each step reminding her of what she was and why she was this lethal hunter. Each step caused razor-sharp pains that steamed from her spine and traveled throughout her body, keeping her alert. She lived with the pain on a constant basis and was used to it. It was her master, and she was its prisoner.
“I assume you are not amused, Princess Reina.” She carelessly glanced at her own venom-pumping nails then over at the platinum whistle.
Reina idly played with it as it hung from her delicate wrist. The whistle was not only the Medusa’s leash, but it also doubled as a key to her collar.
The Medusa held a slight smile while she assessed her owner and confidant, “¡Maldita sea! You know what you have to do.”
Reina sat, leg crossed, as she sucked each bloody finger and admired her all-white dress. The dress hugged every curve she owned and adorned her like spilling diamonds, exposing toffee-soft flesh from the dips of the sides of her hips, trailing down to expose ample naked thighs. If she turned, one could see the Egyptian-scripted tattoos that ran down her spinal cord accenting her naked back and hips, as well as the Asp bracelets that adorned each upper arm.
The front cut down her plush breasts, covering her nipples, showing butterscotch mounds that could seduce any man she wanted. If one’s eyes traveled further, you could see nothing but exposed flesh leading to her crescent-shaped belly button. Yes, she knew she had a beautiful body, and she used it to her gain in hunting and snatching whatever prey she so chose.
Though her dress revealed all, it still held its own secrets. Weapons were strategically placed on her body and made to look like pieces of her clothes or jewelry, especially the spinal sword she wore, which looked like a back necklace. She could kill anyone with her hands or the many weapons she wore within less than a millisecond.
Dipping her hands in a crystal bowl full of cool water that her pet held in front of her, she cleaned the rest of the blood from her forearms and hands, studying the now pink water. Her reflection cast an image of a beautiful woman with kohl-lined eyes, plump lips, golden eyes, and thick mahogany hair that fell over her shoulder in a braid crowned with an Asp crown around her temple.
“Nydia, this means I want you to play, and I want you to sniff the bitch out and the two bucks who got away.”
“Yes, Princess. That will be no problem. I found them once, and I will do it again.” Nydia, also known as the Medusa, smiled. She knew how Reina loved good-looking men, and those who got away were just that. They were strong, good-looking, and, unfortunately, tainted by the Light. To break them and turn them would be no small feat, for Reina and Nydia definitely would enjoy watching.
“Once you get me the males, his Protector you can have for yourself. Daddy will be pleased when we take the Oracle, if that is what she is. You know his dreams are jaded.”
Nydia nodded and reclined in an adjacent recliner, as they waited for the servants to bring in new toys and food to play with. Nydia didn’t want the Protector, though mounting him for a bit wouldn’t be a problem, but the one she really wanted plagued her dreams at night. Him and his syrupy chocolate-dipped skin and emerald eyes with the deep sultry Southern drawl, matched with a hard body meant for fucking, had her nipples and bud hard with the nasty dreams. Dreams she didn’t want to have, and which were dangerous in this Society.
Being what she was and the fact that she was so close to the Royals, she could not afford to show any weakness. Her desire for the one she toyed with back in St. Louis could be her death and downfall. She wasn’t about to let that happen. Even though Reina could be considered her best friend and would let her have anything she wanted, she was also notorious for her flippant predatory behavior. Nydia knew better, unlike the husk of the demon whose particles now floated in the wind.
Nydia knew what it was like to be in the shoes of the Oracle they currently hunted. She knew what it was like not to be protected by those who should have done their job. Should have been on the other side but wasn’t. Yes. She knew what it was like to be broken and made to forget. Memories burned through her blood, hardened the protruding spinal disks in her back, which caused her daily pain. Pain and reminders that contorted her, made her cold, and changed her into what she was now. Dreams were dangerous here, and so were old truths.
“Yes. Your father has been a little off track with his dream-probing.”
Winter, her close head attendant, walked in gracefully. Her midnight-black hair flowing like calm waves against her sapphire jewel gown showcased creamy, pale café latte skin and curves that represented her African American and Sicilian ancestry. Her sapphire blue eyes flashed as she presented the attendants to the Princess. A glint at her thigh let one know that she was not as she appeared. Winter was a Hunter and a Witch. She was the eyes for this team and was just as deadly as everyone in the room.
“Princess, your tea.”
After taking the jade teacup offered, a tall, handsome, shirtless Nephilim in the process of turning Cursed kept his watery, grey-green eyes cast downward as he timidly poured Reina some blood tea.
Observing him from under her lashes, her honey hazel eyes revealed a silver soul ring that quickly disappeared when she blinked. She waited for him to kneel in front of her, as was customary, while she slowly took a sip and let a hand run down his wavy jet-black hair.
She had found this toy one night at a local Nephilim club. In his Prime, he had every woman trailing after him as he flirted through the club. When his eyes had settled on Reina’s voluptuous form, he had no idea the tables would quickly turn.
“Amit, is it?” Reina sensuously smiled as he nodded. She hated that his glowing bronze skin was starting to fade due to the change, which was why she typically stalled the shift. She enjoyed turning him little by little, so she could keep him the way she liked it. All of her toys had to have glitter and beauty, and Amit was no exception. His East Indian beauty mixed with his Barbados accent made her eager in riding him hard while she studied him. She picked well. Very well.
Nydia snickered as she rose and looked over her shoulder. Reina was ready for sex, and Amit was expected to perform, as duty dictated. Taking the tea tray away, she watched Reina slid a hand over his collar and force him to look up. His light eyes briefly darkened with anger as his thick brows dropped in a frown and his hands clenched against his thighs.
Bad move, man, Nydia thought as she calmly sat back down to watch the games begin.
A swift backhand landed Amit on his b
ack with Reina hovering over him, her hands clutching his throat as her nails cut into him and poison seeped into his skin.
“Is there a problem?” she hissed near his ears. Her braid draped over him as she inhaled his rich scent. She made sure her pets bathed in her favorite cologne, which made their existence better.
“No, no, Princess,” he croaked.
She smiled, her fangs extending, her free hand sliding over his compact abs.
If Reina had been paying attention the way Nydia was, she would’ve seen how sick he looked. How he cringed at her touch. How he hated her and would attempt to kill her if he didn’t still value his life so much. Amused, she tilted her head to the side as she watched.
Reina took a hold of his flaccid member, stroking slowly then roughly then slowly again, while his eyes fluttered closed against his will, and he expanded in her gripping touch.
“Good. For a moment I swear you thought you could be bold enough to challenge me. And we all know what happens if one of my pets takes it upon himself to sign his death warrant. Hmm?” She looked at the wall of pulsing handprints, which seemed to move as if alive. The wall of Purgatory. The home of Nephilim and humans they’ve chosen to keep as prizes, either for torture or to give the gift of the Bite to. Being on the outside was far better than being trapped within those walls, which expanded throughout the estate.
Amit nodded, anger keeping him in check as his hips suddenly pumped against her strokes. A groan escaped his closed mouth while Reina ran her silky tongue down his chest. Her deliberate search succeeded in finding his engorged head and had her swallowing him with an ease that had Nydia smiling again at her prowess.
Hated or not, she was the spoiled Princess, and what Reina wanted, she always got, especially with such talents as she was showing now.
Welcome to the Cursed chambers of the Dark Lady, Prince Reina A’archy y M’ylce, where leaving wasn’t an option. Reina enjoyed the voyeurism. Sometimes it made things exciting for her. Other times she wanted to watch. Watch her favorite pet touch herself in heat from all the sex on display, just for kicks. So just like with all of Reina’s toys, leaving wasn’t an option for Nydia. She had to sit and watch, her mind often drifting to the one she battled in St. Louis.