A Bead of Blood

by R. E. Butler

  Adriel stood up. “It’s time to celebrate. Let us join our den.”

  Griegs said, “Dad, wait. I need to say something.”

  Adriel sat down slowly, his dark gaze settling on Griegs. The tent grew silent as everyone waited for Griegs to speak. Finally, his voice came out, low and filled with emotion. “First, I wanted to apologize to you, Dad and Mom. I was an enormous ass, and I didn’t behave appropriately. Not only as Prime Warrior, but as your son. I let pride get in the way of what was best for the den, and I’m deeply ashamed for the way I acted. I humbly beg your forgiveness, as king and queen of the den, and as my parents.”

  Adriel looked at Filene, and they said nothing to each other, but communicated in the way that people who’ve been together for many years can do.

  Adriel settled his hand on his wife’s shoulder and said, “We accept your apology, as both our son and a member of our den.”

  Griegs let out a small, grateful sigh. He turned his head to look at Elizabeth, who sat between her husbands, Ash and Axe.

  “I never meant to cause you to feel guilt or regret over what passed during the collaring ceremony. I know now that what we shared was born of friendship and not love and affection. I’m sorry for embarrassing you and otherwise darkening what should have been a day to celebrate. I’m happy to call you sister, Elizabeth, and to have you as part of my family.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes filled with tears, and she stood and closed the distance to us, hugging Griegs tightly, but briefly, and saying with a thick voice, “Of course I forgive you, Griegs. I’m so glad you’re home.”

  Ash and Axe joined her. Axe pulled her into his arms and held her close as she cried openly, while Ash hugged Griegs and me together. “Welcome home, brother,” Ash said, and Axe echoed the sentiment.

  The tender display between brothers was incredible to witness, and I struggled to contain my own tears. When Ash joined his wife and brother, Griegs laid his head on my shoulder and took a slow, trembling breath.

  “It’s good to be home, milani.”

  For several minutes, no one said anything and nothing more really needed to be said. I could see that Griegs’ family would never bring up his past behavior again, wouldn’t hold his actions against him, but welcomed him back with open arms and hearts, the slate wiped clean.

  Adriel stood up, pulling Filene with him, and said that the celebration was waiting for the guest of honor.

  Griegs put me on my feet, and we followed his family out of the tent and into a long building full of tables. One table sat at the end of the rectangular building, with four chairs. Two rows of tables ran down the side and a long table sat in the middle, filled with food. Although I didn’t eat food, I could appreciate the scents of roasted meats, platters of fresh fruits and vegetables, and large pots of stews and soups.

  Adriel and Filene invited us to sit at the head table as the guests of honor. Griegs sat between me and his mother, and the crowd quieted as Adriel stood and lifted a golden cup in the air.

  “My son, who I thought was lost forever, has found his way home once more. We thank the great bear spirit for keeping him safe and bringing his mate, Sabrina, to set him free.” He spoke a string of words I didn’t recognize and then raised his cup high. Everyone raised their cups in the air, and I lifted my empty one. They toasted and drank. Cheers and applause filled the room, and Griegs put his cup down and slipped his arm around me. He seemed tense suddenly. Outwardly, he appeared happy and calm, but I could feel that he wasn’t entirely happy, and it weighed heavily on me.

  Two young males brought plates up to the table, piled high with everything from the center table. Griegs removed his arm from around me and tipped my chin to look at him. “Are you hungry, milani?”

  “No.”

  His voice dropped lower, “Will you feed from me later, anyway?”

  My skin tingled in awareness, and my body flooded with heat. His eyes darkened, and his nostrils flared as he scented my arousal. “Yes,” I whispered.

  He stroked my jaw with his rough thumb and pressed a kiss to my mouth before turning to his food. The members of his mostly-male den approached a few at a time to welcome him back and introduce themselves to me formally.

  A few of the males looked me over appraisingly, but a warning growl from Griegs made them avert their eyes quickly. It hadn’t escaped my notice that four of his brothers were mated together to share one wife. Clearly, Griegs wasn’t interested in entertaining that notion, and I wasn’t either. Vampire males were normally too possessive to share their female.

  I met Elizabeth, Ash, and Axe’s twin boys, Setimika and Bodaway, who toddled around in leather trousers and vests that matched their parents’. Shaylee was pregnant, due in the fall with a nymph-were-bear hybrid.

  Grieg’s had mentioned his sister Daeton, who had been only seventeen when he left the den and was captured. He was told that she was taken to the Medes Realm by two were-bear guards because of a threat to her safety. Her family hadn’t heard from her in the time he had been gone.

  I was about to ask if they’d had any luck trying to contact someone in the Medes Realm to find out what happened to her when Elizabeth fainted from her chair. Seconds before her petite body hit the ground, one of her husbands snatched her up in his arms. Griegs and I sat watching in quiet surprise as Shaylee, who was a healing nymph, raced to Elizabeth’s side.

  Elizabeth came to almost immediately and pushed away from her husband’s arms. “I have to go outside, right now,” she said woodenly and walked quickly away from the group gathered around her. Griegs and I stood and followed the den as they moved up the stairs into the barn and outside. We walked to the forefront of the crowd next to his parents and brothers and found Elizabeth kneeling in front of a large gray and white spotted bird. Ash and Axe stood worriedly next to her.

  “Oh, it’s a carrier,” I said quietly, noticing the bird had a small pouch attached to its long, golden legs.

  “Hmm?” Griegs asked, and I clarified that a carrier was a magical bird used the way humans used pigeons to communicate across distances. The bird could move between realms and bring messages to particular people.

  “Why did she pass out?” Filene asked worriedly.

  “The birds can communicate directly into the minds of wiccans and wizards. It was probably just speaking too loudly or startled her,” I said.

  Griegs snorted lightly and put his arms around me, pulling me against him. “I think I’d be pretty damn startled if another voice started talking in my head. It’s crowded enough in there with the bear.”

  I looked up at him and grinned. “Your bear talks to you?”

  He winked. “Mostly growls and grunts, but yeah, he’s pretty vocal when he sees something he wants. Like prey. Or a pretty vampire.”

  I felt my cheeks heat with blush, and he chuckled and kissed my ear. Elizabeth opened the pouch and pulled out a tightly rolled scroll tied with a piece of leather. She unrolled it and read out loud:

  “Dear family, I hope the carrier finds you as well as I am. The two were-bear guards delivered me safely to the Medes Realm as they promised. The threat to my life from the white-haired wizard has passed, and he is defeated. I am now living safely and happily in the Medes Realm. Although only a few months have passed here for me, I know that years have passed for you. I will not be able to make the journey to the Mortal Realm for many more years, but I’ve been given permission to send you updates by carrier. They should arrive every two years and will fly directly to Elizabeth as she is a wiccan, and it can communicate with her.

  “Circumstances prevent me from returning to the Mortal Realm to live, and I will be staying in the Medes Realm with my mates. Although it pains me to know that time passes so quickly in the Mortal Realm, I will not be able to visit until nearly ten years have passed for you.

  “Know that I love you all and am sad to be missing so much of your lives. Send a message back through the carrier. He must return to the realm within two of your hours. I love you. I mis
s you. Daeton.”

  Even though I didn’t know Daeton, I was saddened that her family was going to be denied her presence due to her circumstances. I could feel Griegs’ sadness through our connection, and I turned in his arms and hugged him. Dropping his head to my neck, he took in a slow, even breath and pulled me tightly to him.

  I heard the soft crying of his family members, and I was once more amazed at the love and affection from the group. I saw Filene crying into Adriel’s chest, his own face a mask of barely-contained grief. Elizabeth and Shaylee were comforted between the arms of their husbands. Such love. It almost hurt me to witness it.

  Within two hours, each member of their family had written a short note to Daeton, and Ash printed out a few small pictures for her. Griegs showed me his little note, a few sentences stating that he had been captured but was now free and mated to an “amazing, wonderful, incredible vampire” who he was looking forward to introducing her to.

  Just the family stood outside where the carrier waited patiently. Elizabeth stuffed everything into the pouch and closed it tightly, attaching it to the bird’s leg. “Next time,” she said with a smile as she wiped tears from her cheeks, “don’t squawk so loud in my head.”

  The bird nodded at her, and with a powerful flap of its wings, it rose into the sky and flew north before disappearing into the clouds.

  “I’m so glad she’s safe, but I wonder why she can’t come home,” Elizabeth said as we walked down into the den.

  “Maybe her mates can’t leave the realm?” Shaylee asked.

  “I can’t believe it’s going to be eight more years before we can see her,” Filene said with a sigh. “It seems like such a long time.”

  “It will pass quickly, I’m sure, my love,” Adriel said, kissing the top of her head and squeezing her shoulder.

  “Not quickly enough,” she amended.

  Some of the den returned to the meal that had been forgotten with the news, but Griegs wasn’t hungry any longer. At least not for food. His hungry gaze stroked over my body like invisible hands, lighting little paths of fire up and down my skin.

  Filene walked with us to a guest tent that they kept available for visitors. Griegs had never had a tent of his own in the den, having left his parents’ den when he was an adult and taking an apartment in downtown Cleveland. He only visited the den during the full moon, which was unusual for his status as prime warrior and head of the guards, but they were not at war and it had been allowed while he went to college.

  The guest tent was small and neat, with a large bed, a couch, and a television. The bathroom was small and antiquated. Filene told us that breakfast would be ready at dawn.

  “She sleeps during the day, Mom, and she doesn’t eat food,” Griegs said absently as he looked around the tent that reminded me of an efficiency apartment.

  “Oh! I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

  “It’s alright,” I assured her. “Griegs still eats food.”

  He huffed a low growl. “I won’t leave you alone in the tent, milani.”

  I tilted my head, wondering why he was acting so pissy. I glanced at his mom. “Thank you, Filene, for everything. We’ll see you after the sun sets.”

  She said goodnight and ducked out of the tent, settling a flap over the opening. Griegs secured it closed with a loop around a section of wood and stood up.

  “Why are you so pissed off?”

  He turned slowly. “I’m not pissed off.”

  “Bullshit. Ever since you asked me to feed from you at dinner, you’ve grown more and more tense.”

  His eyes flashed. “Too many unmated males.” He stalked forward, closing the distance between us in three long strides. Catching me in his arms, he pushed me against the thick center post. I wrapped my legs around him, and he ground his jeans-clad erection against me. He lifted my hands up as he pressed his mouth against mine, sliding his tongue into my mouth with heated possession. I felt thick rope wrap around my wrists, securing them above my head.

  Pulling away from his mouth, I glanced up to see that I was tied to the center post.

  He grinned devilishly. “I like the guest tent. It’s older, so it relies on the center post for support.”

  “I can see you like it.” I pulled him against me with my legs.

  His eyes stroked over my body, from my captive wrists down to where our bodies met. “You have way too many clothes on, milani.” His voice dipped lower, darker, and his eyes simmered as if lit by flames.

  His hands made fast work of our jeans, the zippers ripping and the buttons flying, allowing our bodies to part only long enough to jerk the fabric off our legs before he lifted me up against him again.

  With his cock trapped between us, he supported me with a hand on my ass and raised his free hand. Dark claws broke free of his fingertips as he allowed his hand to partially shift. He hooked one claw in the neckline of my top and slowly pulled downwards, splitting it open. His claws toyed across the flesh of my breasts before ripping through the lace section that held the cups of my bra together. As his hand transformed back to completely human, he shoved the fabric aside and bent his head, sucking my nipple into his mouth, pulling hard and deep, sending my body into tingling awareness. My pussy flooded with moisture, and I ground myself against his hot length, tugging on the thick rope that bound me. I knew I was strong enough to break through the rope, and he knew that, too, but I liked this game, and I wanted to play. I wanted to give him whatever he wanted.

  He licked his finger, slowly, and dropped his hand between us, pressing lightly to my clit. I bucked against him at the tender touch, my fingers clenching.

  “Come for me, milani, and scream when you do. I love that sound, I love to know that I’m the one who brings you pleasure. The only one.”

  My head dropped back, and I closed my eyes, giving up control of my pleasure to him. My beloved. The only man in a hundred years who had come close to holding my heart in his big hands.

  His finger moved rapidly against me, rubbing the sensitive bud in fast, hard circles. Heat spiraled through me and I moaned, “Griegs.”

  His hand kneaded my ass as his finger moved faster and faster until my body clenched, and I jerked on the rope and cried out as my orgasm rushed over me.

  He groaned, lifting me and sliding deep inside. I moaned at the hot press of his body inside mine, opening my eyes and meeting his.

  Holding me tightly against him, he rocked into my body, angling himself so his body hit a deep, sweet spot inside. I panted, my hands twisting against the rope as I rode him, my legs tightly around his waist.

  I tugged on the ropes, loving the bite of the hard fibers into my wrists. “Ah, I want to touch you,” I groaned.

  He smiled, burying his face in my neck and raking his teeth across my flesh. He slammed into me faster, one hand pressing into the small of my back and the other tangled in my hair. He bit down on my neck, not breaking the skin, and I fell apart on a keening cry, my body shuddering and writhing in his arms.

  He held still, buried deep, until my body stopped clenching him. “You’ll break my cock in half with orgasms like that, milani,” he grinned, pulling out of me slowly and pressing in so I felt each delicious inch of him.

  We moved together, slowly at first and then faster and more urgently. “Take me with you this time,” he growled, presenting his neck to me.

  My fangs elongated, and I licked across his pulse, feeling it beat against my tongue, and then I sank them in. I climaxed as the first drop of his sweet blood hit my tongue, and he roared his release, slamming into me until he worked himself to completion.

  I was dimly aware of the rope shredding around my hands as I jerked in pleasure, and the crack of the center pole as it splintered.

  He spun us around and laid me on the bed, looking over his shoulder at the post.

  “Tent’s still standing,” he said, breathing heavily. A large crack had appeared in the center pole.

  I stroked my fingers from the healing bite mark down his swe
at-slicked chest, and smiled. “I don’t suppose they were made for bears to tie up their women and fuck them stupid.”

  He swept his eyes over me as he straightened his arms and levered himself from the bed. Picking up my wrists, he inspected the light marks from where the ropes had rubbed against my skin. He kissed them tenderly and then turned off the small lamp on the nightstand that had provided the only light inside. He climbed up onto the bed and pulled me against him, molding his body around me.

  I felt the pull of dawn, even underground. “Sleepy, baby?” Griegs murmured into my ear.

  “Yeah.”

  “I can feel the sun; it’s strange being so connected to something I never paid much attention to.”

  “You’ll get used to it,” I said.

  “I have all eternity.”

  I wiggled in his arms until I was on my back. “You don’t leave your shorts on the floor or razor trimmings in the sink, do you?”

  He barked out a laugh. “You’re stuck me with forever, even if I do baby.”

  “Oh, that’s ominous.” I rolled my eyes.

  He cupped my face and kissed me. “I’ll make a deal with you, love. How about I promise to clean the sink and pick up my shorts, if you promise to never wear panties, except when you’re working.”

  “I can live with that.”

  After a thorough kiss, I slipped back to my side and snuggled into him. As a vampire, I’d never really worried about my strength and speed being able to get me out of trouble. But feeling Griegs’ strong arms around me and the strength of our connection as beloveds, I felt safe — truly safe — for the first time in my life.

  The night ebbed away like the tide and I drifted down into sleep.