by Zena Wynn
Eyes burning, she leaned over the sink and removed the specially made contacts she wore at all times, even while sleeping. Right now she couldn’t deal with the pain in her eyes on top of everything else. Besides, it’s not like she needed them to see.
When she straightened, Reyna glanced in the mirror. Her true self stared back at her. She paused, once again mesmerized by her silver-eyed gaze. Not gray, not blue, but silver that glowed and sparkled. Everything else she could hide, but these eyes? They proclaimed she was different, an anomaly, a freak.
Once again she felt her tear ducts sting, signaling the imminent arrival of tears. Blinking them back, she pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Really she was too old for these emotional displays. Get a grip already.
The next item on her agenda was something to eat. She let the towel on her head drop to the floor and finger-combined her dark locks. After quickly brushing her teeth to remove the bad taste of old blood from her mouth, she exited the bath and immediately came to a halt.
“What are you doing here?”
“My Queen.” Jorlan lay sprawled on his side, his bare body on display. Under her watchful gaze, he languidly rolled to his back and stretched before rising to his feet. She couldn’t help but notice the roped muscles that gathered and released as he prowled toward her. She’d never seen Jorlan as a sexual being but suddenly she couldn’t pull her eyes away from him.
“I’m not a queen,” she reminded him for the umpteenth time. Queens were Felini females who’d been through their first estrous and had produced a litter. She’d done neither. Just one of the many ways she’d failed her Pride.
“You’ve been naughty, my queen. You’re not wearing your contacts. I’ve been waiting for hours and never saw you enter. Did you go poof? Bad girl.” He stalked around her in ever tightening circles. “In spite of your dreadfully long shower, you reek of vamp. Crossed over to the dark side, hmm? How wonderfully delightful.”
Not up for his antics, she sighed. “What do you want, Jorlan?”
Coming to a halt behind her, he leaned in close and ran his nose down the side of her neck. “I was concerned when you didn’t return.” It was unlike her to be gone all night and they both knew it. “I was sent to make sure you were okay.”
Reyna knew the truth. Jorlan was both her watcher and her protector. He’d made the suggestion and the others had agreed. “As you can see, I’m fine. You can tell the others, as if they’d care.” She made to walk off.
“Not so quick, my pretty kitty.” He gripped the back of her towel.
The material pulled, gaping dangerously in the front to expose a large amount of skin. Another step and it would unravel in his hand. Reyna halted, holding the front to keep it from sliding off, and fighting off the shiver his touch caused. What was wrong with her?
“What?” She almost snarled it.
In a more serious tone he asked, “Where were you last night?”
“The Gladiator.” If she didn’t tell him what he wanted to know, Jorlan would badger her until he pried it out of her. Reyna simply wasn’t in the mood to go round and round with him, knowing she’d eventually lose. Even at her best, she couldn’t win with Jorlan and she was nowhere near top fighting form.
“Vamp territory.” He leaned in closer and sniffed the other side of her neck. Then lifting a finger, he touched the bruise. “You’ve been marked. Who claimed you?”
“No one.” Her hands rose self-consciously to cover the bite marks as she took a step forward. His heated breath on the sensitive skin caused her nipples to pucker. Deeply disturbed, she had difficulty keeping track of the conversation. All she wanted to do was get away.
Jorlan’s grip tightened and he tugged her back. The message was clear. Stand still or lose the towel. “You’ve been bagged and tagged, sweetie. Denial will get you nothing. Who was it?”
“I don’t know. Some guy I was dancing with.” Like a broken bottle, the tale of last night’s adventures all poured out. “There was this music with a driving, pounding, get under your skin beat. Then he started chanting. I didn’t understand the words, but something happened to me. Then he bit me and…and…the rest is hazy, a big blur.”
Jorlan muttered something she didn’t catch. “I smell blood. Let me see.” He pushed her over to the bed. “Lie down.”
Reyna surrendered to the inevitable and did as he commanded, loosening the towel and allowing him to pull it free as she lay down on her stomach. The first swipe of his tongue caused her to jump.
“Be still! Your back is shredded. He must have raked you with his claws. ”
Jorlan settled against her, his muscular thighs caging her body. She knew the enzymes in his saliva would speed the healing process. As he moved down her body, she felt the weight of his balls and flaccid penis dragging against the tender skin of her inner thigh, and something in her stirred in response.
“What did he look like?” Jorlan was all business now.
“I don’t know.”
A pause. Then a dubious, “How can you not know?”
Reyna tried to explain. “I was trying to leave. You know how I feel about vampyrs. I only gave in because he insisted, and I’d promised the girls I’d stay an hour. It wasn’t quite time for me to escape so I danced with him but refused to look at him.”
“Or get his name,” he stated wryly.
“You didn’t think I’d actually speak to him, did you?” He knew how she felt about the vampyr.
Jorlan sighed but let the topic drop. Continuing with his healing mission, his tongue reached her buttocks. Reyna bit back a moan but couldn’t stop herself from arching into the moist caress. Jorlan hesitated and her heart beat heavily. Please, please, don’t let him say anything, she thought. Finally, he moved on to the other side.
He nudged Reyna until she rolled over onto her back, kneed her legs apart, and settled between her spread thighs. He put his nose right against her sex and sniffed, then rose on his forearms to look at her. “You’re aroused.”
“No, I can’t be.” Everyone knew she hadn’t felt real arousal since her failed Firestorm. It was a constant source of shame.
Jorlan nodded toward her sex. “This says you are.” He shot out his tongue and licked her from anus to clit.
“Jorlan!” Her back arched and she cried out at the surprising maneuver.
He raised slitted eyes to meet her wide, shocked ones. “I taste your cream. Have you shifted?”
“You know I can’t.” The first shift is what brought on a female Felini’s first estrous—her breeding cycle. At the age of almost thirty, she should have at the very least been on her third one by now and she’d never had the first.
“This says you can.” He licked her again, giving her clit an extra swirl.
Her back bowed up off the bed again as fire streaked up her spine. “Jorlan, stop!”
She tried to clamp her legs together and push his head away. Using his greater strength, Jorlan pressed her thighs down to the mattress. He braced his forearms on them to hold her open and used his hands to pin her wrists to the bed. The expression on his face was calculating. “I don’t think so, my queen. Besides, your sex looks raw and painful. It’s my duty as your self-appointed keeper to heal it.”
He lowered his head and she tensed. At the first touch of his tongue she tried to buck him off. He was too strong. The slightly rough texture of his tongue stung as he licked her like a cat cleaning its fur. It felt good, too good.
Reyna heard herself begging and pleading with him to stop, and threatening to castrate him if he did. Claws shot from her fingertips and she felt like lava raced through her veins, heating her from head-to-toe. Her muscles seized and tightened one by one as something moved beneath the surface of her skin. Even her joints ached.
“Jorlan!” she cried out, panicked.
“Let it out,” he commanded. He lapped harder, concentrating on her clit. Her body undulated beneath him without her conscious control. She screamed and it didn’t sound human.
> There was a ripping sound and foam and fibers floated in the air beside them as she shredded the mattress and sheets with her claws. Her skin rippled and her stomach knotted as her body jackknifed. Her vision darkened as the thing in her burst free.
Her spine twisted and she kicked out with her feet, landing on all fours. Reyna snarled her fury as her tail whipped around her body. She crouched, preparing to launch herself at him, and Jorlan shifted quickly and landed on the floor beside her before she could attack him.
I burn, she complained.
Your estrous is beginning.
He bumped his head against her flank, and she twirled around and slapped him with her paw. He coughed at her in warning. She snarled and pounced, and they went down in a tangle of fur and paws, not stopping until he pinned her, his teeth locked in the back of her neck, endangering her spine.
Reyna relaxed beneath him and purred her pleasure. Jorlan released her and slowly backed away. He’d dominated her and proved himself worthy. This was a male who’d give her healthy, strong cubs. She crouched, rear high in the air, presenting herself for mounting, tail twitching and body quivering with need.
Tariq’s eyes snapped open. Instantly, he knew two things. His Heart’s Blood was gone and someone was in his quarters. He leapt to his feet and landed in a crouch, snarling, “Where is she?”
His second in command, Enrique, faced him warily. “Who, the woman you were with last night? She was already gone when I arrived.”
“Not simply a woman, she’s my Heart’s Blood, and that’s impossible. The door was locked. There’s no way she could have escaped.” Eyes narrowed in warning, his fangs dropped into place as his muscles tensed, ready to attack.
“I’m telling you she wasn’t here. I only arrived a few seconds ago. We became concerned when you didn’t show for the staff meeting.” Enrique stood, head lowered, arms dangling loosely at his sides, but Tariq had no doubt that if he should attack, his Second was ready for him.
“She’s human. She couldn’t have just left.” It came out a low growl.
Enrique scented the air and frowned. “Are you sure she’s human?”
No, he wasn’t. He hadn’t been paying attention last night. The only thing Tariq knew for sure is she was the most important woman in the world to him—the very beat of his heart. However, she had managed to brush off his compulsion as easily as swatting a fly. Eyes narrowed in thought, he straightened into a more relaxed stance. “No, I’m not sure. I was too caught up in her scent and emotions to notice, but now that I think about it, there was something different about her.”
Enrique ran an experienced gaze over Tariq’s body, head slightly tilted to the left. “From the look of those claw marks, I’m thinking shifter.”
Tariq considered briefly and then shook his head, rejecting the thought. “Shifters don’t have the ability to teleport. That’s the only way she could have gotten out of here without setting off any alarms. But in case I’m wrong, check with security to see if anyone saw her leave.” Turning, he headed for his bedroom, knowing Enrique would ensure his order was carried out.
In the bathroom’s mirror, he saw his body was a mass of claw and bite marks. The tooth marks looked too jagged and sharp to be human, more like an animal’s. He noticed a few puncture wounds as well, the kind fangs left. Whatever his blood mate was she definitely wasn’t human, and she’d been a virgin. The blood smeared on his penis and thighs testified to her innocence.
He showered and threw on a pair of jeans, arousal flowing heavy through his veins. The venom still rode his system hard. He needed her like she would need him. Craved her, like the very air he breathed. His cock was a steel pole in his pants.
As soon as he entered the living room, Enrique reported, “There’s no record of anyone matching the description of the woman you were with leaving. Can’t you track her? I’m assuming from the condition of the room you gave her the Kiss of Life.”
Tariq looked around and noticed the wreckage for the first time. Lamps were broken, tables over turned, pictures fallen from the wall. The trail never reached the bedroom. He wished like hell he could remember what happened. “Get someone in here to clean this up, will you?”
He sighed and scrubbed his face. It was hard to think, hard to function when all his body wanted to do was sink into his blood mate’s warm, wet sheath. Bits and pieces of the night before came to him and his cock pulsed. The taste of her blood in his mouth. The feel of her skin beneath his hands. The way she took him, all of him, over and over, deep into her silky heat. How tight and wet she was, as though made just for him. His fangs throbbed with the need to lock into her again.
“TARIQ!”
Annoyed, he snapped, “What!”
“Man, you got it bad.” Enrique shook his head. “Aren’t you going to track her?”
Shit, how could he have forgotten? The venom. It also allowed him to locate her. He grinned wickedly. Two seconds after he found her, he’d have her right back under him where she belonged. “Yeah, thanks. Hold off on the cleanup detail. I don’t want to be disturbed for any reason.”
Grinning, his second nodded. “I’ll go make sure everything’s ready for tonight. You handle your biz.” Enrique punched in the code and left by the elevator.
As soon as he was gone, Tariq went into the bedroom and prepared it for his lover. This time they’d do it right and hopefully make it onto the bed. Once everything was as romantic and welcoming as he could make it, he sat down to focus. Ten minutes later, he let out a roar that was heard all the way down to the lowest levels.
His Heart’s Blood was gone. He couldn’t locate her anywhere.
Jorlan leashed his cat before it could pounce on the bounty spread before him. It snarled and fought, wanting to mount the she-cat displayed so temptingly. It could smell her burgeoning heat. Jorlan restrained it but couldn’t resist getting another taste of her cream. He was, after all, a male breeder in his prime.
However, this one wasn’t for him. She was special, and taken, whether she admitted it or not. While his little cousin may not know who’d claimed her, he did. He recognized the scent. Tariq Bastien, owner of The Gladiator and leader of the local vampyr clutch. After learning about Reyna’s unique heritage, he’d made it his business to know everything about vampyrs there was to know.
He took one last look at the swollen, glistening slit in front of him before raking his claws down her left flank and sprinting for the door. The chase would take her mind off the arousal between her legs and give her time to get used to being in her altered form. If it also had the added benefit of temporarily keeping Tariq from finding his woman, well, a cat had to have some fun.
He pawed open the door and raced down the hallway to the atrium with Reyna on his heels. At his roar, other Felini in shifted form came pouring out of doorways, running with them. Reyna made quick work of fighting off some of the males who thought they were strong enough to mount her. Once they saw she couldn’t be convinced, they turned their attention to climbing trees and racing along the branches, launching from limb to limb. When they tired of acrobatics, they swam in the pool and sunbathed on the rocks.
Exhausted from playing, Reyna collapsed onto her side and slept, her pride gathered possessively around her. Jorlan took one last look to make sure she was safe, shifted, and went to make a phone call.
Once in his room, he pulled out a briefcase he kept locked in a closet safe. Inside was a disposable pay as you go cellphone. All the rooms were sound-proofed but as an added precaution, he went into his bathroom and closed the door, adding an extra layer of protection against being overheard.
Punching in a number so familiar he could do it blindfolded, he waiting for voicemail to pick up and left a simple message, “Call me.” Then he settled down to wait.
Five minutes later, his phone rang. As soon as he answered, a voice demanded, “What’s happening?”
“She had her first shift.” They
never used names. Even with all the protective measures they’d taken, it didn’t hurt to be careful.
“When?” The voice on the other end was tense, abrupt.
“Not long ago. She’s sleeping.”
“What triggered it?”
This is where it got touchy. “It’s as you figured. She needed more stimulation than what our males can provide.”
Complete and utter silence.
“There’s more. She’s been marked by one of them.” No need to say who “them” were.
“Do the others know?” The response was immediate, panicked.
“No, just me. The scent and the scar faded when she shifted.”
A long shaky sigh greeted the news. “We always knew this was a possibility. If one has claimed her, why is she there? Their possessiveness rivals our males.”
“Because she ran,” he muttered disgustedly. At her shocked exclamation, he added sourly, “You’ve given her little reason to welcome a union with one.”
“I had my reasons,” she said tersely.
“I know,” he reluctantly acknowledged, “but whatever your reason, she’s the one suffering for it.”
“The innocent always suffer for the actions of others,” she said bitterly. Then she sighed again, as though the weight of the whole world were on her shoulders. “I know you don’t agree with my methods but please know my only purpose is to protect her.”
“I know.” He did, no matter that they didn’t always see eye-to-eye on how best to accomplish their mutual goal.
“Call your senior males together. I wish there was someone there to properly prepare her, but no matter. You know what to do.”
He frowned. “Is this really necessary? She’s already shifted and experiencing her first heat. You know how the last one affected her. It took her years to recover.”
“You must!” Her fearful cry hurt his sensitive hearing. “It’s expected she take her proper place. As long as she remains in our world, she must follow our rules. It’s for her protection.”