The sound of Nita’s relieved laugh washed through Vlad in a well of warmth that burrowed inside his heart.
Shon touched Vlad on the sleeve. “We have a few injured shifters in the SUV. I wasn’t sure if it was cool to bring them inside or not.”
Vlad nodded. “It’s fine. Take them to the basement. There are beds and plenty of blankets available.”
“Wait,” Nita interrupted, moving to stand next to Vlad. “I need to see them first to make sure none of them were with Miles. We have Lucius to think about.”
Pride filled Vlad’s chest. Nita put a vampire child’s safety above the life of a shifter.
She will make me one hell of a queen, Vlad thought, watching her spring into action like a seasoned general. Because like it or not, she was stuck with him. And he intended to reclaim his rightful place on the council seat, with Nita by his side.
Chapter Thirty
Nita had never been so happy to see her mother’s face as she was in that moment. With one last kiss to Virginia’s aging cheek, Nita stepped back and began barking orders.
Angel, Shon, and Vlad followed her to the SUV to access the injured. One man, lying unconscious in the back, stood out above the rest. The man who’d slammed the butt of his gun into the back of her mother’s head.
Nita yanked him up by the front of his shirt and dragged his body to the ground.
Vlad appeared at her elbow. “One of Castro’s men?”
“Yeah. The one who hurt my mom.”
“Would you like for me to dispose of him for you?”
Nita shook her head. “The other injured shifters might need his blood. I’ll kill him when he’s no longer needed.”
Vlad gripped the shifter around the waist and slung him over his shoulder. “I’ll secure him in the basement.”
Nita followed the trio back inside the house, through the foyer, and into the basement.
She quickly made beds for the injured shifters, tended to their wounds, and washed the blood from their faces.
Her mother accompanied Mordecai into the room, both carrying boxes of food and drink.
“In case someone is hungry when they awaken,” Virginia whispered, setting her box on a nearby table.
The Shaman suddenly appeared in the doorway. His wise old eyes sought out Nita. “I have seen my vision come to pass on this night. Your numbers may seem few, but an army awaits your future.”
Nita stumbled forward and took the Shaman’s hands in her own. “Tell me what you’ve seen.”
The old man shifted his gaze to Vlad before bringing it back to Nita. “You may have destroyed the Seekers in that field, but more will rise up to take their place. Something dark is coming. And I fear the Seekers that your children must face will have weapons the likes of which this world has not yet beheld.”
Nita’s heart skipped a beat. “My children?”
“Yours,” the Shaman murmured, waving his hand in Vlad’s direction. “And his.”
Nita swung her gaze to Vlad, who stood looking at her with a suspicious moisture swimming in his eyes.
Vlad drifted closer, his attention on the Shaman as he spoke. “Will they survive this apocalypse…our children?”
The Shaman shrugged a bony shoulder. “I am not long for this world and will not be here to witness the war that will surely come. The vampire and Kiana must band together. Learn from each other. The fruits of your labor will surpass anything you have ever known.”
Nita blinked back tears. “You’re dying?”
“I am an old man, my child. I have seen more than my share of sorrow in my long life. It is time someone else steps forward and accepts the gifts of the spirits. A leader, a caregiver…a seer.”
Nita’s heart lurched. “Me? But I’m no seer.”
“The black eyes in the cloud. The robed figure, standing above the carnage…”
The tears Nita had tried so hard to hold back spilled over unbidden. “I’m afraid.”
“That is good,” the Shaman, admitted, his faded brown eyes swimming with pride. “A man who does not fear is a fool and is not to be trusted.”
Placing a kiss on Nita’s cheek, the Shaman turned and left the room.
Nita stood there for several heartbeats, taking in everything she’d just been told. She glanced up at Vlad. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Of course you can,” he assured her, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. “You’re Nita Franks, leader of the Kiana. You can do anything.”
Laura strolled toward the bathroom, carrying an armload of towels. She smiled at Nita on her way through. “Why don’t you get some rest? We’ve got this.”
“I’ll stay and help,” Nita insisted, brushing the tears from her cheeks.
Vlad abruptly bent and scooped Nita up into his arms. “You heard the lady. You need to rest.”
Nita glanced around at the three injured shifters lying helpless on the beds before seeking out Angel. “Feed the prisoner to them. They’ll be healed up by morning.”
“It’ll be our pleasure,” Shon piped in, sending Nita a wink as he breezed through, trailing his mate.
Vlad carried Nita back up the stairs, shutting and locking his bedroom door behind him.
He stood her on her feet and slowly pulled the belt free on her robe, parting the material to expose her bare skin to his hungry gaze. “Breathtaking…”
Before she could blink, he blurred across the room, grabbed a recliner, and placed it next to the bed. “Sit.”
“You want me to sit in the recliner?”
Vlad began removing his clothing, his hooded gaze locking with hers. Nothing else needed to be said.
Nita sat, her heart pounding with excitement. “But, my mother is downstairs.”
“Then I suggest you keep quiet.”
Vlad finished undressing before sinking to his knees in front of her. He gripped her ankles, pulled her slowly forward, and draped her legs over the arms of the chair.
Nita’s breath caught as her sex became exposed to him. “Vlad?”
“Shhhhh.” He nuzzled the insides of her thighs, nipping and licking his way to her center.
His tongue softly swiped over her clit, and Nita bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out.
“You taste so fucking good,” he growled, dragging his tongue around her small bundle of nerves in a slow, sensuous slide.
Nita’s head fell back in surrender. The feel of his mouth on her most private place, tasting and loving her, had to be the most incredible feeling she’d ever known.
His thumbs slid up on either side of his mouth to press gently on the fleshy softness of her pussy, opening her for his devouring tongue.
He took her clit between his lips and sucked.
Nita’s hips bucked off the chair. Nerves exploded with feelings so incredible she couldn’t catch her breath.
The tingling grew stronger, more intense, climbing up her spine in a whirlwind of sensation that triggered her climax.
Her body shook with the force of the orgasm gripping her insides. Gone were the thoughts of her mother’s presence downstairs or the other vampires hearing her cries. The sounds coming from her throat couldn’t be stopped any more than her release could.
Vlad stood in one fluid motion. He lifted her from the chair, sat where she’d just been, and pulled her onto his lap, facing away from him.
“Do as I tell you,” he whispered in her ear before reclining the chair back. “Put your legs over the arms.”
Nita straddled the arms once again, holding on to his knees to keep her balance.
Vlad gave her a gentle tug. “Lie back against me.”
Her head rested on his shoulder as she eased her back against his chest.
His hands came around her, coasting up her sides to settle over her breasts. He kneaded her flesh, rolling and pinching her nipples into hard nubs of sensitivity.
“Do you like that, my sexy wolf?”
Her inner walls clenched. “Y-Yes.”
“How
about this?” His warm palms skimmed down her ribs, over her stomach to rest on her thighs, his thumbs brushing against her aching pussy.
A moan escaped Nita at the contact. She opened her legs wider to give him better access.
Vlad released her thigh with his right hand and cupped her smooth mound before slowly slipping a finger inside.
“Oh God,” Nita gasped, straining for deeper penetration.
“Not God,” Vlad growled, inserting another finger. “Vlad. Say it.”
“Vlad,” Nita gasped, digging her nails into his forearms.
He nudged her hair aside with his nose, raking his fangs lightly over the skin of her throat. “I have never wanted to be inside anyone as much as I crave to be inside you.”
Nita panted. “Are you telling me the truth?”
Vlad removed his fingers from her aching center and brought them to his lips. He licked the dewy tips before resting his mouth against her ear. “I would never lie to you, Nita. I love you more than life.”
Tears welled up in Nita’s eyes. “Say it again.”
“I love you,” Vlad breathed, a slight catch in his voice. “And if you don’t love me back, I’ll fucking die.”
Nita let the tears spill over to track down her cheeks. She turned in his lap to face him. “I love you too, Vlad the Impaler. God help me, but I do.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Vlad crushed his mouth to Nita’s, desperate to taste the truth on her lips. She loved him. If Vlad lived another six hundred years, he would never forget the feeling that swelled up inside his chest at hearing those three words come from her beautiful mouth.
He broke off the kiss. “Are you sure?” He didn’t give her time to answer. “You better be, because I can never let you go now. You’re a part of me, my love, my heart…my mate.”
Nita lifted up onto her knees and gripped the base of his cock. “More sure than I’ve ever been in my life.” She eased down onto his oversensitive tip.
Vlad hissed from the feel of her hot, wet heat enveloping him. Nothing in his long life could ever compare to being inside Nita.
She seated herself onto his great length and cupped his face in her small hands. “Fuck me.”
Nita’s words triggered the beast inside Vlad. His fangs shot down, and he thrust, burying himself impossibly deep inside her tight pussy.
She cried out but didn’t pull back. Her hips rotated above him, taking every inch he gave her. “Bite me!”
Vlad struck. He didn’t think, didn’t need to. Nita had offered him the greatest gift of all, and he’d be damned if he would turn it away.
The taste of her blood on his tongue, her pussy gripping his cock, and those three words, I love you, playing in his head like a mantra brought on an orgasm he was powerless to stop.
Vlad exploded inside her, his hips jerking in short, quick bursts of ecstasy that went on forever.
He couldn’t seem to remove his mouth from her throat. He continued to feed as his seed forcefully left his body in a release that damn near crippled him.
Nita shuddered above him, a cry bursting from her lips. Her sweet sex contracted around him, milking him of everything he had.
Long moments passed before Vlad stopped trembling. He retracted his fangs from her neck and pulled her tightly against him. “My God.”
“Not God,” Nita teased. “Nita. Say it.”
He would have laughed if he could. “Nita.”
“That’s better.” She leaned in and rested her forehead against his. “What happens now?”
Vlad glanced at the window. The sun would begin its ascent in a matter of minutes. “We have much to discuss, my love. But I fear I will be asleep shortly. I have mere minutes before the sun comes up.”
Nita sighed before gingerly climbing from his lap. She padded naked to the window and pulled the blackouts closed. “Then I’ll sleep with you.”
“Nothing would make me happier.”
Vlad crawled into bed and held the covers back for Nita, turning to face her as she snuggled against him. “If you can’t sleep, I only ask that you do not leave the castle walls before I wake.”
Nita nodded. “I have all that I need right here.”
“Good to know,” Vlad murmured, feeling the pull of sleep at the edge of his conscious.
“I will need to figure out what I’m going to do at some point. “I am still the leader of the Kiana.”
Vlad tugged her into his arms. “Your place is by my side.”
Nita pulled back enough to look into his pale blue eyes. “But I can’t just abandon my people, Vlad. I’m their alpha.”
“And you’re my mate.”
“I can’t be both?” Nita whispered, uncertainty obvious in her voice.
Vlad traced her beautiful face with his index finger. “The Kiana that stood with you last night will continue to stand by you, no matter what you decide.”
“And the vampires?” she tentatively asked. “Will they accept me?”
“They will or they’ll die.” Vlad had never been more serious about anything. He would destroy anyone who dared to harm his Nita. Whether it be physical or emotional.
Sounds from downstairs began to quiet as the vampires readied themselves for sleep.
“The Shaman and my mother will make sure my men do not wreak havoc upon your home if they awaken to find themselves in a nest of vampires,” Nita assured him.
Vlad grinned. “Mordecai has drugged your injured. They won’t be waking anytime soon.”
“Looks like you’ve thought of everything,” Nita remarked, returning his smile.
“The difficult part is yet to come.” Vlad propped his head on his hand to peer down at her, all traces of humor gone. “Vampires are not known for accepting change. Presenting them with a shifter as my mate is not going to go over very well.”
“What are you going to do?”
Vlad shrugged. “Call everyone together. Your people and mine. Show them that you are not the enemy. Give them a chance to either accept you or leave this territory peacefully. I will not tolerate any disrespect toward my mate. No matter who it’s from.”
“And if they refuse to do either of those things?”
“As I said before,” Vlad reiterated, “they will die.”
Nita leaned up and pressed her soft lips to his, bringing life back to Vlad’s now softening erection.
He marveled at his ability to become hard once more, so close to the sun’s ascent. Yet nothing should surprise him when it came to Nita’s effect on him. “I want you again.”
Her lips twitched. She reached beneath the covers to grip his throbbing cock. “The sun isn’t the only thing rising.”
“I love you,” Vlad softly confessed, sleep pulling him under.
“I love you too, my Impaler.”
Nita’s whispered words wrapped around him in a gentle caress, filling his heart with emotion and his soul with peace.
Vlad thought about his future as he slipped deeper into his coma-like state. A future with Nita and the children she would bear him.
Half vampire, half shifter, their offspring would possess the traits of both species. He wondered if they would have Nita’s amber eyes or his pale blue ones. Perhaps their eyes would be onyx, the way he’d witnessed Nita’s after she’d taken his blood. It didn’t matter. Life as Vlad knew it had changed. His future, always unknown, suddenly held a purpose.
A sigh escaped him as he embraced the darkness with the feel of his shifter in his arms.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Nita watched Vlad’s eyes close and his breathing grow even. He looked so vulnerable in his sleep.
She reached up and brushed his hair back, allowing her fingers to linger on his face.
How had she come to fall in love with the one creature she’d been taught to hate since birth? But love him she did. More than she ever imagined she could love another.
She lay down beside him and closed her own eyes. She wanted to sleep next to him, to share in everything t
hat made up who he was.
Heat began to envelope Nita’s body. A sensation of falling overtook her, yet she was powerless to stop it. The room spun around her until nothing could be seen but a swirl of lights.
“Come to me,” Vlad’s voice called from the chaos.
His handsome face suddenly appeared, strong and confident to calm the panic hammering away inside her.
A giant throne rose up from the midst now surrounding her. And in its confines sat her Impaler, strong and larger than life.
On his right side stood a girl, the most beautiful girl Nita had ever seen, with eyes as bright as the sun.
An incredibly handsome man stood on Vlad’s left, tall and powerful, wearing a crown adorned with brilliant jewels.
“Come to me,” Vlad beckoned again, his eyes swimming with love.
Nita inched closer, her hand outstretched toward his.
Armies of bodies appeared at the foot of the throne, their backs toward her. They stood as one, parting to allow her to pass.
Nita reached the throne and took hold of Vlad’s hand, unable to look away from his beautiful eyes.
Without a word, Vlad slowly turned her to face the enormous crowd gathered below, and Nita’s breath caught.
Shifters and vampires stood shoulder to shoulder to form a line stretching as far as the eye could see.
As if one, they knelt, their heads bowed in a show of respect.
One word passed through Nita’s mind as she glanced around at the army before her… Home.
* * * *
Nita awoke to the smell of bacon. She rolled toward Vlad only to find him gone.
“I thought you might be hungry.”
She scanned the room to find Vlad seated near the window in the recliner they’d made love in. She sat up in bed. “How long have you been up?”
Vlad stood and sauntered across the room to sit next to her on the bed. “You’ve been asleep for a couple of days.”
“What?” Nita threw back the covers and moved to get up.
“You eat first,” Vlad gently scolded, pushing her back against the pillows. “The changes to your body have taken a lot out of you.”
The Rise of Vlad (The Seeker Series Book 3) Page 12