by Maya Nicole
"She barely has any light left. She's almost completely drained." Raphael dropped his hands from her cheeks and stood up quickly. "My healing abilities aren't fixing it. She healed Amari's arm and then you." He looked at me and my stomach dropped at the dire look in his eyes. "We need to get her to a storm."
Sammy's brows furrowed and she shook her head slightly. "I don't want to go to the storm."
"I don't know what will happen to you if you lose all the light you have. It's a different kind of light from what all the other demons have. It's like your own special blend of it." Raphael crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you really want to turn into a vacant or something else when it all runs out?"
She shook her head and looked at me before looking back up at Raphael. "So what? You're just going to stick me outside and wait for a storm to come?"
She scooted off the bed and stood up. She was definitely unsteady because she stumbled a bit before Raphael put his arm out to steady her.
"I was thinking I could just fly you toward one." Raphael helped her sit back on the bed.
I had to hand it to him, he was taking good care of my girl. How quickly she had gone from best friend to my girl. I couldn't lose her now. I had just given into the thought of her being mine. I gave myself over to her completely. If I lost her so soon… I didn't think I'd ever recover. I had barely recovered after Becca.
"He's right. Until we know more of what's going on with you, you should replenish the light." I pulled myself up so I was sitting against the headboard.
"I agree." Val had been mostly silent through the whole exchange.
Samara ran her fingers through her hair. "Let's wait a bit until we make sure Nico is okay."
Kage brought back food for me and I ate it ravenously. My energy instantly started to come back. I knew, even after eating, my energy would still be depleted from my lack of nuts. I wasn't sure I could trust the others in the room with that little piece of information, though.
Everyone thought squirrels were obsessed with nuts because we were, well, squirrels. But in reality, nuts were one of our major energy and power sources. What I had done in the town square to the guards that were after us was thanks to eating a diet supplemented with the rarest ones I could find.
"Where are my nuts? I could use a treat." I didn't need to tell them the real reason. Hell, Sammy didn't even know.
Sammy snorted as she held back laughter, and Amari's white smile brightened up his face. I rolled my eyes.
"Your nuts should be firmly between your legs. Do you want Val or Amari to check for you? I heard they're into that," Raphael said.
Sammy started giggling uncontrollably.
"You don't remember what happened? To your nuts, I mean," Kage asked. He must have been feeling more comfortable around us because his stutter had decreased exponentially. He still seemed wary of us, though.
I shook my head and finished my plate of food in silence. I wasn't sure where my backpack had ended up, or where my waist pouch was. I kept the rare, powerful ones at the ready.
"Is my bag somewhere? What happened to my waist pouch?"
Raphael scratched his temple and had a thoughtful look on his face. "You mean your fanny pack?"
"Oh yeah, that's what those are called on Earth. They were popular in the nineties." Val sounded proud of himself for knowing that little fact about Earth.
Raphael narrowed his eyes at him. "At some point, soon, you need to explain yourself."
"He has tons of Earth books." Kage took a step closer to Raphael when he spoke. I couldn't blame him; sometimes Val got a murderous look on his face.
"Can we get back to where my nuts are? Val's shady ass is the least of my worries right now." I jabbed my fingers through my hair.
"I have one of your bags upstairs. I think there were some in the bottom. It isn't the backpack you normally kept all of them in. I think that one is still at the castle." Sammy walked slowly toward the door. She seemed to be dragging her feet a bit.
Kage followed her. "I'll go with you."
They left the room, leaving me alone with Val, Amari, and Raphael. Amari cleared his throat after listening to the sounds of their retreating footsteps. "She grew my fucking arm back and brought you back from being pretty much dead." He rubbed his new arm. "What does this mean?"
None of us answered. I had my theories: she was some kind of light succubus, she was immune to becoming vacant, she was some kind of light elemental.
I looked to Raphael, who seemed to know more about light magic than I did. "What do you think Raphael?"
"Every being has a different energy signature. Humans and angels are different. Demons are different. But what she is, I have no fucking clue. I sense the demon in her, but also I sense…"
Val began pacing at the end of the bed, drawing our attention to him. He really shouldn't be part of our conversation.
"I think the vampire should leave." I finished off the water in my glass and set it down on the bedside table, which I noticed was a little unstable. Had I done that?
"Fuck off, squirrel," Val hissed.
Amari crossed his arms over his chest and turned to look at Val. "I don't know what you expected, you idiot. How can we trust you? And then added to that, we find out that you have a whole bunch of books from Earth? What the hell is that about? How did you even get books from there?" Amari's nostrils flared. "I thought we were always one-hundred percent honest with each other, but I guess you never trusted me as much as I trusted you."
"Amari, that's not-"
Amari held up his hand to stop Val from continuing. "All of this is happening because of you. I lost my arm because of you. Nico was turned vacant because of you."
"I didn't know my father was working behind my back! Do you really think I would've done something to purposely hurt Samara? I fucking loved her more than life itself!"
"Loved? So you don't love her anymore?" Raphael looked amused at the whole exchange.
"That's not what I fucking meant!" Val put his hands over his face. "I'm sorry."
Kage burst through the door, panting. "S-S-Samara. Come quick!"
My eyes went wide and I jumped off the bed, instantly regretting the quick movement. Val grabbed onto me and steadied me. I quickly moved away from him and took off after Amari, Kage, and Raphael.
Would we ever catch a break?
Chapter 6
Val
I had already thought that my heart couldn't be any more tattered than it was. No one fucking trusted me anymore. Not even Amari, who I thought would always have my back. Did he really think I was part of us being locked away by the council?
If they were always going to sleep with one eye open around me now, maybe it wasn't even worth sticking around. I could easily go make a life on Earth.
I wanted to bash my head in at the thought of leaving Amari and Sammy behind. There were more pressing issues to deal with at the moment.
We rushed after Kage as he ran up the stairs to the guest room Sammy was staying in. My feet skidded to a stop when we entered the room to find her passed out on the bed.
"She f-fainted and then I couldn't w-wake her up." Kage shook her shoulder gently, but she was out cold.
Nico pushed him out of the way, as if him trying would make any difference. "Sammy, wake up!" He shook her gently and then put his ear down to her mouth. "She's breathing fine."
Raphael went to the other side of the bed and climbed on the other side of her. He put one of his hands on her cheek. "I need to take her."
"What do you mean you need to fucking take her?" Nico made a move to wrap his arms around her, but Raphael was too quick. He scooped her up and held her to his chest, making sure her head was cradled against his arm. He was out the door and down the stairs before I could even process what was happening
"Where are you taking her?" I managed to get in front of him and block his path out the door. "You aren't one of us, you can't just-"
"If you don't let me take her, she's going to die. Do y
ou want her to die?"
I sidestepped out of the way and Raphael flung open the door, rushing outside. "The storms form in the north, don't they?"
"Yes. I don't see what any of that has to do with-" Amari didn't get to finish his thoughts because the angel's wings burst from his back and he shot into the sky without another word.
I stood gaping at the sky. Had he really just flown off with her like that? I shook my head and then ran my hand through my hair. It was a cluster-fuck if I'd ever seen one.
"W-we should trust him. He is light."
I wheeled around and glared at Kage. "Why do you keep on calling Sammy light? And what do you mean he is light? Do you mean light magic?"
Kage backed up a step and I took two toward him. I was tired of him butting his nose in where it didn't belong and then cowering because he was called out on his bullshit.
Plus I was a little pissed he had outed my book collection.
"I-I-I..."
Before I could get any closer, Amari stepped in between us. I narrowed my eyes at him and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't be a dick."
"I'm not being a dick. I want answers." I threw my hands in the air, and then turned and stalked off around the side of the house. Fuck them. They could have each other and become vacants for all I cared.
I might have been centuries old, but I wasn't above throwing a temper tantrum. They felt good every once in a while. It had been three hundred years since I'd had one. Now seemed like a fitting time to throw another one.
I chuckled to myself as I threw myself onto a bench next to a fountain in my garden. I lay on my back and looked up at the sky.
Maybe I should just join the rest of my family on Earth. They had invited me several times, saying it was much better than Inferna, even with the sun. It was tempting.
I covered my face with my hands. For once, I just wanted everything to be normal. Why couldn't I have been born to a normal family? All I wanted was to have a mate and have some babies. I was sick of all the political shit and always trying to survive.
There had to be more to life than just trying to survive from day-to-day.
I heard Amari approaching and stop a few feet away. He was the only one that would follow me. Everyone else hated my guts.
My chin trembled slightly and I kept my hands over my face. "I just want to be alone right now."
"Well, I don't want to leave you alone." Amari approached the bench, lifted my legs, and sat down, putting my legs in his lap. "You kept things from me, Valentino."
I moved my hands and stared up at the dark sky. Something flew overhead, and I blinked a couple of times, trying to make out what it was.
"You're telling me that you have no secrets?" My words felt hollow. Kind of like my soul.
Amari squeezed my leg. "I have no secrets. Secrets are what get people killed." I really wasn't in the mood for being lectured, so I moved to get up, but he held my legs.
"You aren't going anywhere."
I sat up and glared at him. "Let me go, cabrón."
His eyes narrowed and he cocked his head to the side. "Are you purposely trying to push everyone away?" He still held onto my legs and I reached forward to try to pry them free.
He had a really tight grip. He should have been gripping my cock that hard, not my leg.
"I'm trying to get some peace and quiet." I continued trying to pry his fingers and then, with a frustrated groan, I laid back down. "Say what you need to and get it over with."
Amari loosened his grip a bit. "I don't understand why you kept everything a secret. You didn't have to bear that burden alone. Yet you did, because you didn't trust me."
"What the fuck was I supposed to do, Amari? Tell you about the whole plan and bring you into it? Have you look at me differently? Although, I guess it didn't quite work out because you do." I tapped a finger against my lips. "I didn't want you to be a part of that mess."
"Even if I didn't know about it, I was always part of it. Am I not your partner? Your love? Your panther?" His grip left my leg completely, and he began stroking my calf through my pants.
"I didn't want you to get hurt." I rested my hands on my stomach. "Maybe it wasn't the best decision to keep it from you, but I couldn't defy my father. He was the patriarch of the family and you know how vampires can be."
He grunted. "You were stronger than your father. You could have beaten him if he would have challenged you. You don't always have to be such a ruthless motherfucker. I've seen how you can be when you aren't trying to fit the mold of being a vampire. Trying to be like your father, it's not you."
"Good thing he's dead now," I whispered. My body felt cold and I blinked away the blurriness in my eyes.
Yes, my father deserved to die. But he was still my father. He hadn't always been out for the crown.
Before my mother died, he had been the most loving father a man could hope for. In typical fashion, losing his mate caused him to lose a giant piece of himself.
"You love her don't you?" Amari's jaw ticked with my question and I sat up, placing my hand on his stubbled cheek. I chuckled. "I guess the purple headed vixen isn't so bad after all."
He leaned into my touch. "She's all right." A smile played at the corner of his lips, and I scooted forward so my ass hit his leg with my legs draped over his.
"Just all right?" I ran my thumb over his bottom lip and he shut his eyes.
His tongue darted out and licked my finger before he sucked it into his mouth. My fangs descended, and I resisted the urge to latch onto his neck. I hadn't fed from the vein in what felt like days. Maybe it had been; I had lost track of time.
I didn't need to necessarily bite into something when I fed, but it made the experience much more pleasurable for both me and whoever I was feeding from, which until Sammy, was always Amari.
Not that I'd fed from Sammy much.
He released my thumb with a pop and pushed me back onto the stone bench. He hovered over me and then crashed his lips into mine. It was a kiss laced in desire and punishment.
I wrapped my arms around him and dug my fingers into his back, trying to bring him even closer. With Amari, I always craved his body pressed against mine. His taut back muscles flexed under my fingers and our tongues swirled together. He grabbed my leg and brought it around his hip, beginning to grind his rigid cock against mine.
I groaned and moved my head to the side as he nipped down my jaw with his teeth. I loved when he asserted his dominance over me, especially on a night like tonight when I was feeling like shit.
"I need this, mi amor." I lost my breath as he latched onto my neck.
I reached down between us and palmed his erection through his pants. He was hard as granite and I whimpered at the thought of it plunging into me. I popped the button and pulled down the zipper.
"Fuck," he moaned against my neck. He began nuzzling me as only he could, rubbing his nose back and forth against the sensitive flesh under my ear. His stubble scratched along my skin and I used my other hand to press his head even closer to me.
"I want you inside me tonight." My words were spoken with a lisp. My canines throbbed in my mouth. "I want to drink you as you fuck me."
A purr left him and vibrated against my neck. "Just what I had in mind."
I reached my hand inside his pants and gripped his dick, running my thumb along the vein underneath. He bucked his hips and one of his hands roamed under my shirt, finding my nipple that was waiting to be pinched. He rolled it between his thumb and forefinger before moving his lips to it and sucking it through my shirt.
"Amari..." I was going to come before we even got started.
I pumped his shaft from root to tip and he bit through my shirt. I nearly came off the bench as pleasure raced down my spine.
He sat back, looking down to watch me work him in my fist. He licked his bottom lip and ran his hands back and forth over my thighs.
His eyes darkened with desire, his pupils almost completely overrunning the bright green that usually st
ared back at me.
"Take your shirt off."
He complied, reaching behind his neck and yanking it off. Fuck, he was gorgeous. I wanted to trace each of his defined abs with my tongue. He stood and took off his pants before moving forward, still straddling me and the bench until his cock hit my lips.
"Let's see just how good you can suck, vampire."
I opened my mouth and took him inside, the salty taste of him hitting my tongue and making my fangs yearn to sink into the soft flesh.
My tongue worked around his swollen head before I gripped him at the root and took him all the way to the back of my throat. I groaned as he thread his fingers into my hair.
I repeated the movement several times before he pulled out with a gasp. "I need inside of you."
"Is that so?" I grabbed my own cock and began pumping it with vigor. "Then you better get busy because I'm ready to blow."
He moved back down my body, removing my shirt and then yanking off my pants. He spit onto his fingers and moved my knees up and apart. His wet fingers slid between my cheeks and probed at my tight hole. Damn, it had been too long since he was buried inside me.
I closed my eyes as he got me ready for him.
"You're so fucking sexy all vulnerable and spread open for me like this." His voice had gone lower and he pushed a second finger inside me. "Tight, just how I like it."
I licked my lips and looked down my body to see him watching his fingers move in and out of me. "I'm ready. Get the fuck in me."
I didn't have to tell him twice. He positioned himself and slowly pushed inside. I wrapped my legs around his thighs and pulled him closer with my heels.
"Fuck me, Amari." I bucked my hips as he began moving in and out of me. He adjusted my legs, and with each withdrawal, he stroked my prostate, causing me to see stars.
"Look at me." My eyes popped open and he wrapped his fist around mine, making the vice I had locked around my dick even tighter. "I want you to see the look on my face when I come inside you."
Our bodies moved as one, my orgasm built, and the deepest tingling sensation I'd had in a while spread throughout my body. Amari leaned forward and gave me is neck, which I didn't hesitate to sink my teeth into. He shuddered as his orgasm hit him, his warm jets of cum sending my own onto our hands.