Her eyelids fluttered open when their fangs finally penetrated her flesh—first Endre’s, then Tabor’s a split second later. Stark, pinching pain ripped through her neck, but it didn’t last long. It seemed to shift into ecstasy, intensifying every sensation in her entire body. She heard them gulp on long, drawn-out moans, even as her blood flowed out of her human body and transformed her to Vencelze. It stunned her, made her dizzy and giddy all at once.
The second orgasm ripped through her tenfold while the ebbing ache in her neck choked her with paradise. Aurora’s soul embraced a bath of pain, pleasure and a mind-boggling level of rapture she had never, ever experienced before now. Her arms remained hooked about their necks as they drank of her endorphin-laced blood. She leaned back and watched in fascination as ghostly versions of their bodies rose above her and shifted into beautiful feathered falcons. She heard their call, watched as their misty forms fluttered their wings, as if they held hands and beckoned to her to join them.
The final release plowed through her system in a long, relentless upsurge, and she kept her gaze fixed on the birds, amazed when a third falcon materialized between them. She hit the orgasmic summit head-on and let out a scream of final pleasure when the three birds dove back down, the center one heading straight for her. That was when she knew this was her Vencelze counterpart. The middle falcon was her new soul, the missing third angle in Aurora’s Vencelze Triangle.
She had become a vampire. Now, she would have the power, the power to thwart their plan of murder.
Chapter Three
In the weeks that followed, Endre and Tabor’s souls gradually recovered from the effects of twenty-five years of frozen hell. They planned their return to Greenland to free the remaining Vencelzes from Theodore’s trap. While they plotted the professor’s murder, Aurora absorbed more knowledge of her new race. She learned Vencelzes had migrated from Hungary centuries ago, having settled here on the remote Australian island following a major vampire hunt much like the one implemented by Theodore.
Balitori Island, she now knew, had once been a thriving haven for all Vencelze vampires. This was where they’d lived, mated, loved and prospered, where the prince had reigned over their island nation and wooed his priestess-to-be. Even now, she could gaze across the lagoon and see the majestic palace perched atop the cliff. Where the land tumbled down toward the sea and inland beyond, homes of various styles sat tucked within coconut groves and palms. Like a scatter of steps leading out from the castle, the houses tiered downhill. The rocky overhangs and terraces with their rich green and blooming foliage gradually blended down toward homes that had been built along the sea. Grand homes, she thought, like this one that Endre and Tabor had erected in preparation for finding the third partner in their Vencelze Triangle. Aurora.
These triangles were the way of their people, a sort of strengthening formation to further their race. Some, she’d learned, were of three women, while others consisted of three men, or two women and one man. Or like Aurora’s Triangle, one woman and two men.
But always there were three, or there were two in search of the mate to complete their lifelong triad. And by Aurora’s way of thinking, there was something so very comforting and almost romantic about that encompassing goal. Why didn’t the human race practice this sort of loving, three-way connection more?
It seemed she no longer had humanlike answers to logic or anything in life. Ever since that initial feeding, her mind had been transformed into “Vencelze think”, as she liked to call it. As she’d explored the island during Tabor and Endre’s period of recuperation from their lengthy freeze, she’d took it all in and absorbed her new life like a dry sponge soaking up the sea.
Further inland, Aurora had visited the quaint little town of Oszkar. Neatly laid streets with lampposts and shops lined its unique grid. Palm trees soared over the stores’ thatched roofs where huge nests had been built for any citizen in their falcon form in need of leisure time while visiting Oszkar. One thing had struck Aurora as eerie and sent a chill up her spine. The ghostly quiet. It made her think of a western ghost town, and further emphasized her dilemma. She had stood on the barren streets and listened to the silence, watched and waited for someone—anyone—to emerge from the many establishments or homes perched on the hillside below.
She knew that would never happen unless they were able to free all the Vencelzes now held captive by a dangerous professor…her father. Guilt plagued her like a fatal disease. Torn between her birth father and her new race, she often sought solace in Oszkar so she could be alone to think and make plans of her own. She cried, she brainstormed, she fretted over the inevitable day to come. Aurora often shifted into her falcon form just to soar over the island and its sea to meditate and form a solution, or at best, a compromise for them all.
On this particular day, she partook of her meal with her two husbands. She knew the time had come. They had both regained their strength and were prepared to return to Greenland to dispose of her father and subsequently free their people—her people.
Tomorrow would be the day, and she hadn’t yet revealed her secret to them. She had to do something—but what?
“I want to help,” Aurora insisted from her place at the head of the long dining table. “I will go back to Greenland with you.”
“No.” Endre speared his asparagus and wagged it at her, candlelight dancing on the handsome planes of his face. “You’ll stay here, and that’s final.”
“I don’t want to stay here alone. It’s eerie. I’ve seen firsthand that the whole island is deserted because your people—our people—were lured away by the professor’s bait.”
“All the more reason for you to stay behind here in safety,” Tabor countered, tossing back the wine left in his goblet. He rose, went to the heavy oak side table, and poured himself another glassful. As he spoke, Aurora studied his powerful build, amazed that desire swirled once again in her loins.
Tabor stepped over and refilled Endre and Aurora’s glasses. “We’ve now got three Vencelzes—including you, Rora—and that’s a start to rebuilding our species. But there’s hope for more. We know what we’re up against now. We now know how to avoid his bait, how to free our people…and we know exactly what to do with the professor.”
She slammed her cup onto the table, sloshing red wine across the crisp white tablecloth. Leaping to her feet, she snapped, “For the last time, you can’t kill Professor Kendall!”
Endre dropped his fork with a clank and clasped his hand around hers. His grip felt warm, dominant, resolute. Slowly, firmly, he tugged her down so she sat back in her seat.
“For the last time, we can and we will. He’s a danger to our whole species, our whole life—even to you, for falcon’s sake. Aurora, why in vampire hell would you want that man to live knowing he tried to kill us and our people? And knowing that he’ll most likely see that you’re frozen to death, too?”
She bit her lip and stared into his gleaming gold eyes. “I… Well, because…”
Tabor took his place at her right. “Spit it out, hon. Because what?”
Endre curled his fingers into hers encouraging her to speak her mind. “Go ahead, it’s okay.”
“B-because he’s…he’s my real father.”
The grandfather clock in the entryway ticked and tocked, mocking the long silence as both Endre and Tabor gaped at her.
“Your what?” Tabor’s booming voice echoed throughout the Spanish-style, adobe mansion. His eyes widened in a striking show against the bronze of his rugged face.
Endre inhaled sharply. “No. It can’t be. Your father tried to murder us and our entire bloodline? How could we not know this about you?”
“I—”
“Neither you nor the professor provided any hint of this during our out-of-body visits at the station. Aurora, this is a very crucial fact—and, goddamn it, you didn’t bother telling us until now?”
“How could I tell you? I knew what horrible thing you had planned.”
When a flicker of g
uilt lit their eyes, she went on, emboldened with conviction. “As far as your not gaining knowledge of it at the station, I wondered that, too, but it’s really very simple. As you know, our Vencelze mind-invasion skills are selective, not constant. They’re only in use at those times we choose to breach privacy. I can only assume I did my best to focus on my job and not the adoption, which gave you little opportunity to learn he’s my father. At those times I did ponder my human lineage, it seems neither of your spirits happened upon me when my thoughts ran in that direction. And Theodore didn’t offer you the information because apparently he doesn’t know—and I didn’t broadcast it because I didn’t want him to find out. Since we’ve been here, I just wasn’t sure how or when—or if—to tell you. All I know is, I-I can’t be a party in helping you kill my own flesh and blood.”
“What about you, your vampire flesh, your vampire blood? Would this be the time to remind you you’re now Vencelze?” Tabor replied pointedly. “And with your enthusiastic blessing, I might add.”
Aurora tore her hand from Endre’s as the edge of trepidation sliced through her heart. She leaned into the high-backed dining chair and sighed. “I know. I know it’s hard to swallow. But let me explain. Theo and his ex-wife put me up for adoption when I was a baby. I found him after doing an Internet search a few months ago and had it confirmed by a private investigator. I went to the station under the guise that I had an insatiable interest in minerals—which I really do, but that wasn’t the priority in this case. I used my credentials and experience as a research scientist to secure the position. While it would have been my dream job under any other circumstance, I took it more to get to know him, to see if I wanted to reveal to him who I really was…and it didn’t hurt knowing he has a reputation as a world-renowned professor any scientist would be proud to add as a reference on a résumé. So remember, I went there first as a person who happened to be a scientist curious about her father. The unplanned vampire part came second.”
“Fires of hell,” Tabor cursed, slumping in his seat.
Her throat burned. She could see the shock, disappointment, and confusion on both their faces. “I’m…I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before now, before entering into the triangle with you both.”
Endre raked a hand through his thick head of hair, leaving the longish sandy tresses mussed in his frustration. “Sorry don’t cut it, hon. Now what the fuck do we do? Sit back and let him carry out his murder plot of a whole species—including you, his own daughter—just because he’s your long-lost dad?”
Hope bloomed in her chest. “That’s exactly my point. Maybe if I tell him who I am—and what I’ve become—he’ll stop the extermination experiment and release them all. Which obviously means I need to be there.”
“Aurora—”
“Look, you’re both energized now and ready to return, but you’ll still need the extra aid. I must be there to give my blood to bring them all back to life, just like I did you.”
Endre raised a skeptical brow at Tabor. His gaze swung back to her. “Rora, we can offer them our renewed blood—or they can feed on the professor for really fast rejuvenation. Which means there’s no need for you to be there.”
“No. I won’t allow that.” She stood and slapped her hands on the table. Her stare moved slowly and deliberately between them. She didn’t bare her fangs often, however, this was the time to show the depth of her ire. The tingling in her gums assured her they lengthened, proving the passion of her words.
On a vampire’s snarl, she said, “You think I don’t understand how it works? You think I’m some idiot zombie eager to chant ‘Yes master, no master’? I insist that you do not let them feed on him, forcing him into Vencelze status. If anything at all, just let our people draw life from my father through their talons, for Prince Viktor’s sake, not by feeding. Like when you both drew energy and blood from me with your talons as opposed to your fangs. Look, I’m no fool. I know it can be performed safely without turning him into a vampire, and I demand it be done that way for my father’s sake.”
“Ah, my good man,” Endre announced affably to Tabor, though a vague note of unease hovered beneath the surface. “Not only has complete Vencelze wisdom been imparted to our new vampiress, but she’s become aware of our High Prince Viktor.” His gaze darkened. He snared Aurora with an ominous look that sent her heart tumbling into dread. “Since you brought it up, my love, you do realize the prince and his priestess mate are most likely captured by your father, too? And that he has the most antagonistic, vindictive nature when crossed?”
“Yes,” she choked out on a hitched tone. “I’ve been learning those very facts. But in spite of what wrath I might face when I get there, I refuse to be left behind—and I refuse to allow you to kill my father.” She crossed her arms. “I will deal with the prince and his temper when the time comes…and I will go with you.”
Later, she would realize that, had she not been in such a state of determined recklessness, she might have caught the calculating look that passed between Tabor and Endre.
* * *
“Grant us one more round of your passion before we all depart in the morning,” Endre purred in her ear as they stood on the cliff overlooking the beach. A massive eucalyptus limb had been strung with rope. She heard the force of his breath as he jerked on the cord, and at the sudden movement, she inhaled a burst of salt-misted air. Below, the night ocean churned, white-tipped waves punching the surface as they fought the pull of the tide and pounded against rock. Her bound arms rose above her head leaving her dangling…like a slab of dead meat suspended in a malfunctioning freezer, she mused. Her feet barely touched the soft carpeting of grass. Stark naked, the sultry air grazed her warm flesh, and the glow of the full moon glittered off her perspiring skin.
Despite—no, because of—the eerie mood of her surroundings and the strange look in Tabor and Endre’s eyes, lust washed over her, nearly drowning her in its power. Aurora knew what would come, welcoming the sticky cream that dribbled from her pussy. Her nipples tightened into painful pebbles, aching to be touched, sucked, bit. The hum of her skin’s heightened sensations during mating made her head spin and the roar in her ears erupt to maddening, delicious octaves. The now familiar crazed vibrations of vampire sex, accompanied by the sting of her fangs lengthening, overtook her, soul, mind and body. She panted and thrashed against the restraints, her eyes glazing over with rabid need. Aurora knew what would come, and had learned to receive the continued coming together of their Vencelze Triangle with eager obsession.
“The larger the store of energy we gain following decades of being frozen, the better our chances of succeeding in this mission,” Tabor added to Endre’s impassioned plea, as if they needed to convince her of their reasons for this last mating before they all departed in the morning.
The pain about her wrists seemed to blur with the pleasure of their hands now exploring her body. “No arguments from me. I gladly give both of you all the power you need for us to make the journey to Greenland.”
Endre stood behind her, his hands spanning her waist. He skimmed them down her sides until he squatted on his haunches, his face at ass level. “Us? Well, that’s…” He scraped his fangs over one cheek making her shudder. “Mmm, you’re so delicious,” he growled, his tongue snaking out to swipe up the crack of her ass.
Aurora gasped, her head falling back. A gust of wind blew in, tossing her long hair in an angry tangle above Endre’s head. “Oh, prince above, that feels so good.”
“That’s only the beginning, Rora.” Tabor’s voice came out deep, almost ominous in its pitch. Her breath caught as he stripped down in front of her, his short, dark hair breeze-tossed. Moonbeams glinted off his chiseled body casting shadows along the striation of defined, bulging muscles. But nothing could take her breath away like the sight of his enormous cock jutting up past his navel, engorged with the ache of desire.
Strung up as she was, the perilous cliff only footsteps away, while at the mercy of two alpha vampires preparing t
o devour her, Aurora didn’t think her heart could withstand the anticipation any longer.
“Now. Just do it now.”
“Shh…” Tabor sauntered forward, his icy eyes scorching her skin as his gaze traveled every inch of her body from tied wrists to toes skimming the earth. She could feel his stare, as if he touched and probed every cell of her flesh with a hot laser beam. His gaze met hers and she thought she’d been struck by lightning. “Endre, my man, her pupils are fully dilated. She’s in full heat. She’s ready.”
“Doesn’t surprise me,” Endre murmured against her ass, his breath fanning over the fleshy meat of it while he kneaded her thighs.
Aurora shuddered, yanking against the rope. She didn’t know quite what they had planned yet the lack of knowledge only heightened the desire that simmered in her womb. She’d never engaged in BDSM of any sort before now. There was something empowering, almost euphoric, about submitting, while at the same time, knowing she had control over them, knowing she’d pushed them to this point of kinkiness.
While Endre continued to nip and bite her ass cheeks, Tabor spread his legs and slammed her body against his, the head of his shaft striking her labia. He drew her closer for an explosive kiss. His tongue traced her lips, delved into her mouth, scorching and wet. Her fangs scraped against his, and she knew the same craze she’d felt moments ago now boiled within Tabor, making his canines grow. She detected the intoxicating flavor of the wine they’d just drank at dinner, and it made her hungry, made her thrash and beg.
“I…I want to taste you,” she murmured against his mouth. “Please. Now.”
“Oh, you will, babe, believe me. But first, it’s my turn.” He traveled down the length of her neck, and she arched for him, giving him all the flesh she could offer. She heard him hiss, and cried out when he sank his fangs into her neck at the precise moment Endre bit her right ass cheek. The biting always started with unbearable yet brief pain. What followed rivaled any orgasm she’d ever had. Pleasure ripped through her, so fine, so precise, it bathed and tapped every cell in her body. The double orgasm brought on by the feeding made her twitch against the restraints, and she pulled on them until she could lift her legs and wrap them around Tabor’s hips.
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