Lilith Mercury, Werewolf Hunter Series (Boxed Set, Books 1-3)

by Tracey H. Kitts

  “What is it?” Richard asked as Luther handed him the medication.

  “Werewolf valium. The doctor said it should work on you just the same.”

  Richard’s hands shook so badly he could hardly lift the water to his lips. “That’s probably why my eyes are changing so early, I’m cracking up.”

  “You’re not cracking up,” Alek said calmly, “you’ve just had a terrible experience.”

  “So what about you?” Richard said with a shaky smile. “I don’t see you for a few months and you’re living with a vampire, a werewolf, and a wizard. Not to mention if there’s any truth to the papers, you’re dating Marco Barak.”

  “Well, there’s some truth to it.”

  I started telling Richard all he had missed in the last six months or so since we’d seen each other in an effort to distract him long enough for the medication to take effect. Once he began to calm down I asked Alek, “Will your sleeping potion work on him?”

  “I was just thinking the same thing.”

  Alek explained the potion to Richard who was all too eager for some sleep that didn’t include nightmares. Alek saw Richard to the guest room and came back in a few minutes to tell me he was asleep.

  “Poor guy,” Luther said. That statement seemed to reflect everyone’s thoughts, because no one could think of anything else to say.

  *****

  That night I left Dracula working on his presentation in my bedroom while Luther watched television downstairs. Richard would most likely sleep for a few days. I took the opportunity to talk to Alek about something that was on my mind. It was late, and I walked into the kitchen to find him making tea. He was actually wearing a nightshirt. I had read in historical novels about men wearing nightshirts, but I never thought I would actually see one.

  The shirt came to just below his knees with a small split on each side. It was a deep blue that looked good with his hair. I also noticed it had those wonderful ruffles around the wrists. As he turned to face me, I saw the ruffles were sewn along the deep vee of the neck line as well. This shirt, like the others Alek wore, had laces, but they were untied.

  “Nice legs.” I smiled as I walked toward him.

  “Why thank you,” he purred. “If I’d known you would be coming back down, I would have worn a robe.” He looked at me for a moment and took a sip of his tea before asking, “What brings you my way so late?”

  “I’ve got a dream I’d like to discuss with you. Actually, I’d like to show it to you, if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. It’s been a long time since someone has asked me to have a look at their dreams. Though I know a method that might be better than me reliving your memories. If you’ll be so kind as to accompany me to the dungeon,” he said as he put his arm around me.

  We stepped into the long dark passageway and with a wave of his hand Alek lit the dozens of torches along the wall. I hadn’t known the stairway leading to the dungeon could be so well lit.

  “Wow,” I said softly.

  He smiled and began to explain dream visitation. “It’s a method I haven’t used for several years now, though I’m quite proficient. I’ll guide you through the process and you can invite me into your mind. I much prefer to be invited than to simply force my way in.”

  “Have you ever done that before?” I asked as we reached the dungeon door.

  “Yes, but only in an emergency. For instance, a few years ago my neighbor’s house was on fire. I knew help would never reach him in time, so I appeared in his dreams and told him to get up because his house was on fire.”

  “What happened?”

  “Can you believe the fat bastard rolled over?”

  I laughed as he lit the second set of torches.

  “So, then I go screaming through his mind, Get your fat ass up or you’ll be just as burned as the chicken you ate tonight.”

  I laughed again and he said, “That worked. Of course on his way out he saved the cat and was hailed as a hero with remarkable intuition.” He snorted with laughter and I couldn’t help but wonder how many other people would never realize Alek had helped them.

  Along one wall previously occupied by only The Iron Maiden, Alek had placed a table covered in various unrecognizable wingdings. Several sinister looking liquids bubbled in containers of different shapes and sizes while little puffs of smoke floated over some other unusual contraptions.

  All of the original torture equipment I had kept when I bought the house remained in place and seemed to strangely blend with the new décor. Behind the table along the same wall, hung a magnificent tapestry. It was covered with knights and dragons, castles and unicorns, and other various fantastical scenery. I loved it.

  I followed Alek to the large dungeonesque door at the back of the room. The dungeon was at least two thousand square feet, leaving a rather sizable apartment behind the thick door. As Alek opened the heavy door, I saw that the entrance was covered by lush blue drapery. He parted the curtain and beckoned me forward.

  The bookshelves that had looked odd and bare along the wall were now filled with numerous leather bound volumes of all kinds. In the opposite corner of this room sat a large oak desk with an elaborate chair that looked more like a throne. A spacious gold rug covered a good portion of the floor and made the room look less bleak and not at all like a dungeon anymore.

  We walked through the open doorway into Alek’s bedroom, and I looked around in awe. He flicked his wrist toward the fireplace at the foot of the bed and lit the room. A large four-poster bed sat against the wall. It was covered in rich looking sheets of cerulean blue. The canopy was slightly darker and reminded me of a clear night sky.

  “I love what you’ve done with the place,” I said as I looked around. “But, how did you get all of this down here so quickly?”

  “PFM,” he teased. “Well, that and the vampire carried most of it. Actually, that impressed me very much.”

  “His strength?”

  “His power. I knew he had inherited power over the storm, but not even the great Rainmaker could manipulate the very air to rise up and do his bidding.”

  I was also impressed to hear that Dracula had levitated Alek’s furniture.

  “Come here,” he said as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Unless of course, you’re afraid you cannot keep your hands off of me, in which case, I fully understand.”

  I laughed and walked around to the other side, “I’ll take my chances.”

  “Make yourself comfortable,” he said while he rummaged in a small nightstand.

  Alek reclined on the pillows beside me holding a small silver pouch in his hand.

  “I’d like to show you something,” he said as he reached into the bag. I watched him blow the sparkling dust from his hand as the canopy above us came alive with thousands of stars. It looked as if we had opened a window straight into the night sky.

  “What is that?” I gasped.

  “Stardust,” he said as he settled himself back on the pillows. “Aldan thinks he’s so clever,” he mumbled. “Now then, I want you to close your eyes and remember as completely as possible this dream you would like me to see. Once you get a clear image, think of me. Don’t just see me, feel me. Remember everything about me that makes me who I am to you. Make me as real as I am lying here beside you, and once you’re done, look into my eyes. You will feel a connection, then you may show me your dream.”

  “All right.” I closed my eyes and remembered the dream about the beautiful rose I had forgotten I’d planted. Once this was accomplished, I saw Alek standing before me, just as he had been in the kitchen. I saw his disheveled blond hair and the deep blue of his nightshirt. I even imagined the feel of the fabric beneath my hands. I approached him in my mind as I recalled his cologne. The scent was subtle, gently stirring my mind and body, as I was reminded once more of the way a sexy wizard is supposed to smell. Then I saw him turning toward me and the moment I looked into his eyes, I felt as if I was falling. My heart leapt into the pale honey brown eyes, and we were
suddenly standing in the woods in my dream.

  We watched the rose together as it bloomed, covering everything with its rapid growth. Everything the rose touched was improved by its appearance. Once again, I couldn’t believe I had forgotten about planting it. The magnificent vines stretched before us as I marveled at the deep rich color that I once again could not name. It simply must be the color of love, there was no other explanation for something so vibrant and alive. It hardly seemed a color; it was more of a life force.

  When the dream was over, my mind went strangely blank. The next thing I knew Alek was shaking me gently.

  “It seems fairly clear to me,” he said with a yawn. “You forgot the seeds of love you planted somewhere along the way.”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It means that you felt something for someone, and you hid it. You hid it so well that even you forgot about it, and now it’s free. This love that you concealed, and even forgot to cultivate has begun to bloom. It consumes all, covering everything in its path.”

  “I’m terrified of all-consuming love.”

  “I know,” Alek said kindly. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  “How can you tell me something like this and then say, ‘don’t worry about it?’”

  “Because worrying will do no good. How do you feel?”

  “Good.”

  “Then don’t worry about it,” he replied sarcastically.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  After thanking Alek for his help, I made my way back up the long staircase and through the house. Luther was sleeping soundly on the couch, and I threw a blanket over him on my way upstairs.

  When I entered the bedroom, I found Dracula deeply engrossed in a conversation with my father. The holograms produced by the communicators are three dimensional, so I stayed behind the door for a moment before remembering I could enter my bathroom from the hallway. I wasn’t sure how to feel about my father helping Dracula with his presentation to the council. They had obviously been caught plotting together.

  The door that opened from the bathroom into the bedroom was closed, so I didn’t have to worry about being overheard as I stripped down for a shower. My head was still spinning from the moments spent alone with Marco, and my stomach was still churning from having to witness someone I knew being killed. All right, so I’d looked away before the final blow, but I could hear well enough to get a good idea what had happened. From the blood on Marco’s hands, I was betting he had ripped Dr. Alex Belcher’s head clean off. The way Richard talked, he deserved it, but it still bothered me. I suppose if I ever reached a point that such things didn’t bother me, I’d be in serious trouble.

  After the candles around the room were lit, I breathed deeply of the soothing vanilla fragrance and turned on the shower. Scented candles always seemed to calm my nerves, and so did a good long shower. I wasn’t upset with Marco, he’d done what he had to do. I think I was more upset that I had thought Dr. Belcher wasn’t so bad, and he’d apparently been a monster even before his transformation. The more I thought about it, the more I convinced myself that was why I felt so awful. I was upset to think what Richard had been forced to endure. Richard was a good man, and one of the kindest people I knew. It hurt me to see him reduced to tears. As was often the case when I saw people hurting, I wished I could erase his pain like an unintended mark on a piece of paper. But, I couldn’t do that. I might be able to ease his misery, but I could never reverse what had been done to Richard.

  The heat from the shower was already beginning to fog the mirror when I finally stepped underneath the water. No sooner had I done so, than I heard Dracula enter the room. I could hear the silk pajamas sliding down his legs, and knew the moment his long robe fell to the floor. I didn’t turn around when he walked into the shower, but I leaned against him when he held me. Marco would have had a fit if he knew, but there was nothing sexual in his touch, so I didn’t object. The way he held me didn’t feel like I was being unfaithful. Giving me his body, in whatever way I needed, was the only way Dracula knew how to comfort me.

  “I am sorry about your Richard,” he said softly, and I felt his embrace tighten.

  The kindness in his voice seemed to melt me, and I began to cry. I had cried with Richard earlier, but I’d held back. I still wasn’t used to crying in front of people. That was a fairly recent development within the last year. I turned in his arms, and Dracula leaned forward, so that my face rested against his collar bone. He held me for several minutes before saying, “Jacob says as soon as the council approves my plan, I will be reinstated.”

  I sniffed in response.

  “I will help you find the man who hurt Richard,” he said softly, but with feeling.

  “So, you do still have it in you to protect the innocent,” I commented with a sigh.

  “If the innocent are left to defend themselves, they will end up as jaded as me.”

  I looked up into his emerald eyes as tendrils of dark wet hair fell forward, framing his face. “But who will defend you?” I asked.

  “Death has long been my mistress,” he sighed, “and now, she is my champion.”

  “I’m nobody’s champion,” I said as a few involuntary tears slid down my cheek. “I couldn’t even save Richard.”

  “Perhaps not,” he said as he pulled back slightly, “but, you have saved me.”

  Dracula bent down and pressed a soft kiss against my lips. Once again, the touch was not sexual. He was genuinely thankful, and expressing his thanks the best way he knew how. I knew with that kiss that he cared for me. He would be content to care, even if I never touched him again. The kindness I had shown him had healed some of the pain he had suffered. It made me feel better to know I was good for something, and my mood was lighter as we finished our shower.

  After drying off, I slipped on my favorite black robe. As I did so, I happened to brush my hand across Dracula’s shoulder. Without the hot water beating down on us, I realized how cold he was. I looked at him more closely, and saw he was paler than usual.

  “Are you all right?” I asked.

  “I have not fed since the night you and I were together.”

  That had been several days, and I felt guilty for starving him. “I’m sorry, I’m not used to living with a vampire. You must be starving.”

  “Your blood does sustain me longer than most, but yes, I am starving.”

  “Let me feed you,” I said without hesitation.

  “No, my angel. What would your lover say?”

  “I’m not asking you to have sex with me,” I said reasonably. “You kept me from tearing my heart out, you offered to help Richard, and managed to keep him calm until he could be sedated.” I took a breath before finishing, “And you can’t even eat my cooking, it’s the least I can do.”

  He laughed and said, “The werewolf will not be pleased.”

  “His name is Marco, and no, he won’t like it. I’ll just explain to him that I couldn’t let you starve.”

  “He will most likely say you could have sent me out to find another willing victim, instead of yourself.”

  He was probably right. Part of me said it was simply the right thing to do, since he was my guest. But the rest of me knew I was jealous at the thought of him biting some stranger in the night.

  “As soon as he sees the bite on your neck, he will be angry,” Dracula continued reasonably. “Then again, we could just put it somewhere he is not likely to see any time soon.” I looked a question at him and he explained. “It takes two days for a lycanthrope to heal a vampire bite. You are close enough to that category that this applies to you.”

  “Get to the point,” I prompted.

  “You said he wished to take things slow, correct?”

  I nodded.

  “Then if you will allow me, I can bite your inner thigh.”

  I thought it over for a moment before agreeing. “All right,” I said as I locked the door. “But, it wouldn’t do for Luther to walk in on this.”

  “As
you pointed out, my angel, we are not having sex.”

  I recalled the feeling his bite had given me before. “Close enough.”

  I put on a pair of black silk panties. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen everything before, but with me dating Marco, I didn’t feel right just sprawling out naked in front of him.

  “I understand,” he assured me with a smile, “it is the principle of the thing.”

  I wasn’t nervous as I lay back against the silken red sheets. In fact, it wasn’t until Dracula hovered over me that a fine tremor went through my body. He ran a hand through his damp hair and smiled at me reassuringly.

  “Do not worry,” he soothed, “I will be gentle.”

  He leaned over, as if he was going to kiss me, but stopped just short of our bodies actually touching. It was a very intimate reminder of the night we spent together less than a week ago.

  “I could hypnotize you,” he offered, “and you would not feel a thing.”

  “No.”

  “But it will hurt,” he whispered seductively, brushing his face against mine.

  “The pain doesn’t last,” I said.

  “Very well,” he said, “but it was never my desire to hurt you.”

  He moved slowly over my body, hovering above me only long enough for me to feel his warm breath against my silk panties before he moved to my inner thigh. His long damp hair touched my leg and I shivered. I was trying not to jump, but I was nervous, almost afraid of the pain I knew would soon come. I was feeling foolish about not wanting to be hypnotized, but I wanted to be aware. I wanted to know what was being done to me, and by whom. He began to nibble my inner thigh. He sucked the flesh between his teeth, teasing me, arousing me to the point that I forgot to be afraid. I moaned, and he bit me. The pain was sharp, but before I could cry out it was gone. I could feel his lips gently sucking against my thigh and growled as I gripped the sheets between my fingers. With every pull, I was brought closer to the edge. The third time he drank from me, I came. Orgasm crashed down on me like a wave. My back arched, and though I tried to scream, I had no voice. All I could do was gasp for air. It was as if my life was being drained, and I was being refilled with pleasure. Orgasm after orgasm bowed my spine before he released me.