by Stone, Ciana
A groan rumbled up from his chest as he climaxed. His mouth tightened on her neck, the pain intensifying in an unbelievable sensation of pleasure she’d never imagined.
She clung to him, sensing him with her in that endless vortex of pleasure. At length his tempo slowed, his strokes lengthening to take her slow and steady. Her sex clenched around him as the climax diminished. She drew in a long shuddering breath and another orgasm hit.
“Oh god….” Her hands move to his shoulders, digging into the firm flesh. “Constant—“
His mouth drowned out the rest as he abandoned her neck and took her lips prisoner, searing her in a kiss that had her lips throbbing and burning in equal measure to the burn of her nether lips.
When at last the climax abated, he drew back, his eyes hooded and dark. She moved one hand up to trace the side of his face, feeling a swell of emotion when his eyes closed at her touch and he leaned into it, an expression of longing and tenderness on his face that had tears threatening her eyes.
Her thumb stroked down over his lips. That’s when she noticed the stain. She lifted her hand to see better in the darkness. Her eyes widened and went from her hand to his eyes.
“Blood?” She whispered.
He did not respond and a heat rose in her that had nothing to do with lust. She grabbed his wrists and pried them from her as she unwound her legs and slid down the wall to a standing position. Her hand moved to her neck and withdrew.
She took one look, balled up her fist, and slugged him in the jaw. “You fucking Vampyre! You bit me!”
“Do you regret it?” She asked softly.
“Never.” He assured her. “Do you?”
She wiggled free of his embrace and hopped down from the wall to face him. “Not yet. But…”
He knew what was coming before it was spoken.
“…if you take my children from me, I’ll hate you.”
It was as he feared. To do what insured the safety of his children, he would be forced to create animosity and discontent between him and Resa. It was the last thing he wanted and the one thing he had to do.
Chapter Three
It had been nearly a week, seven long days he’d had to endure her silence and seething anger. It permeated the estate and robbed him of sleep, of the ability to focus on what needed to be done.
He’d reached the extent of his patience.
Constantine found her in the gym, taking on two of his premier warriors. Had he not trusted them, he would have been concerned. She fought as if her life depended upon it. His warriors were hard pressed to preserve their own safety while not severely injuring her.
“Resa.” He spoke quietly, knowing his voice carried enough command to bring the match to a halt.
Immediately his warriors stilled and dropped to one knee in respect. Resa whirled and shot him a look of annoyance. “What?”
Had she been someone other than his mate, her tone of disrespect would have met with immediate discipline. Constantine growled. Even her status as royal consort could not protect her from censure. He could not allow her to disrespect him in front of his followers or it would erode his authority.
His eyes flared with the tendril of power he lashed her way. She felt it and staggered. Constantine regretted being put in the position to act in such a manner, but she gave him no choice. He increased the pressure until grudgingly; she knelt on one knee in deference.
“Leave us,” Constantine commanded his warriors.
His order was immediately obeyed. Once they were alone, he released her. She bounded to her feet, rage burning in her eyes.
“I will not be called to task for maintaining control,” he said.
“Whatever.”
He knew the tone, and the underlying meaning of that word. She knew all too well that he could not allow his power to be debased.
“We must speak of our daughters.”
Resa drew herself up and he expected her to fly at him. When she slumped and sank to the floor, he felt emotion threaten. Resa enraged was a force he could battle. Resa hurt or sad was a beast that he struggled to quell.
He went to her, sitting on the bare floor beside her. “I know this hurts you, beloved. I ache as well. Sending our children away is not a decision I make lightly.”
“Then don’t make it,” she argued. “Constantine, look what happened with Rayna. I let you convince me to send her away. Now we have a grown daughter who is a stranger to us, and us to her. Don’t do this to the twins, to me.”
“Would you risk their lives for your desires?”
His strike hit the mark. He saw her tense. “That’s a low blow,” she complained.
“But true,” he argued. “Now before you seek to separate my head from my body, I ask that you hear me out.”
She was quiet for a few moments then nodded.
“Thank you,” He gathered his thoughts, modulating his voice so as not to incur her ire any more than necessary.
“There is strong intelligence that the Alliance has information that suggests we have offspring. They will continue to follow their suspicions. Should they confirm the existence of our children, the girls will be a constant target.
“Add to that the fact that if the Alliance gains this knowledge, there is a very high probability that the Nurian and the Valian will secure the information as well and we have a situation that we very likely may not be able to contain.
“Then we strike first,” she argued, the fire coming back to her posture. “A preemptive strike. We sue for a truce with the Nurian and Valian and strike at the heart of the Alliance.”
“As you well know, the Nurian are far from amenable to talks of truce. Leonidas would never agree.”
“Fine, then we do it alone.” She stood and looked down at him. “I’ll lead the assault.”
“No.” He stood and held up one stand as she took an aggressive step toward him. “I forbid it.”
“You forbid?”
“Yes.” It was unprecedented in their relationship for him to forbid her anything, but in this, he stood firm. He would have her locked up before he’d allow her to undertake a suicide mission.
“Fine.” She agreed sharply. “If there will be nothing else, my lord, I will leave you.”
Constantine nodded. She’d closed her mind from him, preventing him from validating the sincerity of her agreement. Knowing his mate, he would wager that she was not. Even now, she’d be planning the strategy of an assault.
This meant that he would be forced to go to the Valian and Nurian leaders and sue for a truce to fight their common foe. First, he had to meet with Azarth, his minister of Science and Medicine, and have Azarth request an audience for him with Pandora, the mother superior of the Order, to map out a plan for securing the safety of his children.
Chapter Four
Resa gathered with the platoon leaders a mile from the Alliance stronghold. It had taken her a week of careful planning to marshal the necessary forces without making Constantine aware of her plans.
Now she stood with twelve of the strongest warriors of the D’Harahn, going over the final strategy of attack.
“We move in one hour.” She announced when they’d finished.
She left the command post to return to her platoon who was stationed on a cliff bordering the rear of the compound. Inside that structure was Bram. The man who had raised her, betrayed her and ordered her execution. This would be his last day of life. She fully intended to see him die at her hands. Take him out and the Alliance would be fatally weakened. While he had subordinates ready to step into his shoes, none were his match. If they killed him, the Alliance would be theirs for the taking.
She closed her eyes and waited. Mere seconds before the end of the hour she opened her eyes. It was time.
“Now,” she gave the order.
As her lieutenant triggered the first blast of mortar fire, she heard an explosion from the north. That would be her people, blasting the front of the compound. Almost immediately, explosions sounded from
the east and west.
Within moments, the troops were moving in. She signaled her team and as one they started down the cliff.
The rear of the compound sported a gaping hole, more than sufficient for them to enter. Resa dove and rolled, coming to her feet to take cover behind a pile of rubble. Her team did likewise.
A shot ricocheted off rock above her head. Resa waited for a break in the gunfire that had erupted and rose, weapon in hand. Three Alliance warriors went down under her gun. Off to her right, two more were taken out, then half a dozen to the left. Her team was clearing a path, taking down everything that came at them.
“Rockets now,” she hissed into her com link.
A heartbeat of time later, the first rocket hit the stonewall of the main structure on the other side of the courtyard. Two more followed. The sound of screams and raining debris accompanied the staccato of gunfire.
Not one to stay in the back of the battle, Resa emerged from cover, heading across the courtyard toward the main structure. Almost immediately, her team surrounded her.
They charged the structure, guns blazing as they ran through the opening created by the rockets.
A wave of Alliance warriors waited. Her teams split simultaneous into pairs, each pair moving as one to equidistant points, taking cover where they could and mowing down anything that got in their way.
It took longer than she’d anticipated to fight their way to the center of the building. There they were met by their own forces.
“Ground floor is secure.”
“Acknowledged.” She looked around. “Proceed to your objective.”
The teams split up, one headed for the detention area where prisoners were held, another to the officer’s quarters and her team up the stairs to where Bram and his elite guard would be hold up.
Three of her men went down on the way. She hissed orders to her men to get the wounded to safely and proceeded, heedless of the mounting number of Alliance warriors that barred their progress.
They made it to the third level and suddenly there was not an enemy in sight. Resa plastered herself to a wall and peered around the corner. Where were they?
The answer came in a surprise manner. Suddenly the hallway was filled with noxious fumes. Iridium gas!
“Retreat!” She gasped.
It was too late. Already the poison had her men dropping around her. She struggled to stay on her feet. Was this a defense that had been long in place, or had the Alliance somehow gotten wind of their attack?
The effect of the poison was too strong. Coughing and wheezing she felt her legs go out from under her. She fell, her back against the wall. She tried to lift her weapon but her limbs refused to obey.
Figures moved toward her, blurry and distorted in her failing vision. One stopped in front of her. Her vision cleared for a moment. Bram.
“Take her.” He barked.
Resa never felt the hands that lifted her. Her mind had already succumbed to the darkness.
Constantine felt her, had felt her at the first volley of gunfire. It’d taken ten long minutes to establish what was happening. She’d defied him. Convinced his troops that they were acting under orders from him, and launched an attack against the Alliance headquarters.
Now he could not sense her. Panic filled him. Was she dead? He had to find her.
His command center was abuzz by the time he entered. “Report!” he barked.
“Our forces are retreating per your order, my lord,” the Commander on Watch responded.
“The royal consort?” he asked.
“She has been captured.”
The room went silent, all eyes turned to him. Constantine felt his reality diminish to a void that held fast for what seemed an eternity then explode, swelling to engulf him. Bram had her.
“My lord, an incoming call,” a communication’s officer announced. “From Resa’s comm.”
“On speaker,” Constantine ordered.
“This is Constantine Belenus, crown prince of the D’Harahn, heir to the throne of Shadallah.” He used his most imperious tone, masking all traces of concern or fear.
A harsh laugh preceded the response. “This is Bram. I have your whore.”
“Release her and I will spare the lives of your people,” Constantine replied.
Again came the laugh. “I don’t think so, Vampyre. Surrender yourself along with Leonidas and Octavian and I’ll let the whore live.”
Constantine paused. He’d gladly trade his life for Resa’s, but there was no way he could agree to Bram’s terms. He’d never be able to deliver Leonidas and Octavian unless they volunteered.
This meant he had to ask for their help.
“What assurance do I have that you will honor these terms?”
Bram laughed. “Why my word, Prince. Isn’t that enough?”
“I will inform you of my decision within twenty-four hours.”
“You’ll inform me now, or I’ll kill her.”
“And I will rain hell down on every compound, house, building, and property under the control of the Alliance.”
There was a long pause before Bram responded. “Twenty four hours.”
The line went dead.
Constantine turned to Madron, standing behind him. “Contact Octavian and Leonidas to request a meeting to discuss détente.”
Madron nodded and pulled out his phone. Constantine turned and left the room. He could not let his people see that beneath the calm veneer he felt like a man being ripped apart.
He hurried to his private study and placed a call. Azarth answered on the second ring. “I must speak with her. Immediately. Bring her to me.”
“As quickly as possible,” Azarth replied.
Constantine put aside the phone and walked to stare from the window. Resa.
He put as much strength into his mental call as he possessed, desperate to reestablish connection with her.
There was no reply.
“My Lord?” The voice of his aide, Madron, had him turning toward the door.
“Azarth requests an audience.”
“Is he alone?”
“No, my Lord. The Mother Superior attends him.”
“Show them in.”
Constantine took a seat behind the desk. When dealing with the Mother Superior, he always felt a need to put as much distance between their physical proximity as possible.
The Mother Superior entered the room, followed by Azarth. As always, her beauty and the power of her presence stuck Constantine. “Welcome,” he said, standing and gesturing toward the soft leather chairs in front of the desk.
“Have you mounted a rescue mission?” She asked.
“That is not the reason I requested this meeting. I want to discuss the protection of my daughters.”
“At last you have seen reason,” she said in a smug tone. “Very well. Azarth and I have some thoughts.”
He was not surprised. Reminding himself that in this they were united, he listened to her outline her strategy. Within the hour it was settled. He, Azarth and the Mother Superior would combine their mental powers to alter his daughters’’ memories.
They would remember a childhood with a mother and father, but the faces they remembered would not be those of Constantine and Resa. Nor would they retain memories of one another.
They would be sent to live elsewhere, hopefully to finish their educations and live safe and happy lives until the truth could be revealed to them.
Watchers would be assigned to protect them and daily reports would be sent to Constantine. Knowing that Resa would, as the Earthlings were fond of saying, “hit the roof” when she found out what he’d done, it was agreed that he and Resa would play a role in their daughters’ lives, just not that of parents.
It would be difficult to manage, as the Alliance did their best to maintain surveillance on Constantine and his court, as did the other factions of V’Kar. Azarth and the Mother Superior argued strongly against it, but he held firm.
It was the best he could do
to allow Resa to maintain some contact with their children and still safeguard them.
Now, if only he were certain he would be able to get Resa back.
As if in answer to that thought, he felt her. If you even think of turning yourself over to Bram, I’ll kill you myself.
A smile rose unbidden to his face. How like her. To protect him she’d willingly die. He understood the depths of that kind of love. He just wasn’t going to let it happen.
*****
Resa winced as the darkness exploded with light. The cold cell she’d been locked in was without window and until now had been void of light.
She blinked against the glare of the lights that covered the ceiling. Obviously, this was one of the cells used to torture prisoners. She understood the technique, burying someone in darkness and allowing sounds to filter in. Sounds of people in pain. It raised the fear and anxiety levels to dangerous levels.
She ought to know. She’d once been guilty of employing that technique. Following the darkness, the victim would be subjected to light for more than thirty straight hours, accompanied by a lowering of the temperature that would have them shivering.
They would not sleep, would not be offered food or water. By the end of the thirty hours, when the actual physical torture began they would be severely weakened, easy to break.
It wasn’t going to work. She wouldn’t let them break her, or extract any information from her. Thanks to time she’d spent with Pandora, the name used on earth by the Mother Superior of V’Kar, Resa knew how to hide deep within her own mind.
She started slow deep breathing, preparing herself to go into mental hiding. However, not before sending a message to Constantine. She had to let him know that she lived. And that he could not agree to Bram’s terms. She’d overheard enough conversation as she was being transported to know that Bram was going to try and get Constantine to trade himself for her.
Resa would not allow that to happen. She wasn’t sure at the moment how she would prevent it, only that she would stop it. Her hand went to her belly. Your father must be protected. Help me.