The blood flow lessened and Aubrey lifted her wrist to her own mouth, sealing the wound with a swipe of her tongue.
His body humming with satisfaction and weighed down by the blood and venom in his system, he allowed his eyes to close.
“I love you, Seth. I’ll be with you the entire time. I love you, so much.”
He wished he could reassure her that he would be fine, but before the thought had completed, he slipped into darkness.
Chapter Fifteen
Aubrey
Aubrey glanced at her cell phone charging on the nightstand for the twelfth time in the past hour, and wondered whether she should just call Liv and Kai for moral support. It had been thirty-two hours since she introduced her venom and blood into his system. In that time, he showed no signs of pain or discomfort, managing to sleep peacefully during the transition.
She could feel his confusion when she had delivered the venom to his system, not drinking from him, as he expected. But she didn’t know whether the blood loss would affect his transition by weakening his body, and she couldn’t chance his transition on her thirst.
She had gone without blood for two days, and knowing how Seth tasted, she wasn’t willing to take a chance being alone with him and not feeding. Without leaving Seth’s side, she had called Cole earlier that evening and asked him whether he could drop off several days’ worth of blood. Of course, her friend had agreed immediately.
She had told Cole that she had turned the perimeter alarms off and where she hid the key to Seth’s house, and it wasn’t long before she could sense Cole’s presence close to her.
He sat the insulated pack near her chair, and she blew out a relieved breath. Soon, she would eat. But something about Cole pulled her from thoughts on her thirst. Before she could look over at him, she could feel his happiness, and without turning her eyes from Seth, she smiled.
“Is Simon the real deal?”
“Yes. I’m in love with him. Simon is the most caring man I’ve ever met, and we’ve been spending all of our free time together. He’s decided to move his charity to Snowfall to be with me. He told me this morning that he loves me and can’t live without me.” Cole’s last few words came out choked with emotion.
Aubrey pulled her friend into a hug, her hands rubbing up and down his back as he relaxed into her hold. He had always taken care of her and all she wanted was for him to be happy. This time, he had a shot at that happiness and she would be supportive while keeping her skeptical thoughts to herself. She would have to meet Simon soon.
“I hope that we can get together soon. I would love to meet him.”
“We will. How’s he doing?” Cole glanced at Seth, lying still in bed.
She blew out a worried breath and glanced up at Cole. “Liv gave me some morphine in case he’s in pain, but he hasn’t shown any signs over the last day and a half. And since the transition varies from person to person, and circumstance to circumstance, I have no idea how long he will be in this state.”
Cole pressed his fingers against Seth’s neck, silently counting each pulse for a minute. Nodding at the results, he pressed his head against Seth’s chest and listened to his breathing. When he turned back to her, his smile reassured her.
“He’ll pull through just fine, sunshine. He has everything to live for.”
Cole pulled her into a long hug. His scent and warm embrace comforted her and she let her shoulders relax as he continued his embrace.
“I love you, Cole. I’m so grateful that you are in my life.”
“Love you, too, sunshine.” With one last squeeze, Cole walked toward the bedroom door. “See you soon, and try not to worry too much.”
After listening to Cole drive away from the house, she settled back into the chair next to the bed and reached for Seth’s hand, linking their fingers together. She pulled out a blood bag, carefully closing the pack that held her next few meals, and sunk her fangs through the plastic. The taste revolted her, but she needed the sustenance. So she continued drinking, shutting off her mind as she traced Seth’s face with her eyes, seeking any signs of discomfort. With the last pull from the bag, she wiped the blood that dribbled down her chin and tossed the emptied bag in the trash and turned back to scanning Seth’s vitals.
Two hours after she fed, a movement from Seth had her at full attention. It had been subtle, so at first she thought that she’d imagined it. But when she looked closer at his face, she noticed that his brows drew down a second before his face relaxed. She searched for a long few minutes, but couldn’t see any other displays of change. She debated with herself whether his move had been because of a dream or whether he felt pain for the first time.
Her eyes perused the rest of his body. When she noticed his fists clenched at his side, a spear of pain pierced her chest and she felt the tears in her eyes. She placed her hand on his forehead and spoke quietly, waiting to see whether he would relax at her words. When she moved back to survey him, his hands hadn’t loosened and he gritted his teeth as his back arched slightly off the bed. With jerky movements, she retrieved the vial and needle from the bedside table and drew the amount Liv had told her to use, making sure no bubbles were visible in the syringe. Her fingers sought the vein in his right arm and with sure movements, she injected the morphine into his system.
Seth settled back onto the bed and his muscles relaxed, but Aubrey reached for her phone and called Kai.
“Aubrey?”
“I’ve given him a dose of the morphine, just now.”
Something in her voice must’ve alerted him to her distress. “Do you want Liv and me to—”
“Yes, please.”
Unable to leave Seth for a shower to look presentable to Kai and Liv, she changed into some clean clothes, never wandering far from Seth.
Not for the first time since they had talked about Seth’s transition, she wondered whether Seth would believe that she was worth all the pain that the transition brought. But in the end, she realized that she couldn’t live without Seth and his transition would’ve happened anyway. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
For the first time since Seth had slipped into a deep sleep, Aubrey exited the bedroom when she heard the crunch of car tires outside. The moment she opened the door, Aubrey launched herself at Liv and shook with worry, grateful that they were here.
“It will be okay. He’s strong and he wants to be with you. He’ll pull through.”
“Thank you for coming.”
Kai pulled her in for a long hug, his scent already familiar and calming. She led the way back to the bedroom where Seth hadn’t moved since she’d been gone. There were no signs of the pain she’d witnessed earlier, but she stood back as both Kai and Liv searched for any signs of trouble.
“What happened to make you give him the morphine?”
She explained everything that she witnessed and mentioned his reaction after she’d given him the shot.
“Good. It seems like that pain wasn’t overwhelming, but the morphine eased him back into a restful sleep.”
Aubrey leaned into Liv, grateful that she hadn’t fucked anything up.
“When was the last time you slept?” Liv’s voice carried the weight of her concern.
“Um…” Aubrey couldn’t actually remember. Three days, maybe.
“You’ve watched him the entire time, haven’t you? Did you feed?” Kai’s voice was incredulous.
“Cole brought me some blood bags. I’ve been fine, just worried that I hurt him unnecessarily.”
Liv hugged her. “You need to sleep. We’ll stay here and watch over him and wake you the minute anything changes.”
Aubrey held Liv’s gaze for several long seconds before she nodded, agreeing that she needed to get some sleep. She had to keep up her strength because when Seth awoke, he would need to feed from her.
“Okay.” Moving the love seat over to the foot of the bed, Aubrey curled in the corner and rested her hand on Seth’s foot.
Liv and Kai both gave her a warm look and
she smiled back. “Thank you, for everything.”
She hoped that Seth would wake strong and healthy. The last thing she remembered was Hades cuddling up in his favorite spot and Liv’s fingers running through her hair as she finally drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
Seth
The transition between unconsciousness and awareness happened rapidly. He blinked open his eyes and noticed the stillness in the room, as if he were alone. But that wasn’t quite right. He could sense people in the room, but was unsure whether one of them was Aubrey.
The last thing he remembered before he fell asleep was Aubrey’s worried face hovering above his. He tried to dredge up the words she said before he was pulled under the darkness, but he couldn’t remember. With a flare of panic, he flung his feet off the bed. His head whipped side to side as he scanned the room, but was unable to sense or see Aubrey anywhere near. He tensed his muscles the moment he stood, ready to search the house for her, but familiar arms wrapped around him and held him tightly to his chest.
“Kai?”
“It’s okay, kid. She’s asleep. Look at the foot of your bed.”
In a second, he found Aubrey curled up on the love seat, sound asleep. Hades blinked at him from his perch between Aubrey’s neck and the arm of the love seat, before closing his eyes and going back to sleep. Relief flooded through him as he listened to her breathing, deep and near silent, and his legs gave out on him. Kai lowered him back onto the bed and sat next to him, keeping his arm around his shoulders.
“She hadn’t slept for three days while she worried about your transition. She thought you were in pain and gave you a dose of morphine about four hours ago. It seemed to work. You settled back to sleep. Liv convinced her that she needed to be rested before you awoke.”
Seth glanced at Kai for the first time since he’d awoken and watched his familiar silver eyes widen in surprise. Seth gripped his forearm; his body tensed immediately, sensing Kai’s stress.
“What’s wrong?”
Kai pulled him into a tight hug. “Nothing’s wrong. I didn’t realize that I would miss your brown eyes this much. But it’s still you. You are the son I never had and I’m happy that you found your mate.”
“Thanks, Kai. That means the world to me.” He swallowed his tears and hugged Kai back.
Sniffling pulled them back to the present. When Seth glanced up, Liv wiped the tears from her cheeks as she smiled brightly at the two of them. Seth stood and grabbed her hand, pulling her into a hug before Kai wrapped his arms around both of them. He couldn’t help but feel grateful for his family and his mate. He absorbed all the warmth and the love from the two people who changed his life by just knowing them.
“I love you both, very much.”
“We love you, too, kid.” Kai’s eyes were glazed with tears as he stepped back and pulled Liv to his side.
Liv squeezed his hand before they turned toward the door. “We’ll give you some time to yourselves. We’ll see you soon.”
Seth nodded and watched as they disappeared through the door. He didn’t even bother to listen to their departure, knowing that as long as they had each other they would be fine. Instead, he turned and walked to his mate. Hades sensed that they needed time alone and with a huge stretch and a purr, hopped down and sauntered out of the bedroom.
As he knelt in front of Aubrey, he wondered whether he should wake her or let her sleep. In the end, he traced every inch of her face with his gaze, memorizing the face he loved most in this world. Aubrey was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known, and she was his. His mate and the love of his life. There wasn’t any thought that settled him more than that one.
Unable to keep his distance from her any longer, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. Her eyes opened immediately and he sucked a breath as he spotted the gray flecks sprinkled throughout her silver irises that he’d never seen while human. They were even more beautiful to his enhanced vision.
“You’re okay. This isn’t a dream, is it?”
“No, gorgeous, it’s not a dream.”
Lifting her into his arms, he dropped back down on the love seat and settled her on his lap. He nipped at her bottom lip, drawing a loud moan from her, before he kissed her breathless. The kiss was desperate, yet it conveyed to the other how much they were loved.
She shifted onto his lap, straddling his thighs, and he absorbed the hot, wet heat that he could feel through their layers of clothing. Without waiting another moment, he used his newly acquired strength to rip their clothes off in record time. He abandoned their torn clothing onto the floor before he ran his hands up and down her body. He savored the silky skin of her soft belly, around to appreciate the curve of her spine, before he lowered his hands to cup her exquisite ass.
“More.”
Her breathless plea severed his taut control. He lowered his fingers that gripped her hips at her words and brushed against her core to test her readiness for him. He found her wet and ready for him.
Without a word, he lifted her into his arms and carried her back to bed, laying her on top of the covers as he draped his body over hers. He hissed in pleasure; she opened her legs and his cock brushed against her wetness. He gathered her in his arms and thrust his hips forward, sheathing his cock deep inside her and capturing her mouth in a scorching kiss.
He found that instead of concentrating on one thing at a time like he had when he had been human, as a vampire he became aware of everything, all at once. Her skin glowed with each movement she made under him. Her pupils were dilated and he found that he missed the gray flecks he’d discovered earlier. Her moans were intermingled with her exhales, and when she gasped in pleasure, it shivered over his spine and drove him deeper with need.
Before he realized her intent, she brushed her long hair behind her ear and exposed her neck to his view. He knew the fundamentals of what he needed to do, but when presented with the realities of it, his mouth watered in anticipation. With ease, he picked out exactly where he needed to pierce her skin, and when he pressed his tongue against her skin and licked against the vein, he growled as he truly tasted her. Her answering moan encouraged him to continue. Using the utmost care, his fangs broke through her skin. The moment her blood touched his tongue, he moaned as the sweetest, most satisfying flavor he’d ever tasted rushed into his mouth and down his throat.
Aubrey drove her hips up and he sank his cock deeper as he drank. With a few strokes, she tensed against him and screamed her release. Not wanting to hurt her in any way, he pulled his teeth from her neck and closed the punctures with a swipe of his tongue.
When she returned the favor and numbed his neck, curses flew from his mouth. Shivering in anticipation, she didn’t make him wait long before she pierced his skin and drank from him. Overwhelmed by the depth of sensations that rushed through his body, he stilled above her as he gathered her in his arms. His release slammed into him as she drew one last pull, and for a long moment, his vision had faded to black as he gasped for breath.
“Seth, are you okay?”
Focus snapped back at her words and without responding, he captured her mouth in a slow, languid kiss.
“I love you, Aubrey. I’m sorry I worried you, but I didn’t feel any pain during my transition. I was fighting through a daze to get back to consciousness and to you.”
“I love you. So much. I’m glad you’re okay.”
He held her tight against his chest. “So, when are we going to get married? The sooner the better, I say.”
Chapter Seventeen
Aubrey
Aubrey smiled at her husband of six hours as the lavish party the assassins threw wound down. She laid her head on his shoulder and reflected how much her life had changed in such a short amount of time.
She had gotten to know and love Seth’s family over the past month, loving how dedicated they were to one another. Although she had fallen in love with Kai, Liv, and the others, she had grown closest to Xander. She found him to be brilliant
at all things technical, but because of his analytical mind, he thought of all things as black and white. And because he hadn’t found a mate, he figured that he had missed the opportunity to find a mate or she had died. Although all she had was her words of encouragement and her belief that all of the assassins had a mate, Xander had believed her. They still talked about it, but Xander was more relaxed than he had been before and the sadness she’d noticed the first time they met had vanished.
Cole had finally introduced Simon, and Aubrey found Cole’s boyfriend to be genuine in his feelings for her best friend. Simon couldn’t help concealing the love he had for Cole each time he looked at him, and for the first time since she’d met Cole, she relaxed in knowing that he would be okay.
During the rehearsal for the wedding, Cole and Simon had been introduced to Seth’s immortal family. It had been comical to see Cole’s reaction to meeting the group of shifters and vampires.
“Is this a magazine cover shoot or have I died and gone to heaven?”
The immortals all laughed, quite used to the stunned reactions when first introduced, and talked and joked with Cole and Simon throughout the night and into the early morning.
As she took in the sight in front of her, her entire family gathered in one place, she relaxed against Seth’s chest.
“Thank you.”
Seth’s arm tightened around her and he smiled. “What for?”
She glanced around again, smiling at the people she loved most in the world. “For everything.”
Days before the wedding, she found herself more anxious to become Seth’s wife than nervous. When she awoke the evening of the ceremony, her anxiety gave way to happiness. The simple, yet emotional ceremony took place in the courtyard behind Kai’s house, surrounded by white peaked mountains and beautiful pine trees. Having everyone she loved gathered together on the tremendous fall night was as close to perfect as she’d ever dreamed. She had managed to quell her tears until the minister announced that they were man and wife, but when she kissed Seth, her husband, for the first time, her tears welled over.
Seth (Dark Assassins #2.5) Page 8