by Mara Lee
Lothos hesitated only a moment before taking her hand. “Hello, I'm Lothos.”
“Lothos, may I introduce my brother, Matthew?” Michaela moved back to allow her brother to step forward and shake Lothos's hand.
Lothos swallowed. He had thought Xethre was the most disturbingly beautiful 'man' he had ever seen, but the dark twins surpassed even Xethre's deep beauty. Michaela's thick mane of hair was the jet black of a well of ink. Her eyes were a turbulent gray, like the cast of the sky on a storm-lit evening. She was slender with an abundant bosom, and had the complexion of Snow White on arsenic. Lothos felt pulled to her quiet beauty and had to shake his head to clear it of besotted thoughts. Lothos quickly turned his attention to Matthew, trying to drive Michaela's beauty from his mind—it was not a smart move. Matthew was as beautiful, if not more so, than his sister. Matthew shared his sister's dove white complexion, jet-black hair and slim build. But his eyes were meridian blue, so fathomless and deep that Lothos thought of the sea. He said nothing but Lothos could 'hear' him in his head, calling to him, beckoning him forth.
“STOP!” Ethenia rushed forward, planting herself between Lothos and Matthew. She bared her teeth and growled.
Lothos blinked. What had just happened?
“You will not do that again,” Ethenia said. Her voice brooked no argument. She was glaring at the twins.
Michaela began to speak and looked surprised when her brother cut her off.
“I apologize, that was indeed rude of us. We sometimes forget ourselves. Our power is such that it seeks an instrument to ensnare. We should not have tried it on your mate.”
Lothos suddenly understood, and was aghast. The vampires had used compulsion on him. They had tried to mind-ensnare him. He felt anger burn a slow path through his body. The twins' beauty was intoxicating, but what he had felt moments before had been like a drug. He had felt a great weight pulling him towards them, a deep need to be with them. He should have known they were trying something on him.
Sophie saw the anger in Lothos's eyes and the snarl the curled Ethenia's mouth and knew that this could all go to hell in one moment's time. She did not feel like getting blood out of her carpet tonight. “Lothos, darling, they have apologized.” Sophie turned to Matthew and Michaela then, “You are sincerely sorry for what you just did, are you not?”
Both Matthew and Michaela nodded.
“Lothos, you do not understand the nature of their power. I do not believe they meant to ensnare you. When their power has lain dormant for too long it reaches out and seeks a home. You were the first to receive a taste of their power.”
Lothos looked unconvinced but nodded slowly, showing his reserve.
Michaela stepped forward and gently touched Lothos's brow. She ignored Ethenia's growl and pointed stare and turned Lothos's face gently towards her. It was there, the beast. This was a man who had barely begun to tap into his power and when he came into his own they had best all step back.
Lothos swallowed but did not move. Michaela held him captive with her eyes. This time, she used no compulsion—just her, just her eyes and wild power. He remained still and let Michaela probe him.
“Get your hands off of my mate!” Ethenia literally shivered with anger.
Michaela laughed and with a gesture that surprised the other woman, brought her other hand up to cup Ethenia's cold face. She leaned into the pair and studied the tense lines of their beautiful faces.
“You, alpha, your power is wild, but when controlled will be fearsome to behold. And you,” Michaela graced Ethenia with a beatific smile, “are just beginning to find your mettle. Such a pair you are. Run the wind together, and you will never know loneliness.” Michaela kissed Lothos full on the mouth and then did the same for Ethenia. These two did not realize how lucky they were to have found one another. How lucky they were to be mated. She pulled back and graced them with a smile. “I suggest we either retire for the evening, or find a bottle of wine we can polish off.”
* * * *
Sophie heard the creaking of wood and knew that the dark twins were still awake. Lothos and Ethenia had taken Michaela's advice, and retired. Xethre and Venus had snuck away for some playtime and Sophie had taken to her bed with a glass of wine and a good book.
But now she heard it, the steps on the floorboards above her. The dead could walk whisper soft, but Michaela and Matthew made no move to shield their restless nature. Their feet dug into the wood, wore a groove through the soft floor, and Sophie ached for them, ached for the lonely children she knew them to be. They were power, beauty and dominance, and they were alone. That same all-consuming power set them aside from others, made them different and forced them to walk alone, separate. Mortals feared them, and the dead shuddered in their wake. They were strange entities, the undead that ruled the dead. Sophie knew one thing—all creatures feared the dark twins. And thus, it was a life of solitude for them. They had one another and no one else. And although it helped the burden to have each other, they could not keep each other warm on cold nights. Sophie could feel their pain and longing, and wished to ease some of their hurt.
Sophie slipped out of bed, lit a candle and began to make her way upstairs, to the room where Michaela and Matthew now lay. She would offer them blood and comfort, for she could offer them nothing else.
Chapter Ten
Ethenia smiled against Lothos's chest. She could hear his heartbeat steady and strong under her and it warmed her to the bone. She ran her hand gently down his body and thrilled at the feel of him. Hers, her beautiful mate. She had given up hope that such a wondrous gift could be bestowed upon her. She had given up hope that she could have an amouratesh. And yet here he was—her bond-mate, the other half of her soul.
Ethenia leaned up on her elbow and drank in Lothos's sleeping features. He was all hard lines and planes, a contrast of slashing brows and soft skin. He was beautiful. She brought her body flush against his and leaned over to lick his nipple. It went pebble hard under the wet warmth of her tongue and she smiled, lovingly laving it with her tongue. She rolled the taut pebble in her mouth, learning the feel and texture of him and was not surprised when she heard the growl that he emitted or felt his hand wind itself through her lush hair.
“Ethenia…” Lothos breathed her name roughly.
Ethenia released his nipple and deftly straddled his body. She worked herself down his length, all the while licking a path across his bronzed skin. When she reached his belly button she stiffened her tongue and speared it in. She was rewarded by a harsh moan and the thrust of his hips. She stilled his restless limbs with her cool, delicate hands and continued to plunder. When he began to shudder she slipped her tongue out and inched seamlessly down his body, until her mouth was level with his engorged cock.
“So beautiful,” Ethenia murmured, and laved the length of his stiff cock. She smiled when it leapt under her tongue. “Down,” she whispered, almost chastising. Ethenia dug her hands into Lothos's muscular thighs and wrapped her lips around him. In one swoop she took him to the root. She reveled in his length, and strength, and loved how he hit the back of her throat, almost painfully. She relaxed her jaw and let her soft, thick lips move their way across his aching flesh. Lothos's hips jerked in reflex and Ethenia dug her nails in further—he was not about to escape her torture.
Lothos felt the fire deep in his belly. His muscles were constricting and his head and heart were pounding in rhythms unknown to him. The feel of Ethenia's lips around his cock was a pleasure so acute it was almost pain. She was achingly soft and hot, and every time she moved her head up and over he could hear the slurp and suction her mouth made when it released his hard flesh.
Lothos twined his hands within her hair and pushed her brutally against him. He groaned and gasped when she but slackened her mouth and took him deeper still. He jerked his hips up and dug his feet into the mattress for leverage. She was killing him with this loving assault.
“Ethenia, my love, I can't … It is too…”
“Much
?” Ethenia released him for but a moment, and caught his stare. “It is never too much. I want it all, my love.” And with those words she took him to the hilt. When she felt him shudder and jerk she knew that it was time to unleash it all. She began to hum, slowly, letting the vibrations pulse off of his skin. She knew he felt each tickle of sensation as she let the sweet drops of his juice slide off her tongue. He was ready and she wanted it. “Lothos, let go,” Ethenia sucked harder, alternating between pulling and caressing his hard flesh. She felt him stiffen and pulse. His body jerked twice and with a great roar he released himself into her mouth.
Ethenia swallowed and licked her lips slowly. She had wanted it all, and he had not disappointed. Ethenia smiled when she saw Lothos's sated expression. Did he think it was over? Her poor amouratesh had a lot to learn about his new mate, as she changed position.
Lothos watched the gleaming form of his bond-mate above him and felt his heart swell. She was so beautiful, his love.
Ethenia's legs were clamped around his thighs and she was riding him. Her back was arched and her glorious breasts were laid out for his attention. Her face was twisted in ecstasy and she was clawing at him, like a good Loopin.
Lothos cupped Ethenia's breasts and pinched her nipples—they were two hardened berries ready to burst at his touch. Moving his hands down he grabbed her ass and shifted upwards so that he could surround her nipple, that hard flesh, with his mouth. He laved, licked and bit, loving the cries that she made from deep within her throat. Her sweet pussy was milking his cock and her sweeter cries were caressing his ears.
“Oh, ohhhhh…”
Ethenia felt Lothos pulsing within her and longed for more. She wrapped her arms around his head and drove his mouth against her breast. She wanted to feel his teeth scrape and gnaw against her tender flesh just as she felt his cock plunder the folds of her welcoming sheath. Her pussy was aching—each pulse driving her closer to the edge of the abyss.
Lothos bore her back, and Ethenia squeaked when her naked back made contact with the soft cool sheets of the bed. She gasped when, without breaking contact, he spread her legs open and wide and pushed more deeply within her.
Only content for a moment with such a position, Lothos hooked Ethenia's legs around his neck and shuffled closer to her. He covered her soft plump breasts with his large hands and began to pump furiously. Each pump brought him closer to the release that he craved, the release that they both craved.
Ethenia felt her breath hitch in her throat. He was so beautiful. Sweat was pouring off of his face and down, in shallow rivulets across his body. His eyes were two pools of clouded light and his mouth was twisted in glorious lines. He was in his element, so primal and breathtakingly furious in his lust. She locked her legs more tightly around his neck and relaxed her inner pussy muscles. The moment she did this she felt him slide deeper still. Her back arched and her breasts pushed upward in his rough hands.
Ethenia felt the jump of his cock and felt her own muscles spasm in response. She could not hold it in if she wanted to—she screamed—the sound wrenched from her throat like a cathedral bell. Her legs stiffened and tensed just before they dropped like jelly to his shoulders. Her back slumped, and head fell, only the comfort of the bed catching her descent. Ethenia felt the glorious tingle of her pussy as the glow of release still wracked her body and she smiled a brilliant smile just before she claimed Lothos's lips in a kiss.
* * * *
Michaela gently closed the door. They were so beautiful—the two mated Loopin. She had not been able to resist when she had heard and smelled the scents of sex. She had made her way to their room and watched as they had worshipped one another. She knew that this was what she longed for. What her brother Matthew longed for. A mate, a companion in the darkness. No one could understand what it was like to be so alone. Not Xethre, with his pretty playthings, nor Sophie with her captivating charm and mortal persuasion. No, only Matthew and she knew the truth—that loneliness was the true cup of death. Nothing killed faster than the emptiness.
Michaela's eyes narrowed. The bitterness of truth ate at her. Even their own kind stayed clear of them. They were afraid of the darkness that traveled in their wake. So they were condemned to a life, and afterlife, of aching solitude.
Michaela laughed, but it was a dry laugh. “And the night knows no end,” she whispered.
“But for the brief reprieve of a cloudless dawn, a dawn that no dark can see.” Sophie said from behind her.
Michaela did not turn around. “You read it?” It was more statement than question.
Michaela fought down the lump in her throat. There was a time when the pain of solitude and loneliness had threatened to take her down. She had channeled her anger and hurt into writing and had composed 'The Night Eulogy', a collection of poetry that had eased her suffering. It was a great surprise to her when her work took off and her small collection of poems had become the rage. She had not known what to do with her success and the accolades and had promptly stopped writing. She had not picked up the pen in nearly thirty years.
Sophie sighed. “Of course, I own it, Michaela. It is beautiful work.”
Michaela snorted.
“I mean it. You can read the truth in me.” Sophie stared at Michaela's unflinching back and ached to hold her.
Sophie had slipped into the dark twins' room and had offered them blood and comfort. Both had accepted, gratefully, but when Sophie had risen from a brief sleep, she found Michaela gone. Somehow she had known this was where she would find her. The dead longed for light, for a touch of dawn in their bleak night—they often found such warmth in the living.
Yes, Sophie was not surprised that Michaela had come to the Loopins' room. She was not surprised that she had watched, wanted and bitterly envied the closeness they had. She was only surprised that Michaela had not joined Venus and Xethre. Those two would have welcomed her presence. Instead she chose the mated pair, the two that would know no other.
“I seek that which I cannot have,” Michaela said in response to Sophie's raging thoughts.
Sophie nodded, understanding. If Michaela could not have the love and companionship of a mate, she would take it in vicariously through those who shared such warmth.
“The dawn draws near, Michaela.”
Michaela nodded, “Yes, I know. I can feel it.”
“Then come, let me bring you a peaceful slumber.”
Michaela allowed Sophie to draw her away from the Loopin's room. She allowed her to tuck her in, much as a mother would do for her child, and even allowed the chaste kiss that Sophie placed on her forehead. But Sophie knew that Michaela would not be allowed a peaceful slumber—that was never possible. Dawn brought the cold hand of sleep to Michaela, always harsh and merciless, another death at the breath of dawn. There was no peace in sleep for the beautiful dark one. It saddened Sophie but she could not help what she could not change.
Chapter Eleven
Kieran felt the sweat, as it trickled down his forehead and bathed his nose. He felt the brutal stare of the sun and the brisk coolness of the air, but neither did anything to damper his rising fury.
She was here. His bitch was here.
“Thought I wouldn't find you, didn't you, stupid Loopin,” Kieran muttered. He had followed Ethenia from France to this remote wood in the Americas. How he hated this place. How he hated her. She had thought to leave him. She had the audacity to try to run from him. Him. No one ran from him. He was Kieran, Pack Alpha, leader of all … and one day soon, everything.
Kieran watched the house with knowing eyes. They were all there, his Loopin and her ragtag assemblage of friends. They thought that they could surprise and attack him. But he would be the one to take them unawares. They had no idea of the power that he wielded. He would smite them all, and make his bitch watch the slaughter. It was no less than she deserved for her insolence. And when he got Ethenia back to Marseilles her true punishment would begin.
Kieran smiled. He was greatly looking forward to inf
licting that punishment upon her. He couldn't wait to hear her beg. She had always begged so beautifully.
He dropped low to the ground and sniffed the dirt, rearing back when he scented the unfamiliar—death. He smelled death.
“What sort do you mix with now, bitch?” Kieran murmured, cheek resting casually against the soil.
Kieran knew that Ethenia was ensconced within this quaint home with more of their kind. He could smell Loopin in the air. Indeed, he smelled the rich aroma of Lupe. Now that was a find. Perhaps he would not kill everyone—perhaps he would take Ethenia and this unknown Lupe back to Marseilles with him. Lupe were very rare and he was in need of one for his Pack.
He was not concerned with the mortal stench that permeated the area. Mortals, bah, they should all be exterminated. Life was a food chain, and mortals were at the bottom. It mattered little to him how many mortals were within, he would rid himself of them easily enough. But the smell of death—that he could not ignore. What were the dead doing in this home with his runaway bitch?
* * * *
“Sophie, something's wrong.” Ethenia pulled back the curtain from the kitchen window and peered outside.
She had come to the kitchen to take tea with Sophie, but the moment she had entered the kitchen she had felt a great weight in her head. Her heart was racing. She knew something was not right. She felt it in her bones and she could smell the stench of evil.
Sophie rubbed Ethenia's shoulder comfortingly. “Shhhhh now, you are all tense.”
“Sophie, I'm telling you—something is not right.”
“How can you tell?”
Ethenia sighed and rubbed her weary eyes. “I smell it in the air. Trouble. Please, Sophie, believe me.”
Sophie nodded. “All right, I'm going to the workroom to see if I can conjure up some rudimentary seer spell. Find Lothos and Venus and tell them to be on the lookout, I think they're sparring upstairs.” Sophie sighed. “Unfortunately our dead friends will not be much help to us, as nightfall is a good two hours away.”