Defender's Blood The Turning (An Urban Fantasy)

by A. K. Michaels

  For once, Viktor looked shocked at the tone in Thadius’s voice. Thadius wasn’t one to usually let his feelings be known. They carried on walking back to the office.

  Vlad got in his car and headed back to Zach’s bungalow – to his mate. He just wanted to hold her and lose himself in her scent. He badly wanted the scent of death out of his nostrils.

  He sighed and started the car. Soon ... he would hold her in a few minutes. He smiled and drove off.

  Chapter 7

  James had been driving for hours and hours, only stopping to refuel the vehicle. It was a large jeep, he loved it and worked on it in his garage back at Unity. Making sure it was always in tip-top shape and the engine was enhanced to his own specs.

  He had been thinking of Lisa for a long time, trying to work out his feelings. Any kind of feelings towards a female were alien to him now – he just hadn’t had any of those feelings since the incident which changed his life forever.

  Before, he had been a part of an elite unit ... always a pilot but so much more. He would fight alongside his comrades, go for drinks, go to parties … hell, he even had quite a few girlfriends and had been a member of several special ‘clubs’ where anything was possible. Nothing serious, just flings, but he had enjoyed life and then one day his life changed.

  On a mission to take down some rogue Vamps that had turned to being mercenaries for huge amounts of cash, a bomb exploded in close proximity to him. A booby trap set by those they were hunting. He was lucky to have lived through it. Even with his enhanced healing abilities he was badly scarred, flames had engulfed him and the fire had run down his throat as he had inhaled. Vlad and Zach had been there – they had beat out the flames, both getting burned in the process.

  They had carried him all the way back to the plane and got him back to their town. However, it was too late for the healers though, and no amount of fresh blood could save his body from the horrendous scarring he carried. It had been a miracle that he had survived at all ... or so everyone told him at the time.

  Burns in his airway had damaged his throat so that he now spoke in that raspy voice. One he hated to hear, so he didn’t speak a lot. He had only a few friends, through his choice. He felt uncomfortable around people now, and led a life more like a hermit. Lisa had made him feel something, he didn’t know what it was, but something was going on inside him.

  He sped up. Not long to the meeting place – she would be waiting there for him, she had promised, with a cheeky laugh on the phone. He sped up a bit more, with his Vampire abilities it wasn’t a problem, unless there were police about.

  Another mile, that’s what the sat nav said. Another mile and he would be at the meeting place. His stomach was clenching, would she be there?

  Fuck, for about the millionth time, he wished he didn’t look like a fucking monster from some horror movie. What would any girl see in him? Well he could be in their nightmares, he supposed.

  A friend, that’s all he was after, another friend. At least that’s what he was telling himself. He refused to think on anything other than that, he would only get hurt otherwise.

  Very soon, because of his speed, he rounded the corner and took the cut-off for the airstrip. In the distance, even in the dark, he could see someone standing. Well actually, kind of jumping up and down.

  As he drew closer, he saw Lisa. She was jumping in place and rubbing her arms up and down. Cold, she must be cold, James thought. He reached over and turned the heating up before he had even pulled to a stop.

  She ran to the passenger door, pulled it open and jumped in, a big smile on her face. James was struck dumb. Up close, in the waning light, he could see just how gorgeous she was. The hair a cross between black and brown, with red highlights in it. It was her eyes that he was staring at. They were the most incredible brown ... very dark, almost black but not quite.

  “Hi James, how’s you?” she asked, her voice sending a shiver through him.

  Talk, fucking talk you idiot, he was shouting to himself in his brain. “Uhm, hi Lisa – I’m okay – how are you – cold?”

  She nodded her head, “Yes, I was, out there. I was early so I’ve been standing around for a while.”

  “Oh, sorry, you should’ve texted me and I would’ve driven quicker. Who dropped you off?” he asked her.

  Her smile was radiant. “Nobody, I ran cross-country – it wasn’t that far.”

  James was shocked. Ran! The journey in a vehicle was around two hours, for Christ’s sake.

  He drove away and they continued talking. “You ran? You a marathon runner or something?”

  Lisa laughed and the sound was lovely in his ears. “No silly, I went Wolf, cross-country is less than half the distance. Didn’t take me that long.” She was still smiling and staring at him.

  He kept shooting glances at her, then at the road, and back again. God she was perfect, running for miles just to help him.

  He both saw and heard her nostrils flare as she took a deep breath in. He turned to look at her and she had a very weird look on her face, she covered it up quickly, smiling once more. What the hell was that? James thought.

  James could obviously smell her scent too, but he did it in a more subtle way. What he smelled, for some reason, was eliciting a response from an area that hadn’t seen any action in far too many years. He wriggled his behind a bit, trying to get more comfortable, and trying desperately to get rid of the hardness that was now in his jeans. What the hell was going on, he had no idea.

  Lisa started chattering away. She told him she had seen Zach earlier and that he was to phone before they went to the cabin, to ensure Lisa’s safety. Good, James thought, he didn’t want her in any danger.

  “So James – do you mind me asking you some questions?”

  James wondered what was on her mind. He shook his head, so she carried on. “I was just wondering about your scars, tell me to mind my own business if you want, but I thought Vampires could heal just about anything?”

  James was a little shocked, nobody asked him about his scars.

  He took a deep breath and spoke, maybe for the first time, about his scars. “Yes, Vampires have great healing abilities – that’s why I’m alive at all. It was a bomb, I was nearly on top of it when it detonated, then I was engulfed in flames. If I hadn’t been a Vampire I wouldn’t have survived at all, a Wolf most definitely wouldn’t have made it.” His raspy voice sounded horrible in his ears, but it didn’t seem to bother Lisa.

  “Oh, I see ... you must’ve been in a lot of pain ... James, I’m sorry that happened to you. It’s an awful thing. I hope the bastard that set the bomb got what he deserved.”

  James was taken aback, her words meant an awful lot, she seemed to care – and he didn’t know why. Just like he didn’t know why it meant a lot.

  James nodded, “Yeah, after Vlad and Zach put out the flames they carried me back to the plane. Luckily I wasn’t the only pilot. They got me home, then went back out afterwards to hunt them down. There were a few of the fuckers but Vlad and Zach got them all, none made it to a court though.”

  Lisa laughed. “Yeah I could see Zach doing that, he’s kind of intense isn’t he?”

  James chuckled, “Yeah you could say that. He’s got a lot on his mind now, what with Alex and the babies and everything.”

  “Babies, what babies?”

  So James told her the story. She gasped, laughed, and ‘oh my’-d her way through. When he finished she started talking again, quickly.

  “Holy hell – that is some story! A Vampire having kids … Demons, Fairies … shit, my life is soooooo boring!”

  James laughed loudly, something he didn’t do nearly enough. He felt totally relaxed in the jeep with Lisa, as if they were the only two people in the world, it was very weird.

  Lisa watched James laugh, she liked it, his scratchy voice sounded sexy to her ears. She was trying desperately not to like him too much. She once more thought about her father, and knew it would be useless, he would never agree to a Vamp
ire for her. However, her body wasn’t doing as it was told, her heart kept skipping beats, and the butterflies in her stomach were flying wildly about.

  James turned to ask her something and she looked into his eyes. God she loved his eyes, and she felt herself getting warm down in her jeans. Fuck, he was a Vamp, if he took a deep breath right now he would smell her arousal. Her face went bright red as she turned her head, trying to concentrate on the road in front.

  James wondered what had made her blush? Then it hit him – no – that can’t be right. He tried to breathe deep without letting her know … it was ... shit, she was aroused. The scent filled his nostrils and made him hard once again. He sneaked a peek at her and she was squirming in her seat.

  “So Lisa, are you mated yet?”

  What the hell – why did I just ask her that? What was he thinking? God he was an idiot and acting like some love-struck schoolboy.

  Lisa turned to look at him and she noticed a blush on his cheeks now, it’s not just me, she thought. She tried to talk in a normal voice, “Uhm no … my dad’s getting annoyed as I should have by now, but there’s nobody in the Pack I’m attracted to.”

  James processed that and felt happy. So she was available? Shut the hell up, his brain was telling him. Look at her ... she could have any male she wanted, why would she pick you? Scarface. But – he had smelled her arousal, so maybe she did like him.

  He took his foot off the accelerator, he wanted to slow down, make the journey longer. Lisa noticed them slowing and a smile crept onto her face.

  Lisa was so attracted to this Vampire. His smell was in her brain, she could find him anywhere just with that. She didn’t know what was happening to her body, but she actually moved in her seat, so she was a little closer to him.

  She was dying to kiss him, run her hands through his hair, make him feel soooo good. She knew she could do it, too. What would he do if she asked him to stop the jeep. Pull over, just to talk. Could she?

  Before she could even think, she opened her mouth. “Uhm James … would you mind stopping for a bit, we could get to know each other a little better, like talk and stuff?” Her voice had become quieter as she spoke, God if he said no she would die of embarrassment.

  What she heard was a gasp and the brakes being applied – rather too harshly. The back of the jeep nearly lost grip, James having to grapple with the wheel to keep it straight.

  The next moment they were parked and James had turned the engine off. He took a deep breath, then turned to face the Wolf sitting next to him. Her beauty was immense. Lisa had brought out a long-buried feeling inside him and he wasn’t sure if she felt the same. However, as he looked at her he saw the smile and slight blush to her cheeks. Shit, he hadn’t even touched her and she had him turned on.

  She undid her seatbelt and moved slightly further over – they were very close – and she did something that James would never have expected her to do. She leant over and pressed her lips to his. Very gently and probing with her tongue, he opened his mouth and took it inside. He raised a hand to behind her neck and pulled her closer. The kiss was passionate and something he had not done in a very long time.

  One of her hands raised up and stroked his face – over his scars. He stilled ... nobody had every touched those. She pulled slightly back and stared into his eyes.

  She continued to stroke his face, then bent forward slightly and kissed them. James sighed. What was this girl doing to him? He felt as if he was going to lose control.

  She kissed all over his face, before going back to his lips. The kiss was long, tongues darting in and out, as James put his hand down searching to release his seatbelt. He found it and when it released he moved into her body, his hands touching, one in her hair, one on her back pulling her even closer.

  James tried to regain control – shit she was young, he should know better. He pulled back and tried to get a little space between them.

  “Uhm Lisa, maybe this isn’t a good idea. You’re young ... probably too young ... and well, I can’t take advantage Lisa, it’s just not who I am.”

  She stared into his eyes and realised she was lost. She had to have him, not just for sex, she wanted him as her mate. The second she thought this, her Wolf howled in agreement. This was her mate, nobody else would do.

  She smiled into his face. “James, I am way past the age for mating and I’m probably not as young as you think. Anyway, I have no idea why, or how, but I want you – not just tonight. I mean I really want you. My Wolf is howling in glee in my head and, well, I have no fucking idea what the hell’s happening.”

  James could smell her, the arousal was so strong in the confines of the vehicle it was taking all his restraint not to rip her clothes off right here, right now.

  Her words, although nonsense, made sense to him, as he felt the same. Had felt it when he saw her the night before – he just hadn’t let himself believe it.

  He tried to talk her out of it once again. “Lisa! Look at me, I’m scarred ... and not just on the outside. I’ve not really lived since this happened. I’ve not had any, well ... no girls, since that day. It’s not something I thought could happen. For Christ’s sake, who would want to bring Scarface the Vampire home to meet the family? You’re young, gorgeous, sexy as fucking hell – you can have anyone you bloody want, you don’t want a Vamp that has all this baggage.”

  Lisa looked thoughtful, then nodded her head. “Afraid I do, James. My brain has no say in the matter, my body, my feelings and my Wolf have made the decision. I don’t give a damn about your scars – the ones on the outside, anyway. The ones on the inside you talk about ... I would like to help heal those for you. Would you let me do that, James?”

  His breath hitched and he desperately wanted to believe this could be so – could it?

  She reached over and ran her hand up and down the side of his face. “Please James, I don’t know if you know anything about Wolves but I know who and what you are. I couldn’t be happy with anyone else.”

  The tone of her voice was his undoing. He reached down and pushed the lever on his seat, moving it back as far as it would go, then he turned and pulled her towards him. She wiggled over and finally sat in his lap.

  “I hope you know what you’re letting yourself in for, little Wolf?” he said into her hair.

  She answered while kissing his neck, “I think I do and by the way, my Wolf is anything but little!”

  His hand grabbed the back of her hair as he pulled her head back then crushed his lips to hers, the passion of many years breaking free. His other hand ran up her side to cup a breast, and the whimpering noise she made nearly had him ripping her clothes off. He tried to restrain himself, he shook his head, trying to clear it. “No!” he said forcefully.

  Lisa looked stunned, what did he mean ‘no’?

  His gravelly voice spoke quietly. “No Lisa – I’m not taking you for the first time in a jeep by the side of the road. I’ll have you, Wolf, but not here, not like this.”

  She wiggled her bottom and could feel his hardness pressing into her. He wanted her, she knew – she didn’t care where they were. “Please,” she whimpered.

  He decided on a course of action. She wanted release so he would give it to her, but he wouldn’t take her here.

  He kissed her again, as he moved a hand under her clothes, when his hand touched her skin his resolution nearly left him. He tweaked her nipple and she cried into his mouth. He did it again and again, getting slightly harder each time, gauging her response, on a harder tweak she nearly broke apart in his arms. So, she didn’t mind him not being too gentle, good to know.

  His hands moved between them and undid her jeans, moving them slightly so he could get a hand inside and she did that little mewling noise again. Fuck that was sexy, he wanted to hear her purr like a pussycat. His hand moved down and grasped her, she was very warm and very wet, and once more he had to steel himself from just taking her there and then.

  His fingers entered her, his thumb circling her nub. She w
as moving her hips and trying to get more friction from his hand. He obliged and worked her up into a frenzy, she threw her head back and her throat was right there in front of him ... his fangs elongated but he fought to control them. No – that wasn’t something he was going to do. There would be no going back if he did.

  He worked his hand faster and she was very near … a little more and she reached a climax. He saw it start, felt it on his fingers and hand, watching as the feelings ran through her body, her face looking as if she was in ecstasy. She screamed at the top of her voice, digging her nails into him as she all but fell apart on his knee, and he smiled.

  She finally came down and looked at him, wonder in her eyes. She could barely speak but she tried. “James … what the hell ... I’ve never, ever, not ever felt like that. What the fuck did you do?”

  James smiled again and chuckled. “Something I plan on doing an awful lot of, Wolf ... making you come again and again and again. Just wait ’til it’s the real deal, then you will know what it should feel like!” He leaned forward and kissed her again, gently this time, he was still trying to get rid of the hardness in his jeans.

  Placing her onto her seat, she turned to him with a frown. “What about you, let me pleasure you.”

  James shook his head, “No Lisa. Once we have a bed or even a nice quiet piece of forest, then you will pleasure me, don’t worry about that Wolf. I’ll get my pleasure soon enough, just not here in a jeep at the side of the road.”

  She nodded her head slowly. “Okay, James, if that’s what you want. Thank you, I thought I was going to explode from being so aroused. Now … well, now I feel great!”

  James fixed his seat and fastened his seatbelt, making sure Lisa did too, then started the vehicle and pulled away, not quite believing what had happened. Did she really want him? He didn’t know for sure but his heart was saying yes.

  Lisa was looking out her window and she frowned. Holy fuck, how was this going to play out ... her father would go nuts! She wondered if she should maybe talk to her mom? Maybe, she thought, I’ll see. Not today anyway. She would see how things went first.