by J. R. Thorn
Glowering, I stomped up to him. “What have I done?” I hissed at him, not caring that my fangs probably made me look like a monster. “I did what it took in order to stop you.”
Apollo rested a hand on Derek’s shoulder. “He was only acting in my interests. If anyone is to take the blame, it is I.”
Hades snarled. “I care not about the incubi. Why, brother? Why, after all these years, do you seek to destroy me?”
Apollo’s face fell. “I intended to allow you to sleep. When the city would have succumbed to my control, then I would have made sure you were never to wake again. This world doesn’t deserve you, brother.”
Claws extended from Hades’ fingers. “I think you have that backwards, brother. This world deserves to be free of you.”
Stunned, I locked my knees as Hades moved so fast that no one could have stopped him. He gripped Apollo’s hair and twisted until his head popped clean off his body. Blood spilled onto the streets as the rest of him collapsed into a heap.
Derek’s blood drained from his face and for the first time, I realized he was afraid. He looked at me with hope in his eyes, but I clenched my jaw shut.
Hades considered him, but snarled. “Be gone from my sight, incubus. You will repay your failures by serving me now. Clean up your mess, or you will join my brother.”
Derek swallowed and bowed. “Yes, Hades. Thank you for your mercy.”
Xavier slipped a hand around my waist as we walked through the streets of Venice. Blood painted the walls red and horror scented the air, but when I came to the wolves gnawing on Derek’s men, I swallowed.
“It seems that your soulmate has found some new friends,” Xavier remarked with a tilt of his head.
Luke laughed as a pair of wolves tousled with him. Their gleaming blue eyes set them apart from regular beasts. The perfect silver sheen of their coats marked them as supernatural.
When Luke caught my gaze, his laughter faded, but his smile remained. “Werewolves,” he explained. He stood and brushed dirt from his trousers. “I’m going to London for a while,” he explained. “They said they can tell me about my father.”
Glancing at Xavier, he gave me a slight nod, and then I left the warm comfort of his embrace, trading his touch for Luke’s. I curled myself into him and fitted my nose to his neck.
But when I smelled the sweetness of his blood, my fangs extended.
Luke felt the cool danger pressed against his skin and flinched away from me. “So,” he said, running a thumb over my chin, “you’re his now.”
My eyes searched his and I hated that I had a ruby gaze that would look foreign to him. “I still remember us,” I persisted and gripped his forearms. “I still want us to be together.”
Luke glanced at Xavier. “You ask a lot of me.”
I kissed his cheek. “You always said you were willing to share me. Is that still true?”
He nodded. “Yes, Sonya. For you, I’d do anything.” The wolves barked and disappeared into the streets. Luke sighed. “But there is something that I must do for myself, first.” He pressed a sensual kiss to my mouth, leaving me breathless when he released me. “Go. Explore your heart with Xavier. Get to know your new family. When I find what I’m looking for, I’ll come back to you.” His touch ran up my cheek. “I promise.”
14
Epilogue
At first, I didn’t understand why Hades had let Derek go, but after a few months in Venice, I grew to understand the man that had raised my husband.
Xavier had grown into someone strong and kind, a man like his father. Hades didn’t believe in death, which was ironic for an undead vampire. It was how the vampiric power was born. The power of Blood, the most essential form of life in the universe, created the most powerful spell, a spell that could overcome even death.
To kill Apollo had broken something inside of Hades. I couldn’t imagine killing a brother. But it was something that had to be done. It wasn’t the first time that Apollo had betrayed his brother, but it would be the last.
“I still don’t think Hades should have let Derek go,” I complained as I leaned naked into Xavier’s embrace.
Our bed overlooked an orchard as field hands lazily drifted through the twisted branches and gathered their goods. It was one of my favorite homes that Xavier owned.
“He believes in second chances,” Xavier said, running his hand up my thigh and bringing heat to my abdomen. His kiss pressed against my neck which was still sore from his bite. He licked at the hurt, making shivers run through my body. My fangs extended in arousal, but I wanted to talk. “Do you think Derek will try and convince Ares to finish what Apollo started?”
Xavier sighed and slumped against me, but didn’t give up his attempts to make me turned into his kiss. His thumb ran circles around my nipple, making me shiver. “Perhaps. And if he does, Hades is awake this time. He’ll be ready for them.” He pinched and I squealed. “Or perhaps they’ll understand the mercy my father has given them, and become allies.
Giving in to his attempts, I ran my hand under the sheets and squeezed his erection. “Vampires aren’t what I’d imagined them to be.”
His hooded eyes watched me as I stroked him. “No? We’re not all monsters and savages?”
I smiled and rolled on top of him. Rubbing myself against him, I groaned with pleasure. “You’re quite refined, actually.” I shifted my hips and pushed him into me. His body tensed as my muscles contracted around him. “And thanks to you, I can have sex without feeding. I can do this,” I pushed him deeper into me and parted my lips in a soft gasp as the full length of him filled me, “and all I feel is pleasure.”
He wrapped his fingers around my hips and rolled me over him. “Then allow me to give you pleasure, my wife, today, tomorrow, and forever.”
Closing my eyes, I lost myself in Xavier’s promises.
But somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought of Luke, and wondered if he’d yet found what he was looking for, and when he would return to me, making my life complete.
Thank you for reading “Vampires in Venice!” Don’t worry, it doesn’t end here! Be sure to enjoy the epic conclusion in the next anticipated read in the Blood Stone Series: “Lycans in London.”
* * *
Be sure to join the J.R. Thorn Mailing list to be informed of new releases!
* * *
Click Here to Join!