The rest of the shifters eyed me warily as they consulted each other. “If we were anywhere but here, you’d all be dead. Now, run away.” I bared my bloody fangs at them and snarled.
The shifters looked down at the raven and then to their injured friends. Most of them were smart and scattered. The first shifter I had bitten, though, still wanted more.
“You picked a fight with the wrong people.” I heard the sickening sound of his bones cracking under his skin. The idiot was actually taking the time to shift into something that I would enjoy riding like a wild stallion.
The second his fur poked out of his skin, I leapt forward, grabbed his head and took him to the ground with me, slamming his face into the dirt.
Jumping to my feet, I dusted off my hands and looked at the shifters on the ground, who were still able to move. “Are we done here?”
Their groans and murmurs answered my question. Flipping them off, I continued towards the sea.
I had made it a few steps away from the clearing when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I grabbed the hand, prepared to throw whoever was stupid enough to keep fighting into a tree.
“Wait.” Hearing the man’s plea, I turned around to stare into the face of the exhausted raven shifter.
I let go of his hand and took a step back. “Sorry, I guess I should have checked on you. It’s been a long time since I’ve saved someone. I’m used to walking away from my enemies to let them succumb to their injuries. I’m not great with first aid, so I didn’t think to check on you.”
Holding his side, he grimaced. “It’s okay. I’m just grateful that you came to my aid. I really thought they were going to kill me. I’m Talen.” He attempted to regain some of his dignity by rising to his full height despite the pain. “Tell me. What do you I owe you, vampire?”
He was over 6” tall with wavy jet-black hair. His dark eyes would’ve been beautiful if they weren’t narrowed in pain. His full, smooth lips were covered in blood. I scanned his school uniform to find numerous rips and tears revealing more bloody cuts. From the way he stood, I could tell that he had a few broken ribs and his leg was bruised badly enough that he had trouble putting pressure on it.
“You owe me nothing, Talen.” I slowly backed away, still eyeing his bloody cuts. Though I’d drank my fill, I was still craving fresh, warm blood. It would be rude to accidentally kill the person I’d just saved. “It wasn’t a fair fight. I’m guilty of many things, including slaughtering those who didn’t deserve it, but I hate it when people gang up on each other. Consider this my first step in making amends for my past deeds.”
He tried to take a step forward, but faltered. “Please. I would rather know your price now than find out later at an inopportune moment. In my experience, no one is altruistic enough to fight that many opponents without asking for something in return. Name your price.” He stiffened as he braced for whatever form of payment I would request from him.
I stepped forward and took hold of his arm to steady him. “You understand the way of the world, which means you are not naïve. I can appreciate that. Answer my questions while I tend to your wounds and we will be even.”
He blinked a few times as he tried to figure out what game I was playing. When I didn’t press my advantage, he finally nodded and loosened his arm so that I could pull it closer to me.
Leaning over the tear in his sleeve along his forearm, I looked up through my lashes at his face. “Why are you in reform school?”
Wetting his lips, he swallowed. “I trusted the wrong person. I fell in love with a married woman, but I didn’t know that at the time. Her husband was a wealthy landowner with political influence. He wanted to sentence me to death, but thankfully, I was sent to reform school instead.”
I nodded, accepting his answer and extended my tongue to lick the blood off his arm. I watched his mouth fall open as I slowly ran my tongue over his skin. He shivered and let out a breath.
His eyes went to my mouth as I licked his blood off my lower lip. He had every right to fear a vampire who was tasting his open wounds. If I were a Bitten, I wouldn’t have enough control to stop myself from killing him. He likely didn’t know that I was a purebred and had more control over my bloodlust.
Taking his other arm in my grasp, I raised his palm to my mouth. “Did you truly love the woman or was she just a good fuck?” I slowly pressed my tongue against the middle of his palm and flattened it over his wound. I heard him gasp when I dragged my tongue over his defensive wound.
He hesitated for a second before nodding. “I thought it was love because she was my first. She taught me about a woman’s body. I didn’t understand that she was using me until she told her husband I had seduced her when he caught us together.”
Stepping closer to him, I tugged at the gash in his blood-soaked white shirt. I tore it apart so I could access the wounds on his chiseled chest. “Have you been a good boy since arriving at school or have you resisted their efforts to tame you?”
A smirk filled his handsome face. “I know how not to get caught and I know how to survive. This is my second reform school. I fucked my way through the last one until I made my way up to the teachers. All the woman at my school owed me favors for the superb services I provided them. I had it made until the Dean’s wife told him what I was doing after she demanded that I be faithful to her alone. My refusal sealed my fate. Since this isn’t the kind of school that tolerates my kind of bad behavior, I keep my head down and wait for graduation to get out of here.”
Leaning into his chest, I inhaled his scent and dragged my lips over the droplets of blood rolling over the ridges of his muscles. I licked his sweet blood and left behind small kisses across his chest. Grabbing his shoulder, I pulled him down so that I could reach the cut along his collarbone. He put his arms around my back and held me against him while I nibbled at the skin around the cut. “Did you start the fight with the shifters?”
His eyes glazed over when he watched me suck on my bottom lip. Practically panting, he shook his head. “No. I accidentally insulted one of the assholes by stepping in front of him when I was leaving class. I didn’t even notice him. He jumped me after dinner and dragged me out here where his friends were waiting for me. They attacked before I had time to shift and fly to safety.”
Taking his face in my hands, I pulled him down until we were eye to eye. His brown eyes grew darker and changed shape until they resembled the black eyes of the raven. He blinked and his eyes quickly returned to their human shape and color.
Staring at his mouth, I bit my lip. “When was the last time you made a woman scream your name in ecstasy?”
He hissed out a breath through his teeth. “Too long.”
Slowly leaning in to run my tongue over the split in his lip, I paused a millimeter away from his warm skin. “After years of meaningless sex, are you ready to devote yourself to one woman who can fulfill all your desires and protect you?”
His nostrils flared as he stared at my face. “Tell me the name of woman I am devoting myself to.”
“Marianela,” I whispered.
He bit his healing lip, causing more blood to pool on his skin. “I am yours, Marianela. Take my blood as proof of my vow to you. No other will ever taste my blood or my lips. I swear it.”
I eagerly accepted his offering and sucked on his lower lip. He let out a deep groan and kissed me. His arms tightened around me in a passionate embrace.
I ran my fingers through his thick hair and held him to me to deepen the kiss. Pulling away, I looked into his eyes. “I will kill anyone who threatens you.”
He laid his forehead against mine. “I will do anything you ask of me, no matter how dangerous the task. My life is yours to do with as you please. If you hadn’t stepped in, I surely would have died. The teachers don’t care about us. They use fights like that to get off on the punishments they dole out. I have no friends or allies. You’re the only one who has ever stood up for me. Even the women I bedded before would have never come to my aid. You are beauty,
strength and intelligence rolled into one fierce woman. What more could anyone ask for?”
I smiled at his compliment. “If you had been anything other than a raven, I don’t know what I would have done. Do you know the history between the ravens and the vampires?”
He slowly shook his head. “No. Please, tell me.”
“In the past, during times of war, the ravens spied on our enemies and passed along vital messages to our generals. We developed our own language with them. Squawking birds will eventually draw attention, so we created a different way of communication. If a raven dropped a pebble, it meant that an enemy was near. Dropping a worm meant there was an ambush waiting for us. A feather meant we were being watched. A raven hiding its face under its wing meant witches were using magic against us. My great grandfather had many different ways to convey messages. Though our alliance with the ravens ended, I still remember how they helped us. I felt a kinship when I realized the shifters were hurting a raven. To honor our former alliance, I decided to help you.” I ran my thumb under his lip to remove a new drop of blood and licked it off my thumb.
He unleashed a devastatingly handsome smile that reached his eyes. “I never knew that, but I wasn’t exactly close with my family. They weren’t honorable people and never would have helped vampires. Regardless, I am grateful for your kindness and for the tongue bath.” He winked and licked his lips.
“Anytime.” I looked around to make sure that no one was paying attention to us. “I should get some rest back at Vamp House before the shifters lick their wounds and puff themselves up for a second round. I’ll need some sleep before I’m ready to take them on again.” I wasn’t ready to leave him yet, but I was starting to feel tired now that my adrenaline had burned off. I dropped my arms and forced myself to take a step backwards.
He looked down at his destroyed uniform. “I should probably change before someone takes my torn clothing as an invitation to tear off the rest of it. Despite my vow of chastity since arriving here, I’ve had plenty of requests to slip into someone’s bed at night.” He looked up at me and frowned. “How did you know that I was tired of sleeping around?”
I put my hand on his cheek and shrugged. “Everyone wants to be loved, but they need to feel worthy of that love. Because that woman betrayed you, you didn’t feel worthy, so you punish yourself by continuing to seek out the same kind of hurtful relationships that left you cold and empty. Since you stopped sleeping around, I assumed you were ready to let go of that pain and let someone love you.”
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. “Who knew getting my ass kicked would lead me to the perfect woman?”
I laughed. “I’m far from perfect, Talen. I need to work on my anger and need for vengeance. I’m not good at letting people in either.”
He took my hand and intertwined our fingers. “Then we will work on that together. Until then, get some rest, my warrior queen.”
He kissed the back of my hand and headed towards the shifter house. Who knew that something good could come from starting a fight I could have easily lost had my opponents been trained to fight?
Running my fingers over my lips, I smiled. It felt good to do something nice for someone and bring a smile to their face after spending so much time tearing people apart. It had been a long time since I had done something nice for someone else. Maybe I would try to do something nice again tomorrow. Perhaps each good deed would bring me closer to healing my shattered soul.
Chapter 6
I couldn’t stop thinking about Talen as I sat through my classes. I wasn’t sure why I had been so bold with him. I often turned to Silvijn after the heat of battle to work out the last of my aggression, but it had been a while since sex had appealed to me. I was usually too caught up in my anger to want something other than more violence to sate my needs.
Talen was a stranger and I found it refreshing to be with someone I didn’t understand. Silvijn and I had been friends since we were children. His father had pressed mine to agree to a betrothal when we were close to marrying age. Dakari Luzader was a man who knew how to get what he wanted. While the Luzader Coven was the second largest coven under the Mielcarek banner, it didn’t always get the recognition Dakari craved. By having Silvijn marry me, the Luzader Coven would be held in higher esteem.
Thinking about Talen’s smooth skin, I wondered what it would feel like to grab his ass and fuck him. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts of riding Talen that I didn’t notice the men standing near the women’s shower room until one of them darted into my path.
Landon’s bulky frame cut me off, forcing me to walk into his muscled chest. Looking up, I rolled my eyes. “What are you, like five? There’s no crowd to show off in front of this time, Landon. If you plan to bully me, I’d prefer to skip right to the fighting. I have enough to deal with. I don’t need you and Declan breathing down my neck all day.”
Glancing over at Declan and a third man, who was more beautiful than handsome, Landon laughed. “She thinks we’re bullying her. I thought you explained that she’s been marked for death.”
Declan shrugged. “Some people are just in denial about how much they are hated.”
I scoffed at him. “Please, you were feared and hated by most of the coven. You murdered people in their sleep, Declan.”
He nodded and shifted his feet apart into a battle stance. “Yes, but I knew I was hated. There were no delusions or denials. I’ve always known what I was. That’s how I know what you are. You’re nothing more than the extension of Mateo Mielcarek’s cruelty. Tell me, what would your first order have been? Would you have betrayed the Luzader coven by killing Silvijn or would you have ordered the extermination of the lesser covens just as your father did to the Sabourin and Ivankco Covens?”
I raised my eyebrow at him. “No, I planned to sit down with the other covens to discuss how to improve the relationship between us through diplomatic talks.”
“Lies!” I heard a woman yell from behind me. “You marched on the other covens to draw your brother’s army into a fight with you. You crushed your enemies under your boots just as your father did. You are no different than he was.”
Turning, I locked eyes with Ceyla. The petite blonde with the pixie cut didn’t look very imposing. She was a full six inches shorter than me and had a slender build. Aside from the sneer on her face, she was almost cute.
“You know, I thought you’d be taller?” I put my hand on my hip, annoyed that this small girl was such a thorn in my side.
She shrugged and ran her hand through her hair, ruffling it on top. “Being crazy tends to add a few inches if we’re being honest. The history books will say that I was well over 6 feet tall once I add a few more prominent kills to my list. Once I kill you and Marcario, people will sing songs about me.”
“By all means, go kill my brother. You would save me the trouble. Admittedly, I lost my mind after drowning for three months. I took my anger out on any who stood in my way. I’m sure you can relate since you have the entire school terrified of you.” If Ceyla hadn’t been plotting my demise, I could see her as a friend or an ally.
“Thank you, though I don’t need your permission to kill Marcario. Since we’re both here, it would really speed up my timeframe if you just stood there while I removed your head. I have a book report due tomorrow and if my Kayden doesn’t get to fuck me a least once a day, he’s cranky. So, let’s get on with this.” She winked at the beautiful vamp, who was most definitely a Bitten, and likely wasn’t human before becoming a vampire.
I wasn’t sure if she was joking about me accepting my death, or if this was her way of skipping the formalities of war.
“Four against one is hardly a fair fight. Besides, anyone can see us in the hallway, which will lead to punishments for the survivors. This isn’t the best place to do this. I suggest we meet in the woods after classes.” I had never faced anyone as brazen and reckless as Ceyla, which concerned me. Know your opponent, my father would say. I wasn’t sure anyone really knew Ceyla if sh
e was as broken and unpredictable as she appeared to be.
“You didn’t have a problem defeating those shifters to save the raven. How many men were there, Landon?” She pretended to count on her fingers and lose track of the number.
Landon perked up and smiled. “Thirteen.”
Ceyla nodded at the impressive number. “I’m not great at math, but four is a lot less than thirteen. Where’s the problem?” She took a step forward and smiled. “If you think the fear of punishment is going to keep me from doing what I came here to do, you’re wrong. We took down the entire Dark Forest Academy and burned it to the ground. You can say that I’m highly motivated to kill you and move on to Marcario.”
I motioned to Declan. “You’re counting the assassin as one instead of fifteen. If you took down Dark Forest, then you know how capable Declan is in a fight.” I needed to keep her talking while I assessed her men and came up with a strategy.
Again, she nodded. “I think he’s more like twenty men, aren’t you baby?” She blew him a kiss, which was peculiar. Declan was the least sexual creature I’d ever met. “But, you’re right. This isn’t an even fight.”
“She’s stalling, Ceyla. Don’t let her think her way out of this.” Declan stepped closer to Ceyla and rolled his shoulders.
I glanced at Declan. “Careful, assassin. Your fear for your boss is showing.” I looked back to Ceyla. “He doesn’t think you can take me.” I winked at Declan and pouted.” It’s a shame that we won’t get to revel in the post battle fucking that comes from the good death of an enemy. I’ll bet you still miss me. Don’t you, Declan?”
Declan stiffened when I winked at him, implying that we had shared a roll in the sheets.
Ceyla’s wide eyes turned to Declan. “Are you fucking kidding me? Did you screw her, Declan?”
Bloodlust: House of Vampires Page 5