Branded (An Otherworlders Series Novel Book 1)

by Lena Moore

  “Then don’t hide from it. Don’t run from it. Harness it.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about Jadis? You’ve seen me at my worst!”

  “Oh but baby, it’s your worst we’re going to need.”

  “Stop speaking in riddles, woman, and spit it the fuck out,” Draven cursed.

  Dolph pushed past her, his overgrown hair falling onto his face. “What she’s trying to say is—” he looked over his shoulder at Jadis before returning his attention back to Draven, “—we’re going to need your dark as well as your light, brother.”

  “Again, Spit. It. Out.”

  “Because he’s in bed with Efah.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  ~ Draven ~

  Fuck he despised that name. Efah. Even thinking it left an acrid taste in his mouth. Malister mentioned that his mother was around, but he’d forgotten all about the conversation with the demon.

  Draven’s head started to pound. Everything seemed fuzzy and the voices he heard sounded distant—far away. His body vibrated. Evil skulked in the shadows waiting to annihilate his body, to annihilate his control. Draven inhaled and the scent of dark chocolate, whiskey and wine assaulted his nares. Aliyah’s blood.

  He snapped out of his daze and fixated on the woman still cuddled within his arms. She’d bit into her wrist, the blood trickling down her arm like she’d known it would bring him back to her.

  Fascinated, and giving zero fucks about the trio standing at the door, he ran his finger up her inner wrist. The blood dripped down his calloused finger before pooling in his palm. Draven knew Aliyah would feel the erect column pushing into her ass, and it took every little piece of his control not to bend her over the couch and fuck her raw, regardless of who was there.

  The voice that left his vocal cords wasn’t his own. Guttural and possessive in nature, he barked in a demanding tone that reeked of command, “Leave now!”

  Draven didn’t need to look up to know Jadis was going to challenge him on this.

  “Jadis. Don’t. We will find you when we are done.”

  Draven dismissed them and didn’t move until he heard the click of the door. He flipped her so her back met the back of the couch and spread her legs as far as possible.

  “Tell me Snowflake, is this precious little cunt ready for me, ready to feel my wrath?”

  Aliyah made a motion like she was going to mewl but nothing came out of those delectable lips. He reached around the couch and ripped her yoga pants from her thighs. She gasped, grinding into his granite-like length.

  Draven tore away her panties and slid his fingers through her slippery lips. She was saturated.

  “Mmm. So ready. So mine.”

  He manipulated her clit in slow torturous circles. Draven knew it was agony by the frustrating moans that left her mouth when he stopped touching her.

  Pacifying her, he pulled her hair back and kissed her with hunger, strength and passion while he fumbled with the button on his jeans to free his straining cock.

  Draven didn’t wait, didn’t ask. He plunged deep within her honeyed walls, groaning at the feel on her slick heat enveloping him. She felt so good. She felt like home.

  Aliyah moaned again, sending a vibration through his mouth straight down to his throbbing member. In response, he thrust brutally in and out of her. She rocked her hips in time with him, meeting the demand of his sexual onslaught. Her lips never left his.

  Draven circled her clit vigorously, feeling her pussy clamp down on his engorged cock. It sent his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Black spots clouded his vision but he wasn’t going to cum until he left her completely depleted yet sated.

  Aliyah’s scream was muffled by their kiss. Her body shuddered and convulsed as she came down from her post orgasm bliss.

  Draven broke away from the kiss. “Again!” he demanded.

  On cue, her walls tightened around him. Her screams were no longer muffled by his mouth. They came out in a wail. Draven didn’t stop fucking Aliyah, even with her body laying limp over the couch.

  “You will cum for me again.”

  “I…I can’t. It’s too much,” she pleaded.

  Draven wrapped his hands around her mouth then he nipped at her neck, feeling the erratic thrum of her artery under his tongue.

  “Yes you can. And you will. That much I promise you, Aliyah.”

  His canines elongated and sunk into the flesh of her neck. Aliyah hollered out behind Draven’s hand in what he knew was pleasure.

  “That’s it, baby, let it go. Give me your orgasm!” he mumbled around his suckles.

  Moving his hand away from her clit, he dug his hands into her hip, angling his cock to hit that soft muscle inside her dripping cunt.

  Her blood invigorated him but also rendered him incapacitated. This is what she did to him; it made him mindboggling riddled with lust, love, and need, and possessive as fuck.

  His mind started spiralling. White spots danced behind his retinas as he pummelled into her. His sack grew tight and the tingle licked his shaft, travelling up to the head of his cock as he spurted his seed deep inside her. Quickly he licked the puncture marks on her neck and screamed out “Aliyah, fuck, Aliyah!” with her undulating along with him.

  Draven’s cock was still buried to the hilt inside her, with their mixed arousal now dripping down his legs. Easing back he was about to pull out until she latched onto his wrist. His dick swelled inside of her, demanding more, needing more. The fact that Aliyah found sustenance from him was the type of arousal Draven couldn’t even begin to explain.

  Her suckles spurred him on. He slowly rocked into her again as if he hadn’t just spilled his seed into her, as if he wasn’t sated only moments ago. His thrusts turned uneven like he was jackhammering into concrete chasing his release, aching to feel her cinched around him once more.

  Aliyah’s mouth made a popping sound when she released his wrist. The blood slowly oozed out as she let out a guttural groan. Draven was right there with her. He came inside her again, the spasms rocketing throughout their bodies as they both floated down from the intense high.

  Picking her up and cradling her in his arms he asked her, “How did you know?”

  “Know what?” Aliyah replied dreamily.

  “That your blood would bring me back?”

  “I didn’t. When I saw you losing control I did the only thing I thought would bring you back to me. Shrek, the thought of losing you to the darkness scared the shit out of me.”

  Her eyes softened and took on a sombre look. She loved him. Even if she wasn’t ready to admit those words, they chimed loud and true.

  “I need to tell you something.”

  “Anything, Snowflake.”

  “I sensed the darkness in myself earlier and it brought back memories—memories from when I was young. It’s always been inside of me, Draven, even when I didn’t realise. It petrifies me.”

  Draven saw the confusion flicker in her eyes. “Can you explain it?”

  “Ah, shit. I don’t really know. It was like my blood was pumping, ready to erupt at any minute. I felt the anger coursing through my veins and—” she hesitated and finished on a barely audible whisper, “—I liked it.”

  Draven’s grip intensified. He knew that feeling all too well. It was exactly how he felt when he finally submitted to that part of himself.

  “Together.” He pushed a strand of her raven hair behind her ear before continuing. “We do this together. Until the end of my days, you have me. I won’t leave you.”

  It was the only way he could declare his love and commitment to her without saying those three words. Something like shock and acceptance registered in her sparkling violet hues, and he knew in that moment she wouldn’t leave him again. She wouldn’t run away from what they’d made. Not now. Not ever.

  “Come on baby, let’s go find out what the terrible trio wanted from us.”

  Aliyah snaughled, “Terrible trio. That fits those three perfectly.”

  Smiling,
Draven helped Aliyah up as he ruminated over what Jadis had mentioned about Efah being in town. Was it possible he was able to control the darkness inside? There was no doubt in his mind that without Aliyah he wouldn’t be able. But with her by his side, he knew she could reign in his beast.

  Fifteen minutes later, they arrived back at Jadis’s, and again the three of them looked like they’d been up to no good. Draven’s mouth turned up at the sides when he eyed Jadis, which earned him a scowl and the finger. He looked down and chuckled, his dreadlocks providing a buffer from Jadis’s evil eye.

  “So… Tell me why you think we can use my darkness?”

  “Draven, if your mom is close we’re gonna need every defense we can harness,” Dolph deadpanned. “You know how sinister that bitch is. I know I don’t need to remind you after everything she did.”

  Draven growled low and deep in his throat. He didn’t want to relive those times.

  “What did she do?” Aliyah asked, curious.

  “Not now. I can’t talk about it yet. I’ll tell you later. Ok?”

  “Ok,” she replied in an acquiesce tone.

  Looking to Jadis, he recognised the sadness reflecting back. He issued her a tight shake of his head, hoping she understood he didn’t want her pity.

  “I believe if you can learn to harness the dark side of you personality, that piece that irrevocably lives inside of you, then you may have a chance at vanquishing her back to the depths of purgatory.”

  He thought about what Jadis said and all he could think about was killing the woman who had given birth to him, over and over, especially after all she’d done to him. Efah had stolen his forever after person once before, his happiness, but never again. He wouldn’t allow it.

  Draven’s head ripped back and his eyes glazed over, and that’s how he saw his body as he looked in from the outside. Aliyah and the rest of the crew ran over to him trying to shake him back into this realm, but the Goddess had other ideas.

  The familiar white, red and black smoke formed before him. There stood the Goddess Kaltemis. As ethereal, as stunning as ever.

  “Draven, my child, I haven’t got long. You and Aliyah must stay close to each other. You are stronger as one than alone.”

  Draven interrupted her, “What does that even mean?”

  “Soon everything will be revealed. I can’t interfere. Otherwise I risk everyone on this plane. I gave all my children free will and that’s something that my sister, Neferity, continues to manipulate, as you know all too well.”

  A sad smile graced her face before she continued talking.

  “I believe in you, Draven. The vigour you possess is stronger than you will ever know. Keep Aliyah close. You’re bound by more than just your love.” Her eyes darted around the smoky room they were standing. “I have to go, but I leave you with a parting gift.”

  The inner part of his wrist burned and when he looked down there was another gorgeous intricate branding.

  Draven peered up. Kaltemis face was lit up by a full smile as she began fading, her hair flowing around her like a halo.

  “Wait! What is this one for?”

  “Trust in yourself, child. You will need to use your darkness. This will help you control it. And although you will always need Aliyah, this particular branding will assist you none the less. However, you must first believe in yourself. You will be challenged, child, but you need to remain vigilant and strong for both you and Aliyah.”

  A loud crackling noise sounded then Draven was back in Jadis’s living room, with multiple hands groping him.

  “Hey! No need to fight over me. There’s a lot of me to go around,” he laughed.

  Dolph smacked him at the back of his head. “You fucking asshole! What happened?”

  “Was that necessary you jerk?” Draven growled, rubbing the back of his head.

  “Want another?”

  “Fuck, what crawled up your sphincter and died? It was Kaltemis, ok? She didn’t have much time so I guess she pulled whatever means possible. You both were right; I need my darkness.”

  “Is that a new branding?” Aliyah gushed, holding his arm out so the others could see the new design.

  He smiled down at her. “Kaltemis said it will help me control the darkness within me.”

  “What else did this Goddess say?” Dany asked sarcastically.

  Draven wasn’t biting, not tonight. “She said that Aliyah and I are bound.” He hesitated. “Uuhhh, that we are stronger together than apart.”

  “What aren’t you telling us?” Jadis’s eyebrow arched, curiously watching him.

  “Nothing.” Draven wasn’t beyond embarrassing the people he cared about, not about this though. He wanted to reveal what the Goddess mentioned when he and Aliyah were in their own company—alone.

  “I wish Kaltemis would have told you what the fuck all these mongrels want. My head is spinning with how many enemies we have between us.” Jadis rubbed her forehead before leaning on Dany.

  Draven noticed the tick in Dolph’s jaw. He wasn’t going to provoke the matter by drawing attention to the pair. Instead, he reached for Aliyah’s hand and headed toward the exit.

  “We will see you tomorrow. Get some sleep. Oh, and Jadis, I’m grateful we managed to keep you hidden. You’re looking more like your sassy self.” With a wink as his parting gift, they left.

  Entering his house, Aliyah dropped her hand from his. Her worried violet hues pleaded with him before she even spoke. “Tell me what the Goddess said. Everything. Please.”

  He let out a long breath. “She said that I need to keep you safe and that we are stronger together. Uh, how I will still need you. I’m assuming that’s about combatting the darkness, I’m not sure,” he vacillated. “That we are bound by more than just….”

  “Just what?”

  “Just love.”

  Aliyah’s eyes grew wide and Draven decided to placate her before she started running from her feelings, from him again. “You don’t need to say it, Snowflake.”

  “Do–do you…”

  “What? Love you?”

  “Yeah,” her voice came out watery.

  “Would that be so hard to believe? If I said I did?”

  “May–Maybe. You could have anyone…” her voice was small and Draven sensed her insecurities rising to the surface once more.

  “Don’t. Don’t do that,” he growled. “Before you, Aliyah, I was a walking death wish. Part of me wanting to die, the other part wanting to stay alive just to make any cunt that wronged me suffer. Before you I was a monster. Who am I kidding, part of me still is. But my love for you, your love for me, is what ultimately saves me time after time. Without you, I am only half the being I am meant to be.” He let out a wobbly breath. “Your beauty, stubbornness, and love radiates and penetrates every dark orifice in my body. Because of you, I feel like I am a better Otherworlder.”

  Aliyah’s face was drenched with tears. “You fucking wanker, you made me cry! No one has ever said anything remotely as sweet to me, even if its bullshit.” She grinned and Draven knew she was trying to rowel him up. “But I love you, too,” she whispered.

  A rigid column formed in his jeans at her finally admitting her feelings. Scooping her up in his arms, he kissed her lightly on the lips, beseeching for her to let him in. Aliyah’s mouth parted and Draven took the opportunity to explore her mouth whilst staggering to his room.

  Breaking the kiss, he lowered her onto the bed, slowly stripping her until she was laid bare and flushed on the black duvet. Draven admired her body as he shimmied out of his clothes, she was stunning. Once he was naked, he knelt on the bed and covered her body with his own, kissing her like she was the air he needed to breath.

  The head of his cock nudged her pussy lips apart then he plunged deep inside her without warning. They made love into the early hours of the morning, until they both laid there breathless and spent.

  Wrapping her in his arms, her back flush to his front, he inhaled the sweet scent that was undeniably Aliyah. An
d just for a moment—for a splinter in time—he forgot about the demons, Efah, the Goddess’s and all the affliction they’d endured. Just for the moment nothing could touch them. Two lovers divinely entwined: heavenly bliss. But as he drifted off to sleep, the dust set in and he sensed the sinister shadows lurking in the recess of his mind. His demons wouldn’t allow him a second more.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  ~ Aliyah ~

  Aliyah woke, feeling swollen, sore and the best kind of thoroughly used. Rolling over in Draven’s king sized bed, she reached for him but found the bed empty and cold beside her.

  Yawning, she sat up and stretched, feeling pain in muscles that she’d not used in a while. Smiling to herself, she flipped her legs over the side of the bed and walked to the ensuite.

  The shower screen was wet and foggy, signalling Draven probably hadn’t been up long. Aliyah stood stark naked from the night’s escapades as she brushed her teeth.

  Rinsing her mouth, she looked herself over in the mirror, spying a few nice little bruises where Draven had marked her. She smiled. The brief elation Aliyah felt disappeared, replaced with disappointed and sadness because she wanted Draven’s mark on her—forever. The bruises would soon wane and she wondered if his love would too.

  Pulling herself from her inner dialogue, she hopped into the shower to wash away the insecurities and bullshit that clouded her mind.

  Draven loved her. That’s all that mattered. So what he was 300 years older than her. That kind of sounded bad when she thought of it like that. The simple fact of the matter was their love, their bond and that they were stronger together than apart. The Goddess had revealed as much to Draven.

  Stepping out of the shower she towelled off, dressed and then set off in search of Draven.

  Aliyah opened the door and was assaulted by the most amazing scents and brilliant taste in music. Slipknot’s Unsainted pumped through the speakers and she wondered how she hadn’t heard it before. Was she that lost in thought?

  “Good morning, Snowflake.” Draven called from the kitchen.

  Aliyah jumped, not expecting him to even know she was awake let alone standing in his bedroom. She padded over to the kitchen and watched Draven in his tight denim jeans and black shirt cooking something on the stove.