by Ruby Raine
The flimsy cloth of her nightgown frayed under simple effort.
Part of her brain was ordering her to beg to stop. To be afraid of this.
Part of her was shutting down and getting lost in the promised pleasure.
And the warning growl pushing through his fangs made her keenly aware the vampire knew how intoxicated she was, and that he was falling under the same unstoppable spell.
Part of her needed to see the full measure of what the vampire wanted, what he was truly capable of. As well as just how dark her own desires were.
But a sense of power came over her.
She was the one in shackles. And the vampire's fangs were riding across her skin in dangerous movements. But the power came in that she was not going to show fear. Or beg to be let free. She wasn't going to run away from him. William needed to understand, once and for all, scaring her into submission—in this case, running away—was not going to happen.
She lifted her gaze and met his with that intent in mind.
"Show me your darkest desire," she dared him.
He snarled, eyes wild with hunger.
She whimpered though when his hands teased her, promising so much more.
In a blink he was behind her, growling in her ear.
"Do you have a dark side, Melinda? Do you want to know what my bite feels like? Do you want to know what my blood tastes like? Do you want to see what it's like, to live like me?" He never gave her the chance to answer. His fangs sank into her neck and she cried out in the pure shock of it.
He pulled out with a rough breath.
"I could lock you away. Feed from you every night for the rest of your life." His hands wandered around her stomach, teasing lower and lower. "I could give in—to every depraved thought."
Melinda writhed and gasped underneath his torment, and bit her lip to hold back a scream when his fangs punched into her again. But she could not hold it back when a fire lit up inside her core and spread through her body in a tidal wave of nerves exploding like fireworks. Her eyes fluttered and for a second as sound left her ears, she thought she might pass out.
But a blink later, as she dangled under the shackles, breathless, worked over, drained, and satiated in a way she'd never even thought humanly possible, William was in front of her. A storm of feral need in his eyes and his own wrist, slashed, and dripping red.
"Drink."
He shoved his wrist against her mouth and she had no choice but to swallow the liquid that would take her humanity if she were to die.
But watching her suck his wrist brought a shudder out of the vampire the likes of which melted Melinda's insides. She groaned, thinking suddenly she'd never get enough of him. Her overwhelming satisfaction morphing into her body screaming for more.
William tore his wrist away from her mouth and slammed his lips on hers. Like the very vision of her drinking from him had thrown him into a fury of uncontrolled lust, his mouth punishing her into a fire about to burn for all eternity.
He followed the trail of his blood down her chin, licking it off her neck, tasting her own mingled in with his and lapping and sucking like he was eating his last meal. And if she was a last meal, she was too lost to care.
The shackles released, her arms freed. William lifted her and she wrapped herself around him. A mess of hot, sticky blood covering their skin. She pushed out a throaty gasp when her back slammed into a wall and the vampire's steeled cock impaled her as his fangs sank into her skin. Her head fell back, her hands twisting in his hair, hanging on for dear life—as the life was sucked out of her, feeding the frenzy.
Her insides quaked with every rock of his hips as he relentlessly buried himself deep inside her. And even with the blood gushing out of her veins, she was riding an impossible high.
Some small piece of her mind warned her she was literally being fucked to death, and to come down from the euphoric cloud she was so perfectly contented to take her last breath in.
But the storm that was William blew away that cloud for her, with a ragged effort burying himself to the hilt inside of her, emptying himself, stilling... he pulled out his fangs in a drunken stupor.
Her head was still upright only by the cooperation of the wall behind her. She had no strength to lift it herself. Blood dripped down William's face, his eyes finding hers in a final warning.
"This is how a vampire loves," he growled viciously. It was the last thing she recalled as one of his hands gripped her neck and she heard the echo of a snap.
And like no time had passed, she was gasping awake in a bed, her throat dry and burning. She sprang upward, hands flying to her neck. So dry. So thirsty...
Fangs punched out her lips.
She licked them like she was already tasting her next meal.
Hungry. So hungry. And only one item on the menu.
Blood.
She flew to her feet discovering that she had a sudden strength and speed in her movements. She peered down at her skin. It had a porcelain glow to it—just like William.
When her head lifted she was surrounded by mirrors.
Her lips upturned and she let out a snarl, taking in the vision of herself.
William slid upward from behind her, his hands winding around her, ensnaring her against him as within each of the mirrors, faces burned into the glass. Friends. Family. Strangers, both young and old.
"Who would you like to taste first?"
"No." She pushed out the demand shakily. But hell on earth, she wanted to taste all of them. To tear into their skin and suck out the hot yummy life that was the only food in existence that would ever satisfy this ache in her gut.
"This is what it means to live as a vampire. To live, day and night, year after year, craving this one thing. Always fighting the need for it. Always wanting it."
"But it is possible to fight it. You have done so."
"I may succeed. But I also fail. We always fail."
"That's not true. You didn't let Annie fail. You're still trying to scare me off."
He snarled at her daring display. "Even if you managed to keep your conscience clear, you will live to see the day you're in a world you no longer recognize. When all those you loved are taken away from you. Replaced by strangers, who you grow to love just as much. But are stolen from you again. Over, and over, and over—until there's nothing left for you to feel anymore. Because the pain of all that inevitable loss will carve out your heart and strip away your humanity, leaving only a heartless monster in its place."
"I hear you, William." She spun around to fix her gaze on him directly, and not through some mirror image. "But our love would never be lost. And we would keep each other from becoming lost. Can you not trust in that, in us?"
And it was William's turn to ask the question burning his lips.
"What is it you want, Melinda? What is your greatest desire?"
She reached out and touched his cheek.
"That you would rely on me, and trust in me, the way I already do in you. That when I look at you I see what you truly are, and not what you want me to see. That when I hear you speak, I hear the true words you mean, and not what I think you mean, or what you think I need to hear. I—want—you. Just you, as you are. With all your flaws and imperfections. With all your fears. Your regrets. Your hopes. I want you to let me love you."
And that, apparently, was asking too much, and broke something.
Because with a gasp and a shock to her heart, she was out of the dream and back in her bed. Staring upward at the ceiling, with Finn climbing to his feet next to the bed, whining at her.
She gave him a weak smile and a pat on the head, but he whined again.
"I'm okay, Finn. I'm okay... I think."
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to get her bearings.
The sting of the dream still vivid in her mind and all over her skin.
What a roller-coaster of a night.
She glanced to the window are saw the skyline wasn't so dark—sunrise wouldn't be far behind. She pushed he
rself up to her elbows and sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Finn nudged her legs.
"I'm okay, Finn."
In reality, she was far from it.
Had she lost the vampire for good after her proclamation?
He'd done his best to frighten her away, even if a lot of what he used to scare her was also based in reality.
Melinda replayed the entire dream over again. But it wasn’t like she was going to forget one single moment of it.
How unfair, that William had so much stolen from him.
And how unfair, that she was in love with a man who loved her, but didn't feel worthy of it.
And how would it ever work?
To be a vampire, she'd have to give up being a witch. Their numbers were small enough as it was. So, the sickening reality is that William wasn't so far off base in that she couldn't be like him—not that this was his only excuse. He saw his life as a curse, and something he didn't want her to experience.
But in the end, she'd seen his truest desire. To do just that. Because living out his life in a human way wasn't possible.
And holy hell, seeing how badly he wanted that chance to live out the one life he never got to... knowing the impossibility of it hurt in a way she had no description for. This topped with the fact that he loved her so much he'd rather die than live a day without her, even if it meant she lived her days out with someone else.
And what about Riley? Where did he fit into this? Did he fit at all?
Because if she had to choose one of them, if she truly had to, it would always be William. Even with all he'd done in the past, she could only see what he'd lost and what he'd done to change things. To fix things. Even when it came to Courtney. Perhaps love was blinding her, but she didn't care anymore. William needed someone strong enough to fight for him.
Perhaps her blindness was an illness?
Perhaps others would even think her sick?
It didn't matter in the end because her feelings hadn't changed—not so true. Tonight, it had changed, into something more. Something bigger. Something more powerful than she'd ever experienced before. Even the parts where she had to admit, she enjoyed the darker side of the vampire. Perhaps she really was sick. But she supposed each of them had a dark side they wanted to explore. A side that wanted to live with reckless abandon.
And if it came to pass that she and William could never be together, could she ever actually bring herself to live out her life with someone else? The idea seemed foreign to her tonight. A betrayal, almost. Not just to Riley or whatever man she ended up with, but to herself as well, because she'd be living a lie.
Finn nudged her arm, still concerned, and pointing out that he needed to leave soon because daylight was coming. She smiled weakly at him.
"I'll be okay. Just a lot going on up here." She pointed to her head and repositioned herself to where she was sitting up against her pillows. "I have a problem with no clear solution." Her eyes narrowed and pinched together. A series of thoughts, memories, and ideas merging together. Very possibly, one of the craziest notions she'd ever gotten.
What William wanted more than anything was to be human again.
She leaned forward, a new mission unraveling.
Was there any possible way to undo his curse?
Was there some way William could be made human again?
Once a vampire, was there any way to undo such a thing?
It might be foolish endeavor, but—what if?
What if William Wakefield could be made human again?
CHARLIE AND MATHEW exited the Power Source, closed it up behind them, and froze upon spinning around and witnessing Emily Morgan enter the clearing.
"Emily?" Michael stepped closer, confused as hell. To his knowledge she was not on the Isle, and yet here she was, appearing out of nowhere. Her eyes trained on him almost like he was a stranger, because it wasn't truly Emily returning his stare. He saw nothing of the Emily he loved in the eyes peering at him from across the clearing.
"She's possessed," he warned the others in a brutal admittance. "It's not really Emily."
It was the first time seeing her since she'd fled the Isle, and him, and days since she'd messaged him, telling him she was okay and not to worry. And now out of the blue—here on the Isle, possessed.
His worst fear had been something like this happening. That without her ring she was vulnerable and he'd not be around to help her.
But to the shock of all of them, Emily's gaze abandoned Michael and located Courtney.
Emily marched up to her in a slow procession, as if she'd been waiting for this for—ho—ly—shit. They all gasped when Emily reached the vampire and kissed her like there was no tomorrow.
Courtney gasped and pulled away as shocked as any of them.
"What the hell are you doing? You’re his girlfriend." She knocked her head toward Michael.
"Perhaps normally. But tonight, I'm yours."
And Courtney recognized it in her eyes. Her mouth fell open and she took another step back in shock.
"Bree?"
Everyone eyed each other wondering who Bree was, and why the hell she was possessing their friend.
"Yeah, CJ. It's really me."
Courtney would've teared up if vampires could, when Bree used her personal nickname for her. She fled forward and slammed her arms around Bree, forgetting her new strength.
"Hey," shouted Michael. "Easy."
"Sorry." Courtney pulled away.
Bree glanced at Michael. "Don't worry, dude. Your gal is fine, and will be back in control soon enough. I just had to hitch a ride here."
"Yeah. I've heard that one before," he grumbled out bitterly. But what was he to do? Even with all his concerns about being there to help Emily, he had no God damned fucking clue as to how to free her from a possession.
"Why are you here?" Courtney asked Bree. "I can't believe it's really you. Why didn't you move on?" This part concerned her the most because she'd wanted to believe those she'd lost to the Feyk, were at least at peace in the afterlife. "God, Bree. I miss you so much."
"Some of that is my fault. I haven't let you go. I haven't let you move on. I couldn't do that. Not until I told you the truth about what happened to me. And the others."
"What do you mean? That bastard, Stricker, did this to you. I've been tracking him." Courtney gazed down at herself. "I didn't do a very good job. He's still out there and now I'm a vampire."
"I've been watching. And doing my own investigating—not so easy when you're dead. And watching you, and not being able to tell you what I know all this time... it almost killed me all over again."
Everyone listened, intrigued, because they knew little about the new vampire's human past. Only that her coven had been murdered and the Feyk were responsible in some way. But they also felt like they were invading on a private moment between two people who loved each other, and were about to say their final goodbye.
So as hard as it was to leave her, Michael motioned for everyone to give them some space and was the first to leave. But every step he took away from Emily felt like he was leaving pieces of himself behind.
Charlie gave him a mental pat on the shoulder—sensing even that effort was more than he wanted. He didn't need their sympathy and emotions on top of his own.
Alone in the clearing, Courtney pleaded with Bree.
"Please tell me what happened."
"Stricker was involved. There's no denying that. His hands are bloody as hell. But he was working for someone else, CJ. He was acting on the orders of someone else. Stricker did not request our assassination. Someone else did."
"Who?"
"I don't know." Bree groaned in disappointment. "I spent my first month's dead trying to find out, but some things just aren't meant to be seen by the dead. And, I fear there are other more nefarious things at play too."
"Like what?"
"Dark magic."
And wasn't that a truly frightening thought.
"Jesus. So, someone u
sing dark magic decided they wanted our entire coven dead?"
Bree shrugged. "I have no solid evidence. But my experiences, my gut, all tell me yes. It also warns me that whoever did this, was someone we knew. Someone we trusted. Someone we dealt with regularly enough to know us, and catch us off guard like they did. Not just anyone could pull off murdering an entire coven. Well, almost all of us." She reached up and touched Courtney's cheek. She placed her own hand over Bree's.
"When I find out who did this, they will rue the day the killed all of you, and stole you from me. And I've got a hell of a long time to look."
Bree gave her a thinned lip smile.
"I pity the fool stupid enough to get in your way."
"I won't stop looking until I find the right answers. I promise you that."
Bree gave her a quick kiss and pulled back with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
"Your new life suits you, you know. I could never have imagined it before, but if you were sexy as hell before, you're a hellcat now."
Courtney rolled her eyes, but her insides flashed hot.
Fuck, she'd give anything if Bree could stay with her.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there when it happened," she pushed out. "I'm sorry I couldn’t save you. Any of you." As it was, she'd been called away on a middle of the night flash news story and had left in a hurry. Never once thinking it would be the last time she saw her coven alive. Her fiancé, alive.
"Don't ever take on any of the blame. None of this is on you, CJ. We were living life, just like we were meant to. It got fucked up. It didn't go like we planned. Sometimes, that happens."
Courtney let her head fall against Bree's—Emily's—so wrapped up in the moment she didn't even see Emily when she looked at her, only Bree.
"I miss you already."
"Miss me. Mourn me. But don't give up on life because I'm not in it any longer. Once I move on, you'll finally feel some of that closure you've been needing. But I couldn't move on until I'd told you that you were still in danger. Because the real killer is still out there."
"Looking out for me, even after death." Courtney's face pinched inward like she wanted to cry, but vampires just didn't.