by Tessa Dawn
Nathaniel pushed his hair back away from his face with a casual sweep of his hand and nodded, but he didn't respond.
She had seen something in the shadow lands, and he really wanted to know what it was. He almost needed to know—for so many important reasons that had nothing to do with the human woman. But she was clear about her wishes. And he had given her his word.
Nathaniel could not bring himself to violate that trust or to lessen her strength by forcing her will. Moreover, he didn't believe that whatever she had seen posed any immediate danger to him or his brothers: to the descendants of Jadon.
Her blood had clearly not been taken. And if one of the Dark Ones had found her, he would have forced her right then and there. She was far too beautiful to escape unharmed. She would have been used to breed, kept carefully locked up until the birthing, and tossed aside upon her death.
No, if this woman had met a Dark One, she wouldn't be standing in front of him now. She wouldn't be alive.
Nathaniel gently brushed his hand over her cheek. "Very well, then," he said as he continued to walk lazily beside her.
Without warning, the night air began to cool, the leaves in the trees began to rustle, and the sky darkened into a deep midnight blue. As dusty white clouds slowly evaporated from the heavens—leaving a blank slate in their wake—the sky grew darker still...until the muted canvas was completely transformed into a bottomless sea of black.
And then the moon began to change.
It turned from white to pink. From rose to wine. From wine to burgundy. Until it finally settled into a pure...blood red.
And then, like the lighting of a thousand candles in a pitch dark room, the sky began to illuminate as one bright star after another appeared, and Cassiopeia, the ancient Greek constellation, materialized as a brilliant beacon gleaming in the heavens.
Nathaniel stood in stunned silence. Motionless. Utterly astonished by the magic before him. He could hardly believe what he was seeing. His eyes swept over the beautiful woman with the strange eyes, and he viewed her with reverence.
It just couldn't be.
It had been less than one month since Shelby had seen Orion, his own birth constellation, appear beneath a blood-red moon. Less than one month since Dalia...
The omens never happened this close together.
Yet, even as he denied it, the animal within the man began to reach for control, a primal impulse raging for release. The vampire's blood came alive, practically singing in his veins, as a primordial reaction as old as time itself took over.
The ancient Blood Curse was ingrained in Nathaniel's memory: a prophecy that flowed like an endless river from one generation to the next, washing over all of the descendants of Prince Jadon at one time or another.
Cassiopeia.
Nathaniel's own birth constellation. Gleaming in the pitch-black sky.
Nathaniel's canine teeth began to elongate and a low, feral growl escaped his throat. Like a male lion staking his claim, his territorial nature rose in response to the call.
Nathaniel's people may have once been human, but the slain ones had cursed them—as all the descendants of King Sakarias had been cursed—and they were now creatures of the night. More animal than human. The blood-red moon called to the beast within, offering a chance to live truly immortal. The opportunity to love in a lifetime of otherwise solitary existence. Eternal solitary existence. Promising the hope of a child of light to continue his species.
Nathaniel felt Jocelyn's unusual eyes staring up at him in horror. They were wide with fright, yet her growing fear only heightened his arousal. Inflamed his response. Like a wild tiger, Nathaniel spun around and crouched down into a fiercely protective stance, a creature with perfect stealth and grace. Power settled over him like a thick, inky fog rising up from the sea, and his cavernous eyes grew darker than the midnight sky above. Coming deftly alive.
He knew he appeared every inch the supernatural predator he was, but that was of little consequence now.
Nathaniel had thirty days—one full moon—to avoid the fatal errors made by Shelby. To honor the Spirit of Jadon. To be forever released from the curse that had haunted him like a shadow since the day he was born.
Suddenly, whatever had frightened Jocelyn in the forest was of grave importance. Her attempt to commit suicide was a threat beyond imagining. And whatever excuse he had made to avoid extracting her memories no longer mattered.
At all.
Forgetting to be gentle, Nathaniel reached out and grabbed her by the left arm. He turned it over in a viselike grip, pinning her wrist as he searched for the familiar markings.
They were all there.
The undeniable spheres. The irrefutable lines. The unmistakable evidence. Nathaniel's very own birth constellation: Cassiopeia.
This woman was his destiny.
She belonged to him.
Chapter Six
Jocelyn was positively spellbound, unable to pull her eyes from the phenomenon appearing in the heavens above them.
She had never seen anything so powerful or mysterious in all her life. How was it that they were viewing such an event without a telescope? How could any constellation appear so bright? And what in the world could cause the moon to turn the color of blood?
She slowly turned her head to look back at the creature standing beside her, and her heart began to pound in her chest.
The vampire stood motionless.
Transfixed by the magic before him.
He seemed to be lost in a daze; his eyes glazed over with wonder, and for the first time since she had met the self-assured male, he looked utterly...unsure of himself...completely caught off-guard.
His eyes shot back and forth between the moon and her arm, until eventually, some primitive warning system began to go off inside her.
Something was wrong.
Really, really wrong.
Nathaniel was changing.
His eyes were narrowing, his posture stiffening, his countenance becoming all at once deathly serious. And then he caught at her wrist, flipping it over like a police officer about to slap on a pair of handcuffs, holding her captive in an iron grip.
Jocelyn cringed and tried to free her arm, but he only held on tighter.
Instinctively, she froze then, knowing he was no longer in full control of his actions. Curiously, her eyes followed his to the inside of her wrist, where the skin was beginning to burn and tingle. And then, like a microscope zooming in for a closer look—readjusting the lens to view something she couldn't have possibly seen correctly the first time—her gaze narrowed: The delicate skin on her inner arm was covered in cryptic markings. A strange series of discolorations taking the form of a brilliantly intricate tattoo.
This time, it was Jocelyn who looked back and forth between the sky and her arm as her mind began to connect the celestial dots. The exact position of the individual stars, the brilliant constellation in the sky, the very picture they were viewing in the heavens was etched indelibly into her wrist. And whatever the markings were—whatever they meant—Nathaniel was utterly captivated by them.
Jocelyn took a deep breath, trying to remain calm while she studied the obscure design. There was something important happening. Something magical that connected her and the man standing before her with that blood moon. It was both prophetic and foreboding. And although it felt odd—even frightening—it also felt strangely familiar.
She recognized a subtle stirring, almost like a faint awakening of...something...she couldn't name. And it was like being drawn into a dream, one she knew nothing about and wanted no part of.
She only knew that her once safe world had suddenly come to an end. And that the vampire who had been so kind—almost human—just moments before was something altogether different now. Dangerous and predatory.
What in the world had happened?
Had the sky somehow triggered the monster? Was it the color of the moon? The color of blood? Had Nathaniel become like the creature she had seen in the dark cha
mber?
As the enchantment wore off, a perilous cry of terror rose in her throat. In one desperate moment of clarity, she yanked back her wrist and drew for her gun.
Nathaniel was far too fast for her.
Using only his mind to disarm the threat, the vampire jerked the gun from her hand and sent it flying hundreds of yards into the forest, smoldering like a glowing red coal as it left her fingers. A fierce growl of warning rumbled in his throat, and his eyes pierced hers with a harsh, reprimanding glare.
Jocelyn cried out as the tips of her fingers were burned by the blazing iron. "Nathaniel!" she shrieked, her terror no longer contained. "You promised!" It was a desperate plea for compassion. "You swore you weren't going to hurt me." It was a pitiful cry for mercy.
Nathaniel reacted so quickly his motion was undetectable: He reached for her hand, swiftly turned it over, and blew freezing air like shards of ice over her fingertips, immediately healing the burns before they had a chance to blister.
Instantly numbing the pain. "I am so sorry, Jocelyn," he soothed. "I did not intend to hurt you." Despite an obvious attempt to sound gentle, his words came out as a snarl.
Jocelyn struggled for breath and looked down at her hand, realizing that the burns were completely gone. The monster inside of him might be ruling his nature, but he was still reluctant to harm her. Slowly backing away, she tried to speak calmly.
"What is it, Nathaniel? What's happening to you?" She held out her left arm, palm facing up. "What are these markings on my wrist? And why are they here now—when they were never there before?"
She glanced back and forth between the odd designs and the dazzling work of art shining in the heavens, acknowledging a connection. "Does the moon have anything to do with it? That constellation?" Looking up into his smoldering eyes, she whispered, "Tell me why you're acting like this. You're scaring me now. I mean really, really scaring me."
Nathaniel didn't answer.
It was as if he couldn't speak.
He simply looked down into her terrified eyes like he somehow wanted to comfort her with his gaze, and then his eyes swept the surrounding area, veering off in the direction she had come from.
"We are far too close to the Red Canyons, my love, the shadow lands of our dark brothers. I do not have time to explain right now. Not here. Just know that there are those who would harm you if they could."
He looked at her then—really looked at her—as if he had never seen her before. And his eyes held an absolute aura of possession in them. Complete, irrevocable ownership. His jaw held a hard line of resolve.
"You have no idea who you really are," he explained, "of the danger we are both now in. There are those who couldn't dream of harming one such as myself, but who can now achieve such a feat simply by taking you away from me."
Jocelyn shivered.
My love? Our dark brothers? Taking her away from him?
She started to protest, but he was already moving, his heavily muscled arms reaching out to...claim her.
Nathaniel caught her by the waist, his powerful body lifting hers from the ground as if she weighed no more than a feather.
And then he took to the sky as a vampire—the supernatural creature of myth and legend—flying with enormous speed...holding Jocelyn firmly in his commanding arms.
As a deep, primal growl rumbled in his throat, he locked her frame solidly to his and headed back toward Dark Moon Vale.
The place where he'd said that he lived.
An enormous male with broad shoulders and a knee-length black jacket was waiting for them on the top balcony of a sprawling log home when they arrived.
"You have her?" he asked. His voice was a harsh command.
Nathaniel released Jocelyn the moment their feet touched down on the deck. He carefully scanned the area like he was looking for danger, and it was apparent that the other man was doing the same.
"Yes, I have her!" he growled impatiently.
Jocelyn steadied herself, trying to catch her balance after the dizzying experience of flying through the sky at warp speed in Nathaniel's arms. Her legs were shaking, her stomach turning over in waves of nausea. And then she caught her first real glimpse of the intimidating man standing so close to them on the terrace.
He was an enormous male with powerful, rippling muscles and commanding, rock-hard shoulders. Another vampire. Like Nathaniel, he had long black hair and piercing dark eyes, only his eyes were beyond the color of the deepest sea—they were so black they appeared a bottomless, phantom blue.
Terrified of both beings, she muttered something incoherent and tried to back away.
"What is her name?" the fearsome one demanded, looking only briefly in her direction as if there were no need to address her directly.
"Her name is Jocelyn," Nathaniel replied. He spoke like a subordinate officer addressing a general. Clearly, he felt no need to involve her, either.
The second male was power personified, awesome in even the slightest of movements. "Jocelyn what?"
Nathaniel glanced over at Jocelyn, reaching effortlessly into her mind to retrieve her full name. "Jocelyn Levi."
The fearsome one snorted and checked the skies again.
Jocelyn fell back against the deck in a mad scramble to get away. The long, circular patio formed an enclosure around the top floor of the estate, flanked on every side by towering aspen and pine trees. The apex of the structure stretched into a wide arc jutting just beyond the edge of a steep cliff, supported only by several wooden beams, which were anchored with iron bolts into the side of the mountain.
Jocelyn knew that she had to get away. She had to escape her fate.
Even if Nathaniel still possessed a few redeeming qualities, this new male was clearly without pity: absent of mercy or remorse. His blue-black eyes held a promise of swift retribution for anyone who crossed him.
Desperate to be free of the vampires, Jocelyn rushed to her feet and dashed toward the edge of the deck. Like an Olympic hurdler running the race of her life, she leapt over the railing in one smooth motion.
Nathaniel was there in an instant.
He caught her effortlessly by the arm—with only one hand—and placed her firmly back on the deck. "And she seems to have this thing about suicide," he remarked to the other male.
The powerful one moved swiftly toward her like a stalking panther. His glowing eyes, searing into hers, resembled two burning hot coals. "You will never, ever think to harm yourself in such a way again. Do I make myself clear?"
His voice reverberated like thunder as the command far surpassed a subtle attempt at mind control. It was an unyielding demand, and it pierced straight to her soul, removing even the possibility of resistance with its sheer force.
Jocelyn blinked and nodded. "I'm sorry."
She had whispered the words like a child, cowering beneath a harsh reprimand, reminiscent of her days growing up in so many foster homes. Her first instinct was to become angry, but then she noticed the haunting red embers glowing in the place where the male's pupils should have been. A scream of sheer terror arose in her throat, and she backpedaled so quickly that she fell down...again. This time, her head landed hard against the deck, and a sharp pain shot through her skull. Her head began to throb.
The vampire bent over her trembling body and reached out his hand. She had no intention of taking it.
"Nathaniel! Help me!" Her cry was elemental, a frenzied plea for protection.
While she didn't trust either one of them, everything inside of her told her to get away from the menacing creature looming over her...now.
She kicked wildly, a trapped animal, aiming for the only part of his anatomy that she hoped he shared with human males. But just like Nathaniel, he was far too fast.
His hand movement was nothing more than a blur as he caught at her flailing legs and held them in an iron grip of amazing strength. A menacing growl of warning escaped his throat, and his perfectly sculpted lips suddenly drew back. His canines threatened to lengthen along a r
ow of brilliantly white teeth.
"Get up!"
Trembling, Jocelyn took his outstretched hand and obediently began to pull herself up. She shrieked in horror as her body shot weightlessly into the air and flew to the other end of the deck, landing with a heavy thud nearly fifteen feet away.
Nathaniel moved like an angry lion.
He roared his displeasure, and the skies answered his rage with a heavy clap of thunder followed by several loud strikes of blue lightning that lit up the heavens. He leapt the distance between them and crouched protectively between Jocelyn and the other male, his fangs fully extended into razor-sharp points. His muscles twitched with the need to strike, and his breathing appeared shallow, his body clearly pumped with adrenaline.
He was prepared to fight the other male on her behalf.
The vampire in the black jacket stepped back and eyed Nathaniel warily. His own powerful muscles rippled, and his broad, heavy shoulders rolled back as he met Nathaniel's seething gaze with one of his own. The blue streaks of lightning merged together in a deafening fusion as sizzling veins of white, red, and purple shot across the sky to meet them, exploding as they connected in a violent collision.
A slow, wicked snarl rumbled in the fearsome one's throat.
"You think to fight me, Nathaniel?" He hissed the words, an unmistakable warning.
Nathaniel was not intimidated. He growled a deep, responding threat, never once averting his eyes.
Jocelyn shuddered and covered her ears.
The second vampire laughed then, softly but unrestrained.
And instantly, the sky settled back into a calm sea of deep, radiant blue.
"This is good," he said with arrogant authority. "I was afraid you might be too soft where this female is concerned."
His eyes darkened and the smile left his face. "That you might suppress the very nature you need to embrace at this time, Nathaniel."
Nathaniel stood upright, his eyes blazing with defiance.
"And so you threw my woman across the deck to provoke me?"