Wild and Free

by Kristen Ashley

  I fought another squirm as I watched Miko bend over the guy he was doing, latch onto his hair with a fist, and yank his head back. The guy had two black eyes and a cut lip, but this didn’t disguise the fact that he was feeling no pain, except maybe the kind he liked a whole lot.

  “You wanted my cock. Rear back, fuck yourself as I fuck you,” Miko ordered.

  “I’m not sure Miko is the soul of kindness and consideration,” I murmured, struggling against the squirm as his fucktoy did as ordered and that shit got hotter.

  “Christ,” Abel grumbled.

  When he got what he wanted, Miko gave him his reward. Bending deeper, yanking his hair so his neck was arched unnaturally, he bared his fangs and sunk them in to feed.

  His toy came immediately, bucking violently on the table even as Miko kept thrusting.

  I bit my lip and lost the fight against the squirm.

  “See I might have to take the hit of askin’ one of the staff to get us some lube,” Abel griped.

  I tore my eyes from the screen and smiled down at my man.

  “Don’t act like you don’t want that.”

  “Told you, I’ll fuck you however you want. I try to take your ass though, baby, might have that shit in my head and I’m thinkin’ you might not like the results of that.”

  I dipped closer. “I’ll see what I can do to keep your mind on me.”

  “Fuck yeah! Fuck yeah! Fuck! Fuck! Give me that! Fuck yeah!” we heard coming from the direction of the screen. It wasn’t Miko’s voice, seeing as Miko was groaning an unmistakable groan that his partner made clear he liked giving to him.

  I watched Abel’s eyes frown even as I knew my eyes kept smiling.

  Abel shook his head.

  I bent deeper and touched my mouth to his before I turned in his lap to look back at the screen. I caught Miko pulling out none too gently and shoving the guy off the table. With his jeans around his thighs and after what just happened, he didn’t have it in him to do much but throw a hand out to break his fall.

  It was then I stopped enjoying what I was seeing.

  Because the guy didn’t go for his jeans. He rolled to his ass, lifting his eyes to Miko, and the look on his face was chilling.

  Worship.

  Sycophantic adoration that was not healthy in the slightest.

  That guy would die for Miko. That guy had taken a beating from Moose, and even though Abel had wiped that memory from his mind, he was still battered and bruised and had taken what he’d just taken, then was tossed aside perfunctorily, not even being given a kiss.

  And now, standing with his eyes pinned to a spot in the room we couldn’t see with our cameras, stroking his own cock, keeping it hard, Miko said, “You. Next. Jeans to thighs, but I’m going to fuck your face.”

  Another young man came on screen and stood meekly in front of the vampire, pulling his jeans down to his thighs. Even though he did this without hesitation, Miko must have lost patience because he shoved the guy to his knees.

  Then without any ado, gentleness, or even a hint he gave a shit, fisting his hand in the guy’s hair, he commenced.

  They were playthings, servicing him.

  And they didn’t care.

  They loved it.

  Worshiped it.

  Would do anything for it.

  “We shouldn’t have let those guys loose,” I whispered, not getting off on watching it now.

  “You think?” Abel muttered.

  “They need help.” I looked to Abel. “If this is who they are, they should find a healthy relationship, settle down, adopt a baby.”

  “That’s not what they want,” Abel replied, a perpetual flinch on his face since he was still staring at the screen.

  “What?”

  He looked to me. “They’re hangers.”

  “Hangers?”

  “Those guys gave me a bad feeling so I talked to Lucien about it and he told me about them,” Abel explained. “Hangers are humans who somehow sense the existence of vampires. They live on the edge of the vampire world, not being let in but wanting it, not understanding who we really are or how we really are.”

  He tipped his head to the screen and kept sharing.

  “They want that. They want the gothic novel. They want to be used, abused, discarded. They want a vampire to treat them how they think vampires should act. Not just guys. Girls. And before you ask,” he said the last quickly because I’d opened my mouth to speak, “Etienne knows this and he’s recruited nearly all of them. The rest have gone to ground, understanding somewhere in their minds when their kind started disappearing that shit was going to get extreme. So they’re lost to us because the ones Etienne has are getting exactly what they want, something none of the good guys—Lucien, Stephanie, Cosmo, Gregor, Yuri, me—would give them.”

  “Oh my God,” I whispered.

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “Sucks.”

  “Those guys will do anything for that Miko vampire,” I told him, which he probably already knew.

  His eyes drifted back to the screen from which muffled moans were coming. “I got that.”

  I didn’t look back to the screen. I looked out the window.

  Well, one thing I could say, regardless that it took a nasty turn, the surveillance shift was not boring.

  On that thought, the door opened and we heard Callum say, “Abel. Lilah. You’re needed. Immediately.”

  I looked over Abel’s shoulder and Abel twisted in his chair to do the same, so we both saw Callum standing in the door, Calder coming into the room.

  “Calder will take the rest of your shift. We need you,” Callum went on. “Now.”

  “What the fuck?” Calder muttered, his eyes to the monitors as Abel got out of the chair, taking me with him and putting me to my feet.

  “Yeah, brother, not pretty,” Abel muttered back as he grabbed my hand and started us toward the door.

  Calder looked to Abel. “What you got is less pretty.”

  “Shit,” Abel whispered as my body got tight.

  We got through the door and Abel closed it behind us. But Callum wasn’t waiting. He was already walking down the hall.

  “Cal, what’s goin’ on?” Abel called after him as he pulled me with him, walking with long, swift strides to catch up.

  “The True have made a move,” Callum told the hall, then looked back to us, still moving. “And it’s not a good one.”

  “What is it?” Abel snarled impatiently.

  “It’s not something to be discussed in the hall,” Callum replied, again facing the hall.

  “Cal—”

  Callum looked back over his shoulder. “Hurry,” he clipped.

  We hurried. He took us to living room six, and when we entered, he closed the door and I glanced around, taking in all who’d gathered.

  Chen was there, as were Wei and Xun. Lucien was there, as was Sonia. Ryon was there. Gregor was there. Stephanie was there.

  Leah was not.

  My eyes flew to Lucien. “Where’s Leah?”

  “She’s indisposed,” he grated harshly, and my heart stuttered. He looked to Callum. “And I must go to her. Let’s get this done.”

  “Maybe Lilah shouldn’t be here,” Chen suggested quietly.

  Oh no.

  “Why?’ I asked.

  Chen didn’t look at me, keeping his eyes to his brother. “Seriously, man, maybe Lilah should wait this out. You hear it, you decide.”

  Abel looked down to me, opening his mouth to speak.

  I shook my head. “No. No way. I can’t wait to know what’s going on.”

  “It’s gone viral,” Wei stated, obviously losing patience, and Abel and I looked to him. “A video. All over the Internet. A site will take it down, another one will put it up. Chen was surfing, keeping his eyes on things, and found it.”

  “A concubine being drained,” Stephanie spat, and I felt Abel’s hand tense so tightly around mine, I thought he’d crush it. But I didn’t do anything about it because I’d frozen solid. Stepha
nie kept going, “He raped her while he drained her. The ‘her’ being Myrna, Leah’s cousin.”

  “Oh God, no,” I whispered, falling back in horror until Abel jerked my hand and clamped an arm around my shoulders, holding me tight to his side.

  “Almost the moment Chen found it, calls started coming in,” Gregor said, and I looked to him. “Concubines are missing worldwide, including three other members of Leah’s family.”

  “But, why them?” I asked, my voice pitched high. “They know about vampires. They like them.”

  “Those who call themselves The True think concubines are parasites, and I’m sorry, Lilah, as evidenced in that video, they do not like concubines,” Gregor explained.

  “Gregor has people working with the media,” Callum put in. “They’re trying to convince them this is a hoax in order to curtail mass hysteria.”

  “I’m annoyed our hand has been forced for we obviously don’t wish to push the message that vampires don’t exist while we’re trying to decide how to share they do. But there’s little time to consider it and The Council have all agreed,” Gregor added.

  “I really don’t give a fuck what people think,” Abel snarled, his eyes locked to Gregor. “What I wanna know is what you’re doin’ to get the concubines outta those vampires’ hands.”

  “Everything we can,” Gregor replied in a calming voice.

  “Well, do more,” Abel ground out and didn’t wait for a response. He turned to me and declared, “You’ve had enough video viewing for today.”

  I nodded. I was not fired up to watch a woman murdered and raped at the same time, not ever, but absolutely not Leah’s cousin.

  I looked to Lucien. “While you deal here, can I go to Leah?”

  “No,” he bit off, then looked between Abel and Callum. “Brief me later. I need to see to my bride.”

  On that, with a gust of wind, he was gone.

  I looked at the door that had slammed behind him, then to Sonia.

  She felt my eyes, gave me hers, and they were bright.

  I was right there with her.

  Then suddenly, I wasn’t.

  Suddenly, I was enraged.

  So enraged, I tore from Abel’s hold and shrieked, “Why are we standing around? We gotta stop this shit!”

  Iron arms clamped around me and I fought them even as I heard Abel order, “Go get Hook. Now.”

  “Let me go,” I hissed, struggling against his hold. “We have to go get Miko. Mind-control him. Torture him. I don’t care.” I stilled and screeched, “Make him tell us everything he knows!”

  “Your mate is quite the strategist,” Callum murmured. “Fancy a drive?”

  I whipped around in Abel’s hold to see Callum looking at my man.

  “Fuck yeah,” Abel said.

  “What?” I asked.

  Callum looked to Wei, Xun, and Chen. “Play backup?”

  “I’m in,” Xun said immediately.

  “In,” Wei grunted.

  Chen looked to Abel. “You leave me outta this, I’ll never forgive you. No fucking joke.”

  “You’re in,” Abel declared.

  I whipped back around to Abel.

  “You’re gonna go get him?” I asked.

  “Keeping him in play and mining information would be preferable,” Callum answered, and I twisted to look at him. “We court The True realizing we’ve turned Patricio with some of the things we ask him to do. Miko is free to do what he wishes, but we would see it all. However, when things change, you change with them.”

  “Let’s go,” Xun said impatiently.

  “I’ll round up Hook and Moose,” Wei offered and didn’t wait for anyone to accept. He took off, Chen following him.

  “I’ll pull together a team,” Stephanie stated and looked to Gregor. “Coming?”

  Gregor nodded and they moved out.

  “She does not watch that video,” Abel stated, and my attention went to him to see his on Sonia.

  “She won’t, Abel,” Sonia replied.

  Abel looked down at me. “I won’t be long.”

  I nodded.

  “Kiss,” he ordered.

  I rolled up on my toes and kissed him hard.

  When I was done, he lifted and pressed his lips to my forehead before he looked over it and asked, “Ready?”

  “Absolutely,” Callum answered.

  Abel smoothed the pad of his thumb over my jaw before he completely let me go.

  Callum kissed Sonia’s nose before he let her go.

  Then they were gone.

  * * * * *

  Yuri

  Yuri sat on the couch in his suite and watched Aurora, who was sitting on the couch opposite, leaning forward toward a wide, flat bowl in front of her on the coffee table. Strewn around the bowl were a large variety of bottles, vials, and tools, all of which she’d used.

  She took up the vile of Abel’s blood, unstoppered it, and poured it in the bowl.

  A soft poof of gray, green, and red smoke wafted from it.

  She put down the vial and looked to Yuri.

  “Okay, that has to marinate for at least twenty-four hours, but thirty-six would make it stronger, which means we’d get a reading faster,” she told him.

  His reply was, “Come here.”

  Her head twitched before indecision marred her beautiful face. This didn’t last long and she rose, slowly making her way to him.

  Her hair was in a side ponytail, the curling, waving length of it falling down the front of her becoming blouse, which fit tight to her ribs and breasts. She was also wearing a circle skirt and high-heeled, platform pumps. She’d taken off the light cardigan she’d put on after he’d taken her home to pack and get the things she needed to start the procedure for finding Abel’s brother.

  He’d also taken Barb home. She was packing and moving into the other room in the suite in order for him to keep her safe as well. However, right then, she was with her witch sisters and a detail of vampire guards, taking the implements to a safe place and casting protection spells around them so no one could find them, and in the unlikely event they did, they couldn’t get to them.

  Gregor did not agree with this plan. He’d wanted Yuri to be in possession of the implements so that he could hand them off to a member of The Vampire Council Gregor sent in order that The Council could secure them.

  It took some doing, but Yuri impressed on his father that it would not be diplomatically prudent to take witch implements from witches the day after a vampire had massacred an entire longstanding, powerful coven.

  So Barb and her colleagues were sorting that, something she’d explained would take some time in order to find the right hiding place and make the protections strong.

  She didn’t expect to be back at the hotel until the next day.

  Which gave Yuri plenty of time.

  He tipped his head back to keep Aurora’s gaze as she approached and stopped in front of him. Only then did he lean forward and wrap his hand around hers.

  “If you need thirty-six hours, my sweet,” he started quietly, “this means we have thirty-six hours to kill.”

  He took in her excitement mingled with nerves with all his senses. His favorites: seeing the pulse quicken in her neck, hearing her heart beating strong but fast, and smelling the scent that was uniquely hers gather between her legs.

  The last told him all he needed to know.

  “You have much to be punished for,” he whispered, and her hand convulsed in his as her eyes grew alarmed. But the scent between her legs grew stronger, muskier, so he carried on, “You’ve played me.”

  “I haven’t,” she whispered back, and he tilted his head.

  “No?”

  Her teeth came out to bite her lower lip and his hardening cock went stiff.

  “You have,” he said softly. “And last night, you went against your mother’s orders, my orders, and put yourself in danger.”

  “You were in danger too,” she replied, her voice breathy.

  “That’s not the
point,” he returned, holding her eyes and tightening his fingers around hers. “You obey a vampire.”

  “Yuri,” she whispered.

  “Perhaps others don’t expect that, but you must know I do.”

  “I…” She trailed off and he listened to her heartbeat escalate as she finished, “Okay.”

  “And if you don’t, there are consequences,” he continued.

  She swallowed and the thrum of her pulse quickened.

  “We have not begun,” he said gently. “Not like this. Therefore, on this occasion, I’ll give you a choice. One, your punishment will be me withholding myself from you. You shall wait here—order room service, watch television, read a book—and I’ll leave, returning after your potion has matured. Only later, after we’ve located Abel’s brother, will we move forward the way we both want.”

  “And my other choice?” she prompted huskily when he stopped speaking.

  “You take your punishment as you would if we’d already begun,” he answered instantly.

  “That being…?” she pressed, and Yuri shook his head.

  “No, my sweet,” he said softly. “You don’t know until you choose. That’s part of the punishment. In future, when you will have no choice, not knowing the punishment until you earn it, and get it, will always be part of it.”

  Her blue eyes held his and he took her in—her agitation, her anticipation, her excitement—and he enjoyed every part of it.

  Finally, she wet her lower lip and asked, “Will you be gentle with me?”

  His sweet, little witch feared it, but she was up for it, wanted it, and that was perfect.

  Yuri wanted to shout his elation.

  Instead, he shared, “I will always be gentle with you, Aurora. You will not ever receive more than you can take.”

  She studied him.

  Then she whispered, “Okay, then I pick option number two.”

  Staring into her eyes, slowly, Yuri smiled.

  Aurora’s heart skipped a beat.

  “Lift your skirt and pull down your panties.”

  Aurora’s heart tripped over itself.

  “Now, my sweet,” he ordered when she didn’t move, and he released her hand.

  He heard the soft pants blowing from her lips as she lifted her skirt at the sides. His eyes dropped there, but the folds were enough that he saw nothing as she hooked her thumbs in her panties and pulled them down.