Darkest Temptation

by Rachel Van Dyken

  And when she went over to him and Stephanie, it wasn’t to laugh and talk; it was to huddle in the corner and hold hands, as if it might be the last time any of them would see each other again.

  MASON

  I sat in complete darkness on the windowsill. My gaze on the stars. Thousands of years ago, I’d asked to be the Great Wolf, without any regard to what that would mean.

  And now?

  Now it just felt like I was failing my parents all over again.

  All they’d ever wanted was for me to be powerful.

  Instead, I was turning into a blood-obsessed freak, unable to control any of my emotions. The very fact I could shove Cassius, without putting effort into it, terrified me.

  The fact that I could somehow sense the fear in that room — the anxiety — to the point where it wrapped itself around my neck and squeezed was wrong.

  All of it was wrong.

  Her heartbeat increased until I was afraid she was going to pass out, and then the sound returned to normal. I listened a bit longer, interested in the way my ears were able to pick hers out amongst all the different immortals’.

  What was even more interesting — I heard Cassius’ heart.

  Felt it beat in my ears.

  It was louder than the others. More powerful, but slower. Purposeful, like each beat was communicating something to the universe that none of us would ever get the privilege of seeing or understanding.

  “Knock, knock.” Hope shoved the door open and made her way toward me, her brown eyes sparkling.

  “Why do humans say “Knock knock” instead of just knocking? And you didn’t even wait for me to let you in.” I crossed my arms.

  Hope sat opposite me on the window and smiled brightly. She tugged at her plain black shirt and pressed a hand to her stomach briefly before answering. “First, it’s more like ‘Hey, I’m announcing that I’m coming in, and you can’t stop me,’ and second, I didn’t want to give you the opportunity to say no.”

  I growled.

  “Oh stop.” She scooted closer until I could feel the heat from her body. Her heart began to race.

  I frowned down at her. “What?”

  She licked her lips.

  I pressed an ear to her chest and then jerked away, before slowly falling to my knees and pressing an ear to her stomach.

  “How long?” I whispered, gripping her hips with my hands as I laid my head in her lap.

  She ran her fingers through my hair.

  I closed my eyes as warmth washed over me. I’d chosen well in a best friend.

  She exhaled. “A few weeks. I told Alex yesterday. I had no choice. I puked all over him.”

  I chuckled. “I would have loved to have seen that. Filmed it. Looked at it every now and then when I’m tempted to rip his head from his body.”

  She gave me a light slap on the shoulder then kept playing with my hair. “I’m afraid.”

  I pulled back and gripped her hands. “Fear isn’t weakness, Hope.”

  “It feels like weakness.”

  I stood and pulled her into my arms then led her to sit on the bed. It dipped under our weight. I brushed a kiss across her forehead. “Give me your fear then. I’ll take it.”

  Tears filled her vision. “Elves used to die. That was their purpose, mate with an immortal then die after giving birth.”

  “You’re not just an elf, Hope. You’re the last. You’re royalty. You can’t die.”

  “How do we know that though?”

  I hugged her tighter. “I know because Cassius says so, and I believe him. I trust him. He wouldn’t ask you to mate only to have you lose one another. He isn’t that cruel. Nobody is.”

  “But you lost your mate,” Hope pointed out.

  “Lost.” I rolled the word around a bit. “Lost always seems like the wrong word. Lost means that she simply couldn’t find her way back home and was taken. Lost seems like I did something wrong, that I couldn’t keep her.” I shook my head. “Maybe it is the right word. Maybe I never really had her. I was always too much for her, too strong, too big… too hairy.”

  Hope burst out laughing, “You aren’t hairy.”

  “I’m a wolf. It’s a compliment to be hairy. Could you imagine if I was bald?”

  Hope made a face. “You’d be like one of those naked cats.”

  “Absolute demons, those cats. Hey, I’ve got a though. Let’s get Alex one. I’ll put a diamond leash on it, buy it a pillow—”

  She slammed a hand over my mouth. “Don’t you dare!”

  I licked her hand and winked. “Tell him to behave then.”

  “You guys are impossible.” She crossed her arms. “Thanks for making me laugh. I know I’m being ridiculous. Here you are, trying to figure out why you keep wanting to bite people and being forced to mate again, and I’m complaining.”

  “We all have… things,” I said simply. “Doesn’t make any one of them less important. Don’t compare problems because no matter what, to the person going through it, it will always seem impossible to solve.”

  She pressed a hand to my chest. “You said you trust Cassius, right?”

  I nodded. “With my life.”

  Hope pulled away; the faint smell of vanilla filled the air as she locked eyes with me. “Then trust him in this. Don’t lose Serenity as your mate. Keep her.” Hope pressed a hand to my heart. “Trust that it’s going to be okay.”

  I had been afraid to speak my fears aloud.

  Afraid it would make them come true.

  But it was Hope. My best friend since having run into her on the streets of London in the 1800s.

  “What if it unleashes something I can’t control?” I whispered. “What if I really am a monster? An other?”

  “Look at me.” Hope gripped my face with her hands. “It won’t happen. Your heart is good, Mason. You’re good. This thing, you feel, this beast — maybe once you stop fighting it, you’ll be able to control it by joining it.”

  I gasped.

  “Stop fighting, Mason.” She stood. “You’ve been fighting yourself so damn long, from joining your place with your pack to enjoying a freaking steak — stop punishing yourself for mistakes others made on your behalf.”

  “Mistakes?” I repeated, “What do you mean mistakes?”

  “You’re not too hairy. Or strong. Or any of those things. The biggest mistake your dead mate made was taking your love for granted. This is your second chance to be with someone who gets you.”

  I looked down at the ground. “I’ll break her.”

  “She’s a vampire. She can lift a car off a tree. I think she’ll be okay.” Hope winked then patted me on the back and walked off.

  I lay back against the bed and sighed.

  Little did Hope know I was way heavier than a car.

  I smiled.

  SERENITY

  There was no reason for my hands to be shaking, but they were. The warm cookies were barely staying stacked with on the plate. It was dark. And I’d just seen Genesis get in a car with the twins and Ethan and just leave; they had bags as if they were moving, but this was Ethan’s house. My confusion only mounted when Cassius had whispered something to Alex that had him grabbing Hope by the arm the minute she’d reached the bottom of the stairs and pulling her toward the garage.

  “Everything okay?” I’d asked Stephanie.

  She’d only shrugged and had given me a funny look.

  Cassius swept back into the room. “Remember what I said.”

  And that was it.

  The house was dark.

  And I was holding a stupid plate of cookies as if that was going to calm the beast in the upstairs bedroom — as if that was going to make him want me.

  If your own parents don’t love you enough to stay…

  What makes you think that a plate of cookies is going to help an immortal king want to mate you?

  That was the question I asked after every step.

  After each breath.

  What makes you so different?


  Nothing.

  Nothing at all.

  Insecurity had a way of seeping into every crevice of my brain, making it impossible for me to come up with a scenario that had Mason choosing me, choosing us.

  He barely knew me.

  But his blood…

  I briefly closed my eyes.

  That wolf was made for me in ways I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Just thinking about him had my teeth aching, my body craving more.

  I’d felt sick ever since the grocery store, and now I just wanted relief, relief only he could bring.

  Mason.

  The door was open.

  I quietly walked in. Moonlight shone through the open window as cool night air filled the empty space between me and his massive body.

  His breathing was slow.

  His naked chest rose and fell with an easy cadence that immediately calmed me down.

  I took a deep breath and then approached.

  I didn’t even have time to speak before his hand snaked out and gripped my free hand.

  “What…” He leaned up on his elbow. “…is that smell?”

  I cleared my throat. “Cookies.”

  “Cookies.” His icy gaze locked on me.

  “Chocolate chip cookies.” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his, from the way they penetrated every defense without asking permission to do so. His eyes stripped me bare without a thought.

  I let them.

  My body heated.

  He dropped my hand and reached for a cookie. “I haven’t had a cookie in…”

  “Years?” I offered.

  His mouth curved into a sultry smile. “Hundreds.”

  “That’s some hardcore self-control,” I joked.

  His smile was tense. The room swirled. It pulsed with electricity, with blood that pounded my body, begging for release, begging to be joined with his.

  White teeth bit into the cookie slowly. My eyes followed as his tongue snaked out and licked a bit of chocolate that had the honor of grazing his perfect, plump lower lip. My mouth buzzed with jealousy. I would probably slit someone’s throat to be that piece of chocolate.

  Mason closed his eyes and let out a guttural groan before reaching for another cookie.

  Repeating the process.

  While I died a thousand deaths imaging those teeth biting into my soft flesh, licking me dry.

  He reached for another.

  And another.

  The plate was empty.

  Mason popped one final piece in his mouth then slowly sucked each finger dry. A piece of chocolate was on the corner of his mouth. The temptation was too much. Without asking permission, I leaned forward and swiped my tongue across the spot, tasting him, tasting the chocolate.

  He stilled.

  I whispered against his mouth. “Did you want milk?”

  His hands gripped my waist.

  It was a heartbeat, the second of indecision on his face warring with his duty, with his self-control, and just like that, I saw him finally give in, finally just…

  Combust.

  “I have a better idea,” he growled.

  Thank God.

  My jeans scratched my skin as he roughly shoved them down to my ankles like going slow was never a first option.

  Only one speed.

  One way to claim.

  My heart raced as his rough hands ran down my bare legs. I stepped out of the jeans and kicked them to the side.

  His mouth pressed a kiss to my thigh. His hands dug into my skin as if he was afraid I was going to run away.

  “I won’t know how to stop,” he said in a gruff, animalistic voice I recognized as his wolf — the animal inside him. It didn’t terrify me.

  It made me crave.

  “Then don’t,” I encouraged as he picked me up and threw me against the bed as if I weighed a pound, when I knew vampires weren’t known for being light or easy to throw.

  I was a feather.

  Putty in his hands.

  He grinned down at me. And then started a full-on assault with his mouth as he licked and sucked my tongue until my only choice was to use his air for survival and cling to him with my hands.

  His heart skipped a beat when I kissed him back, and when my tongue touched his, I could have sworn I heard his heart stop all together as blood rushed through his body hardening against me, making me squirm beneath him with primal need.

  “Mine.” I gripped his ass through his jeans then tried to shove them down.

  He growled against my neck, his muscles strained as he held himself above me. His eyes went so light blue I could almost see my reflection in them. I squeezed him with my hands, pressing another kiss to his open mouth, cutting his lip on my fang.

  He jerked back and then shuddered as what looked like an orgasm ran through his body, and then I felt it, what he was feeling, this insane need…

  To feed.

  Slowly, I turned my head to the side and moved my hair.

  “Damn it, Serenity—”

  “Take it,” I begged. “Take me.”

  His breathing slowed, and then his hand was on my neck, more claw than fingers.

  I wasn’t afraid.

  His eyes flickered from blue to black, over and over again as he watched me move beneath him. A war raged inside my mate’s body.

  “Let me set you free,” I pleaded.

  He let out a roar so ear-piercing that the house shook with it.

  I almost looked away but then remembered Cassius’ words as Mason’s fangs descended like sharp swords coming from his mouth.

  They were longer than mine, menacing.

  I waited for him to strike — to take.

  He didn’t.

  He watched me watch him.

  I tried my best not to blink to show him I wasn’t afraid, to be worthy of both man and beast.

  His length strained against my thigh, and I moved beneath him. His eyes were crazed as he lowered his head between my legs and nuzzled, as if he was going to take a really arousing nap.

  My thighs clenched while he ran his nose along every bare inch of me, his tongue outlining and pulsing with increased movements. He kept his claw on my neck, making it impossible to move.

  He trailed slow dangerous circles with his tongue, only to stop as my body pleaded for release. I tried to move with him, but every time I did, he would stop what he was doing. Since I needed him to keep going, since it felt like my life depended on his touch, his every lick, I closed my eyes and let the rapture of his mouth fill my body.

  His appetite seemed to only increase the more my body gave way as hot waves of pleasure shot through my core.

  The process would repeat as he licked me up again and again. With a hungry growl, he feasted and then stopped as a pinch of pain hit my inner thigh.

  The world stilled.

  Silence.

  His heavy breathing…

  My stuttered heart…

  The claw holding me still dug into my flesh.

  I whimpered at the contact and felt his tongue lick the wound dry before he returned his attention to me.

  My mouth…

  My neck…

  His eyes darted from my skin to my lips as if he wasn’t sure which he should taste first, as if it was the hardest choice he’d ever made in his entire life.

  The struggle was still there, but I could see logic return to his expression as he tried to calm himself down.

  But I didn’t want him calm.

  That wasn’t Mason.

  Mason was all beast.

  And I wanted him to know that I wanted both beast and man.

  How could I not?

  I met his gaze and then pushed his claw into my neck, piercing my own flesh enough for blood to trail down my white skin.

  And realized too late…

  That I’d just unleashed the beast.

  And thrown away the key.

  MASON

  I’d stripped her millions of times in my mind.

  Nothing was as good as this fee
ling.

  This taste.

  Like spending an eternity eating pinecones and suddenly having a dozen chocolate cookies spread out for me to feast on.

  I feasted on her.

  I let my tongue eat her as if she was my meal.

  And when I felt her blood soar, muscles clench, body react, my beast was satiated — for seconds — before it needed to feed again.

  Each wave came harder and faster, my own body aching with the need to join her, but I’d been starving.

  Living a life in the desert.

  I’d been brought to a palace.

  I wanted to feel everything.

  My fangs pricked her inner thigh, and as blood coated my fang, I swallowed on instinct and felt a roaring in my chest that sounded like thousands of years of oppression.

  Millennia of being shut out.

  Lost to the world.

  Sleeping.

  I opened my eyes.

  And saw it all, the way her heart sang to me.

  Turning back now would have been impossible.

  I would rather have died.

  Her half-lidded gaze locked on mine before she clung to my feral hand and slit part of her throat open.

  Opened her vein…

  To the beast.

  Without thinking of the consequences.

  I threw my head back and roared as her blood ran down her neck and across her collarbone. With a growl, I struck at the vein and sucked.

  It wasn’t enough.

  Warm blood coated my dry mouth as my body lit up from the inside out as if I’d never truly been alive until this point.

  She bucked against my body, rubbing her sex against me like she needed it just as much as I did.

  I pulled back long enough to flip her onto her stomach, and then my teeth were at her neck again, sucking, licking, devouring every inch of blood she offered, knowing I would never be the same.

  I would never come back from this craving.

  This lust.

  She thrust her ass against me as I drank deeper; her arm came up behind her to cradle my head tenderly, her body moving back against mine.

  Claim.

  Claim.

  Claim.

  Her blood chanted.

  Thunder boomed in the distance.

  With shaking hands, I gripped her hips and pulled her back onto me, sliding all the way in, staying there, never leaving again.