Chapter 12 #2
“The council can go fuck themselves.” I smirk, and Dmitri flinches. As nobility, he’s always been on a short leash, but I would have thought distance from the crown would have loosened him up. I squeeze his forearm as I step past him. “Be sure to tell them I said that.”
Snatching a piece of untouched fruit from someone’s plate, I cut through the chattering gulls and approach Sienna. This time, her eyes track my approach.
Good girl.
She appraises me silently, and I do the same to her, my gaze lingering on the still-tender bite mark on her neck.
It’s uncovered, which is a bold choice in a school of potential mates.
Everyone will know that someone either tried to mate with her, turn her into a vampire, or kill her.
Maybe that’s what she’s craving: attention.
But she doesn’t seem like the type to flaunt for fun.
I nod toward the injury. Its scab has barely formed. One wrong turn of her neck, and it’ll reopen. “You need to be careful, or someone might think you’re a midday snack.”
Her gaze lingers on my fangs. “Someone like you?”
I smile and enjoy the way her pulse trills.
I like her already. “Most definitely.” Sitting opposite her, I quickly conjure a red rose and place it on the table in front of her.
It’s not real—merely a trick of the light that will fade the moment she touches it.
To my dismay, she doesn’t bother trying and turns her nose up at it.
Not accepting a gift is rude, but pointing that out won’t win me her favor. I fiddle with the fruit in my hands. A pomegranate, its flesh tender when I squeeze.
“If you’re here to convince me to mate with you again, you can leave. I’m not interested in getting bitten, thank you.”
Tilting my head, I study her tight lips and wrinkled brow.
“Had enough of that last night?” I click my tongue.
“His technique is poor, or you’d be in a state of euphoria.
Utterly lost to the world.” I wave my hand in dismissal.
What a damn shame that her wild wolf’s performance was lackluster, if only for the sake of Sienna’s pleasure.
I have everything to gain from her partner’s inadequacy.
“Vampire bites are much more . . .” My gaze lingers on her neck. “Satisfying.”
Sienna purses her lips. “For you or your partner?”
“Both,” I answer immediately. “Of course.”
Her glowing eyes darken. “Of course.” After a beat of silence, she stabs a sausage with her fork. “You’re kind of an asshole, you know that?”
I keep my smile even. “I’ve been called worse.”
“What do people call you?”
“Callum.” I pierce the skin of the fruit with the tip of my thumb, and its juice drips down my wrist. “Of the Navarro bloodline. Have you heard of us?”
She shakes her head. “Not until yesterday. I’m afraid vampire lineage isn’t taught in the wilds.”
“We are one of the oldest families yet fewer in number than most.”
Her eyebrow lifts. “Surely not because of your unparalleled charm?”
No, not for that.
Sienna sighs, her fatigue showing in the slope of her shoulders. “What do you want, Callum Navarro?”
“A mate,” I answer honestly, “or I would not be here.”
“Where would you be?” She stares at my fingers as I peel the skin off the pomegranate in a single curling strand. “Somewhere cold and dark?”
“Do not assume to know me,” I warn her, puncturing the fruit’s flesh for the second time.
My irritation flares, and I clear my throat.
“Or you will be disappointed in what you find.” I do not enjoy assumptions, especially incorrect ones.
Tilting my head, I crack my neck and breathe through the sudden tension in my body.
“If you have a question, ask it, but wait for the answer.”
Sighing, she pushes her plate to the center of the table. “Look, I don’t need more controlling men in my life. If you want to be friendly, fine. If you’re looking for a mate—” Her cheeks flush. “Look elsewhere.”
I rise when she does, ignoring the flicker of annoyance on her face as I follow her to the bar where she pours herself a fresh drink. Leaning close to her ear, I breathe in her delicate floral scent and whisper, “I can keep your wild wolf at bay.”
She tilts her head slightly, listening.
The two of them are obviously close or he wouldn’t have joined her in bed last night without an express invitation, but whatever he did or said has driven them further apart.
I need to ensure it stays that way. From this close, I can hear her pulse jump.
The wound on her neck radiates heat as it tries to stitch itself back together, the fresh bruises from Revyn’s fangs covering the old scars perfectly.
She shouldn’t have trusted him, but matters of the heart are a breeding ground for poor choices. I won’t judge her for it. “How are your other injuries healing?” I ask, curious.
“Fine,” she says defensively, angling her body toward mine so as not to agitate her neck.
“I don’t see how you can keep Revyn away from me when—” Her breath catches as a mirror image of herself departs from her body and returns to her seat in her place, brooding just as effectively as she had moments before.
“It’s not a perfect copy,” I admit begrudgingly, “but it will hold long enough to keep his attention.”
“Shifters use scents—”
“And I’ve copied yours,” I assure her, gently gripping her hip to lead her away from prying eyes.
Illusions don’t work on fae, and talented witches can spot illusionary magic with enough focus.
“Perhaps too well.” More than a few heads turn in the copy’s direction, their attention drawn by her distinct aroma.
I hadn’t wanted her to gain any more interest, but I suppose it can’t be helped.
There’s something about her magical signature that’s alluring, like a ripened fruit waiting to be plucked.
She allows me to escort her to the back of the room where Dmitri studies us curiously. I ignore him, but she doesn’t ignore her wild wolf, pausing to stare as Revyn clenches and unclenches his jaw, too focused on the illusion to see us.
“He really can’t tell the difference?” A soft undertone of hurt in her voice gives me pause.
I’ll need to uproot her affection for him and burn its core so that it cannot regrow.
“He will when he gets close enough to the illusion.” Strangers are easy to fool, but lovers are challenging even for a man of my experience. When I learn Sienna’s mannerisms, it’ll be easier to fool him.
Still, she hesitates to leave. I try to rein in my annoyance and remember what it was like to have a lover . . . but it was so long ago that I hardly remember their name, let alone how I felt toward them.
“What do you want?” She asks, boldly meeting my eyes. It’s refreshing to meet someone so unafraid of vampiric charms. Unafraid . . . or unaware. I’ll have to determine which is true for my lovely little wildflower.
I decide to tease her. “Whatever do you mean?” I ask, pressing my fingertips flush against the delicate groove of her hip bone. “My help comes free of charge.”
Her eyes flash brilliantly. “Liar.”
A grin splits my face. “Well, if you’re so keen on offering me something . . . I’ll bite.”
She remains unamused despite my stellar pun. I remain steadfast in my resolve. She’ll warm up to me soon enough.
“The only thing I require is your presence for the illusions to take hold; I need to be close to your magic signature, or I won’t be able to cast a proper charm.” A half-truth, but hopefully she won’t notice a little white lie.
She grabs my hand at her hip and squeezes tightly, baring her fangs in my face.
How fucking delightful.
“You have to be this close to cast an illusion?”
Leaning closer, I ghost my lips across her flushed cheek.
The heat pouring off her body is decadent.
“No,” I admit, “but I enjoy watching you flare up.” With a gentle touch to her cheek, I turn her head back toward her wild lover.
“Does watching him burn for you make you hot?” Sienna’s body temperature continues to rise; she’s practically scalding, and it’s only been a few minutes.
“How does it feel to witness the depth of his desire—not what he chooses to show you, but the parts he can hardly contain without you near?”
For me, it’s a delicious swirl of tension in the air. The sharpness of Revyn’s eyes as he watches her, the expanse of his broad chest as he fills his lungs for a mere taste of her scent, the way his heartbeat remains steady and sure, as determined to have her as he is to ensure no one else does.
A pity that his desire will go to waste.
I turn my attention back to Sienna and bask in the flutter of her heart. It trips and trills with longing for her wild mate, and I vow to savor the sensation for as long as it will last.
For all mortal love inevitably comes to an end.
“I can offer you so much more,” I whisper into Sienna’s ear. Standing behind her, I wrap my essence around us, encapsulating us in my magic signature so that no one disturbs us. Aside from the fae, no one will sense that we’re here.
Beautifully alone.
“I’m only interested in your illusions,” Sienna counters, twisting in place to stare into my eyes. So wonderfully unafraid.
Her chest brushes mine, and I long to inspect every inch of her body for scars. If the mark on her neck is any indication, she has many. I itch to learn her history, her secrets, her desires. Every flicker of her soul will be mine; it’s only natural that I’m curious and eager to start.
Patience will be a virtue I cling to these coming months.
“The price for my illusions, aside from your darling company each day, is one night per lunation.” I lift her chin and greedily tap the seam of her lips. “On the night of the full moon, you will stay with me and no one else.”
Her pulse quickens, but her expression gives nothing of her feelings away. “I’m strongest at a full moon,” she warns, pursing her lips.
A smile tugs at my lips. “I am aware.”
She lifts a single brow. “You want to be locked in a room with a wolf during the full moon?”
I lay my hand over my unbeating heart. “I can think of no better place.”
Her lips purse. She studies my face for a long, silent moment, but I know she’ll accept my terms. She’s as desperate to escape her past as I am to secure my future.
“Fine,” she murmurs, “but on one condition.”
I nod.
“No vampire powers when we’re together. You won’t use magic to seduce me or complete a bond or otherwise manipulate me into feeling something for you. No illusions, either.” She pushes her fingertip into my chest. “Nothing.”
Before she can sense my intentions, I slide my hand into her feather soft locks and seal my lips to hers intimately, slipping my tongue against the seam of her mouth to taste the desire she so clearly holds for the wild wolf.
The desire she is so desperate to hide. It’s the first of many secrets I’ll carry for her until my final slumber, a promise she has no hope of comprehending.
She beats her fists against my chest and screams against my lips, but there is no one to hear her, no one to feel her ire other than me.
I drink it in greedily, press the sharp tip of my fang to her lip, and lap at her blood like a dying man sating his thirst. Her flavor bursts on my tongue, as vibrant as a summer’s day and twice as hot.
That mere taste cracks open a hunger I’ve long since abandoned, one that I haven’t cared to nurture in the last few centuries I’ve walked alone: a longing to feed.
I groan deep as another desire takes hold, the force of it thrumming in the marrow of my bones and taking root in my bloodstream, feeding parts of my body that have long lay dormant.
Keeping my hands off her during our nights together will be . . . trying.
Sienna bites back in her frustration, drawing my blood into her mouth before I can stop her. I pull away before she drinks too deeply and savor the lingering taste of her on my lips, as blood-red as her own.
“What the fuck,” she hisses, “are you doing?”
“Sealing our deal,” I purr, unabashedly delighted at the turn of events. “With a kiss.”
“That wasn’t necessary!” She shoves away from me and wipes her lips, cursing at the blood staining her knuckles. “Gods, you taste like—”
I hold my breath for her answer.
“—dirt!”
My smile freezes. “Come again, darling?”
“You taste like dirt,” she repeats, her eyes flashing.
“You jest,” I muse aloud, my own annoyance flaring.
Vampires carry some of the oldest blood in the realm, meaning that ours has the richest notes.
She must be lying. A shifter’s senses are unparalleled; she would have been able to taste the subtle intricacies in my blood.
“Despite your tantrum, I will uphold my end of the deal.” Bowing slightly, I make a spoken promise.
“I will spin illusions to keep your wild wolf at bay, and you will remain close for their duration. Furthermore, we will spend every full moon in each other’s presence, during which I will cast no charms or otherwise use my abilities. ”
Still fuming, she nods. “Fine.”
I hide my frustration at her fickle temper and force my next smile. “Come,” I murmur, guiding her from the room. “I’ll escort you to class.”
I lay my arm around her waist and lead her through the many winding halls of the academy.
As my illusion in the dining hall dispels, I shield her from the brunt of her wild mate’s fury rumbling down the corridor, but she jumps like she can sense it through my magic.
I wrap my arm tighter around her until we reach our destination, then reluctantly release her to take our seats for this morning’s lecture.
She’s too distracted by the fiendish growling echoing down the hall to notice when I press my thumb to the pulse on her wrist.
A shiver courses through me as I feel her heartbeat and imagine its pulse on my lips—a temptation so innate that it stirs my awakening desire. I close my eyes and count each beat of her heart until she moves, breaking the spell as she pulls her arm away.
The class begins, but I ignore the lecture and continue monitoring her heartbeat, suddenly invigorated by the thought of her blood.
Will it taste as sweet when it beats twice as fast, or does it thin and its flavor wane?
I crane my neck and glance at her wild mate—whose eyes bore into the back of my head like daggers—seated a few rows behind. I wonder if he could taste every note within her blood when he drank from her last night, or if the subtle intricacies were lost on such a . . . vulgar man.
Deliberately brushing Sienna’s shoulder with mine, I delight in the fury on her mate’s face.
When I have a proper taste of her blood—and I will—I’ll savor every single detail of her naked flesh and prove that she doesn’t need a wolf to sate her desire.
All she needs—all she’ll want—is the decadent devotion that only eternity can provide.