Chapter 9 – Rorik
Good lord this woman has an impressive set of lungs on her.
She should know by now that screaming bloody murder will do nothing but turn me on.
I’d hoped my absence would allow her time to… I don’t know, accept her situation. God, that sounds awful, but I never admitted to being anything other than awful.
Aurora struggles in my arms, making a scene. I blame my curse for putting us in this situation. The scent of her blood dripping from the cut on her palm distracted me, allowing her to escape. It made my throat burn with hunger and my cock harden with the need to fuck her.
I want to consume her.
At my age, the need to feed isn’t as necessary as it was hundreds of years ago. I haven’t reacted this way around a bleeding human in a very long time.
It’s all adding up.
The shared dreams. My desire to be near her. My burning hunger to taste her—all of her: blood, lips, and cunt—they’re all signs that she’s my mate as I suspected.
I can’t understand how it’s possible. I was already given two mates. I’m the reason they’re gone, and I never believed I deserved to love again. Yet here is this woman whose thoughts are silent to me. Who makes my dead heart ache inside my chest.
I could have sworn it constricted with a single beat the other day.
As much as I wanted to continue exploring this connection, I did kidnap her.
She wouldn’t listen if I tried to explain myself.
Plus, once she knows that we’re destined for each other, she’ll have a choice.
She’ll have every right to deny our bond.
If she rejects it… rejects me… then the only thing I have left to live for is to find her mother and demand she end my existence.
To be fair, I did try to talk to Aurora that first week. She acted like a child, pressing her hands over her ears and saying, ‘la la la’ over and over until I had enough and stormed out of the room.
She’s a fucking menace, and I’ll be damned if I don’t find it adorable.
“Aurora,” I growl, removing her bag and tossing it to the side. I bring her back flush to the front of my body and cover her mouth with my palm. She immediately bites down. I curse. “Please, let’s go back inside and let me explain.”
“Fuck you, vampire!” she yells, the words muffled against my hand.
People are starting to pay attention, slowing down to observe or glancing back over their shoulder. Normally in New York City, people mind their business. But I’ve got a bleeding, screaming, struggling woman in my arms.
Someone takes out their phone and starts recording. Another has their phone up to their ear, I assume to call the police.
Fuck! This is not good.
“We’re just roleplaying,” I say to the gathering crowd, followed by a nervous laugh.
Aurora rears her head back, and I manage to dodge the blow. But the move causes my hand to slip from her mouth.
“We’re not roleplaying! He kidnapped me!”
“Rorik Sevier!”
There’s a thud behind me, the wind whips around us, followed by the screams of terrified humans. A gargoyle. One who hasn’t masked their true form in front of these easily spooked mortals.
Interesting.
A few humans have already run off in fear. Others have stayed to watch with excitement as the chaos unfolds, surely assuming this is all an act… a show.
“Hand over the woman,” the soldier bellows. She’s tall, about my height of six foot four, and muscular, as are most gargoyles. She’s got a gray tint to her skin and long black hair.
Two more gargoyle soldiers land beside her.
Fuck! There’s no escaping this. I’m fast, but so are gargoyles.
An SUV with blackened windows comes to a screeching halt in front of my building.
The vampire queen steps out. She’s wearing a simple black dress that drapes over her curvy body. Her brown curls are down around her shoulders. She’s always dressed elegantly, but as royalty, she now has this regal air about her.
Getting out of the vehicle behind her are her two mates.
Vara, the sphinx. She tucks her golden wings to her back and adjusts her short red dress that barely covers her tits and ass.
Her curly golden hair is up in a messy bun.
She’s tall and intimidating, and power emanates from her.
Which is why she’ll be leading public relations once we reveal our kind to the world.
A liaison between humans and supes. She’s a being that demands attention and knows how to manipulate the spotlight to her advantage.
Thorne, the gargoyle who leads Layla’s security team, brings up the rear.
He’s massive, with dark purple skin and an intimidating scar diagonal across his face, and tall—seven feet if I had to guess.
He’s wearing all black, and his t-shirt struggles to contain all his muscles.
His wings are out but not extended, as if he’s ready to spread them to protect his two mates.
His tail whips back and forth behind him as the three line up in front of us, fangs bared.
Yep. They’re pissed.
I’ve created a problem for them.
Kidnapping a human comes with a hefty punishment. I think. I didn’t care to read up on the new laws created. I just know I’ve done a bad, bad thing because while Aurora isn’t entirely human—witches don’t consider themselves to be human—she’s still human-presenting.
Another SUV pulls up behind the one the trio was in, and Millie, the former vampire queen, steps out along with her mate, Teddy.
“Oh, hello, friends,” I say with a smile.
“Rory, my man!” Teddy says, walking up to me and holding out his fist for me to bump.
He pauses before reaching me, realizing my hands are full with a kidnapped witch, and runs his hand through his thick, wavy blond hair with a smirk before taking his place next to Millie.
The two are dressed in dinner attire. Millie is wearing a sleek, dark blue crop top and matching pencil skirt that showcases her plus-size body. Her dark brown hair is up in an elegant style. Teddy is in a nice black shirt and white slacks. The newbie vampire has what the world calls a dad bod.
I can never keep up with all the terms these days. As someone who’s lived for over 3,000 years, humans and supernaturals alike have come in all shapes and sizes. Yet the world was never so obsessed with image as this modern one.
“Let the woman go, Rorik,” Layla commands.
“I will, but let me explain first,” I say, tightening my hold on Aurora. She huffs, but at least she’s not screaming anymore. Probably because she believes she’s safe now that she’s about to be rescued.
“This ought to be good,” Vara mumbles.
I have one hand flat on my little lamb’s stomach while my other arm is crossed over her chest. Aurora wriggles in my tight hold, but all it does is excite me as her thick ass rubs against my cock.
“See, when I saw this woman over a month ago after we took down the hunters… I couldn’t hear her thoughts.”
“Okay? So, you thought that gave you the right to kidnap her?” Layla asks.
“I… panicked.”
The vampire queen sighs, and Vara rolls her eyes. Thorne stands behind them, arms crossed and a stern look on his face. Millie and Teddy are off to the side, watching as if they’re at the movies. All they need is popcorn and candy.
“Can we go inside and talk?” I ask, realizing our audience is growing.
The crowd is full of humans, yet no one seems fazed by all the large creatures with wings, horns, and tails. The thing about New York City is unbelievable shit happens here every day. They’re sticking around, waiting for us to explain what they’re seeing.
With weeks left until the unveiling, it’s possible the supes won’t manipulate their memories. It could also explain why they aren’t masking their true forms right now.
It’s like a soft launch to the idea that monsters are real.
Layla waves her hand. “Fine, but you have to let this woman go.”
My chest aches at the thought.
I don’t move for several seconds, and Layla raises her brow at me. A challenge for hesitating to follow her command.
With a heavy sigh, I release Aurora, and she runs to Thorne.
She remembers the big gargoyle because he’s the one who found her at the hunter’s compound.
“Lead the way, Rorik,” Vara says with a scowl.
I walk into the building, nodding to the doorman, Lloyd, a human who I have on my payroll.
He knows I’m a vampire, but he never seemed to care about that and minds his business.
I pay him well enough that he could retire now, but he’s told me he has no family left in this world.
The tenants of this building have become his friends and family, and he’ll work until he’s physically unable to.
I admire him for that.
We pack into the elevator, standing shoulder to shoulder: me, Layla, Thorne, Vara, Millie, Teddy, and Aurora, who’s at the very back, between Millie and Teddy.
When we arrive at my penthouse, I lead everyone through the foyer, past the double doors, and to the kitchen.
“Can I get anyone something to drink?”
“This isn’t a social visit, Rorik,” Layla scolds.
I toss up my hands in defeat and continue into the living room where there are more seats.
Millie disappears for thirty seconds, using her vampire speed to gather supplies to clean and bandage Aurora’s wound. After Aurora is no longer openly bleeding, Millie joins Teddy on the loveseat. The three mated supes make themselves comfortable on my couch. Aurora sits in my oversized chair.
She crosses her arms over her chest. Her anger grows. The emotion is heavy as it settles over my skin.
Sensing emotions is yet another sign of…
I shake my head and stand on the other side of my coffee table in the open space. “Anyone up for a game of charades?”
“Stop trying to be funny, Rorik,” Layla growls. “Do you realize how much shit you’re in?”
I sigh and glance at Aurora. My attempt to lighten the mood does nothing to change how pissed off she is. Maybe because she’s back inside the apartment when she was so close to freedom.
“Why is everything green?” Vara asks under her breath.
“Because it’s my favorite color.”
“Why? It looks like puke,” Millie adds.
“Wouldn’t know. Haven’t puked in three millennia.”