Chapter 3
Newborn Vampir… Ancient.
ANDRé
What the fuck?!
What felt like the blast of a thousand winds pushed against me when our mate flashed past us—moving faster than human eyes could register. The force sent Dariah staggering backward, but I dashed to her side, catching her before she could hit the floor.
“What the fuck?” Dariah echoed my thoughts, eyes widening a split second before she recovered from the shock and raced after our mate.
“Timber…” Hannes murmured as our mate’s feet caught on the rug, and she began to face-plant the floor.
She was not fully in control of her new speed, but the fall didn’t happen.
She bounced back to her feet before she could hit the floor, just as our Vampir Mother reached her.
Unfaced and still very naked, our mate flashed past her again, her gaze devouring her surroundings while she went from one corner of the suite to the other.
Dante and I turned over and over, almost spinning in place because, apparently, our mate’s new pace was nearly too much for supernatural eyes too. Thankfully, my Vampiri nature allowed me to follow her more easily than Dante could, but she still blurred for me sometimes.
Even for the great, ancient, and all-powerful Countess Dariah Dracul, who now lagged a few seconds after our mate, trying to catch her.
Not for Hannes, though. His keen eyes were somehow perfectly trained on our mate’s every move—filled with intrigue, contemplation, and even a certain hunger.
That was not a gift Wolf Shifters normally possessed, then again, Hannes ReinheitWolfe was far from normal.
Maybe his otherworldly, lunar magic superseded that of any earthly Wolf Shifter.
“La naiba!” our Vampir Mother cursed under her breath, stopping her pointless pursuit. Crimson blood instantly swirled into her eyes, a sign that she’d had it, and was accessing one of her many Deamhan gifts. “Enough!”
Waves of power burst from her lips with the word, visibly curling in the air as her Limitless Compulsion rushed towards our mate.
Every inch of my body tensed, rejecting the use of compulsion against our mate, even if it came from our Dariah, and it was only for her good.
The emotions, thoughts, feelings, and desires we felt when we first awoke as Vampiri were overwhelming to say the least, especially for us born of Dariah’s blood, so I knew exactly what our mate was experiencing.
Right now, the world was new for her. Filled with electrifying energy, vibrant colors, sounds, and riveting scents she could have never conjured in her wildest dreams. Her need was all-consuming for everything this world contained… including blood.
The waves of power touched our mate just as she reached the balcony, fiery wings expanding from her back to take her away into the wonderful unknown. She halted once the compulsion swept over her and slowly turned around toward the origin of the force… viciously slow.
Bright red irises connected with Vampir Mother’s, and Dante gasped, taken aback by our mate’s gaze.
She had crimson-red eyes.
The moment I noticed her red irises a strange force crashed into me, its power almost overtaking me, and my entire body tensed.
“Natasha?” Dante murmured beside me, taking a step toward her, but I promptly grabbed his arm, stopping him.
“No,” I whispered into our shadow link. “Natalia…”
“I said, enough,” Dariah reiterated, squaring off to our mate’s defiance.
A sinful smirk lifted the corner of Natalia’s lips, and she walked back into the room.
“Stop,” Dariah ordered, the waves of her power sweeping over our mate yet again… and doing absolutely nothing.
Fuck.
Dante and I exchanged a stunned glance as icy vines wrapped around our bodies. That command should have rendered her immobile. It would have frozen any other being, including me.
“Natalia is immune to the Limitless Compulsion?” Dante asked, pride sneaking through the undertone of his shocked voice in our minds.
“No one is,” I muttered out loud, seeing Natalia purposely walk to Dariah, stopping only a few feet away.
“ReinheitWolfe Wolf Shifters are,” Hannes added, a brilliant smile that would make anyone on this planet melt—even in his Beast form—stretching his mouth.
The fucker was the personification of charisma.
Noted.
Dariah’s crimson eyes did not falter for a second with Natalia’s challenge—her supremacy over everyone went far beyond the abilities she possessed. “I may not be able to control you, but I would strongly advise you to obey.”
Her voice no longer carried the ability of compulsion, but its power still swept over us, forcing an uncomfortable chill down my spine.
Ay, Caralho…
Blinking, Natalia’s head tilted slightly, her gaze shifting to the large, feather-covered wings that extended along Dariah’s back.
Her eyes swiftly assessed her own, dancing with blue flames before they returned to our Vampir Mother.
With a slow, deep breath, our mate scented her, and her fiery wings receded in response, recognizing Dariah’s sovereignty.
My chest sank with relief. “At least she respects our Vampir Mother’s might over us.”
Natalia took a step back, performing an elaborate bow as she bent at the waist before straightening. “You’ll forgive me, Your Majesty, but right now I don’t exactly feel like doing what I’m told.”
“Aaand… you spoke too soon.” Hannes snorted, enjoying the show.
“Books?!” Flashing to the library directly behind Dariah, our mate’s red gaze glowed with excitement and curiosity as it spanned the entirety of the bookcases anchoring the fireplace in her suite.
Dariah’s vigilant eyes met ours, clearly intrigued by this awakening. It was nothing like mine, Constantin’s, or even hers had been. Our mate seemed fully in control of herself—if such a thing was possible for any newborn Vampir.
Except, we all knew better than to lower our guard.
Still coiled for action, we all faced her in time to find Natalia dashing along the bookcases, her hands pulling book after book, and fanning the pages, only to send it flying behind her as she discarded them.
“What is she doing?” Dariah asked, coming to our side.
“She’s reading them,” Hannes answered with a renewed smile.
“That fast?” Her eyes widened, glancing at me. No Vampir had ever been that fast.
I shared her surprise, unable to register her full actions like Hannes did, only glimpses within her blurred movements. It was fascinating.
“Are all new Vampires that fast?”
Dariah’s head shook as she glanced at Dante, her attention leaving the ever-growing pile of books on the floor. “Vampiri abilities are heightened as they first awake, but I’ve never witnessed anything like it. She’s…”
“Special…” Hannes finished for her, an adoring tone capturing his voice.
With a speed that would make any Vampir jealous, our mate moved from one end of her private library to the other, from the center to the top and down again before she reached for the next tome.
Admiration captured me too, witnessing the multifaceted beauty before us, and I was left speechless. The half Vampir, half Wolf Shifter marvel made for an absolutely incredible woman… and she was mine.
“Ours!”
I couldn’t help but grin at Hannes’s fierce growl. “You are right, my guy. She’s ours.”
Clearly, Hannes and I were not the only ones taken by her. Dante took a few steps toward our mate, fully entranced by the sight, but my hand shot toward his arm.
“We are not out of the woods yet,” I cautioned. “Newborn Vampiri are very territorial, and right now, everything is heightened. She could react—”
Shadows swirled out of him, forcing me to jerk my hand back before they touched me, and swiftly engulfed him. I watched him reappear beside her, and her spine abruptly straightened.
Shit.
He’d just invaded her personal space.
Books forgotten, Natalia turned to face him, the crimson light in her eyes dangerously darkening.
“It’s me, Cuore mio… Your Dante.”
That was all it took.
The words awakened something in her, the intensity in her gaze waning until the red became soft and quiet… though it never left. Closing her eyes, Natalia took a relaxed, appreciative breath, and when her eyelids lifted, a different emotion captured her being.
“Mine…” she growled a second before ramming into him and slamming them both into the last bookcase.
“Dante!” I called, startled, seeing the wood explode as they went through it, books raining from the force while they ended up on the other wall.
“She’s fine. I’m leaving,” Dariah announced with a bored sigh, her deathly feathers retreating before she finally pulled her wings into her back.
Casually, she walked past us and closed the door on her way out, but my attention never left Dante—our mate was now tearing his clothes off in blurred movements.
“Heightened emotions, huh? Don’t see it,” Hannes mocked while she tore Dante’s pants off, his hard-on jerking free. “That was fast.”
“Please, he got hard the second she attacked him,” I snorted, though I was still concerned for him.
“Don’t worry, Dante is enjoying every single second of this. He needs the release,” Hannes assured. “We almost fucked before you called.”
Damn… A rush of need reached my groin, tightening it. We hadn’t been together since the day before we finally rescued Natasha from the fucking RavenWolf camp in Colorado. It felt like forever.
Pushing Dante to the floor, Natalia straddled him, her beautiful ass lifting as she kissed him, giving us the most breathtaking view. My body reacted right away, hardening for her with the sight of her delicate skin glistening with need.
Dante’s hands cupped her face while they desperately kissed, her hand dropping between them and curling firmly around his hard-on to stroke him. Her pace fiercely increased with every kiss, pulling moans of pleasure and pain out of him… until her hand blurred.
“Fuck. She’s going to kill him.”
“And the motherfucker will die with a smile on his face,” Hannes added.
“Harder!” Dante demanded against her mouth—or begged.