Vameer
My movements are stiff as I lower my feet to the floor.
I kick off the last scraps of my sandals, and as I stand, my linen pants fall to the floor into a pile of dust and scraps.
I knew I’d be a little slow after resting, but the rigidity of my muscles is more than I expected.
A question for later.
I roll my neck side to side, causing my robe to tear.
The fabric that had been oversized is now tight across my shoulders. And my new longer, thicker horns are ripping the hood.
I pull in another lungful of the apple-tinged air.
She was here.
I woke, looking into her eyes.
I step toward the doorway.
My cock pulses against the heavy wool covering my body.
Those eyes.
Human eyes.
It’s nearly pitch black in here. The tiny bits of light from the hallway are nearly nonexistent inside the chamber.
But my Little Human was able to see me in the dark.
The power inside me swells and vibrates the ground.
I only saw her for a moment. A single beat of our hearts, as they came together, binding our lives. But her eyes were all I needed.
She is stunning. She is perfect.
And she is mine.
When I get my hands on her…
Inhaling my mate’s intoxicating scent, I press against the front of my robe—against my dick—as I stride to the doorway.
I follow the trace of apple through the southern passage to the entrance of the cave. My bare feet pressing over her wet footprints.
Rain echoes down the passage as I near the end. And even though the clouds must be thick to drop so much water, I still have to squint against the brightness.
Vampire eyes can see in total darkness but are not usually this sensitive to the light.
Her scent carries outside, so I duck low and step through the opening.
Raindrops pelt my hood, but I can still smell my other half.
My hand reaches toward the stone as I turn in the direction she came from.
The rock is wet beneath my fingers, but I swear I can feel where she touched it.
I swear I can feel her lingering heat.
I follow the trail a few steps, but then the scent of apples disappears.
I backtrack, going past the cave entrance the other way. Nothing.
She appeared, then disappeared. But there is no trace of magic out here to suggest she came through a portal.
I turn my back to the mountain and step off the edge of the cliff.
My gravito wraps around me, holding me in place, hovering, as I look down, then up.
My mate is not here.
Something tugs at my heart, making it jump a beat before I can calm it.
I frown at the feeling of panic pressing against our bond.
My mate is stressed.
I keep my focus on our shared heartbeat as my gravito sets me down at the entrance of the cave, and I duck back inside.
I cannot explain what happened. How she was here, then gone.
And if I am confused, I am certain my Little Human is scared. Probably terrified.
I clench my fists. Keeping my emotions in check. Refusing to be the reason that she feels even more fear.
How will I explain what mates are to a human?
I don’t care that my mate is not a vampire. I only care that I have found her.
I’ve waited a long time for this day. Prepared myself my whole life for the joy of finding the other half of my soul.
I inhale again.
This is what I was seeking.
When I lay down, I wanted to wake with a new purpose. And she is it. My mate is my purpose.
Only my mate doesn’t know what mates are.
How will I even begin to explain vampires?
She will know me, I remind myself.
She will have felt what I felt.
She will have felt her heart stop and start with mine.
I slept through the stopping part, but I woke when our hearts restarted as one.
I flex the power inside me, and it reverberates down the passage.
One single drop of her blood is all that I received. But it is sizzling through my system.
My body still feels a little stiff. I didn’t feel this way the last time I was here. I must’ve slept the whole month.
I pause when I notice what else is… wrong.
I feel cold.
I lift my hands in front of me.
I never feel cold.
Focusing on my palms, I call my Fire Touch to the surface.
Nothing happens.
My hands stay cold.
Lowering my arms, I continue walking and decide not to think about it.
My Fire Touch is not gone. I can still sense it in the center of my being. It’s just…too cold.
Which should be impossible.
As I near the doorway to my chamber, I notice a detail I didn’t pick up on when I woke. The distinct lack of living creatures inside.
I step over the fallen slab of stone, then duck through the doorway.
But my horns catch on the threshold.
Bits of rock crumble above me, and I have to bend my neck at an awkward angle to get the tips of my horns unstuck.
I grunt in annoyance and duck lower.
I need to remember that I am taller.
Back inside the chamber, I know for certain that my captives are dead.
Oh well.
I need sangue, but if my Fire Touch has gone cold, I need more power than those two would have been able to provide me with. Even if I drained them dry, it wouldn’t be the boost I’m looking for.
I need to travel.
Far.
I don’t know exactly where my mate is. But I feel the pull to go north.
So that’s what I’ll do.
A few steps from the altar, I stop.
What is that?
Bending over, I reach for the item on the ground.
My hood tears more.
Huffing, I stand straight.
I didn’t pack extra clothes for myself, so I can’t shred this robe. Especially now that my pants are gone.
Reaching up, I try to pull my hood free so I can push it back. But the robe is tighter now on my larger body. And my horns are longer. And no matter how much I try, I can’t stretch the material up high enough to get it off them.
Tamping down my frustration, I undo my belt.
The leather cracks at my handling, and I loosen my hold.
Brows furrowing, I start to suspect that I might have slept longer than I meant to.
Belt off, robe hanging open, cool air swirling around my otherwise nude body, I reach up and try again.
But my shoulders are constricted by the wool. And I still can’t get the fabric up over my horns.
Annoyance flares through my body.
Enough.
I keep my legs straight and bend at the hips, dropping my top half quickly. Then I hang my arms down to the ground and shake my body.
Gold coins fall from my pocket and bounce off the stone floor. But the robe slides off my body, finally dislodged from my horns.
Completely naked, still bent in half, I reach out and grab the item I spotted off the ground.
It’s small. Smooth. Flexible.
I stand straight and bring it up to my face.
It’s hard to make out colors in the total darkness, but I can tell the beads are a variety of colors. And shaped like hearts.
I drag my fingertip over the beads.
The material is new to me. But when I lift it to my nose and inhale, all I smell is the delicious scent of my mate.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had any jewelry. But this belongs to my mate. So I will wear it. And return it to her.
I hold it carefully as I push my left hand through the center of the bracelet.
The band holding the beads together stretches. And I worry I’m going to break it. But then it slides over the widest part of my hand and settles around my wrist.
The beads are spaced out, showing the thin stretchy string holding them together, though I suspect it would fit my Little Human differently.
I press my thumb to one of the hearts.
And standing there, with my dick hardening in the cold chamber, I close my eyes and listen as my heart beats in time with my mate’s.
“Mon Coeur.”