Fall of kNight (38 page)

“This is yours. It is all that I have to offer you.
”
His voice broke in a whisper. “
Take
it and do with it what you will. I no longer have the need to live, if I cannot have you.
”

Tears formed in my eyes. Pain burned inside my heart, piercing through the walls and barriers that shielded me from him. This beautiful creation stood before me, willing to die. I could feel it. Deep down in my heart I knew. Richard wanted to die. He truly didn‟t have the will to live. No, I couldn‟t bear the thought of it. Not Richard.

“
Richard,”
I choked out. A single tear fell from my eye. “
I…”

His finger gently removed the tear from my cheek. Blinking slowly, his hand slid around my neck and pulled me closer to him. The coolness of his body pressed against mine. The smell of his aromatic floral fragrance filled my senses, rendering me helpless under his control.

“I can’t go on living without you. You are the very thing I have wanted all these lonely and
terrifying years. You have no idea the pain I have suffered. Julie, the moments I am with you…I
truly live. You bring a light into my life that I have not felt in over 300 years. It is not the memory
of Juliet that haunts me. It is you and you alone. I am tortured by every moment I am not near you.

Knowing I could never have you, have your love. I would never hurt you. I promise you this; I
would rather die than continue to live this way.”
The softness of his breath lingered against my face.

“
Richard, you can’t die…”
I breathed out in a fainted whisper. My heart ripped at the sound of his voice, which spoke of a love forbidden.

His lips pressed lightly against mine.
“Then give me a reason to live,”
He spoke softly against my lips.

My heart raced. My breath froze. Tenderly, his lips parted mine with a gentle graze.

The softness of his tongue traced the curve of my lip. The faintness of his floral scent drew into my mouth. Leisurely, he slid it further inside searching for the everlasting kiss that was never meant to be. The taste of him weakened me. Breathless and wanting more of the delightful taste, this sweet taste was the very thing I had been craving, his kiss.

The taste of his mouth against mine, the flavor of his tongue as it caressed mine. Tears streamed down my face. He pulled my helpless body closer as I gave in to the kiss. The will I had no longer existed. Softly, he stroked my tongue wrapping his around mine. He drew a deep breath and pulled it into his mouth. A groan rumbled in his throat as I took over the kiss.

The intoxicating feeling increased. I wanted more. My hand went to his face holding him close to me. His fingers ran through my hair to the back of my head, pressing me harder against his lips. I inhaled the sweet scent deeper into my lungs, allowing the wonderful sweetness to intoxicate me even further. Richard‟s body pressed harder against mine, molding me to him. I felt every inch of his cool body. The swelling of his manhood pressed against the womanhood that wept for him.

Fire flamed in my veins. My heart pounded hard against his chest. Without any warning, my body quivered. He instinctively caught the small of my back with his left hand to steady me. In turn, he controlled the kiss again. Stroking. Teasing. Taunting. My breath held. My body trembled. My mind went numb. My legs tingled and weakened.

The earth felt like it moved underneath my feet. My mind swirled. That‟s when I felt it, a slow coursing through my body. The ache…the pain…suddenly I came. Trembling underneath his spell, my body betrayed me underneath his kiss. I went limp in his arms.

Richard‟s lips left mine.

“
Richard.”
I breathed out.

There are things in my life I could never explain. Never understand. Even if I had a life span of eternity, I may not ever hold the answers. My heart and mind were confused, torn between two men.

Daniel was my love. My life. My mate. According to our laws, we only had one mate. I was a Lycan, a female wolf. Never in a million years would I have expected my life to be in such turmoil. I loved Daniel.

Richard was my torture. My heart broke for him. I was not supposed to love him the way I did. I knew due to my nature as a Lycan, we loved deeply. Richard was a vampire, a very dangerous and seductive vampire. A vampire who had fallen in deeply love with me. I know now, his seduction methods were as dangerous as his killing methods. I was almost certain it was because Richard was a vampire that I was drawn to him, pulled to him. I was his obsession. With one kiss, Richard opened me to another world, a world that desired him.

Daniel had taken control of the Lycan Council. We had killed the former Council in defense of our lives and my family. My family who called themselves the Dark Wolves, another surprise for me, a family I never knew existed. They accepted me with open arms and accepted Daniel as a part of them. Gramps even accepted Daniel as a Dark Wolf.

With this new venture, Daniel reconciled the clans with their originators, once again bringing the rule over the Lycans to their rightful bloodline, the Aniwayahs.

Gramps was more than just a leader to his people. He was a great man of spiritual power. A Shaman of the most powerful magic I had ever witnessed. This was my bloodline.

I finally understood why my father kept the secret of who my mother was from the Lycan Council. The Council itself was wicked. My father knew this. For this reason, I believe he lost his life. It was my theory that the Council knew the power behind my mother‟s lines, what she was capable of. They knew the great strength of Gramps was in her blood. Would this be my Fate as well?

A war was on the horizon, set forth by Daniel as the new leader of the Lycan clans.

Fear grew in my heart for Daniel. There was something that had taken him over that night he changed into a Dark Wolf. I feared becoming the leader of the Lycan Clans would change him as well. My fear was becoming stronger.

Daniel‟s plan to wage war against the vampires was terrifying. How many more lives would we lose? The vampires helped save my life. It was his rage against Richard that set this into motion. Richard was not the only one with an obsession. Richard was, in fact, Daniel‟s obsession. Almost every day, he contemplated ways to kill Richard and save me from the clutches of this vampire.

The future was not certain. Unlike Daniel, I couldn‟t see that far ahead of me. There was one thing I did know. Whenever I was around Richard, my bond with Daniel was broken. The mere presence of Richard voided any mental ability I had with Daniel, leaving me to be consumed totally by the inhumanly beautiful vampire.

What did the future hold for us? War? Greed? Obsession? Desire? In the midst of all the warmongering, where was the love? Where was the love we were willing to die for?

With my heart broken into thousands of pieces, I dared not contemplate the answers. There was one gift I treasured; my child, the child that grew inside my body.

What would it become? What would Fate have in store for it? I could only hope my unborn child‟s life would be better than mine. Is this the way my father felt for me?

In my heart, I knew there was a death to come. Whose, I did not know. I could feel it. Sense it on the horizon. If Daniel managed to bring war against the vampires, then we would lose. How many of us would lose our lives? I knew in my heart, Richard would never let another vampire kill me. With this knowledge, it only made me wonder if he would take personal satisfaction in killing Daniel. To fulfill Daniel‟s agreement, upon his death I would belong to Richard. Did Daniel realize he had set his own death sentence? At least in the eyes of Mithras he did.

Then again, there was Mithras. The thought of his name sent chills down my spine.

Dangerous. Haunting. Controlling. Absolute power. Those were the words that came to my mind. Mithras was not the type of man who would make peace offerings, which is why I wondered if he had ulterior motives. His words to Daniel, “A vampire is a vampire,” what did he mean? Did this mean we couldn‟t trust the vampires?

My life was not what it had seemed. Day by day, it changed. The people around me changed. War tends to change people, myself included. Every day my thoughts changed. My heart was pulled in different directions. My will was changing. I could no longer fight the power of this vampire who now had control over me. This vampire who had willed me to be his and whose kiss drew a deep passion from me that I had never before experienced. This inhumanly beautiful vampire - Richard.

Even in my dreams, he haunted me. That night I had one of the most interesting dreams, it was actually terrifying.

I stood outside in a grape vineyard. It was almost dawn. Richard stood beside me.

He took my hand and we moved swiftly through the vineyard to a spot high on a hillside. Richard stopped and sat down on the edge of the hill. He held his hand out for me, pulling me down to sit between his legs. I eased down on the ground, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer to him. His face nestled in my neck, kissing me then resting his head on my shoulder, pressing his face against mine.

We sat together only for a few minutes, when I noticed the sun rise, peeking through the low lying clouds. The brighter it became, I could see the sun‟s rays piercing through the break in the clouds. The gentle rays of sunlight flowed in a sparkling radiance down on the grapevines. Yes, as Richard had painted the story, it was just like he said. The land came alive, with the brilliant colors of greens and browns, accented by the beauty of the blue sky. The sun‟s golden rays glistened on the dew left on the grapes from last night‟s fog, giving the appearance of sparkling diamonds. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. I exhaled softly, nestling my head against his chest.

“
It is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen,”
I whispered softly.

“
It used to be for me, once
,” he whispered.

My heart melted. His arms wrapped around me tighter as his lips pressed to my neck again, and then his face nestled against mine. Feeling the smoothness of his skin so close to mine, I nestled my cheek against his as a soft moan escaped my throat.

An immense love crashed down inside my heart as I looked into those beautiful eyes hidden behind the tinted contacts. Richard‟s beautiful face was at peace. He actually glowed from the love that was inside of him.

I turned my head, resting my body against his again, my eyes glancing over the huge vineyard below.

For a moment, within the dream, an odd sense of reality hit me. I realized as I sat with Richard on this picturesque hillside. There was something more to this dream.

Immortality was something I had never dreamed of or imagined, but here I faced it. I wondered what it would be like to spend years, who knew how long, hundreds or even thousands of years walking on the face of this old earth. To watch the earth change before my eyes, to see buildings come and go. How could I measure the time?

Captivated by one moment in time like this.

My eyes traveled upward to the sky, so blue and so brilliant was the morning, sitting here on a little countryside in France with Richard. I shifted against his chest again, the feeling of an odd stirring rang in my soul. Little did I realize what I had truly become.

Enjoy

Fall of kNight

By

T.L. Mitchell

Take a sneak at the exciting

Sequel

Dawn of kNight

The following preview is unedited.

The sun gallantly rose over the mountains, separating the night from the new day.

A new dawn waited, bringing with it our fate. No one knew for sure what destiny held for us. Our lives changed with each day. Every day brought to us a new decision, a new choice and a new hope.

Who was I to fight against Fate? Her will was predetermined even before the existence of time. It was her decision as to the course my life had taken. She had taken from me love, my will and my hope. Never had I felt as hopeless as my life began to spiral into another wave of destiny. Yes, I feared this new destiny.

I fought like the warrior that I was. Strong, determined and fearless I fought against my foe. If I were to live in the time of Achilles, I would have been considered a goddess.

Since I lived in this time, would anyone know the battle I endured? Would anyone remember my name? Or would my battle be long forgotten in the sands of time?

My battle waged, as the fight for my life continued, a fight with the will to survive and to live. I was much more than a Lycan. Another part of my life that I never knew dwelled deep inside my soul. A Dark Wolf had emerged from within me. The blood of the ancient tribe of wolf shape shifters ran through my veins. I was destined for war. It was in my blood. The war waged on as the battle came to a climax.

With my sword held high, I charged. The blades collided. The sound of steel against steel sang loudly into midnight‟s cold air. My hand was not as strong as my opponent‟s, but it was not my hand that failed me. In that one dreadful moment, it was my heart that weakened. The dreadful moment that took my life.

The sharp silvery sword of my enemy fell upon me, cutting into my flesh, penetrating deeply into my heart. My eyes suddenly widened from the shock of my defeat. Slowly, I dropped to my knees, clutching to my chest as the crimson red blood stained my hands. With heavy death laden eyes lifted to my opponent, I waited in agony. A glimpse was what I wanted, just to look into the eyes of my foe before my eyes closed forever.