Feral: Book Two (6 page)

FIVE

I was unsure of how long we had laid there, tangled together on the covers, but after what seemed like an eternity, I moved so I could gaze up at his face and gasped in astonishment when I saw his irises.

"What is the matter,
cara mia
?" he asked, concern evident on his face and in his voice.

"Your-your eyes aren't red anymore," I said as I leaned in closer to look. "Well, not bright red like before. They're more of a dusty-rose color."

He looked supremely unsurprised, which in turn surprised me more. "I was quite certain the effects would not last long—not initially, anyway—given that I did not take that much of your blood. Plus, my body was able to quickly metabolize your blood due to your emotions and, to an extent, our connection."

I was not quite sure what he meant, and it apparently showed because he blurred away, grabbing an extra blanket and wrapping me up in it when he flashed back before he explained. "Fear and love are two of the strongest emotions known to almost all creatures, but they act in completely different ways. Fear is an emotion that bears resistance, the urge to fight, to defend… whereas love, true love, is an emotion that bears only compassion and acceptance. Our bodies metabolize blood by both the physical components of it as well as the emotions.”

He stroked his hands down my arms before rolling me over onto my back, gazing down at me with a look of worship that practically stole my breath. "Emotions," he whispered as he licked the shell of my ear, "are what help, or in most cases hinder, the rate at which the blood is metabolized. Most creatures,
mia amore
, are not like you and are not too keen on us draining their life force from them."

"So fear makes it harder for your body to absorb the blood," I repeated. I was intrigued and wanted to learn as much about my mate as possible, and considering I would be becoming a succubus in a few years, it did not hurt to have a heads up. "So I'm guessing it has to do with the exact hormones in the bloodstream?"

"Yes," he said with a smile. "It's a very long and complicated explanation, but…"

I smirked as something suddenly occurred to me. "The Great Simon Treviso doesn't know!"

He nuzzled his nose against my ear. "I just do not see any relevance with boring you with the tedious and wholly unexciting details."

He started purring happily. Or perhaps to distract me. Either way, I burst out into giggles. "You don't know!" He growled playfully and began sucking on my earlobe before kissing his way down my neck to latch onto a familiar patch of skin, and I gasped. "If you keep doing that, it's never going to go away." When he chuckled ‘I know’, I huffed.
"Everyone
is going to start noticing if I wear a scarf every day of the year!"

Suddenly, our positions changed, and he was leaning against the headboard with me sitting between his strong thighs, his arms wrapped tightly around my mine, with my back against his chest. He rested his chin on my head and sighed. "This is a small town,
cara mia,
so I fear that it will not be too long before the whole of it knows of the change in our relationship."

"Oh God!" I moaned. "I still haven’t introduced you to my father."

Simon nuzzled against my ear. “Oh, perhaps I exaggerate somewhat, and your secret dalliance will not be made town gossip. The university, though, I’m quite sure, will soon be abuzz with the news. Your father we were going to tell anyway.”

I nibbled on my lower lip as the glaringly obvious question bounced around my brain. "Simon, I don't want to offend you, but where are the others now?"

“They fled to the woods before we mated, but now, they are returning from only a few miles off.” He growled softly and his grip tightened. "Before they departed, Kendal said they would remain on the veranda until I was reacquainted with their presence. Once I am comfortable with them being that close, they will open the front door to allow more of their scent into the house. From there, they will move into the kitchen and wait for us to come downstairs to them." He slowly climbed from the bed pulling me with him and urging me to get dressed, and when we were both clothed, he pulled me back on the bed to sit with him. “Hopefully, we can all take precautions to avoid too many incidents over the next few years.”

I blinked in confusion as I scooted closer to him. "Next few years? Surely, that can’t be right?”

He sighed and bowed his head, and I could tell that he was embarrassed at the moment since he hid his face in his hands. When he looked up, I noticed that his eyes seemed to be an even lighter shade of pink. "
Mia diletta
, unfortunately the entire mating process does not end with the physical act of mating, nor does it end when a human mate is changed. Due to the nature of vampires, most have exceptionally dominant personalities—not violent or cruel, just very assertive and dependent. The males, obviously, are far more dominant; however, unmated and recently turned females are a rather aggressive force, so when an unmated female finds her mate, it generally takes about a year or two for her to completely submit to the male's dominance. The same amount of time applies to a recently turned female."

He lifted me into his lap and tucked me closely against his chest. "It is within the male's nature to want to protect his mate, and a newly mated female still has her instincts to fight for herself in situations where she does not need to. As dated as it sounds to a human, a female should not be fighting for or protecting the male unless they are overwhelmed by others or the male is severely injured and unable to protect his mate any longer. It is the male's responsibility to protect both himself and his mate against danger, and as I said, it takes a year or so for a female to fully submit to her male."

I was shocked by this information and was not completely sure of what to make of it. "So… for the next few years, we're going to be… um… I mean, really?"

"I am sorry,
mia cocca
," he cooed, his eyes full of emotion. "I am not completely certain of the intensity we will feel during our mating. You must remember that I have nearly completely suppressed all of my instincts until I admitted our bond to you. Any emotions that I have felt until now, I have felt at a human level. After nearly a hundred years, I really did not even have to try to suppress them, and experiencing life as a human came naturally. So I unfortunately have nearly four hundred years of—" he licked the side of my neck, whispering— "tension built up."

I shuddered at the innuendo and had just pressed my lips to his when he jumped back against the headboard, still cradling me in his arms.

He snarled viciously then spasmed slightly, bowing his head as shame etched the lines of his face. "They're here. On the porch." He shook his head. "I hate this,
la mia
. I hate that I am feeling this way toward those that I consider to be my family."

"Simon," I said patiently, "I know them well enough to know that they do not blame you for anything. They will not be upset with you in the slightest. Kendal and Maymuna have even experienced the same thing.”

My mate nodded slowly, as if not wanting to admit that it was okay for his clan but not for himself. “Yes."

I smirked. "So it's okay for them to act like this, but not you?"

He sighed and turned his eyes to me. "That is not what I meant. I am just a bit overwhelmed." He tilted his head, apparently thinking. "I can tell you exactly what will happen between us, what will happen to me, about my instincts and reactions, but I have never experience anything of this magnitude and it is quite disconcerting to me. Logically, I know that you have been threatened, and I am just protecting you, but emotionally I cannot comprehend why I would feel that my family is, too, a threat."

I hugged him as tightly as I could without hurting myself. "I am sorry Simon. I wish there was something that I could say or do to make this easier on you."

The smile in his voice was obvious. "
Cara mia
, your love and your support alone make a world of difference." He instantly stiffened and hissed. "They're opening the door."

Not sure of what to do or say, I did the first thing that popped into my head and let my tongue dart out to lap behind his earlobe, the hiss immediately turning into a purr. I just held him and nuzzled the side of his face with my mine, reassuring him with soft murmurs that I was safe and that I was his; and it apparently worked, because when he pulled back, his eyes were fading to their normally purple color and he was smiling softly at me.

"You,
la mia
, are truly the delight of my life," he said kissing the tip of my nose, chuckling when I blushed. "I would be entirely unable to survive this change if it were not for your wisdom, grace and love,
bella mia
." He placed a tender kiss and my lips and rose slowly, as if unsure if he wanted to move or not. "Come,
m'amore
… I do believe that I have an apology to make.” He forced a quip. “Before my clan decides to feed me to the dragons.”

I looked at him in surprise. “Dragons are real?”

He chuckled. “Oh yes,
mia cocca
. All sorts of beings walk this earth. It is not likely that any vampires would actually be fed to them, however. The saying arose a couple centuries ago after some particularly virulent dragon clans made a bid for power.”

I blinked. “You’ll have to tell me about that.” I slipped my hand into his. “Later.”

We walked slowly down the stairs even for human speed, and I was sure that it was due to him adjusting to allowing me near his family, but I did not mind. I would give him all the time he needed if it meant he was comfortable, or as comfortable as he could be giving the circumstances. The moment we walked into the kitchen, I could sense the tension, so I was not surprised when my mate grabbed me and moved us back into the far corner of the room.

Kendal and Maymuna seemed to be fine, the former not bearing any signs of Simon’s attack, both of their clothes straightened and proper. But my eyes, and Simon’s, were drawn to Grace. The look on her face was heartbreaking, and I couldn’t help but reach out to her by voice if not by touch.

“Grace? What’s wrong?”

She shook her head, and looked almost perplexed as she answered me. “Sofia, I met your father today. It wasn’t… I mean, I wasn’t trying to… We were both at the grocery store and…”

I was starting to get worried. This was unlike her, and my father— “Is he okay?” I asked. “Did something happen?”

When she bowed her head, a shudder ripping through her willowy frame, I felt my mate's grasp loosen a tad and a heavy breath rush out of him. "She has found her mate."

I blinked in confusion for a few moments before the full brunt of what he said hit me like a truck. "Her mate is my father?"

A Note from Velvet

Hello, lovelies!

I hope you have enjoyed the second installment in the
Feral
serial. The third book will be available on Amazon on December 11, 2014 – but don’t take the chance of missing out! If you sign up for my newsletter
here
, I’ll let you know when it’s up and promise not to spam you with loads of things you don’t want to hear about. (I’m also available on
Blogspot
.)

If you’ve enjoyed this book, please take a moment to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads – reviews help readers to find books, and they are always much appreciated.

Until next time,

Velvet