Louisiana Moon (29 page)

She balled her fist over his stomach. “Gods, Ryant, I’m so sorry.”

“That was many years ago. She’s still in my memory, as well as our daughter.”

“Do you miss being a husband?”

“Yes, very much so.” He captured her hand in his and rubbed small circles with his thumb. Soon, he would ask Kris to be his wife. He loved Sarah but he loved Kris with a hunger that would never be assuaged.

“You must have been devastated,” she murmured.

“I was. I ran around, got into the most trouble I could think of. Dealt with medieval warfare and crossed the Atlantic after I’d met Cekah, and she turned me vampire.”

“Why would she do that? My friend, Josh, is set on vampirism as a virus.”

“I can assure you, a virus has played no part in being a vampire. We are dead, yes, but it takes a lot to kill us. When first turned, our thirst is dangerously mad. I’ve killed many humans. As the years pass, vampires can live longer without feeding. With today’s technology, we can live a few months without real blood.”

“So, that’s why you had a small bottle of blood in your office that day.”

“Yes. Some of us have liquid, like me, and others have powdered.”

“Who turned your parents?”

He lay motionless. Given how she felt about her parents, he’d hope never to have to tell her this. “Me. They asked me to. They wanted to be a part of my life.”

“I bet that was hard.”

In her voice, he only heard acceptance and understanding. A knot released in his chest. “I did have to wait a few years before I knew I could withstand the thirst. I do remember being terrified.”

“So you have full power over your parents, yet you still obey them as a son would with any parents?”

“Yes. They will always be my parents. I respect them.”

“When this chaos is over, we will make sure you’re reunited with your parents. Okay?” Kris kissed his stomach.

“We will see.”

“No, we will. We will get past the demons, and we will travel to New York. First, what’s the plan to be rid of them and save Rita. It’s already been too long. Maybe
too
long.”

“Tomorrow night we’ll start. They will never expect us to launch an attack so soon.”

“Good.”

He smoothed her hair from her forehead and kissed her. “You should get some rest. It’s late. The sun will rise soon.”

Kris snuggled closer. “Mmm, so nice. Okay. Good night, Ryant. I love you.”

“I love you, sweetling.”

Several minutes passed before her breathing slowed. Ryant eased off the bed and looked down at his sleeping beauty. He never wanted to let her out of his sight.

A loose, curly strand of her hair fell over her face, and he reached down to move the lock. When he did, her hair wrapped his finger as he pushed the strand away. Before tucking her hair behind her ear, he smoothed his fingers down the strand, caressing it to the end.

With a final inhalation of her scent, he left the room. He went to his office to turn on the computer. As he sat staring at the screen, he finally typed in
Google Earth
and zoned in on his parents’ house in New York City.

“Once we survive the war with the soul demons, I promise to visit you both.”

He zoomed in. The frozen image showed a purple flag with his family’s name in gold. He clenched his jaw. Would they ever accept him back after going against the vampire law?

29

When twilight painted the earth with streaks of fuchsia, lavender and titian, Kris awoke. She stretched an arm across the spacious, vacant bed and fumbled over an empty pillow. Where was Ryant? She leaned on an elbow and searched the room. And found no sign of him.

Quickly, she threw off the heavy down cover and got up, she walked to the dresser to check the time on her cell. Almost nine in the evening. When she placed the phone down, she saw a note.

Clothes for you are in the armoire, my love.

She smiled. Shifting gears, she decided she needed a shower, then to find and thank him. She padded across the open room toward the bathroom. Hours spent with Ryant in bed flashed back. The slide of his cock made her center dripping wet again. A delicious thrill swept over her body, and she became hyper sensitive. With the remembered joy, she grinned at the mere brush of her thighs.

She kept the shower brief and dried quickly then went for the armoire. Opening the doors, she was relieved to find street clothes.
Thank the gods
. Wearing a ball gown to fight demons would be like wearing a tube top to a family reunion. It wasn’t appropriate.

Shoving past the varieties, she stopped on a pair of stretchable, black jeans. The pants were perfect for high kicks. She slid them off the hanger and searched for a shirt. Louisiana nights always held heat from the scorching sun, barely leaving room for cool temps. A nice sleeveless shirt would do the trick to keep her cool. She was pretty damn certain things would get heated with the situation as it was. She spotted a navy tank and pulled the garment off the hanger and swung around at the sound of a slight thunk.

A necklace had fallen from the pants and skidded across the floor.

Kris narrowed her eyes at the gold chain and diamond. Who the hell did this belong to? After she picked it up off of the ground, she turned the diamond over in her fingers. The cool chain linked between her fingers. The necklace definitely wasn’t hers. How long had it been in the pants? Who else had worn it?

Ryant wouldn’t plant a necklace for her to find. He’d outright give it to her. She didn’t want to wear the pants now. She found another pair, except they weren’t stretchy.
Damn Ryant.
He had some explaining to do.

After dressing, she left his room and weaved her way through the halls and found the den. Inside, V and Darin stood talking near the unlit fireplace.

“Hi, you two. Are we ready to do this tonight?”

With a tender smile still on her face, V looked from Darin to Kris. Her eyes squinted. “What’s in your hand?”

“This?” Kris held up the jewelry. “A necklace I found it in a pair of jeans.”

V blinked, her wary expression alerting Kris. Maybe Ryant had a
lot
to explain. “Who does this necklace belong to? You, V?”

Ryant walked into the room and V turned to stare at him.

“Am I missing something?” Kris tightened her hand around the diamond.

“Would you excuse us?” The question was directed at V and Darin but Kris felt like going with them.

As V walked past Kris, her head hung low. Why did Kris get the funny feeling she wasn’t going to like what Ryant had to say? Darin shrugged as he followed the vampiress.

When Ryant neared, Kris pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin. “Got something to tell me?”

“How can I put this in a way you’ll understand?” He plucked at his lower lip with his right hand while his other hand clasped his hip. “This has been over for a year.”

“What,” she growled, “has been over with for a year?”

“A brief relationship with V.”

And let’s lay our hearts out on the butcher table.
“With V?”

“Yes.”

“Did you know, at the time, she was my cousin?”

He nodded. She threw the necklace to the floor yet resisted the urge to stomp on it. It belonged to another woman, her cousin. Okay, she could handle this like an adult. Something else gnawed from the inside. Something green with disbelief, leaving bitterness in her mouth. “When Thore mentioned you placed a mark on me, did he mean one or two?”

Ryant crossed his arms over his wide chest as he tilted his head. “Two. Another accident.”

“What’s the other mark, Ryant?” Red heat licked the nape of her neck, inching around to settle on her face.

Her breathing skyrocketed. How could he do this to her? Hot tears filled her eyes and her throat burned. She thought they had entered a new phase in their relationship, but instead, hearing the truth made her stability rock with betrayal.

“Nothing to worry about, it’s harmless. I can read your mind better, step inside your dreams. That’s all, my love.”

My love.
This wasn’t love. He should have never done such a thing to her.
If
he didn’t truthfully answer her next question, she would be out of there faster than a flash of lightning. “You promise to never put another mark on me?”

“I can’t answer that. You may be in danger and need the next mark.”

“Okay, if I’m not in any danger
whatsoever
, do you promise to never mark me?” He’d better promise. Her hands clenched by her sides as her body vibrated with the need to explode. As her wolf awoke and weaved through her senses, she knew she was on the verge of releasing the beast and lashing out. An expansive amount of time passed as Kris stared him down.

“I promise. Only if you’re in danger will I cast the third mark.”

“How many marks are there?”

“Four.”

“What happens after four?”

“You will be my slave. Forever.”

Kris opened her mouth but he raised a hand to silence her. “I will not look at you that way. I will never own you. You will have the choice of free will, no matter what.”

Despite how much he worked to reassure her, bitter bile rose into her throat until she thought she’d be sick. Sleeping with V was, apparently, the least of his betrayals. “Well, I hope so.” Even to her, her voice came out unrecognizable and raspy.

Ryant moved forward. She looked from him down to the open palms he presented. Her body quivered as adrenaline pumped through her. As angry as she was, right now would be the best time to rip out some fucking demon throats. She locked the anger inside, stored it for later and took his hands with hers. Dear lord, what shit had she stepped into? Would she be able to get over this?

30

Kris stood in the center of the death ring. In close proximity, hundreds of vampires and fae surrounded the ring and watched from the balconies. She glanced at their attire of medieval battle gear with guns, swords, crossbows and whips as their weapons of choice. She’d stick with her gun.

She inhaled. A wolf and a human, she and Darin were way out numbered. She blew out in a slow exhalation. There were way too many creatures for her comfort even if they were on her side. Thore and Felix must have summoned them. In front of her were the leaders—Thore, Felix and Ryant.

Thore held a bag of unknown contents. “We have gathered to take back what has always been ours. We must handle the matter before it escalates to the queen and shows we are unable to handle our own affairs. We must not let that happen.” He held the bag into the air. The crowd roared as the hot scent of revenge filtered through the air.

She eyed the various combatants. Not far from her, Zeke swelled a couple sizes. He breathed heavily, his shoulders rising and falling. His fingers elongated to sharp points. The tattoos rippled on his head as he clenched his jaw. The black ink shot up into spikes. He looked at her and winked. Definitely ready to kick some Soulscape ass. She smiled and nodded at him.

Beyond him, Sparky stood in a different posture. Back hunched with hands out in front of him in clawed balls of electric currents. Kris opened her eyes wide. She’d known he had the gift of electricity but to actually be able to throw the stuff? Holy shit. His spine was like a porcupine through his t-shirt. Very cool.

Next to Sparky hovered Shade. She didn’t care much for him. He was one sick puppy who needed his own ass kicked after the battle. His eyes were wide with craziness as he beat his chest with his fists, slapping his face like a caged animal. Lovely.

She switched her focus to Darin to see V staring at him with longing. He had become Kris’s best friend, and she for damn sure would make certain his life was better than what it already was. V had her arm laced through his. How cute. Miss Seductress had her new plaything. V caught Kris’s eyes. For a moment, they locked gazes before V glanced away. Good grief, it was more than that for the female vampire.

Thore shouted, “Do whatever possible to destroy the Soulscapes.” He withdrew a vase more suited for cremation.