Reign of the Vampires (28 page)

Mason nodded, then took a seat on the couch, his eyes never leaving her.

The trio walked to William’s room. William sat on his bed, the blood slave sat next to him.

“You both know how this works, so I won’t interfere, but you should establish beforehand whether or not you will be intimate.”

He peered nervously at the girl, but didn’t speak.

“Slave,” said Danika. “What’s your name?”

“Sue.” She looked at William.

“Sue.” Danika tried to swallow the icy thirst stabbing her throat. “Are you willing to be intimate with William if the need should arise afterward?”

“Yes.” Sue dropped her gaze to her hands.

“Very well. William, make sure she’s comfortable.”

“Are you comfortable?” he asked barely audible.

“I’m fine.” Sue glanced up at Danika.

“I’ll wait by the window.” Danika watched till William licked the girl; then she turned her back on them.

It was a beautiful night. The stars were bright and the moon was full. Wisps of white clouds dotted the blue-black sky like tissue strewn across the heavens. The smell of blood hit Danika more than she thought it would. It burned her nostrils and caused her throat to clench. Her gums ached, and before she could stop them, her fangs thrust into her already salivating mouth. She counted the seconds as they ticked by, looking out at the grounds of her estate.

Her father had built this, and she wasn’t about to let anyone take it from her. Whatever it took, she’d make sure that this stayed hers.

After a minute and a half, she turned to see William, blood trickling down his chin, and Sue dazed, lying on the bed beside him. Danika approached them and laid her hand on William’s shoulder. “William, enough.”

His eyes flickered open, but a low growl escaped him. She pulled his chin up away from the girl. Sue’s hand fell onto the bed, blood oozing out of the puncture wounds. Danika held his gaze. “Close her wound,” she commanded.

He lifted her wrist, licking the wound closed. He licked up her arm removing the last of the blood from her. Sue let out a moan and curled her fingers in William’s hair. William licked up to her neck and covered her lips with his. She responded by wrapping her body around his. Danika walked to the door. William, his mouth on Sue’s, stared straight at Danika, his eyes burning with lust. She walked out into the hall and stood against his door for a moment, trying to catch her breath. The blood and pheromones flying around in the small room had evoked the same bloodlust in her as they had in William.

* * * *

Mason waited on the couch. It seemed like hours since she’d left, though it hadn’t been more than a minute or two. The way she’d looked with her flame-red hair cascading in ringlets, he wanted to wrap his hands in it and pull her down on him. And that outfit. He’d never seen a royal Vampire wear something overtly cliché before. He’d seen vamps and wannabes dress like that occasionally, before the war, but never a true Vampire. And there’d never been one who’d come close to looking as good in it as she did, either.

The door swinging inward pulled him from his thoughts. He tried to sit up, but she was on him. Her lips chilled on his, her body quivering with need, her scent giving off stronger pheromones than he’d ever smelled on her before.

With one tug, she popped all of the buttons on his shirt and her icy hands were on his body. He gasped. She skimmed her fingers over his stomach and chest. Moving her mouth down his neck, she licked and kissed his skin. His body’s response was immediate as he growled in pleasure, his need for her increasing with every passing second. She licked his collarbone and bit at his nipples. Mason grabbed the edge of the couch and the wooden frame creaked. When she got to his runes, she stopped, her cool breath tingling his skin. She swirled her tongue around each one, tasting them in turn, till she got to the last. She hovered above it, and then kissed every inch. He could stand it no more, wrapping his hands in her hair, and smothered her in kisses.

Rolling her onto the floor, he covered her with his body, his hips coming to rest between her thighs. The iciness of her skin underneath him mixed with the boiling heat inside. But just as quickly, she wrapped her legs around him, flipped him on his back and straddled his hips. His hands roamed the hard leather of her corset. He couldn’t find any way to get it off. Finally he pulled on the laces and the corset broke apart. He ran one hand over the flat plains of her stomach, and up to her ripe breasts. A gasp escaped her lips as he cupped her flesh though her blouse. Danika arched her back and ground her hips into his. He swore as his excitement accelerated and his beast roared to life. She fumbled with the buckle of his belt. He couldn’t do this again. He’d lose control for sure if they did.

Danika unzipped his trousers, kissing and swirling her way down his chest to his abs. Lower and lower she kissed and licked at his skin, till he felt nothing else but her. He lifted his hand to guide her mouth to his, but she struck. Her fangs pierced his neck in one hard, swift motion. He sucked in his breath at the instant pain. But it only made his beast croon with pleasure.

The overwhelming need to taste her as well became his only desire. Rolling her onto her back, he shielded her as she drank. With her body wrapped around his torso the warmth between her legs pressed into him. The beast within came closer to the surface as his claws began to extend. Mason dug into the floor with them. His facial bones shifted and his long, razor-sharp incisors filled his mouth. Mason shuddered, trying to keep the beast from taking over. No. Not now. Not with her.

Before any more changes happened, he bit into her soft, creamy flesh. Her cool blood quenched the inner fire and contained the beast within him. Over and over he drew from her, until his runes tingled. Suddenly they became cool as ice, and his incisors and claws retracted. His facial bones realigned, and his head fogged. The fuzziness gave way to hunger, need, pain, sadness, loneliness, and a lust. Feelings that were not his own swirled in his head, confusing him.

He pulled away. Danika lay there, his blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. He felt her confusion, and then her face changed and he felt her panic. Raising his hands to her red blouse, he pulled it down, staring at her chest. Her scar was more than visible now; it glowed against her pale skin, bright and red. Shifting his gaze to his own runes, he found the one that was twin to her own. It glowed ice-blue.

“
Oh, Petruaem!”
he said, catching her frightened gaze.

* * * *

Danika lay beneath Mason when feelings started to hit her. First was the rage, the boiling, overpowering rage. But then there was more. She was assaulted by his fear, his need, his lust.

She lay motionless, trying to process. When he pulled down her shirt, dread filled her. Both of them now bore identical runes. The only difference was the color. How was this possible?

“You said you couldn’t be bonded to me.”

“I cannot,” he replied.

His anger seeped into her, agitating her like being pricked by hundreds of tiny needles.

“Then why can I feel you?” She tried to keep from shouting.

“Because—” He moved away from her and put his head in his hands.

She wanted to comfort him, or bite him or punch him. So many emotions swirled inside she couldn’t concentrate on them all. “Because what?” she demanded.

“Because...we did bond.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, Mason.”

“I can’t be bonded to you as a minion or a slave.”

“Then what? What do you call all your feelings pouring into me?”

He lifted his head. His eyes filled with pain and longing.

Her stomach roiled, and she thought she might throw up.

“You mean... I’m bonded to you.” She tried to make her mind wrap around the news. She couldn’t make herself work it out because the rage in her head pounded out every other thought. Gulping in air, she jumped to her feet, pressing on her head, trying to make it stop. Warm, strong hands grasped her wrists and pulled her close. Mason kissed her head, but she struggled against him.

“Make it stop,” she cried. “The rage, the pain, the anger, make it stop.”

“I can’t. It’s the rage inside me, always inside of me. It never stops.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s who I am.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, Mason,” she yelled. Her head thundered with pain. “Reverse it, take it away. Unbond me.” She pushed him away.

“It’s not like a Vampire freeing a minion or a slave. It doesn’t work like that for my kind. I didn’t know it could happen this way. I was never taught how... It’s only supposed to happen with—”

“With what?” she spat. Her head felt too heavy, like carrying weights on her shoulders.

“With my
soul-bonded mate. The missing part of me.”

All anger drained out of Danika at that moment. Fear crept over her. “What are you?” she whispered.

“I’m—”

A sharp knock cut him off.

“Lord Danika, are you all right?” came William’s frightened voice.

“Yes, William. Everything’s fine.” Her gaze never left Mason’s face.

“I need to come in,” William said.

There was no repairing Mason’s shirt and his pants hung low on his hips. Reaching down, he zipped them and redid his buckle. Her corset needed lacing, but her peasant blouse was still intact. In one fluid movement she went to the French doors leading to the terrace, facing away from the bedroom door.

“Come in,” she called. She fumbled with the laces on her corset.

“My lord,” William said. “Lord Garon is downstairs. I’m afraid he is demanding to see you.”

“Tell him he’s not welcome here and to leave.” She finished pulling the laces tight. When there was no reply from William, she turned. “What is it?”

“He said he won’t leave until you see him.”

It surprised Danika how moments before, in the throes of bloodlust, William had seemed such a formidable creature. And now, he was as gentle as ever.

“Take him to the study. If it’s a talk he wants, a talk he shall get.”

William left and Danika stalked to the bedroom door. She was a foot from it when Mason laid his warm hand on her arm. She felt his anger, but also his concern. He smoothed a curl on her head.

“You need to go into this with a clear head.”

“Well, it’s a little late, isn’t it?” She stared at his runes.

He took a deep breath. “In all my...long years of life, I’ve never met a woman, any female, who makes me feel the way you do.”

“Mason, this isn’t—”

“Let me finish.” He lifted a hand to stop her. “From the first time I caught your scent in my cell, I knew you were different. While training with Neeman, all I thought about was you. When you walked in that door instead of Garon, I knew at that moment that I’d sacrifice everything for you. Believe me when I say that I would never have asked this of you.”

She ran her fingers over his runes, feeling each one in turn till she got to the blue one. “I believe you.”

He bent down and kissed her softly. Her thoughts turned from Garon to Mason, and other things she wanted to do with him. Being so near him caused her mating instincts to go into overdrive. Now more than ever she ached to feel his bare skin on hers. To feel his hard-bodied heat as their bodies melted together and—

Mason chuckled and broke off the kiss. Her hands were back on his belt. She didn’t remember moving them.

“You need to go meet with Garon, and I need a new shirt. But this changes everything, Danika. You know that, don’t you? You cannot mate another. You’re mine now.”

“Right.” She swooned a bit. He steadied her, kissed her once more, then walked out, leaving her standing alone with her thoughts and their feelings.

She was bonded to Mason. How was it possible? In that moment, all she cared about was the fact that she wanted to be bound to him. A part of her deep inside, one that she’d been trying to ignore, felt right about being bonded to him. Even if it was like he said and she was bonded to him instead of him to her. For the first time since her parents’ deaths, she felt complete. This was who she was meant to become. And no matter what Garon or the three kings said, Mason was her choice.

She explored what it felt like, being on the other end of a bond. He was in the other room, searching, deciding, all the time pushing at the rage inside. It comforted her, a lifeline to another person, but so much stronger. She’d been relishing the idea of never again being alone, when she snapped back to the present. Garon was waiting. With renewed strength from Mason’s blood, she headed down to take care of Garon, once and for all.

Chapter
20

Garon’s bodyguard stood outside the study. William waited next to him. As she neared, William stepped to the side and nodded to her. The bodyguard opened the door. Inside, Garon sat at the table where she herself had been seated the last time they’d met. She stepped inside. Behind Garon stood his other thug. They both looked reserved and annoyed.

“What do you want?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

His eyes turned frostier than she thought possible. “I want you to consent to this union, of course.”

“That’s never going to happen. Why do you want to mate with me so badly, anyway?”

“Because together we’d rule the world.”

She laughed. “Really? And why would I want to do that?”

His brows lifted. “Why wouldn’t you?”

Danika tried to temper the rage that flowed inside her. “I have enough right here, just as you have enough in Las Vegas. Whatever help you think I’ll be to you as a mate, Garon, I assure you, you’re mistaken.”

Garon’s eyes narrowed. “That’s too bad. I thought you were a sensible young woman, but now I see that you’re nothing but a child.”

“I warned you of that the first time we spoke.” She smiled.

“Then as a spoiled child, I’m afraid I’ll have to teach you how to respect your betters.”

Danika’s smile disappeared. “When a
better
appears, I’ll give him all the respect
he
is due.”