By:Kayden McLeod

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Content Copyright ©2009 by Kayden McLeod

Genre: Erotic Paranormal, Menage

Length (word count) 23,000

Free Short Story, eighteen +

Summary:

Have you ever been curious about the Fetish scene? About having the attention of the hottest deadliest vampires out there, all out for your pleasure? Well, Sara lives that life daily. It’s normally good to her, but one night the delicate balance in which the entire scene balances blows up in her face, and turns her world upside down, until she doesn’t know which way is up. Her boyfriend Gene senses her disquiet with him, and turns his eyes to where her veiled interests now lay. Loren is a rich, cultured four century old vampire, who has his sights set on Sara, and has made it his prerogative have her at any cost.

Chapter One

The way Brody created these sex parties had to be the most unique of their kind. I’d yet to attend one that approached the same perfection he kept trying to top from the last one.

My eyes raked hungrily over the luscious gardens which soothed me greatly, my attention drawn from party in full swing everywhere around me.

The cool night air smelled sweet, unpolluted from the dense subdivisions I’d become so used to as of late. It comforted me in the desolate situation I found myself in.

I had grown up in the middle of the woods, and I loved being in this area of North Vancouver, where the trees reined supreme and reminded me of where I’d been born, far much more than downtown Vancouver, where my home territory was.

I wished for the wilds of Hundred Mile. The simplicity of what my life was so many years ago before my parents had died. Instead of being left practically alone to hide from the authorities that would’ve taken a minor to a foster home, rather than let her live alone in the middle of the woods, where say a crazy hermit could kidnap and torture her.

Or should I say me?

But, that was my past and it wasn’t what was troubling me this night. No, that was reserved for the present.

My boyfriend was acting oddly again, and I was sought peace from his turbulent thoughts, which were plaguing me this night. I just wished I could come up with a way to fix this dilemma I’d gotten myself into.

Gene had asked to come here tonight. And while at first he seemed to enjoy himself, this came to an abrupt halt when Loren appeared.

Both of them used to get along so well, but at every encounter they’d seemed to dislike each other more. It was Gene who’d started this fiasco, and now I was caught up in it.

I was trapped between them now, and I didn’t know what I should do.

Of course, my boyfriend wasn’t much help. What he said, and what his thoughts covered just weren’t the same anymore. I was weary of walking on eggshells. There was only so much to take before I would shatter under the pressure.

I briefly thought about going home, but I didn’t want to do that either. So, what did I want to do?

But, I knew. I would stay the duration Loren was here. I was beginning to think becoming involved with him was a foolish mistake. One I should’ve seen way before this moment.

I’d never before felt anything for the conquests Gene and I sought out. This had never happened to me before.

The real matter was; should I tell Gene, and be honest with him?

But I knew the right thing to do was to tell Loren I couldn’t be with him anymore, and that cut deeper than the thought of actually telling Gene how I felt. How had it come to this?

A soft laugh drew my attention to the hot tub, where an exquisite creature laid in the embrace of two of my good friends, Adrian and Doros. Her head was tipped back, joy and contentment in her eyes when she looked back at me. This was her first party, and I was glad she had a good introduction to the scene.

She was a lucky girl.

Her mind was utterly guileless and mostly human, even though the blood ran in her veins. She was unpolluted, uncorrupted by our world, and was allowed to know about us. I craved her innocence and complexity, the same way both Adrian and Doros did, much for the same reasons.

I winked at the Jezebel, and she giggled. I knew she was in good hands, or I would’ve protected her from some of the people who preyed at these social gatherings where vampires fed both their sexual and nutritional hungers. But with them, I knew she was safe.

Doros and Adrian were the very best there were, and they never got jealous, at least of each other. They sought to take a woman together, and their temperaments were perfect for this environment. They’d hit the jackpot, just like Jezebel did.

I wished it could still be that way between my boyfriend and I. What changed so drastically between us?

But secretly I knew. To know beyond doubt this was my fault. I had made him a vampire. It was obvious he couldn’t handle his Curse. All of us watched it change almost everything about him.

It was like a slow burn, gradually turning him from the sweet man he’d once been, to the bitter confrontational person he was now. I was at my wit’s end with his veiled comments and insults that’d cropped up these past few months.

I came aware of him beside me in my vortex of thought. I was too distracted to even notice.

“Mmm.” Gene whispered in my ear. “I want you again, but Loren has to leave for a bit.” He sounded far too happy about that for my liking, much as I hated to admit it.

A surge of disappointment shot through me. It didn’t help that I had a huge crush on him. I turned to Loren, smiling sadly.

He chuckled, reading my thoughts like he always did.

“My love, there is always next time.” Loren murmured regretfully. He pulled me away from the window to press me against the wall. “I’ll miss you.”

He’d never been so crass before, not in front of my boyfriend. Gene’s eyes flashed treacherously, but Loren didn’t care about that. He never had, nor did he have a reason to. I suspected he bit his tongue only because of me.

Despite it all, I watched Gene lust after women, one after another. When I wasn’t paying enough attention to shield, I saw flashes of his thoughts that used to make my eyes burn with both anger and tears. And if I’d ever said anything, all that was accomplished was a fight.

It was a fine line to walk between meaningless sex and hurtful lust, but it was one I walked with him everyday.

Yet, as of late I wasn’t jealous. It didn’t mean much of anything anymore, but I knew it should have. Maybe that alone said what our relationship had turned into when I wasn’t looking.

Nothing I’d thought of to fix the problem worked. Not even asking him if he didn’t want to come to these parties anymore, thinking them the root of all this. He just looked at me at I’d gone off the deep end. Maybe I finally accomplished that. Insanity had to be great compared to this.

“I don’t want to leave…” Loren continued. He didn’t face Gene, who couldn’t see exactly how he looked at me.

“It’s okay, babe. I’m sure I can find someone willing to play with me in your absence.” I insinuated.

I wanted him to stay. It was the only time I could be with him like this. And that made me feel like the biggest bitch around.

Gene didn’t deserve that from me. Did he? I couldn’t believe how messed up this was, but I kept making ridiculous mistakes that never should’ve been made. Kelly never would’ve made them.

Loren growled beneath his breath. He didn’t like the idea of me pursuing someone else.

“That’s not it.” Loren murmured. His lips curled back when he glanced at Gene. “Not really.”

“Do you have to hunt?” I changed the subject, one we both could talk a lot about.

We both hunted for our separate Covens, tracking Rogues whom felt the need to break Council law the rest of us obeyed religiously, lest we be caught and killed like those we hunted.

Finishing these missions on an ongoing basis was something many converted females couldn’t stomach for long, if at all. However, my own past and severe learning’s had given me the steeled strength to be the baddest bitch out there in order to survive in a world I’d been dragged kicking and screaming into.

“The fact that you revel in this life more than anything makes me crave you over and over again.” Loren murmured respectfully. “I’m going to be back for you…” He leaned forward to kiss me passionately again, like he was going away to war.

Maybe he was. With us, one could never tell. At any moment we could be called in by our handlers.

Loren pulled away to stare down at me.

Anytime you want to leave him…

I bit my lip and glanced over at Gene. I couldn’t do this to him, it wasn’t right. Even if I didn’t love him anymore, at least not the way he wanted me to.

He doesn’t deserve you, trust me in this.

His tone gave me pause. He’d never spoken like this before, but I knew Loren didn’t lie and he wasn’t a man of useless or unnecessary words.

“Loren…” I said achingly.

My love, I know. I shouldn’t have said anything. Loren’s face turned ruthless with regret. If you need me, call. I will come.

Why would I need him? He made it sound like something really bad was going to happen.

Loren abruptly turned from me, and walked quickly towards the door, the line of his body tight and stressed. I stood there in nearing physical pain, trying desperately not to let it show. I felt sick at hurting him, far more than I would have for even the possibility of hurting Gene.

But I wasn’t his to be feeling this way, I was Gene’s. We played at these parties to get each other off and when it was done, it was over. He went home to do whatever he did when he wasn’t with me, and I went home to pretend I was happy.

What was wrong with me?

Nothing is wrong with you. Loren snapped, and I received a glimpse of what he was really feeling.

There was no way it could’ve been intentional, though it was so unlike his will to ever break. The man was a poster child for strength and self-discipline. Had he wanted me to see it?

But the flicker of profound sadness and desperation cut through me, at least until he realized I could feel it, and he cut himself entirely from me. But not before I saw the flash of memory.

I thought over the singular picture still seared into my brain. A pale ravaged face floated in my mind’s eye. Its body was several days old, left for dead on a sea of dirt and twinges. I could tell from the position that she’d been dumped there carelessly.

“What do you want to do now?” Gene muttered to me.

“Dunno.” I answered absentmindedly.

While Loren was no longer anywhere to be found in my head, the image stayed to haunt me. Whoever this woman was, he’d been thinking about her, and she’d meant a great deal to him.

The scene had doubled my questions that wouldn’t or couldn’t leave me alone. I seemed incapable of ceasing all thought and just be. There’d been a time when I could keep myself separated from everything, but I had let in too many people during the past year, opening myself up to feel.

It was how I’d survived being locked away for years, serving me afterwards when no one knew what I was. Hell, I hadn’t known what I was.

With the exception of my family, I hadn’t felt anything real since my parents had died. That day my little chunk of the world was ripped away from me and replaced with loneliness.

Much like it was right at this moment. Have you ever been in a room filled with people, and felt so alone it was sickening? I’d lived that in both of my human and vampire lives.

Gene snorted in disgust, “Are you going to be like this all night?”

It took me a moment to comprehend what he was asking. When I did, guilt filled me.

“I’m sorry.”

But he wasn’t paying attention any longer. Unbeknownst to me, Gene’s shifting plans just solidified. He knew the mechanics, just not how to initiate it. And I wouldn’t figure out until much later what it was.

Love it or hate it, my distracted silence had sealed the deal for both of us.

Chapter Two

“Hey, Carl.” Gene called out to the headwaiter of our bar the RedLine. He strolled into the room with a lazy gait.

I smiled absentmindedly, and walked past Gene to sit on the couch. My mind was a rapid whirl, never settling on any one thing long enough to truly consider any.

Carl’s head turned, and his expressive face broke into a friendly smile. Out of all the human employees in my boss’s employ, Carl was my favorite character by far. He was my kind of dude, and we had many a long hilarious talks over a couple of beers, but never anything more than that.

I’d watched him woo and entice so many women, both human and vampire alike. He broke their hearts as well as my brothers did with very little thought to them.

Their saving grace in my eyes was they were honest right from the beginning. They never allowed delusions on the women’s behalf, and if someone saw something that wasn’t there, it wasn’t their problem. This was an insight I’d gained in my time with them. I understood them in a way very few women ever had.

For when in this world, there were a whole new set of rules.

“Hey, my people!” Carl greeted.

He came up behind me, and caught my hand to place a debonair kiss upon my knuckles. He made a show of provocatively staring through the panels of my robe, never being one to hide from anything.

He was crass and loudmouthed, much like I was. There were many attributes about him that made me think he would be great as a vampire. Compared to us he may be weak, but as a human he was danger waiting to happen.

He didn’t take shit from anyone, and possessed the ‘erased’ criminal record to prove it. He held a huge vendetta against the world, and wouldn’t hesitate to avenge it.

Through the constant trouble with this one, my Leaders never hesitated to clean up his messes. I didn’t understand his close relationship with them, and it was one of those questions I never asked.

I more than enough I needed answered myself, to worry over the frivolous ones.

“Sara, have I ever said you have great tits?” Carl wiggled his brow, which gained an exasperated laugh from me. “If not, I should’ve.”

That in a nutshell, was Carl.

“Uh huh.”

“What’re you guys up to?”

“About five-four, you?” I retorted. He chuckled and sat down beside me to survey this area of the party.

We were spread out all over the huge mansion, but I liked this room the most for its spacious comfort. It was normally where one would find me while I was engaged in less than average activities.

“Not nearly enough.” Carl sighed. “I just got off work, so my night’s just starting.”

Gene absently circled his fingers around my knee, deep in his own thoughts. There was absolutely no urge to know what he was thinking this time, and lately much of the time I didn’t care to know. I followed his direct stare, and I wasn’t surprised to find what interested him.

A woman across the room from us enthusiastically rode a man with pure satisfaction on her face. Her cool, beautiful looks were not really what I was used to seeing here among the Goth vampires and humans that dominated the group.

This one was naked, but I had no doubt the woman had never worn black in her life, let alone made a fashion statement solely out of it. She tossed her sleek mane of hair, and of course she had bright baby-blue eyes.

She was my antitheses in every way, with her long legs and light blonde hair, tanned skin and well manicured nails.

I had long black hair, short legs and was pale enough to look like a vampire, even though I could walk in the sun. I’d never slept in a coffin, and was Extreme Goth Chic from my best friend’s description.

My nails? Very short. Walking around with a French manicure wasn’t the best plan when I spent a huge chunk of my time running through the dregs to nab the bad guy and reel him in.

So this was Gene’s latest flavor now? He’d used to be Goth, with all of the black, leather and chains the rest of us wore, at least while he was human. He still wore a great deal of black, however now it was more expensive and mainstream.

In fact when we went out, he looked like the oddball, and not us.

The blonde leaned back as the man guided her over him, and she stared upside down right at Gene. Instant interest sparked in her eyes.

Did they know each other?

A smile spread across his face, but he didn’t say the words I’d expected to hear. I waited for him to ask me for her, but he maintained his silence and put his hand on his own lap, moving an inch or so away from me.

The blonde’s smile widened. Her haughty eyes flicked to me like she’d won some sort of battle. Was Gene supposed to be the prize?

Carl stared at him for a moment with his expression carefully blank. His mind was too, which meant he was trying really hard to hide something from me, and doing a damned good job of it. He was far to used to being with us.

“How’s your night going?” Carl asked. There was a hard edge to his voice, but his eyes were all for Gene.

“Loren just left…”

“Ahh, your fuck buddy hit the road already, eh?” Carl nodded. His dark gaze flickered to the expanded space between my boyfriend and I. “That seriously sucks dude, a lot.”

Something indescribable crossed his face. Hope?

“Oh…well.” I mumbled. It hurt to act so nonchalantly about Loren, but to save myself from Gene’s irritability, I kept my real feelings to myself where they would stay locked up tight.

I hoped.

“Baby, I’m horny.” Gene turned to me with deep hunger in his eyes. And none of it was for me.

He was thinking so hard, it gave me a headache to try and block him. It was a conscious effort to do so all the time, and I didn’t need him to broadcast so effectively.

His thoughts were tightly jam-packed with the blonde, and he made no move to hide it from me. If someone asked, I don’t think I could’ve adequately explained how small and inferior this made me feel. Was I really so bad he couldn’t even pretend not to want someone else more than he wanted me?

It wasn’t like he didn’t know his mind was my playground, if I chose it to be so.

I wondered what she had that I didn’t, or possess something to make up for it in some way. Despite everything, I honestly felt like crying. Right here right now, no matter how against the grain that really was for me.

I struggled to remain outwardly calm, not to give anything away. Why did my self-esteem even have to exist? It would make my life so much simpler to just not care.

“Baby?” Gene whispered.

“What?” I replied. Damn it! Did my voice just crack?

His hand wrapped around the back of my neck, and drew me forward. His kiss was tentative, not quite sweet but something like it. His lips moved over mine until he gained an honest response.

I forgot about Carl for the moment. Gene had caught me at a vulnerable moment, and unknowingly exploited it. I growled against his mouth while the other hand slid down my back to clutch me to him.

I drowned in his kiss. We hadn’t shared anything quite like this in a long time, it was a welcome relief.

I blinked slowly when his head moved back with a slightly dazed smile.

“You liked that.” He stated with an affectionate beam I never expected to see.

I just smiled softly. He’d accomplished one thing. Thoughts were no longer a problem for me.

“Do you want to play?” He trailed his fingers down the edge of my robe, moving down to my stomach. He paused and waited.

“With?”

It was his turn to smile. He ripped open my robe and stared explicitly at my partially naked body. Hands turned me so my back rested against Carl’s side. I glanced to see what he thought of all this.

“Like I said, great tits.” He blinked, but his expression remained unreadable.

“Carl?” Gene murmured. He was suddenly totally focused on me. I got a glimpse of how it used to be when we still got along.

“Umm?” He answered.

Carl’s expression was searing as he stared down at me. His directness made my skin tingle. He stiffened at my back, and we both waited to hear to Gene would say.

“Would you fuck my woman,” He questioned heatedly, “while I lick her pussy?”

My body tightened at the wicked threat in his eyes. Oh, I wanted him just then. I wanted them both, because it excited Gene. He didn’t glance back at the blonde, and that helped me forget her.

He wasn’t with her, he was with me.

But, Carl? I smiled and found that thought pleased me.

“Sara, would you like me to slide myself inside of you?” Carl whispered and I nodded. His arm went around my shoulder, and paused to consider his next words. “Would you stick your fangs in my throat while I fuck you?”

The eagerness of the question made my stomach muscles clamp down in excitement. I took a hold of his hand.

“Would it get you off?” I arched my back. His attention was so focused on his appendage I led to my breast.

Carl’s smile widened. With a handful of hair, he tipped my head back. Lips hovered over mine with a treacherous smile and satisfaction lit his gaze.

With undeniable skill he took me over, taking control as his hands kept me where he wanted.

I felt Gene’s mouth on my ribcage, moving steadily up to the underside of my breast. In tiny swirls and light bites, I was already overwhelmed.

“See baby, you don’t need Loren to get off.” Gene murmured.

Carl released me so I could watch Gene when his tongue rolled over my nipple. He pressed his lips to mine too quickly, a cocky grin making me wonder what he wanted next.

When we did anything like this, I made an extra effort not to read him. Being able to wonder made the experience that much more exhilarating for me.

Gene’s strong sure hands flipped my body, the impatience enflaming me even more. I collapsed with my head resting on Carl’s hardening cock. From the feel of him he was really big, bigger than what I was used to.

“Suck it, and make him ready for you.” Gene growled.

Carl groaned at those ragged words. The order made my muscles clench tightly, not minding this one at all.

Gene’s hand came down on the back of my head, with his face beside mine. His teeth bit my earlobe, and he groaned when I shifted restlessly. His fingers teased and slipped in a little, only to pull back out.

“If you want more Sara, pleasure him. Make the fantasy in his head look like a g-rated movie.” Gene’s breath hitched beautifully for me.

He ran the head if his shaft over my clit, knowing exactly what such teasing would do to me. I trembled, intolerant of any more delay. Gene may lack many things, but when he put his mind to it, he knew how to cultivate a paradisiacal response from me.

I unzipped Carl’s pants and his chest heaved against my cheek and the excitement broke over him. I pulled him out of his pants to spring free. My mouth watered to see it, wondering how he would feel inside of me.

“Sara.” Carl murmured confidingly.

I went to answer the same moment Gene’s mouth fused over my body. Screaming when his teeth grazed me, he induced tantalizing sensations right to the edges of my mind. I pushed back to get more of him.

Carl gathered my hair in his hand, and watched me with paramount interest. My eyes never left his while my tongue swiped across him. His lips parted, breath picking up speed.

“Can you take all of that?” Carl whispered huskily. He actually looked concerned on my behalf at what Gene had demanded I do. I sputtered in laughter.

“Oh she can, and she’ll like it,” Gene rumbled when my hips shifted to entice him back, “a lot. She’s a kinky bitch.”

Gene and I both closed our mouths over the targets at the moment, in tune for once. Carl’s hips lifted right off of the couch to meet my first pass until he slid all the way down my throat in one delicious stroke.

“Ohh…” He stuttered immediately. His hands shook in my hair.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Gene blew air over my body. “The woman prides herself on knowing what she’s doing.”

“Yes, she does.” He bit out, but his manner was completely inconsistent with his actions.

What’s wrong? I discreetly sent to Carl.

Your useless boyfriend. But it’s nothing yet.

I took him at his word. It wasn’t long before the tension left his hard thighs, and melted for me. There was something about pleasuring a man that inveigled me, leaving me enthralled. And Carl was just too good to give up.

Gene drove me insane with light licks and feathered swirls, so at war with his rough demanding hands that bit into my thighs.

I dislodged Carl from my throat and he sighed. His hand slid down my face with a warm laziness that seeped into his body until he liquefied into the cushions and pillows.

His lustful thoughts were centered of my mouth, and what it had done to him. He’d enjoyed it immensely, but one thing I noticed about Carl was his complex multi-layered thought process. He was one of those truly ungifted gifted people who could work through any concern that might plague him, with chillingly calm rationale.

I knew his focus on me was concealing something deeper he thought about. He also contemplated what to put on the bar menu tomorrow night.  Given how much he had to fight to keep thinking it, whatever the next level down consisted of, he really didn’t want me to know.

“Gene.” I begged softly. This was going too far. He was doing so well, but kept me on edge and never quite got there.

“Oh no, I want you wild. “ Gene bit out and ripped the robe in half, then pulled it off my shoulders. I couldn’t help but smile. “I want you to crave me. Now, fuck him.”

His hands closed on my waist and lifted me. Pressing me against Carl’s chest, he held me there with one arm, keeping my body hovered just over the other’s straining shaft.

When Gene lowered me to brush against him, Carl whispered, “Please.”

The image of me sliding down his body was so vivid in his head. All the levels were completely in sync now. Whatever was bothering him disappeared.

My lips parted, muscles throughout my body coiled so tight, I might break at any moment. Gene ran his finger over my clit, and then lowered me another inch.

Carl’s head penetrated and stretched me, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Another swipe of Gene’s digit made me shudder.

Then my boyfriend deliberately dropped me.

Licks of pleasure burst as Carl impaled me, and his tattered groan made it all the more tantalizing.

“That’s it baby, take all of him.” Gene bent his head with his blessed tongue over my sensitive flesh.

This time there wasn’t any hesitation in either of us, just blinding need. His lips sucked me into his mouth when the perfectly mind-blowing orgasm descended.

He had what he wanted. I did crave him.

It wasn’t anything against Carl, but it was such a rare moment. A glimmer of hope for a future I’d thought was dying off.

They both groaned when I bucked over them, the ecstatic jolts forcing cries from my throat while the men worked my body into oblivion.

My hips rocked back and forth while Carl kissed me, ringing out the pleasure they procured in me. He broke away with a growl.

“Please, feed from me.” Carl shuddered.

The request sent a shiver of anticipation through me, and my Curse raised its head in anticipated triumph.

Chapter Three

Despite everything, my dark side only saw and felt one singular thing; the promise of blood.

It cared little about the sex or the satisfaction I was experiencing. I’d been told that until a vampire truly mated, it wouldn’t.

While the Curse could be a burden to some, it protected us from ourselves or from others who wished us harm. It was what made us animals, but it looked out for us, and took over when we couldn’t handle what life handed us. It was in essence what made vampires so dangerous.

For if one couldn’t control it, our ruling body would kill the offender with very few questions asked. And said offender would go to unimaginable lengths to avoid such a fate. We were a dramatic bunch when we wanted to be.

Even the converts can accomplish a lot if they threw a tantrum when severely angered or hungry. But if we fed often enough in small increments, control in general was easier. It was something my brothers had taught me to do often.

Carl bared his throat for me so willingly. His jumping pulse held me entranced, the steady strong beat hammering through every vein of his body. The fact that he was turned on by the danger of it, the possibility of not coming out the other end, was insanely attractive to me in a very weird way.

He was a risk-taker, and I liked that.

“Please, Sara while I’m inside of you. You feel so good, too good.” Carl pleaded. His eyes were fever-bright with anticipation. “I’ll beg, if you’re into that.”

My pupils dilated and Gene chuckled from between my thighs.

“You want to. I can see it in your eyes.” Carl’s lips touched mine tentatively. His tongue rolled around my semi-extended fangs. His hands wrapped in my hair, the pressure and infatuation in the kiss spiraling out of control.

He was mine right then, and my attention shifted back and forth faster than I could keep track of.

Carl’s mind was alive with tempting, brilliant images that demanded I continue, to give in to the hunger to feed. It rode too closely with every other starvation of feeling my body was experiencing, what anarchy they wrought, but still leaving me wanting more. I don’t think of was capable of tiring of them like this.

Gene kissed his way up to my belly button. His tongue swirled over my skin deliciously, his face softer, far less angry than normal.

I love you. He mumbled.

I was shocked, but covered it well. Out of anything he could’ve said, those three words were the last I would’ve considered.

His eyes never left my face while he headed back down my thigh, grinning to reveal his all too sharp canines. I stared in fascination as he buried those sharp teeth inside of the most prominent vein.

The blood was immediate and addicting to him, as it was my own that ran in his veins, and he would always crave it.

My eyes shuttered closed, content to have him with me when he wasn’t being a jackass. This was how I wanted it to always be, but it was a distant dream for us. That chapter in our lives was closed, and either we would have to find a new way to handle our lives together, or not survive at all.

His eyes fluttered open. For once they looked pleased to me, possibly even content. He smiled, and affectionately caressed my skin. A gesture he hadn’t come close to achieving in so long.

I reached down to run my fingers through his hair as gently as I could manage with Carl manipulating my rebounding body so perfectly.

Gene’s striking eyes closed, and he sighed. My heart leapt at the sight, another tiny ray of hope piercing my thoughts. Maybe we could work this out somehow.

I turned my mouth to Carl’s neck, and his breathing staggered spectacularly. His cock beat with his pulse, heart rate slamming into my back like an insane beckoning I couldn’t resist any longer.

I bit into him like an apple and impossible as it may be, Carl swelled even bigger to fill me up until I couldn’t take anymore. His hands gripped my hips and ground up into me.

He tasted spicy and exotic in his ecstasy, and it occurred to me not for the first time that blood really did taste different, fuller when the recipient was experiencing pleasure, just as it did when they felt fear.

The rush was indescribable.

“Sara…” He groaned again.

His throat rumbled. The continuous growl told me about his bliss, about how there wasn’t anyone else he’d rather be doing it with. It was a strange thought, washed away with the rush of sexual passion.

The fleeting moment of perfection ended before I could process what went wrong. The old anger leaked back in and I instantly missed it.

What was Gene angry about now?

When my fangs slipped from Carl’s throat, he exhaled in one long languorous breath. His face nuzzled my neck and pressed his lips to my flesh.

It was that exact moment my life and those around me altered drastically. Fate had waited with bated breath for the final decision to be made, to seal it for the rest of us.

And it would be a very long time before it would resemble anything close to normal again.

There was someone directly behind me. His towering form cast a malevolent shadow over Gene’s face, a foreshadowing that was lost on me in the current of sex.

When an unexpected voice sounded in my ear, I was filled with elation.

“I’m back.” Loren greeted me. His fingers tightened deliciously in my hair and tipped my head back to meet my gaze. “Crisis…handled.”

His eyes zeroed in on the blood on my lips, and dilated. His mouth struck down to lick it roughly from my lips. He was hungry.

Gene didn’t miss a beat in his rhythm, but I felt his new stillness, a calculating gleam glossing over his thoughts. The final thread of hope was gone between us, whatever ties we had shed in the light of reality.

Loren groaned, and took what he would. He demanded everything from me, but he gave everything in return. He took me to new heights, holding nothing back.

In something approaching a challenge, Gene’s tongue picked up speed and intensity. Loren just responded to it by just becoming rougher with me, knowing I liked it, wanting it from him.

The contest rose between them. I wasn’t in the mindset to see the intrigue, but it was there none the less.

In the very back of my mind, I knew I had to be at fault for this too, but right now, I couldn’t think about it. I could only feel.

Loren left my lips with a groan, and unzipped the fly to set himself free.

“Suck my cock, Sara.” He tipped my head back further over Carl’s shoulder and placed his head against my willing lips.

I opened my mouth for him, needing to swallow him whole. His ochre eyes glowed with urgent desire.

Why’d you come back?

I took him to the hilt, and ran my hand over his soft sac. His lips parted while he looked down at me.

You like Carl and I don’t want you to like him. It’s bad enough you like Gene.

I love…

Don’t lie to me. I know better. You’ve been falling for me since the moment we met. When will you at least admit it to yourself, if not me?

Carl’s quickened breaths thankfully distracted me from the dangerous conversation. Loren slid in and out of my throat in time with the cock between my legs, sending desperate fire through me.

My hips dragged over Carl to bring myself closer, needing to come so badly I could taste it.

“Sara.” Loren mumbled a little worriedly. Why?

“Mmm.” I murmured.

“You like what I do to you best.” Loren murmured softly, to low for Carl to hear. “Even better than Gene.”

He’s right there!

Trust me love, it doesn’t matter. He really can’t hear me.

I tried to move my head, but Loren held my hair tightly, not allowing me to budge as he stroked himself into oblivion with my mouth. I looked up at his face, but he was staring across the room with a snarl on his lips.

A finger twirled on my clit, and pushed my pleasure to a whole other level. I had to fight not to clench my teeth around Loren, the combination of them just too much to handle as the pleasure engulfed me.

It occurred to me Gene’s mouth was no longer on my body. A chill went through my blood, even in the face of the intense heat.

“I’m sorry, my love.” Loren said when he finally let me go.

He hadn’t kept me occupied for his pleasure, but to keep me from seeing what was really happening. Carl’s hand tightened on my arms, but let me go in resignation.

Bless both of their misguided hearts, but Gene had made damned sure I wouldn’t miss the pinnacle of his plan.

I looked across the room, and saw exactly where my boyfriend was.

Chapter Four

I stood in the hallway alone, huddled in my now whole silk robe. Those loathed tears had returned to burn my eyes.

I breathed deeply in hopes of sucking them back in. I would not break down in public like this.

I couldn’t.

He’s an asshole, and doesn’t deserve you. Loren assured me.

As pathetic as it was, I wanted him to be with me and pick up the pieces. But I wasn’t that type of woman. I stood on my own, and didn’t actively seek help or someone to console me. So, I didn’t know how to ask for it now.

But on the flipside, I hadn’t before felt that basic and complete trust of another individual as I did with Loren. I didn’t now how he’d accomplished it, but he had shown me enough of his real self to know he was one of those true good reliable men.

Well…

No. There is no reason I’ve see good enough to do this to you. To say it was childish would be the understatement of the millennia.

And with that, Gene’s face was the most current picture to dominate my mind. The look he’d given me alone as I walked by him had been priceless. So cold and dead I would never forget it.

Loren appeared at my side, “Do not think these thoughts. You are so much better than him.”

A snarl made me jump as Carl came barreling around the corner. His anger was instant and destructively primal.

“That was pure bullshit! He had no right to do that to you.” He rumbled. “I could kick his…”

“You know that wouldn’t work.” Loren said quietly. “He would demolish you once his Curse took over, which doesn’t take all that much with him these days.”

Carl just grunted. His eyes smoldered while he assessed me in silence. Whatever he saw just pissed him off more.

“Honey, forget him.” He said in careful voice. “He isn’t worth your tears.”

I looked away, embarrassed and hurt. Though not as much as I should be at this moment. I think I was far more upset about that, than catching Gene balls-deep in the woman I now wanted to tear apart piece by blessed piece. Then revel in the bloodshed.

I closed my eyes, but the tears brimmed over anyways. I hated confusion, and as the seconds ticked by it only doubled. I wanted the world to straighten out again, to know I had one goal and steadily work towards it.

“My love, please don’t be so upset.” Loren pulled me into a hug. “I could kill him for you, if that would make you happy.”

I laughed bitterly, “Max wouldn’t be happy.”

Loren just shot me a look that said, ‘Who cares?’

“He’s nothing but a grown boy, and you need a real man. I think its time you see that for yourself. We both know what he’s thinking right now, and it isn’t about you.” Loren said fiercely.

Why had this happened? Out of all the parties we had attended at Brody’s, never had anything like this ever happened before.

I was too disgusted with Gene to even attempt the whys and hows right now. Whether he told me, or I just took it. I would do something stupid in front of the ignorant humans and I would be responsible for cleaning up the mess.

“Come now my love, let’s go find somewhere to talk.” Loren tugged me from the wall that was currently holding me up.

“You need me Sara, just call. If he weren’t a vampire, I’d deck him myself, repeatedly.” Carl kissed my cheek and wrapped his arms around me. I knew he wanted to say more, but Loren’s presence prevented it. “Thanks for a wicked time.”

“Thank you, Carl.”

He nodded, and I watched Carl disappear at the end of the hall to leave us alone.

“Loren…”

“Please, don’t even think about him. Allow me this chance without him. Let me have you on my on credit, then make your decision.” He pleaded, taking me surprise at the honesty in his voice.

“But…”

“Please, Sara. I love being with you, talking to you and making love to you. I’d always thought the two of you were horrible for each other, but I kept my silence, praying you’d see it, and you finally have.” He hand brushed up my throat, his face moving down to mine.

“See what? That he’s an ass?”

He just smiled and brushed his fingers down to my chin. His eyes held mine, never allowing me to look away.

“I want you.”

I snorted. He always wanted sex.

“No my love, I want you. No matter the odds, in the past year I find myself waiting for your call. To hear your voice. That hasn’t happened to me in so long.” He paused, and then his eyes heated. “At night when I lay in bed alone, I stroke myself thinking of your lips,” He kissed me softly. This one was tender and sweet, unlike any other kiss we had ever shared.

“To have your blood on my tongue,” He brushed the very tips of his canines over my bottom lip, “and the taste as you come.” His hand slipped between the panels of my robe to run down my stomach and delve between my legs.

“You’re serious.” I mumbled stupidly.

“Quite.” He pressed his lips back to mine for a too short instant. “Will you give me this night?”

“Make me forget him.” I closed my eyes against the fresh wave of pain I wasn’t used to feeling consumed me.

I hated these foreign emotions I hadn’t felt since my human life. I raged at my inability to just feel nothing.

Fine. If Gene wanted to do this…I was a gambling girl and in my current state of mind, and I was willing to run the risk of what my consent might reveal to me later.

“I’d be ecstatic to.” Loren savored the words.

He picked me up into his arms and began walking down the hall, away from the living room and my complicated life’s most current bane.

“Let’s go somewhere more private, shall we?”

“Alright.”

Magic raced over my skin. I knew the moment our bodies left Brody’s mansion and the most sensual party to be found in the Lower Mainland.

I opened my eyes to see the comforting blue ocean in the darkness, stretching out before us. We stood on a third floor balcony shrouded in see-through white curtains that blew out around us. The soft material brushed my legs and arms in the gentle breeze.

The view was a breathtaking panorama of forest and freedom, everything I missed from Hundred Mile. There wasn’t a source of unnatural light anywhere, only the crystal-clear stars on a black velvet background.

The moon stood out starkly, just touching the tips of the trees that lined the mountains. The waves thudded over and over again against the rocky shore, lulling and reliable in a world that wasn’t as right as it was yesterday.

“This is your house?” I asked.

“Only one of them.” Loren smiled serenely. “Do you like it? I figured you would prefer this one, than my apartment in Surrey.”

“You figured right, but you always do.” I remembered all the times in the past when he had so aptly judged my moods. I’d always wondered why he was so attentive of me, especially when all of the other purebloods gave me wide birth, a disheartening realization on my part.

But it was an unchangeable fact of our lives, at least in most cases.

“I’ve always tried to do right by you.” Loren admitted. “I wanted to take you from him, to just pluck you away. But I always stopped myself to let you make your own choices, and never doing anything to sway the decision because you were already his.”

His words were heartfelt, even if totally unexpected.

“I feel like I have no time left, that any minute you will ask to go back to him.” He whispered.

I doubted I would’ve been more surprised if he had pulled a dolphin out of his ass.

Loren chuckled, it rapidly becoming a belly roll, “You think the funniest things. I’ve never met another with a sense of humor quite as warped as yours before.”

“Yea,” I snorted, “they broke the mould when they made me.”

“It’s very true, and that’s why I’m falling in love with you. I’ve tried so hard not to let it happen, but it has. Until tonight, until his stupidity, I refrained from doing or saying anything. But now he’s fucked up, and I won’t hesitate to take you from him, if you’ll let me.” Loren confided to me.

I found myself wanting to defend Gene, but I couldn’t find it in myself to utter the words no matter how false they may be. I felt heartsick, but I was just as much at fault.

“No, you’re not.” Loren snarled, and sent a tremor through me to hear his fierceness.

“But…”

“Don’t. Give me this night and forget him for these few hours the bastard so foolishly gave me.” Loren said harshly. “Tomorrow, we can discuss this more at length.”

I heaved an exaggerated sigh, “Okay.”

I didn’t want to think about it any further, but the clock wasn’t ticking for me.

This felt very final to me all of a sudden. Gene and I were over, and for good or bad, there wasn’t anything I could do to fix something that was broken almost from the beginning. I’d just been too blind to see it.

There was one worry among many that stayed prominent. I really hoped my friends and family didn’t hate me for this.

“They won’t shun you.” Loren promised.

“How do you know?”

“Mostly, because I won’t let them.” Loren snickered, but we both knew he had more than sufficient power to get his way if he wanted it bad enough.

I was lost. I didn’t know how to act, or what to say.

We’d had never been like this when we were alone before. Gene had always been a factor that ruled our actions, but he wasn’t here. He was…

“Don’t think about him.” Loren growled.

I rolled my eyes, but I felt there was something he was burning to ask. He was watching me too closely now. Judging me perhaps?

“I never judge you.”

“Then what is it?” I asked tiredly.

He shook his head, “It doesn’t matter.”

“There’s something you want to know, and since you always know what I’m thinking, it makes me curious.”

“Fine then.” He turned away from me, carefully guarded and diverted his eyes, “Could you ever love me?”

Now, that was the question of the day, wasn’t it?

Chapter Five

My mind drew a blank when I tried to put what I felt into words. No matter how much my heart fluttered, and my stomach tied in knots, it was the wrong time.

In my life I’d always rushed into decisions, but now I was growing up. It was a little belated, but better late than never. I was tired of getting burned by my own actions as well as other’s, and would make damned sure to know what I was doing, before proceeding with anything big or life altering.

Like falling in love.

However, what I said next was with the utmost confidence, brightly outlined for me in a sea of drab endless desolation.

“I want to make you happy.” I said finally.

“Trust me. I’m very happy right now.” Loren’s deep brown eyes warmed. They hid so much more I didn’t understand yet, and a new goal formed.

I would figure him out, what made this closed-up brooding man tick.

“You know I have a huge crush on you.” I admitted, just so he wasn’t the only one confessing. His sinfully full lips just widened in a smile.

“It made it so much harder for me,” He insisted, “to know when we were just hanging out, I could just lean forward to kiss you. Your reaction would be instant. You might’ve felt guilty about it later, but for that moment you would let me do whatever I wanted.”

“Why didn’t you then?”

“I never wanted you to regret your time with me. I also knew you could’ve gone either way.”

The honesty in his voice brought tears to my eyes again, and I wiped at them impatiently. I was so totally turning into a girl, and it was all Gene’s fault! I’d cried more in the past few hours, than in more than ten years.

“You’re just showing real emotion, instead of hiding what you’re really feeling. No matter how useless that is to you around us. I admire your façade and your strength both, but right now I crave your true self, not what you present to the rest of the world.”

He walked into an incredibly plush master bedroom with me in his arms, four times the size of my own in Marcus’s much smaller scaled three bedroom rancher.

Soft light from the candle wall-scones flickered over the predominantly white and dark blue space.

The room was filled with bleached wooden furniture, the smell of pine everywhere. It was so familiar to me, much more so than in the city. I could live peacefully here.

“Are we still in Canada?” I asked.

“Yes. In fact we’re still in British Columbia, but far closer to your old home now. I was curious about why you missed it so much, so I bought this place a few months ago to find out.” Loren chuckled. “I’ve found I like the solitude better. It reminds me of the old days when the Foxworth Coven was the only group of vampires anywhere near here. We lived in the completely undeveloped lands of Surrey undisturbed with so few Rogues who would never dare to flee here.”

I laughed, “You totally sound like a caveman.”

“And how am I any better?” He kissed my temple. “I just stole you from your boyfriend and took you to my lair, where I have full intention of making you scream.

I loved the wicked note in his voice, and hoped to I hear more of it.

“Why do you have to tempt me so much?” I asked. “You are sin incarnate.”

“I need to see the desire for me in your eyes. You know, the only reason I attend those parties half the time, is only to be inside of you.”

“I’ve seen you with others.” I smacked his shoulder playfully.

“I have needs, more than what little time Gene allows with you could harness. But trust me, you were always in my sight, your name was always on my lips.” Loren stopped talking, and kissed me fiercely.

“That sounds pretty corny.”I told him after he released me.

“But, it’s the truth.” Loren insisted softly.

“As weird as it is, I believe you.” I replied when he laid me on the thick white and blue comforter, and then sprawled out beside me. His cock brushed my hip, and told me he was achingly hard.

His upper body crawled across mine to hold me to the mattress and trap me between his forearms.

“I could kiss you all night.” Loren whispered against my lips. He was so close, but not nearly enough to appease my unreasonable need of him. “I used to imagine doing just that.”

I pressed my mouth against him, wanting to devour him the way he did me.

Loren rolled and took me with him, so I sprawled across him. He was unusually gentle with me, taking his time until I was moving restlessly against him, but I couldn’t incite him to rush.

Through impossible odds I relaxed, and found my body slowing to his speed while his hands skimmed my back, down my spine and up again.

“Loren?” I asked hesitantly.

“What, my love?”

“Do you truly want me, or is this just because Gene has me?”

“Sara, I truly and completely need you. It’s not a want any longer, and hasn’t been for a very long time.” He admitted, and kissed the tip of my nose. “If I could’ve taken you sooner, I would have.”

“What, so no more sex with others?” I joked. But I knew if I found the right man who could put up with me, I wouldn’t need anyone else.

I had a feeling if Loren really wanted to, he could be that person.

There was a time I’d thought Gene was this man, but tonight proved that wrong.

“I loved watching you get fucked.” He growled. “That doesn’t bother me. Its just sex, a game even. But when it’s just us, there’s an enormous difference.”

I nodded in understanding. For me, there was a distinct difference between it being sex and something more. There were rules to be followed, but they were individual to the person or couple involved. Communication was a key factor, and that more than anything else was what went wrong with Gene and I.

“You know what being pureblood means for us. How much more we feel than you do. I wish I could make you understand how you completely captivate me. Like how when you enter a room everything else stops. I cease to listen when others talk to me and try to listen when you speak to others.” He continued unabashed. “I’ve never done such things for anyone else. And I don’t understand why I do half of them, but there is no stopping it.”

“It doesn’t make much sense to me either.”

“You do not believe I would feel this way for you.” He mused.

“Think about it.” His brow cocked and I growled. “I mean really think about it. Look at the differences between us for instance.”

“What are these differences?”

“Well look at you!” My hand waved towards him. “You’re gorgeous.”

“So are you.” He replied without hesitation.

That was pushing it.

I rolled my eyes, “Uh huh. Okay fine…you’re a CEO for a company. And I’m a waitress at a fetish club.”

“Those are our human covers, that’s all. We are fulfilling the requirements set by our Covens. In my mind, that gives us even more in common.”

I snorted, “Right. You’re rich, and prominent. You’re known to date beautiful regal women.” I grimaced. “I’m so not anything like them.”

He cleared his throat, “Cover.”

“What?”

“Just because I was seen with them, doesn’t mean that’s what I want. They were vampires in my Coven, and it was only because my business associates considered it odd that I never made a move to settle down with anyone. Gregory thought it best if I appeased those human-aped traditions.”

“So you never actually dated them?”

“Well…” His smile turned wicked, “does fucking them count?”

“No.” I laughed.

“See, now you’re running out of points to make. Why don’t you just retract the statement?”

“I’m a weird outcast who runs around killing outlaw vampires more than I do anything else, well other than work for Corrine,” I argued, “in a place that would make those business associates cringe.”

“You are proficient at hunting, and I can actually have an at length conversation with you on the subject.” He smiled like this meant a lot to him. “And since when did I start caring what anyone else thought?”

“Then why did you do what he wanted you to in the first place?”

“I’ve been friends with Gregory his entire life. I was there the day he was born, and he hasn’t done me wrong in almost two hundred years. If I have to put myself out to appease my Leader’s extensive need to appear human as an example for those under our wing, than I will. If by banging a few of our most beautiful women would further that goal, I will find a way to…deal, or so you would say.”

I sputtered with laughter that was so ready to come out. He was a funny man when he wanted to be.

But there was one question I was burning to ask his comments about dating had inspired.

He sighed, “Just ask it already. Didn’t you demand that of me? Now, it’s your turn.”

It only took a heartbeat for me to respond, “Why haven’t you ever found a mate? Haven’t you ever trusted someone enough to give them that power over you?”

“I did have a mate once, a few centuries ago. She was a convert like you are, but not nearly so bold or loud.” He grinned affectionately, and I laughed. “She didn’t belong to this life, and I never should’ve turned her, though she wanted it even if she didn’t understand what it was she asked for.

“But I was in love with her, and eventually she overtook my better judgment, catching me in a weak moment when I needed her to be with me.” He stopped, and I didn’t think he would continue, but after a moment he sighed, “It wasn’t even a week after her conversion and registration that the Council called me away on a mission ‘no one else could do’. They wouldn’t allow a young fledging to come with me on a hunt, not that I would have wanted her to.”

I knew which woman he spoke of. She was one and the same from the image Loren had inadvertently sent me. Remembering her face now just made it harder to hear the pain in his voice, because I knew already knew how this story would end.

“Where was Gregory then?” I replied in a controlled voice.

He looked away again, “I was on my own. I decided to travel for a couple of decades and our Leader then, Henry allowed me to do so. I found her in a far away land that doesn’t even exist anymore. The closest group of people to my house was a tiny village in the middle of nowhere, but it allowed me peace while I grew up.”

“You were young?”

“I was about sixty or so when I left home. I met,” He swallowed, and his eyes widened just a little. It was panic or Loren’s version of it anyways. “I can’t say her name.”

My heart literally melted. Not the mushy girly crap I was intolerant of in anyone other than Kelly, but a glacier baking in the sun kind of way.

“It’s okay babe.” My fingers danced up his back.

I knew from the sight that he was going to skip part of the story he originally intended to tell me. Something he went to say reminded him she real. In that flicker of real emotion, he had thought of her. To talk about her was ripping open a wound that had been long closed.

“I ensured she was properly fed before I left, and bade her to stay in the house until my return. I gave her every caution I could think of, but in the end it didn’t matter.”

“She didn’t stay inside did she?”

“Mostly, yes she did. The people around my land had never seen her, save that one instance.” Loren sighed. “I’m unclear on some of it, but from what I gathered, she went into the garden. Hunters had been walking through the forest around our home, not knowing they were on my land when they came across her.

“She’d been practicing some very basic natural spells I taught her, nothing harmful or bad. It was meant to bring life to a practically dead stick. She had an affinity for plants, and her new magic was strong.”

“Of course, you’re pure.”

Holly once told me that was why I had so much power as a convert. My Maker had been older and had high blood-status, even for a criminal.

He smirked, “On sight of the display, she was instantly labeled a witch. They startled her when the men attacked, and she didn’t immediately defend herself. Then her Curse attempted to take over for the first time, but it was already too late. They killed her before she had a chance. To top it off one of them…”

“I already saw what they did to her.” I whispered. “She couldn’t fight at all could she?”

“My mate was much too innocent to even for having a reason to know how. Young women in those times were sheltered, and such things weren’t taught.” He sighed. “No chance, at all. After they were done with her, she was left for me to find two days later.”

“It isn’t your fault, Lory.” I knew he was thinking that.

“But it was. I wasn’t there to protect her, and they killed her in my absence.” Loren confessed. “She was so precious and frail. She was mine, and I left her to die alone, and travel to the other side before I could do anything.”

“What did you do to them…?”

“I hunted and slaughtered them,” Loren said in a low gravel-filled voice, “every last one of them. I drank their blood until they were useless corpses, just like her.”

“Oh, Loren. I’m so sorry.” My arms crept around his neck. I knew if he was showing anguish to me, what he was really feeling was far worse.

This was just the tip of the iceberg.

I knew such pain and hardship. Just like Loren, I’d come out the other end steeled and strong, not quite right in the head. We were bullheaded and persistent.

I couldn’t help but make the comparison. Gene had led a pampered life as a human. My brothers sheltered him on the hunts both before and after, as he needed it. I’d never wanted Gene on them in the first place, but very well couldn’t say anything when I was going myself.

Loren’s breathing came in staggering lurches at my ear. His arms tightened painfully, but it wasn’t like I really had to breathe. When he shoved his head between my shoulder and neck, I was reminded of a terrified child.

For reasons beyond my comprehension, this didn’t bother me as it would’ve with anyone else but my best friend. This show just endeared him more to my feminine instincts I hadn’t even known I’d possessed anymore, thinking them long dead.

“I’ve refused to take another after that.” He whispered. “I couldn’t lose anyone else again.”

“I’m sorry I brought it up.”

“Its okay, my love.” He stared into my eyes. “I have no problem telling you.”

My hand ran over his back when his words and emotions touched me. It wasn’t the first time he’d said something like that, but I was just beginning to understand what the comments might mean.

“I like holding you.” He murmured.

“That’s good, because I like you to.” I kissed his neck.

Gene had never really been this way with me. It was either sex, or sleep. I’d never figured it would’ve bothered me, but the comparison between the men once again struck a chord in me.

“I don’t want you to go back to him.” Loren repeated.

There was so much I wanted to say, but to actually utter the words he needed to hear…I just wasn’t ready. Everything was too fresh, and I couldn’t make a rational decision right now. I wanted to make Loren happy, but was it right for me to do so?

“Sara…”

“You said no more talking about him.” I said in a choked voice and moved to get up from the bed. I shoved the thoughts of Gene away. I couldn’t handle it right now.

I wanted Loren so much, but going to him without a free confident heart wasn’t fair, and I sensed he required that more than anything.

From the corner of my eye I could see him come to his feet and freeze. His hand half reached out to me, but he snarled. His eyes flicked down the moment the phone rang.

“Damn it.” He swore, and then lowered his voice to a murmur, “Perfect fucking timing.”

I walked out onto the balcony to lean against the railing. The feel of the ocean breeze scented with pine trailing over my face calmed me, much like the solitude of the forest often did. It was where I flourished, and I missed it.

It was said we were connected to nature, enabling us to harness the natural energies that swirled around us everyday. And it made so much sense to me.

But that part was at odds with the essence which made us ape the mythological vampires in so many ways. The Curse was a whole different playing field. Wherever its true origins were, it wasn’t of the good and natural.

Some of us thought of it as dark and sinister, and while it could be, that label didn’t stick with me. No matter what side of the scale it occupied, it had saved me from so much in our years together.

Without it, I would’ve been dead at the moment of my rebirth. It was the one truly dependable thing in my world. The Curse never left me, never truly betrayed me.

I knew there was so much more about our complex history, but my brothers were unclear on a lot of it. Apparently the old ones and their Council kept many secrets close to themselves, and I couldn’t help but wonder how much more there was we didn’t know.

The brininess of the air cleared my head substantially while the long moments passed. My trailing thoughts continued to center on peculiar points I knew were my subconscious’s attempt to relieve some of the mental agony. It had nothing to do with the matters at hand, just completely trivial crap.

I watched the waves crash on the rocks below, quickening in huge splashes before they receded, only to surge forward again. I wished life was that easy. To have purpose that clear, to know where the end would always lead.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Loren murmured into the phone, and then paused. Ever over the swells, I heard the ranting on the other end. “That isn’t my fault.”

I didn’t try to hear what was said, but his voice became louder and angrier, something Loren didn’t do very often. While he did get angry, he was a man more likely to blow something up or extinguish a life, rather than actually yell. The man had far more restraint than I did.

If someone got on my bad side, I mouthed off or hit them, hard. Marcus told me I had ‘little man syndrome’. When I commented about being female, he asked me how often I actually acted that way. He did have me there.

“I wasn’t the one who put your cock inside that blonde.” Loren roared, which told me exactly who was on the phone. As if I didn’t already know. “Actually, I haven’t fucked her yet, but I fully plan to.”

My eyes shut tight.  Suddenly I could clearly hear every enraged word Gene uttered. I quickly debated jumping into the ocean just so I didn’t have to.

I heard him demand that I come home, right now. That Loren remember his place.

“I’m not going to force her to do anything…” Loren growled, “If she wanted to talk to you, she would. She knows exactly who the most recent dumbass to piss me off is.” He began to pace. “What do you mean, not allowing her? If she wanted to talk to you, she wouldn’t to ask for the phone, she’d take it.”

Gene uttered threats I hadn’t thought he’d known. Some of them were pretty darn colorful, while others I filed away for my own latter use. One actually made me smile, especially when he threatened to shove one part of Loren into another part that was physically and anatomically impossible, even for us.

“Now you listen to me dickless prick; if you bad mouth her like that again, I will bring her home so she can watch me gut you, or even better I’ll watch her do the honors.” He paused again. “Go ahead and tell Max. Do you honestly think that will make one lick of difference when it comes down to you and me?” Loren hung up, and immediately dialed his phone again.

It occurred to me then Gene had phoned. That Loren was using the phone again now to call another vampire. I hadn’t been one long enough, and didn’t notice all these little details that would tell me so much more about the situation I had put myself in. Not that it was an excuse.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Loren, I did. But in the interest of survival, I had to start paying more attention to life’s little tells around me.

There were spells around the house, far more complex than what my brother Holly taught me. Kevlar and Ryder tried to as well, but when it came to magic, Holly was the best out of all of us save Max and Corrine.

It was no wonder Gene hadn’t been able to contact me through the heavy but well-concealed layer of protection. Of course Loren would never allow it to be otherwise, not when I’d promised him one night that was already over.

“Max, its Loren.”

Ahh, professional courtesy. It was a bitch.

“I know. I presume Sara is with you?” Max spoke confidently through the earpiece.

“Yes, would you like to speak with her?” Loren replied respectively.

If nothing else, Max was law and that demanded respect even from the other the Covens. He was the Leader, and that was final. Loren could be as crass as he wanted to be, but when push came to shove, all of us came to heel when we had to. The circumstances otherwise were not pleasant.

I would have extended the same curtsey to Canya and Gregory Foxworth, the Leaders of Loren’s Coven. To do otherwise was more than just a faux pas. It was to incur the wrath of the very people that were promoted to be known as the strongest most powerful among us. It was the way our world worked.

But, those of us who wanted to live more peacefully than most were lucky here. Canada was one of the strictest countries in the world to live in as a vampire. There was no tolerance, and so many binding rules it kept most of the problems away. As it was, we had to deal with the trouble that was already here.

“Yes, please.”

Oh, this was going to be bad if Maximus felt the need to be polite. I had no doubt he was already well-informed, probably better than I was at that point.

Loren came up behind me, and then stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at me for a long moment. Max waited patiently. It was another bad sign.

His hand flicked up to my cheek and ran his finger underneath my eye, coming away wet. The droplet glimmered in the moonlight.

He looked down at it with so much sadness.

“Please don’t cry for that useless man.” Loren whispered, and brought my tear to his lips to taste it.

I just nodded uselessly and took the phone.

“Max?” I croaked.

Loren tugged me backwards to a chair on his balcony. He settled me into his lap and gently pulled back my long black and red hair from my face. I cuddled into his affectionate embrace, feeling a little better because of it. He kissed my head.

“Hey baby girl, are you doing okay?” Max said with a wealth of concern I hadn’t expected, in fact feared the opposite reaction.

“Not really.” I knew well enough there was no reason to lie to Max about anything. He would know every detail, whether it be now or the next time I was in his presence.

“By the way, we’re not mad at you. Not one bit.” Max started, anticipating my concerns. “That dumb fuck…”

“Loren?” I asked with surprise.

“No, Gene. Marcus woke both Corrine and I a little while ago to tell us everything. Gene came home smashing through the house with some blonde, and forced Marcus to use other methods to figure out what happened.”

Which meant Gene wasn’t talking. And Marcus was pretty…persuasive when he wanted to be.

“Are Marcus and Kelly mad at me?” I whispered my very worst fear.

“Would you like to speak with them?”

I didn’t even have to answer. There was a slight shuffling on his side while he set it to speakerphone.

“Hey, little one.” Marcus drawled in thick southern accent with a French tilt Kelly was addicted to hearing. It was her kryptonite, and Marcus knew it.

It had gotten him out of a fair bit of trouble.

“Hi Mark.” I muttered.

“Do you want me to break his kneecaps?” Marcus rumbled vehemently. “I could threaten anyone with violence who thought to heal him. We both know he sucks at healing magic.”

An unwilling sob tried to work up my throat, but I ruthlessly cut it off at the knees before it crested. Only a tiny squeak escaped, but my best friend knew me too well.

“No more of this crying business.” Kelly reprimanded, but I didn’t miss the shock in her tone either.

“I messed up.” I whispered.

“No, you didn’t. I’ve talked to Carl, and he was right there. I’ve never seen him so pissed before. If he could’ve, he would be breaking the kneecaps and not me.” Marcus spat. “Gene’s my best friend, and so are you little one. Yet I know who’s in the right, even if you don’t. He fucked up babe. He knew the score of the life he chose, and he broke it. You however, didn’t do anything differently than at any other of those parties.”

“But he was jealous…”

“So? Then he should’ve said something to you, and not gone off half-cocked. He knows how this world works, and there is no excuse for deliberately hurting you because of some stupid misconception.” Marcus argued. “He should be a man and own up, but instead he’s wallowing deeper.”

“If I had handled it differently…”

“And what about next time baby girl?” Max implored. “This was a war waiting to happen, and his turmoil has been stewing for a while. He refused to talk to you about it before it blew up in both of your faces. You just didn’t want to notice it, not that I blame you for that. I expected far better from him, and I shouldn’t have.”

“I’m not any better.” I said softly.

“You have to stop thinking that way. He is acting human.” Max snapped disdainfully, using it much like a dirty word. “And not even a grown up human at that, but a child. If he didn’t want you to be in this scene anymore, or with anyone specifically, he should have said something, anything. He did none of these things.”

I couldn’t deny that was on the mark. I’d thought we had a more open relationship than this, but just like Max had said, I hadn’t wanted to see it. I’d been so willingly blind…

Hanging onto a dead horse. Loren finished for me, and I snorted.

“Are you going to spend the night with Loren, or would you like to come home?” Marcus inserted.

“I don’t want to see him right now.”

Until some of my feelings were sorted out, I couldn’t talk to him. I wasn’t sure right now if I wanted to hug and beg him to forgive me, or just be done with it and castrate the bugger. When I figured out which one I wanted more, I would go see him.

“Then you stay with Loren.” Marcus consoled softly.

“Do you need me? Marcus and I could come out there, now or in the morning, if you’d like.” Kelly piped up.

“I’m pretty tired, but I’d love it if you came out tomorrow.” I said hopefully, needing to see her.

“Of course we will little one. As soon as we roll out of bed, we’ll head up there.” Marcus promised. “And know I already have a shiny steel bat, which Kelly affectionately wrote your name all over with a jiffy marker. Just say the word, and it will have a very intimate encounter with Gene’s legs.”

I laughed at his seriousness. He knew my petulance for violence.

“Max, I’m sorry.”I apologized.

“Baby girl, the only reason that sorry excuse for a man is a vampire today, is because you commissioned it. Otherwise, he was just an accountant for my wife. You’ve fought for this Coven, built your name and reputation. Did you think dumping your boyfriend would change any of that?” Max asked.

“Apparently not.”

Max laughed.

Loren cuddled me in his arms while he listened to the goodbyes. They were my family still, and while it didn’t make everything in my world right, it did make up for so much.

“I’m sorry for ruining your night.” I murmured.

“You didn’t. You’re here with me, and under any circumstances, that’s better than anything else. Stop apologizing. You’re the only person who thinks you did anything wrong.”

“Except for Gene.”

“He doesn’t count.”

“This sucks ass.” I grunted, and he rolled his eyes.

“It’ll be okay, my love. I will make sure of it. Promise me, no more tears.” Loren brushed my hair back again and pressed his lips to my temple. “Be the strong heartless woman I know only you can be. Those pureblood women don’t have anything on you.”

“I’m not really heartless Lory. I just want people to see me that way.”

I felt severely trampled and exhausted, ready to fall into bed and have this night be officially over.

“I know, but no one else has to.” He hauled my legs into his lap, but made no move to get up.

We didn’t talk anymore. Loren hummed an unfamiliar but comforting tune while I let my mind wander, unwilling to let it touch Gene again.

At least for tonight. Tomorrow was another day, and with it a new fate would begin.

Chapter Six

When I went to sleep at night, the pillow was always beneath my head, but when I woke up, I was always under a shield of darkness and feathers.

Though this morning, all I could smell was Loren, everywhere. It went a long way in keeping my despair and uncertainty at bay, where it should be.

I tried to stretch my sore legs which probably hadn’t moved an inch since I had passed out, but something warm and solid prevented that. A soft sweet tongue ran up my inner thigh, and my eyes popped painfully open.

I lifted the pillow from my head, and before last night could even begin to crash down on me, enthralling ochre eyes met mine. With his long black hair trailing over my thighs, I wondered why Loren hadn’t ever gone Goth. He would be so totally hot dressed in black and leather. Not that he didn’t look delectable shrouded in his alter human ego, the well-dressed rich CEO of Foxworth Shipping.

His tongue swirled mind-numbingly, hands pushing my thighs over his shoulders. I watched the play of muscle beneath his smooth unblemished skin, the ripple of steel under my palms addicting to touch.

Flames danced brightly in his eyes. He was a predator, and it didn’t matter what he was doing, I saw that first. Each and every movement was slow, carnally libidinous. And to finally have him this way after so long was nearly inconceivable.

A soft, playful smile flirted with his lush lips. My fingers trailed down his cheek and his head turned to kiss my palm, catching one of my fingers into his mouth. Canines grazed the tip and sent a bone-deep primal reaction through me.

An instant ache and eagerness matured in my mind. Instead of waking me up, my body melted into the mattress, and he hadn’t even done anything yet. How could he induce such a devastating response from me?

“Morning.” I mumbled.

“It is.” He answered. “Finally. I waited all night for you to wake up.”

I laughed, “Are you having fun?”

“My love, you’re naked in my bed. It doesn’t get much more fun than this.”

He gently caressed me, and I liquefied. It normally took a lot more roughness and friction to get me this excited, but my body tuned itself for him. I could feel him in my head, sharing this with me.

Loren took his time, not in any hurry. He licked me slowly, sucking my delicate flesh into his mouth until the warm tingling in my abdomen spread and the fire caught. His finger delved and teased until I was whimpering.

When I came, it began as sparks of bliss, but Loren continued to torture me. It engulfed me, until my back arched right off the bed and he was forced to pin me done by throwing an arm over my stomach.

The roughness of the action, the savage need in him made everything spiral out of control. His control broke and his mouth picked up speed as the sensations didn’t stop, just proliferated. The urgency was utterly delicious.

My love, this can be sweet and slow, and be just as pleasurable as what we normally do. I want to taste you, to overcome you with sensations. I want to show you something new, something you don’t believe you can have.

He was merciless as my cries grew in frequency and severity. He played with my body like he owned it, knew every single nuance. Even the ones I didn’t know myself.

And I never wanted him to stop.

Then I remembered my visitors who were due…I should’ve had more foresight.

He purred against me, and kissed my thigh.

“They’re already here, my love. Marcus is making Kelly watch him play videogames.” He disclosed as the last of extinguishing sensations fled my pleasantly lazy body.

Put Marcus in a room with an Xbox, and it wouldn’t be long before he became glued to it. There wasn’t much any of us could do about it. The rest of my brothers were just as bad. Mind you, so was I. Give me a good, bloody zombie game any day, and I’d be content to blow them away until something better and more high-tech came out.

“I’m not letting you go until after I am done with you.” He said harshly.

I made a show of thinking that over, “I guess I could permit that.”

“Permit me?” He rested his chin on my mound and stared up at me quizzically. “Hmmm.”

“Yes, permit,” I struggled to keep a straight face and a clear mind, but it was harder than I would’ve thought, “as in allow.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to anymore.”

Yea, right. I believed that, really I did.

He barked out a boisterous laugh, “You got me.”

“Oh, I know.”

“I want to make love to you, Sara. To take you softly, slowly and show you rough sex isn’t the only thing to get you off. I’m perfectly capable of coaxing your body to climax with nothing more than that.”

“That’s an admirable goal, but you’ve just proven that quite effectively.”

“I don’t think I’ve made my point quite thoroughly enough yet.”

His lusciously muscular arms bulged as he pulled his weight on top of me. Every time he pressed his lips to my body, my heart did a sickening little flip that was way far out in left field for me.

When he reached my mouth, he tasted of mint and coffee. I wondered how long he’d been up before waking me. Did he even sleep at all last night?

Practically of its own accord, my hand trailed down his stomach to grip his cock that was already thick and ready for me.

I groaned when the image of what he’d looked like to me the night before, when he demanded I take his shaft into my mouth filled my mind. The feel of his cock caressing up and down my throat with his hands fisted in my hair…It made me uncontrollably horny just to think about it.

I vaguely remembered a dream I had while lying in his arms during the wee hours of the morning. The desperate need I’d felt then, leaked into my present consciousness. But this was so much better than any fantasy my unconscious mind could come up with. I just wasn’t capable of imagining his perfection.

His hand circled mine to lead the head to my entrance. Both of our breaths stopped as he slid into me with one terribly slow stroke. My hips rose to meet him earnestly while he caught my hands to drag them above my head.

Loren’s lips collided with mine when his perfectly built body rolled us over. He left me breathless when his hips surged up to bury himself all the way.

“Yes that’s it, nice and slow.” He pleaded. “Ride me, my love.”

My thighs widened with my heels digging into the mattress for leverage as I scoured myself over him. My body was so tight and wound up when I’d caught a glimpse of his canines, inspiring the compulsory need for him to take from me.

I convulsed around him when he struck and his fangs buried deep. Shrieking almost loud enough to bring the house down around us, I swore there was a chuckle that floated up from one of the floors below.

Loren sat up, and his arms closed around me to apply pressure on my lower back. The action kindled fresh torrents of ecstasy, bringing us that much closer together.

The act of sex and blood opened a direct path between us. It was far different this time, and I knew why. Loren had allowed some barrier he constructed to fall, one he’d never allowed before. I hadn’t even known such a thing was possible, and it humbled my history with Gene with more.

His sensuous feeding connected straight to my nerve endings, and each gulp vibrated through me. I could hear his pulse pound in my ears.

I wrapped myself around him and cried out as my own pleasure mounted until I was paralyzed. Every little thing he did was completely designed to please me. Never before had he been so incredibly attentive, in fact no man ever had.

I’ve been doing this a long time. For both sex, and you.

If I could’ve spoken, either in my head or out loud, I’ve would’ve had to agree.

Everything about you interests me. From what makes you come, to why you think the way you do.

Rolling his hips, all I could do was tremble. My muscles locked onto him as the current of feeling pulled me under.

Loren purred again when he came deeply inside of me. His tongue cleaned the wound he’d wrought and sighed in contentment.

I thought he was humming, but as I listened with my crashing heart thudding between us, I realized he was murmuring. When the words became clear, both my breath and my heart stopped.

“I love you. It’s a lie to say I’m just falling for you, because I plummeted a long time ago.” He whispered apologetically. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t love me…I couldn’t let you go back to him without at least telling you.”

But after being in my head every waking moment since the ‘event’ at Brody’s, did he honestly think…

I took a deep breath, “I’m not going back to him.”

One thing was clear. I couldn’t be with someone who would do this. I had enough trust issues, and kept ninety-nine-percent of either world’s population at arm’s length. Knowing I could trust the person I shared my life with was a must.

I had finally realized beyond doubt Gene would never be that person for me.

“Then what will you do?”

“I don’t know yet.”

He nuzzled my neck, and we lay in silence for a while. Occasionally he would press his mouth to me, or my hand would skim down his back.

“You always have a place with me.” He said after a moment.

“What, as a room-mate?” I joked, but suspected he meant far more than that. I still couldn’t fully believe this was even happening, even after both proclamations.

“I think we should have this particular discussion at a later time.”

“Why?”

“Mostly, because you’re not ready to hear it. I refuse to rush you into anything.” He murmured a little self-consciously. “It would be incredibly unfair of me and it’s selfish of me to say it now.”

“Loren…”

“No, my love. I thought about it a great deal last night while you slept somewhat peacefully.” He paused to run his nose from my chin to my ear, and flicked his tongue over my pulse. “I’ve waited forever to tell you, and I chose last night when you were at you’re weakest point to strike.”

“And you think I blame you for that?”

“You should.” He rumbled.

“Well, I don’t. You gave me the truth in the heat of two separate moments. You’re enormous control slipped, and there is nothing I find wrong with that.”

“I didn’t tell you all of it.” He laughed bitterly. “I do have a little control over myself when I’m with you, but I have no idea why.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You don’t believe most of what I say, no matter how utterly sincere it is. I want you for my own, but would you ever accept that? I don’t possess all of your trust or heart…yet.” Loren waited, though I didn’t interrupt him like he expected me to, stunned back into silence. “But I’m more than willing to wait for you.”

“You already have me. In fact you’re still inside of me.”

“No, my love. This isn’t all I want.” He smiled down at me. “I want you for my mate, to have every part of you as mine.”

“Seriously?”

“Honest, cross my heart.” Loren grinned, and held his hand up like a pledge.

“Humph.” I grunted, unsure on how to answer that, especially when it delighted me so much. But he was right.

It was too soon.

I wanted to run away, to be able to think far from this mess and hopefully see from a fresh perspective, though the chance of that happening was nil.

“I have an eternity to wait for you, my love.” Loren kissed my cheek patiently. “I think you should attend to your guests. But just know, no matter what you decide, I will always be here for you, especially if you need me to be.” He promised.

For some reason, I believed him unconditionally. But it wasn’t like he’d ever given me reason not to. In my lifetime it was so rare to find in another. I cherished that he would always be my accomplice in arms, and any trouble we tended to seek just for kicks. It was a relationship I understood.

“What are you going to do?” I asked. It sounded like he wasn’t coming with me.

I knew he was a very busy man, and I was used to trying to organize my life around another. It certainly wouldn’t be much different than it had been like with Gene.

His stuff was always more important than mine. I had tried so hard to make sure I could help him, when he allowed me to. He didn’t think me capable of doing so with his workload Corrine added to daily, and there wasn’t much I allowed do. I’d become resolved to it, and eventually it went on the backburner of my daily worries.

“Only business, my love.” He chuckled. “Foxworth Shipping doesn’t run itself. And with Canya and Gregory running all over Europe again, it’s up to Jesse and I to run things in their absence.”

Foxworth Shipping was the Foxworth’s human cover, and one of the biggest in Canada. It was what the RedLine was to the Cornwalls, not only a business, but something to do that wasn’t vampire or Council related.

And we all valued that.

“Will you be long?” I asked. When Gene was busy with accounting, he would hole up in his office at the club for hours. I wasn’t even allowed to disturb him.

“If you need me, just come on up. No more than an hour or two, absolute max. After that, I’m yours.” He promised.

Oh, I liked that.

“Now, go play with your friends.”

“Yes dad.”

I laughed when he glared resentfully at me. I wondered if the difference between our ages might be a sensitive subject. And me being me, I had to prod.

“You’re robbing the cradle here, buddy.” I jabbed, and he grumbled.

“You’re an adult by both vampire and human standards.” He replied. His dark brow rose and he stared at me with a haughty expression.

“Well, you’re just old.” I replied.

He pulled me into his arms and whispered in my ear, “Does that bother you?”

“No, I really like antiques.”

Loren picked me up into his arms, swinging me around. His tongue rolled with mine, and scattered my thoughts. One hand traveled down my back to land on my ass to clutch me to him.

I forgot all about Marcus and Kelly just a floor or so below us. I forgot about Gene, blondes and just about everything else.

When he put me down, I had to brace myself against him when my weak equilibrium caught me off guard.

“Damn boy.” I demanded. He kept surprising me this morning. “Why haven’t you done that before?”

“I’m not a boy,” He rolled his eyes and ran his hand over my ass, “and consider that our first kiss.”

“That was not our first kiss. More like the millionth or something.”

“Okay, that’s just a little bit out of proportion.” He tickled my ribcage and I giggled. “And this is what I would like you consider as our first kiss.”

“I can do that.” I permitted gracefully. “Now work, my man. I’ll be that way.” I pointed towards the open door.

He bit his lip while watching me get dressed with a longing that suggested he wanted nothing more than to go back to bed. If he kept looking at me like that, I’d drag him there myself. Work and houseguests be damned.

I watched him go into his office right off the bedroom and turned to flounce out of the room, feeling confident about the few decisions I’d managed to make overnight.

There were a lot of things up in the air for me, but one thing was for sure. I was going to talk to Gene. There was only one unknown factor in my game plan. I didn’t know if he wanted to speak with me. Or if he did, how well would it go?

Much like Loren, I would do a lot in the heat of the moment. If I was tempted to knock him out at the wrong moment, I would.

And we both knew I could, without much chance of mishap.

It was something that aggravated him to no end. Holly kept telling me that women just weren’t made the way I was. That only extensive suffering and trauma could create the need to be so harsh, to make sure I struck out before the thought to hurt me even crossed another’s mind.

And to find someone, whether friend or lover who has proven I could trust them explicitly, was so exceptional I treasured it when I found it. And in the past year I had found many that stuck with me.

I knew I was screwed up, not whole or possibly unclean. I also knew that part wasn’t entirely my fault. But they never saw that, nor faulted me for what another forced me to become at such the impressionable age.

They didn’t resent my past like Gene had.

I had nightmares because of what had happened to me. And he hated them, sometimes me for having them. When it had been just Kelly and I, it was okay, because she had always been there to remind me what reality was when I woke up screaming.

With Gene, he would tell me to shut up and let him sleep. More often than not, I ended up on the couch crying myself back to sleep, so no one could hear or see me. I despised being weak, but it wasn’t something I had control over.

I followed Marcus’s and Kelly’s voice. I walked into the front room to see the entire west wall covered in clear, perfect glass windows that looked over the bright sunny coast. I couldn’t see the mountains from this side of the house, but there were hints of evergreens littered all over the rocky shore beyond.

Kelly turned and smiled vibrantly the moment she sensed me there. My thoughts lifted a degree just to see her looking at me like everything was fine, that the world may still be how it should.

I wondered how I would’ve turned out without her. She’d kept me sane, centered and I would love her for eternity because of it. There was no way a blood-sister would’ve ever come close to being what she was to me. Her steady optimism had gotten me through so much in the past ten years, even when she hadn’t been with me in my incarceration.

I would die or kill to protect Kelly, and I knew I would give up everything for her. Mostly for that exact reason, Marcus loved me like a sibling, and protected me just like he did his mate.

“Hey sis.” I plopped down beside her on the couch.

“Hey,” She murmured motherly, “feeling better?”

“Much, thanks.”

Marcus ruffled my hair playfully, and then set his racing game on pause. His arm came around my throat, and hugged me fiercely in that big-brotherly way I had come to depend on.

“This sucks you know.” He murmured lowly. His accent turned thick with whenever he was troubled. “I hate being torn between my bests, but here we are, and there he is.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I told you to stop saying that!” Loren called from upstairs, and I laughed bitterly.

“Yea okay, dad.” I called up to him.

Kelly burst out with laughter.

“Humph.” Loren muttered.

Marcus laughed with his mate, but it died on his lips almost as fast. His eyes flicked away so I wouldn’t see the sudden flame there.

“Gene wanted me to give you something.” He said uncertainly. He pulled out a creased envelope from his inner jacket pocket and handed it to me, but didn’t let it go.

“I don’t agree with him….”

“It’s okay, just let me read it.”

“I’m going to kill him. Kelly wouldn’t let me burn it…”

“Mark, seriously. I want to know how much trouble I’m in.”

“You’re not in trouble.” Kelly’s eyes flashed red. “He is.”

I snatched the letter from his fingers that came equipped with very white knuckles and danced away from the couch. Like come on, how bad could it be?

“Sara…” Kelly cautioned.

“Shh, just let me read the damned thing before you get your panties in a twist.” I retorted.

“She isn’t wearing any.” Marcus muttered a little proudly.

As always, he made me laugh and her blush, which made me laugh harder. Until I ripped open the envelope.

I could feel the malevolence in the letter even before I saw the malicious, juvenile words I had to read it three times to make sure I’d interpreted them correctly.

I really hadn’t known we were still in kindergarten.

Since you’re too much of a bitch to pick up the phone and actually talk

to me instead of your new piece of ass, we’re through. Get the fuck out.

Your shit will be on the porch by daybreak. By the way, find a new

Coven. I don’t want you in mine. And I never want to see you again.

Emotions scored through me. There were so many, I couldn’t untangle them all; rage, hate, dead love, sadness, depression, and all the gratifying need for vengeance.

However comforting some of them were for me, they bled and trickled away, fleeing me to only leave one. Crushing loneliness.

“He called me?” I croaked past the frog in my throat.

Marcus nodded sadly, “Every ten minutes since Loren took you from Brody’s. At least until he found the cell, and figured out you didn’t have it.” Marcus paused. “His excuse was; he was trying to make you jealous. He never thought you would actually get angry enough to leave, and doesn’t understand why you did.”

“Childish ass.” Kelly said while she dug though her purse to come up with my cell phone.

It beeped, telling me there were indeed missed calls.

“I didn’t bring anything with me…”

“We know. You left it at Brody’s along with your purse, which was by the way, was torn to shreds. I asked him what exactly he did to it, and he told me to fuck off.” Kelly replied. Marcus growled at the reminder. Obviously it hadn’t been a fond moment for them. “But I fixed the phone after he smashed it.”

“Thanks.” I flipped the phone open. “Seventeen messages?”

Marcus shrugged, but I didn’t miss the look of ultimate disgust on his face. I could’ve sworn I heard something like ‘useless human’, but I couldn’t be sure. With him, it was more than likely.

I was used to listening to gripes about humans by now, and had long ago stopped defending a race I was no longer apart of, and hadn’t accepted me when I had been one.

The first message was aggravated yelling like I’d anticipated. The second was enraged screaming. I marveled at his vocabulary he’d never used with me before. It was even better than what he’d said to Loren the night before.

I didn’t really listen to the words from then on, but I still played each one none the less. The gist was ‘you better get your ass home right now or else’ speech said several different ways. At about message number eight, he was telling me he loved me, and needed me to come home.

Message eleven and onward became increasingly difficult to listen to again.

My integrity, intelligence and sexual orientation all came into question as he insulted just about everything, running through a list I hadn’t known built this high. Anger rose with every abuse. The need to smooth this over so I didn’t have another enemy within my own Coven, became less and less important every time he threw my past back at me on my answering machine.

Every promise he’d ever made me was broken in those messages. Anything there was left for him died. I was used to people being unreliable, or untrustworthy. Why had this come as a surprise to me?

My eyes burned, but there were no tears to be shed this time. I pulled the phone from my ear about the same moment it ignited into hot blueish green flame, and my cell died for a second time in one day.

Though, this one had been all me.

“Sara…”

“Don’t.”

Kelly moved to stand, but at my discreet cue, Marcus held her back. She snarled at him, but it was no use. I wasn’t in proper command of myself or my actions right now, and I refused to risk doing something stupid.

I wanted to go home and take pleasure in ripping the bastard’s face off. Not even in my worst moment, would I’ve ever done what he had. Never. Not to those I’d called friend, or loved even just a little bit. I was above that.

The things someone learned about another when they were angry to such extremes.

“Baby…”

“Kelly, don’t. I’m nothing more than the town pump to him. So useless he would rather see me dead now, wishes he’d never met me. That I’d left him human, and never brought you here to meet Marcus. What did I do to inspire this in him?” I demanded. So many empty promises floated around, my photographic memory touching on each one to enflame my rage more.

Was it so easy for him to lie? To me of all people?

How had I ever seen this as the love I once mistook it for? It was time I realized that for what it was.

Marcus was on his feet in half an instant, and pulled me into his arms, despite my bid for them to stay away.

My fury bled into despair and rejection faster than I could handle and smashed through my so newly won confidence. Why couldn’t I settle on an emotion enough to get adjusted before the next one took its place? There was no way to continue like this.

“What is it about me…?” I cried silent tears that warped my voice.

“Shh, little one.” Marcus murmured over and over again. “He doesn’t deserve you. He was drunk, and probably still is. You’re the best thing to ever happen to him, and he messed up with you, big time. You’ve just been hanging onto a dead horse.” He mimicked Loren’s words and tone perfectly.

Kelly’s arms closed around us both.

“He’s an asshole.” Kelly murmured.

“Maybe everything would’ve been different…”

“Honey, you live in a world where it’s perfectly acceptable to sleep around under the right circumstances. It was Gene who chose to go to those parties and his problem if he can’t handle his decisions. You go on hunts, do your patrols and kick ass. There is no part of being a vampire you shy away from. Gene was never right for this life. It’s now no wonder why Maximus didn’t have him changed before you came along.” Marcus explained.

“Then why did you let me? Why did Max?”

“Max and I both knew you needed someone, and we all thought Gene would be there for you. It was the only reason I allowed it.” Marcus answered. “We were all wrong.”

“What am I going to do?” I cried into his shoulder.

“You’re a strong woman little one, and will survive him. I brought my bat.” Marcus nodded to a bright silver baseball bat, with Kelly’s neat handwriting scrawled across it.

It was always the people closest who could hurt us the worst, but they also knew how to make us feel so much better.

With Kelly, all it would take was a hug and a soft word. Me? Aggravated bloodshed. It always came back to that. Marcus and Max were right, I was far more vampire than I was human.

I picked up the infamous bat to feel its solid weight in my hands. I smiled to see it, calming me in a way nothing else would’ve. Bat. Gene. Head. I could relate to this logic.

“Tell me.” Kelly practically bounced.

“What?”

But, I already knew. I was Kelly’s Maker as well, and knew every innocent and not so innocent thought inside of her. She had the most interesting of minds, filled with everything good and right. She was guileless, and it was no wonder Marcus cherished her so much.

It was why the rest of us fought so hard to keep her safe from both the Council and hunting. We kept her hidden from the authorities who were well known for demanding the impossible just for kicks.

Like sending a poor defenseless fledging out on a solo hunt, just to see if she would came back. And that was without plausible reason. Many in the Council hated Marcus and would take the chance if they found it. Kelly would just be too perfect for them.

“About Loren, of course. Last time I checked, you guys were just good drinking and fuck buddies.” Kelly said suspiciously and I turned a deep scarlet. She saw that little sign immediately. “Blushing! Oh girl, you better start talking.”

I walked back to the couch with bat in hand, to give myself a minute to think. They both vigilantly followed me.

Marcus was kind enough to stay out of my thoughts entirely. For this, I was endlessly thankful. Provided I didn’t think too hard, he wouldn’t see what had happened between me and the man upstairs. I wasn’t sure what he would think of that.

What were the odds Loren was listening? I carefully tuned my ears to hear him still on the phone.

“He wants me to be his mate.” I whispered to Kelly.

Marcus dropped the controller he’d just picked up, but caught it before it hit the floor.

“He wants what?” Marcus demanded. His eyes were wide, and stared at me like he hadn’t seen me before.

“He says he loves me.” I added quietly.

“And how do you feel about him?” Kelly perused.

“It’s too soon to know how I feel about anything.” I answered simply.

“This is the same Loren who owns this house, and the man who belongs to the Foxworth’s?” Marcus added in shock, and Kelly smacked his arm.

“You’re pureblood, and you mated with me.” She muttered.

“That’s very true, but Loren?” He reiterated, and then grinned hugely “That is…seriously…magnificent.”

“Excuse me?” I exclaimed. Was this ‘let’s all surprise the hell out of Sara day until she is forced into loony bin’ day, or what?

“Loren’s a good man for you, Sara.” Marcus nodded. When the shock left him in leaps and bounds, he picked his game back up like nothing was out of the ordinary.

“You think so?” I asked skeptically, sitting back on the couch.

“I know so. Not one I would’ve ever considered. I’d thought him one to stick to his blood.” Marcus said in amazement, but his eyes refocused to a red race car on the screen. “He always acted like it.”

Many purebloods never gave us the time of day, but with Loren I tended to forget his status. Half the time, I forgot he was over four centuries old, and not a mere thirty like I was. No matter how much I teased him.

“My love, you’re keeping me young.” Loren whispered in my ear, but I didn’t react. Somehow, some small part of me knew he was there.

His arms wrapped around my shoulders, and he knelt behind the couch to kiss my cheek. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, watching Marcus play the video game.

The moment Marcus glanced at us that came to an end. The digital racing car smashed into the digital curb, and surprisingly enough, it exploded. Kelly chuckled with her eyes aglow.

“You did that.” I accused.

“Guilty.” Kelly shrugged, and Marcus gave her a droll stare. “I just blew it up, didn’t actually crash it. That was all him.”

“Thank you for keeping her…sane, while I worked.” Loren said in a voice low, and brushed his mouth against my ear.

Marcus nodded, grinning like an idiot.

“Thank you for taking care of her when she needed to be. It doesn’t happen often. She’s my baby sister, and I’m glad someone was there for her when I wasn’t.”Marcus said apologetically and I grabbed his hand.

“Marcus…”

“No, Sara. I failed you, and I’m sorry.” He squeezed my hand, his gem-like turquoise eyes iridescent in the abundant sunlight. “My only saving grace was Gene failed you worse than I ever could.”

“Yes, he did.” Loren concurred.

“Enough!” I pleaded.

Stop being so nice to me.

“Yes, let’s not give that man one more ounce of our effort.” Loren said ruefully. “My love, there’s something I’d really like to do though.”

“What?” I asked.

“I want to go get your belongings. From then, I can take you wherever you want.” Loren looked to Marcus for confirmation, surprising both of us.

“I could kick him out.” Marcus contemplated and I laughed.

“Don’t do that.” I soothed. I knew I wasn’t that cruel, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t fantasize. “Where will I go?”

“Max has a place for you.” Marcus said carefully. He glanced back at Loren, and it was filled with meaning. I knew he gauged his reaction to the statement.

“You can stay with me. My apartment is yours.” Loren offered.

“Okay.” I nodded, more comfortable with that idea than I wanted to admit aloud. I caught up Loren’s longish black hair to twirl between my fingers.

Kelly bounced in her seat again, always so expressive when she was happy. Marcus shot her an indulgent look.

“Mmm.” Loren mumbled against my throat. “We should go, my love. I have to stop by the office in an hour or so.”

“No worries. We can go later.”

He would need to be alone to deal with such things. I didn’t want to burden him or anything, and I could hang out with Marcus and Kelly.

“Oh, you’re coming with me. It won’t take long.” Loren replied possessively.

Loren was showing me a side to him I’d never seen, and it pleased me immensely. Everything about the way his arms curved around me, to the way he spoke was different, softer perhaps.

Maybe he wasn’t as rough as he first appeared.

Just like you.

He was like me, far more so than Gene ever could be. I could barely remember what I’d seen in the man, not when he stood next to Loren. Though this had been a bumpy ride, I was glad it was over, and I would move on.

I just wasn’t a believer of ‘it was better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all’.

Chapter Seven

I stood in front of what used to be my house, and ignored Marcus’s not so veiled threats.

“You don’t have to leave, Sara.” Marcus said again.

Kelly elbowed him stiffly in the stomach, but as usual he didn’t react. Much to her chagrin, he didn’t even blink.

She was definitely pro-Loren.

“It’s really okay, Marcus.”

If I had to say that one more damned time, there would be an investment in a tape recorder, just so I could replay my repeated answers. If that didn’t work, I would shove it up their…I hated repetition, and each time it happened, I detested it even more.

Loren and Marcus could read my freakin’ mind. But no, they had to be careful of my feelings.

Feelings were overrated.

“I know, but if you ever want to come home…”

“You’ll murder Gene, and give me his room. I know Mark, and thank you.” I stood on my tip-toes and kissed his cheek, even though he had to bend for me to do so. “It’s okay.”

Damn it, there it was again.

I heard a soft hiss, and I knew exactly who it was.

Sorry, my love. I can’t help it.

I squeezed Loren’s hand, which hadn’t let go of me since we had arrived. He didn’t like being this close to Gene, and not be able to do anything about it.

In fact, I was manned with an emotional army. Kelly and Marcus stood between me and the structure like it may bite me, and Loren just wouldn’t settle down. He was looking for a fight, and we all knew Gene was in that house, looking for the same.

We could all feel Loren’s impending bloodlust, but none of us had any doubt who would be victorious.

Every once in a while he would lunge forward only, to look at me and just stop. He knew too well. If I wanted a fight, it would already be started.

“Just get my stuff, and get out.” I mumbled under my breath.

I couldn’t deny I was still hurt, and plenty angry. In fact, the more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I didn’t care whose fault it was anymore.

I wouldn’t feel guilty. And it wouldn’t ever occur to him to feel guilt.

I was close, and he was mad enough his thoughts were clear. I knew how much hatred filled him, and how he needed to prove he was in the right.

This was a whole new level of pissed, compared to the messages I had listened to.

But I wasn’t the only one listening to what Gene thought.

“If he comes near you, I’ll rip his brainless head off.” Loren sneered, and I patted his arm.

“Baby, just chill.”

Loren’s eyes warmed at my slang, which I’d slowly been teaching him for the past few months. The man needed to loosen up a little, and I was just the person to accomplish such a formable goal.

“Chilled, my love.” He bent down to kiss my cheek. A vicious snarl made me turn to see Gene standing on the last stair of the porch.

I hadn’t paid enough attention to notice he’d come outside.

Gene’s cold gaze flickered over Loren and me together. His lip curved over his canines and the rapidly beating heart was thundering in my ears. Only the briefest peek told me his mind was an unfathomable domain.

“Go back inside the house, Gene.” Marcus said coldly. “You promised…”

“I promised shit.” Gene snarled. His eyes were already filling with blood, body tensing and coiling with the loss of his control. “I said if she came alone.”

“Get your ass back in that house, and let the woman you kicked out of my home, get what is hers. You have no reason to be out here.”Marcus replied in a remarkably controlled voice.

Marcus was his superior, and when nothing happened he took an aggressive step forward, but Kelly stopped him automatically.

She’d done it every time in the past when Marcus’s constantly touchy temper raged out of proportion. Except this time, she stared at her hand for a moment and let go and took an obvious step back from him. He stared down at her in surprise.

“I knew you would side with the bitch.” Gene sneered at her distastefully and I growled. He gained a lisp with his fangs when he continued, “Never guessed you’d stoop this low, Marcus.”

“I will always side with my family.” Kelly said callously. Immediate hatred manipulated every line of her body.

“There was a time you thought I was family.”

“I still would, if you got your head out of your ass. You brought this on yourself Gene.” Kelly raised her voice with him, probably for the first time ever.

“You don’t know shit, Kelly. Your family is nothing more than a useless whore who will spread her legs for anyone who crosses her path.” Gene replied. He looked pointedly to Loren’s hand in mine, and then moved up to his face.

I took a deliberate step back, and felt the slap as sure as I would’ve had it been physical.

“But, you’re the one who wanted…” I stumbled uselessly.

Like Marcus had said before; it was his idea to go to these parties, and to do what we did. He’d taken his pleasure with countless women in front of me, and with my blessing. Far more than the amount of men I had slept with at those same gatherings.

How had I gotten his feelings so wrong?

“And you were just too happy to climb on top of them,” He goaded, “especially him.” Gene pointed to Loren and he smiled back.

The smile was filled with contempt, and satisfaction. I was caught up in the expression in his eyes, how powerful he felt beside me.

“Ever think why that might be, Gene?” Loren walked forward, and tugged me gently with him. Marcus and Kelly kept in stride with him.

The apprehension in me rose. I’d told myself before we had come here Gene couldn’t hurt me, not if I didn’t let him. Yet, here he was doing just that.

Gene stared on with eyes only for me. He was so young, and he wasn’t making any attempt to control himself.

“I give her what she needs. As I will always give her what she needs.” Loren said, and made it sound like a threat.

“Move out of the way, Gene.” Marcus warned again. “I’m not beyond decking you, and neither of my women will stop me now.”

“And exactly why are you against me, Marcus? Have you turned into their bitch as well? Is Kelly’s pussy so great, you’ll go against everything you used to stand for?”

My best friend, the one who didn’t care for any sort of violence, had enough. She flew past Marcus, who’s attention was all for Gene. No one expected her to do something so stupid, nor known to watch out for it.

She had no idea that the last thing you do to an irate fledging was run at them, unless you were looking for a fight. Kelly didn’t know how to scrap, and really couldn’t protect herself. Against her, Gene knew too much.

I shed Loren’s hand, and was less than a step behind her. I knew how unstable Gene was right then, and no matter what, I wouldn’t let him hurt Kelly even in her stupidity.

Just as Kelly got within reaching distance of Gene’s, my hand flung out and she stopped cold in her tracks. I forced her body back a few feet for Marcus to pull her into his arms.

Gene’s feral eyes met mine in defiance. I growled, and his eyes darkened.

Kelly came to herself to realize what she had just allowed the Curse to do for her. For once she didn’t care.

“Never forget Gene, you’re no different than she is, and the exact same thing can happen to you. I might be a whore, I’ll grant you that,” I snarled once I’d entered into his personal space. Loren growled so loudly an excited shiver fluttered in my stomach, “but you boy, are no more than my puppet.”

“Fuck that.” His hand came up to grab my arm, and I let him. “We are going to talk, right now.”

“We are talking, but if you’ll calm down, I’ll give a longer discussion a try.” I replied sarcastically.

Loren exuded the most chilling unrestrained sounds, whirling to pace behind Marcus like a leased tiger. I knew he would burst into action soon enough.

At least he still showed some restraint.

“Just shut up Sara.” Gene’s flickering eyes bored into my face like he was trying to see through me. “You’re blocking me.”

Most of the time, I allowed him my surface thoughts, even though it required a continuous conscious effort on my part. He’d always had access to me, but not anymore. I didn’t answer him.

“I don’t like this.” Loren grumbled, and Gene turned.

“It doesn’t matter what you like Loren. Sara is my girlfriend.” Gene roared with spittle flying from his lips. His fist closed to grind on my bones, but I didn’t flinch.

I had been dealt far worse.

“That chapter has come to a close. Now Gene, she’s mine.” Loren retorted with an arrogant sneer on his full, tempting lips.

I stared at him over Gene’s shoulder. My arm screamed its pain, but to react would bring attention to it, unleashing hell on Gene’s very near future. I didn’t want Loren and Marcus to rip him to shreds right in front of me.

I was perfectly capable of doing that myself.

“Is she now?” Gene turned back to him.

When his fingers clenched down again, I wondered when it would break.

Without thought, my hand automatically closed around his throat. My eyes brightened a bright ruby red to match the chunky streaks in my long hair. The Curse had always been so good to my fashion choices.

“Speak Fido, or I’ll put your muzzle on.”

“Don’t you fucking talk to me like that. You used to know your place.” Gene snapped.

His hand raised, but I caught his fist a second before he would’ve backhanded me. Loren’s hand closed over mine, and with his other he pried my steeled fingers away from Gene.

“Chill, my love.” He said neutrally, for that was all his was capable of in his current state. I was surprised he had managed the deceptive tone of voice, because that was a far as it went.

His eyes, the cruel lines of his face, down to his coiled muscles tightly locked, were all ready for death. It was difficult for him not to just kill what had pissed him off, as he’d always allowed himself at leisure in the past.

I’d been in similar instances more times than I could count, when my quarry had to be brought in alive, but I was too far gone to remember that when Max let me completely off of my leash.

My brothers had always talked me down, or just joked with me to break the tension. They never judged, because even with their age and experience, the same thing happened to them on the occasion.

“Yes, dad.”

You better stop calling me that.

‘Kay, pop.

He growled for me, but when he turned to look back at the man, it turned deliciously animalistic.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m done.” Loren snarled at Gene. His over-sized fangs snapped a half inch away from his opponents face.

Gene winced, and I stepped back from him. He’d never tried to hit me before, but I knew it was more his Curse riding him than an actual conscious thought.

“You will never hurt what’s mine.” Loren said frigidly, and crushed his closed fist. Gene’s face went sheet-white, to an almost grayish pallor. “Do you like pain, Gene? You’re not like Marcus, are you?” Loren shoved his face into Gene’s. “I hate little boys who think your men.”

“I do everything I’m supposed to. I go on the hunts…” Gene grunted brokenly and stared at his mangled wrist.

I felt the rush of energy in the air, and knew Loren was holding him both by enthrallment and pure physical force. He wouldn’t take any more chances with me so close, whether I could take care of myself or not.

Would you rather beat the shit out of him?

Naa, you’re doing fine.

“I know exactly what you do on those hunts, even now that you’re one of us. They protect you, and it’s sad because you really need it. Sara is always one step ahead of you…”

“Most of the time, she’s a step ahead of us too.” Marcus inserted, and Loren nodded respectfully.

“You don’t deserve to stand among our rank as Hunters.” Loren said emotionlessly. “I don’t even understand why Maximus and Corrine suffer you to live.”

There was a loud crack, followed by several more. Knuckles always did that. When Gene cried out, I didn’t react. There was no surge of vengeance I’d suspected I would feel, no rush of happiness or sadness. I couldn’t even call it resignation. Nothing mattered.

Loren took a hold of Gene’s shirt, dragging him forward to meet him face to face. They stared at each other silently, a conversation that required no words to understand the topic.

There had never been a more obvious threat.

Loren took him by the shirt and threw his body away from us, his ochre eyes shone a deep scarlet. I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. He stayed at my side, and refused to move. His eyes kept cutting back towards the house.

I had to admit I was surprised.

The scum still breathed. It was his lucky day. Never had I seen Loren give anyone a moment of forgiveness. There was no getting back on the good side.

“Fucking converts. They don’t know how to take real pain. Wait until the Council really gets a hold of him.” Loren shared a knowing look with Marcus. “They’re a bunch of worthless pussies.”

I would’ve taken offence to that…

You know damned well you are not one of them.

He’s right Sara. I don’t know a convert anywhere near your status, even the ones that have years on your life. Marcus nodded his agreement to Loren, with hard unyielding eyes which had seen Gene as a friend only a day before.

I knew more than enough about what Marcus had gone through in his past with the Council. He’d made the mistake of fighting the establishment in his youth. And those punishments for his hasty crimes were harsh and very immediate. He’d been stubborn and pigheaded, still was if you asked me, but he’d learned that fighting was hopeless. He hadn’t given up, but taken a page out of Max’s book and drastically changed his tactics to fight just as brutally. Now he was ‘political’.

I heard Gene groan, but I didn’t afford him the slightest glance. My eyes were only for Loren. He’d stopped breathing, still as a stature while he stared back at me like he didn’t believe me real.

He was the most incredible, savage being I had ever seen.

Gene sat up on the grass, his eyes far calmer and sedate now. His face was embarrassed when he came down from his rage high. I guess there was something about flying blind that really woke a person up.

“This isn’t over.” Gene picked himself up.

“As far as I’m concerned, it is.” Marcus walked up the steps with Kelly, and tossed the words over his shoulder, “Gene, you have ten minutes to get your shit out of my house.”

Kelly stopped dead in her tracks to stare up at him. She hadn’t expected it, and that said more than enough. Marcus couldn’t hide anything from her.

This possibility hadn’t crossed my mind either. Threats or not, they were friends and I’d thought that would count for something when it came down to it.

Little one, when I need something, it is you that’s there. When we are on the hunt, you’ve always have my back, trying to protect me because of my ties with your sister. He has always been a self-centered prick, but until you and Kelly came, so was I. There are better things to find in life than the emptiness I had. Out of the two of us, who do you think figured that out?

“Marcus, you can’t be serious.” Gene protested disbelievingly.

“Quite.” Marcus continued in a bored tone. He leaned against the railing with Kelly tucked under his shoulder. “The best thing to ever happen to you was Sara, and you blew that right out of the water. The very worst thing for you was becoming a vampire, because you fucked that up too.  You can’t handle what you are buddy, and it’s now no wonder why Max didn’t turn you before Sara asked for it, and you consented.”

“I didn’t blow it with her, she blew it with me.” Gene protested firmly. “She just had to be with that cocksucker….”

“Don’t blame this on last night. It was going on a whole lot longer than just that.” Marcus said quietly. “I’ve watched you treat her like shit since you figured out you couldn’t control her like the other women you’ve dated. And the only reason I didn’t interfere is because she didn’t ask me to. She’s perfectly capable of ripping you to shreds, and she never did.”

“She couldn’t do shit.” Gene scoffed quietly, but his eyes were downcast. It disproved his own words, as he wasn’t even confident enough to look me in the face and say it.

My eyes flickered from Loren’s cold, relentless eyes to Gene, to really look at him. He seemed older, beaten and used up. I was finally seeing the changes in stark constant. He wasn’t the same man anymore, and hadn’t been in a long time.

“Last night when you came home, you were thinking about everything that happened. What really happened, not just what you think did.” Kelly said aggrievedly. “I’ve seen those kinds of thoughts in your head before, with other women. But then, you didn’t have the balls to do it.”

I winced. Even Kelly had paid attention to what I’d so effectively ignored.

“So?” Gene turned his wintry blue eyes on her, and Marcus’s lip curled dangerously.

“We saw it. Not only that, but we saw what happened from the blonde’s perspective, who is currently raiding through my refrigerator. I’ve also seen Sara’s side now, and you know what?” Marcus said snidely. “Sara was the only one thinking of their significant other at all last night. Only did she think of your feelings and how what she did affected you. The fact that she cared that much makes me sick.”

“Of course I thought of her!” Gene stood with his fists clenched at his side.

“Yea, you did.” Marcus sighed. “You thought of how hurt she would be, and how you could get her back for wanting Loren more than you. Now that I’ve seen everything undiluted and unbiased, all I have to wonder is; why she didn’t leave you sooner.”

My throat burned, and I fought so hard to not do the two things I really needed to do. One was to run away as fast as I could, and the other was to run towards the house and drag the blonde out of my home by the hair.

Again, I had let my emotions take control and it had cost me. I should’ve noticed her far before now. All of these basic mistakes, and Loren and Marcus still thought me above the average convert.

The blonde bitch was a very recent human convert, who was far less experienced than Gene. She was no match for me, and it made the need to tear her apart almost infantile, but still very tempting.

“She’s really here?” I whispered to myself, and Loren nodded.

“Do you want me to end her life?” Loren whispered back to me, and Gene snarled.

“You don’t have any power here Loren. You’re on Cornwall territory.” Gene snarled.

“However I do.” Marcus said, walking back down to the first step. He waved his hand, and all of my haphazardly packed stuff disappeared from the porch, replaced with a huge pile of clothes and miscellaneous items without boxes or bags, including his bed tipped on its side.

At least Gene had made a miniscule attempt to make my stuff moveable. I almost laughed bitterly, but somehow I resisted.

“Sara my little one, would you like me to kill her? If it makes you happy, I’d be honored.” Marcus smiled maliciously. “This is my territory.”

“You can’t do that…” Gene’s brow furrowed. “You’ll start a war. She belongs…”

“Watch me. She belongs to one of the interior Covens. Do you really think they will care about a month old fledging that never should’ve been made? She was no more meant for this life than you are.” Marcus snarled. “Do you honestly believe they would take the chance of enraging Max and Corrine, who are famous for rash decisions they may or may not regret later?”

“She’s a mistake, just like you are.”Loren added confidentially. “I will back that up. My Leaders are away, so who do you think were one of people left in charge?”

“See, this makes sense now.” Kelly snorted, and replied to Marcus, “Maybe that’s why they get along so well. They’re both fuck-ups.”

Gene ignored Kelly, and looked straight at Loren, “You need Jesse’s consent to do anything.”

“Jesse and I have been with the Foxworth Coven a very long time. Under our ruling family, we’ve protected this entire province for more than twelve times the length of your lifetime. We’ve lived here since before the Council had even known this land existed. If I tell him I want to start a war, all he’ll do is ask if he can watch, and the Council will heed whatever I have to say.”

Gene looked absolutely murderous, but there wasn’t much he could do. He was outranked in so many ways. I knew the blonde had to be hearing this go on and know we were discussing her, yet she remained in the false security of the house.

At any moment Loren could will her body to his side, and I knew he would just step back at let me have at her.

I couldn’t resist anymore. I touched Gene’s mind, so light he wouldn’t have ever noticed. Then it all made too much sense.

He didn’t feel jealous because he cared or loved me. Gene was resentful like a child would be if another stole their favorite plaything. I was just another object, no better than the bitch in the house to him.

“You know what the worst part is? You wanted that blonde so much, but you didn’t want Sara involved. You deliberately had her occupied with someone else, just so you could go do what you wanted. Then you had the audacity to get mad at her for liking it.” Kelly taunted with her face a mask of rage and indignation.

Gene stared at her with the dumbest expression to ever cross his face.

“Come baby, we don’t have to get your belongings right now. We will come back when Gene and his pumphog are elsewhere.” Loren pulled me into his arms.

Loren tipped my head back and pressed his lips to mine. I pulled away from Loren the moment Gene began to charge forward.

I held my hand out, and he froze in place, truly the perfect marionette. Only his eyes and voice were his own in that moment.

“Get the fuck out of my house Gene.” Marcus snapped ironically. “If I see you on my property again, I won’t hesitate to end your pathetic life.”

“She is mine. None of you should ever forget that.” Gene thundered, looking at each pointedly.

What was it about me that made vampires feel the need to own me?

“Nothing my love.” Loren said hatefully. “And anyone who feels different while be burned by the fullest extent of my wrath. I’m taking you away from here, right now. You’ve had enough of this abuse, and I will not tolerate one more insult.”

I turned to Marcus and Kelly, smiling sadly, wishing it had never had to come to this.

“We’ll be in touch.” I whispered, but knowing they had heard me. Marcus nodded in my direction.

We’ll take care of him, little sister. Holly whispered to me. Kev and Ryder weren’t far behind him. They all made me promises, ones I knew they would always keep.

Whenever I did come back to my territory, they would be here waiting for me.

“This isn’t over!” Gene shrieked. “Sara, you are mine, and no one will take you from me for long.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but what could I say?

There was nothing.

I turned into embrace of the loyal man who reached for me, and ignored the painful wail from the other. It was the final picture that would come to haunt me in the tribulations to come.

I let Loren take us both away from the disheartening scene, and I wondered when I would see this place again. There was so much I wasn’t sure of.

But there was one thing I knew.

This was far from over.

Content Copyright ©2009 by Kayden McLeod