Drantos (VLG Series Book 1) (15 page)

The climax tore through Dusti, shocking her with its intensity. She opened her mouth to scream but the power of the climax gripped her too strongly to draw in that much air. She panted and moaned, shivering hard, and nearly collapsed over him when her entire body started to turn lax.

He rolled them both over in a heartbeat. Dusti didn’t even care that she now lay sprawled on her back, the transition a little rough. Her bared ass against the soft grass. She stared up at Drantos when he climbed upward to settle over her body. She watched him tear at the front of his jeans, shoving them down just far enough to free his cock. He looked huge, rock hard, and it was proof of how much he wanted her. She lifted her gaze, wanting to look at his face when he entered her.

His eyes had turned so blue they appeared surreal. They were too bright. It startled and confused her. He breathed heavily, panting, and seemed to sense her distress. He closed his eyes and turned his head slightly. Long seconds passed before he opened them again. They still held some of that neon look but not as much.

“Don’t be afraid of me, sweetheart. I’d never hurt you.”

The gruffness of his voice made her shiver. It wasn’t fear though. She reached up and touched his face. The urge to kiss him was strong but she held still. He lowered over her until she was pinned under him, though he kept most of his weight off her chest so she could breathe fine. She gripped his biceps with her other hand, liking the strength she felt there.

“I’ll be gentle. You’re so fucking tight I’m afraid I’ll injure you if I go too fast.”

He didn’t look away from her when he adjusted his body to free one of his hands then reached between them to guide his cock to her. The rounded, generous-sized crown of his shaft slid into the soft folds at the opening of her pussy. He gently pushed forward when he found the right spot that would welcome him.

Dusti moaned and slid her fingers from his cheek to the back of his neck. She tightened her hold on him, needing to cling to something. The sensation of the thick girth of his rigid cock penetrating her pussy felt amazing and a little scary at the same time. No pain came but she could feel her body struggling to stretch and accommodate his size. He was gentle though and kept his word, going very slowly. She stared into his eyes.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.” His voice deepened. “This is going to feel amazing. Just relax and I’ll ma—”

A roar tore through the woods suddenly.

The terrifying noise wasn’t one Dusti had ever heard before and she couldn’t identify what would have made it. It sounded really close though, judging by how loud it had been.

Drantos snapped his head up to glare into the dense trees near the edge of the clearing. An inhuman snarl tore from his lips when they parted—and then his teeth seemed to lengthen into sharp fangs that dented his bottom lip.

Dusti watched them grow even longer. She stopped breathing, her mind stunned. He lifted off her fast, withdrawing from her body.

She lay there dumbfounded, legs still spread, as he shot to his feet with a speed that astonished her.

“Get up,” he ordered.

Dusti couldn’t respond. She was still in shock as Drantos glanced down at her. Those terrifying fangs were still protruding from his mouth when he bent and wrapped his hands around her upper arms. He just jerked her upward into a standing position. Her knees miraculously locked to hold her weight when he released her.

His eyes were bright blue. They were glowing.

“Run,” he hissed. “Cross the river and just keep moving. I’ll find you.”

She gaped at his face. Those fangs sticking out of his mouth were real and his features had changed just enough to terrify her. His cheekbones looked denser, the shape of his eyes now appearing sunken in a little under a forehead that seemed to have thickened. A fine coat of black hairs darkened his temples, the sides of his face, and his chin.

“Run now!” he snarled, shoving her. “Get across the river. Forget the raft. There’s no time.”

The push broke her from her stupor. She stumbled but made it to the river’s edge. It was a long way across and the current appeared strong. It reminded her that she wasn’t the best swimmer. She hesitated and turned slightly, staring at Drantos. His back was to her as he faced the line of trees. She peered past him when movement caught her attention.

A big creature crept out of the thick forest and paused on all fours.

Dusti whimpered. It was huge and looked like some kind of screwed-up dog.
Hell hound
, popped into her mind. The fur that covered it wasn’t thick, so she could make out the muscular, meaty arms and legs. It had to weigh hundreds of pounds, far bigger than any normal dog she’d ever seen. Its shape was odd, too, maybe part human and dog. It was the limbs that reminded her of a human but it lifted one front leg and she couldn’t miss the claws protruding from its fingers. They looked razor sharp and inches long.

It growled, raising the hairs along the back of her neck.

Dusti was frozen, horrified. The horrendous-looking dog-beast turned his head a little and pure black eyes met her fearful ones. It looked evil and she had flashes of horror movies running through her mind. It
did
remind her of a hell beast.

Drantos moved between them, using his body to block her view of the thing right out of a nightmare. She didn’t miss seeing Drantos’s hands spread open at his sides or the long, sharp, pointed claws that somehow had grown from his fingertips.

“Do what I said,” Drantos demanded in a voice way too deep to ever be confused with something human. He didn’t turn to glance at her, instead kept focused on the thing that he faced off against. “Swim for your life. I’ll find you.”

She spun around, finally able to tear her gaze away from the clearing. The briskly moving water ran across a wide stretch of distance, with random logs floating near the center. It moved at a fast enough speed that she paused again.

Fear of drowning was strong but there was a hellish creature behind her.

I’m fucked.

Another ear-piercing roar sounded and a second one answered it.
Don’t look
, she chanted inside her panicked mind.
God, don’t look. I’m going to have to swim. He said swim.

Drantos had ordered her to get to the other side of the river but it just looked too dangerous. She hadn’t even learned how to swim until her eleventh birthday, when her mother had signed her up for an after-school program. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been in a pool. It had to have been at least ten years.

Vicious sounds of a fight began and terror motivated her to rethink her fear of going into the river. Those animalistic snarls and growls were scarier than the possibility of drowning.

Guilt ate at her, too, because she’d accused Drantos of being insane. Multiple times. But that thing she’d seen in front of him wasn’t a typical animal. It was some really fucked-up looking monster.

A horrific pained scream erupted from behind her. It was the final straw. Her terror over what was happening next to the river overrode her fear of drowning. She waded into the icy water.

Her feet instantly sank into muddy earth, slowing her speed, but she trudged forward, motivated to live. Her shoes got stuck but she didn’t have time to bend and try to find them when the mud held them prisoner. She just stepped out of them and kept going.

The current pulled her in deeper once it was at her thighs. She lost her balance and pitched forward, completely going under the freezing water. She desperately kicked her legs, finally remembering she needed to, and used her arms in her fight to reach the surface to draw air into her lungs.

Her head broke the surface and she opened her eyes. The current pushed her along but she caught sight of the trees on the other side to help her know which direction to go. She struggled to swim toward them. The loud river drowned out any more sounds from the fight.

Is Drantos still alive?
She didn’t know, and that weighed as heavily on her as her soaking clothing did. She panted, urging herself to keep swimming. Her survival depended on crossing the river. She battled on, ignoring the way her limbs didn’t want to respond as easily as before. The temperature was so cold it was swiftly numbing her body.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, her foot touched something and she realized her toes dug into wet earth. She bounced up, got better footing, kept wading through water until she was able to crawl out. The urge to collapse was strong but she kept going, knowing she needed to get into the thicker trees to get out of sight. One quick turn of her head assured her the current had swept her far enough downstream that she might escape that beast thing if it got past Drantos.

The cover of the woods was welcome when she finally stopped crawling, just collapsing onto her side. She panted, trying to catch her breath. Chills racked her soaked body. Her clothes were stuck to her and icy cold. She listened but only heard the moving river. No more terrifying animal sounds penetrated the woods.
Is that good or bad?

Drantos’s face flashed through her mind when she closed her eyes. He’d stood up to that horrible beast instead of running away with her. The sight of those fierce claws shooting out of his fingertips hadn’t been a trick of the light.

He’s really a VampLycan. They exist
.

Her grasp on reality might be skewed by fear but she didn’t think so. Everything Drantos had said taunted her. She’d thought he needed medication but
she
was the one wishing for drugs at that second. It also made sense now why he’d refused to shift forms in front of her, if he looked anything similar to that hellish beast she’d seen. He’d predicted it would terrify her, and he’d been right.

She finally caught her breath and pushed up to her knees, stumbling to her feet. The loss of her shoes became clear immediately as she felt the loose dirt stick to her feet. She’d also forgotten to grab her discarded panties before she’d run. That was the least of her worries. The biggest would be freezing to death or being found by that horrible creature. There were also other predators out in the woods. She wasn’t about to forget their near run-in with a bear.

She hugged her body, shivering. A hiding place would be good but she had no idea where it would be safe.

Dusti glanced up at the sky, dreading the coming night. The bears suddenly seemed tame in comparison to that hell beast she’d seen. It’d had an almost humanoid form except for the hair and wolf like features. It almost made her wish someone had dumped illegal chemicals in the area that had affected the wildlife, turning them into some kind of radiated freaks. She’d read stories of things like that happening. That sure hadn’t been some two-headed turtle though, nor caused by anything so simply explainable. The beast had been huge, a monstrosity.

A VampLycan. Vampires and Werewolves were real.

She stopped and leaned against a tree, breathing deeply, fighting hysteria.

She suddenly wished Drantos were with her. As much as she had hoped to get away from him, wandering around in the woods while wet and terrified was turning out to be so much worse. She was torn on how far to go from the river’s edge, too. How would he be able to find her? It was probably for the best if she stayed in the same area, to help him locate her. She had to have faith that he’d be okay and come looking. The alternatives were too much for her to consider. Drantos couldn’t die.

She bumped into a tree, distracted. A soft curse left her mouth as she paused, taking in her surroundings. The large, intimidating shapes of more trees spread out as far as the eye could see. The ground wasn’t level, plenty of large stones were littered around the area, and a few fallen logs blocked her path.

“I hate the outdoors,” she whispered, coming to the conclusion that she’d likely die on her own. Either the exposure would kill her or the animals would. Her gaze lifted to the tree branches as she wondered how she’d fare if she climbed one to get off the ground. The sun would go down at some point and she needed to make a decision.

She walked to one of the trees and wrapped her fingers around the lowest branch. It was a sad attempt, trying to pull her weight up. She was too exhausted. Frustrated tears blinded her until she blinked them back. Climbing was out of the question. She just didn’t have the strength.

Think
, she ordered her mind. She took some deep breaths and slowly stripped with trembling hands. There was no way to dry what she had worn but she squeezed out as much water as possible. It was chilly being naked but worse when she redressed. She hoped the clothes would help her avoid cuts and scratches, at least. Her bare feet would be a problem but it was pointless to grieve the loss of her shoes.

She huddled next to a fallen log, trying to get warm. It was impossible to do but she was low to the ground and partially hidden. Chills shook her so hard that the fish in her belly threatened to come up but she resisted the urge. There was no certainty she’d see another meal. It would also probably draw predators.

“Drantos,” she whispered, wishing once more that he was at her side.

She turned more into the mossy tree. The smell of decaying wood was faint but the log blocked her from the worst of the chilly breeze. She only could hope that Bat fared better with Kraven. One of them needed to survive.