Drantos (VLG Series Book 1) (35 page)

Shock tore through her. He hadn’t spoken that last part but she’d heard it as if he had. His voice had been that loud and clear.

Drantos lowered to his knees in front of her. “The bond is in place! We’re officially mated.”

Can you hear me?
She tried to think toward him, carefully attempting to project each word without moving her own lips.

A deep rumble of a laugh answered her before his thoughts did.
Yes, I can.

Oh shit, he can hear everything I think? I’m so going to be in a world of trouble the next time I get mad at him.

“No, Dusti. Only the things you project will come through the bond. If you’re mad, I
will
hear your thoughts unless you shield them. You’ll learn. I won’t invade your privacy.”

“But just a few minutes ago we couldn’t do this.”

“The bond just snaps into place. We’ve been sharing sex and blood. Our emotions are involved. My blood and yours have started to take hold in each other. This is a true mating.”

Her gaze lowered to the front of his jeans. “So that means you can’t get it up for other women now?”

“That’s the first thing you think about?” He shook his head, looking amused, and rose back up to his feet. “Yes, that’s what it means.”

“What else is going to change?”

He released her hand to open the cabin door, pausing long enough for her to enter first. He threw her new clothes onto the table just inside the entry, used his boot to slam the door closed, and grabbed her before she could do more than gasp. He nearly ran with her toward their bedroom.

“What are you doing?”

He dropped her on the bed. Her body bounced once on the soft mattress and she gaped at Drantos while he tore at his clothes. He nearly fell over when he bent to tear off his boots. She laughed and lifted up on her elbows to watch him. The amusement left when his gaze met hers as he straightened. His eyes glowed.

“Don’t do that hypnosis shit on me.”

He shook his head. “I can’t anymore. You’re my mate. It wouldn’t work. I’m just not hiding my desire for you any longer. You know what I am, Dusti. My eyes turn this way when I’m extremely horny.”

“Why would you try to keep that a secret?”

“I wanted your feelings for me to build and I thought that might be easier for you if I wasn’t constantly reminding you how different we are. We’re compatible in all the ways that matter.”

It was kind of sweet and she understood why he’d think that way. “I see.”

She lowered her gaze down his incredibly sexy, muscular body until she paused at the sight of his rigid cock straining straight out toward her. Her body instantly responded. Her nipples beaded and between her thighs, she felt moisture dampen the sweats she’d borrowed from him.

“Open your mind to me.” He bent over to reach for the waist of the sweats, tugged them down her body, and tore off all three layers of socks from her feet. “You’re going to love this part of being mates. At least I think we both are. I’ve heard enough about it to always envy the idea of being able to link with someone else.”

Dusti sat up and tore the shirt over her head. She met his gaze and took a deep breath, blew it out, and nodded. She wasn’t sure how to do it but she mentally pushed toward him with her thoughts.

Is this what you mean?

Yes!
His knee made the bed dip.

“What…” Her mouth closed and she tried to think her words again.
What were you talking about?

Open your thighs wide for me and keep your mind open
.

Okay.
She nodded. Her heart raced but she spread her thighs.
I wish you’d tell me what we’re doing.

Drantos flattened onto his stomach on the bed, his hands slid under her ass, and he jerked her hips closer to his mouth. His eyes seemed to glow more, turning a neon-blue that entranced her.
You’re so beautiful. God, I love you. You smell so hot, so good, and your taste is addictive. Stay open to me.
His face dipped, his thumbs spreading her sex lips open, and his tongue traced her clit.

Pleasure shot through Dusti—but it wasn’t just from him teasing her clit. Confusion struck her for an instant as she licked her lips. A hunger gripped her; a wonderful flavor filled her senses, as if she’d just eaten something fantastic. Her passion amplified until her elbows supporting her upper weight gave way. She fell flat on the bed, crying out when her sex seemed to throb as if it had a heartbeat.

“Oh my God,” she moaned. “We’re connected, aren’t we? I’m feeling what you do.”

He growled against her clit, the vibrations of rapture on her sensitive nerve endings heightening her desire, and her vaginal walls clenched hard. The pounding in her sex seemed to rush to her ears, her body writhed under his mouth, and her fingers clawed the bedding just to hold on to something.

Drantos tore his mouth away from her clit, climbed up her body, and her eyes opened. She knew how desperately he wanted inside her, how much he hurt, and even how tight his balls had drawn up with pure need to fuck her. His cock filled with blood until the skin seemed ready to burst from the pressure. She spread her thighs wider to help him ease inside her. She nearly drowned in the strong emotions of his need and her own. He wasn’t thinking words anymore but she understood.

The second the crown of his cock brushed her slick pussy, they both groaned again. She knew how hot she felt to him, how the scent of her arousal filled his nose, and how it made him ache more to feel the tight sheath of her body wrap around his.

Mine. Home. My everything.

Dusti nodded frantically and her hands released the comforter to grab him instead. She could feel her nails sinking into his shoulders as if they were digging into her own. Pleasure at the slight bite of pain had her back arching and her legs wrapping around the back of his thighs. She could feel her heels sliding against him.

He hesitated and she knew he worried that the sensations would overwhelm her. He didn’t want to rush things, to make her feel too much, too fast.

Fuck me
, she demanded.
I need you and I’m okay
.

I love you so much, Dusti
. He pressed forward and she cried out loudly at the sensation of warm, slick flesh parting for his throbbing cock. It was amazing, how it felt for both of them as he stretched her, her muscles clenched tight around every inch of his cock while he pressed deeper.

He moved, fucking her fast and furious, out of control. And Dusti wanted him to be. Their bodies moved together, her bucking under him frantically while he pounded into her, and rapture gripped them both. Every throb of his cock, every twitch of her pussy around his swelling cock made her spin higher out of control. The ecstasy became a living thing between them that locked them together.

She gasped when the first tinges of her climax started and he roared out above her. She screamed as his semen started to shoot from the tip of his shaft. She not only felt it deep inside her womb, but also felt it from his prospective, flooding into her. Her mind blew from the intensity of his release coupled with her own. A white haze of delight drowned her until she eventually surfaced and realized they lay slumped together, panting hard on the bed.

Drantos had collapsed on top of her but just enough to the side not to crush her under his heavier weight. Her eyes opened and a grin spread across her face. She could feel each little pulse of his cock and how he softened just slightly, easing some of the pressure inside her.

That was so cool!

Drantos chuckled and lifted his head. She knew he wanted to groan when he forced his limbs to support more of his weight, that he’d have been content to remain sprawled on top of his mate until he caught his breath enough to take her again, but he wanted to see her face. He thought she was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen and looking into her eyes made him believe he gazed into heaven. She had become his life, his entire world, and he loved her with his very soul.

“I know,” he whispered. “You feel the same way about me. We’re mates.”

“I’m so happy you came into my life.”

Tears blinded them both and Drantos laughed. “Damn. You’re going to make me cry too. I just found a down side to this.”

She laughed with him. “Good thing I think sensitive men are hot.”

“I’m relieved to know that.” His lips lowered to brush across her mouth.

Dusti moaned.
Again? Really? So soon?
Desire flared through them both.

I’m not human.

I love VampLycans now.

Drantos chuckled against her lips.
I love you, Dusti.

“This is going to work out.”

“We’ll make certain of it.”

Dusti wasn’t really sure how she’d fit into his clan but didn’t want to share that with him. Drantos brushed another kiss over her lips. “You’re projecting. I don’t mean to overhear your thoughts but it’s going to be fine.”

“It’s just such an unfamiliar way to live. Your rules and world are so different from mine.”

“They will become yours. You are VampLycan, Dusti. You were just denied the knowledge of your heritage.”

She felt anger come through their bond. “It pisses you off?”

“I would have found you so much sooner if you’d been raised in the clans.”

“I would have lived with Decker’s if my mother had stayed, or she would have been forced to mate with Aveoth.” She shivered a little, remembering the fierce and intense warrior. “He could have been my father. How scary is that? Imagine having to face him at every holiday get-together. Talk about a nightmare in-law.”

“He wouldn’t have been able to have children with her.”

“Why?”

“Gargoyles hate Vampires to a level that is extreme. We’re half Vampire but even we’re not fond of the full-bloods. GarLycans tend to avoid mating with us half-breeds because we carry Vampire blood. Even a drop is too much.”

“But he was addicted to the bloodline. I don’t understand.”

“I don’t either but it would be an affront to his clan if he had children with any Vampire blood running in their veins. It’s acceptable in his culture for him to take her as a lover but nothing more. He would have either had to dump her to take a mate or found a GarLycan willing to breed his children without the bond mate.”

“That’s so weird and messed up. What about the woman he took as a lover? She’d just have to turn a blind eye to him screwing someone else to have a baby?”

“Yes.”

“That’s so wrong.”

“I agree but that’s how they live.”

“What if he wanted to mate his lover?”

“He’d have a hell of a fight on his hands to stay in control of his clan if she had any Vampire blood in her veins. They’d want him to step down. They don’t always mate the mother of their children. It’s not a requirement, but a VampLycan would be offensive to his clan if he bonded to her. It would give her status that none of them would wish her to have.”

“That’s so confusing. They’re like friends to VampLycans, right?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Uncomplicate it for me.”

“They
are
willing to join forces with us but we’re not considered totally equal.”

“No wonder my mom took off to avoid that kind of fate. I just wish she’d told us the truth.”

“So do I.”

“I keep thinking about Decker. Where is he, and will Bat and Kraven be safe from him?”

“Aveoth is now aware of what his plans were. Decker no longer holds the advantage and the GarLycan leader knows Bat already has a mate. Your sister is going to be fine. Decker wants her alive, so he wouldn’t hurt her if he’s able to find them. Worst case, he’d turn her over to Aveoth and he’d just send her to us. He knows she has a mate and he’s got honor. It’s Kraven I’m more concerned about. He’d never allow her to be taken without forfeiting his life first.”

“I just wish we could help them.”

“Kraven is more than capable of surviving and staying under the radar. He’ll return when he feels it’s safe to bring his mate home. Have some faith. I do.” He caressed her skin. “Let me distract you from your worrying.”

She smiled. “I love you touching me.”

“I love everything about you.”

Chapter Sixteen

Dusti could relate to being a tourist who’d lost her luggage. She looked the part in her ill-fitting clothes she’d bought at Peva’s shop.

Nothing about that afternoon’s event held a familiar feel. They were in a clearing with thick woods surrounding it and three large fire pits burning. A bunch of strangers milled around. The men were all muscled and big, most sporting jeans and tank tops. The women were tall and seemed to have a “dress for less” fashion sense going on. They mostly wore summer dresses with open backs or sarongs.

“Yeah. I’m totally fitting in,” Dusti muttered.

“Everyone knows you had to buy temporary clothing.”

“As if I’d walk around in nothing but a thin towel wrapped around my torso.”

His eyebrows rose.

“Sarongs. It’s basically what they are.”

A smile curved his lips. “You’d look sexy in one.”

“With my luck, it would come untied and I’d drop it.”

“I’d like that.”

“I meant in front of everyone.”

Drantos put his arm around her. “Just be yourself and relax. You’re nervous.”

“Thanks for not saying no one is going to be judging me. They totally are.”

“We can leave.”

“Yeah. Right. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot with the new mother-in-law. No thanks. She kind of frightens me. Just make sure I don’t end up roasting in one of those pits. What does elk taste like, anyway?”

“You’ll like it.”

“I hope so. Your clan can really eat two of them? I thought they weighed a ton.”

“VampLycans can eat about six times what a human can, and we
really
gorge at a feast. Think of it like your Thanksgiving holiday, only we do it more often.”

“No wonder you’re all so big.”

“It takes a lot of fuel to shift. We’re also naturally toned.”

“You mean mega-muscled.”

He grinned. “Yes. Relax. You’re really talkative.”

She sealed her lips. He was right. She had a tendency to babble when anxious. He just had a nicer way of putting it. She clutched at his hand as they strolled deeper into the clearing. People stared at her and some even stopped talking. She resisted the urge to drop her chin and lean against Drantos. It might make her appear weak. She lifted her head a little higher and clenched her teeth together.

Relax
, Drantos thought at her.

I’m trying.

Velder came up to them first. It was his way of letting the clan know he approved of his son’s mate. Drantos had given her a run-through of things to expect. She bowed her head to show the clan leader respect.

He reached out and brushed her shoulder with his fingertips. “I’m glad you both could make it.” He touched Drantos’s shoulder next, then stepped back. “Let them come to you,” he suggested, his voice barely above a whisper.

“I’ve got this,” Drantos muttered.

Velder spun away, retreating back to the men he’d been speaking to when they had arrived. Dusti glanced around, looking for Crayla.
Where’s your mom?

She’s with the women. They prepare the food and the cooking hasn’t started yet.

Dusti nodded. Peva strode toward them with a tall, handsome man at her side. She guessed that was the woman’s mate. They stopped and Drantos did the talking.

“Hello, Peva. It’s a nice evening.”

“It is. Dusti, this is Maku. My mate,” Peva confirmed.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Dusti smiled.

He had seriously dark eyes and his nostrils flared. “You smell totally human.”

Peva elbowed him. “I told you that.”

“No offense.” Maku glanced at Drantos. “Are you certain she carries any bloodline?”

“Yes. She’s part VampLycan. Her mother was one of us.”

He looked her up and down. “I see.”

Peva elbowed him again. “Knock it off.” She winked at Dusti. “Forgive him. He’s over two hundred years old and gets a bit grumpy when it comes to humans. He remembers when they used to chase him with sharp sticks as a youngster. He liked to roam into their territory.”

The big guy grumbled under his breath. “It’s not funny.”

Peva laughed. “He also should appreciate someone finding their mate since he had to wait so long to find me. He watched generations being born and grown before I was brought into this world.”

Dusti tried to keep her mouth from falling open.

“I had to chase him.” Peva turned into her mate, hugging his waist. “He thought he should give me a few more years to mature since he was so much older. I knew he was mine when I hit sixteen but we waited to mate until I was the age of consent.”

“That’s eighteen, right?”

“Yes. Some knucklehead made that law.” Peva rolled her eyes. “Tell that to a horny teenager when she has the hots for a guy and knows he’s hers. He’d leave our village when I went into heat because I’d go to his house and climb into his bed. I told him if he touched someone else while
he
was in heat that I’d hunt them both down and kill them, since I was more than willing to break the law to be with him. My Maku isn’t one to break rules.”

“I’m an enforcer. How would that look?”

Peva rolled her eyes and sighed. “It was two years of hell.” She suddenly grinned again. “Just before midnight on the last day of my seventeenth year, I grabbed my packed bags and ran to his house. I got there about a minute after I hit eighteen. He knew me so well. He had the door open and was waiting on his porch.”

Her mate chuckled. “You had warned me that’s what you’d do.”

“As if you weren’t happy about that.”

“I was. It was hell for me too. Especially when I’d come home after you’d been in heat to find your scent all over my house—and you’d always leave your vibrator on my nightstand. You left it there for me to find on purpose. You’d send
me
into heat. I never touched another woman though, after I knew you were mine. I had to suffer through it alone.”

“Payback is a bitch.” Peva hugged him tighter and focused her attention on Dusti. “I know it’s going to be difficult for you to adjust to life here but remember that we’re people. Don’t let anyone intimidate you. That’s the plus side of being mated to an enforcer. No one will dare touch you or be overly unkind. They know your mate will make them regret it. Maku was one of our fighting instructors when I was a teen. There was a boy who wanted to nail me, so he’d planned to come after me when I was in heat, thinking I might accept him since Maku avoided me.”

Maku growled deep.

Peva nodded. “You made him rethink that, didn’t you?”

“Damn pup thought he could take what was mine while you were vulnerable.”

Drantos chuckled. “I remember. You took him with you when she went into heat and tied him up in a cave. To this day he hates small enclosed spaces. He’s a damn good fighter though since you really tore into him during training.”

“I enjoyed my work especially well with that one.” Maku’s eyes brightened in color, glowing a bit. “He never looked at her again.”

“He wouldn’t even talk to me and still changes directions when we cross paths.” Peva snickered. “He’s terrified of my Maku.”

“He wanted you. I’m never going to forget that.”

Peva rose up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I’m all yours. Don’t go beating him up for old times’ sake. You have that glint in your eye.” She looked at Dusti. “Just be who you are. Our clan is curious about you. Just show them you accept us and they will do the same.”

Maku nodded. “They’re all worried that you’ll scream or burst into tears. Don’t do that.” He peered at Drantos. “You should teach her how to fight. It would make them respect her faster if she at least tried to learn our ways. Let me know if you need help. It will be difficult for you to be the one to train her. I always took it easy on Peva, since it’s impossible to hurt the one who’s yours. I had to allow another trainer to work with her and walk away during their sessions. Otherwise my instincts made me want to attack him to protect her.”

“Thank you.” Drantos reached out and touched the male’s shoulder. “I appreciate that and might take you up on it.”

“Come find us when we eat.” Peva waved. “That will help too. It will let the clan know we’ve accepted her.”

Maku inclined his head. “See you soon.” The couple drifted off to talk to others.

“They’re really nice.” Dusti squeezed Drantos’s hand.

“They aren’t. That’s the point. Maku is one of our most feared enforcers and Peva can be a terror. They want us to eat with them to send a message.”

“That they like me?”

“Mess with you and it will piss them off.”

“Oh. Well, that’s still really nice.”

Drantos grinned. “I’m glad you think so. Peva is like family. I’m not surprised by her offer but I don’t know how she managed to talk Maku into openly accepting you so quickly. He
really
doesn’t like humans.”

“He loves her.”

“Yes, he does.”

“Is he really that old? I pegged him at about thirty-one, maybe. And only because he’s so tall and big.”

“He’s first generation.”

“What are you?” She was afraid he’d say he was one too. That would mean he was about Maku’s age.

“Second generation. My father is a first generation.” He seemed to study her eyes. “Do you want me to tell you my age now?”

“I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”

“If it helps, my father wasn’t what you’d consider young when he met my mother. He’d already taken over ruling our clan.”

“Okay. Just hit me with a rounded figure.” She braced, watching him back.

“Eighties.”

She had to force her lungs to work. He didn’t look that old. Not even close.

“How do you feel about that?”

He probed her mind. She could feel it now. It was like a gentle tap against her skull. She tried to shield against it and it seemed to work. A thought struck and it made her grin. “Can I call you my old man?”

Drantos softly growled and lowered his head, brushing a kiss on her lips. Amusement showed in his eyes. “No.”

“Kraven is younger than you?”

“By two years.”

“Oh boy. I hope Bat takes that information well.”

“He won’t tell her until she’s ready to hear it.” Drantos pulled her closer. “Are you freaking out? I know you like that term.”

She shook her head. “No. I’m just glad you’re not a few hundred years old. See? Bright side.”

“I’m glad.”

“Me too. So it’s just you and Kraven? No more siblings that I don’t know about?”

“My parents had only two sons.”

“I’m surprised there aren’t more kids, considering how young your parents look and it’s been that many years since they had you and your brother.”

“It was a very calm time in our history when my parents mated. They wanted children right away, so they had Kraven and me. There were issues with Decker after our births. They decided to stop having children until there wasn’t a threat.”

“What issues?”

“A few assassins from his clan tried to take out the other three clan leaders. They failed and lost their lives. My father said he woke when someone entered our home and he attacked the bastard as he came down the hallway toward the bedrooms. He wasn’t certain at first if the assassin was there to kill him or his family. He placed a call to the other leaders to tell them what happened, only to learn two others had the same experience. They confronted Decker, prepared to have him pick one of them to fight to the death. But the coward swore his people had acted on their own. There was no proof otherwise so they had to let it go. He claimed they were unhappy members who must have wanted to lead their own clans when they’d left his.”

“Is that when he began wanting to take control of all the clans?”

Drantos nodded. “It was the start of the trouble. He’d do small annoying things, like test the borders to see if they were protected well. My father and the other clans needed to watch his every move. My parents might have more children in the future but that would be only if they decide it’s safe. Women are the most vulnerable during pregnancy and right after, when they’re caring for the very young. He wants her to be able to fight and defend herself to the best of her ability if the need arises.”

“VampLycans have birth control?”

He nodded. “It’s a Lycan thing most of us inherited. The women can go into heat without dropping fertile eggs. They can only get pregnant when they will their bodies to do so.”

“That’s freaky but kind of cool. How do you will your body into not getting pregnant?”

Drantos paused in thought. “It’s tough to explain. When I’m in danger, I grow claws to protect myself. My body just reacts instantly. I shift and my fangs drop. With Lycan women, it’s kind of like that but they can tell their bodies when it’s all right to get pregnant and when it isn’t.”

“Natural birth control.”

“Exactly.” He looked up, glanced around, and then held her gaze again. “I can feel my father glaring at me. He’s probably annoyed that we’re talking and not focusing on making eye contact with others to encourage them to approach.”