Fated Betrayal: A Paranormal Erotic Romance (The Twisted Destiny Saga Book 2) (14 page)

He let the demon take him and his fangs scraped over the sensitive flesh of her neck.

She whimpered with a medley of fear and anticipation. His fangs pierced her neck. He kept his bite gentle. As his fingers brushed her clit, she came around him, her pussy squeezing his cock like a vice. It was pure, unadulterated bliss. His fangs left her neck and he roared as he found his own intense release.

“Nathanial!” she exclaimed in a panic. “Your eyes!”

“Yours, too,” he said, shocked to see the white glow emanating from her.

“Pull back!” she urged him.

“It is too late.” He pulled out anyway and collapsed onto the bed beside her, panting, not from the exertion of their lovemaking, but from the realization of what the glow in her eyes had meant. “Impossible,” he said. “After all these years…we would have known…we should have.”

“Perhaps, it’s not…what we think,” she said, pulling the covers over herself protectively.

He rolled to his side and gazed at her in silence. The fear in her eyes and the look of utter disbelief mirrored his own feelings.

But, as much as they tried to deny it, it was impossible to.

They had both witnessed it for themselves. Right before their eyes.

She is the one: my true mate.

CHAPTER 21

Ryan strode on into Josh’s room. He was surprised to see him sitting with Shaye on a couch in the middle of the room. It looked like they were engaged in a heated conversation. He cleared his throat and they both turned towards him, shocked by his unexpected arrival.

“Uh…hi, Ry,” Josh stumbled.

Ryan cocked an eyebrow at Shaye.

She rolled her eyes. “Please. Nothing happened. We were only talking.”

Ryan walked further into the room, cradling his son carefully in his arms. The two of them crowded around him, fawning over the baby. Little growls escaped his lips and Ryan drew back, telling them, “You’re scaring him.”

Shaye chuckled. “You’re being overprotective.”

“Seconded. Those were happy little growls, Ry. I think it’s
you
who doesn’t like anyone touching him.”

Ryan pulled his son closer and gently stroked his hair. “It’s my job to protect him,” he murmured quietly, enraptured by his son in his arms.

“Where’s Cora?” Josh asked.

“Taking a shower.”

“Already?” Shaye asked, surprised. “She’s up and about? It’s only been a couple of days since she gave birth to this little one.”

“She heals incredibly fast these days. Ever since she unleashed her power, she’s been much stronger. She broke my hand during the birth. That tells you how strong she is.”

“Damn, your wife has the ability to kick your ass now,” Josh teased.

“An
assumption
that will never be put to the test.” He studied Shaye and Josh for several moments. The tension in the air was palpable. “What’s going on with the two of you? What were you talking about?”

“Nothing important,” Shaye responded.

Ryan could tell instantly that she was lying to him. He glared at Josh and demanded, “Josh?” It was impossible for Josh to tell him a lie. He had to cater to his Alpha’s wishes.

Josh heaved a heavy sigh and revealed, “Shaye and I discovered what that
tea
that David gave Cora really was—what its purpose was.”

Ryan felt his blood boil at the mention of that asshole. His son reacted to the sudden tension from him and he started to cry.

“I…can’t. I need to calm down. Take him for a moment,” Ryan said to Shaye, handing him over to her. He folded his arms across his chest and ordered them both, “Tell me.”

Shaye nodded and told him, “The tea was actually a potion, created by black magic. Michael’s, we believe. It renders beings of great power susceptible to
manipulation
, something that is not possible otherwise. For example, at full strength, Cora is impervious to vampire compulsion, even from the Vampire Prince. Knowing David’s abilities as Fae, I believe that he used this so that he could coerce her. He has the ability to project his will—desires and feelings—onto another being.”

Ryan fought down the urge to growl. He didn’t want to scare his son with his rage. “I want to know what he did to her.”

“Ry, I don’t think—” Josh protested.

Ryan ignored him and demanded, “Is it possible, Shaye? For you to show me?”

“Yes. I have already seen it myself. I had to in order to access the truth about the leaf. Ryan, I strongly advise against this, because what I saw—I know you—you will not react well at all.”

“Shaye, another man touched
my
wife, manipulated her into doing things against her will. I need to know what.” He saw the hesitation in her eyes and told her, “I can’t lose my temper with my son right here, can I? So, just show me. Please.”

“All right. As you wish.” She handed his son over to Josh.

“Be careful with him,” Ryan said. “Sit down while you’re holding him, J.”

Josh rolled his eyes, but ceded to Ryan’s wishes anyway, settling himself onto the couch.

Shaye took Ryan’s hand and weaved her fingers in his. They locked eyes and then a bright, white glow emanated from her palm.

Ryan grunted as a sudden rush of images ripped through his mind. “Fucking hell!” he exclaimed.

“It hurts because your body is tense with anger,” she told him.

His gaze snapped to hers, his eyes afire with barely-contained rage as the images became clearer and he began to see the visions of what David had done to his wife.

In their bedchamber, right after the awful waterfall incident:

“I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered.

“Stop it,” she said, struggling against him.

“Just look at me,” he implored her.

In the bathroom, where she stood naked before him:

He stepped towards her and reached out between her legs. “You’d like my fingers inside you, wouldn’t you, my sweet?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me what you want.”

And in his bedroom at the wolf compound:

He pushed her panties aside and drew his finger across her slit.

“Mmm…perfect.
You want me to take you, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me, Cora. Say the words.”

“I want you to take me, David.”

“Mmm…I want that too,” he said, flicking her clit and causing her to buck against him. He pulled his hand away and told her, “But first, I have a gift for you.”

“What is it?” she asked excitedly.

“A mark. In the human realm, you call it a tattoo. It’s imbued with powerful faerie magic. It will protect your child, my sweet.”

He pressed his hand gently to her pregnant belly.

Ryan ripped his hand from Shaye’s grip, gasping for breath.

He turned away and rested his head against the wall as he tried to absorb the realities of the awful things that David had done to Cora.

“I am sorry, Ryan,” Shaye said softly.

“I failed. I’m supposed to protect her.” He thrust his fist into the wall, the power behind it taking a good chunk out of it.

“A lot has been happening, Ry. None of us knew what he was doing,” Josh said.

“Fuck!”

Instantly he heard his son’s fearful cries.
Shit.

He clenched his fists, fighting to maintain control amid the fiery rage coursing through his veins.
Get control. Get control. For him, for my boy.

He managed to reel it in. He turned back to them.

“Ry?” Josh asked, shocked.

Ryan knew why he was so startled. He was known for his temper. Hell, he was famous for it. And he’d never calmed down so damn quickly.

“I’m fine. Give me my son,” he said, approaching the couch where Josh sat holding the baby.

Josh hesitantly complied.

“Thank you,” Ryan said, turning to leave.

“Ryan!” Shaye called after him worriedly. “You need to talk about this. Talk to us, okay? You can’t keep your feelings bottled up. That never ends well.”

He responded without turning around. “I will unleash my
feelings
when I rip him to shreds and tear his heart from his chest.”

He could feel them staring after him as he walked calmly from the room, murmuring soothing words to his son as he went.

CHAPTER 22

Marella stood looking out over the royal gardens. The sun had just descended and they were cloaked with the thick cloud of night. The luminous colors of the majestic flowers and the towering trees shone brightly under the moonlight.

She started suddenly as a hand brushed against hers.

“Good evening, angel,” Nathanial’s deep baritone rumbled as he weaved his fingers through hers.

She turned to him and whispered, “Do not call me that here, in public.”

He smiled with amusement. “Please. Do you think me so foolish as to fail to take precautions?”

He gestured around them and she looked to see a shimmering, red film enveloping them.

“A glamour. To everyone else we are standing apart, simply talking. Arguing, actually, to make it appear more in keeping with what would be expected.”

“Vazra will be able to feel the glamour if he comes this way.”

“Then we will tell him that we were arguing about the past and we did not wish others to witness it.”

She chuckled and relaxed her hand in his. “All right. I am at ease with that.”

He wrapped his arm around her and leaned into her. “You left my bed without a word this morning.”

“I didn’t want to wake you.”

He scoffed. “I am a vampire. The slightest movement can rouse me awake.”

“I’m sorry. I had an early meeting with Vazra and the Royal Court. In light of Davidas’s defection, Vazra is considering a replacement faerie.”

“Fae cannot be trusted. He should keep the Court as it is now—with just the three of you. Warlock, sorceress, and dragon.”

Marella chuckled and said, “Thank you for your input.”

“Is it not true?” he asked, his hand fondling her snow-white hair.

“Perhaps,” she murmured.

“The child will be named soon and I am expected to return to my kingdom. But I am finding the idea of leaving…difficult.”

She smiled up at him and kissed his lips chastely. “As am I.”

“Come with me.”

“What?” she gasped, pulling away.

“Come home with me. I will make you my queen.”

“I…I cannot, Nathanial. Things are sensitive right now. Vazra will see it as a betrayal.”

“The child is the bridge. He will unite the two realms.”

“It has yet to happen. We must all be cautious right now.”

Nathanial sighed. He pressed his hand to her stomach.

“What are you doing?”

“Seeing if you are with child yet.”

She laughed at the notion. “With child?”

“Yes, the first night we were together, we bonded.”

“It was an accident.”

“That does not matter. I do not think that the fates will see the distinction, angel.”

She shook her head. “We already agreed that we were mistaken. Your eyes always glow a little by default. We both came to the conclusion that it was likely nothing more than that.”

“I said that to appease you.”

“What?”

“You were in such a state about it that I decided it was best to let it lie for a while before I told you.”

“Told me what, Nathanial?”

“I
felt
something.”

Shocked, she stepped back and shook her head. “No. No. You’re wrong.”

His eyes narrowed and she could see he was hurt by her reaction. His hand shot out and he gripped her arm, firmly, but not roughly. “Why are you so against this?”

“Because it would be a betrayal. I am a member of the Royal Court of the White Realm. To be found out to be the mate of the Vampire King? Vazra would have me killed…or worse.”

“He will not touch you. I will protect you.”

“We can’t…do this.”

He pulled her to him and told her, “Marella,
I
know better than anyone that the pull between destined, true mates cannot be denied. I suffered through trying to deny it with Oriana and Cornelius. It is impossible.”

She gripped his hands tightly and said softly, “I do feel love for you. But I need…time…things are complicated. I need…to think.”

Before he could utter a response, she broke from him. She waved her hand at the glamour around them. It shattered instantly and she hurried away from him in haste.

* * * * *

Nathanial growled low in his throat as he watched her go. She was a stubborn woman. But he’d already waited centuries for her and he wasn’t prepared to let her slip through his fingers now. He would do whatever it took to ensure that didn’t happen. Marella was his.

He waited a while to avoid suspicion and then he followed her path back into the palace. As he passed by the stairs leading down to the basement level, he stopped short at the pungent smell of blood. Fresh blood. He knew instantly that it wasn’t human. But he also knew that the only blood Vazra kept on the premises was in the form of blood bags.

His curiosity got the better of him and he descended the stairs.

He found himself in a long dark corridor, lit only by a few torches hanging on the stone walls.
Fire. Great.
Three doors on either side of the corridor were the only things of note.

He followed the scent of blood and stopped outside the first door to his right. He couldn’t hear anything from within, which was saying something because, as Vampire King, his senses were more attuned than any other vampire’s. The room had to be supernaturally soundproofed then. He noticed that the door was ajar and he pushed it open quietly.

He only just managed to stifle a gasp of pure shock at what he saw.

He watched Vazra thrust a ball of magic at a man hanging naked against a bloodstained wall, his arms and legs suspended by hefty restraints. His ferocious screams echoed harshly off the walls. His flesh was ripped apart, exposing muscle and bone. There was blood everywhere and his entire body was so disfigured that it took Nathanial a moment to recognize him. David, the treacherous faerie.

“I think you’ve made your point.”

Vazra spun around in surprise. “Lost your stomach for torture now, have you?”

“Vengeance is Ryan’s, not yours. Cora is his wife.”

“And she is
my
daughter!”

Nathanial was not deterred at all by Vazra’s irate response. He remained calm and composed as he responded, “Ryan will not be happy about this.”

“He is concerned with his son right now.”

Nathanial folded his arms across his chest and asked, “How did the faerie come to be here?”

“I reached into the human realm and pulled him out.”

“You did
what
?”

“Relax, your son is still alive. Burned a little, but alive, nonetheless.”

Nathanial took a threatening step towards him. “I told you the three of them were together. Your power is not precise when reaching from one realm to the other, especially not the kind that you used to bring him here—the
burning fire of white light
. Do not try to deny it, with the rage I am feeling from you right now. I know you didn’t use just a simple teleportation spell, the likes of which you used to bring us here a few days back. No, you wanted to harm the faerie and so you
ripped
him from the human realm with the white fire. It is only by
chance
that you did not kill Luca in the process! It was not an acceptable risk, Vazra!”

“I deemed it acceptable.”

Nathanial shot out his hand and gripped Vazra’s throat. He hauled him off his feet and snarled up at him. “You have not changed. Still as untrustworthy as ever.”

“Release me,” Vazra threatened, raising his palm as a warning that he would strike if Nathanial didn’t back down.

He released him and Vazra hit the floor painfully.

Growling in fury, Nathanial stormed away.