Fated Blood: A paranormal erotic romance series (The Twisted Destiny Saga Book 5) (3 page)

“Black magic?” Ryan asked.

Luca told him, “He trained Michael
and
there are rumors that he was the one who trained Oriana to wield it as well.”

“A decision I’ve recently lived to regret.” He raised his head and told Ryan, “She brought your son here.”

“What?” Ryan exclaimed, stepping closer.

“Three weeks ago, right after I felt a huge power surge—your wife’s magic. She forced me to open a portal to
Spiritomb.
”

“Forced you?” Ryan growled.

“She threatened the life of
my
child.”

“You have a child? How?” Luca demanded.

“A story for another time.” He moved closer to them and lowered his voice. “Opening the portal requires tremendous power
and
a sacrifice from the person casting the spell—the ultimate sacrifice.”

“What does that mean?” Ryan asked.

Kristoff took a deep breath before revealing, “The life of the one you love.”

“Amelia,” Luca realized aloud.

Kristoff nodded. “She was my wife.”

Luca looked shocked. “You were wed? I thought she was just—”

“What?” Kristoff cut in. “A mere whore to me?” He shifted on his stool. “Believe me, Luca, I wouldn’t have gone to the extent that I did to take her from you if she was just to be a whore of mine. No, she was
everything
of mine. My love.”

With Luca shell-shocked, Ryan took over, demanding of Kristoff, “How do we open the portal again?”

“You don’t,” Kristoff answered. “Opening a portal there more than once a century could cause irreparable damage by ripping apart the fabric of reality. It could risk pulling back the curtain between life and death.”

“I don’t give a damn! My son is there!”

Kristoff held up his hand. “It doesn’t mean we can’t pull your son out.”

Luca scoffed. “What? So we just reach in somehow, poke around, and hope to hell that we grab hold of him in the process?”

“Before they passed through the portal, I spelled the wolf-pup with a magical tracker.”

Ryan cocked an eyebrow in surprise. “Why would you do that?”
What’s the catch here?

“Because he wants something from you in return. What is it, Kristoff?”

“Passage into the Dark Realm for myself and my daughter. Seeing as though none of us can kill Oriana, the only safe place for us is in the Dark Realm thanks to Cora’s barrier—another sign, by the way, that her white power is still in her somewhere. If it was not, the barrier would have dissipated.”

“That would require my father to pardon you for your crimes,” Luca told him.

“I realize that,” Kristoff snapped. “But Ryan has a close relationship with him. It shouldn’t be that difficult if he requested it of Nathanial on my behalf.”

Ryan folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the bar. “Before I even consider running this by Nathanial, tell me how we pull my son out.”

“First, get me passage into the Dark Realm. Once my daughter and I are through the gates, I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

Ryan growled and lunged at him, but Luca held him back once again. Then, Ryan saw Luca’s eyes start to glow with red fire at Kristoff. He was trying to compel him.

Kristoff laughed. “You don’t think I have taken precautions against the possibility that you would try to compel me, old friend?” His gaze snapped to Ryan’s as he said, “And, look around, Wolf King, I
enjoy
pain. You can’t torture it out of me.”

He smiled at them as he stepped around them and walked away into the heart of the club.

“Fuck,” Ryan grunted.

“We need to leave here before you do something stupid,” Luca said, gripping his arm tightly and leading him to the exit.

Once outside, Ryan ripped his arm from his hold and thrust his fist into the wall, roaring with frustration. “I’ll kill her for taking him! My
son
!” He kicked the wall and then turned back to Luca. He watched as he blinked hard and gasped suddenly. “What? What is it?” he snapped, impatiently.

Luca locked eyes with him. “Cora’s awake.”

CHAPTER 4

As Luca led the way through the vampire mansion with Ryan following close behind, screams and thuds rang in his ears.

Michael rushed towards them, his expression one of confusion and disbelief. “She should be weak right now since she’s a baby vampire and she hasn’t fed yet.”

“Those are
her
screams? Those…snarls?”

“Yes,” Luca said, pushing Michael aside and continuing towards the door at the end of the hall.

“This is dangerous, Luca. It must be the white energy still within her!”

“Calm down! I will see to her!”

Michael muttered something under his breath and took off the other way.

Luca stopped outside Cora’s bedchamber and nodded to the two guards positioned outside, silently relieving them of their posts. They obeyed instantly and walked away. His key poised over the door lock, Luca turned to Ryan. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here. You won’t like what you see. Return in a couple of days.”

“Just open the fucking door,” Ryan growled.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Luca muttered as he unlocked the door. “Hurry,” he told him, ushering him inside quickly and slamming the door shut behind them.

He heard Ryan choke out a gasp as his eyes fell on Cora. She was wearing a slinky, black chemise and Ryan growled, obviously not liking the skimpiness of it. Her hair was mussed up and greasy from having not showered for the last three weeks of her coma-like condition. She had her back to them as she slammed back and forth into the furniture in violent bursts of vampire speed, trashing everything in her path. She was snarling and screaming in fury.

And then she suddenly spun towards them.

Luca saw pain flash on Ryan’s face. He didn’t like what he was seeing. Luca knew why. She was fully
vamped out,
as Ryan called it. Her eyes were black, devoid of any shred of humanity. Her features were contorted and her ivory fangs glistened against the muted light in the room.

Her eyes found Ryan immediately and she snarled.

And then she was running at him and driving his back into the wall. Ryan hissed as her talons ripped through his leather jacket and dug into his arms. His sound of pain just spurred her on. Luca could feel her fury.

“Stop, childe!” he thundered.

She froze at his words and turned to him.

“Release him!”

Instantly, she did as he commanded and stepped away.

“Come. You are hungry,” he said, holding his hands out to her.

Luca saw Ryan eyeing her as she sauntered over to her Sire. He summoned his fangs and ripped through his right wrist and held it out to her. Her fangs were buried there a moment later and little murmurs of pleasure escaped her lips. Luca cupped the back of her head, stroking her hair as he held her steady.

He saw Ryan’s eyes narrow as he noticed the same thing he did: euphoria flashing in her eyes as she drank. She was getting off on it.

“Stop,” Luca told her. “That is enough.”

But she just kept feeding.

Luca pushed gently on her forehead and she pulled away reluctantly, snarling. He glared hard at her and she shrank back and pulled back her fangs.

She turned away, looking ashamed that she had displeased her Sire. “You are still learning,” he said soothingly, reaching for her. She turned back to him and the demon was gone, buried back beneath the surface. Her deep-blue eyes looked upon him.

An absent expression played across her face for a while. And then recognition flashed in her eyes. “Luca?”

He smiled. “Yes, my childe.”

She collapsed against him and started to sob. He wrapped his arms around her.

He looked up to explain to Ryan that, as a new vampire, her emotions would be heightened and wild for a few days.

But he wasn’t there. He’d left.

Luca sighed and turned his full attention back to Cora.

He led her to the bed and perched on the edge, pulling her onto his lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she buried her face in his chest as she continued to cry.

After a long while, she stopped and looked up at him. He wiped away his blood on her lips. She leaned forward and drew his finger into her mouth, sucking off the blood. She made a satisfied moan that immediately had his cock standing to attention. He pulled his finger away and gathered her in his arms, removing her from his lap before he acted on his desire for her.

He carried her to the ensuite bathroom at the far end of the room, kicked open the door, and placed her down gently. He leaned over her and turned on the shower.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said, reaching for the hem of her nightgown.

She nodded and smiled sweetly at him, but she didn’t say anything.

He pulled the nightgown over her head. He swallowed hard at the sight of her standing naked before him. His gaze swept over her, taking in every inch of her body and when his eyes returned to hers she was smiling shyly back at him. He could feel her vulnerability, her confusion. He cupped her face in his hands as he read her thoughts. They were as he’d expected them to be: disjointed and erratic. A rush of conflicting emotions ran through her head, making her numb outwardly.

“Focus on me,” he told her soothingly. “The rest will come naturally.”

“Yes…Master.”

“Don’t call me that!” he snapped.

She shrank back at his harshness and hugged herself defensively.

“I’m sorry, princess,” he said, reaching for her. He ran his thumb along her jawline and she trembled, her eyes heavy with desire. “It’s okay,” he whispered.

Hearing her call him “master” had ripped right through him. He knew it was natural for her to do so; he was her Sire, after all. But he didn’t like it. He didn’t want her beholden to him in that way and only wanting him because of the bond between childe and Sire. He wanted it to be real; he wanted her to feel for him beyond the vampiric bond between them. It had caught him off guard. He regretted snapping at her. He’d seen the shock on her face, her fear that she had displeased him. Right now displeasing him in any way would shake her to her core. A childe’s need to please their Sire was the strongest in the first few days of their rebirth.

He pulled away from her and told her gently, “Step into the shower.”

He pushed the shower curtain aside and she stepped into the tub. She moved under the shower water and her wide eyes stared at him at a loss. He understood immediately. She needed him to do this. Employing his vampire speed, he ripped off his clothes, aside from his boxers, and joined her in the shower. She reached for the waistband of his black boxers and he gently batted her hand away. “No, little one. Now we shower.”

“You don’t…want me?” she asked dejectedly.

Oh, you have no idea. Fucking hell.
“Now we shower,” he repeated. “That will please me. Okay?”

“Yes,” she said, smiling widely.

“Good girl,” he said, cupping her left cheek. She turned into his hand and moaned softly. He pulled away quickly and forced himself to focus on the task at hand and nothing else. He pushed down the sexual thoughts running through his head. He wanted her so badly but he couldn’t take her while she was so vulnerable.
Not like this. Not tonight.

He washed her as quickly as he could, averting his eyes from her wet naked body as much as possible. The little murmurs of pleasure that she made as he washed her hair almost pushed him over the edge. His erection was bordering on painful.

Taking her hand, he helped her out of the shower. He snatched a black, cotton towel off the back of the door and patted her dry. He wrapped her up in it and then led her back into her bedroom.

“Sit down,” he told her, pointing to the foot of the bed.

She did as he asked and he crossed to the dresser and picked up a hairbrush. He returned to the bed and knelt behind her.

As he brushed her hair, she murmured, “I don’t remember.”

“You will, little one. Soon. Do not worry about it now. Just relax.”

He finished brushing her hair and walked to her closet. He pulled out a red, silk robe. He gasped when he turned around and found her standing at the foot of the bed naked, her eyes hooded with desire and the towel at her feet. He turned his head and handed her the robe.

She growled and stomped her foot. “I want to be naked.”

“No.”

“You don’t enjoy my body?”

He chuckled. “Little one, I enjoy it too much.”

“I don’t understand.”

He slid the robe onto her arms as he explained, “Right now I need to take care of your needs, not my own. Having you naked makes that very difficult. Do you understand?” He tied the belt around her waist and stepped back.

She nodded compliantly.

“Good, you have pleased me.”

She smiled happily.

“Michael!” Luca called out.

In a flash, Michael stood before him. He smiled kindly at Cora. “Princess.” And then he turned to Luca. “I see you’ve managed to calm her. Not bad for someone who has never sired before.”

“I need you to stay with her for a little while. I need to feed. He gestured to his bloodied wrist that was slowly healing. “She took a lot.”

“I can do that,” Michael said. “I do owe her for saving my life in the White Realm during my battle with Vazra.”

Yes, you do.
“She is highly sexualized right now. It might just be the Sire bond but I haven’t put it to the test, so make sure you deny her.”

“Of course,” Michael said with a smirk.

“I’m serious.”

“Believe me, I
will
deny her. I’d rather avoid the wrath of Nathanial and Ryan if I can help it.”

Satisfied, Luca told Cora gently, “He will stay with you. I won’t be long, little one.”

“Where are you going?” she asked, running to him and throwing her arms around him.

“I need to feed. I will be back before you know it.”

She shook her head against his chest. “No. Don’t go.”

He pushed her back gently, breaking her hold on him. “You will please me by doing as you’re told.”

“I—”

“Sunrise is coming and we will need to sleep. Would you rather I leave you to sleep alone?”

She shook her head vigorously. “No.”

“Then do not challenge me now.”

“Okay,” she squeaked, looking away in shame. “I’m sorry.”

“It is okay. You are still learning,” he said, stroking her hair gently. He eyed Michael expectantly.

“She will be fine,” Michael confirmed.

Luca nodded and teleported away.