Feral: Part One (11 page)

I suddenly found my mate's arms wrapped around me securely, his face buried in my curls as he held my body against his.
“Oh, diletta…
If you only knew the things I have done, what ghosts trouble my past,” he murmured into my hair before pulling away to gaze at me. “I can hardly believe I have you.
Amore mio
, if there is an afterlife for my kind then I do not fear punishment, for I could not be damned and have such a treasure as you,
mio tesoro."
He looked more like he was trying to convince himself of this, like he was assuring himself that he would be saved from a burning hell by my existence in his life. He kissed the top of my head, my forehead, and my eyelids. He kissed every inch of my face, before sighing in contentment.

I felt a movement that barely registered in my mind, and when the thick blue blanket draped around me, I realized he must have picked me up and placed me under the covers with his speed. I was, however, a bit disappointed not to feel his cool skin against mine, and my displeasure at not having him so close must have been written on my face since he chuckled. "I do not need my mate freezing to death in the middle of the night."

Any reply I might have made was swept away by a yawn as my body embraced the comfort of the bed beneath me. I hated to admit that although I may have lost myself in a moment of passion, I was still exhausted from the earlier attack and the mental weight of the existence of the supernatural. I had many more questions I needed answered, but I found myself too tired to make my mouth formulate the words.

SEVEN

There were two iris orbs watching me intently when I woke, and I found this particularly disturbing, not because Simon was watching me specifically, but because his eyes now had more blue in them than I’d ever seen before. “Simon, when was the last time you… fed.”

Even before he answered, the look of chagrin on his pale features spoke volumes. “It has not been so long that I require a more explicit—” his eyes raked over my blanketed form— “source of energy, but I do require blood. I am sorry, but it must be human this time.”

“There’s almost no purple showing,” I noted, reaching up to stroke his face. “How long’s it been since your eyes have gone blue?”

“Twenty-seven years ago.” His admission was firm, no trace of hesitation, but his eyes betrayed his regret. “Early on, even without control, I always made certain they were not innocents. If I kill, it will not be someone who is not equally as guilty of the same crime, or worse.”

My impulse was to argue that it didn’t make his killing right, but then I had to remind myself this was not a human being, no matter how much he looked it. This was a vampire. He was to humans as a lion was to gazelles of the African savannas.

He studied me carefully, concern etched into every line of his face, and I gave him a smile. “I’m okay, Simon. Honestly. It’s just… odd. You look human. You
were
human. And up until yesterday, vampires weren’t real, at least not for me.”

He began to look doubtful, and I sighed. “Simon, I am
o-kay
. I’m not upset. I’m not disgusted, since I know that’s what you’re worried about, because I can see it on your face. It’s just odd. It’s probably gonna take a few weeks before I remember you’re not human.”

He returned my smile, though his revealed hints of sadness. "Thank you,
cara.
And you are correct in that I do need to go hunting, but I do not wish to leave you alone." He cast a sharp glance to the bedroom door and look of relief passed across his face. "Although, Grace says she and Maymūna can keep you company if I go."

I pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Then go hunting. You sent Colton away, so it’s not like he can hurt me. You go hunt, and I'll—wait, you probably don’t have any food in the house, do you?” He assured me Maymūna had gone shopping at an all-night convenient store for some basics during the night, for which I was ever so grateful. “Good. I’ll have breakfast while you… go have yours.”

It was without a doubt the strangest thing I’d ever said in my life, not so much my literal words as the morbid meaning behind them, and my face must have reflected my bewildered acceptance, because he chuckled before leaning down and nuzzling my neck.

I felt myself relax considerably when a slight rumble came from his chest. "Are you sure you will be all right?" he questioned through the soft purr.

"Yes. I promise." I threaded my fingers through his chocolate mane. "Mmm… That is the most beautiful sound. It makes me feel safe, cherished."

"You are,
mio tesoro.”

"Tesoro?"

His purr grew louder. "Literally, it means treasure. Figuratively, it means darling, honey…
pet."

"Pet. Lovely," I chortled.

When he just growled in response, I chuckled and gently pushed at his shoulders, hopping out of the bed.

I was surprised, yet unquestionably thrilled by how comfortable I felt with him in the face of the most unusual situation I’d ever found myself in, and with a wicked glance at my mate, I bent down to retrieve his shirt which had been discarded the night before. It was several sizes too big for me, but I slipped it on anyway.

I grinned when his eyes took in my every move and slowly sashayed toward him, buttoning the material as I moved. I let my hands trail up his beautiful chest and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I'm okay, Simon," I whispered since he seemed very hesitant about leaving.

His expression was so anxious; it seemed like he was fearful that some lifeline could be cut, that our bond could somehow be severed by distance, and I briefly wondered if it could, but doubted it. I’d have to ask later, but at the present, I had to urge him to go feed. I had the distinct feeling it would be much worse if he continued to put it off.

He nodded and pressed a kiss to the top of my head before reluctantly making his way to the bedroom door, where he glanced back at me hesitantly.

“I’m okay,” I insisted softly.

I had just turned my back to him, when suddenly the Earth spun and his lips were against mine, an unusual and soft growl coming from his throat. "Make me," he rumbled harshly, his voice filled with pleading. "I don't want to leave you. Tell me to go."

I exhaled quietly, feeling my heart ache for him, and stroked his back. "You, Simon Treviso, need to feed and come back to me fast." I hugged him tightly and cooed in his ear, "I promise, Simon. I'm okay. I won’t lie to you and say I understand, and that everything’s sunshine and roses. This is a lot to take in, but I'm a big girl. I can handle it. As long as you are mine, everything is okay."

My own statement seemed to blindside me, and I came to the conclusion there were many more questions I needed to ask Simon.

"I am yours forever,
cara mia
."

"And I'm yours. Always."

Again, my words flowed so freely, so naturally that they took me completely by surprise. Regardless of my lack of understanding, it was like my world—a world that had been tipped on its axis by Colton, Madison, and everyone whom I allowed to drive me from my home—was suddenly righted, and that balance seemed far better than it had previously been. It felt like I’d just recovered some missing piece of an invisible puzzle. I stepped back and stared intently at him.

"I want you to go hunt. I'll be waiting downstairs for you. Okay?"

He inhaled deeply, as if drawing all his strength, turned faster than I could comprehend, and disappeared.

I picked up my jeans and shirt and draped them over the foot of the bed. I briefly considered searching for some pants or something to wear under Simon's shirt, but decided that it was long enough and covered my underwear appropriately.

I took my time walking down the stairs.

Maymūna, while clearly loud and forthright, seemed nice enough, as did Grace, but that still didn’t mean I was overly comfortable being left alone with two succubi. It wasn’t because I thought they would hurt me—I had a strong feeling Simon would do something rather drastic if they did—but more that these two women were the epitome of poise and beauty. It would take some adjustment knowing I would be seeing more of these two goddess-like creatures.

When my feet hit the ground floor, I heard a chuckle and glanced over to see Maymūna and Grace both smirking and dressed in similar pant suits, one in black and one in chocolate. Now that it was daylight and I wasn’t so drowsy or in as much pain, I could see them more clearly.

Grace’s hair was a completely different shade of red from my friend’s. Where Brie’s hair was a deep auburn color, this woman’s hair was a lighter, brighter shade of red. It could have easily given Lucille Ball a run for her money in the brilliant red-head department.

The exotic succubus appeared to be in her early thirties, which, if my memory was correct, was about ten years younger than her husband looked, while Grace appeared to be closer to my age. I couldn’t help but wonder how old both really were, given Simon was just over six hundred.

It was apparent from their matching expressions that they had overheard my conversation with Simon, but then again, they were vampires, so I shouldn’t have been so surprised. It occurred to me then that privacy was something I may never have again, and I found that a little disturbing.

As I started across the room, Grace vanished in a flash while Maymūna blurred to stand in front of me, holding out a glass of chocolate milk. "How are you?" she asked sagely.

I inhaled deeply, my eyes drifting shut for a moment, before they snapped open. "I'm okay, I think. I’m confused about a few things, and it hasn’t all fully settled in, but overall, I’m okay." I let her lead me to the kitchen where Grace stood, adding some butter to the large stack of pancakes on the table. "I mean, I can’t lie. It's a lot to deal with, vampires and mates.”

I sat down and beamed at the blind succubus, even if she couldn’t see it. “Thank you, Grace.”

“You’re welcome.”

To my mild surprise, both women seemed incredibly kind. I found my discomfort fading rapidly as I dug into the pancakes, occasionally using the food and the delicious chocolaty beverage as a temporary distraction while I asked and answered questions.

“He was my boyfriend before, and prior to college, before I started growing up, certainly before I walked through y’all’s door, I thought I knew love. I thought I understood
being
in love. I thought I loved Cole until I started maturing, and then I realized that wasn’t love. That was poisonous.

“And when I started seeing Simon, when I started developing feelings for him, I thought that was what falling in love felt like, at least to an extent. I suppose for a human that is supposed to be what falling in love feels like. Well, except for maybe the jealousy those first couple of weeks. I thought that was a little odd for having just met someone. Actually, I thought I was going crazy. I guess that’s a vampire-inspired-mate-thing?” I looked up for confirmation and was relieved to see both nodding. “Oh, well, that’s good. I thought I needed to call a therapist,” I commented, much to their amusement.

I ate a few more bites of my warm breakfast before I continued. “This feels different. When I first started seeing Simon a few months ago, I said I wanted things to go slowly, but this feels okay. It feels…
nice
. It feels surprisingly natural, and that, well, surprises me.”

I took a large gulp of milk and nearly choked on it when my phone buzzed and a box appeared proclaiming I had a text message from Cole. I put the glass down and sighed. “Then there’s
this.”

I held up my cell phone for Maymūna to see who was calling. “After what happened with Cole, after everything he put me through when I broke up with him, I can’t feel sorry for him, not really. I’m sure it hurts knowing the person you can’t let go of belongs to another, but I can’t deny my feelings for Simon. Even without the whole vampire-incubus-mate-stuff, I’ve been seeing Simon for months now. Even without some… intense connection… I’d still be attracted to him. We have mutual interests, and I’ve been falling slowly in love with him. So mate or not, Cole was always going to be out of the picture. Hell, he’s
been
out of the picture, at least for me.

“What if Cole can’t deal with this? I mean, when y’all sire a new vampire—is that the word y’all use or is that a media thing?—oh well. Isn’t that like creating a child or something for y’all? Aren’t clans or whatever like family? Because even though I can’t really bring myself to feel sorry for Cole, I’ll feel horrible if I’m ripping a kid from its parent. I don’t want that to happen.”

Grace simply moved around the counter to hug me.

"That is not exactly how it works, Sofia," Maymūna said patiently. “Honestly, it is not that complicated. There are no familial bonds, no psychic connection. The only connections that remotely resemble those of your human fantasies are the bonds between mates. So do not worry that you will be causing any sort of parental trauma where Kendal or the clan is concerned. You will not be taking, as you say, a kid away from its parent. And before you start developing any foolish feelings of emotional martyrdom, I should probably remind you of your own words, or at least similar ones.”

Her smirk held no condescension. “Despite being a relatively new vampire, Colton Malver is a grown adult. You are not his mother, nor are you his keeper. His choices, behavior and actions are not your fault. It was explained firmly and without any malice, as Grace can attest to, that you are Simon’s mate. Yes, it was rather sudden for him, but at twenty-three years old, incubus or human, he should be mature enough to accept something that, apparently, has long since been finished.

“He not only chose to ignore the fact that you are Simon's mate, he plainly refused to accept the orders of his leader to cease attempts to pursue. If that was not enough, after you were caught in the crossfire, as it were, and were rendered unconscious, he then refused to follow the direct commands his creator gave him and proceeded to fight his sire.”