Wicked Dreams [The Wicked] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (3 page)

Genevieve watched as Sophia’s mouth hung open slightly, and for a brief moment a pained look crossed her face. Genevieve didn’t understand what the big deal could be. She figured tapping into other people’s minds had been some weird vampire power. Suddenly, she was assaulted with thoughts from Sophia and the others who’d come outside. She grabbed her head as visions flashed. She stumbled backward, expecting to hit the ground.

“I got you.” A deep, sensual voice spoke into her ear. Eli.

He lifted her into his arms, the voices and pain ebbing immediately the closer he held her.

“It doesn’t hurt as bad when I’m in your arms,” Genevieve told him, curling up against his massive chest.

“She’s progressed much too quickly for her human mind to handle. We must start her transformation.” Genevieve didn’t know who said it.

She didn’t understand why she felt okay about all this. She should be running and screaming for the hills, not curling up in the arms of a vampire.

* * * *

Eli watched, for the second time tonight, Genevieve’s eyes go from white to hazel. He could see the artery in her temple throb with the pressure in her brain. A trickle of blood ran from her nose down her lip. He reached into her mind and eased her to sleep. She’d need her rest if the transformation was to happen so soon.

“Do you not know why you can hear her? Or why your mere presence eases her pain?” Josiah, another General, asked as he moved a strand of hair away from Genevieve’s face.

They all looked at her like she was the most important thing in the universe. As Eli gazed down at her, he realized he felt the same way. There wasn’t a single thing in the world he wouldn’t do for her. The pull he’d felt for her before was nothing compared to what he felt now.

“You, Eli, are her true mate,” Sophia said, with a hint of something in her voice Eli couldn’t recognize.

Eli nearly dropped Genevieve when Sophia’s words sank into his mind. He was a warrior who knew nothing of love or being mated. He looked from Genevieve to Sophia and back again, still not completely comprehending what the hell was going on. He looked to his left and saw Asa walking toward him.

“Let me take her while you get your head together.”

As Eli passed her from his arms to Asa’s, he felt an immediate emptiness. When he pulled his hands away and broke the last physical connection, she woke up with a scream, grasping her head. Blood came out of her ears and nose. He grabbed her again, pulling her so tightly against him he feared he’d crush her. A menacing growl rippled out of him as everyone tried to get to her. He knew they were only trying to help, but some part of him snapped when she screamed. Some deep part of him he’d never known existed lashed out and vowed to protect Genevieve.

“Come, Eli, bring her inside,” Josiah said with a sweep of his arm toward the door.

Eli carried her inside and to the closest room. He wouldn’t risk separating himself from her again. He sat down and cradled her to him, his watchful eyes sweeping the room for anything that could harm her.

“Just give me a minute to talk to him,” he heard Asa say from behind him.

A moment later, the doors closed to the room they were in, and Asa stood in front of him. Eli never paid any attention to all the folklore about the Seer. He knew one had existed many, many centuries ago but had been murdered by the Fallen. Other than that, he really didn’t know that much about the Seer. Up until Genevieve dove into his soul, all he’d cared about had been killing the Fallen, protecting the Generals, and the sanctity of the vampire race.

“Eli, this is some serious shit, my man,” Asa said, leaning against the table in front of Eli. “How much do you know about this?”

Asa was nearly six hundred years old and had witnessed firsthand what the loss of the Seer did to the race. If anyone knew about all this, it would be him.

“Other than the original Seer got murdered by the Fallen, not much.”

“Oh, hell.” Asa scratched the back of his neck. “Eli, you’re a part of her now, not half as much as you’ll be after the transformation, but still, you are hers. Separate, you are both strong fighters, but together you are nearly unstoppable. You’re the only one that can transform her—”

“Not the only one,” Eli interrupted bitterly.

“If you want to save her, you have to do it.”

“Do you know who the Guardian is?” Eli asked through gritted teeth. He’d do what he had to do as long as the Guardian wasn’t—

“Kota,” Asa said.

“Motherfucker!”

“Yeah, I figured that’d be your reaction.”

The one son of a bitch Eli couldn’t stand was about to become one of the most important beings in Genevieve’s life.

“The Fates hate me! That’s the only reason he’d be her Guardian.”

Eli looked down at Genevieve again, her skin pale, dark circles under her eyes. He ran his thumb across her top lip, clearing it of blood.

“Eli, I hardly think the Fates hate you, considering who you are to her. Despite your beef with him, you know he’s the best option. There isn’t a shifter out there more powerful than him.”

Eli knew Asa to be right. Kota was the best option. He didn’t have to like it, though. Before he could dwell on how much he hated the fact he’d have to share her with Kota, he heard a howl outside so haunting it made the hairs on Eli’s neck stand on end.

The snarl that ripped out of Eli would be enough to let everyone know how he really felt about all this. The howls continued to pierce the air, getting closer until the doors burst open, and then, standing there before Eli was a gray wolf with glowing yellow eyes trained only on Genevieve. The wolf paced back and forth in short, choppy strides.

Suddenly, an icy cold gust of wind tore through the entire compound. The ground trembled and groaned. The wolf stopped pacing and lifted his muzzle to the air as a fierce wail ripped through the air. The sound was so loud, Eli had no choice but to release Genevieve and cover his ears. Her limp body slid to the ground at the wolf’s feet. The pressure in the room was so heavy, Eli felt as though he’d be crushed. Windows shattered, and a crack formed in the Sheetrock of the wall.

Eli and Asa both fell to their knees as the wolf let out another howl. Eli tried to reach for Genevieve, but he couldn’t move. He watched as the wolf quieted, Genevieve’s eyes opened, and the blood that had been slowly seeping from her nose and ears stopped, disappearing completely. She sat up, her eyes back to the white of the Seer, reaching her hand out and placing it on the wolf’s large neck.

“You are my Guardian. You are Kota, and you will protect me from any and all harm.” Genevieve spoke, but her voice echoed, sounding distorted.

Eli looked on, stunned, as the wolf transformed into his human form, into Kota. He had long, black hair down to the middle of his back, tanned skin, sharp features, and deep-set eyes the color of coal.

“I am your Guardian, and I will protect you with my life,” Kota said, reaching out and placing his hand on the side of her face.

Seeing him touch her so tenderly turned Eli’s insides into a raging inferno. He moved toward them to pull her away, but Asa grabbed him and pulled him back.

“You can’t interrupt the bond, Eli,” Asa shouted. The wind still ripped through the room as if they were in the middle of a hurricane. “He’ll kill you if you touch her now.”

Eli’s fierce stare landed on Kota, watching the way his eyes bored into Genevieve’s, how his hand brought the color back to her cheeks. He hated the fact Kota could heal her physically. As little as he knew about the Seer, he did know Kota was the only one who could do that for her, who could heal her with a single touch. As much as he hated Kota, he’d be grateful to have him around should any physical harm ever come to her, like her transformation.

Suddenly, Eli felt himself being pulled toward Genevieve, like his body was moving on its own accord. He looked at Asa.

“Don’t fight it. The bond will tell you what to do.”

So, Eli let go of his resistance to the whole thing. He put his uncertainty aside about being her mate, and about Kota being her Guardian. He let the pull he felt toward her guide him. He moved to kneel behind her. Not knowing why, he placed his hand on the opposite side of her face that Kota touched. Eli felt his entire being hum with some unknown feeling, like he’d been heated from the inside out. His cock twitched, and his fangs punched down violently as some strange tasting fluid dripped from the tips. A bright, white light shot out of Genevieve and straight through Eli and Kota, jolting them both.

Eli had never felt fear before, but suddenly, he felt absolute terror for what he was about to do.

“You won’t hurt me, Eli,” Genevieve said, her voice still strangely distorted.

She hadn’t looked away from Kota, nor had his gaze strayed from her. Normally, Eli would’ve excused himself so the very obvious sexual tension could be alleviated. However, he felt as much a part of this as Genevieve and Kota were.

With a fierce strike, Eli sank his fangs into her neck. He bit deeply and drank her sultry blood as fast as he could. He’d never had human blood before, but he knew it wouldn’t make him feel like this. He’d never felt stronger, never felt as though he could take on anyone or anything. Her blood was the most powerful thing he’d ever ingested. His eyes flew open, and when he looked up, he met Kota’s hard stare. Their eyes never broke contact as Eli continued to drink from her. He didn’t know what the strange liquid was that filled his mouth just before he struck, but whatever it had been, he knew it entered her body.

Somehow, he knew when to stop. He sensed it just before he took too much of her blood. He pulled his fangs out of her flesh, licking the remaining blood away with a slow sweep of his tongue. Genevieve’s body fell limply into Kota’s arms. Eli wanted so badly to pull her to him, to keep her from harm, but despite what his head wanted, his body moved away.

He watched as Kota took her into his arms and lowered his head to hers. Eli let out a low growl as Kota’s lips met Genevieve’s. Eli hated every single second of it, but his hands were tied, and he could do nothing about it. His body literally couldn’t move forward, and no matter how badly he wanted to rip Kota’s head off his body, he couldn’t. Eli fought against whatever held him in place. He tried to move left, then right, to charge forward or jump over it. Nothing worked. He simply had no option but to watch as Kota’s lips moved over Genevieve’s.

Eli sagged with relief as Kota pulled back slightly. When Kota exhaled a breath, a soft glow emanated from his mouth into Genevieve’s. Her color, which had been considerably paler after Eli had bitten her, returned to a healthy shade.

Kota lifted his head as Genevieve slowly opened her eyes. He already felt her power growing, felt her vampire side pushing its way out. When her eyes returned to their normal hazel color, they were brighter, nearly glowing with radiance. Kota had waited his entire life for this, for the chance to be a Guardian. Fulfilling his destiny and protecting the Seer was the only thing that had ever mattered to him. The Ancients always told him there would never be a Seer in Kota’s lifetime. He always knew they were wrong. He felt it, deep down in his soul.

He heard the growls and snarls coming from Eli, but he never took his eyes off her. Of all the vampires that could’ve been her mate, it had to be Eli. Kota felt certain Eli’s thoughts were along the same lines. Kota couldn’t remember why the two of them hated each other so badly. It was a stupid feud going back to their younger days, hotheaded days ruled by testosterone and egos too big for their own good.

Vampires and shifters were tied together by strong magic. Shifters were destined to protect the vampire race. They could heal vampires because of the magic in the shifters’ bodies. When the other Seer was murdered so many centuries ago the bonding between shifters and vampires had dwindled. Now Kota’s people could flourish once more because Genevieve would bring them together.

Kota wanted Genevieve’s focus on him and him alone, so when her gaze shifted to Eli, Kota felt a pang of jealousy. Kota watched as she turned for Eli, her delicate hand reaching for him, begging for him to come to her. Eli slumped forward onto his hands and knees when the healing barrier had dissipated. Eli crawled as quickly as he could toward her. Kota wanted to leave, wanted to turn his head away when she wrapped her body around Eli, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t walk away from her. Not now, not when she was in the middle of her transformation.

He felt a presence behind him, and when he turned, he saw Asa there, leaning against the ornate desk, a robe in his hand which he extended toward Kota.

“I thought you could use this.”

Kota nodded his thanks, took the robe, and covered his naked form. As he looked at Asa, his instinct told him to always watch Genevieve. Guarding her would be the only thing that mattered to him for the rest of his life. He could take a woman of his own, but she would likely never hold the same importance that Genevieve did. Not many shifters were cut out for this job, but Kota felt as though he were made for this.

He couldn’t deny his lust for Genevieve, nor did he want to. She was a beautiful woman, a woman with luscious curves, breasts so full he knew they’d feel heavy in his hands. He could imagine how it would feel to be trapped between her thighs, thrusting in and out of her pussy. Those thoughts didn’t help the constant hard-on he’d had since the bond had been made. He heard a deep, menacing growl emanate from Eli. Kota knew since the bond had taken effect, nothing would be a secret between the three of them. Although Genevieve was the only one who could see the future, her ability to read thoughts would be shared by all three of them.