Telling myself not to care about either of them had become pointless. It had become abundantly clear that destiny was playing her cruel game, and they were the tools she would use to destroy me. The prophecy was in motion, and there was nothing any of us could do to stop it. I had a part to play just like they did.
Shane inhaled deeply, and his head whipped towards where she stood at the end of the corridor, gaping at him. Her eyes travelled over both of us, and her pupils dilated. It was easy for me to pick up her racing heart and scent the heady aroma of lust. It slammed into me and Shane at the same time, yanking on my already thin thread of self-control. Shane’s nostrils flared wide.
I put more effort into holding him still. “Gods, Sorcha! I told you to stay away.” I grunted as Shane redoubled his efforts to escape my grasp. I had no doubt that if he got to her, he’d rip her throat out. It didn’t matter that he would never hurt her otherwise; he was a new vampire in bloodlust. He’d fuck her and feed until there was nothing left but a bloody shell. He slammed his thigh upwards, and I couldn’t hold back a yell at the surge of pain in my balls. “Gods dammit, Shane! Stop!”
Channelling every bit of my compulsion and forcing it into Shane’s psyche made no difference. He just roared, his eyes blazing bright and crazed as his wolf got in on the action, too. His body grew, morphing into a creature that was both werewolf and vampire, with red eyes and a rough bone structure that served to make him monstrous by human standards. Yet, to me, it only made him more attractive. I clenched my jaw against such thoughts. His teeth lengthened, becoming vicious spikes that could easily rip a neck apart. Mine included.
“Fuckin’ Hell! Sorcha! Get out of here, right now!” My shout bounced off the walls. I’d never had to fight anyone as powerful as the monster Shane had become, not when my strength, speed, and compulsion always won out. I’d not encountered anything like him before, but I’d be damned if I’d allow this hybrid to dominate me. He was just a fucking Made, and no matter how much I wanted to fuck him, I had an agenda and no choice but to stick to it. Right now, if he got away, this predator would hunt down the other important element of my plan and kill her without any remorse. I wouldn’t let that happen.
My spare hand shot forward, clamping around his muscular throat, and I squeezed—hard. Blue bled into his red irises, his wolf’s animalistic glare calling to the viciousness that simmered inside me. He stared harder, and my cock twitched as I thought about all the ways I could make my fledgling submit. Shane was lost to his animal spirit, and its need for blood burned ferociously in that stare. Pain and threats wouldn’t work; together, vampire and wolf would only fight me harder. I needed Shane to push his wolf back, and the only way to do that was with pleasure. His wolf would revel in the feel of Shane's lust and ecstasy. The wolf couldn’t physically experience it with me, and he knew it, so he’d back off and feel vicariously through Shane. I just needed to feed him enough to incite his lust until fucking became his only thought.
With his air supply cut off, Shane bucked beneath me, and he became even wilder, even more desperate.
“Mine!” he snarled with the last of his air, his voice guttural as Sorcha turned and ran.
My heart flipped uncomfortably, and I didn’t like the sensations rolling around in my head and chest. She wasn’t his, she was mine, just as he was. Yet the possibility that his wolf had chosen Sorcha as a mate? That scenario hadn’t occurred to me. An uncomfortable sensation gripped my chest. I hadn’tfelt jealous in so long, it rocked me to my core. I snarled as I yanked him away from the wall. I was his maker. He would feed only from me. He’d carry my scent, and mine alone. Except, the thought of Sorcha’s scent mixed with ours only made me more desperate for them both. Gods, I was losing my mind. I needed to retake control.
Yet, even as those thoughts formed, my vision darkened as I fought Shane’s attempts to free himself, fatigue dancing at the edges of my mind. Another blow to my balls sent a jolt of pain into my abdomen, but at least it cleared the haze of exhaustion. Clarity returned. Sorcha could actually help me get Shane back to full strength. My ego wasn’t so fragile that I didn’t recognise when I needed help. Keeping on top of his need for blood was draining my strength. Perhaps she could feed him…
I shook my head. Even though my ultimate goal was possibly more heinous than Nikolai’s had ever been, I wouldn’t do that to her. She’d been used and abused her whole adult life, and for this whole shit show that destiny had thrown in my lap to work, I needed her trust. For now, she needed to believe I wasn’t anything like him. Feeding Shane alone was imperative to my end goal, and I’d never yet failed in providing sustenance to a fledgling. I wouldn’t now.
Keeping my hand tight at his throat, I pushed a level of compulsion against Shane that I’d never had to use before. “Shane, look at me.” Sweat trickled down my temples.
Roaring with defiance, his wolfish gaze slid to mine.
“Leave us.” I pushed my magic into his mouth and nose. It was a technique I rarely used on anyone who wasn’t my enemy. Mainly because I didn’t need to. A snarl curled his lips, and he bared his teeth, still fighting my will.
“Leave us, or he won’t get blood, nor will you get to feel this.” I rubbed my hard cock against his, trying to concentrate throughtorturous bolts of lust. “It will drive Shane, and therefore you, insane. Leave us, and I will give you both what you need.”
His wolf’s electric blue eyes blazed with need and defiance. It was a heady combination, and one I enjoyed far more than I probably should. I tilted my head and waited, even as I ground my pelvis into his. Shane’s nostrils flared, his shoulders rising and falling, his neck muscles working as he desperately tried to breathe. I didn’t relent, just held that wolfish gaze and waited. If his host passed out, there’d be no food or nourishment for either of them, and the wolf was an intelligent and cunning being. He’d be weak, and this was one wolf who, just like his host, hated being less. Shane was immortal now, which meant his wolf was. Oxygen deprivation wouldn’t kill him, but it would render him unconscious.
Blood seeped through those blue irises, and his body smoothly returned to his usual size. Without hesitation, I used my speed to get us into my room, turning the door locks that I’d stupidly assumed I didn’t need to use earlier.
I lifted Shane by his neck and threw him unceremoniously on the mattress. Before he’d landed, I’d bitten a gash in my wrist and pushed it against his dry lips. “Drink.” I didn’t think too closely about why I’d not tied his hands out of the way, not even when he grabbed my forearm and latched onto me with such force my eyes watered.
Evidence of my own burgeoning lust pressed against the soft material of my sweats, and I couldn’t stop my hand from reaching down and grabbing his beautiful dick. It jumped in my hand, and his eyes flew open, latching onto mine, his pupils enlarging until they almost consumed his ruby red irises. Vampire eyes. Jesus, he was so damned breathtaking. Nothing could change our destiny, or the hate he would hold for me, but it had been so long since lust had fired my blood like this that I had no intention of ignoring it. I didn’t know where I wanted tolook more, into those eyes, or at my hand gripping his pulsing, engorged flesh.
His eyes won out. I didn’t look away. I couldn’t, not as pleasure flooded his face, not as he swallowed more and more of my blood, not even when the warmth of his release shot over my fingers.
Shane groaned as I pulled back to go and get him a cloth to clean up, but that glare, the one that challenged me, resurfaced. He unlatched his mouth but didn’t let go of my arm. One hand remained clamped around my forearm, the other snaking down his body to clamp my grip against his still hard cock.
“More. Don’t stop.”
His wolf bled into his gaze again, his eyes bright before Shane took over and moved my hand under his. His mouth moved back over the cut on my wrist that hadn’t healed. It should have, even in that short time, but I pushed that minor concern away in favour of enjoying the fresh wave of desire that hit me.
“Fuck, Shane.” My body pulsed and throbbed at the sight and feel of us moving our hands together while he fed from me. He was taking my strength for his own, and for once, I didn’t care. I’d give him every bit if he needed it. I swallowed hard. Those thoughts were dangerous, but I couldn’t stop them.
His soft lips released me as his whole body went rigid. “Oh gods, Bal…” He groaned loudly as another release hit him. The sight was too much for me, my balls tightening and my cock pulsing as my own release hit. I cried out, surprised by my visceral reaction. My chest heaved as aftershocks trembled through every fibre of my body. I’d just come in my clothes like a teenage boy. Hands fucking free. That never happened.
I glared down at the damp patch on my sweats, even as my cock pulsed and twitched. I loosened my hold on his steel flesh, but, once again, he pleaded for me to keep going. For the first time in nearly a thousand years, I actually felt a flutter ofconcern about what I was doing. This reaction and desperation from us both was like nothing I’d ever experienced. The room tilted slightly, heat flushing my skin.
Shit, I needed to get back in control. My reaction to Shane was insane. Yet, even though ultimately, our future was already fucked, I didn’t want to deny him. So I kept going. The passing of time only dimly registered, and still his demands raged. My body shook, and I fought back the darkness in my vision. This was dangerous, but I couldn’t make myself stop; the deepest, most primal part of me wouldn’t allow it. He was mine, and I’d give him everything. I swallowed against the aching dryness of my throat and told myself that wasn’t why I kept going. No, it was the ancient promise to a dying witch, hundreds of years ago, that was my driving force, and it always would be.
The moon rose once again, its gentle glow washing over us. Panting and dripping with sweat, Shane groaned his release and fell into an exhausted sleep. Hissing, I collapsed to my knees by the bed, so weak I couldn’t keep upright, my mind fuzzy, and my body shaking. I dropped my forehead to his hip and took a stuttery breath. I’d rest here against his warm skin for a moment, then clean us up…
By the time I roused myself, night had gone, and daylight once again streaming through the curtains. My joints were stiff, and my muscles ached like they hadn’t for years. I glanced down at Shane, and without a second thought, leaned over, brushing a gentle kiss against his forehead. My withdrawal was swift.
Fuck, what the hell did I do that for?
