Double Drake update today. We're still in a crossover period from Enchanting the Prince.
We begin running again. Kella runs beside me and we begin to make a game of who can more easily navigate the land in the forest. I’m impressed over and over again at her grace and strength as she leaps as easily over fallen trees as I do. Even when I playfully push her to try to get ahead of her, she’s right back, catching me quickly and nipping at my heels. Our afternoon run is the most fun I ever remember having in my life. It’s sundown when we stop for the night. I can see Lily wants to push on, but they both need to eat and get some sleep. I, myself, haven’t slept in over 48 hours and I desperately need some rest. We find a place, up on a hill, where we can keep watch overnight. Kella and Hera catch a couple of rabbits to eat and even from here, the scent of the blood makes my mouth water. I don’t even like the taste of rabbit blood, but I’ve waited too long to feed. If I wasn’t so exhausted, I’d go find a large animal that I could drink from, but right now, I’m not sure I could
I begin coming in and out of consciousness, not sure why I feel so weak. I reach out to Kella and feel that she’s just as weak as I am. ‘Kella, what happened?’ I ask. ‘Mate,” is all she says before I’m out again. When I finally open my eyes, I can’t tell what time of day it is, as the sun is filtering through the trees above. Lily is sitting next to me. “Lils?” “Leana! Oh goddess! How are you feeling?” “Weak, what happened?” I ask, still feeling like I have a fog in my brain. She looks past me and I turn my head, seeing Drake sitting far away. “Leana,” I hear him say, his voice sounding like a sob. He gets up and leaves, making me worried that I’ll never see him again. “What were you thinking, Lea?” “About what, exactly?” I ask, still feeling fuzzy. “You let him feed on you,” she hisses at me and everything comes flooding back. The moment Drake tasted my blood, I felt the power in him begin to push against me and Kella. It hadn’t taken long before I realized we were in troub
We push hard all day the next day, only stopping for food, and it isn’t until well into the night that we stop to rest. I’m tired again, but since Drake and Lily let me sleep last night, I agree to take the first shift. Drake lays next to where I’m sitting by the fire. He lays beside me, holding my hand and putting it up against his face, so he can smell my scent. I’m looking down, watching him sleep when I hear a twig snap. I jerk my head up, lifting my nose into the air. I can’t smell anything, but the wind is at my back. I disengage my hand from Drake’s and stand. Besides my mother’s Guardian gift of being able to tell when someone is lying, my strongest Guardian gift is being able to sense auras. I push out and suddenly, I can see the auras of a pack of wolves that have surrounded us and are closing in. I howl a warning as I leap and shift, jumping at the first wolf that breaks through the trees around us. Another comes up behind him and then several others come running out fro
We run all day, trying to make up time. Leana told me that Lily was given a deadline by her mate and she’s trying to make it, but when we finally stop for the night, I realize that she’s going to be late. I don’t know anything about Lily’s relationship with her mate, but if it were me, I’d wait for Leana. I’d wait as long as it took and if Leana decides to reject me, I’ll wait for an eternity, or at least until her life comes to an end, for her to change her mind. When we stop, Leana’s phone begins to ring. I see her look at the caller ID and sigh. “Hey Dad,” she answers. Since she doesn’t move away, I take that as acceptance that I’m going to hear the conversation. “Do you want to explain to me why I heard from your brother nearly a week ago that you and Lily were headed to Araphyra? And why he told me that you’d call and check in with me, but you haven’t? And why I had to hear from Rik that you and Lily had problems with the vampires? Where are you? And why did it take so long for
As we begin heading back to the city, I divert our path so I don’t have to pass through King Lance’s lands again. I’m still so angry at the reception that Lily received in Araphyra that it takes hours before I’m ready to stop for the night. Drake gets some firewood and then I build a fire. “Do you want me to catch you some food? I’m not sure how much you eat? Would a rabbit suffice or would you like another deer?” “I can catch my own food, Drake.” “I know you can, but…I like taking care of you. Feeding you is an easy way for me to take care of you and not hurt you in any way.” I look at him, still seeing the guilt from the other night. “What about you? Are you hungry?” He shakes his head. “At the risk of sounding like a blood lusting vampire, your blood was exquisite. I don’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t feel the constant thirst in my throat, at least until now.” I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it sounds good. Unless, of course, he wants more
This question and answer conversation, back and forth, is probably the most intimate situation I’ve ever been in. That sounds crazy because unlike my mate, I’m not a virgin. But, I’ve never been this open, this raw, with anyone before. It scares me and it excites me all at the same time. And I love that my mate is being just as open with me. She may have used her food as a reason to collect her thoughts, but she’s being honest, and she hasn’t refused to answer me. However, everything changes when she tells me she wants to feel my tongue on her again. She and I want exactly the same thing. When we finally settle down for the night, I know there is no way I can sleep, so I insist that she sleep while I keep watch. As she sleeps, I realize I’m completely and totally bewitched by this wolf. Besides her incredible beauty, her heart and her goodness make me feel like I’m the luckiest man in the world, just to be near her. I’m sure I’m being a total creeper by watching her sleep, leaning i
I suck in air and arch my back as Drake slides his cold finger over my clit. My body shivers at his touch, aching for more. “Do you masturbate, Leana?” he asks. “I think I get a payment for that question,” I say, my back still arched, my eyes closed, and my voice once again sounding like a woman in the throes of passion. “What payment do you require, my mate?” I love that he doesn’t even flinch at my request. He’s willing to do whatever I ask. I look at him, biting down on my lip. “Strip.” He pulls his fingers from inside me and brings them to his mouth. His tongue snakes out and his eyes flash bright red before he growls, and his fangs come out. He licks and sucks my taste off his fingers before pulling his boxers off. Then, his eyes lock on mine as he begins sliding his cool fingers over my clit again. “Your answer?” he asks. “Yes, I masturbate,” I say. “Show me,” he commands. He slides his hand away and I slide mine down my stomach and then to my clit. His eyes are so inte
Ecstasy. Nirvana. Rapture. There are a million words to describe something that feels incredible, but all of them fall short of the feelings I’ve had tonight. I thought that feeding on someone, feeling their warm blood spread throughout my system while finding my release inside them was the ultimate bliss. Then, I had tasted Leana’s blood and hadn’t even been inside her when I’d found my release, multiple times. The taste of her blood was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before. That is until I tasted her arousal. The taste of something untamed yet beautiful, wild yet floral. The memory and residual taste still teasing my tongue. For the first time since becoming a vampire, my mind hadn’t been thinking about blood at all. I had been overwhelmed with the taste and smell of my mate, more delicious than anything I’d ever tasted, by far. Until I had both tastes together, her arousal and her blood when my fangs had pierced her pussy lips. My body shivers just thinking of it. If you told m
One hundred and fifty years later I think Lily said it right. She called it a price, a price you have to pay for being mated to an immortal. I have paid more prices than I ever realized I would have to pay when I accepted Drake as my mate. It’s not that I would ever change my decision, even over a century later I still love my mate more than anything. If possible, our love has only increased with time. But saying goodbye to your loved ones is never easy. First there was my mother. She became ill, something only very old werewolves and Guardians do. Because we knew she was dying, all of her children and grandchildren were there when she passed away. My father held her, crying his silent tears as he told her that he loved her, that she had always been the love of his life and that there was never anyone who could have made him happier than she did. She had died in his arms and all of us had cried, holding each other and lamenting our loss. My mate was among those, crying his blood tea
Two Months Later My mate and I have gotten into a routine of working at the castle and managing our vampire clan, then spending time at our home on the outskirts of the city when Leana needs to be in the city for the council. It wasn’t long before Mehira was pregnant and with how often she growls, I wasn’t at all surprised to hear that she’s having a boy. A boy who is obviously an Alpha werewolf male. We have confirmed that Leana is having a boy too and while none of the tests can tell us that our son has the vampire gene, Leana’s need for bloody meat has led everyone to believe that she’s having a vampire hybrid. Because Alpha Leonardo’s pack is closer, his pack doctor has been monitoring Leana during her pregnancy. Honestly, it’s been easier than I expected, possibly due to Lucero’s blessing over Leana and our child. Ennata and Demetrius have joined the witch faction that is working for Holstin Enterprises. While she doesn’t have the ability to work for them full time, being Lea
We didn’t wait too long before going to visit my family. King Reyes and Marlene joined us, as did Demetrius and Ennata. She wanted to meet Maeve. We went to my brother’s pack first, making sure to let the pack know to expect three vampires on the pack lands. It was still tense until mom greeted us at the packhouse and hugged Drake, smiling up at him happily. After that, it was as if the pack relaxed. I didn’t realize that they all still felt such a sense of protectiveness over my mother, but I guess once a wolf is your Luna, they are always your Luna. Or maybe, it’s just my mother. She seems to elicit that response from those around her, my mate included. Maeve and Ennata hit it off right away, both of them having difficult childhoods and both being witches. They talked a long time about Levana and how she has mistreated both of them. I took the time to talk to Xander about everything that had happened between me and Drake, including my own coronation. “You didn’t think to invite
My mate and I quickly get into a routine of ruling over our vampire clan. We begin to make plans to visit the packs and to visit the fae land. Leana doesn’t like it, but she does find a way to eat real food and still feed on me to fulfil her need for blood. I know it’s only temporary, but I love my mate feeding on me, wanting me, needing me, the same way that I want and need her. It took a couple of days until we saw Ennata and Demetrius again. I heard that food was being sent to their bedroom and I definitely heard enough screeching and banging to know that Demetruis was doing his best bond my sister to him. When they finally emerged from the bedroom, Ennata seemed much more calm that she did when she arrived. “Do I take this to mean that you’re staying?” I ask her when she and Demetrius come into the office that Leana and I now share. She looks at Demetrius. “Try to deny me my love, I dare you,” Demetrius says to her. Ennata grits her teeth but pulls her turtleneck away from her
I wake up warm, wrapped in my mate’s arms. However, as I wake, I realize that I’m stiff. I open my eyes and sit up, realizing that Drake has been holding me while I slept all day. “Hello baby,” I say, tilting my neck and feeling the release as it cracks, then stretching my back and feeling the cracks down my spine as well. “How long have I been asleep?” “Most of the day. I was just about to wake you so I can get you fed before we begin to make our way home,” Drake says, smiling at me. “Food, mmmmm,” I say, then I remember and my head whips around to see Ennata sitting with us. “Hey,” I say to her. “Hey,” she says. “Do you sleep?” I ask her. “Not really, it’s more of a deep meditation.” “What about food? Do you eat or do you drink blood.” “Both. I can survive off of either one.” “Preference?” I ask as I stand, feeling every joint in my body cracking from so many hours of being in the same position. “I like blood,” she says. “Well, I need real food and since I’m pregnant and
The moment I caught her scent, I went after her. This time, I’m prepared. I won’t let her get away. “Ennata!” I yell as she runs. In response, she throws a ball of magic my way. I notice that hers is a lighter color than the other witches, not quite white, not quite purple, something in between, almost a lilac color. I duck the magic as I chase her, hearing Leana behind us, trying to catch up. “Ennata, please. I just want to talk to you,” I say. “Yeah, just like everyone else!” she yells, tossing multiple balls of magic at me this time. “I’m done being locked up!” “I have no intention of locking you up.” “Then you want to sink your fangs into me and bleed me dry, no thanks,” she yells, sending more magic over her shoulder. “I have a mate. Believe me when I tell you that no one’s blood tastes better to me than hers,” I say, leaping over fallen trees and branches that magically move into my way as I approach them. “Prove it,” she yells. “I would if you’d stop running. Listen, y
After my coronation, Drake and I sat down with the Alphas and Lunas of the packs, including my two sisters and my brother, and also with Aolis and Lily. King Reyes joined us with his mate, Marlene, and together we formed an alliance unlike any alliance that has ever been created before. “While our new alliance allows vampires onto our lands, I’d prefer to get my people used to it by having the two of you, or even the four of you, come for a visit first,” King Aolis. “I would love to visit the fairy tale lands,” Marlene says. “The fae lands, love,” Reyes gently corrects her. “Are they not the same?” she asks, looking from Reyes to Aolis. “Not exactly. A fairy tale land is a fake world that humans created for books. The fae land has many fae creatures but it is ruled by the elves,” Aolis explains. “But, there are leprechauns, giants, and unicorns, right?” she asks excitedly. “Just one, unicorn, Lucero,” Lily tells her. “There were many prophecies about my mate,” Aolis says, smili
After I wear my mate out, I lay with her for a few hours until I hear the others start to get up. Last night was great, better than I expected, but tonight, it will be even better. My mate will take her place at my side as my Queen. I disengage myself from her, feeling happy and excited in a way that only Leana and Kella can make me feel. When I get downstairs, I check in with Demetrius who tells me that all of our werewolf guests are still sleeping. I make sure there is food available for when they wake up, and for the rest of the morning the clan and I make our preparations for the ceremony and the party afterward. “Do you need some help?” Reyes asks, coming up beside me. I turn and look at him. “Did you do this with your mate? Make her your Queen?” “Not yet, but after this, I’m sure she’ll expect it.” “Because you didn’t already have a plan in place to make her your Queen?” I ask, jokingly. “Actually, I’m trying to convince her not to change. She lets me feed on her, but I ha
The week without Drake goes by quickly. Whether it’s because she knows that it’s hard for me to be away from my mate or because she’s trying to pack months of shopping into a few days, my mother makes sure that I fall into bed exhausted every night. My time in the council is great. I love learning all about how to make our decisions, and Riley, Mehira and I are taking this time to get to know each other better. It’s great because I know in the future, I can invite them to stay with me when they’re in town. Or, if they choose to stay elsewhere, we’ll still be able to spend time together. Riley and Mehira hit it off right away and I invited Mehira to stay with me this week while she’s in town. She declined because Alpha Leonardo came with her this week, wanting to make sure that his new Luna was safe. The second night, I had everyone over for dinner and Alpha Leonardo and dad went around my property. When they returned, Alpha Leonardo looked at Mehira. “We need to find a house like th