-Katherine-I open my eyes to a wall of ripped muscle and tattoos, and it takes me a minute to register that I am lying in the arms of my enemy. My Fated; the man I am destined to hate and yet be with for the rest of my life. Funny how life works.With my head against his chest, I can faintly hear the thudding of his heart, and it confuses me even more that his heart is even beating. Not only that but the slow rise and fall of his chest indicates that he’s actually breathing. Do Purebloods have a different working anatomy than turned vamps? Well, the fact that Gabriel’s fangs are different from theirs, I would say so.Swallowing hard, I slowly draw my hand to his inked chest and run my fingers over the artwork. Some of the inscriptions are written in a dead language, while others are in clear Cyrillic script, especially the names of his family members. The rest looks like he was born with them because they fit so perfectly with his skin. Intricate patterns and faces, creatures, symbol
-Gabriel-I’ve lived for close to six hundred years and I still don’t understand women.One minute Katherine was begging me to fuck her, the next she was freaking out because my teasing went too far. Did I read too much into things and thought that she liked my teasing? Why the fuck does this bother me so much?Growling, I lay back on the bed and sling an arm over my eyes, growing more exasperated by the second. She’s retreated into my walk-in closet and I can hear her sniffling, but I don’t dare walk in there to comfort her. What would I say anyway? Vampires weren’t exactly made to comfort people, much less hunters, and I’m not about to fucking start now. But as much as I’m a stubborn fuck who hates to give in, a part of me hates to hear her crying and knowing that I’ve caused it.So much for torturing her, I guess.I get up from the bed and stalk over to the walk-in closet to find her slumped against the wall with her legs pulled up to her chest. When she sits like this, she looks
-Katherine- “The poison will still be in your system. Please try not to strain yourself,” I manage to get out, then I rush back into what I now consider my safe space. I close the door and stand with my back against it before sinking to the floor with my heart pounding frantically in my chest. I hate that this is happening to me. Everything Gabriel does triggers me in some way or another, and there’s nothing I can really do about it. This gravitational pull toward the man I’m supposed to hate is so strong that it feels like I’m losing a little more of myself every time. With a hand to my chest, I close my eyes and take deep breaths when I hear the roar of a bike speeding away from the mansion. When I run to the large windows, I immediately recognize Gabriel on his Harley and feel a pang in my chest, knowing that he’s gone. I sigh and place a hand on the window, then my soul leaves my body when I feel something press against my head and hear the unmistakable sound of a hammer being
-Katherine-Xenia is sleeping in a hidden compartment in the walk-in closet. She took some Advil and passed out hours ago, but I can’t seem to fall asleep at all. I’m way too wired after everything that’s happened and I don’t think I’ll ever have a proper night’s rest again. After she passed out, I unlocked the door because I didn’t want them to suspect anything and I’ve been laying here ever since. It’s nearly dawn when I hear Gabriel’s Harley accompanied by another one, and my heart immediately picks up its pace. I turn on my side and will my heart to calm its incessant beating while trying to drift off to sleep; it helps for a bit, but only until I hear my bedroom door opening.I don’t even have to open my eyes to know it’s him and when he approaches the bed, I’m surprised that my heart doesn’t give in. There’s the faint smell of whiskey on him, but not his usual expensive whiskey scent, more like he’s downed an entire bottle of it.He runs his fingers up my arm and breathes out
-Gabriel-I’m standing outside one of the many hotels Fenriz owns, with Valentine at my side as we wait for Andreas. He has news for us concerning Katherine’s father, Alexander, and thought we should know since the fucker is a common enemy.It’s been almost a month since they attacked us and things have been deadly quiet on their front. It can’t be a good thing that they’re being so silent, but after tonight, things should be better since our estate in DC is ready for us. Everything, right down to the tomb, has been moved to that mansion… everything but Katherine. I’ve kept my distance from her as I promised, but on the occasional evening, I find myself at the foot of her bed, staring down at her as she sleeps. As much as I know this will hurt, it will be better for both of us. Valentine says that he’ll help her move across the country and has a few guards stationed to look out for her. He still feels like he needs to do this because of who her mother was, so I won’t stop him.Who w
-Katherine- The look in his eyes sends a yummy jolt straight in between my legs, and I can hear him trying to contain a growl. Then he claims my mouth with such a violent jerk that I’m scared he might draw blood. The way his tongue plays with mine has me moaning into his mouth, and I grip the hair at the back of his head, needing more. I wrap my legs around his waist and pull him closer while he grinds himself against my throbbing center, causing delicious friction. I know that I probably shouldn’t have pushed him, but weeks without seeing him in person when he occupies my dreams every night just did something to me. And if I am never seeing him again after tonight, I want to experience him… if only once before we part. He breaks off the kiss, drawing his forehead to mine, and we both try to catch our breaths. “Not like this,” he breathes, “not when you’ve had alcohol; I want you to come to me clear-headed and without the influence of liquid courage.” He moves up from the bed, b
-Gabriel-My heart belongs to you. You are a part of me; I adore you.What in the fuck made me say those words to Katherine? And in my mother tongue!I’m still on top of her, looking deep into those eyes I’ve grown attached to, and seeing the same confusion and apprehension mirrored there. What was supposed to be a quick fuck to let off some steam turned into something too intense for either of us to handle.By the dried tears on her cheeks and the tremble of her bottom lip, I can tell that Katherine is close to breaking point.I tilt my head and kiss the sides of her face where her tears have dried. “Was it so good that I made you cry, little lamb?”She chuckles loudly and slaps my biceps. “God, you’re so arrogant,” she says, eliciting the reaction I had hoped for. The last thing I want to remember in my last moments with Katherine is her crying face, so here I am, making her laugh.Her eyes widen when I sit up and pull her with me, my cock still rock hard and buried deep inside of
-Katherine-It’s been four hours since Gabriel fell asleep. Now I have to leave after the most amazing night of my life and sever whatever it is that developed between us. I reach out and stroke his stubbled cheek, then place a last kiss there and a traitor tear slips onto it. I expected Gabriel to be rough and fuck my brains out last night; I didn’t expect the gentleness with which he handled me. The words he spoke in Romanian, the look in his eyes, the soft way he caressed my skin, telling me the story of his Goddess and how they came to be. It all felt familiar and extremely intimate; as if it was how it was meant to be.Then he caught me as I was just about to break and made me forget about the overwhelming surge of emotions that had just hit me. He made me smile; he made me laugh, he made me feel… He fucking made me feel like I mattered, and now I have to throw it all away because of the guilt that settled in my heart.My family exterminated his and I can’t begin to make it up t
The filth of Las Vegas never fails to disgust me. I don’t know why my father insists that I come here and take over what he’s left behind when I would gladly have stayed at his side as his second. But I suppose that my best friend is here, and he owns Vegas, so there’s an upside to it. I walk into the upmarket club I’m supposed to meet him in and take a seat in the reserved VIP section. We’re meeting up for a few drinks to formally welcome me to Vegas. However, he also has some news regarding his ascension after his father’s retirement and wanted to get pissed while he’s at it. Not that it will help, since he’s a hybrid Lycan. After ordering a bourbon from the server, I sit down and observe the cattle rolling in. Every woman looks the same and they all want the same thing; it’s even more evident when you’re a vampire. You can smell the lust coming off them in waves and if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a needy, easy woman. The blatant stares coming my way makes me roll my ey
-Katherine- It's been six months, and I knew this day would come. Gabriel and I are sitting in Autumn’s office and I have Elijah in my lap. He’s cooing and making cute as fuck baby noises; this shouldn’t be a problem at all since it signifies a happy, healthy baby. But for Pureblood vampires it is because the infancy stage usually lasts for five years whereas Elijah is growing like an average human baby. “Okay, there’s no bad news,” Autumn says as she opens the folder in front of her. “But there is something.” I can tell Gabriel’s getting antsy, and so am I but there’s no point in getting impatient with the messenger who’s trying to help us. “We’re listening,” I say, taking Gabriel’s hand in mine under the table and giving it a squeeze. Autumn sighs. “Elijah is growing like a human baby because of what happened to him in utero; the stakes, the baobab mixed with blood that you ingested. This seems to have interfered with the slow growth spurt of an average Pureblood baby,” she sa
-Gabriel-“GABE!” My heart literally drops when Katherine’s scream echoes throughout the mansion. I run from my office and fly up the stairs to our bedroom, only to see Katherine standing there looking down at her feet. Her head whips up towards me and she points down. “My water broke!” And that is how I felt fear chill me to my bones. I move on autopilot and grab a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from her walk-in, then slowly walk with her to the bathroom. Her panicked heartbeat keeps me calm for some reason, even as she trembles while I help her clean up and get into dry clothing.Afterward, I grab the overnight hospital bag by the bedroom door and pull out my cell phone. “It’s time, let Autumn know,” I tell Valentine, then kill the call and lead my woman downstairs with the SUV keys in hand. Luckily it’s just after 1 AM, so we’re able to get to Autumn’s without a problem. However, just as I put her into the passenger seat, I feel a sharp sting on my shoulder - a familiar fuckin
-Gabriel-It’s been a week since we returned from Las Vegas. Katherine is settling back in again but she’s been busy with her secret project while I’ve had to deal with starting up something similar to the council. The twins and Gustav are helping me back in Europe, while I oversee the States for now. There will be a meeting in about a month’s time to see where we sit with everything after the demise of the original council.After getting back to DC, we haven’t been able to schedule a checkup with Autumn for Katherine since the doctor has been busy. But right now we’re on our way to her first checkup and to say she’s nervous is putting it lightly.“Don’t worry, little lamb, I am sure everything is fine with the little one,” I say for the fifth time as I pull into the parking lot of her clinic. It’s 9 PM, so there’s no one around right now.“I know! But I can’t help worrying about the baby after everything that has happened. The baobab stakes, the baobab in the blood Matthew gave me, n
-Katherine-Gabriel and Church join us outside not too long after that and we sit at the pool’s edge. He takes my hand and kisses the back of it before chuckling; all of us look at him as if he’s gone insane.“I forgot to tell you all Valentine has met his second chance Fated,” he says, stunning us all with this news. Church’s mouth hangs open and Xenia literally has to close it, I am sure that I’m wearing the same shocked expression on my face. “Second chance Fated? I thought that doesn’t exist for vampires?”Gabriel nods and leans forward with his elbows resting on his knees. “They rarely happen since we never reject what the Goddess has given us; I mean, 200 years of waiting for your soulmate is a long time!” He says, winking at me. “However, if a vampire finds themselves rejecting their Fated, they have the option to choose who they want to be with afterward. This is why the second chance Fated is called a Chosen. Their Threads of Fate are gold, similar to a wedding ring.”This c
-Katherine-Gabriel is quiet while staring at my stomach, but I can hear how his heartbeat picks up after a few seconds… then he looks up at me with wide eyes.“W-what…? I don’t understand, how is this possible?” he asks, his voice and scent both laced thickly with confusion.I sigh. “At first when I left DC, it was because I was hurt and angry at everything that happened; but then when I went up to our bedroom, I heard our baby’s heartbeat and knew I had to make a choice for all three of us.”He furrows his brow and lightly shakes his head, but I continue. “I wanted you to put your all into picking up the pieces of the authority you had left, I wanted you to grow into the leader everyone wants you to be. I wanted you to focus on the role you had…without worrying about me and placing me above everything else.” He stares at me with a glazed expression while I explain.“You left not only because you were hurt, but so I can focus on being a leader?” he asks incredulously, and I catch a q
-Gabriel-I can’t blame Church for not telling me about Matthew Décès before I tended to Xenia; he only wanted to save his Fated. But this might leave me without mine and while running into the mansion, I pray to fucking Gods that I’m not too late.I strain my hearing to listen out for her, but all I hear are muffled voices. There’s no scent of blood either, and I have no idea if this is a good thing or not. Following the voices, I barge into the room that used to be Katherine’s…Only to find Matthew sitting on the bed with her, holding her hands gently in his. Her head whips up towards me and her eyes widen; that heartbeat I’ve missed so much picks up its pace and she gets to her feet.“Gabe!” she exclaims, her hand going to her chest as she takes a tentative step toward me. She’s wearing a pair of black silk shorts and a tank top to match, but it still makes her look like the most beautiful woman in the world.My eyes flicker to Matthew, who stands up and crosses his arms, grinning
-Xenia-It’s a blistering day today and I find myself at the pool after 4 pm. Last night was somewhat therapeutic; clearing things up with Church and having a heart-to-heart with Kat about what’s going to happen next. Things feel better, and less strained and I actually feel lighter because of it.They should be waking up soon, too.The conversation Church and I had still sticks with me. It looks like he knows me better than I know myself and this is all from spending maybe a week or two with me. I have to admit that thinking about Entwining with him still scares me a bit, but he knew that before I even admitted it to myself.Becoming a vampire is a scary as fuck thing, so unless it’s a life-or-death situation, I’d rather stay warm-blooded for now. But Church knew that too.God, the man is perfect; while I’m over here, still indecisive about things.I hear the roar of a vehicle in the distance and get to my feet; no one should be heading this way unless they’re a Devil’s Void member o
-Church-Xenia doesn’t know this yet, but I can tell when she’s serious about something and when she’s just saying it out of excitement. I’ve been around her long enough these last few weeks to know this about her.So when she mentions she wants to Entwine in the middle of sex, I knew that she didn’t mean a fucking word of it. I storm into my bathroom and wash my hands before splashing my face with cold water and raking my fingers through my hair in frustration. This is definitely not how I pictured our first intimate moment going. It started off sexy as hell, I could barely contain myself while slamming into her; then she had to fucking ruin it with those words.How the fuck do we come back from that?A knock on my door and I know it was Xenia. She opens it and walks inside, wearing nothing but a t-shirt. Her face is somewhat red, and a confused expression marrs over her face.“I’m not in the mood for a fight right now, Xenia,” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Let’s just coo