*Luke*
Luke jumps back in his truck, turning into the dirt road. One more delivery, then he can crawl back into his dungeon, literally. His darkroom at Thorne Castle awaits until The Boss contacts him with his next assignment. Smuggling black market goods was a stressful and challenging job, but the job was perfect for him. He hardly cared about frivolous things such as human laws and it kept his mind occupied.
Today was different. He couldn't stop thinking about his new mate, Selene. Luke hisses at the idea of her. How could the fates be so cruel- A faerie for a mate!? Faeries are despicable creatures and consider themselves superior to vampires. The tension between the faeries and vampires has been present for as long as Luke can remember. Older vampires claim that it started five hundred years ago during an All Hallows Eve Festival. The two species had an agreement to cohabitate peacefully together. On All Hallows Eve, the vampires prowled out at night, seeking hu
Selene "Toby put me down!" Selene tries to wiggle out of Toby's arms. The wolf chuckles, pulling her tighter against his chest and lifting her higher. "Not until I get a proper goodbye!" Toby plants pecks all over Selene's face. "You better hurry or Liam and I will be late to training." "You're the one that won't let me go!"Selene pulls her head away from his lips. "Please let me go?" "Fine." Toby sighs as he carefully lowers her to the ground. His head follows hers, his lips lingering for one final kiss. "We will be back in a couple of days." "Come on Toby, stop being selfish! I haven't had time with her." Liam pouts. Selene giggles, turning around to the brown-haired warrior. She leans up against her tiptoes, intending to give Liam a quick kiss, but he deepens the kiss, burying a hand in her hair. His lips swallow her moans. When they finally pull away, Selene is left breathless. "See you on Friday?" Liam traces her jaw with his thumb.
Luke is dumbstruck. What was this girl playing at? "Pretty story, lass. Ye expect me to believe all that ?"Selene throws her hands in resignation."Honestly? I don't care. I have nothing left to lose."Luke tightens his fists and grits his teeth. He couldn't tell if Selene was lying. He searches her eyes and sees pain reflecting in them. A wave of guilt washes over him as he realizes she had confided in him. Had he been too harsh on her? Luke shakes off his shame. He builds a wall between him and Selene. He couldn't let another woman in. They lead to heartbreak. It is easier to believe Selene is manipulative. He needs to reject her. The words are on his lips when a voice interrupts: "What's going on here?"Maddie appears in the doorway, her eyes hardening when she sees Luke towering over Selene. Selene doesn't show any fear, instead, she steps closer until their noses are inches apart. "Why don't you tell her, Luke? Tell her how you called me a liar, a spoiled princess, sha
"Maddie, who is G?""You must have many questions." Maddie dodges Selene's question."I think you have enough to process- for now."Selene doesn't understand why Maddie ignored her. Why couldn't she know G's identity? The woman had saved her life! How would she start to understand her magic if she didn't know the benefactor? "Am I going to be able to control the magic, or will it keep be random, like with my vision?"Maddie leans against the small bench separating the kitchen and the hallway. "I'll help ye with that, dear. I'll teach ye control and how to harness yer powers through emotion. Yer vision was conjured about by you're stress, what were ye thinking about before it happened?""Luke and how he became an arse." Also, why were Maddie and Luke close? Maddie turns her back to Selene and pretends to clean a speck of dust off the counter. Her posture became rigid. Alarm bells went off in Selene's head. Her vision had to do something with Luke! "Interesting," Maddie mur
Luke *Luke hates the city. The temptation of fresh blooded, arrogant humans constantly on their phones and their lack of care for others. Luke prefers the country with a vast expanse and sparse humans. But he had a "date" today with the human Jen. Jen was one of the human females that frequented the Thorne Castle as a blood bag. Blood Bags are a term used by Thorne Nest vampires about humans willingly offering their blood. Human females lined up around the castle when Lord Jones announced openings as a vampire's blood bags. The human female must be free of ailments and in excellent health if they were to be feeding the vampires frequently. Blood Bags were excited about the euphoria that came from being drank from-it was common lore around human communities that a vampire bite can cause mind-bending pleasure. When the blood bags found this lore was true, they started begging to mate the vampires. Jen had fixated on Luke since they first met. No matter how many times she begged fo
Liam drops off Selene in front of Maddie's home, giving her a goodbye kiss. He promises to call as he jumps in his car and slams down the road. A sense of disappointment falls on Selene as she realizes he isn't staying. Of course, he wouldn't! This was their first date, and they barely knew each other! Selene repeats that to herself as she lays down on the bed. Thankfully, she was worn out from the evening's activities, and sleep claimed her as she closed her eyes.A kiss on the cheek is the first thing she feels the following morning. She lets out a sound of protest, scrunching up her nose at the disturbance. "You're so cute." A deep voice chuckles. Selene cracks an eye open and sees a mop of red hair. She smiles and lifts her hands to run through the curls. Toby sighs, lifting the blanket over his body and crawling in next to her. He places his head on her chest, a sound of contentment passing his lips as Selene brushes her fingers through his hair. "Why did you come he
*Toby and Liam- 12 hours earlier**Liam slams the door. Toby bolts out of his seat, surprised to see his brother. "What happened?"Liam glares at him. "Her vampire mate. The bloke interrupted us. He threw me across the river and nearly hurt Selene. I will say one thing: our mate can fight.""Is she okay? She must be devasted." Toby pauses the video game he is playing, giving his full attention to Liam.Liam runs a frustrated hand through his messy hair. "I don't know, Tobs. I ran away like a coward! I was worried about losing my anger.""Do you need to run? I'll check on her tomorrow." A smile begins to grow on Toby's face. "Since I'm the favorite and all."Liam opens his mouth to protest, but a shrill voice interrupts. "Who's favorite?"The brothers' head snaps to the door. Staring back at them with a seductive smile is Nora. "Didn't I tell you to never come back?" Toby growls at the pesky she-wolf.Nora giggles. "I know yo
"Don't mind me. Just passing through." Luke smirks. Liam and Toby jump to their feet, warning the vampire away. "I see my reputation proceeds me." Luke laughs. "What do you want, Luke?" Selene is irritated at the vampire for appearing. She didn't want anything to do with him after the way he had cruelly treated her.Luke's smirk falls when Selene at Selene's unkind words. He straightens his posture and runs a hand through his thick black hair. "I wanted to talk to you...alone.""Not happening!" Morgan tenses, his fists balled up. "Not after what you did to my best friend. Not to mention some temperamental vamp around my unborn child."Luke's temper rose at Morgan's presence. "Why would I be interested in your baby? I'm not going to touch Selene, not while she carries that in her belly.""Watch your mouth!" Morgan jumps up from his seat. The two males standoff for a moment before Luke shakes his head and turns to the twins. "You must be the other mates, I ta
**Luke**Luke slammed Maddie's back door loudly. Why did he have to be such a prick? He had come to fix things with Selene, not argue with her mindless mates! "Luke, what the hell are ye doin?" Maddie yells at him. The two were standing in the middle of a small clearing behind Maddie's home."Talking with my mate." Luke's hands fall into his pockets."Since when do ye care? Ye have been treatin the poor girl like dirt! She is happy, she is with her family and mates, and ye had to ruin it?" Maddie places her hands on his hip."That wasn't my intention, Maddie! I just needed to see her! I want to give our mate bond a chance." Maddie had never been this callous with him."What brought this change on Luke? Did the Goddess herself confront ye?" Maddie smirks at her sarcastic joke. Then, when she is met with silence, her eyebrows raise. "The Goddess told ye?""No, Grace did. She said Selene was a gift. She asked the Goddess for my happiness-a second m