Havermouth, A few days after the stormThe explosions continued, filling the sky with smoke and ash so that it drifted down and coated the car, the street, and the pretty little cottage gardens like snow. The smell was how Lyric thought the end of the world would smell like. No average wood fire – the smoke had shadows of burnt plastic, melted metal, and roasted flesh.Several of the streets showed signs of some dramatic event having occurred, with upturned 4WDs, others abandoned, doors open as if the occupants had fled, and puddles of blood. Shell casings glittered amongst the ash like buried treasure.“War,” Niarthen observed grimly. “The local supernatural communities must be fighting back against the humans.”“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but not all humans, Niarthen,” Lyric corrected. “The civilians have nothing to do with this. They’re as caught up in it as we are.”“Enough humans permitted them to build this power. They failed to see the monster that grew within them,
Havermouth, A few days after the stormHalfway down the bank, Niarthen fell, and the boat slid down through the undergrowth towards the water at an alarming speed. Lyric and the red-haired woman dove after it, the bushes tearing at their skin and clothing. It nosed into the water, but they dragged it back.Niarthen caught up and took the weight. “Quickly, get in,” he said through his teeth.Lyric and the red-haired woman didn’t argue, half falling into the rowboat. Niarthen followed, collapsing against Lyric as the boat slid the rest of the way into the water, jolting them around inside of it. “Are you okay, Niarthen?” Lyric asked in concern, leaning forward over him. The rowboat was dragged by the current towards the center of the river, and the red-haired woman fought to control the paddles as the water pulled at them. The metal side of the boat was stained with Niarthen’s blood. “Let me look…”“No time,” Niarthen replied grimly through his teeth, pushing away, and reaching for th
Havermouth, Present TimeCameron woke with the dawn, his heart racing and his skin covered in sweat. He had dreamed again, a tangled mess filled with fire and fear, blood, and loss. In the pre-dawn darkness, he stayed still, his eyes closed, and ran a mental tally of his mates. He was tightly wrapped around Rhett, his dark-haired mate’s ribs moving in and out beneath Cameron’s hand as he slept. Cameron could feel the throb of a cock against his thigh, so it was either Talen or Heath pressed against his back. It took a moment for him to identify it as Heath, his blonde-haired mate’s chin against his back was not as hairy as Talen’s, their vampire well on the way to growing in his beard. Aislen would be sandwiched between Heath and Talen. They never let her sleep on the edge, an instinct to protect and shelter their pregnant female that all four male mates subconsciously adhered to. He could identify in the darkness all four patterns of breath if he concentrated, and that soothed him
Havermouth, Present Time, 1.5 weeks after Retaking Havermouth From the Van Helsings“Fuck, Heath,” Rhett’s muttered complaint was half-hearted and followed by a smothered moan. “Oh…” The mattress moved as he rolled onto his back complaint with Heath’s seduction. Aislen felt the blankets lift, letting in cold air, as Heath rolled to cover his mate and slid down Rhett’s body, nipping and kissing along his torso.Rhett’s groan changed pitch as Heath’s mouth reached his cock and Aislen opened one eye to peek. Her dark-haired mate’s head was thrown back, his hair spread like shadow over the pillowcase, and his Adam’s apple exposed. His eyes were closed, and his fingers were in Heath’s hair.“Shit! No teeth this early in the morning,” he grunted in surprise, the elongated point of his canine exposed as he caught his bottom lip between his teeth, his face contorting into a grimace that was suspended between pleasure and pain. “Actually… That’s good. Fuck,” he ground out through his teeth. “T
Havermouth, Present Time, 1.5 weeks after Retaking Havermouth From the Van HelsingsAislen lay naked with Rhett on his bed, stroking her hands over his skin, following the subtle lines where the ink was heavier, whilst she suckled on his neck, his blood metallic on her tongue. It was the nicest way to counteract any water ingested during their shower she thought, though her stomach rumbled its protest wanting pancakes not juice of Rhett for breakfast.“You could go lower,” he suggested cheekily covering her hand with his and gently encouraging it down his stomach to where his cock nudged her stomach optimistically.She freed her hand and stuck her fingers into his mouth for him to suck. “Shh, you. I’m not having sex again before breakfast,” she smeared his saliva over the mark on his neck, sealing it. By the time they dressed, there would be no sign of it left. “So, tell your friend to relax,” she patted his cock before rolling over and off the bed. “He’s had his fun for the morning.”
Havermouth, Present Time, 1.5 weeks after Retaking Havermouth From the Van HelsingsMen were yelling. The sounds were distant, echoed off stone, but he knew that they were hunting him. He did not know how it was that he knew that, but the knowledge was ingrained, the bone within his flesh, the blood within his veins. They sought him, and he needed to wake up and pull himself together, or they would find what they sought.He lay upon stone in a wet place, the drip of water a constant rhythm to pace his heart against. It was wet, filthy, and it stank.His body hurt. It was more than an ache and less than an agony. Not the soft pain of a bruise, nor the sharp pain of a slice – he knew both although he could not recall suffering either. This was a pain that began deep in the marrow and seeped outwards. The wrongness began within. Poison, his brain told him. He was suffering the after-effects of poison.He knew those after-effects well but could not recall how it was that he had come to kn
Havermouth, Present Time, 1.5 weeks after Retaking Havermouth From the Van HelsingsAislen took a moment to stare up at the farmhouse, one hand resting on the car door. It was the direct opposite to the river house, she thought, closer to the modern gleaming vampire safehouse with its sleek lines and stretches of glossy mirrored glass. There was something soulless about it. It felt unlived in and unloved even from outside, despite being meticulously maintained.“It won several awards when it was built,” Heath commented as he came to stand beside her, looking up at the house.“It’s eyes are dead,” she replied.He slid her an amused look. “It’s eyes are dead,” he repeated with a rise in tone, making it a question.“I don’t know. It just doesn’t have a homely feel,” she was embarrassed, closing the car door and looking around for Cameron, hoping she hadn’t insulted him with her observation. He had crossed to the barn built to the side of the house and had gone within. “The barn looks mor
Havermouth, Present Time, 1.5 weeks after Retaking Havermouth From the Van HelsingsIt was disconcerting when Lyric surfaced from another period of time in which her body had taken over, leaving her mind behind. They happened with increasing frequency. She would be in the middle of a task such as tending the fire or scavenging the water edge, and resurface what felt like much, much later covered in blood with her belly heavy with meat. She had tried to keep track of the days on the island, scratching lines onto a sheltered section of a rock, but it was almost impossible to know if she was tracking actual days, or just when she was herself.This kill had been recent enough that the sheep had not yet reanimated, and she used a rock to smash its legs quickly before scrubbing the blood from her arms and face and climbing the hill to where Niarthen was. The little fire that she tried to keep going near him was smoldering out. She fanned it to get the wool burning again. Wool was very flamm
Rideten, Present Time Aislen was jolted awake when Talen shot out of the bed to the door. She was nicely nuzzled into Heath and Talen had been a warm spot against her back, his sudden moving causing a draught that was quickly filled when Cameron rolled over and snuggled up. She could hear Talen’s voice through the open door, and the reply of other voices on the other side. Cameron’s hand cupped her breast and his cock nudged against her arse. He rocked his hips suggestively, still mostly asleep. Heath tensed. “Fuck.” “- leave in fifteen,” a woman spoke crisply and in a tone that said there would be no compromise. “Victor’s orders.” “No,” Aislen pressed her face into Heath’s ribs. “Nonononono.” “It’s retaliation,” he decided. “For last night.” “It’s mean,” she grumbled. “Cruel.” “No sex?” Cameron sat up. “That’s not fair.” “You had sex last night. Good sex too, from the holes you left in the covers,” Heath pointed out. “It was good sex,” Cameron was smug. He nudged Rhett. “Hey
Havermouth, Present Time Embroidering living human flesh was somewhat harder than Meguitte had anticipated, but the challenge was very absorbing. Midway through the first flower, she realized that she wanted the knots required every stitch to cluster at the center, so she snipped and undid what she had started, much to Bianca’s distress. Meguitte was tempted to stem the witch’s complaints by explaining that it was becoming obvious that the stitches were not causing enough pain to override the wards, and her choices had become doing greater, potentially maiming, harm, or being patient and hoping that a lot of small agony would eventually become enough. The second attempt turned out better, and by the time she had completed the third flower and created a stem to connect the three, she was quite proud of her efforts. The blood kept getting in the way of her design, however, and she paused a moment to suck her fingertips. “I do believe I understand Mercy’s aversion to magical blood,” s
Rideten, Present Time The water was all but cold, but Talen had bathed in worse – recently, in fact, during the troubles in Havermouth. He scrubbed himself with a washcloth, rubbing away the sticky blood. A rhythmic thudding started against the wall behind him, causing him to pause and grin. It sounded like Cameron was putting some force into it, he thought amused and absently reached down to cup his cock, already hard at the thought. He turned off the water, deciding to join them. As he briskly dried himself, his phone began to ring from where he had set it on the vanity. Fatima’s number flashed onto the screen. He raised his eyebrows and answered it. “Fatima.” “Talen,” she was breathless and her voice tense. “They did it. They actually did it. Jules is alive.” Talen almost dropped the phone in surprise. “He is?” “Yes. He’s not quite… He’s very disorientated, but Harry’s looking after him. But he’s alive.” Talen braced his palm against the cold stone of the vanity, relief floodi
Rideten, Present Time Aislen grinned. “Is that right, Mr Wolf?” She purred stalking him over to the bed. “If I get it, I get to do whatever I like with it?” Cameron’s lips curled in a smirk. “No. But I will do something you like with it.” “Promises, promises,” she lunged for him, and he sidestepped so that she landed face-down on the mattress, before pinning her there with his body, his hands slowly drawing her hands up and holding them down to either side of her head whilst he nuzzled under the tangled sprawl of her wet curls to nibble along her shoulder and neck as her giggles gave way to soft moans as she closed her eyes and surrendered to his seduction. He nudged her legs apart and her knees onto the edge of the mattress, lifting her hips from the mattress so that he could rub his cock against her cunt in a slow, hot tease whilst his teeth pricked little bloodspots along her neck, his tongue soothing away the little sting each time as it captured the droplets. She could feel t
Havermouth, Present Time Tears streamed down Harry‘s face as they rose to their feet. They ran their hands over the lush hide of the weredragon. It was precisely the colour of Jules’ hair. Harry draped their body over the dragon’s chest, pressing their ear to the hide, celebrating the steady beat and rise and fall of the ribs. Alive. Gloriously alive. And they could feel the tie of their mate bond twining them together. With their eyes closed, Jules was a glow within the darkness. “Oh Jules, Jules, Jules…” They wept the words, stroking and luxuriating in the living creature that surrounded them with its bulk. It did not matter in the slightest that this Jules was not as Jules had been before… Harry’s most fervent wish had been granted and they had their mate back. “I knew it,” they whispered pressing kisses into the fur as they moved along the length of the dragon towards its head. “I knew that you were not gone.” They stroked over the dragon’s snout and pressed a kiss between his n
Havermouth, Present TimeHarry did not know how long they had been tending to Jules in the small cold room. Time had lost any meaning as the room had no natural light. They fed when Fatima brought them blood, or one of the ancients descended the stairs in order to donate. And then they would patiently drip blood into Jules’ slack mouth, watching for a sign that he had swallowed, before unbandaging the ruin of Jules’ hand, examining the wound for signs of healing before coating it again with blood and carefully, tenderly re-wrapping it.Jules was not dead. They were certain of it. Although he did not breathe, did not swallow, and his heart did not beat, Harry was certain that they sensed a spark of life within him, that they would know if the body that they held was nothing but flesh.They had, after all, handled many dead bodies in their long, long life.And the hand wound... It looked better. They could not precisely say how it was so - it was still a mess of bone and meat, and the b
Rideten, Present Time“Oh gawd, so good,” Aislen moaned as she squeezed in between Rhett and Cameron. “I so need to get this blood off my skin. It’s beginning to itch. Tsk, look at you two,” she added taking the washcloth from Rhett’s hand and tugging him down so that she could scrub the blood from his face. “You even have some in your ears. How do you get blood in your ears?”“Beats me,” Rhett’s hands gripped her hips, and his thumbs stroked her skin suggestively. “I have some blood lower down,” he smoldered. “Cameron was just offering to lick it off for me when you came in and gave us a better idea.”“Oh?” Aislen knew precisely what they had in their dirty, dirty minds - basically the same plan with slight variations between the two men. But she wasn’t going to make it easy on them. “Come here,” she scrubbed at Cameron’s face with the cloth. “Good enough,” she decided and handed it to him. “Do me whilst I rinse my hair out.”“Do you, or do you?” Cameron teased as he and Rhett shifte
Rideten, Present TimeSamuel’s wing sails caught the air with a whoomp. The guard heard it, looking up in astonishment a moment before Samuel seized him. In the old days, Samuel thought ruefully as he carried the struggling man up into the air again, he would have just let the man go and let gravity take care of the rest. However stealth was required in the current situation and now that he had the man, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with him, other than sate his thirst.It had to be something that wouldn’t be noticed immediately, Samuel concluded as he sank his teeth into the struggling guard’s neck. Whatever he did with him needed to have a visual impact, as the Emissary had been clear that part of the reason for the attack was psychological - to show the enemy that they weren’t even safe in their own headquarters.He saw a flash from the corner of his eye as Ember spread her wings, slowing her descent as she targeted another guard - but only slowing enough to prevent her from i
Rideten, Present Time“And here I thought you’d achieved the most outrageously jaw-dropping appearance the last time you walked into my bunker Mr Gale,” Victor observed dryly as he closed the meeting room door behind them. “Look at you,” he added gesturing at the three of them.Heath slid a look at each of his mates. Talen raised his eyebrows. Of them all, their vampire hybrid mate had escaped the massacre with only a few blood splatters in his beard. Seeing Heath’s look, he raised his hands to show that they were as bloody as Heath’s own, which made Heath feel better. He scratched at his jaw feeling blood flake away under his nail.“This is what war looks like,” Aislen replied snidely. “Something you might find unfamiliar from a bunker, Victor, but true nonetheless.”Victor shook his head as he crossed to a cupboard and pulled out a decanter. “Whiskey?” He offered them.“I will,” Talen said.“Not us,” Heath declined regretfully. Whiskey would have gone down well after the night in th