With a fluid motion, I drew the sword at my side, and as soon as the tip of the blade left the sheath, my whole hand and arm felt a heat emanate from it. However, my movements had been too swift to take in what had happened right away. The first vampire who had been cut down went up in flames and the sound of their screaming rang through my ears. My eyes were wide as I looked at the blade that was engulfed in flames. I wasn't familiar with the legend of the sword, but no wonder this thing was so potent despite being so damned old.
"Well, things are getting a bit hot, might be a bit of a scorcher today," I half-joked and then looked back to the last four vampires who had paused in their attack for a moment. Then with a bit more of a serious look, I continued, "are you sure you don't want to turn around now?"The four hesitated with glances between them all, but their fear of their leader outweighed their fear of me and they charged me again, bearing their fangs."One," I began to count but the three seemed to dig their heels in stubbornly and began to back away from me. The flames licked at my wrist and I realised that not once did they seem to burn me, even when they had gotten close to my skin. I watched the three carefully while keeping Rakesh in the corner of my eyes. I couldn't let him sneak up behind me and surprise me."Two," I continued to count. They were going to let me and Rakesh kill one another as they planned but I wasn't going to allow that to happen.I decided to risk sending Lee an order to his mind, 'Lee? Can you keep an eye on Rakesh for me? I can't let these bastards get away.'I sensed Lee agreeing to my request though he was nervous. I waited to see if anyone else had picked up on our little communication but it didn't seem as though these three had caught it. Lee hadn't been known to them and unlike me, they hadn't any way of passively hearing thoughts from everyone around them. Either that or Lee
The tension could be cut with a knife as the three of us waited for Rakesh to strike. I slowly moved my hand to the hilt of the sword but I hoped I wouldn't have to use it against him. I didn't want to hurt him at all, I just wanted us to go back to how things were.He uttered a low, almost sadistic growl and began to slowly stand up while watching me like a hungry animal. His dull eyes seemed to hone in on me.I breathed in and then out slowly. I hoped I could keep him distracted long enough to let the younger man behind me get to Lee but I wasn't going to push it unless I was sure Rakesh would come for me and not him."Um, dude, do you think that if I can get Rakesh's full attention, you can make your way over to Lee?" I asked quietly as Rakesh slowly began to stalk towards us. I knew any sudden movements would bring him to act suddenly and for now, I needed him to be slow and predictable."My name is Rich... and maybe," Rich said as he
The smell of my blood was enough to catch Rakesh's attention it seemed. He stopped chasing the group of people and turned his attention back on me. My scent had been intoxicating to him once before so I had a feeling that he would not be able to resist it this time either and thankfully, I was right.I moved slowly towards him, offering out my wrist. I could feel his wary emotions of dealing with me but the coppery scent was irresistible to him. As I neared Rakesh, he pounced and sunk his teeth into my wrist without care for how much he was tearing at the flesh. Searing pain shot through my whole arm but I didn't pull away from Rakesh, I wouldn't abandon him no matter what."That's right," I offered softly and pulled him closer to me, wrapping my other arm around Rakesh tightly to hold him in place within my arm. I shot a warning look to the others, my eyes flashing their violet hue as I said sharply, "I suggest if you want to live, you all get the fuck out of
Slowly I could feel myself rousing from the darkest parts of the unconsciousness and my eyes slowly fluttered open and dozily stared into what I could only assume was a mirror. Beautiful violet eyes were gazing back into mine and with a dizzy drop of my head, I closed my eyes again. I could feel the comfortable plushness of a bed or sofa under my body.I hadn't expected to wake up at all, in all honesty, and yet I was still alive. Praise be to whatever miracle had been blessed on me. I felt something brush over the lower half of my neck and I attempted to open my eyes again. I was met with the same beautiful eyes as before but after a moment of just laying there, I noticed the eyes look down to where I had felt the movement before.It wasn't a mirror! And those were in fact, not my eyes! Startled, I tried to pull away from the other person but the arm I had used in my attempt sent a painful sting all the way up and into my body, causing me to let out a pained c
I watched Tudyr intently as he moved over to where Rakesh was. He seemed to be checking on him, and although I couldn't quite read his thoughts or body language, I could tell he was not a threat. At least not right now. I furrowed my brows and looked down in thought.I was still trying to figure out just how he and I were related. He wasn't a direct relative, this much I knew and it was somewhere on my mother's side as my grandmother had apparently had the same eyes as me too but she had at least one human parent as she was a half-breed. Beyond this? I didn't have a clue. Was he her father? Or maybe further back than even that?I had so many questions but I just didn't know where to start. Then there was everything that had happened here in this very building and what had happened after I had passed out. Were the others safe somewhere else, or had the fighting continued? I couldn't sense anyone though I did hear thoughts here and
Tudyr watched me painfully mull over my options which only made me feel further pressured. Finally, I asked, my fingers holding onto my neck tightly, "what if I say no? What would happen to them?""I have no use for families that do not submit to the First," Tudyr said harshly but with no malice within his voice. "I will spare your life, only because you are one of mine, but like those of the red-eyes, Rakesh and his sister must submit or they will die.""And why do you need me for that? You could just ask them yourself..." I uttered, glancing away.Tudyr gave me a long look before he replied, "Eris will never submit and Rakesh has bonded with you, I cannot force him into anything without your permission. The same was true for Eris with you and him, is that not correct?"I gave a thoughtful frown and then nodded slowly. "I thought that was for all Ancient Ones... but you said... my blood was your right?" I looked back to Tudyr with the sam
The beating of my heart was loud and swift in my chest as I felt Tudyr's fingers tickle my neck while he brushed my hair out of his way. My eyes closed and my head tilted slightly to the side as I anxiously anticipated him feasting on my blood. It wasn't a sexual experience like it had been with Rakesh, but it was still somehow exciting to me.We were already somewhat bonded due to the family blood we shared, but this was much more than just a vague feeling. It felt as though my whole body was aching for us to be fully bonded. I wondered if it was indeed just this reason why it felt so right? Or maybe it was more a servant and master connection? In the end, I guessed it didn't matter too much. I had agreed to share a bond with Tudyr.I let out a pleased sound from my throat as I felt his fangs pierce the skin of my neck. That familiar sound of two hearts joining and beating as one echoed through my ears and mind. The sound was lo
With everything I had gone through lately, I was exhausted. It didn't matter if I had been unconscious for a while, that wasn't exactly resting. I watched Rakesh from where I laid on my cot. He seemed peaceful despite the fact that he had also been through so much.I reached out to him with my mind and although I didn't get a worded reply, there was a sense of warmth that surrounded me as Rakesh sensed me. That was enough to soothe my fears and the feelings of being isolated from him for so long finally seemed to melt away and I could truly relax and bathe in the bond we shared.I fell asleep listening to the beating of hearts inside my mind. It was still strange that I could sense it no matter where the bonded one was, but it was even stranger now that there were three of them. Still, it was a relaxing sound and quite the lullaby to listen to.A few hours must have ticked by as I sensed Rakesh stirring awake. My own eyes flickered open and I slowly
Greetings to all my wonderful readers!As you've likely noticed, I have actual artwork of my characters for the cover of my book now. This was a commission I paid for from a very dear artist friend by the name of Rydi on DeviantART also known as lucia-garcia on ArtCorgi.We've known each other for a long time now, and I was super happy she gave me permission to use the old commissions in this way, so if you like her style, feel free to check her out.Thanks for reading my story and feel free to check out my others also here.Have a wonderful day!
A month passed by quickly. My grandfather Edward had been convinced to come to where we were and was rather glad that I was well though he was shocked when he learned the truth of everything. He worried about the other side of my family not accepting me anymore, but otherwise, he was happy to stay with us for a few weeks to help. He and Tudyr seemed to get along well.Eris and DJay had bonded and had started a relationship much to the joy of most of the supernatural beings that had belonged to the group. Only the other Ancient Ones and vampires from the red-eyed family were not fully accepting of the match, but they were well aware they couldn't hassle the pair. Tudyr was very firm about that.Tudyr, of course, bonded with Eris making him the official leader. Their relationship wasn't great but Eris settled down after a couple of days. Though she held her usual spark whenever she disagreed with something he said or did. The two were almost like an old married c
With Rakesh's fate as my lover sealed, the only thing left was to decide what to do with Eris. Had she not over-taken Rakesh for the leader position when he became unable - it would have meant I would have been the new leader in joint with Rakesh. However, because they had swapped positions, this meant she would need to either bond with me or Tudyr.She was unhappy with either outcome as Tudyr expected. Rakesh didn't want to share me with yet another person and I was not willing to go against Rakesh's wishes but at the same time, I wasn't about to force Eris into bonding with Tudyr if it made her uncomfortable and if it would be easier for her to bond with me.Being Tudyr's second meant that he was a little more lenient and willing to let me take charge of this group of misfits but of course, we were going to let Eris make the choice. Personally, I didn't much care to lead, I just wanted to make sure the fighting was over."I don't want to share him,
Eris was surprised to see Rakesh and me enter through the door and in one piece and without an escort. She stopped yelling and marched over to us. Rakesh hid behind me and clung tighter to my shoulders. It was an awkward sight with him being taller than me but I did my best not to laugh. He was genuinely nervous.I gave Eris a small look of warning, it was gentle but commanding enough that she paused in her steps once she got close enough to me. She hesitated, noticing the change in my blood right away. She opened her lips to speak but found herself unable to bring herself to scold us.I looked over to Tudyr who was sitting at Eris' desk with a rather professional look on his face. He nodded at me in greeting and then waited expectantly for us to come further inside the office. It was a command regardless if it had been said or not and thus, I moved over to where the chairs were placed across the desk and facing Tudyr.Rakesh followed me, unwilling t
A while had passed from when Rakesh and I had reaffirmed our bond and he was curled up in my arms, happily resting in my company. We were merely enjoying being near each other again after what seemed like forever. I wasn't even sure how long it had actually been since we had seen one another.I briefly worried about how my grandparents and Rem had not been in contact with me, let alone poor Eddie, for as long. I hoped they would not think this was Rakesh's fault or think I had failed and been killed. Curious, I sent a message to Tudyr about it.'Are you sure it is wise to keep in contact with Hunters? You are no longer human enough for them to care,' he replied through the mind.Rakesh wiggled his nose in annoyance. He still wasn't happy to share me, but he didn't complain. I kissed his forehead in reassurance.'They're my family, if I don't let them know I am well, they will probably gather up the Hunters to come and find me. I don't know
After giving Rakesh some time to take in all of the information I had tossed on top of him, we laid on his cot in near silence. He couldn't remember hurting anyone or feasting on flesh and part of him didn't want to remember it. There were so many thoughts running through his mind but he couldn't find the answers to any of them just yet."It'll be alright, probably," I offered as I felt his mind fretting again. "I mean, Tudyr isn't going to kill us, just bring us into his fold, so things could be a lot worse, right?" I gave Rakesh a small smile."Only because of dumb luck that you're of his blood. Though in truth, I am surprised he wants you, you not being fully blooded..." Rakesh trailed off. "Or are you now? Though now I wonder why did my blood not do that for you?"I looked up thoughtfully. Tudyr wasn't exactly invading my mind at all as he had wanted to give me and Rakesh space - but that didn't mean he had blocked himself out of my thoughts. I s
With everything I had gone through lately, I was exhausted. It didn't matter if I had been unconscious for a while, that wasn't exactly resting. I watched Rakesh from where I laid on my cot. He seemed peaceful despite the fact that he had also been through so much.I reached out to him with my mind and although I didn't get a worded reply, there was a sense of warmth that surrounded me as Rakesh sensed me. That was enough to soothe my fears and the feelings of being isolated from him for so long finally seemed to melt away and I could truly relax and bathe in the bond we shared.I fell asleep listening to the beating of hearts inside my mind. It was still strange that I could sense it no matter where the bonded one was, but it was even stranger now that there were three of them. Still, it was a relaxing sound and quite the lullaby to listen to.A few hours must have ticked by as I sensed Rakesh stirring awake. My own eyes flickered open and I slowly
The beating of my heart was loud and swift in my chest as I felt Tudyr's fingers tickle my neck while he brushed my hair out of his way. My eyes closed and my head tilted slightly to the side as I anxiously anticipated him feasting on my blood. It wasn't a sexual experience like it had been with Rakesh, but it was still somehow exciting to me.We were already somewhat bonded due to the family blood we shared, but this was much more than just a vague feeling. It felt as though my whole body was aching for us to be fully bonded. I wondered if it was indeed just this reason why it felt so right? Or maybe it was more a servant and master connection? In the end, I guessed it didn't matter too much. I had agreed to share a bond with Tudyr.I let out a pleased sound from my throat as I felt his fangs pierce the skin of my neck. That familiar sound of two hearts joining and beating as one echoed through my ears and mind. The sound was lo
Tudyr watched me painfully mull over my options which only made me feel further pressured. Finally, I asked, my fingers holding onto my neck tightly, "what if I say no? What would happen to them?""I have no use for families that do not submit to the First," Tudyr said harshly but with no malice within his voice. "I will spare your life, only because you are one of mine, but like those of the red-eyes, Rakesh and his sister must submit or they will die.""And why do you need me for that? You could just ask them yourself..." I uttered, glancing away.Tudyr gave me a long look before he replied, "Eris will never submit and Rakesh has bonded with you, I cannot force him into anything without your permission. The same was true for Eris with you and him, is that not correct?"I gave a thoughtful frown and then nodded slowly. "I thought that was for all Ancient Ones... but you said... my blood was your right?" I looked back to Tudyr with the sam