Our discussion about my dating Pierre proved, without a shadow of a doubt the depth of Luthias’s love for me. Whether it was because of his bond with Geo or the fact that I’d met Geo and fallen for him prior to meeting Luthias, I don’t know, but he tolerated my feelings for Geo and accepted the courtship challenge grandfather put in place for the three of us. He did not, however, feel the same when it came to my being with, or even thinking about being with anyone else. He made that abundantly clear after we’d satiated our passion and were once again calm enough to discuss our situation.
Not only was he a raging, jealous fool at the thought of my possibly falling in love with and giving my heart to Pierre, he went against all the promiscuous vampirism traits of Vampire Land as the Verso side of him poured forth and he declared an intolerance for the thought of Pierre even touching me in an intimate manner. Talk about double stan
I can’t remember scrubbing in a bath as hard as I scrubbed to rid any and all remnants of Pierre’s coupling with me. Even my encounter with Abigail paled in comparison. My body felt like I’d rolled in a puddle of thick, evil mud that dried and caked on me before I could reach water to rid myself of it. I bathed fully before calling for a fresh bath and bathing once again. I was given little resistance from the staff about this odd request. I assumed they attributed it to my being of foreign roots or just didn’t dare defy the queen no matter how shaky a ground she was presently on with her subjects. If it emphasized that I didn’t belong, I didn’t care. All I cared about was getting every tiny speck of Pierre off me and out of me and I wouldn’t stop washing until I was confident I’d accomplished it.I couldn’t blame Luthias for his inability to hold me close while Pierre’s sexu
Had I not known that Jason Masters was a werewolf, I doubt I’d have ever figured it out; especially since I’d only recently learned that werewolves existed and was never exposed to one. Now that I was familiar with vampires, I realized that there were subtle differences between them and humans. Their body temperature was lower, their skin tone was less robust, and their tolerance to the high temperatures on earth’s desolated land and the intense rays of the sun was poor. I had no idea what to look for when it came to spotting a werewolf.With the exception of his overly muscular body, Jason Masters looked just as normal as any other man I might meet. Unlike the vampires, his skin was rich and swarthy. His carnivore diet clearly aided in maintaining his strong, chiseled physique and swarthy complexion. His arms were thick with rich black curls. I could see tufts of similar curls struggling to free themselves from the
I’d slipped back into a deep sleep almost immediately after sending a message via courier raven for Gwendoline to meet me at the mutant-vampire subterranean kingdom. The courier raven wouldn’t be able to penetrate the portal to Verso, so my message needed to be delivered to Desolation and then be taken to Gwendoline by one of Desolation’s residents with the courage and ability to enter Verso when the need arose. Since the residents of Desolation revered Gwendoline, I was sure her safety was a priority. I was fearful of prying eyes reading my request and refusing to deliver it to my mentor, but I felt I had no choice but to send for her. Something was disturbingly wrong with me. It was more than just being pregnant. Pregnancy shouldn’t make me feel as weak as I felt.I was concerned about the courier raven reaching its destination. I wasn’t sure a message was ever sent to Desolation from Vampire Land. To insure the raven fo
I don’t know why it surprised me when I realized the distance we needed to cover in order to reach the mutant vampire subterranean kingdom from Vampire Land. It made sense that Sybil would want to keep her kingdom safe from all enemies, not just humans. By staying as far away from the vampire’s territory as possible and keeping under the radar by living underground, her people ran less of a risk of running into their enemies. It was the next best thing to the protection veil Gwendoline placed over Verso. The mutant kingdom may not be hidden by a magical veil that created an alternate reality, but it was fairly well hidden none-the-less. We would have to leave the comfortable climate of our remote mountain wilderness and cross barren land that still spoke of the nuclear scorching it received a century ago. Although it hadn’t been that long since I’d made just such a journey, I was a human who grew up in and was well acclimated to
Two of my ribs were broken. One of their brittle tips rested dangerously near to my heart. Had Luthias not forced me to remain still after hearing the news about my intended demise, I quite possibly would have saved my subjects the trouble of killing me.“I thought vampires healed quickly,” I complained as the village medicine woman wrapped a bandage around my chest.Jason and his crew stepped outside of the hut for the sake of my modesty, but for the sake of my safety, Luthias stayed behind. It was no secret to our companions that Luthias and I were lovers, so no one protested about possible impropriety.“You have to feed in order to heal fast, especially when you’ve been ingesting vervain to weaken you for as long as you have,” Luthias whispered. “Then there’s the unknown effects that potion could have on you.“Feed on who?” I asked.“Well,” he said as he ey
We’d decided mimicking human behavior by traveling in the light of day and resting at night, would bring less attention to us, should we be seen by anyone. This worked out well for everyone except Luthias and me. His years of mingling with humans earned him a greater tolerance for the harsh sun than most vampires, but even he had his limits. As for me, I hadn’t been a vampire long enough to suffer the effects of the sun like an old vampire might, but I still suffered its effects; not to mention I was pregnant and sickly. The sun’s rays made me uncomfortably hot. The jostling of the little wagon made me nauseous. By the time we stopped to make camp, I was practically green and nursing a whopper of a headache.We were still in no-man’s land, with minimal vegetation and even less animal life to sustain us. Supernatural beings can go far longer without food than humans can. Rob kept his hunger to himself, but he didn&rsq
My fever broke, my head felt better, and I regained a good bit of my strength after sipping on the antidote of mugwort and pine needle tea throughout the night. It was vile tasting, but I cared less and less as its effects took hold.By the time we broke camp, I was almost myself again and ready for the journey from hell Jason promised us the night before.Luthias hadn’t shared our plans to meet Gwendoline until it was time to take the detour needed to reach the location she’d be waiting at. It was then that I realized just how careful Luthias was in all matters with all people. By waiting until the last minute to share the change in plans, he eliminated the risk of it leaking to the enemy on the off-chance Pierre managed to recruit someone in our party. Jason seemed unbothered by the secrecy; which led me to believe he’d used the same strategy at some point. He was, however, openly delighted about the prospect of seeing
It was well into the evening before the last of the supernatural leaders arrived and a meeting could be held. They unanimously agreed to remain in the shadows until absolutely necessary and wait for Bartholomew to make the first move. It was hoped by all that something would occur -either by magic or just a change in events- to sway the army from the path it was on and dissipate the threat of their world.Upon closing the meeting, the attendees went off into various directions to form small social groups. It was at this time that Belle took on human form and asked me to take a short walk with her. Overwhelming curiosity, mixed with the desire to stretch my legs, prompted me to readily agree.“You do not remember me, do you?” Belle said in a soft voice meant for my ears only.“Did you visit me at my grandparent’s home?” I asked with uncertainty.“No, silly,” she giggled. “I