STORY EXCERPT

She pointed at the human forms on the ground. “Check them for the marks. If they match, you have your rogue vampire house. If not, you have another slave rebellion. However, you gave me my freedom, and I intend to use it,” she said, touching the smooth surface of the mirror once more.

She blew across the surface and uttered the trigger word. “Baile.”

The Irish Gaelic word for home stirred the mirror’s magic. A small portal opened in front of her. On the other side, a dimly lit room with black leather walls and a massive oak four-poster bed waited for her return. As she walked through, she looked back over her shoulder at Cassy and gave her a fanged smile. Then, the portal collapsed, and she disappeared.

“Check them for the marks,” Vlad ordered.

David called out from the water’s edge, “These all have the same tattoos.”

Cassy searched the bodies around the cabin. All but three matched. Someone had tried to obliterate the top mark with burn scars and added a second mark below the scar. The thought of these people being treated like cattle made her sick.

Vlad joined her, looking down at the replacement marks. “The ones in the voods are the same. Ve vill have to look up the old owner’s marks to find out who they vorked for,” he said, laying a hand gently on her shoulder.

The sound of helicopter blades whooping drew her attention to the sky. Lights searched the ground for a place to land, but she knew the forest lacked a suitable pad. A rope ladder with metal rails dropped down from the sky.

Vlad’s phone rang. “Yes?” He paused as he listened to the man on the other end. “That vill not be necessary. She is vell enough to climb. David can help her.” He turned off the phone and tucked it in his pocket. Without further instruction, he walked over to the ladder and started climbing up to the hovering helicopter.

Cassy gave a startled jump when David took her hand, not having noticed him beside her. “I don’t think I can do this,” she said.

“If you can run through the treetops, you can climb a ladder,” he said encouragingly.

“I don’t want to die,” she said, staring at the helicopter’s blades.

“You’re not going to die,” he assured her.

“Die? Who said anything about dying? I don’t want to fly,” she said, looking at him now.

“That’s not what you said. I clearly heard you say die. The crash has made you afraid to fly, hasn’t it?”

A wave of empathy came across the magical bond. She felt him send her an understanding and calming hope. He seemed to give her an unspoken promise of this time things would be different. He took her in his arms and kissed her softly on the lips.

Vlad’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “Come on, you two. Fuel is not free or unlimited.”

David laughed and motioned for Cassy to take the ladder first. She managed to swallow her fear long enough to get several feet off the ground before David overtook her. She sensed a thread of panic as he positioned his body over hers.

“Stop climbing and hold on tight!” David shouted over all the din. He made a gesture to the crew above and looped his arms through the side ropes.

“What’s going on?” Cassy knew her foreboding slowed her down but not to this extent.

“We’ve got company!” David shouted.

The ladder started reeling in slowly at first and then faster. Looking down, she saw the reason for the sudden urgency. Snapping jaws and growls came from below. More werewolves tried to grab the lowest rungs with their teeth as they jumped. Cassy saw more coming through the woods to join the ones below.

Images of being dragged back down into the sea of snarling, snapping teeth terrified her. A flutter from her middle gave her another reason to worry. What if their goal was not to just capture her? What if they wanted to destroy her and the baby?

Finally, the ladder pulled them up to the helicopter. The noise of the four blades hurt her hearing. Out of nowhere, someone stuffed a pair of muffs on her ears. The painful sounds became bearable.

David put her in a seat and helped buckle her in as Vlad closed the large side door. She saw wolves outside of the cabin with their necks stretched up to the night sky. The stance suggested a howl. A few transformed back into human form and knelt by their fallen comrades.

Cassy felt pity for them. If they were still slaves, their master recklessly sent them to their deaths with no regard for them as fellow creatures of the night. If they were wolves in rebellion against an unjust system, why would they all have the same mark? Why wouldn’t they just rebel against their masters to gain their freedom?

Then the thought occurred to her. Maybe they did not want just freedom. Maybe they wanted revenge.

ADULT EXCERPT

She felt a familiar hand slip over her shoulder, pushing off her tattered top and exposing her skin. Kisses dropped along the back of her neck from one side to another. Fangs lightly grazed her carotid artery, sending shivers up her spine.

She unbuttoned her suit top and let it fall away, leaving her exposed to the man behind her. Topless, she wanted to feel hands on her flesh, touching and caressing her. Her nipples stiffened into rosy peaks. They ached with need. She reached up and rolled the pebbled flesh between her thumb and forefinger. She gave a satisfied sigh.

His fangs grazed her neck as his hands ran the length of her sides, pausing at her hips. A bead of blood welled up on her skin and ran down between her breasts. Strong hands wrapped around her, smearing the thin trickle over her stomach. Deft fingers made short work of her pants buttons and pushed the fabric over her hips. The pants pooled at her feet.

She kicked the pile of cloth out of her way. They disappeared into the silvery mist surrounding them. No walls or ceiling gave a hint as to where they might be. No sound except the ones they made broke the silence. Only their singular heartbeat, their sighs, their breathing echoed in the silvery mist. This was their private world. Nothing and no one else mattered.

Flashes of memory came. A dimly lit parking garage. A basement living room. A tiled shower below ground. A white porcelain tub. A richly decorated room. A bed of orchids in a greenhouse. This time the memories washed through her mind without pain. Although his face was never clear in the memories, she knew this man intimately. She turned around to face him.

Still down on his knees from removing her pants, he leaned in and pressed his face against her belly. Strong hands grasped her ass. Kisses trailed down to her clit. His tongue darted out, teasing her before lapping at her slit. She felt a rumble in his throat vibrate on her skin, but almost no sound made it to her ears.

Wetness trickled from her pussy. She opened her legs a little more, increasing his access to her nectar. Fingers slipped inside her as his tongue worked her sensitive clit. Pleasure rippled its way through her body. Clenching and quivering, she thought she might come at any moment. She ran her fingers through his hair and held his head to her. As his fingers danced across her G-spot in perfect rhythm with his tongue, she cried out. The sensation was unbearably good, almost painfully good. The steady rhythm pushed her to the crescendo. Her orgasm crashed over her and reverberated down to her soul.

This man was more than her lover. He made up the missing piece she searched for, longed for, needed. With him came the air and the light, the moon and the stars. He and their love created her world. Nothing he asked for could ever be too much. Nothing she gave him would be enough. He was more than a puzzle piece in her life. He was her life, and she was his. Tied together by magic and fate, this man held more value than all the treasures of the world.

He stood up, extending to his full six feet, and looked down on her five-foot-six inches. Silver-gray eyes watched her. A fanged smile flashed, but no spoken words came.

Returning the favor, she dropped to her knees. His cock hung stiff and ready for her. She guided the fleshy rod between her fangs and wrapped her lips around him. Pausing for a moment, she enjoyed the feel of him on her tongue and in her mouth. Slipping further down his shaft, she swirled her tongue back and forth the length of him. Rolling his balls gently in one hand, she began carefully bobbing up and down on his cock. Sucking and teasing the head with her tongue before taking him back into her mouth made him groan. She played with him until she thought she might explode with need.

The taste of his pre-cum elicited a whimper from her. She wanted more. Her speed quickened in her need to taste the tang of his juices. Deeper and faster she stroked his cock to the point of nearly throating him.

His cock throbbed against her tongue. The mushroom-shaped tip brushed the back of her throat, painting it with his sticky pre-cum. His body stiffened in anticipation. The throbbing turned to spasms as he filled her mouth with his creamy orgasm. Tossing his head back, he seemed to cry out soundlessly. He held her head still between his hands as he gave one last spurt of creamy goodness.

She swallowed every drop before sitting back on her heels, allowing him to slip from between her lips. A sense of satisfaction and fulfillment flooded her. Being with this man felt perfect. The rest of the world could fall apart and as long as they were together, nothing else would matter.

Kneeling down to face her, he kissed her tenderly on the lips. Placing one hand behind her head, he rocked gently forward and laid her back in the silvery mist. He took one nipple in his mouth while cupping the other breast. Teeth and tongue teased and toyed with the tight peak.

She wanted to tell him how good it felt to have him pressed against her, but the words refused to come out. The only response she gave was a satisfied sigh. Parting her legs allowed him to slip between them. Her dewy juices ran along the soft folds of her pussy. She felt his cock stiffen once more.