Elizabeth shared glances with Meryn as they watched the men walk back and forth carrying boxes to the attic. Even at his weakest Gavriel was toting weights she would never even attempt. Aiden and Colton were competing as to who could carry the most and Keelan was using spells to float the more awkward sized pieces up the stairs.
Darian had to stop going to the attic as he kept hitting his head on the rafters, so he was carrying boxes from their respective rooms to the base of the attic steps for the others to carry up. Elizabeth and Meryn’s eyes followed their mates as they walked by again, bicep muscles bulging.
‘Yum,’ Meryn murmured. Aiden looked at her suddenly and stumbled. Gavriel got caught up in Aiden’s legs and he too went down. Both men sat up looking disgusted with themselves.
Ryuu picked up the boxes that Aiden and Gavriel had been carrying effortlessly. Gracefully he stood and without saying a word headed towards the attic.
‘Seriously. Damn.’ Meryn stared.
‘You can say that again.’ Elizabeth nodded.
‘Seriously. Damn.’ Meryn repeated.
Aiden growled and Gavriel hissed low, both men got to their feet and walked over to the women.
‘That was your fault,’ Aiden mumbled rubbing his chin on Meryn’s head.
‘You don’t want me to be sexually attracted to you?’ she asked.
Aiden kept his chin on her head and chomped his teeth causing Meryn’s head to bounce around. She tried to get away but his quick hands reached out and tickled her ribs. Laughing she begged for mercy.
Her mate had a much more direct approach. He pulled her into his arms and dipped her back. The second he captured her lips she was lost. He teased her until her entire body was vibrating. When he righted them his grin was satisfied and thoroughly wicked. Damn the man, he knew exactly what he did to her.
‘Sneaky vampire,’ she murmured into his chest.
‘I have to make sure I keep your attention.’ He kissed her temple.
‘Oh you have it.’
‘Are you guys done playing? We have more boxes to carry,’ Colton called out.
Aiden kissed Meryn before stepping away. ‘Coming!’ he yelled back.
Elizabeth looked at her mate. ‘Where are all your things?’
‘I maintain a home in the city where my things are stored. I like it better here though. Be right back,’ Gavriel whispered and walked towards their suite.
She shook her head. Her mate had a whole other house and it didn’t occur to him that she would want to see it. She stopped. What kind of space did he have there for a closet? Smiling, she continued to count the sheet sets in the linen closet with Meryn. After a few minutes they noticed the men had been gone a while.
Meryn looked at her. ‘Where’d they go?’
Elizabeth shrugged and was about to answer when she saw Gavriel walking down the hallway with something large in his hands that was draped with a sheet. The men walked behind him smiling mischievously.
Meryn frowned. ‘Okay guys, what are you up to?’
Darian stepped forward as spokesman. ‘We decided to go ahead and do this now, before the trainees got here so they wouldn’t expect to be spoiled.’
Before either of them could ask what he meant, he carefully lifted the sheet.
She heard Meryn gasp and couldn’t blame her. Gavriel was holding a very detailed miniature dollhouse. Inside each room were chairs, tables and other furnishings.
‘It’s for Felix. Gavriel got the idea after you moved in. Poor Felix always has to eat from a saucer. Nothing in the house fits him, poor little guy didn’t even have a chair to sit in, so we made one. Well, Aiden did. He was in charge of furniture.’ Darian jerked his thumb to his commander.
Aiden blushed and frowned. ‘No one should have to sleep in a damn shoebox,’ he mumbled.
Elizabeth noticed that the faint twinkling she normally saw around Meryn was growing brighter and brighter.
Darian continued. ‘I called a friend that lives in Éire Danu and told her how heroic our Felix had been, braving the cold to come get us when Meryn was attacked. The sprites couldn’t do enough for him. They sent sheets, blankets and practically a whole new wardrobe. Of course our local sprites didn’t want to be outdone. Elder Vi’Ailean has told me that they felt terrible that Felix had to move because he wasn’t fitting in. They’ll be sending over seedlings in the spring for our own greenhouse that we’re building so that he has access to plants year round.’
Keelan stepped forward with a small box and opened it. Inside a tiny necklace lay nestled on white velvet. It was a simple green stone set in silver that hung from a silver chain. Blushing he lifted it up indicating to Felix that it was his. One second the necklace was there the next it was gone as Felix put it on.
Keelan cleared his throat. ‘I’ve been working with Ryuu to create a perimeter that would make unseen things seen. If you turn the stone in its setting we’ll be able to see and hear you, turn it back and you’ll go back to being invisible,’ he explained.
Elizabeth and the men all stared as the air in front of them shimmered for a second before a small, red haired sprite was revealed. His translucent wings veined in greens and purples beat furiously, keeping him hovering between them. Felix was crying silently, his bright green eyes rimmed red. He brought his forearm up to cover his face as he cried.
Elizabeth dabbed at her eyes. Behind her Elizabeth heard Meryn sniffling as well.
Felix uncovered his eyes and looked at the men. He swallowed hard.
‘Thank you. Thank you so much.’ His tiny voice was clear but conveyed the depth of his feelings. Elizabeth noticed that the men’s eyes looked suspiciously misty.
Felix hid his face and fumbled at the necklace, a second later he was gone again.
‘There, there sweetheart it’s okay. You have to stop crying or I’ll keep crying, Felix, and when I cry my nose gets stuffed up,’ Meryn complained, wiping at her own eyes as she comforted the small sprite.
Ryuu stepped forward reaching for the house to take it to its final location but Colton stepped in front of him.
‘Even though you said you didn’t need anything, we came up with an idea.’ Colton reached behind him and took out a blue leather journal from his waistband. He held it out to Ryuu.
‘We know that you have been working very hard to master western style cooking so we all asked around and got some of Lycaonia’s best cooks to contribute their favorite recipes, including my own mother, Adelaide and Marius.’
Ryuu, looking shocked, took the journal and very carefully began to flip through the handwritten pages. He closed it solemnly and held it to his chest. ‘This has to be the finest gift I have ever received. I will cherish it all the days of my life.’ He bowed low to the men.
Colton laughed and clapped a hand to Ryuu’s shoulder gently pushing the man upright. ‘It’s not like we’re not getting anything out of it. I can’t wait for you to make my mom’s pecan pie, it’s my favorite,’ he said, winking.
Ryuu straightened. ‘Then I shall attempt to make that first.’
Without saying a word Aiden held out a box to Meryn, his face was bright red. ‘We got distracted yesterday. I got this for you to say I was sorry for ignoring you, but I guess this can be your welcome to the Alpha Estate present instead.’
Meryn just stared. Aiden walked over and physically placed the box in her hand.
Gavriel set the house down in the hallway and walked over to wrap an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulder. ‘I didn’t have time to prepare anything, but the men have all agreed to help me tomorrow to give you the closet of your dreams as your welcome present.’
Elizabeth turned in his arms, grabbing the front of his shirt. ‘Really?’
‘Yes, really. Whatever my mate wants, she gets.’ Gavriel kissed her forehead.
Behind her Meryn squealed and began to bounce up and down.
‘I love it! I absolutely love it! Look, Bunny! He got me a charm bracelet! It has a tiny laptop and coffee mug on it!’ Meryn kept jumping trying to kiss Aiden’s face. Laughing, he finally just lifted her up so she could reach him.
Gavriel leaned in. ‘I told him to leave room for more charms that way he knows what to get when he messes up later.’
‘Hey!’ Aiden protested.
Everyone laughed. Aiden set Meryn down. She put the bracelet on and kept turning her wrist back and forth. She looked up at her mate.
‘For a second when I saw the dollhouse I thought you had found out about Meryn 2.0’ She spun the bracelet on her wrist.
‘No it was for Felix, we… Meryn 2.0? What in the world is that?’ Aiden asked, his eyebrows snapping together. ‘You better not have hacked something else,’ he warned.
Meryn laughed. ‘It’s not software! It’s our daughter.’ She grinned up at him.
‘Oh dear,’ Elizabeth murmured. The men grinned at each other.
Aiden’s mouth worked like a fish, his face previously bright red face quickly draining to become milk white.
‘A … a … a … ‘ he stuttered.
Ryuu picked up the dollhouse and headed towards his own suite. ‘Felix, I think you may prefer to have this with me for a while,’ he said his mouth twitching. The small light flickered as if Felix were chortling and followed Ryuu.
‘A … a … a …’ Aiden clutched at his chest and swayed.
Meryn frowned. ‘I think I broke him.’
Colton and Gavriel moved to stand on either side of their commander, laughing. Aiden bent at the waist, wheezing and put his hands on his knees, gulping in air.
‘Ten bucks says he faints,’ Darian teased.
Darian’s words had Aiden’s back straightening. He stepped forward placing his hands on Meryn’s shoulders. ‘Are you certain?’
Smiling, Meryn nodded. ‘Meryn 2.0 is under development,’ she said patting her belly.
Aiden turned to them beaming. ‘I’m going to be a father!’ he announced, as if they hadn’t been standing there the whole time.
Colton was the first to thrust his hand at his commander. ‘Congratulations my old friend, I wish your child a lifetime of happiness.’ The other men stepped forward to congratulate the couple.
‘Brightest of Blessings on you and your child,’ Gavriel said, hugging Meryn.
Elizabeth hugged Aiden. ‘You’re going to make a wonderful father.’
‘You’ll be next.’ Aiden said.
Gavriel whipped around to stare at her looking startled.
Elizabeth frowned at him. ‘Next year it is a distinct possibility you know.’
‘I never thought about it.’ Gavriel walked over and pulled her away from Aiden to hold her close.
‘Get condoms. They work extremely well,’ Aiden bragged. Elizabeth had to hide her smile. Meryn just giggled uncontrollably.
‘Gods above, we better start stocking up on diapers!’ Colton said, grinning from ear to ear.
‘I don’t do diapers,’ Meryn informed her mate. Aiden just smiled.
Elizabeth had a feeling that Meryn could have blown up their house just then and he would still be smiling.
The next second Meryn proved her wrong. Without thought Meryn bent down and picked up a stack of sheets for one of the guest rooms. Elizabeth blinked as Aiden proceeded to lose his mind.
‘What in the hell are you doing? Put it down! You can’t lift anything!’ Aiden swatted the sheets out of her hands.
Meryn’s head dropped back on her shoulders and she groaned. ‘For fucks sake!’ Her head snapped back up and she put her hands on her hips. ‘Already? We’re doing this already?’ she demanded.
‘Should you be standing? Why are you standing?’ Aiden pulled at his hair.
‘Okay. I can’t do you right now.’ Meryn bent down to pick up the sheets.
Aiden knocked them away again as if they were the greatest threat known to man.
‘You are impossible! I have to be able to function over the next nine months!’
Aiden just scooped her up and turned to face them. ‘Excuse us.’ He quickly walked towards their suite.
‘Neanderthal!’ They heard Meryn screech as they turned the corner and disappeared out of sight.
When they were gone Elizabeth couldn’t hold it in anymore. She laughed so hard she thought she was going to rupture something. She wasn’t alone, the men around her were laughing as well. Colton slid down the wall gasping for air.
Gavriel smiled as she wiped her tears. ‘Are they always like this?’ she asked.
He nodded. ‘Pretty much. I was wondering how long she was going to wait to tell him.’
Colton exhaled catching his breath. He smiled to himself. ‘I think everyone knew except Meryn and Aiden. Her scent and body chemistry changed last week.’
‘It’s no wonder I didn’t know, she’s always smelled that way to me.’ Elizabeth said.
‘I wonder if she’ll get morning sickness, more food for us.’ Coltan gloated and stood rubbing his hands together.
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. ‘You boys do realize that now that’s she’s pregnant she can’t have any caffeine right?’
All sound ceased. The men froze looking at each other as their terror mounted.
‘We won’t survive,’ Keelan whispered.
Darian stepped forward, swallowing repeatedly. ‘When you say no caffeine, does that mean chocolate too?’
Elizabeth nodded. She was shocked when Keelan whimpered.
‘We’re done for the day. I’m going to my room until dinner,’ Darian said, a blank look on his face.
‘Good idea,’ Colton agreed and started walking towards his suite.
‘Maybe an invisibility spell,’ Keelan muttered to himself as he turned in the opposite direction to his suite.
‘You, my love, are a very evil woman,’ Gavriel said steering her to their room.
She stopped in the middle of the hallway and offered her arm to him. ‘Can I interest you in a mid-afternoon respite?’ she asked, turning his words from the previous day against him.
Not unlike his commander, he easily lifted her in his arms and began to trot to their room. He opened the door and closed it behind him. The room was pitch black. He hadn’t raised the light blocking blinds. He put her down and moved away.
‘Gavriel?’ she called out letting her eyes adjust to the dark room.
She heard a masculine chuckle and saw a pair of red eyes glow from across the room.
‘Elizabeth,’ she heard him call.
She swallowed. ‘Yes?’
‘You’re it,’ he whispered.
Oh Gods.
She watched as the red eyes began to circle her. Her heart began to beat a steady rhythm against her chest. Intellectually she knew he would never hurt her, but that wasn’t the game they were playing right now.
‘Gavriel?’
‘Your blood is teasing me zain’ka moya, it’s calling out to me.’ His voice was low and floated across the room.
‘I would never deny you, my mate,’ she said, turning her head tracking his movements.
‘What if I want all of you?’
She swallowed and watched has those red eyes stalked closer. ‘You already have my heart, soul and body. If there’s anything else you want, it’s yours,’ she promised.
‘Then I intend to take it.’ His warm breath on the back of her neck had her shivering.
She turned quickly to face him. He took a step forward and she took one backward. When the back of her legs hit the bed his grin became feral. She felt his hands on her shoulders and then she was falling backwards, then staring at the ceiling. He climbed onto the bed and moved over her until he had a thick, muscular thigh on either side of her legs. Using his strength alone, his bare hands ripped her skirt up the side seam until it stopped at her waist band. She felt the scrape of his claw and her skirt was gone.
When his hands moved up her sweater his claws were gone, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous. He jerked the fabric up over her head, but instead of removing it, he twisted the fabric around her wrists. Another jerk of his claw and her favorite bra opened to expose her breasts.
Instead of removing her boots and tights he simply ripped an opening at her crotch.
‘I can smell you, my Beth. I can smell your juices and I know that if I were to run my tongue down your slit you would have a feast waiting for me.’ His voice was low and gravely.
She was about to answer when he did exactly what he said he would do. Using his strength, he lifted the lower half of her body up and slid his tongue as deep as he could inside of her.
‘Gods! Gavriel, more, please do that again,’ she begged. His tongue inside of her swollen flesh was a few degrees cooler than her own body temperature, the difference creating an erotic contrast that had her senses spinning out of control.
One hand left her back and a second later he had two fingers inside of her, thrusting and curling. She threw her head back panting, she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. When he turned his face and buried his fangs into her inner thigh she was brought up short by a burst of pain. When he drank he twisted his fingers and the pleasure returned.
He lifted from her leg and stared down the length of her body.
‘You belong to me. Every inch of you. Inside and out.’ He plunged his fingers deep.
‘Gavriel,’ she moaned. Her throat was getting dry from trying to catch her breath.
‘That’s right my love, scream my name. Let the entire world know that you are mine. If the ferals come I will destroy every single one; even Death itself will not separate us. I will cover this world in flame and blood before I let you go.’ He let her lower body fall to the bed where it bounced once. He flipped her and with his hands around her waist pulled her against his body. She could feel the cold metal of his zipper along her opening as his cock pressed against the fabric from the inside.
With a firm hand he pushed down on the center of her back until her breasts were lowered into the mattress.
‘Keep your hands above your head,’ he ordered, his voice barely human.
Behind her she heard the sounds of cloth ripping before she felt the hot, hard length of his cock teasing her from behind.
Without warning he plunged his full length inside of her. She opened her mouth to cry out her pleasure but her face was being forced into the bed. Over and over again he pounded his flesh deep into her. This was not gentle loving he was branding her.
When he leaned over her body, his hard chest muscles pushed her further into the mattress, she turned her head to tell him to slow down, but that was when he struck. His fangs sunk deeper than they had before, the pain was nearly unbearable. She was on the verge of calling out for help when the pain morphed into pleasure. Unlike before, the pain didn’t disappear entirely it returned again and again keeping her body just on the edge of orgasm.
Just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore, the pleasure increased. Each time he swallowed and she felt his lips convulse on her neck, her body would contract the muscles around his cock so that it felt as if he were driving that engorged head over every erogenous zone in her body.
Her sight became blurred so she closed her eyes; still he drank.
The sound of his flesh slapping against hers faded;-still he drank.
Her body short circuited throwing her into the most intense orgasm of her life; still he drank.
I wonder if I will wake up after this.
Mindlessly her body swayed in sync with his thrusts; still he drank.
It was worth every second.
And then there was nothing.
*****
When she woke she thought she was blind, but quickly figured out that the sun had set and the only source of light in the room was from the tiny light on the hair dryer plug in the bathroom.
‘Gavriel?’ she called out. She had to swallow several times to get enough moisture down her throat. There was no response. She reached out and fumbled with the light on the nightstand that simulated the soft, low light of a flickering candle.
She blinked. The sheets were different. He had changed them, but why? She went to sit up and the room swam in banners of color. Slowly she made it to a seated position. Her neck and inner thigh were sore. She looked down and saw a spreading bruise on her leg. She reached up and unlike every other time her mate had bitten her, she felt the two holes left behind by his fangs.
‘Gavriel?’ she looked around the room. The old bedding was in a pile by the door, even from where she sat she could see the bloodstains. Concerned for her mate, she scooted forward and let her feet drop to the floor.
‘Stay there,’ his voice commanded. She looked around and saw him sitting on the floor under the window. He was naked and his skin was covered in a rusty, flakey layer. Without asking she knew it was her blood. His legs were pulled up so that his elbows rested on his kneecaps. His arms were crossed and his face hidden from sight buried in his forearms.
‘I’m coming to you.’ She stepped forward and he didn’t raise his head. Slowly she made her way over to him. With little grace she flopped down beside him. She took a moment to catch her breath.
‘I’m calling your fathers. I’m sending you home,’ he whispered. The absolute despair and loss she heard in his voice broke her heart.
‘No. You’re not. You are my mate and I won’t leave you,’ she argued.
When he finally looked up there was no hope, no life in his eyes. ‘When I came to my senses you were barely breathing, I had to give you my blood to get your heart to beat normally. I thought I had killed you.’ His voice was harsh. The self-recrimination and disgust was in every word.
‘But you didn’t.’
‘Look at me! Look!’ he yelled, unfolding his body. Nearly every inch of his body was covered in blood. ‘I did this! I bound you, took you like an animal and nearly drained you dry. You…’ his voice broke. ‘You, my sweet Beth. I should be destroyed.’
‘First of all, I loved being bound and taken like an animal, though that is a very vulgar way of describing one of the most erotic experiences of my life. I enjoyed every second of it. Would I want to do this every night? No, but I will be disappointed if it never happened again,’ she freely admitted.
He looked up, shocked. ‘But I hurt you.’
‘Yes, but in a good way. When you’re taking me like that the pain just takes the pleasure to a whole new level, it’s intoxicating to the point of addiction. You don’t have to be in transition for this to happen again do you?’ she asked.
He blinked. ‘You’re serious. You would do this again?’
‘Except for the blood loss, yes. But I think we can safely attribute that to your transition. Was it a bit scary? Yes. But that made it all the more delicious. Are you listening to me my mate?’ She scooted so that their bodies touched. Both of them shuddered.
‘Even now I want to drink from you again.’ He went to reach out to touch her face but pulled his hand back. She grabbed his hand and placed it against her cheek.
‘You’re not listening. Did you set out to hurt me?’
‘No! Of course not.’
‘Are you possibly days away from the hardest apex of your life from going through two transitions?’
‘Three,’ he whispered.
‘Three? So you are at your five thousandth year. I speculated with Meryn. So you have your natural transition, your fifth millennial and a power increase due to the ferals.’ She let his hand drop but kept their fingers intertwined. Their combined hands rested on his thigh.
He turned his head to look at her, his eyes filled with exhaustion. ‘Not my fifth millennial, my Myriad.’
Her heart stuttered. ‘Myriad? Doesn’t that mean …’
He nodded. ‘Yes. Ten thousand, at least that’s as far back as I remember.’
Elizabeth sat back covering her mouth with both hands as pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. The reason why he didn’t want power, why he kept his age a secret, why he alone represented the oldest vampiric ruling house and why the version Meryn knew of their legend was different, she had heard it from the man herself.
‘Oh sweet Gods above. You’re the Dark Prince.’ She clutched at her chest as the enormity of this reality settled in her mind.
He sighed, closed his eyes and sat back. ‘I never wanted you to know.’
She could only stare. This was the Dark Prince she had fantasized about as a girl, the invincible warrior that every other man was always compared to after her uncle and fathers. And he was her mate. Gone was the golden armor and white plumed helmet. There was no holy sword or fiery steed at his side, just a man. Her man, a man that at the moment believed he had lost everything, including her.
She flicked the side of his leg with her thumb and forefinger.
‘Ow!’ He looked at her surprised and frowning. ‘What was that for?’
‘I thought you’d be bigger.’ She made the mistake of glancing down at his groin and giggled.
His mouth dropped.
She leaned against him laughing. He pulled away and righted her before looking into her face. There was disbelief, but also the tiniest ray of light in his eyes. ‘You thought what would be bigger, zain’ka moya?’ He asked, his lips twitching.
She cleared her throat and smiled at him. She climbed over his knee until she sat between his legs and snuggled close to his chest. Automatically his arms circled her.
‘Dark Prince, surly warrior, charming gentleman, it doesn’t matter. They are just different sides to my mate.’ She yawned and winced as her neck flexed.
He felt her flinch. ‘I would take this pain from you if I could,’ he whispered.
‘It’s not so bad. Think about it this way, this is the most out of control you’ll be for at least another five thousand years; I’m going to enjoy it.’
He gathered her against him with one arm and used the other to stand. He walked over to their bed and gently set her down. She didn’t feel complete until he slid in next to her.
‘You don’t see me any differently?’ he asked.
‘No. I was raised among our ruling houses, as a little girl you were the prince of my dreams. Maybe Fate was preparing me for you even then.’
He kissed the top of her head and whispered his prayers of thanks to the one who watched over them.
‘Gavriel?’
‘Yes my love?’
‘You’re over ten thousand years old right?’
‘Yes darling.’
‘What exactly is in your other home in storage?’ she asked unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.
‘Nothing compared to the treasure in my arms,’ he said, squeezing her tight.
‘Gavriel?’
‘Yes, love?’
‘I want to go through your stuff.’ She bit down on the muscles of his chest playfully.
His laughter was like a balm on her soul.
‘Whatever I have, whatever I am, is yours already, zain’ka moya.‘
Maybe he had stored her heart away with his other treasures from myth and legend.
Smiling she dreamt of her heart being guarded by her mate in a cavern of gold and silver.
