Part 1: Mate's Lore (4 page)

Her
brow creased, “Why?”

“Blood
lust would make me dangerous to you, especially during sex. I would never
forgive myself if…” He stepped towards her and brushed a wayward strand from
her face. She shivered. So sensitive. So pure. He could easily lose himself
with her.

Her
eyes narrowed and her mouth tensed. “No sex then which suits me fine since we
don’t know each other well enough anyway.”

“We
will
have sex.”

“You
just gave me your word that I get to decide and I say no sex as long as you are
drinking from that hussy. She has feelings for you. It may not be sexual to you,
but it is to her.” Her eyes blazed. “You can’t deny that the act is intimate.”

Brant
couldn’t deny it. He wanted to. The lie was on the tip of his tongue. He ground
his teeth instead of releasing it.

“Drink
from me or there will be no sex. The choice is yours.” Her eyes widened like
she was shocked at having offered her blood to him. He knew better though,
neither of them would be able to deny the attraction. Even though he had
offered her time, he knew it wouldn’t take long. They had been made for one
another.

Brant
raked a frustrated hand through his hair and strode towards his dresser. Agreeing
would place her in danger, there was no choice to be made. “I can’t.”

Brant
turned to watch her enter the room after him. Tanya closed her eyes. The
disappointment was easy to read on her face.

“Fine
by me.”

He
cursed. “You would taste too good. I don’t know if I would have enough
willpower to hold back.” Just the thought of tasting her blood made excitement
rush through his veins.

“Excuses,
excuses.” She made a noise of exasperation and walked out of his quarters.
Brant heard her door slam.

As
tempted as he was, he couldn’t do it. Her life meant everything to both him and
his coven.

Chapter 4

Tanya
paced from one side of her spacious suite to the other.
What an asshole
.

Brant
wanted to
get to know her better,
yet he expected her to turn a blind
eye every time he sank his teeth into the sexy female vampire. The brunette clearly
would do anything to get him into her bed if she hadn’t already.

She
paced faster. Chances were good that they had been lovers. Would he remain
faithful once they were mated? This wasn’t going to work for her. No freaking
way. She so didn’t want a mate, but if she had to have one then he would need
to be completely monogamous. Fangs and all.

“There
you are.” Stephany entered her room, she smiled as she walked towards Tanya.

“Listen,
I’m so sorry. I hope I didn’t dump you in the shit…”

The
other woman reached out and touched her arm. “No biggie. Brant will get over
it. I shouldn’t have said anything anyway.”

“No,
I’m so glad you did. I still know so little about the ways of your people, of
what’s expected of me.” Tanya sank down onto the edge of the bed. “I don’t know
what to do. I never expected to be here. If it were up to me, I would leave.” The
vampire people were not her own, yet she couldn’t just leave knowing that their
future survival rested on her shoulders. It irritated her but she was also drawn
to Brant in a way that scared her. It was as if their lack of knowledge of one
another didn’t matter. Like they were being brought together by unseen forces. It
was weird and it freaked her out just a little.

“Brant
is a good man. Please give him a chance. ”

“Except
he isn’t a man is he?”

“No,
he isn’t but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a successful union.” Stephany sat
next to her.

“We
can’t have much of anything if he keeps seeing Alexandra. This is so messed up.”

“I’m
sorry you had to see that”—she tilted her head—“It wasn’t…like that between
them…you do know that don’t you?”

Tanya
sighed. “Yeah, right. If it was up to Alexandra it would so be like that.” Her
jealousy felt like bugs crawling over her skin. Tanya detested the feeling yet
couldn’t manage to shake it. No matter how many times she mentally swatted,
there were plenty more vile bugs to take the place of the dead ones.

“Don’t
let her get to you. I shouldn’t tell you this, but Brant hasn’t had sex with
anyone in months. That includes Alexandra.”

Great.
Confirmation. So the two of them had some sort of a thing in the past. The bugs
crawled faster.

Stephany
must have seen or sensed her reaction because she quickly added. “It wasn’t
like that. Vampires are highly sexual. Since males are not permitted to take
humans it is accepted that all unattached males and females are free to
fornicate at will.”

“Alrighty.
I understand.”
Like hell
. Another thought entered her mind. “That means
you…”

“I’m
celibate. Brant and I have never…” She blushed. How strange. Even though Tanya
was fully aware that most known facts about vampires were myths, she shouldn’t
be so surprised at normal bodily functions. Vampires were not the undead.
Far
from it.
They were just another species. Like humans or shifters. They were
very much alive. As far as she knew, they could age. It was said that they
lived twice as long as humans though and were tough SOBs, they could be killed
but it wasn’t easy.

“What’s
with the whole blood drinking thing anyway?” So far, this seemed to be the only
semblance the species had with the myths that surrounded them.

“We
can and do partake in food and drink. The problem is that our metabolisms are
too fast to be able to consume sufficient human nutrients to survive. For
whatever reason, blood slows down our metabolic rate. We need to drink every
few days. Also, animal blood doesn’t work, it has to be vampire or human blood.”

“Oh,
so Brant will have no choice but to go back to her?” The thought of him with
the full-of-it brunette stung still. It was just so unimaginable to her how she
could so quickly feel attached to him, in a way that made her feel so much
animosity towards the other woman. Confused, she tossed around the idea of
leaving again. After all, there had to be another way to save the vampire race.
She couldn’t be the only answer for them. Maybe there was a way for Brant to
choose again? The idea hurt so badly, that she knew it was pointless to
continue these thoughts. Just thinking about it hurt like a paper cut to the
eye ball.

“He
won’t drink from you?” Stephany sounded surprised.

“No,
he says it’s too risky, that I would be in danger.”

The
blonde remained silent for a time. She seemed to be contemplating something.

“What?”
It stung that the Stephany didn’t want to confide in her any more, although she
couldn’t blame her.

She
pursed her lips, turning her sea blue eyes on Tanya. “I wouldn’t worry too much
about it. He will have to drink from you sooner or later. Be patient and do not
let Alexandra get to you. She can be a bitch.”

Tanya
laughed, feeling a ton better.

“By
the way, we’re going out this evening,” Stephany winked. “Brant wants his
people to see the future queen. I’m sure he wants to show you off. I’ll come
back later to help you get ready.”

Tanya
smiled back. Even though she knew it was pointless, her mind turned back to
thoughts of escape again. If they were going to town, then there might be an
opportunity. The real problem was that if the time came, she wasn’t sure she
could really do it.

****

Stephany’s
dress glittered under the street light. “Please remember, our drinks are pretty
much neat alcohol. Be sure to ask the bartender for something human.”

She
gasped, “Are you telling me that we’re going to a vampire club?”

Stephany
laughed, “Of course silly. Very few humans have been permitted to cross the
threshold. It’s Brant’s club. Aorta does extremely well, even members of Zane’s
coven sneak in on a regular basis.”

“Doesn’t
it cause trouble? Fights I mean.”

“Nah.
Nowadays the beef mainly exists between the kings. They seem to think the
hatred between each other is just as bad between the covens. In reality, we get
along just fine with more than our fair share of cross matings.” Tiny diamonds
twinkled at the vampire’s ears.

“Cross
mating huh? I’ll bet.” She could just imagine. “What happened to cause the
original feud?”

Stephany’s
eyes narrowed. “Oh no. Brant can tell you but make sure you catch him in a good
mood. He hates to talk about Zane on the best of days.”

Zane,
an image of the ultra sexy, extra mean vampire came to mind. Dark, haunting
eyes. Broad, muscled shoulders. Meaty thighs encased in soft leather.  Her
heart shouldn’t beat faster, but it did. He scared her shitless. So it was a
perfectly normal reaction.
Right?

A
long crimson rug stretched out from an abnormally high door. There was a queue
halfway down the block. Mostly comprising of skimpily dressed women. Tanya
looked down at her own attire. Stephany had been quite the busy bee. While
Tanya had an afternoon nap, Stephany had gone shopping on her behalf.

 She’d
picked up many outfits, from sun dresses to cocktail gowns and everything
in-between. There had even been a few sets of sexy lingerie, and in all the
right sizes.

This
dress must have cost more than everything in her own closet combined. The black
fabric fit her like it had been tailored to her frame. Normally she would never
have had the guts to attempt to pull off something so daring, but Stephany had
assured her that it looked perfect. The neckline dipped low in a scoop that
accentuated her breasts. The figure hugging fabric topped mid-thigh. At least
she had descent legs and the dress sufficiently hid her curvy hips and thighs.
High stiletto heels completed the outfit. Due to her height, Tanya had never
wore heels and had to grip Stephany’s arm for support. She had to admit though
that they looked really good on her. Making her legs look longer and leaner
than they really were.

Large
golden hoops hung from her ears. They were heavy. Tanya was beginning to
suspect that they were real. She’d have to be extra careful with them. She wouldn’t
have worn them if they hadn’t looked so darned good on her. 

The
nostrils flared on the big…vampire at the door as they approached.

He
inclined his head, “Stephany.”

“York.”
They kissed cheeks.

His
gaze settled firmly on Tanya and he visibly sniffed. “I take it this is her.
The chosen human.” 

“Yup,”
Stephany answered.

His
nostrils flared again, “Sweet.” He winked at Tanya and unclipped the rope. Complaints
erupted from behind them. The big guy growled a warning and they quietened
down.

They
moved down a long dark corridor. “Please tell me that was slang and he thinks
I’m a nice human.”

Stephany
laughed. “He was referring to the way you smell.”

“Thought
it was a bit strange, but I’m not wearing any perfume.”

“No,
silly. Your scent.”

This
whole scent thing was starting to get to her.

Stephany
whispered in her ear, “Mates choose each other in many ways, scent being one of
them.”

Oh
happy days, something she actually knew about. “Brant told me.”

“Yeah,
well humans smell…good to us vampires. Like I said earlier, it is normally
forbidden to mingle with your kind. You’ll be…attractive to our species.”

“What?”
Tanya stumbled and Stephany caught her by the elbow. The blonde led her into a
quiet corner.

“Relax.
Scent is just one part of it. Granted it’s a major part.” She rolled her eyes.
“It’s not like everyone will want to mate you, but they might want to sample
you.”

“Sample
as in…”

Stephany
flashed her fangs.

Tanya
felt her blood drain from her face. It was probably trying to run away, sensing
the impending danger. “Well they can’t.”

Stephany
laughed again, this time she threw her head back in an all-out sides heaving
chuckle. The vampire finally managed to pull herself together. “They wouldn’t
dare. You are the chosen. Brant would skin them alive. You are his.”

“Hardly.”

“He
considers you his even if you don’t. Stay close, we still shouldn’t take any chances.”

The
place was packed. Tall, lithe women and big, hard looking men being common
place. There was a large glass vat behind the bar. It looked like it had been
filled with tomato juice but Tanya knew better.  Bloody Marys in a place like
this took on a whole new meaning.

The
tiles shone like polished crystal. Everything was stainless steel, glass. Big sparkling
mirrors on all the walls. The whole club had been put together in clean,
elegant lines. The music was a transient beat and not as loud as what would
normally be expected in a club like this. Not that she’d ever been in a club
quite like this one.

Tanya
tried not to notice how people…vampires had started to stare, most in
fascination but some in hostility. It was mostly the females whose eyes narrowed,
whose fangs flashed in annoyance.
Ex bed mates of their king maybe?
  

Tanya
tried not to think about it. She scanned the crowd seeing Brant on the far side
of the room. He dominated a balcony area that overlooked the dance floor.

Hordes
of giant sized bugs crawled over her skin as she spotted the woman with him.

Alexandra
whispered something in his ear. Her hand clasped the bicep closest to her. She
wore an impossibly small white dress that show cased her athletic body to
perfection. The light stretchy fabric contrasting perfectly with her dark hair
and eyes. Brant laughed and the bugs crawled faster. Damn it, she didn’t want
this to affect her. She didn’t want to care. In a couple of days he would take
blood from the sexy brunette again and she was helpless to stop it. She didn’t
know why she even cared, seeing how she was still toying with the idea of
escaping and leaving him behind.

“Let’s
go get a drink.”

“Brant
will be looking for you,” Stephany motioned in his direction.

“I
don’t think so. If he is, he can wait.”

“Don’t
let her get to you. You also need to remember that Brant has several in his
circle that he considers friends. Alexandra is one.”

“Friends
with benefits,” Tanya mumbled.

Alexandra
whispered something, she pushed her body firmly against the impressive king. As
she did this, her eyes locked with Tanya’s. They gleamed in a self-satisfied
fashion, it felt like shards of glass were trying to push their way through her
veins.

“Jealousy
doesn’t look good on you. Men regardless of species do not like clingy, whiny
women.”

“I
don’t want to even be here, but based on what you’ve told me I don’t really
have any choice. I’m supposed to mate and make babies soon, yet I’m also
supposed to just accept that another woman is all over him like a bad rash. He
can drink from her and I mustn’t show my jealousy or react in any way?”