Faerie Godmother: Mythic Series, Book 1 (9 page)

“I’m sure he has his reasons,” Ana offered. And she was pretty sure she knew what they were.

“Yeah,” Dani agreed, “but it’s still a pain in the butt. I don’t think he’d object to a small road trip to Bransonville, though. It’s the closest thing we have to a big city around here, only about a two hour drive. We can make a day of it! I need some stuff, and it would be nice to have another girl’s opinion. We could have lunch there, maybe get our hair and nails done. What do you say?”

Dani looked so hopeful Ana didn’t have the heart to turn her down. And maybe a day away from Mythic would help her clear her head and sort out her thoughts.

“I’ll check the schedule, but I think it’s pretty light tomorrow. A couple of early morning check-ups, nothing major. As long as someone’s here to page me if an emergency comes in, it should be doable.”

Satisfied, Dani stifled a yawn and made a nest for herself on the sofa. “Awesome.”

T
here were only a few events that resulted in a blood bond between a vampire and another being. The first involved turning a human or other inferior creature into a blood slave. Vampire blood could have an intoxicating effect upon those who drank it, and if ingested often enough, was as addicting as modern day heroin or methamphetamine. In exchange for “fixes”, the blood slave agreed to some level of servitude. The longer the agreement continued, the more dependent the recipient became. As a result, the period of said indenture usually lasted for the remainder of the creature’s natural lifespan.

The second was obvious – when a vampire sired another by draining his or her blood and then replacing it with his own. That was a lifelong commitment, and one taken very seriously by his kind since their lifespan could continue indefinitely.

The first method involved no death and small exchanges of blood over an extended period of time. The second involved death and a massive exchange of blood. Neither applied in this situation.

Which left a third possibility that nearly brought him to his knees: he had met his true, fated mate.

It was such a rare occurrence that he hadn’t even considered it. In the case of true, fated mates, a dormant bond snapped into effect with only the slightest interaction and exchange of bodily fluid. It could be something as simple as a kiss... or the single bite of a vampire upon the one the Fates had chosen for him and him alone.

It was a staggering thought. After five centuries, was it possible he had finally crossed paths with the one who would complete him? Or was this, like his temporary return to mortality, some kind of cruel trick?

He briefly considered sending Kristoff, Jason, or Zarek to her as a precautionary test. If one of them bit her and experienced the same strange phenomenon he had, he rationalized, then he would know that something unnatural and devious was afoot. He nixed that idea almost immediately. Just the thought of another male partaking of Ana filled him with a surge of possessive rage.

One thing was certain: Vlane
would
find out, and sooner rather than later. With that in mind, he set off to find his ancient friend and trusted advisor. If there was anyone familiar with the rare phenomenon of fated mates, it would be Armand.

––––––––

V
lane had been trying to “reach” Ana all day. He sent out discreet, tiny pulses, not wanting to alarm her unnecessarily or alert her to his presence. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed she could hear him, but was able to erect some kind of barrier that prevented him from hearing her.

He had never heard of such a thing, but then again, he had never come across a creature like her before, either. He had no idea what she was capable of, beyond the ability to make him human, that was. He decided his best strategy was to attempt to make a connection with her while she was sleeping, when she was most vulnerable. Her resistance would be at its weakest, and he might be able to push into her mind.

He was in his private suite, atop the ridiculously large bed when he was finally able to achieve a connection. With his hands folded over his abdomen, he closed his eyes and focused his power, gently reaching out to her. Almost immediately, images assaulted him. His cock grew hard and heavy, and his normally-dormant heart began to stutter erratically. He had made it past her impressive mental shields and into her mind and she was having erotic dreams.

Of him.

And her.

Together
.

He could see the images in vivid detail; as one, his senses grabbed onto them and took on a life of their own. In her dream, he covered her body with his own, pounding into her with deliberate purpose and intention. He
felt
her tight sheath strangling his cock.
Tasted
the sweet flesh of her generous breasts. Filled his lungs with her fresh, living scent made stronger by the heat of her arousal. Heard the breathy, guttural moans rising up from within the deepest parts of her soul.

He moved deeper. Harder. Faster. The
need
to be inside her was all-consuming.

It still wasn’t enough. He lifted his head as her body bucked and seized beneath him in yet another explosive release, knowing if he drank of her now, her blood would have the potency of a star turning supernova. His fangs extended, his head reared back, and he struck with the speed of a cobra, burying his fangs in her neck as he buried his cock deep in her channel, filling her with his seed while taking her life’s blood into him.

Ana
, he moaned, draining her as she drained him.

* * *

A
na woke with a start, shooting into an upright, sitting position. She was covered in sweat, her hair plastered to her face and neck. Gasping for breath, body shaking, her hand went to her belly where an explosive tingling was still radiating through her core. Only after several deep, cleansing breaths did it begin to subside.

She had become somewhat accustomed to the erotic dreams, but they had never been like
that
. So real. So vivid. She was pretty certain she actually orgasmed.

Ana
. She heard the voice in her head, a sensual moan that intensified the lingering tingles.
Come to me, Ana
.

No!
She answered reflexively. Her heart continued to pound; her head swam, dazed and confused by the unusually intense sensations.

You must. You belong to me, little Ana. Come, and I will show you the reality of your dreams.

No! Leave me alone.

A quiet, determined, and very male chuckle suffused with power echoed in her mind.
Never...

Ana slammed down her mental walls, cutting him off. She got out of bed, tossed off her sweat-soaked nightclothes, and pulled a cool, dry nightshirt over her head.

He knew who she was. And he knew about the connection.

What the hell was she going to do now?

* * *

V
lane was shaken. He opened his eyes after the little vixen so thoroughly shut him out, aghast that he had just ejaculated all over himself. Her dream had been so real, so vivid, it had actually brought him to completion.
The last time he’d had a wet dream
, he thought wryly as he got up to clean himself,
was about five hundred years ago, when he had been a twelve year old human boy
.

It was every bit as humiliating now as it had been then.

But it hadn’t been for nothing. Now, he knew for certain he had unknowingly created a bond with her that night. It wasn’t a very strong bond, though. She had been able to shut him out easily enough once she realized what was happening. Only a drop or two of his venom must have been released before he lost consciousness. Either that, or she was far more powerful than he had given her credit for.

It didn’t matter. Weak or not, there
was
a bond between them. And, he thought, as he continued to wipe his abdomen, his copious disgrace illustrated one very important fact: he had to have her.

“A
na? What are you doing?” Dani asked sleepily with a yawn as she padded into the kitchen.

“Getting some warm milk. I’m sorry I woke you.”

“S’okay. Weres are notoriously light sleepers. Can’t sleep, huh?”

Ana shook her head.

“It’s your body trying to tell you something, you know. You should listen. Hook-up with my brother. It’ll get him off the rag and he’ll have you so exhausted, you’ll sleep for days.”

Ana sighed, pulling the milk out of the microwave and stirring in some vanilla and sugar. A few residual tingles sparked up occasionally, but mostly, she just felt spent. Is this what it would be like if she gave in to her body’s lustful urges? If not for the whole terrifying I’ve-bonded-with-a-vampire mental aspect, it might not be so bad. Then again, Dani wasn’t talking about Vlane Masterson. Things would be even more complicated with Matt.

She handed the mug to Dani and began to make another for herself. “I don’t think it’s that simple, Dani.”

“Sure it is. He’s a male. You’re a female. You’re both obviously hot and bothered by each other. What’s the problem?”

“He said something about marking me.”

Dani’s eyes grew big. “Wow. Are you sure?”

Ana nodded. She didn’t know much about the process, but she was pretty sure it went way beyond conversion or even sex. Marking had to do with ownership, and that was some serious stuff. Granted, it would provide a means of protection against the scary vampire haunting her dreams (no matter how erotic they were, he still terrified her), but that was no basis for a
marking.
And as much as she liked Matt and found him incredibly attractive, she just wasn’t ready for that.

Besides, how could she allow one man to mark her while she consistently dreamt of another?

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you going to let him?”

Ana shook her head.

“Why not? I’m mean, you like him, don’t you?”

“Yes, very much. But I’m not ready for that level of commitment, and I’m not convinced he’d be doing it for the right reasons.”

Dani thought about this, her youthful brow drawn into the slightest of furrows. “You think it’s some misplaced sense of gratitude for what you did for me?”

“Maybe.” It could be that, but it could be many things. Ana had considered them all, time and time again. The reasons covered a wide spectrum of possibilities, the most harmless being a mutual, physical attraction clamoring for completion. Another suggested she was nothing more than a pawn in an ancient pissing contest between the two races (she blamed that paranormal romance for breathing life into that particular idea).

The worst embraced her biggest fear: Matt wanted her for reasons that had everything to do with her unique abilities and nothing to do with
her
. She didn’t want to believe Matt was capable of such a thing; in fact, he had never given any kind of indication he was anything but honest about his feelings, but Ana had seen too much “unintentional” greed to completely stifle the niggling doubt.

“There’s more to it, though, isn’t there?” Dani said, wrenching her back from her wandering thoughts. “You haven’t told me everything.”

“No,” Ana admitted wearily. In her current state, she didn’t have the strength to craft a clever, misdirecting response. Nor could she deny it outright, either, because of that pesky inability to lie. The past two weeks had taken their toll. After hardly being able to sleep or eat, constantly battling against feelings and needs she had no idea how to fight, Ana was desperately tired, both mentally and physically. “Something happened. The night of the masquerade ball.”

“I knew it! You’ve been acting weird since you went. Come on, sister. Spill it.”

Ana bit her lip and shook her head. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” She already regretted telling Matt. Not that he had abused her confidence in any way, but it had changed something between them.

It always did
, she thought sadly. No matter how much anyone said it didn’t matter, having that kind of knowledge changed the way you looked at things. Whoever had said ignorance was bliss was wise beyond words.

“Like I’m giving you a choice.” Dani let a low warning growl escape.

Even though she believed Dani would never intentionally hurt her, Ana couldn’t fully suppress the deep-seated, instinctual warning to flee. Yes, Dani was a young, beautiful woman Ana counted among her limited friends, but she was also a very deadly, very capable predator. Ana would do well to remember that.

“You know I have a whole drawer full of tranquilizing darts in the next room, don’t you?” Ana asked, only half-joking. She just wasn’t sure whether it would be better to use them on Dani or herself.

“Just try to make a run for it. See how far you get.”

For some bizarre reason she might never understand, Ana did just that. She swiveled on the counter stool and hit the ground running. She barely made it out of the room before a solid weight of sleek muscle and fur hit her, pushing her onto the couch. In her wolf form, Dani sat her haunches on the backs of Ana’s legs and used her forepaws to press down upon her shoulder blades. Then, Ana felt the rasp of Dani’s tongue along the back of her arm.

Ana laughed into the sofa cushions. Dani’s tongue tickled. “Okay, okay. You win. I give.”

A heartbeat later, Dani’s long, bronzed legs were straddling Ana’s back and she was laughing. “Damn, Ana. You
do
taste good. Salty, but sweet. No wonder all the males want to lick you.”

“Get off!” Ana laughed, trying to buck under Dani’s solid weight. Dani slid off and allowed Ana to sit up. The she-wolf smoothed her hair, doing nothing to conceal the smug, triumphant gleam in her eye.

“You really are a bitch, Dani,” Ana said, smiling.

“And don’t you forget it.” The young Were smirked. “Now, come on. You can tell me what’s got your panties in a twist in the kitchen. I’m starving.”

“Okay. I’ll tell you. But it goes no farther, agreed?”

Dani thought for a moment. “As long as what you tell me doesn’t hurt my brother, I agree.”