A Vampire To Watch Over Me [Vampire Coven Book II] (6 page)

Honor would not sit idly by and become prey. Talek hadn’t come; he had promised her father he would keep her safe. It was a vow of convenience he forgot when he chose. Another
man
law that made no sense and could be broken by a man.

Dylan moved closer and tossed the waist high hide partition against the cave wall smashing it. There was a large stick poking out from the fire, Honor took hold of it and stood. All but Dylan averted his eyes to her nude body. If she was going to be tried and treated as a traitor then so be it. Honor had never gotten a good look at herself naked. She was curious.

“What part of me do you find the most threatening?” she taunted. “Is it my round boobs? I can’t hurl them as missiles, idiots. The nipples—oh my yes, they could poke out an eye. Is it my ass?” she wiggled her hips and the others who had averted their eyes were now looking at her in a strange way. She squished her ass cheeks tight. “Now there is some heavy duty crushing power.”

Dylan’s expression was thunderous. No doubt he had been expecting her to cower and beg for her life after being out in the elements. Honor was too angry; she had done nothing wrong. Another man had stripped her and ruined her clothes. As Dylan and his pack moved in on her, she swung her weapon back and forth. The tip of the stick was covered in embers that came to life as air swished against it; the smell of smoke invaded her nostrils as tendrils rose. To Honor it looked like it was breathing fire.

“I wonder, Dylan, do you have hair down there too? On no man’s land? Or should we call a cock no woman’s land under the circumstances?”

“Would you like to see for yourself?” he taunted back.

That came as a shock to her, but she recovered. “Yes, I would. I’d like to set it on fire and roast your weenie.”

Another step and Dylan would be in arms reach. She poked at him and he wrestled the stick away. He tossed it into the smoldering fire and grinned, his look evil. Honor balled her fists as Dylan lunged for her. He never made it closer. His scream of terror was cut short when Laken grabbed him by the throat and squeezed until Dylan’s eyes bulged and his face went from red to an odd darker color.

“Trying to harm a breeder female is treason,” Laken ground out. “Punishable by death.”

Honor had never seen such power in one man. With his furs Dylan looked bigger and bulkier than Laken but there was no doubt in her mind Dylan was at his mercy. Massive biceps flexed as Laken growled, making every hair of hers stand on end. Honor heard a snap and when Laken released him, Dylan lay in a broken heap at Laken’s feet. His wide-eyed, terror-filled gaze stared past her. Honor felt her mouth drop open when Laken turned to assess her. Laken’s eyes were the purest snowy glowing white—like two shining moons. Two fangs hung from the top of either side of his mouth. It was true, there were such things as vampires; Honor was looking at one, and this vampire was furious.

The other men raced from the cave, howling in terror, pushing at each other to escape. Laken plucked Dylan from the ground and dragged him away in one fist. He was going after the others. Honor knew each time Laken caught up with one. Their screams would haunt her until her dying day. Honor began to shake, goose bumps covered her body. She was trapped. If she ran, her feet would be frozen after a few steps—cut to pieces by ice. Her entire body was in pain from her battle with Dylan and her falls. Her heart was racing as she pondered her dilemma. She could hear the pitiful whimpering coming from her throat and couldn’t for the life of her stop the sound.

Laken returned; he stood in the opening of the cave staring at her. His mouth was covered in blood, his fangs had retreated. His breath was fast, his broad chest heaved; his eyes were once again a normal blue. For the first time, she noticed his strange attire. The bare flesh of his arms was so unusual to her. She knew what muscle was—knew the word. But seeing it…. The material covering his legs was like a second skin. Everything she saw was all him, nothing hidden—not even the man bulge of his huge cock pressed against the apex of his massive thighs.

Why hadn’t she seen how powerful this man was? She had been too busy being belligerent. Honor wasn’t certain what to do, she couldn’t run and so she sat. She pulled the furs around her violently shivering body. If Laken had wanted her dead he could have killed her last night. What had he said to Dylan? Breeder female? She had been warned vampires would not only feed off her, they would force her to have children who would be fed off.

What had she done?

The ice-dwellers’ laws were unfair, but now four hunters were dead. When food was scarce it was the women who suffered. Honor couldn’t go back; the other women still wouldn’t be allowed to hunt. She had changed nothing. Sacrificing her home for principles had to mean something.

Laken was still staring at her and moving closer. He looked like a normal man. He squatted before her, his look was gentle. Honor couldn’t stop staring at the blood on his lips and teeth. Laken seemed to take notice she was mesmerized and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.

“You must never lie to me, little spitfire.”

“Why would I lie?” she asked curious. That was the farthest thing from her thoughts. She was still trying to wrap her head around a man with fangs and white eyes.

“Did any of those men ever touch you in your dwelling?”

“Dylan. The first man you killed.”

Laken dropped his head then once more stared at her. “Is that why you ran? How often did he harm you?”

“Whenever Talek looked the other way.”

“Talek?”

“Leader of our clan. He was supposed to protect me; he didn’t do a very good job. My father saved his life—Talek has no idea what honor is.”

Laken raised his hand and Honor shied away, it was habit. She then batted at the offending hand.

“I will never harm you.”

Honor felt a bit confused. “Men only touch to hurt. Other touching is forbidden.”

“Not in my world.”

The whites of Laken’s eyes began to shine again. Honor was compelled to look. It was fascinating and frightening and seemed to draw her into him.

Sleep now.

“Yes,” she was compelled to say. She couldn’t help herself.

You are warm.

“Yes.” She did feel warm, it was so wonderful. Heat crept across her belly to pleasantly bombard her insides.

You will awaken when I command. You will not be afraid. You will be obedient—and desist with all the swearing.

Honor blinked. The warmth stopped flowing through her body and she gritted her teeth against the cold. Her eyes narrowed. No one was going to tell her what to do, not man nor beast nor man-beast.

“Fuck you.”

* * * *

Laken sat back on his heels, startled. A resister? But he knew he had her for a few moments. She had been in his thoughts—feeling warm and safe. What the hell happened? Laken stared harder. She needed to listen or it would be a long—frightening, fly back.

“Honor this is not up for debate. There is another blizzard outside, more of the ice dwellers may come for you. You must not resist.”

She glared at him, but there was something else in those big brown eyes of hers. She looked wounded. As though he had misplaced a fleeting trust. Laken thought about it. She had listened when he asked for simple things. Then he had commanded obedience.

Hmmm.

Honor pulled back for a second when he cupped her face between his palms. She then stubbornly held still as though saying she wasn’t afraid when he heard her heartbeat quicken. She must be terrified. Being alone and nude with a man was one thing, but being at the mercy of a vampire was another.

I won’t hurt you.

“Why should I believe you?”

It was a good sign she could hear him in her thoughts. He did have some control. How much remained to be seen.

Trust me.

“Men and trust do not belong in the same sentence.”

Laken sighed. “Where I come from is very far. To keep you safe I need you to listen. It isn’t to control you. You need to stay warm—you need to feel secure and not struggle the entire way. Honor, I don’t want to frighten you, but I won’t risk your life. Either give yourself to me—or you won’t like the consequences.”

Honor looked past him to the mouth of the cave. She was sad when she looked back, but her words were harsh.

“You’ll bite me. You’ll take enough blood to make me complacent. I’ve heard the rumors. What’s the difference between this wasteland and another? Just kill me. I’m sick of all of it. Life is so cold. Everything is just too damned cold, even emotion.”

“Where I come from is warm.” Her response gave Laken a flicker of hope. “Would you like to see trees? I can show you a new world.”

“If I obey.”

Stubborn little spitfire.

“I will give simple requests. No orders, I swear it.”

The fire was dying down and Honor was shivering. Her jaw was quivering so hard her teeth clacked together. He knew she was weakening. She needed warmth and food now. She was dehydrating right in front of him—there was a smell blood emanated when the occurrence happened—not unlike the scent of the blistering heat of a dry desert. Laken could wait no longer. Her life would soon be in danger because he would be unable to heat more snow for drinking water. He had no food for her; he had almost run out of wood. He could find more but simply finding the few pieces he needed had almost cost her her life. It had been too close. He didn’t regret killing any of the men. They had come to kill her—Tavish would have slaughtered them. His laws were not to be broken.

Laken’s grip tightened on her, he wouldn’t need to take much blood. Honor looked spooked. She clamped her teeth together as her eyes filled with unshed tears. She tried so hard to be strong. His sympathy for her was overpowering. His little Nanya had hated to cry too. Hardening his gaze Laken tried one last time.

You are warm.

“Yes.”

He had her again.
You are safe.

“Yes.”

Sleep. You will awake when I comman…ask. You will wake when I ask.

For a second she struggled. He refused to release her gaze, her exhaustion was complete. Then finally she relaxed. “Yes.” Laken breathed a sigh of relief when she fell forward into his arms.

Laken wrapped her in three large furs. Male polar bear blood was a favorite feast of Ursus’. Laken was grateful to the huge beast. The meat was always welcome at the coven and the fur was warm. Honor was pulled tight to his chest when he emerged from the cave. Laken could still smell the scent of blood in the air. He gazed down at the lumpy bundle of fur in his arms. He wondered how many females in her tribe were being persecuted. Once Laken reached home, he knew Tavish would waste no time. Tavish would gather at least ten men and track the human males’ scent back to their ice dwelling.

Laken knew once he explained the circumstances of her capture, the human men would be killed. Tavish wouldn’t risk making any into breeder males. Laken took to the sky. With the blood of three human males to fortify him, he was feeling very strong. It had been a long time since he had gorged. He was feeling full of himself and his power. Honor moaned and Laken checked his grip on her. He wouldn’t want to accidently crush a bone. She was small but healthy with nice rounded curves. Ice dwellers—especially the females, did little in the way of exertion. Not exactly plump, Laken preferred voluptuous.

While flying, Laken was planning. Honor fought commands, but there was more than one way to skin a cat. In no time, she would do as he ‘asked.’ The idea made Laken chuckle. Over the vast barren land he traversed. The world had been thrown back into an ice age at the tail end of the twenty first century. Tavish had been born at the tail end of the last ice age and saw the signs. So much for global warming.

Mother Nature had taken her domain back into her control to cleanse it. At sixteen thousand years old, Laken had been privy to a great deal of change. He had witnessed animal extinction—the worst being the mammoths. He had witnessed the birth of new animals, evolution—as once more mammoth hybrids were re-introduced. Having conquered the revitalizing of the great mammoths, human scientists had done a great deal of animal experimenting before the world changed. When too much change was introduced too fast there was mass panic.

The human race found it too hard to adapt to so many sudden alterations in the environment. When an electromagnetic pulse hit, knocking power from the Earth, many panicked and died. Many more committed suicide as job losses were in the billions. It was easy for humans in the modern age to adapt to advancing technology, but almost impossible for them to regress. The idea was foreign to most who had relied on the computer era. All but two and a half of Tavish’s vampires was thousands of years old. They thrived in any environment as long as there was blood. It was then Tavish had gotten his idea to create a vampire utopia. Laken and Tavish had worked side by side on the coven they called home.

The brethren of Tavish was the largest vampire coven in the world. The home near the equator had been groomed for centuries. Over two hundred humans had found sanctuary there. Many had been born there. They grew up with Tavish’s laws—they knew of no other. In Laken’s mind, the laws were just. It was how human and vampires could survive and co-exist. Laken looked down at his new female charge. He would keep her and tell Tavish to find the baby boy another protector.

Something told Laken that Honor was going to be a handful. She hated laws. So much so that she was willing to die instead of following orders. That could prove troublesome. No doubt Tavish’s laws would be confusing. In their coven, females must be bred. In the old days, there had been pain and suffering with the rule until Tavish incorporated amendments to go with the law. No man was allowed to force or harm a woman in any way, shape or form.

Human females were taught of their importance. Groomed from birth. Without them, both vampire and human would die. Breeder males were taught to be gentle and caring. The more gentle they were, the more females found them acceptable. The males made their own contest to see how many breeder females would choose them. It was ultimately the woman’s choice. The men didn’t feel inferior—only Tavish’s best were chosen. They could puff with pride at their accomplishments. They too, were important to survival. If the human males were undesirable, there would be no mating. The breeder males made certain they were not only desirable, as they strove to make their appearances powerful and healthy, but found it amusing that, on many occasions, the females would seek them out.