Dark War Chronicles Box Set One (38 page)

Almost too soon, he pulled out and shoved into her again. Renee cried out, the pleasure already building within her. Coran kissed her, swallowing her next cry while he moved in and out of her. She dug her nails into his biceps and he snaked one hand over her stomach and between her legs. There his finger found the most delightful nub between the tender wet folds. He stroked it with the same rhythm as his thrusts.

A curling sensation started deep in her belly and tingles rose from her toes, up her legs. She clawed his arms and her back arched as the orgasm started to build. Coran kissed up her neck and growled in her ear. "That's right mate, come for me." He nipped at her ear again and with one last thrust, pushed her over the brink.

Her back tried arching more as her hips pushed against him. Muscles clenched around his cock, drawing him further in, milking him of the seed he shot deep in her. She wrapped her arms around him, crying out when the ecstasy caused her to see starbursts and her limbs became numb. Coran echoed her cries as he found his release, collapsing next to her.

Each muscle took its turn relaxing as feeling came back to her body. Her breathing was still uneven when she rolled to her side to face Coran. "That was amazing." A small laugh bubbled out of her throat.

Coran brushed her cheek and grinned at her. "I'm glad you think so. It's official now. We're mated." He drew her closer and gave her a slow, lingering kiss.

When their lips parted she closed her eyes, concentrating on the calmness flowing through her. She opened her eyes and saw the shadow of his wolf lying behind him. The wolf opened one eye and seemed to grin before he settled back into his contented state. Renee curled up against Coran, laying her head on his chest and falling asleep to the sound of his heart.

Lucius led Tegan to her room and sat her on the bed. His blood boiled with the thought of Markus taking his human's blood. It was all he could do not to hunt the vampire down.

"I'm fine." Tegan muttered. "I can feel your tension, you need to calm down."

"He fed from you." Lucius couldn't keep the anger out of his voice. "The laws state that no one can harm you because you are bound."

Her hand went up and touched the bite. "But feeding isn't considered harm."

"It is for you." He snapped and she flinched. "Tegan, he shouldn't have been that close to you. Why did you attack him?" Being fed from was close to torture for her and he knew it. That's why he rarely fed from her. To let Markus or any other vampire for that matter close enough was unheard of for Tegan.

Tegan swallowed. "He wants to raise the Father. I lost it. He's in our territory, harming and threatening our people all for the sake of raising that monster!"

He could feel her anger rolling through him and he took her hand. "That won't happen. I won't allow it. Renee will remain with us, without her there's no way to open the Father's tomb."

The anger quickly gave way to fear. "I can't go back to that monster. I can't return to the Circle. I know I shouldn't have attacked Markus, but instinct kicked in. He's going to try and use that against us."

"No, he won't. That means he'd have to admit to being in our territory without permission or negotiations. It will make him seem like the weak one and the one going against Circle orders. My only wish is that you got a good hit in." He chuckled and cupped her cheek. "Don't worry, Tegan, I won't let him get you."

A knock on the door made them both jump and Tegan let out a frustrated noise when Lucius left her side. He opened the door to find Kassity standing on the other side. "What?" He snapped.

Her eyes flashed to him then to Tegan on the bed behind him. "Am I interrupting?"

"We're having a bonding moment." He let her decide how to interpreted that. "Can I help you?"

Kassity stepped in and handed him an envelope. "I was handed this at the bar. A vampire by the name of—"

"Markus." Both Lucius and Tegan stated.

"Yes," Kassity's gaze darted between them. "He gave it to me and wanted to make sure I delivered it to you. It was at The Corner, so a safe zone. Other than him threatening to pull my cat out of me, there were no actual threats of injury."

Lucius raised a brow. "You took that as an idle threat?"

"He's lying. Where I can feel the power in you, I couldn't feel it in him." She shrugged. "It got my attention as it was meant to, I don't think he caught on to me knowing he was lying."

"That's my girl." Lucius laughed, glancing over his shoulder. Tegan fell back on the bed with a sigh. He stepped out of the room with Kassity. "How did your latest kill go?"

The panther tensed and wouldn't meet his gaze. She was the strongest he had other than Coran, but there would be no stripping the wolf of his control. "Fine, he's dead. That leaves us with one more political person in our area."

"Good, Jaxon is off for the evening, why don't you go spend some time with your mate." He hated to admit that letting the two panthers mate had been a good idea, but it had worked to his advantage. "Oh and Kassity, any sign of your immortal mark yet?"

She snorted. "I thought you gave up on that."

"Never, to have two immortals by my side would be perfect." He grinned and she shook her head.

"Nope, no sign yet." She sauntered off and he walked back in the room.

Tegan curled on to her side with her back to the door. "What does the letter say?"

Lucius opened the envelope and pulled out the handwritten note. "I, Markus DeGreco of the Vampire Circle, order of the Originals, formally request a meeting with Lucius DeBeau, not of the Circle or sired from the Originals." Tegan snorted at the insult, but Lucius went on. "Regarding suspicion of betraying the Circle and devising a plot to raise the Father. I shall appear a week from now, the night before the full moon, and we shall discuss what actions the Circle wishes to take."

Tegan shot up from the bed. "He's trying to accuse you of it?"

"Calm down, Tegan." Lucius folded the letter up. His own anger swam to the surface, but he forced it back down. Normally she kept him calm, but clearly the matter of Markus coming ruffled her feathers. "We will deal with this. He has no proof and the Circle looks insane if they are backing him in it."

Tegan took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm sorry."

"You have to trust me, Tegan. I know it's hard, but you must trust me to do what is best." He stuck the envelope in his back pocket. "I'll return with food for you later, unless you wish to venture to the kitchen blind."

"I've managed. Maybe I'll go walk in the woods."

He glared at her and she must have sensed his unease. "I kid." She muttered and fell back on the bed again. "I hate this."

He left it at that and walked out to start preparing for Markus' visit.

Coran reclined in the bathtub with Renee in his arms. The hot water had created a mist of steam in the bathroom, creating the illusion of being closed off from the world. He traced small patterns on Renee’s arms, lost in thought at how the last couple of hours had changed his life. Changed him. His beast lay contently dozing inside of him, perfectly happy with the mating and with Coran no longer fighting what fate had handed them. Coran shook his head and smirked. He should have taken her when he first knew she was his mate.

Renee turned in his arms so that she was facing him. The hot water had brought the color out in her cheeks. He really did love the way she blushed. She had a look of contentment and peace to match his. Her hazel eyes searched his for a moment. "How did you know I was your fated mate?"

He touched her cheek and watched her nuzzle his hand. "You know the feeling that runs through you with my touch? That sense of calm, no matter the storm in front of you?" She nodded and he continued. "You do that for my wolf and me, we both calm at your touch. I could be in the heart of torture and your touch would let me know that everything would be fine."

"Amazing, humans really don't have anything like that. Sure, some of them believe in soul mates, but this goes beyond that."

He chuckled. "I come from a time when love had very little to do with it, but even then people believed in soul mates."

"Why did you come to America?" She asked, running her fingertips over his tattoo.

He frowned and remembered the reason he’d left his home. "I first went to England. Because of a famine, my family had died of starvation so I had to seek a new home, a new pack, and I heard that England had plenty of willing packs. I bounced around for a while. I was a killer for one pack, and a bodyguard to an alpha for a different pack. Then I met Trisha and Tegan, and of course Lucius. Orion wasn't around then. After the Circle killed Trisha and almost killed Tegan, Lucius thought it wise to move away from the Circle and strike out on his own while they were allowing it. So I went with him." He shrugged. "Here we are."

"It had to have been fascinating seeing all those centuries." She gave a small sigh and leaned back into him so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

His body stirred in this position, his cock growing hard with her back pressed against him. He slid his hands down to her hips. "Yes, but I'm done talking about the past. I want to focus on my future." He growled in her ear, nipping at it. "On my mate."

Chapter Fourteen

Coran paced the foyer, waiting for Renee to return from class. With it being Tegan's turn to guard Renee he couldn't help but be nervous. A crackle of energy went down his back and he turned to find Lucius standing there. "What?"

"So you mated." Lucius crossed his arms.

Coran nodded. "Yeah, the night that she came back from the hospital. I'm surprised you didn't hound me then."

"You’ve been locked in a room for the last couple days and I've had other things on my plate, like playing politics with the Circle."

Coran froze. "Markus is coming." He made it a statement, knowing Markus acted as the main spokesperson for the Circle.

"Yes, I've made arrangements so that they cannot touch any of my people. I will keep everyone safe and since you mated Renee, regardless of if she’s under my protection, she is safe. That's my bargaining chip." Lucius gave a wicked smile. "And Renee has a nifty talent that will be useful."

Coran nodded, thinking back to their conversation about her ability to see the shadows and how she thought it was much better to see his wolf in real form. "And her training with Tegan is going well." Those words warmed his heart; his woman really knew her blades and stances now.

"Tegan is happy to have someone around." Lucius' face softened. "She's much happier now."

Coran raised a brow. "You know, if you'd let her date—"

"Out of the question. She is my human and cannot afford any such weakness." He grumbled. "Speaking of mates, did you talk to Renee about being changed?"

He nodded. "She values her humanity, so she doesn't wish to be changed."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"I just want her happy. If she's happy as a human fine. If she changes her mind we'll figure it out." Coran shrugged and rubbed his chest when a small pinch hit his heart at the thought of watching her die.

"When is she due back?"

Coran snorted. "She's making up finals, apparently your guess is as good as mine." His head shot up when the door open. "They're back."

Lucius motioned to the doorway and Coran loped out of the foyer, skidding down the hall, coming to a stop in front of the girls.

Tegan shook her head and pushed past Coran. He frowned and looked at Renee. "Bad day on campus?"

"She's upset about the meeting." Renee dropped her bag by the door. "You've been pacing this whole time, haven't you?"

"Maybe." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, kissing her. "I don't like it when you're away from me."

She beamed up at him and pulled away, walking into the great room. "Things have been quiet this past week. I think everything is fine."

"That's the way things work in this world, always calm before the storm." Coran put a hand on her waist to guide her to the hall. "Tegan must have run off to her room."

"Well the meeting is tonight, so I can only assume she has to get ready." Renee glanced up at him and he blinked down at her. "You didn't know it was tonight?"

He shook his head. "No, Lucius forgot to mention that to me."

Lucius cleared his throat. "That being said Coran, the wolves are in human form tonight, the panthers will be shifted. Go get ready. Renee." He smiled and held his hand out to her. "We need to talk before the meeting."

Coran kissed her forehead. "It's fine, I promise. Go talk to him and I'll be back once I'm dressed."  He forced himself to leave the room and leave her unprotected with Lucius.

Renee fiddled with her hands, trying not to let her nerves show. Being alone with Lucius proved to be rare, like Coran was afraid Lucius would hurt her. "What do we need to discuss?"

"You need to understand what is expected tonight." He turned his back on her and sat on the throne. "You are to be silent, no matter what is said to you. You are now part of my territory, which means what I say goes. You are one of my people. That being said, I do not leave my people defenseless and I do not purposely harm them, but I am not above punishment. You're human, so really it's more like grounding."

She snorted. "I'm twenty-seven and you want to ground me?"

"Something like that." He chuckled. "Tegan will continue to teach you self-defense. As for your other talent, I will help you train and hone it. Shifters have beasts, Fae have wings, witches have auras, and so much more. You will learn to tell each apart and when someone comes into my land claiming they are human you will be there to tell me otherwise."

Nodding, she took a second to digest what he said. "What about the human part of my life?"

"You go about that how you want. You and Coran are mated, what he says goes when it comes to life outside of here."

She raised a brow but left it there. "Okay, so out of my old place, into the townhome and occasionally here. Got it. Online classes are looking better and better."

"One other thing." Lucius crossed his arms. "I take that back, two other things. One, if you ever change your mind about your mortality, all you have to do is ask."