Take Me (22 page)

“Of course he has the
were
support of the council. What he needs is Edgard and Philips’ vote if he wants to get elected.”

Zeke smiled showing a mouth of sharp, white teeth. “Philips is lost to you, Blackmoore. You’ll stand by as I take this race.”

Dominic didn’t let his shock show. “Don’t underestimate me, Zeke.”

Zeke’s eyes glittered, glowing like an animal's. “It’s you who underestimates.”

Gioni tried to lure Zeke into a question of what kind of reforms Zeke would implement if elected, but Zeke ignored him and ran out onto the balcony as if he’d been commanded. Gioni’s question trailed off in surprise as Zeke leapt off the terrace and transformed in mid-air. He ran off in beast form without so much as a goodbye to the very people he wanted to vote for him.

“Show off,” Dom muttered. That got a few polite laughs around him. “The man is not right in the head,” he said to the group.

“Not entirely,” agreed Gioni. “But has made a few good points about trying to join the separated
were
packs.”

“What he wants would cause chaos and that’s just what he’s told us about his plans. Who knows what trickery he has in his mind? I don’t trust him. I thought you preferred old values, Gioni.” Dom could feel his anger coming up again.

Gioni shrugged. “Sometimes change is good.”

Dom ground his jaw but politely asked, “Since when?”

Gioni ignored his question. “So this is the lovely Lady Julianna Greenwich. I believe we met at an art opening sixteen years back.”

Julianna and he murmured pleasantly, reminiscing about some stupid painter Dom had never heard of. Dom excused himself and made his way to Philips. Philips and Edgar had been sitting on the vampire’s side of the council since it began. They were both well liked and considered pleasantly fair and neutral to the rights of vampires and
weres
, which is how they kept getting re-elected.

The alliance between
weres
and vampires worked because of their government. Two vampires represented the vampires, two
weres
represented the
weres
and the president sat as a neutral party between them. Yet, since they started this government some seven hundred years ago only a vampire had ever held the presidential seat.

Vampires and
weres
got together on Election Day and cast their votes for their leaders. It was up to the vampire and
were
leaders, like Philips to cast the deciding vote based off the popular vote. It was a democratic system, and Philips has promised Dominic his allegiance.

Dom caught Philips’ gaze and watched the older vampire’s eyes flicker with alarm. Philips was not much older than Dom and had been raised the life of a dandy. He knew Dom could take him, and Dom knew it too. That’s why, as he spotted Dom, he made quick regrets to the group he spoke with and slipped down a darkened hallway. Dom followed him, catching his sweet scent of red wine.

Dom followed him, closed the door behind him, caught Philips by his neck, and slammed him back against it. He squeezed the man’s throat for good measure.

“What is this I hear of you siding with Zeke?”

Philips gasped as his hands latched onto Dom’s wrist. “That is none of your business, Dominic. I am a neutral party.”

Dominic growled, his fangs threatening to emerge with the urge to drain the man dry. “It is very much my concern, Philips. What has he bartered with?” That was the only way Zeke could have swayed Philips.

Philips licked his reddening lips. “See here I haven’t made any final decisions yet. He just offered me...” Philips cheeks flushed.

“What did he offer you?” He tightened his hand and loved the give of skin and tendons beneath his hand.

He cheeks turned even redder. “I-I can’t say.”

“The hell you can’t.” Dominic pulled him back and slammed his head into the door with a resounding crack. “Tell me now.”

Philips looked at a point over Dom’s shoulder. “He-he agreed to support a new...amendment.”

“An amendment to what?” growled Dominic.

“Mating laws.”

Dominic pulled back with a frown. “Since when do you have a concern with mating laws?”

The vampire definitely wasn’t turning red from lack of air but embarrassment. “Since I fell in love...with a man.”

Slowly, Dominic released the man’s throat. He fell to his knees, gasping. “Why didn’t you come to me with this?”

Philips looked up at him. “You are too much like your father. I asked him for mating reform too and he denied it.”

Dominic didn’t give a shit if Philips wanted to mate with a man. “I swear to push forth the amendment, and I will get it passed if you give me your vote.”

Philips looked unsure. “I have the word of the
were
already. However, I cannot make a promise to either of you. I must stay neutral but I will take your vow into consideration.”

Dominic slammed his fist into the door by Philip’s head. Philips flinched and cried out. “I am offering the same thing. Give me your promise.”

“Y-yes, but I will not be swayed by strength. It is time for change, Dominic. If you can’t be the one to make those changes then my vote, and the vote of the people under me, goes to Zeke.”

“You’ll regret this.”

Dominic slammed out of the room. He didn’t waste any time in grabbing Julianna and dragging her from the room. Faces turned to them with curious eyes but they didn’t dare to ask questions. Only after he had them both stuffed in the car did the tension in his shoulders lessen some.

His guards started driving. All he could think of was getting to Felicity tonight. She always made him feel better.

“What’s the matter?” Julianna asked. She always kept her voice pleasantly neutral as if she didn’t actually care whether he answered.

She was so unlike Felicity. He could read everything Felicity felt or thought by looking at her face, or hearing the levels of passion or anger clouding her voice. The woman was so alive, and he wanted all of that for himself, in his bed or on his arm every night. His hands clenched as a wave of pain flared where his heart was.

“Zeke is doing everything he can to win the presidency from me. The bastard’s even using low-handed tactics.”

“I’ve heard talk that he’s mad because he’s been searching for his mate for so long but can’t find her.”

Dom grunted. “That’s part of the reason. He wants to open packs to one another—so the men can hunt down their mates.”

“That doesn’t seem so bad,” she said.

“It’ll be bad once one of them find his mate is with another, then goes into a murderous spree and starts killing. That would be just the tip of the iceberg. The packs are very territorial, they nearly hate each other and they covet their women like precious little keep sakes. If another
were
from another pack comes sniffing around their women, things are going to get tense. Putting forth a law like that isn’t going to make their instinctive natures go away.”

“I see.”

They finally pulled up to the manor and one of the valets came to open their doors. Julianna stepped out but Dom shook his head and the valet lifted a brow but didn’t open his door.

She turned around before the valet closed her door. “You are not coming inside?”

“I have business to attend still.” He had to go see Felicity.

She gave him a little smile that made the guilt he felt sit in his stomach like bad food. Guilt over many things. She nodded then swept away in her floor-length gown. She walked regally like a fine, gentle bred lady with her back straight, chin high, and hair and face immaculately beautiful.

Yet none of it stirred him.

“Take me to Felicity’s,” he told his driver.

They drove on leaving Julianna to his mother in that big, suffocating home.

She was not what he wanted, but he’d do whatever it took to win the election; even mate with her. The lie he’d told Felicity sat in his gut like lead. Would she ever forgive him?

She must
.

He’d make her forgive him, but for now she’d continue unknowing of his deceit. God, what a bastard he was. Lying to her about something so important. He felt like a downright dog.

Dom felt the first trickle of unease hit him as they stopped at a red light. His guards felt it too. They both tensed as their eyes scanned around the car. The scene looked relatively empty aside from the single car sitting next to them at the light. Inside the car, a young blonde woman sat. She wore too much makeup and her lips moved as she sang along to some song about breaking up with her boyfriend.

He and his men never saw it coming because it came from up above.

The light hadn’t even turned green when the driver slammed on the gas. But it was too late.

The roof caved in with a boom as something heavy and solid landed on it. Everyone flew into action. Dom moved too. He ached for a fight after his night and now that Felicity wasn’t with him he didn’t have to worry over her. He let loose.

He darted out of the car to the sound of howls.
Weres
were strong, but transformed
weres
were damned powerful. Dom took in everything in less than a blink of an eye.

Five weres surrounded them. They’d dropped down from roof above. They were heavy, muscled beasts, snarling and growling. They also had enough strength in their jaws to literally bite through the neck of a vampire and kill them by decapitation.

Calmly, Dom shrugged off his overcoat leaving him in nothing but his suit. He took on the first
were
he saw. The beast leapt at him from the roof, but Dom used his speed to slam his shoulder into the
were’s
gut in midair. The beast flew back into the car sending it skidding across the lane into the blonde woman’s car. The woman watched the whole scene with her jaw hanging open and eyes like saucers.

Stupid human was going to get herself killed. Should be running.

A heavy animal landed on Dom’s back, claws bit into his shoulders and back viciously ripping at skin. A garbled shout ripped from his throat as one claw ripped into his side at his ribs and tore a length down.

Dom reached behind him, grabbed hunks of fur, then tossed the beast off him in an overhead throw. The beast flew across the ground, its heavy body rolling until crashed into a streetlight, coming to a stop.

More came at him. Dom’s guards killed one, then another leaving only two left. One of the
weres
got in a surprise slash with its heavy paw at his guard. The guard twitched as he fell to the ground. In the next second the
were
opened its jaw and bit through the vampire’s neck. His guard died in a nasty, bloody crunch of bone and tendon.

Roaring, Dom fought harder. Facing off with a
were
they went neck to neck ducking and dodging blows, Dom slammed his fist into the
were’s
face as it came at him  and knocked it backwards in a flip. He jumped on the beast as soon as it landed not giving it a second to think, then buried his fangs in its hairy throat and drank in fast, hard pulls. The fur filled his mouth almost making him gag but still he drank, seeing only red and fury. The beast twitched and growled, then its legs stopped kicking. Satisfaction filled him like good drink. The pleasure of winning, of overcoming in a fight was as great a high as the best drugs in the world.

Dom stood and found his last guard facing off against the last
were
. Together, they approached the beast, each breathing hard, fangs extended, and clothes torn and bloodied. They were ready to fight. Ready to kill.

The beast looked at them with glowing yellow eyes, and then sped off down the street in a furry blur.

His guard started after it. “Leave it,” Dom panted.

Nodding, his guard dialed Grayson and ordered a cleanup. Dom cursed. He felt jacked, blood sang in his veins, his senses were on high alert. He wanted to keep fighting, he wanted to fuck, and he wanted to run wild, or do all of them at once.

He needed Felicity.

With that thought in mind, he stalked to the blonde girl’s car. She screamed as he neared her.

“Hush,” he commanded.

She clamped her mouth shut with a snap of teeth.

“Move over!”

Panicked but obedient, she moved over to the passenger seat. To his guard he said, “I’m going to Felicity’s.”

“Sir, you should wait—”

He never heard the rest of the guard’s warning. He put the little car into drive and tore off for Felicity’s house, jacked, more excited to see her than ever, and driving a red Volkswagen Beetle with a butterfly steering wheel.

* * * * *

Felicity knew something was wrong. She’d just finished packaging up the finished centerpieces and stacking them against the wall when Graham stood. In a flash, he was out the front door without a word.

Damn but he could move fast. Felicity knew she could too but to move fast and quietly like that still took a lot of practice, even for vampires.

She heard the squeal of tires, then low voices as she made her way to the front door. She didn’t have fancy tinted windows so hers were boarded up inside and covered with heavy drapes. It was a common enough thing for vampires. She opened the front door and gasped at what she saw.

Dominic Blackmoore was striding up to her front door in long strides, covered in blood, radiating sex and anger, and his eyes were locked on hers.

Suddenly her heart raced, her breathing became hard to catch.

“Dom?”

He walked right into her, his chest brushing against hers and pushing her backward. His hand shot out and the door slammed closed behind them. Something or someone had torn his jacket; it hung in shreds around him. Blood covered his face and ran in red pools down his white shirt. His clothes looked extra fancy, aside from all that, as if he’d been out at a party.

“What happened to you?”

Big, strong hands caught her waist then he lifted her up to the level of his mouth as if she weighed nothing to him. His mouth slammed down to hers and his thick tongue curled inside. Felicity moaned at his heady flavor and her body reacted on its own. Arms entwining around his neck, legs wrapping around his waist, she slid her tongue against his. He groaned.