Dark Lovers

Yeah, yeah - Viktor doesn't really belong to me (I wish)...

Viktor had spent so much time alone since his fight with Selene. His body had healed very well and he was amused at the differences dying twice could make to you!

Chapter One – The Meeting

Beth sighed as the car ground to a halt, the engine spluttered to a stop and the lights went out. It was at times like this that she wondered why she had been born with an impetuous streak. She blamed her mother. She was just the same. It was four years since she had passed away and sometimes Beth still really missed her.

She pulled the keys out of the car and refused to be morose. At this moment in time, she had better things to concentrate on. She yanked the car door open and climbed out, furious at herself for getting into this predicament.

'Why didn't I just stay in the nice sunny bits or Europe?' she asked herself aloud as she stood in the middle of the road looking hopefully both ways to see if there was anyone about.

'I could have been sitting in a nice pleasant bar with a martini waiting for the man of my dreams, but no, here I am in the middle of nowhere with a crap car and no bugger about!' she muttered as she aimlessly wandered away from the car.

She stopped suddenly and the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up sending shivers down her spine. She hastily ran back to the car, slipping on the road and catching her hand on a sharp bit of stone. She let out a loud yelp as she scrambled up, opening the car door throwing herself back into the front seat. She could feel her heart beating inside her chest and she had an uncontrollable urge to cry, which quite surprised her – she never cried these days – never – not for anything.

She found some tissues to press against the bleeding on the palm of her hand and tried to calm herself down. She had just about managed to steady her breathing when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye and the panic started all over again.

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His horse came to a sudden halt almost throwing him over her head. 'You foolish beast!' he muttered. Marta was a strong and powerful horse and it pleased him sit astride such a powerful animal, but it annoyed him that she was a touch flighty at times. He had considered getting rid of her many a time, but he knew that he never would. He had a bond with her. Whether she was an animal or not, special bonds were to be cherished.

The evening was cold but there was only a gentle breeze and on this breeze he could smell the sweet taste of blood. New blood. Not a half hour old, not even ten minutes old, but blood fresh from a wound. It made the blood in his veinspulse around his body and his eyes widen. He could also feel intense fear. Not his. He very seldom felt fearful. The fear he felt was strong and new.

He regained control of Marta and headed off in the direction of the fear. He said to himself that he was chasing the fear, but the truth was that he was drawn to that beautiful taste of newly spilled blood. As he drew his tongue over his teeth, he could feel them sharpen.

And then he heard the sound that he knew was the root of the fear he could feel.

A long piercing howl. Lycans. He knew at that moment that they had found a new prey.

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Beth also heard the howl and she was trying to calm her fear. What the hell was she doing on a dark country road on her own with a car that didn't work with a pack of wolves wandering around the woods? At least she was in a car and a dog wouldn't be able to open the car doors! She locked them anyway. Just in case. Just her luck to meet a wolf like Lassie that open doors!

Another howl made her halt her frivolous thoughts. She was sure they were getting closer. Again she was sure she could see movement out of the corner of her eye, but every time she turned her head, there was nothing there. She wasn't impressed.

'Idiot!' she said aloud, 'You are being an idiot Elisabeth Howard. Pull yourself together and get the tyre iron out of the boot!' She unlocked the door with new found courage and hastily opened the boot and got out the tyre iron.

Just as she closed the boot – she heard a noise in the trees just ahead of her. She dropped the iron and as she bent to pick it up, she looked into the trees and found a pair of eyes looking directly at her. They didn't look human and the last time she saw a wolf, they didn't look like these eyes either.

Just as she was about to scream, a flash of light appeared over her head and disappeared into the trees quickly followed by a flash of black. All she could hear was a yelping sound.

She was paralysed with fear and rooted to the spot. She was still bent down with her hands touching the ground. She wanted to run, but found that she was incapable of moving at all. It was only that fact that her hands were touching the ground that stopped her from falling over.

Suddenly she heard a sound coming out of the trees and a large black figure walked towards her. Beth realised that the 'flash' was the biggest sword she had ever seen in her life. The owner of the sword took a cloth from his pocket and wiped the blade and sheathed the sword back into its proper place at his hip.

Beth reckoned that he must be over 6 foot tall. He wasn't in his first flush of youth, but she could tell by the way he walked that he was obviously in good shape. The moon took that moment to reappear from the clouds and she could see that he had blonde hair and blue eyes. Not just blue eyes, but the bluest eyes she had ever seen. Icy blue eyes. The kind of piercing eyes like that scary teacher had when you were a child that made you sure she could read your mind. He was dressed from head to foot in black with an ankle length black leather coat.

'Are you alright?' he barked. He was annoyed and he wasn't even sure why.

She nodded not quite able to form the words she wanted. He put his hand under her arm and pulled her to her feet. He was much stronger than she had imagined.

He looked irritated and hissed 'What the hell are you doing out here alone? Do you have any idea how much trouble you would have been in if I hadn't been here? Well? Speak!'

'I….well…holiday….adventure……car just stopped….' Beth was babbling and she knew it. She suddenly saw frustration in his eyes and she immediately became annoyed.

'Look mate, whoever you are, with your fancy long coat and your big flash sword and I'm not even going to ask you what that's compensating for! Thank you for scaring away the dog, but don't you dare shout at me! How bloody dare you!' Beth could hear the volume of her voice rising and she found herself stood right in front of this stranger and poking him in the chest as she spoke to emphasise her point.

He immediately caught her hand in a grip like steel and then just stopped.

She realised that he wasn't looking at her face any longer, instead, he was looking at her hand. His eyes were wider and she was sure they were brighter and she saw him part his lips ever so slightly.

He seemed to look at her hand for an age. And then he spoke.

'You're bleeding.'

She moved to put the tissues back on the wound and he caught her wrist. Slowly he pulled her bleeding hand to his mouth. She was too transfixed to protest. She felt his mouth cover the wound on the palm of her hand she could feel his tongue touch the very centre of her hand.

She was shocked. Shocked because a perfect stranger was licking the palm of her hand. She was more shocked by the feeling it was evoking in her body.

The last thing she remembered was feeling his tongue moving across the palm of her hand…and then she passed out.

Viktor knew her now. He could feel her memories and her lifeblood coursing through his body. He knew everything. The fear of her first day at school. The first boy she kissed. The first time she fell in love. He knew about her mother. He knew her father had left when she was a child. He knew how much she adored being kissed on her neck. He knew where to touch her body to make her eyes black with desire and he knew the last time she had made love.

He also knew that every bit of information he had filled him with an excitement and passion that he had long since forgotten that he could feel.

TBC

ed all over again.

managed to steady her breathing when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye and the panic star