I woke up and felt Diego stir beside of me.
"Are you all right?" he asked. I looked around at the soil encompassing me and took a deep breath, telling myself not to panic this time.
"Getting there," I told him. Diego waved his hand, causing the rift to open in the earth once again. He jumped to the top and I gaped. The rift was ten feet deep!
"Are you coming, Esmerelda?" he teased. I smiled at him and leapt as high as I could. To my surprise, I easily made it out of the rift and even managed to land softly on the ground. "Now, this may be hard for you." I looked in his mind and saw what I must do.
"It does taste good, right?" Diego nodded. "Who do I take it from?" He pointed to the house before leaping towards our destination, holding me to his side. Once we landed from the jump, I saw that the family of five was already outside, waiting for us. However, their eyes were glazed over, their expressions compliant. Sensing my question, Diego answered.
"I put them under a complusion. It would do our race no good to be remembered taking blood from humans. You must always remember to wipe their memories, Esmerelda. That is vital to your survival." I nodded. "Would you like for me to put you under a compulsion?" I shook my head, already hearing the blood rushing through their veins in an intoxicating rythm. I stopped towards the male and he automatically bared his neck for me. I saw the pulsing vein in his neck and I slowly punctured it with my teeth. The first taste of blood on my lips was simply divine. I moaned in ecstasy, floored by the pure taste. I drank until Diego touched my shoulder, signaling the amount of blood was enough for one human.
"How do I stop the bleeding?" I asked.
"Lick the wound shut with your tongue." I spared Diego a curious look before doing as I was told. Of course, the blood was just as heavenly as the first time and I closed my eyes to savor the taste. Beside me, I heard the mother's breathe leave her in a rush, and I turned to see Diego feasting from her. The blood thrummed through my viens and I felt alive like I never had before, even as a human.
"What are you doing?" I heard my god ask. "You are taking blood from him?" Just to spite him for being jealous, I increased what I was feeling, sending it over the link to my god. I felt him recoil, then strangely, I felt a fierce wave of desire wash over me, and I cried out, drawing the attention of Diego. "If you play with fire, mor forwyn, prepare to be burned." At his last statement, the desire I was feeling was doused by a bucket of cold water, leaving me angry.
"Fine. You wanna play that way?" I asked, royally pissed as any woman would be. I walked over to Diego, who was listenting to our exchange, and kissed him on the mouth, tasting the woman's blood on his lips. I licked it off gingerly, savoring each experience. Instead of my god getting even, I felt the horrible, angry bloodlust directed at me. I gasped under the onslaught, not expecting this type of reaction. As it continued, I fell to the floor and held my head, in pain. My soundless cry of pain caused Diego to cradle me to his chest and fully envelop his mind with my own, leaving us almost as one being. He blocked most of the anger, but the rest still made me feel nautious and sick.
"Stop it! I cried to my god. Please! It hurts!" I finally realized I was crying, but not because of the pain. I was crying because my god was mad at me! As soon as the anger began, it subsided. Diego, however, didn't relinquish my mind.
"Esmerelda, I am sorry. We must postpone our trip. Mikhail must be made aware of this new situation. A lifemate cannot hurt his lifemate unless he is a vampire."
"My god's a vampire?" I asked, automatically afraid for him. "But I'm here! He can't turn." Diego cupped my face in his hands.
"Sometimes the hunter cannot hold out for his lifemate. This has been known to happen before, Esmerelda. If he has turned, I'm truly sorry. Since he has not said the binding words, you can live through his passing."
"But I don't want him to die!" Diego kissed my forehead, but didn't answer me. I felt his sorrow over my predicament, but an unfalliable sense of duty. He was a hunter. He must extinguish the vampire.
"We must return to the Carpathian Mountains. Would you like to fly?" An unbidden thought came to mind and I quickly extinguished it, but Diego had already seen it. He laughed, making me smile. "I can do that for you."
"Really?" I asked, truly excited. He turned away from me and I saw him begin to change. This time as I watched, I wasn't nearly as grossed out, but fascinated. As Diego's skin began to change color I nearly started jumping in excitement. Finally, the change was complete and the massive dragon head swiveled to look at me. With a broad grin on my face, I mounted the dragon's neck from the knee offered. I got into the saddle Diego had made for me and held onto his smooth neck. With a huge flap, we left the ground and flew into the air. I, Esmerelda, was now officially flying a blue dragon. As soon as Diego leveled out, I let go of his neck and spread my arms wide, closing my eyes. The wind rushed past me, playing with my clothes and hair. It left me with a sense of peace and euphoria.
*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*
I spotted Mikhail's house from the air, and Diego dove straight downward. I felt him begin to change, and I leapt off of his saddle, letting me freefall. I spread my body out, giving into the awesome sensation of freefall. Diego finished changing below me and let me fall into his arms. He then let us fall to the ground, but before we hit, he pulled out and let us land softly on the balcony. Mikhail and Raven were waiting for us, each smiling.
"Welcome back so soon, Diego." As always when with Mikhail, I felt the sense of pride when he spoke with his prince.
"Thank you, Mikhail. I have come with bad news."
"Come, let us sit inside," Mikhail stated, gesturing towards the house. Mikhail and Raven led the way and Diego and I followed them. Once again, I found myself in the living room, on a very comfortable couch. "Now, Diego. What seems to be the problem?"
"Her lifemate attacked her today." Mikhail and Raven both straightened slightly. "She was feeding when he became jealous."
"I kinda retaliated a bit," I confessed, cutting Diego off. "I increased what I was feeling, then licked the blood off of Diego."
"That's when he attacked her," Diego continued. "He directed his anger at her. There is no excuse for such behavior otherthan to assume that he is a vampire." The room was silent for a moment before Mikhail stood.
"He is close to our house. Jaques and Shea are moments away, and they will watch over Esmerelda. Is this sufficient?" Diego nodded once.
"We should meet him outside, my prince. It would be a regretable waste of your home." Mikhail smiled at Diego.
"I can simply get new artifacts," he replied.
"But the ming vase!" Diego said, clearly appalled. Everyone laughed at his tone and Mikhail nodded.
"We will conduct this outside and your ming vase will remain intact." Diego let out a sigh of relief, causing me to snicker all over again. "Esmerelda, will you join us outside?" I nodded, automatically going to Diego's side.
"Where he goes, I go." Diego ruffled my hair and smiled down at me, much like a big brother would.
"So if I go to the bedroom-" I hit him in the chest as hard as I could, effectively cutting him off.
"I changed my mind," I muttered. Raven laughed, but tried to cover it with a small cough.
"Raven, will you stand with Shea and Esmerelda?"
"Of course, my love." Mikhail spared her a quick glance, but the glance was filled with love. With that, all Carpathians, including myself, dissolved into mist. In my mind, I used every curseword I ever heard and began to curse out Diego, whose laughter I heard in my mind. Revenge would be sweet, and I could wait forever to get him. We flew outside, then transformed into owls, but this time, I was okay with the transformation, seeing how I had been an owl before. We flew down the mountain and landed in a clearing not too far from their house. Raven lightly grasped my wrist and led me to the edge of the clearing, leaving the men ample room to fight, if the need arose. I saw two more owls enter the clearing and I knew it was Shea and Jaques. Jaques landed near the men and Shea landed in front of me. She transformed and hugged me.
"We're here for you, Esmerelda." It was then that I felt an awareness of something coming closer. An instinct told me it was my god, coming for me.
"He's coming," I whispered. Though my voice was low, everyone heard it and acted accordingly. The three Carpathian males stood together in a picturesque scene, each ruggedly handsome, each powerful in their own right. The women shuffled me behind them in an instinctive mother gesture, both protecting the baby fledgling. As for me, thousands of thoughts flew through my mind.
Will he like me?
What if I'm not good enough?
What will he be like?
Is he a vampire?
Will he fight for me?
On and on my thoughts whirled until I saw the lone owl in the distance. I instantly shrank behind the tall Shea, and grasped her shirt with both of my hands. I was so aware of my god, I could almost see him without my eyes. My grip tightened, but both woman watched the Carpathian, intent on protecting me at all costs.
"Welcome home, Vincent," I heard Mikhail say. I felt the name reverberate through me. My god now had a name. "Vincent," I thought, testing the name. It seemed to suit him.
"Mor-forwyn." My eyes widened. I had subconsciously talked to my god! I didn't even mean to! I burrowed more into Diego's mind, fearing my...Vincent. He wasn't my god anymore. He had attacked me.
"It has been a while, Mikhail." God, his voice washed over my body, bringing me pleasure. He still had the low sexual purr, which always was my weak point. "What a nice reception." Strangely, I didn't want him to be hurt, and I buried my head into Shea's back, trying to resist my wild feelings for the stranger.
"It has been said that you turned," Jaques stated, getting straight to the point. "Are you the nosferatu?"
"My lifemate can answer that," Vincent replied. I shook my head.
"The one you attacked?" Diego asked. I could sense Vincent looking at Diego, and I felt his dawning comprehension. The anger was instantaneous, and I couldn't let Diego get hurt. I bolted past Shea and Raven, and they let me. I ran in front of Diego and threw my arms out. I finally turned to look at Vincent, and he was definately a god. He had long, shaggy black hair, which framed a classic face. He had green eyes and was taller than I was. He held himself with the utmost pride and I could sense the power he exuded. After gathering my scattered wits, I glared at Vincent.
"You won't hurt Diego." I felt his persual of me and I felt his pleasure and acceptance. It took all that I had to stay mad instead of launching myself into his arms.
"You think that you can stop me?" Vincent asked, clearly amused. I had to admit, he had a knack of pissing me off. I straightened and smirked, pointing behind me with my thumb.
"I may not, but they sure as hell can." In one moment, Vincent was still, the next, he was beside me, his lips inches from my ear. In another move, I dissapeared into mist as Vincent reached for me. Vincent growled and I floated back over to Raven and Shea, where I materialized. Both women smiled at my flare of courage, but pulled me behind them regardless.
I watched the four Carpathian males closely, but instead of attacking, Vincent straightened and looked at me.
"I claim you as my lifemate." A gasp from the women told me that I was in deep shit. "I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul, and my body." I felt strange, as if my heart was binding itself to Vincent's. "I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness, and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all of time." My soul seemed to be merging with Vincent and I felt a stab of real fear. What was going on? "You are my lifemate-" My eyes widened. "bound to me for all time and always in my care."
I was so scared. Why was I feeling this way? I began to shake. What if he was going to die? Then I would die as well. Why did those words make me feel wierd?
"Esmerelda," Mikhail said in a soothing voice. He turned to walk toward me, and I backed away from everyone.
"What's going on?" I asked, my voice shaking. "W...why am I feeling this way? What did you do?" I shook my head in denial, my emotions turbulent. In an effort to survive, my body took over my mind and I began to run away as fast as I could. Yet even as I ran, I felt as if I was leaving my whole heart back in the meadow with Vincent. As I stopped, my chest heaving, I realized that I had missed what I should have caught. I felt the pang of evil; it was radiating from all around me.
"Diego!" I cried out in my mind. I had no more time to say more, because a vampire emerged from the forest. He was beautiful in theory, but I knew behind this facade was a rotted face.
"Well, an unclaimed Carpathian woman."
"How do you know I'm unclaimed?" I asked, stalling for time.
"Because a male wouldn't let his woman out of sight." So I had just screwed myself over. Royally. Even with the new threat, my human mind was rebelling at the new feelings and sensations, but my Carpathian mind was ready to protect myself if necessary. "What is your name?"
"Esmerelda," I answered. "What is your name?"
"I am Enrique," the vampire said with a bow. "I am here to claim you for my lifemate." At his words, I felt the anger of Vincent radiating around me. I cringed and looked around to run, but the vampire leapt at me. I instinctively jumped and landed on a nearby branch. As I watched, Enrique leapt at me, but was tackled out of the air by none other than Diego.
"Diego!" I cried, happy. However, the vampire raked his chest and I felt his pain through our mental link. My hand went to my mouth and I gasped. Diego jumped back and I realized that because I had run, I had hurt the closest person to me. I closed my eyes and felt the guilt, but I reopened them, determined. I could mope later. I delved into Diego's mind and found all of his fighting knowledge. The vampire smirked at the bleeding Carpathian and prepared to strike. I gathered the energy around me like Diego's mind said to do. Through the haze of electricity building around me, I saw the three other Carpathian men arrive. Good. I had an audience.
"Hey vampie!" I said. Enrique turned to me, and I focused the electric energy into a ball between both of my hands. "Catch." I launched the attack and jumped at the vampire. The ball of electricity hit him in his chest, causing him to stagger. I took the opportunity and thrust my hand into his chest, grabbing the beating heart. I yanked and threw the heart to the ground. However, I had not counted on the vampire's blood to be acidic. It burned my hands but I ignored the pain. I called on lightning, like I had seen Diego do, and I hit the heart, along with four other lightning bolts. When Enrique looked at me in surprise, I flicked him off and flipped away from him, letting his ashes scatter into the wind. With a triumphant smirk, I looked at Diego, who was smiling slightly.
"You might have made a good hunter," he stated, before walking over to me. However, Vincent was having none of this and cut Diego off. I immediately backed away, but he was in no mood to be accomodating. He grabbed my wrist, which caused me to hiss in pain. The acid was eating into the skin there, and he had no right to grab the tender flesh. I sliced at him but he caught my other hand in midair.
"You're hurting me!" I hissed through my bared teeth. Immediately, the three other males crowded Vincent, and he let me go. Diego stepped forward and I gave him my hand, trusting him impecably. Diego called up water and washed the blood from my right arm. I felt him then entering my body, a curious sensation that felt like heat spreading through my arm. After my arm was healed, he retreated into his own body and I gasped as I spotted his wound.
"I'm fine, Esmerelda," he stated, but I still felt the guilt.
"Let me help! It's my fault, anyways." The males looked taken aback. "If I hadn't ran, you wouldn't have been hurt," I said, looking away from everyone. Diego put his hand on my cheek, causing Vincent to leap at him. Jaques blocked his path and Vincent subsided, though I could feel his anger at the situation. I watched with trepidation and Vincent locked eyes with me. His anger made me afraid of him, however much I wanted him. As if sensing my fear, he backed off and Diego redirected my attention.
"It was your lifemate's fault," he explained. "He bound you to him."
"Bound me?"
"Every male is born with the knowledge of the binding words. When they meet their lifemates, they quote the words, then bind the woman to them for all time. I am sorry that I didn't explain adequately. I should have prepared you for the possibility."
"No, Diego-" He placed his finger over my mouth and I slightly glared at him, causing him to smile.
"You also used the knowledge in my mind to defeat a vampire. You are two days old but managed to destroy him using your own power. That is a great accomplishment." As he said it, I became aware of an ache in my stomach. Diego sensed it as well. "Would you like to go and feed?" I nodded, already looking forward to a flight on the back of a dragon again.
"She has no need to feed." Everyone turned to look at Vincent. "You all are aware she is my lifemate. Let me supply her with blood." I looked toward Diego for confermation. He nodded once and I slowly walked past Jacques towards Vincent, stopping a foot away from him.
"Where...do I drink from you?"
"Where did you take blood before?"
"The neck," I whispered. I felt afraid, yet I felt an anticipation.
"Then come and drink." I felt embarrased to be doing this in front of everyone, but I was going to force myself to when Vincent got rid of the problem. "May we have privacy? She is embarassed." How did he know? I was in Diego's mind, not his own. The three males dissapeared, but I could feel that they didn't go far.
"Thank you," I murmured.
"Why do you fear me, mor forwyn?" I looked away from the beautiful man before me. He stepped toward me and I flinched. He hesitated, then took the last step, closing the distance between us. He placed a hand on my cheek and I tensed, not knowing what to expect, and he sighed. "I know that I am angry. I am not angry at you." I nodded my head, contradicting him.
"You were. You made me sick and hurt me," I said, referring to the incident today. He drew me into a hug, and I felt him savoring the contact. He deliberately placed his mouth against the hollow of my throat and I tried to pull away, but he held me in place as he only nuzzled my neck.
"I am sorry, mor-forwyn. Please, allow me to supply you with blood. You are hungry." I felt him cage the anger inside of him and I began to relax; he lifted his head and bared his neck for me. He continued to hold me in his arms and I slowly lifted my hand to gently brush his hair away from his neck. In reaction, he shivered and drew a quick breath. I ignored him, or attempted to, and rose on my tiptoes. I bit him and I heard him gasp in pleasure, causing his grip to tighten around me. I felt something hard against my legs and stomach, but strangely, his arousal made me feel more in control. I felt his pleasure through our link and I closed my eyes, simply savoring the feeling. His hand cradled the back of my head against his throat and his breathing became labored. Thinking I had taken too much, I began to pull back, but he kept me in place. I kept drinking, trying to replentish my strength, as I thought he was telling me to do. A few moments later, I pulled back and licked the wound on his neck shut.
"Thank you," I said politely, lowering myself onto the balls of my feet.
"Oh, Esmerelda, it was my pleasure," he purred. I shivered, knowing he was absolutely right.
