Careful not to pull away for fear of tearing herself on his fangs, she slowly threaded her fingers in his hair. Bit by bit she tightened her grip until his eyes rolled up to meet her gaze.
“Understand me now, vampire. If you don’t release me I will tear your head from your shoulders.”
Her voice came out breathy in the aftermath of her orgasm, but her threat still echoed loud and clear. For a split second, she thought he’d ignore her, that she’d have to make good on her threat or else risk losing her life to the leech on her leg. Then his green eyes flashed and he pulled his fangs free from her thigh.
She only had a moment of relief and satisfaction before he grabbed her waist and hauled her off of the floor. Her mouth opened in a surprised shriek as he hurled them both a few feet away to the large dining table. The edge of the table hit her hips with bruising force as he bent her over its cold surface. A sizzling thrill ran between her legs as she listened to him tear open the fastening on his pants.
Before she could even draw a breath, he plunged his cock into her still soaking pussy. She grunted and slammed her palms down on the table as the feel of his flesh inside her urged her blood faster through her veins. Pleasure set fire to her skin and she burned slow and steady under his touch. The orgasm that had just recently finished wringing the strength from her body began to return, building slowly but surely. He grabbed her shoulders and began to thrust as if he’d force her through the table to the other side. Every push opened her a little wider, every slam of her hips against the table bruised a little deeper. The memory of her earlier pleasure took the edge off the violence, turning it to a new level of pleasure.
He growled and jerked her hips up as if straining to get a better angle. The movement served as a rude reminder of the submissiveness of her position. Her pride spiked and suddenly she was furious again. She was not his bitch to be bent over the table. A growl trickled from her throat. She would show him who was dominant.
She shoved her body off the table, trying to face Sorin. She needed to look in his eyes, needed to let him see her face when she told him to go to Hell.
Sorin hissed and shoved her back down to the table, still plunging his cock inside her with quick furious thrusts. Her resolve to fight him flickered as pleasure twisted her nerves until she thought they’d snap. Every other stroke seemed to find that sweet spot that sent her entire body to dancing with a pleasure so intense she thought she’s lose her mind. Scrambling to recover her fraying control, she shoved backwards, trying to throw him off balance and give herself the room she needed to fight.
Sorin’s rhythm was temporarily halted as she bucked him off of her. Her body wept at his loss, but it didn’t grieve for long. She turned just enough to see Sorin bare his fangs before slamming his body into hers so she hit the table with enough force to move the solid wood forward well over a foot. She scrambled to get a grip on the edge to push herself back again, but the sensation of his hands parting her folds staggered her concentration. The feel of his cock firmly sheathing itself in her pussy pulled a moan from her throat and sent a thrill up her spine. Before she could gather her wits to continue her fight, his fangs sank into the side of her neck and he began to fuck her in earnest.
Her brain gave up the battle. Nothing could cool her passion, no panic or fear could keep her from feeling the full glory of his fangs in her flesh. Something about feeling his fangs slide into her body, the same way his cock slid into her pussy, touched her on a primal level. Flames of pleasure raced along her skin until she became the center of a forest fire. Over and over he pushed inside her, stroking her from the inside out until she rocked along with him. Never since she’d become lupa had a man dared to dominate her this way. The violence of his bite coupled with the erotic stroking of his cock in her pussy brought an orgasm crashing down on her with tremendous force.
She screamed her pleasure just as Sorin’s rhythm faltered. He pulled his fangs from her neck and roared his own climax, thrusting his hips as the orgasm wracked his body. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed over them until finally they both collapsed to the floor in a boneless pile of satisfaction
Weak from her release, Gia didn’t fight when Sorin threw an arm around her waist, leaning in to nuzzle her face. Her beast took advantage of her momentary weakness and she found herself nuzzling him back, twisting in his arms so she could tuck herself into his body. A small spurt of guilt crawled into her belly, but she didn’t pull away. Something about the embrace felt too warm and . . . safe. She closed her eyes and sighed.
His heart pounded beneath her ear, stronger and louder than it had been before. She smiled. With all the blood he’d had, she wouldn’t have been surprised if it beat right out of his chest. After all—
Her eyes flew open as horror fell on her like a bucket of ice water. Blood. He’d taken blood again.
Again
. He’d almost killed her once, she’d told him no more blood. He hadn’t listened. He’d taken it anyway.
His easy embrace no longer seemed friendly or affectionate. Now his arms were iron bars, holding her captive for when his hunger rose again. Somehow Aphrodite’s Hunt had so overpowered her body with lust that even the fear of losing her life hadn’t been enough to help her break the spell of desire she felt for Sorin. He’d obviously sensed it somehow—was using her libido to defeat her. How much blood would he take from her? Had almost killing her been an accident? Or was her death inconsequential to him? She struggled to swallow past the lump in her throat. He could have killed her just now—and she would’ve enjoyed it.
Survival instinct gathered like a growing storm in her breast. The will to live, the desire to get away built and built. Her muscles tensed until her body nearly vibrated with the energy of it. Sorin relaxed against her, seemingly oblivious to her panic. Gathering her courage, she focused on her wolf form. She pictured her beast inside her, its head and ears lowering in response to her fear. With one deep breath, she drew her strength together—and shoved.
Sorin’s breath whooshed out as her hands collided with his chest, pushing him away as she used his body for a springboard to launch herself backward away from him. She rolled with the momentum, easily freeing herself from his body as his arms flailed in confusion. On her next breath she opened herself to her beast.
The wolf howled as it dove down the tunnel of her body and exploded from her skin. The adrenaline pouring through her system ate the pain, spinning her mind with vertigo so that she had to pause to regain her bearings. Fear kept her heart pounding a rapid beat, but she held her goal clearly in her mind. She had to get out. She could find somewhere else to hide--somewhere safer.
The fur on the back of her neck twitched with the tension singing from her body. The world screamed with scents and sounds. Blood and sex assaulted her senses, but she refused to focus on them. She shot forward, plunging into the vibrant world in a mad dash to escape. She didn’t bother to look back at Sorin. There was no time.
A bloodcurdling cry sounded behind her. The sound reached into her ears and nearly ripped out her nerves, touching something deep inside her that froze her in her tracks. Something about that sound erased escape from her mind, pulled her around to see what had happened. It was a cry for help.
Scrabbling to a halt, Gia chanced a look behind her, her heart nearly exploding from her chest wall as she fought the urge to run. The vampire was kneeling on the floor, his body twisting and his hands scrabbling at his skin as if he was in agony. Her eyes twitched as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. It seemed like her brain didn’t want to see it, didn’t want to realize what was happening. Unfortunately, as an alpha, it was only a matter of time before her instincts revealed the truth.
Sorin was changing. Shocked into immobility, Gia just stared. It was a rough change, characteristic of a new wolf. Sorin screamed and thrashed about, his limbs shrinking and his bones cracking as they reformed. He rolled over, flailing his arms in the air as his muscles struggled to reorder themselves to the new form. His torn shirt easily gave way, but it took him a moment to fight free of the pants that tried to cling to his lower half. It seemed to take forever, every moment a shared agony as her mind filled in the blanks. She’d been through that first change, had helped others through it. She knew the pain and the fear. Empathic relief washed over her as Sorin finally collapsed to the ground in full wolf form.
At first she was too shocked to react. Sorin was a vampire—he couldn’t be a werewolf. The dead could not be given the gift of transformation. And yet, what she’d just witnessed wasn’t a vampire trick. She’d seen vampires that could change shape and there was no confusing that chicanery with the shift of a true werewolf. She shook her head, tilting it to the side as she looked again.
His fur was a brilliant white. It seemed strange to her for some reason. She’d expected black fur, something sinister and imposing. Instead, Sorin could have hidden in a drift of pure snow with only his green eyes giving him away. He was . . . beautiful.
She waited for him to stand, too curious to leave. Despite his earlier violent domination, her wolf saw no threat in this new wolf. A wolf who struggled through a change like that needed help, care, and protection. That was not the shift of an experienced werewolf. She took a few steps toward him, sniffing the air. What was he?
The minutes dragged on and Sorin didn’t move. Instinct took over. As lupa, it was her job to protect new wolves, to help them through the change. What she’d just seen told her more than words could that Sorin needed help. Shedding her wolfskin and retaking her human form, she paused only for a second to let the dizzying sensation pass.
“I’ve never seen a werewolf change from human to wolf and back so quickly. You are very impressive, Gia.”
Grigore’s voice startled her, but she didn’t take her eyes off Sorin. Dropping down to her knees, she put her hands on his body, seeking a pulse. She found none. Her own pulse raced faster as her wolf’s protective instincts flared even stronger.
“Do not worry yourself, Gia. The sun is rising, he is merely asleep.”
Gia pulled back from Sorin and turned to stare at Grigore. A million thoughts fought for a place in her mind, each one more confusing than the last. Emotions began to bubble beneath the layer of shock. Confusion, frustration, and anger all warred for dominance. The only thing that seemed a certainty anymore was that her perfect plan had gone all to hell.
Pop!
“What the fuck is going on?” she screeched. She pointed at wolf-Sorin’s body. “What the fuck is that?”
“I appreciate how confusing this must—”
She shot to her feet and pointed a finger at Grigore, the digit trembling as she fought to control her temper. “Do not patronize me, little fey. I want to know what the fuck is going on.”
Grigore shook his head. “I’m sorry, Gia. That is not my story to tell. If you want your answers, you will have to wait until Sorin wakes at sunset.”
It took more energy than she liked to admit not to retake her wolf form and eat the brownie where he stood. Her body and her mind had been through more today than any sane person should have to endure in an entire lifetime—the last thing she needed was a tight-lipped dwarf refusing to bring some semblance of order to the chaos her life had become. She dragged in a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down before speaking.
Control, Gia,
she reminded herself.
Stay in control.
“Grigore,” she started slowly, proud when her voice came out in a normal tone. “I appreciate that you are loyal to your master. I respect that.”
“Thank you, Gia.”
“But this is a very serious matter. I came here believing Sorin to be a vampire and now it seems as though that information is,” she fought not to swear, “incomplete. There are things I can’t explain to you right now, but please believe me when I say that it’s of the utmost importance that you tell me right now, what is going on with Sorin.”
“If it were up to me, Gia, I would gladly tell you,” Grigore said patiently, “but it is not. You must wait for Sorin to wake and ask him.”
“No, actually, I don’t.”
Confused, angry, and incredibly frustrated, Gia whirled toward the door. She didn’t need this shit. She’d come here to dodge a mating bullet, so to speak, not to dive in front of one. It was bad enough she’d succumbed to her physical attraction to Sorin, but now that she’d seen his wolf form, their sex had become an entirely different problem.
He’s not a werewolf, he can’t be. Sex with him didn’t make him my mate. Just because he can take a wolf’s form . . .
In that particular moment, Gia was more than certain Aphrodite was laughing at her. She’d tried to cheat the goddess’ hunt and now her chaotic world had been torn inside out, upside-down, and sideways. She shook her head, trying to shake off her rising panic.
I have to get out of here.