Authors: Jana Leigh
“Yes, what is it?” Orfeo tried to sound pleasantly enquiring, but his voice came out tight and almost in a growl.
The woman kept her head lowered. “Signore , I am here for you to feed.”
For the first time since he had awakened, Orfeo realized he did not feel the hunger pains that had been gnawing at him for so long . His body, for the moment, felt sated in all ways, and he had no desire to feed.
He placed his hand under her chin and pushed her to look at him. He smi led sincerely at the woman. “I thank you for your offer . I am not in need of sustenance at this time.”
Orfeo could see she was on the verge of tears. For donors, the feeding was almost like an addiction. It took them higher than any drug ever could. He didn’t have sex with his donors, as they were like servants and deserved his respect. He would never take advantage of their enthrallment. Instead, he went to others of his kind, strong enough for his passion.
Once again, she bowed her head.
“Isabella, there is no need for such shyness , I am not angry . You have been a very loyal servant ; and now , as reward for donating your life’s blood, I am releasing you from feeding my hunger any longer.” He smiled at her, hoping to comfort her in some way. He saw how h er eyes darted to one of the guard’s standing at the cabin’s door watching with great interest.
“Is there perhaps something you wish to ask?” He stood, and taking her hand, helped her to rise from the floor.
“I did not betray you, Signore!” she said.
“I know you did not. I would be able to taste it if you had. The time nears when I will find my mates an d simply have no need for any other. Come, come, no need for shyness between us, “ h e cajoled.
“W-What if I wish to be with a Vampire ? What if I want to be with him forever?” s he almost whispered too low for him to hear her. Luckily, Vampire s have a great sense of hearing, so he just smiled wide and turned to look at the guard her eyes kept darting toward s .
He gestured for the guard to come to him. “Abaven, please come here.”
At first, he didn’t think Abaven was going to move. Then he straightened his tunic and walked over. It was a rule within the clans that the donors chosen for the Sire and his family were not allowed to gift other Vampire s with their blood . This was for their protection and also to keep the donated blood strong . Blood took a few days to replenish and tasted thin until it resided in the body for a time. If a donor gave blood to others, then often they would be unavailable to give when called for . In other clans, when this happened, some Sire s would exile them from the clan , as giving weakened blood to a Sire meant h is magical skills wouldn’t be fully rejuvenated . It was seen as a type of betrayal. Attilio never did any of that , he simply released them from service , as if they had been fired from a job. As Attilio’s son, Orfeo would follow in his footsteps.
Orfeo could tell he was worried as he came toward them and stood in front of him. Abaven found his courage . “Sire, did you want something ?” He couldn’t help it. He looked over at Isabella with love in his eyes, then down at his feet.
“Look at me, man,” Orfeo barked.
The guard jumped, but lifted his head and looked Orfeo in the eyes.
“Have you been taking liberties with Isabella? Have you disrespected her?” Orfeo frowned at him. He was beginning to find humor in the situation. Abaven was one of the biggest guards they had at almost eight feet tall, and Orfeo had seen him in training and in battle . The guard could tear Vampire s apart with his bare hands. But now he stood in front of Orfeo, shaking like a small boy who had his hand caught in the cookie jar. “Be honest , Abaven, or there will be consequences.”
“We did not betray you, Sire . I have not fed from her .”
“I know you are loyal, Abaven, and you know what I ‘m asking you . Well?”
“Yes, Sire, I have been with her. It won’t happen again.” Abaven looked at Isabella with his heart in his eyes.
Orfeo realized he needed to intervene. He was about to when Isabella found her voice.
“What do you mean it won’t happen again? I like it when you take liberties with me.” She reached over and pinched Abaven on the arm.
Abaven saw the smile on Orfeo’s face as he stood behind Isabella . Isabella turned to him with her hands on her hips. She was so beautiful in her anger. He couldn’t help it; he wanted to take liberties again.
Saucy wench!
He straightened to his full height, which was almost two feet taller than Orfeo, and frowned down at him. As Isabella stepped back, he gave Orfeo a quick wink. Orfeo caught on and put on a sobering expression.
“Sire, I lied to you; it will happen again, perhaps very soon. Isabella is my true mate, and I love her, “ s aid Abaven.
Orfeo tried to appear as if he were shocked and angered by this declaration, but found he couldn’t keep the smile from his face.
He turned to Isabella. “And do you love him?”
Isabella looked at her giant adoringly. “Oh yes, Master. I love him with all my heart.”
Orfeo laughed out loud and slapped Abaven on the shoulder. “Well then, this is great news.”
Orfeo turned to Isabella. “Isabella, if it is your wish to spend eternity with this overly large reprobate , then I grant you the permission to do that.”
Isabella squealed and jumped into Abaven’s arms. “Abaven, you have my permission to make Isabella one of us and claim her as your mate. Once this is done, bring her to me so that I can become her Sire and welcome her into the clan.”
Abaven’s arms seemed to start working finally, as he wrapped her in them, holding her close, “Thank you , Sire , permission to leave my post?”
At Orfeo’s nod, the big giant kissed Isabella.
Orfeo decided it was time to get dressed and left the two lovers embracing in the middle of the plane, Abaven holding her, her feet dangling over two feet from the floor. He couldn’t help but grin like a fool at the beautiful love story that just played out in front of him. For the first time since he had woken up, Orfeo was beginning to feel hopeful and excited about the future .
***
The plane didn’t even jostle as at hit the pavement of the runaway. Orfeo’s pilot had flown in WWI against Austria and Germany, and had flown almost every type of aircraft; he could get his hands on since then. Although Vampire s were able to shift their shapes, Aquila still loved to be able to fly as a man.
As Orfeo looked out the window of his plane to the runway below, he saw a large group of men gathered. Although he knew they weren’t only people but shifters, and from what he could tell, many of them seemed to be quite large in height and muscle. He wondered if they were all guards, and Orfeo’s visit had somehow gone from one of alliance to captivity.
The door opened to the plane and two of Orfeo’s guards exited first, as was usually the case when guarding the Sire and his family. His parents had insisted on more than the six he brought with him, but he refused because he did n’t want to take a great deal of people with him on the first visit there. If things went well, the others would come shortly after, but not until he gave his word that the Alpha of the New Council did, in fact, want them there. Now he wondered whether he should have listened to his parents and brought more men.
He shook his head at the idea. That would have meant bringing another plane, and he didn’t want to jump the gun.
As he exited the door of the plane and started down the long flight toward the runway pavement, he realized he was mistaken by his earlier assessment. There, standing with two men in the middle of the large group of guards, stood two women. One was short in stature with blonde hair; she had plenty of curves that a man could love. The other was taller and slender, with black hair, and she looked to be possibly a biker chick, with lots of tattoos. She was equally as beautiful as the first girl, but Orfeo preferred his women curvier.
He caught the eyes of the blonde one as he neared the group and smiled charmingly at her. Knowing he was able to charm most women, he wasn’t surprised when she slowly started to smile back, but then he heard a growl coming from one of the two men standing in front of him. He turned toward the man in question and saw his angry scowl and knew immediately that he had not made a great first impression by smiling at one who appeared to be the Alpha’s mate.
“Buono sera, my friend s , I am Orfeo Am b rosetti,” h e reached out his hand, gesturing for the man to shake it.
At first, the man just glared at him, but then he grasped Orfeo’s hand, gripping it as tightly as possible. He knew the Alpha was giving him a warning with his vise-like grip, but he couldn’t help the laugh he had to suppress.
“I am Quin, Alpha of the New Council.” He looked pointedly at the blonde woman standing next to him, putting his arm around her possessively. “And this is my mate , Cami.”
The other man, equally tall who stood next to the Alpha, came to stand on the other side of her and put his arm around her as well. “Our mate.”
The woman looked confused for a moment, then angry, as she growled at her mates and pushed them off of her. “Stop being possessive beasts. Next thing I know you both are going to take turns pissing down my legs to mark your territory.”
Orfeo chuckled to himself and decided right off that he would enjoy the little spitfire that was the Alpha Female. She looked at him and stepped toward him with her hand out for him to shake it.
“I’m sorry about that,” she said smiling demurely at him. “I’m Cami, the Alpha Female of the Pack.”
Orfeo couldn’t help but goad the other two men on a bit and turned her hand, lifting it to his lips, and pressing a kiss to her fingers. “It is my pleasure to meet a beautiful woman such as yourself. I am Orfeo Ambrosetti, Sire to the Clan Ambrosetti.”
He smiled down at her charmingly again, and she almost sighed, but then her eyes grew wide as she looked at his mouth. He realized she must have seen his fangs and went to back up, knowing they frightened most people. But she gripped his hand and pulled him to her level, jarring the air out his lungs with the power of her force. For a small thing, she was strong.
“Hey, I didn’t see any fangs,” she sounded like a child who had just lost a new toy. “Shouldn’t you have fangs? How do you drink blood without fangs?”
By the glean in her eye, he wondered if she was going to force his mouth open to inspect. He didn’t fancy having his jaw broken just so the woman could see his fangs. So he quickly let them down and gave her a big smile, so she could see .
The second man who claimed to be her mate pulled her away just at that moment, forcing her to let go of his hand. “Okay , sweetie, maybe we should just let him keep his hand for a bit longer and perhaps later he will let you see his fangs.”