Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (124 page)

“
My blood
unlocked your destiny, I’m afraid. The elements of your Lunar
ancestors. You have werewolf in you. Somewhere,” Vincent stated
matter-of-factly. “And you
were
a virgin. This wolf you keep referring to. Does he
have a name?”

I shook
my head and sent a response telepathically since I didn’t trust
myself to speak out loud, and since I didn’t understand what he
meant. “
I’m sorry.
What?
”

“
What is
the Wolf’s name?
”

I shook
my head again.
“He won’t tell me his
name.
” When I got a whiff of the first
hellhound, I growled. Vincent heard me and dropped his fangs in
response.

I saw three or four hellhounds come
into view and I knew we were probably surrounded. Because Vincent
had pushed his back to mine to protect me, I couldn’t see how many
there were. A circle of two headed black dogs with red eyes and
fangs was enough for me to see. Eight. Maybe more.

Fight.

The Wolf’s voice ordered me. Demanding
me to engage in a fight I knew I’d lose. If I was in
mid-werewolf-transformation, my shift was not complete and I
couldn’t begin to fight off these fiends. They growled and hissed,
slowly closing the circle around us.

Fight.

Feed, little wolf.
Feed.

The unfamiliar voice surfaced again.
That had to be Vincent’s blood speaking to me. His dark side. It
wanted me to kill and take the nourishment I needed.

You can do anything you
put your mind to.

Vincent’s
deep voice flowed into my mind and drowned out the chaos raging in
my brain. Vincent spoke to me in Italian and I immediately
understood his words.
If the hellhounds
were dead, they couldn’t report back to the demon. It would give us
more time.

When I heard him unsheathed his
swords, I jumped into action.

I ran as fast as I could and dove at
two of the dogs. I slid underneath the first animal and sliced his
stomach open with my claws, from top to bottom. His guts spilled
out all over the baked earth and steam rose to the sky. The second
one I impaled with my claws as he looked on in horror. Seeing a
naked wolf-woman racing around the night likely was not a normal
sight for him, I assumed.

By the time I had a chance to look up,
Vincent had killed three hounds and was going for two more. “Count
your kills! They travel in packs of nine,” he called out
telepathically.

I flew into action, making a circle
around Vincent and the remaining dogs. My two. His three. Two more
for him. Seven total. That leaves two. Two more. I had two more to
kill. After about four or five strides, my body completed its
transformation and I felt the heaviness of being changed into
werewolf form. My female form vanished and I realized I was a large
mass of fur, claws, teeth, and muscles. Each movement I made as I
stalked the remaining two hounds, now wide-eyed and frozen in their
place, sent waves of electricity down my spine. The feeling of
power and strength was orgasmic. I’d never felt anything like it. I
gnashed my jaws a few times, getting Vincent’s
attention.

His sword
slammed down into the skull of the second hound as he glanced my
way. His smile deepened into laughter. “You want the last
two,
mia bella lupo
?”

I responded by shaking my fully furred
body as I ran. The sensation again sent a surge of energy through
every limb. My vision went red and I bounded over to the remaining
hellhounds. I could already tell being a werewolf was going to be
extremely enjoyable. “Hi guys, how are we doing tonight?” I asked
mentally as I sliced open their throats with my claws.

***

As I
finished tidying up and hiding any evidence, I realized hellhounds
tasted a lot like chicken and their blood reminded me of
huckleberry wine. I didn’t want to tell Vincent that because he’d
probably think I was crazy. I searched around the large rock where
we had been, expecting to see him. Suddenly I realized he had
disappeared. A twinge of panic hit me.
Where was he? Had I?

Out of
nowhere, a black leopard nudged me hard in my shoulder. I heard a
low, rich purr. “
Emily, I’m right
here.
”

“
You’re
kidding me,
” I replied telepathically,
realizing the leopard was Vincent.

The cat raced away, starting to cover
ground.

I
remained frozen.
Vampires couldn’t shift.
But this vampire had already shifted into a cloud of smoke and now
a black leopard.
What could he
not
do? I
wondered.

Vincent
returned quickly. I heard the low purring sound again as he leaned
his forehead into mine and spoke telepathically.
“
We have to move now. Jump in the first
river you get to.
”

“
You can
shift too, Vinnie?
” I mentally asked
him.

He
blinked his dark eyelids over gleaming blue eyes. His blue eyes
instantly went icy cold and he glared at me. He shook his panther
head, showing me a row of razor sharp feline teeth.
“
Don’t call me Vinnie. My father calls me
Vinnie and I hate it.
”

“
Understood. I’m sorry.
”

Another smell of rotting corpses and
burnt onions distracted us. We both raised our heads in unison and
growled at the dark sky.

“
Come
on.
”

I flew into action, running alongside
Vincent at breakneck speed on my all fours.

***

Once I saw the river come into view, I
thought about stopping because I wasn’t sure where Vincent was.
When I heard a growl at my left side, I hastened my pace and dove
into the water. I thought for a moment that the water may be too
shallow and I’d break my neck or that the width of the river
wouldn’t be wide enough for me in my werewolf form to maneuver
through safely.

What I
didn’t expect was for Vincent to shift back into his human form and
drag me beneath the current. As I fought my way to the surface
again, I saw the opening of the river sealing shut.
I’ll drown. I’ll drown. I’ll drown. And never
avenge my brother and aunt’s deaths.

“
It’s a portal, Emily. We
have to keep moving. Dive down.”

I heard
Vincent’s words assuring me, but I struggled to trust his judgment
because he was dragging me down, quite literally deeper into the
waters.
Couldn’t I trust
him?

***

“
Wake up, sleepy head. We
have to meet Michel and the others.”

Hearing Vincent’s low, sultry voice in
my ear, I smiled to myself. Again he was right by my side. The
warmth of his body ignited my desire instantly. I rolled over and
gazed up at him. When I saw the sunlight shining over his shoulder,
I freaked out and sat upright with a jolt. “The sun! It’ll kill
you!”

He shook his head at me as a few wisps
of his black hair fell in his eyes. He pushed them away. “I’m okay.
I have these.”

Shoving his sky blue shirt off his
shoulders, he turned around and showed me his back. It was covered
with a series of designs that appeared to have been carved into his
rippling muscles with jet black ink.

“
What are they?” I asked as
I traced the designs with my fingers.

“
My tribal signatures,” he
said. “They represent my current regiment in the Lunar army and the
one I hope to be in someday. They protect me from the sun. Every
member of the Lunar army has some signature.”

Oh
really
, I thought, wondering now if I had
any designs now. I shoved the notion to the back of my
brain.
Later.
“The
leopard designs I get, but dragons. Why dragons?” I gasped. “Don’t
tell me you can shift into a dragon too?”

“
Okay, I won’t tell you,”
he chuckled with that laugh I was growing to love. “I’ll show you
instead.”

“
Oh no, you don’t.” I
reached for both sides of his shirt and pulled him down upon me. My
lips briefly touched his. “I’ve had enough adventure for one day,”
I whispered. Seeing that I too was in my human form made me think
of the werewolf transformation as a dream. It couldn’t possibly
have happened, but I knew it had. I would no longer be the
same.

“
Actually I can’t shift
into dragon form, but I hope to be able to once I join their
ranks,” he replied as his finger tenderly traced the line of my
cheekbone and jaw.

“
I could see that. How is
it that you can shift? I thought only wolves could do that.” His
nearness sent a shiver of delight through me.

“
I don’t know really. I’ve
always been able to manipulate my physical form. My mother taught
me how when I was a very young and Michel helped me refine it. But
I can’t shift into just anything. I have only a few shapes I can do
successfully.”

“
And that of a dragon isn’t
one of them?” His nearness was overwhelming and I recognized that
it was difficult to concentrate on his words. The closeness of his
presence caused my heart to beat wildly and I fought back the urge
to taste his lips. Purposely I stared at the cleft in his chin as
he talked.

“
No. Each form takes a
great deal of concentration. I can’t do it if I’m low on blood like
I was earlier before we killed the hellhounds. Being a member of
the Lunar army, I can shift into the shape of a cat. I prefer the
leopard. Once I’m accepted into the Order of the Dragon, then I’ll
be able to work on my dragon form.” Vincent twirled a portion of my
hair around his fingers and studied it. “Is every woman in your
kingdom as beautiful as you are, Emily?”

“
Possibly,” I replied.
“Why?” The grin on my face expanded as I leaned up close to him,
ready to kiss him.

He shrugged his shoulders, refusing to
say more as he continued to play with my hair. His gaze fell to the
expanse of my neck and he contemplated it for some time.

“
You’re the most incredible
man I’ve ever met,” I offered, leaning closer still to him so I
could breathe in his male scent. It was a dark, rich fragrance of
spice like warm cinnamon or nutmeg. I wanted to drink from his
fountain and possess him. “Kiss me,” I ordered. “I want to be
yours, Vincent. Here in this beautiful place. It’s so unlike the
dark place.”

Quickly he sat upright, glancing away.
His mood had again changed, but he did not move from my
side.

Letting the silence between us grow, I
marveled at the blue water, trying to forget it was the same color
as Vincent’s eyes. A few waves rolled in and splashed against the
platform where we lounged in a large hammock made for two. I let my
eyes trace the covered pier where we sat overlooking the beach on
one side and the water on the other. The platform extended out some
sixty or seventy feet from a cove surrounded by palm trees. It was
breathtaking. Even in the Golden Kingdom, I had never seen anything
like it. Our rivers were green and calm, and wound around
mountains. This body of water must be an ocean, I surmised,
recalling what my aunt had told me.

When I glanced over at Vincent again,
he was staring at me. A rush of warmth rolled over me and my mouth
began to water. “Claim me,” I said.

He pulled me toward him, cradling my
head in his large hands. Gently he stroked my cheeks with his
thumbs. “I was dead inside until I met you.”

I merely
stared at him, tongue-tied.
This was
real
.

“
You feel it too, don’t
you?”

“
Yes,” I
breathed.

He kissed
the pulsing hollow at the base of my throat. A low moan left my
lips. Then he brushed a gentle kiss across my forehead, teasing me,
tempting me to respond. Raising my mouth to his, I licked my tongue
along his bottom lip. The electricity sparked between both of us
and I closed my eyes as his mouth covered mine.
Yes, take me.
His tongue sent shivers
of desire racing through me and I returned his passion. I was
shocked at my own eager response to his lips.

***

“
How did we get here?” I
asked as he cradled me in his arms.

He
remained quiet for a very long time. My question seemed to float
along the air, threatening to fall into the water. Lightly I
touched my fingers to my lips and felt the wetness from his
embrace. My lips were still radiating and warmth. His kiss had sent
new spirals of ecstasy through me.
I want
you deep inside me,
I thought. As I settled
back in Vincent’s arms, I relived our recent kiss over and over
again in my head. I relived our lovemaking by the rock. I smiled up
towards the white canopy and enjoyed the feel of his arms around
me.
Life with him would be
Heaven.