“I bet they would.” Kaia kissed him. “I love you, Orion.”
“Ah mate, not more than I love you, agapi mou.”
He heard a few groans, felt Shadow’s purr of acceptance, and appreciated the sighs from the females in the room watching over them.
But nothing mattered except getting his mate where he could see to her needs in private.
“Told you vampires do it better,” Duncan said with a laugh. “Yeah, mate, you did right by her V-card.”
Macy laughed with him. “Idiot.”
Kraft asked, “What? I don’t get it. What card?” After a moment, he laughed. “Oh, her V-card.”
But Orion was already carrying his mate to their room. Once inside, he paused with her in his arms. “I’m sorry you lost your mother.”
“I am and I’m not. She nearly killed us.” Kaia sighed. “It’s going to take some time, but I have it thanks to you.”
“Thanks to us. Without you, I couldn’t have held on.” He glanced down at the kitten that had followed them. “And you. We’ll deal with you later.” He lowered Kaia’s feet to the floor and picked Shadow up by the scruff, his wings nowhere in sight.
The kitten hissed and tried to smack him with a paw, but Orion wasn’t having it. “We’ll talk about what this means, but not now. And we are not putting on any shows for your amusement or entertainment, buddy. Go fuck with Khent. He needs the practice. Or Kraft.” Orion grinned. “He kept calling Shadow dinner, remember.”
Shadow seemed to perk up at that and let Orion put him outside the room, even accepting the pat to his head and stroke along his back.
When Orion went back inside, locked the door behind him, and turned to his mate, he saw her naked and waiting by the door of the bathroom. She winked. “We never did get to shower sex, did we?”
He grinned and stripped, dropping his clothes on the way. “Nope. No time like the present.” He took her in his arms and kissed her. “I love you, Kaia.”
“I love you, Orion.” She paused. “Now let’s get in the shower and get busy.”
Pazuzu sat outside the door listening, a little annoyed he hadn’t been allowed to watch. He had, after all, done them all a huge favor by shoving his father back where he belonged, in the underworld. Not that he could have accepted Orion’s sacrifice or killed Kaia, because he did protect pregnant women, and Kaia was due to have twins in nine months. Linked as she was to the vampire, taking him out would have taken her out.
He had to hand it to Orion. The vryko worked fast.
Paz stretched, a little sleepy, bemused by this new form that really did make him feel and behave like a young feline. But everything was so bright and bold. Sounds and scents had texture, form. So much life in this world full of so many kinds of creatures. He couldn’t wait to help Kaia learn her new powers. This White Sea Witch promised to be one heck of a power hitter for the Night Bloode, and the old one kept him content, eternally feeding him with the power of death and dying things.
“You’re not fooling us, you know,” the nachzehrer said, showing some impressive fangs and startling Pazuzu into a jump and a hiss. “Shadow, Pazuzu, whatever. I’ll be watching you, demon.” He lowered himself to a crouch and smiled. “Don’t think I won’t swallow you whole if you piss me off.” He paused. “Just like you swallowed the sea witch.”
Startled the nachzehrer knew that, Pazuzu took a hesitant step back.
“But hey, if you’re bored, I know some fun stuff we can do. You interested in tracking down a lycan gone missing and a possible artifact we really need to keep the Darkness from killing all the worlds as we know them?”
Now that sounded interesting. Pazuzu leapt onto the vampire, scrambling with his claws to balance on the male’s shoulder.
“Let’s go. And remember, you do anything to endanger the clan, I’ll eat you.” Kraft chuckled and rose to his feet.
Not if I eat you first.
Thank you for reading Orion and Kaia’s story. There’s just something about a stubborn vampire… Just wait until you read about Kraft and the strong wolf who ties him in knots. You can find Kraft’s story in Between Bloode and Wolf.
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GLOSSARY
Intelligent Beings Classification:
Demons—creatures from any of the hell planes, tricksters, evil-doers, and powerful beings with a bent toward dark desires, associated with fire
Divinity (gods and goddesses)—those of a divine nature and whose power is derived from creationism and worship
Humans—mortal beings from the mundane world, not born with magic though some can harness its power
Magir—an all-encompassing term to describe those supernatural creatures living among the human population in the mundane realm (e.g. lycans, witches, druids, mermaids, gargoyles, etc.)
Monsters—animalistic creatures that aren’t human or magir but do have magical properties/abilities (like fox spirits, gryphons, dragons, manticores, etc.)
Vampire Terms:
Ambrogio—the first vampire ever created, born from a curse given from the god, Apollo. Father (Primus) to the vampire species, husband to Selene, the mother of the species.
Blood-bond—the psychic connection a vampire has to a blood donor
Bloode—that intrinsic vampiric essence within a blood-drinker that makes him a vampire, as opposed to a demon or other dark-natured creature
Bloode-debt—vampiric debt incurred by a member of one’s clan, passed on through familial members until fulfilled
Bloode Empire—the name for the vampire nation created in 727 BCE
Bloode-magic—magic in a vampire’s bloode, manipulated through the Bloode Stones or a deity with power over blood and the dead (i.e. Hecate, thus Mormo)
Bloode Stones—six droplets of Ambrogio’s blood or tears (split mythology on origin) congealed into power gems when they made contact with the earth. It is rumored that only a Worthy vampire can handle a Bloode Stone and instill peace within their species.
Bloode Witch—a witch who uses bloode to power herself, serves his or her vampire clan and is considered kin. Very rare, more common in older times.
Clans—groups of vampires within a tribe that act as family, led by a patriarch, comprised of kin (brothers/fathers/sons), anywhere in number from ten to sixty members
(The) Ending—the period of time before vampires came into existence
Guide—also known as bloode-guide, someone not related who mentors a young vampire through adulthood
Kin—family, those vampires who do not instill an urge to kill. Another word for vampire brother, father, or son
Kin Wars—legendary vampire civil war, thought to have been fought several thousand years ago, brought about by a foul curse from the gods, turning vampire against vampire and forming the ten tribes
Master—vampire leader of an entire vampire tribe
Mate—a vampire’s bonded female partner, with whom he can sire offspring
Of the Bloode—another term for vampire