Chapter 11
Waking up alone in Miguel’s bed was unexpected and disconcerting. I wasn’t used to being in new places, wasn’t used to being on my own, wasn’t used to being in the dark, literally, about where things were, who was around, what time it was. I took in a deep breath and sat up, squaring my shoulders.
My mate was a busy man. He seemed to be the leader of his pack or coven or whatever the bloodsuckers, er, vampires called their groups. And, if what I’d witnessed the day prior was any indication, it wasn’t an easy group to lead. Seemed as if they’d just as soon kill Miguel as follow him.
This was my new life and I best get accustomed to it. I was in Miguel’s den, which made it my den now, and if I wanted to know where things were, well, I had excellent night vision. I’d just have to give myself a tour.
The room I was in was tiny, with space for the mattress on the floor, but not much else. And while it wasn’t dirty, it was worn, with crumbling walls, a cracked floor, and what I imagined would look like all-around dinginess if there had been a light to turn on, which there wasn’t.
Wanting to see the rest of the basement, I dressed quickly. I took my money out of my knapsack and stuffed it into my pocket. I opened the door and slowly stepped out of the small, dim room and into a larger one. Though the size of the space differed from where we’d slept, nothing else did. There wasn’t any furniture, save for a table and a couple chairs near the stairs. And it was just as dreary.
Was this how vampires lived? It didn’t match up to what I’d heard about them. They were flashy, self-absorbed, cared only about whatever fun they could have in the here and now. Well, the space I was standing in wasn’t flashy or fancy or fun. I’d have to ask my Miguel about that. And while I was at it, I’d ask him whether his kind lived at all.
Though I’d listened to pack members speak about vampires many times, I’d never thought to ask for details about them. Even if I had asked, I wasn’t at all sure I’d have received accurate information. Seeing as how I was going to be spending a whole lot of time with Miguel’s people from here on out, I reckoned I should know more than vague references and ill-informed rumors.
My growling stomach disrupted my explorations. I was feeling healthier than usual, stronger, but all the activity with Miguel had taken a toll. Though I was loath to admit it to him for fear of making him pull back, having him feed from me was wearing me out. The issue wasn’t a shortage of blood—my body produced enough for the both of us. But I hadn’t eaten since dinnertime the day prior, and then I’d been up all night and expended energy with Miguel in passionate bursts during the day. Bottom line was that I needed to refuel if I wanted to keep sustaining both of us, and really, even if I wanted to sustain only myself.
Running into the other vampires wasn’t something I wanted to risk. My interactions with them up to that point could be summed up as violent and near-death. Seeing as how I wanted to avoid both of those things, I made sure to stay very quiet as I walked across the room. When I passed by the table, I noticed large pages spread across it. I’d never seen paper that size, so it caught my attention. When I looked closer, squinting to make out the small markings, I realized they were huge maps of Kfarkattan and the surrounding areas, including Miancarem, our pack lands. It struck me as odd, particularly because the maps stood in stark contrast to the rest of the nothingness in the space. I made a mental note to ask Miguel about that too.
But first, I needed to find some food. I tiptoed up the stairs, every step slow and deliberate. When I finally made it to the top, I cupped my hand around my ear and pressed it to the door. There was no noise, not even the sound of breathing. I took a moment to process that thought. When had I started being able to hear breathing?
My senses had never been as developed as other shifters, and though things had improved once I’d shifted a few days earlier, having hearing sensitive enough to pick up breathing was beyond even my father’s capabilities. And yet, I suddenly realized I’d been able to do just that since Miguel had started feeding from me. For that matter, being able to see at night, with the light of the moon illuminating the woods, was common. But being able to see in pitch dark, with no light source? Not so much. I turned around and peered down the stairs. How was it that I could see anything without any windows or lights in the room?
A growl from deep in my belly, followed by a sharp pang, called my attention back to the task at hand. Food. I needed to get some food. I flipped the lock and then turned the knob slowly, opened the door just a smidge, and pressed one eye to the crack. Nobody was out there.
Once I finally made it out of the basement, I was on the street outside the warehouse in what felt like seconds. Knowing I could be faced with unhappy vampires at any moment, I didn’t lollygag, just got out of there as fast as I could while being mindful of the need to keep perfectly silent.
The night air was cool and crisp, bathing my lungs and leaving me feeling fresh. With my hands stuffed in my pockets, I stayed close to the buildings and walked toward Main Street, where most of the shops were housed. Dismissing the crowded diner in favor of the general store, I pushed open the door, causing the bell hanging from it to jingle.
The human at the counter looked up and gave me a careful smile. “What can I do for you, young man?” he asked.
“Oh, uh,” I stammered. Though I’d been in the human shops a few times, I’d never been on my own, never had cause to explain myself to anybody. “I just need to pick up a few things, uh, food.”
I dipped my head and shuffled away, then walked through the store briskly, picking out a loaf of bread, some fruit, a bit of fresh meat, and a container of peanut butter. That should hold me for a day or two.
“Is that it for you?” the shopkeeper asked.
I nodded and counted out my money without looking up and meeting his eyes. The man was acting right nice, but I was still nervous, not knowing how to behave around a half-soul after spending my life being told to avoid them. ’Course, I’d been taught to avoid vampires too, and we know how well that had turned out.
With the bag holding my purchases in hand, I walked out of the shop and back onto the unfamiliar street. A lifetime living close to this town, closer than any other, and yet it was a foreign place, inhabited by humans I didn’t know. Every shifter I knew lived within walking distance, and the urge to go to them, to be with my pack, was strong. But not stronger than the driving need to be with my mate.
I clenched the bag handle more tightly than necessary and trudged back toward the dark, lonely street where Miguel lived. With my jacket collar up, my shoulders hunched, and my gaze aimed at the ground, I had a sense of being almost invisible, like maybe the humans wouldn’t notice me among them. And it worked fine. Nobody got close or spoke to me, right up until I was turning off Main Street.
“Ethan!”
I jerked, snapping my head up. Miguel was moving toward me at a fast clip, his lips pressed into tight lines, a pinched expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, expediting my pace, wanting to reach him as fast as possible.
Just as soon as we were within arm’s distance, he pulled me to him, engulfing me in a hug. “Are you okay?” he asked, pressing his face against my hair.
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “What happened?”
He inhaled deeply. If he were a shifter, I would have thought he was trying to take in my scent. When the tension drained from his body and he sighed contentedly, I reckoned that was precisely what he’d been doing.
“You weren’t there,” he said. “When I came back to the room, you were gone.”
I immediately felt remorseful for having worried my mate. “I’m sorry,” I said, hoping he could hear the sincerity in my voice. “I reckoned you’d be busy with your…coven?” I paused and pulled back to look at him. He shrugged and then gave me a short nod. Taking that as confirmation that I’d used the correct terminology, I continued. “And I was hungry, so—”
“There’s food waiting for you,” he said. “I went just as soon as the sun set. I wanted to have it there when you woke up, but I was delayed dealing with Ted and those other guys.” He looked me over, his gaze flicking all around my face and body. “And then, by the time I got back, you were gone.”
He sounded just as dismayed the second time he reminded me of my absence as he had the first.
“I wasn’t leaving you,” I assured him.
“I know that,” he answered too quickly.
His tone was curt and his gaze dropped to the ground. Everything about the way he responded told me that I was, in fact, correct in my suspicion. I grinned to myself. Though he’d tried to push me away, it was clear that Miguel didn’t want me to leave. He wanted me by his side, hopefully as much as I wanted to be there.
Miguel took the bag from my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, keeping me close. “Let’s go,” he said and started leading us down the street. “Next time you need something, let me know and I’ll take care of it. It isn’t safe for you to be out here at night. There are all sorts of dangers lurking around.”
“But you said you went out to get me food and you’re here now,” I pointed out.
The grin I got from the man was devilish. “That’s because I’m the biggest danger of all.”
My pecker thickened and lengthened in response to my mate’s words and tone. Was that weird? I mean, should a reminder of his violent nature be arousing? Before I could give it more thought, we turned the corner and I was lifted off my feet and pressed up against the side of a building.
“Miguel?” I asked, my voice cracking. He wedged his leg between mine and released his hold on my upper body just enough to make my groin drop onto his thigh, pressing my testicles down against the hard muscle. “Ugh,” I moaned, a pang of desire shooting through me.
He moved one hand to my neck, wrapping around it until his thumb rested on the front of my throat. I gulped and met his searing gaze.
“I didn’t like finding you missing,” he said, his voice rough. He moved his thumb in tiny increments back and forth across the throbbing vein in my neck. “Why is that?” he asked quietly, almost as if he was talking to himself. He moved his leg up and around, rubbing my groin with a magnificent friction. “I’ve been alone for a long time, even before I was turned. Why, all of a sudden, did I feel like something was missing just because you weren’t in my bed?”
“Mate,” I answered as I panted for air, that one word explaining everything.
He paused, no longer surprised by my response, I supposed.
“And you want this, right?” he said eventually. “You want to be with me?”
I nodded, the motion barely perceptible because of the hold he had on my neck. I was so unbelievably turned on by his strength, his power. By him.
“I want that too,” he said. “Heaven help me, but I want you to stay with me. But, Ethan, I will let you go if you say the word. I will never harm you.” He paused, looking deeply into my eyes. “You don’t need to run away from me. Just say the word and I’ll return you safely to your pack.”
“I wasn’t running away,” I croaked, not because of the pressure from his hand around my throat—that was welcome—but instead from the emotion and need that almost overwhelmed me. “I promise.”
Miguel dipped his face and pressed his lips against mine. “Okay,” he mumbled against my mouth and then nibbled on my lower lip. “I’m glad,” he whispered as he mouthed his way across my jaw to my ear. “But if you change your mind, wolf, it’s an open-ended offer. I’ll get you where you want to be safely, even—” His voice cracked, and I could feel his heart racing. “Even if it isn’t with me.”
It wouldn’t happen, I knew. I’d never want to leave my mate. Separating from a true mate was a death sentence for a shifter. Normally, that was because true mates could tie only with each other, so if a male left his true mate, he’d be unable to tie and, eventually, he’d lose his human form and live out his days trapped in his wolf form searching for his other half.
I didn’t see that happening to me. After all, my wolf hadn’t been able to come out until I released most of my blood, so having that form take over struck me as nigh on impossible. Before I’d met Miguel, I’d been prepared for an imminent death, and had felt sure I didn’t have the strength to keep going. Learning that I generated too much blood to allow my body to take my wolf form was comforting because it gave me a reason. But knowing the issue and resolving it were two different things. Without Miguel there to release the pressure, to draw out my blood, my only option would be self-induced bloodletting. Given how painful and tiring that had been, I doubted it was something I’d be able to keep up for long.
So, like I’d heard about other true mates, I needed Miguel to keep both my forms, to help me stay strong and energetic. But more than that, I wanted him. I liked the way Miguel looked at me as if I was something special. I was drawn to his power and strength. I enjoyed his company. And, Lord, was I ever attracted to him.
That attraction was in the forefront of my mind with my mate so close, his breath ghosting over my face as he nibbled on my ears. I rocked my hips, rubbing my groin against his leg, enjoying the friction and the pressure.
“Do you need to come, wolf?” he asked.
I’d never known I could need release as frequently as I had since I’d met him. It wasn’t just my blood; my balls hung heavy with seed, aching. I whimpered.
Miguel grinned and nibbled at my lip. “I’ll take care of you,” he said.
And then I was on my feet, leaning against the wall, and he had squatted in front of me, unzipped my shorts and taken my erection into his mouth. It took almost no time for him to have me shaking and crying out his name as I pulsed long streams of ejaculate onto his tongue.
“Do you know,” Miguel asked as he licked the head of my prick, “that your seed tastes as good as your blood?”
He looked up at me and our gazes locked. It was oddly arousing, looking down at a large, powerful man who was on his knees for me. He flattened his tongue and swiped it from the crown to the root and then sucked one ball and then the other into his mouth. He covered my softening erection with his large hand and rubbed it gently.
“I bet I can make you go again.” He squeezed my prick and nipped at the sensitive area beneath my testicles, making me yelp and then moan. I felt myself thickening in his hand. “Yeah,” he said, sounding very satisfied with himself and looking smug as all get-out. “That’s what I thought.”
With a final kiss to my shaft, he pulled my briefs and shorts up, tucked me in, and then zipped and buttoned before he picked my bag up from where he’d dropped it beside him and got to his feet.
“Tease,” I said with a smile.
He cupped my cheek and rubbed his thumb over my upper lip. “You need to eat and we’re outside. Let’s go back to the warehouse and then we can take up where we left off.” I flicked my tongue out and licked his thumb. He groaned. “Be careful, baby, or I’ll take you again right here, and I’m not liable to stop until you’re unconscious.”
I shivered.
He threw his head back and laughed, a deep, joyous sound that felt like a rare treat. “You are something else, little wolf.” The expression on his face when he looked at me was equal parts amazed and fond, like he was surprised by what he’d found, but pleased too. “Come on.” He returned his arm to its spot around my shoulders and led us back to the warehouse.