Blood Rider

The pain in her skull was excruciating. A sharp, slicing pain that seemed to shoot in all directions with each beat of her heart. Lee cracked her eyes open and blinked several times. Her eyes felt gritty and heavy. The room was black but her quick aura scan revealed she was not at home.

What happened, Charlie?

She lay still as possible. It felt like someone had ripped her brain and any movement made the wound open. A gaping, slicing wound.

Charlie?

Charlie’s silence was startling. She had gotten used to her commentary on Lee’s stupidity. Obviously, she had been stupid about something. Slowly she expanded her aura, only to find it buffered. It took several minutes to recognize the cell Jak had been confined in.

-You’re awake,- Jak’s mental voice rumbled through her, causing an aching pain in her temples.

You prick.

-I have no patience to wait for you to accept our bond. Not when you insist on flaunting it to other vampires.-

I don’t have time for this.

-Are you hungry yet, love?-

You can’t force me to complete this bond.

-Oh, but I can and will.-

He was right he could. It did seem an incredibly rude way to woo a woman.

-I have plenty to time to woo you later.-

You completely underestimate the power and duration of a woman’s grudge. I will hate you for it. I do not respond well to being starved and forced.

-I understand. I understand your fears of the permanent connection between us. I also admit my methods are likely stirring up bad memories. Our bond is not something that will cause you to lose control of who you are. You will lose nothing and gain much.-

I’ll be tied to you forever and I don’t do forever.

-You fear it for the wrong reasons.-

It doesn’t matter. I’m not ready and I refuse. I’ll hate you if you force it on me.

-The fact is, you are making me look weak by not having this finished. Flaunting our uncompleted bond. Letting others take blood from you, knowing I would sense it. I insist this is completed before you share blood with another. Before you go into a dangerous situation. My instinct to do so is extremely strong. I was very close to killing Viona for touching you, Lee.-

She curled up on the bed, the pain radiating down her neck as hunger wrapped around her. She couldn’t afford the days of starvation before she was forced to feed.

-It is inevitable. You have a timeline. And so, I suggest we end this struggle of wills and you can carry on.-

My head is killing me, Jak. I need blood.

-I will ease your pain, Lee. Please, I don’t want this forced on you. Please, just let us bond as we should,- he begged, with a soft mental touch, smooth and relaxing.

Perhaps a full bond would give her protection against Wilhelm if he came for her. She could feel Jak’s quiet desperation. His possessiveness to claim her. When he held Viona by the throat and his aura pulsed around him dangerously she felt his instincts were in control and his rational mind had but a little sliver of control. When he said he needed to complete the bond he meant it literally. He was barely holding back and he was holding back for her. To let her come to grips with it. Yet he would lose control again if she got to close to another male or if another vampire fed her. It was that raw primal part of him she yearned to connect with. Something in her responded to that, something that slumbered within her but wanted to wake up. Lee couldn’t deny the electric desire to take his blood and accept he was hers. Her instincts were demanding the same thing. That she take him and claim him before someone else did. She just had better control because her instincts were muffled, likely because her spirit was fractured. Maybe it was time she listened to that part of her more.

She heard the locks on the door being released and then the door opened revealing enough light to see Jak easily.

He came to her side and knelt down. “Please, Lee. I am begging you.”

He took her hand. “I know you feel it as well.”

He kissed her hand lightly and then smoothed her hair over her face. “This pain is from your fractured spirit and the bond should dampen the pain from that wound. Before you make a move on this wizard I want you to have solved that weakness as well. Right now all I can afford you is the power in my blood and the fulfillment of the bond. You still have choices. Your Council will not know it is there.”

“And, I would have the freedom to choose between the vampire court and the Council? Or neither?”

“I give you that freedom because I know what you will find. And you have as much freedom as before, except from my worrying over you. We are bonded mates. I am not your lord and master. But I do need you. I need the connection to you. I need to be near you.”

“Then let’s do it.”

“No need to sounds so enthusiastic,” Jak said dryly.

“I just want this pain to end. And to be whole again.”

Jak climbed on the bed. He pulled her up and hugged her close. “Thank you. It will make me worry less. I don’t have control over my impulses when it comes to you.”

He pulled back slightly, rolling her on top of him. “Feed.”

Lee quivered as she leaned to his neck. She kissed to pulsing throb at the base. She bit deeply and tore back, then sucked hard taking in the flow of blood. So rich and infused with power. It was electrifying. Then he bit her at the same time. And there was this flow of energy between them she had never felt before, this strong connection.

He groaned in pure bliss, his body tightening and arching slightly. His hands smoothed over her possessively. She could taste his desire and was consumed by it. He ripped her clothing off, which thankfully had only been her underwear. She almost tore free when he slid a finger into her core. They both made inarticulate noises of need and desire. He lifted her slightly and adjusted her position before thrusting deep inside her. Lee felt her teeth locking onto him. He gripped her hips and pulled her down while bucking upwards, driving into her with uncontained force. Pleasure coiling within her, tighter and tighter, bringing her closer and closer to the edge until she felt she would scream. Then she did, she flung upward, arched and screamed out as her body shook and she contracted around him. It was so powerful she felt close to passing out, with her vision darkening around the edges.

Imaged flashed through her mind of Lucien screaming and begging. And then of a man kneeling down and looking her over critically. He made some remark about severe shock and comatose states. Then he stood up and brushed his legs free of dirt. He ordered them to bring her to the asylum facility to keep her contained until they knew what to do with her and they were more established in the city.

She jolted back to the moment at hand, just as Jak made his final thrust. She fell against his chest, feeling the deep connection they now had. How their auras seemed to mesh and blend.

Then she rolled over. “I felt like a blacked out for a moment there. I saw something I don’t remember. But Drake was there and he was my first handler. Seems he knows more than I thought about my blank years.”

“Establishing the bond can be intense. Sometimes it can even cause unconsciousness. It is unexpected to remember something of this handler?” he murmured, kissing along her jaw.

Lee shivered. “Oh, I have been hearing plenty about him. He is next on my list since he can encase me in shielding. And also Viona’s contact in the north. If I have time we will discuss his role in my blank years. Or I will choke him to death.”

“Your headache gone?”

“Yes,” she replied a little surprised.

“Good,” he said, leaning more completely over her.

She pushed her palms against his chest. “Hey, I have things to do and you’re not my favourite person at this moment in time. Kidnapping and coercion and all.”

He took her hands and stretched them above her head, holding them locked securely in his. “Do you like being coerced?”

Lee shivered. Not because of her pleasurable response to his dominate advances. She would not admit to liking to be dominated, but she was well aware of the trait. It was rather this blending of their auras. They seemed to pulse with the same beat. She became aware of his desire reflected through it. Aware of his thoughts, beyond the projected mind speech she knew. Snippets of thoughts that made her desire flare more as she heard and felt what he saw in her. As his hands explored her curves, slowly exciting and exploring, it was like a deep murmured commentary in his mind.

Lee let herself be consumed by the intensity of pleasure he skilfully mastered. When he released her hands to tease and tantalize her flesh, she ran her hands through his silky hair, over his shoulders and down his back. With a surge, he penetrated her with one powerful thrust and she arched forward with a gasp at the jolt of pleasure. He pulled her leg over his shoulder, leaned in and thrust deeply, setting a hard pace. Until she screamed out her release and bit his shoulder. He thrust a few more times deep and hit his climax with a shudder of muscles and then relaxed over her.

“I cannot get enough of you,” he murmured against her.

He rolled over and hugged her against him. “I can feel you within me. You have no idea how much of a relief that is. It is like centuries of tension have melted away.”

“Now that it is twofold with this bond, I can expect you to behave.”

“Behave?”

Lee laughed. “Not entirely, obviously. When I go for a meeting, I don’t expect you to storm in and cause problems. I have a mage to meet and I don’t want your interferences.” She paused. “Maybe it is better if you just block the connection. Muffle it in your mind, so you don’t worry that someone touches your mate.”

He huffed in amusement. “So considerate of you to suggest. Wait until it happens to you.”

“I’m not the jealous type.”

He gave her a long look and smiled widely. ”So you say. I think I would have to worry if you were. Kill first and ask questions later.”

“Anyway, I need to set up a buffer ward around me very soon. So, I don’t want you messing around with it. My Handler can’t sense me deep within the vampire Quarter, but he will know I entered. I need the time. I know I can track this wizard through the Don’s son. It is only a matter of time now.”

“Tomorrow.”

“What?”

“You will see this wizard friend tomorrow.”

“And tonight?”

“Tonight you will meet some of my people.”

“I know some of your people. I don’t like most of your people. Lucien, my loony father. Eric.”

“A clan is like a family. A closely knit family.”

Lee snickered while running her hands up and down his sides. “A controlling, dysfunctional family.”

“Of course. All families are dysfunctional. There are only a hundred vampires within the Quarter, maybe fifty outside it. There are only about thirty fledglings, those under two hundred. I Sired Lucien when we lived down west before he moved out here. He Sired Eric and four others, legally. This is Eric’s clan. These are people he trusts and has known for ages. I’m their ruler. It is only right that when I reside in his city, to meet his people. And you’re a princess now of a far greater Clan than this. It comes with many perks but also obligations.”

“I didn’t sign up for any of that,” Lee said. “Granted, I couldn’t deny the gravitational pull you seem to have on me, but that doesn’t mean I have to play well with others.”

“We are bonded, you will find it hard to deny now. It isn’t optional.”

“They know who I am and what I am. Mingling with them may not be welcome.”

“What you were is not what you are. You’re my mate and they will respect that.”

“I bet. So where are we going to have this meet and greet?”

“Usually for high ranking visits they choose the ‘Charade’.”

“Upper classy. All right. Give me an hour and I’ll be ready.”

Once he managed to give her her clothing back she traced home. She changed into her flared dress pants, a thin blouse with a tailored jacket and blue vest. To top the image off she wore a blue bowler hat. Then she added a cane, for image and for the blade hidden within it; also made by Richard, but with a weaker enhancement on it.

Before she left she encountered Richard. He looked her up and down and gave her a worried frown. “They are dangerous people, Lee. I know you want to find your true self or whatever you have been doing. But they are outside of the law. A law to themselves and that makes them dangerous to us all.”

“I’m on off time. So don’t nag. And I’m following Wilhelm’s orders.”

-Mostly.-

Lee was relieved to hear Charlie. After she had woken without her she had worried. Stupid to be relieved. There had been a time she had prayed for that silence.

-That metaphysical smack hit me hard.-

I’m sure you deserved it.

“Besides there are other laws than the Council. We’re not in the south and their power here is limited. Vampires have their own law, the Changed have a monarchy, the humans have more a mob mentality than the vampires and the were-packs have strong, unbreakable pack bonds. Yeah, the Council wants to have one rule for all races, but that’s not the way it is, is it? It has just been one long territory war since Creation. Humans can paint us as the monsters all they want, but their rulers want power like any other.”

“You’re right. It is a war. You have to ask what side you’re on.”

“It’s not so simple.”

“It is. What sort of world do you want to live in? Consider the factions and what the world would look like if one side won over the others. You will find the only logical choice, the only rational choice, is the Council. A world where we all live under one government.”

She shrugged. “You might want to look at those laws a little more closely. And maybe you will see how restrictive they are, even prejudice against some people.”

“For the benefit of all.”

“Really? Cause, even if I ignore my race, I would say those laws don’t treat witches fairly. Not compared to wizards.”

His face flushed. “There are certain restrictions on witches because of the potential to drain the life essence of others to fuel their magic.”

“And so they would outlaw witch organizations. Outlaw witch gatherings and Covens.”

“I’m not saying it is perfect, Lee. But it’s a foundation. The only way to improve the system is to get rid of these sub-factions, merge everyone and then make adjustments.”

“You have been talking to Wilhelm too much, Richard.”

She sighed. It would be so much easier if instead of sharing a city, divided into sectors, it was countries divided by borders. A country had a right to preserve its culture and government. No one seemed to think different races had the same choices. Lee was all for peace and freedom. It just seemed like not only was there a long history of violence and hate but no perfect solution.

The less human side of her didn’t care one way or another. Part of her didn’t care how the humans governed themselves, or if they warred, as long as they were around to feed on.

“I gotta go.” She took a few strides up to him and gently cupped his cheek. “I hate to do this.”

He gave her a puzzled look until her aura swept through his mind and his eyes went blank. With a light mental touch, she adjusted his memories, so that he had simply not seen her. It was not something she did to him often, but at times it was worth the risk of getting caught.

She traced away before he snapped out of it. Richard was a sign of the climate change in the Council. The City had a strong wizard community because more wizards were siding with their philosophy, over staying with the Chosen or going for the extreme of the White Council of Wizards. The Council offered them positions of power because of their unique skills. They were seen as a valuable asset. Not as morally grey as witches and human enough for mundane humans to accept them.

She arrived to see Jak looking stunning in a tuxedo, tailored in an older fashion, but one vampire's liked to reproduce. His eyes scanned her over, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “Women tend to wear dresses to these things.”

“Do they? Are we not vampires? Have we not lived through so many fashions that we mix all of them together as it pleases us?”

He inclined his head in a nod. “That is true. I could dress you in some very pleasing styles to me.”

“I bet. And Lucien?”

“Ah, I have been told he went to Viona’s.”

Lee took his arm, swinging her cane flippantly. “Pity. I’ll miss his insane ramblings.”

Jak opened the door for her and she smiled wryly at the old mannerisms. She slid in along a bench style seat or the horse-drawn carriage. Vampires were very fond of couches, love seats and bench seating. All the better to sprawl out with someone else. Eric and a female vampire sat across.

“My lord, my lady, this is Fiona. My date for the evening,” Eric said.

Fiona bowed her head to Jak and flashed Lee a very polite smile. She was an exquisite woman with pale golden skin and hair that almost matched. Her hair was swept upward, with tendrils framing her face. She held herself with careful poise in a gossamer dress, that was tantalizingly short and essentially see through, of a glittering gold. It draped over her, but there was no neckline, just a droop of fabric, revealed her cleavage down to her abdomen.

“Fiona runs all my clubs,” Eric added, likely to show her position within the Clan. Which Lee was going to get a lot of now that she was the mate of a prince. Tedious in the extreme. She never was good at remembering who was what.

She was curious to how people ranked and how they functioned in a vampire Clan. She could tell Fiona was around the three century mark and Eric was her Sire. Someday soon she would have to learn the details, benefits and restrictions of the fledgling-sire bond.

Fiona leaned forward slightly, causing the loose material of her dress to reveal the swells of her breasts. “I was sent here by Eric around Creation to assist in managing the city, when it became clear we would have to make adjustments when it came to Lucien.”

She nodded. In those times, nothing was settled. Territory was yet to be firmly claimed and the humans were in chaos. Fiona obviously knew what she was doing if she came in and established the Vampire Quarter to prepare for Eric.

“You’re familiar to me,” Fiona said. “Were you a local?”

By which she wanted to know if Lee had been a vampire residing in Quarter City during the End Days, when the city was called Edmonton. She had been in the asylum within the city later, but it only made sense she had been local before that. It made her wonder about her mother. The life they had before whatever erased Lee’s memories. As a born vampire she had to have associated with her kind. Associated enough for Viona to offer her sanctuary from the Clan and Council as they both began to make their mark, yet a century prior to either having established territory.

“I was local,” Lee said. “Did you know Lucien then?”

“Of course. This is where he lived pre-Creation. Before we restructured. And before his abrupt decline. I never believed he was a bleeder you know. He didn’t act like one when I worked with him, that first decade or so. I’m not sure what ails him, but I believe it is something else entirely.”

“If you knew Lucien around Creation, then you may have seen me. However, I would have looked differently as a toddler. Lucien is my father. Or so he claims. All things considered, he couldn’t have been a good one.”

She leaned back with a faint smile. “I do remember you. I had seen you when you were a teenager. A chance encounter since your mother was raising you outside Clan influence. I knew you were a vampire but thought you had been turned accidentally at a young age. I had assumed that is why Lucien kept you out of sight, since a turning of the young is banned.”

“She’s true born,” Eric said.

“I had gathered that, my dear. To have bonded with our prince, she would have to be. Lucien couldn’t have known the significance of this.”

“Oh, I think he knew all too well,” Jak said. “Lee was born around Creation. The last plague was in full swing. More than half the city was dead or dying. Refugees were pouring in from violence erupting in the south. People often killed or hunted down the Changed, believing they were mutations that spread the plague. Lucian was one of a few vampires in the city, all of which were keeping a low profile. We had just come to agreement with other Clans to establish one Master vampire in every major city, in order to establish a firm groundwork for the future.”

“Funny how the humans don’t appreciate the significance of that time,” Fiona said. “We established order within those cities.”

“Lucian had no way of knowing who would be appointed here or how they would treat a born vampire child. He would have wanted to work closely with Fiona to create a secure location for Eric before revealing the nature of his child.”

“While at the same time establishing his control over the other Master’s in this region,” Eric said. “He was granted the region. All his brood were designated Masters of the cities we claimed. It was the very beginning of the vampire Clan war, which coincided with the rise of the Chosen and were-shifters also claiming what they could.”

“Ironic really,” Fiona said. “Since his child would have established a link to our royalty through you Jak.”

Lee shifted uncomfortably thinking about what could have been.

-You could have been given to Jak as a child to establish a pact with vampire royalty. We would never have known freedom.-

Or the asylum.

-Or been a toy of the Council.-

Or we could have left and gone to Russia. I hear they have clanless vampires there.

“Whatever his intentions, he did keep me from the Clans,” Lee said.

“I doubt he gave you to the Council willingly,” Fiona said. “However, I don’t know what happened. Only that we found Lucian near insensible one night, gorged on blood and delusional. He never recovered after that. We had to keep a close eye on him as he had a tendency to slip our guard and we would not find him for months. Even though he was not in his right mind he was probably looking for you.”

Lee grunted and stared out of the window. She could only assume her father had lost his sanity around the same time she had lost hers. Answers were becoming more important to her.