Part 1: Mate's Lore Read online

  “Fair enough.”

  “Is that all you have to say to me?” Why did she even care so much? It wasn’t like she was staying or anything.

  His eyes softened. “Please come with me.”

  “We need to talk. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  He shrugged. “This is Alexandra’s quarters. If you would prefer to stay…”

  “Alexandra as in the…the woman that just left…”

  Brant raised his brows and nodded once.

  Tanya looked around the spacious suite. The fabrics were done in soft lavender and peach, the four post bed was a glaring reminder of what had just taken place. She narrowed her eyes at him in what she hoped was a dirty look. “Let’s go.”

  Brant pulled on his shirt and moved to take her hand. “I don’t think so.” She put both arms behind her back and prayed that the look she was giving him had daggers attached.

  He held her gaze for a few beats before striding from the room. Tanya had to work to keep up even though she got the distinct impression that he was moving slower than usual. They made their way through the house back to the opposite wing, entering the room directly after hers. Brant closed the door behind her. He removed the shirt and unsnapped his jeans.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I need to take a shower.”

  “Like hell, we need to talk. You’re not showering while I’m in here,” she sounded panicked.

  “You are my female, I don’t understand the problem.” He pulled his jeans off. She thanked God that he left his boxers on. Brant turned and made for the bathroom. Her eyes lowered as he walked away. It happened without her permission. They refused to listen because holy hell he looked fantastic. The silk material accentuated glutes made of steel.

  “I refuse to mate with you. Find another human if you’re looking for a baby making factory.” He tensed, then stopped and turned his head to the side.

  Tanya recalled how the female vampire had moaned while he drank from her and her own blood turned to acid all over again. “Why don’t you just use a surrogate? That way you and your…little friend can carry on with whatever the hell it was that you were doing.”

  “It wasn’t sexual.” He carried on walking.

  Had Brant and that hussy been having sex, maybe not, but was there something sexual about him drinking from her, hell yeah.

  There was a sound of water running and a door closed. Tanya inched her way to the bathroom entrance. To hell with it. She walked in. His back was turned. Lord, oh lord his ass had been sculpted by the Gods. It almost physically hurt to turn away.

  “I don’t think that us mating is a good idea. Besides all the other impossible factors of the situations, I hadn’t planned on having children any time soon. This just isn’t going to work for me.”

  The water stopped and the door creaked open. She hardly dared to breathe.

  “You can turn around.”

  “I’d rather not.”

  “I’m decent.”

  She turned. More like totally indecent even though everything was sort of covered. The big vampire had a white towel wrapped low around his hips. Moisture still dripped down his magnificent chest. He leaned back on the vanity and crossed his arms.

  “We will mate. That is not negotiable.”

  “So you are going to force yourself on me?”

  His eyes darkened, “I told you that force would not be necessary.”

  So freaking full of himself. “Not happening bucko, so it would be force.”

  He ground his teeth. “I do understand why you’re so mad.”

  “Really? I highly doubt it.”

  “You think that there is something between Alexandra and myself. Well let me assure you there isn’t. I already told you it wasn’t sexual.”

  “Whatever.” It may not have been sexual for him, but it sure had been for the female vampire. Her moan had been in sheer pleasure.

  “We will mate and that is final.”

  “Listen up asshole—”

  His mouth twitched.

  “—you chose me. It wasn’t the other way round. There were a whole lot of willing ladies that I’m sure would’ve been thrilled to be your…um…queen. I didn’t ask to be here.” She wagged her finger at him. Tanya knew she was being a bit childish, but couldn’t seem to help herself. “Then I find out that not only do I stand a very definite chance of not surviving the mating…” she paused and his eyes first widened then narrowed and his brow furrowed. “I’m also expected to give you heirs…as in yesterday? I don’t want to be damaged during the mating. I kind of like living and I’m not ready to be a mother.”

  Brant shook his head in disgust. “Stephany. She normally would never betray me like this.”

  “Look…” Now she was worried about the lady vamp. “Please don’t punish her for this.” She’d never once stopped to consider how this would affect the other woman.

  He raised his brows. “You must think I’m some sort of monster.”

  He said it.

  “I made her tell me.”

  Brant smiled. Out popped those sexy dimples. As much as she hated to admit it, he looked edible, in a gourmet five star restaurant kind of a way. Good thing she was on a strict diet.

  “You made her tell?” He shook his head in disbelief. His face turned serious. “The only reason I took blood from Alexandra was so I would be more in control with you.” He pulled himself upright into his full magnificent glory. By human standards, Tanya was considered tall for a woman, yet she had to look up as he took a step towards her.

  “Don’t you dare come near me.”

  For a second his face clouded with…hurt. No way. The emotion was gone before she could be sure.

  “I will be patient. We can take this slow. Let’s get to know each other.” His eyes became hooded as his gaze dropped to her lips.

  “When you say get to know each other, you’re referring to conversations and…I don’t know…long walks through the forest or the beach maybe?”

  His eyes glittered and he readjusted the towel at his hips. She looked down at the smattering of hairs that started at his navel and disappeared under the material. Her mouth went dry. Damn him, she didn’t want to be this attracted to the big vampire.

  Brant threw her a lazy smile. “Yes, I most definitely want to learn a lot more about you. We’ll take long walks, but…we’ll also do other things.”

  Tanya struggled to keep her breathing under control. “What other things?”

  “I want to get to know your body better too.”

  “My”—she swallowed hard—“body?”

  His eyes burned. Her pussy clenched. The thought of having sex with this man was not nearly as offensive as it should’ve been. Hell, according to her body it was all systems go.

  “No,” she whispered.

  His eyes softened. “I told you we wouldn’t do anything until you were ready. All I’m asking is that you give us a chance.”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “Yes. You have my word that nothing will happen without your permission.”

  ****

  Had he completely lost his mind?

  The survival of his people depended on them mating successfully and, more importantly, of them raising potential heirs to the throne. It was his duty as king.

  His race had been divided for one hundred years. A bloody war had already claimed so many, making them vulnerable to attack from other species.

  Having no future heir would bring chaos and further division. This would lead to the desecration of his coven and potentially of Zane’s as well. Although he cared nothing for his birth enemy, the knowledge still burned in his gut. The last thing he wanted was for his race to become extinct.

  Yet, knowing all this, he still couldn’t force this female to mate with him. Although ‘force’ was not the right word. With one kiss, one touch, he knew he could take her easily, but he didn’t want to leave her with regrets.

  Brant wanted a willing mate, he wanted
more than a relationship. He wanted a partnership, a family. Deep down he knew he could have that with a female like Tanya. If that meant patience, he would deal.

  “You have my word Tanya. No mating until we get to know each other and you get to decide how fast or slow we take this.”

  “Fine, but there will be no…” Her cheeks turned fiery hot. “Alexandra or any other women for that matter if we’re going to get to know each other.”

  He should’ve seen this coming. It was the one thing he couldn’t give her. “Cenwein, for your own good, I can’t agree to that.”

  Her brow creased, “Why?”

  “Blood lust would make me dangerous to you, especially during sex. I would never forgive myself if…” He stepped towards her and brushed a wayward strand from her face. She shivered. So sensitive. So pure. He could easily lose himself with her.

  Her eyes narrowed and her mouth tensed. “No sex then which suits me fine since we don’t know each other well enough anyway.”

  “We will have sex.”

  “You just gave me your word that I get to decide and I say no sex as long as you are drinking from that hussy. She has feelings for you. It may not be sexual to you, but it is to her.” Her eyes blazed. “You can’t deny that the act is intimate.”

  Brant couldn’t deny it. He wanted to. The lie was on the tip of his tongue. He ground his teeth instead of releasing it.

  “Drink from me or there will be no sex. The choice is yours.” Her eyes widened like she was shocked at having offered her blood to him. He knew better though, neither of them would be able to deny the attraction. Even though he had offered her time, he knew it wouldn’t take long. They had been made for one another.

  Brant raked a frustrated hand through his hair and strode towards his dresser. Agreeing would place her in danger, there was no choice to be made. “I can’t.”

  Brant turned to watch her enter the room after him. Tanya closed her eyes. The disappointment was easy to read on her face.

  “Fine by me.”

  He cursed. “You would taste too good. I don’t know if I would have enough willpower to hold back.” Just the thought of tasting her blood made excitement rush through his veins.

  “Excuses, excuses.” She made a noise of exasperation and walked out of his quarters. Brant heard her door slam.

  As tempted as he was, he couldn’t do it. Her life meant everything to both him and his coven.

  Chapter 4

  Tanya paced from one side of her spacious suite to the other. What an asshole.

  Brant wanted to get to know her better, yet he expected her to turn a blind eye every time he sank his teeth into the sexy female vampire. The brunette clearly would do anything to get him into her bed if she hadn’t already.

  She paced faster. Chances were good that they had been lovers. Would he remain faithful once they were mated? This wasn’t going to work for her. No freaking way. She so didn’t want a mate, but if she had to have one then he would need to be completely monogamous. Fangs and all.

  “There you are.” Stephany entered her room, she smiled as she walked towards Tanya.

  “Listen, I’m so sorry. I hope I didn’t dump you in the shit…”

  The other woman reached out and touched her arm. “No biggie. Brant will get over it. I shouldn’t have said anything anyway.”

  “No, I’m so glad you did. I still know so little about the ways of your people, of what’s expected of me.” Tanya sank down onto the edge of the bed. “I don’t know what to do. I never expected to be here. If it were up to me, I would leave.” The vampire people were not her own, yet she couldn’t just leave knowing that their future survival rested on her shoulders. It irritated her but she was also drawn to Brant in a way that scared her. It was as if their lack of knowledge of one another didn’t matter. Like they were being brought together by unseen forces. It was weird and it freaked her out just a little.

  “Brant is a good man. Please give him a chance. ”

  “Except he isn’t a man is he?”

  “No, he isn’t but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a successful union.” Stephany sat next to her.

  “We can’t have much of anything if he keeps seeing Alexandra. This is so messed up.”

  “I’m sorry you had to see that”—she tilted her head—“It wasn’t…like that between them…you do know that don’t you?”

  Tanya sighed. “Yeah, right. If it was up to Alexandra it would so be like that.” Her jealousy felt like bugs crawling over her skin. Tanya detested the feeling yet couldn’t manage to shake it. No matter how many times she mentally swatted, there were plenty more vile bugs to take the place of the dead ones.

  “Don’t let her get to you. I shouldn’t tell you this, but Brant hasn’t had sex with anyone in months. That includes Alexandra.”

  Great. Confirmation. So the two of them had some sort of a thing in the past. The bugs crawled faster.

  Stephany must have seen or sensed her reaction because she quickly added. “It wasn’t like that. Vampires are highly sexual. Since males are not permitted to take humans it is accepted that all unattached males and females are free to fornicate at will.”

  “Alrighty. I understand.” Like hell. Another thought entered her mind. “That means you…”

  “I’m celibate. Brant and I have never…” She blushed. How strange. Even though Tanya was fully aware that most known facts about vampires were myths, she shouldn’t be so surprised at normal bodily functions. Vampires were not the undead. Far from it. They were just another species. Like humans or shifters. They were very much alive. As far as she knew, they could age. It was said that they lived twice as long as humans though and were tough SOBs, they could be killed but it wasn’t easy.

  “What’s with the whole blood drinking thing anyway?” So far, this seemed to be the only semblance the species had with the myths that surrounded them.

  “We can and do partake in food and drink. The problem is that our metabolisms are too fast to be able to consume sufficient human nutrients to survive. For whatever reason, blood slows down our metabolic rate. We need to drink every few days. Also, animal blood doesn’t work, it has to be vampire or human blood.”

  “Oh, so Brant will have no choice but to go back to her?” The thought of him with the full-of-it brunette stung still. It was just so unimaginable to her how she could so quickly feel attached to him, in a way that made her feel so much animosity towards the other woman. Confused, she tossed around the idea of leaving again. After all, there had to be another way to save the vampire race. She couldn’t be the only answer for them. Maybe there was a way for Brant to choose again? The idea hurt so badly, that she knew it was pointless to continue these thoughts. Just thinking about it hurt like a paper cut to the eye ball.

  “He won’t drink from you?” Stephany sounded surprised.

  “No, he says it’s too risky, that I would be in danger.”

  The blonde remained silent for a time. She seemed to be contemplating something.

  “What?” It stung that the Stephany didn’t want to confide in her any more, although she couldn’t blame her.

  She pursed her lips, turning her sea blue eyes on Tanya. “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. He will have to drink from you sooner or later. Be patient and do not let Alexandra get to you. She can be a bitch.”

  Tanya laughed, feeling a ton better.

  “By the way, we’re going out this evening,” Stephany winked. “Brant wants his people to see the future queen. I’m sure he wants to show you off. I’ll come back later to help you get ready.”

  Tanya smiled back. Even though she knew it was pointless, her mind turned back to thoughts of escape again. If they were going to town, then there might be an opportunity. The real problem was that if the time came, she wasn’t sure she could really do it.

  ****

  Stephany’s dress glittered under the street light. “Please remember, our drinks are pretty much neat alcohol. Be sure to ask the bartender for
something human.”

  She gasped, “Are you telling me that we’re going to a vampire club?”

  Stephany laughed, “Of course silly. Very few humans have been permitted to cross the threshold. It’s Brant’s club. Aorta does extremely well, even members of Zane’s coven sneak in on a regular basis.”

  “Doesn’t it cause trouble? Fights I mean.”

  “Nah. Nowadays the beef mainly exists between the kings. They seem to think the hatred between each other is just as bad between the covens. In reality, we get along just fine with more than our fair share of cross matings.” Tiny diamonds twinkled at the vampire’s ears.

  “Cross mating huh? I’ll bet.” She could just imagine. “What happened to cause the original feud?”

  Stephany’s eyes narrowed. “Oh no. Brant can tell you but make sure you catch him in a good mood. He hates to talk about Zane on the best of days.”

  Zane, an image of the ultra sexy, extra mean vampire came to mind. Dark, haunting eyes. Broad, muscled shoulders. Meaty thighs encased in soft leather. Her heart shouldn’t beat faster, but it did. He scared her shitless. So it was a perfectly normal reaction. Right?

  A long crimson rug stretched out from an abnormally high door. There was a queue halfway down the block. Mostly comprising of skimpily dressed women. Tanya looked down at her own attire. Stephany had been quite the busy bee. While Tanya had an afternoon nap, Stephany had gone shopping on her behalf.

  She’d picked up many outfits, from sun dresses to cocktail gowns and everything in-between. There had even been a few sets of sexy lingerie, and in all the right sizes.

  This dress must have cost more than everything in her own closet combined. The black fabric fit her like it had been tailored to her frame. Normally she would never have had the guts to attempt to pull off something so daring, but Stephany had assured her that it looked perfect. The neckline dipped low in a scoop that accentuated her breasts. The figure hugging fabric topped mid-thigh. At least she had descent legs and the dress sufficiently hid her curvy hips and thighs. High stiletto heels completed the outfit. Due to her height, Tanya had never wore heels and had to grip Stephany’s arm for support. She had to admit though that they looked really good on her. Making her legs look longer and leaner than they really were.