Death Song (Tales from the Tarot)

20. Charlie

Chapter twenty

Charlie

“ H e will come out of it soon,” Finn says, from somewhere up above me. “It’s always tough on the first shift. His body is adjusting still.”

“I hope so,” Rex comments, sounding worried.

I huff a sigh at them, then curl up into a ball, tucking my tail over my nose. It’s not like I haven’t tried bringing back my human form, it’s just that I can’t. I’m stuck, somehow, inside this fur. Despite Finn’s insistence that it’s as simple as picturing myself as Charlie The Human, it really isn’t. I’ve pictured myself like that many times and nothing has brought my skin back to me.

“I wish Bowman was here,” Finn whispers. “He’d know how to help.”

Me too, Finn. Me too. It has been two days since Bowman died, and I feel his loss deeply. Far deeper than I ever imagined I could. He was my alpha, before I ever knew what that meant, and a hole where he should be sits deep inside me.

They will bury him this evening, deep in the woods. His former pack has claimed his body, as is their right, apparently, and though we are invited to attend the celebration of his life, we are not going. Finn will attend and take roses to lay on his body on behalf of us, but Rex has many questions about how Nikandros happened upon the basement where Marius and I were held. His suspicions are narrowing in on dealings with Bowman’s shitheel of a father and I can’t argue.

Bowman is gone. I do not need a funeral to know that. I do not need closure because my closure came at the touch of Thomas’ hand on his still chest.

“Do you think he knew?” Rex asks, looking down at me.

Finn nods. “I don’t think so. I’ve searched his journals for hints or clues saying that he knew, but I can’t find any. Charlie’s mom may have been connected to Hollycreek, but without access to their logs, I can’t say for sure. One of his parents is shifter, that much I do know. Bo always insisted that Mother Moon guided him to Charlie and I suppose that’s good enough until Charlie says otherwise.”

I’m right here. I let loose an annoyed whine at being talked about when I’m clearly right in front of them, wishing I had a mouth to form words so I could tell them off properly.

“I’m sorry, Charlie. That was rude. Want to try once more before I go?” Finn says, placing his hand on my side.

I lift my head and look at him, heaving a sigh. I could try again, I suppose. It wouldn’t hurt. Pulling myself to a seated position, I close my eyes and wait for his instruction, though I know it by heart by now. It has been said to me countless times over the last two days while I’ve lingered in this fur.

“Picture Charlie as a human,” Finn says. “Picture fingers, and toes. Hair instead of fur. Skin with freckles. Ask for him to come back and he will.”

I dutifully create an image in my mind, asking whoever the hell I possibly can to allow me to shift back. My fur ripples as I strain, trying to call on my human skin, but it doesn’t come. With a sad huff, I flop down onto the floor again, curling back into my ball of sadness.

“We can try again later,” Rex says, his voice as gentle as his touch on my fur is.

“I’d stay longer, but I should be heading out. They will be lighting the fires soon and I don’t want to miss a moment of his ceremony.”

I look up to see the pained expression on Rex’s face as he nods.

“How are you handling things?” Finn asks, leaning close to Rex.

“I am hanging in there.” It’s not a complete lie, but I know it isn’t exactly the truth. Seeing Marius again as a hollow soulless shell shook him more than he wants to admit. He also blames himself for Marius being called back as a vampire, muttering to himself that he shouldn’t have dripped blood into the wounds that ended him.

And all I can do to provide comfort is lick his face and shove my fur into his nose.

Super helpful.

“Anything more from Nikandros?”

“Nothing, it is over. He has been reaped once more and placed somewhere within The Nether. Thomas came to the house yesterday to inform us directly that his soul is being put where it will not be found again.”

That was kind of hilarious actually. Emery answered the door and nearly slammed it shut in poor Thomas’ face. Luckily Rex stepped in before he could be completely rude, but still. Funny as hell.

Finn reaches down and scratches my ears before leaving the room, Rex following behind to see him to the door. I huff another sigh into my fur as the door to our home opens and closes. Emery has gone out for the night and Gibson has become wary of me, keeping his distance while I am trapped in this form. Rex says to not take it personally, that Gibson has some history with shifters that he’s working his way through, but it’s hard not to. We never talked much before, but I always liked his company. I have hope he’ll come around though. He did come out to make himself something to eat earlier and left a plate of bacon and raspberry jam on toast on the kitchen floor for me before heading back to his room. He also filled my water bowl, which is a thing I now have.

Because I am trapped in this stupid fur.

Rex walks back into the room where I’m curled up on the floor and sits on the rug beside me. Without a word of warning, he grabs me and pulls me onto his lap. I hang off the edges of his knees, but I shuffle around until I’m mostly on him, then sink into his scent and comfort. He strokes behind my ears, hitting the spots I can only reach with my back paws, and I close my eyes.

“Do you want to go paint?” he asks, stroking my fur. “Have to have hands to paint, maybe think about that and it will help you shift back?”

Would that I could, Rex. I know I need hands to paint, but I cannot seem to find them.

“You paid me the moon, you know, little wolf. It was I who was supposed to pay that price, but I seem to think that with you in this fur, it’s you who has paid me this time around. All that remains is a payment of everything else and that is already yours. I am yours, Charlie. Everything that I am is yours. You know I love you, right?” he says, running his hands down from my ears to my sides. “Marius returning for a brief moment does not change that.”

I can’t help but huff a small breath as the thought that if Marius had known who he was and had his soul, the situation would be vastly different ripples through my brain. It’s easy to not want to be with someone when they don’t remember who you are and that you once loved them. Yet, as I think these things, they are at war in my brain with the thoughts that insist Rex loves me, despite everything.

Rex sighs as he shuffles me into his arms, rising from the floor. I topple precariously in his grasp, yelping as he almost drops me to the rug, but he catches me before I smash to the ground. Hefting me upwards so that he can be sure his hold on me is true, he carries me through the living room and into the bedroom we share, depositing me on the bed with a thump. I land and spring to my feet, curious what the heck he’s up to, tilting my head sideways so I can track him as he walks across the room.

Huh. So that’s why dogs do that. Interesting.

Rex closes the bedroom door, and I lay down on the edge of the mattress, nose and front paws pointing towards him. He starts slowly removing his clothing and I watch, eyes wide.

“Do you know how to claim your mate?” he asks, pulling his deep blue T-shirt over his shoulders.

I certainly do not, but I am willing to give it a try if it means he keeps taking clothing off.

“You have to be human,” he continues, undoing the button on his pants. “Can’t do it unless you’re human. Then, we lay down in bed, and either I enter you, or you enter me. Your choice, really. The key is the bite, at least that’s what Finn says. At some point, when it feels right, you bite me where my shoulder meets my neck, and your wolf fangs emerge from your gums to leave marks in my skin so everyone knows that I am yours, forever and always.” Does he want to be mine, forever and always even with his lost love returned to him? I tilt my head to the side in question and he stops taking his clothing off, moving to grab my furry face in his hands. “I am already yours, Charlie. All I’m asking is to wear your mark so that everyone knows who I belong to.”

He takes a step away from me, releasing my face as he goes back to taking his pants off. When he’s down to his underwear, there’s an urge rising in me to claim him as he’s asked me to do. It’s a feral push that resonates inside me as I stare at his perfect skin, imagining my marks upon it.

“Come on, Charlie,” he whispers, toying with the band of his boxer briefs. “Shift so you can claim me. Name me Adhrexos, Bearer of Charlie’s Mark.”

His words send a shiver through me, and I eye his perfect neck where the tattoo of the red rose rests.

I want.

I need.

I crave.

And everyone must know that this beautiful king is mine. The urge rushes though me like a pulse of lightning, and I surge upwards, my bones cracking and muscles shortening as I tip my head backward to the roof above. A sharp cry leaves me as the pain ripples through my body, but when it eases, I am on my hands and knees, naked on the edge of the bed.

“It worked.” Rex grins, rushing to my side. “Are you hurt?”

“Not really, give me a moment though,” I respond, lifting my head to face him. He leans forward, pressing a kiss to my lips as I crawl off the bed on wobbly legs and come to stand on two feet in front of him. I pitch to the side slightly, but he wraps his arms around me to steady me, holding tight until the dizziness leaves me behind. I tilt my head up slightly to look at his beautiful face. “Did you mean what you said?”

“Charlie, of course. I know you worry about Marius’ soul; I can feel it rippling through the little threads of the bond we have, but he is my past. You are my future and I need you like I need air, my little wolf.”

I look into his eyes and find nothing but truth as those tiny threads of bond between us ripple with his love for me. Stepping forward, I tilt my head up, waiting for his lips to meet mine and when they do, I melt into his kiss. Rex reaches low, grabbing my thighs, and I spring upwards, feeling him catch me.

He always seems to catch me.

I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, my cock hardening as I lick my way into his mouth. His tongue meets mine, tangling between our two mouths until he breaks the connection. I shift my hips slightly up and then down again, reveling in the feel of his smooth belly on my stiff length.

“I could fuck you right here, like this,” he murmurs, eyes heating as I thrust against his stomach wantonly.

“Such dirty language from your royal mouth,” I whisper back, rubbing myself on him wantonly, arousal pooling deep inside me.

His eyes darken with hunger and need as he grins in response. Carrying me across the room, he sits on the edge of the bed, then reaches for the bedside drawer, pulling out the lube. I hum softly as he opens the cap, then reaches below me to smooth his fingers over my entrance, still moving my hips like I can’t get enough of the feel of his skin on mine. Rex makes quick work of slipping his lubed fingers into me, just enough that it won’t cause agony when he thrusts his cock inside. I writhe on his fingers, pressing kisses to his face, lips, cheeks, everywhere I can.

“Fuck me,” I plead, because his fingers, though perfect, aren’t what I really want. I move back from his chest, glancing down as he holds his thick cock upwards, inches away from where I need him the most.

“Come on then, little wolf. Sit on my cock and make me your mate.”

With a heated moan, I press downwards, impaling myself on him. I gasp as he spreads me open, the feeling of being filled completely by him meeting the sense of rightness that things draws to the forefront of my mind. I slide upwards, then let myself fall again, his cock dragging on my insides and pushing into all the right places. Bracing my hands on his shoulders, I ride him, listening as he moans and pants with every drop of my heated body back onto him. His hands move to grip my hips and he pulls me up, then pushes me down hard, sending shivers scattering through me.

“Oh fuck, Rex,” I moan, “Please. Like that.”

He grins as he lifts me off him again, then pushes me back down hard, impaling me on his cock as I hold onto his shoulders, my fingers digging in. My own length drags on his belly with every push and pull, my length trapped against his smooth flesh as he uses my body and gives me pleasure. I can feel my orgasm coming as he lets go, letting me take over to set the rhythm I need and want. I cant my hips as I take him into me over and over again, little ‘oh’ noises falling from between my lips.

“Claim me,” Rex begs, tilting his head to the side. “Claim me, my love.”

As I top over the edge of orgasm, I open my mouth feeling my sharpened teeth slip from my gums. Leaning forward, I grip him between shoulder and neck, biting down hard and holding on as he cries out, my cum spilling onto his belly between us. His hips thrust upwards hard into me then, his hands gripping my hips far tighter than before as he holds me in place. I can feel him inside me, every spurt of him into my body sending little fires along my bones and muscles. His pleasure meets mine in my own body and it is the strangest, most wonderful thing I have ever felt.

All of him is me.

All of me is him.

I pull my teeth free from his skin, feeling the slip of them back into my gums, or wherever they truly came from, but I don’t have to make any move to close the wounds. They are stitching shut before my eyes, his vampire healing taking effect as I watch the pinpricks of my mouth close. When his wounds are done healing, a perfect set of imprints remain in his skin and I gently lick at them, compelled by something inside me to touch, taste and feel what I have left behind.

“Satisfied?” Rex asks, and I nod in response, feeling his heartbeat inside my own body like it belongs to me.

We sit in silence as his cock slips from my body, cum leaking out of mine. I don’t care though, not when there are so many new things to feel happening inside of me. A thread extends inside my mind, linking itself outwards to Rex, and he nods, clearly feeling it too. The slow hum of a song that I know all too well sinks into my head, but I shake it loose. Death has no place here, with me and my mate.

“Sing for me,” I ask.

“What do you mean?”

“Sing me a song, Rex. A song of life and love. A song of a mural that lies unfinished and a painting of a cottage with a garden. Tell me about accepting things and moving forward. Sing me into this new life as you once sang only for death.”

Rex nods, giving me a tender kiss on my lips before tilting his head upwards and opening his beautiful mouth. I rest my head against his chest, listening to the air in his lungs as he sings me a song of beauty and truth.

Of change and transformation.

Of seer mates for vampire lords who do not have them on their own.

He sings to me a painting of wolves and crowns, promises of roses in gardens.

He sings me a canvas of stars, the moon and everything else.

A life song for us together, forever and always.

The End