Fangs of Fate (Untish #1)

Chapter 59

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

TATE

“You look different,” Aether spoke.

“As opposed to being muddy and bloody? Gee, thanks.” I rolled my eyes.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. It felt uncharacteristic of him to show genuine concern. Like he actually cared, not just looking after me for Arithi as he so often reminded me.

“Fine,” I lied. I felt like complete garbage.

“Mhmm.” He eyed the bowl of vomit on the floor. “When one is going through the change, it can be common to experience intense side effects. We’ve already discussed some, but overheating and vomiting can unfortunately be common when expressing magic. And when trying to recover from severe wounds?—”

“What?”

“Your wounds were bad, I wish?—”

“No, you said magic.” I didn’t understand much about magic, but I knew I had larger stores of it than I’d originally thought. I could shift and manipulate air, or whatever it was, and I knew if I’d searched within to that now clear pool, I’d have to confront another truth…

“I wish I could explain more, but not here. There are a few things we need to go over.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and folded his hands inward, his eyes darkening. “Tate, you can’t tell Shae or anyone here about the Untish Tribe or your connection to it. And you certainly can’t tell them about us.”

“I know.” I looked down. I hated keeping Shae in the dark, but after what happened to Fletch, I couldn’t stomach the thought of getting Shae involved.

“Good. I just got word from Arithi. We have a mission.”

“A mission?” My eyes bugged out. I was hooked up to an IV, could barely move, and I was supposed to complete a mission?

“Yes, as soon as you’re able, we’re going to destroy that base creating the seethings, and then get the hell out of here.”

I was silent. We needed to kill those creatures; I knew that. But I’d nearly died the last time I encountered one. And I could barely move at the moment. My pulse quickened as panic began to settle in.

“Where will we go?” I asked, focusing instead on the male in front of me. Tattoos peeked out from his black jacket and crawled up his neck. His dark hair was pulled back in a bun just above the nape of his neck and I could swear the ends of it looked a little different, darker somehow.

“Classified.”

Of course it was. I looked away and gazed out the window. I didn’t want to be at the Southern Outpost. I didn’t want to be caught up in a war. But the guara needed to be dealt with, more specifically, President Dale needed to be handled. He was involved in the creation of those creatures and responsible for Fletch’s death.

“I’ll go with you. But I need to know that Shae will be safe. I want to take her with us.”

“Not an option.”

“I say it is,” I challenged him, lifting my chin and feigning defiance I simply didn’t feel. The movement itself was incredibly draining.

“Tate.” He let out a heavy sigh. “I know you care for her. And because you do, trust me when I say, she’s safer here.”

Was he serious? Safer with the evil responsible for the seethings? Serving the guara?

“Then I won’t leave.”

It was a bluff. From the way he smirked, the asshole knew it.

“I’m serious. She’s the only family I have left, and I won’t leave her to be swallowed whole by the guara.”

The air in the room thickened. Pacifying. Soothing, he was soothing me.

“Stop. I’m not a child who needs to be coddled. I am an adult who is making a reasonable demand.” I wiggled in the bed, the sensations surrounding me didn’t relent. To my chagrin, it was calming.

“Tate, everyone who knows about the Untish is in danger, they are a threat both to the Glenn and to the Untish Tribe.”

“But I know about you guys. Fletch did and?—”

“Tate.” His eyes deepened. I knew what he was getting at. Fletch was gone because of his involvement with the Untish Tribe and the Glenn’s discovery of it.

“That’s exactly what I’m concerned about, Aether. If they discover I’m involved with you guys they may come after Shae. I can’t risk exposing her to harm.”

“If Shae comes with us, Arithi will kill her.”

My blood stalled in my veins, the fire I felt building a moment ago, fell silent. Extinguished.

Aether’s jaw ticked. “She’s safer here. The sooner we leave, the better.”

I looked away, down at the sheet, thin and low-thread count—a worn white. I couldn’t protect Shae. Leaving her here meant leaving her to be attacked by those things again. Leaving her to the protection of the guara and Chance. But taking her? Death. Neither option was acceptable. I ran my hands over my face, they trembled from the movement. I was weak. In so many ways, I was pathetically weak.

“The sooner we leave, the less contact you have with her, the better. We need to get you on your feet.”

I didn’t respond. What would Shae do? I exhaled.

“I need you to get full strength, but since you’re changing, you need to feed.”

“I thought that’s what the tubes were for.” I lifted my arm, wincing as the cannulas dug in at an uncomfortable angle in the crook of my elbow.

“Not that kind of blood.” He took off his jacket, revealing a navy tank underneath that highlighted his well-formed chest. Ah. His blood.

“I thought Vala insinuated it was a ‘no-no’ to give me your blood.”

“You may one day hate me for it. But I’m willing to deal with that when that day comes.” His lips tensed.

I didn’t move, didn’t reach out for him, I just sat there. Unsure.

“And if I don’t…” I left the question hanging. Better to let him reveal his hand.

“You won’t make it through the next day if you don’t have blood with richer magic to restore your depletion.”

I bit my lip. “Then why would I despise you for this? For offering to help me.”

He didn’t answer, he just looked away. I could feel his energy surrounding me, pulsing, begging to claim me and yet, it remained just beyond my reach.

I glanced to his pulsing veins. Easy to puncture. The arm was less intimate…

And yet, I didn’t want to drink, at least not in the way he offered. I’d only fed from vessels when they deserved it. My mind reasoned that perhaps he did deserve it. He was a liar, a manipulator. But…he had saved my ass. A part of me was drawn to him in a way I didn’t comprehend.

He pulled his arm back as if sensing my hesitancy. “You don’t have to direct feed.” He stalked over to the cabinet and retrieved an IV kit. With expert movements, he dug the needle into his vein and then turned on the flow allowing it to enter the cannula he’d attached. Blood, deep maroon and golden, filled the tube and began dripping on the floor. He ignored it as he turned back to the cabinet rummaging through the drawers.

“Damn it.”

“What?” I asked, my focus wholly on the blood coating the floor. I could feel its call, the beckon of its magic.

Drink.

“No cups. Sorry.” He stalked back to me, sat on the edge of the bed, and extended the end of the cannula to me.

I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed it and put it to my lips. The flavor was exquisite, just as I’d recalled.

I adjusted my grip on the tube and pulled him closer. My whole body felt alive, I could feel energy flowing in me, through me, to me. I felt alive. I dragged again, deeper this time. A buzz began to settle over my mind and my senses were suddenly heightened and then dulled. Powerful, I felt strong.

Aether’s other arm came around me and steadied me as I wavered from this new wave of vibrancy. I was close to him and yet so very far. A mere foot was between us, but it felt like an ocean.

I began to hum. Or at least I did in my head. His blood was a symphony, the missing notes to my song. I scooted closer to him so that my knees were pressed against his thigh. His hand on my back stilled its motions but kept contact. I wanted more.

I moved again and this time I was sitting on his lap.

“Tate. You should really just—” His words broke with a moan as I adjusted on him, this length growing beneath me.

I drew more blood into my mouth, my throat, my being. This. This is what I’d needed, what I’d begged for. I could feel the room’s energy again, sense the air molecules, a force I didn’t understand but recognized.

“Just eat, a little more,” his voice was low, husky.

I continued to feed, my mind falling blissfully unaware as the high took over. I could taste notes of cherry.

Passion .

Drops of honey.

Longing .

My nerve endings fired and every part where our bodies met was on fire. I let go of the tube with one hand and gripped his shoulder, while biting down on the cannula, the high making me feel dizzy.

“Tate, you need to release now,” Aether was speaking, but I didn’t want to let go. I wanted more, needed more.

“Tate,” he commanded and pinched the tube, stopping the blood flow. I reached for his hand, but he lifted it higher and met my eyes with his.

His eyes were dark and full of promise—gone was the golden flecks. No, these eyes were purely sensual. I wanted more of him, his blood, his flavor, his being. He pulled the IV out, blood spurting across the bed and my lap before he threw a bandage I hadn’t noticed before on it. Closed for business. Or was he?

“Kiss me,” I spoke as I leaned toward him.

“Tate,” his voice was both a plea and reprimand. I could see the way he stared at my lips, the way he swallowed, the heat and wanting in his eyes. Maybe this was just a blood high, but I didn’t care. If I couldn’t have his blood in me, I could at least taste his mouth.

“Kiss me?” I leaned in and gently brushed my lips over his and then pulled back. Waiting. Wanting.

He moaned and then swallowed my mouth with his as his hands tightened around my waist. He reached up and dug one hand into my hair at the base of my neck and the other pressed my body closer to his. I began to grind against him as I swept my tongue inside his mouth. Mother Blood, he tasted so good. So right.

He stood up and then flipped me over, so I was lying on my back in the bed, never breaking contact as his tongue was dancing inside my mouth. I trapped him with my legs and pulled him closer to me. I could feel the hard length of him at my core. I wanted this. I was ready.

His hand slipped up the medical gown to my breast and gently squeezed, teasing. I moaned and he broke the kiss before claiming my clavicle. I could feel his fangs graze the soft spot at my neck. The lover’s mark.

He growled deeply, pressing his fangs to the mark but not puncturing, before savagely taking my clavicle in his mouth in a deep kiss. More, I wanted more. I reached down and grabbed the length of him. He bucked at my touch.

He released my neck and then licked a slow path up it to just behind my ear.

Pleasure. Pure bliss. I moaned and moved my left hand under his shirt and sank my fingers into his back, not caring that I could feel blood bloom where my fingers dug.

He paused and then pulled back, cradling my face in one hand.

“Not now, not this way.”

What?

Bleary-eyed, I tried to comprehend his denial. He moved away from me and stood out of reach, just in front of me.

“It’s just…not right. Not now.” Then he turned and walked over to the chair before dropping in it.

Had he seriously just denied me? Red crept up my cheeks. Rejection was new.

My blood fired within me, sparked, and sang. I could still feel the ache in my core. He may not be willing to satisfy me, but I’d be damned if I was left wanting.

I locked eyes with him as I lowered my hand to my gown that was crumpled up around my thighs. Slowly I placed one hand inside, brushing the entrance to my core. The sensation elicited a moan from me.

Aether’s eyes widened and I could scent his desire from across the room. Good, he deserved to burn with unreciprocated passion.

I grazed my thumb against the sensitive bud, back and forth. My nerve endings rapidly buzzed, the pleasure radiating through my core. I dropped my head onto the bed and closed my eyes, focusing on the pleasure.

Slowly, I inserted one finger, and then a second and began pumping, the motion smooth from my juices. I moved faster and then slower, building the friction and feeling the pressure in my core build.

I opened my eyes. Aether’s focus was entirely mine. The look on his face was pure lust. I sank my focus into his pupils, they dilated with my attention. The air around me tightened, like I was being held, stroked even.

I continued to pump, savoring each motion and the flick of my knuckles against the bud of my sex. The tension around us built; pure vibrancy that I was beginning to become familiar with, filled the room.

Aether reached down to his engorged crotch, pulling at his zipper.

“Uh-uh.” I shook my head. “You can watch. But no participation of any kind.”

His eyes flared with the challenge.

Desire. Sex. Pure, undiluted attraction.

I smirked as I picked up my motion and widened my legs. I released a teasing moan, Aether’s hands flexed in response.

I reached out to the air from within and touched the energy buzzing. Aether’s moan was audible, as was the fisting of his hands. Interesting.

I continued to tease myself before finally, digging in deeper to find the perfect spot, to stroke the ache. Satisfaction ruptured through me as the force in the room intensified, my blood sparking, and my body seizing around my fingers. Release coursed through me as I threw back my head and groaned. The tension around my base tensed with each of my movements before dissipating…the room’s atmosphere returning to natural levels. Gone was the external pressure, the hold on my body that was but wasn’t there. The air was neutral again. I relaxed as my core stopped seizing, and I pulled out my fingers, one by one, locking eyes once again with Aether.

He sat perched on the chair, barely restrained. His groin was still building, not satisfied.

I smirked.

“Happy?” I asked.

He didn’t respond, but his hooded expression suggested I’d merely awoken the inner beast.

Mine.

My pulse quickened and I swore I could feel the fire within the room dance around me in a claiming protective weave.

Possibly.

The message erupted from me. His eyes widened as his crotch pulsed loudly in response. I’d never sent a message like that before. I was apparently more capable than I knew.

“So much more, my dear,” Aether’s words jarred me from my thoughts. The sex haze began to clear my head and I realized I was still on the bed, legs spread. I closed them and pulled at my hair.

“When do we leave?”