The Secrets of Roan Island

19. Noah

19

Noah

S he knows. Fuck, she knows, and I’m powerless to stop myself, my instincts in control of every whim and urge. I need to feed, and nothing I do will stop it.

I should be grateful for Jafeth’s interruption, for unlocking the door, for saving Ruby from me, but I know he hasn’t really saved either of us. He’s throwing us into the fire.

We climb the steps from the Gate House, the vortex flipping us back into the reality of the island. Above, we’ll find the debauchery of a normal new moon party. All those willing to debase themselves for the sake of one night of pleasure each month, no questions asked.

“You can’t go looking like that,” Jafeth says, assessing Ruby now that we’ve closed Zarah’s portrait behind us. He reaches out and touches her cheek. “You need a mask.”

I growl and pull her back against me, hands firmly gripping her hips. A whiff of her sweet scent hits me, and my claws lengthen.

Jafeth laughs. “Touchy. Touchy. Noah has never liked to share his toys.”

“I’m not a toy,” Ruby says. “I’m a person.”

“Yes, well.” My brother shrugs and turns, leading the way toward our rooms.

The din of clinking silverware and conversation drifts upstairs, the night early enough that everyone is still in the dining room. I think about throwing Ruby over my shoulder and carrying her off before the party really begins, carrying her somewhere far away from here. But then she’d be stuck with me, and I would be all over her. I can’t be trusted either.

“You can stay in your room,” I say through a tight jaw, wanting to save her from me, from everything and everyone here that would threaten her.

She stops at her door and lifts her chin. “I will do as I please, Mr. Roan.”

Then she disappears inside, the door clicking shut.

I listen for the lock, hear it, and my heartbeat simmers to a rolling boil from the raging beat I’ve been fighting since waking up, grateful she’s listened. Though every part of me wants to break down the door between us, I back away.

“Well, well, well, Mr. Roan,” Jafeth says with humor in his tone.

I grind my back teeth together.

“I knew the stodgy professor did it for you, but this is a side of you I haven’t seen.” He tilts his head back and laughs. “What are you planning to do? You know you won’t be able to control yourself. Once a predator catches a scent, we don’t often switch prey.” He sniffs the air, and as his eyes travel to Ruby’s closed door, a growl rumbles in my chest.

“Are you planning to starve yourself?” he asks.

“Fuck.” The curse rips out of me as I tilt my head back, look up at the ceiling, and clutch my hair.

He slaps a hand on my back. “Feed and enjoy yourself, brother.”

He doesn’t understand. She’s different. She’s so much more than any of the others. She’s smart and quick, curious and hungry to learn. She challenges me. She’s awake with her own desire and asleep to pretension. She’s not afraid to speak her mind and face every fear she encounters. I think of the way she spoke to my father, of the way she’s confronted me, of the way she’s faced the dark in spite of her obvious fear.

Jafeth smoothes his dinner jacket into place. “I've got a little morsel waiting. So if you don’t mind.”

He starts down the corridor.

“How did you know?”

He stops and turns. “Know what?”

“Where to find us?”

“You weren’t anywhere else.” His grin spreads, splitting his lips and revealing his sharp fangs. “And I didn’t want Ruby to miss the party.”

I clench my fists, trying to refrain from ripping out my brother’s teeth. The last time we fought it didn’t go well for either of us, and I won’t be able to protect Ruby if I’m injured. This time of month, when it’s been so long since my last feed, I wouldn’t heal as quickly as normal.

I take slow breaths and stay perfectly still until my brother is out of sight, then retreat to my room to get ready.

The new moon parties are always formal affairs, dinner soirees for the New Essik elite, though it's a kind of joke because the revelry slips into debauchery so easily. What those with money will do for access and anonymity is a shame, really. Government officials, corporate moguls, lead scientists, religious leaders, daughters and sons of politicians—all people with something to lose should their secret attendance be discovered. This is the only way it works, which is one of the reasons I didn’t want Ruby here. She’s a wild card, and her unpredictability could not only be a danger to her, but to us.

As I rip off my wrinkled attire, I can’t stop turning over what Jafeth said. Am I planning on abstaining tonight? I’ve been so caught up in getting Ruby off the island I haven’t thought much about the party itself. I think I assumed if she was gone, then I would feel free to feed, but she’s not gone and the thought of feeding from someone else is repugnant. Her scent is too powerful a temptation.

I pace while I button my fresh shirt, eyes continually flicking to the wall that divides Ruby’s room from mine. Starving myself will only make me more uncontrolled when it comes to Ruby. If she’s going to stick around, I’ll have to feed and be satiated. Otherwise… I don’t want to think about what I could do.

There’s no choice. Ruby will stay safely in her room. I’ll feed on someone else. There’s a new guest I’ve invited who should do nicely. And tomorrow, when the other guests leave, she’ll go with them.

I fix the black bow tie in the mirror, stark against the stiff white shirt, feeling better having come to a decision. Then I hear water flowing through the pipes. I bite my lip and grip the edge of the dresser. She’s bathing. Just on the other side of this wall her body is naked and slick with soap. My own body surges again at the thought of Ruby, of hunting her, of having my hands on her.

Head bent, chin to chest, I close my eyes, breathing through the wave of need as it swells. When it crests, I let out another breath and straighten. “You can control yourself,” I coax my reflection, a hope rather than a belief.

I stay there for a long time. Long enough to know she’s out of the bath, hopefully in bed, asleep. Then I finish getting dressed, muscles tight with tension.

After I’ve donned my shoes and black jacket, I grab my usual mask and step out into the hallway, but the first thing I see is her door. Need floods my system again at the thought of finding her, going to her. Did she heed my advice? Is she asleep or awake? Is she hoping I’ll come for her, waiting for me so we can resume the game we started? I picture her in bed with the candle flickering, staring at the other side of the door I’m staring at.

My feet move forward without thought. From somewhere downstairs I hear my father’s harsh laugh, and it stops me in my tracks. Another image invades my thoughts. Ruby in the middle of the party. Is that why she was bathing? Fuck!

With a glance at the secret passageway, I reason it would be irresponsible of me not to ensure she’s still safely in her room. A quick glance around, and I slip through the hidden door.

She’s there.

The relief that she’s safe only lasts a moment before I realize she’s dressed for the party. A deep crimson dress, sparkling with matching beading, wraps her beautiful form, the back plunging to a deep V just above that enticing swell of her ass. It’s a fucking X on a treasure map. Here I am , it says. Fresh blood .

Struck with the desire to break the two-way mirror and tie her to the bed, I brace myself against the wooden studs and growl.

She looks over her shoulder at the mirror, her eyes narrowing.

My heart jumps, then races as she turns toward me. She peers into the mirror, and her brow furrows. Her eyes meet mine, though she doesn’t know it.

She straightens and smoothes her dress, the bodice hugging every curve. Her breasts war with the neckline, spilling out over the dark piping. I swallow at the thought of biting her there. Her neck is exposed, a small necklace with a ruby teardrop fastened at the hollow of her throat. A drop of blood. I lick my lips. She adjusts her black gloves—now she wears gloves!—then dons a small demi mask, tying it at the back, tendrils of dark curls framing her face.

I groan, my cock thickening at the sight of her. All that flesh.

And she isn’t obeying me, because she turns and leaves her room.

The door slams, and dust drifts around me as I press my forehead against the back of the mirror. Fuck.

My instincts are to chase, to catch, to play, to feed, to fuck. My rational mind considers locking myself away in my room.

But Ruby is out there. Unprotected.

With my brothers. My father. All manner of people looking for pleasure and taking it where they will.

I push away from the wall, dust off my clothes, and go after her.

The dinner party is long gone and the revelry is already deep into its mind-altering dredges. I consider every new moon party I’ve attended, so many over the years as my needs grew and increased. The depravity of the festivities ceased being surprising long ago, but considering it through Ruby’s eyes, I find myself worried about her perceptions. Worse, worried how those perceptions might reflect on me. Then I wonder why I even care. It’s never bothered me before.

I scan the party.

There are thirty people here this month in addition to my father and brothers, not counting the few servants making the rounds with trays of alcohol, smokes, pills, herbs, and powders. We provide anything anyone might want to chase pleasure for the night. Thirty keeps the numbers contained, and with a cap, it’s a premium to be included. There’s a waitlist to attend a Roan Party, but to get added to the list requires vetting.

It’s only to protect our secrets now. The parties wouldn’t be necessary if we just fed and disposed of the prey, but that was the Roans of the past. After so many of our kind were killed by theirs, we got more cautious, feeding at more controlled times rather than impulsively. It was something relegated to the shadows. To quick trips into Essik, short-lived dalliances. Until my mother died.

Then my father was hungry for more than blood and sex. He wanted notoriety, attention, worship.

A crimson sparkle disappears between two dancing couples, and I start across the room. The main hall is a narrow but long room, bedecked with several seating areas and secluded alcoves. Small parties of guests have begun to cross the threshold of polite society and are working their way into the vices that bring them here. This is the reason they attend: the pleasure.

Mrs. Frellman, a barrister in New Essik who works with the highest judge in the colony, is snorting spice up her nose as Harlan Duke, the heir to the manufacturing empire, has his head up her dress. Her husband watches an arm’s length away, one hand on his drink, the other on his cock. Kendra Hawkes, the heiress to the Hawkes import-export empire, and Graham Pinkerton, the second son of the Pinkerton political dynasty, snog one another as their spouses disappear into an alcove together. The promise of unadulterated and unfettered pleasure done in secret and without repercussions is what keeps the new moon party successful and our ability to feed available. As much as I detest my father, this does serve a purpose.

“Noah.” A feminine hand presses to my chest, stopping my progress.

I suppress the growl of frustration and look once more for that red dress.

“Oh. So I don’t get your attention, Mr. Roan?”

I track the white glove to a face I recognize and a cloying perfume I detest. “Mrs. Kinner.” I step back, disconnecting. I’ve tasted her, and she loves the bite. Of course, most do. When it’s not a Summer or Winter Solstice, Mavarri venom offers only pleasure. Mrs. Kinner is practically addicted, so she's a regular at new moon parties. She’s made her way from my father through my brothers and me. I, unfortunately, am the one she prefers.

“It’s Mrs. Kinner now?” She laughs. “Goodness. So formal.” She steps closer and leans in. “I prefer the names you call me when you’re inside me.” Her voice is low and husky, meant to seduce, but now it only grates on my nerves.

“Those names aren’t for public spaces.”

She grabs my arm. “Then we should go somewhere more private.”

I should take her up on her offer. Though I don’t trust myself with Ruby, I could feed from Mrs. Kinner without concern. She’d be good for taking the edge off. But the thought makes my stomach roll and muscles tense. Besides, if I go off with Mrs. Kinner, no one will be here to find and protect Ruby.

“You presume, madame.” I shake her hand off my arm.

She steps in front of me and grabs my belt. “Come now, Noah. You know I’m a good time.”

My fangs elongate with anger, with hunger, with impulse. Taking her wrists, I rip her hands away, squeezing a little too hard. “You should be careful,” I growl, my Mavarri nature in control.

She whimpers, eyes wide, as if she has no idea what I am. Foolish woman thinks we Mavarri are made for her pleasure rather than the other way around. She’s been tricked into forgetting how dangerous we are. Though I think she likes it.

“Mrs. Kinner,” Jafeth says, stepping between us. “Ignore my brother.” He glances over his shoulder at me and nods. “He’s under a bit of stress lately. Perhaps you would allow me?”

Jafeth offers her his hand as I move away and scan once more for the familiar red dress.

I’ve a one track mind. Ruby. The thought of feeding from anyone else is an impossibility. I don’t know what I was thinking with that plan. She’s the only one who will satisfy.

When I spot Shemaiah, I grab his arm, nearly pulling it from the socket. “Where is she?”

“She was supposed to be in the Gate House with you.” He casually glances around the room.

“Fuck! It was you.” I fist his tie, fighting the urge to throw him across the room.

“Control yourself, brother. We have guests.”

“I don’t care about the fucking guests!” Heads turn in our direction, and my father glares from his place at the head of the room. I drop my voice to a whisper. “Where. Is. Ruby?”

Shemaiah sighs. “I honestly don’t know. I thought you’d both be knocked out for a few more hours.”

I let him go, giving him a little shove. “Why did you lock her down there with me? You know what could have happened.”

“I knew you'd keep vital information from her. This way, she knows. Besides, I figured she was safer there than up here.” He sips his drink, all ease and elegance.

“She would have been safest on the boat!”

Shemaiah pulls me to the side of the room. “Did she find anything?”

I grind my teeth at his change of subject. “Nothing of note.”

“Then it’s good she’s still here and can keep looking.” When I glare at him, he adds, “We need fresh eyes, Noah. You know it. Even if you won’t admit it.”

“She saw me.” My hands clench and release. “She knows .”

Shemaiah is quiet for a moment. Thoughtful. “Maybe that’s good.”

“You know it’s not. If father finds out…”

“Let’s just take this one step at a time. Go find your girl and get her out of here.”

As if ordained by the goddess, a splash of red catches my gaze at that exact moment. I lift my nose to catch the scent.

“Ah, there she is,” Shemaiah says.

The crowd parts, and I see Ruby. With a man. Just as I catch sight of them, they slip behind a curtain that partitions off sections of the room designated for discreet engagements. Everything in me clamors. Mine. Mine! Mine !

“Who is that with Ruby?” Blood surges in my veins, pounds in my skull. Claws burst from my fingertips.

“Not sure.” Shemaiah shrugs. “He was a last minute addition to the guest list.”

Fuck! I need to get to her. Now! I’ll rip him apart. Tear out his eyes for looking at her and his tongue for speaking to her. Flay his dick and make him eat it.

I surge forward, only to be stopped by Shemaiah blocking my path.

“You need to get yourself under control first.” Even with his eyes dark, my brother is calm.

“Get out of my way, Shemaiah.”

“You’re about to do something very stupid. I’ve seen this look before, and it didn’t end well.”

“Move!”

“Noah. Shemaiah,” my father calls from the center of the room, clearly noticing my outburst. “Come join me.” He motions toward the empty space beside his seat, which may as well be a throne for the way my father uses it. There’s a woman on her knees between his legs, her hands working open his belt.

I look back at the curtain hiding Ruby and her worst nightmare. When I don’t follow Shemaiah, I’m surprised Hammish doesn’t force me, but he’s clearly distracted by the woman taking him into her mouth. My father can shove himself off a cliff for all I care. I turn my back to him and stalk toward what’s mine. I’ll pay for this insubordination later.

But it’ll be worth it to get to Ruby. Nothing will get in my way.