Chapter 10 A Dear Friend
❀ Maeve ❀
No. No. No.
“Mother!” I whispered into the darkness.
My feet caught on the edge of a stool. I sprawled on the floor, utensils clattered noisily after me.
What if, in my absence, she’d been attacked?
I’d let myself be carried away by the vampire’s addictive allure and forgot the entire reason I was bloodletting in the first place.
My nose was useless.
I couldn’t track her.
Had she wandered off alone in search of me? Or had she been taken?
My heart slammed in my chest. Tears welled in my eyes.
Dress bunched in my fists, I stepped out into the silent moonlit yard, sweeping my gaze in every direction.
Where would I even start?
I contemplated seeking out IronWolf soldiers for help, but the memory of my recent capture made me shiver.
Then I brushed my fingers over the red gem embedded in my chest. If I rubbed it, would he feel my fear? Would he come? He’d said he would feel my emotions and be there for me.
If he couldn’t feel the paralyzing fear gripping me right now, then the gem was as useless as his word and claim.
I’d taken one step forward when I saw it.
A large shifting shape in the distance, hidden in the shadow of the trees untouched by the bright moonlight.
The hairs on my nape stiffened.
The shape broke out of the shadows.
I gasped.
My knees locked.
A huge wolf, tawny and streaked silver along the dark fur of his back and legs, prowled closer, eyes fixed on me.
I glanced toward the woods, calculating an escape, when a voice broke through the thick fog of my fear.
“Maeve?”
My eyes snapped higher on the wolf’s body, and there, sitting astride the large beast as if it were nothing but a horse, was Mother.
“Mother?!” I choked.
My feet, dazed as I was, moved before I remembered commanding them.
I reached her side as she slid to the ground, her hands still gripping the fur of the large wolf.
I skirted its large maw, and threw myself into her arms.
“Where were you?!” I demanded, my heartbeat settling into a steadier rhythm.
“Me?” She sputtered. Her brows furrowed with annoyance as she jabbed a finger in my chest. “I should be asking you that, young lady. Where were you?”
“I-I…” I faltered.
I couldn’t tell her I’d been arrested and transported halfway to IronWolf as a rogue, vampire consorting prisoner.
“The way back was dangerous. IronWolf soldiers raided, and I had no choice but to hide until they dispersed. They even made arrests.” It wasn’t exactly a lie.
It satisfied her.
She pulled me back into her embrace once more, patting down my hair and thanking the moon goddess for my safety.
Thanks that were owed to Nikolai. He’d been the one to rescue me, not the moon goddess who had deemed it fit to leave me without a wolf, and subjecting us to such a hard life in Blackbridge.
Speaking of wolves, I snapped my eyes open to look at the large one she’d returned on.
I startled.
In place of the wolf now stood a man.
Middle-aged, imposing in height, he fixed his sharp gaze on me, no longer the striking gold of his wolf but a duller amber.
Silver streaks lined his dark mop of hair. His well-defined body, despite his age, filled his black shirt and pants.
He was easy on the eyes, with a strong jaw and strict air that commanded respect.
“Maeve. This is Sorin. A dear… friend.” Mother said, bashfully trapping her lower lip between her teeth.
Okaaay
“Sorin, this is my daughter.” She gestured toward me.
Had her voice wavered at the word “daughter”? Let’s save that for another day. Perhaps she was ashamed of letting her dear friend know she had a child.
Why else would she blush so violently and avoid my gaze?
“Your daughter?” the man, Sorin, echoed. He looked unconvinced.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir.” I courtesied.
Sorin said nothing. He pinned me with a gold-speckled amber stare, brows pinched, calculating.
I squirmed.
“Well, I’ll leave you two to it. I’m glad to see you safe, Mother. And thank you, Sorin, for seeing her back safely.”
He grunted, the only response I’d gotten from him during our introduction.
When Mother said nothing else, still avoiding my eyes, I turned, dragging myself inside on tired feet.
Once in my room, I knelt over my bed, peering out the window at the front yard from behind my curtain.
Curse my human-level ears, I couldn’t hear a word of their animated conversation.
It was too risky to open my window, so I watched their expressions instead.
Sorin seemed confused, almost agitated. He questioned Mother in that cold, strict air of his.
Mother gestured wildly with her hands, defensive.
At the end of it, Sorin pulled her into a tight embrace. The quake in Mother’s shoulders betrayed that she was crying.
Then Sorin wiped at her cheek with a thumb, his expression intense, and walked away.
Just before he disappeared into the shadows of the woods, I saw his form ripple and shift into his wolf.
Then he was gone.
I was back downstairs on the stool I’d overturned. Mother was stepping in slowly, as I usually did when I didn’t want to be caught coming in late.
Curious indeed.
The door clicked shut, and she turned to see me standing at the foot of the stairs.
She gasped. Her hand pressed against her chest in surprise.
“Don’t scare me like that, you mischievous child. Don’t think you’re off the hook yet…”
“Is he my father?” I blurted.
“W-what?” She stuttered. “Of course not. Don’t be silly.”
Her horrified expression at the suggestion seemed genuine.
“Okay,” I conceded, following close behind her as she hung her shawl and coat. “You two looked awfully close, though.”
“I told you. He’s a dear…”
“Dear friend, I got that part. Then how come I’m only seeing him for the first time?”
With a drawn, dramatic sigh, she turned to face me.
“Will you at least have mercy and question me tomorrow when I’ve rested? I’m exhausted from panicking over you and having to find him to assist me in looking for you. We searched everywhere, even District 3 and the borders of Veilmoor, fearing you’d been kidnapped or worse.”
“I’m sorry,” I pouted. “I didn’t mean to make you worry.”
“Did you at least achieve a full lesson?”
Heat flushed over my neck and face.
I’d never get used to her being so direct.
She stared impatiently, her brow raised.
I rolled my eyes. “Yes. I have achieved a full lesson.”
“Good.” She approached me, hands on my shoulders. “You are now a woman. And tomorrow, you will face the matrons. May the moon goddess guide you through their tests and into your mate’s heart.”
“So it shall be,” we murmured together.
“Go get some rest. I’ll bring you some pudding…”
“No need. I’m not hungry.” At her questioning glance, I added, “I had food in District 3, my tutor…”
I didn’t dare tell her I’d fed from a vampire. If I’d been turned by accident, our plans would’ve been dashed. My future pulverized. Especially since Nikolai refused to claim me.
My heart clenched at the reminder.
“Oh. That’s good. Go to sleep then. You’ll need your strength, my love, for your coming trials.”
“Yes, Mother.”
With a feathery kiss and kind smile, I headed up to my room.
I’d washed and settled under my covers when I felt it.
Little pulses of warmth from the gem in my chest. I pressed it, annoyed, willing it to stop its tricks. To let me sleep.
The next pulse was stronger, more insistent, traveling down my chest to plunge straight into my core.
I moaned softly.
Heat lit throughout my limbs, a desire so strong I was already panting without having conjured it myself.
Then it dawned on me.
It was him.
I was feeling his desire.
Cold and seeking like silken fingers over my most sensitive parts. My own desire bloomed under his ministrations, tangling with his so I didn’t know where his began and mine ended.
By the time my fingers found my soaking center, my nipples were pebbled and throbbing with a phantom sucking sensation over them.
The scent of eucalyptus flooded my brain, and either he was within the shadows of my hung coats and dresses, or my imagination was filling the gaps.
My hips chased my thrusting fingers, my other hand firmly pressed over my mouth to stifle my moans.
My core clenched. Gushed.
Silky nectar spilled over my fingers as my eyes rolled back in ecstasy.
A wispy touch dragged over my lips, my throat, my thighs.
I sighed, content.
For a moment, the cool breeze from my window lulled me into a soothing lightness.
Then the anger bubbled over the dispersing heat of desire.
“I was afraid, terrified, and you did not come to me. If your gem only translates desire, I do not want it at all, Nikolai.”
I clawed at the insidious thing, but it wouldn’t budge. Stuck fast into my flesh, its smooth curve rose over my skin like a natural feature.
I turned to my side. Squeezed my eyes shut.
I wondered how I would explain this mystery gem to my mate, if I was fortunate enough to find him at the ceremony tomorrow.
And as for the vampire who called himself ‘my eternal’ but abandoned me in my time of need, I hoped he stubbed his toe against the sharpest edge of his furniture.
I hoped I would never see him again.
But deep down, I knew that was a lie.
And then, the gem pulsed again. Harder.
As if he was responding.