Alpha Male Incorporated: Take Control (28 page)

“Tell me you’re giving yourself to me freely. I need to hear the words. You will accept me as your mate to spend eternity with me at my side.”

“Yes,” she moaned, running her nails down Thorsten’s wide back.

“No,” he growled, roughly. “Raya, you have to say the words. Tell me what is in your heart.”

“Thorsten, I accept what you are. I want to be your mate as the
Unique
woman I was born to be. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Raya flinched slightly when Thorsten’s fangs bit into the side of her neck. She felt the sucking of her blood out of her body into his mouth. Everything around her started getting calmer and peaceful. It almost felt like she was having an out of body experience. Her eyes slowly closed as the sensation took over her body.

“Raya, listen to me. You
must
do as I tell you,” she heard Thorsten’s insistent voice coming from a distance. “Do you hear me?”

She felt him press her mouth against his chest, but she was too tired to open her eyes. They felt so heavy. This peacefulness felt too good. She shook her head, trying to move her mouth away from him.

“Obey me. You won’t fight me on this, not now, it’s too important.” His voice was frantic. But she couldn’t figure out who would want to leave such tranquility?

“No,” she managed to whisper against his chest.

“Baby, please. Do this for me. If you love me, you have to drink. Do it now before it’s truly too late and I can’t save you.”

The fear in Thorsten’s voice got through the fog inside her head and Raya sucked the fluid inside her mouth. The odd taste made her gag. She tried turning her head, but Thorsten held her even closer to his body.

“Drink more. All you need is a little more, baby. I promise.”

She felt the light stroke of his hand over her hair, but it was still a little hard for her to open her eyes.

“That’s enough, sweetheart,” Thorsten’s deep voice whispered in her ear. “I’m going to take you home where you can get some rest.”

Raya slowly opened her eyes and found Thorsten standing with her in his arms. Reaching out, she ran her fingers over his face, noticing how red his eyes were.

“Have you been crying?” she asked. “Why?”

“I’m fine now,” he answered, brushing his mouth over hers. “You had me worried, but everything is fine and things will only get better for us.”

Thorsten gave her another kiss, then lifted his head. “I promise to protect you with my all. I won’t allow anything or anyone to harm you.” Dark blue eyes filled with love shined down into hers and told her everything she felt.

“How about we protect each other since we are a team now?” she suggested, snuggling closer to Thorsten to draw some of the warmth from his body into hers. “But, I do have one request,” she said softly as her eyes started getting heavy.

“I’ll do anything. Tell me what it is.”

“Can we do something less crazy next time and make love in a bed? Not that I didn’t love the first two times, but a bed would be nice for next time.”

Planting a kiss against her temple, Thorsten whispered in her ear. “Baby, we can make love anywhere you want. I don’t care as long as you are the woman next to me when I wake it.” The words were spoken with love and adoration before they vanished from the field.

Weeks later
….

The sound of Sahara’s musical voice played softly around everyone walking around the low-key party. It was supposed to be a lot bigger, but at the last minute her best friend decided it should only be family since she spent the last week searching for a backup singer to replace Mya. Raya was glad she finally talked Thorsten into letting her leave his house to come here tonight.

His protective side came out in full force since she had been turned. But, as sweet as it was, she didn’t want her life to change so dramatically now that she was finally his mate. She wanted to be the same old person she was before she accepted him.

“You’re awfully quiet. What are you doing out here by yourself?”

Turning around, Raya smiled at a very pregnant Sabrina standing behind her with a glass of sparkling cider in her hand. Everyone was right when they said a pregnant woman glowed with happiness, because Sabrina looked radiant.

She gave her friend a quick hug then stepped back. “God, you are even more gorgeous. I can’t believe it.”

Smiling, Sabrina ran her hand over her swollen stomach. “Thank you, but I feel as huge a whale. I can’t believe I’m only two weeks away from giving birth. I can’t wait until I get to finally hold him in my arms.”

“How is Zander doing? I saw him talking to Thorsten earlier, so I decided to slip away and ease out here on the deck. I just needed a tiny break from his…”

“I know what you’re talking about. For the first six months after I got changed my loving hubby wouldn’t allow me to go anywhere without him as my shadow. I swear if my job wasn’t at the courthouse with cops and security guards, I think he would have followed me to work every single day.”

Peeking around Sabrina, Raya spotted Thorsten in a huddle talking to Jax and Zander. She didn’t have to guess what the conversation was about. He had proposed to her two days ago and she still hadn’t given him an answer.

“Don’t worry about being married. Thorsten is a totally different man now he’s with you. I don’t think he even knows how to go back to his old bachelor ways. I’ve seen how he stares at you.”

“How did you…” she said then stopped herself. “Oh, I forget you can read minds like Sahara.”

“Your time will come, too, it just takes a while to get the technique down, but when you do it’s
so
much fun,” Sabrina said, waving at hand at her.

“Thorsten has been trying to teach me to teleport from one room to another, but I can’t do anything quite that thrilling yet. Right now, it’s going to take some getting used to, like not wearing my glasses anymore. My eyesight is so perfect, but I feel naked without them on my face. So, I bought some with plain lens until I get used to not needing them anymore.”

“I agree going from human to vampire does take a lot time, but you will with each passing day. Sahara and I have been at it a little longer than you.”

“I know, but it’s still strange that I’m going to outlive my family and friends at work. How will I explain why I don’t age, but they have?” Raya asked.

“Have a question for you.”

“Alright, ask away.”

“Would you give up what you have with Thorsten to live and then die with your family? I know you love them, but would you allow him to go through the ‘sleep of the dead’? Why don’t you just take some time to think about it?

“I promise things will start to look clearer for you. I had the same apprehension you’re going through now after Zander changed me, but I found how to get through it. You will do the same to see that you’ve made the right decision.” Sabrina touched her on the shoulder then spun on her heel and went back inside.

Moving over to the edge of the deck, she looked over at the scenery below. The white lights hanging on the trees and bushes made everything so beautiful and romantic. It only highlighted the perfect setting for tonight. She shouldn’t be thinking about anything else, but how happy she was with Thorsten. Of course, she wouldn’t let him die because of her nerves. She loved him way too much to let him go.

“I knew Thorsten shouldn’t have picked you over me. Look at what a sniveling bitch you are,” a harsh voice hissed close to her.

Spinning around to her left, Raya stared into the darkness, trying to figure out who was speaking to her. “Who’s there?”

She watched as a figure came out of the shadows. It was the only part not covered in lights. “Who are you?” she asked, taking a step back.

“You should know who I am by now,” the figure said before it came into the light.

“Cordelia.”

A deadly smirk pulled at the corner of her full, red lips. “You’re right. Furthermore, if you aren’t woman enough to handle a worldly vampire like Thorsten, let him go. I’ll be more than pleased to take him off your hands. He should have been with me in the first place. I could care less that you’re his mate now.”

“How do you know that?” Raya asked, taking a quick look back into the party.

Why wasn’t anyone coming out here?

Didn’t they see what was going on?

She would have to fight Cordelia if she had to, but she wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to take on the older, more powerful vampire. Thorsten had warned her more than once about her powers.

“I can smell his blood in your veins. Don’t look to any of them for help,” Cordelia snickered. “Since Thorsten is so fond of placing safeguards on his house, along with your old place, I made one of my own on them. They can’t see us out here anymore. See, my mother is part witch, so she taught me all kinds of fun little tricks. No one in there has a clue what is going on, so it’s just you and me, sweetheart.”

Standing up to her full height, Raya looked her rival directly in the eye. She was as much a vampire now as Cordelia. She might not have all of her skills, but she wasn’t going to let Cordelia take her down without a fight. She never backed down from a fight before and she wouldn’t start with her.

“I’m not scared of you,” Raya said, meaning every word. “I know you were the one at the park who make me sprain my ankle.”

“Yes, I was. I should have killed you at the farmers market when I had the chance, but there were too many humans around. I never thought Thorsten would fall in love with you. He has been mine for years. I guess I was wrong, but once I take care of you everything will go back to normal and I’ll be accepted as his true mate, not some pitiful, small human female.”

Raya swallowed down her astonishment as the memory of Cordelia came rushing back to her. “I remember you. I ran into you after I came around the stand after talking to Thorsten.”

“Yes, you did. However, that wasn’t the first time I laid eyes on you. Actually, I thought you wouldn’t give me any problems after I put the idea into Mr. Edwards’s mind to hurt you before he took out Sahara, but the idiot didn’t strike you hard enough to kill you. So much for mind control.”

“How did you know about me?”

“Thorsten had just dumped me to go after the woman the fates made for him. So, I wasn’t about to lose him to you or anyone else. I followed him and, well, the rest was so easy. I just didn’t realize how much of a fighter you would be,” Cordelia snapped at her.

“I don’t give up easily and I won’t let you have Thorsten. He is in love with me, not you,” she shot back.

“Not for long.” The words were flung out a second before Cordelia flashed across the deck and wrapped her hands around her throat. The sheer strength of the older woman took Raya by surprise and she wasn’t able to defend herself before her back was against the deck floor with Cordelia’s body on top of hers.

“Your change isn’t complete yet, you are still in the beginning stages so killing you should be easier than I realized.”

A pair of cold, black eyes glared at her as Cordelia’s long, blond hair blew behind her body in the sudden wind. Raya tried using her mind to call for Thorsten, but she couldn’t concentrate enough to get through whatever safeguards had been done to keep her mate and everyone else away.

Raya continued struggling to break free, but the more she did the stronger Cordelia’s grip tightened on her neck. “I’m going to kill you the same way Thorsten tried to kill me and knowing this will send him over the edge. He won’t be the same again.”

Black spots appeared in the front of her eyes as her breath began leaving her body. She willed herself to use some of the gifts Thorsten had taught her, but his ex-lover was just too strong for her.

Nothing she might do would get this woman off her in time. Just as she was about to give up on living, something strange happened. Cordelia was flung off her body across the deck.

Placing her hand against her neck, she looked over her shoulder and found a strange man standing there. His long hair flowed past his shoulders—it was so blond it almost looked white, and his eyes were the color of polished silver. He reached down and helped her up.

“Are you okay?” he asked in rich, warm voice. “I apologize for not getting here sooner before she attacked you.”

He didn’t wait for her answer, but waved his tanned hand towards the party and everyone in the room swung in their direction. The look of fear on Thorsten’s face brought tears to her eyes as he raced towards her and pulled her into his arms. The man who saved her stepped back.

“Baby, are you okay?” he asked, lifting her head from his chest. His fingers brushed over her throat as she nodded. “What’s going on?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she choked out. “He saved me from Cordelia.”

Thorsten looked past her over to the man standing behind them. “Talon, what are you doing here?”

“Father, how could you do this to me?” Cordelia screamed, taking Thorsten’s attention away from Talon over to her. “You shouldn’t have come here like this. I hate you for interfering.”

Raya glanced at Talon. “You’re her father?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yes, I am, and right now it shames me to admit it. I told her to leave Thorsten along once he found you and I thought she listened until I got a visit from Jax a few weeks ago. He told me about how she was in town and trying to win Thorsten back.

“I knew since you were a mortal you would be in great danger because of my daughter’s temper. I was on her track until she gave me the slip by coming here instead of your place. It took me longer than I thought it would to find her, but she won’t bother you anymore. Cordelia will come back home with me.”

“I won’t do it!” Cordelia screamed, rushing towards them. “You can’t let her have Thorsten. He’s mine.”

Her father quickly stepped in front of her and Thorsten. He waved his hand, and his daughter disappeared right before their eyes.

“Where did she go?” Raya asked, moving away from Thorsten.

Talon turned to look at her. “She’s gone. Please let apologize again for my child’s behavior. I swear to you that she won’t ever bother you again. Her mother was very spiteful and she gets her personality from her. Once Cordelia set her sights on something it’s very hard for her to let it go. I’ll make sure to send her someplace she can find a mate of her own.”