Shifters of Shadow Falls Collection (Books 1-3) (20 page)

"You'd rather had died than be a vampire?"

She shakes her head and purses her lips. "Not now, no. But the things I did, all out of hate and to get revenge." Her dark eyes narrow in on me. "There can be no forgiveness for all the innocent lives I've taken and all the times I sat back and watched as my coven ravaged villages for sport."

"Does your coven still..." I swallow hard, not able to get out the rest of the words.

"My old coven, I'm not sure. If they do, then they must be keeping quiet about it. The authority doesn't take pity on those who make messes for them to clean up."

"So your old coven is the one who trained you. Natalia?"

"Natalia's a bitch.”  Her voice is hard and dripping with spite. “She was there. She taught me some things. But she's not as good as she thinks she is. Hate motivated me for years, but Natalia's still fueled by it. I've no idea why, but I tired of her antics long before I'd even left that coven."

"What about your new coven?" Part of me is intrigued and wants to meet more vampires and hear their stories; the other part is terrified.

"They're alright."  She stands up and heads to the door. "Nothing to complain about. She opens it just before Vince enters the doorway. "What took you so long, pup?"

"What the hell is a caramel macchiato? It took them forever to make it.”  Vince’s eyes find mine and he smiles, “oh, hey Ari. Here's your cookie."   He digs in the small bag and tosses me a cookie.  I smirk; how the hell did she know?

I look at Vince and realize we haven't been talked about what happened last night. "I was really hoping to talk to you a bit more." I glance between the two of them, feeling like an intruder.

"I'm happy you came to see me, my sweet alpha mate, but Vince will take care of me." Vince looks up from setting the coffee on the dresser and gives Veronica a small smile.

"I've got her Ari." I almost question why he'd left her last night. I feel the need to pry and protect Veronica, even if she doesn't think she needs it, but something in me settles and I know that I can leave them be. Something deep inside me is telling me that Vince will heal her. He is her mate.  As I leave them, I expect the knot to form in my chest, objecting to my leave, but it doesn’t.  I rub my chest as I walk back to my room, waiting for the pull, but it never comes.

Chapter 3: Devin

“Why does your coven want the blood bank?" my hard voice doesn't seem to bother Veronica.  Good, I’m glad she’s taken to her position in the pack so easily.

"There isn't nearly enough blood to sustain our coven. We don't venture into human territory much and we don't live near wildlife." Her nose scrunches in distaste. "More than that, ordering the blood from the Authority costs far too much money."

"You have to order the blood from the coven?" 

"We don't
have
to. But most of the humans won't sell theirs and like I said, our inventory for acquiring it is low."

"I see." I make a note to ask Alec about the blood they sell to the covens.  If they’re drugging blood from the human’s blood banks than I’m certain they’d be tainting the blood they sell to the covens as well.  My jaw ticks.  Thank fuck we don’t drink that shit, but Veronica might.

"And do you plan on drinking the blood from the banks?" I need to ask. Not only for her protection, I need to be sure she isn't a part of this scheme to poison other immortals. I was fairly certain that she had nothing to with it, but the way she glances at Vince and instinctively grabs her neck where his claiming bite is, has my stomach revolting. Fuck! What the fuck am I going to do about a mate to my pack being a part of this shit?

"If you'd rather I didn't drink from him-"

"Fuck that! What the fuck Devin?" Vince's aggression takes me by surprise, but as always my face stays expressionless. My eyes narrow in on him and he backs down, no doubt feeling my anger. 

"I want her to drink from me."  His hands fist at his side, reining in his anger.

"He’s your alpha." Veronica’s hushed words seem to relax him a bit.

"This has nothing to do with her drinking from you." A look of relief flashes across Veronica's face. It appears that she was only worried I'd make her stop drinking from Vince. "So you two are breaking the law?" I allow a little light heartedness to enter my voice so that Vince will calm the hell down. 

"My entire coven is breaking the law. Most are pissed about the law, but Natalia is insistent. She visits our queen and the heads of the other covens regularly. I was sent after the queen's son was taken for disobeying Natalia."

"Where did they take him?"

"To the Authority. To their dungeon.  He was given a thousand lashes."

"A thousand?" The surprise is evident in my voice. "A thousand silver lashes?"

She nods once and adds, "he was nearly dead when she brought him back."

"For drinking from a vein?"  How the hell is that reasonable?

"He did it in front of Natalia. The bitch had two enforcers take him in the middle of the night. Had they been seen, it would have been war. When she returned him, my queen nearly sent the entire coven to massacre the Authority. But she put her emotions in check and realized it wouldn’t have been wise. Not when we're so greatly outnumbered."

"They allowed this?" I can't fathom that Alec would allow such violence. A thousand lashes just from drinking from a vein.

"The person offering the vein, she was willing?"

"She was willing.  She’s his partner." I consider her words as she huffs incredulously. "What's even more ridiculous is that Natalia refuses blood from everyone. She only drinks from a vein, I know she does."

"How do you know?"

"I've seen her do it." Vince wraps his arm around Veronica's waist and pulls her closer to him. She leans into his touch. A smile threatens to pull at my lips at the sight of the two of them on agreeable terms after last night, but I restrain it.

"I see, so that's why your queen sent you. Because her hand is being forced by the coven?" She nods once at my question. "And is it just Natalia that's pushing the issue?"

"Yes. Mostly, but she has the backing of the other members. When they came to deliver Stephan, she brought nearly a dozen other vampires with her."

"Was Alec there?" I hesitate to ask, but I have to make sure before I go to meet with him.

"No, only the vampires of the Authority." If I remember correctly there are fourteen total in the Authority.  That’s a lot of fucking vampires.  Larger than most covens.

"Thank you Veronica. Vince."

He immediately responds, "yes, Alpha?" That's a much better tone. I decide to let his anger from earlier slide. After all, I've heard having a vampire drink from you can be quite an experience.

"Are you sparring with the others today?"

"Damn right, Dom and Caleb are going to go at it. I have to be around to see that." He looks at his mate and smiles. "And I thought it would be fun for them to see what Veronica can do."

I nod my head in agreement. Natalia taught Veronica. "I'll have to watch her at some point too." I'll speak with Alec first, but we'll need to watch Veronica. We need to know how she fights and what her weaknesses are. Natalia trained her. With Veronica on our side, we'll be able to know how to fight Natalia when the time comes.

Chapter 4: Dom

              Lizie looks so fucking small on the sparring platform. My mate, my gorgeous mate. Last night was a damn dream come true. Holding her in my arms while I rutted into her tight little pussy. A low rumbling growl barrels through my chest at the memory of her soft whimpers and loud moans of pleasure. An asymmetrical grin pulls at Caleb's chest when he hears the growl of approval rip through me. She took us both just as she was made to.

"Fucking perfect." He mutters in my head so only I can hear him. "You think this is going to work?" I shrug my shoulders.

"I have no idea, but it's worth a shot." We decided last night that teaching Lizie to spar may help bring her wolf out. She's only felt her the one time and although I'm happy her wolf returned, it's fucking tearing up my sweet little mate. She wants her wolf to stay. She wants to shift so badly; I know she does.  I have no idea if she'll ever be able to shift, but I'll do everything I can to help her.

"Well even if it doesn't coax her wolf out to play, she'll at least learn how to fight."

"You better not fucking bruise her." Caleb gives me a side eye.

"Have you seen our mate? She's even more fucked up than Ari."

"We should've taken it easier on her." I shuffle my feet and kick the dirt avoiding looking at Lizie's neck as guilt washes over me. Her hips are covered in bruises from our grip on her and her neck is covered in bites and bruises. Both of our marks are an angry-red color. I wish her wolf would come heal her. I hate seeing her look so fucking wounded.

"Yeah, like that was possible. Besides, she fucking loved it." That doesn't help the growing knot in my chest loosen. "Did you see her looking at herself this morning? She was happy to see our marks." His shoulder bumps into mine as he speaks. "She'll heal up nice and the only thing that’ll be left are two silver claiming marks on her neck. Proof she's ours." Imagining her beautiful slender neck with our scars on her makes my chest puff out in pride.

"Damn right she's ours." At my inner words, Lizie looks over to us and smiles while walking towards the edge of the platform.

"So which one of you two is going to fight me?" She bites her lip and rocks on her feet.

"Both of us." I look at Caleb like he's out of his damn mind.

"She can't handle both of us." He chuckles at my words as he climbs the platform and it takes me a moment to register why. When I do, I let out a huff of a laugh.

"She won't be able to fight either of us off right now, but she'll learn." He answers me loud enough for her to hear.

"Alright." I concede and follow Caleb onto the platform just as I see Veronica and Vince heading our way.

"Showtime isn't until later. Were training our baby girl first." Caleb calls out to them.

"Can I just watch?" Lizie seems a bit hesitant to fight and I want to get that shit out over with.

"Nope. You gotta learn a little something first."

"I'm scared." She barely whispers as Veronica and Vince come up to the platform.

"Nothing to be scared of baby."  

“Fine.”  She straightens her shoulders and raises her little fists while backing up the edge of the platform. I chuckle at the sight of her.

"First of all, don't back yourself into a corner. Never." Caleb nods his head at my words.

"It's even worse when you're out numbered. Now get your ass back here."

She obeys and immediately walks back to us.  "So I should just stand there and wait?" 

"If you can't run, yes. Wait for the attack so you can block. Take your attacker off guard. If you can get the first hit in, make sure you make contact. Make it worth the energy."

"So if I can't run, hit first -"

"Only hit if you can get a good hit in. If not, then you wait so you can block." Caleb interrupts her and I nod my head at his words.

"How will I know if it'll be a good hit?"

"If you have easy access to the nose, throat, spleen, or groin take the shot."

I put my hand up to Caleb's nose with my palm out and motion upwards. "Like this little one. That'll break the nose and push the bone into the brain."

Caleb turns sideways and elbows me in the gut. "Or shove your elbow right here. Clasp your hands and push with all your weight."

"You wanna try to get a hit in?"

She nods her head, "Yeah let me try."

"Alright. I'm going to block it, but don't stop." She takes a deep breath and tries to palm my nose, but she's too damn slow and I'm able to snatch her wrist. "Faster little one. Make it count." She purses her lips when I release her hand.

"But you know it's coming." I nod my head at her defeated words.  

"Your attackers may expect you to attack also. You have to be quick."

She rocks back and forth with her eyes on the ground; she looks dejected. I part my lips and take a small step forward, ready to comfort her and that little hand of hers comes up from fucking nowhere and she actually lands the blow.

"Fuck!" My hands fly to my nose. I pull them back as the stinging pain makes me wince and see blood. Caleb's laughing his ass off and Vince is having a go at me too.

"Your girl got a hit on you Dom. You a big pussy now that you're mated?"

"Come on up here Vince and find out." That wipes the smile off his face, only for a second though.

"Good job baby girl." Caleb gives her a small kiss on the cheek before raising his forearms in front of him and hopping back and forth on the platform like he's a damn boxer. "Now come get me baby."

Lizie just stands there looking shy between the two of us. "You okay Dom?"

I chuckle at her concern and wipe my nose. The pain’s nearly gone and I can already feel it mostly healed. "Yeah, little one. You did good. Now give me a kiss." She walks easily to me and brushes those soft, sweet lips of hers against mine. A rumble of satisfaction settles in my chest. I take a step back, "I wasn't expecting that one; you did good to take advantage of the situation." Her small smile makes my chest warm.

"Now we're ready baby. Come on.  It’s not going to be easy" He motions her forward with his upturned hand and she practically lunges at him, aiming for his nose again. As he wraps his arms around her shoulders and tries to pull her into his chest to capture her, she quickly turns her back to him, puts her left hand over her fisted right hand, and elbows him with all her weight into his side.

Caleb grunts and drops to the floor while I let a bark of a laugh out. I feel myself smile. Her eyes catch mine as I laugh and she stands confidently over Caleb's balled up form.

"You have such a beautiful smile." Her kind words light a fire in me. I want nothing more than to pull her onto the ground and devour her body.

"Not now Jackass." Caleb's words snap me out of it and I walk forward to reward my little mate with a kiss.

"You're a natural." She leans into the kiss and then looks to Caleb for her kiss from him. The small act makes me chuckle.

"Okay, how do I hit the groin, you didn't show me."

Oh, fuck that.

"Vince, get up here." I yell out to the now pale fucker who only stopped laughing once I called his name out.

"Nah, I'm good man." I look at Caleb and open my mouth, but he beats me to the punch.

"I got the last hit. You can take this one." He walks to our little mate and kisses her cheek. "Hit him hard baby. If you can get a knee to his groin, you'll get him on the ground for sure.

"Are you guys letting me get these hits in?"

I shake my head adamantly as does Caleb. "Not at all. I wasn't ready for that baby. You're much faster than I expected." His fingers brush her cheek while he leans forward and whispers to her. "You're as fast as a wolf. I didn't expect that." A blush creeps up her chest and into her cheeks.

"My turn." Veronica calls out from below. "You three obviously need a break before you start giving the two of us a different kind of show. Come pup, I want to see what kind of damage you can do."

I take Lizie's small hand in mine. "It will be good for you to watch." My eyes find Vince's, "and I'll enjoy watching Vince's mate beat the shit out of him." Caleb laughs on the other side of Lizie before he pulls her hand to his mouth for another kiss.

"I'm happy she took that as well as she did." I speak to Caleb in my head.

"Yeah, that's our mate though. She's such a wild spitfire.”

"Sometimes, but sometimes she's so shy."

"Well she did just meet us Dom. She's gotta have some time to open up." He has a good point. "And I think she's doing wonderfully." I nod my head at his silent words.

"She is. I was so fucking worried Caleb."

"I know man. I was too. But she's good." He drops her hand and wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her into him and slightly away from me. Her hand squeezes mine and it gives me enough satisfaction not be jealous of his possessive move.

"You did great baby. Next time we'll be ready for you though." She blushes as he whispers into her ear. I settle down on the ground next to Lizie and look up to see Veronica and Vince circling each other. "This should be a good show." I pull Lizie closer to me and Caleb grins at me, knowing exactly what I'm doing. He leans back on the ground, resting on his forearms and concentrates on the two sparring. "Vampires are faster than us. Much faster, but we have far more strength than they do." Lizie nods acknowledging my words.

I watch her eyes widen as Veronica lands a blow to Vince's chest before falling to the ground to avoid Vince's attempt to grab her. She slides easily between his wide stance and stands behind him, landing a kick to his back before he's even registered what's happened. He lands on his palms and knees but quickly jumps, spinning in mid air to snatch her wrist as she attempts another punch. She's completely unaffected by his hold and lands a punch to his throat, right on his Adam's apple. The blow makes him loosen his grip on her wrist enough for her to jump back as his hands fly to his throat. Vince growls his frustration and the two circle each other again. The first round won by Veronica. By a long shot.

"Do you see how she continued to fight without hesitation. He had a grip on her, but she didn't let that stop her attack." I speak quietly into Lizie’s ear while she continues to watch. "You need to have that same tenacity. Never stop fighting." I notice movement from the corner of my eye and I glance at Caleb as he nods his head and smiles.

"Never stop fighting baby."  

She smiles at his words, but immediately winces as Veronica kicks Vince hard in the chest. Vince moves slightly from the hit, but his wide stance keeps him from falling and he's able to grab her ankle. She pushes off the ground with her other leg and nearly lands a kick to his face, but he pushes his weight forward and lands on the platform with her beneath him. His crushing weight holding her down.  He releases her leg and reaches for her waist as she wriggles under him in an effort to get free. He lifts his chest slightly and pulls her hips towards his with a strong grip. Just as he smiles, thinking he's won, she throws her elbow back and it lands hard on his nose. She's ruthless, and her skills are designed to take advantage of the natural instinct to protect the sensitive areas she targets.

"Ooh!" Lizie's hands fly to her nose as she grimaces. Yeah, I know that fucking hurt. Vince doesn't release her hips though, which is obviously what Veronica was counting on, instead he drops all of his weight onto her small frame and his head lays against her back. Caging her in and making her moves useless. She struggles beneath him for a moment before realizing he's got her pinned. His massive weight and strength are no match for her while he's got her in such a vulnerable position.

I hear Vince say, "gotcha," in a playful tone and kiss the crook of her neck. Veronica continues to struggle though. I hear her breathing pick up and it's nearly panicked. I look at Caleb and confusion and concern are apparent on his face. Lizie's shoulders hunch and she shifts uncomfortably between us.

"Off of me!" Veronica shouts and pushes her body against Vince's massive frame. He props up on his knees and lifts his chest off of her back. The blur of her form jumps from under him to the other side of the stage.

Vince holds both his hands up while he stays still on his knees. "It's just me baby." Her shoulders rise and fall as her breath slowly evens out. He gets off the ground and walks calmly to her. She swallows and shakes out her hair. "I know. I know." She closes her eyes as he takes her hand and leads her to the stairs while kissing her hair.

"What the hell was that about?" I ask Vince in my head.

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of her." I nod my head slightly as they walk past us. Lizie looks to Veronica with concern in her blue eyes, but the vampire stares straight ahead, obviously still shaken and embarrassed by her reaction.

"She'll be alright little one." I kiss her soft lips as Caleb rises.

"Come on baby girl. We're going to show you how to block like Vince should've done." I snort at his words and help our little mate up.

"I got this." She says confidently as she approaches the stage. My heart warms as I see her climb up and turn around with both her fists in the air and a bright smile on her face.  It’s then that I realize just how strong our mate is.