Taste of Darkness (3 page)

“Oh my god!” Vega shouted, her eyes wide in pure horror. “He walked in on you when some guy’s head was actually between…?”

Face red, Victoria nodded. “Oh yeah. Needless to say that guy never called me again. And anytime he saw me, he sprinted in the other direction.” And she hadn’t really dated since then. She didn’t think Gabriel would ever do something so horrific again—because he’d been embarrassed too—but she’d been busy with school anyway and she hadn’t wanted to risk anything like that happening again.

That was the problem with shifter males. They were so damn protective and could act like complete and utter barbarians. And not be apologetic about it at all.

“I don’t think Gabriel could scare Drake away,” Vega said slyly.

Victoria just rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking about him with you.” The teenage shifter seemed to always want to grill Victoria about him. Unfortunately Victoria didn’t have any answers and it made her feel crappier to admit out loud that she was pretty sure Drake only wanted friendship.

“Have you kissed him yet?”

“No.”

“Do you want to kiss him?”

“What do you think?” she snapped with more heat than she’d intended. She adored Vega and didn’t want to be rude, but she also didn’t want to talk about Drake. It mixed her up too much inside. Seriously, what if he was a virgin and viewed her as a security blanket? She couldn’t even go there, not when her feelings for him were so much more intense.

Luckily Vega wasn’t offended. If anything, her grin grew. “Hmm, I’ll eventually wear you down. But for now, I need to tell you something and you can’t tell anyone.”

* * *

Drake pushed the door to the roof of the mansion open and stepped outside, inhaling the fresh scent of magnolia trees. He immediately knew he was alone. Though the scent of shifters and Lyra and Vega lingered in the air around the property, no one was on the massive roof. He was glad to be alone.

He knew he shouldn’t have eavesdropped on Vega and Victoria but he’d wanted to know about Victoria’s dating experiences. And he wasn’t apologetic about his decision either. Maybe in another lifetime he would have been, but not now. He might not comprehend everything about this modern world, but he understood battle tactics and evasive maneuvering. Otherwise he wouldn’t have lasted in Hell for so long. So any leg up he could get with Victoria he would take.

When he’d heard her say a male had been going down on her he hadn’t been certain of the phrase at first. In Hell he’d seen more than his fair share of orgies and rapes, but he tried not to think about that. All the versions of sex he’d witnessed were violent and not something he wanted to relive.

So it had taken a few seconds for it to register that ‘going down’ meant oral sex. He knew the behavior he’d witnessed in Hell wasn’t normal so he’d done an Internet search on his phone to see exactly what oral sex on a female looked like—Victoria had taught him how to use Google.

The pictures that had come up had been exactly what he’d expected. Not violent, just sexy. While he didn’t like the thought of anyone but him doing that to Victoria, he grew hard thinking about licking her most intimate area with his tongue, hearing her moan his name. Finding out exactly what she tasted like.

“Do you want to kiss him?”

“What do you think?”

Drake replayed Victoria’s last words over in his head. After she’d said that he’d finally left, needing to get away because he’d been getting too aroused. What
did
she mean? He hated that he was still trying to understand social cues and inflections. It was just another reminder how different he was from her. From everyone in this pack.

His dragon nature aside.

Using his natural gift to shield himself from any prying eyes, he stripped off his clothes then called on his inner dragon, letting him take over until he was in his beast form. As always the change was quick, the shift from human to dragon exhilarating, like he’d been shot up with a heavy dose of adrenaline. Things were clearer and sharper like this. He’d never even seen himself in his entirety until recently but Lyra had told him he was beautiful. Victoria had seconded it.

He didn’t think males were supposed to be considered beautiful and he was pretty certain he actually wasn’t, that they were just being kind. But as long as Victoria liked him in his animal form she could call him beautiful. His wings sparkled like jade emeralds, the same color as Victoria’s eyes. More proof to him that she was his. And his body glittered like thousands of diamond scales. His paler body coloring made it easier for him to use his gift of camouflage so that when he flew high above the city, he was basically invisible. If someone was looking directly at him they might think they saw a blurred cloud but that was it.

Using the roof as a launching area, he shot into the night sky, expanding his wings and savoring every second of his freedom. He’d never thought he’d be free. The concept was still foreign and if he thought about it too long he sometimes wondered if he was still in Hell and had finally lost his mind.

For years he’d stayed in his dragon form as the best form of protection from…everything. But he hadn’t wanted to lose his humanity completely. Hadn’t wanted to let whoever had put him in Hell win. Because someone had. He just couldn’t remember who. Fifteen hundred years was a long time and so many of his memories were a blur. He’d been young when he’d been locked inside. Twelve or thirteen maybe.

Taking in the salty air, he headed straight for the ocean, enjoying flying over it. Even at night it was a beautiful, seemingly endless scape of beauty glittering under the moon and stars. No fire or desolation or despair anywhere in sight.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been flying but he thought it had only been a couple hours when he finally landed quietly on the roof again. His clothes and phone were still there in a neat pile and he could hear the patrolling shifters moving around the grounds. Some were most definitely aware of him, but others might have missed his landing. He was incredibly stealthy when he wanted to be.

After he’d changed into his clothes, he checked his phone. His heart rate immediately kicked up a notch at the thought of reading Victoria’s message. Others in the pack often texted him, but he never reacted to their messages like he did hers. As if his heart would beat right out of his chest.

Victoria:
Vega wants me to go somewhere with her. Promised her I wouldn’t tell where. We won’t be long. If you still want to meet up I’ll text you when I get back?

Smiling and feeling foolish for the erratic thump of his heart, he started to respond when Gabriel’s annoyed voice carried faintly on the wind. He would have ignored him, but he heard Victoria’s name. And anything to do with her concerned him.

Moving stealthily, he called on one of his most potent powers and camouflaged himself in human form as he strode toward the edge of the roof. No one would see him now.

With his supernatural hearing he made out various conversations from packmates on the property and a few from packmates inside the compound. He deducted that they must have windows open because the place was well-insulated.

He distinctly heard Finn and Gabriel talking in hushed tones. Concentrating, he leaned over the edge of the house and pinpointed where the voices were coming from.

Vega’s room.

That was strange.

“Victoria wouldn’t let her do anything stupid,” Gabriel said quietly.

“I know, but…fuck, where the hell did she go?” Finn snarled.

“Not with the human. I’ve got him under surveillance.” Gabriel sounded smug.

“Is Drake with them?” Finn asked.

Gabriel snorted. “Victoria didn’t say in her text. She just said not to worry about her and Vega. Though that fucker probably went with them anyway.”

“I’d feel a hell of a lot better if he was with them.” The note of desperation in Finn’s voice made Drake frown. Victoria wouldn’t have let Vega go anywhere unsuitable or dangerous. Even he, with all his lack of knowledge, knew that. Maybe Finn was being irrational because he was a parent.

“Yeah, me too. I just don’t like the way he looks at Victoria,” Gabriel muttered. “She’s always taking in fucking strays and this guy is the worst. We don’t know shit about him or if there are more like him out there.”

Finn’s response was cut off as someone shut the window. Not that Drake cared what the Alpha thought. Not too much anyway. He only cared about Victoria, but Gabriel’s words sliced through him soul deep.

Did Victoria see him that way? A strange lump settled in his throat as his entire body hummed with rage and raw energy. Fuck. Was
that
how she saw him? A stray?
Unwanted.
Something to be pitied. Fists clenched, he turned and started to head back to the roof’s door but froze when he spotted Lyra leaning against the closed door. He hadn’t even heard or scented her, which said a lot about her power.

He immediately let his camouflage fall but something about the way she watched him told him that she’d seen him anyway. Or maybe just the outline of his magic.

Wearing black cargo pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt, the blood-born vampire had her long blonde hair pulled back into a sharp ponytail. Her grayish-violet eyes sparked under the moonlight as she watched him.

She was one of the only people not afraid of him and he liked that. She’d even given him her potent vamp blood when he’d been shot. He had no doubt that she’d only done it because he’d saved her daughter’s life, but Drake would never forget that small act of kindness when he’d been injured and vulnerable. Instead of speaking, he just stood there, waiting for her to make the first move.

“Do you know where they are?” Lyra asked, not needing to specify who.

“No.”

Her lips pulled into a thin line, but she nodded once, as if she believed him. Something deep inside him felt the need to defend Victoria though so he continued. “Victoria would never let harm come to Vega. She’d die first.”

To his surprise, Lyra let out a sigh and half-smiled, the action making her look younger than normal. Because of the way supernaturals aged, she looked to be barely in her late twenties, even though she was close to a hundred. “I know. It’s the only reason I’m not even really angry. Finn is…well, Finn is being a protective father but he’s new to all this and doesn’t understand teenage girls,” she muttered. “So what are you up to tonight anyway?”

“Heading to the fights,” he said without thinking. He hadn’t managed to tamp down the rage or humiliation inside him. If Victoria truly pitied him… He quickly banished that thought. The only way to let off this energy right now was to fight. Luckily Finn let his pack and other supernaturals in the area brawl at a private fight club, letting out all their aggression and anger. There weren’t many rules except no weapons, no shifting during the fight and that shit didn’t leave the ring.

Lyra’s eyes glowed brightly for a moment before she cursed and took a step forward. He wasn’t sure why she’d cursed, but he watched her, trying to understand the action. “Are you flying or catching a ride over there?” she asked.

So she knew he couldn’t drive. He shrugged. “Flying, probably.” It was quickest.

“I’ll go with you. I’ll carry your clothes if you want.”

Though Drake was surprised the Alpha’s mate wanted to go to the fights, he nodded. “Fine. I need to strip.” He wanted to give her a chance to turn around. Once she did he stripped and set his clothes and phone on the ground. Not all vamps could fly, but she was from one of the strongest bloodlines and a born vampire, not made, and she had no problem flying a decent distance.

Without a word she grasped his belongings and took flight, shooting into the air with only a whisper of sound in her wake. He quickly followed suit after shifting.

He’d never lost a fight and he didn’t plan to tonight. He just hoped there were some actual challengers in the ring because he needed to let out all the aggression burning inside him. He refused to be an object of pity. Victoria needed to see him in a different light. He just had to figure out how to show her.

Chapter Three

“I can’t believe you texted my parents,” Vega muttered as she and Victoria made their way through the growing crowd of various supernatural beings to watch one of the ongoing fights. The scent of blood and sweat filled the air along with the steady hum of conversation.

The weekly fights in Biloxi were at one of Finn’s properties, a warehouse in the middle of a self-storage place that Finn also owned. It was well-guarded and no humans were allowed in. “Deal with it,” Victoria murmured, looking around at the familiar faces of her pack members. There were other supernatural beings there including vampires and half-demons.

Considering Vega’s power, Victoria’s own healing powers, and the fact that so many packmates were in attendance she wasn’t worried about keeping Vega safe. It was the only reason Victoria had agreed to let the teenager come. Well, that and she couldn’t really have stopped her. Vega had been determined to get out of the mansion tonight and see the fights.

“It’s not like they’re going to blame you. You saved my mom’s life and my dad adores you,” Vega continued, grumbling.

“Yeah well, you’re their daughter. They need to know you’re safe,” Victoria said, pinning Vega with her gaze.

The younger female let out a sigh. “You’re annoying when you’re right.”