Blood Mountain (BWWM)

Dessert

Someone gagged from the doorway and they turned in unison. Two male vampires stepped into the room with a willowy female between them. Halia assumed that she was also a vampire, her skin pale and translucent like the rest of them. It was only when they moved closer that she could smell the difference; she was human.

Cade immediately shuttered his expression and subtly put himself between Halia and the men. Aryus and Luke noticed the protective stance and smirked to themselves as they advanced.

Aryus grabbed the human by the arm and shoved her into an empty chair. She went without protest, eyes glazed and unfocused. He ran a sharp claw from her jaw to her temple and pressed into the papery skin until blood welled under his finger. The crimson drop balanced on his fingertip and he curled his tongue around the digit while staring at Halia.

Nose wrinkling, her stomach flipped in disgust and her dislike of vampires grew.

Cade snarled at the blatant threat, fangs descending without thought. "Leave."

Luke walked behind the human and cradled her throat lightly in his palm, his brows arching innocently. "She has to eat, Caedus. We wouldn't want her to starve to death, right?"

"Of course not," Aryus snickered "We know how much he loves humans. They remind him of his filthy mother."

Halia felt a rush of air as Cade disappeared from her side and barreled into the vampire. They careened into the rock wall, knocking tables and chairs askew in their violence. Cade launched a fist at the male's face but he ducked away at the last instant. His hand collided brutally with the wall and stone chipped from the surface as he grunted in pain. The bones in his hand shattered and mangled flesh peeled away from his knuckles where blood and gore dripped to the ground.

Heart thundering in her chest, dread filled her veins. She wanted to help, needed to. Before she could take a step the other vampire was at her side. He yanked her arms painfully behind her back and hissed in her ear, breath washing grossly over her skin.

"Stay put, little wolf. Watch the halfling fail."

Like Hell. Halia threw her head back and heard the satisfying crunch of a broken nose. The vampire released her, clutching his face and cursing with a roar. Not waiting for him to recover, she whirled around and aimed a ruthless kick at his groin. He dropped to his knees, mouth gaping. Blinded by pain, he was unable to avoid the second kick and his head snapped back with a wet crack, body crumpling to the floor in a heap.

Distracted by Luke's shout of pain, Cade mistakenly turned his attention away from the vampire in front of him, concern for Halia overriding his blind rage. He saw her kick, heard the sickening snap of bone and watched as Luke fell unconscious to the ground.

A hand was suddenly around his throat, claws digging mercilessly into his skin as he squeezed. Aryus slammed him into the wall and held him pinned, bringing his face close. Cade struggled in his grip, clawing at the unyielding hand at his throat. Aryus smashed his head against the wall, once, twice, and Cade could feel the trickle of blood running down his face.

Lips curling away from pointed fangs, Cade growled furiously, magic boiling at his fingertips. It wouldn't be a fight if he used his magic. They would be there one moment, and gone the next; erased from existence. He could burn them to ash, and burn the ash to nothing. He could do it, and he wanted to.

But he wouldn't. Not with Halia near. He refused to be the monster his kin were, what they thirsted for him to be.

Aryus sneered, enjoying the younger man's struggle. "Pathetic. Just like your mother. You're exactly alike, you know? Only good as food."

Halia watched in horror as the vampire plunged his canines into Cade's throat, blood exploding from the wound and staining the both of them. Cade stiffened in pain but remained silent. He wouldn't hear his screams. Never again.

Halia's vision clouded, the whites of her eyes completely eaten away by black as she shifted. Rage clogged her throat and stole her breath, her mind unable to process anything but the need to kill. She sprang forward, fully prepared to maul the vampire to death.

Instead, she was caught by the scruff and tossed lightly aside. She landed on all fours across the room and immediately spun around to defend Cade. She stopped mid-snarl, nose twitching at the sudden stench of blood permeating the enclosed space.

The vampire was dead, but not by her doing.

Hizen dropped the severed head to the ground with a growled, "Bastard." He glared venomously at the mangled corpse and kicked it aside before he was tempted to further mutilate it. His son was still pressed to the wall, trying to staunch the heavy flow of blood as it spurted from between his fingers.

"Heal yourself, Caedus. Do it quickly." He urged, slight worry tinging his voice.

Cade tried, but in his weakened state he only managed a partial heal. He could feel his limbs growing colder with each pulse of his heart and the concerned expression on his father's face was almost as foreign to him as the rattling he felt in his ribcage.

Hizen noticed the human sitting at the table and quickly hauled her over to his deteriorating child. "Feed," He ordered, thrusting her pale throat under his nose.

Cade's nostrils flared at the scent and his jaws parted on instinct. He could see the flutter of her pulse under delicate skin and his gums ached in hunger.

Hizen opened her vein with a small incision and Cade let out a sound of defeat, helpless to resist the thrall in his damaged state. His maw closed over the wound and blood filled his mouth yet he didn't swallow.

"Caedus," His father hissed in alarm. "Drink."

Cade's eyes skipped over his shoulder and landed on the she-wolf. Halia had reverted back to her human form and she sucked in a quiet breath, her fear for his life overwhelming every other sense. She couldn't lose him so soon after finding him. She wouldn't allow it.

Halia quickliy realized that he was waiting for her. He needed her approval. He needed to know that she wouldn't fear, wouldn't hate him.

Hizen spun to face the wolf, his features so alike Cade's, and almost roared. "Tell him to drink!"

Pasting on a wobbly smile, she took a tentative step toward the males and spoke softly. "It's alright, Cade. You can drink. It's okay." She reached for his bloody cheek with an outstretched palm and stroked the sticky skin beneath. "I'm not afraid of you."

His eyes shut against the feel of her warm fingers against his cool skin and he finally drank. He didn't need to be coaxed after that, and eventually Hizen pulled the human from his grasp lest he accidentally drain her. He didn't want to scar the boy any more than he already had.

The skin at Cade's throat was still raw and painful, but no longer fatal. He was coated in his own blood and must have looked like a beast yet Halia pressed herself to his side and caressed gentle fingers over the injury.

"Do you need more?" She murmured in sincere concern and swept the hair from her neck, the implied offer hanging in the air.

Cade felt a flood of warmth through his limbs that had nothing to do with anger, or fear, or rejection. He cupped her jaw with his uninjured hand and rubbed a thumb over her soft cheek. Large chocolate eyes blinked up at him expectantly, and he knew in that instant that he could love this wolf.