Hizen made good on his promise.
Many, many times.
Sahira lifted out his lap with a wet squelch of skin, moaning weakly. She collapsed onto the space beside him and snuggled herself along his flank. Hizen was hardly winded, refractory period nonexistent. He could keep going. But that's not what she needed from him right now.
Long arms pulled Sahira close as Hizen wrapped her in a cocoon of blankets and sated vampire. Cool lips pressed to her brow and she swooned, mewling for more when he shifted.
"Hush," he pecked another kiss to her cheek. "I'm not going anywhere."
His words quieted her fussing and she deflated with a content sigh. "Good...because I wouldn't let you."
A soft rumble of laughter vibrated the air between them and Hizen tipped her chin with a nudge of his finger. "That's a bold statement, little wolf. How could you stop me?" Physical restraints wouldn't work and she was barely a threat herself—
Hizen blinked at the hazy smile on her lips, warm brown eyes at half-mast.
What?
"You like me," Sahira pushed herself onto her elbows and touched her mouth to his in a brief kiss. "That's enough."
He didn't let her slip away as she tried to duck back into her burrow. Hizen dug her out and circled a loose hand around her throat, thumb stroking her pulse. His grip wasn't tight or restrictive. The brush of his fingers was thoughtful and his mind worked as he caressed soft skin. Under normal circumstances, there was little that flustered Hizen. He wasn't exactly flustered now either, if his outward nonchalance was to be believed. But something stirred in his gut that felt achingly familiar to want. True want, and not just a passing fancy. The kind of want that made him want to hoard and covet, indulge and be indulged. This want made him dizzy with desire and a strange nostalgia of warmth. Of things that hadn't yet happened but could, if only there was a small push...
Hizen let his hand slide away from her exposed neck, touch trailing down the dip of her spine instead. This wasn't the moment for him to stew.
Stewing was reserved for later, when he had his pants on.
Sahira didn't squeak when his palms cupped the backs of her thighs and hauled her into the cradle of his hips. But she did when he nibbled the point of her ear, tongue laving along the shell as he crooned.
"I certainly do."
***
Ray had to be physically restrained from throwing himself down the path to Hizen's room. Cade grunted as he was forced back a step, lips pulling in an answering snarl when his friend snapped sharp teeth.
"Will you quit it? Just—stay here, I'll go."
"No," Ray was shaking with anger. Cade had never seen him so upset. "You stay with Halia. If they took Biron and the kid, what's to stop them from taking her?"
Halia pushed herself between the two posturing men just as Cade rumbled, "Me."
"Uh, excuse me. No one will be taking anyone else. We're wasting time standing here," she grabbed both by a wrist and started impatiently. "Jude doesn't have time." The thought that the siblings had led her old pack to the mountain had never crossed her mind. She wouldn't allow it to. They were children. Children who had fled a pack fractured under its own weight. Jude and Sahira had told her of the fighting and senseless bloodshed, of the attacks on human towns and consequences that followed.
Halia didn't believe they would betray her.
Ray wasn't as convinced.
It was understandable...but she knew in her gut it wasn't true.
She ignored their protests and stomped down the dark halls, gaze fixed ahead. They'd all been to the front entrance and seen signs of struggle. Biron's blood speckled the earth and the scent of Jude's distress hung heavy in the air. The smell of half a dozen other wolves punched her in the chest because they were people she knew. The same tinge of sickness that clung to the kids was mixed in as well. Halia didn't understand what was going on with these diseases, first the vampires and now wolves. But she couldn't think about that now while Jude was in danger. His safety was priority.
Halia stopped short outside Hizen's chamber, nose twitching. She knew Sahira was with him. When they'd searched Cade's room for her, Halia tracked the girl's scent here. And from the sounds coming from behind the curtain, they weren't exactly being subtle...
Cade snagged her arm before she could push her way inside. That wouldn't end well for anyone. "Wait," he begged. "Please let me go first. Out of us three, I'm the least likely to get my head taken off."
She relented after a short pause, face pinched in a sour expression. "Okay. Hurry, please." She couldn't stress how important it was to go after Jude. The sooner they spoke with Hizen, the sooner they could bring him back.
Cade uncurled his hand from her wrist and sighed shortly. This was on his 'what I never want to do' list. Interrupting a parent having...
He almost choked. Halia had to slap him on the back to get him moving. Cade steeled himself with a hand to his brow and called, "Hizen, we need to talk. Now. There's been an attack by the wolves."
***
Sahira heard the words before Hizen did and her breath stuttered in her chest, hiss of pleasure broken by reality. Her pack had...?
Hizen's lips sealed over her pulse and his teeth scrapped a line in her skin. His limbs were coiled tight and he had to restrain the desperate urge to sink his fangs fully into her soft flesh. To be this close but unable to take what he desired was excruciating. Gums pulsing, he growled low in his throat as a hard thrust pushed Sahira up the desk. A whine broke from her mouth and she flushed, hands scrabbling across his chest to hold him at bay while she tried to listen to the rest.
"Hizen, this is important! They took Jude and—"
Sahira made a gurgled sound of horror and shoved Hizen off in the next second. He snarled in displeasure and tried to snatch her back, only to be barked at by the girl herself. Her canines gleamed under low light, hackles raised as she batted his hands away. No, her eyes spit fire and he reeled himself in.
Shaking his head clear, he unstuck his tongue from the roof of his mouth and managed to cough, "G-give me a minute, Caedus."
Sahira was already throwing on clothes and didn't care a lick about her appearance. Her brother. Her brother was gone. If she'd been with him and not chasing after Hizen... She tore open the curtain and Hizen made a grunt of protest, still only in his pants. They were low on his hips and unbuttoned, his face red and long hair disheveled. He looked thoroughly fucked.
Halia chose not to comment while Cade glared with heated disapproval at his father. They'd been here less than a day and he couldn't keep his hands to himself.
"Biron and Jude are gone. We know they were attacked at the gate and taken by wolves. Halia can track them but we need your help. The others...shouldn't be involved." Gods knew if the vampires were let loose on the weres. It would be a massacre. If their group was kept to a manageable few, maybe they could get past this without more blood spilled.
Hizen pushed the hair from his face and frowned. "When did this happen?"
"An hour ago, maybe two. The trail is still fresh." Halia took Sahira into her arms when the girl swayed dizzily on her feet.
Pale blue eyes narrowed in a glaze of concern and Hizen moved a step toward her only to be jerked back by Cade. "Not now. We need to go."
A small hiss of annoyance couldn't be stopped and he swept Cade's hand free like it wasn't there at all, crowding into Halia's space to grab the girl. He didn't give Halia a choice and scooped Sahira into the bulk of his chest, taking a few shuffling steps back to put distance between them. He was like a viper wrapped snug around her, pupils dilated and wide as he addressed them.
"Get what you need," he murmured, cheek pressed against Sahira's. "We'll leave soon."
**************
Sorry these tend to end on cliffhangers, but what is plot. Also, I'm not dead. School and work and life got me busy but I'm still alive.