Sleepless Nights By: Ayokay (feat. Nightly)
"So Michael's body is here," I murmured to myself, indicating on the map, my finger drawing a path to what was once San Francisco but a hundred years ago. "And we are over here." I traced the line all the way up to the top left corner of Washington state, stopping a hairs breath away before the Canadian Border. I clucked my tongue in annoyance, lifting a bit off my weight off of the table to take the pressure off of my back. For three days I have leaned over this table, studying every pass, river, and section of woods separating us from Michigan, burning them into my brain. I had to know every possible outcome, every twist and then that could catch us by surprise if I were to lead the entirety of my pack through this forest. Rolling my neck, I sighed in frustration, unable to find a clear path.
Our mating ceremony had been put on hold for the time being, which was beyond irritating. I was ready to be hers for the rest of my immortal life and I could tell that she was as well. My lips twitched as I thought of the day that would bind me to my mate, almost unable to contain my excitement. She had no idea that I had the whole thing planned out. Not even our melded minds gave anything away.
"Can you swim?" A voice suddenly spoke from behind me, shaking me out of my thoughts.
I didn't look up as she stepped up beside me, her presence sparking a cold chill down my spine, her breath hot on the shell of my ear. It took a minute for the fog to pass enough to where I could coherently answer her question.
"Yes, why?" I eyed her questioningly.
"No reason, I just wanted an excuse to distract you." I tiled my head at the mischievous grin on her face, raising a brow as she approached. I held still as her arms wrapped around my waist, gently turning my body towards hers.
My breath caught at the look in her eyes, raw and powerful. After the death of the Colorado wolf, we'd spent more time together. I had needed her guidance and assurance that I had done the right thing, and frankly, I needed her. I took my time learning the entity within her and was starting to love her too, although I still didn't understand how it was possible or how this prophecy works. All of my thoughts drifted away as her mouth found mine, slow and addictive. I moaned as her tongue danced with mine, the taste of her never ceasing to enthrall me. Her fingers caught my hips and lifted me onto the war table, scattering documents and whatever else that was in her way. Lost in the taste of her, I wrapped my legs around her waist, groaning breathlessly when her hips connected with mine. Suddenly the kiss grew desperate, the hard press of her fangs inside her mouth achingly prominent.
I pulled away with a gasp, subconsciously turning my head to the side, feeling the weight of my crown shift with the sudden movement but not caring as she worked her luscious lips across my throat. My fingers trailed along the hem of her shirt to the button of her pants, feeling her muscles clench under my touch as I popped the fabric loose and slid inside. I bit my lip to hide the laugh as she practically tore my shirt off in her haste to feel my skin, while my fingers teased her smooth mound, intent on dipping inside of her. As her mouth wrapped around a taunt nipple, my amusement faded into something more animalistic and raw, my fingers slipping between her slick folds and then inside her, my whole being reveling in the passionate moans escaping her as her hips met my thrusts. My fingers stroked her long and slow, feeling her already close as her walls clenched.
A sudden cough sounded from the doorway, dispelling a bit of the haze from my mind.
My whole body tensed, though I didn't remove my hand from her pants, choosing instead to calmly flick my eyes open. I immediately caught sight of Camille in the doorway, her mouth falling open almost comically as she took in the position we were in. Elizabeth stiffened, shifting to cover my nakedness while simultaneously shuddering against my fingers. I rose a brow at my future sister in law as I gently slid out of my mate, a coy smile on my face. Elizabeth's fingers dug into my hips at the sensation, keeping me solely in front of her. Her gaze had darkened but was not yet black as deep thunderclouds rolled across her lion eyes from her position above me.
"Don't you dare move." She rasped into my mind, her voice possessively attentive. I knew with the awakening of the soul within her, that there would be challenges. It just so happens that heightened aggression and possessiveness towards your anyone remotely near your mate is one of them. Not that I really noticed since she has been possessive of me since the moment we met.
"Need something?" I purred to Camille, secretly enjoying the way her mouth opened and closed in shock. Finally, she regained control of her expression and smoothed it into an annoyed glower.
"Whenever you're done fucking, you and I need to talk." She quipped crassly, crossing her arms and leaning into the doorway.
What is it with vampires and doorways?
"Watch yourself." Elizabeth snarled, the last of the gold in her eyes winking out. I quickly buttoned her pants and waited for her to come back to me, the breath catching in my chest at the sight of her black gaze and the cold, vast power flooding my mind.
"Kore." I murmured her name, feeling the second her awareness shifted to me.
It was hard not to feel small under such a vast, depthless gaze. But the thing I like most about Elizabeth and I's bond was the fact that it was always push and pull, never the kind where one had more power than the other, even when it was obvious who the winning side would be. My thoughts were further punctuated by my mate's kindred spirit as she snapped her fingers and a baggy black shirt materialized over my previously naked skin.
Um...what the fuck?
"H-How did you-," I sputtered in shock, openly gaping at her. She flashed a grin full of secrets and mischief at me, the tips of her long fangs barely visible as they brushed her lower lip. Her impossibly long hair fell in a tantalizing sheet of black around her shoulders.
"Power, amica mea." She purred, and I had to clench my legs to hide the arousal rapidly building between them. Forcing myself to look away, I slid down from the table, I straightened my crown, my lips pursing to hide my laughter as Camille tapped her foot impatiently. I suspected that had I made her wait a moment longer, steam would be pouring out of her ears.
"Take care with your tongue, sister, or I will tear it out." Kore warned, the menace in her voice sending a shiver down my spine. The sister in question was unconcerned and merely rolled her eyes, grabbing my hand to tow me out of the room. I sent a "help me" face back at my murderous mate and she chuckled, caressing her mind with mine.
"I will wait." Her black eyes tracked my every move until I stepped out of her view, my body protesting the distance. I sighed again and shook my head, still baffled that this was my life.
"You two are positively disgusting. I mean, is there anywhere you haven't done it?" Camille fake gagged, her expression souring into disgust.
"Do you really want to know?" I laughed at the face she made and linked her arm with mine.
She snorted. "Not even Michael and I were that bad. No, wait-," she paused and tapped her lip. "That's a complete lie, we definitely were worse."
"Ew penis."
I covered my mouth and fake gagged, laughing as she shoved me, her eyebrows wiggling. "Don't knock it til you try it."
Yeah, no thanks.
I wanted to puke just thinking about it. Camille's laughter trilled through the air at my horrified expression and she shook her head, pushing me towards the back entrance.
"Where are we going?" I asked as I stepped outside, the cool air immediately freshening my thoughts and calling to my body. Camille's back always to me as she looked up into the rising moon, her eyes closed. She looked very witchy standing there in the moonlight, her red-orange hair rippling down her back in soft waves. The scar on my palm tingled at the memory of her blade slicing through my skin. I snapped free of my daydreaming as she spoke, her voice soft.
"Just here. I needed the fresh air and I thought you'd like to join me and maybe learn a little about the kindred spirit your mate has been harboring inside her soul for the past nine hundred years."
I straightened at the mention of Kore, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I was desperate for information since right now Elizabeth knew no more than I did. I was so hopeful for something, anything that would help her find balance with this entity within her. I was also curious as to what she could tell me about our little power-sharing habit.
"What does it mean? Is she really.....Persephone?" I hesitantly asked, the goddess's name sounding odd in my mouth.
"I am Elizabeth's younger sister, but I have known of the spirit inside of her since I came into my power. It has always been dormant, sleeping, until you. You are the key. You are what determines whether or not the race of vampires will continue or die out, and you alone are all that stands between her and complete madness."
I scrubbed a hand down my face, trying my best to understand what she was saying but honestly becoming more confused by the minute. "What does that mean though?"
Camille's voice was grim. "Persephone never wanted to partake in his plans against humanity, but no wasn't an option and when she finally rebelled, he cast her into soul of the very thing she had birthed. He bound her to vampiric bloodline, passed down to each first born royal. Think about it, Azalea. Wolves have the bond madness, and Elizabeth has her "demon," she paused, indicating with air quotes. "You were created as a weapon against vampires, yet you are mated to one of their queens and by extension, the creator of creators to the vampiric race. Ultimately, you and Elizabeth's bond is perhaps the most deadly weapon of all. Your bite can give life or take it away, and now that she has fully awakened, Elizabeth has the power to end her entire race with just a flick of her fingers. You both are a fail safe, created in her final moments of despair, and not even Hades himself saw what was coming."
"So she was just passed down from royal to royal, but never awakened? Why?" I trembled with the knowledge that Elizabeth's kindred spirit had at one time been inside Ravenna.
Was that what drove her to madness?
"There weren't enough pieces. She needed something that she had never had before, someone strong enough to break the curse binding her to her vessel, someone strong enough to see her for who she was; you. Now that she has finally found you, I suspect she will start to pursue her original plan." I knew that Elizabeth was now fighting a battle I had fought for so long. I knew it wasn't easy, but if it was already this difficult for her to control her kindred spirit, how much worse could it get?
I wasn't sure I wanted to know what she meant by that, but I asked anyway, feeling suddenly nauseous.
"And what is her original plan?"
Camille shot me a look, her fingers teaching to brush the hair off my shoulder. "To end the vampiric line." Her expression softened as she ran her gaze over my weary expression. "With your help, she has the power and means to do it."
I had always hated the vampires, but to end an entire race? No. I wouldn't do it, especially if it meant killing the ones I loved. Sickened and afraid, I backed out of her reach, the urge to flee flooding my body.
"This is why you are the cure."
The world snapped into focus at her forlorn words, and suddenly I understood what she was getting at. Kore wanted me to help her end the vampiric line before I figured out how to control my power and before I could pick and choose who lived or died.
"I won't do it." I rasped, shaking my head.
Camille smiled sadly. "We leave in three days to rescue Michael, so take some time. I just wanted you to be prepared. When it comes down to it and because of how intertwined your souls are, I do not think you will have a choice."
Her words haunted me long after she went inside and longer into to the night as I lost myself to the woods, wondering for the millionth time why I hadn't been born a normal wolf.
🖤
"You won't be able to turn her against me. Our destiny is intertwined down to the very last thread, and always has been. I will be set free, and I will end this impure line." Elizabeth's kindred smiled out from her face, black eyes rippling into gold and back again. It was hard for Camille, to literally be able to see her sister's soul fighting for control every second of every day and ninety five percent of the time losing. If they couldn't find balance within each other, she feared that this was truly what would take her soul and doom them all.
"I do not wish to turn her against you. I only came
to say this; Azalea is a pure soul despite all that she has done and been through. Taking Elizabeth from her would destroy her, and you in the process. I hope you are able to make the right choice."
The brooding goddess stood in the center of the war room, her fingers twitching at her sides as she warred with her bloodthirsty need for revenge, and her feelings for the woman her vessel was bound to. It was difficult to explain. Never before had she been bound so closely with a vessel to the point where their feelings intertwined, unable to even tell who's were who's.
For the first time in her life, the goddess of hell was well and truly confused.
"Damn it." She cursed just as the remaining candle died, leaving her to stand alone in darkness.
Enjoy!