Inevitable Darkness Read online

  Abram glared at Lucida, but when Mitchell looked his way, he forced a smile and nodded. Having Abram’s okay meant more to Mitchell than he’d expected. It’s not that he thought Abram was okaying sex with Lucida. Abram knew that wasn’t a concern, but Mitchell had worried he’d say something crude or insulting to get them kicked out of the coven territory.

  “Come with me,” Lucida coaxed as she began walking away.

  He looked to Vexx to make sure she’d be okay if he left, and she nodded.

  Mitchell followed Lucida as she led him to a small cabin. Once they were alone, he’d talk to her. He suspected she’d change her mind about feeding him once he explained.

  Mitchell closed the door behind him and looked around. The cabin was smaller than those in the shifter territory. It consisted of a single room with a bed, what looked like a station for mixing potions, and a closet. He suspected the door at the far end of the room led to a bathroom.

  “Shall I undress?” she purred.

  “I would feel more comfortable if you kept your clothes on,” Mitchell admitted.

  Lucida’s soft laughter floated through the room. “You are surprisingly innocent. Neither demons nor the Fae are known for their virtue.”

  “It shocks a lot of people,” Mitchell admitted.

  “Let me undress and corrupt you,” she cooed as she sidled closer.

  “Please, don’t,” he told her. “You’re a beautiful woman, but I think you should keep your clothes on.”

  “You’re not interested in fucking me?” Lucida asked with a pout.

  “No,” he replied. “I’m sorry. I’ll see if I can find blood elsewhere.”

  When he turned to walk away, she caught his arm. “Don’t go, Mitchell.”

  “Did you only offer me your blood because you wanted sex?” Mitchell asked.

  “Yes,” Lucida replied. “I’m attracted to power, and you are the most powerful in your group. It turns me on that you don’t yet realize how much power you possess. I wanted to lay with you, possibly convince you to stay here as my mate. As the leader of the coven, I’m the only witch expected to find a mate, and you’re the first male I’ve found intriguing enough to fill the position.”

  “I can’t have children,” he admitted. “I was infected with the newer version of the Moon virus.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t want or need children. I have several nieces ready to take over when I die.”

  “Women also don’t appeal to me,” he admitted.

  “Such a pity,” she said with a sigh.

  “Do you still want to offer me blood?” he asked.

  “Vexx is the only witch you’ve ever met, right?” she asked rather than answering his question.

  “That’s right,” Mitchell confirmed.

  “She hasn’t spent much time around us, and she sees herself more as a cougar than a witch,” Lucida explained. “I think her witch heritage embarrasses her. She thinks of us as children who can’t control our impulses.”

  Mitchell felt like he should assure her that wasn’t the case, but from what he’d seen, it was true. Vexx hated her impulsive and immature nature that came from her witch side. He hadn’t seen any of that in Lucida yet, but he’d only recently met her. Then again, it seemed impulsive to offer blood and sex to a vampire she’d just met.

  “As a witch, I keep my word,” Lucida explained. “We may be impulsive, but we don’t manipulate others. It’s why I’m so concerned about offering sanctuary to your friend. If I offer her our protection, I’ll be offering to hide her from demons. That could get us killed. Of course, I’ve already decided to offer her sanctuary among the coven, but you can see why it took me so long to come to this decision.”

  Mitchell had to bite back a laugh at her claiming to have taken a long time to make a decision when it had been less than ten minutes since they’d asked for her help. He supposed, for a witch, it might be unusual to take even that long to decide on an important matter. “I’m glad you’re going to help Kish. I’m not sure where else we could have taken her. No one would have blamed you for turning us away. After some of the visions I’ve had, all I know is we need to keep her safe.”

  “Visions?” Lucida asked. “What kinds of visions?”

  “Of death and destruction,” he replied. “They each involved various scenarios where I didn’t help Kish. I can’t see anything now that she’s with us.”

  “That’s not uncommon,” she said with a nod. “I hope I don’t regret agreeing to help shield your cousin from this demon. He sounds extremely dangerous.”

  “From everything I’ve heard, my father is a very dangerous demon.”

  “Your father?” Lucida asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

  “Yeah, I’ve never met him, but I guess that’s who’s after Kish,” Mitchell admitted. “I would have mentioned it, but we moved from asking for sanctuary to you offering to undress faster than I expected.”

  She laughed at his response. “And here I thought I was moving too slow.” When his eyes widened, she laughed again. “I’m kidding. We need to talk more about the situation with your cousin and your father, but you should feed first.” She pushed her hair to the side to reveal her long, slender neck.

  Mitchell’s fangs ached at the sight of her exposed throat. He was starving, and he needed blood soon, or his mind would start to go. His heart wouldn’t stop right away. First, he’d get confused, and then he’d have dizzy spells. He often reached the early stages of confusion when he delayed feeding too long. Even with the alarms set to remind him, he tended to put off feeding until the last minute. Now, he didn’t want to wait. The vampire in him longed to know how the witch’s blood tasted. As he prowled toward her, the scent of Lucida’s arousal grew stronger. Leaning in, he allowed his fangs to graze her skin. While he didn’t plan to have sex with her, he could still make it pleasant for her, just as he had when he’d fed from Zane.

  She shuddered and moaned. “Do it,” she coaxed.

  Mitchell slid his fangs into her flesh, and his vampire magic poured out of him as her blood flowed down his throat. Her potent blood hit him hard, energizing him and making his magic even stronger as it swirled around Lucida.

  “Oh, Goddess, yes!” Lucida screamed as he finished feeding and brought her to completion.

  “Thank you,” he told her as he stepped back and looked down at the witch.

  Lucida stumbled back and leaned against the wall, a sated smile playing on her lips. Were it not for that sated smile, he might have worried he’d taken too much blood. She had obviously enjoyed herself. “I feel as though I should thank you. Which of your parts is responsible for that?” She giggled. “Normally, I know which of a man’s parts is responsible for making me come. In this case, I’m not sure if I have your demon or Fae magic to thank for my pleasure.”

  “All vampires can do this,” he explained.

  “I can see why so many witches died feeding them,” Lucida admitted. “In case you hadn’t noticed, witches are not always known for exercising caution.”

  “I had noticed that,” Mitchell admitted with a laugh. “We should return to the others.” They were all still waiting to hear if Lucida would allow them to stay, and he’d already spent a lot of extra time talking to Lucida before feeding.

  “Yes,” Lucida agreed. “Someone needs to feed the other vampire. I also need to find places for you to sleep. Will you all be staying with Kishara?”

  Mitchell nodded. “For a short time. I’m planning to go after my father.” He hadn’t shared his plan with the others yet, and he suddenly regretted sharing it with Lucida. He didn’t know how good she was at keeping secrets.

  “Brave demon,” Lucida mused. “Are you sure that’s wise? If he’s not after you now, then why bring yourself to his attention?”

  “Because someone has to stop him,” Mitchell replied simply. “Kish can’t hide here forever. You’ll understand once you spend a little time with her. She’s not always pleasant to be around.”

  Lu
cida nodded. “I can see the darkness surrounding her. She’s suffered a great deal. While she’s here, we may be able to help her. Rowan, one of our empaths, has worked with a lot of people with similar darkness.”

  Mitchell nodded. “Kish isn’t a bad person, but she doesn’t believe that. I still needed to warn you about her temperament.”

  “We’ll deal with it,” Lucida assured him. “Is that why you’re going after the demon who sired you?”

  Mitchell shook his head. “If what you say about my magic getting stronger is true, then he’ll come after me, eventually. I don’t want to spend my life hiding. Kish also won’t hide forever even if you agree to let her stay here that long.”

  “I like this plan,” Lucida told him. “It’s a go-with-your-gut plan. You’d make a good witch.”

  Her praise did more to make him question the wisdom of his plan than to reassure him, but he decided to worry about that later. “Don’t tell the others about me going after my father.”

  She frowned. “You told me before Vexx?”

  “Is there some rivalry between you and Vexx?” he asked.

  “Rivalry?” she asked with a laugh. “What makes you think I consider my niece a rival?”

  “Your niece?” he asked.

  “She didn’t tell you?” Lucida asked with a frown.

  He shook his head. “She never mentioned it. So, her mother was your sister?”

  Lucida nodded. “She was the next in line to rule the coven, and she threw it all away for a dirty shapeshifter.”

  Without waiting for a response, Lucida pushed her way around him and exited the cabin.

  All the warmth he’d felt for Lucida drained, and he suddenly understood why Vexx preferred to avoid spending too much time with her coven.

  Chapter 52

  I am not jealous.

  Abram figured if he said that to himself enough, he’d start believing it. There was no mistaking the coven leader’s intent with the offer. She hoped to get something in exchange for giving Mitchell access to one of her veins. It happened with humans and shapeshifters. Some had fantasies about feeding vampires, and with their ability to make the feeding good for the host, there was no denying the appeal. When he’d been human, Abram had been turned off by the thought of giving up so much control. He knew that, for some, giving up control for pleasure was part of the appeal; like the witch Mitchell was with.

  After Mitchell walked away with Lucida, Abram did his best to get his unwarranted jealousy under control. He reminded himself that Mitchell had to feed. He didn’t even like women that way, so Abram had no reason to worry he’d suddenly decide to fuck the witch. Hell, Abram knew Mitchell had made feeding sexual with Zane, and Abram hadn’t been jealous. There was no logical reason to be jealous. None of his arguments did a damn thing to ease his jealousy.

  When the witch screamed in ecstasy, he wanted to put his fist through a wall. Jealousy wasn’t something he usually felt, and he didn’t like it.

  “What the fuck is wrong with me?” he muttered.

  “Should I make a list?” Jase asked as he approached from behind.

  He wanted to tell the lynx to go fuck himself, but he needed to behave. They’d all agreed to get along in the witch territory so as not to piss them off and get kicked out of the coven land.

  “That list seems to be growing by the minute,” Abram grumbled.

  “I think it’s getting smaller,” Jase replied. “You’ve been less of a dick this trip than I expected you to be. Wanna tell me why you’re so worked up over what Mitchell is doing with Lucida?”

  “No,” Abram replied. “Where’s your mate?”

  “Talking to her cousins,” Jase replied.

  Abram raised an eyebrow in surprise. “This is unexpected.”

  “You can’t believe she’s with her cousins?” Jase asked.

  “I can’t believe you admitted Vexx is your mate,” Abram explained. “I see how you act around her. You’re jealous when she talks to any man. You want her. Don’t think I didn’t notice she shared your tent.”

  “I’ve admitted to her being my mate since before we left on this trip,” Jase remarked. “And do you really want to discuss clandestine sleeping arrangements? It’s no secret that you were with Mitchell.”

  Abram shrugged. “We weren’t trying to keep it a secret.” Not exactly a secret, he silently added. “Don’t try to change the subject. You avoided Vexx for close to a year, so I’m surprised you’ve suddenly accepted that she’s your mate. I’m also surprised that Vexx is acting like your mate. I heard she avoided you like the plague even when there was some mystical shifter bond between you.”

  “Mystical shifter bond?” Jase shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t want to get into a discussion about mate bonds or marking with you. You’re wrong about me avoiding Vexx. That’s not what happened. She avoided me for nearly the whole time I’ve known her. That bugged me before, but now I can see it’s part of her nature. She isn’t going to accept any changes in her life until she is damn good and ready to accept them. A mate is a huge change for her to accept.”

  “She is a stubborn witch,” Abram agreed. “It’s not a bad thing. I like that about her.”

  “Since when are you an expert on Vexx?” Jase demanded.

  “You think knowing she’s stubborn makes me an expert on her?” Abram asked. “Five minutes around Vexx is enough to know she’s stubborn.”

  “But you’ve spent more than five minutes around her,” Jase accused. “She even offered to donate blood to you on the trip.”

  And he’d been tempted to take her up on her offer. Having never tried witch blood, he was curious to see how it tasted. The shifters provided him with very potent blood that allowed him to go much longer between feedings. Naturally, he wanted to see if Vexx’s blood had the same or an even stronger effect on him. In the end, Abram had decided his curiosity and desire to fuck with Jase wasn’t worth the hassle. It’s not that he minded Jase acting pissy with him over it, but he didn’t like the idea of it causing problems for Vexx. The realization that he considered Vexx a friend and didn’t want her upset pissed him off. He didn’t need more people to care about.

  “I’m not in the mood to play this game with you,” Abram snapped because he preferred a fight over discussing the warm fuzzies he had for so many people in his life. “You don’t like or trust me, and you don’t want me around Vexx.”

  “Can you blame me?” Jase asked.

  “No, I don’t blame you,” Abram assured him. “I also don’t care if you like me. No part of me is crying inside because we aren’t friends. I don’t need new friends. I’m talking to you about this because I like Vexx—something I’m not happy about. I didn’t expect to like her, but there it is. This shit with you acting like an asshole to me because you don’t want me spending any time around her creates problems for her.”

  “And that bothers you?” Jase asked in surprise. “You’re honestly worried about how this all impacts Vexx?”

  “It shocks the hell out of me, too,” Abram admitted. “It also pisses me off. I don’t like worrying about Vexx or anyone else. You need to fix this shit with Vexx. Make it work and stop acting like a jealous ass because you don’t trust me.”

  “You don’t think I realize that I need to fix things with Vexx?” Jase asked.

  “If you realize that, then why is it still fucked-up?” Abram asked. “I can see that it’s better since you’re suddenly sharing a tent, but that’s not all you need to work on. Are you seriously trying to tell me that you’re jealous of my friendship with Vexx?”

  “I know I shouldn’t be,” Jase agreed. “Don’t you think you're a hypocrite?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “You’re jealous of Mitchell feeding from Lucida,” Jase replied. “I saw your face when she screamed. We both know she didn’t scream in pain.”

  “Thanks for the reminder, dickhead,” Abram muttered.

  Jase laughed at his reaction. “We also both know Mitchell isn
’t having sex with her. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, so why the jealousy?”

  “Why are you jealous of my friendship with Vexx?” he shot back.

  “Fine,” Jase agreed with a sigh. “There’s no logical reason for our reactions. Still, I think I’ve got more reason for my insecurity. Vexx didn’t want me as her mate.”

  “And that hurt your pride,” Abram deduced.

  “Yes, it hurt my pride, but there’s more to it than that,” he replied. “We had a connection. She was my one true mate, and she still rejected me. Now, I’m working on convincing her she should be with me, but it’s harder without that connection. She’s mostly agreed, but she’s not ready for me to mark her. If we didn’t get to that point before, how can I trust that we’ll get there now? And why the hell am I sharing this with you?”

  Abram shrugged. “I’ll be damned if I know why you’re telling me this. I’d think it would be easier to win Vexx over without the mystical mate shit.”

  “You say that because you aren’t a shifter,” Jase argued. “You don’t have any idea what it means to have that bond. The pull is irresistible. All of those doubts other species have about whether they’ll find the right partner don’t happen when a shifter finds their true mate because that connection is so intense.”

  “Vexx isn’t only a shifter,” Abram reminded him, annoyed that Jase didn’t seem to get it. “Sure, she’s lived with shifters almost all of her life, but she’s also a witch. Maybe witches aren’t quite as monogamous as shifters, so those sides of her are at odds.”

  Jase shook his head. “It’s more than that, but as much as it pains me to admit this, you’re right about me needing to consider Vexx’s witch side more than I have in the past. I’m working on that. For the record, I’m not about to enter into a polyamorous relationship with her. I’m jealous of your friendship with her. How do you think I’d react to something more intimate?”

  Abram chuckled. “Worse than I’m reacting to Mitchell with that witch.”

  “I don’t think Vexx is afraid of monogamy,” Jase told him. “I know that’s not what’s holding her back now.”