SWEET BLOOD

Ep. 11

His agonized bay pierced through the night. He needed her like never before. He didn't want to abandon his precious beloved nor did he want to make her forget. But it was the only way to protect her. Before she turned they had spent countless nights together. Their intimacy was sacred. She had given him her virginity. An act he had honored wholeheartedly. And on the night of her eighteenth birthday he'd given her the greatest gift.

The gift of immortality.

He closed his eyes trying to get a glimpse of her once more...

A year ago...

"So... you could walk in the sun?" She asks. They both sat on the grass of the park while Sofia pretended to study. She was so engrossed and interested in him that it charmed him to no end. He lazed in the sun like a big lion resting after a hunt. His body was so muscled and lean. She blushed imagining just what those muscles were capable of. He possessed this regal air about him that made him seem like royalty. The man err vampire was carried himself in a kingly fashion.

"And I love garlic." His beloved giggled. Her face lighting up like sunshine.

"You know I have to sneak out to see you tonight-

"After you finish your homework."

She smacks her lips. "I don't see what's the point. Public school's education system sucks. Society wants to breed more idiots."

"So you work hard in high school and then go to college where the education doesn't suck."

She gives him a look. "You have the answers to everything don't you. Are you a genius or something?"

He smirks. "No, my Beloved. I'm just really old."

☆

The Present...

"Poor thing, you've been having it so rough lately." I moan as Tank's large hands work wonders over my spine, massaging. We were in his spa room naked, oily, and so down for some fun. "You just let me take care of you."

Why is this man single? Maybe he was a player and had boat loads of women somewhere. "But there's one thing I need to know. Are you mine? Will you let me claim you?" If shifters are anything like vampires they can smell lies.

"I am yours and I will let you claim me." Until I don't need him anymore and this crap about my sire blows over. I had an entire eternity ahead of me. Maybe I'll find my true love in the next century and in the century after that and so forth.

I can practically feel the guy's elation. "I'll make it worth your while. I promise you that, my queen."

Something crosses my mind. "What makes me so special, Tank?" His hands stop roaming over my smooth skin.

"Before you died... you were meant to be my mate but death changes everything. A shifter cannot mark a vampire as mate. You have no soul." I can practically hear both the sadness and anguish in his voice.

All the air practically leaves my body. How does someone drop a bomb like that and then go on so casually? "You and I were meant to be mates?" My voice have practically risen an octave at the incredulous confession.

"Yes, Sofia. I learned of you a year ago. I wanted to introduce myself but you were too young and I didn't want to scare you. Male polar bears can be very persistent and intense when they've found their mates."

"Oh. My. God." I say rising and grabbing the white cotton robe near the massage bench.

Tank takes my face between large paws whispering with such intensity, "I know I will never truly have you because you will forever be bound to the man who sired you." His aquamarine eyes are swimming with moisture. With those words, Tank kissing me so deeply and hungrily. If a vamp could cry, I'd be balling my eyes out right now. The truth rings clear and loud in his scent. I have never known you could miss something you never had until this moment.

We're both ready to take the moment to next level grabbing at each other's robes until we hear someone clearing their throat. "Uh... Alpha? We've got company at the front gate."

Tank growls. "Who is it?"

"The fairy king and he's brought his entire army with him."

To be continued...