A Wicked Hunger (Creatures of Darkness 1) (17 page)

Mace kneed Knox in the face, breaking his nose. Knox stumbled back with a curse before redoubling his attack. Mace took another set of knuckle blows, countering with a quick succession of body shots to Knox’s ribcage.

The sound of Cora screaming had them breaking apart. Moments later, she burst through the door. At first, he thought she was worried for him, but her expression was much too panicked for that.

“What’s happened?” Forgetting the fight, he hurried to Cora’s side.

Just as in the tunnel, she threw herself into his arms, uncaring that he was covered in blood. For a fraction of a second, his concern was overshadowed by an inappropriate bout of satisfaction.

“There’s something in the house…through the window…a shadow…”

Her words were separated by heavy gasps. Mace feared she was just shy of hyperventilating.

“Clam down and breathe,” he said. “You’re safe now.”

“Where was it?” Knox demanded. He reached for Cora’s arm.

Mace gripped her tighter to his chest and sent Knox a look of warning. If he touched her now, their little disagreement would turn life threatening.

Wisely, Knox backed off. Then, checking his tone, he said to Cora, “Tell me where you saw this shadow.”

After a moment of catching her breath, she replied, “The bedroom at the end of the hall. I leaned through the window to shout at the two of you. There was another room, though, and a thing reached for me.”

She shuddered. Mason’s already aggressed blood fired with fury, mostly directed at
himself. How could it be so difficult to keep one mortal safe?

“Do you know anything about this?” he asked Knox.

Knox shrugged. “I suspected something was here.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“You weren’t exactly booting up for a chat.”

“Dammit, Knox—”

“I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. Just a ghost or something.” He glanced between them, and then added, “I’ll take that room tonight.”

Mace raised a brow. “What are you playing at?”

Knox glared at him. “I’m not playing at anything. Like I said before, stay if you want, or go. I don’t care. But the apparition won’t harm your female.”

“What makes you so sure?” And why even add that little bit of reassurance. Knox
might have them out of his hair tonight if he’d suggested the thing was dangerous.

Knox swiped a bit of blood from his mouth. “I just am.” Without another word, he turned and headed back inside.

* * *

“Just say the word and we’ll leave tonight,” Mace repeated for the fifth time, and again, Cora merely shook her head.

He sat on the edge of the bed with a towel around his waist, fresh from a lightning fast shower. Clearly, he was loath to leave her alone again, which she appreciated. Even though she was still mad at him, it was reassuring having a vampire as a protector. Except when he’d insisted on standing guard in the bathroom while she’d washed up. It had taken some finagling on her part to keep him out. Per his request, she’d left the door open “just in case.”

After drying and dressing in a fresh set of loose men’s clothing found in the closet, she curled up on a plush chair across the room, the larger of the two books from Mace open in her lap. She’d immediately flipped to a section about ghosts, but she was finding it difficult to concentrate on reading
with a shirtless Mace just feet away.

“I’m okay with staying,” she replied. She’d long believed in the afterlife and spirits, and didn’t think the spirit had meant to frighten her. “I was just startled by whatever that thing was,” she continued. “I wasn’t expecting it. Besides, I’m too tired to run off
somewhere else, and there’s glass all over the seats in the car from your fight with Knox. What was that about, anyway?”

“Old stuff, really. Not important. Sorry if I worried you.”

“Could you tell I was worried? Because of the bond?”

Mace nodded. “You were afraid Knox would beat me and then claim you as his, right?”

She shrugged.

“I would never let that happen.”

“I know.” She paused. One of her shoulders hiked up. “What am I feeling now?”

“Several things, I think. It’s easier to tell when an emotion becomes sharp, or singularly, like when you’re frightened. I could’ve pin pointed the exact moment Knox showed up.”

“Really?”

Another nod.
“It was frustrating not knowing the cause of your alarm, and not being able to get to you quickly. I don’t think I’ll ever go so far from you again.”

Cora couldn’t formulate a response because she was both terrified and relieved by his statement. The opposing emotions wreaked havoc on her mental balance.

Mace studied her a little too closely, and she went back to reading the same paragraph she’d been examining for the last twenty minutes. After going over the first few words, she zoned out again. Mace could sense that she was worried before, and she had been, but not for the reason he’d assumed. Looking back, it hadn’t dawned on her that Knox might be fighting for the rights to her blood, although it should have.

She’d only feared losing Mace.

Another knock to her mental balance. It tipped wildly.

When neither one of them spoke for several moments, Mace found a pair of sweats to wear and relaxed against the left side of the mattress with his eyes closed and his arms folded behind his head. Cora ran her gaze over his thickly corded arms, sculpted chest, and six-pack abs. A thin line of hair just below his belly button trailed down past his waistband, directing her eyes even lower.

She swallowed.

Vampire or not, the man was beautiful.

When the urge to touch him assailed her, she blamed it on the bond.

Mace
peeked an eye open.

She flushed and dipped her head back down to the book.

“Something I can help you with, Coraline?”

Without looking up, she replied curtly, “No, there isn’t, Mason.”

He let out a low chuckle. Stubbornly, she endeavored not to look his way again.

Reclaiming her cognitive functions, she abandoned her study of ghosts and flipped to the section on vamps. The first chapter was aptly named Vampires: A Quick Overview.

Vampires, otherwise known as creatures of the night, creatures of darkness, or the derogatory:  leaches, bloodsuckers, and
fangers, were once thought to be living corpses. The undead, brought back to life to prey on the living. As superstitions fell by the wayside, so did the archaic mythologies behind vampires.

Although their origins are still speculated about, it is widely believed that vampires evolved in the same manner as humans and witches alike. Originally thought to be cold-blooded, their blood runs red and as warm as any mammal. This opinion, however, has only been popularized in the last century, and is still disputed by many older officials in the witch
and human communities.

Another myth that is still heatedly disputed is that vampires cannot tolerate the sun. Although vampires in daytime are commonplace now, it was not the case several years ago, before their revelation to the human race. One could say that’s because they were in hiding, but others have put forth the theory that the scientists of the vampire nation have discovered a way to nullify the sun’s harmful rays.

Cora looked up at Mason. His eyes were closed again, but she didn’t think he was asleep. She could attest that he felt warm to the touch and walked in the sun, but she too had heard the old myths: vampires burning in the sun, hunters seeking them in daylight. She recalled her parents debating such things once.

“Mason?”

“Mm?”

“How old are you?”

His face scrunched in confusion, but he kept his eyes closed. “Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering if there was any truth to the old vampire myths.”

He gave a conspiratorial grin. “Is that book filling your mind with questions?”

She didn’t answer, and neither did he. She went back to reading.

Throughout history, witches and vampires have had a tumultuous relationship and generally do not associate. However, some
exceptions bear mentioning. In the early 16th century, large clan of vampires and several covens of witches attempted to cohabitate Europe after both had simultaneously claimed the territory and refused to leave.

During this tense peace, the vampire
/witch bond was discovered, which will be covered in more detail in later chapters.

Cora’s heart spiked. She tried to slow it, but Mace took note.

“Something interesting?”

“Just reading about witches. It’s fascinating,” she replied, adding a bit of truth to the fib.  

He chuckled. “Soon enough you’ll be casting spells on me, I bet.”

“Why did you pick this particular book?”

He cracked his eyes open. “I didn’t. The shop owner did. Why?”

“Just curious if you had read it.”

“Nah,” he said, closing his lids once more.
“Never made it a habit to study up on witches.”

Cora read on.

This discovery is thought to have been a catalyst behind the Wiccan Wars. Several witches, in a pursuit of power, bound themselves to multiple vampires, essentially creating personal armies. Fearing the opposition, a race was sparked between rival covens to acquire more and more vampires. History books suggest the numbers eventually grew out of control, and as war broke out between covens, vampires rebelled. It was a brutal time.

As the war died down, vampires faded back into the darkness, and were thought to have left Europe for more secluded parts of the world.

The book went on to document other milestones in vampire history, including their revelation. Cora skipped ahead till she came to what she was most interested in.

A vampire’s bond, also referred to as a blood bond or dark bond, is created when a vampire exchanges blood with another individual. Although there have been no scientific studies on the effect of a vampire’s bond on witches, the Wiccan Wars, and other isolated events throughout history, urges any witch considering such a course to err on the side of caution. Through many accounts by those who have experienced the bond first hand, it’s strongly believed there to be a transfer of essence during the exchange of blood, the effects (listed below) have been documented to last for several—and in some cases, hundreds of—years.

Cora gasped.

Mace sat up, fully alert. “What is it?” He glanced around the room till his gaze landed on the book that was now flattened to her chest.

“Nothing,” she insisted with an intentionally muted tone. “I just—” She thought quickly. “—thought I saw a shadow. Guess I’m still a little spooked from before.”

Mace quirked a dubious brow, and she wondered if he’d heard the false note. “The offer still stands. We can leave here any time—”

“No. It’s fine. Please go back to sleep. I won’t be startled again.”

She had to control her reactions!

After a skeptical moment, Mace returned to lying in the bed, but didn’t seem as relaxed as he had been before. 

Dying to read on, she lowered the book back to her lap.

The most common effects of the bond include (but are not inclusive) clairvoyance between the affected individuals, a feeling of closeness or understanding, and a strong sense of loyalty.

Some less common cases reported telepathy, while others claimed to have gained physical strength and longevity from their counterparts. Aside from those benefits, there are perhaps more that have not yet been documented.

The drawbacks of bonding with one or more vampires: Our history suggests binding with more than one vampire at a time can tempt even the strongest mind down a power-hungry path that more often than not ends in destruction and sorrow. For this reason, binding with more than three vampires at a time it is prohibited by most coven authorities today.