Page 4 of Cosmic Power

Luther breathed in deeply, sifting through all the different scents until he found one that appealed to him. Stalking like the predator he was, Luther prowled after the enticing scent. His fangs throbbed in his gums. Adrenaline surged through his body. Even after 2,000 years, the hunt still thrilled him.

The scent penetrating his nostrils belonged to a shifter, a rare type of shifter he had only encountered a handful of times in his life (which was why the blood appealed to him so much).

Luther discovered after the first few years of his immortal life that shifters tasted differently depending on their creature within. Lion, tiger and jaguar shifters (basically any of the feline varieties) had a hearty and meaty taste. Snake, crocodile and any type of reptile shifters had quite a salty taste, one he didn’t particularly like very much. And exotic shifters like Pegasus and Phoenix shifters tasted like complete and total bliss. They were ‘pure beings’ of light and goodness and their blood tasted like you were feasting on the sun. Powerful, hot and utterly intoxicating.

The shifter he was tracking now was one such being, and his mouth salivated at the thought of sinking his fangs into their flesh and drawing out their blood.

As he stalked down the street, his footsteps light and his mind focused, he couldn’t help but feel a thrum of excitement run through his body. He knew with complete certainty that his new prey would not last the night. They were going to feel the full force of his savagery and it was going to be glorious in its brutality.

Luther sped up, using his vampire speed to chase down that mouth-watering scent and paused when he reached a small café nestled between an antique bookstore and a boujee clothing store.

His dark eyes peered through the pane glass window, searching through the sea of supernaturals for the shifter he was looking for. He sniffed the air, following the trail with his eyes until…ah,there.

A tiny blonde woman sat at the counter, her back to him. Her skin glowed bright with her inner goodness and purity, and when she spun in her seat to talk with another woman beside her, her smile lit up the room. She might as well have a halo hanging above her head, with how much she radiated light and righteousness.

Luther couldn’t wait to bleed her dry, to pierce her flesh with his fangs and tear her throat clean out—oesophagus and all.

There was definitely something about mutilating a good, pure-hearted soul that appealed to him, that called to the inner darkness he kept locked inside him; his beast.

A plate of steaming hot food landed in front of the shifter and Luther growled in annoyance. She was obviously settling in for a long stay and he was hungry now. Her companion laughed wholeheartedly as another plate of food arrived, flinging her brown hair over her shoulder and smiling brightly.

She was a shifter like her friend, but based on her scent Luther guessed her creature was one of the avian variety; like an owl, hawk or possibly even an eagle. They didn’t taste overly bad, their blood still strong and potent, however the Pegasus shifter seated next to her made her look about as appetising as a sea slug.

Luther considered his options as he slid into the darkness to watch his prey without being seen. The small café was human-owned, which meant he couldn’t just burst in and take her by sheer force.

There was no magic in the air, which meant no glamours to shield them from human sight. And without his Garnet Ring, compulsion was out of the question. So, the only course of action that remained was to sit and wait for her to come out.

He hunkered down, squatting on the spot, and prepared himself for the wait. As always when he found himself with nothing to do, he thought of Zamorra, her beautiful face flashing through his mind like a shooting star in the night sky, taking his breath away. He couldn’t help but think about the first time he laid eyes on her, the memory completely overtaking him.

“My Lord.”

Luther’s grip on his dinner tightened slightly at the sound of a voice coming from the doorway. His head snapped up, his crimson eyes full of anger and hunger as he glared at his Elite Guard, Axel.

“What?!” he snapped, blood dripping from his lips.

The human in his arms groaned and tried feebly to escape his hold. Pointless. Of course, he could have used compulsion to quell her fear and made his bite painless, but where was the fun in that?

“The outer perimeter alarm has been triggered, my Lord,” Axel responded, keeping his eyes plastered to the floor.

Luther released the human and she plopped to the ground with a loud thud, another groan leaving her pale lips. She shakily stretched her arms out, digging her blunt nails into the floor so hard it left blood and finger marks behind as she tried to crawl away. Her whole body shook with each attempt she made to drag herself further away from his presence.

Luther plucked a silk handkerchief from the side table and wiped the excess blood from his chin, leaning back in his chair comfortably. “Triggered by what exactly?”

“A pack of shifters. Werewolves. They seem to be chasing a young woman through the forest. They’ve almost reached the side gate at the rear of the mansion.”

“Show me,” Luther barked.

Axel whipped out a small tablet from his back pocket and stepped into the room, showing him the screen. Luther ran his eyes over the four camera angles, catching glimpses of a variety of coloured fur and tanned skin blurring past at unbelievable speed.

A silver-haired woman flashed past, almost too quickly for him to register, but his heightened eyesight managed to catch it just in time. Luther swiped right to switch to another camera and watched, intrigued, as she leapt over the iron gates surrounding his territory with a single jump and landed in his backyard. Barely a second later a large, hulking male plopped down right behind her, grabbing her shoulder roughly. She spun quickly and slammed her palm into his chest, sending him flying back into the iron bars.

Luther zoomed in on her face. He saw the savagery emitting from her through the screen, the power and confidence in her stance as she stared the male down. There wasn’t an ounce of fear on her face. Just anger and strength.

Luther had seen enough. His interest was piqued. He abruptly stood, forcing Axel to scurry back a few steps to avoid making contact, and grabbed his suit jacket hanging from the back of his chair. With his vampire speed he dressed quickly, straightening his black silk tie and tightening his cufflinks.

“Gather the rest of the Elites,” Luther commanded, walking briskly out of the room with Axel hot on his trail. “Let’s meet our new guests before they intrude any further.”

Axel nodded and ran ahead, disappearing around the corner. By the time Luther made it to the back deck, his Elite Guards stood waiting for him, dressed in dark clothing and ready for battle. Demon blades hung from their waists, the steel glistening in the moonlight and serrated edges sharp enough to cut through bone.

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