Page 6 of Cosmic Power

A deep, angry, guttural snarl ripped through the air and Zamorra bared her teeth, giving the middle finger to the pack of werewolves at her back. She clearly did not care about angering the man in charge. If anything, she seemed to enjoy it.

Luther felt his lips twitch of their own accord, as if he had no control over it, finding her fighting spirit somewhat intriguing. Even with danger coming at her from all sides, she was still vicious.

He quickly regained his composure and kept his eyes on the woman who was slowly beginning to captivate him more and more as he addressed the male shifter. “Then, as I’m sure your Alpha is well aware, she’s fair game.”

If she already belonged to a pack, the laws of their society forbade him from accepting her pledge, but since she was a ‘rogue’ there was nothing stopping him from making her a Servant of his House.

“Luther,” Ophelia whined, trailing a finger down his arm.

He ignored her, which was getting easier and easier to do. He stared openly at Zamorra, letting his eyes wander her body freely, his excitement soaring. “You do understand what you’re asking for, don’t you?”

She moved slightly, barely a shifting of her weight from one foot to the other, but he caught it. The first sign of discomfort he glimpsed since he saw her.

“Yes,” she responded, voice strong.

Whether she really knew and understood the consequences of her request was irrelevant to him. She would soon find out.

“Ten years,” he boomed, and her eyes widened in shock.

She shook her head. “Five.”

Luther’s mouth twitched. She was negotiating? How humorous. He held all the cards here. “You’re attempting to negotiate?” He waved a hand at the werewolves behind her. “You’re not exactly in the best position to do so.”

She shrugged her shoulders. Shrugged. Her. Shoulders. She gave him a look that conveyed that she didn’t care at all if he accepted her pledge or not.

Luther’s brows lowered in a quizzical frown as he scrutinised her. He honestly couldn’t believe she just shrugged her shoulders at him with such a level of indifference. No one had ever behaved that way in his presence before. They knew better.

Who was this woman? Now he was even more determined to have her pledge. So much so that he was willing to do something he’d never done before…compromise.

“Seven years.”

She had the audacity to shake her head, again. “Five.”

His Elite Guards couldn’t hide the looks of utter shock on their faces. No one dared challenge him in such a way. It excited him way more than it should have.

Luther smiled broadly, flashing his fangs. “I accept.”

Loud,rambunctious laughter tore him from his memories and Luther adjusted slightly in his crouched position, watching the shifter he had been waiting for exit the small café with her friend at her side.

Finally, he thought, cracking his neck.

He banished Zamorra to the back of his mind so he could focus on the task at hand. He watched, deep in the shadows, as the women hugged briefly and went their separate ways; his prey coming towards him and completely unaware of the danger that lurked nearby, and her friend going the opposite way, disappearing around the corner.

Luther glanced up and down the street. There were only a few people left wandering around, which worked in his favour. Two humans, a bear shifter and two light mages. If he was quick about it, he could pull the shifter into the shadows without the humans noticing. The supernatural beings would notice easily, but he doubted they would interfere. Not unless they were prepared to lose their lives, too.

She kept her head down, focusing intently on her phone as she got closer and closer.

His mouth salivated at the smell of her intoxicating blood, his fangs descending slowly and beginning to throb in his gums. His black claws were free, tapping impatiently against his knee as he waited for her to get within range. Only a few more feet.

When she finally got close enough, Luther pounced. He emerged as one with the shadows, using the darkness as a shield as he snuck up behind the shifter, wrapping a hand around her mouth to muffle her squeak of surprise.

She fought against him as he dragged her back against his chest and into his hiding spot, thrashing her limbs like an inflatable tube man in front of a car dealership. Before she could call on the power of her creature and shift, Luther exposed her neck, sunk his fangs deep into her carotid artery and sucked hard, taking a big gulp of her blood. Her scream was muffled behind his hand and he clamped his jaw tighter, pulling more and more of her blood from her body into his.

Euphoria.

Luther growled like a feral animal and just as he predicted, he unleashed all of the pent-up rage and frustration he’d been feeling since Zamorra’s disappearance on this innocent young woman.

He ravished her, tearing her head straight off her body and silencing her screams forever. Her head rolled several feet away as he took her to the ground and tore into her flesh, her blood spraying everywhere and drenching him from head to toe. Power pulsed from his body, his eyes blazed bright red and he snarled as his beast was finally released.

---