Page 7 of The Dark War

Large animals of deer, moose, and even species I had never seen that were large enough to feed an entire vampire family for days roamed the lands. Taliyah said they died quickly once Darius took over. There were once regulations to ration the blood since it did not give them the ‘full’ feeling like human or supernatural blood. Taliyah had passed a law that no animal could be fed upon until numbers came back up while they were bred and brought back into the kingdom.

After cleaning up Taliyah’s desk and putting the final book away, I headed back upstairs to see Taliyah in her robe, reading on the bed.

“My little witch, you need to be resting.” I kissed her cheek. She hummed, thumbing through the pages as I changed into joggers and just a tight muscle tee. She didn’t want the bond to take over and have us go too far physically before we mended our relationship, so the more clothes, the better. That was the rule.

Her little stomach growled, her hand pushing it down to hide it. “I think you forget I can hear so well.” Taliyah’s breath hitched, feeling my hand grab hers, kissing it gently. “Come on, you need your strength. I even donated some blood today, and my wolf regenerated quickly after I ate lunch.” Taliyah bit her lip, looking from the book to me.

“Shy, are we?” I smirked. Huffing, she crawled into my lap. This was my favorite part at the end of every day, sitting here with her while she bit into my neck. There were other places she could bite. It was an intimate spot for vampires to feed on, and it made me feel closer to her. On top of it all, it is said to taste better because it is closer to the heart.

“You promise it doesn’t hurt?” she questioned. I shook my head.

“You know it doesn’t. If it makes you uncomfortable to drink there, you can—”

“No, no, I like it there.” Her cold finger ran down my neck. “And, I like it here.” Her fingernail trailed across my collar bone, reaching the other side. Gods, she was going to kill me. Her fanged smile widened, that smile that could have me fall on my knees to worship her. “You’ve been really patient with all the craziness, my big bad wolf.” She giggled.Fuck. It had been so long since I heard her laugh.

“How about after I meet with Duke Mortus tomorrow, we go on a real date?” Her lips kissed my cheeks, now trailing down my neck. My cock was straining against her thigh. I knew she could feel it, and she only laughed. Her teeth grazed my neck, sinking into it. I groaned, feeling the venom numb the area, causing a euphoric feeling to bolt straight to my dick.

Her fingers dug into my shoulders, pulling me closer. I didn’t deny her. I felt her throat gulping down my blood, my eyes rolling back into my head as she finished. I swear I could almost come with her just sucking.

To my surprise, she straddled me, taking her fangs from my neck, now kissing me. It was weird, still tasting a bit of metallic on her tongue, but still damn hot. “I want you to know how hard it’s been for me, too.” Her finger circled my pec muscles. “I care about you a lot, Jasper, and you have been nothing short of an angel to me. You’ve pampered me, took care of me, heck, you even baby me, making sure I’m fed and clothed.”

“Only the best for my mate,” I purred. “Anything you ask me, I’ll do it.” Taliyah giggled, pecking at my lips again, rubbing her core against me. My hands went to her ass, gripping her between the satin shorts and robe.I don’t know how to resist her.

The dark purple robe fell off her shoulder, showing her skin brightly in the dark. My hands traced up her hip, and finally, her neck, having the fire touches run up and down her body. Taliyah leaned forward, her breasts now pushing up against my chest. I growled heavily into her mouth.

Her head leaned back, baring her chest to me.Damn. Do I go for it?

Kissing down her neck to the top of her chest, my hand went up to her camisole top, rubbing the hardened nipple under her nightgown. She hummed, putting her hands in my hair, meeting my lips again. Pulling her bottom lip, my tongue slipped into her mouth.

“Jasper,” she spoke between breaths. My cock was painfully hard. She rocked into me, causing delightful friction. “Is this okay?” Her sweet voice crossed my ears.

“More than okay.” I heaved heavily. Continuing to rock, I pushed her faster on my cock, feeling her heat. “Does it feel good?” Taliyah was comfortable enough to let her arousal seep through my nostrils for the first time.

“Yes,” she muttered under her breath. Pulling her close, pulling down on her top, I sucked on her pink, hardened nipple. Gasping, whispering my name, her claws tightened on my shoulders, feeling her wetness pooling around my thin linen pants. Roaring, I finally released my pent-up sexual tension and then sucked on her neck repeatedly until my mate caught her breath.

If I can’t sink my teeth into her yet, I can leave a mark, right?

Taliyah sat up; her lips were pouty and red from the stubble on my face. It was the ‘just fucked’ look without the fucking. “Woah.” She laughed out loud.

“Yeah, woah.” I grinned wickedly.

Chapter Four

Jasper

Taliyahhadbeenina meeting with vampires from the small group of Parliament, along with Duke Mortus, our only duke who was the kingdom’s lifeline. Everything rode on his support, and luckily, we had the strongest of the dukes wanting to fight for Taliyah’s crown and a new nation.

I stood outside, standing guard while they spoke. They didn’t trust me to be inside. I heard every word anyway, but from the sounds of it, the duke was more than willing to help. I wondered if he had ulterior motives.

The duke humored the rogues, let them come inside his home, gave them something to eat, and let them go on their way. He said he was playing both sides and would help the outcome in the end. It meant that the uprising didn’t happen any sooner. Gaining a stronger military force would be wise. I understood the logic, but something was off.

His right hand, Enoch, has been spotted going into the dead forest many times, but I never saw him come back out. I spent the entire night waiting, only for him to come out of the mansion the next morning refreshed. Enoch was sneaking back into the duke’s mansion, and I didn’t know why. Magic must have been involved.

Being in constant contact with Kane was crucial. Several attacks around the surrounding territories were of vampires. Vampires never came in large numbers. They were small militias of maybe ten to twenty, but their speed was incredible. The rogues went after the weaker wolves, despite wolves supplying blood to those who listened to our laws. The rogues received no fresh blood unless they pledged allegiance to us and spent time in the new army to build protection. None of them wanted that, so fighting was their only way to eat, and that was attacking smaller packs surrounding the Cerulean Moon Kingdom.

Duke Mortus, putting on his long trench coat, flipped the collar and grabbed his decorative cane from the servant helping. He eyed me suspiciously, only to nod and head out the door. The other vampires, still speaking with my mate, walked out with her, speaking quickly about their opinions of the new members. They weren’t so sure of the names gifted by Mortus to help with the rebuilding. These recommended vampires had been with Darius’s father before the fall of Vermillion, but now the rumors of them drinking human blood were rising.

“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.” Taliyah rubbed her hands together, her eyes tired from debating with the vampires she could trust. “You are aware Duke Mortus is our lifeline? If there are only rumors about him being with the rogues and drinking human blood, then that isn’t enough evidence to disbar him. I need proof, or we all suffer.” I smiled at her, watching her delegate and speak to these vampires with such diplomacy.

---