Page 4 of Noctis

That was another reason that sex felt like the second coming of Christ. With all five senses firing at their peaks, it was enough to drive us mad. While sex with humans wasn’t encouraged, it was still doable if the woman or man liked it violently rough. That was the main reason that vampires stuck to their own when satisfying their sexual urges. Of course, if you planned on killing your mark, then the rough sex was irrelevant. Sad to say, rape often accompanied a blood slaying.

Now, even though the blood in my veins was thrumming with all the life happening around me, I was only interested in one thing at the moment. Mora Kamra had arrived about a half hour ago, and she’d had her friend with her, Zaire Sullivan. Today was her birthday, and thanks to Leander’s talent when it came to technology, we’d all known that she had planned to celebrate her birthday here tonight.

When Brander had summoned me before the tribunal twenty-five years ago, he had laid out his plans for me, and every member of each coven had backed the decision to give Mora Kamra to me. No one had voiced any objections, though they should have. There’d been a few older coven members that should have been afforded the opportunity to possess Mora, but they hadn’t been. She’d been given to me, and a part of me wondered if they all knew something that I didn’t. It was written in an ancient prophecy that Mora Kamra was going to become one of the most powerful leaders among our people, so why had they just handed her over to me?

It was rumored that her birth mother, Emmaline Chapman, had been psychic. It was also rumored that her biological father, Hugo Draka, had dabbled in the dark arts. Supposedly, their dark gifts had been genuine, and Mora had a bit of magic in her blood, though she didn’t know it. So, with Emmaline being psychic, she had seen us coming in her prophetic vision, resulting in her death and Mora being delivered to a safe haven fire station. However, Hugo was still alive, locked away in an insane asylum.

On top of knowing that she’d be here tonight, thanks to her recklessness on social media, I also knew that she was heading to Reno on Sunday to start her two-week vacation. Like most fools on the internet, she had announced her vacation plans to anyone that cared, and now random people would know that her home was going to be empty for the next two weeks. If that wasn’t an invitation for thieves, then I didn’t know what was. Granted, Zaire was probably going to check in on her place while she was gone, but still. People were so quick to put their business on social media that they didn’t give one thought to safety.

Staring down at Mora, she was sitting next to Zaire at the bar, and she was smiling up at whatever he was telling her. True to his word, Brander had made sure her shadow had done his job throughout the years. While she’d been allowed to date, the shadow had interfered just enough to keep her single for this day. Zaire had been allowed because nothing had ever turned romantic between them. If it’d had, the shadow would have stepped in.

Now, shadows were human people that knew that we existed, either intentionally or by chance. They were the few people that were so submerged in the dark side of faith that they’d never turn on us. You had quite a few humans that liked to play the part or dabble playfully, but that’s all it was for them; an attempt to scoff at convention. Shadows were…for lack of a better word, brainwashed. Meeting us and finding out the truth was akin to a teenage girl meeting her favorite teen heartthrob, then falling in love and getting married. When shadows met us, their lives automatically belonged to us. Surprisingly, they were trusted with a lot of tasks that we couldn’t manage on our own, considering the whole sunlight thing.

So, with Mora planning on being gone for two weeks, she had unwittingly handed me everything that I needed to make this thing between us happen. No one would be missing her for two weeks, and since everyone chose texting as their main source of communication these days, a few texts to her parents and Zaire would suffice while she was gone. All I had to do was get her away from Zaire tonight, and that could easily be done with a spiked drink. It’d be just enough to have him sleeping until tomorrow afternoon, not interested in doing anything other than texting Mora that he was fine but needed rest.

Now, because Zaire Sullivan was Mora’s best friend, we knew just as much about him as we did her, and though protective of her, he wasn’t clingy. They had a very healthy friendship, no co-dependency in sight. If Zaire wanted to leave with a hot piece of ass tonight, Mora wouldn’t stop him. She wouldn’t get her feelings hurt or guilt trip him. He was the same way with her. If Mora saw something that she liked, Zaire wouldn’t bat an eyelash at her having a one-night stand with a stranger. He’d do his due diligence and make sure that she was safe, but that’s it.

Not bothering to check my appearance in the mirror, I grabbed my phone and keys, then locked up my office before heading downstairs. I didn’t spend a lot of time on the floor because of all the sights, sounds, and smells, but I had no choice tonight. I needed to get close to Mora, and this was the only way to do it. While I wasn’t above kidnapping her, it’d be a lot better if I could get her to go home with me voluntarily. From there, I planned on giving her a mild sedative, ensuring that she didn’t wake up until we got to the cabin that she’d rented for her vacation. A cabin in the middle of the woods was the perfect place for what I had planned for her. Plus, once we got there, I planned on snapping a picture of the cabin, then posting it to her social media as proof that she had arrived safely.

When I began my decent down the stairs, the hairs on the back of my neck vibrated with a quick alertness that another vampire was in the area. With Brander living in Nevada, Jaris living in Oregon, Marcel living in Utah, Elissa living in Arizona, Faine living in Washington, and Leander living in Idaho, I was the only vampire that should be in California.

Turning my head, automatically knowing where the sensation was coming from, I saw Phaeron sitting at a booth with some blonde, his glass already raised in my direction in salute.

Pulling out my phone, I dialed Brander. “Why is Phaeron in California?” I asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

“I didn’t know that he was,” Brander replied carefully.

“If you don’t want me ripping his head from his neck, then you better get him the fuck out of my club and my state, Brander,” I ordered. “I don’t need anyone interfering tonight. So, he has ten minutes to fuck that whore he’s with, then get back home.” Phaeron lived in Kansas, so ten minutes was plenty of time for him to go back to where the fuck he came from.

“I’ll take care of it,” Brander assured me before I hung up on him.

Okay, so maybe I’d been a bit rash in claiming that we didn’t have any superpowers, because that whole moving at the speed of light thing? Yeah, that was real.

Chapter 4

Mora~

Iwas having a great time, but this club was one of the hottest nightclubs in the city, making it a little too upscale for my simple tastes. Spherical was one of those clubs that you saw in swanky movies where only the rich and beautiful were allowed in. Though Spherical was opened to everyone, it screamed class, and you were immediately asked to leave if you looked like you were up to no good. That was one of the reasons that I loved coming here, despite that upscale vibe. Yeah, it was a club with a bunch of drunkards roaming around, but it still felt safe. Security was even willing to walk you to your car if you asked.

Zaire and I had gotten here about an hour ago, and the immediate birthday shots had gone down smoothly. Zaire had a thing for shots of tequila, and I had a thing for shots of Hypnotic. I liked the candied flavor of the drink. The only downside was that it hit you hard when you weren’t looking. Hypnotic snuck up on you like a thief eyeing your purse.

At any rate, we both had a nice buzz going and it wouldn’t be long before we were out on the floor, dancing ourselves into a sweaty mess. For a guy, Zaire not only liked to dance, but he also knew how to. It was a safe bet that if Zaire got a woman to dance with him, then he was taking her home. Women loved men that were willing to dance with them.

Leaning into me, Zaire asked, “Do you think you’ll be okay if I go break the seal?”

“What do I do if someone hits on me?” I teased, grinning like a loon.

“Tell him that it’s your birthday and sex would be the best kind of way to wrap up the night,” he teased back, though I knew a part of him was very serious.

I laughed. “Sounds like a plan.”

Zaire winked at me before turning, then heading towards the restrooms. I knew that I was going to have to guard his seat with my life, so I grabbed the stool, then drew it towards me, my ass practically sitting on both stools. I also eyed his beer like I was guarding the Hope Diamond.

It wasn’t long before a large body slid in between the opened space that I had created by scooting the stool closer to me, and holy fucking shit.

Well over six-feet tall, he had black hair, dark grey eyes, a face that reminded me of that model, Lucas Medeiros, but that wasn’t all. Even though he was wearing a suit that looked expensive as hell, you could still tell that a beer belly didn’t exist underneath that thing. He had to be sporting some serious muscle to be as filled out as he was. The man looked like he could pick me up with ease.

He looked to be about my age, but he didn’t come off as young. He stood with the confidence of a thousand men, and I’d be willing to bet Zaire’s left nut that this man knew what to do in the bedroom. Hell, even if he didn’t, it would be worth it just to be able to stare at him for one night.

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