Vampire Coven Book 3: A Vampire's Embrace Read online

  Laken had the same looks as Tavish, perhaps they were brothers. Caine was clean cut. One look at Caine and Rhett saw a gentle soul. The man would not last long here. It suddenly dawned on Rhett he wasn’t dead. He felt a little off but hungry, surely that must be a good sign if his belly ached for sustenance. Quickly he glanced down remembering where the lion sliced him open. His guts were no longer protruding. Another thought occurred, though bloodied he felt no pain.

  Looking closer at his wounds Rhett stared in awe, there were no bite marks, no scratches or gaping holes. He was standing on a leg he had been certain was crushed. A wary hand touched at his face. The flesh no longer hung. Where blood stained no wound existed. He looked untouched when he was convinced he was almost dead.

  “You died all right,” Tavish said then chuckled at Rhett’s confusion.

  “But I feel whole and healthy… and so terribly hungry. The hunger grows.”

  “It will continue to grow until you are satisfied. I have brought you a gift,” Tavish said.

  A snap of his fingers and a beautiful young woman walked into the room and lay on the couch. Rhett, confused, went to gaze down into her innocent face. She looked at him in a daze. She was a real beauty, a prize. Someone’s pet for certain. A well-loved pet. The little slave was no doubt adored; it showed in the gold and jeweled trinkets she wore. Rhett wasn’t interested; his Cecily was the only woman to turn his head since they joined.

  “I am in no need of a female. I wish to see my wife,” Rhett snapped. He would not lay with a slave, a slave’s life was hard enough, especially a beautiful one such as this creature. Beauty was a curse in Rome. She did not need another man forced upon her.

  “This female isn’t for your pleasure; she is here to satisfy your thirst.” Tavish encouraged Rhett forward until Rhett knelt beside the blond beauty.

  “My thirst?” Rhett muttered.

  As soon as he drew closer Rhett could smell the flow of her blood, it was the sweetest of flowers; he could hear the gentle beat of her heart. A humming wordless come-hither. He trailed his fingers ever so gently down the side of her unblemished, perfect face. The pull wasn’t sexual, but it was intimate. The desire to be near her was too strong a pull to ignore. Closer, Rhett moved until his lips kissed her neck.

  “She is so sweet,” Rhett whispered. He inhaled ambrosia. Life was a gift; the taste of life flowed through this female.

  How was that possible?

  “She is yours,” Tavish said. The others grinned as he gazed around the room in curiosity.

  Rhett gasped as the beauty changed in color. The room turned quiet except for the breathing of the female. Everything he saw was in black and white. The couch was dark where the perfection lay. Exposed to him on a dais. There were no pretty little baubles of color to distract him, no shining silky blond hair tempting him to run his fingers through. Her alabaster skin became translucent showing him her veins. One large vein taunted him, coaxed him, pulsing…begged him to taste. A sweet refreshing drink, a beacon in the now small room, as though only Rhett and the female existed.

  How was that possible?

  “Drink,” Tavish insisted.

  Rhett took orders from no one, yet, he must obey this man. He wanted to obey this man, the urge was so strong. Gently at first, Rhett settled his lips against her throat where the vein danced under his tongue which licked at her. The pulsing beat called to him, claimed him. Opening his mouth, his teeth nestled against her warm flesh, her silky salty flesh. Two fangs slipped into that beckoning vein, sliding gently until completely immersed and his lesser teeth bit savagely into her sweetness.

  Oh heaven, I am at your door.

  The young woman groaned and Rhett felt a strong hand on his shoulder. “Do not drain her, I promise you will be satisfied. This one is a favorite,” Tavish said. Rhett heard the warning but he battled; one must win all battles or die. It had been bred into him from birth.

  Ambrosia flowed down Rhett’s throat. Sweet, hot nectar soothed his hunger while firing it systematically. He wanted to rip her throat out, he wanted to savor her. The confusion became too much and Rhett grew angry. She was teasing him, toying with his emotions.

  How dare she, the brazen slave?

  “Enough,” Tavish bellowed when Rhett gripped her body to his chest.

  She was so slight in his arms. She was his, only his and he would teach her what her position was. Soft flesh pressed hard to his bare chest. He would pull her into him; he must take all of her. Rhett wanted her to feel his strength.

  She must be closer.

  Rhett heard her little bones crunch but still she defied him and would not slide into his body. Strong hands latched onto Rhett’s arms and around his chest dragging him, fighting, away. Bellowing his rage, Rhett fought back but Tavish and Laken were too strong, never had Rhett felt such power. Never had Rhett felt so powerful. Claws unsheathed, fangs struck out. Rhett was a warrior. He would die before he lost in battle. His opponents battled, but theirs was of a different nature. All the while, a tug at his emotions pulled him to stop. He sensed he battled family. Rhett battled his father when he came of age and decided his direction to wed later in life to a woman he chose. His father, his strong father was weak. Tavish wasn’t the same. Tavish was choosing his direction.

  For now.

  “Enough, my brother.”

  Rhett stilled. He had no brother, yet now he sensed many.

  Caine was bent over the woman, checking her condition. He sat back on his heels and gazed at Tavish.

  “She will be fine, but I will keep her with me for the next few weeks,” Caine said. He glared at Rhett.

  Tavish nodded and Caine gathered the woman gently into his arms. Rhett grew still when one moment Caine was there, the next gone. When his gaze settled onto Tavish, the man’s look was grim.

  “You must obey me,” Tavish demanded.

  “I obey no man,” was Rhett’s quick retort. He then went red remembering he had obeyed Tavish, at first.

  Laken chuckled. “It appears our newest member will be a challenge.”

  “Member?” Rhett asked.

  “You belong to my brethren now,” Tavish informed him.

  “Brethren?”

  “My coven of vampires. Have you heard of vampires?”

  Rhett’s breathing grew rapid. Night walkers? They were a myth. It was daylight. There were no such beasts. Rhett struggled from the grip Tavish had on his arm. Tavish held him for a moment; the pure whites of his eyes glowing with meaning, showing him he released him because he wanted to, not because Rhett wanted him to.

  “My wife?”

  “My men took her to your cottage with your daughter. The emperor declared them untouchable—with a suggestion from my men. You are dead to your family, but you can watch over them. We will wait until they both die; we have all the time in the world. Tell me, was it worth it?” Tavish asked.

  “What?” Rhett asked though he remained stunned.

  “The child, your daughter, was your death worth her life?”

  For an instant, Rhett’s mind went to the last time he gazed into his daughter’s face. Her eyes, so trusting, gazed back. Acca’s perfect beauty and innocence. Her sweet smell, the softness of her skin. It wasn’t just his job as a father to protect her, it was his privilege. Rhett’s words were pure when he spoke.

  “Yes, every last second.”

  Tavish placed a hand onto Rhett’s shoulder. “You may keep your wife and child safe, we will even help, but there is something you need to know,” Tavish said. The whites of Tavish’s eyes glowed brighter and for a second, a split second, Rhett feared him. He heard Tavish in his mind when he next spoke.

  “Caine is a doctor. The arena was full of humans but one heart, one tiny little heart called to him. Caine chose to become a vampire. There is integrity, honesty and a gentle caring about him. He was hard to refuse when he begged me to be turned, no other ever has; the circumstances were so incredible, and as the centuries passed I am ever grateful for his
presence.”

  “What heart?” Rhett asked though he filled with dread. A fist clenched. “What could a heart say?”

  “It called to him because Caine sensed it was broken. Not with grief, it is too little to understand grief. There is no cure for your little daughter. She has perhaps eight years at most.”

  “No,” Rhett said and began to weep. “My wife will be devastated.”

  “Your wife is already devastated,” Tavish reminded him. “Her husband was murdered.”

  “I’m going to kill the Emperor,” Rhett said as he filled with blinding rage.

  Tavish laughed. “Of course you are. He’s a pompous ass. The world will never learn, greed dictates. We place those in power, pawns who think they control, but others do, we can remove those in power. But unfortunately, those we place in power think they are untouchable. Not so. You will kill the bastard and then gaze from a distance at your lovely wife. You will take your anger out on any who have wronged you, then you will slip into your wife’s chambers as she slumbers and hold your babe.”

  Rhett heard the command. There was a reason for it. Rhett had always felt anger, it burned in his guts. Before he made love to his wife he would battle. Never would she feel an ounce of his anger. Neither would she ever, nor would Acca.

  Tavish clapped him on the back. “Shall we begin?”

  “Begin?”

  “You will never be alone,” Laken said. “Simply call to us and we will hear you. It grows dark. Hunting is best in the dark.”

  “You will feed again, only this time I won’t stop you. I take care of my family.” Rhett heard loyalty in Tavish’s words. Rhett had friends, other warriors whose lives could be snuffed out on a whim, such was the life of a Roman.

  Dark was how Rhett felt. His family wasn’t gone but out of his reach. He was dead, yet alive. Perhaps his child’s condition would be a blessing. No one would ever believe her if she mentioned she saw her father. Rhett would watch over them—until he lost them for the last time.

  Chapter 1

  “Do you ever wonder what it would be like to die?”

  The woman shivered as Rhett whispered the words. His hand encircled her tiny throat. He applied pressure ever so slightly making the woman gasp. She was a pretty little thing, this newest bauble added to Tavish’s harem of humans. She had yet to be assigned a vampire protector and was fair game. The little ice dweller had never had a man come this close to her in her life. He settled more of his hard body against her luscious curves.

  Rhett cocked his head to the side and lifted her higher. He wasn’t hurting her, most of her feather-light weight rested against him. She whimpered, unable to cry out as his white eyes blazed into her and silently commanded her obedience. No doubt if given the chance, she would betray him as all women eventually did. Even Cecily had found another after little Acca died. That was when Rhett decided it was time to move on. Every century he moved on until women’s faces were a blur, each continent boring, having explored every inch of the world in thousands of years. He had been betrayed too many times by women until he stopped caring. None of them would ever get under his skin, not even a little ice dweller.

  The world was at a standstill. An ice age was upon them. The little bit of fluff he terrorized had been found in an iceberg. Over time, humans had carved out meager livings in the deep ice caverns, where they waited to die out. Martyrs of the world, they felt when they died, so too would vampires. Tavish had been astute enough to build a utopia in the middle of nowhere. Vampires were here to stay.

  Brown eyes gazed pleadingly into his blazing eyes. Rhett felt nothing, no mercy, no pity, just emptiness where his heart had once been. He would let her live of course, it was law; she was to be used as a breeder, but he would play for a while. Over the centuries, all women betrayed when given enough rope to hang themselves. The last woman to betray Rhett had gone too far. She had almost claimed the life of family.

  “Put her down,” a voice snapped.

  Rhett sighed and let the woman slowly slide down the wall he had pinned her to. He grinned when Caine strode forward and gripped the female to his chest.

  “Transition into the open world and sunlight is hard enough on the ice dwellers without you stalking them and making their lives miserable.” Caine glared at him and was gone in seconds, taking the woman with him.

  Rhett didn’t know what bothered the good doctor; he could compel her to forget anything Rhett did. Hell, Rhett would compel her when he was done playing. The vampires had grown soft over the years, protecting humans instead of hunting them. The only hunting done was to basically save valuable human lives.

  It wasn’t long before Tavish caught up to him as Rhett knew he would. Side by side, the two vampires walked into the bright sun. Rhett smiled. Humans used to think the day only belonged to humans. He didn’t need a fancy bauble to face the sun, nor did he need a witch’s spell. Vampires existed since the beginning of time; there were no rules to their existence. At one time, even Rhett had thought vampires were nightwalkers. It was a myth started because hunting was easier in the dark. The vampires used that to their advantage in days of old. Wouldn’t the humans have been surprised if their doctor, pool boy, or cop was a vampire? Now it didn’t matter, vampires ruled the world, they went where they pleased.

  “I’m worried about you,” Tavish said.

  “You never used to before.”

  “I always worried. Times are different. We need these humans to survive.”

  “I wasn’t going to kill the woman. You know I’d never do that. I respect the law.”

  “I would never accuse you of that, my friend. But there is something bothering you.”

  Rhett sighed. He stopped to lean against a tree. He had no idea what was bothering him. He had refused to take another female into his care after the last one betrayed him. He hadn’t been overly fond of Tanya. She was a hellion to be sure, fun, devious. But she had shamed him by deceiving him and the others. It was because of that bitch, Tanya, that Tavish’s wife, Mercy, had to be turned while she carried Tavish’s babe. Rhett was fond of Mercy, as fond as he could be for any woman. It was almost losing the child which had destroyed Rhett. A child of Tavish’s; Tavish was family. The coven was the only family Rhett needed.

  Thankfully, the child of five now thrived. Galf was one third vampire and immensely enjoyed playing with Laken’s triplet three-year-old daughters. Laken, another vampire brother who had moved away from the coven to form his own. Laken’s wife, Honor, refused to be turned as yet. She was debating whether or not she wanted more of Laken’s children. The process was a crap shoot, but both Tavish and Laken were happy with their children, as Rhett had been happy watching Acca grow for the short time she did centuries ago.

  “I can tell when you think of your daughter,” Tavish said. “You get a wistful smile on your face filled with love.”

  “Do I,” Rhett said, his words soft, unwilling to release the memory so soon of her sweet cherub face.

  “You seem to spend most of your days at Laken’s coven. He says you are wonderful with his girls. Galf adores the time you spend with him. You’re like a second father. You would make a wonderful dad—again.”

  “Children ask for so little except love. They have no angles; they don’t plot to deceive you or betray you.”

  “Rhett, let it go. It was years ago. It all worked out. Tanya is gone. Stop carrying the blame, the burden is not yours.” Rhett’s stony gaze never wavered and Tavish sighed.

  “I can see your need to work off a little steam. I should have realized a Roman warrior would never mellow over time,” Tavish said and smiled. His hand affectionately gripped the side of Rhett’s throat. Tavish’s gaze became pondering.

  “Ursus caught wind of some humans, males, in the glacier in the north sector. We had thought that deserted. Why not go and indulge your craving. We have enough breeder males. You have free reign. Do as you please.”

  Rhett grinned in delight. He would have to thank Tavish’s polar bear
for her discovery. Sporting with a few human males was what he needed. His blood thirsted to be sated; his ears craved the screams of battle. Blood lust ran high. Rhett clapped Tavish on the back and took to the skies.

  * * * *

  Inside the glacier all was quiet. Ursus had been right, as usual. Though not one sound was spoken aloud, Rhett heard the hammering of a heartbeat in the dark. He frowned for a moment. There should have been many more, perhaps another coven had been there before him and missed one. It was known to happen. A vampire set his sights on one single human, swooped in, and made off with them.

  The walls inside the glacier were smooth as silk. From somewhere above he heard the monotonous drip of water as parts of the glacier melted. An ominous crack sounded. This glacier wasn’t safe. Soon it would be nothing more than a drop of water in the ocean when it melted. The earth had been reforming itself over the last few centuries. Rhett was anxious to see what continent would be where when the earth finally settled.

  The ground beneath his black boots was slick with the many leather moccasins that had worn a groove, traipsing over it for perhaps hundreds of years. The ice age began in earnest at the tail end of the twenty-first century. This ancient mountain of melting ice still contained the lingering odors of kills, old blood, sweat. Fear. Rhett could smell fear.

  As he started to move he stopped short. Cocking his head, he began to hear more heartbeats coming closer. Two, three, five. Strong, confident heartbeats. So the little lone human hadn’t been hiding from him after all. Rhett struggled to maintain control. Gorging on six humans would be euphoric. Methodically his mind settled them into groups. The first three he would dispatch immediately. The next two he would sport with. The last…well he had better hope he begged well.

  “Here, over here.” Came the loud bellow of an excited man.

  Rhett moved in for the kill. In a larger chamber, he saw them, all six. Five were bigger, stronger. The smaller one was who they were after. The ‘no sex’ law with humans had ways of being bent. Sex with another man would lead to no offspring. Rhett remained hidden, for now. Rape of any kind made his guts roll. Rhett was a hard ass but even he had limits, old Rome’s vile cesspool of depravity could anger the devil himself.