SWNOVELS Compelled: Chapter 63
We eventually made it back to Crimson City via an odd house of a bushy-bearded, angry-faced vampire. Lucien somewhat reluctantly thanked Emanuel, but he didn’t stay for any sort of catch-up, whisking me off into the streets and back home. It was the middle of the sleep cycle, so Crimson City was empty, and I wondered what had happened to the other masters and selected in the wake of my disappearance.
I asked Lucien as we entered his gated compound, but he just rumbled that he’d tell me later. That was fine by me; my body still needed more from my mate.
I needed the final bond to be completed.
Lucien set me on my feet as we made our way upstairs, linking his fingers with mine so we could walk together. “I have to shower,” I told him. “I know Carter’s blood vanished in my shifts between human and wolf-girl, but I want to be clean.”
Lucien didn’t argue, just followed me into the stall and hit the buttons to send out multiple streams of water. I sank down to the floor, happy to curl up under the cleansing water for some time. Lucien followed, facing me with our legs tangled together.
“Tell me everything about your life,” he said, watching me so closely. “This life and every other one you remember.”
My chest was hurting like a bitch, but it was the good kind of hurt. Choking on a few sobs, I reached out and took his hand, which was resting on his raised knee. His naked body was certainly a distraction, thick cock against his thigh as he faced me, but somehow, I managed not to lean over and take it into my mouth.
He’d asked me a question, and there was no rush for the rest. We could be here for days… months… years…
There was no end in sight for us, which allowed me some perspective.
This moment was for bonding in the wake of almost losing everything.
“I’m twenty-eight years old,” I started. “I was born and raised in Torma and, basically, never left until Mera took off on her journey and I found myself in this new, magical world. To say I was sheltered would be an understatement—”
I continued to give him a play-by-play of my life, and even though he knew a lot of it already, I went a little deeper. “I’ve lived in fantasy worlds via my books for the past half a dozen years,” I said. “Some days I would just read all day and night and escape from reality. It kept me sane, you know, but it never completely fulfilled me. Always felt like something was missing. I contemplated writing my own books to find the right blend of story, but now that I’ve found this with you, I know that what I was craving was to live my own fantasy story. Reading it just wasn’t enough.”
Lucien pulled me toward him, and as my legs slipped under his, which were slightly bent at the knees, we were so much closer. “You are the only one I want in my fantasy world, Bee,” he murmured. “You won’t ever have to escape into books again. Any adventure you desire, we’ll find it.”
I lifted myself so I could kiss him, tasting his life and energy with one swipe of my tongue. We were breathing a little heavier when we pulled apart, but I wanted to take a bit more time before I lost myself to the frenzy of sex and feeding.
“Tell me about your life,” I murmured. “Tell me of the adventures you’ve already taken.”
He shot me a slow smile that had my body clenching in all the right places. “The only important ones happened recently. Before that it was politics and vampires and a few wars I’d rather not remember. I’m long-lived, but everything was in shades of grey before I met you. After some time, my emotions just evened out and there were no more highs or lows. No pain but also… no joy. Everything feels like more now. I honestly don’t know what the fuck to do with all the energy buzzing inside of me.”
A chuckle escaped me. “I completely understand. Funnily enough, as a shifter we see in shades of grey in our wolf form, but in my new form… everything is brighter than ever. My hybrid form appears to see in shades of color beyond my regular sight. It’s incredible.”
He kissed me again, pulling my body against his, and this time I had to lift myself so I could slide onto his lap. I rocked against his hard length, which wasn’t inside me yet, but the heat of his shaft throbbed against my clit and pussy, sending pulses of pleasure into me. “Simone,” Lucien murmured. “Bee. Will you join with me in a true mate bond?”
“Yes,” I choked out without hesitation. “Yes. Yesterday, today, and every fucking day.”
This time when he kissed me, his fangs sank into my lip, my blood filling both our mouths. Then I tasted his spice mingling with my own, which told me he’d busted his lip as well, mingling our bloods. He lifted my body, hands firm and strong on my ass as he lined me up and thrust up into me. I couldn’t groan, my mouth too filled with our energy, so I just kept kissing him and holding on for life as he slowly moved inside me.
With each thrust of his cock, the curl of pleasure grew in my stomach, and as it reached the pinnacle, my orgasm was unable to be denied any longer.
The cry burst from me, and Lucien’s pace increased. He started to whisper against my lips. “Katu of blood. Katu of pain. Katu of pleasure. Katu of power. Join us under your holy glow. Join our souls in a soul call bond. A forever bond.”
This wasn’t all he said, but the next words were in a language I didn’t understand.
But I felt them in my ancient soul.
Repeating the blessing, Lucien reached out of the shower and grabbed the pants he’d ditched earlier. I couldn’t see much of what he was doing, my focus on the heat rushing through my body. It wasn’t just the heat of Lucien’s blood or the orgasms or my hybrid nature… it was a deeper, more intense fire that felt like the bonds of our souls knitting together.
When Lucien pulled his arm back into the stall, I didn’t see the sliver of stone until he pressed it between our chests. I glanced down at it, still moving against him. “The Stone of Katu,” I breathed, recognizing the bluish hue. “What happened to it?”
“I smashed it,” Lucien said shortly. “This is enough to bless our bond. To seal it.”
“It’s the least it could do for us,” I whispered, feeling the essence of the stone seeping into my being.
“My love,” Lucien murmured. “In this life and the next, your soul belongs to mine.”
“You soul belongs to mine,” I whispered back.
Lucien, still buried inside me, moved faster, and both of us were breathing heavily as we headed toward orgasm, the final catalyst to seal this bond.
As I fell into the detonation of spiraling ecstasy, the stone lit up my chest, like a brand, but there was so much pleasure inside me that I barely felt the pain. Lucien was right there with me, groaning as his movements slowed to complete the bond.
The pain faded then, and when I glanced down, the shard of stone was completely gone. But where it had sat between our joined chests, I could feel warmth under my skin.
Lucien stroked a hand over the spot, and the warmth increased. “You’ll always feel me here,” he said, leaning over to press his lips against it. “You can always find me by following the pull of our bond. Being apart will be hard until we get used to the pull to return to each other.”
Throwing my arms around him, I drew us tightly together, wanting no space between us. “Let’s never get used to it. No need for us to be apart for at least a few hundred years.”
He laughed, sending more pulses of pleasure through me. “You’re stuck with me, Bee. As I said, in this life and the next, we are soul-bonded.”
The spot in my chest warmed, and even though I had no experience with this blood call bond, I was sure I felt his power and energy. “I’ll know when you’re hurt or angry, won’t I?”
Lucien nodded. “Yes, and it will only grow stronger with time.”
That felt right to me. I’d been taking Lucien’s blood into my body for a long time now, and I felt no unease that another part of us was connected.
It was his blood that had bonded to my wolf soul, and I was so thankful to not have lost her.
My father might have prepared me for torture, but no one had prepared me for this sort of love. Love that I was excited to experience and grow into over the years.
I would never take any moment for granted.