Compelled (Shadow Beast Shifters Book 5)

Later that day I was in bed, Lucien holding me against his chest as he slept. We were both exhausted, having done our best to break the record for hours having sex after almost dying. Mera probably had a decent stronghold on that number, but Lucien and I were giving her and Shadow a run for their money.

I didn’t want to wake him, so I just lay there in his arms, wondering how I got so damn lucky. “Why is your favorite color crimson?” he murmured against my back, and I laughed, realizing he wasn’t as asleep as I’d thought. “Has it always been crimson?”

“Yes,” I whispered. “When I was a little girl, there was this field of red flowers behind our house. They didn’t grow anywhere else in Torma, so I always thought of them as mine. You know. My house and my flowers. The color is still one I’ve never seen anywhere again until you brought me to Valdor. Your sky and the stone of your house… they’re the exact color of my flowers.”

The last time I was here, I’d tried not to think of all the ways I felt tied to Lucien and this world, because it hurt to know it was all temporary. But now that it was forever, I could really embrace the connections we’d shared for most of my life.

My father had destroyed the flowers when I was twelve to punish me into doing what he wanted. If I hadn’t hated him before that, I’d certainly hated him after it.

“What do the flowers look like?” Lucien asked, and there was a weird tone in his voice. “What’s the petal structure and length of the stem?”

Shifting over to see his face, I tried to read his expression, but it gave nothing away. “They’re small,” I said. “And they grow about four or five flowers per stem, so they’re close together, looking almost look like a car—”

“Carpet of flowers,” he finished for me, and I paused before nodding.

“Yes. How did you know?”

“They grow here,” he told me, and holy shit, was I awake now.

“Show me!” I demanded, trying to leap from the bed, but his firm hold remained on me.

“You said they only grew behind your house?”

I nodded again. “Yes. Nowhere else in all of Torma, and I could never find out any information, like their name or anything, in a normal plant database.”

“Did you ever do anything out in that area before the flowers grew?”

That gave me a moment’s pause as I combed back through my memories. “I don’t think so… Wait. I mean, I got hurt out there once. Fairly sure I bled through the knee of my pants because my dad was an asshole about it afterwards. But could it be plausible? I mean, that wasn’t the only time I bled somewhere, so maybe it was something else.”

Lucien sat, bringing me with him. “Who knows, maybe at that point you were calling out for something more and your blood found its connection to Valdor. Or maybe it was a coincidence. Either way, I will always believe it was your blood calling you to this world. To me.”

“Show me the flowers,” I demanded again, and this time we both hopped out of the bed and had a quick shower together. It spoke of how many orgasms I’d had in the past dozen or so hours that I managed not to attack my mate while he was naked under the shower, looking like a wet dream.

He didn’t seem quite as exhausted, reaching for me with that sexy hooded expression, but sadly, I had to shift out of his reach. “Plenty of time for that later,” I said in a rush. “We’ve got some flowers to find.”

To see them again was another dream come true. To know they’d been created from my own connection to Valdor in a previous life made it even more surreal. Had I created Crimson Heart on Earth, too, somehow? Or were Valdorian items just drawn to Torma because there were vampire souls there?

In reality, most of these questions would probably never be answered, but it was cool to wonder all the same.

We got dressed in a hurry, and this time when we escaped his house, the streets were filled with vampires. Crimson House vampires. “Master Lucien! Master Lucien,” they called.

A short vampire with thick black curls and dark skin pushed in closer. “Is it true that half the masters are dead and new ones will be brought forward to fill the spots?” he asked, eyes wide and confused.

I paused, turning toward my mate. We’d discussed a lot of things since sealing our bond, but somehow, he’d failed to mention that half the masters were dead—a somewhat relevant fact, considering the circumstances.

Lucien shot me a slow smile like he was reading my thoughts, or maybe he was sensing my emotions through our bond. A bond that must be visible because before he could answer the dark-haired vampire, someone else shouted, “He’s bonded! Our master has a blood call bond.”

That set them all off, and if it wasn’t for Lucien’s chest rumble and fuck-off expression whenever one of them stepped too close to me, I would have been hauled up in a pile of vampire hugs for sure. Luckily, they read the room and stayed a few paces back from the newly mated and possessive master.

“Yes, there has been some upheaval in the masters’ ranks,” Lucien said as he projected his voice to those gathering. “They conspired to have my mate taken by Carter. I handled that the way any true mate would, and now there will be changes in Crimson City. Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee no fallout from this, but we are prepared, correct?”

There were shouts and cheers.

“I will be here to smooth the way,” he said, “but I think they will heed my previous warnings and stay clear of our enclave for some time.”

None of his vampires appeared worried, and it spoke to the way he let them govern themselves, for the most part, that gave them that streak of independence. There was no overreach of leadership in Crimson House.

Lucien spoke to them for a few more minutes, and when we eventually walked away, it was to congratulations and cheers. “You killed the masters?” I asked when we were out of earshot. “Who else did you kill?”

He shrugged. “Hattie’s family. And the masters’ families that were in cahoots or tried to interfere. I left the children and innocents.”

I blinked, a little sad I’d missed him raging like that, to be honest.

“They hurt and stole my mate.” Lucien’s voice grew deeper, like the memories were sending him to the darkness again. “It was the least they deserved. I sent word to the rest of the council that I won’t hesitate to raze this fucking city to rubble if they pursue this further.”

“I love you.” The words burst from me, feeling right. “Thank you for fighting for me.”

He stopped and swept his arms around me, pulling me up into the tightest hug. “There’s no reason for living without you, Simone,” he murmured. “My love for you is beyond anything I’ve ever felt. It’s beyond any words I can give you, but I promise my actions will always speak of my utter devotion toward you. You’ll never want for anything again, emotional or material.”

I coughed through my tears. “This probably makes me a psychopath, but I find the fact that you killed a bunch of vampires for me super romantic.”

He laughed and just held me tighter. “We’re a perfect match. Now let’s find your flowers.”

We made it through the rest of the city without issue. Only a few dark looks were thrown Lucien’s way, and it seemed that for the most part, the other vampires were wary enough to not approach him. He even got some cheers in other enclaves, where vampires were clearly excited to be rid of their previous masters.

“Many of them had ruled with violence and fear for too long,” Lucien told me. “I should have stepped in decades ago, but I was complacent. My emotions had shut down, and I forgot how to give a shit.”

That wasn’t the case any longer, and hopefully, now Crimson City could rebuild.

If any of them decided to come back at Lucien for this, then they’d have to take on our entire family. We were growing stronger with every new member, and that gave me a sense of relief. No one could take this from us. Not if we stood together.