Had she committed so great a sin that Raul had left her? Was that why the unfamiliar grief turned her heart to such a heavy stone? Around her, the faces slowly dissolved as the forms blurred even more, until they were only wailing shadows and the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach eased, even as her hunger grew beyond craving. She had a mate. She clung to that truth. Beautiful. Perfect. A man born to be her mate. Born for her. Olivera shuddered as voices in her head once again grew louder, drowning out the sounds of the jungle. Little flashes of pain grew behind her eyes, burning and burning until she felt her eyes boiling. Where was Raul then? Had he deserted her? The questions crowded in fast and loud, mixing with the voices until she wanted to hit her head against the nearest tree trunk. The inside of her brain seemed on fire, as did every organ in her body. Her heart nearly burst in her chest, and she sank down into the fertile soil where she had lain, trying to sort ou
Olivera pulled herself up to her full height, forced her body to stand straight when her gut clenched and knotted. Her body felt different, more leaden, clumsy even. As she shifted onto the balls of her feet, she felt the tremors start. "You chose your fate, dead one. I was merely the instrument of justice." She stated.The heads were thrown back on the long, thin stick necks, and howls rent the air. Above them, birds lifted from the canopy, taking flight at the horrible cacophony of shrieks rising in volume. The sound jarred her body, making her insides turn to gel. A trick, she was certain. She knew in her heart her life was over. There were too many to kill-but she would take as many with her as possible to rid the world of such dangerous and immoral creatures. The mage must have found a way to resurrect the dead. She whispered the information in her head, needing her mother to send a warning to the prince that armies of the dead would be once again rising against them."You a
The jungle erupted into an explosion of sound as the two cats came together. Birds screamed and took to the air, high in the canopy above. Monkeys shrieked warnings and threw twigs and leaves down on the two jaguars as they rolled in the vegetation. Boughs broke beneath the heavy bodies, scattering debris into a thick cloud around them.Olivera pushed past the red rage in the cat’s mind and tried to find the spirit of the animal as she kept its lethal fangs from sinking into her. Jaguars possessed extremely flexible spines that allowed them to turn and twist, move their legs in lateral sideswipes, even change direction in midair. And the ropes of muscles all over their bodies gave them tremendous strength. She took another vicious rake on her side as she tried to focus on calming the cat. She pushed harder, breaking through the wall of rage and found-man. This was no jaguar. This was one of the rare and solitary jaguar-men who still made their homes in the rain forest. Her and the
Olivera backed off, not wanting to rouse the ire of the cat any further. The animal was shaking, fur wet and dark as its sides heaved. The man was beginning to lose the battle for control of the beast. "You have been touched by the vampire," She said, her voice low and carrying the ring of truth. "I can try to aid you to rid yourself of the poisonous influence, but it will fight to keep ahold of you." And it would leave her vulnerable to attack, perhaps even from the jaguar. It was a risk, not even a good one, but Olivera felt compelled to help. The jaguar species, both man and beast, was losing the battle for existence just as her specie was. Tied to the jaguar now by blood, she could feel his alarm. He was no young man, cocky and full of bravado; he was old enough to know the danger of the vampire, and he had been questioning what was happening among his kind for some time. The cat crouched low and nodded the broad head, the gaze shifting from him to their surroundings, as mindfu
Olivera woke up with a sense of dread churning in the pit of her stomach. She had just had a horrible dream, and the memory of it lingered like a dark cloud over her mind. As she lay in bed, trying to shake off the remnants of the dream, Olivera felt a wave of panic wash over her. Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe, and she struggled to control the rising panic that threatened to overwhelm her. The dream had been vivid and unsettling, filled with images that made no sense to her. She tried to piece together the fragments of the dream, to understand its meaning, but it felt like trying to grasp at smoke. Vampires and what-nots. What was all that? What was the dream trying to convey to her? Her emotions were in turmoil, like a storm raging inside her. Fear, confusion, and a sense of foreboding mingled together, creating a tangled web of emotions that she couldn't untangle. She still remembered the words that she had exchanged with the jaguar man, Mezon. For some reason,
At Olivera’s cry for help, Vee slithered out of the ring that has never left her hand to stand by the bed side. Olivera let out a breath of relief and sat up on the bed. She stood thereafter and began to pace from one end of her room to the other.Vee said nothing. He just watched her, waiting for her to speak. After a bout of silence, Olivera slumped pitifully on a chair nearest to her bed. “I’m sure you are aware of what has been happening. I’m sure that you are aware why I haven’t called for your aid.” Vee nodded, and sat on the next chair, his hands folded on his lap. This moment, his hair was curled up in a latest fashion. Olivera couldn’t help the smile that perused her lips. “You styled your hair. Looks good.” Vee chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders. “I have to look good for my mistress.” Olivera waved him off, not finding it the appropriate time to tease the being that sometimes made her forget that he wasn’t actually human. She had missed him these past weeks. “Raul
She awoke with a start.Taking down her hands which had been earlier wrapped around her torso, to the floor as a support system, she sat upright; wincing sharply as pain shot through every nook and cranny of her entire being. What had happened? She thought, as she took in a deep breath. The air was stale and clammy.''Where am I?'' She muttered, taking a scan of the entire dark space with her tired eyes. She could tell that it was a windowless room, too stuffy and stale, too dark too; she couldn't see much except the little illumination proferred by a soft glow which was cast by the few rays of light coming in from small creaks on an iron door. But she didn't understand how she had gotten here.''What am I doi…''"Oh God!" She shrieked, jerking up her head, as memories of past events assailed her head in hot pursuit.She bent her head down in agony, rubbing her
Olivera's POV:My breathing was steady now, my seizures miraculously over, even with the evil hulk of a man standing before me. Jeremy was alive. And it was all that mattered."Your mate eh." I heard the man mutter, with a devilish smile. "This would be fun". He added, before walking out of the dimmed room.I shuddered unconsciously at his words which had an evil forebrooding, before scampering towards Jeremy. He was bent over, writhing on the floor.What did they do to him? I thought, blinking away tears from my eyes.He would heal, surely. He had a wolf, unlike me. I concluded, consoling myself."Jeremy.." I muttered, when I got to him.Raising up his head gingerly, I placed it on my laps."I'm sorry. I'm sorry Jeremy." I kept muttering, not concerned about the pool of tears threatening to drop from my eyes.