Taylor
She had appeared, seemingly from nowhere, perched on a barstool at the end of the bar. My amulet had suddenly become hot against my shin and I knew she was supernatural. I ducked down, pretending to situate something under the bar, so I could peak inside my top and see what I was dealing with. I furrowed my brow in confusion. My amulet was red, it was never red. Black meant vamp, golden yellow meant were, white meant fae, occasionally it would be a mix of those colors signifying a hybrid. I took a deep breath to steady myself and stood, making my way to her.
“What can I get for ya?” I asked, a smile plastered on my face.
“Well, Taylor, I’m actually here for you.” She smiled back.
My mouth went dry and my heart started pounding against my ribcage. I didn’t know what this woman was, but she knew, at the very least, who I was. My mind raced as I tried to project an image of calmness. The woman’s expression slowly changed to one of concern, almost as if she had read the fear worming its way through me.
“Taylor.” She said. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
I nodded, calling over my shoulder to the other barback that I was taking my break. I didn’t want to take her anywhere she could pull anything, but there was an empty booth near the center of the bar. The bar was empty enough that we could talk without someone overhearing, but the positioning meant she couldn’t do anything without drawing attention. I led her to the booth and slid in the seat opposite her.
‘What are you?” I whispered.
“I am the Goddess, Nyx.” She replied. “I’m sure your amulet turned a color you’ve never seen before and that must have been unnerving for you.”
I nodded. I was unnerved, but I wasn’t sure if I should believe anything else, she had said.
“I can sense that you’re unsure, but I also know you have a gift.” She smiled shyly. “If I give you my hand, you can see if I am telling you the truth.”
I eyed her warily as she reached her hand out to me across the table before taking it with my own. I closed my eyes as the visions began to cloud my vision. Her entire existence played out before me and I knew she had told me the truth. She was the goddess of the night, Nyx. I pulled my hand away, taking a deep breath as I opened my eyes, wondering what on earth a goddess would want with me.
“But you already know, dear.” She smiled again. “If you saw everything, you already know that I have mated you with my first creation. He has lost many mates to time, but I think you may be the one to undo my brother’s magic and make him whole for eternity.”
I wasn’t crazy about the idea of being destined for someone, no something, without my consent, but I had spent my entire life in this small town. My mother had run from her coven when she was pregnant with me and settled here. I had learned what I could about being a witch and my particular gift from her, but there was no one else to teach me here. They were all normal humans. After her death I hadn’t been able to leave everything I had known, but now someone had taken the choice out of my hands. I felt a thrill of excitement run through me.
“I have questions, but I’m in.” I told her before I could change my mind.
We spent the next hour alternating between her answering my questions and me doing my job. Any lull in the need for drinks from the bar’s patrons, I would make my way back to her booth to hear more about this vampire who was apparently my mate. The more she spoke about him, the more I wanted to know him. I wanted to ask her where I could find him after serving another customer, but she had vanished as quickly as she had arrived, leaving no trace that she had ever been in the bar. Frustrated, I decided to focus on last call and closing up the bar.
I was distracted with my thoughts when I finally left the bar after shutting down for the night. All I could think about was how I could possibly track down my would-be vampire mate. I didn’t notice my ex waiting for me, leaning casually against the building across the street.
“Hey beautiful!” He called as I locked the door to the bar.
“What do you want, John?” I demanded. He was the last person I wanted to see.
“I just wanted to talk.” He smiled sheepishly; his hands raised.
“The last thing I want to do is talk to you John. Why don’t you go find Carla? I’m sure if you need a bed warmer, she’s more than willing.” I snarled.
He advanced on me, attempting to intimidate me with his large size. Instead of cowering in fear, I turned on my heel and began walking away. I hadn’t expected him to grab me. He snatched my arm and pulled me towards him, causing me to lose my balance. He used both hands to steady me as he leaned in for a kiss.
“Fuck you, John!” I screamed, stomping on his foot, and forcing him to release me.
Thunder roared in my ears as my sight narrowed. He had slapped me hard across the face. I barely had time to react before I was doubled over, his oversized fist plowing into my stomach. I went down hard, the concrete scraping my hands and knees as I gasped for breath. Bile rose in my throat as my stomach threatened to purge itself in response to the blow. I looked up, tears streaming down my face, and saw the most beautiful man I had ever seen in my life. He was holding John by his throat against the wall. I wiped my eyes and stole a glance at the amulet, swinging freely, around my neck. It was a deep black. I wasn’t going to need help finding my vampire mate after all.
RhazianI stood over my bed in the dark, glowering. Taylor had made herself comfortable and was passed out faced down, her head turned toward the wall on my pillow. I watched the slight rise and fall of her body with her breathing, angry that Nyx had not only sent me another mate, but one that had no concept of boundaries. She reminded me of my last mate, Eliza. I plopped down in the sole chair in my apartment, my breath leaving me in a slight hiss, as I closed my eyes trying to shut out the image of my lost love. Memories taunted me, p
Taylor I rolled onto my back and groaned as the late afternoon sun streamed across my face. I didn’t want to get up, but someone had left the blinds open. I looked around, blinking, as the nights events came back to me. I sat upright with a start. I had fallen asleep in a vampire’s bed. A vampire who hadn’t seemed at all interested in me hanging around. The goddess Nyx had told me that it would be a struggle getting through to him. My emo
The wolves stayed, ordering drinks, well into the night. I had wracked my brain, trying to come up with a plan to free my vampire from their clutches. I didn’t want to risk putting myself in more danger by using magic. I wasn’t exactly skilled anyway; my mother had neglected to train me as well as she should have. I watched as Orchid’s advances towards the wolves were rebuked again and had an idea. “Hey hon.” I smiled as she pranced back to the bar for another drink. “One of those guys invited me back to their hotel after the bar closes down. I don’t think it’s a good
RhazianPride welled in my chest and I quickly tamped it down as I held Taylor upright by her arm. She had been idiotic to conduct a rescue mission on my behalf. She was brave, but a brave idiot was still an idiot. Her scent was now all over the hotel room where we left the dead wolf. I groaned inwardly as I realized I would have to stash her somewhere safe. I wanted to be done with this mate business, but it seemed Nyx had chosen a stubborn one I couldn’t rid myself of easily.
Taylor Whispering down the hall drew my attention and I moved toward the voices. My reflection in the mirror stopped me in my tracks. I’m dreaming, I must be dreaming. I thought as I stared at my mother’s face in the mirror. She was younger than I remembered her. Looking down I saw the slight swell of my belly. She was pregnant, with me. It wasn’t usual for my gift to show
Rhazian“What?” I sputtered, choking on the coffee I had been sipping to avoid drawing suspicious looks. “I said, who is Apollo.” Taylor enunciated each word as if I were too slow to understand without it. The waitress eyed us suspiciously as she refilled our drinks. I waited until she was out of ear shot to speak.&nb
Tyler POV“Find her!” I snarled as I gazed upon my warrior’s limp body. His head was twisted in an unnatural angle, the room flooded with the scent of human. The vamp was gone, and it was clear he had assistance from a human. My warrior, Shane, had been busy removing the girl from the bar. She had apparently followed us back to the motel, intent on continuing her attempt to get into someone’s bed for the night. He had linked Mark to stay with the vamp. We hadn’t been able to kill him, none of the normal methods fo
Rhazian POVI felt myself moving toward her, as if being pulled by an invisible cord, as she flitted through the kitchen jotting notes on her paper. Before I knew what I was doing, I had her pinned between my body and the counter, one hand laid on the countertop on either side of her. Her scent wafted over me, warming my body. I was giving in to the pull of the mate bond, unable to stop myself. “Rhazian.” She breathed, pressing her hand against my chest as I tilted my head toward her. I pressed myself closer to her, feeling the sparks of our connection slowly roar to life.