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“Be calm!” Warin glared at the trembling human underneath him. The smell of fear wafted off her in waves, and for some reason it was putting him on edge. Usually he loved that scent—loved every frantic heartbeat and panicked gasp for air as his prey took him in. On Thea, though…

  “I said calm!” He pushed his will at her, felt the jolt up his spine as his mind connected with hers… and nothing. Again.

  He glared at the still absolutely terrified woman. He’d never met a human he couldn’t Compel. Until last night.

  “Maybe it would help if you stopped shouting at the lass,” Aleric drawled from the campfire. His voice was dry as tinder. “Unless you want to wash her in the creek, because I’m pretty sure she’s seconds away from soiling herself.”

  Warin shot a glare over his shoulder, but his insolent brother wasn’t even looking in his direction. Not that he’d need to, to know Thea was scared. Her heartbeat drummed against her ribs so loud it seemed to pulse through his own, unmoving chest.

  Maybe Aleric was right—he did have much more experience with human company, after all. Up until now, Warin’s interest in a human hadn’t lasted more than a single night—and he’d enjoyed their terror.

  With effort and a grimace, he quieted the rumble in his chest and retracted his aching fangs.

  The woman did look maybe a fraction less terrified.

  “Now what?” he asked, in Saxon, so she wouldn’t understand.

  “Depends what you want to do with her, I guess,” was the bored answer.

  What did he want to do with her? He looked down at Thea, mildly perplexed. When he’d arisen, it had been with one purpose: find her, and fix the aching feeling of wrong in his gut.

  But now that he had her, other urges were rising to the surface. Many he didn’t understand, but there was one he knew—and knew what to do about.

  Thea gasped sharply when the hand not pinning her wrists delved between her legs and wedged up under her skirt.

  “No!” she snapped, some of the anger from before returning to her gaze. But the scent of fear also returned, and she began struggling as frantically as a fish on a line.

  Huffing, Warin withdrew his hand. Had she been anyone else, he would have forced pleasure upon her until her body contradicted her no’s, and then relished her broken sobs as her flesh betrayed her spirit.

  But that harrowing smell of her terror clung to the roof of his mouth, dampening his mood for the pleasures a female could provide, if not his need.

  “No?” he hissed, sitting back up to gain a bit of distance from her unsettling scent. He was still straddling her thighs, and the heat from her seeped into his cold flesh, ensuring his cock stayed hard and aching. “I spare your life and you deny me?”

  “You slaughtered my people!” she spat back at him, struggling uselessly against his hold. “You burned my village! I will never yield to you, demon!”

  Warin opened his mouth to deny her accusations, but stopped himself before he could. To her he was just another of the raiders who’d pillaged her home. Perhaps she even thought they were all demons, as she called him.

  Though, to be fair, he had cut down his share of her people. Feasted on their blood.

  “I never burned anything,” he said. “And I spared you when I could easily have taken your life and everything that goes with it. What more do you want?”

  “Let me go,” she said, voice trembling though she steadied herself to look him straight in the eyes. “I want to leave.”

  Those green eyes… they were as mesmerizing now as they’d been in her hut. Something deep within them pulled on him so strongly he was certain he would lose himself in their depths. And yet the longer he looked, the more he wanted to.

  “I will never let you go,” he said softly. “Whatever spell you’ve woven to trap me so, it has worked. You will be with me always.”

  She didn’t respond this time, just looked up at him with fear and hatred all too plain.

  Sighing, he got to his feet and pulled her with him. He had to drag her by the arm to get her to return to the campfire where Aleric waited.

  “You could just Compel her,” his brother said when Warin had to force her to sit down next to him, hand clamped around her ankle to stop her from trying to run again. Aleric was right—humans were frail, and she could easily break her neck if she tried to run through the forest at night.

  “No.”

  “So what’s the plan, then? Get the girl to fall heedlessly in love with you of her own volition? Follow you around like a faithful dog?”

  Despite Aleric's obvious mocking, the beast in Warin’s chest rose with a pleased snarl. Yes. Something like that sounded… almost right. Eagerly he twisted to look at his captive, and found his elation souring instantly at the hostile stare she leveled at him.

  It dawned on him that in his maybe three hundred years on this Earth, he’d never taken the time to learn how to make someone like him. Fear him, yes. Respect him, often. Like?

  Perhaps once upon a time, before the Night embraced him.

  A full body shudder rattled through him as memories so vile they threatened to eviscerate his senses crept in at the edges of his consciousness.

  No. He would never think of those years.

  And the time that came before, when he was still human, didn’t exist. He had never been anyone but the ferocious vampire who even Ancients were wary of.

  “How?” He turned to Aleric without releasing his grip on the human woman. “How do I make her love me?”

  The other vampire’s eyebrows met his hairline. The question had no doubt taken him by surprise—mainly because this was the first time Warin had ever cared that anyone liked him, save Aleric himself. And their relationship was forged in the blood that flowed through their veins.

  “What is it with this girl?” Aleric asked, his voice agitated now. “Why her? Why now? You’ve never shown interest in human companionship before. What is so special about this blood sack?!”

  “I don’t know! And I don’t care. I want her. And I want her to want me. But I don’t know how.” He made an agitated gesture with his free hand. “She doesn’t even want to mate!”

  Aleric heaved a deep sigh as he looked to the girl, then back at Warin. “Fine. Fine. If this is what it will take to get you remotely civilized, I’ll help. It would be fantastic to occasionally enter civilization without someone throwing a fit and slaughtering half the town before we’ve even had a chance to visit the local whorehouse.”

  “It happened once,” Warin bit back, though the mirth dancing in his brother’s eyes cooled his indignation at the accusation. “And if I recall correctly, you partook quite happily in that slaughter.”

  “It would have been a pity to let such a feast go to waste,” Aleric said, a wry smile playing on his lips.

  Warin sighed at the memory. That incident had caused them quite a bit of trouble with the Ancient ruling over the territory spanning that town. “So, you will help me win her favor?” he asked, eying his brother.

  Aleric sighed again and made a vague gesture toward the creek trickling nearby. “Yes, I will help. You can start with taking a bath. You look like a feral beast—women don’t often appreciate a roll in the hay with a man caked in dirt and dried blood. And do something about your hair, too.”

  It took longer than he’d anticipated to rinse the dried grime off his skin, and even though he’d spent a good twenty minutes working on his hair, it still hung down below his shoulder blades in matted ropes when he gave up and waded out of the water again.

  What did it matter, anyway? How did his appearance have any bearing on what Thea thought of him? He didn’t mind what she looked like—he would be as enthralled if she were covered in pockmarks and feces, because the throb of her heartbeat would still sing to him. And her eyes would still call to that achy something lodged in his chest where his heart had once drummed as rhythmically as hers.

  Most likely, Aleric had just played a trick on him. The younger vampire had an apt sense of humor a
nd an irritating tendency to let his mischief loose at the worst of times.

  He also frequently nagged Warin about bathing more.

  As irritated as Warin was with himself for falling so easily for his brother’s game, he was equally as annoyed with Aleric for taking advantage of his distracted state of mind. He left his wet clothes to dry over a rock and returned to the campfire.

  Thea sat opposite Aleric, keeping a wary eye on him. She hadn’t tried to run again while Warin was preoccupied by the creek, which was good. He took it as a sign that she was starting to accept she had to stay with him.

  “You can relax. My brother will not hurt you, either,” Warin said in her native tongue as he came into the circle of light cast by the burning logs.

  Thea jolted at his appearance—her dulled human senses hadn’t picked up on his approach—and a small gasp escaped her.

  For a moment, he took it as nothing more than her surprise… But then, as he was about to turn his attention to his brother and scold him for his cheap trick, Thea’s eyes slid down his naked torso and blood rushed to her cheeks, coloring them a delicious shade of pink. When her gaze dipped below his navel, her tongue darted out to wet her lips. She was scenting him.

  Even if it was only a subconscious reaction to long-forgotten, primitive instincts, Warin knew what that meant.

  She desired him.

  Heat rose like a firestorm in his gut and spread out through his limbs in a pleasurable wave. Aleric had been right—washing the dirt off his body so she could see it better had been smart.

  There had been a long time when he’d hated his body for the pain it brought him, and even though those nights were long since past and buried in the darkness, Warin couldn’t remember a time he had been pleased with someone admiring his physique.

  Until tonight.

  His cock stiffened, hard and thick between his thighs, but instead of being pleased that he was ready to satisfy her, Thea recoiled in horror and turned away as if the sight of his manhood repulsed her. As if she hadn’t just looked at him with blatant desire.

  Clenching his jaw at her sudden change in demeanor, Warin took a step toward her to force her to look at him again, but the sound of his brother’s voice stopped him.

  “Wait.”

  “For what?” Warin growled.

  Aleric heaved a deep sigh. Warin had the distinct impression he wouldn’t be the most patient teacher, but he was the only one available. And besides, he was the only one Warin would ever trust enough to admit his need for guidance. “She’s still terrified. Look at her—she’s not going to voluntarily spread her legs until she no longer sees you as a damn demon.”

  “I bathed!” Warin protested.

  “Yes, that’s great. You’re now a clean demon. Now put her at ease—talk to her. Make her think your fangs are intriguing rather than dangerous.”

  Warin shot him a suspicious look at that last comment. Something he’d had to go over again and again when Aleric was still a youngling was the need for secrecy. They could never reveal what they were to any human they weren’t going to drink. Frail as humans were, they numbered far too many for it to be safe for any information about the monsters who hunted them to spread.

  “And just who have you been cajoling with your intriguing fangs, brother?” he asked him, eyebrow raised in challenge.

  Aleric waved him off. “Unless you plan on Compelling that girl, you’ve got no hope of playing the Masquerade with her. She knows what you are—so if you want her to bed with you, she will need to understand there is more than a monster behind the fangs.”

  Warin paused, frowning. He’d never thought he was more than a monster. Aleric… Aleric was different. Even with this curse upon him, there was more within him.

  He’d been a great Viking warrior when their Sire claimed him. A true prize for the bloodline. But as much as Warin had thanked the stars above for bestowing him with a blood brother as faithful and strong as Aleric, he cursed his Sire for dooming a spirit like Aleric's to the Eternal Night. He’d deserved so much more.

  That was not Warin’s fate. He knew his spirit was twisted beyond salvation. Even if he’d had a soul, it would’ve been sullied past the point of redemption long ago. He remembered the monster he’d seen reflected in Thea’s eyes all too vividly.

  It was all he’d ever been.

  And up until last night, it was all he’d ever wanted to be.

  So how could he ever hope to show her something that wasn’t there?

  “Just sit with her. Tell her your name. Ask her about her life,” Aleric said, clearly taking pity on his Elder’s deflated disposition. “But for Odin’s sake, put some pants on first.”

  Chapter 5

  Warin

  “My name is Warin.”

  The girl looked at him, eyes narrowed with mistrust as he sat down next to her. He was close enough to reach for her, and his palms ached to do so, but he resisted. Aleric was right—she didn’t trust him, and so far forcing physical contact hadn’t done anything to change that—quite the contrary.

  “Not ‘demon.’ Warin.”

  “But you are a demon.” She said it as a statement, but there was a question in her eyes.

  “No,” he said. “Something else.”

  “What?”

  “My kind has many names. Nightwalker… Cold One… Vampire.”

  “Cold One?” she asked.

  Silently, he held out a hand toward her. Only after he closed his eyes, offering her the illusion of a measure of safety, did she gingerly touch her fingertips to his.

  “You’re freezing cold,” she whispered, confusion and awe in her voice. “How can your heart beat when your flesh is as frozen as a dead man’s?”

  He opened his eyes, capturing her gaze. “My heart does not beat.”

  Shock and horror flittered across her face, but also… curiosity. Slowly, while keeping a wary eye on his face to ensure he wouldn’t move, she placed her palm against his chest. It was so warm against his skin, and he could feel the faint drum of her pulse. It was like being touched by life itself.

  She kept her hand against his chest for several long moments, waiting for the thud of a heart that hadn’t beaten for centuries. When she finally gave up and pulled her hand away, her expression revealed more bewilderment than fear. “How are you alive? Are you a witch?”

  He didn’t take offense to her question, even if Aleric muttered a Saxon curse at her presumption. She’d lived all her life in a remote village—anything unexplainable would be presumed to be witchcraft.

  “It may be magic that animates my body, but no. I am not a witch,” he explained, keeping his voice gentle. Her curiosity seemed to dampen her fear of him just a little, and he found he liked it. For a moment, the glow of wonder in her eyes as she took in the magnitude of a man who could walk and talk without a heart beating in his chest seemed to win out.

  Then her gaze fell on his mouth and a cloud of mistrust shadowed her face. She yanked her hand from his cool flesh as if she’d been burned. “You drink blood. I know what kind of magic flows through your veins. It is as black as your soul. If you live without a heart, then you must be a monster.”

  “I am a monster,” he growled, his anger at her retreat surmounting his need not to scare her further. “I have slaughtered thousands more horribly than any human could ever replicate, and I feel nothing but elation at the memories of ripping flesh and snapping bones. Perhaps what gives me life is even the Satan you humans fear while you hide away in your churches and pray for salvation. It does not matter. Not to me, and not to you. You belong to me now, and you will give yourself to me—monster or no.”

  Rose splotches bloomed on her pretty face even as she paled to rival the moon above them—fury mixing with terror. He saw it in her eyes, too, that same fire that had sparked before she slapped him the night before. With his gaze he dared her to raise her hand against him once more, almost hoped she would so he would feel the sting of her temper and the bloom of her life force agains
t his skin. But she didn’t. Not this time. Instead, even though she was trembling so badly her words were jolted, she hissed, “I cannot stop you from doing to me what you want, monster, but know this: I will never be yours!”

  The beast in his chest snarled at her words, wanting to force her to accept his claim. But the call of the approaching dawn made him push back the urge to show her exactly how powerful he was, how futile her desire was to resist him. Instead he stared her down as he got to his feet, letting her see every ounce of darkness within him. “You are mine, Thea. And you will be mine for the rest of eternity. The sooner you accept your fate, the less pain you will receive.

  “Do not leave this clearing. I will return for you come nightfall. And then you will yield!”

  Consciousness returned moments after the last rays of sun disappeared below the horizon. The low pulse of energy from the soil surrounding Warin’s still body seemed heavier this night—almost tangible. Or perhaps it was the energy inside him, drumming with the rhythm of a beating heart. Of her heart.

  He lay still for a moment, letting the rhythm pulse through him until it filled his body almost as if life had returned to his flesh. She might not be a witch, but she was magic. No mere human could have captured him so completely, mind and body. Soul, if he’d had one she could claim.

  Eager to see her again, to hold her in his arms and smell her addictive scent, he pushed through the loose soil covering him and rose from the grave he’d dug after leaving Thea in the clearing nearby.

  The night embraced him with its buffet of scents and sounds of the nocturnal forest animals. The beast within raised up, alert and ready to hunt.

  He was hungry.

  Thoughts of burying his fangs in Thea’s creamy neck made his cock harden, and he hummed with pleasure at the thought of her warm body moving beneath his while he slaked his thirst with her crimson blood.

  Yes.

  Hopefully she’d had enough time while he slept to accept his claim.

  Movement to his side alerted him to Aleric's awakening. He waited for his brother to push through the grave next to his, blue eyes sparking with the same thirst for life as they had every night for the past two centuries.