Author: catstark

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia glanced at Rebecca and Mierka and rolled her eyes. They were engaged in a heated discussion about something; Natalia didn’t know what. She didn’t want to pay attention. It had been a long time since she had been to a club. Finally fed up, she pushed past Rebecca, sauntered onto the dance floor, and immediately moved in sync with the music.

Natalia was dressed in a short tight white skirt and tight striped burgundy and white top. Her burgundy sandals snaked up her legs, to tie just under her knee. She danced with whoever wanted her, and let the people touch her but not possess her. Rebecca and Mierka stopped their discussion to watch her interact with the other humans, then started to discuss their plans for the evening. When the drinks came to the table, Rebecca went to grab Natalia. She came willingly as she was rather thirsty.

Natalia sat at the table and smiled to the two women. “The two of you should be dancing.”

“Maybe in a bit.” Rebecca raised her glass. “A toast. To friendship in unexpected places.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Vincent lay in Lorraine’s bed, on top of the covers, a euphoric smile on his face. After the nearly unsatisfying hunt, Lorraine had spent the better part of the day pleasuring him. She had also allowed him to let his anger and hunger show. She was able to take his appetites. Mierka was as well, but Lorraine knew how to control him better. She had him wrapped around her finger. He grinned. He liked when women controlled him.

The bed shifted slightly, and Lorraine came into his view. “Good evening. Feeling better?”

He gave a pleased growl and reached up to take her in his arms.

“Really?” She pulled away. “You call, demand my assistance, take advantage of me in more ways than one and offer no explanation?”

His arms fell to his side. “Haven’t I?”

“No, you haven’t. Once you were on your way, I received a call from Joseph. He said you needed release. Care to inform me as to what happened?”

He growled low, but decided to sum up the issues with one sentence. “Sometimes a human lover is not enough.”

She hid her smile badly. “Really? Could have fooled me.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia watched her lover come into the room and wondered at the look on his face. It was a surprise to see all the people present. Natalia went straight to Rebecca, as she knew she could ignore the rest of the room if she spoke with her friend. As Vincent caught her eye, she felt the peace that had crept over her while she talked to Rebecca try and slip away. She held onto it. If the feeling left, her stress and headache would return. She took a deep breath and continued her conversation with Rebecca. The Alpha wolf was explaining how the dynamics of her family worked. It seemed that due to the pact they made with Vincent, it was easier for Rebecca’s parents to raise the twins. Rebecca’s grandfather raised her and her brother. They continued the conversation as Natalia tried to ignore the look on her man’s face.

Vincent stood silently and allowed the tension in the room grow. He watched patiently while Anthony nodded to Joseph then went to join Julia, who stood with the other vampires. Vincent stepped forward, crossed his arms behind his back and waited for silence. It didn’t take long. The room was thick with anticipation. All under his protection were present. The only creature that didn’t know something was amiss was Natalia.

Vincent turned his attention to her and caught her eye. “Natalia, front and center.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

“Yes.” Joseph slammed the car door and moved at his full speed to beat Vincent to the door. He placed himself in Vincent’s way in front of the entrance.

“Good.” Vincent stared Joseph down.

“Sir, there is a lot you are missing from the past few days.” Joseph spoke with a calm voice.

“He’s here to determine if that is true. Natalia betrayed me. He wants to prove her a betrayer. He now has the opportunity. Step aside.”

As he moved out of the way and into the house, Joseph tried again. “Sir, there may be details you don’t want him to know.”

“I am done with secrets. Fetch Natalia, now.”

“Really? Fetch? As if I’m a plaything? Or a bone?”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia ran to the end of the hallway, grateful for the head start. The door at the other end of the hall was open, which made things easier. The ghul was in here. She didn’t know what a ghul was but knew it would kill Franklin if she threw him into the pit. She heard Franklin behind her and smiled. As her blood pumped harder, her vision started to blur, and darken around the edges. Her determination surged forward, and a little more speed escaped her. She was through the door, leapt across the hole, and slammed into the wall before he could reach her.

Franklin knew where she was going and grinned. He followed her into the room, leapt the distance, and was immediately hit in the face with her fist. He didn’t think she had the strength in her to push him back, but she did. The blow pushed him back enough to make him land on the edge of the hole. His feet slipped out from under him, and he fell. His hands caught the ledge and his blood curdled with the howl from below. He stared up at the woman who grinned at the edge.

“Help me!”

“Go to Hell.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

He ground his teeth, closed his eyes, and squeezed his fists tighter. It was becoming increasingly difficult not to throw her down on the floor and have his way with her. He just didn’t have the time. “I leave tonight and stay no more than three nights.”

Natalia reached out and caressed his closed fist. He opened his eyes when he heard her gasp. “What did you do?”

Surprised by her question, he looked down at his now open hand. There were four half circles of crimson on his palm. Blood pooled in the shallow of his palm, and ran down the sides of his hand. He hadn’t even felt it. Vincent opened his other fist and saw a similar scene. He frowned into Natalia’s eyes. Her eyes were clouded and dreamy, as if drugged. He almost asked what had transpired between her and Diana when Natalia brought his hand to her mouth and licked his hand clean. Once the tiny pool was gone, she sucked on his hand. Vincent growled, closed his wounds, and gave her his other palm to clean.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia woke in stages, and realized slowly that Vincent was not in bed. She sighed as she rolled to the edge of the bed. The curtains and windows were open, which revealed the night sky and city to the south. She felt the cool breeze on her warm skin and sighed again as she sat up then stood. Images of last night kept wafting through her mind. Vincent only allowed his hunger to show in his voice; every other part of his body had shown a tenderness they rarely used with one another. When he fed, he took more than usual. Then, he took over and made her feel as if nothing else in the world mattered but her pleasure.

She sighed again as she took her robe and went to shower. There was business she had to attend to. After she showered, she dressed in a long flowing red dress and ate the simple breakfast someone brought up for her. She then went downstairs to find Vincent. From the loud voices, she judged that Vincent and Anthony were in the study. She knocked on the door quietly, and waited for permission before entering.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Vincent’s eyes moved from her lovely features to Charlie’s frantic one. He caught the werewolf’s eyes, which stilled the ramble of words. Charlie’s expression went from anxious to confused to frightened understanding to acceptance. He bowed his head and fell to one knee.

“She still owns my life. If mine is necessary to save hers, I gladly give it.”

“Not your life: your blood.” He looked back at Natalia. “Possibly.”

Charlie stood, then went to lean against the nearby wall. “When?”

“If Rebecca can’t find ropes soon.”

“What will she do to you?” He remembered his own attempt to change Natalia.

“I don’t care. I will not allow her life to end this way.”

I wrote this scene rather recently. The third book is vastly different than it was when I first started this journey. I think it’s stronger now.

From Protector of the Grey House:

With gritted teeth, he closed his eyes and thought of the night she gained rank. He remembered talking with Vincent, remembered when Natalia came into the study and went to stand behind the desk. The memory seemed to split in two at that point. One memory was of he and Vincent speaking, the other was of Natalia twirling her necklace and then talking as if he were her puppet.

His eyes grew wide as he continued to see the different memories. There weren’t that many, but there were enough. Antony growled as anger consumed him, but dissipated just as quickly. Anger would do him no good. He pushed all the memories aside, calmed himself and stood. He regarded Natalia with mild annoyance.

“Fine. You controlled me. Then what?”

She stood, surprise on her face. “You’re not angry?”

“My feelings on this matter little. We’re here to find out if you betrayed Vincent or not.”

Natalia frowned. “What did you do when you were human?”

He gave a short harsh laugh. “That matters little, as I haven’t been human in a long time.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Next to her, Rebecca took slow deep breaths. She laid a hand on Natalia’s knee, to calm her. All were silent; all were tense. They could smell the battle adrenaline. The wolves wanted to be out of the car. Vincent wanted the element of surprise, which meant the wolves and Natalia had to stay put until they received the text. The other werewolves meditated, breathed deeply, and tried not to think about the fight, in order to stay calm. It wouldn’t do to start a fight in the car. By contrast to Natalia’s dress, the wolves were in older jeans and t-shirts. Their clothing would be ripped once they changed.

It was three a.m. before the text came. Natalia nearly jumped out of her skin. Orlando, who sat to her right, opened the door and stepped out. He held the door open for Natalia then helped her on with the scabbard as the others left the car. Once the sword was strapped on, she stood a little taller. Orlando took a step back; a little disturbed by the way she looked. He still wasn’t used to seeing that look on a human. It was an animal look. It was the look a cat had right before it pounced on an unsuspecting mouse; meaning to toy with it until the poor thing was dead of fright.