Chapter 4

Adryan

Iwas a male who liked putting the fear of their god into my enemies, letting them truly see the cold, heartless bastard I was. I got off on it and could imagine what that rush would feel like when I climaxed for the first time with my fated female.

I wanted to see their fear reflected back from their eyes as I slowly grinned, letting them know how badly they’d fucked up… and how much I’d rectify that in my favor.

I hadn’t become the leader of the American Vampire Clan because I was a pussy. I made sure my reputation went far and wide, covering the States, branching up to Canada, down to the islands, and even had connections and bases set up in Europe, Asia, and down through Africa.

I set my base operations in the heart of Ryeka, New York, an overpopulated city of almost eight million inhabitants. The city was perfect for my many legal businesses—restaurants, nightclubs, massage parlors, and an array of other ventures that went hand in hand with my less than legitimate operations—money laundering, extortion, racketeering, and then the most entertaining activities… killing the motherfuckers who crossed me.

I was known as the most bloodthirsty vampire for a reason.

A killer without remorse, a sadist who gorged on the blood of those who crossed me. Not because I needed to, but because I wanted it.

Some said I was fucked in the head. Crazy. A sociopath. A psycho who had no regard for life, human or Otherworld alike. I didn’t correct them because there was nothing to correct.

I feared nothing and no one. I took my enemies’ weakness and twisted it, warped it, and used it against them, made them beg and cry before I finally ended their pathetic life.

If I’d been able to get an erection before finding my mate, hurting my enemies and hearing their pleas would have had my cock hard as fuck, no doubt.

But right now I let the darkness cover me for another reason.

To watch my female.

To let myself bask in the beauty that she was. And gods, she was gorgeous, all pale skin like the silvery moonlight, all long, lithe limbs, perfectly sized breasts, and feminine curves. She made my mouth water as if I hadn’t drank deeply in ages and the only thing that could satiate me was her.

My fangs tingled and ached, elongated so much I could barely close my mouth. I ran my tongue over my bottom lip, over and over again, her blood long gone, but I still tasted her, a flavor that was in every cell of my body now, forever—eternally—imprinted in me.

Gods, she was sweet, like the finest, rarest wine that had ever covered my tongue. My A-positive little human was the sweetest thing I’d ever fucking tasted.

I kept to the shadows, staying hidden even though I’d never cared about being seen. Every depraved part of my bastardly soul demanded I break into her house, tear the clothes from her body, and claim what was rightfully mine. And that was every single perfect inch of her.

She was mine by fate, my destiny… my possession to do with as I fucking pleased.

But I didn’t want to frighten her… didn’t want her to see herself as something I owned. And as weird as it was for me to think, let alone feel, I wanted her to want to be with me, not out of fear, not because she was my prisoner, but because she needed me as intrinsically as I needed her.

And although I’d get off on her fear, smell it as it filled my nose, feel it tingle the back of my throat, what I wanted more from her was her desire.

She may be humanand wouldn’t be able to understand—at least not right away—that her life had irreversibly changed being mated to an Otherworld creature, especially because she was mated to me, but she’d come to find out that reality soon enough.

I moved across the lawn and closer to the house. I didn’t sense anyone else within the structure. My lip curled in a snarl, and a growl left me at the very thought of a male looking at her, let alone living with her.

That low growl became even more intense, louder the longer I thought about her with anyone but me. It didn’t matter if she had a boyfriend. I’d break his arms and legs and leave him to suffer as I took her away. I didn’t care if she had a husband. I’d rip his balls off and shove them down his throat.

She was mine, and if any male even thought about her, I’d show them what an animal I really was.

Her blood continued to sing in my veins from when I’d broken her skin at the club, when I’d let my fang run along the side of her throat, when I sank it deep enough against her skin that I tasted her and groaned like a fucking starving wolf. And gods, when she’d rubbed up against me…

Yeah, my sweet little mate. I’ll be able to find you anywhere, your life force flowing through my veins forever, so there isn’t anywhere you can go where I won’t follow.

I felt my body vibrate because of our connection, because she was so near. Her blood in me was like a tracker, a beacon that would always lead me to her. I found myself standing at the side of the house, my head tipped back so I could clearly see into the window of what I knew was her bedroom.

My cock was so hard it dug against the zipper of my slacks, aching and heavy, my balls drawn up tight, pre-cum dotting the tip of my dick for the first time in my existence.

The arousal was a painful, annoying sensation that settled right in my groin. It was this pounding need to break into her home, to throw her over my shoulder and take her to my lair where I could fuck her, claim her… mark her pale neck so hard everyone would look at her throat and know how vicious I was.

They’d see how fiercely I bit her because my need for my fragile human was so strong I had no control where she was concerned.

I breathed through the need pounding in my body. I couldn’t even fucking think clearly. And it pissed me off. Losing control was not something I ever let happen. I had my shit in order, kept my composure, was always—always—one step ahead of… everything.

But finding my Coveted Female was throwing me for a motherfucking loop. And I needed to remind myself who and what I was so chaos didn’t descend. I couldn’t let the latter happen simply because I was now mated.

If I wasn’t such a psychotic motherfucker, I wouldn’t have crept closer to her window. I wouldn’t have let my gaze stay focused on her as she undressed.

But I was a psycho. I was a bastard. I was a killer who didn’t deserve her.

So I watched.

Her dress, which was nothing but strips of fabric that curved along her feminine body, fell to the floor after she removed it, and then she was only left in a bra and thong.

If I was a male who believed in a god—hell, anything holy—I would have thanked that celestial being for creating the most perfect fucking creature to be mine and mine alone.

My entire body heated painfully, my cock throbbing in time with my rapidly pounding heart. The growl was a constant from deep within my chest, and as she walked into the bathroom and reached behind to unlatch her strapless bra, I found myself reaching down and gripping my hard cock, giving the motherfucker a squeeze and hissing out as the pleasure and pain coalesced until they became one sensation.

Her ass was perfect, two pale, rounded globes that bounced slightly with every step she made. I was so focused on my female that I didn’t hear the vehicle approaching until there was the sound of a car door opening and slamming shut. I bared my teeth and snapped my head in the direction of the driveway, anger and violence brewing in me. My female was tying me all up, pulling my focus, which made things really fucking dangerous when I knew there was an organization that was after Otherworld creatures.

But fuck if I could help myself where my mate was concerned.

I tilted my head in that direction, and a warning sound came for me, a threatening noise that someone was far too close to my mate. I looked back at my mate and watched as she quickly donned a robe before tying the sash around her waist and heading out of her bedroom.

I moved around the house, keeping to the shadows. It was the same car that had dropped her off, now parked in her driveway, still idling, a dark-haired female sitting in the passenger seat, her face lit up as she looked down at her cell phone.

There was a male standing on the front porch stoop, a phone in hand, his dark brows pulled low as he stared at it as if he were confused by the fucking piece of technology. I didn”t like him, wanted to go to him and twist his head right off his fucking neck.

I remembered seeing him at the club. And although he hadn’t touched her, I saw him watching her. The very clear look of desire on his face pissed me off. I found myself moving closer, knowing I’d fucking kill him.

I’d rip his throat out, or at the very least gouge out his eyeballs.

The primitive, animal side of me was about to lunge for him when the front door swung open and my female stood on the other side, her arms wrapped around her waist as she looked up with a clearly surprised expression on her face at that fucker. Their voices were low, but I could hear them clear enough.

“Kayla, you left this on the backseat,” he said in a thickly Italian accented voice and handed the cell to her.

Kayla. At least I knew my mate’s name now.

I didn’t miss how their fingers brushed, something that motherfucker no doubt orchestrated.

I growled again, louder this time so the bastard heard. I wanted him to know danger was close. He turned his head and looked in my direction, but I knew he couldn’t see me. The shadows were too thick. And although I didn’t need to hide, not from anyone, not from any threat, I stayed where I was and didn’t make my presence known, because I didn’t want to scare my mate.

Of course, there was plenty of time for that later, when I took her away and she’d have no option but to realize she was mine forever.

He narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to see through the thick haze of shadows. I had my hands tightly curled into fists at my side, every single part of me wanting to rip him away from her. I didn’t want another male close to Kayla, didn’t want them to look at her, let alone talk to her.

And here was this bastard, who was inches from her, looking down into her beautiful face, smelling how sweet she was.

“Oh. Thank you. My mind was… elsewhere, I guess.” She held her cell up and gave him a smile. “Thanks again.” Her voice was soft, low.

I wasn’t surprised by how damn possessive I was, how intensely jealous I felt. This was normal for a mated male, but with me… with me it was so fucking strong I was drowning in it. I didn’t do anything in my life fucking half-assed.

I was brutal and savage, vicious in all things, and so of course when it came to my female, I would no doubt be an unbearable, overprotective prick. She’d hate it; I was sure. She’d see me as a fucking caveman, because the very thought of her even in the same room as the opposite sex had murderous jealousy moving through me.

Thankfully for the fucker, he’d keep his life tonight, because he turned and headed back to the car. He’d get to live, but I sneered when he stopped before climbing into his car and looked over at the now closed front door.

He coveted what was mine, and that I wouldn’t stand for. If he was smart, he’d stay away. I hoped he wouldn’t though, because that meant I’d get to satisfy the bloodlust coursing through me at the very thought of protecting my female.

I stood still as I watched him climb back into the car and leave the property, and only when his taillights vanished in the distance did I move back to Kayla’s bedroom window.

The bathroom door was now closed, light billowing out from the bottom crack. And I just stood there, staring at that door, waiting to lay eyes on her again.

It didn’t take her long before she was opening up the door again and shutting off the bathroom light, the steam from her shower coming out like a cloud surrounding her. She looked like an angel… an angel now forever linked to the devil himself.

I saw her clearly as she moved through the darkened room and slipped into bed, her hair damp, woven into a braid that hung over one shoulder. If I’d been a decent male, an honorable one, I would have left, figured out how to woo her, show her what a good and caring mate I was, ease her into this gently.

But I wasn’t any of those things. And so I stood there and waited until I was confident she was asleep, and then I moved toward the opposite side of the house, broke in easily enough, and slipped inside.

I stood there a moment just taking in the sights and smells of my mate’s home. This was her dwelling, and it was saturated with the sweet aroma of her. My cock gave another mighty jerk, and I growled in annoyance as I reached down and adjusted myself so the fucking length wasn’t tenting my slacks anymore and making walking unbearable.

I could have found her without eyesight or sense of smell. I could have found her without any of my senses and with her in the center of a million people. We were forever connected, and I’d never let her go.

I made my way into her house, letting my fingers run along the counters, along the smooth, slightly textured wallpaper as I walked down her hallway before stopping at her partially open bedroom door. I placed my hand flat on the wood, pushing it inward. It gave a light creak, but I wasn’t worried about her knowing I was here.

In fact, hearing her startled gasp would have had my cock jerking in pleasure.

I stood there unmoving, the room dark, a little bit of the moonlight shining through the window. And I couldn’t tear my gaze off her as she lay in the center of the bed, a small form under a cream ruffled comforter.

I was unhinged… even more so than I normally felt. I gritted my teeth at the uncomfortable sensation, because this sense that I had no control wasn’t something I was familiar with. It scraped at my skin like a wire brush, slowly tearing at my flesh layer by layer.

It fucking grated on my damn nerves, but at the same time I’d never felt anything so consuming before. I’d never experienced anything that made me feel… alive.

I was moving toward my mate before I knew what I was doing, and when I stood over her, my body made a looming shadow across the mattress. I inhaled deeply and held in my groan of satisfaction at her scent. I was a greedy fucker and reached out to run my finger along the slight swell of her alabaster cheek.Her skin was like silk and smelled even better, sweeter… intoxicating.

My cock jerked, the bastard reminding me over and over again that it was a lead pipe between my thighs. I was sick for letting my gaze lower to her chest, where the comforter didn’t conceal the swells of her breasts that were the perfect fucking size underneath her sheer camisole. Her nipples were hard, the outline of her areolae clearly visible. Fuck. She shifted slightly on the bed so she was now fully on her back. The movement had her shirt tightening around her upper body so much that her breasts now strained against her clothing.

Gods.

My fingers twitched to touch her further, but instead I lifted my hand and ran it over my mouth, the scruff underneath my jaw and cheeks scraping my palm, sounding so fucking loud in the room. I focused on her neck, her head turned to the side so I got an unobstructed view of the graceful arch. I’d never seen such a tempting, gorgeous strip of skin before.

I could see the steady beat of her jugular, and my bloodlust roared, causing sweat to break out along my forehead, my body becoming strung tight.

I was so fucking thirsty for her.

But I knew I wouldn’t be able to satiate my thirst with just anyone. Not anymore. Not since I’d found my mate. She’d be the only one who would do from this point on, the only one I wanted to sink my fangs into. What coursed through her veins was the only sustenance I wanted to take into my body.

To survive off of.

“Fuck,” I whispered harshly under my breath and forced myself to turn, to leave her room, her house, and make my way across the yard and deep into the woods that surrounded the property.

I took a few steadying breaths, but they didn’t help. I knew my need for her, the primal urge to claim her would only grow the longer I wanted to fully make her mine. My fangs ached, my mouth watered, and my throat became as fucking tight and dry as the damn desert.

I continued to imagine her pulse throbbing under her skin. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump. All I wanted was that sweet, thick red sustenance that pumped through her veins, but I knew in the state I was in, it would be far too dangerous for her. I’d gorge myself on her, no doubt become so fucking intoxicated from her flavor I’d lose reality.

I didn’t want to drain too much, her body too human, so much weaker than mine, and far too vulnerable to my ravishing need for her.

But the very idea of sucking down a bag of blood or piercing another human’s neck had my stomach churning, cramping in disgust. With one more look at her house, at her window, I walked away.

But it wouldn’t be for long. If she didn’t come willingly with me, I knew what I’d resort to.

Taking her.