Chapter 1
TW: NonCon/DubCon, Forced Mating, Compulsion/Coercion, MMC is a Vampire Villain and stays a Vampire Villain
Moved to Kindle and KU 3/1/26
ETIENNE
Present Day
The gods blessed me with the first hint of my mate’s scent on Christmas Eve. As a vampire with over 400 years spent roaming this world, I didn’t observe the old holidays anymore. I didn’t serve any of the gods either.
I continued to believe in the handful of deities proven true.
I respected their gifts and wisdom.
But I no longer participated in worship—not anymore.
Not until I caught the tease of my fated mate’s delectable aroma on a freezing, wintry night.
For her alone would I recite vows of devotion.
For her alone would I bind my will and soul.
For her alone would I lay prostrate at the altar of her thighs in reverence of her holy perfection.
For her alone would I kneel in humility, lowering myself for a better bite at the spot over her breast where her sacred heart beat behind its skeletal cage. I would take communion from her soft flesh until her heart drummed for me alone.
For her alone would I bow in worship. . .
I inhaled again, catching another trace of her rich vanilla and bright pear scent. I had lived in darkness for so long, unable to bear the ultraviolet light of the sun on my skin. Smelling her was like remembering how it felt to walk through warm orchards in the late spring. I closed my eyes, eager to fall into the memory of innocence and desire.
On the next breath, the image was gone. Harsh winter winds swirled through the air, offering me a glimpse of her flavor then wiping it away. I opened my eyes in disappointment. The heavy gusts pushed snowflakes in every direction like waves of the ocean crashing against a ship in a storm.
Visibility was extremely limited, even for one such as me.
The small shopping area was slowing down due to the snowfall and late hour. A few places had remained open, desperate for that final sale from the handful of consumers who rushed to purchase last-minute gifts.
One of the last to close was a small bookshop with the quaint coffee shop inside. I stood across the street from it, leaning against the wall in the alley.My arms were crossed over my chest, one ankle crossed over the other as I watched.
And I waited.
Through the assortment of scents assailing me, I tracked her here. A women’s book club had met on Christmas Eve to celebrate the end of the year and exchange presents.
I caught glimpses of their faces through the front windows, and I tried to guess which one was mine. I wouldn’t be able to tell until I brought her fragrance into my lungs.
Looks were deceiving.
Scent was illuminating.
The hunger roaring in my veins demanded that I storm the shop and take what I was owed. I stretched my neck and flexed my hands as my fangs dropped further and my nails sharpened into claws.
Must feed.
Want her.
Desperation almost made a monster out of me. The fantasy of unleashing myself in the shop nearly overpowered me. I would kill every last one of them until my beloved alone remained. With every obstacle removed, I would proceed to sink my teeth into her throat and drink from her, claiming her blood as my own with a permanent trace of my venom. I would force my aching cock into her body and fuck her, filling her with my toxic seed until it transformed her body into an eternal form that was mine and mine alone. Until she was chemically bound to me with an addiction that would kill her if she ever dared to leave.
I would be her curse and her cure, just as her blood was mine.
Duty held me back like a tethered chain and collar around my throat.
I wanted her more than anything, but the mission came first. War was coming, and my King depended on me to sound the alarm throughout the states. If I gave into my greed, I would fail my kind and forfeit my life.
Tell me, what would be the point of securing her only to lose her so soon?
At the wretched thought, a hiss left my lips and curled into the lamenting winds blowing past.
No, I would never give her up.
I would never give her away.
When I took her, I would do it at a time and place where we would never be apart again.
I would wait a little while longer, if it meant I could keep her for eternity.
I perked up and stood to my full height. My heightened senses heard the group packing up and saying their goodbyes.
She would be leaving soon.
I inhaled deeply, desperate for another hit of her.
I didn’t have to wait long.
She was the first to leave, and I prayed a small litany of gratitude that she was alone. She began to walk down the sidewalk away from me. I lifted a foot to stalk after her when another figure rushed from the shop after my mate. I hissed again, bloodthirsty fury escaping at the hated interruption.
“Wait up, Allana!” the bothersome woman cried.
A shiver erupted across my skin at the revelation.
Her name was Allana.
The name belonged to me now.
It should be a sacred oath for only my lips to know and my breath to taste. Venom dripped from my fangs with eager provocation to tear out the wretched nuisance’s throat as she continued to talk to my female.
“Do you want a ride? The weather is so bad. I can’t believe you walked.”
My Allana shrugged. With my supernatural hearing, I could listen to their conversation perfectly well, but I couldn’t help but lean in closer to catch every nuance of her mouthwatering voice. “I live in the apartments right across the street. A ride really won’t make any difference, I promise.”
“Oh, ok. If you’re sure!”
“Yeah, thanks anyway. Have a good night!”
“You too! Merry Christmas!”
They parted ways, and by now more women had left the shop. They were taking their time walking to their cars, laughing as they slipped and slid across the icy concrete.
I only paid attention to them as obstacles between me and my prey. My focus was honed in on my female, and in the shadows I stalked her.
Her dark hair was pulled up off her neck, and the nearby lamps offered a tempting glow of the delectable slope of her throat. No scarf covered her, and I moaned as the wind lapped at her and spread her intoxicating aroma to me. There was a tangible comfort to the vanilla scent emanating from her, somehow reminding me of treats made with love at home. How long had it been since I’d known that feeling? The fruitiness of her flavor was fresh and cheerful yet more natural than the pungent body washes most women showered with these days.
She was perfect.
I lifted a sharpened nail to my fang, catching the tiniest drop of my parasitic venom on the claw. She paused outside her buildings gate to grab her key, and I struck.
My movement was faster than a blink of an eye and more powerful than a crack of lightning. I swiped my tainted claw under her ear and down the back of her neck, catching a trace of her blood on the tip, exchanging it with the venom.
Before the pain registered, I dragged my wide tongue over the scratch, letting my poisonous saliva knit into her wound and seal her.
Before she gasped in shock, I was gone.
Before she started to turn in my direction, I had teleported across the city.
I needed to be far away before temptation took me and ruined everything.
“Not yet,” I commanded the living infection in my veins. “Just a taste until it’s time to make her ours forever,” I promised the desperate animal that controlled my blood.
When I licked her, I had a tease of her metallic and salty wound. The taste was rushed and practically unnoticed in my flight from hunger. I had one drop of her blood on my nail, and I wanted to savor this drink. It would have to last me until my mission for my king was done.
Hand shaking, I brought my claw to my mouth. I delicately placed the finger on my tongue, letting the stolen dew sink down. At the contact, the iron-like flavor shot across my tongue like electricity splintering through a puddle of water. A growl rolled in my stomach before spilling like a roar. My knees gave out under me as my world collapsed into a single awareness of her. I would have cried a scream of longing and resentment had my body not tightened into a spasm.
My orgasm wracked through my body like window shutters banging against a house in a tornado. My seed erupted from my engorged length, spraying against the inside of my trousers in a furious release. My palms were flat on the ground before me, and I was relieved I was in the living room of my home.
Alone.
My orgasm continued to shake me as my cock vibrated fiercely to make sure every molecule was spent as I imagined what her beautiful pussy would look like spread and swallowing around my girth. My hands tightened into fists, my claws tearing through the hardwood floor beneath me.
One day, I would lay her over this monument and force my rigid steel into her sopping wetness. I would empty myself in her cunt while my mouth sucked down her heady blood from her breasts.
I could almost taste that victory now.
And it was almost enough.
