The Vampire Hunters Academy: The Reckoning Read online

  “Farewell boys,” Selene said as she dematerialized into the airwaves. “Feed well.”

  When she was gone, the three ancient vampires stared at each other, unsure of what to do next.

  “Now what?” Alex asked Petronius.

  “We do as the lady asked,” Petronius replied coolly. “We feed well and make the most of our time.” With that he shifted into a large bat with glowing red eyes taking flight through an open window into the night.

  Alex followed behind him, opting to take a similar form, leaving Daemon alone with his thoughts.

  “Selene, Selene,” he whispered, slowly approaching the window pane that overlooked the city lights. “All's fair in love and war, but my love...this is war.”

  *****

  Sanaya smiled as she and King reached the quad at the same time. Seeing those slanted brown eyes of his flicker with gold whenever he glanced her way. She raced into his arms, inhaling his fresh, clean scent that was a combination of soap and something that was all him. His touch alone was enough to send a trail of goose flesh up and down her arms, even with the cover of her thick jacket. He opened up a telepathic channel, inviting her in, giving her a personal 3D view of his inner thoughts and desires...all of those things centering around her. She leaned forward, tilting her head for a kiss which he happily obliged. Her eyes instantly flashed from brown to silver, his kiss warming her from the inside out. Who needed a jacket when love was in the air?

  “Good morning boo,” King said softly, offering her a peck on the cheek.

  “Good morning.” Smiling, she stepped away, and lightly touched his freshly shaved face.

  He offered his hand for her fingers to interlock with his, and the two strolled together, with Sanaya clinging closely to King. The sun still had yet to rise, but the colorful display of orange, yellow and pink danced across the horizon. The campus was eerily quiet, but Sanaya knew that there were Guardians acting as sentinels somewhere in the shadows. Flashes of the dream that was a little too real for her liking, flickered in the forefront of her mind's eye, and she forced herself to remain in the moment. King's gentle probe reminded her she needed to chill.

  They walked in companionable silence until they reached his dorm. He gently eased his key into the lock, and carefully opened the door. Bullet was laid passed out across the living room couch, one arm swung over his face. Sanaya could hear Danny in the other room talking, and she knew he was on the phone with Maya. She could not sense Tony anywhere being that he and Danny were almost inseparable, but when King took both of her hands into his and guided her into the room, all thoughts concerning Tony's whereabouts disappeared.

  Closing the door behind them, he pressed his mouth to hers. She responded, wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his. He guided her to the bed, without separating her lips from his own. Red eyes stared back at her from the vision... red eyes that—

  “Don't,” he mumbled against her mouth. “Stay with me. It was only a dream.”

  “It just felt so real...” she moaned as he left a trail of his kisses across her neck.

  Off came her jacket. And somewhere went her shoes. Yes, she was ready. Maya was right. What was she waiting for? He was her Guardian Mate, so he was not going anywhere. Neither was she. Nothing would come between them. This was their moment.

  He carefully eased her down on her back, making sure to prop her head up against the pillows. Their eyes met, just for a moment and the once rich dark brown that made up the color of his irises, suddenly turned solid gold, while hers were liquid silver.

  “We don't have to,” he said breathing hard. “We...don't-”

  It was almost as if he were begging her to say no so that he could regain his composure.

  “I – I want to,” she heard herself say.

  His hand slid underneath her shirt, and she thought she had caught on fire. Her skin ignited with a raging inferno of desire.

  “Please...” She begged. Tears filled her eyes, the need for him to find his way inside of her body was entirely too much.

  “Sanaya,” he groaned. “Once I start baby, that’s it. Tell me no... Please, tell me no...”

  Her answer came when she yanked him down to her, and kissed him hard. The blue-white charge flowed out of her palms and into his when he pinned her arms above her head.

  “I'll go slow,” he vowed. “I'll be gentle.”

  In a swift motion, her pants were off and tossed on the other side of the room, exposing a curvy frame, and long, toned, chocolate brown legs. She silently thanked the heavens she decided upon a black bra and panty set instead of the usual frilly undergarments she secretly enjoyed wearing.

  “Daaaammmnnnn, baby...” King gasped, his eyes drinking in the view of her half naked body, ready and willing to accept this new experience. “Goddamn...you were made just for me.”

  He kissed her thighs...her naval...

  Next went her top.

  Feeling a bit self-conscious, she attempted to cover herself out of reflex. No one had ever seen her. And she was not shaped like Maya or well-endowed like some of the other girls on campus. But when King gently moved her arm away, maintaining that same expression of adoration, her heart melted. The burn scar from when she tried to fry chicken by herself when she was six was an ugly, blackened reminder of her mother's parenting skills and to stay away from stoves until she knew what she was doing. He smiled as if reading her thoughts, and kissed her there, on the center of her chest, above her heart.

  She reached for him, and assisted with the removal of his own shirt, followed by his sweats and it was her turn to admire what hovered above her, breathing heavily as if he was about to lose control any minute. Row after row of cinder block abs; hard muscle, and rich dark skin melted onto hers. The hot, hard, length of his shaft begged for entry, brushing against her thigh and she suddenly began to wonder if it would even fit.

  “It will fit,” he chuckled, proving once more that he was reading her mind. His hand gently found its way to her core, which pulsed with its own rhythm. She shuddered with each stroke. Burying his face in her neck he said, “Oh yeah... baby. It will fit.” In one deft move, he slid her underwear off and unhooked her bra, while keeping his lips pressed against hers the entire time.

  “King?” She asked, her mind near the brink of insanity but still aware enough to address one important issue.

  “Yeah?”

  “Uh, I don't know if I have entered that last phase yet...”

  “What phase?” He sucked her neck once again and she almost forgot about her inquiry.

  “You know? The ability to control my pregnancies...”

  The word pregnancy was enough to give both of them pause.

  “Don't worry,” he offered, reaching for his sweats. “I have us covered...”

  She recognized the gold wrapping for what it was and relaxed.

  He kissed her again, slipping on the protective barrier with ease, and slowly pressed against her tight, unexplored core.

  “This is going to hurt you a little,” he warned. “But just a little..”

  “I can handle pain,” she grimaced, once he pushed against her barrier.

  “I know you can,” he said with a grin; “But I don't want to be the one to cause you pain...goddamn...”

  She gripped him with an iron clad hold that left him speechless, blind and dumb simultaneously and he mentally kicked himself for drooling all over himself. The blue -white charge grew brighter with each slow push deeper into her and he was not sure if he could hold on much longer.

  “Sanaya...fuck!”

  Sanaya would have never guessed she would experience this much pleasure during her first time. She was always warned that it would be painful and awkward at first before both parties explored each other enough to finally enjoy it. This moment with King would be forever tattooed on her heart and branded in her soul. Her mouth opened as the silent scream of orgasmic pleasure was building. She was completely mute, but managed to break the sound barrier
at the same time.

  “Sanaya! Sanaya! Your eyes!”

  She could not understand what King was talking about because his eyes were now a blinding yellow-gold and she was barely cognizant. Whatever he was talking about they can discuss after the fact. Somehow, they had shifted positions, and she was hanging off the bed, but she didn't care. She waited her entire life to do this...to be in this moment with the right person. The moment they both were waiting for snapped his head back, and she felt her spirit leave her body, disappearing into the spirit realms before slamming back into her. Her heart stopped...restarted...and stopped once again. Finally, the last supernova blast of pleasure had rewired every circuit in her body until she was completely limp from exhaustion.

  He remained on top of her, skin drenched with sweat, struggling to catch his breath. “Goddamn, 'Naya...”

  “I know,” she breathed. “Don't say anything.”

  They laid in that manner for a few minutes more, before there was a light knock on the door.

  “King?” It was Bullet.

  “Yeah?” King replied gruffly.

  “Are you guys ok?” There was soft giggling in the background and Sanaya thought she was going to die, this time not from pleasure, but from humiliation.

  “Yeah we're fine!” King snapped, pushing himself off of Sanaya. “Why the hell wouldn't we be?”

  “Just checking!” Bullet disappeared away from the door, and shameless laughter could be heard in the living room.

  Sanaya groaned.

  “At least I have a private bathroom,” King offered sheepishly.

  “We might as well get dressed and be prepared to do the walk of shame,” She mumbled.

  “Ain’t no shame in what we did,” King added proudly.

  “There isn't,“ Sanaya replied shyly, feeling her cheeks flushed.

  “It'll be alright...” He gazed at her once more, addicted to the sight of her struggling to cover herself so she could head to the bathroom to shower. “I wish I could keep you in here with me forever...”

  “Then I would no longer be a Slayer, but your love slave,” she said, closing the bathroom door behind her.

  “And would that be a bad thing?”

  Her laughter was music to his soul. “No. It wouldn't.”

  “Good.” He leaned against the doorway, running a hand through his locks. “Then I did my job...”

  Chapter Three

  Sanaya and King intentionally waited until they were the last to arrive in the dining hall. She could almost kick King for appearing a little too relaxed for her comfort. He grinned from ear to ear, acknowledging everyone that passed by with a nod. And when they finally approached their group's table, all eyes were on her. Danny, Bullet, Toni and Trent offered sly smiles while giving King a pound, secretly admitting that they knew what was up. Maya's eyes were on her like lasers, while Charlie and Lisa looked at both of them anxiously.

  “So,” Maya began, with her focus still on Sanaya. “What did you guys do before breakfast?”

  Bullet snorted, while Tony choked on the orange he'd just stuffed into his mouth.

  “Seriously Maya,” Sanaya groaned.

  “What?” Maya replied coolly, her eyes light with amusement.

  “We just hung out,” Sanaya said quickly, taking a bite of her scrambled eggs. She caught King gazing in her direction and she frowned.

  You wasn't frowning a little while ago, he teased.

  Shut up! She tried to fight the sheepish grin that threatened to reveal itself, by looking away and focusing on her food.

  “Uh King, your palms are crackling,” Maya observed with a grin. “Are you alright?”

  “I thought a light bomb went off in his room earlier,” Bullet added with a wink in Maya's direction. “That's why I checked on him and apparently...he was more than alright.”

  There was an awkward pause before the table erupted with laughter.

  “Damn King, whatever tricks you have-” Bullet began, still laughing.

  “Don't even go there bro',” King responded, still chuckling.

  “But I was just gonna say man,” Bullet continued. “You had us all wondering if there was some supernatural shit taking place in the room or something...I wasn't sure if I should grab a stake or run for my life.”

  “Seriously homie,” Danny added. “I was on the phone with Maya and had to put her on hold to see what the hell was going on. The entire unit started shaking and we heard you both in there, I thought we were going to bust in there for a rescue mission.”

  Sanaya sunk into her seat and tried to cover her face as another round of laughter followed. Even King was embarrassed. She caught Trent grinning at her and King and she knew it was over. Privacy clearly did not exist in this setting, and possibly never would. As long as word did not get back to Archer who was still in recovery or Eve, then she could deal with the teasing. Of course, Archer would know because, they shared a link but still... Maya and Bullet continued with their jokes, feeding the flame of laughter until it was time to head to class. King as always took her hand in his, her private escort and they walked to her classroom. As much as she would like to believe that everything would be back to normal until the next disaster happened, her instincts cautioned her otherwise.

  ****

  Archer struggled to raise himself off the bed and into the wheelchair The Vatican supplied for him, but the pain was unbearable. As soon as he pushed himself up to a sitting position, pain would start in his legs and shoot up into his spine, forcing him to lay back down. Eve had made several attempts to summon any member from The Council, but so far, the women were unresponsive. As far as they knew, the Slayers of the past were busy on a major hunt and were unavailable to be of any assistance at this time. Life was a bitch, and a cruel one at that. He would have preferred to die out in the field than to be trapped in this hospital as an invalid. He was completely and utterly useless. And to top it off, he received a strange impression coming from Sanaya he did not want to speak on. Yeah, the girl was 18 but couldn't she wait until she'd seen the world a little or until King had officially earned his stripes with The Academy? But that was the least of his problems.

  Something big was brewing and his Slayer was being distracted by bedroom aerobics! He scoffed and struggled against the helpful attempts of the nurses, while Eve looked on helplessly.

  Eve.

  His poor Eve. She didn't deserve to see him like this. He couldn't stand for her to see him like this...broken and possibly beyond repair. Despite being a half breed, she was a strong vampire female, and as much as he hated to admit it, nature was nature. It would only be a matter of time before a stronger, more able-bodied male would come along and -

  “Don't you dare think that!” Eve seethed, her normally midnight blue eyes flashing crimson. “Do you really think that I am that superficial? That I am nothing more than a vampire? I loved you the instant our eyes met...I carry you with me every time we step out in the field, not knowing if either one of us will come back alive!”

  Archer inhaled deeply, finding he was still unable to breathe through feeling Eve's pain. Watching those beautiful eyes of hers fill with crystal tears was worse than the injuries he suffered. Someone could come and rip his heart out right there and he would not be able to feel a thing. Eve's tears were detrimental to the fabric of his soul.

  “You might as well put a stake in my heart Archer,” she continued, wiping her face with her sleeve. “Because I certainly won't turn to ash—if you die, I die. It's just that simple. But the fact that I have been reduced to nothing more than basic vampire nature...after all we've been through...I feel as if I've died a thousand deaths.” Distraught and with nothing else to say, Eve spun around and disappeared through the corridors as quickly as her feet would carry her, which left her as nothing but a blur in the wind.

  Archer turned to face the wall, staring blankly at the white paint that did little to make the hospital feel like a place of healing and hope. He wondered if Eve would ever forgive him,
but at the rate things were going, he doubted she would. Closing his eyes, he waited for the nurses to wheel him back into his room of isolation. He needed to speak with Sanaya, soon. Regardless of the pain that riddled his body, he could sense something off in the distance watching the campus closely. With The Council occupied, a number of Guardians, including himself, were in various stages of healing, The Academy was essentially an open target. Something or someone had been tampering with the prayer shields for some time now and no one seemed to know how to address it. He sighed, sending a silent prayer to the heavens for a rapid recovery and a sound mind. Sanaya may have matured, but she wasn't ready yet.

  Chapter Four

  Sanaya could not sit still in class, her thoughts dreamily focused on King. She doodled his name inside squiggly drawn hearts across her notebook and sighed. Maya saw her and smirked, tossing a paper ball in her direction while the instructor busied himself with the projector. She tossed the paper ball back, popping Maya on the forehead. Danny and Charlie snickered when Maya frowned. Sanaya stuck out her tongue and went back to doodling.

  Ahhh, so you are a woman now—she heard the unwelcomed voice that had become too frequent and now familiar and invaded Sanaya's thoughts on a whim.

  Get out of my head and mind your own business Cain, she scolded, still trying to focus on her scribbled design.

  That young man is lucky indeed, Cain continued. Your passion for him rests just beneath the surface of your skin. It enhances your natural scent...Had I known -

  What do you want? Sanaya frowned, and looked up to see if the instructor was still busy with the screen.

  Nothing. Yet. I just could not help myself. I can smell you young one and you smell... He inhaled deeply, moaning as if he were relishing her scent. Intoxicating...

  Sanaya shuddered. Where are you?

  Close enough. I'm always nearby to keep tabs on you.

  Are you on campus?

  Ah what do you think young one? That a vampire as old and ancient as me is powerful enough to cross prayer lines?