8 comments/ 18328 views/ 18 favorites A Voice From the Night World By: CobaltCinn I don't own The Night World or seek to profit from the ideas or characters that belong to another. The Night World belongs to the wonderful L. J Smith. I thank her for creating such a wonderful series that I can borrow for the use of my characters. The characters in this story are fictional and any similarities to living people are accidental. As this story contains sex between males, you need to be of legal age to be reading this story and if you don't want to be reading about sex between young men you might want to stop now. Feedback is very welcome, as is anyone who is keen to pre-read or edit for me. I hope you all enjoy! Chapter 1 The Night World isn't a place; it exists all around us and you. We are a secret society of vampires, werewolves, witches, and other creatures of darkness that live among you. We're beautiful, deadly and irresistible to humans. Your teacher, your parent, or best friend or even your boyfriend could be one of us, you just don't know it, and if you did you'd be dead. 1998 My name is Liev, I am a shapeshifter and I was born this way. My full name and the black foxglove tattoos on my wrists tell other Night Worlders what I am. I am Scottish and French respectively, both my parents and older sister are also shapeshifters. Our clan name is very powerful in this part of the world and in the shapeshifter aristocracy we are ranked third in Europe. I stalk the world as a lynx and like all Night Worlders I am a predator. I am the 6 foot, leanly muscled eighteen year old with the cold, hard green eyes, sensual angular face and glossy short tawny blonde hair. I have a dimple in my left cheek and a well shaped mouth that usually wears a small smile that subtly mocks or invites you. I move with a certain feline, predatory stealth and grace, you'll never hear me come up behind you as a lynx or human unless I want you to. Its okay for me to toy with you, kill you, fuck you and break your heart, its okay by Night World laws for me to do pretty much anything I damn well like as long as I never allow you to find out the Night World exists or fall in love with you. I am a kind of bodyguard; I work under Zach, one of the oldest made vampires in the Night World and am part of a team of four other Night Worlders. Our organisation is part of Circle Daybreak; we are an even more secret group of Night World members and humans who try to be a barrier between the rest of the Night World and the human world. We try to prevent too many bad things happening and we fight against the Night World by protecting prominent Circle Daybreak members. At the moment both sides are on the hunt for the Wild Powers. We have a prophecy made by a powerful witch called the Maiden. She foretold that four special people born seventeen years ago will fight with blue fire in the coming millennium battle and they are to decide the fates of all of us. If even one of the four Wild Powers joins the Nightworld we are all lost, so it is a race to find them and pick your side. So far two of the four Wild Powers, a half-breed girl and a lamia boy have been found and both are on our side. But there are two still out there that the Nightworld and Circle Daybreak are desperately trying to find. I am what you would call a good guy in the Night World, or as close as we get to being good guys and I don't mind you vermin. As Daybreakers we believe it is time that the world started to become aware that we and the rest of the Night World is here, has always been here and wants to stay here. It was 3.30am in the middle of an ambush on a rainy, cold Thursday in Scotland when I discovered my soulmate. The soulmate curse keeps popping up among us Night Worlders like a fast striking plague as we drop like flies to the discovery of our other halves. Like many of us I was unprepared and I admit shocked to discover not only did I have a soulmate, but that he would be the last person in the United Kingdom who I would have thought of to be my other half. But it could have been worse; at least my soulmate is another guy, as I'm gay, a female soulmate would be no good to me. But I'll begin 4 months after I discovered my other half on that autumn night in Scotland and let you into what life can be like for us. I was tired, wet, cold and sore as I walked in the door of our headquarters with my cell phone vibrating impatiently with yet another call in the front pocket of my jacket, a large, ordinary looking two story town house in an Edinburgh suburb. I headed through the open plan lounge and dining room to the stairs and began climbing up to the second floor aiming for my room, which was off the sitting room our team of four shared. "So nice to see you after you disappeared on us Liev." Drawled the smooth, silky voice of my best friend and leader of my team from behind me, he must have come from downstairs. I grimaced as I paused in the hallway to turn and glare up at the tall dark haired lamia, or born vampire to you, as he came up the stairs behind me waving his own cell phone at me. At 6'4 he is taller than me and has the build of a boxer, being that is his favourite sport and an exercise he uses to stay bulked up and fit. "Jesus, what are you, my mother?" I replied wearily as I headed passed the sitting room our team shared on my way to my goal, my bed. "You disappeared for two days and I saw you take that hit, I couldn't reach or find you." Damian retorted following after me as I unlocked my door, pushed it open and sat on the bed. I checked my the glowing screen of my cell phone and see three miscalls, two from Damien and one from my soulmate. I sighed as I ran my fingers through my short hair and met his tired dark blue eyes. All vampires had telepathy to some degree, but Damien's was particularly strong, so strong in fact he could use it as an effective weapon and there wasn't much that escaped him. His dark, exotically handsome face was a perfect blend of Spanish and English with his clean, sharp bone structure, large hooded eyes and thin well shaped mouth and at the moment it was just as tired as his eyes. He really did worry like my mother sometimes! I grimaced again and shifted on the bed, rolling my shoulders to relieve the strain and soreness I could feel from my healing injuries. Injuries obtained on Thursday night's job, which had been a routine exercise that had involved escorting a pair of high profile Daybreakers to a new safe house for a meeting. But we had been ambushed on arrival, the fairly routine, easy job turning to shit. Damian stayed to protect them, as the rest of us split up to lead the attackers away. "If you promise not to laugh your ass off I'll tell you." I reluctantly said when the silence stretched between us all but vibrating with Damian's curiosity and worry. He raised a dark eyebrow for me to continue as he sat on my desk and folded his arms across his well muscled chest a move that caused his black hair to fall forward to shield his face. The movement also caused the stylised black rose design on his bicep to peek out the sleeve of his t-shirt. Like the foxglove was a symbol for a shifter, the black rose was a symbol for a vampire, as was a black dahlia for a witch. "I spent the time stuck in a tree, okay, stuck as a kitty cat." I finally said, which was the truth, I had spent a cold, miserably rainy day and night stuck up that tree. I am a big cat, I don't like water and I'm not a leopard so climbing trees isn't that easy, I'd had to shift back to human and climb it naked, then change back to lynx to protect myself, all with injuries to my left shoulder and back. "But why didn't you just give them the run around and come home?" Damian wanted to know, downstairs we heard the door open and slam shut as somebody else came home. There were three other teams, besides our foursome working for Zach, so there were a few of us coming and going. "Couldn't after I led Lily Redfern's crew on my merry fox hunt, I let them chase me into that forest, I was pinned there. Couldn't get out of that tree till they got bored and lost interest, bloody 'wolves and vamps most of them! I was weak and dazed, had to wait for my back and shoulder to heal a bit, they hit me with silver. They couldn't quite locate exactly where I was thanks to Tien's spell, it served to hide my scent, so I just sat tight. " I explained mentioning the third member of our team. Damien whistled through his teeth long and slow, no hit of fang showing as a smile twitching at lips. He absently brushed his hair off his face; it was just long enough that it brushed his collar. "Sounds like a shitty couple of days; you haven't passed Chay have you? He's been gone too, not that that's unusual for the bastard!" A typical leader Damian always wanted to know what was happening and where everyone was at all times, like I said, he's the worrier in our team. Chay the final, newest member of our team sauntered passed my doorway, tall and leanly muscled he brought in the scents of fresh cool air, wood smoke, rain, feathers and a warm musk that was his own. His tight dark jeans, tight black t-shirt and black boots did not hide anything, especially wet and that along with the predatory stalk he had betrayed him for something not human. It was a typical crisp, rainy winter Scottish evening and he wore no jacket, he wasn't even shivering. His shoulder length white blonde hair was damp and tied up; keeping the silky stuff away from his high cheekbones. What could almost be a fine boned classically handsome face with perfect full pink lips was flushed with the cold, but was ruined by the cold, proud cast to his features and brooding anger. Icy, hard penetrating dark eyes regarded us and a smirk appeared as he noticed and acknowledged us on his way to his own room. Chayton or Chay as he preferred was half Finnish and a gyrfalcon shifter Zach appointed to our team to replace Mikasi, our coyote shifter. She had left us a month ago to follow her soulmate into hiding. Her soulmate had been a prominent lamia lord, and it was forbidden naturally for our two battling sides to form relationships. "Good to see you came down out of the sky to bless us with your presence." Damian called out to him sarcastically, worry a thing of the past, Damien lived to bait and ruffle him. I glanced between them as they sneered at each other before Chay slammed his bedroom door shut. "Wanker!" Damian muttered loud enough that Chay would still hear him. "If he wasn't such a useful bastard in the sky and on the ground, I'd pluck and spit roast him. How I miss Mikasi, next time I see her, I'm going to offer to singe her tail for leaving with that soulmate of hers." I smirked at Damian. "I wouldn't worry Damian just be glad you've already got a soulmate or you might have ended up with him yourself." Damian snorted and smirked back. "Gotta be grateful for small favours it's already enough of a challenge being soulmated to the only male witch in Scotland. Besides we already know who got stuck with him." He admitted wryly. "Where is Tien anyway?" I asked curiously male witches were very rare and his clan was one of the most powerful witch clans in the Night World. "Saturday dinner with his family you know how he is." Damian answered with a shrug. I had to smile Tien and his family took family gatherings, especially their traditional weekend dinners very seriously, witches they were such a clannish lot! "But hey I have to tell you I'll try to lay off that soulmate of yours. Seeing him pace the house stressed and restless these past few days is something I'll never forget. It looked like he actually cared." Damien commented with amusement. I gave him a sharp look and realised he was serious under the amusement. Having felt the same worry and stress come through the faint bond that connected me to my soulmate when we were apart I knew he was telling the truth. I had felt him looking for me and his frustration that he couldn't find me. Tien's spell really had been a good one if even my soulmate hadn't been able to find me. Our soulmate bond wasn't helpful when we were apart, because neither of us possessed telepathy like the vampires it was usually just enough to let us feel strong emotions. "Get lost anyway Damian, I need sleep." I ordered him after we'd shot the shit for a bit longer; I was still tired and sore. "I'm going." He said sliding off the desk. "Remember we've got the usual morning debriefing with Zach tomorrow, 9 sharp." "Yes mother." I retorted. I got a good view of his middle finger as he left and pulled the door shut behind him, I would get him back later, and I'd known him since we were five so I knew all his weaknesses. I sighed, relaxing as I looked around at my simple white room with its double bed, wardrobe, desk and chair. It wasn't much, but it was home to me now and nothing felt better then coming home to it and my team. Pulling off my shoes and socks I dumped them on the ground next to the bed, remembered to open the window and swapped my wet clothes for my own skin as I collapsed on the bed. I'd barely closed my eyes when my senses alerted me to the fact that someone was in my room. "Can't you wait till tomorrow?" I whispered to the intruder knowing he could hear me. "Why would I wait till tomorrow?" A low accented voice asked there was a rough, husky quality to it that always made me hard. "Suit yourself." I replied as I rolled over and glanced over at the naked intruder as he sat down on the bed next to me. In the Night World one came across so many hot, beautiful men you got used to it, but I didn't think I'd ever get used to this one or the fact that he was mine. It took considerable will power to force my eyes to stop staring at his lean, muscled body. His body and his muscles didn't have the definition of mine; his muscles were more subtle showing more tone and faint outline. The round ass he had was softer than the rest of him too; it was all I could do sometimes to stop myself from grabbing his ass. The dark, hot look he shot me let me know he'd seen me look and liked it. "Where have you been?" My soulmate wanted to know the worry showing through his eyes and his own sexual need as his eyes ran over my body with a thoroughness and possession that had me hardening to my own full seven and a half inches. "I was stuck up a tree playing decoy." I replied giving him the same story I'd just told Damien to distract him from the relentless search of my body he was doing in his quest to check I was really okay. He frowned at me his eyes returning to scowl into my face. "That's why I couldn't find you! Damn Tien can be too good sometimes." "Wipe that expression off your face Tien's spell saved my butt." I told him pulling him down beside me and wincing as the action pulled at my still healing back and shoulder. I ignored the pain as I kissed him and felt the white-hot blue lightening arch between us blasting open the light soulmate connection between us. Ruthlessly it pushed us into each other's minds as he pressed up against me and returned my kiss. I didn't think I'd ever get used to the utter nakedness the full soulmate connection forced on us. It left his mind, soul and heart wide open and naked so I could see his memories and every thought or action he'd ever had, good and bad. I knew he could see the same in me and it left me feeling more vulnerable then I'd ever felt in my life. I could feel the same in him and did my best not to look to closely as our spirits flowed in and out of each other. I focused on the physical deliberately looking away from his memories of the last two days and ran my hands over him. I could feel him doing the same to me as first he ran his hands over me to check with touch what his eyes had already told him. When our kisses became hotter and wetter, hungrier, his touch turned more fevered and grasping, as mine did. I would never get used to touching him or running my hands over his warm body and flexing muscles, especially my obsession that soft round ass of his. My soulmate pulled away from our kiss to roll on top of me and pant heavily against my cheek. He dropped warm kisses on his way to my neck as my fingers reached their goal. I grabbed his naked ass, squeezing and pulling him tighter against me as his mouth sucked at the vulnerable spot where my neck met my shoulder, we both cried out, me in pain, he in need. His weight had put pressure on my still healing body and forced a wave of weakness through me. Despite the fact I was just as desperate to appease our mutual hunger for each other; my body just wasn't up to fucking. He felt the pain in me and pulled away with a disappointed sound. "Sorry." He whispered still scattering kisses across my face and throat as he pushed himself up onto his elbows and slid off me. "S'ok."I managed to mutter back as I wrapped my arms around him and listened to the sound of our heavy breathing that filled my room as the pain, sexual and other throbbed through me. Time passed and I noticed the rain had stopped as he curled up against my side with a soft sigh and realised I was lazily stroking him. I am a very tactile person with my partners, I like touching and to be touched, it's not always sexual, it can be for comfort or just enjoyment of skin, hair and the warmth of the body under my fingers. He shifted nuzzling my neck and I felt his fingers run through my short hair and allowed myself to relax against him. "I'll help like before" I heard my soulmate say at some point jerking me away from the warm, comforting arms of sleep that I'd been starting to drift in. I felt him nudge me and urge me to lie on my stomach. With a grumble I complied, rolling over and I felt him press both palms against the skin on my back and soothing faintly gold energy flowed into me through his hands. Slowly the pain, aches and other discomforts I'd been feeling slowly faded away. "You're a witch huh?" I whispered to him, remembering he'd done the same thing to me once before. I was drowsy and contented when I felt him curl against him once more. He ran his fingers through my hair again, his hand stroking my neck as he rested his head next to mine. I felt a long hesitation and reluctance from him and shrugged. "S'ok, you don't have to answer that." There was another long pause and I felt those clever fingers rub my ears. "My mother was a witch." He whispered back caution in his tone. "I won't tell." I murmured back, feeling my own purr and felt him kiss my neck as I fell asleep. ???????????? I woke up to the blearing sound of my alarm at 8am feeling my stiff back and a cooling bed. It appeared my soulmate had gone at some point. Slowly and steadily I stretched my body to get the kinks, sexual and other out, taking particular care and time to carefully stretch the healing muscles in my back. I felt that my own natural healing abilities and what my soulmate had done last night had helped a lot, but I still wasn't fully healed yet. Grabbing a clean towel and my toiletries I headed for the bathroom the four of us shared to grab a shower. Returning to my room in a towel I passed no one as I headed back to my room to pull on dark jeans and an old light grey Metallica t-shirt. I never wore underwear or unnecessary clothes, being a shifter meant I didn't need much clothing, I am naturally hot blooded. Clothing tended to get shredded on a regular basis too and underwear was just uncomfortable. Running a brush and some gel through my short hair, I arranged it in the style I preferred, hung my towel up, threw my dirty clothes in with the laundry and headed downstairs to grab some food. Spending time up a tree as a lynx and 2 days healing from injuries inflicted with silver meant I was starving and needed fuel to replace the energy I'd lost. I'd have to go on a hunt in the next few days; I needed more than mere food could give me. Like the vampires need to feed and get fresh blood to survive, shifters and werewolves need to hunt and kill live prey. We needed the adrenalin of the kill, the organs and blood to feed our own high energy requirements; we too healed from most injuries and had to shift, unless we were killed we were near immortal. A Voice From the Night World Ch. 02 I don't own The Night World or seek to profit from the ideas or characters that belong to another. The Night World belongs to the wonderful L. J Smith. I thank her for creating such a wonderful series that I can borrow for the use of my characters. The characters in this story are fictional and any similarities to living people are accidental. As this story contains sex between males, you need to be of legal age to be reading this story and if you don't want to be reading about sex between young men you might want to stop now. Feedback is very welcome, as is anyone who is keen to pre-read or edit for me. All can be sent through the link below. I hope you all enjoy! Character Update: Main Character: Liev Age: 18 Lynx Shapeshifter Hair: Tawny blonde, short. Eyes: Green. Height: 6'0. Build: Lean, broad shouldered. Personality: Outgoing, Playful, Passionate. Damien Lamia (Born Vampire) Age: 18 Hair: Black, collar length. Eyes: Dark Blue. Height: 6'4 Build: Like a boxer. Personality: Charismatic, Disciplined, Witty. Tien Witch Age: 18 Hair: Auburn, wavy, waist length. Eyes: Violet. Height: 5'6 Build: Slight, slender. Personality: Outgoing, Extroverted, Energetic. Chayton (Chay) Gyrfalcon Shapeshifter Age: 18 Hair: White blonde, straight, shoulder length. Eyes: Dark brown/black. Height: 6'0 Build: Lean, slim. Personality: Cold, Proud, Clever, Staunch. "Alright let's swap all the information we have." Damien said to us later that afternoon. I dropped down onto the old, cosy green couch that sat in our sitting room as the others picked chairs and made themselves comfortable. The London team had already been and were on their way back to London. We had just come out of a second meeting with Zach and the four Night Worlders who made up the joint American-English team. Two were Americans and two were English, the two English Daybreakers were younger than us at seventeen and they still attended the London school in question. So they would be our go to people once we joined the same school in a week's time. We shared around the typed information we had and the photographs we had been given. The target's name was Jason according to the black and white and quite a cute human. He had medium brown hair that had a few blonde highlights in it and he wore it gelled into spikes. His eyes were a warm honey hazel set in a sensitive, intelligent looking open face. His lightly tanned skin wore a slight embarrassed, shy blush. Clearly he didn't like photos and was one who easily blushed. I felt a wave of fear for him as I contemplated the information we had on him. He looked soft, pampered, sheltered and a bit naive, like prey, and he would be eaten alive if the Night World got to him. I wasn't even sure we Daybreakers wouldn't break him because good guys as we were, we were still Night Worlders. "Our possible Wild Power is average height, average build and is seventeen. He is English, born and bred in London. He's lived there all his life. He is an only child and his parents are as human as he appears to be. The mother Ivy is a nurse and the father Jeffrey is a lawyer." Damien summed up our information. "He's considered a prodigy in the music world. He could play the piano and violin to an advanced level by the time he was 6 and now should be playing on the world stage. He writes a bit of his own music as well. He is top of his school in mathematics as quite often happens with someone who has a natural ability with music." I added to Damien's information. "He is on the school's track team and has some top times in their long distance running events. He is quite good with photography it's what he wants to do with his life, be an animal photographer for National Geographic. At the moment he's the photographer for the school newspaper and works part-time in a photography store." I continued with what I had been able to gather from Alicia, one of the English team members. "He's the same age as the other two Wild Powers and I was able to find out that while he is human he may be one of us, a lost witch." Tien offered as he fiddled with a lock of his hair. "Where did you find that out?" Damien wanted to know. "Spoke to my mother. She recognised his mother's maiden name; his maternal grandmother was a lost witch. So it might have bred through to him and the circumstances of his birth match those of the other Wild Powers." He returned. Damien gave him a thoughtful look and I knew what he was thinking. Lost witch was the term we used for a human with witch blood with no knowledge of what he or she is. In the past few years more lost witches have been turning up and waking up to what they are, one of us. This can be through an accident or being found by one of us and pulled into the Night World. But many we left alone and they stayed unaware of what they were. But we knew who the lost witches were the Night World kept a watch on them. "I'm not sure about his being a lost witch." I put in. "He might be an Old Soul though, which would explain the genius status he has and his tendency towards being a loner." "I think my mother may be right though. She is pretty good with witch genealogies and there is still room in the prophecy for one of our Wild Powers to be a witch." Tien defended his comment. I smothered a smile we all know how passionate Tien was about the fact that one of the Wild Powers had to be a witch. According to the Maiden's prophecy, there was definite reference to the third Wild Power being a witch. As we already had a vampire and a human with vampire blood it made sense one had to be a witch and another probably a shifter. "He could just turn out to be human. Although our half-breed Wild Power has human and vampire blood, there is still room for a Wild Power to be pure human. The humans have as big a chance as shifters and witches do in scoring the Wild Power lottery." Damien offered with an apologetic, amused smile as his soulmate gave him a dirty look. "That's true. But would you really want to find out your a Wild Power? Nothing in that prophecy promises a good time." I had to say. "I agree with Liev. They and their soulmates are stuck being moved from safe house to safe house with a permanent team of body guards. They can't fart without somebody knowing and watching for a problem. Not my idea of a good time." Tien admitted the usual energy and humour returning to his face. "But the blue fire would be a pretty sweet weapon to wield don't you think?" Damien argued animatedly. He was really into weapons and quite a collection of few swords, knives and wooden fighting sticks. Chay raised an eyebrow crossing his arms over his chest. "Does it really matter if he's a lost witch or an Old Soul? Sometimes a Night Worlder can be both." We all stared at him, quiet till now, this was the only time in our meeting he had offered anything bar a cool listening silence. "You have a point. But it's pretty rare to get both a witch and an Old Soul." I returned sometimes we all forget how clever and insightful he was under that brooding, cold expression. "But not impossible. One of my teachers back home was both. It was his personal choice that he let his witch power remain dormant, but he was both." Chay argued his accent thickening as he spoke. I noticed that tended to happen when he felt strongly about something. "I would kill to meet someone who was both an Old Soul and a witch." Tien said excitedly. "Was he awake to it?" "No you wouldn't and yes he was. He scared the shit out of me. He might have been a Daybreaker, but he wasn't at all friendly. Especially as I was on the other side at the time." Chay shot back his hard eyes softening a bit, he liked Tien. "Tell me more!" Tien demanded and Chay began to comply. I agreed with Chay with a shudder I have met a few Old Souls, humans who have lived too many lives on earth. Most like lost witches were unaware of what they were, but some were awake and remembered _all_ of their many lives. If they were awake they gave me a case of the cold shivers. They were human, but wore age, knowledge and experience like real power, to see into the old yet ageless eyes of an Old Soul was to feel the passage of time. The gossip said Lord Theirry's newly found soulmate was an Old Soul and that he'd been chasing her through all her many lives. To come across an Old Soul who was not only awake but had witch blood too would have been something, akin to meeting a dragon. The latter was something I'd give my right kidney to meet. Dragons were the ancestors of all of us shifters, unlike us they were not confined to one form. They are powerful, deadly, vicious and Night Worlders of true magic. My chances of ever meeting one were slim to none as all the dragons are asleep, put that way a millennia ago by the witches to stop a bloody war the dragon's started. But when they'd been awake they'd ruled the world with iron, magic and sheer power. Nothing stopped the dragons but dormant sleep they are true immortals, true Gods on earth. "Thinking about dragons again?" Damien broke into my thoughts with a small grin. I gave him the middle finger he knew me well, too well sometimes, most shifters I find have a particular affinity and affection for dragons, but in this case he'd picked it right out of my head. "It's rude to read someone's thoughts." I accused him. "Not my fault if you think too hard and forget to shield." He retorted. "Just because I think doesn't mean that's an invitation." I bickered back. "Stop arguing." Tien broke in stopping his conversation with Chay to play peacemaker. Feeling a rush of the absurd I stuck my tongue out at Damien. "So good to see you let Tien solve your problems." This time Damien gave me his middle finger. "Fuck, you two are such children sometimes." Tien complained. "I always feel like I have to order you two to time out." His words provoked a snicker from Chay but Tien's words were as playful as our spat was. "Oh like you're so superior, fluffy." Damien provoked giving Chay an evil look. Chay hissed the amusement in his eyes chilling to a cold glare as his expression froze into his hostile mask. It never ceased to amuse me how good he was at radiating a cold malicious air that never failed to chill the room and shut everyone down. Without a word he got up and stalked out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him with a resounding slam. "See what I mean? If I didn't know better I would think that was your courting ritual!" Tien alleged with a snort. I swallowed my grin but he must have seen it in my expression. "See! Liev agrees with me!" He cried. Damien lips twitched. "I can't help it. I'm doing my best but he drives me crazy." I arched an eyebrow at him. "We can see that." "Well if we've got nothing else to say to each other for now, I'll head to my room for a bit. My body still needs to rest up." I said when the thoughtful silences stretched between us with the two of them responding to voicemails on their cell phones. I got up and snagged a copy of the daily newspaper on my way out the sitting room on my way to my room. I rolled my shoulders and felt the tight pull of my healing injuries. I was nearly healed one more night and a hunt should fix the rest of it I thought. I sat down with my back to the headboard on my bed and began to read the paper I'd brought with me. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + It felt like I'd just closed my eyes when I woke up to a dark room, the sight of my soulmate and a stiff neck. It appeared I'd fallen asleep at some point, I remembered lying down and reading an article about the rise in human murders in Britain and closing my eyes for a moment. A glance at my bedside alarm clock showed that the time was 7.30pm meaning I'd slept the rest of the afternoon and early evening through. The newspaper I'd been reading was now in the possession of my soulmate as he sat cross-legged on the bed next to me reading the cartoon section with a half smile on his face and my bed side lamp to see by. "What are you doing here?" I asked him stretching with a yawn and checking my cell phone for messages. There were none. I then noticed he'd brought a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches with him. I flashed him a sleepy smile and picked one up and began eating struggling not to feel touched. I was hungrier than I thought, the taste of food brought on an immediate rumble of hunger and I wolfed down the food he'd brought me. I repeated my query as he didn't seem to hear me. He looked up from the cartoon he was reading and gave me a long amused look like the answer was obvious. "Still hurting?" He asked in understanding when he saw me carefully stretch again, gently pulling and stretching my recovering muscles. "Just stiff." I answered honestly as I ate the last sandwich and sat up straighter and rolled my injured shoulder, reaching up with my good hand to massage the muscles. "Turn over and lie on your stomach." He said re-folding the newspaper and dropping it on the floor. "Can't have you like that when I need you for something else." He ordered me with a wily smirk. I smirked back. "You only ever want me for one thing." But I did as he said and felt him settle between my legs. Then his strong, slender hands began to massage and knead the stiff, tense muscles in my back and shoulders being careful not to pull or upset my injuries. I sighed slowly relaxing as he carefully and patiently worked the kinks and knots out of me. "You're so good at that." I murmured to him starting to feel much better with the tension and pain massaged out. It was then that I felt the same gold tinted healing energy pass from his hands into me and add a warm, tingling note to his ministrations. At some point the energy flow between us stopped and his touch grew steadily closer to caresses. "What do I get for my help?" He whispered in my ear as he leaned forward pressing slowly against my back as he let me feel the hard length of him. At the same time I felt one hand slide underneath me, reaching for my own slowly hardening cock. I groaned feeling a sharp spike of sexual need across our soulmate bond. "The same thing you always get when you touch me." I replied as I shifted allowing him to wrap his hand around me through my jeans. I felt his smile warm and close against my ear as his free hand slid under my t-shirt to stroke over my naked skin. "Good." He whispered as the tightened his grip on my cock and stroked my abs as the blue lightening shot between us again forcing our soulmate connection to flash open. We both allowed the lightening to pull us together and it softened, gentling and retreating as he shifted just enough to allow me to roll over underneath him and wrap my arms around him. His skin was flushed with lust and desire, his eyes darkening as he kissed me. I felt him ease down beside me and press up hard against my body as we were trading long, hungry kisses. I bit roughly I explored his soft lips, warm hot mouth, hard smooth teeth and silky tongue. I slid my hands down his warm back towards my obsession his ass, sliding my hands down under his jeans to grip the soft mounds to roughly grind him into me. My cock was hard enough to hammer nails and I moaned liking the feel of the muscle in his ass but it was softer muscle then the rest of him. I found my fingers digging in hard, kneading slightly, in an age old plea for surrender and sex. "Shit! Feels soo good." I heard him say as he moaned squirming on top of me, pushing his ass back into my hands, offering himself to me. I moaned back thrusting my tongue in his mouth as he sucked eagerly at it, we fit into each other's arms; we were the exact same height and had similar lean, muscled forms. Only my shoulders and chest were wider, with more heavily defined muscles, he was just as strong but he was lighter boned and leaner, so sliding against each other was turning me on big time and him too. I heard a loud ripping sound and an impatient noise as he tore my t-shirt apart trying to get at more of my skin. My body despite his ministrations and my own horny need still offered me a dim protest as I grappled to get his jeans off and down his legs. Cooperating he shifted off me long enough to rip off his t-shirt and jeans and did the same for me. Naked he crawled back into my arms and began dropping warm, moist kisses over my face and neck, as his mouth fastened on the sensitive spot he was hunting for. My cock throbbed like his nipping, sucking mouth was connected to it He sucked on the same vulnerable spot where my neck met my shoulder, grinding his own hard leaking seven inch cock into mine. I shuddered, my cock throbbing with my need for him as I ran my own impatient fingers over him, loving the feel of warm, smooth muscle and silky hair. I traced blind the black foxglove tattoo he wore on his right shoulder. His hands slid feverishly over my back and sides, stroking and scratching lightly in his hungry desperation as his fingers slid lower as they found and wrapped around my cock. "Keep going." I repeated all but purring as he stroked me using my own leaking precum as lube. I ran one of my hands over his naked hip, stroking up his side and back towards the nape of his neck. I grabbed the nape of his neck tightly, liking the feel of his loose silky hair against the back of my hand. The short gold chain necklace he wore with its small gold foxglove engraved pendent was cool as it brushed against me as we pressed together. I could smell and feel he was freshly showered and felt flattered he'd gone to the trouble. He was scattering more warm kisses over my throat and face but I pulled his mouth back and kissed him hard, aggressively pushing my tongue into his mouth mimicking what I wanted to do to him. He moaned into my mouth twisting against me as my free hand slid between us to stroke his cock. The room was quiet aside from the light rain hitting the roof and our heavy breathing. His own hand wrapped around my erection tightened as he rubbed his thumb over the head causing me to buck underneath him. He made a choked sound that might have been a laugh or a curse as I started to rub and tweak his nipples. I used my free hand to stroke over his hole and tease him without penetrating. "You are going to fuck me aren't you? I want you." My soulmate commanded huskily as he pushed his ass back against my teasing hand with a frustrated curse. My response was to increase the speed of the I hand I had stroking his cock; deliberately I left my free hand on his hip as he moaned encouragingly. I saw in his mind how much he did want me to fuck him and how excited he was. I sighed as he quickly slid down my body to take my cock in his mouth. We both moaned at the feel of my cock in his warm, wet mouth. He sucked, using his tongue on the sensitive head as his head bobbed up and again. I barely stopped the urge to grab his head and thrust into his mouth, desperate to answer my own hunger for him as I watched my cock disappear and reappear from his mouth. His motions speed up, as he used a hand to squeeze and play with my balls. Moaning helplessly I trembled on the bed and pulled at his shoulders feeling my own helpless thrust into his mouth. I felt more then heard his strangled groan as he gave in, feeling how close I was to coming as he allowed my wet cock to slip out of his mouth and he let me pull him up to straddle my hips. I kissed him hard and growled as I tasted myself on his lips and tongue. I couldn't stop my hands from gripping his ass, squeezing to hold him still as I thrust my cock into him, surprised as always by how tight he was. Before me he'd only been fucked twice which was chaste compared to what my free and ready sex life used to be. It was such a surprise when you saw how hot he was. A Voice From the Night World Ch. 02 He hissed as my cock forced him open, his hot tight ass surrounding me as I thrust all the way in on a series of short thrusts. I paused and bit my lip hard to hold back the desire to fuck him hard. I watching his face and body slowly relax its tension and he softened around me as he leaned forward. Then we were wrapping our arms around each other, his hot, panting breath and occasional moan in my ear as he began to ride me. Our own horniness and the fact we always wanted each other so badly meant that neither of us ever lasted long, the soulmate connection didn't help magnifying everything we were feeling and experiencing emotionally and physically. I let him ride me for as long as I could stand before I thrust into him roughly, stretching him and burying my cock in his hot ass one last time and exploded with a growl. Feeling me come set him off and without even touching himself he stiffened coming with a scream that he muffled into my shoulder, shooting rope after rope of white cum between us. His climax caused his ass to clamp and squeeze my cock, which made me writhe and thrust into him again, which caused him to arch and thrust back onto me. "NO! Don't Stop!" He muttered desperately as I began to pull out when neither of us was able to stop after two more writhing, helpless thrusts. I didn't know how I could still be this hard and he was still hard as nails too. I groaned burying my face in his damp, clean hair nipping and kissing his neck and shoulder as finally my still stiff cock slowly began to soften. I shifted him off me and got a protesting whimper from him for my trouble, his weight was starting to cause my back to offer a weak protest. I was still panting as I listened to the soft rain on the roof, the gentle wind and my soulmate's own heavy breathing as he sprawled next to me, his legs still tangled up with mine. I opened my eyes and regarded him lazily amused by his swollen lips, flushed skin and mussed hair. I could see a few love bites too marching up his neck and throat. "You look just as well fucked." He whispered into my ear with a sharp nip as he got up to fetch a water bottle and a clean handkerchief that he used to clean himself and then me. Then he was returning to press up against me and wrap around me. I dropped my arm aaround him, stroking his shoulder in slow circles. Time seemed to stop as we lay there lazy with sexual satisfaction. I felt him stroking behind my ears, rubbing gently and heard my own lazy purr. Sometimes it embarrassed me I did that lynx's don't naturally purr as far as I know, but it's a quirk and trait that comes through my family line, we were all big cats and all did it. I felt my own fingers wrap locks of his hair around them and idly used it to flick his skin. "I love it." My Soulmate murmured into my ear as he picked up on my thought and our spirit's lazily drifted in and out of us both. I don't think I'll ever get used to these new emotions love and affection, worry for another person, I've never felt so vulnerable, neither had he, I could hear. The Night World was such a world where survival of the fittest ruled and any vulnerability didn't sit well with me at all. "How I missed you the past few days Kissa." He murmured in the same soft tone, affection and emotion colouring a usually proud voice. I grunted feeling a slight smile cross my face as I relaxed, feeling the last bit of tension I didn't know I had leave me. It was always something of a shock that he was easier with it, more accepting of this soulmate stuff then I was. Half asleep I felt him shift again as the weight of his head dropped down on my shoulder, his hand returning to stroke through my hair and behind my ears, his silky hair brushing against my skin. "But I do wish I could shove a stake through Damien!" + + + + + + + + + + + A week later. "Why did we agree to this again?" I asked with a dark look at the modern three story concrete and glass school building in front of me. "For the money?" Damien offered with an identical look as he leaned on Tien's car, a red '96 Subaru Impreza, next to me. Despite his sunny smile Tien's comment was low and sarcastic as he shut and locked the driver's door. "To save the world from the Nightworld?" "Time to get hell started." Chay broke in with a rare comment as he got off his black Kawasaki Ninja and stalked past us on his way towards the building. I couldn't help the appreciate look I slid over him as I eyed up his tight black pants, tight black shirt, black boots and the black leather jacket. The dark colour with his pale colouring should have looked awful and turned him into Death but it suited him. His pale hair was loose around his shoulders today and I had caught a hint of the gold chain he wore around his neck flashing a glimpse of his foxglove. It was subtle and only something another Night Worlder would look for and see. [Time to become Americans.] Damien joked to the pair of us via his telepathy. The three of us grimaced at each other and followed after Chay as we headed to the office to register our names and collect our class schedules. Our cover story was we were American exchange students here for the semester and we'd lucked into the fact the second semester had started only a week ago. The new roles meant we had to change our accents, our vocabulary to some extent and our look. At least the three of us anyway, Chay had decided to play on his Finnish background and claim to be a Finnish exchange student. The split actually worked, we didn't want too many humans to realise we were too connected or any other Night Worlders at this school. Before Chay was part of Circle Daybreak, he was working for the other side, he still used it on the jobs we did and would here too. His abrasive, bad boy personality and style meant Night Worlders never guessed he was one of us. Being a gyrfalcon shifter meant he was also a great scout and spy whenever he could slip away and do recon for us. You would be amazed what people say in front of a bird, even a striking bird of prey like Chay. Even Night Worlders fell for it and they were aware shifters took a lot of different shapes. "Shit! How did I get stuck with history as my first class?" I bitched as I scanned the neatly typed sheet of paper the nice receptionist had given me. "You won't be the only one. I did too, so at least we're in there together." Tien responded as he scanned his own sheet looking really good in his black goth get up and blue contacts lenses. It was an odd look when he usually dressed more like a hippy, with jeans, brightly coloured shirts and jandles. Seeing his usually vivid violet eyes covered by the blue contacts was a bit odd at first too, but I was getting used to it. Both of us had to wear contacts, mine were a hazel green, instead of the intense cat green mine really wore; our eyes were too obvious, made us stand as not human. But like I said we had to change the way we looked a bit and sometimes dressing really obvious, loudly declaring we were misfits and outsiders, allowed us to fit in and stated what we were to other Night Worlder's. Sometimes the really obvious is the simplest way to go, as is going low key which is what we usually did, aside from Tien. I glanced down at my own new skater style all light coloured loose jeans, baggy slogan'd t-shirt and black sneakers. A simple spell borrowed from Tien hid the small, subtle foxglove tattoos I had on my inner wrists; we weren't allowed tattoos at this school, Damien and Chay had had to borrow the same spell. Instead of the tattoos I had on the gold signet ring I'd inherited that had an engraved foxglove and above it tiny emerald cat eyes. Damien had a similar necklace to Chay's, only his was a subtle black cord and black rose instead of a chain. He got to play the jock, a role he hated with vehemence, more for the fact he didn't think much of most jocks. Chay the lucky bastard got to stay himself bar a thickening of his accent and a tune up of his usual abrasive self. "At least you guys get to keep each other company to some extent. I'm stuck with biology." Damien broke in with a dark glower at his own paper. "I can give you a biology lesson." Tien snickered with a side long look at his soulmate. Damien's lips twitched as he returned the look and responding to the loud sound of the school bell gave us a wave as he headed off in the opposite direction from us. "Let's go then. I wonder where Chay went." Tien comment was he headed off down a different hallway, following the signs and the flow of other students. I shrugged as I followed him. "Must have already gone to find his class." + + + + + + + + + + + + By lunch time I'd sat through history, english literature and chemistry. I'd never found school so mind numbingly boring, I thought it was bad the first time around. It was worse the second time, I'll never understand why in movies and books the old made vampire always goes back to school! I mean why? While I understand the made vampires doing teaching for entertainment and other Night Worlder's going back as a cover, I'd never get why you'd go back to school as a student, by choice! That's just hell on earth to me; there are better things to do with your time. I'd had Tien for company in history, Chay for English and Jason, our mark for chemistry. I'd set it up so now he and I were partners for the semester. I'd also come across and exchanged knowing looks with the Night Worlder's I'd seen in attendance at the school. I'd see Alicia and Kieran, a witch and lamia respectively, the English team who were our contacts. I wasn't sure how many humans were Daybreakers, there was always a few who were aware, usually the ones who'd been attacked by us and become hunters of our rogues or who soulmated to one of us. I'd also come across four more witches, three other shifters, a werewolf, an awakened Old Soul, two more lamia and a made vampire. The made vampire was my history teacher, the werewolf was the headmistress. It was funny to me how most made vampires ended up in teaching, lecturing or research positions in their day jobs. I judged roughly half the Night Worlders were Daybreaksers and the rest gave allegiance to the Night World. I acknowledged Damien's nod with a nod of my own as I joined the line of other students' queuing for food in the cafeteria. Jason came to stand behind me, we'd walked to the cafe together from class and we swapped smiles as we collected our food, fish and chips today. "How's your day going?" Tien asked with a friendly smile as the two of us sat down with him. Part of our cover story was that Tien and I were friends, so sitting together and hanging out for us was not a problem. The rest of our cover story included the fact that the four of us were sharing the same homestay, which was one of the many Daybreaker safe houses scattered across Britain. The cover story allowed just enough communication and cross over between the four of us without betraying too much or showing how connected we actually were to each other. So despite Damien's subtle nod of greeting, he stayed with the trio of jocks that included one of the other lamia's he'd obviously befriended during the first half of the day. I didn't see Chay, but no doubt he'd done a similar thing and found himself some friends. "Not too bad, got really lost looking for my chem class." I answered him with a grin of my own as I sat down opposite him. "Jason this is Tien. Tien, Jason, the nice dude that found me lost and wandering the halls and led me to the right place." I added with a laughing glance at Jason, as he sat next to me with a shy smile and reached across to shake Tien's hand. A casual, friendly catch-up conversation went back and forth between the three of us as we ate lunch. By the time the bell went signalling the second half of the day Tien and Jason were also fast friends. Jason's best and only friend, a red haired human girl called Kelly had also joined us. The rest of the day was pretty boring to be precise, only physical education and art being of any fun or interest to me. By the time the final bell went I couldn't help releasing a sigh of relief, bringing a laugh from Jason, who'd also been in my final class, art. "Did you want us to give you a ride home?" I asked Jason as we stood outside in the school parking lot waiting for Tien and Damien to show up. "Yeah that'd be cool. I'll take a ride over the bus any day." Jason replied with a grin. "Are we waiting for Tien?" I nodded noticing Chay's bike had gone which meant he'd moved it and was probably doing recon for us. "Yeah and the other guy staying with us, you haven't met Damien yet have you?" He shook his head. "Nope. But if he was the dark haired jock with the American accent, I might have seen him passing through the halls and in the cafe." "Hey guys. Sorry for taking so long, got held up." Tien jogged up to us a bit flustered and he was huffing slightly out of breath. "No problem. You haven't seen Damien have you?" I asked him. "He's coming." He added with a gleam in his eyes that had me choking back a laugh. It was then I saw Damien strolling dreamily through the parking lot on his way towards us. You couldn't see the faint flush he was sporting with his dark skin but my sharp cat eyes could still see his burning eyes and slightly swollen lips. This time I did laugh shaking my head and shrugging as Jason gave me a curious look. "Hey, you coming with us." He greeted Jason ignoring me. "Sweet!" He added to Jason's nod. A Voice From the Night World Ch. 03 I don't own The Night World or seek to profit from the ideas or characters that belong to another. The Night World belongs to the wonderful L. J Smith. I thank her for creating such a wonderful series that I can borrow for the use of my characters. The characters in this story are fictional and any similarities to living people are accidental. As this story contains sex between males, you need to be of legal age to be reading this story and if you don't want to be reading about sex between young men you might want to stop now. Feedback is very welcome, as is anyone who is keen to pre-read or edit for me. All can be sent to me via the CONTACT tab on my profile. I hope you all enjoy! Authors note: I am posting this same series on the Nifty website, both stories are written by me. It is also not illegal to write fanfic, as this is what this is. I am not seeking to profit or publish this at all and I am disclaiming the Night World as belonging to L.J Smith, all I am doing is borrowing the world, the idea and mention of the Wild Powers and Lord Thierry's name, the rest of the characters and plot are my own, I wanted to explore what was happening on the other side of the world in the Wild Power hunt. As the books in the series are based in America and there's little mention of what else was happening. Also to those have noticed, I apologise for the minor error or 2 that has popped up in the story so far, it has been a few years since i read the books, so will be fixing those up! But please continue to enjoy my characters and the awesome world L.J Smith invented that I am borrowing to tell my story. * It was lunch time in yet another dull day at high school and I was standing down at the back of the school grounds, near a small grove of trees used primarily by smokers, drug dealers and couples hooking up. Tien and Jason were still in the cafeteria eating lunch. I'd come out to the small grove of trees to get some air and listen to the different sort of gossip smokers swapped around. As part of my cover I was smoking a cigarette, enjoying the rare sight and feel of sunshine in the middle of a London winter when my soulmate came to visit me. "Hello." He said in my ear as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. "Hello." I replied turning my head to kiss his cheek as I leaned back against him. "You shouldn't be here." I warned him as I dropped the end of my cigarette on the ground, grinding it out with my shoe. I felt him shrug as he kissed the side of my neck. "I don't care. I haven't done more then look at you all day and watch the other boys and girls eye you up. It drives me crazy" I grinned amused by the possessive, passionate tone of his voice and by the fact he was never far away from me. His loyalty and habit of never being far away, watching, was something I found entertaining and touching. It was something Damien gave him so much shit for but he didn't give a damn. If you ever want to watch or bring on a shit storm hit on me, it's always pretty funny, although not for the person hitting on me. I did a quick search of the small grove of trees, there was only the two of us and turned in his arms, wrapping my own arms around him. I knew it was risky but he'd come to me and I too always found it just as hard when we did these jobs that required distance. I kissed him, unable to resist it when his familiar face was in front of me. The soulmate bond opened up, fractured open by the blue lightening, but as we let it, it softened, retreating. His arms tightened as he opened his mouth and kissed me back. I pressed against him, pushing him up against the back of a tree, as I kept kissing him, exploring his warm mouth and tongue; I ran my fingers through his soft, silky hair. He ran his hands up and down my back, pushing back against me. I could feel his cock hardening in his jeans and my own started to follow suit. I slipped my hands up under his jacket and shirt, stroking over his naked skin. Lost in him and the hot kisses we were trading it took the quiet gasp of someone from over his shoulder that brought me back to reality. We were in a public place, on school grounds, and I'd backed him up against a tree. My hands had slipped down the back of his jeans, groping his ass as I felt cool air on my dick. His quick, clever fingers had my dick out and he was stroking me. I felt through our soulmate bond our hunger, my need and his surrender. I pulled away from my soulmate's mouth, ignoring his disappointed sound as he started to scatter kisses down my jaw and throat. There was a small Asian witch standing a few metres away from us, surprise and apology on his tired chiselled Japanese face and in the sad brown eyes. He was a student I'd seen around the school quite a bit in the month since we'd been working here. I should have heard or smelled the witch before he'd got that close and caught us, but I hadn't and felt really defenceless, the predator in me wasn't happy, we should have been more aware but the soulmate bond was like that, blocked out everything else but your other half. The witch had been lucky I hadn't been fucking my soulmate outright because any time we got close enough to touch each other that's what usually happened and was going to happen. I dropped my arms from around from him and stepped back getting a glimpse of his flushed, dazed face as he turned around giving the witch the same startled look I'd probably given a minute or so before. Cleary he hadn't heard the other Night World witch either and he hissed, blinking as his expression hardened, understanding sparking in his dark eyes. With a glare at the witch he stalked off and I struggled not to laugh. If it wasn't for the witch's apologetic, weary expression I would have given in. My soulmate was pissed off 'cos he was still horny, but the witch didn't know that. My soulmate can look like a real mean, malicious bully when he wants to. "Don't worry about him. He's just horny and now has to wait." I apologised to the witch feeling my soulmate's frustration. I saw a faint understanding smile. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to catch you, I just want a smoke before class." I grinned with a crafty smile. "He'll just have to wait till later." "You're one of the new American guys aren't you?" He asked me as he leaned back against a different tree from our one, pulling a pack of Marlboro's out of his pocket and a lighter out of his jeans pocket. He offered me a smoke, which I accepted and lit the end for me, he lit his own, before putting the pack and lighter away. "But are you a werewolf or a shifter?" "Yes, I'm Liev and I'm a lynx." I responded with a grin. "I know the foxglove and lily is misleading." He managed a shaky smile back. "You're telling me it's been driving me nuts trying to work out what you are. I can see your tattoos," Foxgloves were a symbol used by the werewolves; lilies were for the rest of us shifters and I realised he must have some power if he could see under Tien's spell that hid my tattoos. I told him that I didn't want a lily tattooed on me, which was the truth. I mean can you imagine a guy like me wandering Scotland with black lilies tattooed on my skin? I mean I can take care of myself, but there's no reason to provoke unnecessary fights or get someone beaten up by my soulmate too is there? Plus the way I looked at it werewolves were shifters after all. I wasn't the only one who saw it this way either, Chay had done the same thing with his tattoo and the necklace he wore. He'd told me there was no way he was wearing a fucking lily and he added it fucks with their minds; they can't work out what he is, werewolf or falcon. I agreed it is fun messing with Night World minds. Damien too liked roses better then the iris lamia's used. Damien had a bit of a romantic streak he never admits to usually but once he told me that he liked the beauty has thorns metaphor that a rose declared itself to be. He said a rose was the best metaphor he'd found for a vampire. "Your Michael aren't you? We're in math together." I responded. He nodded indicating with a jerk of his thumb the direction my soulmate had gone in the sad expression returning to his face. "He's one of you new guys isn't he? Is he your soulmate?" I nodded agreeing to both and told him a bit about him. "You're lucky, as much as that one's a bastard, he's nothing like mine." Michael commented with bitter hurt and anger mixed up together. I gave him a thoughtful look. "My soulmate isn't so bad aye." Michael snorted. "You didn't see him beat the crap out of Nathan yesterday or make Jade cry. I think they both hit on him." I laughed. "He's good at that." "But if you think that was something to see, you should watch what happens when someone hits on me." I added laughing harder as I remembered the last time, that guy has permanent scars along his throat and may never find a way to retrieve his balls. Michael gave me a real smile. "It was funny to see someone kick the shit out of Nathan. That vampire is a complete wanker, thinks he owns the world and your shifter taught him differently. Jade's only human but her soulmate is oblivious to the fact she fucks any of us she can get." We shared a grin and then his expression grew haunted, the shadows I'd seen before returning to his brown eyes. "But at least your soulmate gives a damn. Mine couldn't give two shits." I folded my arms across my chest and he took that as an invitation and proceeded to give me his life story. By the end I was quiet and still, leaning against the same tree as I kept the anger out of my expression as I watched the small witch quietly cry as he fiddled with the black dahlia ring he wore. I felt really uncomfortable watching him but felt I couldn't leave him alone either. I had seen him around the school in the month we'd been here watching over and hanging out with Jason but this was the first time we'd spoken. I hadn't realised this chance meeting would open up this conversation. He had my sympathy and rage; he was one of the sad, unfortunate casualties of the Night World. He was 15 and soulmated to a Night World lamia and he was treated like trash. I was surprised he was actually still alive to be really honest, there have been a number of violent stories cropping up where Nightworlders have discovered themselves soulmated to undesirables, humans being the worst, and have murdered them, it happens a lot with the vampires. Vampires see themselves as top of the food chain and superior to the rest of us in the Night World hierarchy. Most Night Worlders especially vampires consider humans as nothing but food and sometimes a free fuck, just vermin. In a number of Night World enclaves humans are still kept as slaves in the old world feudal system that exists on them. Vampires tolerate us shifters but they consider witches to be nearly human, as aside from their magic don't have any healing ability, strength, speed or heightened senses unless they are spells. There was news of humans being kidnapped and taken back to the enclaves as slaves and food for the vampires living there. Vampires tend to barely tolerate the rest of us on good days; werewolves get generally treated as bottom of the food chain. Which I could never understand, werewolves are alright, I had no problem with them, I have a foxglove tattoo after all, and they make awesome soldiers. I'd even heard of a powerful made vampire in France who had found himself soulmated to a werewolf and he'd murdered her the same night he'd discovered her. I had a cousin, a leopard shifter who found herself soulmated to a human boy and she had him killed, Damien's brother is soulmated to a human girl and he kept her as a slave. I personally dealt with my cousin; Damien did the same with his brother. But they were mad anyway, fit for the nut house, killing your soulmate doesn't keep you on the sane road. It's a horrifying side effect but shows the grim reality of what the Night World can be like. Those of us who are members of Circle Daybreak generally don't have any of this bullshit and do our best to try and rescue the poor unfortunates before they're killed or damaged too badly. Some Night Worlders join Daybreak like my soulmate did, if they find out we're part of it, but it's not actually that common. Most of us who are Daybreakers have been brought up this way or least Tien and I were. Damien was originally part of the Night World but he switched sides through my influence and seeing how evil they can be. I was lucky my soulmate and best friend changed sides, but Damien believes in justice and fair play, we've also been friends since we were 5, he's like a brother to me. My soulmate happens to be a falcon and they mate for life, wherever I go, he goes, he's mine as I've said and would never leave me, so as much as he grumbles and used to be a Night World assassin he now fights with us or me actually if you want the blunt truth. So I felt embarrassed for all of us and disgusted on behalf of this poor witch. I could see from the pale, exhausted and heartsick state of him that he was being fed on and fucked probably, just used. I could see a healing bruise or two and I often saw him in this state and the real pathetic thing was Michael loved his vampire. The reason he was crying at the moment is he'd seen his soulmate fucking another guy, in the bathroom of all places. He'd heard of Daybreak because he was a member, another mark against him as far as his soulmate Cris was concerned and knew I was one as well. I wasn't trying to hide that from anyone in the school, neither was Tien, Damien and Chay were playing the Night Worlders. I hesitated wanting to give Michael a hug but I didn't want to give him the wrong idea, he'd seemed really unstable and heartbroken though. "Fuck it." I muttered and dropped the end of my cigarette on the ground, stamping the stub out with the toe of my shoe. I shifted, stepping forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, giving him a friendly one armed hug. "Do you have friends you can stay with?" I asked him quietly when he leaned against me, wiping his eyes with his sleeve as he sniffed discreetly. He looked up his brown eyes red and humiliated but he gave me a weak nod. "I'm so embarrassed for dumping all that on you and now crying like a fucked up sissy." He muttered bitterly his face had too many shadows for one so young and nice, but then the Night World rarely treats you nice. All of us have old, hard eyes, shadows and masks, it's how we survive, any weakness, any hint of softness and you become prey to someone else. "Do that then and don't worry about it." I replied giving his shoulder a friendly squeeze and I let go. "Time for us to skip school I think. A coffee sounds good to me right now." I said glancing at my watch as I waited for him to pull himself together. A phone call to Tien and I was borrowing his car. We went. + + + + + + + + + + + "What did you end up doing with Michael?" Damien asked me later that evening, after school and we'd all returned to the safe house we were living in on London's east side. A karate trained hunter Old Soul and her werewolf soulmate ran and looked after it. At the moment there was our team plus two other Daybreak Night Worlders who were sharing it. The other two were a made vampire who looked about 16, but felt a lot older than that and a newly awakened lost witch. You rarely found made vampires who looked older than 18 as any made after that usually don't make it through the change. They were strangers to us and each other. But we were all seeking sanctuary or using the place as a base. At the moment only Damien and I were home, Chay had gone hunting and to watch over Jason while he was at it, Tien was out visiting his grandparents who also lived in London and I wasn't sure where Sofia or Rhianna were. I doubted Rhianna had gone far; she was too traumatised from the vampire attack that had awakened her witch power. "Pretty much ditched school and borrowed Tien's car to take him for a coffee and a time out. I then took him to his friends. He didn't need to be at school like that and I knew Tien was with Jason." I answered him with sigh I had just finished telling Damien Michael's story. "Damn the shitty things that our people do are fucked up." Damien said angrily. "I'll see what I can do about Cris." "If you get to him before I do." I said darkly. "I just worry that soulmate of his will finally be done with Michael." I admitted just as knowingly, inside I was really worried for his life. "Me too, from what you told me his days sound numbered." Damien admitted back with an angry look his dark blue eyes taking on a silver cast as his anger woke up his predatory side. "Dinner lads, move your butts." Mary called from the kitchen. "Make sure you wash up on your way." We were sitting in the lounge, the television on low with the News in the background. Obeying Mary we got up, turned the television off and dutifully washed up before we came to the table and got to sit down to an old fashioned roast lamb dinner. I was eager I only saw this kind of food when I went and visited my family, which is usually once a year when everyone was back at the old Scottish castle my father's family have owned since the 1700s. My parents are journalists so they travelled the world picking up stories, usually from crime ridden areas of the world. My older sister was in the army and I worked for Zach, so we were always away and rarely saw each other. "That was great!" I said appreciatively as I managed to stuff a last mouthful into my mouth. "Thank you." Damien agreed with grateful sigh as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his full stomach. We got a smile from the lady of the house and a grunt from her soulmate, I got to my feet and with Damien's help we cleared away the dirty dishes for washing. Damien had just dried and put away the last fork when my cell phone rang. "You guys better get your asses down here pronto! A Night World crew is surrounding the house Michael's in." Chay ordered me. "Where's Jason?" I demanded it was nice to hear that Chay had looked in on him, he'd been the first one home so I'd already told him Michael's story, but he was supposed to be watching Jason. "He's fine, Tien is with him. We switched shifts; it's his turn to babysit, so I looked in on your friend." He answered me his tone impatient. Damien with his sharp hearing and telepathy heard Chay through my phone and had obviously talked to his soulmate and Chay because he was already striding to the door, keys in hand. I hung up and followed Damien out to the car knowing he'd have got directions off Chay. I hoped we got there in time! A Voice From the Night World Ch. 04 I don't own The Night World or seek to profit from the ideas or characters that belong to another. The Night World belongs to the wonderful L. J Smith. I thank her for creating such a wonderful series that I can borrow for the use of my characters. The characters in this story are fictional and any similarities to living people are accidental. As this story contains sex between males, you need to be of legal age to be reading this story and if you don't want to be reading about sex between young men you might want to stop now. Feedback is very welcome, as is anyone who is keen to pre-read or edit for me. All can be sent to chaotic_child@hotmail.com I hope you all enjoy! Author's Note: Thanks so much to all of you who have taken the time to send me with your comments. It's you guys that keep me writing by letting me know that you enjoy my characters and the journey I put them through. Apologies for the short chapters, the last one was deliberate, the next few should be longer! Enjoy! Chapter 4 The loud ringing of my cell phone woke me out of a restless sleep in the small hours of the morning. I sat up in bed, ignoring the sleepy grumble from my soulmate, who simply rolled over and went back to sleep, and reached for my ringing phone on the bedside table and flipped it open, it was Damien. "He's passed. Sorry buddy." They were four quiet, simple words, four straightforward words that unleashed a dark whirlwind of emotions in me; rage, grief, sorrow, guilt and bitter failure. "Fuck!" I managed to growl. "We're going to stay out here and watch over Jason." Damien continued in the same matter of fact, calm voice, meaning himself and Tien. With that he hung up and left me to my disordered emotions. I did manage to have a thought that he did call me and let me know, rather than simply tell me, mind to mind as he could. I'm not sure how long I sat there, staring blankly at the sand coloured bedroom wall, eyes blind but head full of raging emotions before I got up to pace the room, naked, unable to sit still anymore. The same restless energy that had kept me in a fitful sleep full of uneasy, dark dreams kept me pacing the room. "I would like to actually sleep sometime this morning. What is the matter?" My soulmate demanded at some point as he sat up, eyes sleepy and annoyed, pushing his tousled hair away from his face and neck. He tilted his head sleep vanishing from his piercing eyes as he scrutinised me attempting to figure out what was wrong. I ignored him and started on another trek around the square beige and blue room stopping to stare out the window. I frowned I didn't remember pulling the curtain aside but I must have in my agitation. For once it wasn't raining but it was still overcast, I could tell because even with the street lights, you couldn't see the moon and the sky had a hazy, smoky look. "Come back to bed." He asked and let out an exasperated sigh when I stayed put, not answering, he pushed the thick brightly coloured duvets away from him and got up to pad naked on silent feet towards me. He came to stand beside me at the window, not touching me, but close enough I could feel his warmth, his force of personality and presence and smell him. I could feel his confusion and his sharp mind trying to work through my cluttered emotions through the silver cord that bound us together. "Now we're both cold and its getting us nowhere." He commented when I still said nothing, not able to get more than a grunt out. His words were dry, we were shifters, despite the cold and our nude state, we weren't cold. "What did Damien say?" He asked sounding disturbed when the silence continued to stretch out between us; I could feel his eyes search my profile, he was always aware of everything. "He's gone." I managed to grit out. "Fuck." One frank, harsh word that said it all, I felt more then saw his wince, his understanding and his pity. Unable to stand still and accept the depressing reality of how the whole fucking night had turned out I began pacing again. I could feel my soulmate watching me as he turned around and almost felt the click as he made a decision. I felt through our soulmate bond what he was going to do and didn't want it as grabbed me on my way passed him. I felt my hands come up, pushing against his chest to push him away from me. But it was too late his touch blasted open the soulmate connection between us, I felt us both ignore it and push it away as he pulled me against him, his arms wrapping around me as he buried his face in my neck, ignoring my stiffness and resistance to him, I didn't want to be touched or comforted. I could feel him nuzzling, his weight putting subtle, insistent pressure on me until I was leaning back against the wall. I felt his silky hair brushing against me, his warm, soft lips nuzzling and dropping little kisses up and down my neck and throat. It seems he knows me better then I know myself, for before I realised what I was doing, I'd arched my neck to allow him access turned on by his attacking my sensitive neck with his soft lips and nipping teeth. Almost lazily he kissed me and helplessly I felt my hands that had been pushing against him slide up his chest and grip his shoulders, pulling him against me. The feel of his body pressing against me, his warm hands stroking up and down my back, his smell, the slow rise of his cock, the slow, sucking kiss we were exchanging was turning me on as being anywhere near him usually does and I felt my own cock harden. He sighed a quiet willing noise as I pressed back against him, pushing my hard, hungry cock against him. I pulled away from his warm mouth to trail kisses along his jaw and along his neck towards his ear. I ran my fingers through his hair, gripping tight with one hand as he tilted his head back, allowing me access to the tender, vulnerable spot behind his ear. I bit him, not hard, just enough to leave a mark and enough that his body tensed, trembling against me, I sucked at my bite. He moaned as I trailed more nipping, sucking kisses down his neck, the fingers of my free hand trailing down the opposite side of his neck and across his neck, cheek and across his kiss swollen full lips. He nipped my fingers, sucking my fingers into his mouth and I moaned this time from the wet, satiny warmth of his mouth. I growled shoving against him more aggressively as I pulled my fingers out of his mouth and let go of his hair. He let me push him back towards the bed and push him down on it but he fought me playfully, resisting and wrestling with me, when I went to crawl on top of him. All but seeing the red of lust for him now, all I could think about was getting him under me and my cock into him, but his sexual games were frustrating that hunger, so I resorted to dirty tactics. I ran a hand down his stomach and wrapped my hand around his hard, leaking cock at the same time I latched on to his nipple. Nipping and sucking I felt him tense, a weakness in his struggles against me not to tremble against me or thrust his cock or chest against me as a moan escaped from between his clenched teeth. Beyond the obvious my neck and ears are my responsive triggers, his nipples are his. I tightened my grip around his cock, using his freely leaking pre-cum to keep stroking down the length of it and rubbing my thumb over the head, as I switched to a slow lick, sucking his other nipple. He shivered, hissing, unable to stop the helpless thrust of his hips as he pushed his cock into my hand. I shifted keeping him busy, angling away from him a bit as I used my free hand to reach down to the little bedside table and open the travel sized bottle of lube we kept there. It was a testament to his preoccupation with teasing me by resisting giving me what I wanted that he didn't hear the snap of the cap. I felt him start in surprise, stilling, when my wet finger trailed teasingly across his most vulnerable spot. It was a mistake on his part, that he went so still and expectant as he focused on my teasing fingers and stroking hand, waiting for me to touch him. It was a mistake that he didn't stop me when I shifted, pressing against his side as I pushed my insistently pulsing cock against him, trailing kisses up his chest and neck, I kissed him. Aggressively I pushed my tongue into his mouth, kissing him hard and hungrily, as I pushed my finger into him. He moaned quivering hard against me as I released his cock to score down his inner thigh with my nails and back up the opposite thigh. I was able to be patient as I worked another finger into him, wrapping my hand back around his cock. I was still unbelievably horny, but now I was amused ignoring his struggles to now pull me on top of him as I played with him. It is a mistake to play with a cat, now I had him where I could have him it was my turn to drive him a bit crazy. It didn't take me long to get three fingers into him, and use them to tease and drive him crazy as I finger fucked him, reducing him to a pliant writhing mess. I ignored his silent pleading and growing hunger waiting for him to say the words, but he was stubborn and still determined to hold out on me, to tease me back. In the end it was listening to his little moans and begging gasps that broke my will. It was so exciting to watch him flushed and breathless, as he thrust into my hand, his hands gripping the duvet in a death grip as my fingers slid into him, stroking over his special spot. I felt my cock harden to an even more impossible hardness and I reached for him and rolled on top of him letting my hands run over him as he let me slide between his legs. This time he wrapped his legs around me, his grip tight as I felt his hands run feverishly over me. I was so feverish myself that I bit his shoulder hard as I thrust into him, forcing a strangled scream and a long buck out of him as I grabbed his ass. I started to fuck him; I rode him long and hard hearing my own low growls as I felt him underneath me, trapped under my weight and my cock as he withered against me. We came together, muffling our screams in a passionate kiss as I collapsed onto him sweaty, tired and deeply satisfied as I relaxed my grip on his ass. It took a while for our breathing to slow down and for us to stir out of our stupor. I didn't feel a need to move, still liking the feel of him under me, the feel of his pulse under my lips buried in his neck and the slowing rise and fall of his chest as he breathed his heartbeat under my arm. I pulled out of him as I ran my fingers through his hair, stroking and massaging his scalp as he ran his fingers over me. At some point I felt him shift under me and wince, I realised I had my arms around him gripping him tight, love, relief and need riding me hard. So tight in fact my claws had come out and were digging into him, drawing blood and leaving bruises. With a grunt of apology I shifted off him and relaxed my grip, stroking over the bruises and scratches. "S'ok" He murmured as he shifted, rolling over to press against me, rubbing his fingers behind my ears as he wrapped the other arm around me. "I'm still here I'm not going anywhere." He whispered quietly as he nuzzled my shoulder and I could feel his love and need for me through our soulmate cloud. I pressed back against him, wrapping myself around him as he made a sleepy sound, his stroking fingers still caressing my ears. I held on to him and felt him fall back to sleep, sexually satisfied and content to just lie with me. But sleepy, satisfied and content as I was, I couldn't follow him into sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about poor Michael and what had happened tonight. I knew we couldn't save everyone, but it always hurt and added to my sense of bitter failure when we lost and the Night World won. I knew I'd been having dark dreams about him for weeks to come. = = = = = = = = = = 7pm - earlier that evening. Grim silence settled between Damien and I as he drove towards the house of Michael's friends in his dark grey SUV. I didn't have to glance at the speed to note he was speeding and resisted the impulse to urge him to drive faster, but getting pulled over by the cops for speeding wouldn't get us there any faster even with Damien to use vamp tricks on him, so I gritted my teeth and willed us there. I could feel anticipation, alert readiness and a waiting stillness coming through the silver cord that bound me to my soulmate so I knew nothing had really happened yet, but I knew as well as any Night Worlder does that we can spring hell in a moment. I fingered the trio of knives, one blade silver, one wood and the last iron veined steel; I had them in my lap from the weapon collection we kept in a secret compartment in the SUV's boot. Damien calls me a reckless, impulsive fighter, my enemies a thug as I tend to favour fighting in my enemies faces, as a lynx or with my fists, shuriken or my knives, I prefer to look my enemy in the eye when I kill him. It was the lynx in me and something inbuilt in my personality; I went in with nothing but will power, blood lust, my strength and a knife or small throwing star. It was probably going to be the death of me one day, but as long as I take my enemy out with me when it's my turn to face Death then I'll go with a grin. We pulled off the road opposite the driveway that led up to the house Michael was staying in and Damien parked in a small sheltered area behind some trees. We were about thirty minutes drive south of London in a semi-rural area. I could see the glow of lights in the distance showing the presence of a few other country or farm houses but there were very few people out here. The driveway up to the house was long enough that we couldn't see the house from the road or the cars belonging to our enemies. We got out of the car without a word and immediately I began stripping off my clothes, it would be easier to go in as a lynx. Damien opened the back door of his SUV and opened the weapon compartment to pull out his own preferred weapons. I heard a subtle rustle from the ancient naked apple tree next to us and spun around to see it was only Chay. He was shifting back to human behind the ancient tree, he might be a powerful white gyrfalcon, but falcons weren't so good in a fight at night. "About time you guys got here." He said as he emerged fully clothed in a pair of white vaguely feathery pants and shirt from behind the trees. As Damien opened his mouth to defend us I dropped down to my knees and released the lynx, immediately feeling the familiar mix of pain, tension and release as my body changed. It felt like I'd released a firmly bound bowstring as agony and the ecstatic energy, the freedom, of a shift swamped me, as the lynx slid over my skin pushing, squeezing and shifting my bones, muscles and skin. I rocked forward onto all fours releasing a growl as my eyes changed, sharpening to their mix of greys, black and white. I felt the lynx's instincts gain strength as I twitched my tufted ears, sitting back on my haunches. I am a large lynx easily the size and weight of a big German Shepherd with long, strong legs and big furry paws. My coat had automatically taken on its winter thickness and colouring, and is a tawny-grey with faint brown spots and a white belly and chest. In summer my coat is not as thick and is a deeper tawny-gold with darker brown spots My shift was fast enough I got to watch impatiently as Damien shut the SUV door, his favourite weapon a Japanese fighting stick in his hands. It was a beautiful weapon made of dark oak with runes carved into it and both ends sharpened into wickedly sharp stakes, with one end silver tipped. I heard more then saw Chay finish loading a third 9 mm semi automatic pistol with a mix of silver, wood and iron bullets. I knew both of them would carry extra knives for me and knew both of them carried spelled swords over their shoulders as back up weapons for when their primary weapons failed them. I growled again to hurry them up as I rose to my feet and paced forward, they could hang around out here if they wanted to. I could hear but not see the other Night Worlders, we needed to be moving and I headed out. We were lucky that tonight was not a full moon and that we were downwind in the little wind that there was, the moon was barely a dim crescent in the dark sky above us and the gathering dark clouds hid the stars. It looked and smelled like the rain wouldn't hold out on us long, good and bad as it would wash away tracks and scents, ours and theirs. I kept to the shadows underneath the bare cherry trees and frost damp tall grass that boarded the sides of the gravel driveway as I made my way stealthily towards the sounds and growing scents of our prey. I am a cat so instinctively I stuck to the cover but looked for a piece of higher ground to use to spot our prey. I could smell three vampires, a witch, two werewolves and a cougar shifter and finally spotted a cherry tree up ahead that had convenient low branches that I could use to climb up for a view. I might not be able to climb a tree in a hurry or use it to hunt from but when I have to I can get up a tree as a lynx and did so. Sticking to the sturdy branches I climbed up high enough that I could see but still stay shielded by the tree's branches. From my perch I looked for our prey; they had come in two black SUV's and I could see both SUV's were parked in front of the lit up house, they were empty, which meant they were probably either in the house or somewhere around the house. I smelled Damien as he came to the base of my tree and I heard him crouch down. I felt more than heard Chay come up and pass us on the opposite side of the driveway as he continued towards the house, sticking to the available cover. [Looks like our buddies have come on cliché today. I see two black SUV's, empty, but I smell and sense at least three vampires, two 'wolves and a cougar. There's a witch out there somewhere too.] Damien relayed to me, I knew by his tone he was passing the same information on to Chay at the same time and guessed I smelled or spotted the same thing. But it never hurt to share anyway. [I can see the witch and one of the vampires, don't recognise either, but can't get a visual on the rest yet and I don't see or hear anything from in the house.] I passed on as he held open the telepathic connection between us. I did see a young looking blonde male vampire leaning on the garage wall in a shadowed corner, watching the front yard and the front door. The witch was a young female, red haired and curvy, as she leaned against the front bumper of the farthest away SUV, cleaning her nails by the look of it. [Shifters and 'wolves are too good at hiding themselves, they won't be obvious.] I added after another slow, thorough scan visually and audibly of the area. There was a long pause and at the end was a wordless confirmation that Damien had spotted the same two I saw. [Chay has spotted another vampire and a 'wolf. He can't see Cris, the other 'wolf or the cougar.] Damien relayed as another long pause stretched between us. [He says he is taking care of them, you take out the witch and vampire. I'll look for Cris, Michael, the missing shifter and 'wolf.] I felt Damien hear my acceptance and felt him shut down the connection between us and I heard him slip away from underneath my tree. I stayed up my tree for a minute or two as I figured out the best way to approach and take out my targets. I also gave him a minute or two to get away and then climbed down my tree. Once at the base of my tree I noted that Damien had brought the black pants and long sleeved dark t-shirt I wore on the job and I quickly shifted back to human. I pulled on the clothes, strapped three knives one wood, one silver and one iron lined steel to my forearms and pulled on old running shoes with no socks. While my feet were tough, it was wiser to wear shoes so I could run faster and not tear my feet up. The clothes were also a further weapon as they were made from cat hide, which meant when I shifted the clothes would shift with me. Sounds a bit gruesome but it was hide gained from my enemies and I noticed it was something Chay did too judging from his white clothes. A Voice From the Night World Ch. 04 I walked out from behind my tree, edged into the centre of the drive way and crossed to the far side, being careful not to let her see me moving but I need not have bothered. She was clearly bored and more interested in her nails then in looking around her. Bad mistake but it played right into my hands and allowed me to stalk on silent feet right up behind her pulling out my iron laced knife. Reversing it I used the iron laced handle to rap her smartly on the temple. She dropped to the ground like a stone, the iron lacing was witch poison and delivered a much harder blow then my gesture warranted. She would have a hell of a headache and feel very sick when she woke up. I crouched behind the SUV noting that the noise the witch made dropping to the ground had alerted the blonde vampire. I kept my eyes on him as he came towards me but made sure to keep my senses open to the whereabouts of our missing prey. I waited until he was almost right on top of me and had crouched down to feel along the downed witch's neck for a pulse, before I jumped out from behind the SUV and tackled him to the ground. We cursed and swore at each other as we wrestled on the ground as we both grappled for the upper hand. He hissed at me his blue eyes shining silver and his fangs out as he snapped at me, his teeth making an audible click as he attempted to bite me. Technically as a vampire he was much stronger than me and if he had any telepathy could knock me out cold, he could also try and bury his fangs in me as he was trying to do or simply over power me with brute strength, but he was a clumsy fighter. Clearly he either didn't have telepathy, was very inexperienced in a fight for I didn't feel the kind of knockout blow I know Damien can deliver. He did manage one good solid blow to my wrist and I heard a faint snick, as pain and weakness shot up my arm telling me my wrist was broken or fractured. He lunged up underneath me and I felt the scratch of his teeth along my throat. I swore at him allowing my nails to grow to sharp, killing claws and dug them into his shoulder, gauging out deep groves in his flesh as hard as I could, ignoring the throbbing pain from my broken wrist. I felt him wince and hiss underneath my claws but he lunged at me again this time I felt the sharp piercing pain of his teeth. I screamed a lynx's infuriated cry and hurt wrist or not I grabbed the sides of his head in an iron grip and ripped his teeth out of my neck. I felt the pain of torn flesh and the warm rush of blood as it flowed from the wounds. Through a mix of sheer anger and will I punched him in the face hard, once and then again. I hauled out my wood bladed knife and shove it into his right shoulder. I could hear the low angry growling coming out of me as it blended with his hiss of pain. I pulled the knife out and shoved it back in his chest. "Nobody bites me." I growled at him as he went limp under me and I yanked my wooden knife out. I got off him and crouched down, cleaning my knife off in the frost damp grass as I shifted back to lynx, my furry clothes changing with me, knowing it was the fastest way to help heal my injuries and gritted my teeth as that peculiar mix of pain and freedom rushed into me with the shift. Once again I was a lynx and I growled to myself again, glaring at the downed vampire. I could hear and see the faint breath and knew I'd just knocked him unconscious; neither blow had been a killing blow, yet. Wood poisoning might still kill him but that wasn't my problem. My shift instantly healed the bites in my neck and my wrist, only silver created a problem and delayed healing, could kill, seriously injure or poison me. My next problem hit me with the force and speed of a striking whirlwind; he bowled me tail over ass. I went sprawling in the damp grass with a cougar streaking after me and scrambled up with a scream to echo his. I threw myself at him screaming again and smacked at him as hard as I could, putting all my speed and strength behind it. He was a bigger animal then I was, but I was strong and seeing the red of true rage. We sprang apart, crouching in the grass, glaring at each other as we eyed each other up, a mere metre between us, our chests heaving with effort, fury and adrenalin. He charged into me again with a scream of his own and I reared back, charging forward and up into his charge, whacking back with hard blows of my big paws. The strength, ferocity and speed of my attack forced him backwards and flipped him over showing his vulnerable belly. He flipped back over with a cat's speedy reflexes and leapt away; I jumped at his back, claws out and swatted at him hard, forcing him away from me and drawing blood. He spun back around to face me with those same quick feline reflexes and backed away, I followed charging into him as he hit back at me as he now defended himself, landing a good blow or two and drawing blood from my face and shoulder. We separated again, growling at each other, he charged at me again forcing his way past me and the hard blows of my paws as he retreated back into the trees he'd come from heading back up the drive. I spun around and began to give chase when I heard the loud sound of a gun going off once, then twice, from the opposite side of the front yard. The cougar dropped like a stone, much as my witch target had earlier and I spun around with a growl of irritation. Chay was standing there smoking gun in hand, calm and unruffled, eyes cold and calculating as he eyed the downed cougar and me. "Never mind thaty ou'd better follow me inside." He said in reply to my growl as he turned around and headed back towards the house, not waiting for me to follow. "The two 'wolves have been taken care of." A note of urgency ghosting his quiet, in control voice had me following him with some haste as we circled around behind the house and approached the back door. The back door was frosted glass and was standing wide open showing the way the intruders had got into the house, a converted Victorian barn. The scents of blood, tears, pain and piss found their way into my sensitive nose along with fear, grief and ugly hatred. I shuddered under my thick fur coat not looking forward to what would face me. Sure enough I didn't like it one bit and couldn't stop the growl from escaping as I came into the open plan living room and kitchen. Two people a white man and a Japanese woman I didn't recognise lay still and dead on the living room floor. A third, Michael was moaning quietly in pain, clearly in a bad way judging from the blood on his abdomen and left thigh. Damien was crouched over him, his cell phone to his ear as he spoke to someone on the other end, clearly ordering healers in. I noticed his weapon was propped up against the wall nearest him, one end the sharp wooden tip bloodied, I also noticed there was a healing bruise or two on Damien's face. A fourth person, a young male half Asian fox shifter stood guard with one of Chay's pistols trained over an unconscious Cris who was confined to an arm chair. I saw Cris had a sluggishly bleeding cut on his forehead, a swelling black eye and I saw a bleeding hole in his left shoulder. Moving up behind Damien I shifted and touched his shoulder as Chay moved to the exposed corner of the room next to the bay window, where he stood facing it, arms crossed over his chest, patient, watchful and still. [He's not looking too good. We might not have got here in time.] Damien said to me regret and anger colouring his words as he opened his mind to me as he hung up his phone to press a wadded up towel to Michael's bleeding abdomen harder in an attempt to stop the bleeding. I sighed crouching down beside Damien and touched Michael's shoulder. [I smell iron. Did he shoot or stab him?] I asked Damien evenly, managing with sheer will power to keep the seething rage out of my voice and expression. [The bullets are both iron.] Damien responded back angrily. "Hey mate, not a good night huh?" I greeted Michael with a grin. "I've had better." He admitted with snort. "You're hurt." Michael whispered with a wince as he nodded at my neck and face. "It's nothing, I'll live." I whispered back realising as I reached up and touched it, there was dried blood on my neck and face. I'd forgotten it. "I had a feeling you'd come and you did, thank you." He whispered just as softly. "Didn't know you were Scottish though, aren't you American?" He questioned with a faint smile, his words so soft only sharp hearing would have picked it up. I managed a smile not realising I'd reverted back to my native accent, as we heard a loud knock and a bang as the healers, two witches arrived totting black doctor's bags. They two women shooed us away from Michael's side and took over with the peculiar fussing and bossy manner of women and healers. "What do you think we should do with him?" I asked Damien with a dark glare at the unconscious Cris. He was a handsome guy, I could easily see him on the front cover of a glossy magazine, with his wavy dark brown hair, dark green eyes and square, chiselled face but then all Night Worlders were stunning. "Killing him would be too nice and not a good thing for Michael. So I made a call to Lord Sebastian, he's sending down his best enforcers to bring him in to the holding facility." Damien replied quietly. "He'll be held until such time was he sees the error of his ways." He added and we swapped sardonic, bitter smiles. We both knew Night Worlders who were taken in and held in Daybreaker cells rarely chose to change sides and merely rotted there. It was the best alternative we had short of killing him and Damien was right, as much as killing the son of a bitch was my preferred option, we couldn't do that to Michael. The loss of a soulmate was a shock, on good days it drove you mad or you lost the will to live and on bad days you died with them. I glanced around the room, seeing the trashed, messed up state of it and the poor, dead people on the ground. I sensed the Japanese woman was a fox shifter, like her son and the man was human. I felt troubled for the needless, useless loss of people. Judging by their positions sprawled over the floor closest to us, they'd probably opened the door to Cris and his buddies, let them in and paid for it with their lives, they'd been shot execution style to the head and chest. The half Japanese lad standing over Cris had tears streaking unashamedly down his face. He looked the same age as Michael to me and had a look about him that reminded me of a good throwing knife, delicate and finely crafted, but strong and capable of killing. He felt my eyes on him and glanced at me, his eyes fox yellow and red rimmed from crying, but his face was still grim looking. "What happened here?" I asked him. He eyed me suspiciously. "Who wants to know?" "I am Liev. I am Michael's friend." I replied simply. His eyes glittered with anger and sorrow. "You didn't get here fast enough though, did you?" I flushed but refused to drop my eyes. "We tried." His eyes softened as he glanced from me over to where Michael lay hovered over by Damien and the two witches. One looked 17 and one looked to be in her mid thirties, clearly mother and daughter, judging by their dark hair and blue eyes. "I'm Alan." He finally admitted. "What happened?" I asked him again. He sighed. "We'd just had dinner, Michael and I had finished the washing up and we'd sat down again for a cup of tea and a chat, trying to help Michael figure out what to do. I went for a shower and a cleanup, and then they arrived." He swallowed glancing away from his friend and hiding his eyes, but I'd seen the worry and love in his eyes and was reminded yet again that not every soulmate story turns out to have a good ending. Some soulmate relationships are messy and fucked up, like this one clearly was. Alan clearly loved Michael and I knew Michael loved Cris, Cris clearly thought the opposite. What a miserable, vicious triangle to be in. He must have sensed or seen my sympathy, my understanding, because he met my eyes. "We heard cars pull up and then a knock on the door. My stepfather got up to open the door and my mother followed to see who it was. Cris and his lads were there, Cris wanted to come in. Swearing he wanted only to apologise to Michael and seek amends. My parents let him in and they came in, began talking to us, then without warning hell started." He went on managing to get it all out in an even tone and in one go, but the pain and bitter anger was still in his face. "Cris ordered the two werewolves to shoot and kill my parents, ordered the rest outside to guard the house and watch for any trouble and then he attacked Michael. I heard my parents screams so I came running in time to see Cris shoot him and my parents die." Alan went on in the same even, almost emotionless tone. "Then he was barging in." Alan gestured to Damien. "They fought; Damien managed to knock him out. Ordered me to stand over him and he went to check on Michael." "Then he came." This time he gestured at Chay. "He got a weird look on his face, I almost thought it was fury or worry or both, then he was gone and back with you." I glanced at Chay, who hadn't moved from his solitary guard post. "For the help you gave my friend I'll give you a warning." Alan whispered to me. "Stay away from him." He indicted Chay with a subtle flick of his fox eyes. "Did you know he's Demon?" Alan whispered to me. "What makes you think that?" I asked curiously. Demon was one of the most elusive, secretive and most notorious Night World assassins, but no one knew what he looked like or who he was. Alan managed a faint smile. "Just my instincts and my senses, he's a gyrfalcon, I saw a gyrfalcon once, I was out for a hunt really early in the morning and saw him hanging out circling over a park, hunting." "On my way back around the block, I ran past the same park and saw the same gyr, he'd killed a red tailed hawk." Alan continued to explain his voice sticking to its confiding whisper as he leaned closer to me. I raised an eyebrow curious to hear the rest. "As far as I know gyrs don't normally go out of their way to hunt and kill other birds of prey. Sure, they will attack and kill them if they're near their nests or enter their territories, but they don't just hunt them for dinner. That gyr did." Alan said fiercely. "What makes you think that hawk didn't enter his territory?" I wanted to know. Alan gave me cynical look giving my shoulder a friendly punch. "Come on, I wasn't born yesterday. I heard a day later that a certain shifter wanted for selling human girls to the enclave down in Wales was missing." I grinned feeling Chay's eyes practically burning a hole in us. "That's a good story." "It's true. I'm just giving you a friendly warning I wouldn't turn my back on him." He insisted. "I'll keep it in mind." I promised as I moved away from Alan's side, knowing he was too close and if he kept touching me he'd get himself in trouble. "What's happening?" I asked Damien as we watched the two witches their joined hands producing a deep green glow that was being directed on their patient. [They're doing what they can but they are worried about the iron poisoning his system. The bullet in his abdomen was lodged really deep and they've got it out but it doesn't look good.] Damien admitted grimly. I felt my own expression turning grim despite my best efforts as I watched the witches efforts to save Michael. Damien tapped his forehead "You need to go take a turn watching over Jason. Tien needs a break." I nodded feeling almost relieved to have something to do, I knew waiting around here wasn't productive and there was nothing I could do for Michael. I'm not a healer and killing Cris wouldn't solve the problem, the other Night Worlder's with Cris were either dead or knocked out cold. "Don't worry about me. You can take my SUV; Tien will come and get me. I'd also like to stay here until Lord Sebastien's team gets here and I need to call Zach to let him know what's been happening." Damien continued casually. I nodded again and turned to leave feeling Chay follow me out the door. We headed back down the drive, we were silent, our eyes wary and alert, we were both hunters and it came naturally, but the quiet between us was companionable. It wasn't until we'd both climbed into Damien's SUV and I'd started it up, I was driving, that Chay said anything. "What did Alan say to you?" Chay asked enquiringly. I smirked at him. "He told me you're Demon." He gave me an enigmatic cold look. "He said I should watch out for you." I added casually managing through sheer will power to compose my expression and keep it casual. I gave him the story Alan had just told me and couldn't keep the smirk off my face any longer. I could feel Chay's eyes on me, the heat and his amusement growing to match mine, his usual cold, arrogant mask melting as it always did when it was only the two of us. "So are you going to watch your ass now that you know the truth I've been hiding all these months?" Chay all but purred his dark eyes gleaming with wicked heat. "If anything it's you he should have warned away from me. It's you who has to watch your ass if I get anywhere near you." I murmured mischievously back giving him a flirty look. "Oh but when did I ever listen to anyone? Maybe I want you to catch me." The fiery look he shot me was teasing and horny as he licked his lips. Giving him a very similar look I raked my eyes down his body and couldn't help grinning when he shifted stretching his legs out and spreading them slightly, showing his body off to me. I laughed caught up in a mix of playful hunger and he laughed too, a little wildly and it seemed to feed my own wild amusement so bad that I had to pull over. My eyes were full of tears and my stomach ached from the loud laughter and giggles that wouldn't stop coming out of me, or him. It might seem really cruel and insensitive, laughing when we just came from a fight to save a friend of mine and had to leave that friend in a critical condition. But fights always leave the two us a mess of nerves, blood lust and tension. Before I had discovered my soulmate I used to have to find a fuck of go on a hunt. Only hot sex or killing something got rid of the remaining nerves, tension and battle fever that remained in my blood after a fight. It wasn't long before I nearly choked on my laughter and my own tongue as he attacked me. As soon as his lips smashed into mine the silver cord that bound us together ripped apart and blue lightening sizzled between us. His hands were groping me so roughly I knew he was leaving bruises and scratches but I knew I was doing the same to him. Somehow I managed despite the steering wheel to haul him out of his seat and half across my lap, thank fuck for large roomy SUV's. My hands had already pushed the soft, white slacks down his hips so I could squeeze and grope his ass. Almost roughly he released my mouth as he shifted off me and before I'd realised what he was about his long, clever fingers had freed my hard cock from my own black furry slacks. He leaned across me to move the car set back and down, his silky hair brushing against my cock, and shifted back, taking my cock in his mouth. I growled as he used one hand to stroke in the opposite direction to his warm, sucking mouth and teasing tongue, tormenting me by playing with my balls with his free hand. I moved my own hands around so I could stroke his own hard cock and got a moan for my trouble as he pushed his hips forward, thrusting his cock into my fist. I used my free hand to stroke up under his shirt and stroke his abs and chest. Both of us were too horny and fevered with the cocktail of left over emotions from fighting to last long. I moaned and knew I was going to come, I felt Chay register I was close through the soulmate haze between us. It only took one more tight pull of his mouth down my cock and a hard suck and I came. I felt the hot seed nearly explode out of me as I screamed and expected Chay to choke as he hadn't released me from his mouth when I'd come. But he didn't, he has no gag reflex, lucky me, he simply swallowed my seed hungrily and pushed his own hungry cock into my fist. This time I felt through the soulmate fog how excited and close he was. A Voice From the Night World Ch. 04 I tightened my grip on his cock, stroking up it one more time as I pinched his nipple with the fingers of my free hand. He tensed against me, gave a hard shudder and he moaned shuddering against me as I felt his dick pulse and wet seed coated my hand. He continued shuddering as his cock released another spurt of seed and another. He sagged against me and I pulled him up out of my lap and against me. I hugged him to me, dropping kisses up his neck and across his face, finally latching onto his mouth. I kissed him long and leisurely, taking my time to enjoy the feel and taste of him as he wrapped his arms around me, kissing me back. I wasn't sure how long we sat there but I don't think it was too long before we came back to reality. I shifted him away from me reluctantly and he went just as reluctantly as we panted trying to catch our breath. We fixed our clothes then our mussed hair and I glanced at his passion flushed face and blazing eyes as he tied his hair back with shaking hands. "You might want to put your mask back on." I suggested with a grin. I started the car up laughing as I watched him glance at the mirror and see his own expression. He smirked at me but fixed his expression, the ice prince returning to sit in the car with me. The other Chay that lived under the mask disappeared the ice prince never giving a hint of the guy who lived inside him. I shook my head at him and laughed heading towards Jason's house. Poor Tien was probably wondering what happened to us, but then I realised he'd probably have guessed. He was probably one of the very few that realised how volatile and sex hungry we were. "Do you think Alan will tell his story to other people?" Chay commented to me as we pulled up a few houses up the street from Jason's. I glanced at him. "Why do you ask?" He shot me side long look as he opened his door and slid out, he flashed me his wicked grin over his shoulder, a rare sensual thing that never failed to harden my cock then his mask slid smoothly back on. "Can't have Night Worlder's knowing how Demon might get around." + + + + + + + + + + It was 2am when I returned from babysitting Jason which consisted of hiding as a lynx in a set of huge bushes that bordered his property. I watched and guarded Jason and his house but nothing happened. The most excitment I got was the ribbing Tien had given us telling us we must have gotten lost on the way. At least I hadn't been alone though and had company through the boring hours as Chay had stayed with me, up in a tree as a falcon true but company is company. Damien had arrived at 2am to take his turn so we could go and get some sleep. He'd given us an update that Michael was still in a serious condition and the witches hadn't been sure if they'd got all the iron out of him. He'd also let us know that Tien had gone home to sleep and so should we. He'd given us a ride home and we'd gone straight to our rooms as he drove back to Jason's. I'd been so tired I'd stripped and fallen across my bed with a grateful sigh falling asleep straight off. I'd shifted a few times, had sex, fought other Night Worlders and healed injuries so despite the predator I was, I needed rest. I barely stirred when I felt Chay slide into bed with me and curl up against me nuzzling his face into my neck. But I woke up an hour later from the first of the dark, uneasy dreams. Restless and unsettled I couldn't seem to relax back to sleep, I kept having awful dreams. Then the phone call from Damien had come and despite Chay's best efforts to distract me, I was still awake and uneasy. It would be a while before I slept through the night again. Somtimes I wonder if we aren't fighting a loosing battle with the quicksand that is the Night world. It just keeps sucking and sucking shit in, it never stops. Perhaps the Millenium battle would end in a fucking disater and be the end of all of us. But we had to keep fighting. To give up and quit was cowardly, the Night World simply could not win. One more win to the Night World, one more loss of a good witch to Daybreak. A Voice From the Night World Ch. 05 I don't own The Night World or seek to profit from the ideas or characters that belong to another. The Night World belongs to the wonderful L. J Smith. I thank her for creating such a wonderful series that I can borrow for the use of my characters. The characters in this story are fictional and any similarities to living people are accidental. As this story contains sex between males, you need to be of legal age to be reading this story and if you don't want to be reading about sex between young men you might want to stop now. Feedback is very welcome, as is anyone who is keen to pre-read or edit for me. All can be sent to me via my profile. I hope you all enjoy! Author's Note: Thanks for all the generous feedback. Apologies for the long delay of this chapter and thank for your patience, internet problems and life meant this took a back seat. But here it is the chapter you've all waited patiently before. Also thanks to the reader who gave me the idea for the hall fight and to take the fight to the country, this was originally in Glasgow. Enjoy the ride! * I was jostled awake not long after dawn by a hard prod in the back. I felt my own fidgety shifting had woken my soulmate up for the second night in a row as I tossed fitfully from another of my uneasy dreams. I felt him lean over me and saw both my hands were gripping the sheets in tight fists. I could see my claws were out and I had ripped the sheets and my own hands up with the same claws as they stabbed into the mattress, clawing my own nightmares. I felt him sigh and get out of bed to fetch a damp facecloth from the ensuite bathroom attached to this room. He crouched naked in front of me and began to firmly coax my fingers to release my stranglehold of the sheets. He used the cloth to clean up my own blood and self inflicted cuts, cuts that were already healing as he cleaned them. I felt him shift as he knelt on the floor his fingers moving to stroke my face comfortingly. He kissed the side of my neck and shoulder nuzzling against my ear. I inhaled the familiar smell of him a unique mix of falcon, cold alpine air, and grass with a distinctive peppery undertone. I felt him drop the cloth on the floor and stroke his fingers through my hair. As always if I was anywhere near the smell of him and his warm, hard body my own body responded, as I felt his own react. Because I was touching him the soulmate bond was enveloping our minds in hazy blue mist and I could feel his emotions, see his thoughts and I knew he could see the nightmare as the images still flickered through me. It was the same reoccurring dream I'd been having off and on for the past two days. It was a natural response to the disastrous events we had faced with Michael and the larger looming war with the Night World. I was running through a house that bore a perfect resemblance to the house of Michael's friends and was trying yet again to get to him before the gun shot went off. I felt Chay's awareness of me in his head and his need to comfort me, stop the problem. I felt my own purr as I slid my hand down to wrap my fingers around the wrist of his free hand, my fingers stroking his pulse. I felt his own matching desire for me in his mind, in the tensing of his muscles, his rocketing pulse and I could smell sex on him from earlier on that night. Without reaching down to stroke his cock I could smell and feel his own arousal and knew he was hard too. I felt him nuzzle my neck humming a tune that was nearly a soothing purr; I recognised it as an old Finnish lullaby I'd heard before, as he chased the dream out of my head. In so many ways Chay he is the falcon that lives in him and in his own way is ruled by his instincts, in his savage drive to protect or defend his territory, his devotion to and passionate need of his mate. But there is willingness in him to be coldly ruthless to get what he want, to get his prey. He is far more patient, precise and merciless then I am. I could hear him think me reckless, hot heated and impulsive. The falcon he is hunts by using sheer relentless power, fear and merciless patience to exhaust his victims, he's far more intelligent than I am, the thinker and planner. He thought I was taking what happened to Michael and this war we are in too much to heart and far too personally, this war was not going to end well. He thought the pragmatic thing was to move on to the next thing. But my thoughts had strayed from his, I'd released him from our mingling thoughts but not for long, he never let me deny him for long. He shifted pushing me over as he moved back up onto the bed and slid in next to me. He wrapped himself around me and pressed his lips into the hollow of my throat still humming the same old wordless tune. I felt his leg wind through mine, his foot stroking my calf. I felt his fierce focus on me and was surprised to realise my own arms had wrapped around him with my fingers tangled in his hair as. I didn't remember doing that, it was so instinctive to touch him and respond. I felt him pull me deeper into his mind, into his own memories. He distracted me with his own memories of flying as a falcon letting me feel and experience it through him. I felt my own purr and his hum as I offered up my own treasured memories of running and stalking as a lynx, such was the way we distracted and comforted each other. I must have dozed lost in our memories and the song he was humming because when I next opened my eyes time had passed and Chad had drifted back to sleep, I could see the approaching dawn through the blinds. I felt the edgy restless urge to run to shake loose the thoughts and feelings still haunting me. Locked in the shape of a lynx I'd be beyond it, a lynx doesn't dwell on anything except prey, shelter, sex, danger and the odd bit of play. Carefully I wriggled away from him untangling my limbs from his and couldn't help watching him for a moment. His fair hair was loose and mussed, his pale skin still flushed pink from sleep, face and body relaxed. Pulling on my furry dark shifter pants and shirt I didn't bother with shoes, I wouldn't need them as a lynx, I padded to the bathroom down the hall to piss and then padded out of the house. I jogged to the big park a mile up the road, most safehouses were close to a big park with a small forest of trees and ours was no exception. Once I was hidden by the trees I dropped to the ground and shifted feeling that familiar rush of pain and elation as I became the lynx. On all fours I trotted even further into the trees and began to run. When I'd run my skittish nerves to exhaustion I sprawled out on the leafy ground under a willow tree to catch my breath. I lazed, drifting as I listened to and smelled the sounds and scents of scurrying animals as they attended to the never ending business of finding food, defending territories and raising young. I even heard a couple of early runners doing their bit to stay fit even at this early hour. One sound and scent caught my attention more than the others as I opened my eyes and glanced up to see the gyrfalcon landing on a branch of my willow tree. He folded his wings and watched me with those fierce dark eyes. I felt his hunter's pride, the satisfaction that he'd found me and the annoyance that I'd left without him. I yawned feeling my ears flick at him knowing he could feel my amusement with him. I felt the sudden push-pull release of shifter energy as he shifted, to me it looked like his form wavered and flickered like a desert mirage or the heat haze above a road on a hot summer day, leaving the human sitting on the branch. He jumped easily to the ground clothed in his white feathered clothing and simply waited as I still watched him. "Why didn't you wake me up? You know I can't sleep without you." He grumbled. I yawned again as I considered him, I got up and leisurely stretched out my strong supple cat body. I sauntered up to him, and I nudged him, rubbing against him affectionately. Being deliberately annoying as I knew he hated it, I licked the back of his hand with my rough tongue. Sneezing violently I laughed as only a feline can as the exasperation, disgust and affection fought it out in his expression as he wiped the back of his hand against his pants. I rubbed against him again purring as I deliberately leaned all my weight on him. He didn't move except to lock his legs and drop his hand in the short ruff on my neck, stroking the fur there with those long killing fingers of his. Without warning I darted away from him feeling him fall against the willow tree in surprise at the abrupt loss of my weight against him. I growled at him playfully and unable to resist a challenge Chay smirked back lunging towards me; the game was on as I took off. Alternating between human and falcon Chay chased me through the trees. There was a point where I lost him, he simply disappeared and that concerned the human and lynx equally, he was too good a hunter to lose me with the simple distraction tactic I'd used. I crouched in the shelter of some bushes, still a lynx, my senses were better as a cat, and I strained my eyes, ears and nose to pick up any trace of him. I even checked the trees above me and silver cord, still nothing, not good. Without warning a shadow dropped not out of the tree above me, but out of the tree behind me, and pounced on me easily bowling me over. For a few minutes the pair of us wrestled on the forest floor, still human against cat, until I managed to wriggle free and dashed off again, realizing he let me, he was too skilled a killer and hunter. Scrambling to his feet I felt the grin, the hunger for the hunt that was singing through him, as he chased after me through the trees. Getting far enough ahead of him, I was faster as a cat then he was as a human, I hid behind a thick oak tree and shifted, calling back my human form. I allowed him to approach my tree and saw him stop; he cocked his head clearly listening, sharp eyes scanning the area. Before he could get a lock on me I jumped out from my hiding place, using my momentum to pounce on him. This time I bowled him over, I felt the instinctive, experienced tensing of his muscles as he automatically readied to defend or kill and abrupt release of that terrible energy as he recognized the feel and scent of me. I smirked at my falcon as I pinned his sprawled body to the grass, he smirked back at me, his colour high, hair wild and dark eyes smoky with lust, flashing with the wildness of a hunt. I quirked a challenging eyebrow knowing my green eyes would be reflecting the same heat and wildness. His own body was also stirring with the feel of me pressing against him and I couldn't help rubbing against him, marking him with my scent as my own cock hardened. Chay's smirk stretched quickly shifting into that rare grin of his, as he titled his head back offering his throat and his body. He was so proud, so pleased that I'd managed to beat him it gave him hope that I'd survive this war. He might have lost but any time he managed to push me, especially if sex was a bonus he felt he'd won and behind the properly lowered gaze I caught the gleam of triumph in those hot dark eyes. He might have been in the submissive position but he knew he owned me. I couldn't resist his vulnerable pale throat and neck as my mating instincts drove me to mark and claim him. I leaned down to bite and suck at his neck drawing soft whimpers out of him. They had my thick cock pulsing with a need to be in him. Arching up against me he pushed his body against me and let out a particularly loud moan. Then his strong killer's hands were gripping my shoulders as he began raining kisses on my upper chest and shoulders. Pushing back against him I ground my erection against his, running my hot mouth up his neck and jaw towards his lips. I teased him kissing his cheeks and jaw, just brushing my lips across his soft lips, then moving away to continue the same brushing kisses. He grunted in frustration, grinding his own thick cock against me as he grabbed my hair. He used his grip to drag my lips to his own and kissed me hard, trying to force my mouth open as our hips ground against each other. For a moment I continued to tease him and refused to open my mouth but I let him in. I moaned as I was assaulted by the heat and almost violent aggression of Chay's mouth, teeth and tongue as the man tried his best to eat me. We both moaned as I quickly took over the aggressive kiss, it didn't take long before I couldn't take it anymore and with a curse I snapped. I pinned his trembling body to the ground roughly grinding my cock into him again, my wandering hands stripping off his clothes, as they stroked and grabbed at sleek, straining muscle covered in smooth, velvety skin. Chay was muttering in a mix of Finnish, English and Ojibwa as he scattered little sucking kisses over my face, neck and collarbone as his own hands all but ripped my clothes off. I heard his pleased sigh as I felt his hands run over my skin. "Fuck me!" He ground out as we broke free of another hungry kiss. "Trying to tell me what to do?" I growled rubbing my body against him, my hand wrapping around his cock to stroke him teasingly. "It isn't what you want?" He asked and the arrogant smirk was back as he pushed his hips forward, thrusting his cock into my stroking hand. I groaned as his cock pulsed in my hand and I felt his own free hand wrap around my own cock. I grinned down at him watching as those smoky dark eyes flashed with lust and demand as he squeezed my hard, thick cock. "Harder, faster!" I demanded as I tightened my own grip on Chay's cock, stroking in time with him as we both obeyed our bodies pleas for a fuck. I squeezed his cock as I lowered my head and sucked hard on his nipples as we jacked each other. He hissed at the pleasure pain shooting from the sucking, nipping pressure of my mouth as I shifted back and forth between his nipples. I felt him nearly faint with the waves of pulsing pleasure that fed from his nipples to his cock and from my hand stroking his cock. I felt him get close to shooting his load in the trembling of his body and the more frantic pace of the hand stroking my dick. I shifted lower trailing kisses, sharp nips and my tongue slowly down his body and felt him tense then begin to squirm as he realized where I was heading. I grinned against his lower abs as I felt the helpless insistent push of his free hand against my shoulder as he sought to get me where he wanted me. I smelled the sharpening, heady scent of sex and desire pouring off him and heard the sharp intake breath as I finally pushed my way between his legs. I blew on his cock and dragged my tongue up its length teasing him as he attempted to thrust it at my mouth. I laughed and gave in taking his cock in my mouth; I sucked and licked at his cock, slowly swallowing the entire length. I heard his moan as I began to play with his balls, running my little finger across his hole as I used my mouth to play with his cock. "I want you!" He managed to grit out squirming underneath me as he started to fuck my face. I heard my own growl as I shifted, moving further down him as I pushed his legs further apart and pushed them over my shoulders. Anticipating what I was going to do he whimpered rolling his hips up so that I get at the small, pink treasure between them. I released his cock and he couldn't help the unhappy groan, but it quickly changed to a moan as I bent my head trailing my tongue across his hole. Slowly I sucked and licked at the small, tight hole until I could push my tongue in and out with enough speed and depth to have him withering underneath me cursing at me as I used my hands to play with his balls and stroke his thighs. When I thought him excited enough I moved back up his body, watching his burning eyes lock on my mouth as I liked my lips, I liked the taste and smell of him. I made sure to rub thoroughly against him, grinding my cock against him. He arched against me as I nudged against him, pushing my cock against him with steady pressure until I felt the head pop through his tight sphincter. He was moaning mindlessly into my neck I began to push the rest of my cock into him. I sucked hard at the vulnerable tendon running up his neck marking him and holding him down in place for my cock. I felt my balls rest against his smooth ass and I groaned at the feel of the tight, hot clasp his body had on my cock, there was nothing like it in the world. Holding still for a moment to let him adjust to the invasion of my cock, I slid a hand down to stroke his cock. When I felt him begin to strain against me, his thighs gripping my shoulders as he pushed up against me with a little moan to urge me to fuck him , I did. His strangled moans were encouraging me to thrust harder and faster, fucking that tight ass I love as I slid my hands underneath him, unable to resist the desire to grab at and squeeze his ass. The encouraging and increasingly desperate noises Chay was making only goaded me on he began pushing back against the hard thrusts of my cock. I made sure I jacked him in time to my thrusts. With a heated curse I locked my teeth in his shoulder, tasting blood and I dug my fingers into his ass massaging the muscles. I felt Chay's own feverish clutching of my shoulder as he abruptly screamed his body tensing as his cock jerked once, twice, then I felt his warm seed coat our stomachs. His ass clamped around my cock squeezing me as I felt my own balls draw up, my own hot seed roaring up my cock as I growled, clutching him against me as my cock released into him. Collapsing on top of him I released his shoulder, pulled my teeth and cock out of him as I licked at the bite I'd left in him. It was a while before either of us had the energy or the will to move. But as dawn began to announce itself we roused ourselves pulling our clothes back on and we began a slow, ambling trek back to the safehouse. Once there we quickly showered necking and touching each other with tender care as we cleaned up. Feeling pleasantly worn out and sleepy, we crawled back into bed naked. We wrapped ourselves around each other and as the soft blue haze closed around us I felt him pull me deeper into his mind than usual, back into his own memories. He distracted me from falling back into my nightmares; even after all we'd done tonight, he still wanted to keep me away from dark thoughts and I felt the hum of the same wordless Finnish tune. We both drifted, and to our surprise our devious soulmate connection took us back to the beginning, memories neither of us looked at much. . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 4 MONTHS AGO CHAY From where I stood in the crowd of yelling, jeering Night Worlders, I could see a cat in human form hiding in plain sight. Aside from him, the one I watched, I could see a tiger, a lioness, a cheetah and a jaguar scattered about the old concrete warehouse but he had caught my interest. The mingled scents of Night Worlders with damp concrete, blood and rotting wood was an odd one, almost unpleasant, even for a predator like me. I could see his tattoos which tried to trick me he's a werewolf, but I wasn't fooled, I could see the cat in him, but I wasn't sure what cat it was yet. It's in the lazy, predatory prowl, the broad muscular shoulders and arms, the sleek build and swift reflexes. His cat is there in the short tawny blond hair that holds a gloss closer to a pelt then mere hair. His cat is there in the large almond shaped green eyes that tilt up at the edges meeting his high, sharp cheekbones as they peek out from under his fringe. But it is his expressions and the energy he carries with him that made him unique even for a cat shifter and drew me, along with his looks, to him like a moth to a light bulb. A Voice From the Night World Ch. 05 One expression is a faint smirk that teases and quietly mocks, conveying he's playing with me and knows everything about me but he hasn't even looked directly at me. The other is a slow lazy grin that laughs and promises he knows a secret I don't. Then there is the savage dominant energy to him, the reckless, impulsive edge. I can see the potential for a volatile, explosive temper as he reacts with a snarl to the violence around us. I know I'm gay and have known since I put vague feelings and desires into a coherent word and explanation. But the sudden lust and curiosity I had for him defied my own experience slight that it was, I'd never felt anything like it. The bloody event we were watching was a Night World boxing match at The Black Dahlia a Night World owned nightclub in a dockside warehouse in Glasgow. I had arrived at the half time of a fight between two vampires, one lamia and the other made. I had tracked my mark a made vampire there and was keeping an eye on his movements, looking for my moment to strike. It was between the first and second fight that I saw him, the cat, a lynx I decided; the next fight was between Damien a powerful Scottish lamia who held the Night World amateur middleweight boxing title and Conor an Irish werewolf. The rules for the boxing match meant it had to be a fight using vermin rules, so no tricks, no dirty fighting or race advantages were allowed in the fight. So it meant whoever won did so from boxing skill and experience alone. The lynx had come out of the door that led from the changing rooms, talking to Damien as they walked to the ring. I recognised the lamia from a couple of previous fights I had witnessed and the posters around the warehouse. The lynx sat in the front row closest to the corner of the ring the vampire was heading for, next to a short auburn haired witch. As Damien sat on his stool, sipping water, the pair got up and went over to talk to their friend. I growled drawing the attention of a group of lamia next to me as they turned and eyed me in amusement. I hissed at them, letting them see the full force of the cold menace I give out at will. They flinched shifting away from me uneasily. Inwardly I smirked, it was petty, but hey it amused me, but I still wanted to growl. A female, a coyote shifter, had appeared from the crowd, she was tall enough and lithe with it she was only an inch shorter than the lynx and had long dark hair with the dark eyes and dark complexion of someone from Mexico. She kissed the lynx on the cheek and squeezed the shoulder of the witch, she gestured to Damien as he readied himself in the ring. I wondered if she was the lynx's girlfriend, as she talked to him and the witch, she draped an arm around him and he let her, allowing her the liberty to touch him with one of his slow flashing grins. I felt disappointed and possessive, even thought I was inexperienced at the game, I recognised my own jealousy. I wanted him with a hunger, interest and possessiveness that surprised me. Then I remembered the old warning my Ojibwa uncle gave, he had a small gift for foresight and told me the spotted cat was my hope and my threat. I eyed the lynx curiously and with some wariness was he the spotted cat Sakima had warned me of? I wasn't sure, perhaps its better I keep my distance. I can't have men getting too closer, they will realise what I am. It was a violent, lonely existence I lived, but the Night World wasn't a safe place for a half-breed. But I couldn't help myself, despite my best efforts not to my attention kept drifting between the red-haired Vincent who was my mark and the lynx I wanted. I cursed as near the end of the fight my target left with a piece of blonde female ass, clearly a witch by the black dahlia earrings and necklace. Stuck on contract to take him out, I had no choice but to follow and leave the lynx behind still feeling that odd mix of curiosity, lust and caution. + + + LIEV "I know you think I'm talking shit but I swear to you he wants you." Tien whispered in my ear. I scoffed and arched an eyebrow whispering back. "You and your instincts." Tien's violet eyes flashed at me. "Hey, I may not be an animal like you, but don't knock my instincts, I'm never wrong! They were right about Damien and they're ringing in my ears." We were sitting on a wooden park bench playing a pair of runners taking a breather as we did guard duty and watched the house across the road from us, scanning the surrounding area for trouble. It was just after 9pm on a Friday and the air was cool but still smelled of summer. We waited for Mikasi and Damien, who were inside the safehouse with our target who was attending a meeting. Our target was a prominent Night World lamia who had become a double agent for us. It was our job to escort our vampire to and from meetings with some of the Night World's most important leaders, our own orders came direct from Lord Sebastian. I smirked at him. "If your instincts are ringing at you, then they are in agreement with mine, I'm sure it's a hint telling us to watch my back." "Trust me every instinct I possess tells me so, as do my own eyes. He watches you with hunger and I don't think he wants to kill you. I bet you he's your soulmate." Tien insisted. I glanced at the Night Worlder he was referring to and inwardly sneered. There he was an ice prince temporarily unfrozen to hunt prey and I knew he was hunting, as I watched his cold eyes scan the lit street. We were in an inner city suburb of Glasgow and he leaned against the wall of a block of shops up the opposite end of the street, apparently waiting for fish n chips. I took in the patient, deceptively relaxed pose as he leaned back against the wall of the shop. With a predator's eyes even way down the street I could see the subtle alert tenseness all but humming underneath his fuck off aura. I could admit to myself in the privacy of my own mind that he was a pretty ice prince despite his fuck off aura with that silky looking fair hair and pale skin; someone with his cold colouring shouldn't have such dark eyes or such a mouth. They were the eyes and mouth of someone proud, passionate and hot headed, pride he had in spades but he was cold blooded and arrogantn, it was stamped all over his body language. I had seen him at a nightclub the previous night react badly to being hit on. I hadn't heard the words but I had seen the almost cruel expression on his face as the vampire had leaned against him and the immediate ashen look on the vampire's face said it all as he was shoved him away. The vampire had been a male and he was cute, he'd had the changing Redfern eyes to go with that blonde hair, I'm a sucker for that combo, I'd have risked the fangs and done him. This Night Worlder didn't look like the kind of guy who would ever come within a mile of passion or the impulsive and a sudden demon that was the predatory cat that lived in me stirred. I suddenly wanted to ruffle his icy calm and hunt him, play with him much like a cat plays with a mouse to see what he'd do before I ate him. But he was a killer and wasn't gay by the look of it, I couldn't be thinking that way, I was a predator myself, so I knew what I saw and felt. I had a bet going with Damien that he was Demon, a deadly assassin we heard about through the Night World grapevine, and I was pretty sure he kept popping up near us with almost eerie precision to kill one of us or our target. It had become nearly familiar to look up and find him somewhere nearby. "He's not gay, you saw him last night, there's no way what your saying could be true. Any guy going near him risks having his dick cut off." I protested wondering why I was doing so when what Tien said was impossible. "Just because he wasn't interested in one guy doesn't mean he's not gay. I saw him reject a girl too so don't give me that. Look if he was going to kill you he'd have done it already. I admit he does have Night World all but tattooed on his forehead and has a nasty attitude but I know what I see and feel." Tien was saying. "I'm never wrong!" He insisted again. I opened my mouth to respond but saw the door open and Damien appeared doing a quick, expert scan of the area and my hunter instincts expanded to full throttle, all thoughts of the falcon stopped as the job took over. + + + + + LIEV As soon as I stepped out of the Damien's SUV I put my back against the car. I felt uneasy every hunter instinct I possessed warned me that trouble was waiting for us. "I don't like it tell Julian to stay in the car." I told my leader feeling him do just that as he used telepathy to warn the other vampire. We both eyed the surrounding terrain with the tense keen awareness that told us eyes and ears were there. "Unfriendly eyes are on us." Mikasi confirmed her soft Mexican accent stronger than usual as she got out of her own car, an old battered green Mini with a tuned up new motor. It was a strategic move on our part to take two cars that way we had two getaway cars and two possible diversions as well. She stood next to me, her lithe body tense and all but humming with the need to shift and hunt. Tien got out of the car after her his hands balled into fists, body as tense as the rest of us. He might not have had the instincts and fine tuned senses as the rest of us, but he was good at taking the hint from the rest of us. He did have a brown belt in karate as well as his own strong battle magic so he could defend himself or attack if need be. "I feel it too." Damien admitted as the four of us did a slow, thorough scan of the area and came up with nothing. "I vote we get him inside and then do a physical search of the area, I don't want enemies creeping up behind me." I suggested as another scan with eyes, ears and nose brought nothing but that uncomfortable feeling of unfriendly attention. We were at an old Elizabethan era gentlemans country estate situated an hour outside Glasgow. It felt like we were out in the middle of nowhere and the large lawn, garden and small forest park that went with the place stretched out as far as our eyes could see. It was early evening but the air was still warm with that curious blend of summer and autumn smells but the wind had that early bite of autumn to it. I could smell rain and eyed the growing dark clouds. We actually weren't far from my own family's ancestral castle it was only another hour and a half to the north. So this area felt like home to me, I knew and felt the territory like the back of my hand, but still despite the familiarity I felt watched by unfriendly eyes. Impatient with us and not one to take orders well Julian got out of Damien's SUV. We were here because a Night World country weekend was being held and Julian was hosting it under his guise as a double agent. As he had a seat on the Night World Council his position was a good one and a Night World Councillor was never expected to appear without a small entourage and if that entourage were also body guards then that was acceptable, naturally we were that entourage. Julian was the owner of this property and a French lamia, an old one at over a century but he'd stopped his aging in his early 20's so he looked young until you saw the cold hardness in his topaz eyes that came from the cold ruthlessness that had allowed him to claw his way to a seat on the Night World Council. "What's the hold up?" He demanded rubbing a hand across the dark stubble on his shaved head. "I'm not paying you to let me sit in the back of a car while you posture about in a driveway." I ignored his snarled protest as I pushed him to the ground and kept a tight hold on his shoulder, keeping him between me and the SUV. "You were told to stay there for your own good." Damien replied coolly. "We feel your enemies and felt you might want to stay in the car and keep your skin on since you're paying us to protect it." "You could have simply told me that." Julian snarled at us swarthy skin flushing with annoyance and anger. "I would think stay put is telling you." Damien replied in the same cool tone his dark blue eyes flicking to the silvery blue of an angry or hunting vampire. I knew him well enough to know that cool casual tone barely masked his slow burning temper and intense dislike of the vampire, a pissed off Damien wasn't pretty for anyone. Julian sensed Damien's seething anger and merely muttered a string of insults in French but he stayed where I put him. "Let's get him inside." Damien instructed us and we obeyed. "I'm on scout duty. I'll head out now the three of you can handle it on your own." I said as I let the vampire squatting near the ground up. Damien nodded and we formed a protective circle, putting the shorter vampire in the middle as we headed for the grand three story white monstrosity of a house in front of us. I watched their backs doing further scans of the area but again came up with nothing holding the rear as I followed them to the door. Once there I checked the area making sure there was nobody around I returned to the SUV and clothed in my shifter clothes, I shifted. I spent the next couple of hours doing a thorough search of the entire property and I wasn't helped by the start of the rain and wind. Half way in I smelled Mikasi join me and between the pair of us we mapped and turned the place upside down as we looked for any threat to Julian. We found nothing unusual and continued on our way only wanting to get inside, the cat in me didn't appreciate being a sodden, cold mess. Both Mikasi and I met up a final time shifting back to human to compare notes. Despite what we'd seen, we still felt watched but we'd found nothing, frustrated and confused we decided to return to the house for something to eat and a rest before trying again. Just as we turned back towards the house the ambush came. Cloaked by a complete invisibility spell we didn't smell, hear or see them until they surrounded us, threw off the spell and attacked us. I growled hearing Mikasi echo me as we moved to cover each other's backs as we found ourselves confronting a group of Night World enemies, two vampires, werewolves and a witch in the pouring rain, wind and darkness. I recognised Vincent the red haired vampire was Lily Redfern's second and the two Irish werewolves Conor and Felan his lackeys, I didn't recognise the others. I threw out a call to Damien through the telepathic pathway he always left open on a job as I shifted and threw myself at Vincent. But before I hit him the two brown Irish 'wolves shifted shape and intercepted me, attacking me before I could get to him. I growled at them, getting dual snarls back for my effort as I fought them off, but not without losing a chunk of flesh from my right flank and a gash across my left foreleg. I heard another growl as Mikasi joined in protecting my back to stop the two wolves from tearing us apart. There was nothing we could do as the rest of our enemies began to melt back into the trees. With snapping teeth, raking claws and short lunges I ignored my own pain as we managed to keep them at bay and tried to get to our escaping enemies. It was a wasted effort as despite our large size for the animals we both were, the wolves were larger and outweighed the pair of us combined. They were merely playing with us, we realised it, they realised it, but we were only holding on till Damien and Tien could get to us. But the Night World always throws a curve ball at you when you least expect them. Something fast and white dropped from above with a hair raising scream. It took me a stunned moment or two to get my eyes to realise the darting white blur was a gyrfalcon, it had dropped out of the sky and slashed open the vampire's eyes with a vicious swipe of its talons. As the vampire screamed throwing his arms protectively over his head, blood streaming down his face from his slashed eyes the gyrfalcon flew at him again, slashing open his throat. There was another scream from the vampire as the falcon shifted and a blur of white clothed man was pouncing on him. Damien arrived at a dead run with Julian at his heels barely breathing hard. A dead run at vampire speed is fast, considering he'd covered half a mile in under two minutes. In fact the entire fight so far had happened that fast. They threw themselves into the fight after only a moment spent sizing up the problem facing us. But I paid for my distraction as the wolf I was facing, Felan I recognised from the missing ear and scar down his muzzle, sprang at me latching onto my ear and ripping. I screamed infuriated and in pain as he took my ear with him. I slashed at him, ripping open his shoulder as I threw myself at him. I shifted shape, shifting to my halfway form, a weird mix of lynx and human, wanting human hands, claws and teeth, as I managed to get a strangling hold around the werewolf's throat, wrapping my legs around his furry wolf body as I clutched hard. I tucked my head against his neck, felt him struggling to throw me off and rip at me with his teeth. He did manage to slash and scratch me with the claws on his forelegs. But my grip was too strong for him to throw me off. I knew what I was doing and had the strength of a shifter at my fingertips. I used my clawed fingers to rip open his throat and ignored his howl as hot slippery blood tried to loosen my death grip around his throat. After what seemed like an endless struggle he stilled, dropping to the ground as he went limp against me. I hung on grimly, wanting to make sure he wasn't faking. But he didn't move beyond a dying whimper and I let go looking around for Mikasi. I glanced at her and saw her off to my rear left, she was a still, unmoving mound of grey coyote. Blood ran from her open muzzle and a dozen bleeding slashes coated her fur. Pushing the dead wolf's weight off me I rose to a crouch, checking her and was relieved when I felt a pulse, a faint one, but a pulse. I looked around for the other 'wolf that had taken her out and my heart nearly stopped as a tall white shadow stalked towards me. His fair hair tied nsvk neatly but his dark eyes were burning with a cold, deadly fire and it was at that moment I felt a sick recognition, the falcon assassin. Vincent was a still dead shape on the ground, his throat and eyes slashed open, blood a deep pool around him as a branch lay buried in his chest. The assassin kept coming towards me and I tensed eyes locked on my enemy, I stayed in my half way form, claws and teeth being good in a fight, gathering strength into my muscles in readiness to launch myself at him. He launched himself over the top of me and landed on the werewolf behind me with another of those terrible triumphant falcon screams. It took me a frozen second or two for my heart to recover and my instincts to realise I wasn't attacked, I was hurt, but still alive and my apparent ally was now bent on killing my enemy. But blood loss and pain had finally caught up with me and I felt shifting shape was a good idea. But I hadn't the energy to do so, a frightening and disheartening thing, the effort left me slumped on the ground a panting, bleeding mess. Despite my weakness, I struggled up again as assassin or not, I felt I had to help my temporary ally and tried to rise. But the pain and weakness wouldn't let me and I found myself sprawled on the wet grass. But not before I saw the assassin rise up from the ground like a bloody wraith, there was something terribly wrong seeing something so white covered in blood, dirt and gore. He stalked towards me and I tensed waiting for the killing blow I knew was coming and finally managed to find some extra energy, some last reserves of strength that allowed me to shift back to lynx. Most of my injuries instantly healed but I was still weak from the effort needed to shift and heal. A Voice From the Night World Ch. 05 I edged away from him, but he kept coming and by the time I realised he was herding me, I felt myself back up against the rough wet bark of a tree. I growled flinching as he grabbed for my furred shoulder and felt instead of a killing blow warm energy. Faintly gold in colour it flowed from his grip into me and I realised it was healing me as the warm energy poured in, healing the rest of my injuries and bolstering my flagging energy. It was enough that I managed to shift back to human, his grip on my clothed shoulder tightened, warm energy still flowing between us as I saw his free hand come up to touch my face and felt the world explode. I wasn't sure which of us was more shocked as white hot blue lightening zapped us, ripping open a channel between us as our individual worlds exploded. A blue haze drifted over our inner vision and I felt him, another mind, soul and body on the other side of the channel being ripped open between us. Images and feelings flashed between us as it forced us together and into each other's minds. I dimly felt that our physical selves had wrapped themselves around each other and we were kissing, the flow of energy from him to me had stopped. I couldn't help the daft thoughts that went through my head. Tien would never let me hear the end of this; his skin was so warm, so velvety smooth, his muscles sleek and supple underneath it. He was a total stranger, yet he smelled and tasted like home, like he was mine and I felt myself purr. I felt even more stupid when I realised he could see and hear my thoughts and feelings, just as I could see his and I flinched. I felt him flinch as well, neither of us was used to being this naked but neither of us could stop the constant flow of thought, feeling and images. Neither of us stopped the almost feverish kissing or the touching, his own thoughts weren't helping as almost helplessly we pulled each other to the ground. We still clutching at each other as I ripped out the tie holding back his hair, feeling soft, silky hair fall between us, still kissing him with reckless abandon. The rain and wind continued to buffet us but neither of us felt it or the damp grass as we rolled across it. The heat and hunger kept escalating as his thoughts flashed between us, he'd watched me, and he wanted me, they dared to try to kill me, his need, his hunger and inexperience, a confusing, yet inflaming mix. Images and sensations flashed between us as the lightening kept throwing them at us. I found myself pushing my way between his legs as he was pushed my pants down, his hand wrapped around my hard cock. Downy soft pants as I pushed them down trying to get to the heat and darkness of him. He sucked my fingers, the heat and softness of his mouth, the swirl of his tongue, his hot fingers rubbing my hard cock, stroking, precum, his or mine, both, on my cock. Then my wet fingers were touching him where my dark desire really wanted me to go. So hot, so tight, somehow I managed to be gentle and ignore his begging as he pulled at my shoulder, tugged on my cock, trying to make me fuck him. He was more caught up in this wild ride then I was, but I had to protect him, he wasn't as used to fucking as I was, I could feel his inexperience. But he wouldn't let me wait or protect him, before I realised what he was doing he was already rolling us over, straddling my lower body and impaling himself on the head of my cock. I tried to slow him down as I grabbed for his hips, but he wouldn't let me, forcing more of me into him as he slid down my cock. Both of us moaned at the hot, tight clutch his ass had on my cock. He clutched me and I felt swollen soft lips running over my face and throat. Then I was rolling back over feeling him under me and the fucking started as instinct took over. It was a far rougher, harder ride then I wanted for him but there was no stopping the rough wild strokes as I fucked him. Fear and worry over his strangled little moans and the trembling body under me, they seemed bad signs but the blue haze let me know he was enjoying the wild ride I was giving him and had joined in. He encouraged and begged for more, for me to go faster, as his fingers dug into my shoulders, those long legs wrapped around me to pull me against him, holding me to him. The mutual scream as we suddenly came together with almost no warning, our cocks pulsing so hard it's a pleasure pain as the hot cum explodes out of us. Time stalls and we realise we've collapsed zoned out as we drift in and out of each other, caught on a mix of sexual high and the heady rush of energy from his healing, the connection between us and the aftermath of a good fight. I can hear my team searching for me and somehow they can't find me, despite Mikasi and Damien's noses, must be some magic of the connection between us. We look at each other, we need time to sort ourselves out, we are not ready for this yet or others to know. We separate, the separation almost painful as it breaks the bond between us. We fix our clothes, his expression freezes and we attempt to neaten our hair, hoping our appearance can be explained by the fight alone, but sex is an obvious scent even Tien could pick up. I can only hope the rain and wind will wash most of it away and hide it. He quickly shifts to gyrfalcon and hides in the trees above us, I can still feel him through the silver cord now binding us together. Confused and as bewildered as I am, I haven't a clue what freight train just hit me but a bad feeling tries to tell me but I push it away, not now, not now, not now. + + + + + + + CHAY I think I was in deep shock something that was unfamiliar to me. I sat in a tree shivering inside my falcon staring in confusion at the pouring rain as I tried to work out what had just happened. Even inside the body of a falcon my body felt sore and ached in places I didn't know I had. My brain and heart felt the same and yet I felt my own smile. I wondered what had possessed me to jump into that fight, I was still gathering information on Vincent and hadn't been ready to kill him, I needed to get to his associates and now I couldn't. Yet witnessing that ambush and seeing the lynx get hurt had triggered some buried savagery that lived in a dark corner I didn't know I had. Sure I hunted and killed, but those were skills Sakima and Hawk, my mentors and guardians, had taught me, experience had honed those skills. But I rarely killed in a fit of wild rage and wasn't sure what I thought of such a feral side of me. I had heard of the soulmate principle before and I knew when they were alive that my parents shared the same bond but I hadn't been around anyone else who was had a soulmate. I wasn't sure what I thought about it and yet I did, he was mine, something in me began to thaw and an empty part deep inside didn't feel so empty or ache anymore. I felt fear and caution wondering if he was the spotted cat Sakima had warned me of. The fact he was my soulmate soothed my frantic thoughts, there was a reason and a method for my earlier wild madness. I found I could cope with that and began to gather my tattered will and customary composure. I had healed him the stray thought nearly drained all my blood into my talons; I swayed feeling myself pale as a dizzy wave swept through me. I gripped the branch I was perched on with my talons making sure I didn't fall out of the tree. For a moment fear and anger swamped me as my usually calm mind freaked out on me, I had healed him. I'd just betrayed what I and my guardians had tried so hard to hide from the Night World. The Night World Council had a policy of exterminating half-breeds and the parents of what they saw as abominations. They had managed to get my parents, but not me, thanks to my uncles who managed to keep us moving, we never stopped long in one place moving between Canada, Finland, Russia and England. Working for the Night World was their idea as they believed hiding me in full view of the Night World was the pragmatic thing to do as it kept the enemy close. While I knew from Liev's memories that he was a Daybreaker and probably wouldn't betray me, I was still troubled I'd betrayed years of guarding myself in a rash impulse to help him. I shivered not sure I liked what I was becoming, now I thought I understood Sakima's warning better and I still wasn't sure what I thought about having a soulmate. + + + + + + + "What in the hell happened to you?" Tien demanding voice woke me from a deep, dark dreamless sleep. I opened my eyes to find him standing over me a steaming mug of coffee in his hands. I had only a vague memory of meeting back up with my team, of cleaning up and disposing of the bodies of our enemes, it seemed the witch got away. I remebered walking back to the house in a state of dazed, disbelieving shock. The rest of the evening had passed by in a hazy blur that told me the shock was still my shadow as I performed my role as a guard and member of Julian's entourage on auto pilot. At some point I must have showered and fallen into bed, but I didn't remember that, my mind as blank on the subject of how I'd gotten to bed. "What no merry met, blessed be?" I taunted him as I indulged in a leisurely stretch pleased with the slight ache of well used muscles and healed injuries. He glared down at me folding his arms across his chest and I felt like a bastard, I knew he never went in for all that cooing witch preaching I heard so many witches use. "Again, what the hell is wrong with you? You're not usually this much of a cranky bastard." He said accusingly. "It isn't obvious by looking at me that I got clawed and chewed on?" I replied with a glare being deliberately sarcastic as I rolled over on the bed and sat up not able to stop the nasty attitude. "I'm not talking about the physical you're already healed from that. Your aura is different, you were off all night, your body was there but nobody was home." He persisted. I ignored him my expression a clear fuck you and fuck off. "Fuck! Just drink that I can't be fucked putting up with this from you." He swore at me eyes still burning with his irritation as he slammed the mug of coffee he'd brought on the bedside table. He stalked off like an irate storm cloud and pulling the door shut behind him with a resounding slam. That seemed to be a hidden trigger that set me off because I was laughing so hard tears were pouring down my face. I wasn't sure why I found Tien's attitude and bad temper so funny, but I needed the relief of laughing, releasing the humming tension I was wearing like a suit. When I'd recovered I drank his coffee, feeling I owed him that much and I again felt like an asshole for the way I'd acted towards him. But I wasn't ready to talk about that fight my mind shied away from what had happened, I wasn't really surprised that he knew something was different in me. But I wasn't ready to look too closely let alone talk about the silver cord binding me to the other, the falcon assassin. I ignored the quiet, still voice deep inside me that whispered of soulmates, I wasn't ready to face that or the fact that I'd fucked someone I classed as an enemy. I didn't even want to acknowledge my own growing need for him but it insisted on breaking free of my control. Even Damien and Mikasi picked up something was wrong with me but they'd both been to loyal and polite to say anything to me about it, not so Tien, Tien and tact went together as well chalk and cheese. With effort I managed to push aside my thoughts and got myself shaved, dressed and food into my hungry stomach. It was time to focus on the job, Julian's guests were beginning to arrive and I couldn't afford to be distracted. + + + + + + + + LIEV [Where's Tien?] Damien silently asked. I looked around the dining room and couldn't see him as the three of us were stationed behind Julian at the back of the room. The long room was large enough that a table sitting 12 stretched along it with room for a wooden sideboard, us and the other assorted footmen and bodyguards belonging to Julian's guests. [I saw him slip out half an hour ago I assumed he went for a piss.] I replied doing another scan of the room as I kept an eye on each of the 11 guests. All but three of the 11 guests were male and most were vampires, either lamia or made vampires. The remaining guests were witches and one was a black leopard shifter. I found my eyes lingering on the leopard, judging from the little looks he kept slanting me and his wandering hands whenever we ended up stuck in the same room alone, I was pretty sure sooner or later the shifter would try to get me into bed. He was black, his skin the colour of bitter dark chocolate and normally I'd be drawn to his enigmatic dark eyes and smooth dark skin. His head was shaved to a number two and his full lips, the big muscular body, not to mention the big cock I'd felt when he'd brushed against me would have me licking my lips, eager to fuck him. But something stopped me the fact I wasn't interested should have bothered me, considering I loved variety in my fucking partners, but I wasn't bothered. Soft, silky hair, a sleek muscular body and warm flushed pale skin wrapped around me seemed branded on my nerves and heart. My body itched to rub against him, my fingers and cock wanted to feel him and it was an urge that hounded me around the clock. I was going crazy from it I knew my bad temper was steadily increasing in the snappy way of a frustrated horny guy. I knew I was distracted and I worried that my preoccupation with him could cost me and cause me to make a big mistake. My worry seemed to become reality as I let Damien know I was going to look for Tien and I slipped from the room. A quick, thorough search of the ground floor we were in turned up nothing, so I tried the next floor and still found nothing. Concerned for Tien I felt my instincts kick in, they weren't happy, letting me know something terrible had happened to my friend and team member. As I climbed to the next floor and began searching I felt a presence behind me, eyes on my back. I was being followed as something dangerous stalked after me. I glanced over my shoulder sharp eyes and ears probing every nook and cranny of the dimly lit hallway I was walking down, I used my nose as well. Nothing there just the feeling of every hair all but quivering in a warning I was being stlaked. I wasn't sure what to do keep pressing forward in my search for Tien or head back the way I'd come looking for my stalker. A scratching, scrabbling noise from up ahead made the decision for me and I stalked forward, shoulders stiff with the feel of eyes on me. I pushed open the door to my right and got a loud startled squeak for my trouble as two rats froze at the sudden opening of the door, then they were gone, fleet shadows darting for the dark corners in the room. I quickly scanned what turned out to be a good sized linen closet and turned starting to shut the door when a shadow shot out of the hallway. The force of his lunge threw me up against the shelves as he grabbed for me with a hand and yanked the door shut with the other. I could see perfectly well in the dark and I had a brief moment where I could saw his face the ice prince had disappeared out of his expression, replaced with smoky dark eyes flashing with a mix of anger and lust, wild hair and ragged breathing. I felt he was angry over the jaguar of all things and found room to be amused by his jealousy. Then his lips slammed down on mine as he forced me against the shelves, at the touch of his lips the lightening zapped us again, burning open the path between us and throwing us violently into the blue haze of our merging minds. I don't remember when I started kissing him back or started clutching at him with the same reckless hunger he was letting loose on me. I felt my hands slide under that soft white shirt of his as my fingers sought out his skin and muscle. I didn't have enough hands as my hands moved around him to slide down the back of his pants and grab his ass. I moaned feeling the soft muscle under my fingers, using my grip to pull him tighter against me as I ground my cock against him. I heard him echo my moan as his own hands stroked and scratched at me as his hands pulled open my jacket and ripped my shirt to get at me. His warm sucking mouth trailed along my jaw and throat, latching onto and finding the sensitive spots that made me pull him harder against him and grind my cock against him. Then he was sliding down my body pulling the slacks of the suit I was wearing with him and his warm tongue was running up my thigh as he pushed my legs apart. He licked up my cock swirling his tongue around the head, teasing me for a moment as he licked back down it and then he was swallowing my cock. I moaned as he slowly took more and more of my cock into his mouth and throat on every tight suck. He used his hands to play with my balls, stroking my ass and thighs with his free hand. Already mindless with hunger and the need I'd been haunted by, I was helpless as he sucked on my cock, picking out what I liked from my mind and not showing his inexperience at all. I pulled at his shoulders and he finally allowed my cock to slide out of his mouth as I pulled him up off the floor. I all but ripped his white pants off and threw him against the door as I pounced on him. Those same strong, sleekly muscular limbs I remembered so well wrapped around me, as he pulled me against his warm body. I pressed him against the wall and pushed my cock into him. I felt him grunt and tense as the head popped through his tight ring of muscles and I buried my mouth against his throat. I nipped and sucked on the tender skin there pushing more of my cock into him as he stayed tense, I felt the pleasure pain I was causing him but I couldn't stop now, not when I felt the warm tight grip of his ass around me. We both moaned at the feel of me buried inside him, I shifted my grip to his shoulders, using my body weight, the strength in my hands and his own tight grip on me to keep him pressed against the wall. Every nerve I possessed sang and hummed as I rubbed myself against him, pinning him against the door with my hips and cock as I fucked him. Somehow our shirts rode up so our hard abs were rubbing against each other, I shifted him higher so my abs would rub against and stroke his cock as I thrust in and out of him harder, faster. I kissed him thrusting my tongue into his mouth in the an echo of what I was doing with my cock. He whimpered sucking at my tongue and kissing back with equal hunger. I forced another strangled whimper out of him as I sped up contracting my abs so they rubbed against his cock. I was rewarded as the legs wrapped around my hips tightened, clutching at me as he let me fuck him. But we were both hungry and desperate, the thoughts and sensations we were experiencing flowing around us through the blue mist weren't helping and I only managed on more hard thrust before I was cumming. I muffled my scream in a hard, brutal kiss that he returned and then he was cumming against me. Long minutes passed when there was nothing but our harsh, laboured breathing and the long kisses we couldn't stop exchanging. I shifted back, withdrawing out of him as he released his death grip on me and I shuddered as he slid down my body. We pulled away from each other with real reluctance as we fixed our clothing, using my underware to clean us both up. As soon as our bare skin wasn't touching the bond between us broke, making us both wince at the severing pain of it, the silver cord marking the bond between us was back. We avoided eye contract, not sure what to say to each other or how to handle this thing between us and I opened the door, took three steps out and felt a stabbing pain in my chest and I was falling into darkness. A Voice From the Night World Ch. 05 + + + + + + + LIEV I came to sprawled flat on my stomach with a splitting headache, a case of the serious dries and the throbbing ache of bruises. I managed to force my eyes open and realised I was in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. I had the uncomfortable feeling that time had passed, I wasn't sure how much, but I felt it in my lethargic, heavy muscles and the weakness that throbbed through me. I felt the heavy sleeping weight and warmth of a naked body sprawled next to me, an arm and leg lying across me. The smell, flow of blue haze between us and feel of his skin against mine felt so familiar I relaxed, not even bothering to summon the energy to roll over and look to know it was him, my soulmate. My search of the room brought me to Tien and Damien's concerned gazes as they both rose from a chairs next to the bed. Damien sat back down as Tien leaned down to touch my neck and forehead, checking my pulse and temperature. I wondered why the hell they were so worried and weary looking, shadows and fear lined their faces. Tien looked as bruised up and dazed as I felt, clearly he'd been to war at some point in the evening. At least you've found Tien and he's okay a mocking inner voice informed me. Tien offered me a glass of water and I accepted sitting up with his help to greedily swallow the sweet cool water. My movements woke the body lying in the bed with me, I felt him scramble up as he ran gentle fingers over me, checking with touch that I was okay. Dark dreams and images haunted me, mine and his, giving me the answer to what the hell had happened. I saw a wraith and a black leopard tearing each other apart in a feral, vicious fight that left the leopard in a bleeding, dead heap. Strong, warm arms scooped me up from the ground cradling me against a hard chest he carried me in a frantic search for help. Tien appearing from nowhere looking bleeding and bruised a second frantic sprint for this room. The same fingers currently touching me had pressed against me as energy flowed between us. I heard a desperate voice pleading with me not to die on him and finally naked skin was pressing against me as he slid into bed with me, energy flowing more steadily between us, a tuneless hum from the soft lips pressing into the hollow of my throat conveying a curious mix of freedom, comfort, and protection. "Do you know remember?" Tien wanted to know putting the empty glass I handed him on the bedside table. "You've been out cold for two days." He went on as he and Damien watched me with dark worried eyes. "I remember bits." I managed to respond shocked at the raw gritty quality of my voice. My soulmate ignored us simply wrapping his arms around me in a tight relieved embrace. I felt his low shiver running through him, as if he was cold as he buried his face against my neck. I managed a nod rubbing a soothing hand up and down his back, enjoying touching him and purring to comfort him as I let him clutch me. Somehow during the long hours where I lay unconscious and he'd sought to save my life, the soulmate bond had settled, gentling between us, as we'd settled into each other and accepted. There was a long comfortable pause between us all. Tien and I exchanged a long stare his conveying his relief I was safe and alive, mine an apology for the harsh words that passed between us when we last met, a demand and promise for the story of his bruises and disappearance. There was an even longer measuring look between Damien and I, this adopted brother of mine and I felt his own wordless relief I was okay. A cheeky grin spread across Tien's face as he glanced from me to my soulmate. "Damien owes me 20 quid and you owe me an apology. What'd I tell you? I'm always right." He commented with smug satisfaction violent eyes as Damien started to laugh. A Voice From the Night World The hunt also helped feed our wild predatory instincts as well, much as the vampires needed blood and witches needed energy to do the same. Most of the Night World tended to use humans to feed their predatory needs, but Daybreakers used animals and occasionally donors or soulmates if you were a vampire or witch. But for now regular human food would do to tide me over. As I walked into the kitchen I exchanged nods of greeting with Damien who was already there, sitting at the breakfast bar an empty used plate in front of him sipping coffee by the smell of it. Unlike common myths vampires could eat human food; it just gave them no nutritional benefit. There was no sign of any of the other teams, but then we all had different schedules and different jobs. Tien's auburn head was bent over a pot he was hovering over on the stove. I could smell the tasty scent of breakfast and something else bitter and sour. "Love the hickey." Damien called out with a whistle as I walked past him to pour myself a cup of coffee. I ignored him as I sipped at my coffee, hot, black and with a hint of sugar, just how I liked it, as I looked down Tien's shoulder at what he was stirring. He was by far the shortest of all of us, at only 5'6 and slender with it. "I hope that is for you and not me midget." I commented with a wince as the strong, sharp scent of the tea he was stirring went up my sensitive nose and I moved away. Tien had a tendency to try out various herbal healing remedies his mother and sister taught him. His power tended towards battle magic, not towards healing like the rest of his family. But this didn't stop him wanting to have the skill his female relatives possessed, there was a friendly family rivalry going. Tien glanced over his shoulder at me; his violet eyes and black dahlia signet ring he wore witch trademarks all over the Night World. "You bet Cat Man, Damien said you got hit with silver. We need to counter some of the silver poisoning your system. It'll help, trust me." He coaxed his violet eyes gleaming with humour. It was a sexy face; he did look like a fey, more delicate version of Jared Leto we all agreed under that wavy auburn hair. There was a running joke among us that someone in his family must have had fae blood but he denied it fiercely. His patient act was a hoax he was powerful enough he could pin me to the wall if he wanted to with a one spell and force it down me. I backed away from him. "Keep it away from me. I'll take my chances with my own healing abilities." "Damien! Grab him, he needs to drink it. He won't heal right without diluting the silver poisoning." Tien ordered as he turned the heat off and moved to pour the hot tea into a mug, a frown altering his fey good looks, patience wasn't his best trait. "Come Liev, I put some honey in it so it won't be as bitter or nasty as it smells." Tien tried again, seeing Damien stay put as he studiously studied the contents of his coffee mug, knowing better then to get involved and he knew how foul those teas could taste. I sighed knowing Tien wouldn't quit and would continue to force Damien into the middle. I put my coffee mug down with an exaggerated mournful look and allowed the witch to push his mug of steaming bitter tea into my hand. I glanced into the dark brown liquid and winced, deciding to swallow it on one go to get it over with. I shuddered, it was as bitter, sour and as strong as I thought it looked and smelled. The honey I could only taste a bare hint of but it did take the edge off a bit. Tien beamed at me and patted my shoulder, accepting the cup back placidly as I glared at him. He then handed me a plate piled with bacon, eggs, sausage and hash browns, throwing on some freshly popped toast and gestured that I should sit. He followed me to the table with his own plate of breakfast. "Tell me about your adventure." Tien invited when Damien came and sat at the table with us, keeping us company. So I told him repeating the same story I had given Damien and my soulmate including the fact that the spell he'd given me helped hide my scent between mouthfuls of food. "That's awesome! Good to know my trial spell worked." Tien commented sounding very pleased with himself as he leaned back in his chair and chewed meditatively. I protested. "Now you tell me I was your experiment." Tien shrugged not put off by my cold look and smiled at me. "You didn't need to know it was an experimental spell and it worked. So you're no worse off. I just need to fine-tune it to fit you and then I can modify it to fit Damien, Chay and myself." Damien snorted. "Chay can just fly away." Tien glared at his soulmate. "It's not fair to leave him out. Why you two are always baiting each other is beyond me. In other circumstances I would be wondering if you didn't have the hots for each other." Damien shrugged and glanced at his wrist watch "Hurry up its 8.55am, we need to be in Zack's office. I don't want a penalty 'cos we're late again." Damien got up to rinse his empty mug and put it in the dishwasher, he glanced at us seeing neither of us was moving and gestured impatiently. We got up and followed suit, rinsing our used plates and stacking them in the dishwasher as we followed Damien towards the back of the house and our boss's office. The office we entered was large, with a large curtainless bay window and fitted out like the sort of masculine study an English lord might have had a century or so ago, all dark wood, rich carpets, ivory and black leather. The funny part was that Zach was not English, he was Irish, and the house had come with the study. Zach was sitting in his big office chair behind a modern looking black desk with a frown on his face typing something into the computer in front of him. As usual books, print outs and papers were piled around him; there wasn't much room for the vampire at the desk. Without being asked the three of us took an armchair from the group on our side of the room and sat down. Arriving on our heels was Chay who ignored us all as he pulled the heavy wooden door shut behind him and collapsed in the remaining free chair next to me. The gyrfalcon's hair was damp from a recent shower and he had on an old ripped pair of black jeans and t-shirt. To the world we were a security firm but our fees were so high we usually only had inquiries from humans who were rich or who were movie stars. We took the occasional offer to work with humans, but it was rare as we always ran the risk of being discovered. Mostly we worked within the Night World and turned down job offers from humans. Being a few hundred years old and a made vampire, none of us were sure exactly how old Zach was, as he never offered the information and we never dared ask, he did not look like someone who would be a vampire or a leader of an elite Night World business. He was very young looking, looking about 17 and he had curly dark brown hair that was cropped short around his head, the kind of pale lightly freckled skin you saw on the Irish and a pair of candid light blue eyes in a soft, boyish face. He was only average height at 5'7 and his body was wiry and tough, close to being skinny and he wore a pair of loose, old jeans, a simple white shirt, sneakers and an ancient dark brown leather jacket. But if you looked closer you saw the hard knowing glint and the shadows in his eyes, the steely strength in the wiry muscles under those casual clothes, the pearly sheen to his skin and the glossy note to his hair. You would feel the air of quiet power that sat around him like the comfortable clothes he was wearing and realise that his calm, easy going expression was a mask that a predator hid behind. "Glad you could make it boys." Zach greeted us with only a faint hint of his Irish roots showing in his voice as he finally looked up from whatever he was doing on his computer. "It's good to have you back with us Liev." He added with a slight smile as he acknowledged my return. "I take it you didn't suffer too much harm?" I shrugged not too surprised that Zach was aware of the misfortune that had befallen me; he always knew what was going on with his people. "I'm healing and I'll survive from a cold night in a tree." He nodded clicking a button on his mouse and we all heard the whirr and click as his printer kicked into action. "I have a new mission for you as you no doubt have realised. You are the only team I have not got currently involved in a job. You are my best and most skilled team so perhaps it is a good thing you're available." He told us kicking straight into the meeting. "What is it you want us to do?" Damien wanted to know. "I received an email from Lord Theirry and Lord Sebastian a few days ago and they advised me that they have picked up information that the third Wild Power may be here in Britain." Zach explained ignoring our surprised looks. Lord Theirry was the oldest made vampire in the Night World and he was the leader of the American Daybreakers. Lord Sebastian was a lamia and the Daybreaker leader in Britain. The mention of a possible identify for our missing third Wild Power was also pretty exciting and none of us could stop leaning forward or wipe our expressions of the eager interest. "One of their joint teams is currently on the way down from London as we speak to give us more detailed information on who the suspected Wild Power is. Your job will be to befriend, follow and guard this person while their team aims to discover proof and persuade the individual to join us. Because if we have pinpointed the same person you can guarantee Nightworld leaders will not be far behind." Zach continued to explain feeding our interest. "I warn you now this mission does involve going back to school." I groaned. "You're kidding me?" Zach's eyes chilled as he regarded each of us. "I am not kidding. You will do what you need to in order to make this job work. If that means going back to school for a month or two, you'll do it." I shrugged and glanced away from his sharp gaze. "Whatever you say boss." "Any more comments?" Zach challenged glancing at each of the other members of my team, when they all shook their heads he nodded reaching out to pick up his newest 3 page print out. "Here, take this, read over it and report back to me in the afternoon. By then Sebastian's team will be here and we can debrief each other on any updates then." Zach continued handing Damien the print out when he leaned forward. Taking his words as the dismissal they were we all got up and began to file out of his office. "Liev stay for a minute." I heard Zach call to me. Turning around I faced him and shot him a questioning look as Tien pulled the door shut behind him. "Damien and the rest of your team have told me what happened on Thursday. I would like to hear your side of the story as well." He requested. I sat back down with a sigh, getting tired of repeating the same story and told him what had happened to me. "You're sure your injuries are healing?" He asked finally as he regarded me for a moment with a long look. I nodded. "Yes slowly but surely. It still hurts and I feel a bit weak, but it is better than it was yesterday." "Tien also gave me one of his teas to help counter any lingering silver poisoning." I added with a wince and wry smile. Zach gave me an understanding smile shuddering himself. "I have been at the wrong end of those teas myself a time or two." I managed a smile. "He claims they work." "How is your soulmate?" He asked casually. "What do you mean?" I questioned warily feeling a bit shocked by it. "You don't need to play the fool with me. I know you now have a soulmate, most would not be aware of it outside your team, as you both hide it. But I can see auras, part of the tiny bit of witch blood that runs through my veins, yours has changed." Zach answered in the same friendly, casual tone. I was surprised even more by his comment about having witch blood, it was the first time I'd ever heard him say something so personal about himself and I'd worked for him for three years now. I'd had no idea; I'd assumed he was human before he was turned. But then I guessed perhaps everyone in Ireland had a touch of magic and the witch in them. "Yes, I think you may be right there." Zach commented with amusement in his voice and eyes. I shrugged realising he'd picked the thought right out of my head and sighed remembering to reinforce my mental shielding as Damien had taught me. "As far as I know, my soulmate is fine." "You are both adjusting okay?" He added with another of his slow, searching looks. "As well as any of us do when hit with the soulmate lightening." I admitted with a nod and the flashing smile I was so good at. He returned my nod and smiled at me a hint of sadness softening the hard glint in his light eyes. "It is always something of a curse and a blessing discovering a soulmate." I laughed in agreement as I got to my feet. "Is it okay if I go now?" Zach gestured a shooing motion at me in answer and I saluted him mockingly as I opened the door and made my way out of his office.