2 comments/ 28013 views/ 22 favorites Raven Walks Ch. 01 By: StarrLust69 Chapter One: Aubry The air was warm, thick and sweet -- a true taste of a deep Southern night fragranced by magnolia. Though it was late, no one could stand to be bound by their houses and walked the street under a bright full moon. It was a perfect night for a vampire on the prowl. Beads of sweat glistened against exposed skin, desperate for even the slightest breeze. Hair hung damp under the oppressive humidity, just like a lover's would after an enthusiastic tussle on satin sheets. Raven Crowe walked these streets this night, a stranger alone amidst a crowd. His dark, soulful eyes took everything in; every exquisite form, every shadow, every movement. But it was what he heard in his mind that made him especially dangerous. He heard thoughts and desires no one dared breathe, but still harbored deep in their lustful hearts and wicked minds. It would be on those thoughts he would ultimately prey. And no one was safe. Despite the heat, his coat was long, and fabric from his shirt and scarves billowed behind him in a breeze he alone seemed to create. The old boots he wore barely made a sound as he moved into the crowd, between sweaty, warm bodies. Their musky scent filled the air, making Raven heady with excitement. He longed to touch, to taste... to feed. His eyes, rimmed black with eyeliner, scanned the crowd, searching for "the one". If nothing else, Raven was extremely selective. He had exquisite taste and very high standards, but of the things he desired most it was to find the one whom he could desire above all reason or rational thought. He knew he could have the beautiful people who glided through the night like star shine; but after hundreds of years of dining on their egos he found them hardly a challenge anymore. Likewise those shrinking violets who slunk along the streets barely making eye contact with their own shadow were too easy to seduce. To easy to sway. Where was the one who would equally seduce him? Or were those days of challenge long gone now that he'd mastered his art of passion? The thought depressed him, and weighed much heavier on him than the humidity. He peered skyward and noted with a bit of anticipation that a storm was brewing to the west. He loved the unpredictable nature of the weather, Mother Nature was truly a cruel vixen who would toss you about her will. All he needed was to find her in human form and he would be her slave. Until then, he was the master of all. The pulsating sound of music filled the stillness of the night as he approached his favorite tavern. It was a club that catered to Gothic youth and those earthbound creatures of the night. He could be lost there, free to watch humanity devolve to its baser nature. Sex and frivolity reigned supreme as people lost their identity in alcohol and drugs. Talk about your easy pickings. Raven would go there if he had an itch to scratch, but it never quite satisfied his true hunger. No one had in a long, long time. But he did have urges that demanded to be met. And in this coven he could readily find someone willing to feed, willing to fuck. He mingled with the crowd undetected as he assessed who might provide the most excitement for the evening. He'd long since given up long term relationships. Instead he reveled in his hedonistic nature; enjoying the chase more than the conquest. A beautiful blond in a tightly bound corset brushed against him as he passed by. With a wry grin he decided that there was a lot of merit in the conquest as well. But despite her hungry stare and her bare and willing neck, he pressed on toward the bar. The bartender gave him a familiar smile. She had been a conquest herself in the not too distant past, but she seemed to understand that was all someone like Raven could offer and never sought him out again. Perhaps she better than anyone knew the score when it came to establishments such as this. Give when asked, leave before required. For some of the patrons, it could have been deadly otherwise. For that reason, Sonja stayed mostly to the shadows, just keeping glasses filled and flying just under the radar. Raven, however, had proven much too strong a temptation to deny. His long, black hair hung smooth and full down his chiseled back, and his body was hard and toned beneath her hands. She recalled their night of unrestrained lust and hunger with a tiny shudder. Sometimes she swore she could still feel his mouth on her skin. That was especially true when she fell into those bottomless brown eyes. They had been her true undoing. She doubted anyone could resist their power. He gave her a smile as she handed him a bottle of water. No words were exchanged. They didn't need to be. He could read her thoughts, and it pleased him to know she was still so completely under his control he could have taken her right there on the bar in the middle of the crowd. He said nothing to encourage nor dissuade. It was exactly how he liked it to be. The rim of the water bottle touched his full lips as he silently surveyed the crowd. Dark hair, dark clothes, a heavy metal beat -- it was the same ol' scene. He sighed. And that's when he saw her. It was the shock of red hair he noticed first -- so bright and intense against the dark, Gothic backdrop. It flowed like molten lava down across creamy white flesh. For a moment, as if she sensed his stare, her eyes met his. Their electric green fire seared him all the way down to his feet, and he couldn't help but notice how shaken she was as well. He could almost hear her gasp across the crowded room. That was when she quickly turned and disappeared into the writhing bodies on the dance floor. His water forgotten, Raven moved like air through the crowd, desperate for one more glance -- to chisel that face into his memory so he could never forget how he felt in that one brief moment. It was like a drop of water after days lost in the desert. Instantly he knew he had to have more. It never would have occurred to him that he would be unable to get it. That was why the more she evaded him, the more desperate he grew. There, just ahead, he saw her bright mane of hair covered by a black hood and she escaped from the bar out into the night. His senses were on overload. He couldn't even make out her scent, so many sights and sounds and smells assaulted him at once. He burst from the bar out into the hot night. He looked one way, then another. She had gone. With almost a growl of frustration he turned back toward the bar when he saw a similar black hooded female figure disappear into the shadows of the alley. Quickly he followed where she had gone. The storm he had predicted lit up the night with intermittent flashes of lightning, and thunder underscored the sound of his boots as they pounded against the pavement. Wind flew down the alley, and he watched as she held her hood over her head and ducked down another street. Like a bullet he followed. He turned and then realized that she had boxed herself into a corner. The cloak covered her as she shrunk back into the shadows. He approached her slowly, saying nothing. The closer he got he could feel her tremble, and he felt a surge of excitement. He smiled and the lightning glinted from the fangs that protruded predominantly from his mouth. She whimpered and it was his turn to shudder. When he came close enough to touch her, he didn't. Instead he just stood there and allowed his aura to envelop her. She seemed to sway under its power. Clouds moved across the moon and cast a shadow on the only visible part of her face, her delicate chin, shining white and luminous in the night. He groaned as he thought about her neck, her breasts, her thighs -- all likely just as luscious and creamy and enticing. He could tell she was determined not to look at him. Slowly he reached out a hand to tip that chin upward. He couldn't see when her eyes met his but he could hear the gasp to confirm that they had. She stopped whimpering, stopped shaking, and for a brief moment even ceased to breathe. His body burned with desire, his cock alive with the imminent conquest. Slowly, hypnotically he pulled the cloak and expected to see her fiery hair tumble over those amazing green eyes. Instead it was his turn to gasp. Instead of long red hair, his victim had short blond hair. Instead of green eyes, they burned blue. His hand fell away from her face, and even his fangs retracted as his body cooled. "My apologies," he stated softly and very uncharacteristically before he turned to leave. "Wait," she called out despite herself. He turned back. In her eyes he saw a spark of interest mixed with a fear he knew only fueled her excitement. She had no idea what his staying meant. If he had any morals at all he'd have turned and left her there. Instead, his fangs began to grow. "You're afraid," he said softly, capturing her in his hypnotic gaze. She shook her head in denial, but her eyes betrayed her. "Liar," he whispered with a smile. "The storm," she offered weakly. He laughed softly. "What is your name?" "Aubry," she whispered. "Do you like vampires, Aubry?" he said as he moved closer, his shadow engulfing her. He ran his tongue along his fangs, purposely drawing her attention to both. She started to shake her head, but ended up in a weak nod as her eyes fixed on his glistening fangs. He pressed her warm body against the cool brick wall behind her. He felt every curve mold to him. "You should run away, Aubry," he whispered, the evidence of his sexual desire undeniably pressed against her. Her shudder returned. He felt her fear rise up from her soul. She struggled against him ever so briefly before she glanced back up into his eyes. Like a flower he watched her open up to him; mind, body and spirit. He bent to cover her mouth with his own. It was warm and wet and his long, snake like tongue tore between her lips to conquer her mouth in a savage kiss. She struggled again, but a lot more half heartedly. Inside her body she wrestled with fear and desire, and he knew the desire was winning. With a deep guttural groan she collapsed against him as her own tongue wrestled with his own. His hand pushed the material of her top aside to cup her breast, her erect nipple responded to his touch. He wrenched his mouth away to kiss his way down her chest to capture the nipple in between his teeth. She cried out as his teeth penetrated the skin and bright red drops of blood dripped across her ivory flesh. She glanced down to see her blood smeared across his mouth as he suckled her. His eyes, cloudy with his own overwhelming desire, met hers. It was more intimate than any act of intercourse. She shuddered with a powerful orgasm, crying out into the empty alley. He lifted up her skirt as he rose to a standing position. Before she could even come down from the first climax he tore her panties, exposed his raging hard cock and shoved himself roughly inside. She was incoherent as he began to fuck her against the wall, screaming out over and over again with each thrust. Her fingernails curled into his shoulders as she bounced against him. He grunted as he fucked her, staring deeply into her eyes, watching her face contort with each orgasm he delivered with each expert thrust. She glanced at his protruding fangs, but this time without the same fear as before. "Take me," she whispered urgently. "Do it!" He groaned as he grabbed her hair with one hand to expose her neck. When he felt himself on the brink of coming, he sunk his teeth deep into her tender flesh and blood gushed into his mouth just as he shoved himself deep inside of her and spent his load. She screamed as her blood coursed into his mouth. She struggled for a moment before slumping against him. Gently he disengaged himself from her body. Her eyes were glazed as she finally came to, and she smiled as he pulled her skirt back down and wiped the blood from her neck. With one last tender peck on her lips he turned to leave. "Don't go," she pleaded. He never turned back around, even as she slid down the wall and onto the ground, her only comfort one lone tear. Raven savored the taste of her blood in his mouth and the sensation of her imprint on his cock; but he would never return to fair Aubry. She had been good, but after hundreds of years good just wasn't good enough. His thoughts returned to the mysterious redhead from the bar. Perhaps she could be the one, he pondered just for a moment as lightning and thunder guided his path. Somehow, though, he doubted it. It was his path to walk alone. And so he walks. Raven Walks Ch. 02 Chapter Two: Janine Though he returned to the bar many times after that first fateful night, Raven Crowe did not see the mysterious redhead again. This wasn't to say he didn't find other suitable playmates, but what he began to burn for, to long for, was a woman he couldn't have. Unfortunately this was not a common occurrence for the vampire whose sexual appetite was as insatiable as his blood lust. It left him feeling more frustrated than usual. Unfortunately his playmates would feel the sting of his disappointment when he satisfied his physical hungers but his emotional appetite only yearned for more. So Raven decided it was time for a change in the scenery, at least for the moment. He made his way west for a weekend in Sin City. If any city in the United States was built for a vampire, it was Las Vegas. Freaks walk the night twenty four hours a day in that gaudy desert paradise, and with the liberal use of alcohol it was a place where the inhibitions of an average human were left at the airport. Raven felt rejuvenated by the high energy of the crowd as he wound his way through various casinos. He caught the eye of many an interested lady, from his unusual attire to his undeniable sex appeal. He looked like he stepped out of another time -- probably because he had. He wore his hair long, dressed in layers and stood out in the crowd. Though his remarkable eyes fell on more than one prospect, he ended up looking right through them. He grew ever more exasperated that even being dropped into the midst of a sinner's paradise he was unable to find anything to truly get excited about, even with the high emotions of his fellow revelers. In fact, if Raven were to get any kind of instant gratification at that moment it would have had to have been feeding on the psychic energy of the people around him. So he focused all his energy to lead him toward the most lively person in the vicinity. When he heard the contagious peel of laughter from a nearby table, he knew he'd found his target. He approached the woman with wavy dark blond hair and ready smile without her noticing. She sat at a blackjack table, having won her very first hand. As he drew closer he instantly recognized her innately conservative nature. She voted Republican, no doubt went to church faithfully and probably only sat at that table to appease her friends. She even drank from a water bottle. He had to smile as he sat across the table from her. He looked away when her dark blue eyes danced his direction. From the long black hair, to his black lined brown eyes, he was an enchanting stranger that could attract even the likes of her, despite her better judgment. "Are you going to bring me luck?" she asked with a slight southern drawl. "I don't believe in luck," he replied as he tossed a hundred dollar bill on the table. She laughed and continued to beam with southern charm. "And what do you believe in?" "Fate," he said as he looked directly at her for the first time. A smile tugged at his mouth when he watched her physically gasp. Her hands shook as she placed her bet. He watched her own bubbly aura shrink as he drank from her energy. The people in between the two could feel the sexual charge taking place, and from the expression on her face it was clear that he had successfully invaded her consciousness and was tempting her from the inside out. In his mind he was holding her close in a dance to music with an erotic, heavy beat; he was swaying his hips against her and she responded by grinding closer. Without any encouragement, she bared her neck to the phantom lover in her mind in compliance to a demand that was never made. The more he drank from her, the more he wanted. And even though the other players at the table, and even the dealer, could feel their sexual foreplay, he knew that to get the ultimate satisfaction he wanted they would have to eventually leave the table. To do that, he knew he'd have to gain her trust. "I detect an accent. Where are you from?" "Tennessee," she answered automatically. "And yourself?" "All over," was his noncommittal answer. "But I do favor the south. Especially their women." He tipped his bottle of water her direction. She seemingly approved of his beverage of choice, and he felt her resolve loosen just a bit. "My name is Raven," he offered. "Raven? That's an unusual name." He just smiled. "I am an unusual man." "I can tell," she said with a smile of her own. He looked at her expectantly and she found herself saying, "My name is Janine." "Janine," he said, rolling her name over his tongue. "That's lovely." He noticed her blush. "So tell me, Janine, is this your first trip to the City of Sin?" She didn't seem to approve of the famed nickname of Las Vegas. "I've been here a time or two. I'm not usually a gambler or a drinker or a partier, so there usually is no appeal." He leaned forward, his eyes boring into hers. "And now?" She stammered, unable to find a suitable reply. He kept her off her game until her stack of chips disappeared. She offered a nervous laugh. "I guess you didn't bring me luck after all." He pocketed his chips. "Allow me to make it up to you. Let me buy you dinner." "I should," she retorted in good humor. "Considering I lost all my money once you sat down at the table." He knew she was joking, but he acted on the suggestion anyway as he got up to follow her. When he was right behind her and she could feel his breath on her exposed back, he said ever so softly, "So where shall we eat dinner, Janine?" She tried to swallow her audible gasp. "I'm... I'm not really very hungry." "That's a shame," he said, his eyes on her mouth. "Because I'm famished." She licked her lips, which caused him to shudder himself. "A rain check," she offered an empty promise as they headed outside. Where it was raining. He chuckled as his arm slipped around her waist. She trembled from the power of his touch and offered no further reluctance to follow where he were to lead. They ended up in a secluded booth in a dark restaurant where she regaled to him her many experiences as a television executive. It was as though she knew the minute she stopped talking he would whisk her away and force her to come face to face with her own resolve. In her mind she had no intention of going very far with this enigmatic stranger, but the longer she stayed in his company the more it felt like a lie. With every word she spoke, Raven drew nearer, his aura overtaking her and effectively throwing off her moral barometer. Finally he was flush up against her, his arm against the back of the booth where she sat, his breath rippling goosebumps across her skin. "So Janine," he said, repeating her name to draw her further into his web. "You don't drink or smoke or gamble. What exactly do you do for pleasure?" She wrenched her eyes away from his intense gaze. "I'm very active. I ski, sail, go dancing..." "Then we should dance," he said softly. Immediately her mind went to that initial vision she had of them locked together. She shook her head. "I really have to get back. My friends will wonder where I've been..." Her words trailed off as she glanced up at him again. His eyes were dark and potent and decisive. There was no saying no. The next thing she knew they were at a club, on a dance floor, the familiar erotic beat thundering through her senses. Different color lights danced on his face as he once again invaded her consciousness with thoughts of how it would be if she were to lay under him -- submitting to the passion she so clearly felt. He watched her physically react to the sex they had in her mind, her body responding to touches and caresses he hadn't even made yet. She began to moan as her hips writhed against him. She felt him as he penetrated her, though they were both still fully clothed. Then with a gasp she shuddered and literally came on the spot. Her eyes snapped open to look at him in surprise, and could not pull away when his lips descended onto hers. Once his mouth opened and possessed her own she felt her knees give out and she collapsed against him in complete sexual bliss. He drug his mouth across her check to whisper in her ear. "Where is your room, Janine?" She shook her head, holding onto her virtue with a death grip. "I'm sorry... I can't..." His arms locked around her and she had to look into his eyes -- those deep penetrative eyes that reminded her what ecstasy awaited in his embrace. Just as she teetered on the brink of another orgasm he released her suddenly. "I understand," he told her. "If you can't, you can't." He turned and left her cold on the dance floor. She stared after him incredulously. He walked without ever looking back, all the way out of the club, through the casino and finally out onto the street washed clean by the random rain storm. He didn't stop until he reached the dancing fountains in front of his own hotel. He stood and he waited. Sure enough, within a few minutes she was standing right behind him, breathing hard from her marathon to catch up to him. He turned around to face her but said nothing. That's when he smiled and she finally saw his fangs. She drew in a breath but did not leave. So he extended his hand to her. She looked at it long and hard, debating her choices, then finally placed her hand in his. No words were exchanged all the way through the hotel, up the elevator and into room. Though it was silent in the room, she could hear the music from their mental lovemaking. She did not resist as he pulled her into a dance. Her hips ground against his as his hands trailed down her back to cup her hips. She watched his face as his fangs grew, also feeling his cock grow in unison. They both equally scared her. "You can leave any time," he told her. "Go back to Tennessee, go back to your home, your church and your life." His hands snuck back up to her neck and his fingers wound their way into her hair. "Or?" she whispered. "You could give yourself to me, and for one night experience immortality." "Are you going to kill me?" she asked, fear wide in her eyes. He chuckled softly as he traced her lovely face with one finger. "I don't kill," he assured her. "And I never take." She nodded. He had made her sin her own choice. He pulled away and proceeded to wait. He sat in a chair and watched her debate with herself. He could almost see the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other. She wrestled with her choice. "Will I be the same?" "No," he told her honestly. "You will never be the same." "Will I be evil?" she asked -- and he could sense that was what scared her most. "Is it evil to go after what you want?" he answered just as softly. "To hold and be held, to touch and be touched? To feel your lover deep inside, pulsating with his desire for you?" His words seduced her. She wanted to be held, to be touched, to be filled. She just didn't want to be damaged. "Is that all it is, then? Sex? You won't... feed?" His eyes darkened. "I will do whatever you want me to do. I am not your master, Janine. I am your slave." Like a pendulum, the power shifted back over to her, which seemed to appease her. She allowed herself to sink back into his eyes. He called her to him without saying one word. She approached him, slipping off her top in the process. Then she unhooked her bra and allowed her breasts to spring free just as she reached where he sat. His mouth captured a tiny, hard nub, causing her to cry out. His hands cupped her hips as he drew her closer. With his encouragement she straddled him where he sat as he worked his mouth from one nipple to the other. Though he wanted to draw blood, he did not. She needed to feel she was in control. She ground herself down against him as she arched her back, her hand in his hair to guide his urgency. She bent her head to kiss him, winding her tongue around his. He made no move to undress her, and finally out of her own frustration she pulled away to do the job herself. She stood before him, totally naked, confused he had made no move to undress himself. So she dropped to her knees before him. She unfastened his pants and slid them from his hips. His hard cock jumped free and she gasped when she saw it. She wrapped her tiny hand around it before reaching out a tongue to trace the sensitive head. Raven's head fell back as he groaned. Her hot breath was making him crazy. Her whole mouth enveloped him and made him cry out loud as he disappeared into her throat. He immediately grabbed a handful of her hair and guided him up and down his massive hard on. His unrestrained passion was too much for her to handle. She abandoned the blow job to mount him, needing to feel him inside of her. She lost herself in his eyes as she slid down onto him, taking him all the way inside her tight, waiting pussy until he was buried completely inside of her. Again he used his hands on her hips to guide her up and down on him, crying out to her as she fucked him wildly, like an animal. She screamed as she came more than once on top of him. He felt her clench against him, sucking her deeper inside of herself. As he drew closer to his own orgasm his fangs grew frighteningly long. She gasped only briefly before rocketing off into another orgasm. "Do it," she whimpered. He leaned up and brushed away the hair from her neck. She writhed on top of him, lost in her own pleasure, made crazy by the close proximity of his teeth against her neck. Yet he waited. The anticipation was more than she could bear. "Please!" He sunk his teeth into the satiny smooth flesh of her neck, piercing her and feeling her blood rush into his mouth. It was all it took and he shoved her hips down on top of him while he shot his massive load into her quivering pussy. His fangs retracted as she slumped toward him, weak and drained. The morning would find them in the same chair, in the same position. She was weak from his relentless feeding, but felt rejuvenated from the energy his passion had restored to her. He laid her on the bed, touching the soft halo of blond hair. She was fading into a sleep he knew would last quite a while, and he knew that when she came to she would think of these events as some sort of hallucination. With one final peck on the puncture wounds from her neck, he disappeared from the room and from her life. He would never reappear unless it was in her dreams. Because when it was all said and done, that is where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 03 Chapter Three: Lillith Las Vegas had been a nice diversion, but Raven was relieved to return home to New Orleans. It felt like home, as much as any place could feel like home to a vampire. He was a true vagabond, and reveled in his ability to adapt to new surroundings. But NOLA was just as much his mistress as the playmates that shared his relentless sexual appetite. Besides, he thought with a slight rush, it was at his favorite club he had seen her: that redheaded temptress he'd lost to the night. Raven was no fool. He understood her appeal was largely dependent upon the fact he hadn't had her yet. He was certain that once he claimed her and made her his, his fascination with her would dim just like all the others who came before her. Until then she would linger in his mind like an apparition, and it was that ghostly image that drove him to return to the bar once more. The heavy metal beat assaulted him before he even opened the door. It was a stormy Saturday night and a full moon; not unlike the very first night he saw her. Perhaps this was fate guiding his path right to her, rewarding his patience. A patient man he had never pretended to be. He suspected she would pay the price for his having to wait; he just hoped it would not be her life. Raven was a lot of things, but a murderer he tried never to be. He had only turned one other person and that was at his request. Instead he had always managed to find those to feed off of, people whom he could return to if need be, even though thus far the need had never materialized. But to condemn them to an eternity of blood lust? He decided long ago that was left to vampires with stronger constitutions than he. Instead, his appetite for blood rode shotgun with his libido. And the long line of satisfied lovers left in his wake validated his decision. The fact he wasn't traditionally dangerous attracted lovers to him like flies, and perhaps that was the reason for his recent jag of dissatisfaction. Sonja greeted him at the bar with a bottle of water, just as he liked it. A prior donor, she had always given him the space he required after their encounter together. Seeing as how she worked at a "haven" for others such as him, he knew she'd use the utmost discretion. Otherwise he never would have relented to feeding on one so familiar. It was an intimacy he couldn't afford. Because she had so dutifully followed his unspoken code, he knew he could trust her. Which was why he decided to ask her about the redheaded mystery woman. "I know of a redhead, but I'm pretty sure she's not the one you're talking about." Raven didn't care. If there was even the slightest chance it could be the same woman, he had to know. "Where can I find her?" Sonja glanced around before leaning in towards him. She provided a name and a location, both were unfamiliar. But he nodded, tipped her well and was on his way. The coven Sonja had directed him to was an unfamiliar one to him, which was odd. He thought he'd seen them all. But this one was pretty far underground, and if you weren't aware it was there you'd have probably missed it all together. Unlike his normal haunt, this place was secretive and selective. The music was darker, the lights were dimmer. From the moment he walked into the place he knew he was on someone else's turf. Just who that was he wasn't sure. Intense eyes followed him as he crossed through the sparse crowd; the stranger they'd never before seen. Fortunately Raven was used to that sort of scrutiny. He headed toward the bar where a young man only clad in silk trousers poured drinks. His eyes sparkled as he inspected this new patron. "Can I help you?" he asked hopefully. Raven simply smiled. "I'm here to see Lillith." Lillith Winter, the name provided by Sonja. He couldn't imagine his dream lover with such a cold sounding name, but he was willing to take the shot. And what better way than to assume this Ice Queen would agree to see him even though they'd never before met? It was a risky move in their secretive community. The boy's face fell, but he nodded. "Wait here." He disappeared behind a beaded curtain, leaving Raven to survey the scene. This coven was unlike the other. People were feeding in booths and out on the dance floor. And he thought he could clearly make out one couple actually fucking in a back booth. The boy returned. "She says she will not see you now." Raven just smiled. He leveled his powerful gaze on the vulnerable man child. "I believe you're mistaken." The young man shrank back visibly. "I could try again..." "No need, Henri," a female voice purred. Raven glanced up to see a redhead, but not his redhead. Instead of copper tresses her locks were strawberry blond. Instead of being tall, she was quite petite in stature. Her face was lovely, her eyes intense and her breasts inviting. Perhaps the trip wasn't a total waste after all, he decided. "Lillith?" he asked in his own husky tone. Though diminutive in size, her command of the room was undeniable. She nodded her head slightly as she rounded the bar and came to stand beside him. "And you are Raven Crowe," she announced. He seemed surprised that she knew who he was. "Have we met?" he asked, although he knew the answer was no. "In a manner of speaking," she said as she hooked her arm with his and led him away from the bar. "I knew Constantine." This was not necessarily good news for Raven. Constantine La Rouche was the man whom he turned, only because of his insistence. He had been ill and feared he would die and leave his beloved behind, so Raven took mercy on his situation and spared him from mortality. The next day, fearing that his lover was a witch, the town burned her at the stake before he'd even risen. Through the hundred or so years since, he would hear of Constantine's lust for revenge. He made humans pay for his loss by taking what the loved most and corrupting it the only way he knew how. It made Raven sick to know he'd created this monster, but there was nothing he could do. Except never turn anyone ever again. He'd rather drive a stake through his own heart. It was hard being a vampire with a conscience. Lillith guided Raven to an upstairs hidden room that was draped in black velvet and illuminated by candles. She dropped her silk cloak to reveal her tight corset that showed off her proud breasts. "How is Constantine?" Raven asked as he stood beside a chair but did not sit. "Heartless as always," she commented with a wry smile. "From what I understand, you know that better than anyone." He said nothing, just watched her approach. She gave him a wanton grin as her hand slid up his chiseled arms. "So what exactly can I do for the legendary Raven Crowe?" "I was looking for someone." "Aren't we all?" "A redhead." She grinned. "How convenient." Coldly Raven retorted, "But since she's not here, I suppose I should go." Her face hardened but her voice remained unaffected. "Then go." But he didn't turn away and he didn't leave. By her showing she didn't care if he stayed or went, he suddenly wanted to stay. She must have done this before, he decided. "How do you know Constantine?" he asked. "I thought you were going," she snapped and attempted to stalk away. Only he snaked out a hand to grab her elbow and pulled her roughly toward him. "I'd rather be coming," he said in a low, seductive voice. Slowly she smiled. So this was his game. "Such demands. What makes you so certain you deserve that pleasure?" Using his mind he invaded her thoughts, to plant images of his throwing her down on the velvet covered sofa. He was quite surprised when the imaginary Lillith pushed him onto his back in his own thoughts. He once again focused on her face only to find two fangs protruding from her mouth. It was his turn to gasp. Through his clothes he could feel the sensation of her hands on his body and his mind filled of thoughts of her taking his hard cock into her mouth. He felt the texture of her tongue wrapped like a snake around his shaft as she swallowed him whole. She continued to mind fuck him with her mouth, and as his explosive orgasm built, his fangs grew. He needed to come. And he needed to feed. And all she had done was touch his arm. He grabbed her to him to take her on the spot. But she evaded his grasp and instead pushed him back onto the chair, fully intending to make the images she planted in his mind a reality. She groaned as she copped a feel of his massive erection through his pants. As she wrapped her hand around the bulge she could feel it pulsate inside of her. Like Raven, Lillith had an insatiable hunger. Not only did she need him to fuck her, she wanted to feel his fangs pressed into her flesh. And she needed to sink her teeth into his. Ever since Constantine had turned her, she too has associated her lust for blood with her lust for sex. And she knew from all she'd heard about Raven, he'd be the same. He was her match, and she his. Impatiently Raven pushed aside his pants to reveal his hungry cock for her. Unceremoniously he tangled his fingers into her hair and guided her down to where he needed her to be. Her tongue licked flames up and down and around his shaft and over the head, and he cried out as his cock jumped up to fill her waiting mouth. Finally she descended onto him, sucking him into her mouth, carefully avoiding any contact with any of her teeth. He'd never been blown by a female vampire before, and was surprised at how skilled she was protecting his vulnerable body from her sharp fangs. In fact, most of the sensation was the head of his cock slipping into the back of her throat as he buried himself balls deep into her mouth. Though his urgency grew, she took her time. He would shove her head down onto him but she was in charge, and right as she got him to the brink she'd lift her mouth away and allow her tongue to lick every inch of his delicious cock. He was delirious as he begged her to let him come. She instead lifted away to peel the rest of her clothing from her supple body. Her curves were inviting and he wanted to bury himself inside of her. But she was strong. She straddled his face and dove back down onto his stiff dick with her hungry mouth. He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her down. His tongue teased her as relentlessly as she had been teasing him. He flicked her hard clit back and forth with his tongue until she was bucking against his face, only to stop. He'd then allow his tongue to explore just the rim of her sopping wet hole. He stuck two fingers deep inside her, feeling her clutch to him with powerfully strong muscles deep inside her pussy. He could only imagine what it was going to feel like to fuck her. The more he thought about it, the more he needed to come. His fangs grew almost painfully as he strained to bury himself into her mouth. Finally he couldn't take it anymore. He had to taste her. He sank his teeth into her groin and tapped into a vein. This sent Lillith over the edge as she contorted in a full body shudder. She swallowed his massive load as she came over his fingers, still plunged deep inside of her. He fed on her much longer than he probably would have a mortal human being; and the vintage of her essence intoxicated him more than he could remember being before. When he finally drug his bloody mouth away, he had to sink his face back into her wet and trembling pussy. He couldn't get enough of her, and he didn't even bother teasing her. He sucked her hard clit into his mouth, his tongue circling around it, his teeth softly biting into her. She gyrated onto his face as she screamed out in another mind bending orgasm. Just as she peaked, she sank her own fangs into the vein in his groin. As he was not used to being penetrated, he cried out in surprise. He felt his blood gush into her mouth, and he heard her feed noisily from him. His cock sprang back to life as he experienced a sexual rush he hadn't had for many years. Roughly he flipped her around so that she was sitting on top of him. He slid easily into her waiting pussy as she began to rock over him slowly, grinding herself down on top of him. He licked the traces of his own blood from her mouth before he kissed her hard and deep. Her pussy grasped his cock as his fingers found her hard nipples and cupped her full breasts. He bounced her on top of his rock hard dick, indulging in how tight and wet and warm she was around him. She encouraged him with alternate whispers and screams, begging him to fuck her harder and faster. The dance of seduction and control out the window, he happily complied. He was still stone drunk on the taste of her and how her blood felt as it ran through his veins. He could hear her heartbeat thunder in his ears. His fingers dug into the tender flesh of her ass, forcing himself further and further inside her with each thrust while he watched her fangs grow longer and sharper. "Feed," he whispered. She needed no further instruction. Her sharp teeth penetrated the skin of his neck. It was pain and pleasure in the very same instant. And he felt her start to come all around him the minute she began sucking the blood from his neck. She groaned deep in her throat as she lost control of her body. He ached to come as well, but he loved how it felt to be inside her while she fed on him. He waited until she'd had her fill. His strength stolen, he couldn't flip her over and bang her from behind like he wanted. So instead he decided to feed slowly. His fangs scraped over the tender skin of her neck, piercing her ever so slightly. He felt her tighten all around him as he penetrated her, sucking rivulets of blood from her skin. He did it slowly, causing her to have a mounting orgasm that did not stop. He fucked her harder at her insistence, until he felt himself losing control. He shoved himself up deep inside of her as he drank heavily from her neck. He fell back against the chair, spent. She lifted away slightly to gaze into his eyes. "Bet your other redhead couldn't do that," she murmured, licking away any evidence of blood from his neck and his chin and his cheek. He groaned and clutched her to him, prepared to keep her right where she was while he grew again for another session of hunger and lust. And he knew that despite his strong resolve to walk alone, Lillith was an Ice Queen he'd long to melt much more than once. And she was glad that into her life, Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 04 Chapter Four: Tracy Lillith proved to be an interesting diversion for Raven for several weeks. But like anything else, his passion cooled and he began to yearn for something different. Fortunately for him, her lust for new blood was just as insatiable, so she did not cling to him like a forsaken lover as he returned back to his favorite haunt to seek out yet another conquest. As the summer months crept along, the oppressive humidity drove people out later and later at night when it was cooler, which meant he was faced with a lot of new possibilities. Unfortunately so many of them were young college girls on the prowl for their next sexual adventure. Though they were ripe for the picking, he found them boring or worse -- annoying. They were just as willing to pose for a wild girls DVD as they were to offer their neck to a complete stranger. Was it too much to ask for a woman who understood the true power of her sexuality? They treated their orgasms like spontaneous sneezes; something their body did with little to no thought or control. He wanted a woman who was fully able to savor her lascivious nature. He demanded more sophistication in his sensuality. Who knew if his redheaded temptress understood this power, but he was willing to go on a little faith. Very rarely did a vision revisit his dreams as she had done. It was slowly morphing from a curiosity to an obsession. Raven decided that even if she didn't know the power of sex, she would when he was done with her. Of course, Raven felt that of all of his conquests. He had been hard pressed to find an equal, much less someone who could teach him a thing or two. So he went to the bar every night and he waited, willing her to return. His aura grew so strong in his desire that he drew women to him like a magnet. One in particular found him especially interesting. Her name was Tracy Lynn, and she made sure he was aware of her presence. Like too many of the other young women who frequented the bar, she was far more annoying than enticing. She stood too close, laughed too loud and invaded his personal space without invitation on more than one occasion. While he'd been polite, he had not encouraged her behavior in any way. He refused to waste his time with her, and she had no real clue whom she was dealing with despite the fact he could bare his fangs at will in the sanctity of the coven. She was, for lack of a better word, a groupie. Vampires were not unlike rock stars in that way. Their dangerous, rebellious bad boy nature drew girls to them in droves. While their fascination was a bit of an ego boost, their desperation wore on Raven. Which was why he was so selective, and found himself drawn to those girls who presented more of a challenge. With Tracy Lynn, there was no challenge. She made sure he understood in no uncertain terms that he could have her in whatever way he wanted her. Which was why he didn't want her. That and she was impossibly dull. From her drab, unstyled tresses to her careless wardrobe - everything about her screamed she needed him to even validate her existence. Unfortunately for Raven, his disinterest fueled her obsession. And this night was no exception. She buzzed around him like an annoying gnat, despite the fact he had taken to communicating her only with curt head nods or placating smiles. She seemed unaware. In fact, she seemed to take whatever sign he gave her as positive reinforcement for her behavior. She was inching closer and closer to him as he turned more the other direction. Clearly she had not been schooled in the fine art of body language. He managed to ignore her for the most part as he kept his eye on the door of the club. And almost like a mirage, the shock of bright copper hair appeared from the moonless night. He was so struck to see her again he forgot about Tracy Lynn. He wasn't sure but he even thought he might have forgotten to breathe. Her black cloak fell away to reveal the milky white expanse of her ample cleavage, pushed high and proud by a purple and black velvet corset. Her bright green eyes were lined with black eyeliner, while her pale ivory face was illuminated under the lights over the dance floor. It was her. She had come to him. Why hadn't he thought about calling to her before? Just as he pushed away from the bar to go to her, he caught sight of the man who entered the bar just behind her. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. It was Constantine La Rouge. The tall, imposing figure commanded attention the moment he entered the room, but it was his devastatingly powerful eyes that would render anyone in his path defenseless to his will. He had a cocky, rock star swagger and a self indulgent pout that would make women practically fall at his feet. Quite simply he was beautiful. And he had draped his arm possessively over the shoulders of Raven's dream woman. "And so I was thinking, maybe you could take me home." Raven blinked and turned his head toward the voice speaking to him. It was Tracy Lynn. "What?" "My ride," she repeated and pointed off to another girl making out with a vampire at the end of the bar. "She looks like she's going to be occupied. I was thinking maybe you could take me home." His instant refusal died on his lips as Constantine and his date passed right in front of him. When her eyes met Raven's he felt electricity shoot down to his loins, as if she had touched him. Her full lips beckoned him to disregard all protocol and kiss her promptly and without reserve. He was so stricken he had to look away, and that was when he caught a glimpse of Constantine's smug face. "Raven," he said with a nod of acknowledgment. "It's been a long time." Raven nodded and then glanced back over at the redhead. Constantine bent to tell her, "This is Raven. My master." Raven cringed at the term, but extended his hand anyway. "Abigail Mandrake," she responded in a voice so soft he felt it slide all the way down his spine. "It's nice to meet you finally." Raven's eyebrow raised, to which she replied, "Your reputation precedes you." He smiled, and with great satisfaction he saw her composure crack under its seductive weight. "I hope it's all good," he replied, his voice as soft as hers. Tracy Lynn decided to make her presence known, threading her arm through his. "It couldn't be anything else," she said with a flirty, but possessive, smile. "Yes, all good," Constantine replied, his eyes boring through Raven. Whether it was fear, love, respect or hatred, Raven couldn't be sure. Instead he glanced back at Abigail. Her bright red tresses tumbled over her bare shoulder, and in their close proximity he could see the silky expanse of the skin on her neck. It was completely clean. Raven wasn't sure but he thought he might have groaned. The sexual tension was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. Constantine responded by pulling Abigail closer into his embrace. For some inexplicable reason Raven wanted to pull her away from him. It was an impulse he reluctantly resisted. Abigail smiled at Raven. "It was nice to meet you," she said before turning away to follow Constantine onto the dance floor. Raven watched as Constantine folded her into his arms; she practically disappeared into him. The beat was slow, hypnotic and overtly sexual, and Constantine responded by grinding her against him, his eyes swallowing her whole. As he watched her respond to his seductive gaze, Raven began to harden. She didn't wilt against Constantine like so many of his conquests. Instead, she gave him a glance of her own. Her hands slipped up into Constantine's long brown hair, clasping a handful as she wielded her sexuality like a sword. Her strength and her power over her own sensuality fueled Raven's obsession. He knew that he had to have her. He felt Tracy Lynn press herself against him. "So how bout that ride?" she purred. His eyes were hard as he glanced down at her. She was so wrapped up in her own obsession she couldn't see his clear interest in someone else. Or maybe she did and felt like she had to turn up the heat. Either way he found her attention intrusive. But it was also convenient. He grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her onto the floor. He slammed her to him and mimicked Constantine's movements, making sure Abigail saw. In fact, he didn't look at Tracy Lynn once while they danced. He kept his eyes on another woman, unconcerned that Tracy Lynn might see. Despite the fact Abigail danced with Constantine, her eyes also were locked on Raven. He invaded her thoughts so that they were dancing together. He felt her soft curves against his hard body. He tumbled headlong into those intoxicating green eyes, and his body responded to thoughts of how it would feel to kiss her, to thrust his tongue between those full, glistening lips. Tracy Lynn felt his erection start to grow against her and though it was clear that wasn't because of her, she took it as a green light. She ground against him, her hands sliding down his back to cup his ass and press closer to him. This yanked Raven out of Abigail's head. He growled with displeasure, and Tracy Lynn groaned in response. Raven instead looked back over to Abigail where he saw Constantine lean down to kiss her. The younger man's mouth covered hers, and he could feel their tongues tangle and mesh. He tried to project himself into her mind, but the thoughts were jumbled and clouded. He knew Constantine had pulled her under his spell. With desperation he watched Constantine pull her from the floor and lead her into a back room. Without thinking, he released Tracy Lynn abruptly to follow them. The pulsating beat thundered behind them as he wound his way through the bowels of the secret underbelly of the coven. They could hear moans and screams coming from the various closed doors, the smell of sex and blood rising through the air. He was about to explode if he couldn't find Abigail, to thrust himself deep into her while tasting her virgin skin under his fangs. But his senses were on overload and he couldn't pick up her scent. As he turned back he saw Tracy Lynn, who had followed him like an expectant puppy. Full of frustration, Raven snarled as he grabbed her and pushed her up against the wall. She gasped as she saw the length of his fangs. "Is this what you want?" he demanded angrily. He brought up his knee to part her legs as he watched several expressions steal across her face, fear primary among them. It fueled his aggression. He had never taken what couldn't be freely offered, but he was not above giving a pest like Tracy Lynn exactly what she wanted to prove she had no idea what she was asking for. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Isn't this what you have been begging for?" She nodded. "Yes." He bared his fangs. "Do you know what I do to girls like you?" She nodded again. "I'm not afraid." He spun her around to press her face up against the wall, his hard cock pressed into the curve of her ass. "Yes, you are," he told her. "And you should be." He ripped her panties down and shoved a finger up inside of her. Though she trembled in fearful anticipation, she was sopping wet. What a foolish girl, he thought as he surveyed the smooth skin of her neck. With an angry hiss he bared down on her. She cried out when his fangs pierced her neck, all while his fingers toyed with her hungry cunt. It was blinding pain and searing pleasure at the same moment. She came almost instantly. A noise off to the side of them caught his attention, and without breaking his deadly embrace he glanced over to find Abigail standing there, her eyes wide -- her neck still clean. Raven's eyes glazed over as he invaded her thoughts and it was her blood on which he was feasting. Only in his mind, he was plunged deep inside her tight pussy, fucking her fierce and hard as she cried out underneath him. His thoughts were so potent, though both Abigail and Raven were completely dressed they both teetered on the brink of massive orgasms. Just as he felt himself about to explode, she yanked herself out of his dream world and turned and raced away into the shadows. He cried out in frustration. He wanted to chase after her but he needed to come. He urgently pulled his hard dick from his trousers and shoved it right up inside Tracy Lynn where she stood pressed up against the wall. He continued to suck from her neck as he pumped in and out of her. She began to struggle against him, his passion and his hunger terrifying her as she felt her life slowly begin to drain out of her. As she began to swoon against him he finally released her neck from his ruthless fangs as he shoved himself up inside of her to spew his load with an angry yell. That was when he caught the tear hovering on the tips of Tracy Lynn's eyelashes. She was ravaged, and it had been because of his anger. He backed away and Tracy Lynn slid down the wall into a heap on the floor. She glanced up at him through half closed eyes. "Be careful what you wish for," he advised as he pulled up his pants. "You just might get it." Her world closed in on her has he drifted away. It almost felt like a dream when she was hoisted into strong arms and carried into another room. Her head bobbed as she tried to pull herself out of the murky depths of her subconscious, and she caught just a glimpse of long, luxurious dark hair. "Raven?" she murmured. A door closed behind them as she was laid ever so gently onto a satin covered bed. She blinked as she tried to focus on the man who laid down next to her. "Who are you?" she whispered. "Your salvation," he responded back in a voice so gentle it set her whole body on fire. Slowly his eyes pierced through the fog. Those intense brown eyes that seemed to fuck her before their bodies had even touched. She groaned as his fingers tenderly opened her blouse and pushed her bra away. A warm mouth descended onto her erect nipple, teeth gently piercing the tender skin there. She gasped but arched her back toward him as she was overcome with sexual bliss once her blood mixed with his saliva. He continued to undress her as he licked his way down her body, taking little bites from her skin. She cried out, her fingers in his hair as she guided him where she wanted him to go. She was rewarded with hot breath against her quivering pussy. Immediately she opened her legs wider and his tongue danced along her erect clit. He took his time, savored her taste, his tongue flickering around the hard nub and then sliding in between the wet lips of her cunt. He sucked her into his mouth and sent her off into outer space. He crawled up her body and her legs scissor crossed around his naked waist as he bent in for a kiss. His tongue crawled around her mouth as his cock slid just inside of her. Using her legs, she pushed him in further, feeling him impale her on his rock hard erection. He moaned into her mouth, which she echoed. He thrust in and out of her slowly, taking his time, feeling each and every inch of her grasping him and pulling him in deeper. Her hips raised to meet his as the desire in her rose. He had one hand underneath her, pulling her ass closer to him, the other hand was in between them, cupping her breast, pinching the nipple. She was lost in his kiss. This was what she had wanted, not angry consolation sex in a hallway. She savored him right up until she felt his fangs begin to grow. She knew how close she had come to losing herself before. She still was hovering on the brink. She knew that if she wanted to live, she couldn't allow him to feed anymore. She whimpered as she shook her head when he raised up. All she saw was fangs and bottomless eyes. "No," she whispered. "Shhh," he whispered as he continued to fuck her. "Just feel me." She closed her eyes and obeyed. She felt his hard cock filling her, invading her, completing her. She clutched at him with desperation, needing him deeper. His own urgency began to build. He began to pump harder, stronger, deeper. She responded in kind, until she was crying out loud from feeling him reach deep inside of her, his impossibly hard cock stretching her wide. "Now," he said as she began to come. "Let me taste you." She shook her head, but her orgasm overtook her. It was such exquisite pleasure she wanted to cry. He was touching her in a place she'd never even known existed. "Give yourself to me," he demanded in a seductive whisper. She was incoherent as wave after wave flooded her body. Finally she nodded, a tear rolling down her face. Gently she felt the sharp fangs sink into the tender skin once more. Her blood pumped into him, causing him to race to his own climax. As he sucked, his movements grew more urgent, more demanding. He was slamming into her by the time she started to black out, the last of her blood dripping from the sides of his mouth. With a primal scream he took the last of everything she had to give, and spent himself inside of her. Moments later he fell onto her lifeless body, feeling its warmth already beginning to fade. Tenderly he traced her face with his fingertip. "Sleep well, my love," the sated vampire whispered. "You will wake soon." He pulled out of her, covered her up and left her there. The wait now began. Tracy Lynn died never knowing she would soon walk where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 05 Chapter Five: Constantine Raven sat staring into the bottom of his glass, the amber liquid staring back up at him almost accusingly. He had long given up liquor for blood, but he felt such self loathing for what had taken place with Tracy Lynn he needed something with a little more kick than his usual bottle of water. Something that burned as it poured down his throat, and sat in his stomach in a bubbling mass of acid and regret. He had behaved in a way that repulsed him. He had punished her for annoying him, and punished her for wanting something he didn't want to give. He'll never forget how pale and how lifeless she looked when he left her. With one swig he killed his drink and held up a finger to Sonja to indicate he wanted yet another. She was concerned, given he was acting totally against type, but she obeyed. He was a paying customer after all. Besides, she got a sense that he had little patience for disobedience and didn't particularly want to test the depths of his wrath. Especially when he looked so angry. He practically snarled at anyone who tried to cozy up to him, even beautiful women who clearly wanted to give themselves to him. He needed to feed, she could tell from the pallor of his complexion, but he seemed reluctant to do so. She didn't know what exactly was wrong, but she knew something had to be. Very, very wrong. His mood went from bad to worse when Constantine sauntered over to the bar where Raven sat. Sonja watched from the sidelines as the younger vampire smiled at his master. "What a night," he commented as he signaled for his own drink. "How did things work out with your victim?" It was a term that hit Raven below the belt. He had made such a point to only take from those willing to give, he never looked at his donors as his "victims" - even though he was stealing their life from them in small doses. "Not well," Raven muttered as he gulped his second drink, then ordered another. His angry gaze leveled on Constantine. "How about you? Abigail, was it?" Constantine chuckled. He knew for a fact Raven knew damn well what her name had been. "She's a tigress," he baited. "I can't wait to have her again." "Bullshit. You didn't have her. Her neck was clean when she left here." Constantine's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Her neck was clean. The rest of her wasn't." Raven felt bile rise in his throat. Sonja poured her usual amount of bourbon into his glass, and he indicated rather impatiently that she fill it double. She complied, and he downed his drink in a swallow. "A groupie?" he finally managed to ask. Constantine contemplated his answer for a moment. For maximum effect he should probably be somewhat honest -- if only to feed Raven's lust. Making Raven burn for what he couldn't have seemed proper punishment considering he had condemned him to a life of damnation and yet allowed his beloved Nina to perish while he slept. "No," he finally said. "She's a journalist who wants to learn about vampirism from the inside." He gave Raven an evil grin. "I'm more than happy to oblige." Raven glared at him. "Don't turn her." "Why? Why would I deny her immortality?" Raven didn't answer, but Constantine read him like a book. He chuckled. "I had no idea you were so hot for virgins, Raven. Or is it you want to turn her yourself?" Raven grabbed Constantine by the shirt, which surprised the nearby Sonja. "Never," he hissed. "I too deeply regret the first time I made that mistake." Constantine's smile faded. "As do I," he said in a low voice as he pushed Raven's hand away. They sat silently as they drank. Raven's mood went more downhill as he realized Constantine had started to seduce Sonja. His eyes inhaled her petite frame; from her bobbed black hair to her tiny waist. She had an exotic look, with amber eyes that shown like topaz, and a sleek, almost carved face. Her small breasts lifted up her tiny shirt to expose the smooth tone of her stomach, which was adorned with a belly button ring, as well as an ornate tribal tattoo that sprawled across her tail bone. Raven watched as the younger vampire seared his way into her thoughts with a purposeful gaze, and then witnessed her body physically respond to his mental manipulation. Her nipples hardened underneath her thin t shirt, and goose flesh spread across her skin as a blush rose up her neck. When she turned to face him, she gasped. Raven watched her fend off an orgasm. "What are you doing?" he demanded under his breath. "I'm fucking her," Constantine answered in an unaffected monotone. "Want to join me?" "No, thanks," he answered. "I don't retread old territory." Constantine chuckled and Sonja moaned out loud as she leaned against the further end of the bar. "Sloppy seconds, is that what you're saying?" "Something like that," Raven said as he took another drink. "Then you're getting soft, old man," Constantine taunted. "You didn't finish the job." Raven's eyes slid over to where Sonja stood, and watched blood rise just to the surface of her neck. He grabbed Constantine by the arm. "Stop." Constantine leveled his gaze on Raven, releasing Sonja who sighed in relief as she dropped to her knees. "And why should I do that?" Raven said nothing as he looked back at Sonja -- whose pleading eyes begged him to save her. Next thing they all knew they tumbled into one of the back rooms, this one draped in purple satin. Sonja wrapped her arms around Raven and succumbed to his kiss while Constantine stood behind her, grinding his steel hard dick into her firm ass. As Raven dropped to his knee and alternately kissed and sucked his way down her body, she leaned back to kiss Constantine, his tongue wrestling with hers as he lifted her hips up into his hands. Raven found himself squarely between her spread legs, offered generously by the other man. As Raven's tongue darted inside of her, Constantine's erection, still hidden underneath his clothes, slowly rocked against her bare ass. Already on the brink of his manipulation from earlier, Sonja didn't take much to end up screaming and bucking against Raven's hungry mouth and expert tongue. Her legs shook as Constantine lowered her to the floor. He grabbed her by the hair and turned her to face him, which she did -- drunk on both of their auras. She tore away his shirt and planted hot kisses down his chest. Raven rubbed her back and cupped her ass as he watched her unfasten Constantine's pants. In one motion she sank his entire erection into her mouth. Raven had felt that mouth on him before, so he could absolutely imagine what it would feel like to be the dick inside, teased by her magical tongue. His fangs grew as his cock hardened, needing to feel her around him. He released himself with one hand while spreading her hips with the other. With one swift thrust he buried himself inside of her hot, waiting pussy with a grunt. Constantine's eyes met Raven's. Like swords sparking as they collided, the power of their lust meeting made both men unsteady on their feet as they pummeled their willing playmate from both ends. Their fangs dug into their cheeks as their faces contorted into snarls. Her screams of ecstasy were lost under the union of forces taking place inside of her and around her. Constantine's eyes almost glowed as he glanced down at the human neck. He needed to feed. Raven feared that he would turn her with his insatiable hunger and instead grabbed the other man by the hair. "Take it from me," he growled. Constantine needed no further encouragement, considering it was what he had wanted in the first place. There is no taste like that of a seasoned vampire -- it was the purest high in the world. He sunk his teeth into the strong neck of his master and drank from him. As Raven spent himself inside of Sonja, the taste of his blood exploded into a kaleidoscope of color in Constantine's mouth, causing him to lose control and come harder than he ever had before. It was more than Sonja could take. Pleasure assaulted her from ever angle until she lost control of her body. She had never believed in female ejaculation before that moment. Her entire body spasmed and as Constantine slipped from her mouth she screamed with the force of her climax. As she dropped to her knees, Constantine's fangs slipped from Raven's neck. Raven stumbled backward, weak and unfulfilled. Sonja could see he needed to drink, and weakly offered herself to him. "Raven," she called, her hand reaching out to him. He could see her veins pumping below her skin. He groaned with his desire for the taste of her, but all he could see was the terror in Tracy Lynn's eyes as her life started to drain away. Raven slowly shook his head as he stumbled backward, tucked himself away and fell out of the door into the darkness of the night. Constantine lifted Sonja up onto the bed. Tenderly he kissed her. "Are you all right?" She nodded. She was weak from her orgasm, but still had all of her blood intact. "But what about Raven?" He smiled at her and brushed her hair out of her face. "I'll go make sure he's okay. You rest here for a while." She nodded and returned his smile, and within a moment she was drifting off to a sated sleep. Constantine covered her naked body with the satin sheet and left to find Raven. Raven stumbled through the bar, all the images distorted, all the sounds and scents amplified. Girls would gasp in shock at the length of his fangs, the paleness in his eyes. Constantine followed him as he tumbled out of the door into the night air. "Raven," he called, but he did not turn around. Constantine trotted to follow. "Raven!" "Leave me alone," Raven snarled. "Haven't you taken enough from me?" Constantine caught up with him and grabbed him by the arm. "What about what I'm willing to give to you?" Their eyes met again and Raven swayed under the powerful stare. Constantine's head came closer until they were a kiss apart. "Drink from me, my master," Constantine whispered, and offered his neck. Raven fought his instinct to feed. "No," he whispered, but his fangs responded to his need. He could smell the blood on Constantine's breath. Musk rose in the night between them. He wanted to punch him but he didn't have the strength to make a fist. Constantine pulled him close. "Do it, you old fool. Do you want to die?" Yes, thought Raven. He closed his eyes and that was when he saw her face. Those bright green eyes. That long, red hair. She was a vision that called to him. He heard his name fall from her lips. "No," he whispered. And without further ado he sank his teeth into Constantine's neck, causing the young vampire to cry out. With a lot more force than he'd ever use on a woman or a sexual playmate, he pulled Constantine's hair and sucked hard from his neck, satisfied with how the larger man sunk beneath him as his own strength was restored. As he felt his life slowly begin to fade, Constantine shoved Raven away with both hands. "You greedy son of a bitch! Wasn't once enough?" The two vampires stared at each other, gasping for breath, rejuvenated and repulsed by their intimacy... their history. "More than," Raven replied as he wiped droplets of Constantine's blood from his mouth. His strength was restored, as was his resolve. He turned and stalked away, leaving Constantine weaving on his feet. Back in the dark purple room in the coven, Sonja dozed -- her body still electrified by the incredible vampire sex she'd just had. Just Raven had been powerful enough, but add to that the overwhelming charisma of his younger counterpart and she hadn't even needed them to touch her in order to dissolve into a puddle of pleasure and ecstasy. But they had, and her body still felt their imprint as if they had never left. Her pussy throbbed, her nipples hardened, and every nerve in her body was alive. When the slick, cool sheet began to slide down her body, her already heightened senses went into overload. She moaned and instinctively opened her legs, needing to be touched. Needing to be filled. She gasped as she felt an actual mouth make contact with her sensitive skin. Her eyes opened but she didn't see anyone else in the darkness. All she could feel was a tongue skating up her leg and onto her inner thigh. Soft kisses landed higher and higher where her cunt pulsated with need, wet and aching. She thrust her hips upward. "Yes," she encouraged her phantom lover, and she felt the mouth respond by burying itself into her waiting pussy. The warmth covered her painfully erect clit and latched onto it. Sonja's thighs clamped together, capturing the lover she still couldn't see. But she didn't care who it was. She needed to come so badly it nearly hurt. The mouth responded with its own need to taste her. A tongue flattened over her clit as it sucked her over the edge. Sonja blasted off yet again, screaming loudly as she bucked against the unrelenting mouth. Her lover crawled up her body, and that was when Sonja realized her lover was a woman, with full, heavy breasts and soft, soft skin. A breast swung against her stomach and Sonja was quick to capture a hard nipple in her hand, guiding it to her mouth. As she flicked her tongue over the sensitive peak, her lover cried out and gyrated her hips against her. Sonja ran her hand along her waist and over her hip. Her lover opened her legs to her, and so Sonja threaded two fingers together and slid them easily into this stranger's hot cunt. This caused her playmate to groan and grab her for a passionate kiss. Using her thumb to toy with her clit, Sonja continued to fuck her partner with her fingers as her tongue danced in and around the mouth of this stranger in the dark. Similarly, her partner followed her lead. She slipped a hand between Sonja's thighs and finger fucked her in response, and both women were lost to their passion as the smell of their sex rose in the air. Sonja reached for another kiss only to find tiny fangs beginning to grow. As she tried to pull away, her lover reached deep inside of her and touched that special place that sent her over the edge into a mind blowing, conscious altering orgasm. "Oh God," Sonja groaned, knowing that she was lost to this female vampire; her own lust betraying her. When she felt the fangs pierce her neck, her blood spilled willingly into this stranger's mouth. It created a sexual high she didn't know even existed, and she didn't resist as her partner suckled hungrily from her neck. Her last conscious thought was how it felt to come all around magical fingers, breasts pressed into hers, the smell of a woman's lust overtaking her senses. She hoped that when she rose, she'd experience it again. Because Sonja knew the score. This was not the end. It was a beginning. And she would soon walk where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 06 Chapter Six: Abigail Raven returned to the coven with roses for Sonja. He felt somewhat vindicated that he didn't drink from her at all, and neither did Constantine, but he still wanted to acknowledge their passionate tryst. She was a strong woman to handle two vampires at once, especially two vampires such as himself and Constantine. That she made it through without a scratch was a testament to that strength. She needed to be treated with the respect and admiration she had earned. Who knew, he thought to himself as he caressed the silken rose petals. Perhaps she was the one. Quiet, unassuming, yet a woman of indeterminable strength and grace. He found himself wanting to see her again -- to touch her blacker than black hair and stare into those cat-like eyes. He throbbed with the memory of her all around him. He had never really gone back for seconds with a human before, but she certainly had been worth the attempt. He actually could thank Constantine for that. That was the biggest shocker of all. He'd intervened to spare her life -- and she might have saved his. He wore a rare smile as he entered the club and headed purposefully toward the bar. He was surprised to find another bartender there -- a male -- with spiked blue/black hair, a pierced ear and dark Gothic makeup. "Hey, man," the new bartender said. "What's your pleasure?" "Where's Sonja?" Raven asked immediately. He just shrugged as he cleaned out a glass. "Dunno. She never came back to work last night. Didn't call in tonight either. Surprised the hell outta me. You could set your watch by that girl." "She never came back," Raven echoed. "Yep. Abandoned her shift. We figured something must have come up but she never called. Sebastian finally broke down and called the police this evening when she didn't show up for her next shift." "The police?" he echoed again. Raven was shocked. Sebastian Crane, owner of their little hangout and a vampire even older than himself, was not one to rely on the aid of humans. The new bartender nodded. "Normally he wouldn't have. You know how it is around here. People come, people go. It comes with the territory, especially with the help. But she'd been here a long time. Sebastian thought for sure she'd never get lost. Add to that some guy looking for his wife. Some woman named Tracy, I think." Raven sank onto the barstool. Married? She'd been married? He felt sick. "Tracy Lynn Macer," a female voice confirmed. Raven turned to see Abigail standing next to him, dressed normally, complete with a notepad. "Disappeared two days ago, leaving behind a husband and three small children." "Kids?" It came out as a hoarse whisper. "Three," she confirmed as she leveled her green eyes on him. "And if I remember correctly, you were last seen fucking her in the hallway." His jaw clenched, but he remained silent. She indicated to his flowers. "Nice roses." Again he did not respond. Finally, "Is there somewhere we can go and talk?" He placed the flowers on the bar and stood. He motioned with his hand and led her back into the back part of the bar. "Can I trust you to take me back here?" she asked as she raced to keep up. "Seems like when girls come back here with you they don't come back." "You tell me," he bit out. "You know what I am. You know what I want. Yet you're still here." "I'm not afraid," she told him with all the confidence she could muster. He just smiled as he pushed open a door to a darkened room. "Famous last words," he said in a soft, low voice. She gulped but kept her head high. He lit a huge candelabra. He motioned to the big bed. "Make yourself at home." She darted a look his direction. "No, thanks." He grinned. "Suit yourself." He took off his coat and loosened his shirt before plopping down on the middle of the bed. She stood off to the side, and opened her notepad. "What do you remember about the last time you saw Sonja?" "Let me think. Oh yes. I was making her come all over my cock." With smug satisfaction he watched her eyes widen. "Try putting that in print." "I'm being serious." "You're being nosy. That's a dangerous vocation around a place like this." "So they keep telling me." Raven leaned back with his hands behind his head. "And yet you keep coming back. What does that say about you?" Her eyebrow arched. "That I don't intimidate easily." He chuckled. "Or that you're easy to tempt," he countered. His eyes locked in with hers and instantly she could feel his mouth on hers, slow open mouthed kisses to tantalize, to drive her crazy. She cleared her throat and shook the images away. "Not as easy as you might think," she managed, but her voice cracked. "No?" he asked, and then sent thoughts of his hand on her breast as he thrust his tongue into her mouth in a deep, passionate kiss that managed to make him as weak kneed as it did her. She crossed her arms across her chest and backed up. "Where would you be without all your mystical powers, I wonder." "In a grave," he answered as he sprang to his feet. "I prefer this." He came to stand next to her, keeping her rooted to the spot with his eyes. "Is that why you murdered Tracy Lynn and Sonja?" "I murdered no one," he told her firmly, but softly. "Isn't that part of your mystique? To turn mere mortals into vampires like yourself?" He reached up to touch her hair. "What answer would reward me a kiss?" "There's nothing you could say," she told him, but even as she said it sounded like a bluff. "No?" he asked softly as he stepped closer. His head tilted toward hers and his hot breath danced along her slightly parted lips. She saw his desire to kiss her in his dark and clouded eyes, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, the thought excited her. "No," she told him firmly, willing herself to be strong. He moved away. "That's a shame." "Sex is your weapon, isn't it?" she queried, both relieved and frustrated he walked away. "How you bait victims into your lair?" He laughed out loud. "A lair? You give me far too much credit." He turned back to face her. "I'm the wind, Abigail. Nothing can contain me. I take what is freely given and I move on to the next donor. It's really quite harmless." "You call sucking someone's blood harmless?" "It can be," he replied. "You just have to know where to stop." It was her turn to laugh. "You're the ultimate hedonist. Like you would know when to stop." His eyes turned cold. "I know exactly when to stop," he told her. He grabbed his coat and headed toward the door. She wanted to call out to him but she fought it. He wanted her to follow, and she knew if she did she no longer had any power. She could imagine nothing worse. Almost nothing, she amended as she watched him disappear down the hallway. She waited for a long time before she re-emerged from the mysterious back rooms back into the club. Her eyes scanned the crowd, desperate to see him again. Finally she spotted him, sharing a close dance with a young Gothic girl, whose jet black hair was striped with bright red. She wore a leather and chained halter top, short skirt, fishnet stockings and leather boots. She was plastered against him like a second skin. Abigail tipped her head in defiance as she leaned against the bar. Raven responded by sliding his hands down his dance partner's back and over the soft curve of her ass, lifting her up to grind against him to the thundering, erotic beat of the music. His eyes remained on Abigail as he began to kiss his way along the young girl's neck, his fangs noticeably growing. He then kissed his new date, making sure Abigail saw the exchange of their tongues and the prowess of his kiss. Abigail's heart began to race, and she was sure that he could hear her heart beat thunder from across the room, because she was sure she heard his moan in her ear. She was tempted to grab a nearby man to dance with as erotically as possible to punish him in the same way he was punishing her. But that came with its own complications -- such as finding herself in the arms of another vampire who could be far more dangerous. So she opted to stand off to the side, head held high, making him wish it were her instead. And he did. He felt the other girl in his arms, her body responding to his, everything she had his to possess at his will -- but it was Abigail he wanted. She, who had denied him her kiss. She, who had insulted him and doubted him. She, who had come to haunt his dreams despite his better intentions. If he were a different person, her consent would not have been necessary. But because he wanted something from her he could never take by force, he would wait. She'd be in control. For now. But there was no sense wasting a perfectly good erection. Walking backward he pulled the young girl into a dark booth. Abigail watched as he pulled his date across his lap. She ground against him and Abigail could tell that their sex act was no longer simulated. His passion was too raw on his face, her cries were too authentic. Abi knew he had penetrated her. Her own pussy responded to the thought of his being buried deep inside. It was a hunger foreign to her. Especially when he bared his fangs and she wondered what it would feel like to have them sink into the soft hollow of her neck. The girl on his lap didn't have to wonder. She jumped as he bit into her, but slumped against him as he drank from her. Abi was so thrown by her body's response to the erotic nature of his feeding off of another human that she had to wrench herself from his gaze and bolt for the door. Outside Abi gulped big mouthfuls of fresh air. What was happening to her? It was a story, she reminded herself. It was a story about dangerous individuals and a deadly fascination. As compelling as Raven Crowe was, she knew she had to resist him no matter what. When she felt a little more steady she began to make her way down the dark alley. Her shoes clattered against the cobblestone. The moon filtered through the buildings while the wind whistled through the trees. Raven had watched her run away with a frustrated groan. He felt his partner come all around his engorged cock, but he lost his will to feed and to fuck, even though he was on the brink of his own orgasm. That had never happened before. As he felt himself wilt inside the other girl, he knew that even imagining Abi impaled on him to force him to come wasn't want he wanted. He wanted to follow her -- even though he knew by doing so he was giving himself to a human in a way he never before had. As if he watched from outside himself, he disengaged from his quivering delirious fuck partner as politely as possible. Thankfully for him, vampires weren't known for their chivalry. He rushed for the door to follow Abi. As she moved away from the club Abigail felt more in control. It was a good feeling, one she had relied upon most of her life. No one would own her. No one would possess her. She alone would decide her destiny. She was starting to gain her confidence when a shadowy figure swooped from overhead. A scream locked in her throat as she covered herself. She glanced down both ways of the isolated alley. There was nothing but her shadow. "Who's there?" she asked, summoning her strongest voice. Her question was met with a peel of cackling laughter. She ducked down again as the figure returned, flying down on her like a demented bird. She dropped her purse and her notepad as she broke out into a run down the alley, chased by the wind and maniacal laughter. She tripped and fell face first onto the ground. She felt a powerful force hoist her up and flatten her against the wall. She stared into the demonic face of a vampire who had lost all of its humanity -- it was a creature made of gangs, bone, paper thin skin, and evil. She tried to scream but the creature's hand grabbed her by the throat. Its laugh bounced across walls as its clawed hand snatched the front of her shirt and tore the material away, exposing her breasts. His long, forked tongue licked what was left of its lips and she began to fight against him with everything she had. She kicked, she screamed, she flailed. But the creature was too strong. Just as she started to black out she saw a figure fly towards her captor. In a blur, she dropped to the ground and she watched as the two dark figures battled it out. The two combatants came into view and she could clearly see Raven battling on her behalf. "Raven!" she cried before she threw herself into the mix. The Creature flung her backward against the wall, which enraged Raven. He sent all his power through his hands and projected the Creature backward, a good fifty feet away. The Creature laughed as it crawled to a standing position. "You think it's over," it growled. "It'll never be over." And with that, the large imposing figure flew at both of them, and right as reached where they were, vanished into a puff of black smoke. Raven knelt to where Abi lay on the ground, pulling her shirt closed. "Are you okay?" She nodded, but it was evident she wasn't. "You saved me," she stated unnecessarily. "Come on," he said as he tucked her into his arms and led her to safety. And though he was of the same species of the Creature who had just assaulted her, somehow she felt safer knowing he was there. Though it made no logical sense, she knew it was in her best interest to follow where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 07 Chapter 7: Sebastian Raven watched the candlelight dance across Abigail's sleeping face. She hadn't wanted to return to the coven with him, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the horrible creature that attacked her as possible. But as was his nature, Raven did not take no for an answer. Somehow, she knew she could trust him. The real question was could she trust herself? To put her mind at ease he hadn't made another advance on her. Instead he lulled her to sleep with his words and his thoughts. Finally her emerald eyes closed and the tension drained from her face. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but had resisted. He didn't know why he resisted -- he just knew it would be better if he did. He sat in the chair beside the door, keeping watch. If her attacker returned to find her, Raven would be prepared. He rested his head against the wall. Who had attacked Abigail -- that was the real question. There was no mystery as to why -- vampires were predators in the truest sense of the word. They were the top of the food chain. Chasing down a scared human in an alley wasn't unlike a lioness attacking a gazelle. It was just the natural order of things, in any way the vampire life could be natural. But modern vampires tended to feast upon the blood of the willing. There were covens such as this one where they found shelter, havens for those who wished to be fed upon matched only by those who wanted to feed. It was a time in history Raven was glad to he had survived long enough to see. He remembered the not so distant past when vampires roamed as serial killers of the worst sort. With ravenous appetites that were never sated, no matter how many lives were extinguished in their wake. There was no sex back then -- the act of feeding was the act of sex. Sharp, lengthened fangs would penetrate soft, virgin skin; bodily fluids exchanged in an orgasmic flurry of blood and death. Now sex rode shotgun to that appetite, and the need to suck a victim dry had abated over the last century. He liked to think he himself was a big reason for that change. He was the one who resisted the label "murderer", and instead used his heart stopping charisma to satisfy a hunger of a different kind. But the Creature tonight had been angry, not lustful. His, or her, intent had been to destroy rather than just consume. Such motives seemed foreign to Raven, and quite frankly scared him. He could only imagine the terror a vulnerable human like Abi would experience, face to face with someone who was determined to do her that much harm. Had Raven not come along... He shuddered. He didn't want to think about it. A knock interrupted his reverie. He quickly answered so that Abi would not rouse from her peaceful slumber. The door opened to a tall man whose skin was the shade of mocha and whose eyes were the color of amber. It was Sebastian Crane. Sebastian looked beyond him to where Abi lay. "How is she?" he asked in a low voice. Raven inched out of the door and into the hallway. "She is resting." He didn't need to ask how Sebastian would know about the Creature in the alley. Sebastian was the most powerful psychic vampire he knew, something he attributed to the fact Sebastian had wandered this Earth for nearly four hundred years. Sebastian nodded, but looked as troubled as Raven felt. He placed a hand on Raven's shoulder. "Which is more than I could say for you, my friend." Raven rubbed his eyes. It was true, between all the events of the last few days Raven felt as though he hadn't slept in about a hundred years. He was weary with worry. "It's been a rough couple of days," he stated unnecessarily as they began to pace the hall together. "Have you heard anything else about Sonja?" Sebastian shook his head. "The last person who saw her was Constantine." Raven smirked. "And therein lies the problem." Again, Sebastian shook his head. "If Constantine turned her, he'd wear it like a badge of honor. He's a greedy son of a bitch, but he's also vain. That's one thing you can count on." Raven agreed with a reluctant nod. It was just easier to blame Constantine than to contemplate there was someone out there -- someone worse. Sebastian knew what his friend was feeling. All of what his friend was feeling. "It's just better not to get involved," he finally said, his amber eyes leveled on Raven. Raven met his gaze. "Meaning?" "You know what I mean. Humans are not our equal. They're our prey. To grow attached to them while we walk the constant tightrope of lover and killer isn't fair to anybody." Raven looked away. He knew what he was saying was true, he just didn't really want to hear it right now. "Deep down," Sebastian told him in a low voice, "We are all that Creature in the alley." Raven stepped back. He refused to believe that. "I've got to get back," he told Sebastian as he quickly turned away. "Remember what I said," the older vampire called to his departing back. "To save her life, you must set her free." Raven slammed the door behind him as he went into the room where he'd hidden Abigail. She barely stirred. The sleep he put her under was deep. He was thankful for that. Maybe she could awaken and forget everything. Forget the incident in the alley, forget the way he'd taken Tracy Lynn -- maybe even forget him. It would be better, Raven thought to himself as he came to sit beside her on the bed. This time he didn't resist touching her face. He ran a fingertip along the line of her jaw, the smooth silk of her cheek. Her body responded to his touch. Her mouth parted and a soft sigh escaped. He traced a finger across her virgin neck and then across the creamy exposed skin of her chest. He watched her breasts pucker up to him as the blush rose up her neck and across her face. This time she moaned, and his body responded to the soft, sensual sound. His finger continued its journey in between her supple breasts and across the curve of her stomach. Her legs opened slightly. He knew he could have her right then and there if he wanted. "To save her life, you must set her free." He growled with frustration as he yanked his hand away. Damn it to hell, why did he care? Why did it matter? She was merely prey, subject to his hunger and his desire. Then he remembered the fire in her eyes and her righteous indignation as she interrogated him about Tracy Lynn. She was defiant as she challenged him; letting him know that she would be no easy conquest. He'd felt more alive in those moments than he had in nearly two hundred years of feasting and fucking without restraint or regret. A small knock at the door preceded Constantine poking his head into the room. "How is she?" he asked, and even seemed genuine in his concern. But Raven was unimpressed. He glared at the younger vampire. "How do you think she is? Probably regretting the moment she ever walked into this place." He looked down on her again. "I can't blame her." Constantine approached, the anger of his master irrelevant to him. "I'll take her home. She won't want to wake up here." Raven stood to face him. "How do I know that you're not the one who wants to murder her?" Constantine looked him straight in the eye. "Because you know." Raven studied him for a moment. Finally, "I'll let you take her if you promise one thing." "I don't make promises," Constantine was quick to point out. But Raven simply waited. With great reluctance, Constantine bit out, "What?" "Never bring her back her. You take her home, you vanish from her life -- leaving her the same way you found her. Let her free." Constantine glared at his master for a moment as he contemplated his options. "Why do you care, Raven?" Raven only wished he knew. He said nothing. Constantine walked around Raven to perch on the edge of the bed next to Abi. "You know, this reminds me of a time when I left the woman I loved in your care. Entrusted you, even. Remind me again, Raven. How did that work out?" "I'm not going to apologize again," Raven told him. "It'll never be enough for you." "You got that right." Constantine looked down at Abigail, and his anger seemed to evaporate somewhat. "She reminds me of Nina in a lot of ways. She's strong, she's stubborn." He looked back at Raven. "Even if I tell her not to return, she will." Raven thought back to the Creature. "I doubt that." Constantine turned back to Abi and brushed her copper hair from her face. "You could have taken her, you know." Raven felt the desire bubble up inside of him as he glanced down at Abigail, still flushed from his hands on her body. Physically he wrenched away. "I'm not like you," the older vampire retorted as he walked to the door. "I have respect for the living." Constantine watched Raven depart. "I haven't promised you anything yet, you know!" Raven turned to glare at him from the door. "You wouldn't want to disappoint your master, now, would you?" The door slammed and Constantine growled with his own frustration. He gathered Abigail into his arms and took off into the night. In his own quarters, Sebastian drank wine from a pewter goblet. He gazed out of his window at the moon riding high across the dark summer night. A lone tear hovered at the corner of his eye as he thought about the loves he'd lost over the past hundreds of years. The advice he'd given Raven was solid. It was just a shame it was advice he himself had never learned how to heed. He could still name them off one by one. Alana. Josephine. Elizabeth. Rayn. And finally...Sonja. His eyes closed and he recalled that dark winter night she had first snuck into the club, a mere teenager. A child of the streets. She was hungry. She was cold. But she was not afraid. It was that last part that had him hooked the moment he looked into her wide eyes, the same shade of topaz as his own. He had been unable to turn her away, even though he knew that would have been best. For years he looked over her her like a daughter. He nurtured her and protected her. And he had loved her. God, how he had loved her. Much more than she could have ever known. Now she was gone. A victim to his lineage. He sat the goblet down with a slam. He should have turned her himself, he thought. It was the only way to protect her, he understood that now. If he couldn't stay away, and only the gods knew how he couldn't, then he could have turned her and trained her to be as powerful as he. But that chance was long gone now. He grasped the goblet and hurled it across the room, smashing the stained glass window. After a moment of luxuriating in his impulsive action, he gathered his senses and walked over to the window, to pull the heavy drapes closed. And that's when he saw her, standing under a broken street light. Like a flash he flew from his window and landed on the ground behind her. Her short dark hair glistened in moonlight. That familiar tribal tattoo crawled across her lower back. She hadn't turned to face him, even though he knew she could feel his presence. "Sonja," he spoke softly. He approached cautiously. Something was not right. Her energy was not the same; and he should know because he fed from her many times. Her aura was small and dim. It was like she was in another spiritual realm. "Sonja," he said again, louder, with more command. He reached out and touched her shoulder and she jumped from the contact. He gently turned her around and then gasped when he saw her pale eyes and her tiny fangs. She had just awoken, and had yet to feed. He effortlessly lifted the small woman in his arms and then sprang back to his quarters. He had to protect her now. She was most vulnerable then. He couldn't protect her as a human, but now she was one of his own. He knew exactly what she needed. The drapes closed behind them, he carried her to his velvet draped bed. She was gasping for air as she trembled, almost like a seizure. He touched the hair that framed her face, it was stuck to her skin in a cold sweat. Her dead eyes looked right through him. "Don't worry, my love," he whispered. "You'll be better soon." He tossed aside his cape and unbuttoned his shirt. Gently he laid down beside her. He touched her hair, her face and her neck. As his fingers lit upon the wounds there, they began to sputter and breathe. She coughed before she leaned over and wretched. But her stomach was empty. Her body was empty. He pulled her back to him. Her body burned hot beneath him as their disease ran through her veins. Tenderly he lifted away the tiny shirt she wore. He couldn't help his groan as he stared at her naked breasts for the first time. He felt his body harden. Lightly he ran his hands over her hardened nipples, and despite her pain she gasped in pleasure at the contact. He bent down to capture a tiny pink bud in his mouth. Her hand snuck up his back and into his short, tightly curled hair. He groaned against her. She was returning to him. Encouraged, he sucked from one nipple to the other, feeling her gyrate under him. His hands grasped either side of the denim short skirt she wore and pulled it down as he kissed his way down her body. Her legs spread easily for him, but he was going to enjoy what he had waited so long to savor. He blew cool air against her painfully engorged clit, making her cry out. Her thighs clamped down on his ears as she shoved her hungry pussy into his face. Still, he took his time. His tongue danced around over her clit, then along the shiny wet folds of her pussy. The more he teased, the more responsive she became. He wouldn't take her until she finally understood where she was, what she was, and who she was with. Finally she uttered, "Sebastian..." With a guttural moan of his own he dove into her hot cunt. He latched his mouth over her clit and sucked while his fingers knit together and entered her pussy and her ass in a double penetration. She bucked her hips against him, lost in a spiral of passion as he claimed her with his mouth and with his hands. As she sat straight up with a massive orgasm, her eyes glowed and her fangs grew. He crawled up her body, held her head in both hands as he kissed her deeply on the mouth. She could taste herself on his lips, and her tongue thrust into his mouth for more. With both hands she ripped away the shirt he wore and bared his hard chest. He didn't resist as she flung him onto his back, taking little nips out of his caramel skin. He cried out as she latched onto one of his own nipples and her fangs pierced the skin. The minute his blood hit her mouth, they both shot off like a rocket. His cock was so hard it hurt. He needed to be inside her. She looked down at him with eyes alive with the life his blood had restored to her. She smiled as she gripped his enormous hard shaft. Just by touching him she could feel him inside of her, spreading her wide, pounding her hard. She straddled him, placed the throbbing head of his dick right at her hungry, wet pussy and then slid all the way down. Both Sebastian and Sonja cried out as he disappeared inside of her. He was so big and so thick he felt like he might tear her in half. But she didn't care. She rocked against him, bucking her hips, feeling him reach further up inside of her. She was empty no longer. He watched his dark meat slide in and out of her pretty pink hole. It was a sight that never failed to make him crazy with desire. He grabbed her hips and he guided her up and down on his hard shaft. He watched those perky tits bounce with each thrust, as she was reduced to animalistic grunts. Her hand slid between them and began to fondle her clit. He reached up to capture her breast in his mouth again, his tongue running across it like quicksilver. Her groans and moans were growing louder into cries and screams. He knew she was getting closer. He grabbed her hair with one hand and then bared his neck for her. She barely needed his guidance as she dove in to feed. He jumped as he felt those fangs tear through his thick neck muscle to find the vein, and then as his blood flowed into her mouth he pumped her harder, taking her over the edge. She broke her hold on him to scream out as he felt her pussy clamp down on him with a powerful orgasm. But, as a psychic vampire, he did not need to feed from her blood to come. Instead, he wanted her energy. He grabbed her by the waist and flipped her over onto her knees. His hands parted her ass cheeks as he watched himself sink into her still quivering pussy. Able to penetrate her much deeper this time, with each hard stroke he made her scream out loud. He watched her aura rise from her body as she approached another explosive orgasm. He lifted her up and drank from her intoxicating essence, one hand flat against her small breast, the other tangled into her pussy, toying with her clit. The louder she screamed, the more his aura grew, stealing her life energy rather than her life itself. He was grunting like an animal when he finally thrust inside her one last time, spraying his seed all over her raw pussy. Both vampires collapsed onto the bed in each other's arms. Her eyes had returned to the same beautiful topaz they had always been. He smiled as he traced the face he worried he'd never see again. "You did beautifully, my love," he whispered, his hand possessively trailing across her body. "I love you, Sebastian," she whispered back and they shared a tender kiss. "Do you love me?" she asked, her eyes wide. His eyes teared up as he gazed into her beautiful face. "My Sonja. Do you even have to ask?" She shook her head and cuddled up against him. As she toyed with his body and felt his dick grow in her hand, she turned to him and said, "Would you do anything for me, Sebastian?" He groaned as he ground against her. "Anything, my love. Whatever you desire will be yours. You need only ask." She leaned on one arm and looked at him. "I want a woman." His brow knit, but she bent to kiss him before he could inquire further. Instead they made slow sweet love again and again that night, never knowing that under their window, Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 08 Chapter Eight: Pixie Abigail blinked awake. Wind was hitting her in the face like tiny needles, and it roused her from what felt like a deep hibernation. That was when she realized she was in strong arms and no where near the ground. She gasped as she clasped her arms around the neck of Constantine. "What are you doing?" she shrieked. "I'm following orders," he smirked in return, as he kept his eye on the horizon for the rising sun. Maybe, if he had time, he could manage another snack before he had to retire for the day. "Whose orders? I don't understand!" He chuckled then. "If you're expecting to ever understand Raven, you're in for a long, frustrating wait." "But why isn't he ... I mean... why are you..." "Why am I in his place?" She nodded. "Because he has tired of you. You're never to return to the coven again." She crossed her arms and steamed. Who did he think he is, was her savage thought. If he thought he could dismiss her like some sort of jilted lover, he had another thing coming. Constantine could easily read her thoughts, he really didn't even have to try. Again he smirked but said nothing as he made the descent toward the open door on her balcony. She stepped out of his arms. He leaned casually against the railing. "It won't work, you know." She defiantly tipped her chin but said nothing. Constantine added, "You don't know him." "No," she corrected. "He doesn't know me." She went over to the railing to stare out into the night. "He may be your master but he's not mine." He leaned really close to her and whispered hot against her neck, "Yet." Her eyes flashed. "Ever." She crossed her arms again. "If I were easily seduced how could I have resisted you?" Ah, he thought. A challenge. He could barely suppress his smile. "Maybe I just didn't try hard enough." "Or maybe you vampires aren't as compelling as you think you are." That's when Constantine grew serious. "We're not all alike, Abi. I think you know that now." Her thoughts returned to the Creature in the alley. She shivered in spite of herself. "Yeah. I guess I do." He touched her hair. "And that's why you shouldn't return to the coven." She said nothing for a moment as she looked into those intense brown eyes. She still hadn't decided if she could trust him. Finally she stepped back, out of their spell. "I guess I should go. I'd ask you inside but I think the general rule of logic is never extend an invitation to a vampire." He grinned as he leaned forward to kiss her nose. "Clever girl." He hopped up on the railing. "Aren't you going to say goodbye?" she asked. "Nope," he quipped. She put her hands on her hips. "And why not?" "Because nothing short of full body bondage is going to keep you from the coven," he told her. She grinned at his knowing look, and then watched as he took off into the sky. She was still smiling as she went into her apartment. And despite what he had said to Constantine the night before, Raven's head turned every time that door opened to the coven the next night. He wanted her to stay away, but he knew she would return. And though he didn't want to admit it, he needed her to return. He just wasn't willing to admit it out loud yet. Finally he left the refuge of the back booth to saunter over to the bar. He hadn't even ventured that direction since he had entered the coven, simply because he couldn't bear the thought of Sonja being gone. As he drew closer, he saw a shock of red hair and it took his breath away. Only this wasn't the copper red of Abigail, this was a true red -- the color of a stop sign, he thought ironically -- and it stood out in the darkened club. The girl had her back to him as he approached. Her redder than red hair was tied up in a ponytail, which showed the bottom layer of her hair was jet black. She had fuller curves than Abigail as well, curves that were hugged by black denim jeans. When the mystery girl turned around, his breath caught in his throat. Though her hair was a different color, the resemblance to Abigail was stunning. She wore clunky, black rimmed glasses, three earrings in each ear and bangs that tried to hide the equally striking green eyes. Her breasts were fuller, her frame larger -- but he could sense immediately they were related. He knew it the minute he could taste her aura. They shared the same strength. While Abi was a Gothic beauty, this girl was a Punk Queen. His interest was immediately piqued. She eyed him suspiciously. "What can I get for you?" "Water," he said. "Bottled water." She nodded and pulled one from the refrigerator under the bar. As she handed him the drink he attempted to make physical contact by covering her hand with his. The minute they touched there was an electric charge that sent him backward. What the hell, he wondered to himself. She said nothing as she went to tend another patron at the other end of the bar. He watched her closely as she efficiently did her job. The only visible sign he was getting to her at all was the rapid beat of her pulse in her neck. A neck, he couldn't help but notice, was as clean as Abi's. She stopped in front of him to rinse out some glasses. "My name is Raven," he said. "That's nice," she answered without looking up. Without missing a beat she was off again to another end of the bar. She must have heard about Sonja, he decided. She knows better to get involved with vampires. But he didn't take his eyes off of her as he sipped the water from his bottle. There was something different about her. Perhaps it was the invisible but distinct "Fuck Off" sign on her face that compelled him to learn more about her. He was never one to follow the rules. Just as he opened his mouth to speak to her again, a voice purred in his ear, "Did you miss me?" Raven twirled around to find Tracy Lynn, more made up than he'd ever seen her, her hair full, her breasts climbing out of her tight bodice. "Where have you been?" he demanded in a low whisper. Did she have any idea what kind of guilt he suffered not knowing if she was dead or alive? Raven Crowe did not do guilt. "Here... and there," she answered. She trailed a finger along his arm. "But you know I couldn't stay away from you." "What about your husband?" he bit out. "And your three kids?" She chuckled as she climbed onto the bar stool next to him. "Better off without me. I'm nothing but trash, right? Isn't that what you tried to teach me as you fucked me and left me for dead?" He looked away. Damn guilt, he thought. Such a wasted emotion for a vampire. "You should go, Tracy Lynn." She didn't respond, but instead caught his eye as he sized up the new bartender. "She's kinda hot," Tracy leaned in to whisper. "You should definitely do her next." He gave her a suspicious glance. "That's rather generous for a jealous girl like you." "No," she whispered as she leaned close. "I like it when you fuck them hard and leave them alone and vulnerable. That way, I get to finish them off." He looked at her and she ran her tongue over her protruding fangs. He jumped back. "What the hell... I didn't do that to you!" "Didn't you?" she said. "More importantly, does it matter?" She paused thoughtfully, deliberately baiting him. "Of course, maybe it mattered to Sonja." He grabbed her by the arms, something the new and mysterious bartender caught out of the corner of her eye. He got the feeling she was a woman who missed very little. But this time, he didn't care. "What did you do to Sonja?" "I showed her love and affection," she answered, never wavering, never scared. "Which is more than any of us can say about you." But her hunger got the better of her. "But I'm a very forgiving person, Raven. If you want to make it up to me how you treated me..." "Never," he answered immediately. "I don't retread old territory." "Not humans," she conceded. "But I'm not a human anymore. I'm just like you." Her voice lowered. "Unapologetic... and hungry." She reached up and kissed him hard. He pulled away. "Don't do that again!" he whispered savagely. "Or what?" she challenged. "What can you possibly do to me now, Raven?" She ran her hand up his leg. "Let me show you how good it could be." He jerked away from her and hopped off the barstool. "Like I said," he told her, looking her straight in the eye. "I don't retread old territory." He stalked off, leaving her pouting and alone at the bar. He quickly surveyed the dance floor, and that's when he saw Sonja dancing in the arms of a beautiful woman. He glanced back over at Tracy Lynn who was watching him like a hawk. Purposefully he strode to Sonja, who was grinding up against her dance partner -- a lovely dark headed Emo girl dressed all in black, a large chunk of jet black hair hiding her right eye. The other, darkly lined in makeup, was a striking pale blue. He reached out for Sonja, who seemed to melt against his familiar touch. "Long time no see," he said in his low, seductive voice. She smiled at him, her fangs dripping from her mouth. "Would you like to join us?" she asked. He looked back toward the bar. Tracy glared at him. He smiled as he positioned himself behind Sonja. "I'd love to." Together the three danced, gyrating against each other to the heavy electronica beat. Sonja ran her fingers along the young girl's face while Raven kissed his way along Sonja's neck. His eyes never left Tracy Lynn. She seethed, and inside he was gratified. He felt Sonja's ass grind against his groin as they danced, and he reached around her to pull the other girl toward them. She groaned and reached in for a kiss from Sonja, which turned Raven on so much his fangs began to extend from his mouth. He loved watching their tongues dance together, their breasts mashed against each other. Both girls were petite and taunt, and he felt himself grow against Sonja -- wanting them both. The girl caught a glimpse of both of their fangs and shuddered. It sent a volt through both vampires whose desires had grown to a fevered pitch. Sonja was the first to guide the girl from the floor into the dark recesses of the coven, beyond the prying eyes of the mysterious bartender, as well as the angry glare of Tracy Lynn. Sonja chose a room drenched in navy blue velvet and lace. She went to light the candles as the tiny girl shrunk in front of Raven in fear. He reached out to touch her. "What is your name?" he whispered. "Pixie," she responded in a shaking voice. "Pixie," he repeated. He always repeated the name. It was his most powerful seductive weapon. Everyone liked the sound of their own name, and the way he said it felt like velvet sliding against her skin. She shuddered again, but this time he knew fear had little to do with it. He pulled her against his body and she could feel how hard he was beneath his clothes. Her hands spread against the tight muscles of his chest as she got lost in those deep brown eyes. She gasped out loud as Sonja came up from behind her, put her hands upon her hips and pressed against the subtle curve of her ass. The two vampires sandwiched Pixie in between two gyrating forces of lust. She was defenseless as Raven bent to kiss her, and Sonja kissed her creamy smooth neck and shoulder. The tiny girl jumped, but Sonja knew better than to take a bite of her before she was ready. Instead she soothed the girl with well placed kisses and hands that knew just where to touch. Raven's tongue delved into Pixie's mouth and she groaned in response. This caused his cock to jump against her, which made them both groan a little louder. With one hand on the back of her head, Sonja turned Pixie from Raven's mouth to her own, and he watched the two women kiss passionately. His hands deftly unzipped her hoodie to reveal a tiny black bra underneath. She didn't protest when Sonja unfastened the bra and released her tiny pert breasts for Raven's hungry mouth. He dropped to one knee as he devoured one hard nipple and then the other. Her kisses with Sonja grew more urgent as she pressed his head down to explore all regions southward. Though he unzipped her jeans and slid the tiny thong over her small hips, he continued to suck her breasts until she was incoherent against him. He broke away to throw aside his shirt, and could see how glazed over her eyes were when she looked down at him. He reclined in a nearby chair and beckoned her to come. "Pixie," he whispered. She fell to her knees and crawled toward him. Without being told to do so, she leaned over to unbutton his trousers and release his erection for her hungry mouth. As her mouth descended over his cock, he saw Sonja crawl up behind her and spread her legs with both hands. Pixie arched her back and thrust her pussy up for Sonja's searching tongue, and shuddered against him when Sonja hit her mark. He watched Sonja lap her hungry, wet cunt with relish. She loved how she tasted, how she felt. It turned him on to watch, especially when Sonja locked her eyes with his. His hands went into Pixie's hair, brushing it out of her face and revealing both incredible blue eyes. He was so thick and so hard she couldn't fit him all in her throat, but the darling girl did give it her best effort. She made up for it with tiny kisses, sweet tongue play and hot air that only proved to make him crazy with desire. He grabbed up fists of hair as he hastened her motions. She happily complied given the kind of ecstasy she was discovering at the tip of Sonja's tongue. Effortlessly he lifted her up into his lap, straddling her over the angry purple head of his dick. She was cool and wet as he slid against her. Finally he penetrated her, slowly, surely, fitting himself snugly inside her tight, wet hole. For the first few strokes she savored how he felt inside of her. Slowly, luxuriously, she rocked against him. But then she got lost in his eyes and in his lust. She needed more of him. He watched her bounce on top of him. Sonja stood up and walked around to the chair where he sat. He grabbed her by the arm and then encouraged her up on the padded back end of the chair. She needed little instruction. Her knees straddled his head, which was now leaned back, and sunk her pussy onto his face. While his hands guided Pixie's hips, his tongue raced over Sonja's hard clit. She bucked against his face while the other girl ground herself onto his groin. He tortured Sonja until she she was reduced to mere whimpers. Then he shoved his tongue up inside her, making her gasp as he touched that spot deep inside. With his freakishly long tongue, he needed no instruments to reach that which turns all women to mush. She thrashed on top of him as she came hard, which made him fuck Pixie even harder. The younger girl screamed as her own orgasm overtook her. She was ready, and both vampires knew it. Sonja was still trembling as she climbed down, and straddled behind the girl on Raven's lap. Her hands wrapped around Pixie's body and grabbed both tits, her fingertips brushing over the hard peaks. Pixie threw her head back with a scream from deep inside her soul as Raven sat up, grabbed her waist and slammed her down onto his cock. He was getting close, but there was one thing he wanted to see before he came. "Do it," he commanded Sonja. She groaned at the thought before diving into the young girl's neck. Her fangs sunk into the sweet smelling skin, and he watched has her bright blue eyes opened wide as Pixie stiffened. Then, to her surprise, she dissolved into a pool of ecstasy she'd never before experienced. Raven couldn't hold back any more. He sank his teeth into the other side of her neck and drank from her as he rode her hard to his amazing climax. As he fell back, he caught a glimpse of how pale Pixie had grown -- how vacant her eyes. "Sonja," he cautioned, but she growled at him as she continued to suck, her eyes rolled back from her orgasmic paradise of lust and blood. He could do nothing but watch as the life drained out of Pixie and into Sonja. Within moments, it was over. Barely a woman, Pixie was now gone. He felt his own desire die along with her as he slipped from her body. Sonja stumbled away, and blood trickled down each side of her face. Gently Raven picked Pixie up into his arms and carried her over to the bed nearby. He laid her down and touched her face, then mouthed a silent apology as he kissed her once more. Sonja, once again coherent, lovingly covered her up as she cuddled against her. He held out his hand but she shook her head. "She is mine now. I will wait for her." He nodded, and only momentarily recalled the girl Sonja herself had been just a few days earlier. He knew she'd never be the same again; and this was the first of many lovers she'd turn out of the selfish desire to keep them forever. He dressed and exited without another word and shut the door on yet another conquest, and what he felt might have been yet another mistake. To walk among unapologetic killers without the desire to destroy wasn't easy. But that's where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 09 Chapter Nine: Damien Raven stared out into the moonless night from the second floor of his old plantation style house. The rumor was that it was haunted. Raven figured as long as he lived there, it was. His mind kept returning back to the night before. Sonja and her blood lust, Pixie and her sacrifice. As much as he himself hungered, he just couldn't bring himself to leave the solitude of his home. His lip curled with the ironic thought that one night wouldn't kill him. Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't. Maybe, just maybe, it was what he deserved. With a sigh he pushed away from the window. At least he'd saved one life. He supposed that was going to have to be enough for now. Little did he know that just across town Abigail sat at her dressing table and styled her hair. She had no intention of staying away from the club, this night or any other. She'd never been one to do what she had been told, and this would be no exception. She was not afraid, she kept telling herself. She hoped eventually she'd even believe it. The club was alive with music that stirred her heartbeat as she entered the room. Her eyes scanned the crowd for Raven's face, expecting to see disapproval etched so deeply in those dark eyes. She had her speech all ready, and had even practiced it all the way there. It started with "Who do you think you are?" and ended with "You don't get to tell me what to do!" She hoped she managed to get through it without any kind of pout. It sounded so familiar to the arguments she had had with her parents, her father in particular. He had done his best to shelter his daughters. Her sister grew tougher under his rigid hand, but Abigail had simply rebelled. She dated the bad boys, got in trouble with the head mistress at their private school. But despite the fight between them, she had made her father secretly proud as she set out on her own and did everything she said she was going to do. She went to college on her dime, not his. She worked her way through four long years of no social life, just study study study, work work work. Her sister had not gone to college. Instead she had traveled overseas in a quest to "find herself". Apparently it had worked, because no one had seen her since. To each their own, Abigail had long since decided. She had other things to worry about. She was so focused on finding Raven she never spotted the other redhead behind the bar. But the newest bartender noticed her. Despite her larger frame, she managed to hunch down and slink out of sight before Abigail's gaze swung back around in that direction. The new bartender bumped right into Sebastian, who was making a rare appearance during peak party hours. He'd grown tired of that scene and normally avoided it at all costs, but he wanted to see how she was doing. "Ginger," he said in a low, commanding voice. The redhead straightened to greet him. "Sebastian." He smiled as his eyes traveled from her uniquely colored hair, her dark glasses and her generous curves. He knew it had probably been a mistake hiring another human for Sonja's old position, but she had enchanted him. She was strong, much like Sonja had been -- maybe even stronger. "How's it going?" "Good," she said, not one for long conversations. "I just needed a break." He nodded. He understood. "Get Xavier to fill in for you." She nodded and then walked away, making sure they didn't touch. She was aloof, Sebastian noted, but in this place who could blame her from reserving judgment on whom to trust. She was a rabbit in the den of many wolves. He still had a smile on his face as he entered the club. Despite whatever mistakes he'd made with Sonja, he hadn't lost her. Better still, her replacement gave him hope that one human could stand strong among them. The smile died however when he caught sight of the other redhead who was surveying the crowd. Had Raven sent for her, Sebastian wondered. If so, why did she return? Humans. They were like moths drawn to the flame. He made his way over to where she stood. She watched the handsome man approach, and was instantly captured by his mysterious light colored eyes. He reached out a hand. "Abigail," he said, and it made her wonder how he knew her name. "I'm a friend of Raven's," he answered her unspoken question. She had no way of knowing that this was a vampire who fed upon the psyche, rather than the flesh. "My name is Sebastian." Instantly recognition sparked in her eyes. "You own the club," she stated. She had done her research. But nothing prepared her on how to respond to his intense aura. Despite how weak kneed it rendered her, she had the innate sense that he meant her no harm. She smiled. "It's nice to finally meet you," she added. He knew in an instant she was out to use her wiles to pump him for information. Perhaps she would also be willing to share some of her sublime energy he could feel deep in his soul as he stood next to her and absorbed her. He allowed her to lead him over to a secluded booth. Back in the staff area of the club, Ginger located Xavier -- the spiky blue haired Goth vampire who doubled as a bartender. It was the best way he'd found to lure beautiful humans and trap them under his spell, so he didn't mind the rather menial job for an immortal. He watched this new human with fascination. "Sebastian said you could cover for me," she said. No pretense, no waffling. Just direct and to the point. He liked that. "Sure," he said as he rose in a languid stretch. He sauntered over to where she stood. "Provided you'd be willing to return a favor for a favor one day." She eyed him suspiciously. "Like what?" she asked, again direct. He slowly moved around her as he drank her in. He loved the smell of her musk, which seemed to rise the more agitated she got. "You tell me," he whispered and ran his tongue along his fangs. "Sorry, I don't mix business with pleasure," she told him and turned away. He grabbed her but the minute their skin touched he wrenched away like he'd been burned. "What the hell?" "Should have listened," she said as she turned away again. This time he grabbed her and this time he held on even though he looked as though it caused him great discomfort. "Listen, bitch," he hissed, and that was all it took for her to flip him around and push him up against the wall. "Don't call me names," she warned in a low voice. "And never, ever touch me again." He wasn't sure what hurt worse, the way she had his arm bent or the touch of her skin on his. "Got it," he bit out. He normally didn't allow women to get away with such disrespect, but she wasn't just any woman. She let him go. They stared at each other for one long moment before he finally turned away and headed back toward the club. She took one deep breath to calm down and then flopped into a chair. "That was quite impressive," a male voice with a British accent said. She swung around to see a man who was leaning against the door frame. He wore a goatee and a mustache and long, wavy dark hair. His dark eyes were playful as they danced over her rigid frame. "Relax," he said as he causally strolled over to another chair. "It was just a compliment." "Do I know you?" she asked, her voice as stern as her face. He did a mock bow. "Damien Cross, at your service." "The only service you could do me is to leave me alone," she said. She was still on edge because of what happened with Xavier. Luckily, or unluckily, for her Damien seemed to know that. "Young Xavier has not yet learned how to deal with the fairer sex." Her eyebrow raised. Was that a sexist remark? He smiled. He liked her already. "Of course I couldn't say you were weaker, now could I? You seemed to dispatch young Mr. Luna quite efficiently. Well done." "Thank you," she finally managed. "Wise, that," he went on, her participation in the conversation seemingly irrelevant. "Being a human in a nest full of blood suckers, it's a good idea to have a few moves like that up your sleeve." It was her turn to smile. "I'm not afraid of vampires," she assured him. "Then you are a rare human being," he praised. Whether he believed her or not she couldn't really be sure. "My I ask the lady's name?" "Rambo," she quipped. He gave her a hearty laugh. This eased her nerves a bit. Generally joyous vampires weren't out to kill you. He vaulted to his feet. "You are amusing, love," he said as he gave her another bow. "And therefore I will leave you to your solitude. Good night. Rambo," he added with a wink and then left her alone. Out in the club Sebastian sat with Abigail, who drilled him on information about Sonja and Tracy Lynn. "People come and go here every day," he assured her. "This is a community of vagabonds and gypsies. Some stay for a while, some stay for a moment. It's not up to me to keep track." "Then why call the police?" she countered. "I was worried about Sonja. I'd grown very fond of her." He gestured to the dance floor. Sonja stood close to yet another young woman in an intimate dance. "But as you can see, she's returned." "As a vampire?" Abi pressed. He chuckled softly and leaned in towards her. She felt herself swoon slightly from the force that surrounded him. "Undead is still not dead, Abigail. I'm afraid to tell you that without a corpse, there is no murder mystery." "But..." she tried to continue but he put his hands over hers. "Our culture is not your culture, Abi. The minute you try to bring human sensibilities into it, you've already lost. We are all thieves and murderers in our own way. My advice to any human who cannot accept that is to stay far away from us." But even as he said it, she felt herself lean in towards him. "That's what Raven wants for you, Abi," he told her as she toppled into his amber eyes. "Raven doesn't own me," she managed. This made him smile as he touched her hand and led her onto the dance floor, he never once broke their gaze. She melted against him as she felt the warmth of his taunt body spread over the coolness of her own. She couldn't look away from him if she tried. His eyes bore down into hers. His full lips were slightly parted, and she could almost feel a kiss he hadn't yet decided if he wanted to deliver. It wasn't that vampires were faithful creatures, necessarily. They were lustful. Sinful. They coveted, they stole. But the man Sebastian had always been had been loyal, and it was Raven he thought of in that moment, rather than his lovely Sonja. His resolve grew weaker as he watched her own lovely lips part in anticipation of a kiss. There was nothing wrong in holding her, he decided. They swayed to the music and she could imagine them together in an ornate ball room centuries ago. Her imagination came alive with satin gowns, lovely jewels and a mysterious stranger with bright amber eyes. The more she gave her spirit to him to render to his will, the stronger his aura became. He drank from her energy without reserve until she finally fainted against him just as he began to grow against her. She was not ready for him yet, he realized. He hoped she never would be. He picked her up into his arms and carried her to one of the back rooms. Red velvet and satin to match her fiery mane. He laid her upon the bed, touched her alabaster face, and contemplated for more than a moment kissing her sexy mouth. A sound from behind him startled him right out of his internal struggle. It was Sonja, and her fangs were full. "She's lovely," she purred as she crawled up the bed. She didn't have to struggle whether to kiss her. She simply did it. Though he stirred at the erotic sight, he touched Sonja's arm. "No, my love. Not this one. She is Raven's." Sonja pouted as she slunk away. "I'm hungry," she whimpered. He put his arm around her. "I know, my precious. Let's go back out onto the floor to find someone for you to taste." This seemed to perk her up somewhat, but she sent another longing glance Abi's direction before she left. Sonja still pouted from the bar as she watched all the couples evenly matched on the dance floor. Xavier leaned across the bar. "Something wrong, pretty lady?" She gave him a hungry look, one he'd long since come to recognize. Ginger had already joined them again and was waiting on a customer at the other end of the bar, so Xavier took her hand and motioned for her to follow him. They were all over each other as they tumbled out into the night air, away from the prying eyes of the people inside. Their tongues played together and she felt the cool steel ball from his tongue stud. She could only imagine would that would feel like elsewhere. She whimpered as she pushed him down to his knees. In one motion he pulled down her panties and pulled up her skirt. She spread her legs for him and with his own hunger he dove right in. She felt his tongue and the tongue stud as it flickered across her clit. She cried out in the night as her hand clasped handfuls of hair. Long moments had passed while Abi slept there in that red room. The candlelight flickered and died. When she awoke it was completely dark, and she had to wonder for a moment if it had all been a dream. But she felt the satin sheets beneath her and she knew she was once again in one of the rooms that hid behind the coven. Immediately her hand went to her neck. She sighed with relief that there were no marks there. Just cool, perfect skin. She sat up on the bed and that was when she heard the sound. She listened in the darkness to make it out. Again she heard it -- it sounded like a hissing sound. Her hair stood on end as she realized she couldn't tell where it was coming from, as it sounded like it was all around her. Just outside, Sonja was coming against Xavier's mouth, crying out as her fangs punctured the sides of her face. She screamed when she felt him puncture the skin of her groin and drink from her. She was delirious with need. Inside the room, the hissing sound grew louder and closer. Abi gulped as she slowly made out the edge of the bed with her fingers. She had no idea where to run, but she knew she couldn't stay still. Just as her foot made contact with the floor, a claw like hand grasped her ankle. She screamed as another claw grasped her other ankle. She heard banging at the door. "Help me! Please, somebody!" She heard the doorknob rattle as the skeletal fingers rose up her legs and dug into her thighs. Hot breath danced along her skin as a cackling laugh rose in the room. "Where's your hero now?" it hissed, and she knew that the Creature had cornered her once more. Outside Sonja grabbed Xavier up and released his hard cock from his jeans. He lifted her by the waist to press her against the wall, and her legs scissor crossed behind him. He plunged into her unceremoniously and fucked her hard at her demand. He thought he could hear screaming, but figured it was someone else getting lucky inside. Abi didn't feel so lucky as the Creature spread her legs wide. She struggled but it was way too strong. Her screaming had strangled into a hoarse plea. "Let me go, please..." Again something banged against the door, and as she was about to brace for the Creature's angry lust the door swung open and light flooded the room. She saw the Creature's hollowed out face just inches from hers. Her scream quickly returned. The Creature hissed as it turned toward the door where a man with dark flowing hair stood silhouetted. Abi stared in disbelief. "Raven?" But the vampire stepped further into view. "Holy hell!" a British accented voice exclaimed when he caught sight of the hideous Creature who had mounted the petrified human. The Creature exploded into an angry red mist and flew at the intruder, then past him into the bowels of the coven. Abi gulped sobs down with ragged breaths. Damien ran to her. "Are you all right?" he asked as he bent down to her, then gently he pulled her skirt down and helped her sit up. She shook her head. "It tried to... it was going to..." She couldn't even get it out. "It's okay now," he assured her, even though he wasn't quite certain himself. He pulled her up onto her feet and steadied her with an arm around her shoulders. Outside Sonja had just bared her teeth and was preparing to feed when she caught sight of the strange red mist exploding from the club. Slowly the mist took shape of a Creature long dead. She screamed as it flew towards them and knocked Xavier away. Inside, Damien and Abi heard the scream. They ran toward the door. Outside the Creature lifted Sonja up by the throat. Abi and Damien stopped short when they realized how high the Creature was taking Sonja. Her pleas for help were strangled, and just before either vampire on the ground could spring into action, the Creature tore her throat out and sent the rest of her lifeless body crashing to the cement below. Abi stifled her scream behind her mouth as she jumped inside the door of the club. The Creature laughed at a horrified Xavier and Damien before it disappeared into the sky. Sebastian ran outside just as the Creature flew out of sight, and caught a glimpse of what remained of his beloved Sonja. With an anguished yowl he ran to where she lay. His sobs rose from his body with centuries of anguish. Damien and Xavier hung back, but Abi went to him. She knelt down and took him into her arms and rocked him back and forth, saying nothing. Each of the witnesses understood the game had now changed. No one was safe. Not vampire, not human. This beast was out to punish them, one by one, by sending them to their final judgment. There would be no coming back, as Sonja's now decapitated corpse attested. Abi sank to her knees as her own tears raged. For a moment Sebastian had grown silent, his agony reduced to a silent and bitter regret. He looked at her and this time his eyes stole nothing. They seemed hollow. His spirit as dead as the body it inhabited. "Now you know," he whispered. "Know what?" she asked. It had to be said, Sebastian thought. Raven wanted it that way. And so, he thought with a sinking heart, would Sonja. "What the consequences are now to walk where Raven walks." Raven Walks Ch. 10 Chapter Ten: Ginger In Abigail's apartment, Damien glanced at the different photos in funky frames along her bookcase. Normally he didn't really waste his time on humans, they came with too many complications. He liked those who knew the score, of course; donors who would haunt covens in the hopes of snaring immortality, but he preferred those who already had the taste of death. It was just easier that way. But Abi was hard to resist. He had saved her life, and in a way felt responsible for her. And she was determined to pursue her story on vampires whether he was there or not. So he figured, he might as well be there for her. "Ready to go?" she asked as she emerged from the bedroom, dressed in black -- dressed to kill. If not him, he thought with a smile, then whom? The lights of the club were dim, the music silenced. Sebastian was overwrought by what had happened to Sonja he shut the doors and sent everyone away. He wanted to mourn in silence; the severity of what had happened left no occasion for frivolity. He sat in his quarters, dazed on wine and pain, totally unaware that in the darkness of the building below someone was on the hunt for clues to what had truly taken place. This stealth investigator made no noise. Things were lifted and replaced as quietly as possible. Tiny clues were pocketed and no stone was left unturned. Lives -- both human and reanimated -- were on the line. So that was why, in the dark shadows of the silent club, this hunter was determined to get to the bottom of things; no matter the cost. When a hand fell on her shoulder, she flung around ready for a fight. Constantine La Rouge stood before her, dressed all in white as he was known to do. "Who are you?" Ginger Mandrake straightened her spine and allowed her fists to fall to her side. She had long ago learned to trust her instincts, and she knew in an instant this vampire meant her no immediate harm. "Who wants to know?" "You shouldn't be here," he advised in a low tone, keeping an eye out for Sebastian. Was that concern she saw on his face? "Neither should you," she pointed out. He nodded, but didn't look in any particular hurry to leave, especially as he inspected her head to foot. Her two toned hair was tied up in a ponytail, her clothes were dark and hid her curves well, and dark glasses covered her eyes. "You a cop?" he finally asked. She had to chuckle to herself. "Not officially," she conceded at last. "Just... curious." "Curiosity killed the cat," he said as he sat up on a barstool. "Or so they say." "Funny, I thought the only thing being killed around here were vampires." His intense brown eyes met hers. "Why should that matter to you? You're not a vampire." She wrenched her eyes away from his stare. "Minor detail," she said as she continued her investigation, no longer concerned he might impede her progress. He watched her rifle through papers, quickly and efficiently. Like she'd done this sort of thing before. He stared into her familiar face wondering why she seemed so familiar. "You don't know me," she said finally, without turning to look his directly. "What?" "You're wondering if we have ever met," she told him. "We haven't." She was shrewd, he decided. A little too shrewd. "What kind of human reads the thoughts of a vampire?" he openly mused. She glanced back up at him with an unreadable expression. "The dangerous kind," was her curt reply. "Sounds interesting," he responded as he hopped down from the stool. She felt him approach her. "Perhaps we can go somewhere a little more private and I can learn more." He reached out for her but she slid easily out of reach. "What's more private than an isolated club?" "My room," he said, his voice dripping over her like silk. "I'm not that kind of human," she assured him before she ducked behind the bar. He chuckled as he leaned across the bar. "You say that now. But you should know I've never met a human I couldn't turn." She had to smile as she leaned across the bar, their faces a breath apart. "And you should know, I'm not like any human you've ever met." With that she touched his hand and he felt her skin burn against his. He pulled away but did not show her how much her contact had disturbed him. "Technically, we haven't met," he pointed out. She considered that for a moment. He got the feeling she calculated every move she made. But she didn't look away from him, even though he knew how powerful his gaze could be. He liked that strength, even if he didn't know what to do with the unique chemistry she seemed to be made. It was almost as if she were - "Ginger," she finally purred. If he didn't know better he'd swear she had interrupted his thoughts on purpose. He watched as she picked up some more paper from behind the bar and then disappear out of sight. Across town the mood was somber in Lillith's club, where many new vampires had come seeking shelter from the beast that had killed Sonja. One of those mourners was Raven Crowe; who was eaten up with guilt that he hadn't been there that night. His skin was pale and gaunt from his unsatisfied hunger, but he couldn't seem to bring himself to feed. And no human was anywhere in sight to donate to him that which he so desperately needed. That was why he came to find Lillith. He needed to feel the warmth of her generous curves under him while the hot, sweet nectar of her veins restored him. Raven understood more than anyone there was no time for self pity. Someone had declared war. He tossed back a shot of hard whiskey, his third, while he waited for her. At least he knew Abigail wouldn't be caught up in all this. It was cold comfort. She had haunted his dreams and his fantasies since he had first seen her and now he'd have to avoid her at all costs to keep her safe. If he had been a lesser vampire he would have turned her for her own protection; but as Sonja proved... even vampires weren't safe now. So it was just better he never saw her again, he reminded himself again as he ordered another round. He normally never drank, but these were desperate times. And he suddenly wanted to feel numb, very numb. As numb as he was, he couldn't stop his heart lurching into his throat when he caught sight of that familiar copper hair. When her eyes met his they were defiant, but as much as she meant them to be unafraid he could definitely see her tremble. What was she doing here, he wondered. Then he caught sight of her date. Damien Cross. Of course. She was making her way through each and every vampire. Why, he still didn't know. But it didn't matter. All that mattered was getting her the fuck out of here. Raven pushed away from the bar and stalked over to where they stood. He didn't even acknowledge Damien. "You need to go home." It wasn't a request. It was an order. "Hello to you too," Damien quipped but neither Abigail or Raven seemed to realize he was there. "You don't get to tell me what to do," she told Raven. "Someone needs to," he responded. "Or didn't you hear there is a killer on the loose?" "Funny, I thought that was you." She was provoking him on purpose. Instead of letting her see his anger, instead he just chuckled. "Stupid human. You have no idea what you're asking for, do you?" Her eyebrow arched. "What's the matter, Raven? Mad it isn't you?" That hit home. So she added, "That's what kills you, doesn't it? You know you're nothing to me." But even as she said it, all three of them knew it wasn't true. "Is there a problem here?" a female voice intruded, and they turned to see Lillith slide up to Raven. Raven, who had yet to take his eyes off of Abigail, put his arm around Lillith possessively. "No. No problem." Right in front of Abigail he bent to kiss Lillith, full and open mouthed. He could feel Abi stiffen as she watched their tongues intertwine. Lillith moaned into his mouth, which he returned before he broke the kiss. "Just what I needed," he said as he glanced back at Abi, who was clearly shaken. "A real woman." Lillith understood immediately she was being used, but she didn't seem to care. In fact, she jumped right into the role. No matter how this little human had played Raven so far, Lillith knew whose bed he would ultimately share. And she also knew that nothing any human could ever offer could compare. She pulled him out onto the dance floor and gyrated against him to the sexy music. His eyes may have been on the uptight redhead at the bar, but his cock was growing against the redhead in his arms. "I've missed you," she whispered against his neck and was gratified with the shudder that followed. "I need you," he whispered back, his fangs protruding from his mouth. Abi responded by dragging Damien onto the floor and mimicking Lillith's dance moves. "It's not very nice to tease your vampire knight in shining armor," Damien teased, the playful glint never far from his dark eyes. "Maybe I'm not a nice girl," she retorted, unable to tear her eyes off of Raven. "I was hoping you'd say that," he replied and grabbed her closer. She could feel him stiffen and grow against her. Raven watched as Damien's hands slid over Abi's back and over her ass, then pull her towards him. He responded by doing the same to Lillith. She hopped up into his arms and he realized she wasn't wearing any panties under her short skirt. The warmth of her wet pussy ground unapologetically against him. "You can think about her," Lillith whispered into his ear, "As long as you fuck me." Raven groaned and then kissed Lillith. Abi watched them, fully aware that Raven no longer bothered to glance their way as he drug Lillith from the dance floor and off into the back rooms. She turned to Damien, who watched her with a grin. "So how do you propose we get even?" he asked. Abi took him by the hand and followed where Lillith and Raven had gone. Unlike the other coven, these rooms were meant for group fun. They weren't closed off and intimate. They were full of beds and chaise lounges, draped in red velvet and black lace. Several couples had already found places to indulge their lascivious desires, and the sight of so many people openly fucking jarred Abi in a way she never would have openly admitted. But it suited her purpose, she decided, as she honed in on Raven and Lillith who had collapsed together onto a huge bed in the back. She drug Damien to the same bed and shoved him down onto his back. Lillith sent her a self satisfied grin. Humans were so easy to manipulate. She had done exactly what the female vampire had hoped she would. Abi didn't even notice. She just saw the anger, frustration and desire in Raven's eyes. This would teach him to boss her around, she thought as she straddled the fully clothed, very amused, and incredibly turned on Damien. Raven may have laid on top of Lillith, her legs wrapped around his waist as he fumbled to free himself from his trousers, but his eyes were on Abi as she ground against Damien. He groaned as he watched her unbutton Damien's shirt and plant loving little kisses along his bare chest. Not to be undone, Lillith flipped Raven onto his back and mirrored Abi's movements. "Not bad," she told Abi. "But are you sure you know what to do with that much vampire?" "I'm pretty sure," Abi responded as she stripped away the tight corset that bound her full breasts. Both Damien and Raven moaned out loud as her breasts sprung free. "Impressive," Lillith said before she stripped away her top. Both redheads were big breasted, and the fullness of their heavy tits swayed in front of the hungry eyes of their vampire lovers. As Damien and Raven reached up to capture the hard pink tips into their mouths, their hands couldn't help but reach across to toy with the other girl's nipples. Both Lillith and Abi gasped as they ground against their prospective lovers. Like twins, each woman licked and kissed their way down the bodies of their men. Both Raven and Damien grabbed their seductress by the hair as they unfastened their trousers and slid their hard cocks from their confinements. Their tongues danced over the angry purple heads, mouths descended over rock hard shafts, and in the same motion and rhythm they sucked and stroked each hard cock. Whether they were watching it be done to the other or themselves, both Raven and Damien were lost in their passion. Each woman - one human, one vampire, one tall, one short, one darker haired, one fairer - was like one being blowing them both simultaneously. "Fuck me," they both demanded in unison, in the same hoarse grunt. The women needed little urging. They climbed back up the bodies of their lovers and straddled them. Raven watched Abi while Damien watched Lillith as each woman was penetrated and cried out together. They rocked together and Lillith reached over to stimulate Abi's nipples as they fucked their men. Abi's head leaned back and she groaned deep in her throat, her hand tangled in Lillith's hair. Damien responded by thrusting up deeper inside of her. Raven watched, aching to be inside of her, feeling that pussy against his hard cock, spreading her wide and fucking her deep. Lillith responded by leaning over and grabbing Abi's full breast into her mouth. Raven watched as her fangs scraped against the creamy white skin. He knew she would bite into her soon. So he grabbed Lillith by the hips and flipped her around onto her knees. Abi's glazed eyes met Raven's as she rode Damien's hard cock. Raven grabbed her hair and pulled her close for a scorching kiss. His tongue invaded her mouth while his cock pummeled Lillith's tight pussy. Her scream was lost in his throat as she began to spasm all around Damien's stiff dick, her orgasm more intense than she'd ever experienced. His fangs grew as well as Damien's. Both vampires wanted to drink from her at that moment. Raven pulled away and allowed her to scream with each subsequent wave of pleasure, and that was when he saw Damien reach up, fangs bared. "Drink from me," he instructed Damien, pulling him by his long hair away from the smooth clean neck of his human. Damien didn't argue. He sunk his fangs into the hard neck of Raven and sucked loudly right in front of Abigail's glazed eyes. That sent Damien off and he fucked Abi harder and harder to his own climax. Under Raven, Lillith was teetering on her own massive orgasm. Raven pulled her up by the waist just as Abi fell away from Damien. Abi watched as Damien positioned himself in front of Lillith and bared his neck for her obediently. Lillith sank into him with a hiss. The female vampire shuddered hard as she came around Raven and drank from Damien, sandwiched between the two sexy, ravenous vampires. Damien's hands cupped her breasts as he ground his still hard cock against her stomach. Abi watched as Raven slid from her soaking wet pussy and glide easily into her ass. Lillith cried out, at first in the shock of pain but then in pleasure as Raven rocked inside of her. Damien positioned himself at the entrance of her pussy, and then right in rhythm he eased himself inside of her. Lillith couldn't help but cry out as she was filled to the brim with two hard cocks. She glanced at Abi and wanted so badly to taste her virgin skin, but she couldn't move an inch. Instead she just reveled in the feeling of being totally penetrated. Abi realized that Raven was watching her as he fucked Lillith. Her hand disappeared between her legs as she watched him slide easily in and out of the girl on his cock, but his eyes -- his gaze -- fucking her instead. Her fingers slipped inside of her hungry cunt as she watched the lucky vampire being fucked by two rock hard cocks at the same time. She could feel them inside of her too -- all of them. She watched his fangs drip over onto his cheeks, and her neck throbbed where she anticipated one day he would sink them. Instead, he bit into Lillith, who jumped with a cry before she lost herself in another explosive climax. That was all it took before Abi herself was rocketing into another intense orgasm. All three sated vampires collapsed onto the bed next to her, surrounding her, their breath, their hands, their bodies warming her. Her last conscious thought was that it was too dangerous to be turned on by their hedonistic ways... but it didn't seem as though she had any say in the matter anymore. When she awoke sometime later in her own bed, unsure if it had been real or a dream, it unnerved her to think that she had wanted it to be real. Though she had no bite marks, something in her had definitely turned. And she knew without question she was meant to follow anywhere Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 11 Chapter Eleven: Hunter "I don't want you to go," he said. She peered at his reflection in the bathroom mirror as she brushed her teeth. She spit, wiped her mouth and said, "It's a little late for you to try and protect me, don't you think?" He sighed as he watched her dress. "What can I say?" he quipped in an unmistakable, sexy southern drawl. "I thought I'd try being your white knight for a while." She chuckled as she went over to where he stood, shirtless and beautiful. She ran her hands along his chiseled, tanned chest and lost herself in his bright blue eyes; slightly obscured by strands of his dark blond hair. "You always have been," she assured him before she traced his four day old stubble with one finger. "And I've always loved you for it." He kissed her then, tasting the mint on her full lips. He curved an arm around her waist and pulled her close, as close as he could get. He loved the feel of her soft curves against his rock hard body. There was a sexy glint in his eye as he pulled her back toward the bed, his hand slipping up her black t-shirt and easily releasing her bra. His mouth curved into that insufferable grin she'd found unable to resist years ago. "Distracting me won't stop me from going," she advised, but she didn't protest as they fell together onto the bed. She straddled him as he tore her shirt from her body. Her heavy breasts swayed in front of his hungry mouth. She gasped as his mouth found its target, and he rolled her over onto her back. Strong male fingers undid the button on her jeans and eased the zipper down. She groaned as her hand grasped a handful of his long hair. The stubble of his beard tickled the soft ivory skin of her chest and stomach, but she did not giggle as she pulled him up for a scorching kiss. His mouth plundered hers, taking all the passion she had to give. Her nails carved into the taunt muscles of his back as her legs wrapped around his waist. Through his jeans, she felt how hard he had become. She ached for him. She pushed him back over onto his back and her hands slid across the smooth terrain of his stomach. His hand was in her hair as he watched her caress his erection over the cool denim of his jeans. She placed loving little kisses along his chest and over his stomach as her hand reached into his pants to cup that which she burned to touch, to taste, to feel. His head tipped back when she eased his pants over his hips and released his rock hard shaft. The cool air was replaced by her hot breath as her red and black hair spilled over his thighs. He watched her full lips cover the head of his dick as she swallowed him in a slow, sweet motion. She took her time... she savored him. Her tongue danced along the silky smooth head of his cock and he thought he might just spontaneously combust if he didn't fuck her soon. So he pushed her by the shoulders onto her back as he fiercely ripped her jeans down, which caused her to gasp. But she was right there with him and kicked her pants free, then opened up for him. He crawled between her legs, feeling her warm body surround him as he slipped inside her. She was tight, wet and warm and he groaned as he buried himself as deep as he could. He wanted to disappear into everything she was. Their eyes locked as he thrust in and out of her; their intimacy one of body and soul. Her hand was in his hair as it fell over his shoulders. She watched his face contort with his desire for her and she cried out for him to fuck her harder. They were lost in their own world, whispers and moans. He loved to watch her eyes widen with each thrust, as he filled her in ways she couldn't even articulate. It was as if he was made for her and she for him. They fit each other perfectly. She rolled him onto his back and straddled him and clutched him deeper inside of her. His hands went to her full hips as he guided her up and down on his cock. She writhed against him, her movements fluid and languid like a cat. His hands slid up her bare back and around to her supple breasts and the smooth curve of her stomach. He loved everything about her. He sat up and kissed her, his hands in her hair. She groaned as he flipped her back onto her back, his movements more urgent; his need tangible. She cried out as he fucked her harder and faster like she begged. She felt herself lose control and she screamed with each wave of indescribable pleasure. That was all it took for him to fall over the edge himself. He too cried out as he thrust himself deep inside of her and spent all his passion in an intense orgasm that took his very breath away. He lay on top of her and gasped for breath, his forehead against hers, his hands cupping her face. When he was able, his eyes met hers. "I don't want you to go," he repeated. "I know," she whispered, fighting the tear that threatened to escape. But she slipped out from underneath him and went anyway. Sebastian moved like a zombie through the darkened halls of the secret rooms that lay beyond his club. He could still feel her, he thought -- though his mind was numb with pain. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her face. He swayed with the enormity of his grief and steadied himself against the hallway wall. Who had done such a horrible thing, he wondered again. When he heard the sobbing, he could have sworn it was his own. His dazed amber eyes peered into the dark recesses of the hallway. He heard it again; it was muffled but it was definitely another person sobbing in one of the rooms. It was a woman. Sebastian ran over and threw open the door. Was it possible? Could it be? There, amidst dark blue velvet and black lace, was a tiny girl with black hair, smudged dark eyeliner and pale blue eyes. His brow knit with confusion. "Who are you?" "Pixie," she managed in between hiccuping sobs. Her fearful eyes were wide under tangled wisps of hair. "Who are you?" "My name is Sebastian," he said. His shoulders drooped with his disappointment but he couldn't bring himself to leave this frightened girl all alone. He stepped inside the door but kept a safe distance between them, to prevent scaring her anymore. "How did you get here?" She shook her head, then winced in pain. Her hand slipped up to her neck, which bore two hungry puncture marks. She gasped and then reached for the other side of her neck, only to find identical marks. "Oh my God," she whispered. Sebastian approached her slowly. "Do you remember what happened?" he asked. It was a moot question. He could feel her apprehension tangle with her own dismay. She didn't move away as he sat next to her on the bed. He reached out a large, gentle hand to capture her tear when she nodded. She didn't know why his touch was familiar. When he opened his arms to her, she didn't resist. She climbed into his lap like a child, even though she'd lived to see her second decade. His presence enveloped her and for some inexplicable reason she felt safe. She felt loved. He rocked her as she tried to wrap her mind around her new existence. "What do I do now?" she whispered, and somehow knew this ebony god would be able to answer her question. "You feed," he replied in a low voice, his hand in her hair. Her eyes swallowed her face whole as she stared up at him. "How?" "Do what feels natural to you," he suggested. She nodded as she stared at his full, seductive mouth. She bent forward and kissed him tentatively, slight open mouthed kisses that felt like butterfly wings against his lips. He groaned into her mouth, which made her braver. Her tongue traced the fullness of his lips before it slipped inside to explore the recesses of his mouth. His hands went to her narrow waist as she straddled him. She felt him hard beneath her and suddenly she hungered for him in a way she'd never before experienced. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she arched against him and kissed him harder. His large hands spread against her small back as he pressed her into him. He felt her spirit rise and her aura explode all around him. There would be no fangs with this one, he realized. She was a psychic vampire -- like him. She was the being his power with Sonja had created. And he loved her. Instantly, he loved her. He laid her back onto the bed gently, his hand touching her face, his whispers lost in her mouth. Their energies fused together in an electric kaleidoscope of color. Her tiny hands pushed away his clothing as he gently disrobed her. Without ever breaking their kiss, they were naked against each other. His rich mocha color against the creamy white ivory of her skin, his being so large and imposing against her being so petite. There were different, but the same. When she felt his thick cock against her leg, she whimpered into his mouth. She needed him to fill her, to complete her. But he knew she needed more preparation. His hand slipped between their bodies to seek out her engorged clitoris. She gasped as he found it, his fingers feather light as they moved rapidly against her. She bucked against his hand and opened her legs to scissor cut around his waist. He fondled her to her first orgasm before he even thought about fitting himself inside of her, simply because he was so hard he thought he might tear her in two. When he finally did position the thick head of his cock against her quivering pussy, she was deliriously begging him to fuck her. He eased himself inside her tight cunt, slowly opening her up to him. It caused her to come again, harder, her spasming pussy clutching him in deeper inside of her. Gently he rocked in and out of her as he molded her to him. Every luscious bit of her sweet, tight hole reconstructed to fit his exact length and width. He drove her crazy with his slow lovemaking. No matter how many times she came, she knew there was more. "Do I... feed now?" she asked. "Whenever you're ready," he told her. "Do I... bite you?" she asked again, her eyes wide. "What do you hunger for?" he whispered. Her eyes closed as she searched her soul. "You," she whispered back. "What about me?" he prodded. "I want you to come," she whispered. "I need you. I need your cock. I need your cum." "Yes," he replied as he laid on his back and pulled her on top of him. Like a tigress she rode him, bouncing on top of his raging erection. He grunted and groaned as he watched that pretty pink pussy dance along his dark meat, driving him to distraction as she fucked him like an animal. His aura rose from his body, thick and sweet, and as it hit her senses she thrashed on top of him in the most intense pleasure she had yet to experience. With one final thrust up inside of her their union exploded in a brilliant flash. She fell against him as he sucked all her beautiful energy from her body. She could barely keep her eyes open as she snuggled into the crook of his arm. "I love you, Sebastian," she said, and knew, though it made no sense, that she meant it. "I love you too," he whispered to the enchantress at his side; his final gift from Sonja. Out in the club, the party and resumed, though the crowd was considerably smaller than before. Sonja's demise had demonstrated that vampires too were vulnerable to this killer, and several weaker ones had already found other places to haunt. Ginger tended bar with her eyes on the door. She wasn't sure who she expected to see; but she knew that she had to keep her eyes, and her mind, open. When she caught sight of Raven's long, dark hair, she wasn't surprised. Somehow she knew he wouldn't allow anyone to scare him, especially a bloodthirsty cohort of the night. She smiled to herself as she reached for the bottle of water she knew he'd order. That smile quickly faded as she rose up to find none other than her sister, Abigail Mandrake, at his side at the bar. "Ginger!" she gasped. She had never expected to see her again, much less at this bar. Ginger gulped but said nothing. Raven silently observed their exchange. "What are you doing here?" Abi asked. "Tending bar," was the quipped reply. "I can see that," Abi said, her dander starting to rise. "But why here?" Ginger just shrugged. "Why are you here?" Abi sent a glance over to Raven. It was difficult to explain. If she felt like she had to... which, aggravatingly enough, she did. Ginger's eyes followed Abi's only to find Raven staring at her with renewed interest. "Never mind," Ginger said as she turned to leave. Raven grabbed her by the wrist, which sent the same electrical shock throughout his body. "Don't go," he stated in a low voice, before he added the powerfully seductive, "Ginger." He turned to Abi. "Why don't you introduce me to your friend, Abigail?" Abi gave her a pointed glare. "She's not my friend. She's my sister." Raven let her go. "Sister?" he repeated. "How interesting." Ginger escaped to the other end of the bar to tend to another customer. Raven glanced down at his hand, which was bright red. "Very interesting, indeed." Abi's eyes followed his. "What's wrong with your hand?" He just smiled as he pulled her close. "It's not touching you." Though he kissed Abigail full on the mouth, through one partially opened eye he saw Ginger watching them. For reasons unknown to him, that sent a powerful volt through his loins. Who were these women, he wondered. And what exactly were they doing to him? He glanced at Abigail who stood close to him. Nothing so far, he told himself. Despite the spontaneous orgy at Lillith's haven the night before, Abigail had not yet given herself to him. He had forgotten exactly whose idea that had been -- his to keep her safe, or hers to keep her whole. Either way, she knew she was safest at his side; and she was far too deeply involved to get out now. So he had obliged her request to return to the club, even though he still wasn't entirely sure he should. But at the end of the day he was a vampire, and he wasn't in the habit of denying himself the things he truly wanted. And heaven help him, he still wanted Abigail. He glanced back at Ginger, who sipped from her own bottle of water and quickly tried to look away. "Let's go to the back," Abigail suggested. She wanted - well, needed -- to return to the room where she'd been attacked. It was the only way she could find a clue as to what this Creature was and why it wanted her. Raven liked the sound of that so he agreed and they stepped away from the bar right into the path of a tall, powerful man with long, blond hair and steely blue eyes. Abigail gasped when she saw him. "Hunter!" He cracked his famously lopsided grin. "Abigail," he responded. He glanced back at Raven. "Who's your friend?" Raven sized up the other man before reaching out a hand. "Raven Crowe." Hunter glanced down at the offered hand. "Sorry," he murmured with a smile. "I'm a germaphobe." Raven dropped his hand but his eyes squinted. There was something unsettling about this person, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "What are you doing here?" Abi asked in a low voice, trying to avoid looking him in the eye. "The same could be said of you," he replied. Ginger rounded the corner to come stand at his side. "I'm here to see my wife," he added with almost malicious glee. He seemed to delight in how that comment hit home. "Wife?" she repeated as she stared at Ginger incredulously. Ginger nodded, although reluctantly. Hunter went on. "I followed her all the way to Europe. It only took one substitute to realize that I always had the real thing." He draped his arm across Ginger's shoulders. "What you do for love, huh?" Abigail gulped and looked away. "Congratulations," she managed through a tightly constricted throat. She couldn't even look Raven in the eye. "I've got to go. I suddenly don't feel very well." Raven didn't understand, but he followed her as she raced out of the club. With one final look back to where Ginger and Hunter stood he realized something. The man had no trouble at all touching the unusual sister with brightly colored hair. Raven understood in an instant: neither of them walk where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 12 Chapter Twelve: Henri "I can't believe you told Abi we were married." Hunter wore a lopsided grin as he watched Ginger behind the bar. She was taking out her aggression on the counter, on stains that were not even there. "Why not?" he asked, trying not to chuckle. "It's not like I haven't asked often enough." "Hunter..." He held up a hand. "Don't get your panties in a twist. I told her that to keep her safe." "Safe? How is that supposed to keep her safe?" "Did you see her face? There's no way she will come back here if she thinks she's going to run into the happy newlyweds." He toasted her with his bottle of water, but Ginger remained unconvinced – for one reason above any other. And that reason was standing in Abigail's living room at that very moment. Raven Crowe went through the photos in frames that sat on a densely filled bookcase. There he saw a much younger Abigail next to a much younger Ginger – before her punk hairdo and fuck off persona. He picked up the frame to examine it closer. "Well at least she can't complain that anyone mistake the two of us," Abi said as she came up from behind. "Twins?" Raven asked. "No," she replied as she replaced the photo. "She's older. But we were always mistaken as twins when we were growing up. Probably because our mother insisted we dress alike; wear our hair the same. We really weren't encouraged to develop personalities of our own. She's certainly corrected that problem." Raven watched her go over to the couch and flop down. "Why's she here?" Abi shrugged. "Who knows?" Then, with effort. "Maybe a honeymoon." Raven went over to armchair next to the sofa. "Tell me about Hunter." She closed her eyes. "I'd rather not." Raven had to laugh. "The journalist doesn't answer questions, I take it?" She peered at him through one partially opened eye. "Something like that." He simply waited. She held out for about a minute and a half. "Hunter was Ginger's high school sweetheart. They dated the entire four years. They were the 'perfect' couple." "And you hated them," He surmised. "I hated them." She sat up with a sigh. "We looked alike but we are fundamentally different. I always felt like I was running to catch up. She barely had to study and she'd get good grades. Yet I always managed to get distracted and 'fail to live up to my potential' – which was code for being like her. But I wasn't her. I was me." He waited and he watched. She hopped up and began to pace. "Senior year she got accepted into a program where she'd spend a semester in Europe. Just one more feather in her cap. But of course, she took it. She'd have been an idiot not to. And Ginger's no idiot. So she went, but not after a big fight with Hunter, who wanted to get engaged before she left so he'd know for sure she'd come back to him." "An insecure boyfriend. What's a jealous sister to do?" Abi let out a long sigh. "What, indeed." Raven watched her head over to her mini bar and pour a stiff drink. "It took a month, and by the time we finally slept together he was as mad at her as I was. It fueled our affair until a month before graduation. That's when our father died and Ginger came home. Let's just say it was a pretty interesting funeral." Raven nodded. He could only imagine. "She went back to Europe and I never thought I'd see her again. Ultimately Hunter left for college and I guess I kind of forgot about it over time." Raven got up to join her where she stood. He took the glass from her hands. "Listen. Take it from the undead guy. Anything you bury eventually comes back up again." She nodded. He was right. She had forgotten nothing – especially what it felt like to look into Hunter's blue eyes and know he loved someone else. She closed her eyes and embraced herself. It still hurt. Raven touched her face. Her eyes opened. His eyes were dark and intense. If he was thinking of another, she certainly couldn't tell. And she liked that. Suddenly she liked that a lot. When he pulled her into his arms, she didn't resist. His lip curled into a smile. "I never would have imagined you as a boyfriend stealing seductress," he said, humor laced in his voice. She smiled back. "Never judge a book by its cover," she advised. "I only look sweet." His head bent towards hers. His mouth opened and covered her lips, his tongue like fire as it penetrated her mouth and slowly blended with her own. She groaned as she felt herself dissolve against him. It was wrong, it was all wrong... but it wasn't like that had ever stopped her before. When he lifted away she was breathless. "You shouldn't sell yourself short. I think you taste pretty sweet as well." She laughed. "So you say. But you haven't really tasted me yet." His eyes darkened. He didn't know what she meant, but her words had made his already hardening cock jump. With a glint in her eye she took his hand and led him toward her bedroom. The room was yellow – like an explosion of marigolds. Her hair stood out in the bright room, dark copper tresses that toppled over her bare creamy shoulders as she took off her shirt. She took him by both hands and pulled him toward the canopied bed. They fell against the soft cotton fabric, cool against their exposed flesh. She pushed him over onto his back. He loved how her hair cascaded over her shoulders as she bent to kiss him. His hand wound into the dark copper curtain and pulled her up on top of him. He toppled headlong into her clouded eyes as he watched her full mouth descend onto his own. Their kiss was long and sweet as they explored and savored each other's mouths. The braver they got, the more they groaned against each other. They clutched one another tightly, as if they suddenly couldn't get close enough. He felt the exquisite longing he'd experienced since he first laid eyes on her rush over every inch of his hard body. He had never needed a woman more, that he remembered. It rendered him helpless under her artful tongue and tender kisses that lit on his mouth, his face and over to his ear. When her moist, warm mouth opened over his own sensitive neck he felt his cock jump in response. Her cool teeth brushed against the satiny skin kept alive by someone else's blood rushing just under the surface. He wanted to feel her pierce his skin and drink from him, even though he knew that was the very last thing he ever could ever allow her to do. That would make her just like him... a cursed soul meant to walk this world with an insatiable appetite. But that also meant she'd be with him forever; and for the first time in as long as he could remember forever suddenly didn't feel long enough. Before he could ask her to taste of him, her mouth moved lower over his taunt chest and sensitive stomach. His hand automatically wound in her hair as she deftly slid the zipper of his pants down with her teeth. His hard cock jumped from the restrictive material and bumped right against her sweet mouth. They both moaned in response, and she was quick to engulf him with her mouth, as hungry for him as he had been for her. He threw his head back in open mouthed ecstasy as she slowly worked him in and out of her warm mouth, savoring the taste of his cock on her tongue that slid around him like a snake. He glanced down to watch himself fucking her face and his heart nearly stopped when her gaze met his. There were few things sexier than a woman who truly loved sucking a man's dick, and her intent prowess was taking him right to the brink. "I want to fuck you," he muttered, then the more rarely uttered, "please." Just as she crawled up his body he thought his heart would thunder right out of his chest. But before she could straddle his painful erection they both realized the pounding that they heard was a knocking on her bedroom's balcony doors. He clutched at her as she pulled away. "No," he growled. But the knocking was incessant. She wrapped herself in a sheet and headed for the door. Raven was incoherent with anger and frustration when he recognized the tall man in the white suit that stood just outside the door. He didn't even bother to cover himself. "What the fuck are you doing here, Constantine?" Constantine took note of the state Raven was in, but it didn't even seem to amuse him like it would have normally. That scared Raven more than the blunt "Lillith needs you," Constantine told him. A half an hour later the three of them stood in Lillith's club, fully clothed and sex the farthest thing from their minds. Raven stroked Lillith's hair as she clung to him and cried. She hadn't stopped from the moment he walked in the door and she had run to him with unapologetic abandon. "What happened?" he finally asked her. "Henri," she sobbed against his soaked shirt. Raven searched his memory to finally recall the bartender he met the very first night he'd come to the club. "I left him in control of the club to spend a rare night at my own home. I had been so disturbed by what has been happening at Sebastian's coven." Both Abi and Raven nodded. Abi, especially, could empathize given she'd almost been raped by the vile creature in a darkened club very much like this one. Constantine remained tight lipped and grim – which was very uncharacteristic for him. "So what happened?" Raven repeated to the hysterical redhead at his side. Lillith said nothing as she led them all to the back room that, under normal circumstances would have been full of ograsmic revelers fucking in a hedonistic orgy. Instead the candles were burned out and the beds were all empty except for one. The big king sized mattress up on a platform reserved normally for Lillith, the vampire queen of her lair, was dripping with blood and the remains of a male body that had been torn apart almost from the inside out. "When I came in today I found him like this," she managed – unable to look at what remained of Henri without breaking down into uncontrollable sobs again. Abi came to her and took her into her arms, then led her out of the room. Constantine and Raven stared down onto the bed and both of them knew two things. The Creature who killed Sonja was responsible, and that Henri had not been its intended target. The Creature had wanted Lillith. Henri more than likely had simply gotten in its way. Now he served as a very disturbing calling card that clearly indicated the Creature could and most likely would get to Lillith if it wanted. And with a tightening of his gut, Raven knew why it would want to. The Creature was after the women that Raven had desired. Abi... Sonja... now Lillith – there was definitely a pattern none of them could deny. He glanced over at Abi who stroked Lillith's hair and tried to comfort the vampire who suddenly realized her own tenuous mortality. Despite how close they'd come, he knew he could never be with Abi. She could never return to the covens or the vampires who inhabited them. Like Sebastian had wisely warned, it was for her own good. It hurt him more than he could even articulate, but he knew that Abi could no longer walk where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 13 Chapter 13: Raven No one, neither vampire nor human, said much as they escorted Lillith back to her private home, an old Southern plantation secluded by the long arms of willow trees in marshy country outside of the city. Constantine kept Abigail company as Raven saw the distraught vampire mistress to her private quarters. Her grounds were protected by dedicated servants, all strong men who hovered somewhere between mortal and immortal. Not that it mattered. The Creature seemed not to care what type of life it took to get what it wanted, and though nobody spoke the words everyone already knew the next person on its agenda to exterminate. That was why, though she begged him through tears she'd long forgotten how to cry, Raven told Lillith that it would be best if he go. He'd seriously begun to think that was the solution for everything – to leave them all and draw the Creature away from them. As Raven caressed Lillith's soft ivory features as she drifted off to sleep, that idea had more and more merit. He nodded to the strong, muscular man with long blond hair who stood watch by her chamber door and then made his way to the parlor where Constantine and Abi waited. "She's asleep," he told them. "Let's go." They followed him without question, something neither of them thought they would do. But the game had decidedly changed. None present could erase the visual of a young man torn asunder on a blood soaked mattress. It was as if the Creature was letting them know they were no more human than it was. Abi still felt its claws upon her skin, its hot breath against her face. Had she been barely spared the same fate as Henri? She shuddered in spite of herself, something both vampires took notice. Constantine and Raven shared a knowing look. Though certainly not their first natural instinct, both felt the sudden need to protect her. But as she looked into Raven's eyes, he knew that a simple goodbye would not suffice any more than well reasoned logic why she should stay far away from him and from the covens to which she'd become familiar. Her draw to him and to his very lifestyle – such that it was – was entirely too strong. He had not turned her, but she was as much a night walker as any of them. It was in her spirit, if not yet in her blood. This was his one last chance to set her free, to appeal to that side of her that was human. He couldn't afford to blow it. As they reached her block he hung back, wanting to make their split as public as possible. If the Creature was watching him and scoping out his companions for prey – something he had begun to suspect from the eerie sensations he felt within the limits of the city, Raven was ready to put on the act of his life. As expected, Abi realized he no longer followed and turned to face him. "Raven?" Constantine also turned, and recognized the look on Raven's face immediately. This was not going to be pretty, and he suddenly didn't want to be a party to any of it. Yet somehow he knew he had to – if Raven was going to crush Abi's heart he suddenly felt the need to pick up the pieces. It was the least he could do after introducing her to this life in the first place. Such compassion was a foreign thing to him – and part of him immediately wanted to run far, far away. Yet he stayed rooted to the spot anyway. Raven still hadn't answered her or closed the distance between them, so Abi took it upon herself to do so. She was quite shaken up, and all she wanted to do was go back to her marigold room and have Raven hold her once more. As crazy as it sounded, it was the only time she felt safe. "What's wrong?" she finally asked. He walked casually toward her, the hard look on his face unwavering. "It occurs to me that all of this unpleasantness began around the time you started coming to the coven," he announced. "And now I think I know why." He advanced on her until he was merely a breath away. "It's because of you." Her eyes widened. "What are you talking about?" He laughed. "You with your human desire and your petty little sexual games. You are a disease that is turning us all into monsters. A poison, that ultimately ends in our death. You think your coming to the coven was a coincidence? That you simply wanted 'research'?" He sneered down his nose at her. "You are inferior in every way. Therefore you must destroy us for your own pathetic survival." She fought the tears. Why was he being so cruel after he had held her so tenderly? "Raven..." "Don't waste your tears on me," he warned. "I'm not human. I do not care." She squared her chin. "I don't believe that." "No?" he asked as he pulled her to him roughly. His eyes darkened to near black as his mouth crushed down on hers in an angry, possessive kiss. Just as she started to succumb to his raw passion, she felt the skin of is lips erode away to paper, and his teeth elongated to a skeletal state while his bony fingers dug into her soft, supple skin. Abi gasped as she attempted to pull away, but he held her in a vice grip. "You see what you make me?" he growled through hundreds of years old skin stretched across long dead bones of his face. "I'm a monster! Do you really want to fuck a monster?" The remains of his mouth descended towards hers again but she wrenched away. Constantine watched helplessly from the sidelines. As much as he glorified in the god-like power of turning humans into immortals, he never felt the need to show the uglier, scarier side of his nature to a helpless human. He wanted their adoration, not their fear.... even when he fed. And Raven was horrifying, even to him. "How close do you want to come to death, Abigail?" Raven demanded as he advanced on her, fangs bared, and she dropped to her knees with a cry, covering her neck with both hands. He knelt down to her, his long dark hair now stark white, the paper thin skin translucent against the old, yellowed bones – nothing remained of the Raven she desired. Instead he was not far different from the Creature from the coven. And Abi was truly terrified. "You come back to that club or to me, and I'll assume death is what you want," he warned her, as his claw like hands scraped against her tender flesh drawing blood. His long, snake like tongue slithered over his abnormally long fingernail and his eyes darkened with orgasmic glee at the taste of her blood. Constantine finally made his move. Now that Raven had given himself over to his darker side, instinct might force him to go through with what Constantine had suspected a hollow threat. Raven merely mocked his uncharacteristically heroic attempt. "Sloppy seconds, Constantine?" he laughed. "Hardly your style. Especially since you wanted to turn her more than anyone else." Raven reached out and touched Constantine's face, and it turned almost to ash where he touched. Angry, Constantine knocked his hand away. Of all the things Abigail didn't need, it was two monsters to deal with. Raven glared at Constantine. "It appears you've chosen your side." "As you have chosen yours," Constantine told him, taking note that Raven had not yet morphed back into his human form. "Enjoy her," Raven sneered. "I found her a bit banal for my taste." "Fuck you!" Abi screamed from behind Constantine's protective arm. Raven gave her a pointed stare. "Never." With that he flew up into the night like a shot, and disappeared from their sight. Only when he had gone did Abi collapse to her knees in frustrated, angry tears. Constantine bent to console her but she pushed him away. "Don't pretend you're not like him," she hissed. He couldn't necessarily argue. But he didn't move away either. "Come on. Let's get you inside. It's too dangerous out here." She gave him a glare fit to kill. Where had he been five minutes ago? He said nothing as he offered his hand. She hesitated only momentarily before she accepted is help and stood to her feet. He took her into his arms and flew up to her second story balcony, into the same room he had interrupted them before. Just one look at the mussed sheets was enough to make her heart sink to her feet as tears ran freely down her cheeks. When, exactly, had she fallen in love with Raven Crowe? Raven had to wonder much the same thing as he sailed through the night back to the coven, in as much pain as Abigail. It wrenched him apart to see the look of pure terror in her face as she saw him for what he truly was. And that was the crux of it, wasn't it? How could she love him any more than he could love anyone else? As much as he had exaggerated it for effect, the fact was he was truly a monster. When he landed at Sebastian's club he hadn't bothered to transform – and was pleased to see people run from him as she entered the sparsely filled club. Only the die-hard vampire fans had the stomach to visit the club after Sonja's murder, but even those silly humans didn't have the stomach to face the monsters all vampires were just one sunrise away from being. Raven saw Ginger tending bar, her back to him, he advanced purposely. He figured he'd kill two birds with one stone, figuratively speaking. And when she jumped as she turned to face him, he had to admit he found her fear rewarding. The problem was, it was far too brief. "Interesting look," she said as she fetched his bottle of water. "I think I prefer the 80s hair metal band motif, though." She watched as his skin slowly filled out with muscle and fat, and his white hair darken from the root. His glassy eyes lightened as his pupils went down to their normal size. "Not the usual response from a human," he murmured as he touched the bottle of water to his now full lips. "Been around vampires before?" "You could say that," she offered noncommittally. "Then you should tell your sister to stay far away from us." She laughed. "You tell my sister that." Then she looked at the ravaged look on his face. "Let me guess. You already did." He took another sip. "More than that." She nodded. That explained the creep fest appearance from before. She wondered how long it would work on someone as head strong – and self destructive – as her sister. Ginger leaned against the bar. "So where is she now?" Raven's eyes met hers. From the jealous depth of those dark brown eyes, Ginger knew that not only was Abi with another man – but she was with another vampire. It wasn't over. "Here," she said as she handed him a second bottle of water. "Have a double." Across town Constantine stood in the balcony doorway and watched as Abi straightened the sheets. Then, in a fit of frustration, she tore them right off the bed and into a heap on the floor with a choked cry. He walked over to where she stood, her shoulders shaking from the force of her sobs. Silently he took both of her shoulders in his hands. She turned around on him with a swing. "Get the fuck away from me!" she screamed as she wailed on him. All she could see was the face of the Creature and Raven's skeletal face morphed into one. She knew just under the surface, Constantine was like that too – and the last thing she wanted to feel were more claws against her body, an old body forcing its way into hers. Or was it, something deep inside her whispered in her ear. It only made her madder, and punch Constantine even more... to punish someone for her lascivious thoughts. He took her blows. As tall and broad as he was, her tiny fists flailed against him like mosquitoes. He allowed her to exhaust herself until she collapsed against him in uncontrollable sobs that wracked her entire body. He kissed the top of her head as he rubbed her arms with both of his large, warm hands. Her fingers pressed against his strong chest, tickled by some of the course, sparse hair that grew there. With hiccuping breaths she glanced up into his warm, dark eyes – so similar to Raven's before... She shook her head to rid herself the image of what Raven had revealed himself to be. Instead she looked back into Constantine's intense brown eyed stare. His hands slid up her arms to either side of her neck as he bent to kiss her. His full mouth covered hers, warm and moist, and his tongue probed gently between her lips. She melted against him. After the night she'd had, his tenderness was just what she needed. She didn't want to think about Henri or Lillith, the Creature or Raven or the very fact that Constantine was no different than any of them. She didn't want to think, period. She wanted to feel. She ran her fingers over his hard, warm flesh. So decidedly male underneath her feminine touch. He groaned slightly as his head bent back, and his long brown hair reached down his back in gentle waves. She opened each button of his white shirt, revealing his cool skin taunt under her fingers. His eyes locked with hers as she pushed his shirt from his shoulders. "Abi," he started but she silenced him with a kiss. She didn't want to hear any more admonishments about sleeping with vampires. She just wanted to feel this man in her arms in her bed and in her body. She didn't want to think about death – she wanted to enjoy life by fucking this hot guy's brains out. She could tell by his hardness pressing against her he would be open to the possibility. Her tongue drove into his mouth as she pushed him toward the bare bed. He needed no further encouragement as he lifted her up effortlessly into his arms and deposited her onto the mattress. His hair fell over his shoulders and she felt herself disappear into his eyes as he followed her down onto the bed. She planted kisses along his bare chest as he pulled her shirt up to cup her full breasts through her lacy bra. His tongue trailed along her lips and across her neck up toward her ear while each thumb circled each of her hardening nipples. She ground against him as her fingernails trailed up his back and into the skin of his shoulders as his mouth lowered to dance across her full chest. She tossed her shirt away impatiently and guided him down to each breast. Deftly he unhooked her bra and slipped it from her shoulders, then tossed it across the room. He pulled her into his arms, bare chest to bare chest, soft to hard, cool to warm. His eyes nearly swallowed her whole as he stared into her face while easing down her pants. She groaned as cupped his hard erection through his pants. He responded by kissing his way down her body, across her quivering stomach and lower between her legs. When his mouth found its target she gasped and grabbed a handful of his hair. His tongue teased her gentle but firm and fast and within minutes she was bucking against his masterful mouth. He took her from orgasm to orgasm with nothing more than his mouth, his breath and his tongue – and once he took her over the edge he kept her dangled there until she thought she might pass out from sheer, pure pleasure. It was more than she could stand, and though she wanted to beg him to finally fuck her she was incapable of speech. He himself had to pull away because he could feel his fangs begin to protrude and he didn't think she wanted any reminder he was a vampire. So lifted her up and turned her around onto her knees. She grabbed hold of the headboard as he slid his pants down from his hips and brushed his stiff cock against the curve of her ass. "Yes," she finally managed, and Constantine's eyes glowed amber as his long fangs pressed into his cheeks as he obliged her. His thick dick slid easily inside of her slippery pussy, still quivering from the massive, multiple orgasms his mouth had wrought. She sucked him in, tight inside of her – a place that he couldn't ignore Raven had never been. And here he was fucking her, making her scream, making her his own. There was only one thing left to do. He stared down at her naked body underneath him, and almost through her skin he could see the veins pump precious blood in a rhythm that thundered in his ears like a drumline. He fucked her harder, lost in a blood red haze of desire, wanting to taste her – truly taste her – as he rode her to his explosive orgasm. He could brand her, he thought, and she'd truly be his. He bent down over her, his breath hot against her neck. He drank her essence in through his nostrils, feeling her explode around him in another massive climax as she screamed out into the night. Then, though she never thought she'd do so, she was begging him to suck her blood. She knew that it would take her over the edge in a way that she'd never experienced before. This was the raw lust of it – to have him be close enough to kill her in the moment she felt his truest, most primal desire. To have the ultimate life and the ultimate death in the very same exquisite moment. She wanted to feel his sharp teeth pierce her soft skin the way his dick impaled her tight pussy. "Do it!" she demanded – though she might not have if she could see the look on his face. His fangs grew long and sharp from his mouth and his eyes glowed as he pinpointed the spot on her neck where he could taste her blood. Everything that had made her desire him was now secondary to the very monster Raven tried to warn her against. His tongue snaked out to circle the flesh of her neck, and it sent her over the edge yet again until she was writhing against him in another mind bending orgasm. But he knew if she was going to give herself to him, truly, he wanted her to know exactly what she was getting into. So he flipped her around until he was holding her up in his arms against the headboard. She finally saw him for what he really was and she screamed again – this time from fear. But it was too late to stop – Constantine continued to ride her, harder and deeper with each and every scream. And despite herself she felt herself cum again, her eyes transfixed on his fangs as he leaned closer toward her neck. He grunted as he fucked her, his glowing eyes nearly rolling back into his head. When she stared into those amber eyes she finally quit screaming from fear. Suddenly she felt none. All she felt was the overwhelming desire to have him claim her completely. His fangs no longer scared her, instead she felt her pussy respond to how it would feel if those same teeth sank into her virgin skin. Slowly but deliberately she bared her neck. With a growl he dove in. A hundred years ago he'd tear into her flesh and drink from her until she was limp and dead in his arms. But today it made him harder and more excited to lick the area until she begged for his teeth the way she begged for his cock. His breath warmed her skin but his teeth merely grazed over her until she thought she might die from the anticipation. "Do it," she whimpered finally, limp from her many orgasms. "Say my name," he demanded softly against her skin. "Constantine," she managed, and her soft voice sent a chill through his entire body. His eyes rolled back into his head as his teeth pierced her sweet smelling skin and dove into the soft rivers of red ecstasy that pumped through her veins. She cried out with the initial pain of his penetration; a virgin in the truest sense. But soon his sucking against her neck, feeling her blood flow into his mouth, sent her off into outer space with the most pure pleasure she'd ever experienced. With a final thrust Constantine alternately filled her and emptied her. She lay under him, barely conscious when he drug his mouth away from her neck. She glanced up at him with sleepy eyes as he laid her down onto the bed. "Am I going to die?" He shook his head, his fangs now sated and retracted, his eyes back to the deep, gentle brown. "Not tonight," he assured her, but with a fair warning that might not be the case in the future. It was his nature after all. She nodded and accepted the covers he retrieved from the floor and slid over her body, each nerve ending electric and aware. As close as she'd come to death, she'd never felt more alive. Though she never knew it, this is exactly what she had been searching for. Raven Walks Ch. 13 She fell asleep not knowing that across town Raven saw it all and felt it all in his mind's eye, since Constantine had been one of his own. She'd never know how deeply it had hurt, or the tears he had cried. He'd done everything he knew to do – but she was too far gone to save now. She could never go back to humans now – they'd never be able to fill that yearning from which she'd now burn. It was only inevitable that, for however long the Creature let her live, she would walk where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 14 Chapter 14: Felicia He watched her sleep from the balcony doors. He'd never meant for things to go so far. Constantine knew better than anyone the reason Raven had turned her away so ruthlessly -- it was for her own good. Their world was not safe for humans anymore, and it certainly wasn't safe for vampires. And yet there she laid somewhere between the two realms. A deep primal hunger had been awakened and he knew instinctively that she would not be complete, not be satisfied until she'd finally crossed over to their side. He could have easily mastered her, and had this been a mere month ago, likely would have. That she longed for Raven would have been icing on the cake -- an additional feather in his cap. He'd turned far more people than Raven, and with each one his powers grew stronger -- his immortality more secure. But even he knew that didn't matter anymore. He understood that the Creature was far more powerful than he could ever hope to be as he still clung to the last remnants of his humanity. Constantine turned to face the night sky. That was what tortured him most. He knew that was where his blood lust would take him. Not unlike any other type of junkie, his addiction to human blood would ultimately lead to his destruction. Eventually his good looks would give way to the desolation of his skin and bones, his hair would thin and gray, his lips would disappear against fangs that would never stop growing. His muscle would deteriorate and even his treasured manhood would erode away. Then there would be no erections, no sex, no orgasms -- and worse than that, no seduction. He'd be a monster always searching for his next meal in the form of helpless humans who, while willing to be seduced by a sexy vampire, would fight against and learn to destroy the animal they all threatened to become. That's when the hunters would come. And merciless they would, and should, be. He sighed as he stepped out into the night air. The days of pitchforks and mobs of angry villagers had long since given way to seedy parlors and willing donors who usually were content to get their rocks off even if it meant spilling some blood along the way. The need for hunters eventually dimmed, and vampires were able to live a somewhat peaceful existence in every city and every town in the world. They were able to live the best of both worlds -- to hunt without the kill and therefore be tolerated by a general public that was mostly satisfied to ignore their existence entirely. But there were those, like Constantine, who spread the disease unapologetically. Who lived their life, such as it was, on the edge -- constantly walking the line between danger and safety. He was the adrenaline junkie of the vampire world, and humans were his extreme sport. With each conquest it was always a shot off a cliff on a bungee rope he never knew would hold his weight. If they could resist him, he'd allow them to live. The challenge, then, was to make them beg him to crash into the ground and take them with him. And more often than not, they would willingly give over to the other side. Such was his power. He thought back to Abi as she screamed for him in the throes of a passion she'd never before experienced, wanting nothing more than to surrender to him in every way possible. He could have had her, but the bungee ripped him back and saved her life. For now. He leaped up on the railing in a flash, and then off into the night he took flight. He cut through the air like a bullet, the wind rushing against his face and through his hair. He could never give this up, he thought to himself as he rocketed through the sky. He never wanted to lose his youth, his beauty, his sex appeal or his seductive prowess. But Constantine knew better than anyone that he'd forget the freedom and the excitement the minute human blood spilled into his mouth, and he felt it transform in his saliva -- defenseless against the plague of vampirism as it sought to destroy anything pure and mortal. He even felt himself stir at the thought. There was no drug more potent or no high more intense than that last pure drop of blood that turned from water to wine in his mouth. He shook it off as he barreled through the night toward the one person who could ease his troubled mind and restore his sense of balance. If vampires had AA she'd be his sponsor, and he needed her now more than ever. He accelerated through the night and headed from the dark recesses of Louisiana to the bright lights of New York City, a city he loved like no other. There he could walk the streets and no one would bat an eye, even if his fangs were in plain sight. He did some time on Broadway, living out his own dreams of a rock star, and that was where he met Felicia von Hart for the first time. A tall blond beauty with dark eyes and a sparkling smile, he thought for sure she'd be a fun conquest, but he had no idea that she was a vampire mistress herself -- and one who would teach him way more than he ever thought he'd learn. She had a good heart for a predator. She rarely ever turned anyone, and he attributed her kindness to that. She was still more human than monster, and it showed in the way she treated her servants and her lovers (who were usually one in the same). Their tryst lasted for the duration of their musical's run, and by the end they both were itching to move on. She to another vampire, and he to a host of human groupies who were only too happy to welcome him into their beds even if it meant they'd never see morning as a mortal again. Some, especially so. She had gently warned him the consequences of his actions, but he simply kissed her and smiled. Like every other addict in the world, he had it under control. Even though Abi still lived, Constantine was no longer sure the monkey on his back was at his mercy rather than the other way around. He needed Felicia. Her arms, her bed, her kind and loving heart. He landed on her rooftop on silent feet, and eased through the balcony doors like a breeze. He was not surprised to see the two men who shared her bed. They were beautiful, and as in love with each other as they were with her. Legs and arms were tangled in sheets as they all slept off their last exhausting orgy. He touched her in his mind, and her eyes fluttered open. She smiled when she saw his familiar silhouette. She eased up out of bed, careful not to rouse her lovers. "Constantine," she whispered happily as she led him into another room. He took her into his arms and she kissed him readily and passionately. "I have missed you," she told him with her dazzling smile. "And I you," he said, his eyes dark and troubled. Instantly she understood. She guided him over to a sofa with a fabulous view of the city. "Who are your friends?" he asked, attempting to be cavalier. "My two Jacks," she said with a satisfied and happy smile. She was in love and he recognized it immediately. "But somehow I don't think you're here to discuss my love life." He smiled. She knew him so well. He wondered again why they weren't together still. "Are you in trouble?" she asked. He shook his head. "Not yet. But I think it's coming." She listened attentively as he told her what was going on in Louisiana, and with Raven, whom she also knew, only their relationship had been that of a friend more than a lover. She nodded every once and a while, and the news of the Creature obviously unsettled her. Every once and a while news filtered through their community about a rogue vampire who had completely turned and no longer preyed just upon humans. Usually they were originally psychotic humans that some unsuspecting (or uncaring) vampire had given immortality to, and now the community itself had to come together to fight one of their own. They had to, now that the hunters were obsolete. "And so Raven tried to scare her away?" Felicia said. He nodded. "But I couldn't let her go." He stood up and began to pace. "What's wrong with me?" She stood also and took his shoulders in both of her hands. "Why do you always beat yourself up for things beyond your control?" "But it is in my control," he insisted. "Look at you. Look at Raven. Plenty of vampires are satisfied with voluntary donors. You don't need that final fix." She chuckled. "We need it," she clarified. "That's survival of our species, honey. We don't procreate, after all." He nodded. Intellectually he knew that. But he also knew what he felt went beyond a simple desire to survive. "I don't want to end up that Creature," he finally admitted -- for the first time out loud. She took him into her arms and held him tight. It was a tight rope they all walked. "No more humans," he swore against her hair. Again she chuckled. He might as well pledge not to breathe. She took his face gently in her hands. "You can stay here as long as you like. But eventually, you know you have to go back to New Orleans. Raven needs you." It was Constantine's turn to laugh. "That will be the day." "He needs you to protect Abi. Whatever happens, he cannot be with her. You know that." He nodded. "And she cannot stay away from him. She wants this, with or without you. She always did." He nodded again. He knew that too. He touched her face. She was so wise, which is why he had come to her. "Thank you, Felicia," he murmured as his lips bent toward her own. She allowed the kiss, but when his hand slid up her side to cup her breast she pushed him away. She knew the fact he hadn't claimed Abi left him frustrated in a way sex with her simply wouldn't satisfy. And even as exciting as she knew it would be, there were two very important reasons she wouldn't allow him to take out his impotent frustration on her. He had to smile. She may not have kept her lovers for very long, but she was very loyal when she had them. He knew that her heart belonged to her two Jacks in the other room. "Maybe another time," he said with his sexy pout. She grinned. "Maybe." And then she slipped back into the other room. He sunk into her sofa, suddenly very tired. This would be so much easier if he didn't have the metallic taste of Abi's blood in his mouth. His cock jumped at the memory of her wrapped all around him, her expression of pure ecstasy as she begged him to suck her dry. His hand slid down his body to grasp his growing erection in his hand while he relived their regrettable moment of passion. Through his partially closed eyes he spied the neighbor in the building across the street. It was her red hair that caught his attention, but it was her full, naked body that made him sit up and lick his lips with contemplation. He floated toward the big picture window and watched as she prepared for bed. She slipped a whisper thin nightgown over her voluptuous curves and then turned out the lamp right beside her bed. She slid in between cool satin sheets, never knowing a vampire now hovered just outside her closed window. She reached into her nightstand and grabbed her favorite adult toy, a red jelly vibrator , that would help her relax and go to sleep. It had been at least five months since she'd last had sex, and it was really starting to grate on her nerves. Therefore these sessions with her battery operated boyfriend had become an essential part of her routine. She ran the buzzing instrument of pleasure along her sensitive skin, over each hardened nipple and across her quivering stomach. Tonight she needed it more than ever, and didn't want to bother with prolonged foreplay. That was the benefit of solo entertainment -- she knew right where to go to get where she needed to be. No pesky lovemaking required. Out of impulse she kicked off the top sheet and spread her legs wide, giving an unintentional show to the hungry, horny vampire who watched her from outside her five story window. She slipped the vibrator along the slick folds of her cunt, toying with herself and making Constantine crazy from where he watched. The toy buzzed against her hard clit until she ground against it with a whimper, then shoved the shaft up inside her for the exciting finale. That was when she heard the knock against the window, and she shot up in her bed with a scream in her throat. The terror inspired by the sight of a man hovering in the air outside her window slowly gave way to something primal inside her inspired by the look in his eyes. What she so desperately needed he wanted to give her, and suddenly she wanted nothing more. She gave an imperceptive nod as she wriggled the vibrator inside of her, grinding against it and hoping he'd take it as the invitation it was. Incredulously she watched as he morphed through the glass and floated right to her bed. She wasn't sure what she wanted more -- to scream or to beg him to fuck her. Since it was obviously a dream, she chose the latter. He tore his shirt from his body as he landed on her bed, and then crawled up her body. His eyes began to burn amber and his fangs slowly protruded from his mouth, which made her crawl backwards up the bed. His hard body was very real. "Who are you?" she whispered. "A monster," he told her with a smile. "Are you scared?" She nodded, but as she toppled headlong into his eyes she shook her head. He needed no further invitation as his mouth crushed down on hers in a savage kiss that drew blood from the soft inside of her mouth. As he sucked the droplets away, she rocketed off into a mind blowing orgasm. He grabbed her toy and urged her climax on while she bucked under him. She was breathless as she begged for his cock, needing to feel his body inside hers. Constantine discarded the vibrator quickly while she tore at his pants. Within moments he was naked, his large, throbbing member aimed right for her quivering pussy. With a growl he shoved himself inside of her and she thrashed against him in a continuous climax that had her head lolling on her shoulders like a doll. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders while he thrust into her, wild like the animal he was. But she did not complain, in fact she begged for more. He balanced her body against the headboard with his hands under each of her knees and banged her against the wall with each thrust. "Yes!" she cried out again and again. But as deep as he got, it was not deep enough. The moonlight glinted off his fangs and instinctively she bared her neck for him. This time, Constantine did not hold back. As he drove his cock inside of her his fangs buried into the soft, tender flesh of her neck, sucking the nectar they both needed to survive. Only this time, one would not. When the last drop exploded into his mouth and she gave up her soul with a gasp, he buried himself inside of her and spent himself while her body sagged against him, her arms limp by her side. And as he felt himself grow stronger, he also felt one more inch of his humanity slip away -- as evidenced by the fact he was able to disentangle himself from this dead human, lay her on the bed on top of torn sheets, and dress slowly and deliberately without regret. When he slid back through the window he caught sight of Felicia watching him from her bedroom window across the street. He knew two things. Felicia did not judge him and his immediate disregard of his "no human" pact. She knew him better than anyone else, except maybe for Raven, and knew that this was the vampire he'd come to be. He also knew that when this new, redheaded and hungry vampire rose again, Felicia would be there to guide her and teach her how to navigate this new existence, and hopefully become something other than the monster who created her. With that he turned and aimed himself back toward New Orleans. Perhaps he was just the one to face this Creature and put an end to their terror. He was closer to that Creature's frame of mind than anyone. And perhaps, just perhaps, he was always meant to walk where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 15 Chapter Fifteen: Raven He had contemplated the idea of leaving town many times, but Raven ultimately decided that he was never made to run away from the conflict. In fact, the more he thought about this Creature systematically picking off people closer and closer to him, the more Raven felt the need to confront this evil monstrosity once and for all. That meant he would have to make himself visible and yet somehow alienate those who might want to stay near him. He still felt bile rise in his throat as he remembered the look of stark terror in Abigail's face when he transformed in front of her. But he done it for her own good -- he could scarcely regret it. The only thing he did regret was turning Constantine all those many years ago; it linked them forever and made every single action painfully synced with Raven's own consciousness. That meant Raven was aware of every kiss, every caress -- even the pivotal first taste of her blood -- as if he'd been there himself. Because in a very real way, he was. Damn that Constantine! How could he do that? His lust and his selfishness undid everything Raven had done to scare her away. That definitely contributed to the urgency of the situation. Raven knew Abi would never turn from their lifestyle now, and so he had no choice but to uncover who this killer was and deal with the Creature once and for all. So he made his way back to Sebastian's club early that night. To stand guard, and to investigate. He wasn't surprised to see Ginger there, but he was surprised to see Hunter -- who seemed to stand guard over his wife like a protector Raven was not quite convinced she needed. She had his bottle of water ready for him before he even sat at the bar. "Nice night," drawled Hunter with a lopsided smirk. "Indeed," Raven remarked in return. "Almost too good a night to be hidden away in some seedy club." Hunter just laughed as he took a sip from his drink. "Then what are we doing here, I wonder?" Raven followed Hunter's gaze to Ginger, who was trying very hard to inconspicuously listen in to their conversation. "I wonder," Raven responded. He could have sworn he saw a blush rush up her neck, and if he were being honest he had to admit he liked having that affect on someone seemingly so unaffected. He stared at her through hooded eyes, standing over her in his mind's eye until she turned to face him and look at him with those endless green eyes. They were forbidding but yet inviting; and he couldn't quite decide which one was more predominant. It changed the closer he got to her in his imagination. He circled her without touching her, and felt her aura rise up to meet him. He held his hand out just above her skin, over her clean neck, over her shoulder and then over the swell of her breast. He smiled as it puckered up to meet his touch. Just as he started to sear into her subconsciousness and see how far he could get with this unusual human, Constantine interrupted his train of thought by taking the seat next to him. Raven glared at him. "I thought you'd be too busy to show up here," he grated through clinched teeth. "Yeah, listen. About that..." Raven shot around to face him. "About what a selfish asshole you are? How you couldn't leave well enough alone? She was terrified -- she'd have never come back here again." "Come on, Raven," Constantine said. "You have to know that isn't true." "I saw her eyes. It was working." "So did I," was Constantine's deadpan reply. "And it wasn't enough." "So fucking her was your solution? How is that supposed to help?" "It helped plenty," a female voice purred from behind. Raven turned around to find Abigail -- more alive and more sexual than he'd ever seen her. Outwardly she wore a yellow halter miniskirt and, it was obvious, very little else. She was primed for sex and for the conquest, of which she had not experienced either to the fullness of what she needed as yet. Inside something had awoken the moment Constantine's fangs pierced her skin. Her skin was more rosy, her breasts and hips fuller and more welcoming and her musk intoxicating. Her eyes were bottomless and hungry. She was no longer a virgin in any sense, and it both excited and frightened Raven to see it. He turned away while he was still able to, and somehow he sensed she knew how vulnerable he was to her now. "Get out of here, Abigail," he told her as he went back to his bottle of water. She leaned in close and whispered hot against his neck. "You don't get to tell me what to do." Ginger watched as Raven's mouth set in a firm line and his jaw clenched. Abi barely acknowledged her sister as she sidled up to Constantine, right into the crook of his arm. Normally this would have given Constantine a much needed ego boost to rub Raven's nose in the fact he had won over the object of his affection. Now, it was a matter of practicality. Abi was quite simply safer with Constantine, and he was willing to risk Raven's wrath to keep her from the Creature's grip. He was convinced now more than ever that he had what it took to eliminate this monster and the threat it posed to their world. He hadn't known it at the time, but this was what his whole life as a vampire had been primed for. He was, by very definition, a hunter. Raven turned and glared at Constantine and Constantine only. "Get her out of here." Constantine simply shook his head. Abi was the ultimate bait; and he was convinced he could keep her safe from the ultimate showdown. "You can't order him around anymore than you can order me around!" Abi snapped. Raven shot up off of the barstool and flared up right in front of her. His eyes were red, and his skin began to thin immediately against his bones. "You stupid little human! You have no clue who you're dealing with!" He hadn't realized that Hunter also slid off of his barstool, and was poised to intervene, but Constantine did. "Who are you?" he demanded. Raven turned to see the hard look on Hunter's face as he stepped forward. "Her brother. Who are you?" Constantine lifted Abi's hair away from the two fresh wounds on her neck. He was rewarded by the thin line of disapproval on Hunter's face. He smiled as she replied, "Her master." Ginger had managed not to gasp when she saw the bite marks on her sister's neck. Maybe because she knew it was inevitable the minute she found out Abi had frequented a den of vampires. She had never had much self control, and the power of a vampire was pretty hard to resist if one wasn't used to saying no to their most primal desires. There had been a time not so long ago when Ginger herself had faced that very same dilemma. She absently rubbed her neck as she watched with great interest, and great trepidation, as she inched toward the edge of the bar. "I'm a little surprised by your choice of companion," Hunter drawled to Abi, who seemed suddenly very uncomfortable being confronted about her wounds in front of her sister. But she tipped her head in defiance. "What can I say? There was only one way to go from you. Up." Hunter merely chuckled. "Funny, I felt the very same way." That stole the smug look from her face as she darted a glance to where Ginger stood behind the bar. Constantine ran a possessive hand up her back. "As charming as this little family reunion has been, I think I'd rather spend a little time alone on the dance floor -- wouldn't you?" Abi glanced up into those hypnotic brown eyes and suddenly nothing else mattered... Except making everyone, especially Raven, pay for rejecting her. She nodded, took Constantine's hand and led him toward the practically empty dance floor. Raven watched with a snarl as Constantine and Abi got familiar during a slow song with a seductive beat. His hands slid over her body like the possession she now was. There was no part of her that didn't belong to him, and he made sure everyone in that club knew it. There were deep, open mouthed kisses that not only showed how deeply his tongue invaded her mouth -- but the very noticeable growth of his fangs as his desire grew. Worse, it was evident to all present that was what turned her on the most. Her hands reached up into his long, wavy hair as she pulled him closer, to explore the recesses of his mouth with her own tongue as well. Constantine's hand slipped down the curve of her back and over her ample backside, encouraging her leg to slide up his side so she could grind her bare pelvis against his growing erection. From the groan coming from his throat, anyone watching could easily believe that they would fuck right there in the middle of the room for all to see. But even more intimate was the way he nuzzled into the crook of her neck, hovering over the old wounds, licking the skin and preparing himself to penetrate her not just in one way, but in two. Ginger couldn't help but notice that despite himself Raven couldn't keep his eyes off of the two of them. The angrier he got, the more translucent his skin, the redder his eyes. He was transforming right in front of her, and despite all that she'd been through the last four years of her life, she was actually afraid. Hunter sensed it, but knew that she'd never relent to his comfort in front of all these vampires. So he did the only other thing he could do. He cut in. Constantine was in a heightened state of arousal when Hunter pulled Abi away from him; so much so that he couldn't properly respond for a moment. It was all the opportunity Hunter needed to spin Abi into his arms and away from Constantine before he collected his senses. Abi was disoriented and lost in her desire as well, so she could hardly fight against the hard body that now held her -- a familiar hard body that had been the object of her desire for more years than she could remember. She looked into those icy blue eyes and then at that insufferable grin, and before she knew it she leaning in for a kiss, damn the consequences. Hunter was stunned by the urgency of her passion as her mouth covered his and her tongue drove between his lips and ground herself against his body. She needed to be filled, needed to be kissed... needed to be fucked. Her hands grabbed his ass and pressed him hard against her, close enough to feel every curve of his body, every hard muscle as it responded to her hands, her mouth and her curves. He didn't kiss or touch her in return, but for a moment he didn't -- couldn't -- pull away. Raven glanced over at Ginger, whose mouth fell open as she looked on. Of all the things she expected to happen when she got to New Orleans, this was not one of them. Or, she thought with a sinking stomach, maybe it was. She felt a hand grasp her arm and pull her out onto the floor. It was Raven. She could hear his skin sizzle slightly against her own. His eyes, which had now returned to the velvet brown of before, were quizzical as he looked deeply into her own. Who was this woman? Why did this always happen when he touched her? But touch her he did as he spun her around the floor. The more he held her the more uncomfortable it felt, but oddly the more turned on he got. He couldn't imagine driving himself into her body, but yet his body responded to the sweet mix of pleasure and pain of having her in his arms. Ginger herself was thrown for a loop. This was the first time in a long time a vampire had taken her into his arms and held on despite how her body's chemistry reacted to their own. That was dangerous... very dangerous... Dangerous in that he was the ultimate predator who was created to suck the very life from her body. Dangerous in that the fullness of his mouth offered more than pleasure -- but the most exquisite pain. Dangerous in that she could almost taste him on her lips and in a flash see him in the throes of a passion she absolutely couldn't indulge. But more dangerous than that was there was a part of her that didn't want him to let go. It was familiar, this dance with death, and the most she'd ever felt alive... like lightning was shooting between them. She thought her heart would burst when his mouth descended on trembling lips, and sparks flashed between them as his tongue meshed with hers. They both groaned as they melted against each other. Their kiss was literally electric and sending their nerve endings into high alert as they reached out and clashed against each other. In a blue haze she stumbled away from him, noticing only then how everyone on the dance floor had stopped to stare at what was happening between them. Everyone's hair stood on end and sparks still flew from the surface of their skin. Abi's brow furrowed as she glanced between Raven and Ginger, and Hunter's cautionary, "Ginger," was lost in the sudden hum of vampires swaying and hissing in a circle around them. Constantine was the first to say the word all vampires ultimately feared. "Hunters!" He advanced toward Abi to pull her back to him but Hunter stood in between, ready for battle. "I don't think so," he snarled. "Hunter?" came Abi's confused voice from behind him. "In more ways than one," Constantine accused. Raven stared at Ginger incredulously. "Is this true?" he asked, but she didn't say anything. "Is this true?" he demanded suddenly as he grabbed her arm in his hand. It burned him immediately, and just as immediately he let her go. He'd met a few hunters before, but never had they had this reaction to the mere contact of his skin. Ginger backed up toward Hunter and Abi. "We're not here to hurt you," she started but neither vampire was convinced. "Likely story," Constantine sneered. "But while we're on the subject, why are you here?" Ginger hesitated for a long moment before Hunter finally answered, "We're here to kill the Creature." Raven Walks Ch. 16 Chapter Sixteen: Bella They all sat at the booth -- humans on one side, vampires on the other - in the very back of the club, away from the curious, if not cautious, stares of the other patrons. Fortunately for Ginger and Hunter, their great reveal had occurred when the club was scarcely full. Which was par for the course now that there was a homicidal Creature on the loose. Even for vampires, sometimes there was more than just hunters to fear. Ginger and Hunter drank from their bottles of water, but everyone else chose something a bit stronger. "So you've followed it here from Europe," Raven repeated, trying to digest it all. Ginger nodded. "We've trailed it from Greece to Italy and even as far north as Ireland." "What brought it here?" Constantine asked. "We don't know," Hunter told him. "That's what we've been trying to figure out." "At first all the targets seemed completely random," Ginger added. "There was no rhyme or reason, we just chalked it up to simple blood lust and carnage." "And now?" Abi asked. "Now it all seems to lead to one person," Hunter told her. "Me." Everyone looked at Raven. No one could really argue. "So I guess we need to find out exactly what your ties are to Europe," Ginger told him. "That's easy. That's where I'm from." "That's what we figured," Hunter told him. "So this Creature is after you, specifically?" Abi asked. "Why?" "The thing is we're not entirely convinced it is after Raven. We think it's after everyone that Raven has touched. Which makes it highly suspect that you've not yet been attacked," Ginger said to Constantine. Constantine leaned in. He regarded this redheaded huntress as a threat, it was obvious in his eyes. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Ginger was undaunted. She knew enough about vampires to know that he wasn't menacing. And even if he was, she knew how to deal with him. "You tell me." His eyes hardened as he tried to stare her down, but it wasn't working. "It could mean that the Creature is tracking both of us," Raven offered. Constantine looked at him. "Greece is where I turned you." "But it doesn't seem to care about who I'm with or why," Constantine said. "It's only out to punish you by taking the people you care about. And since you don't care about me, I'm not a target." "At least you weren't," Raven corrected as he sent a glance over to Abi, who shrunk back against the seat. She instantly wanted to apologize, but she didn't even really know why. "So if you guys are tracking this Creature, does it know about you?" Hunter shrugged. "This thing is a ruthless killing machine, it doesn't really pay much mind to humans or vampires, hunters or not. It's like it's got this one track mind. If you're not part of the agenda it barely acknowledges your existence at all. We're just speed bumps." "Speed bumps it can't touch," Raven pointed out. His mouth still tingled from the electrifying kiss he and Ginger had shared on the dance floor. Hunter just smiled. "Consider it our little insurance policy." He toasted them with his bottled water. Raven's eyes opened wide. He grabbed Ginger's bottle before she could stop him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she warned him but Raven opened it anyway. He poured a very small drop onto the back of his hand, and it sizzled almost right down to the bone. Ginger retrieved the bottle while Raven writhed in agony. "I told you." Raven's face distorted with pain and with disbelief. "You drink holy water?" Hunter chuckled. "Call it Vampire-be-Gone. The human body is made up of like 70% water. We just replenish with holy water and it means we're virtually untouchable." "And it's worked until tonight," Ginger commented. "That was the first time any vampire has tried to hold on despite the burning chemical reaction." "What can I say?" Raven quipped. "I'm not your usual vampire." "Neither is this Creature," Hunter said. "Which is why what happened tonight was so dangerous. It outed us as hunters, yes, but the only ones who care about that are vampires like yourself. This Creature only cares that Raven singled Ginger out for a conquest." "I'm not scared," Ginger spoke up immediately, even though both vampires and even her hunter partner could see that she was lying -- if only to herself. "Always your downfall," Hunter said under his breath. "You're not fighting him alone," Raven told them. "If this thing is tracking the people I care about," he briefly hesitated while he glanced at Abi, who sat silently trying to take it all in, "then I have to confront it myself." "You don't have the knowledge it takes to fight him," Constantine told him, and immediately caused Raven's fur to rise. Constantine held up his hand. "You're not a killer, Raven. Admit it. I have a lot more experience with the hunt and the conquest. I came back here because you need me." Raven said nothing but clenched his jaw in barely subdued anger because he knew that Constantine had a point. "Okay, so we're all in this together," said Hunter. "Where do we go from here?" "My house," Raven said with a resolute tone that invited no argument. "We hold up together, safety in numbers." Hunter nodded, and Ginger sent him a surprised glare. "He's right. This thing uses the whole divide and conquer approach. Until now it's not had to deal with a group of people organized to defeat it." "You're talking about a war," Abi finally spoke up. Hunter's blue eyes bored into hers. "That's because it is." "And the enemy of my enemy is my friend?" she asked him. "We're not enemies," Ginger told her sister, forcing her to look away from Hunter. "We all have the same objective. To kill this Creature, and to survive. Since that's going to be a lot easier with us intact as a group, it serves all of our purposes to keep each other safe." Ginger glanced over at the vampires across the table. "Right?" They nodded, Raven quicker than Constantine, and then all proceeded to Raven's old plantation named Bella, in grand old Southern tradition. It was immaculate and Raven had been dedicated to its upkeep, making sure it was restored to the original condition he had enjoyed when he first came to New Orleans a century ago. Everything was a step back in time, right down to Raven's manservant Bernard, who seemed surprisingly unaffected by the horde of people to show up at the door of his ultra private master. At a very spry, and permanent, 60, Bernard looked as though nothing really surprised him anymore. He worked for a vampire -- what else could possibly happen to him? "Good evening, Bernard," Raven greeted warmly. "These are my guests. They are staying with me for an indeterminate period of time. I trust you will make sure they are made to feel at home." "Of course, sir," Bernard said with almost a slight bow. He was old school and treated his job and his master with ultimate decorum. "Any preferences in the sleeping arrangements?" Hunter stepped forward and put his arm around Ginger. "My wife and I would like to stay together." Constantine was quick to stake his claim too and take Abi's arm in his. "And we would like a room together as well." Though neither came as a surprise to Raven, he wasn't all that pleased by either. Yet he understood the logic behind it. The women had to stay with those who could protect them, and Abi would be at far greater risk to share his bed than Constantine's. "Very well," Bernard said as he gathered the bags they had stopped to collect along the way to the plantation. "This way," he said to Ginger and Hunter. With just a small backward glance over her shoulder at her sister, Ginger followed, seemingly reluctant to leave Abi alone with the two vampires. "You do realize having them here is like juggling dynamite." Constantine said to Raven once they had gone out of sight. "Are you sure you trust them?" "I trust them about as much as I trust you," he said, sparing Abi only the briefest glance. "Besides," Raven headed toward his ornate cherry wood bar in the corner of his main sitting room. "Can we afford not to?" He pulled out a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "It does make your choice a little more difficult now, doesn't it?" he asked Abi. "What do you mean?" she asked with a tip of her chin. "He means your choice to become a vampire," Constantine filled in as he flopped on the antique sofa. "Who says I have made that choice?" she immediately wanted to know. Raven walked back around the bar to where she stood. Without saying a word he lifted her hair and exposed her wounded neck. "A little something you should know about vampires. We can read thoughts. I know what you felt when these wounds were made because I was there, thanks to my connection with Constantine." The thought both thrilled and frightened her. "Kind of makes your Halloween episode to try and scare me away rather useless, don't you think?" He chuckled. "Indeed." He went over to join Constantine in a chair near the sofa. "But if you're going to become one of us you should know that is what you eventually become. The only difference between us and that Creature is some muscle and skin." "I don't believe that," she said as she stalked over to where they sat. "There's a lot of humanity left in both of you, whether you choose to see it or not." They both scoffed but she put her hands on her hips. "If that weren't true, whether I became a vampire or not wouldn't even be my choice." Both Constantine and Raven leveled their dark eyes on her and said in unison, "What makes you think it is?" They both rose and approached her where she stood, one on either side, close enough she could feel both of their hot breath on her skin. Again she tipped her chin. "I'm not scared," she tried to assert, but it came out as a breathless whisper. "You should be," Raven told her in a firm, low voice. As he ran his hands up either of her arms, Constantine lifted up her hair and kissed every inch of her sensitive neck except for the two throbbing wounds. She stared into Raven's eyes, unable to look away, even when she wanted to tip her head back and lose herself to the sensations. "This isn't a game," he told her, his finger trailing up her arm and over across her chest, up her neck and across her jaw. "We play for keeps." "So do I," she whispered as her arms slipped up around his neck and she kissed him hard on the mouth. They all crashed into a guest room decorated in blue satin and black lace, a tangle of arms, lips, hair and skin. There was no more discussion on what was right or wrong, good or bad -- there was just blatant, raw, animal need. Constantine ripped off his shirt before he lifted Abi up by the waist and thrust her up onto the four poster bed. He was quick to follow, crashing down on her with fevered kisses and hands that didn't miss an inch of her already exposed skin, as her tiny halter dress left little to the imagination. Raven was slower to follow, stripping casually as he watched their passionate embrace. He felt every touch, every kiss. Adding to that the voyeur experience of looking on made it more deliciously erotic. Abi pushed Constantine onto his back and straddled him, running her fingers along his bare chest and up into his long, silky hair. From behind she felt Raven as he knelt on the bed beside them, his hand in her hair, cupping her head as he guided her mouth down across Constantine's shimmering skin. Her tongue burned tiny circles across his chest, over each nipple, across his ribcage and down over his trembling stomach. Her fingers deftly unbuttoned Constantine's pants and his huge member strained up to meet her full lips. Her tongue slithered up the hardening shaft and danced across the satiny head. He gasped from the contact of her breath against him, and Raven's hand grasped her hair. "Take it," Raven commanded. She needed no further urging. Her mouth covered Constantine's hard cock and slid down to take as much as she possibly could into her throat. Raven, who had unbuttoned his own pants before he knelt on the bed, grasped his own hard cock and jerked off slowly, savoring the sensation of her mouth on his skin through Constantine. Her bright red hair fell over his thighs and through Raven's clinched fingers. She licked, she tasted, she savored and celebrated his cock with slow strokes, alternately sucking and slithering her tongue all around his stiff dick. Constantine's hand disappeared between her creamy white thighs, slipping easily around her pussy, dripping wet with her own desire for the two men whose bed she shared. They were like a drug, and she was hopelessly addicted - even though she knew that each and every encounter threatened her very life. She was willing to give it all, just for one taste. He gently teased her hard clitoris with his fingertip, slow at first, but increasing in pace with the rhythm of her mouth on his cock. Raven responded in kind, stroking himself faster as he watched her grind against Constantine's fingers. The more of him she got in her mouth, the more urgent Constantine's fingers on her cunt. When she reached the base, taking the whole thing deep into her mouth, he inserted two fingers deep inside her and caused her to groan against his skin. Raven urged her to go faster, to virtually fuck Constantine with her mouth while he in return fucked her with his fingers. Raven's head tipped back, spilling his long black hair across his lean, muscled, bare back, as he furiously jacked off to the once removed sensations that still felt as intense as if he was being blown by or finger fucking Abi himself. Just as everyone was racing toward their first mind blowing orgasm, Constantine withdrew his fingers and slid himself from her mouth. He lifted her up on her knees to face Raven. Now with Constantine's hand in her hair, she began her intimate journey across Raven's body at his neck. Constantine positioned himself behind her, and slid his free hand down in between her legs to resume his torturous teasing while she kissed her way down Raven's rock hard body. She barely hesitated as she dove down onto his cock, sucking Raven inside of her mouth while Constantine mimicked her actions with his fingers in her pussy. Constantine watched as Raven stroked himself in and out of her mouth, and he could not hold back anymore. He used both hands to push the fabric of her dress over her hips, and used both knees to spread her legs wide so that he could mount her from behind. The minute he shoved himself deep inside of her quivering cunt, Abi grunted against Raven's thick cock shoved deep inside of her throat. Raven cupped her face in his hand as he fucked her mouth in the same rhythm that Constantine fucked her pussy. She lost control and bucked against Constantine with the force of her orgasm. Effortlessly Constantine lifted her up into his arms. She was still cumming the minute Constantine thrust her right down on Raven's hard cock, which caused her to cry out. Though he had felt the sensations through Constantine, to feel her tight, hot pussy all around him was mind boggling. He had dreamed of this moment from the very first moment he saw her, and now he was here, fucking her with a raw intensity that normally scared his partners -- but one that Abi encouraged. His fingers dug into the soft skin of her ass as he drove inside of her with an urgency he hadn't felt in a very long time. He couldn't get close enough or deep enough, and all he wanted to do was to keep her cumming until she was ready to pass out from pleasure. Still slick from her well lubricated pussy, Constantine positioned himself right against her tight asshole. She shook her head, but only slightly, as she was reeling from the pleasure of Raven's fucking her faster and harder. Constantine gently pushed the head of his cock into her ass, which prompted her to cry out again. She had a full body shudder that encouraged him in even further. While Raven was pumping into her, Constantine took his time, sliding in, opening her up to him, until he was balls deep inside of her. She was completely filled with vampire cock. She thought she'd black out from the pleasure they were giving her, but even as good as it felt it still wasn't enough. There was still something she needed more than she needed to breathe. She bared her neck. Raven's eyes burned red as his fangs grew, and though he wanted to resist he found himself unable to once he stared down at the clean side of her neck. He felt her pussy clutch at him, begging him, urging him for more. He bent forward and put his mouth on her neck, scraping his fangs against the virgin skin. Constantine lifted her hair from the side of her neck he'd already marked. He mirrored Raven's actions by licking the skin and teasing her with the sharp tips of his own fangs. From the cocks plunged in both her pussy and ass, to the dangerous mouths that circled her veins, she couldn't take it any longer. If the choice was hers, she was going to make it. "Please!" she begged breathlessly. Simultaneously four fangs penetrated her skin. Abi came harder and longer than she had ever come in her life, and the more blood they sucked the more exquisite the pleasure. Both vampires lost themselves in their own passion, and with raw animal power they drove themselves to the brink and beyond ... each cumming inside of her while they felt her blood pour down their throats. Only when she started to slump against them did they regain their senses. Surprisingly, Constantine was the first to break his hold on her and stumble away. Raven was quick to follow, easing the pale, unconscious woman onto the bed and checking her pulse to see how far they'd gone. It was weak, but a pulse was there. Raven collapsed on the bed next to Constantine as they both tried to catch their breath. "She's alive." Constantine sighed. "For now." Raven said nothing, but his thoughts mirrored Constantine's. No matter how hard they tried, Abi would die in the arms of a vampire. The only question was if she'd awake a vampire or be torn apart by a Creature determined to steal all of those who walk where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 17 Chapter Seventeen: Stephen Raven stood on his terrace, watching how the moonlight glinted off of the pond behind his property. He sipped whiskey on the rocks, something to strong to ease his troubled mind. Inside his home were those he had to protect, and he didn't even know why. For someone who had made it a point not to get close to anyone, he'd let entirely too many people near. He sighed before he brought the crystal glass up to his lips and let the rest of the amber liquid burn down his throat. It was because of that nearness they were all at risk. There was Abi, a human who teetered between both worlds and Raven now knew neither he nor Constantine had the willpower any longer to resist taking her that final inch over to immortality. A couple of hunters who, a scant hundred years ago, he would have eliminated the moment he realized they posed any threat. And a vampire whom he had regretted turning from almost the moment he had done it, a continual thorn in his side for longer than he cared to remember. They were all his to protect now. How did that happen? "Are you all right?" a female voice asked from behind, and Raven turned to see Ginger standing there, in loose fitting pajama bottoms and an old concert T-shirt that clung to her body like a second skin. "Peachy," he quipped. "For a dead guy." He brushed past her and headed back to the bar to pour himself another drink. "Can I get you something?" She joined him and pulled another crystal glass from the shelf. "Make it a double." He smirked as he filled her glass. "No Vampire-be-Gone? Are you sure you can trust me?" "Yes." It was stated simply, and Raven glanced up into her endless green eyes. "That's what your sister thought. Now she's upstairs sleeping off four bites on her neck." He went over to sit on his sofa. Ginger took a sip before she followed. "I'm not my sister." His eyes bored into hers. "I'm well aware." His body still tingled at the thought of their kiss; a kiss that was doomed to destroy him had they not broken apart. Death by a kiss, he thought. What a fitting way to go. If they had sex, he might just explode in more ways than one. "So what are you doing up, Ginger?" he asked. "I thought you'd be in bed with your husband." She tucked her foot under her knee as she perched on a nearby chair. "Hunter is not my husband," she admitted. Raven raised his eyebrow in an unspoken question. "He said that hoping it'd keep Abi away from the club and away from the Creature. We have a lot of history," she confided. "I know," he told her bluntly. "Jealous sister, ditched boyfriend. Classic somebody done somebody wrong song." She nodded and took another drink. "So who is Hunter to you now?" "My partner," she answered almost absently. "When he showed up in Europe, I was ... well I wasn't in the best situation. He got me out of it. He's stayed by my side ever since." "So you owe him?" "No," she rejected immediately. "I love Hunter." "But...?" She sighed. "I don't know. But nothing, I guess. I just don't think in terms of forever anymore." He just laughed. "You mortals. As if you could think in terms of forever anyway." She nodded. That was exactly the point. As vampire hunters they walked the line with life or death constantly, and it wasn't fair to ask someone to risk their hearts in addition to their lives. She glanced at Raven to find him staring at her thoughtfully. "Looks like none of us own forever anymore... vampire or human." He said nothing as he took another drink, but he never took his eyes from her face. Finally, "So how many vampires have you killed, Ginger?" She looked away. "It's not important." "That's a matter of perspective. To a vampire, it's very important." She looked him in the eye. "I've hunted more than I've killed. Let's just leave it at that." Raven sat up and placed his glass on the table. "I'm afraid I can't." He came over to stand in front of her. "If you won't tell me where your limits are, I'll be forced to test them." He bent down to eye level. "Is that what you want?" She didn't bat an eye. "I want you to trust me. I'm no threat to you." He smirked. "No?" He leaned in, and though she knew she should have moved away she couldn't. His lips touched hers, tentatively at first and then more urgently. His skin burned and electricity hummed between them as his tongue probed between her lips and brushed against her tongue. She heard his skin sizzle but he refused to pull away from her, and instead kissed her harder almost to punish her for the pain. When he pulled away, bits of his skin had burned away. "You see how dangerous you are to me?" he whispered, and she thought she might very well drown in his eyes. "Then save yourself," she managed to eke out. "Stay away from me." He chuckled as his eyes scanned her face, the curve of her jaw, the fullness of her lips, the brightness of her eyes rimmed with dark lashes. "If only I could," he whispered back. He leaned in again but this time she sprung from the chair sprinted from the room before he could kiss her again. She didn't stop running until she reached the suite she now called home. Full of purple velvet, black satin and lace, it felt like movie set more than a bedroom. And with Hunter sprawled naked across the bed, an adult movie at that. She embraced herself as she stared down at him. She wasn't lying to Raven when she said she loved Hunter. She had, in some way or another, since she was fifteen years old. And had it not been for Hunter, she'd be dead by now. Only not dead in a grave, dead... dead like Raven, dead. A tear rolled down her face as her thoughts returned to a time she had fought like hell to forget. But that was impossible to do. Her sister would soon learn that very painful lesson herself. Once you fall in love with a vampire, you never get over it. She sighed as she slipped into bed with Hunter, and he stirred and turned away. That suited her just fine. If Hunter knew how her thoughts betrayed her she'd never be able to forgive herself. He had saved her from an eternity of the undead – he could never, ever know how much she still thought about what might have been. She closed her eyes and she could see the glistening water that surrounded the Azores Islands of Portugal. She'd gone there right after the debacle with Abi and Hunter, seemingly a great place to escape from her troubles. A place to forget, and to be forgotten. So when the striking, older man with long black hair down to his waist passed her on the beach one moonless night, she had no idea her life was about to be irrevocably changed. His eyes were green like hers, and deep as the deepest sea. When he looked at her she felt like he could see every place she'd ever been or every thing she'd ever seen. Never had she felt the way she felt just by looking into his eyes. It was like coming home. He'd spoken to her in Portuguese at first, and when she shook her head with an embarrassed smile he finally said, "I said your hair is lovely," in perfect English with nary an accent. "Thank you," she said, a blush creeping up her neck. He turned away then, and she felt like an awkward teenager. She turned away but he touched her arm, and she felt every nerve ending come alive at his fingertips. "May I buy you a drink?" he asked with a warm smile. She mumbled something that passed for an acceptance and then followed him along the cool sand toward an outdoor cafe. The maitre d had an instant smile for the unusual man and seated them immediately ahead of the line formed at the bar. She sat across from him at the candlelit table and he gave her a big smile. "Thank you for joining me. I always hate to drink alone." He snapped his finger and a waiter immediately brought him a bottle of red wine. "Thank you," she offered shyly, still feeling completely out of his league. This was a man with worldly sophistication and of obvious wealth. What on earth did he want with her? "My name is Stephen," he offered. "Ginger," she supplied and he had to chuckle. "Of course. Like your hair." She nodded, blushed and looked away. What was this power his eyes had over her? She felt naked before him, and it wasn't exactly unpleasant, though it should have been. "America," he deduced. "The south, specifically." "You're good," she told him. "I spent some time in the States. I always had a weakness for the Southern accent. Even one as subtle as yours." She took a sip of the blood red wine, suddenly needing the liquid courage. He took charge of the conversation, and they talked until the restaurant closed. Reluctant to leave each other's company, they walked the length of the beach and back. He spoke about his mother, and how she inspired his love of music before her untimely death. And she found herself admitting to him what had happened with Hunter and Abi. They sat next to each other in the sand, and he took her hand in his. "He's a fool," he told her softly. A lone tear raced down her cheek as her sad eyes met his. "I'm the fool." He brushed her hair from her face, and the loving gesture was all it took to burst through the dam she'd built to keep all those emotions in check. She openly sobbed and he rocked her as she wept, his lips against her hair, murmuring soothing words and stroking her back. When she glanced up, she lost herself in those bright green eyes that didn't judge her, that looked at her like she was the only person on Earth. Her chin tipped up and he responded by leaning the rest of the way for her kiss. His full, soft lips opened over hers, and her hand slipped up into the silky length of his hair. He groaned against her mouth which prompted her to deepen the kiss. She opened her mouth to him and his tongue blended with hers as she pulled him down with her into the sand. She needed to feel loved, to feel chosen, and this enigmatic man was fulfilling both of those things. His fingers traced her face as he alternated between soft sweet kisses and deep, passionate ones. His hair spilled over his shoulder and tickled her cheek and neck, and her hands explored the muscles of his back while they simply savored each other's kisses. He never tried to take advantage of her emotional state, even though she could feel his desire as he pressed against her body. When he pulled away, she almost whimpered in disappointment. "I must go," he whispered. "The sun will be up soon." "I could go with you," she offered bravely, but he shook his head. "Not tonight," he said and the look on his face left no room for argument. He stood up, then offered her a hand to pull her to her feet. He spied her slight pout and gave her a brilliant smile. "Don't be sad, little one," he whispered with one last, brief but sweet, kiss on her mouth. "Meet me tomorrow. As soon as the sun sets." And so they met like that every night. They talked about everything and nothing, and ended every night wrapped in each other's arms on that sandy beach. They kissed, they talked, and sometimes they just held each other and said nothing at all. In his arms she felt needed and valued – and it was exactly what she needed. Finally, six weeks into their love affair, she told him she wanted to be with him in every way. A tear hovered in his eye when told her simply, "No", and left her way before the sun was due to rise. For at least two weeks she waited for him each and every night, and each and every night he didn't show up. She walked the beach until she'd collapse onto the sand in complete exhaustion. Finally, two weeks and two days from the moment he had rejected her, he appeared on the beach like a mirage. She wanted to run to him but stopped herself. She couldn't stand the humiliation if he were to reject her again. Lightning lit up the sky from an approaching storm, but nothing matched the storm inside when she looked into those eyes once more. He said nothing as he turned and walked away, and despite her initial reluctance she decided to follow him anyway. She followed him all the way up the hill to an old villa overlooking the ocean, turbulent now from the incoming storm. She shut the door behind her and entered the darkened room, stopping only when she saw his darkened silhouette facing the big window that faced the sea. "You shouldn't be here," he told her quietly without turning around. "Then why did you bring me?" she challenged. "There's a storm," he said in a flat tone. "And I knew you would not leave that beach until morning." She came up behind him and realized that the window overlooked the very beach where she had fallen in love with this strange, unavailable man. "You've been watching me?" "How could I not?" he answered, emotion choked in his voice. She touched his arm and he turned to face her, his eyes bright with tears. It was all she needed to pull him into her arms for a sweet, overdue kiss. Gone were the tentative, exploratory kisses. Both of them were driven by a need so primal that their hands and lips and tongues were savage in their possession. Without breaking their embrace he led her over to the sofa, where they sunk together. His hands tore away her shirt while her hands slid up his bare back under his clothes. Thunder underscored their hearts beating hard against their chests, and lightning lit up the darkened room to illuminate their flesh as eager hands tore away restrictive clothing. His mouth planted hot, open mouthed kisses across her chest until he could push away her bra and capture her hard nipple into his mouth. She gasped out loud and grasped his hair in her hand while she wrapped one leg around his waist. "Stephen," she murmured as she ground against him, blinded with her need to be possessed by him. "Love me," she begged. He reached up to kiss her. "I do," he said against her lips. That was all she needed. She tore open his shirt and fumbled with his pants. Impatient, he helped her unfasten the button and push the fabric down over his hips. She gasped when she saw his erect member for the first time. She needed him more than she had ever needed anyone, so she pulled him back on top of her. The rain pounded against the window as thunder rattled the walls, but all that mattered was that he was naked in her arms, about to make love to her the way she had hoped he would for weeks. She kicked her own pants free and shrugged from her shirt until she was naked under him. He positioned himself between her legs and she felt the head of his cock enter her slowly. Her legs scissored behind him to press him in, but he savored every inch. His eyes locked her in his gaze as he opened her up to him, so slowly and so tantalizingly. Her eyes widened as he reached deep inside of her, almost where no one had been before. His mouth clamped down on her breast again as he began to stroke inside of her, slowly at first, taking his time, driving her crazy. She ground against him, her fingers tangled in his hair. He put a hand under each of her knees and pressed her further into the sofa with each deliberate thrust. He knew just where to touch her, just where to kiss, just how to position himself so that he hit that magical spot inside of her more and more until she was screaming under him. Once her massive orgasm had passed, she glanced up at him. His long, dark hair spilled over his shoulders and down his chest. His eyes were luminous, almost as though they glowed. But it was the look on his face that made her heart skip a beat. It was one of raw hunger, as though he could have consumed her on the spot. His motions sped up, and his need was driving her back over the edge. "Stephen," she murmured again. "Tell me." She wasn't sure what she wanted to hear when she asked, but when he leaned down and told her, "I want to taste you," she knew that was exactly the answer she needed to hear. It was only when he lifted up and lightning glinted off of his protruding fangs that she understood what he meant. She gasped, this time in fear, and attempted to scoot out from under him. "What the hell?" He shuddered as he was pulled from her body, right on the edge of everything he desired. But he let her move away, let her scramble to the other end of the sofa where she curled up into a ball and stared at him in wide eyed terror. "Now you know why I had to leave you," he said, his fangs still as prominent as his erection. "I don't understand." "Yes, you do," he said sadly. She embraced herself by pulling herself into a tighter ball. Her body still trembled from the force of her first orgasm, and her entire body felt branded by his touch... a touch she had wanted. "What do you want from me?" she asked, fear laced in her tone. A tear trailed down his face. "Your love," he answered simply. And as he said that, she didn't see his fangs. All she saw were his eyes, those luminous, bright green eyes that embraced her soul. Slowly she reached out and captured the tear from his cheek, and it was his turn to sob. She pulled him into her arms and rocked him as he wept, her lips against his hair and her hand rubbed his back. No words were spoken, they just held each other as the storm raged outside. Nothing matched the storm in her heart, as she wrestled with the idea this man she'd fallen hopelessly in love with wasn't a man at all – but a monster who wanted to kill her. Yet there was no malice in the hands that touched her body, or the mouth that had kissed her so lovingly from the first night they met. He had loved her enough to leave her, rather than possess her when she had originally asked. She was so confused. Then he looked into her eyes. There was nothing there but love, a love so big it chased away all of her fear. And this time when she bent to kiss him she knew exactly what it meant to incite his passion. But she wasn't afraid. She was in love. And she wanted to give herself to him without reservation... whatever that meant. So she pressed him back onto the sofa, straddling his lap and cradling his face in both of her hands. She kissed him softly and thoroughly as she gyrated slowly against his limp penis. It, along with his ardor, began to rise as she pressed her breasts against his chest and trailed her mouth along the line of his neck. He grabbed her hips with his hands and guided her against his growing erection until he was hard enough to slip back inside of her. His head tipped back against the sofa as he thrust himself against her, rubbing against her swollen clit and driving her crazy with his teasing. When her teeth nipped at his neck, it was more than he could stand. He drove himself up inside of her, making her cry out with how deep and how hard he was. She rocked against him, reveling in the power of controlling the tempo of their erotic dance. His fingertips bit into the soft skin of her ass as he thrust up inside of her. Her eyes locked into his. "I love you," she whispered, fucking him harder as she watched his fangs grow. "All of you," she naively promised. He groaned as he reached up to her neck, and she felt the sharp tips of his fangs scrape gently against her skin. She stiffened as she braced herself, and just as he opened his mouth to bite her he pulled away. Though his fangs grew and his eyes glowed, he did not indulge his desire for her blood as he fucked her. She rode him harder, wanting to feel him fill her, needing something she couldn't even articulate, and when he shoved himself up inside her that final time to spend his load inside of her, as nice as it felt it wasn't enough. It wasn't what she truly wanted, even though she didn't know that yet. All these years later as she laid in Raven's guest bedroom, her hand touched her clean neck and she knew exactly what she had wanted.... Raven Walks Ch. 17 And, God help her, she still did. Four rooms down, Raven laid naked on his own bed, having just jerked off to Ginger's memory she never even knew he invaded. His heart thundered as he realized that Abi wasn't the only one who wanted to walk where Raven walked. Raven Walks Ch. 18 Chapter Eighteen: Hunter When Abi awoke the next morning, she found herself laying next to a very still Constantine, who was still naked but sleeping as though dead. Although, she supposed with a shudder, he really was. His eyes sunk into his face and no pulse beat at his neck. Thanks to the blackout curtains keeping all sunlight from the room, shadows shrouded him and kept him safe until the moon would rise again and night would find him reborn. Slowly she reached out a and and touched his arm, the muscles stiff with death. He was cold and tinged blue, and did not stir from the touch of her warm hand against his skin. Where ever he was, he wasn't earthbound. She was touching a corpse. A corpse she hadn't minded fucking just the night before. With a gasp she yanked her hand back and scooted off of the bed. The sides of her neck throbbed, raw with the wounds she had begged for during a night of unchecked salaciousness. She slipped into a silk robe hanging on the back of a chair and then crept out of the room. Bella was large and sprawling, and it took several detours for Abi to finally find a bathroom. Unlike the rest of the house it was bright with sunlight, and when she faced herself in the mirror she immediately felt sick with remorse. Her makeup was smeared, her hair mussed, and blood dried on her neck. She fought back the tears as she squared her shoulders, slipped the robe to the ground and headed toward the tub that sat atop claw feet. Steam rose from the hot water as it filled the tub, and she immersed herself fully into the near scalding water to baptize her sinful desires away. It was sheer luck that she was alive this morning instead of laying dead beside Constantine. Luck, and their inexplicable display of self control. She had felt herself spiral down into unconsciousness under their mouths and their fangs, sinking into a cloud to be carried away where ever sinful souls fled. It was like slipping underwater, and instead of fighting to survive she was surrendering willingly to death. It was insanity. She thought of Raven and those dark, bottomless eyes that seemed to consume her. Whenever he touched her, whenever he held her, she just wanted it to go on forever. And, in a strange way, she felt the same for Constantine. They were two but one, and she found herself lost to both. She closed her eyes to squeeze away any tears. She wasn't going to cry for another man -- vampire or not. She had made that mistake once before and was determined not to go there again. Once a heart was broken, it never truly healed. She knew that more than anyone. She submerged herself under the water to try and drown away the memories. And just like the night before she felt herself slowly slip away, floating away on a cloud of apathy. When she thought she heard a male's voice she sprung back up again, certain to see Raven or Constantine risking themselves in the sun to save her. Only it was Hunter's face she saw, hardened with an unreadable expression, seemingly angry or disappointed or both. She covered herself promptly, which made him snicker. "What's the matter, Red? You forget you don't have anything I haven't seen before." "What are you doing in here? Where's Ginger?" "Asleep," was his curt reply. "Where's your lover boy?" he asked and then with a sneer, "his coffin?" She jumped up out of the water and grabbed a towel, hastily wrapping it around her naked body while he, much to her embarrassment, looked on. It was as though he could see the brands her vampire lovers had left on her body. Immediately she felt ashamed. "What does it matter to you?" she bit out, unable to look him in the face. The next thing she knew his hands were on her shoulders. He spun her around to face him. "Why doesn't it matter to you?" he demanded softly. She stared into those cold, steel blue eyes. She felt the years between them melt away -- and remembered the very last time she was naked in his arms and lost in those eyes. It surprised her how a love long buried could spring up with just the hint of a memory. She wrenched away from him and in doing so the towel unwound around her and slid to the floor. She fought the impulse to scramble down to fetch it, and instead tipped her chin in defiance as she stared at him -- tears just behind eyes that wouldn't let them fall. His jaw clenched as he stared back at her, trying his best not to let his eyes travel downward to her ample breasts, the swell of her stomach, those hips that begged to be touched. She had long been his kryptonite, and he was severely disappointed in himself to find her seductive power over him had not changed. From the moment he had first given in to her first, tentative kiss she had been like a drug to him. He couldn't get enough. He tried to fool himself into thinking it was because she was a replacement for what he felt for Ginger, but the truth was the scent of her in his nostrils brought out something very primal in him. And now, as she stood in front of him, glistening wet and naked, he clinched every muscle to force himself not to touch her. Abi had to smile. The physical evidence of what she was doing to him showed in his tense muscles and the stiffening in his loose fitting jeans. "What's the matter, Hunter? I don't have anything you haven't seen before." He gritted his teeth. "Weren't your vampires enough for you?" he asked, referring to the fresh wounds on either side of her neck. She moved toward him. "There's only been one who has been man enough for me," she told him as she touched his arm. He brushed her away. "Aren't we past this, Abigail?" She brushed her hand against the bulge in his jeans. "You tell me." He growled in his throat as he tried to curb his growing desire. "It's not going to work on me," he told her resolutely. "I'm not ruled by my desire like your vampire lovers are." She finally bent to retrieve the towel. "Then why are you here, Hunter?" "You know why," he said quietly. She nodded. "Ah yes. Ginger." He came up to her, a breath away. His eyes softened as he stared into her face, and then gently he touched the wound on her neck. "Not just Ginger," he admitted close enough to kiss her if she wanted. And God help her, she did. Her lip quivered. "Go to your wife," she whispered. "I'm a lost cause, Hunter. I always have been." His other hand slipped up to touch the other side of her face. "Not to me," he told her softly, and then finally bent forward to touch his lips to hers. Her tears finally squeezed through her closed eyes and landed on his hands. His arms wrapped around her and held her tight to him as he covered her mouth with his own. Slow opened mouth kisses savored her lips as he lifted her up against him. He felt the heat rise from her body as the towel slipped and fell to her waist. Her arms locked around his neck as she took charge of the kiss and thrust her tongue in between his lips. He groaned against her as one hand grasped a handful of her hair, and the other hand went to cup her ass and press her up against him. He broke the kiss long enough to mutter against her lips, "Woman, what are you doing to me?" "I don't know," she admitted. "Should I stop?" "Yes," he said, but didn't make a move to let her go. She felt his body grow hard against her and it recalled every passionate night they ever spent wrapped in each other's arms. How he'd make her scream, how she'd make him weak. And here they were again, as if they'd never been apart. Yet everything had changed. She was in love with a vampire and one orgasm away from giving herself up to the realm of the undead forever, and he was married to her sister. Plus they were all pooling their efforts to fight a blood thirsty creature to save everyone from certain, violent death. This could be the very last opportunity they had to steal a moment from the past. Neither of them seemed eager to allow it to pass by. Instead she bent forward the half an inch to kiss him again, and with a groan he tore away the towel from her body and lifted her up to straddle his body. He slammed her up against the tile wall of the bathroom and fumbled with the zipper to his jeans. She rained kisses along his neck and face and mouth as he roughly pushed the material of his underwear away and released his aching erection. Without any ceremony he shoved himself up inside of her, and she rewarded him with a passionate cry. He held up her knees with his hands as he drive into her where she laid flush up against the wall. With each thrust he punished both of them for their lack of self control. But the rougher he got, the more turned on she was. This was what she deserved she thought as his mouth clamped over her sensitive breast. She grabbed a handful of his hair and begged him for more. The closer she got to her orgasm the more she needed his mouth on her neck, his mouth covering the wounds that pulsated with need. "Suck me," she begged in a breathless whisper. "No," he told her. "Please," she whimpered. So he bent forward and he covered both of the wounds on one side of her neck with his warm mouth. He ran his tongue gently over the puncture marks and she clawed at his back desperate for more. "Do it!" she cried out, on the verge of her massive climax. Gently he sucked the tender, raw area of her neck until it sent her spiraling off into the stratosphere. She screamed in pleasure as she bucked against him. He broke away from her neck and stared into her face as he rode her hard through her orgasm. Her eyes were wide as he filled her with his throbbing, probing cock, and she screamed out his name as his face grimaced with the force of his own orgasm as it built to a mind blowing crescendo. "Come for me," she begged. "Come in me, Hunter!" He growled deep in his throat as his thrusting reached a frantic pace, and he cried out and spent himself inside of her. He held her pinned up against the wall as he gasped for breath, his heart thundering against her chest. He strong, beating heart -- proof that he was a living being in her arms. Everything he had done to her was life, from his kiss to his cum. Even his sucking her neck hadn't stolen anything from her, but given something to her. Her arms linked around his neck as she held his warm body near. How close she had come to never feeling this again; replacing sex for pleasure with sex for survival. Together they slid down the wall until he was in his knees and her legs were locked around his hips. Though he had softened he hadn't slipped free, and she loved how he felt inside of her. She squeezed him with her tight pussy, and he groaned against her neck. "You're insatiable, Red," he told her, and her heart warmed from his familiar term of endearment. "Some things never change," she said with a grin. As she stared into his eyes, it was all the more true. This time when she kissed him it was soft and loving, and he barely thought of Ginger at all when he responded to her kiss. She rocked against him slowly, and was rewarded by feeling him rise from a semi-hard state inside of her. His hands slid down her bare back and over her hips, cupping her closer to him as he gyrated slightly against her. His lips traveled from her mouth to her ear and then back down her neck. The hot breath against the raw wounds made her gasp as she clutched him tighter inside of her. "I wish I could heal you," he whispered against her neck. She tipped his face up to meet hers. "You are," she said and then kissed him again, a slow deep kiss that any outsider could tell was pure love. And as Ginger watched from the crack of the bathroom door, she knew there was no denying the connection between her sister and Hunter. She watched as Hunter slid Abi onto the floor and cradled her in his arms as he began making love to her for a second time -- this time slow and easy as they rediscovered each other amidst kisses and hands that knew just where to explore. Her heart hurt to see the look on Hunter's face as he traced his strong fingers along Abi's delicate skin, fingers that just the night before had explored her body with declarations of love she knew he could no longer honor. He kissed Abi with the tenderness he had promised would be hers, and she felt her heart crack in two as her sister wrapped her legs around him and he pushed further on top of her. Unlike the raw passion of the first time, something Ginger had come in on much to her surprise but had been too stunned to turn away, their lovemaking now was slow and deliberate as they savored every single sensation. Every kiss, every touch, every stroke. Though she wanted to run far away, Ginger's feet seemed rooted to the floor. She watched Hunters hands run the length of Abi's body, and when his fingers paused over the wounds on her sister's neck a tear slipped from Ginger's cheek. As much as it hurt to know Hunter had chosen her, at least she was alive still to be chosen. And wasn't that why they were here? The purpose for their very existence? She thought of how she had pined for Stephen last night while Hunter slept, their bed still mussed from their own lovemaking just hours before. The truth was she had cheated on Hunter many times, in thought if not in deed. And her betrayal was far worse, because she longed for that which they were bound to destroy. So she looked on as punishment for her sin, deserving every single crack in her heart with every stroke of Hunter's body into Abi's. As his tempo increased with their urgency, tears coursed down Ginger's face. She heard their moans and their whispered words and each felt like a dagger into her chest. Had they proclaimed their love to one another, Ginger was certain her heart would have literally exploded. And as her whole soul ached from watching them together, Ginger sort of wish it would have. But Ginger stayed where she was as Hunter fucked Abi harder and more ardently. Abi cried out as another powerful orgasm overtook her, and Hunter responded by grunting his way to his own climax and spilling himself inside of her yet another time. Ginger waited only briefly for the remorse that seemed never to come, and as Abi and Hunter kissed deeply she understood instantly she had been replaced. Probably from the moment Hunter first slept with Abi all those years ago. So this was it, Ginger thought to herself. She truly was alone. Her sobbed hitched in her throat, and that was when Hunter finally glanced toward the door. The minute he saw her tear stained face, he scrambled away from Abi and sprinted toward the door, still hard from their lovemaking. Abi grabbed for the towel and followed as Hunter chased Ginger down the hall. "Gin!" he cried out. "Ginger... baby, I'm sorry!" "Ginger!" Abi chimed in, as suddenly filled with regret as the man she had just made love to. But it wasn't the sex she regretted. She knew that Hunter had very well saved her life by showing her how to love again instead of the dance with death she had attempted with the vampires who had tempted her so. And somehow she knew that Hunter didn't regret being with her either. It was the pain they both saw in Ginger's face that prompted them to chase her, both still naked, down the hall. "Ginger, please!" he cried out as Ginger flew through the door and out onto the grounds. Both Abi and Hunter stopped at the door and watched helplessly as she sprinted across the lawn and headed for the obscure road that would take her back to town. A road that, now that she was alone, put her at greatest risk for the deadly dreaded Creature. She was now vulnerable and by herself, alone where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 19 Chapter Nineteen: Demetri Abi watched on, silently wringing her hands while Hunter tugged on his boots. "I'm sure she'll be back," she said, but even she wasn't convinced. "If you think that, then you really don't know your sister," he said as he grabbed a shirt from the bed he had just hours before shared with Ginger. He felt sick that he'd hurt her like he did -- for the second time. "Then I'm coming with you," Abi decided. He glanced where she stood, wrapped in a robe. "You're safer here," he curtly replied as he turned away. "With a couple of vampires that are dead during the daylight hours?" He brushed past her. "Look at it this way," he said, "the Creature is just as dead. You're safe until the sun sets." She grabbed his arm. "Will you be back by then?" His eyes were steely blue as he stared down into her face. Her eyes glistened and he could clearly tell she was terrified. The one thing that their frolicking had proven was that she realized how close she'd come to willingly giving herself over to the undead. He had saved her, and she was petrified of facing the vampires who clearly had a hold on her without him there to pull her back from the brink. She knew she wasn't that strong. Ginger clearly was. "I don't know," he told her honestly. Her lip quivered. "I'll try," he promised in a low voice before he turned and headed out the door. What had he done, he wondered to himself as he hopped aboard his motorcycle. How could he have made the same mistake twice? He still remembered the first time Ginger walked in on he and Abi in the throes of passion -- the night she returned for her father's funeral and found them naked and in each other's arms in Abi's room in their family home. There had been no excuses to give. There was no way he'd have insulted her intelligence. He really had been comforting Abi and it had gone farther than he had intended, but that was just the way things were when he got anywhere near Abi. He needed her. And even seeing the woman he had loved from his freshman year wasn't enough to chase those feelings away. Instead it had chased Ginger away -- back to Europe and into the arms of the most dangerous rebound guy she could have possibly found. A vampire long dead, who wanted nothing more than to ensure Ginger was with him forever. Worse, Ginger seemed perfectly okay with the idea. The thought still made Hunter shudder at how close she had come. He supposed it was karma to find her making love to Stephen the night he had gone to apologize and beg for a second chance. He managed to step into the room at the exact moment Stephen was going to sink his long, sharp fangs into her sweet smelling, virgin neck. Hunter had rushed the monster and tore him off of Ginger, and the vampire reacted accordingly. He flung Hunter up against the wall and nearly knocked him unconscious from the force of the blow. All Hunter could remember was peering out of barely opened eyes as Ginger rushed to his side, naked and blurry and scared. Who saved who remained a mystery. All he knew was how she looked when she told Hunter that she was in love with Stephen, and no matter what he did or didn't do she planned to follow him where ever he would go... even if that meant to the grave. Hunter sped along the dirt road, racing for town, scouring the swamp land around the road for any sign of red hair. He had worked hard to regain her trust so that he could save her from that evil, cursed fate. How was he ever going to make it right again? He did the one thing to the one person that would have severed their bond forever. And he knew it when he took Abi in his arms that morning. It was a bitch loving two sisters, especially when he was addicted to one of them. He had naively thought he could return to New Orleans and face Abi again without losing his composure. But he knew from the first time he looked at her face in that club it was a losing battle. That was the real reason he told her that he and Ginger were married. He'd hope it would be the barrier she needed to keep far away. He should have known that the way he felt when she was near Raven or Constantine, he was fooling no one. But he made love to Ginger last night anyway, knowing that Abi was fucking two vampires just a few rooms away. If she noticed that he was more desperate, more demanding, more forceful, she never said anything. He had to prove to himself yet again that he had chosen the right sister. But the harder he fucked Ginger, the more he saw Abi's face. When he had thrown Abi against the wall that morning he was doing it to punish them both for a lust they could neither deny. But when they made love on the floor, it was gentle and it was sweet... and it was everything he had wanted for more years than he could remember. He knew as he did it that he would have to face Ginger and tell her the truth, but he was hoping to put that off until after they had killed the Creature. He was terrified that she would run off and do something self destructive. Like give herself to a vampire. Fortunately she had been drinking holy water for enough years that any that dared to touch her would find much more than a conquest. With any luck their skin would peel from their bones and their bones would then turn to ash. That was their theory anyway -- they had never put it in practice. It was the idea of a man named Walter, who had saved them both from vampire clutches and would teach them to become hunters. It was also Walter who told Hunter to follow his heart to Ginger, that she needed to be loved by someone who would never let her down. It was the only way to purge her vampire lover from her heart for good. Walter would strangle Hunter for what he had done. Especially knowing that Ginger had run off into the swamp with a shattered heart, heading straight for a Creature unlike any that they'd ever dealt with before. She couldn't charm this Creature, couldn't use her feminine wiles like she had done in the past. It only wanted to destroy anything and anyone who had anything to do with Raven. After that electrifying kiss at the club, she had painted a huge target on her head. It was evident that Raven wanted her; proven by the way he wouldn't let her go even when it physically hurt him to hold on. Hunter gulped down a throat full of regret when he realized Raven had sacrificed more than Hunter had been willing to. Worse, Hunter was painfully aware that Ginger had never fully gotten over Stephen. For Raven to show her that kind of determination to be with her must have been intoxicating to a woman who had only found that once before. And it wasn't with Hunter. His lips set into a firm, thin line as he raced along the country road, praying to find Ginger before any other vampires did. Abi watched the sun set from the veranda facing the back of Raven's plantation. It peaked through the drooping arms of the sleepy willow tree until it finally sunk somewhere in the swamp. A tear slipped down Abi's face when she realized that Hunter had not yet returned. The love she had felt just this morning deflated just like a balloon. The wind picked up as darkness fell in shadows around the old plantation, and Abi quickly retreated within the safety of the house and locked the door behind her. Constantine entered the room, buttoning his shirt as he did so. "Good morning," he quipped with a good humored smirk. She just smiled and couldn't manage a reply. He took notice but said nothing as he went over to the bar to pour a drink. "So where are the rest of the day dwellers?" She opened her mouth but nothing came out. It seemed like so much had happened in such a short time, she wasn't even sure how to make sense of it all. Finally she said, "Gone." "Gone?" She turned to see Raven as he entered the room. He was shirtless, wearing leather pants, and Abi immediately wanted to turn away. She felt something inside of her draw to him like a magnet, or more like a moth to a flame. She knew that he was no good for her, but yet just looking at him made her want to surrender to him in a way she'd never surrendered to anyone. With her life. "Gone," she repeated. Raven fetched a bottle of water from the bar where Constantine stood. They both looked at her expectantly, waiting on her to explain why. She just wrung her hands and looked away. "Dammit, Abi," Raven said with a growl. She knew he had read her thoughts and knew the gory details of what she had done. "Weren't we enough for you?" She touched her throbbing neck. "Too much." Constantine tossed back his drink. "Fine. Let them fend for themselves. I never felt comfortable with those hunters here anyway." But Raven was angry. "We all agreed to stick together." "You agreed," Constantine pointed out. "Safety in numbers, remember? These are hunters. Their whole reason for existence is to track and kill monsters like this Creature." "Like you and I," Constantine added. "Like all of us," Raven replied as he turned his gaze back on Abi. "Once wasn't enough?" he asked as he approached, referring to her affair with Hunter. "Tell me. What more do you have to prove?" She squared her jaw as she looked at him. "It's not like that," she insisted. "I love Hunter. I always have." "Good luck with that," he said as he toasted her with his bottle. "Or has it escaped your notice who he went chasing after? How many times is this now?" She looked away. "Leave her alone," Constantine said as he went around the bar and went over to where she stood. "It's not like you ever had to live up to a sibling." Raven just laughed. "This again, Constantine? First Nina. Now Demetri? How else have I wronged you? Let us count the ways." "What's he talking about?" Abi asked Constantine, who glared at his master, trying to subdue his anger. "Our sordid history," Constantine told her. "I had a perfect sibling too. Demetri was strong and powerful and everything his sickly brother could never be. But I didn't need to be either to win the heart of Demetri's wife, did I?" Abi's eyes widened, and Constantine just laughed. "We have a lot in common, my love. Wanting that which we cannot have. Only I had to depend on Raven to give me what I needed to win her heart forever. Power. And immortality." Raven glared at Constantine. "Well go ahead. Finish the story. Tell her how Nina never saw the new and improved you because they'd burned her at the stake, believing her a witch because she tried to raise you from the dead. And how that's all my fault." "You should have protected her!" Constantine bellowed and hurled the crystal glass against the wall. Raven didn't back down. "I protected you! I got you out of that village before anyone knew the truth. Or do you forget that your brother was a hunter himself, and bound by law to kill the likes of both of us." Raven had to laugh as he advanced on Constantine. "You always forget that part of the story. Convenient." "My brother was never part of the equation," Constantine hissed. "The hell he wasn't!" Raven exploded. "Admit it! He's the only reason you wanted Nina to begin with." Constantine stood toe to toe with Raven, but Raven just turned on Abi. "And now you've done the same thing to your sister." He sneered at both of them. "Forgive me for trying to get in between this perfect love affair. It's quite evident that you were both made for each other." He grabbed a leather jacket from the back of the sofa and then tossed an evil grin over his shoulder to where Constantine stood sheltering Abigail. "I apologize I couldn't give you Nina wrapped up in a pretty little bow," he said with fake sincerity as he motioned to Abi. "But please accept this condolence prize, won't you?" And for the second time that day, a man left Abi to go chase after her sister. It was more than Abi could take. She broke down into tears that were not lost on the vampire who stood near her. He said nothing as he took her into his arms and rocked her against his strong chest. "He's an asshole," Constantine said against her hair. "But he's an asshole who is right," she said, her voice hitching on sobs. "I did this to Ginger not once but twice. I'm a horrible person." He had to smile. "You say to the guy who sucks blood to survive and gleefully kill for pleasure." Her tearful eyes met his. "I win." Since he brought it up... "Why didn't you kill me, Constantine?" He had to pull away then. "Because you didn't ask me," he offered casually, but she didn't believe him. She watched him go over to the sofa and sprawl over the red silk upholstery. "So if I asked you right now, you'd do it?" He leveled those intense eyes on her. "Is that a dare, Miss Mandrake? Because if it is you should know those are very dangerous words you can't take back." "And still you hesitate," she mused. "Am I just not good enough to join your little club?" "You're plenty good enough," he remarked, but didn't move. "Or should I say bad enough? Let me ask you... did you even hesitate to jump on Hunter's jock after you fucked Raven and I?" She blushed at the accusation she couldn't exactly argue. "I guess I was still looking for a real man," she said instead. He just laughed. "What can I say? There are no men here. Just beasts." She thought about Hunter and how he had not returned for her even though night had fallen. He probably found Ginger and was making love to her so that she would forgive him again, once again forgetting all about the sister that was good enough to fuck on a bathroom floor, but not good enough to come back and protect from dangerous creatures of the night. "You're all beasts." She turned her back on him and went over to the doors overlooking the veranda. A moment later she felt a hand slide up her arm. "Is that what you want, Abi? To be a beast?" A tear slid down her face as she remembered the agonized look in Ginger's eyes when she found Hunter and Abi together. "I already am," she said quietly. Constantine took her into his arms then, sad for her because he had been where she was many, many times. He remembered what it had felt like when his blood had spilled into Raven's throat and exploded with the disease he felt he deserved for the kisses he shared with Nina while his brother slept in the other room. If he was a monster for loving his brother's wife, the least he could do is enjoy the fruits of the disease by feeling a power and immortality his sickly body had never allowed him to feel. He wanted to live forever, and he had. But with that forever came the knowledge every day that even immortal he didn't deserve the love of Nina for more than just a passing fancy while they were both still stricken with human vulnerability. Now here he stood with another vulnerable human that a horrible, soul less creature wanted to kill, immortal or not. Their time together was no more guaranteed than his time with Nina those brief mortal moments that didn't last long enough for an eternity of memories. He wasn't sure he could go through it again. His eyes softened as he looked at her, and her hand touched his face. In his eyes she saw a reflection of herself... of her pain, of her regret, of all the missed opportunities. Maybe he really was the only one to understand her. He certainly was the only one who had chosen to stay. So she pulled his face down to hers and kissed him softly on the lips. He groaned as his fingers touched her face and then tangled in her long hair. "Abi," he whispered against her lips, and it touched her soul. She pulled away, took his hand in hers and led him back to the bedroom they had shared. She undressed him as she led him toward the bed. His eyes never left hers and she never wavered as she pushed him down onto the mattress and straddled him as she followed him down. They kissed each other slowly, tasting each other on the tips of their tongues, and as she ground against his growing erection he buried his face in the crook of her neck. When his breath danced over her wounds she felt her whole body shudder. Gone was the human lovemaking of the morning, sweet and gentle and safe. Death was at her neck, all she needed to do was ask for it. Why did she want to ask for it? As he slid up inside of her, filling her and stretching her wide, she whispered, "Are you going to do it?" She felt his cock jump as he fucked her slowly, the idea of what she was offering making him impossibly hard inside of her. His fingers closed over her full breasts and he kissed his way back up to her mouth, taking his time, making her tremble. "Are you asking?" he asked her in a deep, commanding, but soft voice, his dark eyes sparkling in the low light. The words hovered somewhere in her throat. "I... I...." Gently he turned her around and laid her on the bed under him. "Shh," he whispered. "When you're ready," he instructed before he kissed his way down her body, over each hard nipple, over the quivering swell of her tummy, and down in between her legs. When his breath hit her painfully hard clitoris, she shuddered and her thighs spread wider. Her hand went into his hair as she guided his mouth closer to where she needed it to be. His tongue reached out to her and flicked over her lightly. She cried out as she moved her hips up to meet his mouth. He responded in kind, and flattened his tongue over her clit with luxurious laps across the sensitive skin. "Please," she begged in a breathless whisper, and he complied by sucking that tiny, sensitive nub into his mouth. The warmth of his mouth sent a volt of electricity throughout her body while his tongue snaked around to make her tremble from its touch. She begged him for more, urged him with her hips, but he took his time as he teased her. He would speed up to get her to the brink of orgasm, then slow down or stop altogether while she gathered her wits about her again. Her fingers circled her own nipples as she writhed under him. He was making her crazy and the more he manipulated her under his mouth the more she wanted to give herself to him totally and completely. This must be how they do it, was her fuzzy thought. They use their seductive prowess to take humans to the brink of the temptation that they can bear. And she was there. God help her, she was there. "Do it," she begged. "Please... Constantine...." His mouth fastened over her clit and he sucked her to her first of many multiple explosions that she road out under his tongue. As she thrashed under him, his two fingers knit together and slid up inside of her, causing her to cry out. Then she felt his mouth kiss its way up her groin and his fangs drug along her skin. This was the point of no return she thought. As his fingers slid easily in and out of her, reaching high up inside to touch that spot that sent her off on another amazing climax, a tear squeezed out of the corner of her eye. "Ask," he commanded low against her skin. His fangs hovered over her skin, their sharp points digging in but not yet breaking the skin. She reached herself up to his mouth but he kept himself just out of reach. "Ask!" he said again, this time with a power that scared her. Her head spun from the pleasure he gave her with his mouth and his tongue, his touch and his voice. "Do it," she barely heard herself whisper. His fangs sank into her skin and she felt her blood splash into his mouth as she came all around his fingers. The next time she asked to die, she was screaming. Raven flew through the night, trying to rid his thoughts of what was happening between Abi and Constantine back at Bella. He was an unwilling observer as skin touched skin, mouth explored mouth and ultimately blood was shed. Raven Walks Ch. 19 He could taste it in is mouth, and he had to force his body not to respond. He tried instead to get into Ginger's mind, to find her. Their kiss had connected them in a way that surprised Raven. There was some ancient part of her that had reached out to him and had stitched itself under his skin like a tattoo, and he knew that was true by the way he woke up with a heavy heart full of betrayal and heartache. It had been hers. When he read Abi's mind he saw it from Ginger's point of view and felt her pain, which was why he grew so angry at Abigail. Somehow or another, probably because he could not possess her, Ginger had earned a spot in his heart that he never knew anyone could occupy. He couldn't have her so he felt compelled to save her; she the first one out of so many that had been able to resist him and stand her ground as his equal. It was too precious to destroy. He knew he had to stop her from doing something stupid like what Nina had done all those years ago. She had risked it all for Constantine, risked her life and her very soul to retrieve the man she loved and punish the man who had taken him away...only Constantine never knew the full story. Raven had spared him from that -- because he knew that if Constantine had known it would have caused a war that no one would have won. Hunters weren't the only ones who were able to destroy vampires; and Nina was a lot closer to the title of "witch" than Constantine ever knew. But Raven couldn't think of that now. That was ancient history. He had to find Ginger. He just hoped it wasn't too late. Because there are far more dangerous places than where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 20 Chapter Twenty: Argos When Damien opened his eyes that evening he found her sitting in the bay window seat, staring out into the night, and sharpening a wooden stake. Despite his alarm, he sat up from his bed slowly. "Rambo," he quipped. "We meet again." She simply kept whittling away the sharpened tip of the stake. "I'm not here to hurt you," she assured him quietly. "And the name is Ginger." He swung his legs over the side of his satin covered bed. "Well then, Ginger, welcome to my home. Might I ask why you're here?" "Because it's a place no one will look for me," she informed without even looking his directly. "I needed a vampire older and stronger than Raven to throw off his radar, but one who wasn't anywhere close to the club." She turned her green eyes on him then. "You're the only candidate that fit." "Ah," he said as he nodded. He slid out of bed and came to join her at the window. "And why don't you want Raven to know where you are?" She blew the dust from the stake. "Because he'll try to convince me not to go after the Creature by myself." She sleeved the stake and then stood to face Damien, who studied her with a thoughtful gaze. "And you think that little piece of wood is going to kill that thing?" She shrugged. "It might slow him down at least." She turned to walk away but his voice stopped her. "You are Abigail's sister." Without turning around she whispered, "Not anymore," and left the room. At Sebastian's club, Hunter faced off with the older, wiser vampire with an angry stare. "Don't lie to me, you filthy blood sucker. I know she's here!" Sebastian just smiled. "For your information I do not suck blood. So that's two counts where you're wrong." Raven entered the club behind Hunter just as he advanced on Sebastian. "Enough," Raven warned. "Sebastian doesn't know where Ginger is anymore than you do." Hunter swirled around. "And how do you know that?" "Because I know why she left," Raven pointed out. "And she'd never hide anywhere that you could find her." Raven brushed past both of them to head toward the bar. Hunter followed. "You know she's not safe out there," he said -- but Raven appeared nonplussed. "That begs the assumption that they are safe anywhere." "Who are they?" Sebastian asked as he walked around the bar. "What's going on?" "The Creature," Raven explained. "It's after those I possess. To punish me." "The only thing it does right," Hunter growled as he grabbed a glass of whiskey from the bar. "Is that what you think?" Raven asked him. "At least I leave them alive." "Alive but damaged. Like Abigail." "Ah, yes. Abigail. And you did your part to save her, didn't you?" Hunter glared at him. "For your information, I love Abigail." "As much as Ginger?" Raven wanted to know. "Is that why she ran off to face this Creature on her own? Curious as how you didn't see fit to save her." Hunter was off the bar stool in a second, grabbing Raven's jacket and bringing them nose to nose. "I already saved her from the likes of you before." Raven just smiled as he remembered Ginger's vampire lover whom she reminisced about just the night before. "Or maybe you didn't save her at all," he mused, "Maybe you just postponed the inevitable. And that's why you're so scared she left." Hunter released him in impotent anger. Deep down he knew that Raven spoke the truth. Raven straightened his jacket and then drank from the bottle of water Sebastian had provided. "Maybe if you calm down and stop treating me like the enemy, we can actually save her now." "What's in it for you?" asked Hunter suspiciously. Raven was still figuring that out. "Nothing else to do on a Friday night," he quipped. Sebastian poured his own drink. "So what does this Creature have against you?" he asked Raven. "Not sure," he sighed. "I've been around a long time, I'm sure I made some enemies along the way." "Think back to Greece," Hunter suggested. "That's where this Creature began his bloody journey." Raven took a deep breath. "Greece is where I turned Constantine all those years ago. He was terminally ill and had fallen in love with his brother's wife." He glanced at Hunter and saw the remark had hit home. "Constantine decided he wanted to live with her forever in a strong, immortal body. When he found out I was a vampire, he begged for me to turn him." Sebastian nodded. He'd heard this story before on the many nights he had counseled Raven on how to deal with his rogue protege. "Problem was, Nina was so distraught by his death she decided to raise him from the dead herself. But she didn't come to me for that. She went to a man named Argos, a man the village suspected of being a warlock." Hunter had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. First vampires. Now witches. What was next? A couple of werewolves and a killer Leprechaun? "Turns out Constantine wasn't the only one who loved fair Nina, or wanted her for his own. Argos gave her some spells he never expected to work, and thought maybe she'd come back to him as a consolation prize. The cemetery gatekeeper found her at Constantine's grave with all the spells and offerings and so he alerted the town. She was burned at the stake by morning." Off of Hunter's look, "It was a superstitious kind of time. Kill first and ask questions later." He took a breath and continued. "Needless to say I took Constantine and fled before his brother Demetri, a known hunter, would be forced to destroy him." "And never told him about Argos," Sebastian supplied, "because he knew that Constantine would go back to Greece for his vengeance." "And that would be a mistake?" Hunter asked. Both vampires nodded. "Argos was an old warlock, centuries older than me. With his advanced age and his advanced knowledge of witchcraft, the only way to survive him would have been to turn him into a vampire like me. As his master, killing me would have meant killing himself." Sebastian sipped his drink. "But never the two shall meet," he said. "A mutant such as that would be a plague on the planet with no allegiance to either cursed side of himself." Hunter's eyes widened. "So you think this Creature is Argos?" he deduced. Raven took another drink of his water. "It's certainly possible. After I took Constantine and left Greece I heard that the town figured out that both of us were vampires. Maybe he figured out what had happened and blames me for Nina's death, not knowing that Constantine had done it to be with her forever." "But how would he have turned into a vampire?" Hunter asked, confused. "Not sure," Raven told him. "Any number of scenarios apply. If he was tracking me down by my victims, he might have found one of our victims who converted him along the way." Hunter took a moment to let it all sink in. "So you see, we have to find Ginger before she tries to face this thing on her own. If she's attacking it as a vampire, she is going into the battle half prepared." "And Abi?" Hunter finally asked. "She's safe with Constantine," Raven told him. "If this creature is Argos, he is not attacking or going after Constantine's conquests, only mine." "That's not necessarily true," Sebastian pointed out. "What do you mean?" "All the victims this thing has targeted are people who have been the obsession of both of you. It attacked Abigail in an alley after Constantine had brought her to the bar. It killed my Sonja, after both of you had taken her in the back room. It went after Lillith, who has known you both in the carnal sense." Hunter and Raven shared a scared glance. "That means that Abigail, not Ginger, is the one he will go after," Hunter decided. Both he and Raven bolted for the door. Abigail floated somewhere between a dream and reality, heaven and hell. She felt her body drift along on the coolest breeze as clouds caressed her skin as she drifted by. Her body tingled all over, as the most powerful orgasm of her entire existence slowly ebbed from her body and carried her gently back to earth. As her eyelids fluttered open she realized she still lay on top of the satin bed covers, now soaked with sweat and blood. She drug herself up into a sitting position, so weak from the blood loss but still, inexplicably, alive. She glanced down at the black and blue marks around the puncture wounds in her groin. He had obviously meant to take her life but had stopped short for some reason. "Constantine," she called out for him in a hoarse voice. "Constantine is unavailable," a raspy voice said in return. Abigail looked up to find the Creature standing over her, paper thin skin stretched over ancient bones and remnants of muscle. It wore tattered old clothing that hung from its frame like a hanger. Its eyes glowed red like hot coals. She tried to scream but was way too weak, which only made the Creature laugh at her. "Save your strength," it told her. "You will need it." A groan came from another part of the room and Abi turned to find Constantine tied up in a chair, blood on his head where he had been struck -- probably while feeding on Abi. She had been too near death to notice. "Abi," he mumbled as he tried to gather his wits. The Creature went over to where he had Constantine bound. "Yes, Abi," he said through yellowed teeth and long fangs. "Not as pretty as Nina, but she'll have to do." Constantine's eyes widened. "Who the hell are you?" "You'll see," the Creature promised. He tore the silk sheet into strips with his bony fingers and before Abi could find her strength to dart away he was pinning her to the bed and tying her wrists to the headboard of the bed. "Please, no," she begged. The Creature merely laughed as he tugged the knots securely. "What's the matter, human? I thought you had a taste for vampires." She sobbed quietly as she shook her head. "Please, I beg you..." "Yes," the Creature assured. "You will." "You touch her and I will kill you!" Constantine promised as he struggled against the restraints that had him bound. It was simple rope, he realized. Why couldn't he break free? "You could try," the Creature told him. "But you would fail." Abi was crying in earnest when the Creature bound her feet, one to each foot post. She laid spread eagle, naked and vulnerable for this despicable creature and the only person who could save her was strapped to a chair. The Creature ran a fingernail from its claw of a hand along her skin from her shoulder down over her breasts, her stomach and then between her legs. She struggled against the silk ties but still was robbed of all strength from Constantine's feeding. "Why do you fight?" the Creature asked. "I watched you allow this monster to touch you, to kiss you, to taste you." He ran a tongue over sharp teeth. She screamed as he drew closer to her. "No! Please! God, no!" "God?" he mocked. "I am your god now." He stood at the foot of the bed and looked at her spread out before him. "But I understand your reluctance to fuck a real vampire. You think there's something more acceptable when we wear a human suit." He walked over to where Constantine fought against the ropes that bound him. "You want someone who looks like a man but fucks like a god. Invincible. At least...almost," he amended as he dove into Constantine's neck. The younger vampire fought and struggled under the powerful jaws of the Creature as it drained him of all the blood he'd taken from Abigail. She watched in horror as Constantine gradually slumped, unconscious in the chair. She stopped screaming as she watched the Creature transform right in front of her. Muscle and fat filled out under skin, as blood brought life to his ancient veins. Skin spread out and covered gaps over bone, muscle and flesh that seemed to grow younger and more alive by the second. His gray hair grew out into a dark brown mane that cascaded in waves over his now flesh and bones shoulders. His eyes went from red to brown, and his face turned youthful and even beautiful -- like a statue of a Greek god. His voice deepened and turned to silk as he gave her a smile full of white even teeth except for two prominent fangs. "Is this better?" he asked as he approached her again. He removed his clothing as he knelt at the edge of the bed, his cock rigid as it flung free from the fabric that held it bound, a silent statement of intent on what he fully intended to do to her. Despite his less frightening appearance, she still shook her head and struggled against her restraints as he moved closer. "No, please!" He just laughed held himself over her. "Don't worry, darling," he crooned. "It will all be over soon." He bent down for a hard kiss against unwilling lips. "Get away from her, Argos!" a male voice bellowed from the other side of the room. Instead of being fearful, the Creature just smiled as he turned to find Raven standing there with Hunter in the doorway. "How cute," he mocked without moving a hair. "The vampire and the hunter come to save the damsel in distress." "Hunter!" Abi cried and tried to scoot away as the Creature used his knees to spread her legs wide. She screamed as he tried to impale her with his cock with a deliberate, forceful stroke. Hunter growled as he flew across the room and tried to tackle the Creature from where he had mounted Abi. He broke their embrace, which made Argos turn on him with angry red eyes. With a roar he reached back and swung at Hunter, his punch sending him across the room and against the other wall. Hunter slid down to the floor in a heap. His eyes still glowed red as he resumed his position over Abi. "Where were we?" "No where," Raven informed, holding a bottle of water in his hand. Argos just laughed. "You think that will work on me?" Raven just shrugged. "Worth a shot," he said and then flung the contents of the water onto Argos. His renewed skin burned like acid under Hunter's and Ginger's "Vampire-b-Gone". He howled with pain as he stumbled off the bed and away from where Abi sobbed uncontrollably. "You are no match for me, Raven Crowe," Argos vowed. "We'll see about that," Raven told him as he grabbed another bottle of water from the backpack he held.. Argos just smiled, half of his face exposed to the bone by the holy water. He turned to Abigail. "Till we meet again." He glanced back at Raven. "Because we will." And then he exploded in a bloody red mist and was gone. Raven ran to the bed and gently untied Abi, but she was far too traumatized to do anything but weep. Her body was sore, weak... invaded. She could still feel the Creature's claws as they roamed over her like she belonged to him. This had been far too close a call. She had been attacked in the place they felt was safe, with the people meant to protect her. Everything had changed, and it seemed no one could save her the fate to roam the road of death where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 21 Chapter Twenty-One: Walter "Why didn't you tell me this before?" Constantine asked Raven as he rubbed his bruised wrists and glared at Raven. His neck still hurt from the insatiable hunger of Argos as he drank from him to restore his human appearance, and he still didn't know exactly why he couldn't break free from the ropes that had held him bound. Only Hunter had been able to set him free – which meant that whatever Argos was, vampires weren't really that much of a threat. "I told you," Raven repeated quietly. "I thought it was best." Constantine glanced over to where Abi laid on the sofa, a cool cloth over her eyes as Hunter stroked her hair. "Best for whom?" "Nina was gone," Raven reasoned. "If we had stayed – or gone back – we would have been pile of ashes at the end of a stake just like she was." Constantine gulped back the heartache he still felt for his lost love. "I could have killed him before he turned into this beast." Raven just shook his head. "You'd have been the one to turn him into what he is now. It's not easy to kill your children, even when you despise what they become. Trust me. I know." Constantine looked into Raven's eyes. Years of animosity still lingered between them, but it was true. Their connection was strong. Which is why they always ended up together. Soulless soul mates. "Fine. So how do we handle this thing now?" Raven took a deep breath as he stared into the fire that Hunter had started to warm Abi's near dead skin. "I don't know," he admitted. "What about this Ginger?" Constantine offered. "She's a huntress." "She's still human." Constantine shook his head. "She's not like any human I've ever known. Or you. She's got to be the key." "Then I guess that means we have to find her," he countered. "She can't do it alone." "You can't save everyone, Raven," Constantine warned. "If she has decided to sacrifice herself to defeat this thing, we can't stop her." "Then explain why I feel I have to," Raven said. Constantine just chuckled. "Because you let humans get under your skin. You always did." Then, with more sincerity than Raven thought he could muster, Constantine told his master, "Don't let that be your downfall." Raven said nothing as he watched Constantine head off to his room. The sun was almost up. After the vampires had retired to their quarters, Hunter carried Abi to his room and laid her down on his bed under the covers. He cradled her in his arms, stroked her skin and kissed her hair, willing her back to life. He felt sick. Everything had gone to hell. He'd come to defeat that sick creature and instead he was knocked flat first blow. He hadn't saved Abi, a vampire had... using his very own weapons against it. He wasn't thinking when that monster climbed on top of Abi. It reminded him of another vampire making love to another woman he loved, and his first reaction was blind anger. Walter had warned against that, but he had completely reacted out of impulse rather than think it through. At least Ginger would think things through, he thought to himself as he cuddled Abi close. Otherwise he'd have to make an impossible choice between the two sisters he loved. Eventually he'd have to choose, and no doubt he'd choose the woman he held in his arms, but until then he had to protect them both. Because he loved them both. Right or wrong. He had just started to doze when she woke up from a nightmare, screaming and thrashing with renewed strength. He held her tightly and spoke to her softly, and soon she realized where she was and who she was with – and thankfully it wasn't that horrible creature from before. "Hunter," was her grateful gasp as she wrapped her arms around him and held him close. "You came back." "I'll always come back, Red," he told her gently. Her eyes met his with an unspoken question. He'd never said the words, and suddenly she never needed to hear them more. "I love you," he said, low but firm. A tear chased down her face as she cupped his face in her hands. She reached up to kiss him tenderly on the mouth, and he pulled her as close as he could without hurting her bruises or injuries. She was broken, and she was his to repair. His hands touched her with tenderness, and his kisses sweetly chased away the tears and the pain. His hard warm body felt true and real in her arms, and when he began to grow against her she did not fear his desire. His fingers gently brought pleasure where there was once pain. His light touch inspired desire without damage, and he could never enter her if she feared otherwise. She laid under him and allowed him to heal her with his touch. There were no words, just gasps of pleasure as he brushed her body like a canvas with loving fingers. His eyes locked with hers to make sure she knew every gesture was out of love. He still hesitated when she reached for him, her hand closing around his hard shaft. He groaned softly but did not do anything more than guide his fingertips over her sensitive flesh, touching every inch of her, to imprint her with love where she'd been scarred by evil. She was crying when he made her cum under his gentle, persistent fingers, and he was scared that he'd done the wrong thing. But she was crying out of gratitude to be alive and in love with this man she held onto for dear life. "Hunter," she whispered after the last shudder had past. "I want you." It was simply stated but he still held back. All he could see in his mind's eye was that monster mount her and make her cry out with his forceful invasion of her body. "Abi..." "Hunter," she said again, this time louder. Stronger. "It's okay. I want you to." Then, "I need you to." So without breaking their gaze he laid her on her back. Her legs opened for him and he slid easily between them. Using his fingers he made sure that she was ready for him. She knew from the look on her face she still hurt from the attack before. Therefore he refused to enter her until he knew she was completely read for him. Her legs closed around his strong hips as she tried to guide him into her, but he resisted until she was cumming again under his deft fingers. When she cried out with the first spasm, he gently opened her up with the head of his cock and slid slowly inside. She contracted all around him as he pushed further into her body, erasing the memory of anyone else who had been there before. This was a man, her man, and he fit her perfectly. She didn't feel invaded, she felt complete. And only he had ever made her feel that way. Her neck no longer throbbed for teeth to bite into delicate skin. All she needed was Hunter and for him to say those three words she'd waited entirely too long to hear. "Tell me again," she asked. "I love you," he said without reservation. "I love you, I love you, I love you." He made love to her in the truest sense of the word, and didn't give her sister a second thought. But Ginger was doing enough thinking for the both of them. She used the wee daylight hours to investigate Sebastian's club, trying to dig up any clue to figure out what exactly this Creature was that she was tracking. It was quiet during the day, as most of the revelers were night dwellers who couldn't be caught out in the sun. She took full advantage of their deep, deathly sleep and crept around their sleeping chambers to gather any evidence she could find. And it was in Sebastian's room that she found exactly what she was looking for. She prowled around his body until she found the leather bound journal that was tucked just under his pillow. She pulled it free and then stowed it in her backpack where she had begun to stow many of the things she'd collected for what she intended to be the first and only showdown with the Creature. In better lit bar area of the club she was able to scour the journal. His most recent entry offered her all the information she needed. She got a name, and it was that name she texted to the only other person in the world who could help her. By nightfall he had called her back – from a local number. "What are you doing in New Orleans?" she asked, stunned he'd come back to the states. He'd always felt his mission was in Europe – where vampirism had truly taken hold of the human race so many centuries ago. "Where else would I be?" She could almost see his good humored smirk "You need me, I come." As she scribbled down his hotel information she grew more anxious. For him to come meant this thing was even more scary than any other vampire lord they'd faced before. When he opened the door to her, she stepped into his welcoming embrace with relief. He, like Hunter, had taken her under his wing after she had been left heartbroken from losing Stephen. They gave her a purpose, and it was something she desperately needed. She'd lost so much, it felt good to take control over her life; to do something brave that would save others from her fate. To love that which they can never have. It was painfully obvious that was the ongoing theme of her life. So she was grateful to be with an old friend, a mentor, someone who had always given her everything she needed right when she needed it. Including a big, warm bear hug that lifted her feet off of the ground. "I've missed you," he told her and she knew he meant it. She could see it in his green eyes. His short black hair and neatly trimmed goatee were smattered with gray now, but he still had a boyish glint in his eyes that could always make her smile. "Ditto," she responded. "I hope it doesn't make me sound green to say how glad I am that you're here." He just chuckled. "You couldn't sound green if you tried. You're just human." Then, with a pointed look. "Right?" She gave him a reassuring smile. "Right." He invited her into the room where his suitcase lay sprawled on the bed, and books were stacked on his table. "So what did you find out?" "Technically I didn't find anything out. I had to leave that up to my new assistant." "Another one?" "You know how it goes," he said. "Huge turnover rate." It was a nice way to describe the casualties that came with their chosen profession. That's why he never got close to the people he trained to hunt. The risk was too great that he'd lose them in the line of fire. He glanced at her mussed red hair and her eyes that spoke volumes about the heartache she would not voice and he realized despite his best efforts, she had gotten in. That's why he was already in route before he even got her text that morning. Learning that Hunter had betrayed her, again, was the only real excuse he needed. But when his young assistant Tanner had sent the requested information to him, he knew he had made the right decision. She wasn't prepared to face a vampire-witch. As far as he knew, she wouldn't have even known something like that existed. "So tell me," she said as she took a seat on his bed. He sat in a chair by the mountain of books. "Apparently Argos was a warlock in Greece around the late 1700s, when your friend Raven used to live there. Legend has it he was in love with Constantine's sister, a woman named Nina, and that when he instructed her how to raise Constantine from the dead they burned her alive at the stake." "But Constantine wasn't really dead," Ginger concurred. "After the body of Constantine, and reported vampire Raven Crowe, disappeared from the town, that's when things got very interesting. Demetri, brother of Constantine, bribed Argos to go to Romania to find the master of all vampires to kill him and thereby destroy the lineage for revenge." "What could he possibly bribe him with?" "Nina's ashes." "Super," Ginger remarked as she tried to take it all in. What would a lovelorn warlock be able to do with some ashes? She didn't have the time to dwell on it. "Well a vampire has a little safety mechanism when someone comes to kill them. As you know." "Turn them so that they cannot kill you or they risk dying themselves." "Bingo." "So he was converted to a vampire by the most power vampire lord in Romania?" Walter nodded. "Problem was, he was already a two hundred year old warlock." "What does that mean?" "It means he's a mutant. He wasn't a human, therefore doesn't share a vampire's human traits. He can cast spells, he can regenerate, he can create magic that can fill in all those evolutionary gaps in vampire DNA." "So the reason that he's all degenerated..." "My guess is he's trying to overcome that little aversion to the sun." "Great," she said with a sigh and laid back on the bed. "So how do I kill him?" Walter got up and walked over to the bed. He sat next to her. "You mean how do we kill him?" She sat up again. "I wish I could say I don't need you," she told him honestly. He just gave her that famous half smile of his. "Wish I could say I didn't need to be needed," he told her. She smiled at him and he put his arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry about Hunter," he said, broaching the difficult discussion carefully. "Yeah, I wanted to apologize for dumping that on you like I did. It was an impulse. I shouldn't have -" He put a finger to her lips. "Shh. Don't you dare apologize. He's the one who needs to apologize." She shook her head as she got up and began to pace. "No, I knew coming back here was a big mistake. He's in love with her. He's been in love with her for years. It was an unfair test I knew he couldn't pass." She paused and looked at Walter, for the first time in a long time being honest with herself. "And I think deep down I didn't want him to." That didn't bode well. "What are you saying?" She couldn't respond and she turned away. With a sigh Walter stood to his feet and came to face her. "You can't go back to the way you were," he warned her softly. That was the decision she made to turn her back on the vampire life she had once dared to consider. Which is why he made damned sure she made it. He had lost enough to those bloodsuckers, he couldn't see losing this strong, feisty, independent, lovely young woman to it as well. "Who says?" she asked, a tear hovering at the corner of her eye. Ever since she had allowed herself to remember Stephen and the love they shared, she had second guessed everything. Truthfully, from the moment Raven's lips had touched hers she had second guessed everything. "They're the enemy, honey," he simply said. "They steal lives, and what they don't steal they corrupt." "Not all of them," she argued softly. He didn't know them like she did. To him they were the thieves that took his wife and child. Beasts. Monsters. But they weren't all like that – and no one knew that better than she did. He took her arms in his hands. "All of them," he insisted. She looked up into his eyes and he brushed away a tendril of her hair from her face. "If only you could see what I see when I look at you," he told her. "You'd know you're too precious a life for that curse." She had to scoff with a disbelieving laugh. That wasn't how she saw it at all. It made her sacrifice to take out this Creature even more important. Everyone was set up where they needed to be, most importantly Hunter with Abi at last. As usual Ginger was the odd piece out that never fit anywhere. "How do you expect to win a battle if you don't believe you deserve to survive it?" he asked her in that same low voice, his hands still circling her arms, his eyes still locked in her own. "You tell me," she said. "You're the expert." He couldn't argue. He just pulled her into his arms for another hug. "I don't know yet. But we'll figure it out." She let him rock her in his arms, but when she felt him stir against her she had to pull away. She knew that Walter had always cared for her deeply, in some ways transferring all of the feelings he had for his dead wife and child into a person he could love safely from afar. And truthfully she had done the same with him at first. He was a handsome, brave, funny, sexy man who kept it all under a cool veneer that attracted many women who wanted to try and figure him out. Ginger never needed to; she understood him from the start. She also knew why he pushed Hunter to be with her. So that he could deny his own attraction to her, avoid getting close and ultimately avoid getting his heart broken again. Here they stood, all these years later, and she found herself feeling the exact same thing. "I'm sorry," he said. It was her turn to put her finger to his lips. "Shhh. Don't you dare apologize." He smiled and rested his forehead on hers. His eyes fell to her lips and she could feel the kiss hover between them. It was a sweet moment that was interrupted by a loud bang against the window. Both Walter and Ginger wrenched apart, and when he sprinted to the window she was close behind him, ready to spring into action if necessary. He tore back the blackout drapes only to find a limb from a nearby tree leaning against the glass, having been blown over by a huge gust of wind that now whistled right outside the door. They both had to laugh as he double checked the bolt on both the window and the door. "Occupational hazard," he said as he retrieved a bottle of water from his briefcase. He brought her one where she sat back on his bed. She took it but hesitated for a moment. She finally looked at his face as he sat next to her. "You didn't start giving me this to keep vampires away from me, did you?" He looked away as he drank from his own bottle. "Ginger..." "Tell me the truth," she said. "You did it so I would have no choice but to stay away from them." He turned to her then. "I'm not going to apologize for trying to keep you safe." "But did you want me safe... or did you want me for yourself?" It was suddenly a question she felt deserved an answer. "That's the thing, isn't it? With me those two aren't mutually exclusive." He looked down again. "I just wish that was enough for you." She placed the bottle on the nightstand and turned to take his hands in hers. "Who says it couldn't be?" His eyes scanned her face. What was she saying? She took his bottle and set it on the floor. "Just for tonight," she whispered, "maybe it's enough." He didn't say a word as she leaned in for a kiss. His felt his heart topple to his feet the first time his lips touched hers, and immediately his hand cupped her head so he could deepen the kiss. She groaned as she moved closer to him, and grabbed his other hand to slip it around her waist. He needed little encouragement as he leaned her back onto the bed. He had fantasized about this moment for more years than he cared to remember, and here she was in his arms and willing to give herself to him in a way he could have only dreamed. Her fingers tugged his shirt free from his trousers, and up under the fabric to race along his skin. His body was toned and his muscles were defined, but they quivered at the touch of her nails etching erotic tattoos into his skin. His hand cupped her breast through her shirt and his face buried in her neck by her ear to take little nips out of her skin. She tried not to think about Stephen's mouth there, and how she had longed for those fangs to pierce her skin, and instead lifted his head back up for another scorching kiss. She pressed him onto his back and slipped the buttons from their holes in his shirt as her hand slid up his torso. She pushed it away to reveal dark chest hair begging for the touch of her fingers. She complied, and his own hand wound itself into her hair in response. She slid over him, straddling his hips easily. He watched her as she unbuttoned her own shirt and slid it from her shoulders. His strong fingers ran up either side to touch her generous breasts through her bra, and she closed her eyes and leaned her head back as he kneaded her ample bosom and teased the nipples that reached out for his touch. Raven Walks Ch. 21 She felt him grow beneath her, only this time she did not pull away. She had made her decision, and she was never one to back down once it was made. She didn't have many gifts left to give except her passion and her body, while it was still hers to give. And she wanted to give it to Walter. This night was his. And hers. Theirs. He was so much larger than she had ever even dared to dream, and the thought of how he would fill her inside made her groan in anticipation. In response, Walter's hands went to her hips as he ground her down on top of him. He whispered her name as he rubbed against her. He sat up to kiss her, and she sat straddled in his lap. His hands went into her hair as his tongue drove between her willing lips to explore the recesses of her mouth. Her nails sunk into the strong muscles of his back and he responded by flipping her around to lay her under him on the bed. She allowed him to unbutton her jeans and lifted her hips to help him push the restrictive clothing from her body. He tore off his own shirt before he came back down, gathered her into his arms and kissed her hard on the mouth. They lay naked chest to naked chest, and she swung her legs around his to push their bodies even closer together. Still in his own pants, he rubbed against her until she was fumbling for the zipper. He gently pushed her hand away, he wasn't going to rush this moment. He'd waited too long, and all he wanted was make love to her once before they risked everything to defeat this creature. He understood the risk of getting so close to her before either one of them could die, but he didn't want to regret what might have been in case the worst happened. So he allowed his tongue to burn little circles into her skin, down into the curve of her neck, over her shoulder, down across the expanse of her breast, then finally he captured a nipple into his mouth. Her hand grabbed a handful of his hair as his tongue flicked back and forth over the sensitive nub. He was driving her crazy, and the more she felt him hard against her the more she needed to feel that inside of her. She suddenly ached for it. He took his time with her breasts before his tongue resumed its journey over her tummy and then in between her legs. He toyed with her thighs and planted kisses along the outer folds, where only his breath touched her clit which throbbed in anticipation. When he latched onto it at last, his tongue did to her clit what it had done to her nipple. Quick, like lightning, it flew back and forth over her until she was bucking against his face and begging him to fill her. He knit two fingers together and eased them up inside of her as his tongue flattened and circled her painfully engorged clit. He didn't stop until she came all around his fingers and against his mouth. "Walter!" she cried out. "Fuck me, please." He lifted up to kneel on two knees, a look of unfettered desire on his face as he unfastened his belt and unzipped his zipper. He dropped his pants enough for his amazing cock to spring forward, huge, heavy and thick. She reached out with her hand and circled the shaft with her fingers, that looked so small around his thick meat. His own head tipped back as she stroked him slowly but with authority. When he looked down again he nearly came with how sexy she looked under him with her legs spread and her hand around his cock. He grabbed a pillow and she lifted her hips up without his even having to ask. She laid with her hips in the air as he positioned himself at the entrance of her tight, waiting pussy. She gasped as he slid into her, spreading her wide and probing her deep. He grabbed the undersides of her knees with both hands and began stroking in and out of her slowly. She grasped the sheets with her fingers as she urged him along with her body and her words. He propped her knees on his shoulders as he bent forward, and she cried out as he touched her in places she had never even known existed. His eyes pierced hers as he fucked her with the precision of an experienced lover, who had made it his priority to bring her to the heights of pleasure over and over again. Her entire body became one electric nerve ending that any touch or even breath could send her into space like a rocket. He tugged the pillow from under her hips and tossed it away onto the floor and eased her legs from his shoulders. When he came down fully on top of her his lips met hers in a sweet, slow kiss that explored her mouth like his cock explored her body. Her arms wrapped around his back and her nails dug into his solid shoulders as he sped up his motions and his urgency grew. She met each thrust and moaned into his mouth as his pace set her off into another mind blowing orgasm. He wrapped her hair in his fingers as he cupped her head in both hands. Her hands roamed down his back until she had his ass in both of her hands. With her nails she encouraged him to go deeper, faster and harder. He broke the kiss, and through hooded eyes he stared into her soul as he felt the power of his own climax overtake him. His pace grew frenzied and she matched him stroke for stroke, screaming as she herself came again, all over his pulsating cock as he thrust it deep inside of her and spent himself finally. He laid on top of her, trying to catch his breath. He couldn't believe that he was here with her, inside of her, finally after all this time. He bent to kiss her, those full partially opened lips he'd longed to taste for years. She opened her mouth for him and he deepened the kiss immediately – unable to get enough of her. He'd been starving, all these years he'd been starving. She was offering herself as his feast. Without words he continued to love her with his mouth, his tongue, his fingers and his body for hours. He never noticed that throughout their night of passion she never once reached for that bottle of water, and in fact she left it where it sat when she left his sleeping form that next morning. She had no intention of protecting herself from vampires. To end this reign of terror she had to get as close to the enemy as she could get. Ginger left that hotel room certain of what she had to do. Even more than that she was unafraid to do the very dangerous thing she set out to do. There simply was no room for fear to venture where Raven walks. Raven Walks Ch. 22 Chapter Twenty-Two: Ginger When darkness once again fell over New Orleans, Constantine and Raven made their way to Sebastian's club. They hadn't found Ginger, but at least they knew Abi was now safe where the Creature would never find her. That was the one thing they could all agree on – human, vampire and hunter. They also agreed that the best way to draw Argos out in the open was to be seen, together, as though nothing at all was wrong. It would stir his wrath, and they were willing to do that if it meant they could have a final showdown with him once and for all. They would spend every night there at that club from dusk until dawn, taking up residence in one of the rooms there in the back, and staying together – no matter what. Raven had wanted to scour the city for Ginger, but there was no real way to find her. She knew how to block them from finding her, so it would be a futile waste of time that would inevitably endanger others. They had to count on her persistence to find and defeat the Creature herself, to draw her back to them. So the fact that she walked through the door early that evening shocked neither vampire. It was the way she looked when she walked in that made both of their jaws drop. Her bright red hair was teased high and tinted copper just like Abi's, her glasses were gone and her makeup was thick. Gone was the rock and roll tee, replaced instead by a corset that pushed her voluptuous curves up for display. She wore a long black skirt that was slit up the side, showing more of her creamy white skin than she'd likely exposed in years. "Well at least she can't complain that anyone mistake the two of us," Raven remembered Abigail say, and if they squinted, they would have mistaken her easily for her sister. Raven had to wonder if that was on purpose. They watched her approach them purposefully. She leveled her eyes on them in a way that made both of their pulses skip a beat. Huntress, indeed. And in one very vivid, heart-pounding moment, Raven discovered something he wasn't sure why he hadn't considered before. Every encounter exploded in his mind as the puzzle rapidly filled in. That the mystery redhead who walked into this club all that time ago, who turned him on this path to find his one true equal, hadn't been Abigail at all. It had been Ginger from the beginning, he realized with a start. She was the one who had the mysterious indomitable spirit that both made him want to master her and be her slave. She slid in between where they stood at the bar and motioned to Xavier, the blue haired Goth vampire who now tended bar full time. "Whiskey," she told him, putting him off his game also with the intensity of her gaze. "Straight." Raven took note of her drink choice but said nothing. His eyes were just as deep and intense when she turned to face him. "I see you're still alive and well." He just grinned. "In a manner of speaking." She said nothing as she turned to Constantine, who still regarded her a bit skeptically. "How's my sister?" He leaned closer to her, his arm spread along the bar so that she had to reach over him to get the drink Xavier brought to her. "Gone," he said, the near smirk on his face almost daring her to take that vague answer any way she chose to. Given that Hunter was no where to be seen, Ginger correctly assumed that he had taken her to a place of safety. One where the Creature would never find her. If she'd have been dead nothing short of death itself would have prevented Hunter from seeking his revenge. And she would have felt it. No matter how they had tried to severe the ties between them, they were still sisters. She never dropped Constantine's gaze as she threw back her whiskey in one gulp. Disco strobe lights filled the club as a dance remix with a strong sexual beat thundered from the dance floor. She put the glass back on the bar. "Care to dance?" she asked him and only after the briefest hesitation he reached out to take her arm. Though it tingled and bordered right up to unpleasantness, it didn't hurt or shock him like before. He glanced over at Raven, who watched the scene with interest. With an imperceptible nod, he gave his blessing for Constantine to follow Ginger out onto the dance floor. She snaked her hands up either side of his neck and pressed her full breasts against his chest as she stood close within the circle of his arms. Like little tiny pin pricks, electricity danced over his skin where ever her body happened to touch, but instead of feeling discomfort, he found his body responding to her unusual chemistry. He grabbed her by the waist with one arm and pulled her close, using his knee to part her legs so that he could grind her against his body to the seductive beat of the music. She followed his lead without breaking the intense stare between them, and as all the lights danced and changed around them, he could feel the tiny sparks that seemed to jump from her body to his as he led her across the floor in a fast, sexy dance where they each seemed to attempt to take control. Her hands trailed all up his back, up over his shoulders and into his hair, tugging it back to expose his own neck to her snake like tongue as he danced over his skin. His eyes clouded when she clamped her mouth over his neck and took a nip from his long scarred skin. He grabbed a handful of her hair in return to tug her head back so that she could see his fangs grow over his lips. She did not seem surprised or scared by it, and in fact she smiled at him and ground her body closer to his. Raven understood in an instant that she had figured out what made Argos choose his victims, and she was deliberately putting a target on her back by seducing his protege. The only missing piece of the puzzle thus far. But why had she stopped drinking the holy water that might have ultimately saved her from the beast if she was attacked? Technically she probably could have given the illusion of seducing the both of them, and been a lot safer having done so. When her eyes traveled over Constantine's shoulder to scope him out in the crowd, Raven heard her unspoken call to him. Her eyes bored into his with a command that would not go unheeded. She glanced down over his frame, from the bare torso only covered by his open black leather jacket, to the tight leather pants that grew even more restrictive as he watched her sexy dance with Constantine. Raven responded by striding onto the dance floor. When they spun past, he took his place behind Ginger, which pushed her closer toward Constantine. He and his master shared a look that needed no words to define. They had been here before; a supple human between them, whose only purpose was to fuck them both. Constantine grabbed Raven's strong forearms as they pinned Ginger between their rock hard bodies. She felt the evidence of both of their passions, which made her lean her head back, eyes closed, and unwittingly offer her clean virgin neck for them to see. Raven's fangs sprung from his mouth as his eyes grew dark with the intensity of his lust, and he – like Constantine – grew harder and more aroused by the vibrating sensation of her skin against theirs. He grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head to the side to reveal the soft, sweet skin of her neck to Constantine. He groaned as he bent forward and ran his mouth along the curve of her neck. His lips tingled as he tasted her on his tongue, like touching the tip of a battery. His fangs scraped against her but did not penetrate. For some strange reason he felt himself reluctant to take her right here on this dance floor even though that seemed to be her original intent. Instead he lifted up, his hand replaced Raven's in her hair and he offered up the other side of her neck to his master. Raven mirrored his actions on the other side of her neck, and she felt herself reach the threshold of what temptation she could bear. Not only did her pussy ache to be filled with them, her neck burned to be possessed by their fangs as they sucked her blood at last. She had been there before, at the door of death, because of her deep abiding love for a vampire lord she couldn't bare to lose. But now it was pure animal lust in between these two powerful vampires who were playing her body like an fine instrument. Raven's hands went to her waist while Constantine's cupped a breast in either hand. Ginger laid her head back against Raven's shoulder and whispered into his ear, "Touch me." Raven shuddered against her at the power of her command, and uncharacteristically he complied. His hand slipped around her waist and into the slit of her dress, where he realized that she wore nothing underneath. He whispered her name in her ear as his fingers dove in between the sweet part of her legs where she was wet and ready for him to explore. Constantine parted her thighs with his knee and Raven's fingers disappeared up inside of her, making her cry out in pleasure. They did not care they were in the middle of the dance floor, and other vampires circled around them in their own erotic dances, turned on by what they saw and wanting to see more. All Raven could think about was her tight, hot pussy grasping his fingers and the very real volt it sent through his whole body. He could almost imagine what it would feel like to shove his cock up inside of her, and the thought made him impossibly hard in his tight leather pants. Impatiently he grabbed the belt on Constantine's pants. He slid it from its loops, fumbled only momentarily with the button of his pants and then pushed down the zipper. The hard shaft fell right into his master's hand, and Constantine gasped out loud as Raven grasped it purposely and guided him right to her waiting hole. Her leg wrapped around his hip so that he could enter her right there in the middle of the crowd. Constantine followed her lead and began to pump slowly inside her while Raven's fingers danced over the sensitive head of her clitoris. The loud music drowned out her cries of pleasure as she came right then and there. She reached behind her to pull Raven's head into her neck, but instead of biting her he sucked her skin into his mouth while she shuddered all around Constantine's hard, throbbing cock. Raven lifted her ass into both of his hands and spread her wide for Constantine's demanding thrusts. The small audience that surrounded them on the dance floor watched transfixed as he openly fucked her right there for all to see. She glanced down to watch that thick meat slide in and out of her and it nearly sent her over the edge all over again. Then she finally realized they stood in a very public circle, and the males around them had released their own hard cocks and were stroking themselves off in the same rhythm she was being fucked. She cried out and came hard all over Constantine, who bucked even harder – riding her to his own explosive orgasm. She seemed to vibrate around him in a thousand different little shudders that sent a million little electrical sensations over the sensitive head of his cock all the way down his shaft to his balls. His fangs bared he dove in to satisfy his blood lust as he spent his load inside this willing, strange but incredible cunt. Only it wasn't her virgin neck he penetrated, but Raven's. The taste of his blood on Constantine's lips made him cum at once into Ginger as each drop exploded on his tongue in a psychedelic kaleidoscope more intense than the effects of any drug. Seeing Constantine at Raven's neck made her whimper for more. Just hearing him suck from the vampire behind her made her pussy clamp down tighter onto his cock. Why were they making her wait? After a moment, Constantine stumbled backward away from both of them, his cock softening and Raven's blood dripping from his fangs. Raven eased her feet back onto the floor as he turned her around into the circle of his arms. She spied the dark red blood as it dribbled from the two puncture holes in his neck. She reached forward, mouth open, but Raven instead pulled back her head with a firm hair tug, and planted a hard, demanding kiss on her lips. It didn't spark like before, but it certainly felt like no kiss they'd ever before experienced. His long tongue reached deep in her mouth and she crushed herself against him, offering him her body while he took possession of her mouth. His hands slid down her body to cup her ass in both hands, and then back up again to wind themselves in her hair. He want to touch her, to kiss her... to taste her. From behind she felt long, strong fingers open her long skirt as they rubbed up her thighs. Raven kissed his way down her body until he knelt down in front of her, and tossed his jacket free. His long hair hung over his bare shoulders as he stared up at her with those bottomless brown eyes. He ran fingers up each leg from ankle to thigh, and her legs trembled as she spread herself for him. He never broke their gaze as his fingers traveled back and forth over the highly charged nerves of her throbbing pussy. He finger fucked her slowly and deliberately until she was screaming and bucking against his hands. She was a puppet to their mastery as lovers and authors of seduction. When his mouth clamped over her engorged clit she thought she might just black out. His serpentine tongue circled around her, over her, across back and forth relentlessly orgasm after orgasm until she was begging him to fuck her. She needed to feel him inside of her. He stood slowly, rising up against her body like a shadow, until his mouth landed on hers and she could taste herself on his lips. She felt those same strong hands reach around to unfasten Raven's pants and release his thick, hard meat. She opened her legs as she felt Constantine guide his master's cock toward her quivering pussy. The minute Raven sunk into her he thought he might die from sheer pleasure at the very edge of pain. His cock came alive inside her pussy walls as electricity danced over each and every nerve's end. As he began stroking in and out of her, the friction just heightened the sensation. He lost himself in her deep green eyes as he rode her, a slave to her passion. In her eyes he saw a longing he clearly recognized, but he knew he could not drink of her blood. The moment her blood mixed with his would be the beginning of his death. She was at the very edge of danger for them now, but she was still dangerous. Like a gun with only a couple of bullets left. So as he fucked her he concentrated on every other sensation. The way she felt tight around his dick. The way her eyes looked, half open and cloudy with a passion for him that was more than she probably expected. The way her milky white breasts bounced with each powerful stroke, as he endeavored to get deeper inside her with every thrust. The sparks between them felt like a bunch of tiny fingers all over every inch of him, from his mouth and lips right down to the head of his cock. He thrust into her harder, pushing her back against Constantine's naked, growing cock. With every stroke he felt like his entire body had been asleep and was just now waking up to her touch. Constantine reached around her and grabbed Raven's ass in both hands, urging his master to fuck her harder while he rubbed himself against the curve of her ass. He watched other couples fucking on the dance floor, having turned the entire thing into a full fledged orgy, and he desperately wanted to shove himself up into her tight ass... but he wanted his master to get his first. He had renewed him with the gift of his blood, and it was the least that Constantine could do, to offer up this unusual human to him and him alone just once this lustful evening. He had the feeling his time would come. Raven began to fuck her faster, due to Constantine's urging and her loud pleas. The harder he plowed into her, the more he felt the lightning between them grow. But he couldn't let that stop him now. He had to have her, and nothing aside from his skin peeling from his body was going to stop him. So he pressed her more onto Constantine's body as he drove himself into her with powerful, masterful strokes. When Constantine pulled Raven's head forward by winding his long strong fingers in his master's hair, to kiss her deep and hard, it was Constantine's fangs he felt pierce into his skin. As he felt his blood splash into Constantine's mouth he couldn't hold back anymore. He shoved himself deep inside of Ginger and came so hard Constantine had to keep holding him up. When he finally could step away and pull himself from her body, he realized everyone in the club was fucking around them, and no longer paying any attention to them at all. He, Ginger and Constantine stumbled across to the bar, where Xavier sat jacking off as he watched the incredibly lustful scene. He smiled at Ginger when she took her seat at the bar. "Want some of this now?" "She's ours," Raven told him decisively as he positioned himself between Xavier and Ginger. What he had wanted to say was, "She's mine", but he somehow expected that was not her purpose for her very skillful, and very public, seduction of the both of them. But as he looked into her eyes, there was something more. He said nothing as he stroked the hair from her face with a gentle fingertip, then pulled her into the crook of her arm while they watched the people participating in carnal activities all over the dance floor. He ran his fingers along her scalp as they looked on. Women and women, women and men, even a couple of guys were all fucking their brains out under the bright strobe lights to a soundtrack that had not yet stopped. Cocks disappeared into tight little pussies, mouths bobbed on thick, stiff shafts. Fingers and tongues probed inside of wet little holes and enormous dicks stuffed themselves in tight little asses. Tongues, fingers, hands all explored over naked flesh while moans and cries of pleasure rose in a chorus from all over the club. Constantine began to stroke off as he watched, and when Raven looked down at Ginger he realized she wasn't watching the sexy scene before her. She was looking into his eyes. He reached down for another kiss, so tender as his full lips parted and his mouth covered hers. And as his tongue slipped between her lips he felt his cock stir once more. He took her hand and led her silently back to their quarters. Constantine followed obediently. It was there where morning found the tired, sated huntress as she sat on the edge of the bed where her vampire lovers slept. She knew that the Creature would now not be able to resist to return where Raven walks. And she was ready. She sipped from a bottle of water and she waited. Raven Walks Ch. 23 Chapter Twenty-Three: The Devil's Son The wind began to howl early that afternoon, heralding an incoming storm. Ginger could hear the thunder roll in the distance, and the weather warnings from the radio barely touched her ears. Tornadoes were the least of her worries. She tipped another bottle and let the liquid pour down her throat. She may not have known how to battle a vampire-warlock, but she was willing to bet her life on the fact he didn't know how to fight her either. She wasn't like any human he'd likely run across. At least, that was what she was counting on. She was sitting at the bar when Walter finally found her. He was an absolute wreck. "Ginger!" he admonished at once as he gathered her up in his arms. "What the hell are you doing here?" "Preparing for battle," she stated matter-of-fact. "Isn't that the idea?" He glanced over her frame, from the tangled hair to the corset to the wrinkled skirt. "Looks like you've already been a few rounds." She shrugged but didn't say anything, and she didn't look his direction. The only thing that assured him at all was the fact she was drinking their water. Having left untouched the one he offered her before, he wondered if she had stopped drinking it purposefully in order to get close to the vampires. He couldn't stomach the thought. "Ginger," he started as he touched her arm. "I want you to go, Walter," she told him in the same dull monotone. "Forget it," he said right away. "I'm not leaving you alone." She turned her gaze on him then. A stubborn and unyielding gaze. "He'll never come for me if I'm not." "You're crazy," he said. "You don't know how to deal with this thing." "Nor do you," she pointed out. It was a gut call, but she knew by the look on his face she was right. But she also knew that if she wanted to get rid of him, she had to be straight with him. "Walter, this thing has a certain M.O. It goes after the people that both Constantine and Raven have... have been with." He jumped on her hesitation. "But that couldn't have been you." He glanced down at the bottle in her hand. But then he took another look at her hair, her clothes, the very look in her eyes. Immediately he glanced at her neck. "I'm clean," she told him as she glanced away. "It was a trap. I had no intention going any further than that." He nodded but he didn't totally buy it. There was definitely something different about her. "So what next?" "I wait for the Creature to come." "And?" She shrugged. "And I wing it from there. I have all the tools, you made sure of that." He didn't buy it. She had a plan. She always had a plan. "Ginger..." She turned to face him. "You have to go, Walter. With the storm, I expect him to get an early start." He nodded. The oncoming storm looked to bring night to New Orleans early under a blanket of ominous black clouds. These types of storms were probably the reason so many vampires called the South home. They could move about freely, without any threat of the sun. But he still didn't want to leave her. He touched her face. Words hesitated on his lips that she couldn't allow to fall. She turned and left him standing alone at the bar. She stepped out into the air charged with the energy from the approaching storm. Her hair whipped around her face and she hugged herself as she set out onto the street. People stared as they drove past, on their way to anywhere but outside. Her shoes clattered against the cement as she moved farther away from the club. Thunder grew louder and lightning lit up the darkening sky as she walked past the one of the infamous cities of the dead; an above ground cemetery filled with ornate tombs and death. It fit her mood. Rain that began softly started to assault her like sharp needles, and pea sized hail targeted her like bullets. The streets cleared as people took to their places of shelter, but Ginger marched on, not even bothering to cover her head. The wind picked up speed and she could barely hear the thunder over the storm. Yet she felt his presence. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and she could almost feel his eyes travel over her frame as he studied her from behind. It wasn't just the storm that crackled in the air between them. It was his supernatural power as a vampire-warlock mixing with her altered chemistry from years of drinking the very thing that could kill him. She had been right, she thought hopefully. The only thing left was to pray that he was far more interested in vengeance than self preservation. Otherwise her intention to fuck him to death would never work. She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she turned around to face him, but Argos looked far more degenerated than any other vampire she'd ever encountered, even when she was killing them. Her breath caught in her throat as she took it all in: the gray skin, the yellow teeth, the red, glowing eyes. He wore a sick smile on thin skin that should have been lips as he stopped just within the circle of her aura. He was surprised how his body reacted so close to her, this familiar looking redhead who looked raw and delicious and surprisingly unafraid. Maybe it was the storm, he thought as he stepped closer. His bones hummed and what was left of his skin felt like a hundred needles dancing lightly over him. She tipped her head high. "Argos," she said as she crossed her arms in front of her. He gave a slight bow, a bit pleased not only that she called him by his name but that she did not seem disgusted by his appearance, nor afraid as he advanced. He loved a challenge. "My reputation precedes me," he said with a raspy voice. Thunder punctuated his sentence but neither of them moved. "I am afraid that you have the advantage, as I do not know who you are." "Yes, you do," she corrected. He stepped closer, and the electricity danced between them. "You look like Abigail, but you cannot be her as I killed her just last evening." She gulped but let no expression show on her face. "No, you didn't," she said. She'd have known. Despite it all, she'd have known. He was trying to scare her now. "Besides, Abi's not the one you want anymore." "I don't?" She shook her head. "You came for me because I am the one that Raven and Constantine share now." He laughed and it rattled low in his throat. "You think you're woman enough for either of them?" "I think I'm woman enough for you," she said. He advanced on her purposely, and ignored all the strange sensations that surged through his dead body. "We will have to see." She stood absolutely still as he flew at her and grabbed her up against him. His eyes widened when he felt the sparks crackle between them, and he growled with frustration as he crushed his mouth on hers. Though her stomach threatened to rebel and vomit at the taste of his dead tongue in her mouth, she kissed him back just as hard – rewarded by the blue sparks that jumped between them as his skin sizzled. He broke apart. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded at once. "Too much woman for you, I guess," she said. She ran her hand down her leg and simple pushed her skirt aside to show her nakedness underneath. "But yet Raven nor Constantine had no problem fucking me whatsoever." He growled and grabbed her close again, this time ignoring the sensations as his tongue shoved deeply into her mouth until it hurt so bad he couldn't take it anymore. He broke apart again and stared at her through angry, glowing eyes. Who was this unusual human? Or was she even human at all? "It's a shame," she said with mock regret as she felt his hold on her loosen. "I guess you're just not the vampire I thought you were." Then, more evilly, "the vampire Raven or even Constantine is, anyway." That did it. He grabbed her up into his arms and took off into the night like a shot. They flew up high into the clouds, and she could feel the lightning spark all around him. She was terrified, but she refused to let him know that. She meditated to clear her mind of all thought, which made him angrier still. He spiraled her through the air in death defying barrel rolls, the rain and hail assaulting her from all angles as thunder exploded in her ears. Then just as quickly as he ascended, he plunged toward the earth. The only thing that scared her was when their ultimate destination came into view. It was Sebastian's club. He tore through the roof like paper and she fell out of his arms as they hit the floor, bruised and cut from the damage caused by their entry. Walter stood behind the bar, drinking his bottled water, but when he saw Ginger laying in a heap on the ground he rushed toward her. "Ginger!" Without even touching him Argos sent him flying back over the bar and into the shelf of liquor bottles. Ginger crawled to her feet. "No!" she screamed at Argos. He had to smile. So this human did have a weakness. "No?" he asked. He snapped his fingers and Tracy Lynn slunk from her sleeping chamber in the back almost in a trance. She walked to him obediently and then knelt on her knees in front of him. He ran a bony finger along her jawline that was parallel with his almost non-existent groin. She bared her neck and he dove in, nearly taking a chunk of her skin with him as he fed. Ginger backed up as she watched Argos regenerate right before her eyes. She scooted back toward the bar where Walter lay on the ground, cut from the glass and groaning in pain. "Walter," she said. "I told you to go!" "Never leaving you," he muttered and tried to struggle to his feet. "Where are the others?" From right behind her she heard Argos, his voice deep, his vocal cords restored. "Detained," he whispered against her skin, which made her shiver. He spun her around to face him, fully young again, all the muscle and skin and hair restored as he stood shirtless and powerful before her. "You get away from her!" Walter tried to charge him but Ginger stood in between. Argos just smiled and once again using a powerful psychic force flung Walter backward and back into the wall, this time knocking him unconscious. Ginger advanced on Argos. "Are you going to waste your time being a bully? Or are you going to fuck me?" He grabbed her in his arms again and kissed her hard. This time she didn't feel the spongy sensation of a tongue hundreds of years dead. It was strong and firm and decisive as it shoved through her lips, and because of the new tissue the sparks sizzled between them. He grabbed her breast, which tingled but didn't manage to burn like the inside of her mouth. He refused to break the kiss, despite the pain it caused him. She ran her hands up his bare flesh leaving a trail of electricity where she touched. When she reached for his pants she thought she was home free, but a force hit them so hard it knocked her almost completely unconscious. She glanced up to see Raven standing toe to toe with Argos. "I'm sorry, Argos," a plaintive voice said from behind where Ginger lay. Tracy Lynn slunk over to her master. "I just wanted to taste him... like you promised." His lip curled as he backhanded her, sending her sailing across the dance floor. "You insipid fool!" Raven rushed him swinging, but Argos quickly recovered with an effective swing of his own. Raven went down and Ginger couldn't help herself as she ran to him. The minute she touched his arm sparks flew from his skin. Raven's brow knit with confusion and Ginger suddenly realized what a mistake she made. The only leverage she had to get Argos where she needed him was the hedonistic display from the night before – which would work Argos's pride and make him best the likes of Raven and Constantine no matter the pain it caused or the danger it posed. If he figured out that they too could not touch her, he'd just tear her in half and be done with it. Her eyes tried to convey her thoughts to Raven as she reached forward and kissed him, whispering, "Take it, please," against his lips. His skin burned and his lips felt like they were going to peel from his face, and when she probed her tongue into his mouth he felt like he was swallowing a hot dagger. But, somehow he trusted she did not mean to hurt him – and so he took it like she asked. He did not have to suffer too long as she was wrenched backward by her waist and carried off into one of the back rooms. Raven tried to scramble up to run to her, but he was in incredible agony feeling like his skin was going to fall from his skull and so he slumped back down. He just had to will her the strength he knew she would need to carry out the task at hand. She prayed for the same strength as Argos threw her down onto a bed, where Constantine laid just as he had that morning, except now he was unconscious from a blow to the head. She glared at Argos. "So is this how you prove you're better than they are? By attacking them when they haven't even woken yet?" Argos snarled as he tore away his pants. "No, you silly cunt. This is how I prove I'm better than they are!" He pinned her against the bed with his body as his knee roughly spread her legs apart. He pawed at the slit in her skirt until it was torn apart and displaying her nakedness to satisfy his angry lust. He ripped her corset right down the middle and roughly shoved all material was in shreds around her naked body. It hurt to touch her, and the more pain she caused him the angrier he got. "They took my Nina from me. So I must take everyone from them," he told her as he grabbed her breast in his hand and squeezed it hard. She felt him grow hard in between them as he bent down to capture the nipple in his mouth and bite it in between merciless teeth. "I corrupt everyone and everything they touch. Just like they've done to me." He ran his tongue over his fangs that glinted off of the low light in the room. "I'm simply taking back what they've stolen," he told her before he shoved his thick meat up inside her, impaling her on him with anger and vengeance. The minute he was completely enclosed inside of her, he gasped in an almost pleasurable pain. She grabbed at his cock with her muscles, and it felt like there were a hundred little needles stabbing into his hard shaft. He started to withdraw but her legs scissored back. "How can you steal anything?" she whispered with an evil gleam in her eye, " when you can't even fuck a human they both used all night long." He glared down into her face with a grimace as he tried to tolerate the pain. "Their incredible dicks stayed hard," she told him as she felt him start to soften inside of her. "They could fuck me for hours. Everywhere," she added. "In every way." He growled as he started shoving himself inside of her, forcing himself to stay hard even though the friction only made the sensations worse. He screamed out in pain has he fucked her harder, punishing her as roughly as he knew how for the agony he felt as the skin of his cock began to shred with each stroke. "I've never been fucked like that," she whispered, disdain dripped in her tone. "Doesn't look like you're vampire enough to fuck me like that either." He came down hard on her and covered her damnable mouth with his own, shoving his tongue inside to shut her up as he continued to ride her even though he suspected it was slowly killing him to do so. "What the hell...?" Constantine struggled to come to next to them, and though she tried to keep Argos's attention on her, he grabbed the other vampire by the hair and pulled him over to him, breaking his punishing kiss with Ginger only to sink his teeth into Constantine's neck. As he sucked loudly, Ginger felt his cock literally regenerate inside of her. Constantine struggled against him, but was no match for the older vampire-witch. He was too weak from the attack, and then from the blood loss. She watched in horror as Argos restored himself on top of her, and then his fucking became frenzied and even more hateful as he grew stronger. She watched Constantine slump against Argos, dying as his blood drained into his enemy's mouth. But as long as he sucked on another vampire's neck he could continue to punish Ginger with his brutal fucking. His hand clawed at her breast, leaving claw marks in the soft skin. Just when she thought she might not be able to keep her wits about her one more second and begin to struggle against him, Constantine was ripped from Argos's grasp. With relief she saw Raven holding the weaker vampire in his arms as he stared at her in impotent frustration. He didn't know how to save her, or even if she wanted him to. Argos almost pulled away to go after Raven, but she clasped him tighter inside of her. "Fuck me!" she screamed. He grabbed her neck with both hands, ready to strangle this infuriating bitch as he came inside of her, but that was when it hit him that her neck was completely clean. Raven had never taken her. Neither had Constantine. He grabbed her up to him as he propped himself up on his knees, holding onto her by the neck. "That's right," she told him with a triumphant grin. "No one has been vampire enough to take me yet." Then, with purposeful intent that scared Raven as he looked on, she goaded, "But with your yellow belly and your limp little cock, I doubt that you could ever have what it takes." With a roar he dove into the curve of her neck and she thought he might actually take a bite out of her body with the ferocity of his rage. But the minute his fangs tore into her delicate flesh, she knew her calculated risk had been to her favor. The minute her blood, made sacred of years of ingesting holy water, splashed over his lips, it immediately scorched his mouth like hot lava flowing down his throat. He gagged against her and she held him tight in her arms as she forced him to take just enough of her to begin to explode from the inside out. She felt his skin fall apart over her body and inside of her like wax melting, and she held out as long as she could – ready to endure it all if it meant Argos would be destroyed for good. Raven, who had watched on transfixed in horror, finally wrenched her away from the clutches of the dying vampire. Despite the electricity of her their bodies touching, Raven clung to her as they watched Argos stumble backward off the bed as tiny explosions rocked his body. As every one of her blood cells literally blew up inside of him, rays of light tore through his skin that quickly deteriorated as if they had just pushed him into the sun. Ginger reached into the discarded corset where the wooden stake had been carefully sewn into the ties that bound the garment together. With a determination that both scared and impressed Raven, he watched as she charged the weakened vampire and plunged the sharpened wooden point right into his chest. He howled in pain as he writhed on the floor. Every skin cell incinerated before their very eyes. His bones smoked and his tissue evaporated, and Ginger stood over her kill triumphantly as he literally zapped into nothingness. Only when he was gone did she stumble back and collapse onto the bed. Raven rushed to her immediately. "Ginger! Are you okay?" She felt like she could shower for a month solid and not erase his touch from her body. "I'm fine," she whispered. "Liar," he accused as he sat next to her without touching her. "Vampire-b-Gone, huh?" She gave him a wry smile. "When you find something that works, you stick with it." "I guess so," he had to agree. And he was especially glad he had decided not to feed from her yesterday. But he hated it meant he couldn't touch her now. He suspected she could use it. She sat up. "Thank you," she said earnestly. Had he not come along when he did, both she and Constantine could have been history. Raven Walks Ch. 23 "Yeah, well don't let it get around," he said with a half smile. "If it gets out I'm a part time vampire hunter it could really ruin my reputation." She gave him a genuine smile. "Your secret is safe with me," she promised. They heard the muffled groan from behind them and turned to see Constantine crawl up onto the bed. "What happened?" he asked. Both Raven and Ginger shared a look and laughed. A week later Sebastian's club had the makings of a new roof and a new clientèle. Even Lillith and Damien had come out to celebrate the fact their enemy had been destroyed and they could now go back to their normal existence, such as it was. Sebastian wore Pixie on his arm as he entertained his guests, and a sense of renewal had uplifted everyone's spirits. The music was loud and upbeat, and everyone danced and drank and left memory of Argos at the door. Ginger stayed to herself tending bar, and Constantine and Raven were unusually sedate, and civil, as they sat together nearby. Hunter brought Abi, as both wanted to make amends with Ginger before they started their new life together. She hugged them both, and wished them well. She regretted nothing. This was the path she had chosen, and she knew it would lead her places that these well meaning people could not come. So she gave them the only thing she could. Peace of mind. Hunter felt better when he introduced Abi to Walter, who had also inexplicably joined the celebration. He wore disappointment on his face, but in reality he couldn't fault Hunter for leaving Ginger when it meant that he could finally make love to her at last. Their shutting a door on her had opened his, so he couldn't really be anything but grateful. So Walter shook Abi's hand and wished them well, knowing that Hunter's journey chasing vampires had ended. When Walter joined Constantine and Raven at the bar, they regarded him with a certain amount of skepticism, not for his reputation but for the look on his face. Ginger handed him a bottle of water. She knew he wasn't there to share the fruits of their victory. His face was much too pensive. "What's wrong?" she asked. He didn't say anything as he motioned to the person behind him. It was a younger man, with Emo hair, goth clothes and the bluest eyes she'd ever seen, made bluer by the fact he wore heavy black eyeliner. He reached out a hand, the nails of every single ring adorned finger painted black, and smiled for the redhead he had heard so much about. "This is Tanner," Walter said. "My assistant." "Nice to meet you," Ginger politely greeted. He turned to the vampires who regarded him thoughtfully. Raven reached out a hand, but Tanner politely declined, holding up a bottle of water for their view. "Tell them," Walter said. All three of them focused on the young man. He cleared his throat. "I'm afraid the news is not good," he told them. He slid a newspaper over for their view. The headline screamed about a desecrated grave in Eastern Europe; a reputed vampire from the late 1700s whose reputation of being a vile sadist over the village he lived earned him the moniker "Diavolului Fiul", Romanian for "Devil's Son". "I don't understand," Ginger said. Tanner took a deep breath. There was no easy way to say it. "Apparently this is where Argos's reign of terror began," he explained. "A week ago, for some unknown reason, the doors blew off of the crypt and the remains disappeared. The only thing we found was a scarf," he produced it. Constantine's eyes widened as he stared at the material. He grabbed for it. "Where did you get this?" he demanded. "From the grave of Octavian Blaga," Tanner repeated. "Otherwise known as The Devil's Son." Constantine turned to Raven. "Nina," was all he said. Ginger's face set in a grim line. She sensed there was more. "And?" Tanner hesitated only briefly. He slid another newspaper in front of her to describe the ghastly death in Bucharest, Romania – where the victim had been drained of its blood. "Found at the crime scene, this," he said as he showed them a photo of a ring. Constantine visibly paled. Raven turned to Walter. "You think this Octavian guy was the one who turned Argos." "That's the theory," he said. "What about Nina?" Constantine wanted to know. "Apparently your brother Demetri bribed Argos with the ashes of his wife to find the most powerful vampire in Romania so that he could kill him," Ginger supplied. "To kill him would have killed us all," Raven surmised. "Exactly," she said. "But he's alive," Constantine deduced. Walter referred to the newspaper and the photo. "Apparently." "So Nina might be alive too." Ginger dug out her backpack from under the bar. "Only one way to find out." Constantine was on his feet as well. "I'm going with you." Walter and Tanner turned to face him. He met their glances with elongating fangs. "It would not serve you to argue the matter." "Fine," Ginger quipped. She'd worry about what it would mean if she had to kill his Nina later. Raven then stood to his feet. "Then I'm coming too." They turned to him. "I started all this," he told them. "I should be the one to end it." Ginger's eyes met his. She didn't want him to go simply because of how much she didn't want to leave. Having him in close proximity was more dangerous than any killers she'd have to face along the way. He had awakened something deep inside of her that she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to bury again. Truthfully, she had done the same for him. So even if this new threat had nothing to do with him he knew he would have found an excuse to follow along her newest adventure. He had made that decision when he saw how far she had gone to save them all. That had to have been why he couldn't shake the memory of her body against his or the taste of her mouth. The thoughts of a conquest he just couldn't shake. Their adventure had only just begun. And Raven knew that he had not choice but to follow where Ginger walks.