Blood Servant Pt. 01

"I get what you're saying, but I'm not a single guy that wants my space to party, and you're my first and last love, if I have anything to say about it. I belong with you, supporting you and the clan if in subtle hidden ways. If I have other ambitions in time, we'll figure it out. For now, keeping each other safe and spending all the time with you I can is enough. I'm also curious about the club, and what you all get up to when leaving us blood servants in the suites."

She grinned, "Nothing that exciting. Dancing on the blocks and in the raised cages, bartending, waitressing, office stuff, and that's about it. We only employ a few large human males to act as bouncers at the front door. Six of us are off every night of the week, that leaves thirty of us to run the place and even seed the floor and relax. Only about half of us are required to run the place, so only three of the six days are we really doing anything. The other three we just hang. The occasional feeding when we need to feed more than twice a week."

I looked at her with desire, "Never again, for you. My blood is yours, but your hunger is mine. My magic can heal me, including regenerating blood loss in a split second. You only feed from me for now on."

Her eyes widened in shocked desire in that moment from my firm tone filled with desire, then she shook her head to shake it off.

"That's good to know, and makes me happy, but I have to go and get started on the plan. To bind the others to me, starting with the six off tonight and here at the mansion, and ending at the club. Even if I'd rather be burning up the sheets with you right now. I'll send Cassidy to you after I bind her loyalty and pack to me, we won't have to hide anything from her after that. I trust her like family, and she'll have no other binding loyalties that could force her to betray me anymore. Fill her in on what's going on, and I'm sure she's wrecked right now thinking that you're dead and I'm being raped."

I teased playfully, "I also suspect we won't be limited to four rounds in the afternoon any longer. I imagine my stamina is as restorable to my magic as my blood is."

Her eyes widened, and she said breathily, "Stop it, it's hard enough to leave as it is."

I laughed playfully, but my warm smile told her I'd behave and stop teasing her. It was obvious to me she was really turned on in that moment, and she wanted to twist up the sheets badly. Plus, a little teasing was playful and foreplay for the end of the night, too much teasing would just be cruel and frustrating to us both.

I nodded, "The cousins?"

It was the one problem we hadn't come up with a solution for yet, and I felt like we should before she left the room and started the ball rolling on our plans.

She pursed her lips, "I don't like lying. But we have no choice with that one, or in you pretending you're my powerless doting blood servant as well as my beloved mate that will follow me around in the future. We don't really have a choice, or we'll all be in too much danger. I'll blame it on a human assassin, organized crime. Those two dealt with mobsters, and it's not so crazy to believe a sniper assassin could've taken them out with a bullet to the brain from a quarter mile away and they didn't see it coming. It happened as soon as we got home, and I managed to get to cover before they took me out too.

"Actually, they killed the head of the clan, just Andrei. Then freed from the master blood bond I took great delight in ripping apart that bastard Damien for all he's done to me in the past. That story is more believable than a sniper getting them both before the second could reach cover. You know that sadistic bastard was ten years younger than me, and only second in command because he had a dick and his cousin's backing."

She shrugged and waved a hand, "That's the story. Make sure Cassidy is aware of that version of events when she comes in. She's the only witness that can counter it. I won't be telling the rest of the clan what happened either, just in case one of the other clans questions one of them. I really hate lying, but in those two instances it's our only choice to keep each other and everyone else safe."

I nodded, "I don't like lying either, but I'm good with it. It's not just for us, but to keep Cassidy's pack and the rest of your clan safe."

She smiled, "I'll see you a couple of hours before dawn, and tomorrow night you can join me at the club. I love you."

"Love you too, so much."

She kissed me softly, "Thank you for freeing me, my love. It won't be perfect, or without all those complications we discussed, but it will be better. Are you sure you really want this? You could walk away, be free of our ugly world. No one is looking for you, and without me along to draw the lightning, no one ever would be. Not if you keep your head down."

I shook my head, "I'll never leave you, Katrina. You are mine, and I am yours. In love, admiration, and respect. I won't give you up, until the day you ask me to leave because you no longer want me."

If anything, I understated my feelings on that. She was my life, my breath, and my soul. I'd never met another woman like her before. She wasn't perfect, but she was damned close for me. As beautiful inside and out, and so strong and regal, yet she was needy for me under that. She was breathtaking, and she was still my mistress. Even if my magic could obfuscate the blood thrall link it could never erase the awed love that I held for her in my heart.

Life without her was impossible. I wouldn't even try, not unless she got tired of me and threw me out of her life. Neither was my pride an issue, nor what the rest of the clan would think. I knew she treated me like an equal, and that she was deeply and fiercely in love with me. That's all that mattered, and me acting like her hanger on and blood servant in public, calling her mistress, all sounded like fun to me.

Because of course, it was still the truth, and I loved to pamper her. She was my mistress, at least on the clan level, and not a little bit in my heart as well. Not in a demeaning way, but in love and respect. She was mine as well, breathlessly wanton and shamelessly mine, that it wouldn't show in public didn't matter to me.

I also thought it might be enough, keeping her safe and cared for, as she did the same for me. Keeping her safe, even if subtly, meant keeping a whole clan safe. That sounded damned useful to me.

She shook her head, "That will never happen. I'll never send you from me. One lifetime hardly seems enough as it is, but I'll take it with joy in my heart. If you weren't a mage, I'd want to turn you to keep you forever."

That was true, other supernaturals didn't take well to the vampiric dark magic curse. My own magic would fight it off, and it was intrinsic to my body and life. Either my magic would fight off the curse which made it moot, or if the curse won in my weakened blood drained state it would kill my magic which would kill me. Same for shifters. Only humans could be made vampire.

It was probably just as well, because if I was vampire then I couldn't feed her, and I wouldn't allow a blood servant, nor would I want one of my own to complicate our intimacy and love. Her body was mine along with her love. She was my mate by deed and promise.

"There's one more stop that you might want to make. Their blood servants, the twins, are probably freed and freaking out, horrified by what they've been through, and terrified. You might want to head up to the third floor and ensure they don't flee or cause trouble. Plus, to make them forget maybe?"

Katrina chuckled, "I've already considered that, love. It's not my first rodeo, and I'll take care of them before I send Cassidy over."

I nodded, "You don't mind my advice, do you?"

She shook her head, "No, love, never when we're here in our quarters. Which will be upstairs soon by the way. We'll take one of the two huge suite's upstairs on the third floor in a couple of days, once I get the servants to clean out all of Andrei's crap. Stuff I don't want to get near to again. It was just... I didn't want to disturb you with it, and that's why I hadn't mentioned it."

I sighed, "You don't have to keep secrets from me, Katrina. I won't judge you, ever."

She nodded and bit her lip, "There's also a thousand other things I need to do tonight, so a part of it was simply we don't have the time to go over every little thing I'll be responsible for. Not now anyway, but I promise to keep you in the loop on the important stuff. No more shielding you or hiding you away in this suite. After tonight, I mean."

I let it go at that. Although I wondered if my imagination was worse than the reality, as I imagined BDSM caves and other shit worse than that. Probably not, and it was better not to know the truth, or I might want to resurrect them to kill them again. Just, a lot more slowly, and with attention to every detail. Which would harm my soul, it was better to be quick and clean, no matter what the enemy deserved. That was about me and my soul, and to maintain my integrity and morals, and not about them at all.

Also, just to be clear, I wasn't judging a BDSM lifestyle to be a horror, it just wasn't for me. Also, I didn't imagine the cousins had a normal one, with respect and safe words just for a start. That was my point. Theirs would be twisted and sadistic in the extreme, and not about what their submissive wanted at all.

We shared one more very soft and sweet kiss, then she left to form her clan. There was strength and protection in unity. It wouldn't be perfect, but it was the best compromise and safest course to secure our future life together. I didn't imagine she'd fail, and that most would be willing to band together and trust her with their lives. She was the oldest, most powerful, and one that wasn't known for cruelty if not weakness either.

A few stupid ones might run and try to go independent, or to start their own clan with a single turn or two of their own. But those would inevitably die when they were rooted out.

Everything had changed in the moment I'd finally found the key to and released my power, and when I had killed my mate's tormentors. While not perfect, it was also the first time that we'd ever discussed a future together at all, never mind with hope and joy in our hearts. The first time we'd planned a future, and the first time we had any expectations that our love and relationship could last a lifetime instead of being doomed to end within a year.

Despite all the complications and dangers, I'd never felt more excitement about my future with the most incredible woman I've ever known.

Chapter Eight

Intrinsic affinities weren't that complicated. Fire magic could wield and control fire. Same with the other elements. Life magic was good for healing others, or in stopping a heart. My magic was all focused inward, and I played with it a little while waiting for Katrina to reaffirm Cassidy's pack connection to the clan would go forward, and to send her to me for deeper explanations.

She didn't have the time to do it fully herself. She needed to get to the club and start building her clan. Plus, Cassidy and I would need to talk as well. As Katrina said, Cassidy would no doubt be upset about what happened, and abandoning her fuck buddy and the woman she thought of as her older sister to Andrei's perversions to safeguard her pack and her life.

I didn't blame her for it, but I imagined she'd feel guilty herself.

Point being, I experimented to feel out the edges and possibilities of my affinity. I could not only increase my strength, speed of movement, and perception, but many other things. Including much like a vampire, I could direct and restore my body from any wound very quickly, or even refresh myself including my libido.

For the first time in a month, my cock wasn't even a little sore.

So not only could I ravish Katrina all afternoon without limiting my pleasure, but me and Cassidy would no longer be confined to one round. Though we only had an hour or so each day, so I didn't imagine more than two rounds would be required.

I also believed I had deeper control if I wished it, and that I could in fact hold off my orgasm indefinitely if I was willing to spend the magic on it. But enough of my blood and libido in regard to my magic changing all that, and what it would mean for me and my mate and playmate. I was excited about that, but I was far more excited that my mate wouldn't be drinking anyone else's blood and walking around like a hot mess until she got home to me.

Just saying, that twelfth orgasm was so going to happen the next time I ravished Cassidy.

I discovered I could also do other things. I could increase the sensitivity of my hearing, and I could read the small print off the pages of a book from across two room lengths by enhancing my vision in the darkness as well as the light. My sense of smell could be enhanced as well, and I wasn't sure if it was comparable to shifters, but I could definitely smell my current mood and emotions. I'd just have to learn what each scent meant, but some of it was instinctive.

One thing I wished I'd known was my body could be toughened up as well, and my skin made harder to break and pierce. That would've been useful to know before the fight, but it'd still turned out okay. Lastly, my stamina in a general sense, non-sexual, could be enhanced. So long as I had magic left then I wouldn't be falling out of a fight in exhaustion, or because I was beat up.

I tried to hold my breath, but since the body didn't create oxygen, I learned that I'd still need the stuff even with magic maintaining my body. Oh, it worked, but once the oxygen in the deep breath was consumed it took a ton of streaming magic to maintain every cell in my body at once. It was too costly, which made it impractical. My magic was limited after all, if greater than most mages thanks to my bloodline, and I'd need to husband it.

It recovered quickly as well, I already felt full after the fight and tests I did, and the handful of spells, but exhausting it was a bad idea, even if only for an hour or so. I'd only used maybe a tenth of it in the fight and testing, so it'd come back in six minutes. That really shouldn't be an issue, save when I was fighting someone else and needed to make my magic outlast theirs if I couldn't get an instant kill.

I figured I'd be pretty tough to beat, once I knew how to fight that is. But I suspected like a shifter or vampire, that a bullet to the brain, decapitation, or total destruction or removal of the heart would end me pretty definitively. I also wasn't sure if I could regenerate my body like them, but I wasn't about to cut off a limb or even a finger or toe to find out.

I was almost afraid to hope for regeneration, for if I had that ability, then I might be getting a whole lot longer than one lifetime with my vampire goddess.

I'd also need to cast and maintain shields in battle if I was going up against mages. I really didn't want to be immolated, after all. Fortunately, that spell was a single word and a very concerted thought. Basic easy magic, and the strength of the shield spell was dependent on my strength of magic and will.

That said, despite my power being in the upper range of mage power, I could still be killed easily if I wasn't paying attention. Or if two or three were fighting me at once. I wasn't going to get cocky about it, our lives depended on secrecy and discreteness, not how tough I was. Still, it was a freeing feeling, and one I was trying to keep in check.

I'd always been the weak one in the room, and suddenly I was among the strongest. A match perhaps for the other three mage clan heads in power, if not experience. It was heady, but I held on to my caution stubbornly. I took a deep breath to calm down, when I felt disappointment there was nothing else to use my magic on at that point. The suite was spotless.

The door opened and Cassidy came in with a look of self-recrimination on her face as well as reddened eyes. I didn't even say a word, just walked over and gathered her in my arms, then sat on the couch and kept her on my lap. For a human woman feeling guilty that never would've worked, but shifters were different and needed that tactile contact.

She said, "I'm so sorry, Greg. I hate this place sometimes, but maybe that will change now. I feel like I turned my back on you. No, I did turn my back on you, no like about it, even if I had little choice in it. I put my pack and my own life ahead of yours, and Katrina's.

I kissed her head, "Forgiven. Our world can be shitty at times, you didn't do anything wrong. You were my friend and brightened my day since my first one. You knew then it had a limited shelf life and one day I'd be gone. It will be different now, and we can trust each other on both the personal and professional level now. I don't doubt you, or our friendship."

She nodded, "Thank you, Greg. I don't feel like I deserve your forgiveness so easily, but I'm shameless enough to take advantage of it. She told me you'd tell me what happened, and also the version of events I need to know surrounding their death?"

"If you kiss me, I might tell you."

She snickered, and then she gave me a kiss that heated the blood and made my cock knock on her sexy ass, twice.

"I'd say that earned you story time," I said a little dazedly, and then proceeded to tell her everything in order. From when she left, to Katrina's decision on the story to go with of Andrei's and Damien's deaths. I only left out the personal stuff, where Katrina and I each offered the other freedom from the complications of the other, and that neither of us wanted it. Also the rest of the personal stuff, like our newly designed days and how much we loved each other. That was all private and intimate, after all.

I finished up, "Regardless, after our daily time together I'll be spending the nights with Katrina instead of hiding in here. I think there'll be other changes as well. Humans will always be vampire prey, but I think she's going to limit the abuse of blood servants, and perhaps insist they be let go when they're no longer wanted, and the vampires replace them with a new one. No more just killing them off."

Honestly it was still a little fucked up, but that was our world. Even if the abuse and murder stopped, it was still kidnapping, brain washing, and rape. Though I'm not sure that last one applied, all thirty-seven of the female vampires were hot as hell in their own ways, and what guy wouldn't see that as the one plus to the situation?

The bald truth though, was that humans were vampire prey. It was the natural order, and no amount of protest or outrage would change that fact. Mages were hardly any better that way, and even the shifters took advantage of their human business partners in ways.

Humanity only thought they were at the top of the predator and prey list, but the bald truth was that they were fourth.

She said, "That could be dangerous, as they could be missing for weeks or months before that happens, especially if she ensures they don't overfeed from their primary blood servant sources. Thirty-six other female vampires. If each one keeps a blood servant on average four months, that's one hundred and eight males appearing with four months of missing memories every single year."

I nodded, "It could be an exposure risk if it isn't handled right. It'd be a little more effort, but that's better than murder. So yeah, my magic and how they really died is between me, you, and her. If I never have to protect her from death out there, no one else is to know."

She smiled, "I won't forget. So what can you do?"

I smirked, "I can scent just how badly you want me right now."

She blushed.

I winked, "One more round, before bed?"

For her anyway, she's the one that had to sleep nights and work the day shift. I'd be up all night waiting for Katrina to return regardless, save mealtimes. So, I wasn't exactly eager to see Cassidy leave and be alone until four in the morning.