Defiant Destiny Ch. 02

She looked at me with wide, surprised eyes. "What? Don't you realize you're not really here?" she asked me.

Meeting her surprised gaze I answered sheepishly, "Well, I think I'm actually asleep on Earth, but I don't know how to wake myself up."

Apparently my answer stunned her somewhat, as she seemed at a loss for words. "Cyrea, you're Dream Walking," she finally said. "You've never done this consciously?"

I looked at her perplexed. Dream Walking? That was new... "Uhm, no. I haven't," I replied tentatively.

Eir tilted her head, deep in thought. "It seems your mate's soul gave you more than just those markings on your back," she mused. I arched my eyebrows in surprise. Wow!

"I've never come across a Dream Walker before, but I've read about them. From what I understand you need to envision yourself back in your body and will yourself to wake up," Eir advised me.

"Alright, I'll give it a try," I said, closing my eyes. I thought of my body, lying in bed, curled up next to Dante. A warm fuzzy feeling came over me as I thought of him. I imagined myself waking up and stroking his face. Suddenly I felt my body swirling and I opened my eyes to get my bearings. The last thing I saw was Eir smiling at me, then darkness closed in on me.

*** Dante ***

A faint scent reached my nose.

Blood.

Old, dried blood.

I tried to sniff it again, but the scent was too weak to detect. My body was too weak to move, and my senses were only just starting to come back to me. I slowly opened my eyes, but immediately closed them with a wince. The visual overload of my bedroom in broad daylight was too much for my disused eyes to bear. Keeping my eyes closed, I focused on the things I could distinguish. For one, I knew I was lying on my stomach in my bed. I also knew I was still naked, for I could feel the sheets beneath my body. They felt crispy in some places and I figured that was the dried blood I could smell.

Wait... Why was there blood on my sheets? Was it mine?

Worry and panic suddenly gripped me.

Or was it Cyrea's?

I tried opening my eyes again. Though I managed to keep them open a bit longer, the visuals were still too intense and I closed them with a weak, frustrated sigh. I did notice immediately that my senses were tremendously more sensitive. Apart from the dried blood I could also detect Cyrea's lingering scent on the bed.

An intense longing surged through me. I missed her and needed her near me. In my desire to inhale more of her scent my nose picked up another scent in the room.

A male's scent.

Instantly I felt my anger surfacing, but then detected a familiarity in that scent. Whose was it...?

Ah! Alexis! He'd been here too!

I heard movement coming from an adjacent room and was astounded at how detailed the sound was. Apparently someone was in my office, had just gotten up from my desk chair and quickly walked towards the bedroom. I listened for more sounds, but couldn't distinguish anything. I felt the presence come towards me, but my mind was too unfocused to recognize it.

"Cyrea?" I croaked, my voice a dry whisper from not having used it in ...how long? Footsteps hurried towards the headrest of the bed. I heard someone leaning down towards me and the faint scent of liquorice reached my nose. Again I attempted to open my eyes. A very relieved and tired looking Alexis was studying my face, his blonde hair a tangled mess. I frowned in confusion, but the light was yet again too much to bear and I winced my eyes shut. Alexis, bless him, silently understood and closed all of the blinds before grabbing a chair and sitting down next to me.

This time, keeping my eyes open was a lot easier. Bright sunlight had made room for a pleasant twilight and I could see everything. And I do mean everything. My vision was incredibly sharp, I could see each and every little hair of Alexis's stubble, the dust lying on a cabinet across the room, and even clearly count the legs of a spider in the far corner.

What I didn't see, and I intensely wanted to, was my Cyrea. I looked everywhere my eyes could reach and listened intently for any indication she was near. Nothing. No footsteps, no breathing - she wasn't in the room with me. A feeling of dread washed over me, where was she? Was she safe? Was someone hurting her without me there to protect her?

I tried getting up, but my body was having none of it. Weakness like nothing I had never experienced prevented me from moving. "Cyrea?" I finally managed to speak with a voice so soft I hoped Alexis could hear me. Merely being awake was quickly draining what little energy I had.

Alexis leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. Even though he was relieved, he looked at me with a sad and worried expression that didn't bode well.

He must have noticed the corresponding dread in my eyes and quickly replied, "Oh, Cyrea's fine." He managed to produce a small smile for my benefit. "She's weak from not feeding, but she'll be fine. She was in dire need of some rest and is still asleep on your office couch. No worries."

His eyes glided over my body and a chill ran over me when I realized his worry wasn't directed at Cyrea... but at me.

Again, I tried to move, but the effort made my vision blurry, and my heart beat erratically so I just lay still, watching Alexis as he tried to soothe me and softly said, "Don't move. You're very weak. Try not to waste any energy."

I decided it best to close my eyes, not liking where this was going.

"...Wh...at....." Weakness was preventing me from saying another word.

"Happened?" Alexis correctly guessed. I could hear him shift on his seat, probably thinking on his words. "You claimed Cyrea, made her yours, as she made you hers. It was thought to be impossible for a human to claim a succubus, but you proved them wrong. You did it." I could hear him smiling when he said it.

"However," he continued with a sigh, concern lacing his voice, "your body is paying a colossal price. Her bite that claimed you as hers, marking you, contained some of her soul - that's how a succubus is bound to her Master, their souls mingle when they bite each other during the claim." I heard Alexis rubbing his face with his hands. "When she bit you, her essence spread through you like an infection. It started changing your body, giving shape to your inner demon. This massive transformation ended up consuming all of your energy. This is the first time you've woken up in eight days." He paused, letting the information sink in.

My breath rushed out in a surprised gasp. Eight days?!

I heard Alexis hesitate, then clear his throat. "When I got here, you were lying on the bed, unconscious. You were thrashing badly, growling and tearing up the mattress with your claws. Your skin randomly split open and started healing by itself, over and over again." Alexis slowly let out a breath he'd been holding, giving me a moment to digest the information. I was flabbergasted. And terrified.

I knew I was alive, and apparently a demon now but, considering what Alexis told me and the current state of my body, I wasn't sure how long that would last.

"We have both watched over you," he continued with a weary voice. "Your body went through a massive change, slowly consuming all of your energy. We had no idea how your demonic side had taken shape and had no idea how to replenish your energy. We watched you wither away..." I could hear the strain in his voice as he filled me in.

So this was it... I was dying...

I was dying, and nobody had any idea how to save me from death because I was unique.

Great. Fucking great.

Before I had the chance to wallow in self pity, my ears picked up a new sound - irregular footsteps approached the bedroom. Then the most wonderful scent washed over me as Cyrea came to sit on the bed next to me. I opened my eyes to look at her, and even though I could only hold them open for a second, I was overjoyed at seeing her again. With my enhanced vision she looked even more beautiful. I desperately wanted to hold her, gaze into her eyes and bury my face in her tantalizing scent. But I couldn't. I couldn't even force my voice to call out her name.

Cyrea leaned over me, her hands tenderly caressing my cheeks and her lips placing a loving kiss on my mouth. My heart leaped with joy when I felt her touch and kiss.

Agony followed at my inability to return it.

"Shhh... It's okay..." she whispered with a broken voice. "I can feel your agony, dear Dante. I'm here now," she said, leaning over to kiss me again. "I'm so happy you've finally woken up, my love." I could hear her tears dropping on the bloodstained sheets beneath my face.

I opened my mouth to tell her something, but no sound came out.

"I dreamed you would wake up, and now you have." Relief flooded her tired, broken voice.

So many emotions wracked my exhausted body. Intense relief and happiness blended seamlessly with dread and despair. We were together. But I was dying. Fast. I wanted to roar both in joy and anger, but all I could do was lie here, weakened to the point of only being able to breathe shallow breaths.

Cyrea felt it. She must have felt my life ending, for more tears dripped down on the sheets next to my head, some landing on my face. Then I smelled it again - the same scent that awoke me moments earlier.

Blood.

It smelled... delicious! As more of Cyrea's tears landed on the bloodstained sheets, the dried blood moistened, producing that mouthwatering scent. I anxiously tried to breathe in more of it, desperate to find its source.

Both Cyrea and Alexis noticed a change in my behavior. "Dante?" Cyrea asked. "What is it?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but was unable to produce any intelligible answer of sorts. Now, with my mouth agape, the smell reached my tongue and I could almost taste the blood. My gums started itching like mad.

Cyrea laid her head down on my chest. "What can we do?" she sobbed dreadfully, not hiding the fear she felt while her nails desperately dug into my skin. "He's dying, Alexis... How can we help him?"

I heard Alexis move over to Cyrea, probably to comfort her, when he suddenly rushed to my side. I felt shaky fingers lift my upper lip. "Fangs! He's got fangs!" Alexis exclaimed. I felt Cyrea lift her head from my chest in confusion while Alexis continued to fondle my fangs.

"He's ...vampiric?" Cyrea asked.

"He must be," Alexis mumbled. I could hear some rustling as Cyrea stripped up the sleeve of the robe and probably unsheathed her claws, intending to cut her wrist and feed me her blood. Alexis quickly moved to stop her. "Wait, don't feed him your blood," he said, ignoring a fierce, menacing growl from Cyrea.

Alexis must have sensed her despair. "Please, let him drink from me. You're very weak already as it is, and I have a feeling you're going to need all your energy if this will replenish him," Alexis said, no doubt wearing that grin of his.

After a short pause I heard some more rustling and within seconds the all consuming smell of blood flooded my nostrils. The warm, thick liquid slowly seeped into my mouth and onto my tongue. My eyes flew open and I could feel fangs extend further in my mouth as the blood flowed down my throat. The taste of it was heavenly, and I longed for more. Swallowing weakly I managed to force some blood in my stomach. My body immediately started to tingle all over and I felt my strength slowly but surely creep back into my limbs with each gulp.

Alexis's blood was very potent - no wonder, he was a very powerful warrior in his time - and after swallowing a few times I had sufficient strength to hold his wrist to my mouth, after some more sips I was able to sit up straight on the bed. Just a little bit more and I started feeling like the old me. Realizing the new me was probably a lot stronger, and would require a lot more blood to replenish, I didn't dare drink more of Alexis's blood in fear of weakening him too much. I was extremely grateful for what he gave me and would figure out feeding later.

Swallowing my last mouthful I instinctively licked the wound on his wrist and to our surprise, the wound closed immediately, faster than Alexis's own healing skills could have pulled off.

"Neat trick," Alexis commented. He looked a little pale, which accentuated the bags under his eyes that had developed the past few days, making him look a lot older. He stared at his healed wrist for a moment, rubbing his thumb along the healed wound.

My angelic friend cast his tired eyes upon mine with a small grin. "Every time we meet, Dante, you keep amazing me. I cannot wait until we meet next time," he grinned with an excited twinkle in his eyes.

I chuckled, still tasting his metallic blood on my tongue and breath. "Thank you, Alexis. For everything," I said softly, mirroring his grin.

"Yes, thank you so much, Alexis!" Cyrea quipped, intense relief lacing her voice. She wrapped her arms tightly around me, staring lovingly into my eyes, her happiness at my survival making my heart soar.

My Cyrea. How ecstatic I was to be able to hold her again. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me, thrilled to feel her hair tickle my skin and her soft skin touch mine. The only thing I wanted to do was bask in her presence, draw her close, kiss her, touch her, make love to her, everything! But, I decided while I tore away my gaze from my wonderful soulmate, I must make sure Alexis was fine. I owed him that. Cyrea and I would have the rest of eternity to spend together, and as dire as my need for her was, I had to postpone our reunion for a little while for the sake of my friend.

Alexis merely regarded us with a warm, yet tired smile on his face, no doubt realizing we'd want nothing else than to enjoy each other right now. A large yawn crept upon his face. "I think I'm heading home to get some rest. The two of you can handle yourselves fine without me," he said with a wink and stood up from his chair, slowly and unsteadily.

Cyrea giggled in my embrace and cast a mischievous look my way, one that I mirrored with a lecherous stare. Alexis smiled warmly at us, managed to take two wobbly steps, but lost his balance and fell.

He didn't hit the ground though. With tremendous speed I dashed off the bed and caught him in my arms. Again, I managed to surprise all present. Alexis chuckled a weak "Thank you," and looked at me with a big grin, pride shining through his eyes. "Dante, I am grateful we have met, and I am honored to be by your side. Great things lie ahead of you, and I cannot wait to see you grow into your full potential," he said, staring at me intently.

He patted my arm, still smiling, and got up slowly. "Easy there," I said, carefully eyeing his balance. Damn, I felt so guilty for his current state. Maybe I drank too much from him? I had no idea yet how much was too much. "I'm sorry if I got too greedy with your blood... I don't..." I tried explaining to him.

Alexis immediately dismissed my apology with a wave of his hand. "I'm fine," he said. "I stood up too quickly last time, but I'm fine now," he assured us, seeing Cyrea and me look at him warily. Alexis attempted to walk again, but stopped before landing his first step. "If you could help me get into a taxi though, that would be much appreciated. Then the two of you can finally start feeding each other," he added with a knowing smirk.

"Naturally!" Cyrea replied with a grand smile and flowed over to him to take his arm and support Alexis on his way downstairs towards the factory exit.

I did not follow them down. I could not. I was frozen to the spot, tightly clenching my fists and needing a moment to actively stop myself from growling. My possessiveness towards Cyrea picked a horrible time to rear its head. Alexis was a friend, a good friend! One who had just saved my fucking life!

'No growling, Dante, come on. You can do this. It's Alexis, for fucks sake!' I chastised myself.

I took a deep breath, trying hard to ignore the scent of another male. Another male that was currently touching my mate! Another growl simmered in my chest.

'NO! No growling, Dante. Focus. A few more breaths. There we go. Calm as a cucumber. Good.' I repeated to myself, like a mantra, managing to calm myself.

I raced after Cyrea and Alexis and caught them right before exiting the building. Alexis noticed my absence, but was too tired to say anything about it and Cyrea smiled apologetically at me. Perhaps she somehow felt my emotions? No matter, we would just see off Alexis safely and we'd have all the time in the world to talk.

***

The big factory door closed behind us with a heavy thump. We had safely delivered Alexis into a taxi and were finally alone again. Relieved, I sat down on the floor and rested my back against the cold factory door, pulling Cyrea close to me - intensely happy that I was now physically able to and I buried myself in her scent. Oh, that wonderful scent of hers, I wanted nothing more than to surround myself with it all the time. I eagerly rubbed my face in her neck and curls. The mere feeling of her breath on my chest made me sigh in deep relief that we were going to be OK.

In the back of my mind I felt my joy and relief, though, somehow I felt those emotions ...twice? Suddenly Cyrea tensed in my arms, and a new emotion invaded my mind - dread. That emotion definitely wasn't mine... I put my finger on her chin and tilted her head towards mine, studying her face. The feeling of dread that I felt in my mind was visible on her face. Then I realized it, it was her emotion I felt.

"What's wrong?" I whispered, tucking a crimson curl behind her ear.

Cyrea looked at me with her deep blue, slightly teary eyes. "It's nothing," she replied, blinking rapidly. "I just realized that your bed nearly became your death bed," she whispered shakily.

I picked up my mate - pleasantly surprised at how strong my transformation had made me - and positioned her on my legs so she straddled me. I wanted nothing more than to rid her of that horrible dread she felt and pulled her into a tight embrace, tenderly stroking her back and hair.

"It's OK... I survived... I'm fine now..." I whispered in her hair, letting my fingers glide through her curls, taking my time to consciously enjoy the moment and being thankful I was alive.

The dread in her (and therefore my) mind lessened and she relaxed in my embrace. "I'm so happy you're fine now, my dear Dante. So immensely happy," she murmured against my throat and I felt her nose nuzzle my neck.

Cyrea lovingly kissed my neck and trailed her kisses up to my cheek. She started wiggling deliciously on my lap, rubbing herself all over me. With a tired voice she whispered, "The last time I fed, was from you, and that was eight days ago. I feel very weak and really need to feed from you now, my love."

I looked at Cyrea, really looked at her and to my disgrace I now saw the signs of her weakness. Her aura was weak, almost transparent, her skin an unhealthy type of pale and her eyes were bloodshot.

I groaned in shame and held her close to me. "I'm so sorry my love, forgive me for not noticing..." I said, placing butterfly kisses all over her face. An idea came to me. "Please, use your aphrodisiac on me so you can feed quickly and thoroughly from me," I asked her.

She looked up at me, surprised I knew of that little succubus trick. A naughty smile appeared on her face. "What a delicious idea, my dear Dante," she mused and stretched her ethereal wings above us, shaking them rapidly. I looked up to see her shiny powder descend on my skin, being absorbed immediately.

Cyrea regarded me with an approving smile and a devilish sparkle in her eyes. She leaned in close to my ear. "I would love to see how intense your lust can become, my love..." she seductively whispered in my ear and licked my neck. "I cannot wait for the wonderful feeding you're going to give me..." she added, her voice turning into a hoarse moan, and rubbed her body seductively along mine.