Taming an Immortal Ch. 07

NB: So sorry this took so long! Had some issues uploading but all is good now. Chapter 8 should be ready next week. Enjoy!

***

Blood was at the forefront of his mind when he stormed into the castle grounds; eyes pure gold with his wings trailing fire behind him. His swords glowed, melded to both hands; their edges demanding a sacrifice.

No one dared to stop his path, his servants running away to hide at the sight of their master in his true form.

"Marcela!" he roared, the sound echoing within the castle walls. "You've come to be my mate? Then come and fight your way to the position."

"Etienne!" An exasperated shriek from his mother, as she looked down at him from one of the towers.

"If you live... we will wed tomorrow." His snarl was pure animal as he stared his mother in the eyes. She had pushed him to this. Now she'd pay the price.

"My Lord..." a meek voice behind him. "I do not wish to fight you." Marcela was on her knees, sword upright in the ground in front of her.

"Pick up your sword or I will kill you." For daring to hurt his Rose... for daring to think she had a right to replace her. Looking up at where his mother still stood, he growled. "Then I'll come for you."

"Pick up your goddamn sword Marcela!" she shouted from the towers. "Your duty is to protect your Queen!"

Etienne smirked. It was so like his mother, sacrificing a pawn to save herself.

Bound by her blood bond to his mother, Marcela had no choice but to fight. Her allegiance made it impossible to deny her mistress, especially when Etienne had specifically threatened her life.

A Pureblood warrior, Marcela wasted no time on testing stunts - she went straight for his jugular; her own wings spreading out to reach his height. He still towered over her but size alone was not going to save her life. He slashed out at her - the sword of seven branches sending golden streaks across the courtyard, aimed at dismembering her into pieces.

One managed a deep tear at her wing arch but Marcela kept her momentum, jumping again and again at him; her sword thrown like a javelin to launch for his chest.

Etienne barely missed it, the blade cutting into his wing instead. It was barely a scratch.

"Stupid move Marcela." Weaponless, her only defence was to fly high in an attempt to avoid his blades of fury.

Etienne didn't think so. Pushing himself off the ground, he feigned a kick aimed for her stomach. As expected, she ducked - right into the killing blow of his sword going right across her body, splitting the Pureblood into two.

"Marcela!" The screams of his mother echoed through the air, a second before she leaped off the tower to the fallen warrior's side. Elisa's eyes were pure gold as she looked up at him, scowling and baring her fangs.

"Are you satisfied now?" His mother spat in disgust.

"I could kill you too... but I won't." he said, slowly feeling the blood lust leaving his body, returning him to his normal self -fiery wing melding into his back, like a tattoo against his skin.

While he sheathed his seven-branched sword, he still held Masamune tight in his right hand, approaching the two female Purebloods before him. As always, he could see the keepers of the underworld slowly moving towards the dying body before him; fear in their eyes at the sight of Masamune glowing in their presence.

"What... what are you -" his mother stammered, her eyes fixated on the blade.

The white flash of his sword sliced through the women -harming nothing except the underworld keepers; halting the imminent death of his adversary.

"Put yourself together Marcela and never return." Etienne had his back to them, satisfied that the lesson had been taught and understood by every single Vampire in the castle: Lord Etienne chooses who will live and who will die.

"As for you mother, you are no longer welcomed here. I suggest you leave as well if you value your life. Masamune agrees that yours is a waste to save."

He could still hear her cursing and screaming at him even as he walked away; his anger sated, but another much stronger need raged within him.

This time, he wasn't planning on letting her go.

***

Rose shivered as the cold storm blew a gush of raindrops at her face when she woke up to close the windows. The howling wind was so strong that the wooden cabin shook at its base, sending Rose in a state of panic.

Kirke's hut had once been damaged from a falling branch and she remembered crying as she tried to escape from her room. Rose only hoped that she wouldn't be trapped underneath the rubble should the cabin collapse.

Curling her knees to her chest, Rose huddled on the floor beside her bed, rocking herself silently for comfort. She had her eyes shut tight and head burrowed between her knees when a loud banging sound came knocking on her door.

Her fingers trembled as the reached for the sword under her bed. Just who would be knocking at her door at this hour and in this weather?

Tiptoeing towards the door, she tried to peep in the cracks, hoping to get a glimpse of the stranger but all she could see was a looming shadow.

"Open the door Rose."

That voice - it could only belong to one person.

When she unlocked the door, the wood flung open, threatening to break at its hinges from the force of the wind. But the sight of her dangerous visitor, dark and drenched was a more frightening sight.

"My Lord! You're bleeding!" Rose pushed against the door with all her might, locking it against the brutal storm.

The Pureblood turned to his back and snorted. "It will heal."

But Rose was already rushing to her medicine cabinet. "Take off your shirt. You're crazy coming here in this weather!"

The handsome, chiselled face had his chin up arrogantly. Sometimes, Rose didn't know why she bothered with him. He was the most frustrating male species she had ever met!

He simply stood in the middle of the room, glowering at her.

Seeing that he refused to remove his shirt, she picked up a pair of shears from her kit and looked up at him.

She waited three heartbeats before rushing to his back, slicing the material through. As the wet silk peeled away, Rose couldn't help but stare at the Pureblood's naked back - a sight she had never been given privy to until now. Rose understood the concession he was giving her.

Dragon wings etched on skin; alive at her touch, the lines twitching as she stroked the sensitive arcs. True enough, the gaping hole on one of his wings had already started to clot, forming a healing membrane around itself. But with the rain, she didn't want to risk it. An infection could happen at any time and from her experience at Kirke's, she knew that many wounded died from those more often than the wounds itself.

"You need to get dried," she fussed, tugging the remainder of his shirt off his body, ignoring the lean, defined muscles exposed to her for the first time. It took every ounce of resistance in her to avoid touching him unnecessarily.

He accepted the towel from her, wiping his damp skin before using it to draw out the water in his hair.

Meanwhile, she returned her attention to his back, patting a dry towel on his skin to whisk away as much moisture as she could. With a small cloth, she then wiped the wounded area gently with a disinfecting medicine.

"You were fighting." She concluded, noting the familiar marks made by a sword.

"You disapprove." Not a question.

Rose didn't need to ask who he was fighting with for she knew that was the reason why he came back for her. She only hoped that Marcela was not injured too badly. Mean as she was, the Pureblood was not cruel.

"I've placed a protective gauze over it, so don't get it wet with your hair. Meanwhile, you should take off the rest of your clothes and dry off." She had to leave. "I'll see if I can find something for you to wear."

His laboured breathing stilled suddenly; silvery eyes fixed on hers. "You have male clothes in this house? Why?"

Rose didn't bother to reply, planning to barricade herself behind the bedroom door. She could already hear him coming for her, the streak of possessiveness evident in every step.

She had barely locked the door when he banged against it.

"Rose. Open the door before I break it down." Such a calm voice that no doubt belonged to a very dangerous Vampire.

"Not until you stop and return to the living room. You're in my house now so play by my rules."

"Don't push me," he growled but Rose could hear retreating steps from her door. Glancing at her cupboards, she decided it was probably better to have a naked Vampire in her cabin than a featherless Drake in the morning.

A blanket would have to do.

Lord Etienne was pacing around her living room with only a towel wrapped around his waist; his long hair draped in front of his chest.

"I promise I won't kill him," he said when she threw the blanket at him.

"I am staying here out of a favour to a friend so you will not lay a hand on him."

Silver eyes narrowed suspiciously at her. "Then why won't you come home with me?" When she didn't answer, he stopped prowling and stared at her. "Of course, if you'd rather I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out."

He'd do it. She knew that for certain.

"Why did you come here my Lord? You could have come in the morning."

He covered the distance between them in one stride. The heat was gone from his eyes; only a gentleness when he caressed her cheeks lightly with his knuckles. "Because I need you tonight."

She didn't expect that.

"My bed is not big enough for us," she whispered.

"Then I will sit by your bed and watch you."

For Lord Etienne, that would probably be his way of saying he missed her. Rose felt her own resolve fading. Wrapping her hands around him, she allowed the contact, feeling his body sagging against hers. Rose knew that he would continue to seek her, to find solace to the nightmares that plagued him even if he would someday be mated to someone else.

***

Sometime in the middle of the night, Rose had rolled down from her bed, curling up into a cocoon as she always did as a child. Nesting her against his chest, he kept still, drawing the blanket over both of them to keep her warm.

It was only when she started to stir awake did he move to look down at her.

"You fell off your bed," he whispered, nuzzling his face in her hair. "I didn't want to wake you up."

"Are you comfortable my Lord?" she mumbled; eyes still closed with a sleepy drawl in her voice. "I have more blankets if you're cold."

He felt her body relaxing into sleep again.

"Rose?"

"Hmm?" One sleepy eye opened to look at him.

"When we are alone like this..." A warm hand stroking back her hair. "I want you to call me by my name."

She nodded against his chest, a soft purr in her throat. "I love you Etienne..."

And then nothing, not even the booming thunder could wake her up.

***

"Etienne is becoming a problem," said Ealdwin, having arrived from his chateaux down south.

Her fine china tea cup broke when she crushed it between her fingers at the mention of his name.

Elisa had always thought that marrying Montgomery was her ticket to power and wealth but the bastard had turned her away, choosing instead to love a human. It served him right to die a human death!

If not for his carbon copy standing before her, Elisa had no desire to remember that arrogant face, stubborn nose and chiselled jawline - traits he had also passed on to their one heir.

"I don't even know if I should send him another candidate - not after he sliced the last one in half right in front of my very eyes!"

Ealdwin took no notice of her outburst, choosing to sit next to her at the dining table.

"Perhaps we should consider an alternative," he replied instead, covering her hands with his. "I have a preposition that may benefit us both tremendously."

Elisa turned to him; perceptive eyes trying to seek out any deception in his words. Where Montgomery was kind, Ealdwin had the soul of a snake. The twins were perhaps initially intended to be a whole balanced person but fate decided a split would serve the world better.

"With less than thirty days and at the rate he's killing off his candidates, I'd say it's best to be prepared for the worst."

Elisa didn't trust the dramatic show of sadness one bit. But, she was willing to listen.

"It's that human child he lets follow him around like a pet. She has to be removed from the equation." Elisa seethed, recalling the murderous look on her son's face when he realised she was gone.

Ealdwin let out a cold, full-bodied laugh. "That is not an issue. Dead or alive, that human has no effect on my plan."

Now she was intrigued. A plan that didn't include Rose? How interesting.

"Pray tell," she said.

"Well, Lady Elisa, would you like to be the Queen again?"

Her eyes widened with shock at his suggestion. The nerve to suggest an alliance!

"Should Etienne fail to mate before the end of the sixty days, the throne naturally falls to me. I have no desire to chase human women nor do I plan to sustain their continued existence on my lands. So my Lady, it is only natural that I seek the best mate for the throne."

A very promising offer -but...

"If you can bring me back the head of that pretty little human pet, I will consider it an engagement gift."

Silvery eyes twinkled with excitement. "Of course my Lady. Nothing stands between me and your acceptance." He bowed, kissing her hand once before exiting the room.

Elisa smirked at the arrogance in his voice. Ealdwin had no idea the length of which her son would go to protect that child.

Good luck with that.

***

When the storm finally calmed, Etienne allowed himself a gentle caress on her cheeks; feeling her breath upon his fingers. The words she had whispered to him would probably be forgotten when she woke up but for him, it meant the world.

Rose had always loved him, as a child with her innocent ways and now as a woman. His only regret was not knowing how to reciprocate that love - his words and actions always misconstrued as indifference.

Perhaps marking her would have been the best solution. After all, Vampire and Changeling women thrived on that; the desire to be paraded around. But hadn't he already said that she belonged to him? Scent marking wouldn't have mattered to a human nose after all, so why was she still pushing him away?

This human female was infuriating! Just look at her - soft and pliant in his arms, her innocence trusting that he would behave while she slept. So many times during the night, she had ground her lush bottom on his naked groin and he did nothing. How could she demand such obedience from him without even having to ask?

The truth was crippling. Etienne was turning into his father.

"Mmm..." Rose was stirring; stretching as she yawned her sleep away.

"Good morning Rose."

She peeped open an eye at the window. "It's still dark. I'm going back to sleep."

"You can sleep after," he said, finally shifting his position so she would be sitting upright on his lap.

"After what?"

"This." His lips crushed over hers, claiming the kiss that belonged to him; hands cradling her head to angle her body to fit in his. There was no denying it anymore - she was made for him; every sigh music to his ears, his blood humming in rhythm to her heartbeat.

She purred against his kiss when his hands moved lower to the bunching material around her hips.

"No, wait..." she pulled away, slapping at his claws. Etienne growled when she stood up, cutting off their skin contact.

But then, Rose pulled the dress all the way up and over her shoulders, tossing it aside to stand naked and beautiful in front of him. She might have thought the darkness was ample cover for her but he saw everything as clear as day -the lush mounds of her breasts to the flat petite waist and the generous flair of her hips. Despite having bared everything to him before, she still blushed, attempting to cover herself with her hands.

God was she adorable.

Getting to his feet, he dropped the blanket and stood finally, skin to skin in front of her. Rose instinctively wrapped her hands around his neck; resting her head on his chest as they swayed to soundless music. She fitted perfectly into him.

"Rose? Remember what I told you last time about saying my name?" he whispered against her hair. "Since it's just you and me now... make sure you scream when I'm inside of you."

Her head snapped up, eyes blinking to no doubt get a better look at him in the dark. He was sure that she could see the mischief in his silvery eyes - his intentions clear.

So when she made no move to pull away, he bent his head to capture her lips once more; his hands roaming down her back to pull her closer to him. His kiss was demanding, a man knowing what he wanted; his tongue exploring and coaxing hers in a sensual dance. Pulling away from the kiss, he used his teeth to gently bite at her lower lip, pulling the plump flesh into a gentle suckle before moving down to the side of her throat.

There would be no more holding back tonight. Kissing the throbbing vein, he felt his incisors lengthening; the need to mark her so strong within him. So when Rose turned her head to offer more of her neck, he claimed her - piercing into her delicate flesh and tasting the sweet pureness of her essence.

Rose whimpered against him, her pleasure from the bite coursing through his body simultaneously. In mated Vampire couples, this pleasure was usually shared; each experiencing what the other felt. But for now, he would be satisfied even if it was just one way.

Moving his hands up from her thighs, he began to mould his palms against her tender breasts, hearing her moans when he sought her nipples, pinching and rubbing them between his fingers.

Keeping one hand still on her breast, he sneaked the other down between her legs, feeling her thighs parting instinctively to his touch. She was already so wet, the scent of her arousal thick in the air. It pleased him when she rubbed herself against his intruding finger; impatient to have them inside her.

Not wanting to deny her the pleasure, he pushed two fingers straight into the slippery folds, feeling instantly her rush of ecstasy coursing through his veins. Rose was moaning, the grip around his neck going slack as he continued to thrust his fingers in and out of her. Only when her legs started to shake, he retracted his fangs, licking the puncture marks on the side of her neck.

Scooping her into his arms, he walked over to the bed, climbing on top of her once she had lain down comfortably on the mattress; arms holding on to the wooden bar of the bed, her body arched in offering.

Etienne brought his lips down to her breasts, finally covering a nipple with his mouth, biting gently on the sensitive nub. He lavished it with a full suckle before turning his attention to its twin.

"Etienne..." An impatient moan; her thighs moving upwards to grind against him.

"Be patient." He slapped her gently on the hips. For her first time, he only wanted her to feel pleasure and nothing of the pain. "Touch me."

She didn't hesitate this time, her fingers gentle as they stroked the length of his cock. Etienne had to remember to breathe when she closed her fingers around the shaft, moving her hand up and down as he had taught her before. When she started to tighten her fist to stroke harder, Etienne had to put his hand over hers. He wanted the pleasure to be mutual.

"Come on top of me," he whispered, helping position her so that her back was to him and his cock hers to pleasure. Tentative at first, she leaned forward; one hand gripping his erection carefully while her lips descended slowly to the top of his cock.