The Council Ch. 12

"You can still go," Nors smiled moving up to nip at her earlobe. "You can ask Loretta to drive you over. It's a meeting for all the mated couples. Think Jared will be there too."

His words piqued her curiosity but his lips were piquing something completely different. She wriggled against him, sighing again. "Are you going to tease me all night, Nors?" she asked breathlessly.

His lips stilled and he raised his head to look down at her. He could see the deep need in her eyes, the scent of her arousal starting to fill the room. He was trying to be romantic and loving but it would appear his wolf had other ideas for how their night was going to progress.

"You make it shockingly difficult to do the right thing, my Ashleigh," he laughed softly, his eyes twinkling as the blood started pounding in his veins. Her desire instantly sparked his and he was quickly changing his mind about lust not having a place in the night's entertainment.

"Sometimes doing the right thing is so overrated," she countered with a sultry smile, her hand tugging at his belt buckle as she sought to free him from his jeans.

"God, Ash, are you trying to kill me?" he groaned as she wrapped her hand around his throbbing length and stroked him boldly with long hard strokes. He was instantly under her spell, his hips moving to meet her strokes as he growled loudly with pleasure.

Ashleigh loved the way Nors surrendered to her. It made her wolf howl with glee that their mate was helpless when it came to them. The deep throaty sounds he made spurred her lust and she stroked him harder, loving the feel of him in her hand.

She moved away slightly so she could lean forward. A guttural roar left his mouth as she took him in hers and began to feast on his amazing body. She slid her wet mouth up and down his length, sucking gently at the tip before laving his entire shaft with her tongue. He tasted so good, so hard and yet so soft at the same time.

"Ash," Nors ground out hoarsely, pulling her from his cock before he lost all control and emptied himself into her mouth. As pleasing as that idea was he wanted to bury his cock inside her sexy body more. He kissed her wildly as his hands stripped her clothes off eagerly. She was pulling at his shirt just as frantically.

Ashleigh giggled as they fell about the bed in their haste to get each others clothes off. "You do yours and I'll do mine," she laughed, giving up on trying to get him naked when it interfered with him trying to get her naked. It was almost like a race to see who finished undressing first before they were back in each others arms.

"You're so beautiful," Nors whispered, staring down at her before he leaned forward and caught her mouth in a breathtaking kiss.

She moaned and rubbed sensuously against him, running her hands down his back and squeezing his ass hard, trying to get the message across that she wanted some hot lusty action and wasn't prepared to wait.

"My, you're impatient," he chuckled lightly a second before he flipped her onto her stomach and then pulled her up on her hands and knees. He lined his cock up with her wet pussy lips and teased her with a long strokes against her slickness. He wanted to hear her moan loudly. He wanted to drive her wild with lust so he teased her ruthlessly, sliding a hand forward to toy with her breasts and tweak at her nipples.

"Nors, for the love of God will you stop teasing me," Ashleigh ground out through clenched teeth, a long throaty growl issuing from her throat signalling her wolf was very close to the surface and very impatient. "Fuck me," she demanded hoarsely.

For a moment Nors thought he hadn't heard her right, his body stilling all movements. Had his sweet little Ashleigh just demanded that he fuck her? He'd never heard her utter a curse word in his life and the shock of it stunned him for a second and then his base instincts took over.

"You want me to fuck you?" he growled softly, teasing her clit once more with the head of his cock. "Not only are you impatient but you're also very demanding, my little wolf." He plunged deep inside her as he finished speaking, taking her with a long, hard stroke that ripped the breath from her body. If she really wanted to be fucked then who was he to refuse his woman?

"Oh God," Ashleigh moaned pressing back against him. She loved the way he filled her, the way he completed her. He placed one arm around her stomach and rested the other on the bed beside her. Then he withdrew and thrust back inside her in one fluid stroke.

Liquid fire rushed through her as Nors stroked into her in hard, relentless movements. He knew exactly what to do to her body to give her the maximum amount of pleasure and he was giving her exactly what she craved. He rode against her hard and fast, spearing her throbbing pussy over and over again until she was breathless with pleasure, her moans joining together into one long breathy sound.

A loud growl ripped from Nors' throat. His wolf felt so good wrapped around his aching cock, her body thrusting back hard to meet each thrust. Lord, she made such sexy noises that drove him completely insane. Just knowing that he was the cause of those sounds was enough to make his blood boil.

He was usually more gentle with her. At times he forgot she was a wolf and had an animalistic lust buried deep within her. She rivalled him with her need, pressing him on to take her harder and faster. His vampiric nature rose up and he surrendered to it, fucking into her ruthlessly but maintaining enough control to ensure he wasn't too overzealous with his woman.

He could feel Ashleigh trembling, knew she was close to her climax, that soon his beautiful wolf would be soaring the heights of her pleasure. He loved it when she soared, when every painful moment of her life was forgotten and she rode the total bliss of her physical release. He loved bringing her that one perfect moment of total ecstasy.

He plunged harder and faster within her sexy body as he felt his own release approach, the tension in his stomach coiling higher with each thrust. "Fly for me, Ashleigh," he growled leaning forward to graze her collarbone with his lips. "Cum for me, beautiful one."

Ashleigh flew for him as if on command. She was almost at the point of peaking when his lips touch her skin, his words growling softly in her ear. The sweet tension within her body broke as he thrust hard into her body and she cried out loudly as she exploded in mind numbing pleasure.

"Nors," she moaned, her body shaking wildly as she felt him thicken inside her and then he groaned loudly and jerked into her with short hard strokes, emptying his hot seed deep within her body. Her own pleasure enhanced with his release and she ground herself back onto his cock hard as they shattered together in erotic bliss.

"Fuck me?" Nors chuckled deeply as they lay wrapped in a jumble of tangled arms and legs, both their breathing laboured as they came down from the height of their passion.

Ashleigh flushed pink and laughed lightly. "I'm not a china doll, Nors," she teased gently. "You don't have to be so careful of me all the time."

"So I'm starting to notice," he laughed back hugging her tightly and dropping a long, slow kiss on her delicious lips. "There is something so very erotic about hearing such vulgar language coming out of these sweet lips," he murmured again her mouth.

She giggled and rubbed herself against him stroking her hands down his back lovingly. "Then I may need to indulge in some more eroticism again sometime soon," she whispered huskily.

Nors groaned and kissed her again. "Anytime, little wolf," he breathed softly, gathering her close and pulling the covers over their tired bodies.

*****

The two vampires enclosed themselves in one of the private rooms off the main Council Chamber. The room was completely soundproofed and also surrounded by a faint static buzz which was barely audible even to vampires' keen hearing. The static ensured no vampire could 'listen' in with their mental abilities and the soundproofing kept any vocal conversations completely private.

Daniel paced up and down, pausing to circle the tiny table and two chairs which were all the furniture in smallish room before striding the length and breadth again. His long black braid swayed as he paced, his beautiful face hard and wearing a dark scowl.

"This is fucking outrageous," he suddenly growled turning to face his companion. He pierced Roberto with a hard gaze, frustration clearly evident in his eyes. "I told you to get Cristoph onside. How fucking hard can it be to bribe the bastard? If Andrei can do so then why the fuck can't you?"

He was furious that every attempt to convince the other Council member to side with him against Andrei had failed so far. The vampire was as corrupt as they came and sold himself to the highest bidder. But for some reason he wasn't willing to accept any of the bribes Daniel had thrown his way.

Without Cristoph switching sides he would never wrestle control of the Council away from Andrei. There was no hope in hell of ever convincing Stephan to switch allegiance. Any attempt to approach him would lead to Andrei finding out instantly.

"He's scared of Andrei," Roberto snorted with a sneer of disgust on his face. He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I think he's ready to wet himself over Alexei too. The word is Alexei has been visiting some of Cristoph's business interests. He hasn't done anything, he just lets him know that he's been there. So Cristoph is watching his back from both of the twins. Apparently he's factored in that they're so friendly with Demetri Bozic too so he's not willing to shift an inch away from supporting Andrei."

Daniel hissed in frustration and clenched his fists tightly. "Fucking Romanovs," he growled. "They think they're untouchable as do those fucking Ancients. WE are the Council. WE hold the power. Just because less than a handful of our people have managed to keep their heads for over two thousand years it does not give them any power. It's time to hammer this message home, Roberto. It's time our people came to understand just who has the real power."

The other vampire's eyes widened fractionally. "You want to go up against the Ancients?" he asked in a surprised tone. "Caleb has some serious backing, Daniel. You know what Demetri is like too when someone fucks with him or his. You just need to look at what happened to Janick and Graves. Add Nors and Freya into the mix and we're talking a sure fire civil war if you mess with them."

"Of course I'm not going to take them on," Daniel growled loudly giving his friend a hard glare. "I don't need to take on the Ancients. I just need control of The Council. If we can't get Cristoph on board then we need to neutralise Andrei somehow."

Roberto sighed and closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. "And how do you intend to neutralise him? He's a fucking psychopath, Daniel. They don't give a shit about anything other than themselves. The only weakness Andrei has is his brother and he's as much of a psychopath as he is. Together the two of them are formidable." He didn't know why he was telling his friend this. He already knew it.

Daniel suddenly smiled and sat down in the chair across from Roberto. "My spies tell me otherwise," he said quietly, his eyes flashing with excitement. "Apparently Andrei is seeing a woman at the moment, not just any woman either but one of the Hanlon pack. He appears to be quite attached to her. If word got out about this disgusting relationship it would seriously weaken him and any support he has."

His smile widened even further. "If we hinted at something particularly abhorrent, like a mating or something then our people would want to stamp it out. We'd be killing two birds with one stone. Taking down Andrei and also getting retribution against the pack for killing our people last year. Hell, it would be three birds because those fucking Ancients would lose face too, having defended the dogs against their own kind."

Roberto blinked slowly and then started to laugh loudly. "You're fucking evil, Daniel," he laughed, even as he sat forward intently, his mind whirling quickly. "You know what would make this work even better? If we got this dog he's fucking and made her lie in front of a Council meeting. I'm sure we'd be able to 'convince' her to say whatever we wanted her to say." He watched his friend's eyes light up.

"That's a wonderful suggestion," Daniel smiled softly. "If the bitch admitted she was mating with Andrei in front of everyone then there would be nothing the Romanovs or the Ancients could do about it. Andrei would be kicked off The Council. Once I had full control I could then bring in new laws that effectively cut the Ancients off at their knees, rendering them completely powerless."

He rubbed his hands together and sighed softly. "Pick up the bitch and do it quickly," he ordered. "I want to be able to call a meeting within the next twenty four hours. Make sure neither Stephan or Cristoph get any wind of this. Use some out of town vampires to do the collection. I don't want Andrei to know what's going to hit him."

Roberto rose swiftly a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "You know this might actually be the one thing that could sway Cristoph," he mused quietly. "If he believed that Andrei was mating with a dog it would be a step too far for him. It may even sway Stephan too though I'm not so sure about him."

Daniel tapped his lip with one long finger and then nodded slowly. "When you have the bitch take Cristoph down with you to the holding area. Convince him of the lie. It will strengthen my position when we bring Andrei to his knees. Don't involve Stephan though. He can't be trusted. He will side with the Romanovs no matter what the truth really is."

Nodding Roberto left to do as Daniel bid, leaving his friend alone in the room.

"Your time has come, Andrei," Daniel laughed softly. "I'm so going to enjoy cutting your balls off you arrogant bastard."

*****

Loretta yawned and rolled over to peer at the clock. She was immediately engulfed in a pair of strong arms and pressed tightly against a hard, warm chest, a deep sigh escaping her.

"How are you feeling?" Andrei rumbled softly, his lips brushing the top of her head.

"I keep telling you I'm fine," she answered, her tone slightly peeved. He had been acting very strangely ever since she'd woken up from her sleep the night before. The stupid vampire had practically hovered over her when she'd gotten up to go to bathroom. She'd had to slam the door in his face to get some privacy.

It had been kind of endearing in a way at first but then it had started to become truly irritating. Her stomach bug had passed quickly, yet he had watched her every move, been overly solicitous and attentive. He had most definitely not been the Andrei she knew and loved and it had freaked her out a bit.

She had eventually growled at him and threatened to go home if he didn't stop his weirdness. That had appeared to have worked until it was bedtime. She could only imagine the look of disbelief which had crossed her face when he had refused to make love to her. She had actually thought that he'd been joking at first. Andrei refusing sex? That surely had been a joke, right? But he had mumbled something about being tired and kissed her lightly before folding his arms around her and going to sleep.

Loretta had lain there for a moment waiting for the punch line but all she'd gotten was the sound of Andrei's deep even breathing. Frustrated she'd had no option but to close her eyes and go to sleep herself but she wasn't very happy about it.

Now it was morning and despite still feeling a bit put out that he hadn't wanted her the night before, she had to concede that the full night's sleep had done her a power of good. She felt rested and refreshed. She also felt incredibly horny and the feel of Andrei's hard body against hers was exciting her unbearably. She sighed softly and rubbed herself against him sensually.

Andrei inhaled deeply against Loretta's throat, stifling down a yawn. He'd barely slept the night before, spending most of it just staring at his wolf and scenting her over and over again. If he'd hoped the new scent of lilac would have disappeared at some point during the night he was sadly mistaken. The scent was still there only it was slightly stronger now.

He'd spent hours trying to wrap his head around the fact that the lilac scent was a new life he had helped his wolf create. It was just so staggering, so shocking that it was even possible. He didn't know what to do about it. He ached to tell Loretta what he knew and yet he couldn't, not for a few days at least, until Caleb decided it was safe enough to do so.

He wanted to go against the Ancient but the tale of what had happened to the first mated Vampire and Were couple was still ringing in his head. If the news got out that Loretta was pregnant with his child before The Council could be taken care of then her life was forfeit. Her life and the child's. While he had to honestly admit to himself that he found it hard to be as concerned about the child's well being, he knew he couldn't allow anything to happen to his wolf.

He hugged Loretta tighter and stroked her back lightly. He felt like a bastard for caring more about her than the child she carried. He knew when she found out about the baby it would bring her a level of joy he may never be able to understand. He wanted to be able to feel that too but at the moment he was still too stunned at the news.

Would she hate him when she learned that he had known about the baby and hadn't told her right away? Would she understand why he had to keep quiet about it? Would she leave him if she found he couldn't love their child the way another mate would? He prayed he could adapt to this new change. He didn't ever want to let his wolf down and he was terrified that he was going to and she would hate him forever for doing so.

He felt Loretta rub against him and he stifled down a deep groan. Her arousal was scenting up the room in a very appealing manner and his body was automatically reacting to it. He tightened his arms around her to halt her movements before she drove him insane and he ravished her delectable body the way he had ached to do the night before but had denied himself.

"So you're going to squeeze me to death now?" Loretta groaned softly, frustration tingeing her voice as she realised he wasn't going to do anything about her morning arousal. She waited until he released his grip on her and sat up. "Seriously, Andrei, what on earth has gotten into you? So I was a little sick yesterday. I'm fine now. I wish you'd calm down and stop acting so strangely."

She was horny and frustrated and really starting to feel irritated that he didn't appear to want her this morning anymore than he had the night before. She wasn't a morning person at the best of times but this morning her moods felt particularly volatile and her anger level was rising a bit unpredictably.

She glared down at him waiting for a response but he just stared back at her his expression smooth, giving no hint of what he was thinking. With an irritated snort, she crawled over him and got out of bed to head into the bathroom.

He was seriously driving her nuts at the moment. It was almost scary the way he was acting. If he had something on his mind she didn't know why he didn't just come right out with it and say so. He wasn't usually so reticent about telling her what was on his mind.

With a sigh she turned on the shower and stepped under the hot spray. Ashleigh had called the night before and asked if she could get a lift to the meeting at Caleb's house as she'd be at the compound later. Andrei had already told her about the upcoming meeting and what it was about.