Battle for Blood Ch. 07

So this section started to get really long. I decided to cut it in half while I finish it up because it was just taking too long to get to a more natural break in the story.

I've thought for some time I need an editor. One of the biggest time sucks with this story is endless re-readings looking for typos and grammatical errors and every time I find a new one. It's driving me nuts. So if anyone out there is interested, let me know.

As always I welcome comments, requests, criticisms, really any and all types of feedback. I know a lot of people have read this story but I'm eager to hear if I can make it better. I can't workshop this with other med students after all.

Thanks for reading!

*****

"I felt the sun yesterday"

Cole's hand, which had been drifting lazily over her back stopped at her words. Shane suddenly saw the world from the bottom of the pit where he had been held captive. She saw the small beams of sunlight making their way down towards her, terror in her throat as the burn of a new day came. Cole shook his head, jerking the memory away. Her heart caught when she realized that was his memory, not hers. She had somehow shared in it, if only for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Cole's voice was tight with concern. He shifted back, so they lay on their sides facing each other once more. She felt guilty, realizing he assumed, as she had, that she would suffer as he did under the glare of the sun. Somehow she now had to tell him that what brought him terror actually filled her with life. She pushed away the feeling.

"I'm fine." She found herself saying that too often. "It was strange. I thought it would hurt, I thought it might kill me. But it didn't. It felt like nothing I had ever experienced." She tried not to make eye contact as she poured out her story, her terror at being trapped and the amazement at finding that she was not only unhurt but actually enhanced. She described the feeling of sensing more, being able to hear farther and better. "I think it might be closer to what you feel like all the time," she finished with a rush of breath. She hadn't realized how fast she had been talking.

Cole rolled onto his back, gazing up with an unreadable expression on his face. He was quiet for a long moment. Shane tried not to squirm as the silence stretched out.

"Is that why you fought the wolves?" Cole asked finally, "Because you felt stronger?"

"I fought them because I had no choice. I survived because I was stronger." Was she really going to have to explain him that she didn't just leap into battle because she was looking for a thrill?

"Because you were outside and they got between you and the safe house." He wasn't trying to scold her but he needed to hear her admit she had had some hand in the danger she found herself in. She had to understand so he could keep her safe.

"I was outside because I was going insane down here." Shane snapped. She felt her frustration was rising in her throat. She was hurt. This was not how she imagined he would spin this news. Was he going to keep treating her like a child? She sat up in bed, pulling her knees up to her chest with the tangled sheet so she could cover herself. Her back was to him now, long waves of her hair falling down her bare skin. Cole itched to run his fingers through it but something held him back. He watched her back rise and fall as she took a deep breath. "You didn't tell me the withdrawal was more than just the physical pain. I had to leave to keep myself from thinking about how much I wanted more." The hurt grew, radiating towards him. "And I didn't know if—when—you were coming back. For all I knew you weren't."

"Shane—" Cole began. He slid his hand against the skin of her back, finally running his fingers against the silky strands of her hair. He moved to sit up next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her towards him. "Of course I was coming back."

Her eyes were bright as she continued to stare at the far wall. "You wouldn't be the first person who said that to me."

Cole had nothing to say in response. He had left her, still weak and recovering. He had done it for her safety, but he had left her behind nonetheless. He stupidly hadn't considered the possibility of his safe house being compromised. He had also underestimated the complex nature of the situation back at the council. How was he going to do this now? He couldn't bring her there. It was too dangerous. He could never leave her again. Could he abandon the council to its war? They had the Night's guard now. Did they really need him? Perhaps he should just disappear again, take Shane away from all the fighting—keep her safe.

"I know that's not fair," Shane said quietly. "I know you came back for me so my doubts were unwarranted, but it doesn't change the fact that it was a valid fear yesterday." She frowned. "Was it yesterday?"

Cole hugged her closer. "Nearly two days ago."

Shane blinked. "How long did I sleep?"

"You fought the wolves Wednesday evening. I arrived Thursday morning. It's Friday early morning now."

Shane shuddered. "I guess I was more banged up than I thought." She paused, considering something. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted like it was no big deal."

Cole felt a sudden relief; he pulled her into his lap, holding her tightly against him. He would never tire of the feeling of her warm body against his. Shane wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in further. He buried her face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent, making sure she was real yet again. He felt the life pulsing in her neck, the smell of her blood still so human, and yet there was some undertone, some dangerous edge that spoke to her true nature, her unique duality. Cole realized something. He pulled out of their embrace. Still holding her loosely around her middle, he moved to look into her eyes again. They were as he remembered them, large green irises laced with iridescent threads—a mix of her human and vampire side.

"I think I understand the sun," he said quietly. He placed a light kiss on her lips, unable to resist this close before he continued. He struggled to figure out where to start. "How much do you know about werewolves?"

She looked surprised. "What does that have to do with it? I'm not a werewolf."

"Bear with me," Cole said. Shane nodded, sliding off his lap to sit facing him. She gathered the sheets around her again, assuming her seat with her knees at her chest. "Vampires and humans don't have a dual nature. We are first human, then vampire. There is no going back. Wolves do, they can be both human and wolf. While made wolves and wild wolves have different tendencies, they all shift forms at some point. Those who embrace both sides of their existence live longer, becoming more powerful. Some have lived for centuries, maybe longer.

"You also have two sides. While you eat as a human you have been living like a vampire, assuming you have the same weaknesses we do. But in fact, by entering the sunlight, you have begun embracing your human side. In doing so you may be tapping into the same type of phenomenon as the wolves."

Shane's eyes dropped, her face blank as she considered his theory. He could see her considering past memories, checking to see if everything fit. Her eyes grew wide suddenly. "Did the doctor give me human blood at Greta's?"

Cole frowned, nodding. He hadn't considered it, but it was possible that she could also feed from humans, or at least benefit from the effects of their blood. She had recovered after the blood transfusion but it didn't have any obvious, dramatic effect on her.

Shane shuddered. "Does this mean I should be drinking blood?" Cole felt his chest tighten at her obvious despair at the thought.

"I wouldn't go that far," Cole reassured her. "Vampires drink blood because we need it to function, the same way food works for humans. I didn't see any dramatic difference, certainly nothing similar to what you describe with the sun." The relief in her face was obvious but something was still bothering her. "Shane? Are you alright?" He tucked her hair behind her ear.

She tried to smile. "I guess I just can't help but feel like a freak sometimes." Cole leaned over, kissing her softly but solidly.

"You are not a freak," he said. "Maybe a little mad sometimes, but definitely not a freak."

Shane laughed at that. "I'm starving," she said getting off the bed. "I guess I underestimated that too." She grabbed the discarded t-shirt off the floor. Cole watched with a twinge of disappointment as her naked body disappeared under the large garment, her long legs still tantalizingly bare. She took another shake from the fridge and leaned against the sink, taking long gulps. Cole sighed and got out of bed, pulling his pants back on. He also went to the fridge, removing one of the blood bags and took a post next to her, draining the bag with hungry efficiency.

"So what now?" Shane asked.

Cole slumped a little. He also had a lot to tell her. This was going to take a while, and he said so. Shane started making herself something more substantial to eat while he began telling her about the council. At several points he thought to hold back information, or at least try and lessen the impact of the news that Adriana had pointedly betrayed her. Not that it was news, but confirmation is always difficult. In the end he told her everything. It was easier than feeling like he was hiding something.

"How did you know something was wrong?" Shane asked when he had finished explaining why he had come back to Boston.

Cole shook his head. They were sitting across from each other at the table now. Shane having finished her food sat with her dish in front of her. Three empty blood bags rested on his side of the table. "I'm not sure. I felt something was wrong all night. I wrote it off to the business with Elise and Adriana but it wasn't sitting right. I tried to feel for it, to figure out why I had this uneasiness, and I came back to you. Somehow I could feel it."

Shane looked at him "It seems the connection goes both ways. I felt your memory of the sun before." Cole looked at her surprised. They both considered this for a moment. Shane smiled at him. "Well this should be fun." She got up and went to the shelves where their clothes lay and began to get dressed.

"What should be fun?" Cole asked, already knowing the answer but dreading the reality all the same.

"Going back to the council with you." Shane said, still not facing him as she pulled on her jeans. "I wonder how they will take the news that I didn't meet the untimely end they had planned for me." She regretted saying it as she felt a wave of his guilt settle over her. She turned back to him. "It's not your fault."

Cole looked back at her. "That doesn't change anything." He rose and joined her, reaching for a shirt. "But I guess now we've confirmed the connection between us does exists." He stepped back, pulling on the shirt and taking a seat at the edge of the bed. "Any way I can convince you not to go back?" he knew the answer to this as well but he had to at least try. Shane pulled off Cole's large t-shirt and reached for her last remaining sports bra, yanking it over her head.

"No," she said, not facing him. Suddenly she turned back to him, anger radiating from her. "Of course we have to go back. Elise is about to get called up in front of the entire vampire council and she's facing Adriana. You don't think she's terrified? You promised her you would get her out and I happen to be the only person who can fill in the missing piece for the council. How else are they going to figure out what Ricardo knew? You can't tell them without them figuring out your hand in the matter. Without me this plan of yours doesn't work. Elise will at best be trapped in the council, in limbo, until someone decides it's just easier to kill her."

"They might be able to work it out. I left a trail for them to follow," Cole offered weakly.

"In her brain," Shane said flatly.

Cole sighed and put his head in his hands. The knowledge that he had responsibilities that he now, for the first time ever, had to live up to, was not an easy pill to swallow—especially since it meant putting Shane front and center of the council's attention again. He knew he had to go back, to fight again next to the Night's Guard, to free Elise as he had promised. He also knew he couldn't part from Shane again and that their fates were intertwined as much as they were. He would have to bring her back but he swore under his breath he would keep her from harm.

"You're right," he said finally. "But there will be ground rules."

"Don't start patronizing me again," Shane sighed, frustrated at his protectiveness again.

"It's not like that. We need a strategy. This is not going to be easy." Cole got up, putting his shoes back on. "We've got to start moving. We only have a few hours till dawn." He gave Shane's attire a sideway glance. "Pack your stuff and pray my car makes it back to New York State." He noticed she shoved her surviving clothes into the bag, leaving behind most of the under garments he had bought for her. He also moved to pack a few more things, taking a black lace bra from the shelf and holding it out to Shane. "Ever worn one of these?"

She scrunched her nose at the bra before taking it front him. "No, they just looked so silly." She considered the hooks in the back, "and itchy."

Cole laughed at that. "You might be surprised. And I have to disagree. They most certainly don't look silly." Shane caught his tone and looked up into his face. She could see the hungry look in his eye. Could she be so desired? She looked back at the bra in her hands. It had wires in it. Shane's lips twitched to the side and she gave Cole a mischievous look.

"Guess it can't hurt." She turned her back, pulling her sports bra over her head. She could feel his eyes on her back as she moved to put on the lace. For a moment she paused, hoping he might step towards her but then she continued, interlocking the hooks and pulling the straps over her shoulders. It felt strange. Instead of being crushed towards her chest, her breasts were held up and off of her torso. The fabric only covered half of her breasts, which were pushed slightly towards her midline giving her the unfamiliar sensation of the two almost touching. "I don't think it fits right." She said, turning back towards him while still looking down at her newly prominent bust. "Is this what—" the words died on her lips as she looked up at his face. She suddenly found it hard to breathe.

He stepped towards her until they were barely a breath apart from each other. His fingertips ran across the tops of her breasts. He gazed down at her with a lustful look in his eyes. "I think it fits fine," he said, his voice low and promising. Shane bit her lip as his fingers continued their slow path along her skin, over the thin lace to where her nipples stood, puckered and sensitive from his touch. His fingers skimmed the edge of the lace with deliberate slowness. Her breath hitched in her throat. She leaned up to kiss him but suddenly he was gone, stepping back from her.

Cole tried to reign himself in. Watching her change, the innocent act of trying lingerie for the first time, had peaked his interest but he hadn't been prepared for her to turn back to him, more of a woman than he could have imagined. He had to stop. Now was not the time. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have started that. We don't have time now."

Shane stood there, her heart beating out of her chest, an unspoken need gnawing at her. Cole swore and closed the distance again, pulling her into him and kissing her hard. Cole plundered her mouth, dancing across her tongue, tasting her sweetness. Shane threw her arms around his shoulders followed by her legs around his waist as he lifted her up. She deepened the kiss, moaning as her tongue ran past his teeth, scraping the sharp edge. When Cole tasted her blood on his tongue, a shock ran through him. Something inside him wanted out, wanted to feed on her till it was satisfied. Cole tore his mouth away from hers. He looked into her eyes, wondering if she had felt that.

Shane slid back to her feet. "You're right. We've got less than two hours before sunrise," she said with no small amount of disappointment.

Cole gave her a smile, shaking off the hunger he had felt before. "Maybe you should pack the rest."

"Yes sir," Shane said, stepping out of his arms. He felt her happiness bubble up inside him pushing back his anxieties of the coming days. As she turned away from him he couldn't resist reaching out and smacking her butt as she walked away.

"Don't forget the underwear."

*****

Ashlyn lay face down in Raoul's bed. He held her still again, forcing her to take him the way he wanted. Right now that meant a relentless pace that didn't seem to end. She shuddered again, feeling panic as her struggles failed to overcome his resistance. The fear drove her higher; she pushed her hips back at him, eager and disgusted with herself all the same. Her arousal was tied to his punishment of her body. She needed more. She tried to move again, pushing herself up on her arms to gain leverage. Raoul was not having it. He grabbed her wrists, pulling her hands behind her back and pushing her into the bed again harder. One of his massive hands remained against her back, firmly around her wrists, holding her body into the mattress with punishing weight. His pace never faltered.

Ashlyn could feel her body tighten, the helplessness of her position stirring her onwards. Suddenly, over the creaking of the bed, their combined groans and grunts, and the sound of flesh on flesh, came the piercing sound of Raoul's phone on the side table. Ashlyn cursed as she lost focus. It rang again. She felt him slow his pace above her.

"Don't you dare," she snarled at him. He didn't even bother acknowledging her much less giving her a response. In one smooth motion her grabbed her around her middle and rolled over onto his back, taking her with him, her back pressed against his chest, his cock firmly lodged in place. Her legs were spread lewdly wide, hooked over his knees, exposing her to the room. "Raoul—" she started before his hand clamped down on her mouth, cutting her off. He picked up the phone.

"What?" he said. He began to move again, pistoning into her. She could see his enormous flesh disappearing inside of her. She tried to struggle out of his grasp. Even this was too far for her. She wouldn't be treated like some second thought. He tightened his grip on her mouth, forcing her head against the solid wall of his chest. Her hands flew to his in a pathetic attempt to remove it. His hand covered both her nose and mouth and soon she found herself desperate for air. Raoul, for his part, kept up his pace and his phone call. Humiliation at her position built in her stomach like some sort of drug. It was at once horrible and intoxicating. She started riding him at he continued to impale her. She vaguely heard him saying he'd be right there before hanging up. He didn't release her mouth though.

"Looks like we have to finish up here," he growled into her ear. "Come for me again, vampire." Ashlyn tried and failed to shake her head under his punishing grip on her face but he felt her resistance as she tensed above him. His other hand traveled down her body and between her widely spread legs. He found her clit and pinched it sharply, causing her hips to buck against his unyielding cock. She struggled through the sensations he was intent on drawing out of her but she knew she was losing the battle for control. He began circling her clit with his fingers, changing the pressure as he went, driving her higher. "You don't have a choice, Ashlyn, though your resistance is impressive considering you've been panting like a dog the entire time this one has been in you."