“You remember Roswell?”
During the mid-1900s in Roswell, New Mexico, it was rumored that an alien spacecraft crashed on a ranch and the United States government—specifically the military—covered it up. It wasn’t too far from the truth. A spaceship had crashed, but it was the vampyr, believing it to be one of their vessels, who’d arrived first on the scene. By the time the military had appeared, all that remained was the tinfoil remnants of one of their experimental weather balloons, planted by the vampyr to throw the humans off track.
“It was your clutch that responded to the crash site?” Roswell fell within Alvaro’s domain so it was only natural he’d been the one to investigate.
“Yeah.” There was a faraway look in his silver eyes. “Their shields failed as they came through earth’s atmosphere. One of their ships got separated from the rest, began to burn, then breakup. Most of them made it into escape pods. There were eleven of them. Five adult females—queens they called them—and ten adult males—their breeders—and seven younglings, a combination of male and female survived. We—”
“Breeders?” Tariq interrupted, intrigued.
“Felini may look human, but they’re more like their earthen counterpart. When a female Felini goes into heat, she breeds with whoever is strong enough to handle her. They don’t bond and form family units like humans and vampyr. They know which queen is their mother, and recognize fellow littermates, but that’s as close as it gets. The queens rule and care for their younglings. The breeders provide for their queens and the pride’s needs, whatever that need may be. However, they’re more like the vampyr in their sexual play. As long as the female isn’t being bred, she’s free to indulge in intercourse with whomever she chooses.”
While Tariq absorbed this, Alvaro continued. “We got them out before authorities arrived and helped them settle. Taught them how to blend in on Earth and created the necessary documents they needed to fly under government radar. They needed our help and they knew it, so they formed an alliance of sorts with us. There was only one stipulation: no one was allowed to touch their women. The Felini women were beautiful. All of them with their tawny skin, golden brown eyes, angular faces with high cheekbones in a tall, lean body.”
To Tariq it sounded like Alvaro was describing his Heart’s Blood.
“The way they moved…” Alvaro paused, his eyes darkening.
“You’ve lived a long time, my friend, and seen countless beautiful women. What made this one so exceptional, enough to break peace,” Tariq asked when his friend appeared to have lost himself in his thoughts.
“She was my Heart’s Blood.” The answer was simple, straightforward, and powerful.
Tariq took a moment to absorb the impact of Alvaro’s statement and its ramifications. “I take it the Felini didn’t approve?”
“The Felini are purist. They don’t believe in crossbreeding with other species.” Alvaro took another swig before raising tortured eyes to his. “They killed her. The males took me to her mangled body and while I was dealing with the horror of what they’d done, did their best to rip me to shreds. I survived but lost a bit of my sanity for a long time afterwards.”
Tariq felt the blood drain from his face, remembering agonizing wash of emotions which flooded him earlier and his suspicions on their cause. He’d been right. “Fuck!”
Alvaro’s gaze sharpened. “What is it?”
“Earlier, it felt like she was being tortured.” He described the dizzying array of emotions he’d felt, leaving nothing out.
“Sounds like a firestorm.” The words were murmured as though Alvaro were thinking aloud.
“What is a firestorm?”
The look Alvaro gave him was apologetic. “It’s a ritual they take their females through when they’re ready to be bred. My Heart’s Blood went through something similar. Completely unnecessary, but she had to keep up appearances. Couldn’t let them know I’d already claimed her. It was hell, feeling what they did to her and being unable to help her, to stop it…”
Tariq roared and the expensive bottle of bloodwine went sailing across the room to shatter against the wall. What were those bastards doing to her, and how could he stop it if he couldn’t locate her?
On the heels of his frustrated fury, a surge of blood hunger slammed into Tariq so hard he staggered and fell to his knees. His fangs elongated and heart began to race. Suddenly he was so hungry he felt weak.
Alvaro leaned over the bar. “Are you all right? Tariq!”
Tariq could hear Alvaro calling his name as he fought back the need to sink his fangs into him and drain him dry. It made no sense. He’d fed and fed well last night, and just now he’d drunk two glasses of bloodwine. He shouldn’t be feeling like this.
As quickly as the hunger hit, it faded away as satiation and budding lust took its place. Tariq abruptly recognized its female signature and without a doubt knew whose emotions he channeled. He wouldn’t lose her this time.
Focusing inwardly, he pushed past the sexual haze stirring his hormones and concentrated until he latched on the thread and followed it back to its source. Once he’d locked on, he immediately jumped.
He rematerialized to find himself in a dark cavern, smelling of animal fur and blood, but what held Tariq’s attention was his Heart’s Blood. She was being held naked, trapped against the rough rock wall. The man holding her captive was also nude and knelt between her spread thighs.