Blood from Stone, chapter 7!

Happy holidays! Patrons of every tier will get this chapter this week, as my little gift to you!

Seated comfortably in a leather armchair, Liliana sipped gingerly from a cup of scalding hot peppermint tea. She blew on it lightly before taking another tentative drink, finding it to be a tolerable temperature this time. Leon sat across from her, sinking into the chair with a delicious creaking sound. He crossed his legs with an ankle resting atop his opposite knee, steepling his fingers beneath his chin and watching her wordlessly.

She narrowed her grey eyes at him before focusing her attention on the green liquid and slurping loudly. “Yeah… if you could stop being the physical manifestation of every teacher fantasy I’ve ever had, that’d be fab.”

Barely suppressing a smirk, Leon took off his glasses and tucked them into his shirt pocket. He crossed his arms over his chest, sleeves rolled above his elbows baring the corded muscles of his forearms, deeply tanned skin in sharp contrast to his stark white shirt. “Better?” he asked simply.

Liliana looked up from sulking in her tea, nearly choking on it at the sight before her. After a coughing fit and relearning to breathe, she managed to rasp out: “I didn’t think it was possible, but you actually made it worse!”

They shared a laugh before quieting and sitting together in pleasant silence. “…I’m sorry,” she murmured finally, unable to meet his gaze.

“What do you feel you need to apologize for, Liliana?” Leon’s intense gaze had cooled from blazing inferno to smoldering embers, but the heat was still lurking beneath the surface.

She shrugged, gesturing at the room broadly. “This whole thing. As if it wasn’t awkward enough before, my duties aren’t what I was expecting. You lot aren’t what I was trained for.” She tucked a dark lock of hair that had escaped her braid back behind her ear. “And I get the impression that I’m probably not what you were expecting, either.”

“You’re absolutely right. You’re nothing like the docile, obedient, simpering bore that your father painted you to be.” He allowed those words to sink in for a moment before continuing. “More capable than you currently think yourself to be. Strong and quick, especially for a human. Bold and brassy enough to give Aubrey hell, this morning.”

Liliana didn’t even attempt to hide her prideful grin. “He’s the oldest out of the seven of you, isn’t he?”

Leon nodded. “Age doesn’t equate to maturity, though. And ninety percent of the time, Aubrey acts like a petulant teenager.”

She finished off her tea, setting the empty cup into its saucer with a soft clink. “If I had to get bombarded with the thoughts of everyone around me, I’d be pretty pissy, too.”

Leon scoffed. “We’ve all got our demons, Liliana. Telepathy is the least of Aubrey’s concerns.”

“Speaking of,” Liliana began, “you mentioned vampire science. I feel like I have a lot to learn, so lay it on me.”

He leaned back in the chair a bit. “The best way to fill in gaps will be to ask you to spell out what you do know. Or at least what you learned, so I can help you line up reality with what you read in the grimoires.”

“As of yesterday, and this morning, I feel like I don’t know much of anything. But I’ll try.” Liliana sighed, unconsciously tapping her fingertips against the hilts of her blades. She startled herself with the noise. During the altercation with Leon, she’d completely forgotten they were even on her person.

She settled her hands in her lap, fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. “My first day here, and I’m distracted from my post and even forget my fucking weapons, all because of a kiss. Was all of my training in vain? All those years of literal torture, to be undone in a matter of a few moments? I--” Her hurried, mumbled words came to a screeching halt as Leon rested his hand atop hers.

“Liliana.” His tone was firm but lacking the vitriol and disappointment she felt towards herself. “Look at me. Please.” She lifted her gaze to meet his without a struggle.

“For a human, you have strength and speed that you should be proud of. But even the strongest human is no match for a well-fed vampire.”

Liliana chuckled humorlessly. “And with the exception of the twins, none of you are well-fed. So you’re saying that the idea of me defending any of you against any creature other than another human, much less a vampire, is unreasonable insanity.”

She nearly jumped out of her skin as a pair of arms draped around her neck and warm breath tickled her ear. “I wouldn’t say insanity, but trying to overpower a vampire through purely physical means takes a certain level of stupidity, specialized tools, and balls of steel.”

“How kind of you to drop in unannounced, Jax.” Leon’s tone dripped with venom, clearly unamused at being interrupted.

Jax held up a pair of glass vials, close enough to her face that they were fuzzy but she could make out their shape and color. Judging from the red liquid that glimmered inside of them, they contained her blood. “Daniel asked me to deliver these to everyone. Decided to come to you last, so you’d have time to finish up the little science lesson.”

His voice was a pleasant rumble in her ear, tightening things low in her body and turning any further words he said into a hazy background hum. Liliana’s eyebrows knitted together as she kept her focus on Leon. His lips were moving, but anything he said was muffled, like she was hearing it through several walls and her ears were stuffed with cotton.

“Leon. Something’s wrong.” She managed to say the words aloud, feeling like she’d had to shout just to be certain the words were leaving her lips.

He scowled at his brother behind her. Whatever he said caused Jax to release her from the strangely comfortable embrace he’d had her in. Sound came back to the world in a rush, like someone had accidentally sat on the remote and the volume button was compressed. She shook her head to clear it.

“First lesson. Each of us has some sort of special power that makes us more effective predators.” Leon gestured for Jax to hand him the vial of blood allotted for him. “Second lesson: no way in hell are we drinking this with you here.” He tucked the vial into the same pocket his glasses were residing in.

“But blood is for power, and it’ll make you not so hungry that you want to chew on me like a squeaky toy. Right?”

Jax scoffed. “This amount of blood is laughable, hon. If we have this with you right here, it’s like a heroin addict saying ‘Just one last fix’ when they’re in a warehouse packaging the stuff.” He held the small container up between his thumb and forefinger, gazing at it. “We’re better off getting your lesson finished and sending you to hide in your room so we can down this and...”

Leon shot him a warning glance and he went quiet. Liliana glanced over her shoulder at Leon’s younger brother, trying to guess what he’d been about to say, but his expression betrayed nothing. Jackson spoke to his brother without taking his eyes off Liliana’s. “With what she was expecting of us from those old books, you’re really going to shelter her from what happens when we drink? She did get a taste of it with Orion and Oberon, after all.”

Leon sighed loudly. “Those two got a proper feeding, the lucky shits. You know our reactions to this will be different. I don’t want her to be afraid of us, Jax. I have a feeling that the secret to neutralizing how our venom affects her lies in her ability to trust us.”

“Hmm,” Jaxon murmured, lifting a long lock of her dark hair in his fingers. He let it drop and took a seat on the padded arm of the chair she was curled up in. His leather jacket creaked deliciously as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You might be on to something, Leonard.”

Liliana pursed her lips in consternation, wondering why she was no longer allowed to have personal space. “Are you frequently this cat-like, or are you just nyaa-ing for my benefit, Jax?”

He gazed down at her with the same darkly amber eyes as Leon, one corner of his lips turned up ever so slightly. “When I’m actually trying to get your attention, Lily... believe me when I say that you won’t have to question it.”

Her stomach did an involuntary little flip as the nickname fell easily from his lips. No one had called her anything but her full name since she’d arrived, and the familiarity twisted her core in ways she didn’t want to admit. Grey eyes wide, she tore her gaze away from his, but not before she saw the teasing smirk become a full-blown grin. Resisting the urge to shove him off the arm of the chair, she focused her attention on Leon instead.

“So, other things I’ve noticed that are obviously lies that somehow cling to the vampire mythos. Food. Sunshine, since it’s daytime and here we are, with neither of you being ash. Mirrors? I’m assuming you all have reflections.” Leon nodded, so she continued. “Strength and speed beyond anything a human can attain are true.”

Leon shrugged. “To an extent. Depends on where your vampire bloodline comes from.”

She tilted her head slightly to one side. “You’re saying vampires such as yourselves aren’t some form of noble pureblood?” An epiphany shone on her face before either of the men had a chance to reply. “Holy shit, your mother was human?!”

“Between the seven of us, there were five human mothers. Well... four and a half, more like.” Jax added the last in a quieter, softer tone.

“What do you mean?”

Leon sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “Maverick’s mother. She was heavily pregnant, well into the third trimester. Carrying a vampire child is high risk in the first place. Somehow one of the other clans found out about it. They attacked her, drained her until she was almost dead. Then they force-fed her their own blood, trying to turn the fetus into one of their own.”

Liliana covered her mouth in horror, unable to form words as she could nearly physically feel the agony this woman she’d never met must have endured.

“Unfortunately for them, Maverick was too fully formed. He was around thirty-seven weeks gestation. When they realized they couldn’t turn him, they cut her throat and left her for dead. Our father happened to come home to check in on her not long after. She was still breathing, but just barely. He managed to get enough of his blood into her to heal her enough to carry Maverick for a few more weeks.”

Liliana squeezed her eyes shut, mentally screaming that she wasn’t going to cry. She inhaled deeply through her nose before moving her hands away, not fully trusting that she could speak without her voice shaking. “Once he was born, what happened to her?” Her voice was barely a whisper, and she feared she already knew the answer.

He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away, the memory his father had shared with him playing before his eyes like a ghost on an old film reel. “She took her own life. I’ll spare you the details, but when someone really wants to check out, we don’t believe it’s anyone’s place to force them to stay on this plane.”

The three of them sat in silence for a moment. “What was her name?” Liliana finally managed to choke out, grey eyes darkening like the sky before a storm, her voice trembling as tears rolled unbidden down her cheeks.

Leon’s eyes fell on her, his expression softening at her distress. “Shania. Maverick’s mother’s name was Shania.”

She jumped at the sudden weight of Jax’s hand on her shoulder, staring up at him with wide eyes overcome with sorrow. He said nothing but gave her a reassuring squeeze that somehow soothed her with its warmth. She rested her hand on top of his, gripping his fingers as tightly as she closed her eyes, taking in an audible breath to steady herself.

“I’m gonna... I’m gonna go. I’ll let you two have your undead Capri Suns without me within chomping distance.”

Jaxon let his hand trail down her arm. “Do you know how to get back to your room from here?”

Liliana shook her head. “I’ll figure it out. This is my home now, so I might as well get the lay of the land. I don’t think I could go just sit, right now.” She stood, feeling disconnected from her body.

The two brothers got to their feet. “We’ll walk you out,” Leon offered.

She shook her head again, instead taking one of each of their hands in her own. “I can’t wrap my head around you all being so... emotionally available.” A harsh bark of laughter fell from her lips. Her hands felt clammy and cold, and their skin nearly scalded her by comparison. “Of all the things to set me off, who’d have thought it would be some allegedly heartless monsters actually giving a damn about how things make me feel?”

Liliana brought both of their hands to her lips, pressing a soft kiss to their knuckles at the same time. She exhaled heavily. “I’m gonna go before I totally lose it. I’ll, uh... See you both at dinner.” She released her hold on them and practically ran, wanting to put distance between herself and the men as emotions that didn’t feel like her own flooded her system. She shoved the library doors hard, taking off at a sprint down the hallway.

The doors slammed shut behind her and Leon and Jaxon shared a look. “That definitely could have gone better.” Leon said with a groan.

“Did you really think she’d have any other reaction to Maverick’s origin story? Jesus, Leonard. You could have eased her into that one a bit better, don’t you think?”

Leon sighed, putting his glasses back on. “Perhaps. But sometimes, the best way is to just rip off the bandage.”

********************************

Liliana didn’t know how long she’d been running. She didn’t know how far she’d gone. She had no idea where in the hell she was in the maze that was the interior of the Winterbourne castle. Things were starting to seem familiar. Either she was nearing her room, or she’d gone in circles and everything was beginning to look the same. Her lungs ached. Her legs burned. But that wasn’t enough.

Exercise had always been her primary form of release. Back at the compound, there’d never been a shortage of bodies to spar with, weights to lift, tasks to complete. Here, with no sort of routine, Liliana felt utterly adrift and lost. If she was going to thrive in her life here, she’d have to come up with some sort of daily task list to not lose her marbles.

She felt something rumbling through the soles of her shoes. At first, she thought it was just reverberations from her feet pounding against the floor. Her pace slowed as she realized it was bass from a sound system shaking the floor. But she couldn’t hear music coming from anywhere. She took off her shoes, leaving them by the wall and walking forward in her socks, feeling for where the vibrations became the most intense.

She came to a stop before an ordinary enough door. She had no idea what awaited her on the other side of it, but the terrible sadness in her heart felt lighter. This was where she was meant to be.

Turning the knob, the sheer volume of the music that poured out as the door was cracked stole the breath from her lungs. She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, leaning against it and closing her eyes. It was so loud that it drowned out everything. Her racing thoughts, the confusion in her heart, even the relentless rush of blood in her ears was dulled by the inescapable roar of the song that poured from the speakers in the room.

She felt the air near her move, the warm presence of a body suddenly close to her not even making her falter. She’d listened to plenty of music before, but the overwhelming volume of whatever was playing granted her a clarity and serenity she’d never experienced before. Liliana didn’t even know music could be this loud. Loud enough to make her ribs tremble. Loud enough to squash any fear she might have felt when she knew that she’d found her way to Maverick’s room.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, not caring when his hands slammed against the door on either side of her body, effectively caging her against it. His arms shook as he fought not to touch her, knowing he’d lose the battle with his hunger if he did.

Liliana took his face in her hands gently, his stubble coarse against the soft pads of her fingertips. His nostrils flared and his gaze locked onto hers, mouth slightly agape as he practically salivated from the scent of her blood being so close to him.

He’d already consumed the small portion of blood Jaxon delivered to him. Mav had shut out the world with the deafening roar of his music after having the abysmally small drink, waiting for the effects of her blood on him to lessen. And now, like something out of a dream, she was standing before him, reaching out to touch him first. After he’d attacked her earlier that morning, why would she willingly come to him? Alone and unprotected, no less.

“Maverick.” She didn’t raise her voice to be heard over the music. His eyes were locked on her face, so he’d have been able to read her lips anyway. He wasn’t sure what to make of her expression. “It wasn’t your fault.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his, any fear and doubt in her heart completely dissipating. Her words were like a knife in his belly. Sudden, brutal, catching him off-guard. The whole world slowed, time coming to a grinding halt as this perfect stranger embraced him and spoke words he’d longed to hear since he could comprehend them.

His eyes darkened and he wrapped her hair in his fist, wrenching her head to the side. With her neck bared to him, her pulse was visibly steady. She made no move to fight him, and it gave Rick pause. Tightening his grip on her hair, he leaned in close to snarl in her ear: “Defend yourself or I’m going to rip out that pretty throat of yours and take a shower in your blood.”

Liliana laughed. “Seems like one hell of a waste, to me.”

“Say it again.”

Without hesitation, Liliana said firmly: “It wasn’t your fault, Maverick.”

“You’re wrong.”

“If I’m wrong, then kill me. Right now.” Her voice was steady, as even and level as her pulse.

She didn’t let go of him, even though she could have pulled the blades from the sheaths on her arms and cut him to ribbons to preserve herself. Liliana felt as if something else was guiding her, dragging her along. Almost like she was a passenger in her own body, no longer the pilot.

“You’re wrong!” She felt the ragged scream as it tore from his chest, his breathing becoming shallow and rapid, but she didn’t let go.

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said it again, softer.

His other hand wrapped around her throat, tightening so the color started to fade from the edges of her vision. “Shut up!” He tried to push against her, to shove her away from him, to escape from her words, but her hold on him stayed firm.

“Not...” Liliana coughed, murmuring his full name as stars exploded behind her eyelids.

His grip on her loosened so suddenly that she would have fallen if she hadn’t been holding on to him. Mav wrapped his arms around her and they sank to the floor in a heap. Liliana coughed violently, inhaling sharply as her breath came flooding back into her lungs. The room fell silent so rapidly that Liliana wondered if she’d actually died. That Rick had literally wrung the life from her.

She blinked slowly as the room swam back into focus, realizing that the music had merely stopped playing. The man in her lap held her tightly, his entire body wracked with sobs. His face was buried in her neck as wordless cries of anguish poured from his lips. The door was cool against her back, and she wet her lips with the tip of her tongue, trying several times before she was able to speak.

“Guess I wasn’t wrong, huh?”

Mav sat back just enough to meet her gaze, one eye blue and the other flashing brown for the barest of seconds. “What the fuck were you thinking?! I almost fucking killed you!”

She coughed and gave him a little smirk, lightly rubbing her fingertips against what would surely be bruises on her neck. “But you didn’t.”

“You had no way of knowing that he wouldn’t just eat you! Damn it, Lily!”

Liliana laughed as best she could. “I mean, I was halfway hoping you’d at least fuck me first. A little bit of breath play is right up my alley.”

Mav’s jaw dropped. “Jesus... What the hell is wrong with you? You almost got your throat ripped out by a vampire, and you’re over here thinking ‘Send me home with a smile on my face’?!”

The bloddukke laughed heartily, wiping the tears from his face with the pad of her thumb. “If I’m gonna go, might as well go out with a bang.” She bit her lip, trying not to giggle, and failing. The stress of everything that had occurred in the last twenty-four hours flooding over her.

He tried not to, but Mav couldn’t help joining in her infectious laughter. It felt good to laugh so freely. After a few moments, their case of the giggles tapered off and they sat in each other’s arms in comfortable quiet. He rested his head on her shoulder and her fingers ran distractedly through his hair.

Liliana’s temperature suddenly rose, warmth pooling low in her belly, and she gripped a fistful of Mav’s shirt. “What the hell..?” Her core clenched unbidden, doubling her over from the sudden intensity of sensation that flooded her body. Unmistakable pleasure coiled inside of her, dragging a throaty moan from her lips. “Fuck... I think I’m gonna...”

Her whimpers dissolved into cries of ecstasy as the most intense orgasm she’d ever experienced crashed through her body, a literal wave of power bursting forth with Liliana at its epicenter. Barely a second later, Mav’s voice rose to meet hers, an unprovoked climax leaving him a shuddering mess in her arms.

Panting and confused, she brushed a lock of now damp hair back from his forehead. “What in the name of fuck was that?” He merely shook his head, unable to form words just yet. “Magical hands-free mutual orgasms aren’t your vampire super-power?”

Mav cackled, the endorphins in his system overpowering reason. “Not unless it’s an achievement I just unlocked from you rolling into our lives.” He shifted his weight a bit and sighed. “Gross. Definitely need a shower and change of clothes.”

“Mhmm,” Liliana murmured, her head leaned back against the door and her eyes shut.

“You good?”

“I’m so good that I don’t even have a fuck to give about how random and awkward this is.”

“You’re love-drunk. I’m gonna get cleaned up quick and help you back to your room. You’re gonna need a nap before dinner.”

“Mmkay,” she agreed, not having the strength to open her eyes.

She was acutely aware of the absence of his warmth as he cleaned himself up and changed his clothes. She didn’t hear any water running, but he was back at her side in a matter of minutes. He slid his arm under both of hers, wrapping around her back and lifting her to her feet.

“Your room is right down the hall, so let’s get you there. Just pretend you’re trying to act sober when you’ve had a few too many. I’ll help keep you steady.”

“I think I can manage that,” Liliana said, knitting her eyebrows together as she tried to force her eyes to focus.

Half limping, half stumbling, the pair managed to make it to her room without incident. Mav left the door open, helping her over to her bed. He moved to lift her arm off his shoulders, but her uncoordinated feet tangled with his and threw him off balance. They fell together onto the soft covers.

Snickering like she was drunk, Liliana scooted closer to him and settled her head on his chest. “I know this is probably stupid, but... Just lay here with me?”

“You know my brothers are going to kill me.”

“But why? You didn’t even touch me. I mean, aside from the trying to strangle me thing.”

He inhaled sharply, his whole body tensing like he was planning to bolt. With a sigh, he relaxed instead, letting his hand settle on her lower back. “Fine. But I’m gonna haunt your ass if they do kill me.”

She weakly managed to hold up her fist, and he bumped his knuckles against hers. “Consider it a deal,” she mumbled, her words fading into deep breaths as she fell asleep almost instantly.

Pounding footsteps in the hallway had Mav fighting to keep his body from tensing up. All six of his brothers came pouring into the room, loud angry voices quieting instantly as Rick fixed them with an icy stare. “Shut the fuck up. You wake her up and I’ll slaughter you like cattle.” His voice was level and low, but seething with malice and the promise of destruction.

After a bit of confused but quiet bickering, the Winterbourne brothers discovered that the wave of orgasmic energy Liliana expelled hadn’t just affected Maverick. It had struck all seven of them at the same time, after the last of them had swallowed the vial of her blood.