Love Begins in Hell (The Moon Journals: Part 1) Page 3

  I considered his insult. Maybe I was a snotty brat. That’s what my stepmother called me. But I didn’t care what others thought. I was fine with who I was. “I like being a werewolf. Thank you very much. I can’t think of what else I’d want to be. A vampire?” I sighed loudly, more for Dante’s benefit and not my own. The idea of me having to change for someone infuriated me and I refused to do it.

  “If war comes, you’ll have to think about more than your dresses and parties. That’s all I’m saying.”

  I nodded, holding back a line of more insults. Now was not the time. “If you can help me escape, I’ll be in your debt,” I stated.

  Pulling away from me as he gazed into my eyes, he tucked a portion of my long blonde bangs under my cap again. He searched my face for answers. A million problems seemed to be knotted up behind his eyes. His brows drew together in an agonized expression. “You don’t owe me anything. This is between me and Lucifer, not you. These games must end now. I know that now. He’ll never stop unless someone steps in.”

  His discourse didn’t seem directed at me.

  “I can say that I only wish we had met under more favorable circumstances because I fear that when you leave you will be taking my heart with you,” he added.

  Tears rose in my eyes and I pressed my face into his chest. “I’ll keep it safe, Dante. I promise. But first I must tell you something.” After realizing he had just handed his heart over to me, I decided to come clean and tell him everything. My charade of the silly party girl was wearing thin and my emotions were all over the place. Would Dante understand?

  Would the Wolf remain quiet if I shared the truth with Dante?

  Chapter 4

  The Offer

  “We’ll have time for that later. Let’s get going.”

  Dante didn’t give me a chance to respond. Instead, he grabbed my hand and we ran as fast as we could across the wasteland.

  “We have to move. Try to keep up,” he yelled over the rushing winds of the barren terrain.

  I replied with a few choice words that he elected to ignore

  ***

  After we ran for many miles, Dante stopped near a large rock. “I have an idea,” he announced.

  “What?” I asked. I was out of breath.

  “So we can understand each other telepathically if something comes up. The language. You’ll hear me in your head. Well perhaps.”

  I watched me in amazement and wonder.

  “I’m not making any sense, am I?” he asked. He threw his trench coat to the ground, beginning to pace manically before me. He stopped and collected myself. “It wouldn’t do for me to lose control of the situation. I’d be useless to you then if my dark side rallied.”

  I continued to stare at Dante. Dark side, I thought.

  “Okay, I apologize. I’m moving too fast. My blood. If you drink some of my blood, you’ll understand the language of the Fanged Realm. It’s the language I use to speak to others in the realm who practice the Magics. The blood may help you with your wolf strength too. You haven’t eaten or anything, have you?”

  I saw the determination written across his handsome face. He looked ethereal, almost unreal in the dim light. His facial bones were delicately carved, his mouth full, his cheekbones exquisite. His green eyes were large and questioning as his mouth twitched. I wanted to devour him in kisses. I glanced at a blonde curl of my hair peeking out from beneath one of the knit cap Dante had given me to wear. We had argued ten minutes before he convinced me to hide my hair. “The more camouflaged I appeared, the better,” he had said. Along the desolate landscape, Lucifer’s demons would probably pick me out instantly. Finally, I had tied my mass of golden-bronze hair up and stuffed it under the cap. “How much blood are we talking here?” I asked.

  “A few drops, that’s all. Anything more and we’d have to get married.”

  I laughed hesitantly, but he probably heard my voice go up an octave. “Are you serious?”

  “Somewhat, yes. An exchange of blood between the Fanged is a sacred act. A bond between the two. Do you know what I’m talking about? You’re familiar with this concept, right?”

  “No, not really. My aunt couldn’t tell me anything really about the Fanged Realm. She said they are supernatural creatures who fight against evil. That’s all she really said. Is that who you mean?”

  “Yes, exactly. I wish I had time to tell you more.”

  “What if I say ‘no’?” I asked with an amount of resistance. I lifted my chin, meeting his stern gaze straight on. A challenging smile crossed my face.

  He arched an eyebrow at me again and gave me a seductive expression, probably hoping to convince me without any more argument.

  I tilted my head questioning and then nudged the cap a time or two, scratching the side of my temple. “This thing itches. Can’t I take it off?”

  “No,” Dante growled. “Just keep it on for now, okay?”

  I fidgeted with my jacket and the cuffs of my sleeves.

  “If you drink some of my blood, you’ll be safe and perhaps you can escape Lucifer’s wrath. It is the best I can offer you.”

  “That’s your plan?” I stuck my nose up in the air and popped my fists on my hips more violently than I think I wanted to do. A twinge of pain crossed my face.

  Glancing around us again to survey the situation, Dante stifled a low laugh and sighed. “We don’t have that much time, Elana. Decide. Forget your fear or your apprehension, if you want to call it that, and trust me. I’m the best option you have.”

  “You’re the only option I’ve got I do believe,” I grunted as I rescued a long strand of her golden hair from my cap and twirled it around my fingers.

  I remained quiet for some time, playing with my hair and thinking.

  Dante glanced up at me now and again, refusing to be the first to speak.

  “Fine,” he finally said. “By the moon and stars, must you be so stubborn, my beauty? What’s a few drops of blood between friends? We are friends. Are we not? Now stop horsing around, so we can make tracks. Please.” He tapped me on my nose and waited for my response.

  I rubbed my nose a few times, obviously debating his offer and considering my situation further. Suddenly I exclaimed, “What is that smell?”

  “A lovely aroma of rotting corpses and burnt onions?” Dante mused.

  “Yes, what is that?”

  “Lucifer’s demons. They haven’t caught our scent yet, so we have a little time.”

  My eyes grew very wide and I’m sure Dante saw the fear surface behind them. I backed away from him. “Demons! I can’t go up against… I mean I can’t. I can’t shift without the Wolf. I can’t. I…”

  “Stop that.” His hand clamped down on mine before I ventured any further. Instantly my heart responded, beating wildly with a new life I still couldn’t understand. It was as if his touch, his gaze, his very presence had awakened my soul.

  “Yes, you can,” he argued. “You can do anything you put your mind to. With this wolf you keep referring to or without. Listen to me.”

  He pulled her again into his arms, holding gentler than before.

  A warmth from his closeness spread through my hands and arms. How am I going to leave him? I swallowed down the enormity of my emotions and focused on his eyes, insisting he return my gaze.

  When he did, he whispered to me. “We’ll do it together like a team.”

  “Like friends?” I asked.

  “Yes, like friends. Allies. A partnership. Whatever you’d like to call it. Just because you are a werewolf and I’m a demon, sworn enemies for centuries, doesn’t mean we can’t put that aside and do this. Your life is in danger and I’ll help you get out of this, okay? I just need you to trust me. I’ll trust you if you trust me. Okay?”

  Yanking off my cap, I nodded. “I hate this thing. I can’t stand to have anything on my head. Okay, I can do this. Of course I can do that. I’m a werewolf. I’m fearless. I can do this. Okay. Okay. Okay.”

  “Just think, ‘Kill or be kil
led.’ My blood will do the rest.”

  He waited for me to agree with him or at least acknowledge he had spoken. I continued messing with my clothes.

  “Elana, you’re shaking!”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Quickly, here, drink my blood. Just remember, I’m on your side. Okay? Let me check something. Do you see anything yet? Look over there for a moment, would you?”

  Once I turned and cried out, “What, where?” I glanced back at Dante and saw him sink his fangs into the fleshy part of his hand. The warm liquid coated his palm and dripped steadily from the divide between his thumb and index finger.

  “Here,” he said as Dante forced his hand into my face. “Drink just a few drops and we’ll get moving.”

  Chapter 5

  A New Sense and Sensibility

  The luscious smell of Dante’s masculinity hit my nostrils the minute I licked the first drop of his blood from his hand. The Wolf in me awoke and I knew I had to control my savage desire that sprang up in me or I’d shift again and possibly run off into the night. As I slowly and purposely cleaned off the remnants of any remaining liquid from his hand, I thought of melted butter dripping over a freshly baked loaf of bread or warm butterscotch oozing down the side of an angel food cake. My mouth watered. The blood’s salty sweetness reminded me of a flavor I couldn’t define. Honey? Cinnamon? Vanilla? All three? I couldn’t make up my mind. I lavished in the thought process as I refused to let go of his hand. The taste entranced me as I immediately realized I wanted more. I savored the flavor of the demon’s blood in my mouth and I knew, as a shifter, I had crossed a point of no return.

  Breathe, just breathe. This blood is extremely powerful. This is very interesting. The essence of a healer. Very unlike any creature here. Keep breathing, Elana.

  I heard the Wolf’s words in my head, but I couldn’t focus on the intent of his meaning. Later. I’d have to ask what his discovery was later. Right now, I wanted to jump someone’s bones, preferably the guy I was eyeballing.

  “Elana, I need my hand back,” Dante whispered, breaking our intimate embrace. I had moved to sucking on his fingers when he yanked his hand away. “Stop it,” he growled.

  I let out a long, deep sigh as I caught a glimpse of his repositioning himself under his clothing. Dante’s blood had set my body on fire. I felt everything, every pore of my being. Every molecule of my desire rushed towards my brain and my inner core. I turned to him with what I assumed was probably passion in my eyes.

  He spoke not a word, simply staring at me intensely. I felt an eager affection coming from him. “Your eyes are like jewels,” he said. “I’ve never seen such a color of gold. And yes, I realize you want to do naughty things with me. But now is not the time.”

  I smacked my lips in response and lowered my head, ready to leap on him. Take me now. Dante. Right here. Right now. “Now is the time.”

  Dante’s face turned several shades of red. I could see every color that registered on his face. He had heard me. My eyesight was omniscient, psychedelic, out of this world. It was as if every light in the universe had been turned on. I could see everything under the red moon. My surroundings had been bathed in the morning sunlight or so it seemed.

  Before he could stop me, I pushed him into the massive rock we had been standing in front of. The red moon cast a shadow upon the structure and we fell back into darkness. My eyesight adjusted again and I rubbed up against him, running my hands along the bulge in his pants. He was already at attention and ready for me.

  “I want you so badly Elana, but not here. We have to get you to safety. The demons.”

  He moaned, giving himself to me, and rested his head against the rock. His wavy black hair framed his face like a dark angel. “Maybe we have a few moments,” he whispered as he wrapped me in his arms.

  I savored the softness of his skin as I ran my hands beneath his t-shirt. The warmth of touching him sent my mind into chaos. My entire body tingled in anticipation. The beat of my heart became savage. “Dante, I can’t deny what I feel. I want to be with you. What if this is the only chance we get?” Briefly, I swallowed down a sob of grief that wanted to rip through me. What if this was the only chance? What if this was never meant to be? What if I was a fool forcing him? Was I forcing him? What if he refused me? Did he want me the way I wanted him? What if we were discovered, out here in the place? Should I be afraid? Was I?

  His response calmed my beginning panic. He placed my hand on his heart and I gasped.

  “Do you feel that?” he asked.

  I nodded up at him, seeing his eyes lively with passion. “I feel that and more,” I teased.

  “No, listen to me. Do you feel that?”

  Wondering what he meant exactly, I closed my eyes for a moment. The sounds of his heart slammed into my hand. He kept my hand cradled in his against his chest while he pulled me close to his body. His heart was beating, wildly beating like my own. My eyes flew open. “Do demons have a heart beat? Is that your heart? I mean…” I tripped over my words as I almost stumbled out of his grasp.

  He didn’t let me move. “You’re right. I don’t know about other demons, but I know the minute I laid eyes on you, my heart came to life. It beats now and it beats for you alone, Elana. That spark between us. Do you remember? I almost fell down when we touched? I rushed to the table to collect my thoughts. I sat there realizing my heart was working. And for the first time in my life, I felt alive. Quite literally. You did that. I was dead inside, but your touch, your gaze into my eyes brought me to life. I can feel your energy running through my veins. I want you to be mine. Forever. If you’ll have me.” His voice trailed off as he leaned closer and brushed a kiss across my cheeks.

  “You’re telling me you didn’t have a heartbeat before?”

  He smiled at me smugly and focused his attention on my hips.

  I followed his gaze.

  He wrapped both of his hands around the back of my neck, pulling me to him.

  I held my breath as I felt Dante kiss me with his beautiful green eyes. I wanted to collapse in the soft lively pools of his desire.

  When our lips finally touched, I was expecting fireworks. For a moment, I almost dreaded the interaction. But then, his kiss was slow and gentle, as if he didn’t have anywhere to go or anything to do such as save our lives. He and I were one in that delicious sensation.

  “We must go.” His lips brushed past mine as he spoke.

  A fever of blushes covered my face. I decided to not worry about it, even if I blushed a second time in front of him. Dante’s declaration, that he felt something quite literally when he had met me surfaced in my mind and with that gesture, and his kiss had sent me into oblivion. True love. I gazed up at him, marveling at the look of pleasure on his face. True love.

  “I don’t want to control these feelings I have for you.” He gathered me up in his arms. “I don’t know where they came from. Maybe it was the wolf chant that did it. I don’t know for sure, but I know I feel this.” A slight smile crossed his lips. He embraced me tightly and then picked me up in his arms.

  Without saying a word, I placed my hand over his heart as I wrapped my legs around him. “True love,” I finally whispered, the words expelling out of my mouth in the form of a few short breaths. Could it be?

  “This can’t be wrong, Elana. I don’t want to deny the possibility of the love we can have. Say you agree?”

  “I think I already love you, Dante. I’ve never known anyone like you. You’re a glorious, magnificent person. “I’m yours,” I cried out. “I’m yours!” The warmth of his blood raced through my veins. I rocked back and forth in his arms, letting my head fall backwards and my blonde hair swirl around me.

  “Shh,” he said. “Don’t listen to my blood. I don’t want you to be my servant or blood source. Equal.” With his muscular arms, he deposited me on the ground again. “I want us to be equals. I want to cherish this moment, our first kiss. If we are never to be together again we had this one moment, out here in t
his wasteland.”

  I smiled up into his striking emerald eyes, watching how they radiated in the low light. His eyelashes fluttered now and again, but he refused to take his eyes off of me. I returned his gaze, letting my eyes communicate my intent as I delighted in witnessing the desire in his stare. I couldn’t look away. There was an inherent strength in his features, almost a haughtiness I could visualize him giving to others he disliked. For me, in that moment, that strength was etched across his face with a look of devotion and confidence I had never seen before. The light green of his eyes had turned dark from his growing passion for me. I could see that it was all for me. This could be my destiny, being with Dante forever. If I was as bold as I had just been taking him in my hands, a future with this guy could be in my grasp. But it meant sacrificing everything. Just for him. Born enemies.

  I let him kiss me a second time and delighted in the ecstasy of his deliberately slow pace. Waves of warmth rushed through my body. I’ll remember this moment forever. I blushed and returned his hug, hoping to stay forever in his protective arms. “I don’t know what came over me.”

  “Oh, I do,” Dante replied. “I think you like my blood. But it can be very dangerous. Don’t listen to it if it tells you to do bad things. That’s the demon side of me, not the warrior side. Do you understand?” Delicately he tapped me on the nose.

  I nodded, immediately afraid of how delicious and addictive I could already tell his blood was. I wanted more.

  After he swung me into the circle of his arms again, I rested my head against his strong shoulders and snuggled into his neck. I also realized the enormous power of Dante’s blood. It had spurred my actions. I had never thrown myself at a guy. With Dante, I hadn’t considered not assuming control. He captivated me. He ignited my primal desire. I didn’t regret it for one second. I’d savor the memories of our first kiss as much as the taste of his blood. I also realized the raw complication of Dante being a demon in Hell. He was a good soul struggling daily with his inner duality, fighting against the darkness that waited to take him if he allowed it. He was on the front lines, keeping the darkness from consuming his honor and humanity. And my mere presence had brought him to life. I shuddered at the notion as I remained in his arms. I would rejoice in those words of his for eternities. “The minute I laid eyes on you, my heart came to life. It beats now and it beats for you alone.”