Court of the Shifter Chapter 3

The moment our eyes met, the permanent smirk on her lips grew slightly, but then she seemed to remember herself as she schooled her expression, quickly turned away from me, and disappeared around the wall.

“Oh, shit!” I said, and I turned my head away as my face filled with heat. “Sorry about that.”

The image of her naked body behind the sheer white fabric was burned into my mind, and I felt my blood rush through my veins and straight to my groin.

Fucking hell.

“It’s fine!” the brunette princess called from the bathroom, and I heard the clatter of bottles as she rummaged around behind the wall.

“I got kind of lost in the halls. I’ll leave now. Sorry again.” I cleared my throat and glanced around the room in front of me as I started toward the door.

“Wait.” I heard her bare footsteps against the smooth wood.

“Yes?” I turned my head slowly, and then I cleared my throat and glanced up at the ceiling.

“Come now, it’s not like you’ve never seen a naked woman before.” Calantha stepped through the curtain, and her beautiful body was fully in my view. “Unless you haven’t, then consider this a welcoming gift.”

She stretched her slender, toned body, and I ran my eyes over the length of her skin from the hollow of her neck to the curve of her collarbones. Her breasts perked into the air, and my gaze fell to the dimple of her navel, the short patch of dark, curled hair on her pelvis, and her supple and sculpted legs.

I fought back a frown of confusion. The vampire princess had seemed kind of bitchy around me before, but now she seemed to be goading me. What was the little cat and mouse game she was playing?

Either way, her crimson irises stirred something primal in my gut, something I’d never experienced before, and I was ready to play.

“A welcoming gift?” I asked before my brain could tell me it was a good idea.

“You seem to like what you see.” The corner of her mouth rose a bit in a half-smirk.

“How could I ever repay you?” I asked as I took a step forward and held my hands up at my sides theatrically.

“Oh, please.” The princess rolled her eyes, crossed her arms under her breasts to perk them up, and leaned against the edge of the archway into the bathroom. “It comes at a cost higher than you can pay.”

The sophistication and allure in her voice dripped like pure, raw honey. It was smooth like a smoked whiskey, and yet there was an edge, like a finely curated tequila. Her purring cadence alone reminded me of a jaguar, and the way she moved her body was almost feline-esque.

She was fucking sexy.

And God, her breasts were perfect. They were smooth and supple, and they spilled over her arms as she held them up. I couldn’t help but imagine massaging them in my hands, teasing her pink, erect nipples, and tasting her skin on my tongue.

Park ranger pants weren’t the best at concealing boners, either.

“That would mean I’m indebted to you.” I took another step forward, and I watched as her eyes flicked to my pelvis.

“Precisely,” Calantha said, and her eyes snapped back up to mine before she bit her lip, dropped her hands, and then turned into the bathroom. “And I have an idea of how you can start your payments.”

Holy shit.

“Is that right?” I took careful steps into the bathroom with her, and my eyes scanned over her backside as she sat on a stool next to a massive red clawfoot tub. The legs and hardware of the tub were made of a black metal, and the basin itself was a polished material like porcelain that reflected the light from the dimmed overhead aza orbs and the abundance of candles lit throughout the room.

Calantha turned the knobs on the tub, and liquid sputtered out of the faucet, but it didn’t look like water. In fact, going off the color alone, the tub seemed to be filling up with crimson blood.

Part of me wanted to be disgusted, but I had to admit…

It was actually badass.

But that sight was nothing compared to the vampire princess before me.

Her back was arched as she ran the tips of her fingers along the water, and then she poured something from a small vial into it.

After a moment, a wave of a warm scent filled the air, and vanilla, sandalwood, and something else I couldn’t place created an even warmer ambiance as the oils mixed with the warm scarlet liquid filling the basin. I watched as small wisps of steam rose from the surface and drift up and around Calantha’s body, and I found myself distracted by her round ass that was accentuated by her posture.

“Let me say this first,” the brunette said as she drew me from my ogling, and then she closed the vial, set it on the small table next to her, and turned to me as she remained seated on the edge of the tub. “I’m not particularly fond of shifters. I never have been, and I don’t know if that will change. Generally speaking. But… I don’t know you as an individual, and thus far, everything about the prophecy has been proven to be true. And… you did kind of save my ass back in town. Therefore, I’ll try not to be a complete bitch throughout this whole thing.”

“Well, I appreciate the honesty,” I said, and I leaned against the wall as I watched her stand, turn the nozzle to shut the water off, and lower herself into the tub. “And don’t mention it. I saved you because it was the right thing to do.”

“Even though you didn’t know me?” Calantha asked as she raised an eyebrow at me.

“You didn’t know me when you and Nicolai jumped in to help keep the rogues off my back.” I shrugged.

“A man with noble intentions,” she mused, and her crimson eyes found mine once more.

Then they travelled the length of my body.

There were several stops along the way including my lips, arms, hands, and groin, and I watched as she bit her lip and slowly pinched her thighs together under the water.

Little did she know, I could smell her arousal. Calantha’s scent was similar to the scent of her parents. She smelled of spices, warmth, and a little bit of blood, but something else about her fragrance was intoxicating. It reminded me of the wisteria trees that used to grow in my aunt’s lawn: a gentle and perfect mix of sweet and musky.

Were all vampires this enticing, or was there something about the princess in particular?

“I could say the same about yourself,” I chuckled playfully.

“You are not what I expected, Eli Shepherd,” she murmured, and her eyes fell on my tented pants once more before she turned her attention to wetting down her legs and arms with the scarlet liquid she sat in.

“I didn’t expect you at all, Calantha, so at least you have that on me,” I said, and then I took a few cautious steps forward. When she didn’t say anything, I pulled the stool a bit away from the bath and sat down.

“True.” She nodded, and her eyes dilated when I said her name. “But call me Cal. I prefer that.”

“I understand the feeling,” I said with a nod of my own. “Cal it is.”

There was a small moment of silence between us, and the only thing that echoed through the room was a drop of crimson “water” falling from the spout and into the bath.

“You don’t believe in the prophecy, do you?” I asked.

If she was going to be straightforward with me, I might as well do the same.

The question seemed to throw her off because her scarlet eyes widened, and she didn’t say anything for a moment.

“It’s not the prophecy I don’t believe in, because that would imply I don’t believe in Azurantha, and I do.” The brunette beauty pushed her hair out of her face, lowered her head, wet her hair, and then sat up and wrang out the excess. “But there’s bits of it I don’t agree with.”

“I see,” I said. “Like what?”

“Well, they involve you, truth be told.” She shrugged nonchalantly, but the look in her eyes told me there was an abundance of uncertainty and apprehension.

“Like?” I cleared my throat as I asked again, and then I took in the view of her body in the water. It was then I noticed there was significantly more steam coming from the surface than initially, but when I glanced back at Cal, the look in her eyes told me she wasn’t surprised by the water getting hotter.

“That, you’ll have to find out at a later time,” she said with a playful smirk, and then she leaned back in the red basin, rested her arms on the edges, bent her knees, and closed her eyes. “For now, I’m going to enjoy this bath. Alone. I hope you liked the show. Consider it repayment for saving my life, and you’ll never see me naked again.”

“Yeahhhh…” I cleared my throat and gave her exquisite body one final look. “See you later, Cal. Have a good night.”

My fingers twitched as I thought about how her skin would feel under my touch, but I said nothing about it. Instead, I stood, pushed the stool to its original position, and turned on my heel to leave.

“You as well,” I heard her whisper as I walked through the archway, and then I heard the water slosh around and a sensual sigh leave her lips.

I slowed my pace as I approached the door, and I strained my ears to listen. As the water moved around more in the tub, Calantha let out a small moan.

“Fuck…” the brunette beauty whispered to herself, and the image of her massaging her breasts and rolling her swollen clit under her fingertips filled the forefront of my mind.

She knew exactly what the fuck she was doing, and the hot, intense throbbing throughout my dick only proved her tactics to be efficient.

I quickly but silently turned the doorknob in my hand, pushed the door open, slipped out into the hallway, and closed the door behind me. I went down the stairs I had come up and made my way to my room without any time to waste, and once I was inside, I shut the door with a sigh.

Then I noticed a tray covered with a gold lid on top of the bed, and I assumed that was the dinner Lor left for me. On the bedside table was another tray with an iced pitcher of what appeared to be water and an empty glass, and next to the food platter was a large, leather-bound book. The cover was lined with swirling gold embellishments, and geometric shapes and circles of iridescent red glimmered as I took the book in my hands and moved it in the light.

Something about the book pulled at my gut, and I could’ve sworn I felt a rush of warmth shoot from the book into my hand.

“Where did…” I muttered as I glanced around the room. I was sure I hadn’t taken any books off the shelf, but either way, I wanted to read it.

But first order of business was a bath of my own.

After a steaming hot bath and some time to myself, I felt infinitely better. I dried off in the bathroom and looked myself over in the mirror as I wrapped the towel around my waist. I raked a hand through my head of wet hair, and then I leaned forward and ran my palm along my jaw.

I’d shaved two days ago, and yet the stubble on my skin looked as if I hadn’t shaved for a week and a half.

Was this part of being a shifter, too?

Though I looked the same, I also felt like I was a complete stranger to myself. This morning, I’d woken up a human-- or, well, a Nulmancer according to everyone here-- in my cabin in the Range, and now I was looking into a gold-encrusted mirror in one of the most luxurious bathrooms I’d ever been in while inside of a vampire castle.

With, like, real fucking vampires and everything.

I hung the towel on one of the hooks in the bathroom before I went into the bedchambers, walked over to the armoire, and pulled open the doors. The right side of the interior was composed of about seven drawers, and the remainder of the wardrobe was for hanging clothes and shoes. I pulled open the drawers from top to bottom looking for sleep clothes, and the third to last drawer revealed some loose-fitting pants to pull on. They were dark gray linen trousers that tied at the waist, and they were comfortable and soft.

Then I closed the armoire, sat on the bed against the satin pillows, crossed my legs, and pulled both the tray of food and the book toward me. I placed the tray in front of me and removed the lid to reveal a massive steak covered in what looked like sauteed onions and mushrooms, a pile of fried potato slices, and two large rolls covered in butter. The food was still hot and fresh, and billows of steam wafted into the air and filled the room with the scent of spices and cooked meat.

The meal looked as if I’d gone to a restaurant back at home, and it didn’t smell any different, either.

Then I poured myself a glass of the clear liquid and sniffed at it. I didn’t know how to explain it, but I could smell the coldness of the ice against the glass. The air was cool in my nostrils, and the scent itself was clean and crisp. I hesitantly took a sip, and I nearly rolled my eyes at myself when I tasted refreshing, ice cold water.

After a few more sips of water, I set the glass on the tray once more and turned my attention to the food. I didn’t know how long it had actually been since I ate, given the whole changing of realms and all, but my stomach felt like it was trying to eat itself.

Saliva pooled in my mouth as I cut into the tender meat. It had been cooked medium rare, and the pink inside seeped with juices as the knife cut the steak like it was nothing. Once I cut out a sliver, I collected the piece of meat with a bit of the sauteed vegetables and took a bite.

Holy fucking hell.

It was the best steak I’d ever had in my life. The earthy marinade that was used mixed with the savory onions and mushrooms, and the butter only added creaminess to the overall dish.

Then I pierced a few of the fried potato slices, and I couldn’t believe how perfectly crispy and soft they were. I tasted garlic and pepper on the potatoes as well, and I took another bite before I set the fork down and took hold of one of the rolls.

The yeasty rolls were just delicious as they looked, and the bread itself nearly melted in my mouth. There was a hint of sweetness to them, too, and when I took a bite with more butter on it, I realized it was honey butter, and that was where the sweetness came from.

I had to hold myself back from scarfing down the rest of the food, so I set my fork down, swallowed the mouthful I had, and wiped off my mouth and hands with the handkerchief tucked under the plate. Then I took a sip of water and turned my attention to the book in my lap.

“Now, what are you about?” I muttered, and I shifted in my seat to balance the book on my left thigh. Then I used my right to eat and my left hand to flip open the book and turn the pages.

But the second I opened the book’s cover, I knew I wouldn’t be able to read it. The language wasn’t written in English, and the symbols reminded me of a mix between Arabic and Japanese in a way, but also neither.

The pages were covered in a plethora of the mysterious writing, but there were also detailed images and sketches all throughout the tome. The first image I came upon was that of a beautiful woman, and as I looked over her sharp features and curved body, I realized I’d seen her somewhere before.

I thought back to the town center, and I realized the woman in the book and the female stature were the same.

In the image on the page, her hair fell in dark curtains off her shoulders, and she was covered in swirling tattoos. Her nails were long and painted red, and so were her plump lips.

Her fangs weren’t noticeable until the next picture I came across a few pages later, and in this one, the woman was tangled up with a man on a white silken backdrop.

I took a few more bites of food as I studied the picture that took up the totality of the left page.

Pleasure was etched permanently on the woman’s features, and both she and the man held onto each other with an intensity that could almost be felt through the picture. Both of them were naked except for the silk wrapped around their pelvises, but it was evident what was happening.

The man next to her had dark hair as well, and it contrasted against the cream background as it fell down to about his shoulder blades. It was pulled in a low half-bun, and there were several small beaded braids braided through the strands. Though he was turned to the side, I could see the silver in his eyes, and his skin was tanned and red-toned. The man’s muscles were pronounced in the drawing, and I could see the details of sweat and arousal throughout the picture.

And then I caught sight of the necklace around the man’s neck.

A familiar silver chain with a hexagonal pendant rested between the individuals on the bed, and I could just barely make out the etchings on the pendant.

The man was a shifter.

I flipped the worn paper pages until I found the next picture. The vampiress and the shifter were posed together for this drawing, and the woman sat in a beautiful gown with a chubby and healthy baby in her lap. I couldn’t tell if the baby was a boy or a girl, but it had round cheeks and hands, a bright gummy smile, a head of dark curly hair, and eyes that were a swirling mix of crimson and gray that reminded me of dragon’s jasper.

“So, the woman vampire and the man shifter had a baby, cute, too,” I murmured to myself, and then I set the book to my left, finished my dinner off, and moved the tray to the other end of the bedside table.

Once I had more room, I wiped my hands and mouth clean before I stretched out my legs, and I leaned against the smooth pillows and opened the book back up in my hands.

I flipped a few more pages, but a long yawn pulled my mouth open and caused me to stretch my back. The heaviness in my eyes made it hard to focus, but I was invested in the book even if I couldn’t read a single word.

There was something about the story that almost seemed familiar, and I reached up and turned the pendant on my necklace absently as I continued to study the illustrations.

From what I could tell, the child of the vampiress and the shifter grew and fell in love with another vampire, but once the child found love, a grotesque and creepy hooded figure appeared from the darkness and killed the child.

Torn apart by grief, the vampiress and the shifter performed some sort of ritual, and then the next picture was of the vampiress being sucked into a dark void and the shifter being encompassed by a blinding white light. They cried and reached for each other in the image, and I felt for the both of them.

I leaned my head back as I rested the book in my lap, and I closed my eyes for just a moment. I wanted to read more, but I just needed to close my eyes for a second.

What did the vampiress and shifter do in the ritual? Where did they go after they were sucked into their own voids? How did they meet, anyway?

Flashes of images of the vampiress and the shifter ran through my mind, and I thought of their child with dragon’s jasper eyes.

The next thing I knew, there were three loud knocks on my bedroom door, and I peeled my eyes open only to have sunlight right in my eyes.

For a moment, I was confused by my surroundings, but then all the events from the day before came flooding back to me, and I inhaled sharply.

“So, really not a dream,” I muttered to myself.

I clearly wasn’t in Idaho anymore, and I had no idea if I could even go back, but it was time to start a new day in Marbooke.