Call Of The Dark

She couldn't help curling her arms around his neck as she kissed him back on his cheek. "You went to get hold of those who drugged us?" she asked, her eyes darting to his lips, to his fangs. She leaned forward and kissed his lips, swiping her tongue over his fangs. It pierced her tongue slightly to give him the taste of her blood. And just as she wanted, his eyes gleamed in anticipation.

He slid her down him slowly to the ground, keeping her very close to his body. "I did." The taste of her blood quickened his pulse and his chest vibrated with a rumble. The skin around her mark was still angry. He leaned down to her neck and licked the mark. "Did you worry for me today while you were with Nephie?"

"Of course, I did worry about you, Lorza."

"And now I am Lorza, not Lord Lorza?" His fingers dug into her hips that he was holding possessively as he stared intensely into her eyes out of love. And still he hadn't paid attention to Nephie who was watching them.

"Well, I decided to call you Lorza from now on."

"Why now on?"

"Because you look beautiful and I feel like kissing you crazily and so I thought I could drop Lord and just call you Lorza."

Lazarus's throat bobbed with an emotion he couldn't point at. No one had given him a nickname. Not because he didn't want it, but because no one had dared to do so. Lorza sounded… bundled with affection. He took a deep breath in to understand all the emotions swirling in his chest. She brought her hand to his chest and drew lazy circles over there as if nothing else mattered. For the first time in his life, he felt like he didn't bother about the world and that he could spend an entire lifetime with Emma, right here next to the apple tree, with her in his arms.  "What were you two talking about?" On his way to her, he listened to her talking loudly to Nephie. He tilted his head to look at Nephine and gave her a tight nod of approval.

Emma didn't want him to know what she was talking about, so she tried to change the subject. "Umm… just this and that. What did you find out about the drugs?"

He narrowed his eyes. She was hiding something because her cheeks grew flushed. "They were extremely dangerous and your body could have been affected for your life."

She let out a sad chuckle. "Does that even matter?"

He yanked her close to him and nuzzled her hair. Inhaling her scent of violets deeply, he felt relaxed. Shira had taken good care of his mate and for which he really appreciated her. "So what did you talk about with Nephie?"

"I—" she bit her bottom lip. "We talked about going to Yizinia to meet my mother before you take me for the ritual."

His eyes shot flame red. He snapped his eyes to Nephie as he grabbed Emma's hand and shoved her behind him. His hand went to the hilt of his sword, ready to kill the dragon if need be. "You have just managed to be dead Nephie!" he yelled. "How dare you take my bride away from me?" His insecurity reared its head and the purple dragon looked red. Lazarus was ready to fight a mighty dragon that was twenty times his size for his bride.

Nephie's spikes bristled as she tilted her snout a little to look at the vampire who was even shorter than her leg. She should have been tense, but she became interested. Strangely bewildered.

"Lazarus!" Emma squeaked. "It's not like that—"

"I will strip your scales dragon and chop you into pieces if you take away my Emma. She is too naïve and very gullible!" Lazarus roared, drawing his sword out.

"Lazarus!" Emma struggled to come in front of him. "In any case why do you even care? In three days, you will cast my soul out. I am not your bride. Maeve is. You will dare not harm the one dragon I have come to love."

Frenzied, he turned sharply to face her and, in the process, he took his hand to the sword's tip. It started bleeding. He wrapped his bleeding hand around her waist tightly. "You want to leave me and go to meet your mother? I have just marked you! I have so many enemies that you are not safe anywhere. You can't even think of leaving me!" It was his extreme insecurity mixed with his possessiveness that led him to speak all. She was the woman he had marked. He longed for her even if she was a few meters away and she was thinking of going to Yizinia? Never.

"Lazarus—" she reached out to him, trying to cup his face.

But he snapped away, leaning back from her without leaving her waist. "If you leave, I am going to kill Nephie. Now!" His anxiety that his mate would leave him, returned like a storm-tossed ocean.

Angered that he wasn't listening to her, she poked her finger in his chest and pinned him with his gaze. "Now listen to me, Lord Lazarus. You are not ever going to threaten me like that, especially about people and dragons I love. Are we clear?"

Lazarus's mouth fell to the floor when she ordered him so forcefully. He desired so madly and badly for her that in his frenzy he didn't notice that she would feel terrible about killing Nephie.

"I asked you a question. Are we clear?" With her chin tipped up and with that stubborn look in her eyes, she looked like his queen. That look made his chest rumble and he growled as desire rode him high for his queen.

'Crystal', he wanted to say. "You are not leaving, are you?"

"No, I am not. I can't leave you even if I wanted to. Stop throwing a temper tantrum." She lowered her sweater and showed him the mark. "This bond between us prevents me."

Swallowing thickly, the next moment, he yanked her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her possessively, protectively. He immediately relaxed and closed his eyes, resting his head on hers. If this was how his life was going to go on… he looked forward to it. She loved him as much as he did, right?