SOULBOUND
By Wes
Leigh
This is a work of fiction (or
is it?) intended solely for the entertainment of my readers; any resemblance to
any real people or places is purely coincidental. Readers who would like to chat are encouraged
to contact me at weston.leigh@protonmail.com.
This story is the property of
the author and is protected by copyright laws.
The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the
author's consent.
If you enjoy this story,
please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation by visiting https://donate.nifty.org/.
Without love, our earth is a tomb.
-- Robert Browning
Daniel felt drops falling on his cheeks. Some of the drops landed on his lips, seeping
into his mouth, touching his tongue.
Salty? Were those tears?
He felt warmth on each side of him, arms embracing him.
He remembered pain, the greatest he'd ever known.
He remembered uttering two words: I ... cherish ... and then nothing more.
He remembered a soft bed and hands gently bathing his body
and lips softly kissing his face. Yes, those must have been tears falling upon
his cheeks. Tears of loved ones crying
out in anguish and drawing him back from a distant place, back into a torn body
that didn't want to accept him at first, but his soul would not be denied. The love of his mates had pulled him from
death's door. How could he not return?
His lungs drew in a slow and painful breath. Careful, his body demanded. Still healing. Slowly blow out. Now breathe in again. Deeper this time.
His lungs responded to the unspoken commands, sending oxygen
to the heart that was now cautiously beating, its torn chambers restored. The heart summoned more blood, refilled, then
pushed the life-restoring elixir out into his body.
Again his mind spoke. Stronger this time. I ... cherish ... you ... both.
͠ ͠
͠
Connor felt movement underneath his arm. He lifted his head and looked across Daniel's
body to see Xavier asleep on the other side.
Daniel's chest rose ever so slightly, then fell.
Connor sat up, blinking his eyes in surprise. Daniel's mouth opened slightly and sucked in
a shallow breath of air before blowing it back out again.
Then Connor heard it.
Daniel's mental whisper. I
... cherish ... you ... both.
Xavier sat up, shaking his head. He looked at Connor, baffled. "Just now ... I thought I heard his voice,
Connor. I suppose I'm just hearing what
I want to hear, but it seemed so real."
Xavier looked down at Daniel and watched as Daniel took another slow,
shallow breath. Xavier gasped and burst
into tears.
Connor grabbed Xavier's hand, tears pouring down both their
faces, as they watched Daniel breathing deeper with each passing moment. Color returned to his face and lips. His eyes fluttered and opened. His bright blue eyes. Looking up at them, seeing them, recognizing
them, adoring them.
With more forcefulness now, Daniel thought, My loves, I cherish you both.
Xavier lifted Daniel's hand to his lips and kissed it. Daniel, oh my sweet Daniel. I thought we'd lost you.
Connor stroked Daniel's cheek. You're back with us, m'love, and I'll never let you go. Never again.
Daniel smiled. Where
are we? he asked.
The cabin, Xavier replied.
Our cabin? Daniel asked, his lips curling up
in the smallest of grins.
Where else would we be? Connor asked.
Daniel turned his head slightly, looking around. Daniel's voice was raspy as he asked, "What
happened to me?"
Xavier shook his head.
"There's no point in talking about that now, Daniel. It doesn't matter. You're alive and getting better, and that's
all you need concern yourself with."
Connor agreed. "I
will say this, Big D. No werewolf ever
suffered such an injury and survived."
"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm a vaewolf,"
Daniel said with a twinkle in his eye.
Then his eyes teared up as he grabbed Connor and Xavier by the hand. A vaewolf who
is loved by his soulmates.
To the grave and beyond, Xavier replied,
squeezing Daniel's hand.
Daniel smiled contentedly, then cut his eyes over to
Connor. "Connor, is there any more of
that tomato soup?"
Connor snorted and looked at Xavier. "He must be feeling better." Connor stood up to get Daniel a cup of deer's
blood, while Xavier leaned in to kiss Daniel's cheek.
"Rest now," Xavier whispered. "We'll take good care of you."
͠ ͠
͠
Daniel woke up to the sound of voices whispering. He opened his eyes and saw Xavier and Connor
talking to several other kids from school.
When they realized he was awake, Xavier came up and sat on the edge of
the bed. He took Daniel's hand and
squeezed it gently, asking, "Do you feel up to a few visitors?"
Daniel nodded.
"Sure. Who is it?"
"A few of our friends.
Regina and Sebastian and Ethan and Donny."
Connor led them up to the bed. "When they heard you were alive, everyone
wanted to come. We told `em to pick a few people.
Didn't wanna overwhelm you, m'love."
Regina seemed very unsure of herself. She kept glancing around the room nervously,
but finally looked down at Daniel and said, "We had to come tell you how
grateful we are. We owe you our lives,
Daniel."
Daniel shook his head slightly. "No, you don't, Regina."
"We do," she said, her voice gaining strength as she gained
confidence. "If you hadn't warned us,
more of us would have died there."
"She's right," Sebastian said. He was a senior whom Daniel didn't know well,
since they had no classes together. "Some
of us didn't make it, but it would have been far worse if it hadn't been for
you."
Daniel frowned.
Looking up at Connor, he said, "You didn't tell me—"
Connor put his finger across Daniel's lips. "Shhh, Big D. It wasn't important. There was nothing we could do to change it,
and you needed to rest and heal, so we didn't tell you that part."
Daniel closed his eyes in pain. "How many?" he asked.
Connor sniffed. "Two
werewolves ... Jacob and Joshua. And four
vampires. Gregor, Gabrielle, Dominic,
and Michaelo."
Regina sobbed. "Ellise may not make it.
We'll know in a day or two."
Daniel took a deep breath and asked, "And the elders?"
The teens looked at each other, none of them willing to
speak. Ethan said, "Several of them also
died."
"Because of me?" Daniel asked.
Ethan nodded reluctantly.
Daniel turned his head and looked out the cabin window. "I didn't want to hurt anyone," he whispered. "I just wanted to give you guys time to get
away."
Donny reached down and squeezed Daniel's foot beneath the
blanket. "And that's exactly what you
did, bro. You saved far more lives than
you took, and all of us are grateful for it."
Daniel closed his eyes again. "What good is it to have the powers I have if
people still keep dying?"
Connor motioned with his head for the others to leave.
Regina leaned down and kissed Daniel on the cheek. "We have those powers too, Daniel." She smiled and stood up. Sebastian took her hand and they teleported
out of the cabin.
Donny wiggled Daniel's toes again and said, "The only
difference between you and us ... is you used your powers to make a
difference. We've been goin' along, acceptin' things the
way they are. You didn't do that. You stood up to them."
Ethan squeezed Daniel's knee. "Get used to bein'
a hero, Danny Boy. You've inspired us to
fix this mess our families have created.
For now, you just rest and get better.
We'll be seein' you." Ethan and Donny stood up and walked out the
cabin door, closing it behind them.
Daniel looked at Xavier and Connor, puzzled. What's going on, guys?
They grinned and Xavier said, You'll
see. Go back to sleep.
͠ ͠
͠
The Silvermane Pack gathered in
the Great Hall of the hunting lodge.
Tensions were running high as they waited for Andreas' deadline. And there was still no sign of Connor.
Gabi and Andreas sat in high backed chairs on each side of
the main fireplace. Andreas was getting
stronger. His eyes were bright, and he
was eager to see who would challenge him for leadership of the pack, now that
it appeared Connor would not return.
Andreas pulled the blankets tighter around his chest. He couldn't seem to get warm enough, probably
the result of the wounds he'd suffered.
Where was that boy?
Several of the older, stronger wolves were edging forward,
looking sideways at each other, trying to decide who would step up and who
would slink away.
Donny and Ethan waited impatiently, eager to see the changes
that would be coming. They had talked to
the other younger members of the pack, and all of them were on board with
Connor's plan. Ethan glanced at the
clock hanging over the fireplace mantle.
It was time.
The main doors of the lodge slammed open and a wind gust blew
leaves inside. The pack turned as one
and saw Connor striding through. He
walked down the steps into the Great Hall and stopped, looking at each of the
pack members gathered there. Last of
all, he looked at Donny and Ethan, who were smiling with fierce grins at seeing
him return.
Connor nodded. The
brothers stepped forward and gripped his forearms, then walked behind him,
making it clear to the rest of the pack that they were Connor's lieutenants.
Connor walked forward until he stood before his father and
mother.
"So you've returned," Andreas
growled, hope kindling in his eyes when he saw the determination in
Connor's. "Will you take your place at
the head of the pack?"
"I will," Connor replied.
Andreas sighed with relief, then closed his eyes and bared
his neck to Connor. He waited for the
bite that would take his life and establish Connor as alpha, but the bite never
came. He opened his eyes and looked up
at Connor, puzzled.
"I said I wouldn't do that, Pa. And I stand by m'word."
"You must," Andreas snarled.
"It is our way!"
"It will no longer be our way," Connor said. He turned and looked at the rest of the
pack. "I AM ALPHA!" he shouted. "Does anyone challenge me?"
One by one, the rest of the pack lowered their eyes and
stared at the floor.
Turning to Andreas, Connor said. "I am now the pack alpha, Father. I claim your spot as leader of the Silvermanes. Do you
dispute my claim?"
Andreas stared hard at his son, concerned that he had raised
a rogue. Would he have to fight the boy
after all, to save the pack from unhealthy changes and return it to the safety
of tradition? But Andreas didn't have it
in him. He was too tired, too hurt. He lowered his eyes and submitted to Connor.
Connor growled, "There are no challengers. Listen, Silvermanes,
this is the way of the pack." Connor
shifted into full wolf form and howled, then shifted back to human form and snarled,
"The war is over. We will not fight the
vampires."
Upon hearing this proclamation, several in the pack began to
whine and whimper. One of the boldest
moved forward, looking up cautiously at Connor, and asked, "Are we to let them
slaughter us then?"
Connor shook his head, speaking compassionately now. "You and your pups will be safe. There will be no slaughter, but there will
also be no war."
The elder lycans began sidling
closer, angling for an opening. The one
who first spoke said, "Weakness in our alpha will not protect our pups."
Several of the younger members of the pack stood up and
walked to stand behind Connor, Donny, and Ethan. They looked back at the elders, making it
clear that they supported Connor fully.
"AM I ALPHA?" Connor shouted.
The elders whimpered and bowed their heads. All refused to look Connor in the eye.
͠ ͠
͠
The vampires gathered in full conclave in the town
convention center. No humans were
allowed, not that any would have wanted to be there. Minerva wanted the entire Covenant present,
to hear how they would press the war against the lycans.
When all were gathered, Minerva stood up and lifted her
hands for quiet. "This is how we shall
proceed," she began, but before she could continue, Xavier teleported into the
hall, standing just behind her.
Several vampires hissed, causing Minerva to turn and face Xavier.
She laughed, soft and low.
"You return then? To beg for mercy? For, I warn
you, it may not be forthcoming."
Xavier shook his head.
"I ask for no mercy. I ask for a
vote of confidence."
Minerva was stunned at first, then she began laughing. "You would try to have me removed as
Executor? You? A disgusting rebel?" She laughed again and shrugged as she sat
down. "Very well. Present your case, Xavier. I'm sure we'll all find it amusing."
Xavier took a moment to look around the room. He saw hostile glares from the elder vampires
and hopeful expressions from his peers.
He shook his head sadly. "There
are several missing who should hear what I have to say."
Minerva hissed.
"There is no one missing. I called
from a full Conclave. All are present."
"NOT ALL!" Xavier shouted.
"Where is Gregor? Where is
Dominic? Gabrielle? Ellise? Michaelo? Where are they, Minerva?" Minerva glared at him, her eyes beginning to
glow slightly. Xavier clinched his teeth,
staring back at her with eyes blazing red with fury. "They are not here, not able to participate
in this Conclave, because your foolish arrogance resulted in their deaths! We, who should be immortal, are now
diminished in number today, because several of our sisters and brothers lie
ripped and torn, from a battle that was not necessary."
Minerva stood up and screamed, "WHO ARE YOU TO SAY WHAT WAS NOT
NECESSARY?"
"I am the Executor Elect of this Covenant!" Xavier
exclaimed. "I was duly elected to the office
by a Full Conference of the Family. And
yet you called a secret meeting of a few members of this Covenant with our
enemies, the Silvermane Pack, without consulting with
me, your deputy and second in command. I
SHOULD HAVE BEEN INVOLVED, MINERVA! Whether
I would have agreed with the actions you took or not, you bypassed the
doctrines of the family to hold an illegal war, resulting in the death of those
under your care, and for that and that alone, your place as Executor should be
forfeit!"
Minerva laughed and began clapping slowly, mocking
Xavier. "So passionate. And yet so logical. How ironic it is that you who helped create
an abomination would now insist that I follow the least letter of the law. Well, if you are quite finished presenting
your reason for having me step down as leader of this Covenant, all that
remains is for you to try to take my place, which you cannot do, because you
cannot nominate yourself, and I'm sure no one here would be foolish enough to
make such a motion."
Regina stood up. "I
nominate Xavier Finton-Smyth to the office of
Executor of the Covenant."
Minerva slowly turned and glared at Regina, making it clear
that the foolish girl would pay dearly for her action.
"You have no second," Minerva hissed.
Sebastian rose to his feet.
"I second the nomination."
Next to Sebastian, his parents also stood. His father said, "I stand in support of the
nomination."
An elderly female vampire stood to her feet. "As do I," she said. "In my 2400 years on this planet, never have
I seen such imprudent and dangerous actions by our Executor."
All around the room, teen vampires stood up, throwing their
support behind Xavier.
Minerva spat, "You are all fools to follow this
fledgling. He will lead you to
disaster."
They stared at her, refusing to respond to her venom.
"If you do this thing," Minerva hissed, "Edward and I will
leave this Covenant and never return."
Edward rolled his eyes and said, "Give it a rest,
Minerva. You've lost."
͠ ͠
͠
One year later ...
September 3
This is
unbelievable. Coach just called to tell
me he wants me to start at quarterback for our first game of the season. With Timothy Dale graduating last year, the
starting spot was wide open. I never
thought I'd stand a chance, even with Connor and the rest of the guys working
with me all summer. They taught me plays,
helped me to use my vaewolf powers without making it
obvious, and showed me how to recognize defensive schemes just by glancing at
the way the players line up. For a guy
who had never played football my entire life, I was surprised by how quickly I
picked it up. I suppose I always had the
mental ability to play quarterback, but not the speed or stamina required. As a vaewolf, I
have those in good measure. LOL.
So yeah. I'm starting at quarterback this Friday. Can you FUCKING BELIEVE IT? My dad is freaking out, he's so proud of
me. Mom is too, but of course she's
worried I'll break something. I may. In fact, I did already. My arm twice.
My leg once. During
practice. Coach reset things and waited
for my body to heal up, then sent me back in for the next play. Mom never found out, and she never will. I'm good at keeping secrets.
The cabin on
the hill is officially off limits to everyone except Connor, Xavier, and
me. Connor won't let anyone else use
it. We've turned it into our special
place, where the three of us grow deeper in love with each passing day. We've thought about telling everyone that
we're going to live there all the time, but I'd rather not rock the boat with
my parents. They probably wouldn't
understand, since I'm only fifteen.
Oh, hey! I turn sixteen in two weeks. Gonna be a big
party at the old, abandoned mill. Some
of the parents fixed it up and turned it into a kind of community center for
young people. There is foosball, ping
pong, and other cool stuff in there. For
my party, I've been kept in the dark. I
have no idea what Connor and Xavier have planned, but they keep dropping hints
that it will be the party of the century.
I'm looking forward to it.
It's been a
good week. Hell, it's been a good
year. Moving to Agony was the best thing
that ever happened to me!
As long as I'm writing about good things happening to me,
something kind of good but also kind of weird happened a few days ago. I ran into this new kid who's just starting
high school. His name is Diego
Ruiz. He's amazingly cute, but a little
shy. We have Algebra together, and he
and I were paired up in class yesterday.
We were supposed to be working on problems, but we spent most of the
class getting to know each other. I
can't explain it. There just seems to be
a natural connection between us. Xavier
and Connor noticed it to. Xavier said it
feels like the same connection they had with me when I first moved to
town. Connor agreed. Now we're all wondering if it's possible for
a soulbond to exist between four people.
Connor
suggested we have a campout in a few weeks and invite Diego. Once we get to know him better, we can decide
what we should do.
͠ ͠
͠
Diego quivered with anticipation, turning his head to thrust
his tongue between Xavier's lips. Xavier
returned the kiss with equal fervency, holding the young teen's face between
his hands as they made out.
Connor snuggled up behind Diego, slowly sliding his thick
cock along the crease of Diego's ass.
The boy had become addicted to Connor's cock, always insisting that
Connor make love to him every time the four of them snuck out to the cabin
together.
Daniel kissed Diego's side, his stomach, his dark, curly
pubic patch. Then Daniel gently nibbled
on Diego's short, uncircumcised cock.
Diego moaned into Xavier's mouth, pulling away to say, "I'm ready,
guys. Where are you going to bite me,
Daniel?"
"Where do you want it?" Daniel asked. "On your cock?" He gently nipped Diego's foreskin, making the
boy twitch and moan. Daniel slid up Diego's
body and nibbled on his collarbone. "Or
on your neck?" He moved down to bite
gently on Diego's light brown shoulder.
"Or maybe here?" Daniel rubbed
Diego's hip. "It's entirely up to you,
little brother."
Diego shrugged. "I
trust you, Daniel. You choose."
Daniel smiled and scooted down, turning Diego's leg slightly
to expose the smooth inner surface of his thigh. He concentrated for a moment, causing his
fangs to extend down, and gently bit into Diego's leg, injecting the vaewolf venom into the femoral artery.
Xavier continued to kiss Diego as he gasped briefly, then closed
his eyes and lost consciousness. Connor
squeezed Diego from behind, holding him secure as the venom flowed through his
body, changing him into the second vaewolf to be born
in their century.
Daniel gently kissed the spot where he had bitten Diego,
watching carefully as the wound closed and healed. Diego wasn't aware of it yet, but Daniel
could already feel the beginning of the deep connection between them as soulbound mates.
Sleep, Diego, Daniel silently whispered. We'll be here for you when you awake.
͠ ͠
͠
Podcast Host:
Welcome back to the Rob Ransom Report.
Today's topic ... Vampires and Werewolves:
Are They Living Among Us? My
guest today claims to have personal knowledge of the existence of these
creatures of the night. He says he moved
to a small town and found it inhabited by werewolves AND vampires BOTH, and
that he even attends high school with them (scoffing laughter). Now at his request, we've disguised his voice
to protect his identity, because—let me just say—this guy has some explosive revelations
to share. Okay, so in our last segment, we
were talking about vampires and werewolves living in small communities all across the nation.
Podcast Guest:
(voice digitally altered) That's right, Rob.
Host: Any particular town you want to name?
Guest: (laughter)
No, that wouldn't be a good idea.
Host: I suppose
not. So if I
live in a small town, how can I find out if my next door neighbor is a
werewolf.
Guest: Werewolves
don't live in town. They prefer to live
on farms and in hunting lodges outside of town.
Host: I guess that
makes sense. Easier access to prey.
Guest: Right.
Host: Got it. So I'm safe from
werewolves if I don't live in the country.
But what about in town where the vampires live? Do I look for a coffin in my neighbor's bedroom? How do I know I'm not living next to a
blood-sucking monster who wants to make me into a vampire?
Guest: You've been
watching too many movies, Rob. (laughter)
It doesn't work that way.
Host: Do vampires
have little baby bats or what? How do
they reproduce?
Guest: Rob, what I
meant was, vampires don't suck your blood to convert you into a vampire. They inject serum into your body, and it
changes you.
Host: Ah, I
see. And werewolves? They don't bite you to make you into a werewolf?
Guest: Yes, it does
work that way for lycans. Their bite infects you with lycanthropy,
changing you into a werewolf. But they
also reproduce like humans, having pups.
Host: Well, so if
you –
Guest:
(interrupting) Vaewolves are kind of a mixture
of the two. They inject venom, which then
turns you into a vaewolf too. I don't know yet if vaewolves
can have baby vaewolves.
Host: Vaewolf. That's a
new one on me.
Guest: Yeah, half
werewolf, half vampire. Vaewolf.
Host: (mocking
laughter) I'm kind of surprised, Dan— oops, sorry, almost said my guest's
name. Ummm,
where was I? Oh, yeah, so you can have
werewolves and vampires get busy in bed (more laughter) and create a—what did
you call it?
Guest: A vaewolf.
Host: Right, a vaewolf. Well, I
have to say, all the legends must be completely wrong. I thought vampires and werewolves were mortal
enemies.
Guest: Not
always. Sometimes they become friends.
Host: How is that
even possible?
Guest: How can
werewolves become friends with vampires?
Host: Yes.
Guest: They just
need the right connection, something ... or someone ... to bring them together.
Host: Are you
saying you've seen werewolves cooperating with vampires?
Guest: (a short
pause) Rob ... I've seen people turn hatred that was tearing their world apart
into deep friendship and eventually love.
I've seen love so strong it overcame death itself. Why is it so hard to imagine werewolves
cooperating with vampires?
Host: (chuckling)
Okay, well maybe we should put you in charge of the planet. You seem to have a knack for extreme
diplomacy.
Guest: (pausing
before replying) Maybe we should, Rob.
The end of SOULBOUND ... ?