The Ravenson Project [Chronicles of the Cursed Book 2] Read online

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  Aspen Mountain Press

  www.aspenmountainpress.com

  Copyright ©2008 by Aline de Chevigny

  First published in 2008, 2008

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  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

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  Warning

  This e-Book contains sexually graphic scenes and adult language. Store your e-Books carefully where they cannot be accessed by underage readers.

  Ravenson Project

  Chronicles of the Cursed:

  Book 2

  Aline de Chevigny

  Aspen Mountain Press

  Chronicles of the Cursed Book 2: Ravenson Project

  Copyright © 2008 by Aline de Chevigny

  This e-Book is a work of fiction. While references may be made places or events, the names, characters, incidents, and locations within are from the author's imagination and aer not a resemblance to actual living or dead persons, businesses, or events. Any similarity is coincidental.

  Aspen Mountain Press

  PO Box 473543

  Aurora CO 80047-3543

  www.aspenmountainpress.com

  First published by Aspen Mountain Press, February 2008

  www.AspenMountainPress.com

  This e-Book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction fines and/or imprisonment. The e-Book cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this e-Book can be shared or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher.

  ISBN: 978-1-60168-088-4

  Published in the United States of America

  Editor: Sandra Hicks

  Cover artist: Nikita Gordyn

  Chapter One

  Malek growled, his senses coming alert all at once as the curse let him free from its grasp.

  Her scent infused him; she smelled of desire and need. Her lips tasted of eagerness and something he hadn't tasted in decades...

  Innocence.

  Could it really be? His eyes snapped open. Could Sharra still be an innocent? The thought excited his senses and deepened his desire.

  He rolled over pinning her to the mattress. She'd been warned to stay away until he rose for the evening, yet the stubborn woman refused to obey the simplest of commands. If his Sire hadn't given him leave to take a keeper of his very own, Sharra would be in serious danger for the stunt she'd just pulled. Raven House law stated that a woman had no rights of her own. Any woman found in the house after the sun set was fair game for any vampire male who found her, obliged by rules older than time to obey their every wish and whim.

  He'd decided within moments of being granted permission to choose a keeper that Sharra would that person, in effect keeping her safe under his protection from the other men in the house. As his keeper she would finally belong to him, but until the ceremony she was at risk if found in his bed.

  A slow throaty chuckle escaped his throat. He'd always wanted a human lover he could bite into orgasmic bliss and she had just granted his wish with one bold move. Seeing her surprised expression he grinned evilly. “Good evening Sharra."

  "Malek, you're awake!"

  "You sound surprised pet. I must say this is definitely the nicest way I've been woken in ages. But you know this isn't where you were told to meet me."

  A frown caressed her lips at his grin. He knew she hated being ordered about.

  "I'm no one's slave Malek and I missed you."

  "No you certainly aren't that Sharranna. But you could be mine. I wouldn't object in the least."

  "Why you vile, disgusting, despicable excuse for a man."

  "You have no idea my pet, none whatsoever, how vile I can be.” He released his hold on the desire he felt for her and kissed her again. He expected no resistance since she'd entered his chambers and his bed freely, and he didn't receive any.

  Five years of waiting and wanting were set free in her one act of defiance. His hands roamed eagerly down her side to her thigh, slipping under the dress she wore and climbing back up to rest on her hip. Her dress bunched above his left hand, his right holding her chin steady while he plundered her mouth kissing the breath out of her.

  Every available area on her body was kissed and licked, tasting her while she moaned pinned to the bed beneath him. Her hands clawed at his back frantically trying to latch onto something, anything to bring them closer together. Frustrated, she grasped the blanket separating them, and ripped it away from his naked body, her hands greedily caressed his ass urging him to finish what she'd started. Malek rested his head on her chest hiding the fangs she wasn't yet aware of, and couldn't learn about until the pledge ceremony binding her to him as Keeper. The desperation in her actions had almost made him forget himself.

  He growled low in his throat, eager to enter her willing flesh. His animal sounds pulled her gaze to his and her desire for him, burned in her blue eyes.

  But Malek had to make certain she was willing, hear her agreement spoken aloud, as it was clan law. Punishable by death at the hands of Mikael De Wohlf, the head of all the houses if he were to force her against her will. “Do you wish this?"

  "Yes, oh dear God, yes, Malek."

  His fangs extended at her throaty reply. His Sire would not be pleased with him, yet he couldn't control himself in her presence.

  A pity he'd have to fog her memory after their night together to keep her safe. The thought repelled him. He wanted her to remember. If she accepted him as he was, he would allow her to retain her memory of his true nature.

  Screw the rules, his Sharra deserved the truth.

  Leaning on an elbow, he ran a lone finger along her jaw, tracing a path down her throat into the cleavage of her dress along the swell of her breast. “Are you afraid of me Sharra?"

  Rich throaty laughter caressed him while her hands ran silkily up his chest. Malek cupped her breast in his hand, pushed it out of her bra and gave the tender flesh a nip. Her answer pleased him, and he wished to bestow the ultimate honor upon her a human could claim.

  Leaning over her, he grinned wolfishly allowing his other self to emerge. Fangs extended, he nipped the buttons off her dress one by one, loving the way she continued to run her hands over him. He peeled the material away from her body, leaving her luscious body exposed before him.

  Christmas had come early for him this year it seemed. The look of complete trust and desire showing in her eyes pulled at a part of him he thought long dead. A flick of his wrist and her undergarments were ripped away then tossed across the room. The sight of her naked and willing before him pulled a low growl of appreciation from his throat. “Perfect."

  "Yes, you are,” she said breathlessly.

  He laughed with delight at her praise, and dipped his head taking one perky nipple into his mouth. Sharra arched her back beneath him wanting more and pulling a chuckle from him at her enthusiastically wanton response.

  "Malek, don't you dare stop now!"

  He bit her nipple in response, drawing just enough blood to send waves of ecstasy through her body and allowing himself a taste of her sweetness. Sharra cried out in pleasure, her nails digging into his shoulders. He moved his mouth to her other nipple giving it the same attention he gave the first, re
veling in her response to his ministrations.

  "Malek, please!"

  Grinning at the plea in her voice, he rained kisses down her stomach to her hip. Teasing her, nipping her inner thigh, her hands tangled in his hair urging him to do what she craved. Malek looked up at her teasingly, slowly trailing kisses back up her body, until he reached her lips. The kiss was pure fire and heat. He'd never get enough of her and he wanted more than he'd intended to give.

  Breaking off the kiss, he slid his arms under her hips lifting her off the bed and up to his mouth. Seeing her moist and ready for him teased at his hunger. He attacked, licking and nibbling till she cried out, not stopping until he had her in the throes of her first orgasm.

  Setting her down, he captured her lips with his before she could completely regain her breath, and settled himself between her legs. He placed the tip of his shaft at her mound's entrance and entered her before she could tense. He met a slight resistance and leaned down to suckle her breast in distraction as he pushed past her barrier claiming her virginity for his own.

  A howl escaped his lips, his lupus mating instincts claiming her as his mate for life. Malek sank into her filling her completely, his body trembling as her body held his snug.

  Perfect! She fits me perfectly.

  He would never let her go again.

  Sharra's arms circled around him, clinging to him as her body trembled in obvious anticipation of what was yet to come. “Yes, Malek, more."

  Her desperate plea drove him forward, giving him the determination to make certain she felt completely sated before he took his own pleasure. He reached up and caressed her cheek. “You are so beautiful."

  Sharra thrust her hips forward sucking the air from his lungs and the thoughts from his head. “Make love to me, Malek."

  She turned her face into his caress, lightly kissing his palm. “You can feed if you have the urge, Malek, I don't mind. Just please, make love to me."

  Her desperation enflamed his demon nature. He crushed his lips against hers with a need to taste her burning in the pit of his belly. He moved against her slowly, extending both their pleasures. Touching and tasting as often as possible to dull his cravings.

  "Malek...!"

  Her cry shattered his self control. His fangs extended as his hunger threatened to tear him apart. “Please, my pet. I can't resist the hunger any longer."

  "Oh God, yes, Malek, yes."

  She cried out in ecstasy the moment he sank his fangs into her neck to feed, thrusting into her, in time to his drinking until they both climaxed together. Licking her wounds closed, he kissed her deeply and collapsed against her.

  Her arms caressed his back accepting his weight without complaint. Gathering his energy, he rolled off of her, carrying her with him so that she lay sprawled across his chest. His arms wrapped around her possessively. Looking towards the clock on the mantle, he realized that they'd stayed abed all night. “The sun Sharra, you—"

  "Shhh, Malek. I'm not leaving you tonight. I want to stay with you, do my own kissing and nibbling while you sleep,” she teased, running her tongue over his chest.

  "Pet, I...."

  She kissed him to quiet him. “I understand. You don't trust me enough to stay with you while you're defenseless. Why should you when I never told you the truth; that I knew who and what you really were."

  The hurt in her eyes, did things to him he'd never felt or allowed himself to feel before. She was his mate. He wanted her to stay with him, needed her there, where he could protect her from the others until the pledging ceremony. “My pet, nothing would please me more, than to share my bed with you while I sleep."

  Dawn broke while she settled herself against him and pulled him down into the sleep of death, his arms tightening on his mate as her words flowed back to him. She knew? She already knew about the beast and she wasn't terrified.

  Chapter Two

  Daemor stood in the shadows of the room's secret entrance, watching through the two way mirror he'd had installed to keep an eye on the young wolf cub his adoptive clan son as he seduced and sated himself on the human woman. Malek's fangs extended when she willingly gave herself to him, the scent of her blood permeating the room as he took her innocence and pierced her neck to feed. This woman's blood was pure, the scent intoxicating his senses. He would have this one for himself at least once, as was his due as the head of the Raven clan.

  The sun had started its climb; Daemor couldn't fight off its slumbering effects much longer. He'd seen what he came to see; Malek, the foolish child, had bonded to the woman and chosen her as mate. Daemor knew the howl of a wolf choosing his mate intimately, he'd watched them chose then destroyed in sport enough of their human bond-mates over the years to recognize the sound when he heard it. The blue flames in Malek's eyes brought out the silver in their depths. The cub knew he'd found his mate and that played perfectly into his plans.

  The woman was the perfect catalyst for his plans to gain dominion over the clans. Mikael and his Wolf clan wouldn't survive the assault he'd planned for them. Malek had been impeccably trained to guarantee that.

  He shifted into his Raven form and made his way swiftly to his chambers. Let the child spend the night with the woman, her curses would be upon her soon enough. Then Malek would have to let her go, and he had plans for that woman. He had a clan to feed after all, an army to raise to attain his goal of omnipotence.

  Malek was the instrument of his victory, and no little piece of ass was going to ruin that for Daemor. He had a destiny he was honor bound to fulfill.

  As he let the curse of sleep take him his mind wandered back to the day he conceived his brilliant plan. The day he killed that damn wolf and stole his new charge had been sheer genius.

  Daemor loved these prophetic visions, as he'd come to think of them. Yes they highlighted parts of his past, but all prophecies were a combination of past and future events. The past he'd already accomplished. Future actions were revealed; they were preordained to reach his destiny, and a glorious destiny it would be.

  He'd stalked the wolf for days, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Daemor wasn't then and never had been a fool. The need to remove the wolf discreetly was paramount to his plans. He couldn't allow anyone to learn that he'd been responsible in this or any of the other deaths. Learning the fool had sired his first Vampire left Daemon giddy with delight; fate was looking out for him. It was like the plan had formed itself and he was just along for the ride.

  He'd waited until the wolf was weak from the blood loss that always followed when one sired another, and then killed him. Quick and clean, that way he didn't risk getting caught.

  Mikael's was the face he saw every time he removed a wolf from existence. The damn clan head had it all, looks, charm, money and a mate that Daemor had coveted since the very first time he'd laid eyes on her, during a clan council.

  He turned his thoughts on Mikael's mate, Annabella De Wohlf. The woman was sheer perfection. After five years of being queen of the clans, she knew how to handle a childe drunk on his first taste of power. Her only fault lay in being human. Mikael, the fool, still hadn't turned her, a fault Daemor planned to correct the moment Mikael was dead and the woman was his.

  The vision still wouldn't allow him to see his ultimate victory which irritated him. The time wasn't right yet, but he didn't have to like it. Everything was finally starting to fall into place. After years of planning and waiting Malek had finally taken a mate. Soon Daemor could take the first steps in priming his secret weapon towards his enemy. Effectively keeping his hands clean in the eyes of the council and giving him the power he coveted so dearly. His mind drifted from that point, going from event to event, ending when the sun sank below the horizon.

  It was time to confront his charge and dole out his punishment for disobeying clan laws. Malek's new mate would be allowed to retain knowledge of their kind before the keeper ceremony and Daemor would take his just dues from the girl in flesh and blood.

  Rising, he called his
son to him and ordered him to take Malek to the dungeon without waking or touching the girl. Then, dressed in his most formal robes, Daemor made his way directly to Malek's chambers.

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  Bella stood glaring at her husband. The damn man could be so aggravating at times. “I'm telling you Mikael, there's a lupine in the raven clan. Daemor..."

  "You will stay away from that man, Bella!"

  She rolled her eyes at him, wondering yet again if he thought she was stupid. “I'm not foolish enough to be caught alone in Daemor's presence Mikael. Unlike you, that ‘man’ has no morals. Now as I was saying, Daemor says he found the boy abandoned after being turned. That he took him in out of good will."

  "Tell me you don't believe that crap. No wolf would ever turn then abandon their charge!"

  Some days she wondered why she ever married the man. “Of course not, which means the boy's sire was killed and Daemor is up to no good. You, my dear husband, need to save that poor boy before he is corrupted beyond redemption."

  Mikael calmly sat back in his chair. Too calmly as far as she was concerned. “Well?"

  "I love watching you take command, Bella. It inspires me."

  Annabella threw her hands up in disgust. “I give up! If you won't help me, I'll do it myself."

  "Bella sit down! I've had Nicolai looking into it since I learned of the childe's existence. I have an informant inside the Raven clan's home, as I do in each major house. It seems your young wolf cub has taken himself a mate mi Bella. His future keeper from what I'm told, a pretty little thing that reminded young Nicolai of you when he first saw her."

  Bella narrowed her eyes at him in dangerous anger. The realization that he'd been playing her didn't sit well.

  "Now Bella, you know our clan mates for life. Killing me would bring you no satisfaction."

  The words were whispered in her ear, as his arms circled her waist possessively. It angered her further that he could move so quickly and quietly without her noticing. “This has nothing to do with your love for me Mikael and you know it."