Single Vampire - Mated Alpha: Whispering Hills, #4

By Tabatha Austin

"Wait! Because he's got our old Alpha's body, we have to stay with him? We're mated? Don't we get a say?"

For centuries, Westley has had one goal: rid himself of a vampire curse and his creator to feel alive again.

Freed from a relationship with a cruel Alpha, Omegas Tyler and Ryan can live better lives within the parameters of Shifter law. With a binding contract that gives them to the body of a wolf, they find themselves face-to-face with their former Alpha's body—but with a much different occupant.

Now the Alpha with no interest in mates and a pair of Omegas who desperately want freedom must coexist. Their unusual predicament just may open their eyes to the one thing each has been missing their entire lives.

Will three broken souls discover solace in each other before Westley's creator finds them and tear their lives to pieces?

This 67,000 word gay Mpreg romance is set in a paranormal Omegaverse. It contains detailed descriptions of steamy bedroom encounters with a HEA ending.

While this is in a shared universe, each story is written to stand on its own four feet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tabatha Austin
• Release date: Mar 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393116646

Book preview

Chapter One

WESTLEY

My master's long white fangs sunk into the young blonde's neck. There would be no screams, although Kaleb enjoyed chasing his prey when his black heart called for it. The terror and adrenaline gave an added flavor to our crimson meal. For a species usually unable to taste, it was a treat upon a drinkable treasure. However, tonight's dinner was a quiet, reflective time to give in to our natures. Hence, my silent master and vampire brother and sisters in our stone dungeon.

Kaleb brushed his unkempt long, dark, curly hair back showing a face I decided decades ago reminded me of a caveman. Oh, he wasn't hideous, and hints dropped over the years put his first life around the fifteenth century. Not as ancient as other master vampires, but with a Cro-Magnon air. Perhaps it's the protruding forehead or his behavior?

Kaleb's head arched back while he smiled with a crimson grin and chin. To the side, Miguel from 1860s Mexico fed on his dinner, a young, white, human male with red hair. Around were men and one woman plucked from different countries and times. First was Po, a small woman with lean muscles, from Imperial China. From the early 1800s Zulu Empire Africa, he found Jamal, tall with a literal warrior's body. Sal was a thicker Italian man who looked as if he were in his thirties and taken from Depression Era New York.

I finished his collection, and he got what modern humans call a two-fer. I wasn't on the famous Botany Bay, but my original country was England and I traveled to Australia via 'forced colonization.' During my first life, I was told I had an unpleasant rogue look.

Well, I had long hair and a beard back then. A rare kindness was a command to shave and cut my hair before he turned me. Otherwise, I'd have the same facial hair. As society changed, I got a new description. Office worker or accountant?

I shrugged to nobody. I was older when turned and breaking rocks in an Australian prison ages humans and made me skinnier. Another month would have introduced starvation or disease. Would it have been better if I died and stayed that way?

With a slight accent the modern world called Russian, he spoke. Why so morose, Westley? We can share, no? Do not think forgoing the hunt means you have willpower to overpower your hunger. His tongue, now redder than normal, lapped over the blonde's wet neck. His saliva would heal, but he'd puncture her throat again. That's the point, isn't it? Mesmerize them but allow them to feel pain for cruelty's sake. Pathetic.

You do no good, and no gods will bestow rewards to you, said Kaleb. There's a feast in blood. Soon we will taste food and not the kind that pours from the animal's veins.

No, we won't, I said. Only a copied experience via the connection.

Ah, but still they are sensations. These cows are for us. Only fools like you state otherwise.

My curled lip was a mild acknowledgment. Not submission nor a challenge. A way to say he existed and nothing more. Then I could leave and go on with my undead life. For ten minutes, he feasted, and pale skin tanned. With the barest gesture, he signaled. Red robed servants with vacant stares carried steaming meals with no smell to vampires. Everything from Southern Fried Chicken my acquaintances in Whispering Hills would enjoy, to creamy flaky desserts with ice cream. Roast beef sat next to pizza, surrounded with various hearty soups within antique silver bowls.

Eat, commanded Kaleb. It was a direct command to the humans and indirectly to me. There are other ways, I said while humans here in body only dined. As if someone tugged an invisible cord, Kaleb and the rest jolted up and smiled.

The flavor, whispered Po.

It's almost better than sex, said Sal with a slight New York accent.

It didn't take long for Kaleb's cruel stare to return. I am your sire. If you are a vampire, you will obey me. I give allegiance to mine, and I expect it with my children. It's tradition, as is this.

I'll feed.

Yes, said Kaleb between moans as temporary mental sensations overpowered him. It was just mouthfuls of pizza, potatoes with gravy, and whatever regional dishes they commanded to their human dinner. It was nothing special to humans or most paranormals, but that was the price for our gift. Immortality with a lifetime of bloodlust and only the barest of sensory sensations. Our eyesight and hearing were acute, but taste and smell were gone forever unless we fed.

Eat!

No. There was no real thought, and I should have considered his temper. With a blur, the scraggly haired vampire lifted me by the throat. He savored the pose for a quick heartbeat before I slammed against the stone walls. Rocks chipped while humans ate as if nothing happened. I punched but hit nothing but air. A snap told me he broke my leg before he crushed my fist.

Fangs grew out on instinct as I howled in pain. You cannot beat me, be it in the world or in your mind. His brown eyes narrowed, and he pointed at the feasting humans. You, the tiny blonde woman. You will stay with him for two days. Almost faster than I could follow, thick silver manacles clamped over my hands. Must we do this lesson again? Last time it was a day, but now we'll make it two. The hunger will command you. He gave her more commands such as don't approach me and to resist escape. At previous times I found loopholes in his decrees, but his adaptability made follow-ups more difficult.

My shifter associates tell me there's no time in wolf form, but I am not them. I stayed in this world, aware of every slow second. Vampires that long gave into their desire feasted both in blood and from their connection to their human tethers. It was a half-life taste as if licking the roof of your mouth an hour after a meal. The sensory orgy continued, climaxed, and faded away while my brothers and sisters left satisfied. Finally, it was us two.

Would it be so bad? I don't know the young lady and owed her nothing. It was a cruel world, and not just within my nest. I've seen my old government send men and women to an inhospitable continent for the barest of crimes. When I turned, humans continued as they always did. Killing on a small scale, then larger. Things we never imagined like extermination camps and atomic bombs came. What's one feasting compared to that?

You can use the restroom and still follow his commands, I said. He said no escape attempt.

She rose, and other thoughts came. I could have her call someone, but that would expose our world. I may not be a saint, but I wasn't a monster. One life wasn't worth the extermination of my kind, although the thought of this nest burning in flames had a certain appeal – minus myself of course.

She returned while I commanded her to lie down. If they didn't kill her, sitting in one position would cause her pain when or if she resumed her normal life. A fleeting thought on what two days' absence would do to her life came to my mind while I stared.

She was pretty and someone I would have taken for a wife back in the old country. I would have wed and been happy, I think. Concepts like homosexuality, bisexual and such were known to some but foreign to me back then. My first experiences with men were not of my choice. As Kaleb said, I was his to command. Societies and countries changed as did I. Perhaps the inclination towards males was already there. Now the thought of being with another man isn't unpleasant, as long as they weren't a vampire.

Ah, but a concern for another time. For now, I have Kaleb's game to endure.

The broken leg and fist throbbed. If I fed, they would mend within minutes. All I require is what is in the blonde's veins. Such a prize would never be wasted, and it wasn't. He left the blonde to entice me and give me something to think about over the next two days.

***

My head pounded from a fever dream while I imagined feeding. How easy it would be to drain her. So many people have died over the centuries. What is one drop against a crimson ocean?

My breaths grew louder and timed to the hand throbs. The chains released from their automatic timers, and I rushed to her. Not as fast as normal, but far quicker than any human or shifter, even with a broken leg. All I had to do was feast, as was my nature.

With no resistance, I gently tilted her head back while magnificent full veins presented themselves. Each one a treasure and the food while slightly rancid would still provide flavor. A bright spot after a few days. She would suffer, but I would no longer linger in pain.

And it's what he wants.

My hand shook while I found a loophole. A command to feed on her wouldn't be a victory. Tell me to drink and have me take her would be most satisfying to my master.

With a growled voice, I spoke as my eyes flashed silver. Eat what food isn't spoiled and enough to satisfy your hunger. I sensed Kaleb watched via technological or mystic means. I will feed, but you won't see me do it.

***

Headlights from a fifty-seven red and white Chevy illuminated the road ahead while the steering wheel moved on its own. In the passenger seat, the young lady slept as commanded.

A cursory examination told me her name was Karen and age twenty-three. Now we were on our way to East Dallas, where I would drop her off.

If I haven't been tricked.

I left our nest, an old stone mansion built around the nineteen hundreds. I didn't lie and hoped Kaleb would think I'd feed on her without him watching. If I were lucky, he'd think I was doing it in private to hide either my shame or pride.

If there's one thing my master enjoys, it's winning. Assuming I fed would make him right, if only in his mind. I nodded to my own thoughts as the car took curves, slowed, and sped with no instruction. He may well be.

No.

Soft German Death Metal played for a few seconds. The automobile was a classic, but with satellite radio with a vast library of music from different genres. It made communication easier, but the golem's spirit within refused to speak. Blue light illuminated the interior and gave my pale skin more of an unnatural glow. Kaleb, I told my car. Who else?

Fast cartoon symphony played, which meant laughter. Then a quizzical flute melody with a rising pitch. Taking her home before feeding. I presume we're close?

Ringing cymbals answered in the affirmative.

There are songs with vocals and lyrics that say yes or no. This would make communication easier. A quick circus instrumental was my reply. I hadn't decided what the 'doot-doot-doodle' music meant, but the Chevy slowed outside an apartment complex with brownstone on the bottom and white wood on the top. My eyes flashed silver as I concentrated into her glazed stare. This was all a frightful dream you experienced after you fell. You will clean yourself off and live your life as if this never happened.

The white and red doors opened, and she stepped out, far luckier than most people who meet my kind ever are.

Ominous opera music played. Take me to the worst part of Dallas, I said.

I may not be a monster like Kaleb, but I'm still one. One day I'll find the means to become a shifter, but it's not tonight.

My car drove me to where the criminals lived and killed. Off I searched for someone evil, or as my nature called them: dinner.

***

Chapter Two

RYAN

I threw open the wooden screen door and stood out on the patio of the rental cabin. It rained last night, and I saw things I hadn't seen since I got my full shifter powers. Sure, the detail was always there, but now everything was glorious. The yellow-white morning sun peeked between the tall street trees. This is terrific! I shouted. Adam's dead! I raised a middle finger toward the ground. Burn in hell bastard.

If Tyler weren't still in bed, I'd ask him to take a photo. I'm sure my medium brown hair was disheveled, and I still had stubble. The mustache and trimmed beard were short, but I wish I could see my wide grin and shiny blue eyes. I looked into the cabin's windows, but the grey-brown from the dirt didn't convey the sheer joy emanating from every pore, just like hair when we shifted. Dead, dead... dead.

Magic comes in threes, and I wasn't a practitioner, but I figured it couldn't hurt.

From behind, I heard Tyler's soft voice. He was our Alpha. A precious man and Omega like myself, stepped out onto the deck with a studied look. His finger rested on his dark blond stubble beard. Blue eyes under black and blond hair lingered on me.

My hand massaged his developed forearms until he relaxed. Only in name Tyler.

He frowned. How can you be so... excited? What will happen to us? He said the next words as if they were their own sentence. Ryan, we're without an Alpha.

I'll take care of you. I always have.

He hugged himself once. "There was stability."

"Expectation and totally not the same. Besides, what's so wonderful about stability? It means life is boring. Now we can do anything we want."

But we won't be together.

My voice deepened. Nothing will separate us.

We'll get different Alphas. Unless you're the governor or higher, it's one Omega per Alpha. We're not a triad now.

Despite my efforts, I felt the frown grow on my face. We can be close, like always.

But not in that way anymore.

I kissed him, smelling his dusty concerned aroma. You're a cute muscled Omega, hell we both are. We'll find someone above a governor. I wished I didn't use that to calm him down. Everybody higher in position was mated.

Instead of arguing, he asked, Do you think he's dead?

I hope so, I said before his expression chastised me. Technically, we can't be with anybody else if he's still alive.

His fingers scratched his right arm. "There's a rumor they took him prisoner."

The Bayou witches. Gooseflesh rose up my arms.

Don't say their names. His face flushed red. It's bad luck.

That's an old Omega's tale, like having babies with full jet-black hair. I kissed him on the forehead as he leaned into it breathing his dusty worried scent. Adam is gone. Wyatt, the old Whispering Hills sheriff, is governor now. He wouldn't be if our Alpha lived.

If he's not, said Tyler, we'd still be mated. Shifter law says we give ourselves–

–to the body of the wolf. I know, but Wyatt and his Omegas wouldn't set us up. I didn't smell any deception on them. I brought him in closer for a hug. The old sheriff and our new governor is a good man and told us to enjoy ourselves for a while. We're in a rented cabin, he gave us his old pickup, and we can go into town.

What about a place like Whispering Hills? His blue eyes widened. You remember the stories, right? Where people find soulmates?

"It's also where wolves wait forever for the perfect guy or girl. We don't need soulmates. It came out as more of a slur than I wanted. Just someone decent and not for a few years. My voice lowered. Let's just be you and me for now."

He said nothing, and I knew what he was thinking. Most Omegas didn't do much with each other. Before proper mating, some experimentation sure, but you got your mate, and that was it. I didn't expect to be in a triad, but I was, and now it was over. Adam wasn't the Alpha for me, but Tyler had a better time of it.

Because he was the favorite. Other wolves would have been jealous. Adam's quiet temper stopped that. The little man with delicate features wasn't a rival but someone to protect. I shifted my shoulders, mentally scratching my spinal scar.

Some Omegas needed Alphas like an alligator shifter had to live in a swamp. I'll never be that to him, no matter how hard I try. But I can make things easier on him. Years together told me he needed an Alpha, but we no longer had one.

I forced the words out. There are Alphas or humans that can be with us for a night.

It's not the same, he whispered.

No, but it's better than Adam.

He wasn't cruel, not really.

And he wasn't kind either. I reached behind me and tugged my shirt up and around. Memories of long, rippled skin along my spine burned into my brain years ago. Without looking, I could describe the white raised flesh, wrinkles, and the tapered point above my ass. Nobody saw it under my tank top, but damn it, it shouldn't be there at all.

Tyler's shaky fingers traveled along it in silence.

The words turned bitter in my mouth. He said, because he saw it in the future, it was set in stone. He played around with causality. If he'd get a flat, he took a phone or spare tire with him.

I kept the next part silent. Adam would've protected Tyler if he were in the car that day. It's not his fault he was the favorite, and I can't be mad he doesn't have a long scar. I think if I were honest with myself, it wasn't the burnt appearance. To the right Alpha, it made me look a little rugged. I didn't want a reminder of a mistaken relationship. Its existence was always there like memories of Adam with his long dark hair and tall leering stance. I shook away the bad thoughts before my scent gave away my mood.

Let's go on vacation, I said. A trip! Maybe rent a classic car and hit the open road? I heard the shake in my voice. See the things we never did.

Because Adam said he never saw us going anywhere in his visions, Ryan.

I think he lied to keep us around like possessions. We're free, and we need to accept that he is gone. The words sounded nice, but I wish I saw his corpse after the two witches took it.

For several minutes, I described a road trip from forested Washington State to the beaches in the Florida Keys. It would be Tyler and myself, alone.

Our cell phones rang in unison. Mine was closer, and I swallowed hard as I read the text. How it didn't fall out of my hand, I'll never know. You remember those Bayou witches? The question was rhetorical since everyone knew and feared them. Still, Tyler nodded while he got his phone, and I'm sure he had the same message.

My breaths were heavy as I spoke. Uh... they said if we want a road trip, come down to Louisiana.

Technically, it was a suggestion, but the Omega in me understood the command.

***

Chapter Three

WESTLEY

My tapping fingers looked paler than normal against the dark Oak table. Across from me in their swamp home sat two women with enough power to make most ancient beings tremble.

Dawn was the shorter witch. Today her brunette hair wasn't in pigtails, but instead pinned up with a green bow matching her thick turtleneck sweater. She was the cuter one to her more glamorous redheaded partner. Tina had her stereotypical bangs with long hair and wore a gold and silver low