Temptation's Mate: Chapter Six

Blaine cursed as he grabbed for Kurt, only to have him snatched from his grasp as the floor collapsed beneath him.

The vampire did not hesitate for even a moment.

For perhaps the first time in his very long existence, Blaine leapt without considering the consequences, without searching out the potential dangers, without weighing the risk to himself, the savage to need to protect Kurt, the relentless drive to defend his mate overcoming his well honed sense of self-preservation.

Landing lightly on the balls of his feet, Blaine moved silently to where Kurt lay sprawled on the packed earth floor, his hand rubbing gingerly at his temple.

"Ow," He struggled to sit upright. "Where are we?"

Blaine crouched next to him, immediately detecting the presence of blood. His sweeping gaze determined that Kurt had a small cut on the back of his head, and a few bruises but was otherwise unharmed.

Blaine's fangs lengthened, aching with hunger at the intoxicating scent of Kurt's blood that swirled around him. With great effort he forced them back, shaking his head to clear it and then began surveying their surroundings.

The small cavern appeared to be connected to a series of tunnels that ran beneath the docks, the smooth walls and carved ceilings proving they were not natural nor the work of humans.

"I assume we have intruded into the lair of some demon," Blaine remarked dryly.

"Lovely." With an effort Kurt rose to his feet, glancing up at the opening above them. "How are we to go about-"

The words ended in a small squeak as Blaine suddenly shifted to stand directly behind him, one hand clamped over his mouth and his arm wrapping around his waist to tug him against his chest. The vampire placed his mouth next to Kurt's ear.

"Shhh…just come," Blaine whispered as he dragged Kurt back into the shadowy protection of the cavern wall and out of the open.

Blaine felt Kurt stiffen as he became aware of the ominous sense of foreboding that soaked the air above them.

"What is it?"

Kurt's words were muffled, so low that only a vampire's heightened hearing could have heard him.

"Death," Blaine whispered back.

Kurt arched his brow. "I sincerely hope that is a metaphor."

"I wouldn't count on it."

Keeping his arm wrapped around Kurt's waist, Blaine lifted him off the ground and began backing toward the nearby tunnel, calling upon his powers to keep them cloaked in shadows. It would not entirely disguise their scents but it would hopefully mute them enough so that they could avoid unwanted attention.

Silently he moved away from the cavern, edging deeper into the darkness until at last he halted where the tunnel split off into two directions. He gently set Kurt upon his feet but kept his arm firmly around him, needing the tangible proof that his mate was unharmed.

Glancing over his shoulder, Kurt tilted his chin, refusing to reveal the fear coursing through his body. A smile flickered across Blaine's lips as he admired the youth's spirit, even as he cursed it. After all, if Kurt were even just a tiny bit less willful they might even now be at Wildwind, spending the evening in luxury, making much more satisfying use of their time.

"What are we doing?" Kurt demanded.

"At moment I believe we are trying to avoid being murdered."

"Blaine."

"We are waiting and hoping that whatever manner of beast stalking these caverns passes us by."

Kurt nodded and then gasped as he noticed the thick scents that wafted from the far tunnel.

"Blessed be. It smells of…"

"Humans," Blaine finished tersely.

"Nay, it reeks of terror," Kurt correctly softly.

Blaine's hand caressed Kurt's jaw as he studied the warlock's delicate face. "And what would you know of such a thing, dear one?"

"When I was younger my parents and I were traveling through Africa. One night we entered a town where a slaver's ship was berthed." Kurt shuddered. "I will never forget the stench of desperation, pain and fear. It spread throughout the air and tainted everything in its path."

"Your parents permitted you to be near such evil?"

Kurt gave Blaine a small smile. "Actually, my mother and I distracted the slave traders while my father sneaked aboard the vessel and released the shackles that held the humans captive. Once father had herded them all to safety, my mother cast a spell that made the traders believe they were all being chased by hungry lions." Kurt's eyes misted over at the memory. "Last we heard they ran straight into a tribal village that took none too kindly to their townsfolk being sold like cattle."

A cold, sick feeling clenched in Blaine's gut at the thought of what might have happened to Kurt had they been discovered.

"Your parents involved you in such a scheme?"

"They trusted that I was capable of performing an important task and I'm glad they did. It not only let me know they had faith in me but taught me to have empathy for others," Kurt snapped as the raw scab on the wound of his parents deaths suddenly torn off. "It is a lesson that I have sometimes forgotten since taking up with William."

Blaine placed a gentle kiss upon Kurt's brow, seeking to give some small comfort. "How did you become Schuester's apprentice?"

"After my parents were murdered, I was determined to remain on my own." A tremor went through Kurt's body. "It did not take me long to discover that humans are not the only creatures capable of great evil."

"You were hurt?" Blaine demanded sharply.

Kurt's eyes clouded over and he hastily lowered his lashes, willing away the tears that threatened to fall. "I was captured by trolls and sold to the highest bidder."

Blaine made no effort to contain the explosion of enraged energy that flowed off his body and vibrated within the walls of the cavern.

"I want names, Kurt. Now."

Kurt regarded the enraged vampire warily. "I beg your pardon?"

"I want the names of the trolls."

"Blaine, they did not deign to share their personal information with me. In any case I was fortunate that William was at the auction and purchased me. There was another mage there, a fellow by the name of Ryerson bidding on me as well who looked as if he desired me for far more sinister purposes."

"Being indebted to Schuester is hardly fortunate," Blaine spat, "The bastard has taken advantage of you and your talents for decades."

"We both know how much worse it could have been. William is well within his rights to demand far more than just the use of my limited magic."

Blaine's jaw clenched. He ached to deny the truth of Kurt's words. He loathed Schuester, and not just because he was a mage. The man assumed the position of protector to Kurt, a position that belonged solely to Blaine.

"Very well, I concede there are worse fates than being apprenticed to Schuester, but why do you remain with him? Surely the debt is paid by now." Blaine growled.

"Some years ago we were traveling through the Philippines. William wanted to attend an auction and one of the…offerings was a young girl," Kurt caught Blaine's eyes, "too young. My service to William was coming to an end. I bartered more time as his apprentice if he would purchase her freedom."

"Kurt, you gave your freedom for that of a stranger-"

"It was worth it," Kurt insisted fiercely."Sunshine grew to be lovely young woman. She became a music teacher and married and had children. Besides, I have no place else to go."

A dangerous emotion jolted through Blaine's unbeating heart at the softly spoken words, his arm tightening in an unconscious display of possession.

"That is where you are mistaken, dear one. Your place is with me."

A rueful smile curved Kurt's lips. "And once you weary of me in your bed, my lord? Would I be tasty meal for your clan, or perhaps a doxy to shared amongst your brothers?"

Blaine's blood boiled, eyes blackened and he shifted before he could gain control. He growled low in his throat and his grip threatened to leave bruises on Kurt's porcelain skin. At Kurt's sharp intake of breath he forced back the monster within him and tried to calm himself.

"I would kill any of my clan who dared entertain the thought of touching you in any way."

"Blaine-"

"And I would not grow weary of you. You are my –"

"I am no gullible mortal or foolish demon. A vampire's lust is as varied and insatiable as their hunger for blood until they have selected a mate."

Blaine's lips twisted in a humorless smile. "That is generally how it works, yes."

"Ah, is this the part where you attempt to convince me that you are the exception to the general rule?"

"But of course I am. This should go without mentioning, dear one."

"You conceited-"

Blaine swooped in to claim his lips in a kiss of naked, unrelenting need. As the vampire licked his way into his mouth, Kurt felt himself grow dizzy with desire and he gave a low moan of approval before Blaine reluctantly broke them apart.

"My hunger is as insatiable as ever but is no longer varied," he confessed,"I have found my mate and desire none but him."

Kurt's heart forgot to beat as he gazed into Blaine's eyes, shocked by the promise he saw shimmering in their depths.

Was it possible? Could Blaine truly wish to claim Kurt as his mate as desperately as Kurt wished to claim the vampire?

The yearning ache deep within him stunned him out of his thoughts. He had known for the past few months that he lusted after the Marquess. That was hardly shocking, given that every woman who set her gaze upon Blaine and every man that was attracted to his own sex desired him. Even those men that did not wish to share his bed responded to his charisma and force of personality. Aching to be Blaine's merely put Kurt in league with the majority of the continent.

It was the longing for something that he knew the vampire would never offer him that was sheer lunacy.

It was common knowledge that Blaine had loved once and only once. He had turned a human and taken him as his lover but before he could mark him as his mate, his love had been ripped away from him, enslaved by a coven of witches as revenge for Blaine laying siege to a city under their protection. Blaine's revenge had seen him declare war on every coven in England, sending his warriors to torture and kill every witch and mage in his territories. It was only at the order of the Council that the bloodshed had stopped.

Blaine had sworn to his lover that he would never take a mate. It had been five centuries and he had kept his promise. Kurt doubted that he would break it for one who had witches blood running through his veins.

Kurt cleared his throat. "This is hardly the time or place for such a discussion," he said spinning out of Blaine's hold and heading toward the far tunnel before Blaine could guess his intent.

"Kurt. Damn." There was a stir of cold air before Blaine was grasping his arm and bringing Kurt to a halt. "Where the devil do you imagine you are going?"

"To see if I can help the humans," Kurt said, squaring his shoulders. "And then to find Noah."

"Do not be fool."

"I'm not. You feel free to remain here and cower in the darkness. I shall go alone."

"The hell you will."

Kurt steadily met Blaine's smoldering gaze with a defiant one of his own. "We have already been through this, my lord. You are not my keeper. You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do or where I can and cannot go."

Blaine pinched the bridge of his nose. "The moment I get you to Wildwind I am going to fuck that stubborn streak right out of you. Why must you willfully court danger? Why are you being so stubborn?"

Kurt gave an impatient shake of his head before answering, "I am weary of allowing myself to be isolated from the rest of the world."

"You are hardly isolated, Kurt."

"Perhaps not physically, but I have precious few emotional connections," Kurt's voice was heavy with regret. "I told myself that it would be illogical to allow myself to become attached to others when I would eventually be forced to leave them behind. Finding Sam and becoming brothers with Noah has made me realize that I was being a both a fool and a coward."

Blaine gave a bark of laughter. "You have readily defied the most powerful demon in the entire British Empire. You consider that the behavior of a coward?"

"If pressed I'd call it the behavior of a lunatic," Kurt muttered. "But I was referring to my habit of avoiding relationships for fear of experiencing the same type of pain I endured when I lost my parents. It has kept me in a prison of my own making."

Blaine had a momentary flash of memory, Jeremiah's eyes shining brilliant blue, his softly tousled curls, and his soft pink lips.

His screams as he was dragged from Blaine's embrace.

Blaine shook away the painful memories and turned his attention back to Kurt. "I would be the first to applaud your desire to share your life-provided it was with me-but what does this newfound desire have to do with recklessly endangering your life?"

Kurt placed a gentle hand on Blaine's arm, imploring him to understand. "Truly being a part of the world means taking risks, whether it be with your heart or with your life. It was a lesson my parents taught me, one that I forgot until I discovered Noah." Kurt sent Blaine a challenging look, "Do not try to convince me that if Nikolas were captured you would not risk life and limb to have him returned to you."

"It is my duty as clan chief."

Kurt gave Blaine a scathing look. "And?"

"Nikolas is my brother," Blaine said, taking Kurt's hand. "I have lost all that I intend to lose. I would light the world ablaze to get back what is mine."

Kurt studied Blaine, wondering if the vampire was speaking of Kurt, his brother's hypothetical kidnapping or his lost love. "Well then, you understand. Noah is my brother. Perhaps not by blood but my brother all the same. It is my duty as a…"

Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Kurt yanked his hand away. "It's my duty as a mongrel, I suppose," he snapped.

Blaine frowned at Kurt's brittle tone but before he could voice his displeasure, Kurt was moving down the tunnel, refusing to stop until he reached a heavy metal door that blocked the passage.

Kurt pressed a hand to the wall of the tunnel, knowing better than to actually touch the door until he was certain it was safe to do so. His brow creased in concentration. Unlike full blooded witches, Kurt did not possess finely tuned senses that allowed him to pick up on all the subtle nuances of his surroundings.

Ignoring the aggravated vampire hovering at his shoulder, Kurt pushed out with his senses, nearly dropping to his knees at the overwhelming aroma of unclean bodies and sheer desperation.

Kurt's flight response was urging him to flee, to allow Blaine to wrap him up in his strong arms and take him far from this pit of evil. But he forced it back and called upon the memory of fierce, fearless mother who had never fled from a battle and his father, who had defied his own coven to take a nymph as his wife. They had believed in him, never allowing him to think less of himself because he was mongrel, marked for exile by his father's coven and rejected for service by the Council.

Tonight Kurt would make them proud…or die trying.

"There are more than just humans entrapped here," Kurt muttered.

"Sprites," Blaine determined with infuriating ease. "A few nymphs and bloody hell, there are fey."

"Fey?" Kurt asked, his eyes widening.

"Yes. That explains Samuel's nervousness. Whatever this thing is…it's been taking his people."

Kurt's heart broke as he thought of Sam's sunshine loving, gentle, mischievous people being enslaved in what amounted to little more than a tomb. "Poor Sam, he must be suffering."

"Poor Sam indeed," Blaine scoffed. "We're the ones trapped in the den of a demon that has no qualms about incurring the wrath of the Prince of the Fey. I'd say poor us if I were you."

Kurt glared at Blaine. "Do you sense lycan?"

"Not mixed in among the others."

"Does that mean you sense him elsewhere? Is Noah here?"

Blaine closed his eyes and regretted that he was unable to deceive Kurt.

"Yes, the damn lycan is here."

Relief left Kurt weak and he sagged against Blaine. "Oh thank the Goddess."

"No Goddess would want to take credit for anything happening here," Blaine snapped.

Kurt ignored Blaine's seeming indifference towards Noah. Vampires considered any demon that was not a vampire a lesser demon and werewolves were considered little more than wild dogs. Lycans were part human, part beast, and all inferior as far as vampires were concerned.

"First we will release the captives," Kurt decided.

"Oh now, you want my help, do you?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "As I was saying," he enunciated, "First we will release the captives-"

""Kurt you do realize this could very well be a trap."

"Do you sense-"

"I do not need to sense danger to know that it is there. We are in the belly of the beast Kurt. Danger is a given."

"I am doing this with or without you, Blaine."

Blaine gave Kurt a mocking smile. "So now that you have need of me, you deign to use my name."

Kurt clenched his teeth, belatedly realizing that he'd allowed himself to let Blaine's name slip by his lips several times since their ordeal began. It was a luxury he tried to rarely indulge in. Not when he needed the formality to remind himself to keep Blaine at arm's length. Kurt pretended that calling Blaine by his title kept him safe from giving into temptation.

Kurt also pretended he didn't notice the manner in which Blaine's silk shirt clung to the chiseled muscles of his chest or how precisely his trousers outlined the hard lines of his legs…

"I have several names I could call you, none of which I imagine you'd prefer," Kurt muttered.

With an impatient sound, Blaine leaned in and stole a kiss that left surprise and arousal jolting through Kurt in equal measure.

"Let us be done with this," he groaned against Kurt's mouth. I have far more pleasurable ideas on how to spend the evening."

Kurt trembled, the image of the beautiful vampire pinning him to satin sheets, his fangs latched onto his vulnerable throat, the two of them tangled in the throes of passion flashing through his mind.

"I can imagine," he whispered shakily.

Blaine pulled back, a sinful smile playing on his lips. "Soon dear one, you will have no need to imagine."

Irritated by the ease at which Blaine could send his heart racing and his body aching, Kurt turned away and gave his attention to the heavy door blocking their path.

"Magic?" Blaine inquired softly.

Kurt held out a hand, lightly touching the dull metal of the door handle, stiffening when the door slid open with shocking ease.

"There is not a hex or curse to found upon it."

"Nor is there any silver," Blaine added, thinking of those variety of demon like werewolves who were deathly allergic to silver. "A spell?"?

Kurt shook his head, ignoring the instinct to gag at the putrid smell of human waste and body odor as he stepped into the darkness of the cavern.

Kurt had expected to find the few dozen captives to be in deplorable condition, weak with hunger and thirst and frightened out of their wits.

He had been unprepared to find that none of among them was bound in any way. There were no cages, no ropes, no shackles, no curses or spells.

He turned to Blaine in confusion. "What is keeping them there?"

"One of my favorite restraints," Blaine replied.

"And that would be?"

"Pure fear." Blaine's expression softened and he turned to Kurt. "There is nothing to be done, dear one. So long as a person is a prisoner of their own fright no one else can set them free."

"Could you compel them?"

"Not all of them at once. I doubt any vampire could compel so many at one time."

Kurt bit his lip, unwilling to concede defeat.

"Then we must do something that will convince them it is more dangerous to stay than to flee."

Blaine smiled. "Dear one, I doubt very much you-or them-would appreciate my method of persuasion," he said as he shifted into his demon self. "However if you insist-"

"Good grief, Blaine! I did not mean you," Kurt said hastily, appalled at the apparent glee Blaine took in the idea of tormenting the already frightened and exhausted prisoners. Disappointment made its way across Blaine's face and he shrugged as he changed back. "You are impossible," Kurt muttered. "I know of a spell but I have not attempted to use it in centuries."

Blaine's eyes flickered in surprise. "I did not know you could perform magic."

Kurt reached into his pocket, withdrawing his mother's amulet and wishing he possessed the sort of power that would frighten a vampire. Then perhaps he'd have some means of protecting his heart against Blaine's relentless onslaught.

"I have no talent for true magic but my father did teach me a few small illusions before…nothing more than parlor tricks but it should do the job."

"I do not like this."

"For the love of…Blaine, you've made that abundantly clear. You've done nothing but drip with negativity since you accosted me on the docks. Of course you don't like this. What the devil do you like?"

A wide smile split the vampire's face. "You."

Kurt shook his head and bent down, using one of his fingers to draw a circle in the dirt and at the same time get some distance from Blaine.

"Stand back and do not break the circle."

Closing his eyes, Kurt rubbed his fingers across the amulet, using his mother's lingering powers to bolster his own as he filled his mind with image of a Soulgon demon on a rampage. The actual demon had been extinct for centuries, killed off in a blood feud with vampires of all things, but the sight of the hulking creature with its green, rotting flesh, glowing red eyes and row of razor sharp fangs would be enough to break the nerve even the most courageous warrior.

Already exhausted and frightened, the assorted humans and demons would be terrified.

As Kurt conjured up the image, the sensation of choking terror that had assailed him in the outer chamber swiftly rose up again. Whispering the incantation, he sent the illusion spreading outward, seeping into the minds of the captives.

Engrossed in his spell, Kurt failed to notice the startled cries and even sudden thundering of footsteps. It was not until Blaine snatched him into his arms and pressed him painfully against the wall of the cavern that Kurt realized he had very nearly been trampled by the fleeing herd of humanity.

"Damn," Blaine snarled, keeping Kurt wrapped tightly in his arms even as the last of the terrified prisoners had fled down the tunnel.

"Blaine, it worked." Kurt breathed, surprise blending with relief as he sensed the prisoners panicked flight through the tunnels.

"Too bloody well," Blaine growled next to his ear.

"What do you mean?" Kurt whispered back.

"The escaping prisoners have attracted precisely the attention I had hoped we'd avoid."