by Juniper Hart
The time alone will do me good, he reassured himself, heading toward his bedroom. In moments, he was absorbed in a mediation book he’d been neglecting to read for years.
Barely had he settled against the pillows when he heard the front door open.
“What did you forget?” he called out to Xander. No answer followed and instantly, Nicoy felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise in alarm.
“Xan?” he called, slipping his legs over the side of the bed as he dropped the book on the comforter. “You okay?”
He paused, listening, but again he heard only silence.
Nicoy backed up, his legs making contact with the bedside table, and as he opened the drawer, he heard the heavy creak of the floorboards in the hallway.
Without warning, the door to his bedroom banged open and Nicoy faced a giant gray wolf, his fangs dripping with saliva.
“Shit!”
Nicoy scrambled back, his hands whipping into the drawer as he leapt onto the bed. The wolf wasted no time lunging for him, pinning Nicoy to the mattress with solid paws.
Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the beast transformed into a human form and Nicoy’s suspicions were confirmed.
“Hello, Preston,” he said dully. “What took you so long to come?”
Preston gave him a half-smirk, his weight still crushing against Nicoy’s body, but the mortal gave no struggle.
“Oh,” Preston said in a cocky way, “I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I’d check in and see if Laurel was around. You two got awfully close, didn’t you?”
Nicoy returned his smile evenly.
“We did,” he agreed. “But she’s not here. She’s left the country.”
Preston’s smile faded to a glower.
“Or that’s what Anatoli wants me to believe!” he hissed. “Where is she really?”
“Preston,” Nicoy sighed. “Even if I knew where she was, do you think I’d tell you?”
Preston’s face shifted again, his fangs elongating to wave dangerously over Nicoy’s neck.
“You really shouldn’t act so brave, mortal. I could kill you before you could blink. But if you help me find Laurel, I might let you live.”
Nicoy shrugged with as much nonchalance as he could muster. His heart was ready to fall out of his throat, but he couldn’t let Preston see how intimidated he felt.
“I assume she’s gone back to the compound,” Nicoy offered. “Have you tried there?”
Preston’s eyes flashed with disbelief.
“You know about the compound?” he choked. “She told you?”
“As you said, we’re close.”
Preston snarled and fell back, shaking his head.
“And I’m the one who’s considered a traitor,” he spat sarcastically. “She’s off blabbing Sleeper secrets.”
“You’re selling Sleeper secrets,” Nicoy reminded him, wondering if the wolf was really that much of a narcissist.
“I want to be on the winning side!” Preston barked. “Anatoli is going to fail us all.”
“I’m not judging you,” Nicoy lied. “But like I said, she’s not here.”
Preston eyed him.
“You know how to get in touch with her, though, don’t you?” he pressed and Nicoy could see a new plan forming in the beast’s head. “I bet she’d come running if she thought you were in danger.”
Nicoy balked, turning his head.
“No, I don’t,” he said quickly. “I have no idea.”
“You’re lying!” Preston roared, pouncing back on him. “Get her on the line and tell her that I’m going to kill you if she doesn’t turn over her research.”
“Okay! Okay!” Nicoy cried, sliding off the bed. “I-I just have to get the number.”
He inched toward the door, his back against the wall as he tried to compose himself.
“Hurry up!” Preston snapped, rising to lead him out of bedroom. Nicoy obeyed instantly, rushing toward the living room where Laurel had left the number to her burner phone.
“It’s here,” Nicoy said, pulling up the piece of paper. “I’ll call her.”
“No, on second thought, I’ll do it,” Preston said, locating the landline and punching in the numbers. “Sit down.”
He put the phone on speaker, a smug grin forming on his lips as Laurel’s voice came nervously through the line.
“Nic! I told you not to call me. It’s not safe—”
“Hello, babe,” Preston interjected. “It’s me, the lab partner you cock-teased.”
A heavy silence fell over the line.
“What?” Preston jeered. “You’re not happy to hear my voice?”
“Where is Nicoy?” she rasped. “If you’ve done anything to him—”
“He hasn’t,” Nicoy called out. “I’m here.”
“Nicoy! What is he doing?”
“I’m just trying to get my hands on that research, babe,” Preston cooed, flopping back onto a chair as he beamed at Nicoy. “I’ll make you a trade. His life for that research.”
“Pres, I can’t! I’m not in Iceland anymore! Please, don’t hurt him!”
“Well, I guess I have no choice if you won’t do what I ask, do I?” Preston sighed. “Too bad. You sure make a cute, stupid couple.”
“WAIT!” Laurel screamed. “I-I need to arrange it with Anatoli. I-I’m in Virginia. I’ll see what I can do!”
“You have twenty-four hours starting now. I hope you can convince her, babe. For Nicoy’s sake and for the sake of his irritating little roommate.”
“Don’t you hurt them, Preston. I swear to all the gods if you do—”
“Twenty-four hours,” Preston interjected, hanging up the phone. He tossed the landline aside and clapped his hands.
“Looks like we’re going to have some quality time together,” Preston jeered. “Got any food?”
Nicoy finally pulled the gun from his waistband and smiled coldly.
“I do,” he replied. “But not for you. Get into the basement.”
Preston eyed the semi-automatic weapon and laughed shortly.
“I guess you and Laurel weren’t as close as you think,” he snorted. “Bullets won’t stop me, you idiot.”
“Silver bullets will,” Nicoy replied evenly. “Like the one you left in Laurel?”
The bemused expression faded away to a glower of fury and Preston shifted to attack. Without hesitation, Nicoy fired two rounds into the lumbering wolf. They knocked him back, a howl of pain emanating through the cabin as the enraged animal fell.
“That’s for what you did to Laurel,” Nicoy spat, moving to stand over Preston. “I hope you burn in whatever hell you have waiting for you.”
With an agonized moan, Preston began to shift back into his human form until he was unconscious and bleeding on the floor. Nicoy reached for the landline and redialed the last number.
“Dammit, Preston, I’m working on it!” Laurel yelled, the panic in her voice breaking Nicoy’s heart.
“It’s me,” he told her softly. “Preston is down.”
“Nic? How? What?”
“I took a play out of his book, just in case he came knocking one day,” Nicoy explained. “He’s been shot with two silver bullets.”
“Oh, Nicoy! Are you all right? Is Xander?” she breathed, her voice cracking with concern.
“I’m fine,” he assured her. “But I have a half-dead shifter on my floor, one who Anatoli probably wants to get her hands on, am I right?”
“What are you saying?” Laurel asked slowly.
“I’m just wondering what a find like this is worth to the director,” he replied firmly. “Maybe you can find out and let me know.”
Laurel laughed but Nicoy could hear the tears in her eyes.
“Yes! Yes, I’ll find out and let you know right away,” she promised. “Nicoy?”
“Yes, darling?”
“I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” he replied. “And I’ll see you soon.”
22
<
br /> “I don’t like being blackmailed,” Anatoli hissed as they dismounted from Dex’s back and made their way up to the cabin, but Laurel was barely listening, her heart overflowing with joy at being back in Iceland.
“It’s not blackmail,” Laurel countered. “It’s a deal.”
Anatoli grunted, depicting that she didn’t agree, but Laurel didn’t care.
The front door opened before she could step foot onto the front porch, Nicoy’s strong arms enveloping her into a hug she had desperately needed.
“I missed you,” he breathed into her hair.
“I missed you too,” she assured him, relishing the sensation of his arms around her waist.
“Save it,” Anatoli barked, pushing past them both to enter the living room. “Is he still alive?”
“He’s hanging on by a thread,” Nicoy replied, taking Laurel’s hand and following her inside to where Preston remained in critical condition where he’d fallen.
“I can’t believe you shot him,” Laurel muttered, her heart sinking as she saw her once-trusted crush in the position he was.
“He was going to kill me whether you gave him the research or not,” Nicoy told her. “I didn’t want to kill him, but he needed to be stopped.”
“He’s not going to die on my watch,” Anatoli growled, dropping to the ground to wave her hands over his body. “Not until he tells me who he’s working for and with.”
Now she knows that there is a conspiracy among the Sleepers too. She needs to know how deep it goes and so far, Preston is our only lead on the matter.
Laurel exhaled, knowing that Preston was going to survive in Anatoli’s hands. As awful as he had been to her, as much as she had wanted him captured, she didn’t want to see him dead. Dex remained on the front porch, keeping watch in his dragon body as the couple left Anatoli to work on Preston.
“What did she say?” Nicoy asked when they were alone in the kitchen. “Is she going to let you stay?”
Laurel shrugged.
“I’m not sure yet,” she replied slowly. “She’s going to talk to us after she’s done containing Preston.”
Laurel could read the disappointment in his eyes, but she didn’t comment on it.
He only knows half of what I proposed to her, Laurel thought. Anatoli needs to process this demand because it’s huge.
“Well, it won’t be fair if she refuses now,” Nicoy said with a note of sullenness. “After all, she got what she wants.”
“Let’s just wait and see what she says,” Laurel insisted. “There’s no point in worrying about something we can’t control.”
“What the actual hell is happening out there?” Xander appeared in the kitchen, his face waxen.
“Shit,” Nicoy cursed. “I meant to call and forewarn you about the chaos.”
“Chaos? There’s a dragon on our front porch and a witch performing an exorcism on a dying man in our living room.”
“It’s all under control,” Laurel assured him.
“Laurel! I’m sorry. Come here.” Xander wrapped her into a hug and kissed her on the cheek before stepping back to shake his head.
“Whatever this is, I don’t want to know,” he grumbled but Laurel didn’t miss the slight twinkle of excitement in his eye. As if reading her mind, Nicoy laughed.
“What are you going on about? This is exactly the kind of drama you thrive on!”
“Maybe without the dead body,” Xander insisted.
“He isn’t dead,” Anatoli announced, joining the trio in the kitchen. “Did you really need to use two bullets?”
“Have you ever had a wolf lunge at you?” Nicoy retorted. “You’re lucky I only used two.”
“You’re lucky he didn’t die otherwise you wouldn’t have a leg to stand on, would you?” Anatoli retorted. They two held each other’s gaze steadfastly and Laurel was suddenly overcome with pride for her mate.
Look at the way he’s staring her down. He’s not afraid of anything.
“Is that your way of saying that Laurel is coming back to Iceland?” Nicoy asked quietly. Anatoli scoffed.
“That part was already established,” Anatoli snapped. “With Preston dismantled, there’s no reason she can’t stay and continue her research here. Plus, I would say that you have proven yourself to be a worthy protector. I’m not concerned about her being here.”
Nicoy’s brow furrowed and Laurel felt a surge of excitement as she caught his look.
“Is there another part of which I’m unaware?” Nicoy asked, casting Laurel a puzzled look. Anatoli also seemed perplexed.
“He didn’t ask for this?” Anatoli demanded.
“No,” Laurel conceded. “The request was mine.”
“Maybe you should ask him first since it’s his life you’re talking about,” Anatoli sighed, shaking her head. “Or do you think you know him so well that you know what he’ll say?”
“What is she talking about, Laurel?” Nicoy demanded, a look of annoyance crossing his face. “What did you ask for?”
“Immortality,” she replied simply. “For you.”
She caught the whirlwind of emotions overcoming his face as he tried to register the words, but it was Xander who spoke first.
“Whoa, what?” he choked. “What does that mean?”
“Anatoli could turn you into a vampire if you agree,” Laurel explained quickly. “It’s a relatively simple procedure.”
“A vampire?” Xander cried. “Will he be able to go into the sunlight? He’s a boatman, Laurel. How will he survive the summers in Iceland?”
“Don’t be daft,” Anatoli interjected, casting Xander a scathing look. “I would inoculate him against the sun with my own blood. I’m fine in the sun, aren’t I?”
“You’re a vampire?” Xander cried.
“Where did you find these two?” Anatoli demanded, rolling her eyes.
“They found me,” Laurel replied honestly, her stare locked on Nicoy’s.
“Is this what you want?” Nicoy asked finally. “For me to be a vampire?”
Laurel shook her head and stepped closer to press her hands to his face.
“No, I don’t want you to be anyone you’re not,” she replied honestly. “But I also don’t want to spend my eternal life without you. If we were both immortal, there would be no end to our life together.”
Understanding flooded Nicoy’s face and suddenly, he nodded, laughing.
“Yes! Yes, I want that too!” he agreed, kissing her lightly on the lips. “I want to be with you forever.”
“How touching,” Anatoli sighed sarcastically. “But it’s ultimately up to me, isn’t it?”
All eyes turned to her warily.
“Well?” Laurel asked impatiently. “Are you going to decide or make me beg?”
“I’ll do it on one condition.”
Laurel inhaled sharply. She wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that.
“What’s the condition?”
“After he’s turned, Nicoy will come back to the compound with us for training.”
Nicoy and Laurel exchanged a look.
“Why?” Laurel demanded. “Why would you recruit him?”
“Because if you’re ever moved, Laurel, you’ll want your mate with you,” Dex answered softly.
Nicoy nodded again, the smile reforming on his lips.
“I accept those terms,” he said, extending his hand toward Anatoli.
“But Nicoy, you’ll be in the compound for nine months!” Laurel cried. “We won’t see or talk to one another.”
“Xander will take care of you while I’m gone,” Nicoy told her reassuringly. “And nine months is nothing compared to the lifetime we’ll get to spend together, right?”
Warmth rushed through Laurel as his words resounded in her heart.
“Are you sure?” she whispered and he bobbed his head, leaning forward to kiss her again.
“When it comes to you, Laurel, I am always sure,” he replied.
Epilogue
Ten Months Later
“Are you sure it’s today?” Xander asked nervously as he pulled the dinner rolls out of the oven. “How can you be sure?”
“I just am,” Laurel replied enigmatically. “He’s finally coming home.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you were keeping in touch with him, even though you were strictly forbidden to do so.”
“I’ll never tell my secrets,” Laurel laughed.
“It’s probably better I don’t know,” Xander agreed, setting the pan on the stove. “I’ve learned more about shifters and the like than I ever thought possible over the past year.”
“Weren’t you dating a shifter?” Laurel asked, surprised at the disclosure.
“Eli, yes,” Xander agreed and for the first time, Laurel didn’t hear a note of wistfulness in his tone as he spoke of the ex who had left him in Iceland. “But he didn’t think I’d understand and didn’t want to talk about it. You’re much more open than he ever was.”
Xander paused.
“I wonder if that’s because you’re a fox and he’s a wolf.”
Laurel smiled.
“Shifters are just like people,” she offered gently. “You’ll find closed-off shifters too. I’m proud of my genetics. I’m happy to discuss our way of life to anyone who wants to listen.”
“How do you think Nic did at the compound?”
Laurel’s beam widened.
“I’m sure he aced it,” she answered confidently.
“You’re sure about a lot of things,” Xander teased. “How do you think he’s going to feel about your little surprise?”
That question gave Laurel a pause and she shrugged.
“I guess we’re going to have to wait and see about that, won’t we?”
“Well, that’s something I’m sure he’s going to love,” Xander quipped. “You wait and see.”
The pair busied themselves with finishing dinner, laying out the silverware on the table before sitting down to eat. Their nightly meals had become a ritual, the two searching for stability in all the chaos they had known before.
