by I. T. Lucas
“When are you moving?” Vivian asked.
“I can move right away, but all of Leon’s things are still at the house and I don’t want to do the packing for him. I could wait until he and Anastasia come to the village and he takes his stuff to their new house, which will probably be in this section. On the other hand, I’d rather move sooner than later because of Greggory. There will be less of a chance of me bumping into him in the old village.”
Magnus cast her a pitying look. “If you don’t want to see him, I suggest that you stay away from the café. Now that he’s single, he will be hanging out there a lot.”
Vivian shook her head. “Eleanor can’t avoid the café. Where is she going to meet males? She needs to find someone new.”
“Don’t worry about me. I meet plenty of people in the training center. The café is not the only hunting ground in the village.”
“Gross,” Parker murmured.
Magnus clapped him on the back. “Finding a mate is like a treasure hunt. If you don’t look, you won’t find her.”
“Perhaps I already did.” He pushed away from the table. “I’m taking Scarlett for a walk.”
When he was gone, Vivian sighed. “Lisa is either blind or she's pretending not to see how in love with her Parker is.”
“She probably doesn’t want to hurt his feelings,” Magnus said. “Besides, they are both just kids, and it’s nothing more than infatuation.”
He didn’t sound convincing at all.
“How old were Romeo and Juliet?” Vivian asked. “The young feel everything more fiercely, and first love is the most powerful. Romeo and Juliet were willing to die for each other.”
It was possible to fall deeply in love at fourteen, and just as quickly fall out of love. Teenagers saw the world in black and white, and they were either all in or all out.
“Romeo and Juliet weren’t immortal,” Magnus said. “We operate differently.” He reached for Vivian’s small hand and put it on his chest. “We are bound to each other for eternity.”
Lucky bastards.
Was there someone out there for her? Or were the fickle Fates ignoring her as usual?
Remembering Emmett’s intense dark eyes, a shiver ran down Eleanor’s spine. She sincerely hoped that he wasn’t the one the Fates had chosen for her. She wanted a nice, uncomplicated guy who would treat her well and have her back, and that wasn’t Emmett.
19
Vlad
Vlad walked into the café expecting to find few if any people sitting at the tables, but it seemed that the pleasant spring weather had drawn many more customers than usual this Sunday morning.
There was no service on Sundays, but people could still buy coffees, sandwiches, and pastries from the vending machines that Jackson kept well-stocked, replenishing them with fresh supplies daily and sometimes twice a day.
Navigating between the tables, Vlad smiled and nodded to those he passed until he found a secluded one that was tucked against the wall of greenery.
He put his art bag down and pulled out a chair.
Coming out here to draw was just an excuse to get out of the house. Wendy had gone shopping with Sharon and Tessa, and Vlad wasn’t in the mood to stay in the house or visit his mother and Richard.
He was still reeling from her revelation and hoping that she was wrong. Perhaps she’d gotten pregnant with him before meeting the Kra-ell male and had just assumed that he’d been the father.
After believing his entire life that his father was human, it was a difficult adjustment to accept that he was fathered by a member of another species of immortals.
He hadn’t even told Wendy yet.
He hadn’t asked Kian to allow him to see the captured Kra-ell either.
Maybe if he pretended that nothing had changed, nothing would. He was still the same guy, too tall, too skinny, and too strong. Had anything changed on the inside with the knowledge that he wasn’t like other members of his clan?
He should find out more, ask the Kra-ell male to tell him all he knew about his kind, and figure out if any of it had shaped the man Vlad had become.
Perhaps he would do that after the business with Wendy’s father was done. There was only so much that he could deal with at once.
Right now, he had a school assignment he hadn’t even started, and it was due on Tuesday. Pulling out his drawing tablet, he moved his chair so the sun wasn’t shining directly onto it. Vlad sketched a quick outline, saved it, and opened another layer on top of it for the more precise outlining. He was about to get started on that when he spotted Brundar’s long blond ponytail next to the vending machines.
He still hadn’t talked to the Guardian as Kian had suggested.
Leaving the tablet behind, he walked over to the coffee machine and swiped his card, pretending like that was what he’d come for.
“Good morning,” he murmured to Brundar.
The Guardian only nodded.
“Do you have a moment?”
“For what?” Brundar unwrapped a pastry and took a bite.
“I need to ask you something.”
“Ask.”
The guy acted as if every word was precious, and he had to be frugal with them.
Vlad leaned closer to the Guardian and lowered his voice. “Kian said that you were once faced with the dilemma of knowingly breaking clan law to seek vengeance. I’m faced with the same dilemma, and I wondered if you can give me advice.”
When Brundar just turned around and started walking, Vlad heaved out a sigh, but then the Guardian motioned for him to follow.
When they were out of the café’s enclosure, Brundar cast him a sidelong glance. “Stop talking in riddles, and just spit it out.”
“You are a Guardian. If I plan on doing something illegal, I shouldn’t tell you about it.”
A barely perceptible smile lifted one corner of Brundar’s mouth. “Talking is not a crime. We will just treat it as hypothetical.”
“Right.” Vlad pushed his bangs out of his eyes. “Wendy’s mother left her when she was a baby, and she’s been missing ever since. Her father is a monster who abused his wife and daughter. I want to find out whether he killed Wendy’s mother, and to do so, I need to thrall him to get him to talk. I know that thralling humans is allowed only under certain circumstances, and that’s not one of them.”
“What if you find out that he killed her?”
“I’ll thrall him to walk into a police station and confess. Wendy doesn’t want his blood on my hands. She wants to kill him herself.”
Brundar’s expression didn’t change. “Would she still want to kill her father if he didn’t kill the mother?”
“No.”
“What are you going to do if he didn’t?”
“I’ll make him tell me all he knows about where she might be. If I can find the mother before our wedding and have her attend, it would be the best wedding present I can give Wendy.”
Brundar nodded. “Both are worthy goals. My situation was a little different, though. I beat the shit out of Callie’s murderous bastard of an ex-husband, forcing him to sign her divorce papers, and then I thralled him to forget me. I wanted her to be free of him. After I did that, I walked into Edna’s office, confessed my transgression, and submitted to the punishment such an offense calls for, which is whipping.”
Vlad winced. “Didn’t Edna take into account the extenuating circumstances?”
“She did. Edna wanted to give me a reduced sentence of a few days of incarceration, but I preferred to be done with it as soon as possible and get back to Callie, so I chose the whipping. If you decide to go through with it, you can ask for the reduced sentence. Just try not to murder the human.”
“Do you think I should do it?”
“Murder him?”
“I promised Wendy that I wouldn’t, but what if I’m consumed by rage and Richard can’t control me?”
“You plan on taking Richard with you?”
Vlad nodded. “He will have to bring a taser. He won�
��t be able to restrain me otherwise.”
“If you take him with you, he becomes an accomplice.” Brundar turned his eyes heavenward. “Hypothetically speaking, if a civilian breaks the law, it’s up to them if they wish to confess. If they are caught later, the punishment might be more severe, but they might also get away with it. And in this hypothetical case, if no bodily harm was done, it might count only as an infraction.”
20
Cassandra
Cassandra stood in front of the mirror and grimaced at her reflection. The black shorts were sexy and beach-appropriate, but they were showing too much ass, and Onegus might get the wrong impression.
Or the right one.
Last night, she hadn’t been able to fall asleep for hours. Every time she’d closed her eyes, Onegus’s gorgeous blue eyes and charming smile had popped behind her lids. Remembering how his large hands had felt on her while they danced had sent sizzling currents through her body, and the only way to release all the pent-up tension had been to pleasure herself while pretending she was with him.
She’d exploded like a firecracker, barely able to stifle the loud moan that had torn out of her throat.
Even now, thinking about him made her nipples stand to attention and her core tingle.
His effect on her was unprecedented and also dangerous.
For the first time ever, the build-up was caused by sexual attraction instead of anger or frustration, but the result was the same. If she didn’t release it, things would start to explode. But after her self-righteous speech about needing to get to know each other before getting intimate, she couldn’t drag him into her bed and have her way with him.
Cassandra hated playing the age-old game of luring a guy into seducing her and then pretending that she was helpless to resist. She’d never been that girl. Her no was a hard no, and her yes was a definite yes. She didn’t send mixed messages, and she didn’t play games.
Then again, she was a good-looking, successful woman who’d been without male companionship for most of her life. So maybe she was missing something?
Perhaps all those games other women played were a vital part of the interplay between the sexes, and without them, she seemed uninterested? Unapproachable?
Or was it just her abrasive personality that scared men off?
It hadn’t scared Onegus though, which was a big part of her intense attraction to him. He was worthy, his lion strong enough to tame her lioness.
Or not.
Her bizarre destructive power was unpredictable, and its sudden connection to Onegus might put him in danger.
Or not.
Obsessing about what-ifs was pointless.
The shorts would have to do. Paired with a pair of white Keds, a black tank top, and a cute little bomber jacket that was made from fake leather and lace inserts, she looked sexy and casual. The outfit also showcased her long legs and pert bottom.
Onegus was going to salivate.
As Cassandra walked into the living room, her mother lifted her head from the magazine she’d been flipping through and smiled. “You look beautiful, Cassy. Are you meeting with friends?”
She hadn’t met with friends since quitting high school, but for her mother, it probably seemed like yesterday.
“Actually, I have a date. I’m meeting a guy, and we are going for a walk on the beach.”
“That’s lovely.” Her mother frowned. “Just stay away from the water. The ocean is dangerous.”
Geraldine was terrified of getting even her feet wet at the beach, but she loved sitting on the sand and watching the waves. She also loved swimming in their pool at home, which didn’t make sense to Cassandra. Her mother claimed that the vastness of the ocean scared her, and knowing that there were fish and other creatures in the water grossed her out.
“I’m not even wearing a swimsuit.” Cassandra parted her jacket to show her mom the tank top. “We are going to a restaurant overlooking Venice Beach, and after that, we are going on a walk.”
“Who is the young man? Is he someone from work?”
“You could say so. I met him at the charity event I attended with Kevin.”
“Is he handsome?”
“Devastatingly so.”
“Oh, my.” Her mother’s lips lifted in a smile and her hand lifted to her chest. “Just don’t let him devastate you.”
“It’s just an expression.”
“Do you have a picture?”
There were probably dozens of them all over the gossip magazines, but Cassandra refused to look. God only knew what kind of trash they had written about her and Onegus.
“I don’t have a picture, but he’s tall, taller than me with heels on, and built like a tank. He also has a charming smile, blond curly hair that he tries to tame with hair products, blue eyes that twinkle with mischief, and a square, strong jaw.” Cassandra chuckled. “He looks like one of the models on your billionaire romance novels.”
“Oh, dear. You sound like you are half in love with the man already.”
“I’m not.” Cassandra leaned and kissed her mother’s cheek. “I might be gone the whole day, so don’t worry about me. And if you do, just call me or text me, and I’ll call you back.”
Her mother smiled. “I’m not going to bother you on your date, sweetheart. Besides, I’m not staying home. The book club is meeting for lunch at Danny’s.”
Geraldine’s book club must be the most active one in the entire nation, but Cassandra had a feeling that not all of her mother’s book club meetings were about books.
“That’s great. Have fun, Mom.”
21
Onegus
Onegus parked his car in Hotel Erwin’s self-parking garage and headed to the rooftop bar to wait for Cassandra.
He was half an hour early for their date, plenty of time to relax with a glass of whiskey and ponder the idiocy of asking her on a date.
When she’d made her attitude about hookups clear, he should have let it go, but he just couldn’t resist. It was like she’d bewitched him, and he’d had to see her again.
Onegus had no intentions of making it to the second or third date, though. Meeting Cassandra during the day made seduction even less likely, which was why he’d chosen the time and location. His main purpose was to find out more about the peculiar current that had arced between them when they touched.
She’d explained it as static electricity, and he might have accepted that if not for the guilty look that had passed over her eyes. She’d known what had caused it and had tried to cover it up.
A good excuse, but who was he trying to convince?
Onegus was curious about much more than that zap. Cassandra intrigued him, challenged him, and staying away from her required willpower that he was apparently short on. Eventually he would flex that muscle, but today, he would enjoy her company and not think about why letting her go was the decent thing to do.
Sitting with his back to the bar, he watched the roof access as more humans arrived to enjoy the beautiful spring day and the views of Venice Beach below. Couples young and old, holding hands, friends meeting to hang out together, their carefree laughter enviable.
For at least a few hours of the glorious Sunday morning, they were able to forget their daily struggles, their troubles, and just enjoy being.
Onegus wished he could be like them, but despite his easy smiles and seemingly mellow nature, his mind was never at ease. Being in charge of the Guardian force and the clan’s security was a huge responsibility, and his occasional sojourns as Kian’s stand-in were a welcome break.
Motioning to the barman with the empty glass, he asked for a refill.
It was a little early in the day for another shot of whiskey, but with his immortal metabolism, it would take much more for him to feel even a slight buzz.
When the barman handed him a fresh one, Onegus turned around and nearly dropped the glass.
Cassandra was even more beautiful in casual attire and minimal makeup than she had been when all decked out in her
evening gown.
She smiled as she waved at him, sauntering over in her tiny black shorts and white sneakers. Her legs went on forever, the skin on them so smooth that it gleamed in the sun. Had she smeared suntan oil all over her legs? Or did her skin shine naturally?
“Good morning.” He rose to his feet and leaned to kiss her cheek.
“Good morning to you too.” She took a step back. “Are you sure that you are not a vampire?”
Onegus tensed. Were his fangs showing?
Usually, he had excellent control over every part of his body, including the scents that could reveal his emotions to other immortals. That was one of the things that made him such a good chief and negotiator for Kian. But it had been centuries since a female had elicited such a strong response from him.
“What do you mean?” He put his hand on the small of her back and led her to the table he’d reserved.
As they passed by the other guests, there was no male who didn’t devour her with his eyes, and Onegus had to stifle the urge to growl a warning that would have them cowering beneath the tables.
“I didn’t notice it last night, but you look like you haven’t been out in the sun in years. You are so white that it’s blinding.” She pretended to shield her eyes from the glare. “I hope that you put sunscreen on before leaving your lair or you will turn red like a cooked shrimp.”
Onegus couldn’t get a tan even if he wanted to. His body’s self-healing would take care of that. “I have to admit that I didn’t.” He pulled out a chair for her. “But I probably should have.” He waited until she sat down before taking the seat next to her.
Lifting her large purse, Cassandra sifted through the contents and pulled out a small tube. “You’re lucky that I always carry sunscreen with me. If there is one thing you can do to slow down aging, it’s to put it on every morning even if you don’t plan on being out in the sun. Especially with fair skin like yours, wrinkles and dark spots are not the only things to worry about.”
