Reveal (The Lamian Wars Book 2)

by C. M. Steele

  “Well, there’s always time to grow your abilities. One of The Lamia’s people could teleport as well. And he attacked my mate. I finished him for it, but I am not sure who else possesses the gift or if he told them that Draco and myself could.”

  “My Lord, how were you aware of their approach?” Gideon asked. His bravery in battle showed me more of his character than when he practiced. Perhaps a real battle tested his strength and will at the same time.

  “I installed a surveillance system around the castle. We do not know exactly who to trust, but you all have proved valiant in battle. We must keep our people safe and the humans unaware at all costs,” I added. The soldiers raised voices in acceptance. It was imperative that we keep them in the dark because they were too weak-minded and arrogant to believe there was a species greater or even more intelligent. Yes, we were part human, but overall, we were the superior people.

  Leonora approached us, then addressed the men as the leader’s wife should. “An additional meal has been prepared. Please go to the barracks and enjoy some refreshments. You all were magnificent.” She gave them a slight bow and it struck me that she had the makings of a queen to be. With a bit of refinement, she easily could have passed as Falcon’s mother.

  The army erupted in cheers and filed out. “Training will continue in the morning. Get rest.”

  “Huzzah,” many shouted as they exited.

  “My Lord, I am going to rest now. Please do not take so long out here. I am tired and require my mate.” Falcon’s face flushed before he growled and pulled her into his arms.

  “Charlotte?” I asked as soon as Falcon loosened his hold on his mate.

  “She’s waiting for your meeting to be over. She’s tired as well. We don’t have your stamina,” she said with an arched smile before walking back into the castle.

  Placido and Pietro approached along with Gideon. “Wow, you sly sons of a bitches. How long have you been able to do that?” Pietro said with a smile.

  “All our lives.”

  “Wow, that’s crazy. So none of us will be able to get a gift like that?” Gideon asked.

  “How old are you, Gideon?” I questioned. We knew that he was young, but we were not quite sure how young.

  “I’m nearly seventy.”

  “You are still very young. Hell, you may be the youngest yet. I have heard of no births in seventy years. There is no way to know what your gifts are or could be. I know that you are a strong warrior. A very powerful and skilled one.”

  “Thank you. I’ve trained in classes with humans over the years.”

  “How have you been able to keep your center and control your speed?” Falcon asked. It was one thing to control it when your emotions were normal, but combat often raised our adrenaline to new levels.

  “I don’t know. I suppose it could be considered a gift in patience, but it’s nothing special.”

  “We haven’t talked about your past, please tell us some more about you,” Falcon demanded.

  “You won’t like it,” he warned us. His tone was ominous and I didn’t care for that one iota.

  “Well, tell us,” Falcon demanded.

  “I was born to Lamian supporters. My father had been one of their soldiers and was killed.”

  “Are you a traitor?” Placido asked, angry and distrustful.

  “To them,” Gideon replied.

  “Prove it,” Pietro demanded.

  “My mother was destroyed when my father was killed. She blamed The Lamia for their stupid need for power. She went into a depression so deep we could not bring her back. She went after some of their generals and was killed. They tried to explain to me that it was necessary. I played along for a while until I could get away. Then I attended school in England. I graduated from Oxford and opened a chain of stores, hoping to just live a normal, war free existence, but rumors started to spread about hunters roaming Bath.”

  “Hunters?” Falcon asked. I wondered what he was referring to as well.

  “Yes, they search for us, those who have defected or just other vampires to force into The Lamia,” Gideon answered, looking between all of us, hoping that he wasn’t crossing into dangerous territory by admitting his past.

  “How do they force them?”

  “Mostly by attacking their families, threatening them with the curse,” he answered with a shrug.

  “Really? They don’t have the toxin anymore. They couldn’t or they would have seized control much sooner,” I complained, livid that people actually fell for it.

  Falcon shook his head in disbelief, but then added, “Yes, but they thrive on fear. Fear is one hell of a motivator. Pietro, you did get word that they were in London recruiting and about to attack. So where else are they going?”

  “Who knows? At this point it’s hard to notice. One of my employees had been taken into their wings against his wishes. They killed two of my human employees as well. I decided it was best to sell my company and come searching for help. I have funds should we need them for whatever,” he offered. I knew it was because he craved acceptance.

  “We do as well,” Placido said. And this fool offered so they didn’t look like cheap bastards.

  “At this point, everything is paid for. Remember, they cannot bomb us in fear of being found out by the humans. They’re a nosy bunch of people.”

  “Yes, you remember that Miller was awfully chummy to us. Then he went after Leonora.”

  “Don’t remind me. He is in prison, but if I should get my hands on him, it will be slow and painful.”

  “They are after your mate a lot?” Gideon asked, clearly confused and angry. Perhaps a bit too angry for someone unacquainted with Leonora. I wondered if Falcon noticed the tension in Gideon.

  I stepped in to judge Gideon’s interest. I wondered if he had more to do with The Lamia than he confessed. “It was not the same threat. The human wanted her as his wife,” I explained.

  “Oh,” he mouthed. “Are there other dangers for her? I don’t have a mate and it scares me that should I find the one, I will kill all who even look at her.”

  “Perhaps that’s why you have not found her. You must grow more. It took us four hundred years.”

  “As patient as I am, that’s too long.”

  “Yes, it truly was,” I grumbled.

  “Very well. If you can think of anything that can help us against The Lamia, please inform us, Gideon. You’ve been extremely valuable to all of us. Your skills are natural and that in itself is a gift. Ask Draco; it’s how he has become the best warrior I have ever known.”

  “Thank you, my Lord,” he bowed to Falcon.

  “It’s Falcon,” he said, sticking his hand out and shaking it. “Thank you for helping Dante today. His mother would be destroyed if he perished.”

  “Falcon, it was done selfishly. I did not wish to see her cry. I’d seen enough of that from my mother.”

  “Good, now go rest with the others. Placido, Pietro, goodnight as well. My mate has already summoned me and I don’t want to get on her bad side,” Falcon joked.

  “No, we can’t have her mad at us. She may starve us or make us hunt ourselves.”

  “Heavens, I don’t know if I even remember how.” Yes, I remembered how refined they had gotten. Falcon and I had still hunted on occasion, but meals were better if you didn’t have to prepare them yourself.

  We moved to the castle and headed up to our chambers. “It has been a very long day, Falcon. Are you certain you can trust, Gideon?”

  “Mostly. There is something about his reaction to Leonora that confounds me. His interest was strong. Not like a mate, but as though she was a motherly figure to him. Perhaps his pain is greater than his demeanor belies. Please discuss him with Charlotte by tomorrow. She said before that the threat wasn’t in our camp, but I wonder if that will or has changed with the battle,” he said.

  “It is truly frustrating, her gifts,” I said.

  “Yes, it was always that way with my mother. When I’d ask for a definite answer,
I was left often more puzzled than when I stepped into her study.”

  “Okay, perhaps when the war is all over we won’t need to rely on her visions so heavily.”

  “Let us pray it will happen. Goodnight, Draco.”

  “Goodnight, my old friend.”

  “I’m about to feel like a young man,” he laughed.

  I gave him a wink because so would I. “Time to collect the spoils of war,” I replied, then teleported into my room.

  “Charlotte,” I hissed. She lay on the center of our large bed clad in just a sheer robe, her breasts visible and taut. I growled. I needed to shower.

  “I have to shower.”

  “I know, I shall help you bathe,” she whispered, seductively getting off the bed and sauntering toward me. I smiled, pulling her to my chest, caring not for the blood and muck on me. I devoured her kiss and carried her to the shower.

  Chapter 10

  Falcon

  I entered our chambers and my beauty was curled up on the sheets. She truly had been tired. This had been too much from the start. I felt like I was constantly failing her. She had allowed me to mate with her without fear or regret, and I haven’t given her the life she deserves. This war needed to come to an end. Peace needed to be given to my mate, to my people, and to myself. Today’s victory was nothing without her. She came into my life right before it all. As I watched her sleep, I tried to take in her porcelain skin, waves of her long, dark hair spread out on her pillow. Oh wait, that was my pillow. Good, I wished it to smell of her. My heart told me I had to let her go back to the lab. If only I could keep a proper lab here. I’d have to speak to Draco on it. There wasn’t proper electricity. In the centuries since its erection, this castle has stayed close to its roots. The surveillance has expended our limits, and that was a greater necessity at the moment.

  I teleported into the bathroom to clean off before I came to bed. As quickly and quietly as possible, I undressed. I had on my armor and it clinked as I set it down. Damn, I didn’t want to wake her up. Peeking out of the bathroom, I saw her still asleep. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned on the shower. The bathrooms had been remodeled to near present day specifications, except the lighting, which we didn’t need. The hard spray hit my flesh. It felt incredible, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to hold Leonora. I closed my eyes as I scrubbed my body. Then I felt her in the room.

  “I thought you were sleeping,” I said, opening my eyes to watch her drop her nightgown on the floor. Her body was perfect. I tucked my head back, looking at her.

  “No, just resting until you came back. What’s the matter, Falcon?”

  “Leonora, did you eat a great deal before bed?” I asked, realizing that I was going to regret my words. Was I implying she was round in her belly? I knew that was a man’s biggest misstep.

  “No, Falcon. In fact, I have not had an appetite for anything but you, my love,” she whispered, climbing into the shower and pressing her face to my back. “I’m pregnant, Falcon.”

  I froze. A cascade of emotions washed over me hotter than the water. My mine raced, but my nature took over. With my sudsy hands, I stroked my length that was ready to release. A growl escaped my throat; it was guttural and primal. She only held me tighter, unable to understand my emotions. I must show her, I thought to myself.

  I spun around, lifted her in my arms, and pinned her to the stone walls of the shower. With a growl, I captured her mouth, my body on fire with need. She moaned, her fangs sliding down from her gums and biting my lip. I roughly parted her thighs and pushed my way in, claiming her body as she tasted my blood on her tongue. Her nails scored my heated flesh. Our eyes connected as primal intensity filled us. We bared our teeth to each other, her eyes so blue we needed no other light. I could hear her heart pounding in my head as mine thumped through my veins. Grasping her hair, I moved her mouth to mine, my control slipping as our kiss grew more dominating. I thrusted as deep as I could several times, marking her walls with the first of many orgasms I felt running through me. Needing to mark her in every way, I bit down on her pulsing vein, consuming her and sending her into a screaming orgasm. I rutted my release into her depths, then pulled my teeth from her neck. Licking her flesh closed, I kissed her mark. Her fingers still ran up and down my back as her body came down from fucking bliss. Her legs were shaking around me. I loved to make her feel like this.

  “That’s it, Nora. I’ve got you,” I whispered against her ear. I grabbed the soap and scrubbed our bodies clean with one arm before rinsing us off, then carried her off to our bed. This night was special and scary at once. I saw her slightly swollen belly and now I knew what it meant. It wasn’t like we got fat. Our metabolism was high, so it was going to be noticeable very soon. Damn, we only had months before this baby would come. Would we have the girl? The fact that she was pregnant immediately made me feel that we may be the ones.

  We laid there wrapped up in the covers while I stared down at her. “Tell me what you’re thinking, Falcon,” she demanded. Her eyes were full of questions and concerns. I understood it loud and clear.

  “I’m thinking that you’re beautiful and I want you again,” I replied, brushing her hair away from her eyes and tucking it behind her ear.

  “About the baby,” she hissed, swatting my hand.

  “Shh, keep it down, my love. I don’t want everyone to know yet.”

  “See, that’s it. You’re afraid, aren’t you?” she complained, trying to get up, but I held her down and trapped her in my arms.

  I smiled down at her, gave her a peck, then said, “Nora, do I look afraid? I’ve waited over four hundred years to meet you. Here, you are already pregnant. That means that I don’t have to wait another hundred for you to have our baby.”

  “But what about the prophecy and the war?”

  “I want the war to come to an end, Nora. If you are carrying a girl, then we will rule, meaning we will survive. Should someone else have the girl, then we will be happy family of scientists with lots of time for fucking. I feel like this is a win-win.”

  “But the danger...”

  “Sweetheart, when I returned to our room, I stared at you for a long while, the entire time thinking that you’ve been in danger. Hell, you were in danger before I met you. All I can do is protect you and have others help me keep you safe. You mean everything to me. There is much to discuss, but for tonight, I only have one thing on my mind.”

  “What is that?”

  “What awaits a conquering hero?”

  “I suppose the spoils of war, my Lord,” she murmured, climbing up to straddle my waist.

  “Nora,” I chanted, cupping her face and pulling it down to me and tasting her lips. A lifetime of perfection was in my hands. I’ll never let her go.

  Chapter 11

  Falcon

  News would soon spread that we had defeated The Lamia onslaught again, forcing our kind to take sides or take shelter. Our battles couldn’t be caught in the eye of the human lens, so battles would be in isolated places with little to no surveillance present.

  With Nora being pregnant, I was tempted to take her to the island. It was remote enough to be a blessing and a curse. More security had to be added to the fortress on the island. It was state of the art as could be without any government property.

  “How are you feeling this morning?” I asked Nora as she came out of the bathroom. Her color was normal, but slight fatigue was visible in her eyes.

  “I’ve had better and I’ve had worse. Falcon, I want to talk to you about going back to Seattle,” she said, sitting on the bed.

  “Not yet,” I told her.

  “When? You know we have to open the lab on Monday.”

  “Yes, and we’ll stop by there then,” I stated. She wasn’t going to win this argument no matter how much she tried.

  “Do you really feel it’s safer for me here?” I knew she was anxious to continue her work.

  “I don’t know, but what I do know is that I want to be as close to you as possible. I was her
e the last time you were attacked.”

  “Yes, and had I called to you at first, you would have come sooner,” she reminded me. It scared me that she had waited so long. My life was nowhere near as important as hers was. She meant everything to me. Losing her was more than I could bear.

  “That’s something that puzzled me. Why didn’t you?” I was supposed to be there for her and she should have known I’d move mountains for her.

  “I was afraid you were in battle and I would distract you at an important moment. When I had no other choice, I called for you.”

  “Regardless, always call for me,” I demanded, pulling her from the closet and into my arms.

  “I know better now,” she replied, a regret filled smirk on her face.

  “Good girl. Now give me a kiss because I’m going to have to talk to Draco and Charlotte about our baby.” I wondered how they were going to take it and if Charlotte could see what we were having.

  “Charlotte already knows,” she admitted, her gaze shifting to my chest.

  I tipped her chin to look up at me. “Of course she does. Did she say anything about the sex? Wait, of course she didn’t. The fates wouldn’t be so kind.” I shook my head. “How come you didn’t tell me when you found out?”

  “Because you were about to go into battle,” she explained.

  “And?” I was kind of offended, as if I couldn’t handle the truth.

  “And Charlotte told me not to distract you. Your thoughts would have been on me.” That explained a lot. If she said so, maybe she knew that it would affect me. Even if it didn’t get me killed, the battle turned out flawless. It may have not ended that way if I’d been thinking about Nora instead of helping end the fight with Gideon, but Nora was never far from my thoughts.

  “They’re always on you,” I said, smiling down at her. It was true and I didn’t feel an ounce of embarrassment about it.

  “There’s one more thing. Charlotte’s pregnant, too,” she confessed.

  I stepped back to get a better look at her. With my arms stretched out, clutching her waist and tilting my head, I asked, “Both of you? Does Draco know?”