by Fawn Atondo
“Good morning,” Falyn greeted them.
“Morning. I trust you slept well?” Alex asked, not trying to hide his annoyance over sleeping alone.
“I did. Thank you”.
Falyn narrowed her eyes, giving him an ‘I dare you to keep talking’ look. He would have ignored it though, if not for West’s plan to drag her away long enough for Alex to force Lark into telling him everything.
“Wonderful,” Alex said with a fake smile.
“Falyn, may I have a moment of your time?” asked West pleasantly.
Without giving her chance to say no, he took her by the arm and gently led her out the front door. Alex didn’t waste any time, he quickly turned his focus onto Lark.
“Before you try and force me to tell you what Falyn is hiding, know I can’t be one hundred percent sure because she won’t come out and say it,” grinned Lark. “But my gut feeling tells me, Falyn plans to take on her father.”
Lark folded his arms over his chest as he waited to see Alex’s reaction to this. He got a strong one. Alex slammed his fist down on the table.
“Over my dead body!” Alex exploded.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“You plan to let her set out on a suicide mission alone?”
Alex was right in Lark’s face now, and while he knew it wasn’t Lark’s fault Falyn was so insane, he couldn’t help the anger.
“No, I figure she has no contacts, not being stuck here. How would she make her way to him? Falyn has complained endlessly about not having any way to reach him.”
“Thank God for that!” Alex muttered.
He wanted to confront Falyn about her foolish idea, but Lark was right. She had no way out of here to act on it. What was the harm of letting her nurse her revenge plot while he sought a way to keep her from harm?
Falyn came back in, shaking her head and shooting daggers at him, before snapping at Lark to follow her. Alex watched as she stomped up the stairs, stopping only long enough to make sure Lark had listened.
“What the hell did you say to her?” he asked his friend.
“I couldn’t think of anything but how she was being unfair to you by avoiding your bed.”
“Why would you say that?” Alex wanted to strangle him.
“It was the only thing I had,” he shrugged. “Besides, it worked right?”
“Yeah… Now look, she can’t be allowed near a vehicle,” Alex snapped before he walked away.
If Falyn got her hands on car keys, she would head right for Daddy.
Chapter Twenty-one: Fine lines
“If I didn’t have to worry about the fate of my race, maybe I would have time for sex!”
Falyn blushed the moment she saw Lark looking at her like she was crazy.
“Sorry. It’s just why would he bring West into our sex life? Or lack of it?”
She didn’t give Lark a chance to answer before she went on.
“And besides, it’s been a little over a week since we did… that. What’s wrong with Alex?”
“Lack of sex, I would say, clearly.” Lark’s tone was mocking.
“I know Alex thinks I’m not ready to face Malcom, but I can’t let him get away with poisoning others with this mind sickness!”
“I understand you want to get revenge for what he has done, but if Malcom has been leading the Dark Druids for centuries, Falyn, it stands to reason he won’t be easy to take down alone.”
Lark was right, but Falyn knew that if she did not try, if she did not test the other side of her bloodline how would she ever know if she had the ability to?
“Lark, I’ve known for a long while I’m a werewolf. I know the power that comes with it like I know how to breathe. But the Druid powers – I don’t know a thing about them!”
“And you want to test them on Malcom?”
Falyn could hear how bad the plan sounded when Lark put the question to her. Yes, she wanted to use these powers on him, not only to see if she could work them but to see his face when she did.
“Yes. I want to see his expression as I pull his heart from his chest. I want him to die knowing he will never have the power of the Druids of Light.”
Lark put his arm around her, offering her a moment of comfort, but when he pulled away to look at her, it was clear in his eyes he would not allow her to act on this crazy plan.
“I think you need a pack of your own before you face your father. You need to learn more about what powers a Druid of Light wields. It’s not a power that is gifted to others. No one had seen it in action in many centuries.”
Lark was wise. He was an elf who had lived for many more years then she had and he was trying to make her see reason.
“You’re right,” she sighed. “I need to have a pack to add to my strength. I need the power of an Alpha if I hope to face my father and have any chance of winning.”
Falyn hadn’t been facing the facts. She was still a lone wolf with no pack, and while she had the most noble of bloodlines pumping through her veins, she had no idea if she could control what it brought her. Or what that power might even be. She needed to gain a pack. Falyn needed the Alpha title and she needed to master the magic of the Light Druids.
“Can I tell Alex, now that you’ve come to your senses?”
“Yes, you have my blessing to tell him everything.”
Well, not quite everything, she thought. Falyn had another plan. It was safer but it still held some risk so Alex would not agree. It seemed his only plan was to keep her hidden. She was also fairly sure he would never condone her facing any foe.
It was obvious her power trip in the Immortal world was the reason. He would always doubt her claim to be strong enough to stand and fight her own battles so she had to prove him wrong. But she didn’t have time to wait for him to feel safe enough to let her.
If a pack was what she needed, then she knew just the one. True, asking an Alpha to give up his right and power was not something any pack leader was willing to do, but if that leader felt indebted to one lone wolf, then maybe he would.
Flint was the pack leader she had in mind.
Flint would have had to have survived the battle with the Shadow wolves in order to help her, but she had a feeling he had pulled through. After all, he was an Alpha and they did not go down easily. Even Alex had had a hard time when he’d fought Flint. Now all she had to do was slip away from Alex’s watchful guard and make her way to Flint.
Falyn came up with the perfect way to put Alex at ease and make him stop obsessing about her sneaking off. By now Lark would have told him about her no longer going after Malcom, this should put him in a good mood. If she also added in sex, he should be content enough for her to slip away long enough to accomplish her goal of gaining her own pack.
West had his chef make a wonderful home-cooked meal for dinner. Alex seemed less worried as he ate, drank and laughed with the boys that night. As the evening wound down, she only had to say three little words.
“Coming to bed?”
Alex almost dropped the bottle of wine he was in the process of opening for the others but, being a vampire, it never hit the ground.
“You’re sure you want me to join you?”
He needed clarification.
“If you want to, but if you would rather stay…”
She didn’t need to finish.
“No! I would much rather join you.”
Alex passed the bottle to West with a smile then all but dragged her up the stairs and down the hall to his room. He picked her up as they went through the door, kicking it shut behind them. He laid her down on the bed, his hands making quick work of her shirt as he freed her breasts to his eyes and touch.
“God, Falyn, I need you!”
His words brought a sigh from her lips as he moved lower to pull her pants off. His hands sought her heat, working his fingers till she felt like she was going to lose her mind.
“Alex,” she moaned, tryi
ng to pull his face back to hers.
“Let me love you.”
He then bent his head, replacing his fingers with his mouth. The sensations that crushed into her felt like fire licking up her body to the pit of stomach.
He growled as he pulled his own shirt off, then his jeans. He was now fully naked too and she looked him over, like he had her. Their gazes met, locking as he lowered himself over her. He was so tall he covered all of her. Her head pressed to his chest, so he moved so they were face to face.
He kissed her eyelids, her cheeks, her lips. He was lost in a wave of pure lust. He kissed her throat. Could he feel her pulse beating just under the skin? How much did he wished to taste her? Would he taste her in such away? No, Instead he moved to her breasts, taking each nipple into his mouth in turn, tasting her, making her body arch off the bed.
He ran a hand down her body to test her, to see if she was ready, to feel if she was wet. And she was. He leaned his forehead for a moment on hers, looking into her eyes. Did he see how much she wanted him? She thought he must know because the look in his eyes said he did.
Alex parted her thighs and, with a hard thrust, he filled her. She was so wet he slid in with ease. Then he filled her once more. Falyn let out a moan. In the back of her head she knew they risked everything when they did this, but it was only a faint thought.
Falyn’s nails dug into his back. If he had been a mortal man they would have drawn blood, but with him it only gave pleasure. Alex took her mouth in a hard kiss, his body moving in and out of her. She moved with him, matching each thrust. She was screaming his name as she came apart in his arms. His face in her neck, she felt his fangs nip her lightly as he found his own release.
“Falyn!”
Her name echoed around them as they lay on his bed. The smell of lust and sweat floated around them and her heart beat rapidly.
“I know you want to face Malcom, but please give me time to figure out how we can do this with as little risk as possible. Don’t go trying to get yourself killed.”
His words pulled her from her lovemaking high. Sitting up, she looked down at him trying to keep the guilt from her eyes.
“I know you want to keep me safe. So I’ll try not to.”
The words were not a full lie, since she definitely planned to avoid getting herself killed. But waiting for him – that was the one part she could not do.
“That’s all I ask,” Alex said.
He stroked her hair till he fell asleep. She, however, just lay there, feeling the slow beat of his heart. When she was sure he was in a deep sleep, she rose from the bed, got dressed and slipped out from the bedroom. The house was dark and quiet.
The keys to West’s BMW were hanging by the door. She lifted them from the hook and, with one last look over her shoulder, she disappeared out into the night.
Chapter Twenty-two: Man of Action
Alex didn’t hear the rest of what West was telling him; he was still stuck on the part about Falyn stealing the BMW and driving off into the night. Had she played him the whole time? Was what she had done purely to get him to drop his guard so she could go off and face Malcom?
He was pissed to the point he feared what he might do to her when he found her. He started listening to West again, in time to hear him say he had a hired car on its way to them. Still, she had a good eight hours’ lead on them.
“She’s going to get herself killed!” Alex cried.
Alex kept picturing Malcom ripping her heart out when she told him she planned to challenge him. Did she really have the knowledge to work the Druid magic? Or was sickness still in her head? Why else would she vow to avoid getting herself killed then race off in the night to do just that!
“I don’t think she is going to her father straight away.”
This came from Lark who now stood next to him. Alex simply shot him a hard look. Did he really think Falyn had gone off on some errand?
“Where else would she be going? She’s been telling you for days now that she wanted to go face Malcom and take his Alpha power by killing him.”
“She wanted to, yes. But then I got her to understand the faults with her plan.”
“Lark, I know you’re good when it comes to this skill, but can you stake Falyn’s life on it?”
“I can. Whatever she is up to now, she’s not going to her father. However, however this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any safer.”
Alex closed his eyes. If she was not going to challenge Malcom, then where the hell was she going? How could he protect her if the woman never listened to reason?
“Do you have any idea where she might have gone?” Alex asked Lark. “Did she say anything about going anyplace else besides to Malcom?”
“No. The only thing she said after acknowledging it wasn’t the right time to go face Malcom was, she would need a pack of her own. That, and she needed to be sure she could work the Druid magic.”
Alex only new of one pack Falyn had ties to. It didn’t mean she didn’t know any others, but this pack would be the first place he was going to look.
“West, how well aquatinted are you with the Lycan Court?”
“A little more than most vampires… Why?”
“Because I need you to get a message to them for me. I need you to tell them you have the Druid of Light.”
“Alex, you’re nuts! They follow their rules to the letter. Meaning they will kill you – and her – when they find out exactly what’s been going on!”
“I doubt they will kill the only Druid of Light. The one thing every Immortal wants to get their hands on. But if Falyn won’t listen to me, at least she’ll be forced to follow the laws of her own race.”
Alex knew it was a gamble, but if Falyn wanted to play with her life then why shouldn’t he play with his? If it was the only way to keep her safe then he would do it.
“Besides, I don’t plan to tell them I’ve broken their laws and slept with her.”
“They have ways of learning the truth, Alex,” West warned him.
“It’s a risk I have to take. If I want to protect Falyn then I’m going to need an army behind me. The Lycan Court is not going to let any harm come to one of their own. They’ll support me in this.”
“Can you trust the Court?”
“I haven’t heard otherwise, but I have a backup plan in mind if my information proves false,” Alex said with a smile.
“And that is what?”
“You, Lark.”
Lark looked confused.
“I may have a sliver tongue and a quick arm, but I’m not sure I can take on the Lycan Court.”
“No, I don’t think you could either. However, if my history lessons are correct, an elf can protect an Immortal from any race which pulls its power from the moon. Since your power comes from the sun, you pull rank. If things go wrong, you will use that blood right to get me and Falyn out of trouble.”
“So long as the Lycan Court isn’t lost to the Dark sickness, your plan might work. If they are, then we all die together,” Lark shrugged.
“Then we’d better pray Falyn can wield her Druid magic.”
Alex didn’t want to think about what could happen if the Court had been overtaken by the sickness of the Dark Druids’ mind sweep. He needed Falyn secure with a pack, whether she liked it or not, and the Lycan Court would look after her. Their Court was in a realm all of its own, and getting in without being invited was impossible.
Once West’s rental vehicle arrived, he paused in the doorway.
“You’re sure about this? Once I tell a member of the Court, there’s no turning back.”
“It’s the only choice I have left,” Alex assured him.
Alex didn’t know how West was going to reach a member of the Lycan Court, nor did he care. He only hoped it worked.
Lark didn’t seem worried about the plan, but then again the elf had a knack for rolling with the punches. Alex, however, did feel slightly uneasy at sending the Lycan
Court after Falyn. Knowing Falyn, she was not going to be happy about it. Not one little bit.
West returned a few hours later. He told Alex and Lark to take a seat before he told them what had happened.
“The Court knows where to find Falyn. They’ve sent members to bring her in.” West gave an uneasy cough. “And they also sent two very large Lycan with me to bring you in, Alex.”
West’s statement brought Alex a small dash of fear. The only reason the Court would bring a vampire into their realm was because they knew about him and Falyn!
“You didn’t let it spill about me and her, did you?”
“No! Of course not. Like I told you, they have their ways of knowing things, Alex. I’m sorry, but there was nothing I could do to stop them.”
West did sound sorry and he hung his head in defeat. Alex clasped him on the shoulder just as the Lycan walked in the door.
“It’s okay. I have my backup plan,” Alex said with a wink.
“Alex Rave?” One of the big werewolves asked him.
“Yes,” Alex replied.
“You have been accused of breaking our Code,” the second werewolf said as he took Alex’s arm into his grasp.
“We will bring you before the Court to answer to these crimes.” The first wolf seized hold of Alex’s other arm.
“I ask that you allow my friend to accompany me,” Alex said.
“Is he the one you choose to bear witness on your behalf?”
“Yes.”
Of course, it was not his only reason. If the Lycan Court wanted his head, then he would have Lark pull his rank card and get him out. True, he would have to be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life because if they really wanted him, they need only wait for Lark to be out of the picture.
Alex pushed the thought away. Right now he would concentrate on making sure Falyn was secure among the Court, out of the reach of her father and anyone else consumed by the need to get their hands on her power.
“Take my arm,” the first Lycan told West, holding it out to him.
“Not West… him.” Alex pointed to Lark.
“All right, then you take my arm.” The Lycan held out his arm to Lark instead.
