by Lisa Olsen
“It’s not just because he’s an Ellri, is it? You want to see what all the fuss is about?” I supposed I couldn’t blame her, plenty of others seemed to feel the same way. Though growing up with Maeja in her village, I wouldn’t have taken her for an Ellri groupie.
Nelleke’s voice dropped to little more than a whisper. “He is my father.”
My jaw dropped, and I felt Rob’s sharp intake of breath beside me, just as shocked. “How is that possible? I thought he was pretty much banned from the vale.”
“It is true, Maeja is forbidding his return since his poor treatment of her. It is nearly two hundred years since he is come to the village.”
“Then… did he meet your mother out somewhere else in the world?” I remembered she’d once told me she’d gone to college in Oslo for a few years before returning home.
“No, my mother never leave the vale since before then,” she said softly.
I was still wrapping my head around that when Rob made the intuitive leap I’d missed. “Maeja ain’t just your boss-lady. She’s your mum, ain’t she?” he prompted.
That meant Nelleke had to be at least a couple of hundred years old. With Ellri blood on both sides, that was understandable, but I was too stunned to do more than goggle at her. With Jakob as my Sire, and her his daughter, what relation did that make us? It was enough to make my head spin.
“I have this honor, yes,” Nell admitted with a proud tilt of the chin.
“Is that why they fought? Because he didn’t want to have anything to do with her having a baby? I could’ve sworn he said he didn’t have any descendents. Are you sure Maeja told him she was pregnant?”
“I am not knowing what was said between them, I only know she still carries the scars from the loving.” She shook her head.
“I’m guessing it has something to do with him being a right wanker,” Rob smirked, but Nelleke didn’t find much to smile about.
“I must go.”
“Wait, Nell, what are you going to do? Are you going to tell him?” I asked, wondering how Jakob might take the news after such a crazy night. Would he welcome her with open arms, or brush her off? He’d seemed wholly uninterested in the idea of any descendents he might have, but that was when we’d been talking about them in the abstract. Having a flesh and blood daughter standing in front of him, he might react very differently.
“I am thinking this is a big mistake in my coming here. You are finished with the spear, I am taking it home.”
“But you came all this way. Do you want me to go with you? I can make him sit down and listen to you.”
She suddenly looked like she was going to be sick. “No, please, do not say anything to him of this. I go back where I belong now.”
I couldn’t imagine coming so far and not even meeting my own father, but I wasn’t going to force her to stay and hash it out with him. “Fine, we won’t say a word. But if you’re ever in this neck of the woods again, come and see us. There’s always a place for you here if you decide you want to be out in the world again.”
“I will remember this,” she said, laying a hand over her chest, her shoulders squaring. “Luck to you, shieldmaiden of Odin.”
“Luck to you in your quest, Nelleke,” I replied just as formally before giving her an encouraging smile. “But give him a chance. Jakob might be a bastard about some things, but I can guarantee he doesn’t know you exist. Whatever slights he might’ve delivered to Maeja, it doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
She nodded, offering the briefest of smiles before she stalked off into the house, almost running into Lee as he opened the back door.
“You takin’ off, Nelly? The party’s just gettin’ started,” Lee grinned.
“Yes, I must take my leave and return home.”
“Well, that’s a cryin’ shame. Don’t think you’re gettin’ out of here without a hug, darlin’,” the old shifter drawled, pulling her close. The two stayed pressed together longer than I would’ve thought, and Nell looked misty eyed when they pulled apart. “I’ll walk ya out.”
“Goodbye, Nell. I hope we meet again,” I called out after her and she turned with a final smile.
“Who can say what the future will bring?”
“You can say that again,” I muttered, giving Rob’s hand a squeeze.
“Let’s get you inside to take care of that arm, yeah?”
My body had already started to heal the break, thanks to the strength of Jakob’s blood, but he was right, I’d need to feed before I regained full use of it. “A cup or two of bagged blood and I’ll be fine,” I assured him, feeling his concern like a palpable thing.
“You sure that’s what you need?” He raised a single brow. “Don’t seem like it’s enough.”
“I hardly think Lee’s in a giving mood and I’m definitely not asking Hanna,” I snorted.
“Wasn’t what I had in mind.”
All of a sudden I understood the extra benefits of exactly what Rob offered, and it sent a rush of awareness through me. The rest of the night stretched out before us, full of possibilities. Except for I had to remember that the tinge of warmth coming from my hand in his had more to do with his own need to feed than any excitement he might have from the idea of sharing blood. My eyes narrowed as I fixed him with a penetrating stare. “You haven’t fed tonight, have you?”
Rob shrugged, less concerned over that fact. “Came straight over as soon as I found out what you was up to.”
“Then the last thing you need to be doing is offering up your blood or anything else until we take care of that. Come on, let’s go into the kitchen and I’ll get us both fixed up.”
He allowed himself to be tugged along, lack of enthusiasm written all over his face. “I’ll pass, but you go on ahead.”
While I didn’t enjoy the gloppy bagged blood all that much either, it was the simplest solution. But it wasn’t all that late yet, and I wasn’t so hurt I couldn’t go out to eat if he preferred, as long as we took it easy.
“Do you feel like going out hunting instead?”
“Let’s get you fixed up first and then we can talk about that,” he said, steering me into the kitchen. “I don’t want you out and about unless you’re up to strength. I can wait a bit and get something later.”
There wasn’t any reason not to let him go hunt by himself, only I wasn’t eager to part company with him yet, not after everything we’d been through. “How about we both have a snack here and then we can decide whether to go out or not?”
“Fair enough,” he nodded, fetching two mugs from the cupboard. I filled both and set them in the microwave to warm up, adding a dash of cinnamon to mask the plasticky taste. He still made a face when he took the first sip though.
“Do you want me to put a dash of my blood into it to make it taste better, like you used to do for me?” I teased, quickly downing my cup and warming up another. Not that I was hungry, but I was eager to regain the full use of my arm.
“I’d rather have it straight from the source,” he grumbled, tipping his mug up to get the last drips out of it.
“I can make you another cup if you’re still hungry,” I offered, taking the mug out of his hands and refilling it to heat up with mine.
“I thought this was meant to be a snack. Ain’t we going out later?”
“See, I was sort of thinking we might stay in tonight,” I suggested, catching his gaze. His hazel eyes flashed with heat as he caught onto my meaning.
“Keep talking.”
“And I thought that maybe you might want a bit of stamina to help tide you over,” I said, pushing the mug across the counter to him, but he ignored the blood, his eyes dropping to my lips with another kind of hunger.
“The things you say,” he rumbled, pulling me close for a greedy kiss. There was no hidden danger, no fear of being caught, but it didn’t diminish the thrill one bit. My mouth met his with equal fervor, a soft sound of need escaping me. Rob immediately let go of me, his face riddled with guilt.
“I didn’t hurt you,
did I? How’s your arm?”
“It’s fine, it’s only a tiny bit sore now,” I said, flexing my hand and turning my arm experimentally from one way to the other. It was amazing how quickly we healed what would be a pretty catastrophic injury to a human. “You know, I can’t decide if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that humans don’t know about the healing properties of vampire blood. Well, about vampires at all, I guess. Can you imagine how many diseases and life threatening injuries could be healed with a few pints of our blood on tap in hospitals?”
“What you going on about now?” Rob said, his tone full of open skepticism. “There’s no good to be had in talking that way. They’d never settle for a few pints, you can be sure of that. And what would be the benefit to us? There’s easier ways to make a few bob.”
“Maybe we could work out some kind of a trade? Hospitals provide us with a steady supply of blood to feed on and we provide them with a source for our healing blood. We’d both benefit from something like that.”
“It’d never work that way.” Lee popped up to weigh in with his opinion, dropping a handful of empty beer bottles into the recycling bin. “Take it from someone who knows, it ain’t never the right decision to offer your people up for experimentation.”
“I know, it was wishful thinking.” I’d seen enough movies on SyFy to know an arrangement like that would end up in a bloodbath for one or both sides. “I just wish we could give something back for all the blood we take, you know?”
“That’s a sweet thought, darlin’.” Lee smiled indulgently.
“Did you reach Maggie?”
“Yep. She’ll be back here tomorrow night. Jakob’s got her making all manner of arrangements for him back at his place.”
“I’ll bet. Ah well, whatever helps him get out on the road, as long as he leaves her here and doesn’t think about taking her with him.”
“If y’all will excuse me, I think I’d better grab some shuteye while things is quiet.”
“Goodnight, Lee. Thanks for your help tonight, we couldn’t have done it without you.”
“You could’ve, but it’s a pure pleasure to hear, all the same,” he winked, disappearing up the back stairs.
“Now then, where was we?” Rob’s fingers curved into the belt loops of my jeans, pulling me to him.
“We were about to finish our meal.”
“I don’t think that’s what I had in mind.”
“I have something for you.”
“Do tell.” The barest of smiles curved his lips as he backed me up against the kitchen counter. “Go on then, give it to me.”
“Oh, it’s something I can’t give you here, it’d have to be downstairs. In the bedroom,” I answered lightly, enjoying the crackle of energy that snapped between us wherever our bodies touched. “But I’m pretty sure I’ll need both my arms to give it to you properly.”
“I like the sound of that. Right then, drink your blood like a good girl.”
I picked up my mug and handed his over as well. “Cheers.”
Do you remember what it was like when you were a little kid and you drank so fast you forgot to breathe? It was almost like we were racing to see who could finish the quickest, only with neither one of us needing to breathe, there was less panting and more gulping involved. I was about to slam my mug down in triumph when my cell phone rang, distracting me from my silly victory.
Expecting it to be Maggie or maybe even Felix, my heart gave a lurch when it came up as an unknown number. It couldn’t be more trouble, could it? We’d barely gotten to share one celebratory kiss!
“You ain’t got to answer it,” Rob observed mildly, setting both our cups into the sink.
Only I couldn’t let it go without knowing who it was. Not many people had my private number, it might be important. “Maybe it’s a wrong number,” I shrugged, hitting the green button. “Hello?”
“Anja?”
“Gunnar!” I gave a tiny hop of happiness to hear his voice on the other end of the line. “Where are you?”
“I am in New York.”
“New York City?” I repeated unnecessarily, Rob could hear both ends of the conversation easily. “What are you doing there? No wait, never mind that, are you alright?”
“Yes, I am fine. This city which never sleeps is a good place for a vampire.”
He didn’t seem all that bothered about being so far from home, and I tried to take that as a good thing instead of feeling slighted. “Are you thinking of staying out there then?”
“Oh no, now that Lodinn is no more I will return home as soon as can be arranged.”
“Good, good,” I breathed with relief. “How did you know Lodinn was dead?” Was it something he could feel since Lodinn had set up shop in his head?
“I discover it from Jakob. Once I feel the need to avoid you all slip away, I call him.”
At first I thought it was weird that Gunnar felt an allegiance to Jakob over me, but then again, that made sense since Jakob’s compulsion to check in with him would still be in effect. “Do you need any money or anything?”
There was an odd pause before Gunnar replied, “No, money is not any issues.”
“Good then, thanks for calling and I’m glad to hear you’re safe. Let me know if you need anything and we’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon, boss.”
“Well, thank God for that.” I sagged against the counter in relief. “I was afraid we’d have to scour half the nation to find him tied up in a basement somewhere.”
“I wonder why Lodinn had him holed up in New York?” Rob frowned and I shrugged, as clueless as he was.
“Who knows? I probably should’ve asked him, but he can fill us in when he gets home. For the moment, I have more important things to do.”
“Do you now?” His lips twitched into a speculative grin.
It was early yet. There were calls to make, people to talk to. Felix and the council would need to know a version of what had gone down that night, but for the moment, all I could think of was getting him alone for a private celebration.
“Yes, there’s nothing more important than this.” Leaning forward, I tipped my lips up to his. Instantly, he scooped me up, one arm under my legs, the other cradling me tight to his chest, his mouth taking utter possession of mine as he carried me downstairs to my room. No, our room. It was definitely our room now.
Chapter Three
I wasn’t thinking about anything more than welcoming him into my bed, but Rob set me down abruptly, the loss of his mouth against mine drawing a mewl of disappointment from my throat. “What’s the matter? You’re not worried about Lee or Hanna being in the house, are you? Nobody cares anymore,” I insisted.
“Course not,” he scoffed. “I’m waiting on my prezzie.” A teasing smile curved his lips as he waited, hand outstretched patiently. I had half a mind to give him something else instead of the gift I’d picked out for him, but instead I picked up the petite box sitting on the middle of the bed.
“It’s only something small to commemorate your new birthday, or whatever you want to call it. I figured it’s a traditional sort of thing for a Sire to do, so… I hope you like it.” I handed it over, watching as he opened the box to reveal a simple, WWII vintage pocket watch I’d found, still in working order. I’d gotten the idea watching Captain America (for the bazillionth time), and had my picture inside like Cap carried Peggy’s picture inside his compass. Only I wasn’t about to explain that source of inspiration for fear of his teasing me about my crush on the handsome hero.
“Ain’t seen one of these for yonks.” Rob nodded his approval. Popping open the silver case, he stopped and stared, his fingers tracing over the black and white picture. “It’s lovely.”
“Do you really like it?” I beamed. “I thought about getting you a ring, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted one, or what size you’d wear and I’ve never seen you wear any rings before.”
“I love it,” he promised, laying a hand over his heart. “I’ll always carry it
with me.”
“Oh, good.” I started to relax. “If everything went sideways tonight, you were supposed to find this here from me as something to remember me by.”
His brows drew together in a dark scowl. “Don’t even talk like that.”
“I know, we both survived the night, that’s all that matters.” Turning away, I tore up the note I’d set aside with it, slipping it into the garbage so he’d never have to read what I’d spent the better part of an hour crying over. “Now, how about you let me make it up to you?” I jerked my head toward the bed, waggling my eyebrows at him suggestively, but instead he caught up my hand and tugged me into the bathroom.
“Let’s get you cleaned up first, yeah? I can still smell the soot from the fire in your hair.”
I hadn’t thought of that. Taking a shower together sounded like a good a way as any to start the night though. “I’ll need some help in the shower, with my arm and all,” I said with wide eyed innocence, but I miscalculated as a pinch of worry came to his forehead.
“I thought it wasn’t all that bad? Do you need more blood?”
“Well… it’s not really,” I had to admit, my cheeks coloring as he caught on to my lame attempt at seduction.
“Oi, now who’s telling porkies to get special treatment?” He wagged a finger at me.
“You’re right, it is a little bit of a fib,” I admitted. “Maybe you should punish me?” That didn’t sound bad at all.
Rob caught on to my anticipation and fixed me with a stern look. “I aim to punish you alright, ain’t no doubt about it. What you done, leaving me while you went off to die…”
“But I didn’t die,” I interrupted gently, laying a calming hand to his arm. Rob wouldn’t be soothed though, not over this sore point.
“You can’t keep doing that. I’m either in your life or I ain’t. You either trust me or you don’t,” he insisted.
“I do trust you, I trust you more than anyone else in this world,” I pledged, and I meant it. He’d always been there for me, even after I’d pushed him away.
“Right then, no more excluding me to keep me safe.”
