Mia and her MP looked at each other a moment. It looked as if they were having a silent conversation.
After a moment they turned back and Mia spoke. "We need to discuss this someplace alone."
He heard Gwen stands next to him. "Of course, if you follow me I'll take you to our office. It has soundproofing so people won't be able to hear you."
He could hear the pleasantness in her voice. She was trying to make them trust her. Not that they didn't have reason to trust her but Gwen was clearly trying. Both women in front of him got up and presumably followed Gwen out of the room. Neither Poet nor Raider spoke while the women were gone.
After a few moments the door opened and closed again. Viking assumed that meant Gwen returned. It wasn't until she came and sat down next to him Viking looked away from the vacated couch.
Gwen seemed to have been waiting for him to make eye contact. Once he looked up she started to speak. "It is a good plan Viking. You would be best to protect her in this circumstance. And not just because she is your mate. You really do have the most experience." She put her hand comfortingly on his arm.
He didn't find it even remotely comforting. The Maddening had him wanting to run after Mia and simply take her someplace safe, not ask her permission. But he knew that was a bad idea. Just like he knew Gwen was trying to give him comfort where there was none.
"Well this has certainly gotten a little bit of ridiculous."
"Seriously Poet I will rip out your voice box and burn it." Raiders snarled.
Poet snorted.
"I would certainly like to see you try. But before we go about doing that I'd like to point out again that this is ridiculous. Think about. What are the odds these rebels unintentionally go after our King's mate and then, within two months, go after one of his general's mate? If indeed this is the rebellion. Think about it. Does that seem a little suspicious, or is it just me?"
It was very quiet for several moments while everyone thought about Poet's words. Viking agreed. It was suspicious. Either these rebels had some sort of cosmic knowledge or the universe thought itself very funny.
"Or you could look at it this way, Poet, the universe is putting the mate on the path to a Warrior when the Warrior is most needed. It's tipping the rebellion's hand for us."
"Gwen, don't encourage him. You know how annoying you get when the two of you start talking philosophically."
Viking wasn't sure who sounded more irritable, him or Raider. Raider seemed to be losing his cool as often as Viking.
It seemed as if Gwen would comply and Poet might just have decided it wasn't worth the fight. Because neither of them spoke. It could have just been they didn't have a chance to comment because soon after Mia and the MP came back into the lounge.
Viking saw it then. Mia glanced at Poet. She was purposefully avoiding looking at him since they'd entered. Now she was giving Poet a look as she walked by him. Clearly she remembered him from her dream the night before. That had Viking kicking himself for not asking what Poet had done in the dream. She hadn't been attacked or he would've told him that. What did happen while he was there? Viking told himself he would corner Poet later and find out.
Mia stood in front of him. Since she didn't seem to be sitting anytime soon, Viking stood.
"I'm going to agree to your plan. If you give me your phone number I'll text you my address and you can come by this evening after you've had a chance to pack and settle whatever it is you need to settle here." She was clearly trying to keep an even blank tone.
But Viking heard some emotion underneath it that he couldn't quite identify. He couldn't help the excitement at her agreement of his plan. This would give them a chance to be alone together. Get to know each other. And try to get rid of the Maddening. He nodded by way of response but couldn't think of anything to say.
Mia and the MP looked at each other again before the MP spoke.
"Okay, well, if that is settled please keep me in the loop if you guys learn anything. Hopefully we will have this settled soon. We are on our way out. I'll stay with her until you get there. As for my name, it's Charlie." As soon as the MP stopped talking she smiled. But it was somewhat forced.
Mia pulled out her phone and looked at Viking expectantly. He rattled off his number and she entered it into her phone. Once she finished both she and Charlie exited the lounge.
Viking felt lucky he would get to spend time with his mate. Even if he only had one day left. He wanted to get to know her some. Even if she chose not to end the Maddening. He wouldn't push or guilt her. She had a lot on her plate. She didn't need to deal with Warrior aggression too.
He tried to make himself concentrate on the problem at hand and not on Mia and himself but it was difficult. Instead of talking to anyone else in the room Viking headed upstairs to pack a bag.
Chapter 11
Mia was nervous. She knew it was weird. She had no reason to be nervous. Who was she kidding? A stranger is going to be staying in her home to protect her from some being that not only visited her dreams but came after her in broad daylight. She had every reason to be nervous. Shaking her head she opened the trunk to her car and grabbed the bags of groceries before heading up to the driveway. She felt a ridiculous sense of pride when she was able to get every bag on her arms and closed the trunk. A little triumph like that felt almost normal. Then she got a weird feeling.
She looked down the end of her driveway and there stood a woman on the sidewalk smiling up at her. She had dark blonde hair. She was wearing a knee length duster that looked too warm for the March weather. She had her hands in her pockets and was staring directly at Mia.
Now that she had Mia's attention she spoke. "Well hello again. I see those nifty little wards from the store circle the property, too. No matter." The woman smiled at her before turning, whistling while walking down the sidewalk. She paused when she reached the edge of Mia's property "Don't worry, you have to leave some time. I'll be waiting for you." She went back to whistling and walked farther down the street.
Mia's heart raced. She stood there staring after the woman. She wasn't sure how long she watched.
"What Mia? What is it?" Charlie was scanning the street where Mia looked.
"It was here, Charlie. It was talking to me through a woman. It said that it felt wards on the house but that I had to leave at some point and it would be waiting. "
Mia tried to fight the panic that was rising through her body. It was like some kind of horror movie with an unknown villain. It was like something wasn't going to stop until it got whatever it wanted. There was nothing she could do about it. Adrenaline fired through her system. Her fight or flight reaction telling her to flee even though common sense told her staying put is the best option since there were wards on the house.
A few moments later a black SUV pulled into her driveway. Viking jumped from the car and stood in front of her and Charlie much faster than Mia I would've thought possible.
"What happened?" He demanded.
"It was here. It was talking to me thorough woman in a long duster." Was all Mia could get out.
She watched Viking get angry. "Which direction did she go?"
Mia pointed. Though her arms were full of groceries Viking still seemed to get the direction she meant and took off down the street faster than Mia had ever seen anybody run. She wanted to know the odds that the woman could just disappear. Whether she actually disappeared or had a car farther down the street. But odds of the woman still being around by the time Viking got there were slight.
"Come on Mia, let's get these groceries inside. There's not much we can do standing here. Not to mention it’s safer inside." Charlie was tugging on her arm.
Charlie pulled her into the house and into the kitchen. The two of them went through the motions of putting groceries away. They had just about finished when Mia heard the front door open and close. There was a split-second of panic before Viking walked into the kitchen.
"I didn't see her but I saw a car heading out of the neigh
borhood with a woman with a long jacket driving. Do you have a pen and something to write on? I can write down the license plate number and have Carter run it for us."
Mia felt a sliver of hope in her chest. If they could hunt these people down maybe that would mean they'd leave her alone. She grabbed the pen and paper she kept on the kitchen table and handed it to Viking. He jotted down some numbers before pulling out his cell phone. Within a few seconds he had the phone up to his ear and tapped the pen on the notepad.
"Carter, another person went after Mia. It was a woman this time, long light colored hair wearing a duster. I think I saw her on her way out of the development. She was driving a cream colored sedan. It had the Toyota emblem on it but I couldn't see the model. I got the license plate. Can you run it for me?"
Mia couldn't hear the other side of the conversation but after several seconds Viking rattled off the license plate number. There were a few more moments where he was silent before he hung up the phone and turned back to her and Charlie.
"This could be good. If this is the woman who was talking to you that means it had no intention of staying behind. That means it's not watching you all the time. It probably has other business. Also, if we can track the woman down maybe we can track the man. There's something that connects them to this being. You not being the only point of interest helps us. It means that we have time between when it checks up on you to figure out a plan. This is good."
She know he was reiterating it to try and calm her down. And though it worked it didn't work much. They stood in the kitchen not talking for a while. Charlie put away the last of the groceries while Viking made his phone call.
After a long stretch Charlie cleared her throat to get their attention. "Okay. Well, if you're tucked in here, I'm going to head back to my apartment." She turned to Mia. "You let me or your aunt know if you need anything."
Mia smiled at her aunt's friend. "Thank you, Charlie, for everything."
Charlie gave her a hug before heading out of the house.
"I'm going to get my duffel bag out of my car. Will you be okay for a minute?" Viking asked with concern on his face.
Trying to show more confidence than she felt at the moment she nodded. "Yes, I'm going to be fine the minute and a half it will take you to get to your car and back."
Viking watched her for a second before leaving the room. The front door opened and closed. Here it was, their time alone. If she didn't chicken out it was her turn to find out all about him. Have him tell her about this Maddening thing Poet mentioned in her dream.
Part of her wanted to sleep with him. Not because she felt she needed to but because he really was incredibly attractive. She wanted to run her hands through his hair. Loosen it from the queue he put it in and see it fall across his face. She loved that he kept it long. She wanted to see what his chest looked like under the shirt he wore. But she wasn't assertive by nature. And she wasn't in to casual sex. She knew that if they were truly a mated pair it wouldn't be casual, but it still felt like that.
Viking came back inside and burst her thought bubble.
He came into the kitchen holding a duffel bag. "So, where am I setting up camp?"
Mia waved her hand for him to follow her. They walked through the kitchen and upstairs. Mia lived in a two-bedroom, one-and-three-quarters bath house. Once upstairs there was the master on the left the guest bedroom in the middle and three quarters guest bath downstairs. It wasn't big but it was hers.
She motioned towards the guestroom door. "Here's the guestroom. The bath with shower is downstairs on the opposite side of the kitchen."
Viking tossed his duffel into the room then turned and smiled at her. "So what's the plan?"
This was her chance to be assertive, move forward and maybe end up sleeping with a near stranger. Mia felt her heart racing. She was trying to keep up the nerve to do it.
"You're a Warrior, right?" She practically smacked herself .Was that the best she could come up with?
A smile grew. A little humor shone in his eyes. He leaned on the door frame and folded his arms over his chest. "Yes."
She just needed to come out with it. She just needed to get it over with. "Is the Maddening a real thing?" she felt her face flame with a blush.
She'd done it. She couldn't believe she'd done it. She was both proud of herself and embarrassed at the same time. The look on Viking's face made her want to take it back. She was pretty sure he could not have been more shocked if she pushed him. As she watched a light bulb went off in his head and his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Did Poet tell you about that?"
That wasn't the answer she was expecting. "Yes, why? Did he lie?"
Viking gave a heavy sigh and pushed off the doorframe. "While I don't know exactly what he told you, odds are no he didn't lie. It's a real thing." He blanked his face.
There was something heavier about hearing him say it out loud. As if it meant she couldn't question it or make believe it wasn't true.
"So you're telling me you have a day to sleep with me before you go crazy? That's ridiculous."
A snort came out before he responded. "You're telling me. You are only just hearing about it. We Warriors are raised with it and we still think it's nuts. To be completely honest with you, my mother was a bit of a sensitive and I think that her bloodline is making it easier for me to hold off symptoms. I might, might have an extra half day before I start to lose my mind entirely. But do me a favor and don't tell people that. The last thing you need are people analyzing why I got four days instead of three. I have only ever heard of that happening one other time. And that guy's mother was a Werewolf. So that was kind of extenuating circumstances."
Mia felt herself stumble back into the other side of the wall. "His mother was a what?"
Surprise played across Vikings features as he reached out for her in case she fell. "A Werewolf, I am so sorry. I didn't know you didn't know about them."
He just stood there a few feet away from her, arms out looking apologetic. Mia felt panic flow like a giant wave in her head. This was a lot to absorb. She needed to absorb all of this before she moved on with her plan.
She looked him right in the eyes. "Viking this is what we are going to do. We're going to go downstairs I'm going to make a pot of decaf because it is far too late for me to be drinking regular coffee this amped up. We are going to sit down while I drink my coffee. You're going to explain all of the Night World to me and what exactly I'm getting myself into with this mate business. You're going to answer all my questions. Then, provided, my brain hasn't exploded, you to tell me about you. Everything. I've already called one of my workers to open the shop for me tomorrow. I mentioned I wouldn't be in all day. So it doesn't matter how late we're up tonight because I want to hear everything. All right?"
Viking hesitated a second before answering. "That sounds extremely reasonable of you." He then took a step back so she could walk down the stairs without touching him.
Once she was in the kitchen she moved straight to her espresso machine and proceeded to put in a decaf coffee pod. She knew Viking was a few steps behind her and sat at the kitchen table. But she ignored him. She wanted a few seconds to herself to process what he had been telling her.
There were Werewolves. What on earth else was there in this Night World she had never been aware of? She always thought she had an open mind but this was expanding her world at an accelerated rate. Mia thought she handled all this exceptionally well. But if she continued to have information thrown at her, she knew she would reach a tipping point where her mind would stop agreeing to take in new information.
When she could no longer dawdle making her coffee she turned around and faced him. "Would you like some?"
She mentally patted herself on the back for keeping her tone even.
He shook his head. "I actually do not drink a lot of coffee. I will, however, take a glass of water."
He mercifully didn't get it himself. Giving her a few extra seconds to gain her composure bef
ore she sat down with her mug and his glass of water.
"Okay give me a basic introduction to the Night World." Then she sat back in her chair, mug against her face.
Viking gave a laugh. "It's not as easy as all that. But I'll give it a try. Make this easier for me, what do you already know about?"
Mia let out a breath and lowered her coffee mug away from her face. "Well I know there are Warriors. They guard the Lady of the Dead. I know what the Lady of the Dead does. I know MPs are something like witches. Because that is how Charlie knows my aunt. They both belong to the same group. Only Charlie can do real witchcraft. That's really about it. Oh and apparently now there were Werewolves." She pulled back to her lips and blew across the mug to cool it down.
"Okay, well that's the general gist of it. Warriors tend to be stronger, faster, and harder to kill than anyone else including other species I don't know what has been explained to you about us. But we can still die by way of someone chopping off our heads or something along those lines.
"There's a Lady of the Dead whom you say you already know about. There's only one of her. Strictly speaking there could be more but it's incredibly rare. Plus they are born in a different place each time and it takes a little bit to track them down. We weren't able to track down Gwen until she was about seven.
"You have MPs or Magical Practitioners. Don't call the witches in front of them. There are four types of MPs. They are categorized by the types of spells they can do. There's white, gray, red, and black. Your aunt's friend Charlie is gray. Not that that's terribly pertinent to what we are talking about.
“Then there are Werewolves. Yes, they turn into wolves but they're not, despite popular belief, tied to the full moon. There are also several species of Werecats like Tigers, Lions, and leopards. There are also several species of bird. They tend to keep themselves so I am not entirely sure how many species of birds there are. There is a rather large hawk nest in the area. But other than that, I personally don't know what else is nearby.
Viking Sensitivity (Night World Series Book 2) Page 10
