by Emily Bex
“Master, I remain.” His emotions overcame him, and he had to pause, take a breath. “I remain your humble servant. I have no means to repay you for a gift of this magnitude. You have restored my family's name, and you have bestowed on me the greatest honor. I will gratefully remain in service to you and yours until my death.”
Shade knew he had chosen the right time to present him with this. He was old enough now to understand the immense responsibility of owning property, property that would continue to provide him tremendous wealth. Kissing bel on the cheek, he shifted her off his lap and walked to Luca, taking him in his arms, hugging him tightly, pounding his fist against Luca’s back.
“You have already repaid me, Luca. We will soon travel to Florence for bel’s turning and when we do, you will come with us, there you will officially become protector to the Queen. Now, were you with your woman when I called you back last evening?”
“Thank you, master, and yes, I was with Shannon.”
“Well then, I think you should return to her for this evening, don’t come back, stay for a few days and nights if you need to. This is over, and I will be home with Kate for several days. I know Shannon is probably more than a bit worried, or at least pissed off.” Chuckling, he said, “Ti amo, brother, per sempre. Now go, enjoy your Shannon.”
Luca hadn’t even called Shannon since he’d left her so suddenly the night before. After the battle with the rogues, he wasn’t sure he’d be allowed to stay here, fully recognizing Shade could have chosen to send him back to Florence. He would have a lot of explaining to do.
“Thank you, master.” He backed out of the room, bowing to him one last time as he left.
Watching him leave, Shade’s heart was light, and he knew things were now fine with all of them. He turned toward bel, picking her up and spinning her around. “Now, as for you, woman. What is this gift of animals, hmm? You have my horses breaking down their new stables trying to get to you. Shall we go out and see how they fair, let them see that you are well and then you can tell me all about this adventure you have been having without me. Si?”
“Shade, that was the kindest thing you did for Luca. Just when I think I couldn't love you more.” She gently kissed his lips. “You are full of surprises yourself. Yes, let's go check on the horses. But don’t ask me about this gift with animals. I have no idea what Luca is talking about.”
He set her down and took her hand, and they walked together out to the stables.
70
Entering the stables, Shade glanced around noting which horses had been moved to other stalls. In their panic, they’d caused the stalls to be splintered and shattered. It made him angry that such craftsmanship was ruined as a result of some damn rogue attack. He held bel’s hand as she walked with him. They approached Impavido and Shade watched as the massive horse nodded his head up and down, snorting his welcome.
“It’s okay boy, calm down, just a small change. We will get your big stall fixed quickly, you deserve it.” Shade chuckled as the horse totally ignored him and went to the stall door, leaning his head over trying to get bel's attention.
“Well, I am just mincemeat now, I see.” He turned to bel. “Mind explaining to me how you have a hold over this stallion when he doesn’t like women and was the meanest beast on four legs?”
“Lover, I have no idea. I heard Luca explain to you I had the gift of animalism, but I honestly don't know what that means.”
“Well, mi amore, every vampire has a gift, some of them are normal vampire traits, but amplified. Then others have extraordinary gifts, mine is dream-walking. Apparently, you have the gift of speaking to the animal spirit. You can calm them or enrage them. You can talk to them telepathically. They know you mean them no harm. They feel you, in a way, like I feel you. It is a rare gift, and there have only been a few who were born vampire to have this gift. You are not yet turned, so I do not understand it myself.”
“Luca told you about the deer I killed. A few nights after that while we were out for our run a coyote approached the running path and I felt him as if he’d called to me or something. I knew I could go to him and he wouldn’t fear me. He knew I wouldn’t harm him. I was able to pet him, and then he turned and walked away.”
Shade stood with his arms crossed over his chest and listened to her, and then heard Impavido snort and kick the stall gate.
“All right, already! Damn, boy! Mi amore, if you don’t come over here and touch him he is going to break down this gate to make sure you are all right! I can’t believe you have this power so strong already and not even turned, but I promise you, once turned, we will work on that skill. It is your gift and could be very useful. Now, come pet my damn stallion before he bites me.”
She stepped up on the rail, so she could reach the huge horse, running her hand over his massive head, speaking to him in a soft voice. “Look at him, lover, calm as a kitten.”
“Go ahead, rub it in, you damn vixen.” Slapping her ass, he laughed and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her off the gate and setting her back down on the floor. “Let’s go check on Bravado, shall we? Where the hell is he? You know the oddest thing made me laugh tonight. Alec came by to do some business, wrap things up and he told me something I thought was funny at first, but now, it has me thinking.
“Alec was here? What did you discuss that has you thinking?”
Shade laughed. “Well, it was rather humorous. He didn’t recognize the place. The prancy fucker thought he was lost. Anyway, he told me he and Rissa are having a mortal wedding. Did you know about this?”
“A wedding? No, I hadn't heard anything about it. I haven't talked to Rissa since... wow, I think she called right after I lost the baby. That was the last time I spoke to her.”
Bravado snorted and bobbed his head up and down ferociously as Kate and Shade approached him. She reached up and with one gentle touch, she calmed him.
Shade shook his head. “Cazzo, if you can do that with animals, I hope you can do that with all beasts. Well, apparently, this wedding is some type of charade for the mortals, but it never occurred to me until now that perhaps you would wish for a true wedding. The turning ceremony is more or less a wedding ceremony to me, to my kind. But for you, perhaps you wish to have something more traditional in your world.”
She stroked Bravado and felt him nudge against her, snorting, as she listened to Shade talk about a wedding. She thought about what he was asking her and looked over her shoulder.
“Lover, I think I have left so much of the mortal world behind; my family, all of my friends, except Shannon. The turning is our wedding. A mortal wedding for us would feel false, somehow. Mortals take vows they don't honor, and half of them end up divorced. I think what we have, what you plan, that is our path.”
He would give her whatever she wanted, but her answer pleased him. There was no commitment ceremony with stronger bonds than the blood covenant and the turning. He leaned on the gate and looked at her and other thoughts began to churn in his head. “Luca calls you Kate, doesn’t he?”
Her impulse was to look away, but she knew she had to face this one head-on, she owed that much to Luca. “Yes, he calls me Kate, but he does so at my insistence. I haven’t asked that of the others. Theresa, Gi, and Reynaldo all call me my lady. Though it is not my preference, I will honor your request. But Luca feels more like family, the title feels too formal, too distant, and I unloaded a lot of crap on him after the baby died. A lot! But if this is something you can't live with, then I’ll do as you ask.”
Flexing his hand as it hung over the gate, he reached out and slid it through Bravado’s mane. “It’s fine that he calls you Kate if it is what you want, but I ask when he is amongst my warriors, family, and others, he refers to you as is proper. I understand what he has done for you has helped you to overcome the grief. Sometimes, I can be lenient, mi amore, but not always. I want you to be close to Luca, but I also need him to show respect before others. They would think less of him if he did not, and of me as well. Do you un
derstand?”
“I understand, lover, and that is a fair compromise.” She leaned over and kissed his neck as he continued to stroke the horse. She whispered in his ear, “I wonder if the animal gift thing works on your beast?”
Growling, he said, “Well, it’s working right now!” Picking her up, he threw her over his shoulder and slapped her ass hard. Hearing her yelp the horses grew restless. “Oh, calm down. I love this woman. I was going to take you out riding, but since you think you can tame this beast, I think you should prove it.”
Laughing, he ran to the house with bel draped over his shoulder, her crimson hair flying, beating his back, and laughing along with him.
71
Returning from the gym, Rissa was surprised to find Alec wasn’t at home. That seemed odd since she had spent much longer at the gym than anticipated, and he was usually home by now. His car was parked outside. Don’t tell me he… No, he wouldn’t teleport! Maybe something was going on with the warriors. Without another thought to the matter, she took a nice long hot shower, scrubbing herself clean, drying her hair, and lay on the bed for a while, thinking.
She had already set up the plan to steal the potion. She had made arrangements with someone reliable to get into Max’s condo while they were out together. Rissa had given them all the details, and when she called, they would go to Max's and get the potion. Hopefully, once she took this trip to the beach with him it would be the last she saw of Max. She would miss him, though, she would miss... No Rissa, don’t go there! Just get that potion for Alec. Maybe Max wouldn’t even notice it was missing. Who knew how much was stored in there, and besides, he probably never kept count. She only needed a few vials for Alec to have tested and figure out its ingredients. Speaking of which, where the hell was Alec? It was getting really late.
Raven remained at Alec’s side, as they teleported back to Georgetown, and landed with him at his front door. Raven gave him a sly grin. “Need me to take you inside?”
Alec snorted. “That will be all warrior.” He listened as the warrior laughed when he teleported away. The teleport had given him time to think though. Who the fuck would have guessed Shade could turn that property into such a revenue center so fast? The vineyards were already there when he signed over the property, but they had been untended. Alec had no interest in developing and managing vineyards when he had owned the property. He could only assume Shade had done the same with the California property. And now he was taking his building in Paris? Not a bad payday. Fuck, if he got these rogue vamps off his ass, it was worth every penny. He just had to make sure Rissa never learned about the Paris deal. He entered the house and immediately poured himself a Midnight and took a look at the glass of deep red liquid, and realized with every sip, he put more money in Shade's pocket. He had to give him credit. The fucker knew how to make money. He walked upstairs to Rissa. At least she would be safer now with this Angel out of the picture. He walked into their bedroom to find her sprawled, half-naked, across their bed.
“There you are, my darling. Sorry to be so late tonight, had some business to attend to.”
She knew the moment he teleported in and wondered what kind of mood he’d be in since he abhorred teleporting. “I’m glad you’re home. Want to share why you were out so late?” She bit her lower lip. “I know you teleported, and you never do that.”
Alec started undressing as he talked. “I went to see Shade at his place in Virginia. Had no idea what he had done to it, so that was a surprise. But it seems our little battle with the rogues is over, my darling, he slew the dragon, so to speak. I told him from the beginning I wanted the head of the dragon as proof, so that’s what I went to see, the head of my unseen enemy in this little battle for D.C. This ‘Angel’, he’s dead now, and I saw his head on a platter to prove it. I still want you to be careful. I'm sure whoever remains from his coven will try to exact revenge before they move on, but this will blow over soon.”
Rissa sat up as he spoke and her heart skipped a beat. The warrior killed Angel? No! Not Max! Max is dead? She clutched her chest and tried to control her rapid breathing, blocking her thoughts from him. Her mind was spinning. There’s no way his warrior could kill Max! He was a master, and a warrior, one of the best! Besides, she’d not felt anything. She was sure she’d have felt it if he’d been killed. Still, he could have blocked her somehow. Her mind was filled with questions and doubt.
“So, you saw the head?” Her hands began to shake slightly and she curled them into fists at her side, her eyes were wide.
Alec tossed his shirt onto a chair. “Oh, and that's not the best part. You’ll never guess who killed him!”
Her head was hurting and she felt like someone had ripped her heart straight from her chest. She was so lost in her thoughts. She heard Alec speaking but didn’t comprehend. She looked up at him. “What Alec? Who? Who was it? Did you know them?”
Alec chuckled. “Oh I know them, as do you, my darling. And I'm afraid I may have to start thinking a little differently about this individual. Apparently, this Angel staged an ambush on Shade’s estate and was going to take out his mate, your old friend Kate. In case you aren't aware, the best way to defeat a master is to remove his mate. Not unlike a game of chess, the queen always protects the king. Take out the queen, and the king falls, checkmate. Who knew the mortal was prepared and took out Angel with a fucking crossbow. A crossbow! She took him out with a single kill shot right through the heart. Now that’s something I’d have paid to see. The expression on his face when he realized he’d been bested by a mortal! Priceless! Maybe I should have Shade's warriors train you? Think about it. Anyway, I have some things to wrap up before morning, and this wasn’t how I’d planned to spend my evening, so I need to get back to the study. I'll be up to bed in a while.”
He slipped on a robe as he prepared to return downstairs to the study.
Looking at him, Rissa realized her mouth was hanging open. Kate killed Max? With a bow? She couldn’t lift her damn hand the last time Rissa saw her. How dare that bitch kill Max! Rissa would have her head. This couldn’t be happening. “Alec, wait, please. Just hug me. I feel like this is a victory for you, but none of it makes sense to me, Kate and a crossbow, an ambush?”
Alec was surprised by her response. She seemed more upset than he’d anticipated. Maybe she’d been putting on a brave front and had been more afraid than she’d let on. He sat on the side of the bed and slid his arms around her. “You’re fine, my darling. I’ll still have Shade's warriors watching over you for a while yet. You know I won’t let any harm come to you.”
She clung to him. She felt the tears build but pushed them back. “I know you’ll always protect me, Alec, nothing will ever happen as long as I have you to take care of me. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to show weakness, I’m just a little surprised by this. Go, finish your work and come back to me.” Kissing him softly on his neck, she sat back and straightened his robe as she smiled up at him. “I’ll be fine, I’m your strong baby girl, remember?”
He creased his brow as he looked at her. This wasn’t the response he expected from Rissa and she seemed oddly shaken by this news. He listened as she reassured him she was strong. Not so sure, baby girl, not so sure.
“Rissa, it’ll be fine. Trust me. It turned out as expected. I haven’t lived this many years without facing many challenges from rival masters. I overcome them all. Always.”
She put on a brave face. “Well, of course, you do, Mr. President. Who better to lead all of us in conquering the world? Now go on, I have some calls to make. Damn foreign dressmakers have the oddest times!” Blowing him a kiss, she gave him a smile she didn’t feel.
Alec left her and returned to the study. Women, mortal or immortal, there is no figuring them out. Seven-hundred and fifty years and they still baffle me. He poured himself another glass of Midnight and downed it in one gulp. Some things never changed.
Rissa waited a bit for Alec to get settled downstairs and she could hear the shuffle of papers, the click of his
keyboard and knew he was deep in his work. Her hands shook as she picked up her cell. She rushed into the bathroom and locked the door, still blocking all her thoughts from Alec, not that he much noticed once his nose was in his damn work. He was oblivious to her. She bit her lip and looked at his number. Oh please, Max! She didn’t expect to get an answer as she slid down the wall, sitting on the floor, and hit call.
Max heard his cell ring, again. Now what? If he got one more call from Tomas tonight, with any more bad news, he would fucking go on a rampage! He grabbed it up and answered without looking to see who the caller was, and barked into the phone, “What now?”
Her face lit up, her heart skipped a beat. Max was alive! Not expecting to hear his voice again, she was now shaking all over. He was alive! “Max, oh Max! You’re alive!”
Max leaned back on the sofa, happy to hear her voice. “Rissie! Angel, of course, I’m alive. Why would you think otherwise?”
She answered breathlessly, “Alec just went off about an ambush and his warrior having the head of Angel, and oh Max, just tell me you’re okay, this is all some stupid mistake!”
Max threw his head back laughing. “Oh Rissie, you’ve given me the first good news of the night. They think Cuerpo was Angel? That’s perfect, just perfect. It was Cuerpo who lost his head, my angel, not me. Do you think I’d insert myself in the middle of an ambush when I have warriors to carry out those details? I’m fine, my angel, more than fine. But I could be better. You can make it better by telling me when you plan to go away with me. A promise is a promise, my angel, and I think I’ve been patient enough.”
Smiling and hugging her knees, she said, “Oh Max, I knew it couldn’t be true! I just knew it! You’d never be so weak as to let some warrior take you down.” She laughed along with him. “Tomorrow... oh please, Max, say tomorrow we can be together.” She had received a call late this afternoon from that cow Jenny letting her know Alec had added more appointments to his calendar for tomorrow that would keep him busy well into the evening. “It’s all set. I’m leaving my car at the gym. Can you meet me there? Or tell me where to teleport to meet you? I don’t want to come to the condo Max. It’s too dangerous, especially after this! Please, Max, say yes.”
