by Unknown
Lilly ignored Mona, continuing to watch Cypher.
“So it’s King Cypher, correct?” she asked him, regaining her composure.
Cypher nodded once.
“Okay, just a small question here, but why would you want me to be your mate? You don’t know me from Eve.”
Cypher cocked his head to the side and his brow furrowed. “Who is Eve?”
Lilly and Mona both let out a snort at the same time, then both stopped to glare at the other.
“It’s just a saying.” Lilly waved him off. “The important part of the question is ‘why me?’”
“I didn’t pick you, Lilly.” Cypher watched as her lips tightened and her forehead wrinkled in thought. “Desdemona brought you to me.”
“Who is Desdemona?”
Mona bowed dramatically. “Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Desdemona, the last witch in this world. My power is beyond anything you can comprehend and Cypher has information I need. We made a deal, a mate for him and the information for me. It’s just an added bonus that you are who you are.”
Cypher looked at Mona, trying to decipher what her words meant. Who was Lilly to her? What did she know about Lilly?
He looked at Mona and his face became a blank slate.
“Two days,” he told her.
“Yes, yes, as we agreed. You have two days with her. Then I want you ready to go to the veil.”
“Wait!” Lilly yelled as Mona turned to go. “What about my daughter?”
Mona shrugged. “I don’t know anything about your daughter.”
“Why do I get the feeling you are lying?” Lilly asked through pursed lips.
Mona’s smile turned sly. “I have no idea, Lilly Pierce. I would never be dishonest.”
Lilly snorted. “Right, and any second now you are going to bust out in Mary Poppins These are a few of my favorite things.” She let out an exasperated breath. “Can you at least tell me if she is safe?”
“As much as I would love to give you some heart breaking news about your flesh and blood, the truth – and it nauseates me to even think that word – is that I don’t know what she is up to at the moment. The last time I saw her she was furry and running on a battle field.”
Lilly’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Hey, I’m just calling it like I see it. She was furry and ripping through my army. As far as I know, she lived through it. So that’s a plus, right?”
Lilly stared speechless at the witch and then in the blink of an eye the witch was gone.
She looked around as if Mona was going to pop up and yell “boo”.
Cypher let out a deep breath. “She can be very dramatic at times.”
His voice drew Lilly’s attention back to him.
Cypher stood and stared at her, unblinking and unashamedly. It had been a very long time since he had spent any quality time with a female and he couldn’t remember if he had ever been with a female of such beauty.
Lilly cleared her throat, trying to not worry about Jacque because she knew that there was nothing she could do about it at the moment. She could only deal with the situation before her.
“So are you going to throw me in a dungeon or something?” she asked the tall, handsome king. She really wished she hadn’t thought of that last adjective, but truth be told, he was a looker. Jacque would call him eye candy and Lilly would agree.
Cypher smiled and it transformed his hard features. “I don’t have any plans to throw you in a dungeon. I thought you would prefer a room with a bed and human amenities.”
“Huh,” Lilly said, lifting a single eyebrow. “Well, that does sound better than a dungeon.”
“I know you must have questions, and I’m willing to answer them. But I would really like to take care of your immediate needs. Are you hungry?”
Lilly nodded. “But first, can I use the ladies' room?”
Cypher pointed down the hall. “Third door on the right. I’ll just wait here for you.”
Lilly walked to the bathroom, only looking over her shoulder once. Cypher was still watching.
Lilly stepped into the restroom, finding the light on the wall and flicking it on. She closed the door and turned the lock. Letting out a deep breath, she looked in the mirror over the sink. Her face was pale and haggard. She turned on the water and splashed her face with it. A towel hung on a hook and she used it to pat her face and hands dry. She hung the towel back up, laughing at herself for being so cordial in her captor’s house. She shrugged. Might as well be neat.
She closed her eyes and sighed, knowing she had to stay calm, no matter how badly she wanted to scream for someone to show her where Jacque was. From what she could tell so far, she didn’t think this King Cypher meant her any harm, but Mona had called Lilly his mate. The way she understood “mate” meant a long-term relationship, as in the rest of your life long time. So at this point she needed to assume that Cypher had no plans to let her go. He didn’t seem evil, but then again he was working with Mona, and she was most definitely evil.
She jumped when there was a soft knock on the door.
“Lilly,” she heard his voice speak through the door, and the way her name rolled off his tongue sent shivers down her spine.
That’s just rich, Lilly. Your crushing on your warlock captor. Nice one.
“Is everything alright? I know you must be distressed and I will explain all that I can if you will please just trust me when I say I don’t mean you any harm.”
Lilly unlocked the door and pulled it open slowly. She looked up at the towering man – well, not man, but male. His face said he was maybe in his late thirties or early forties, but his eyes said he had seen centuries and centuries. What stories he must be able to tell.
“I would definitely like you to explain.”
He held his hand out to her, a silent request of trust. She stared at it a moment before she finally placed her smaller hand in his. His hand was much larger, and warm. So very warm that she felt heat move up her arm. She wanted so badly to not feel that warmth, and even more she wanted so badly not to enjoy it. But it had been so long since she had felt any warmth from, well, a man’s touch. And though the term man applied loosely to the king, he was all male. And all that maleness was focused on her.
Cypher took her hand and led her to the smallest sitting room in the large mansion. He didn’t want to give her the opportunity to put too much space in between them. He was struggling with what to tell her. He had been excited at the idea of having a mate, but, truthfully, he hadn’t expected to be so attracted to the female that Mona had promised to bring him. Not just attracted to her appearance, but to her spirit as well. She filled up a room when she entered it. The fire in her eyes was enough to stop a male in his tracks. It had sure stopped him.
There was something about her that was so good, so real and so fresh. He hated to dirty that with the truth of what was to come. Maybe he could just give her an overview.
“Desdemona is a powerful witch,” he started. “She came to me with a proposition, and when she mentioned that she could bring me a mate, I couldn’t turn her down.”
Lilly stared up at Cypher as he spoke and watched the way his unusual eyes never left hers, nor did he ever blink. It was a little unnerving.
“Forgive me if I seem a little confused, but why would she have to come all the way to the United States to get you a mate? I mean, it’s not like you are hard on the eyes. Surely she could find you someone closer to home. And why don’t you find a mate that is a warlock like you?”
“You think I’m handsome?” Cypher asked her, pleased.
Lilly rolled her eyes. “Out of all that, that’s all you got? That I think you are good looking?”
“It’s been a long time since I have been with a woman. You will have to forgive me if I do not know the protocol,” he replied stiffly.
“Protocol?” Lilly repeated incredulously. “So you have protocol for having a witch abduct a woman to be your mate? Man, this ought to be good. Pleas
e do tell, what exactly is the protocol for such a thing?”
Cypher cleared his throat and considered her response to him. He had obviously upset her.
“I didn’t mean protocol for Mona taking you. I meant for talking to a woman, for being a gentlemen.”
“Well, for starters, you don’t kidnap her.” Lilly shook her head in exasperation. “Just saying.”
Cypher let out a low growl as he stood abruptly. Lilly flinched at the quick movement.
“My people are dwindling. We have no females. The magic in this world is failing because the Fae have locked themselves behind their veil and refuse to be bothered. It is the only hope of my race. I’m their King. A King with no Queen, and no heirs. I need you. I will not harm you. You will want for nothing. Those things I can promise you.” Cypher was breathless, his nerves on edge because he didn’t understand the feelings he was having toward a human woman he had just met.
“What about my daughter?” Lilly raised a single eyebrow at him. “What can you promise me about her?”
“Who is your daughter?” Cypher asked cautiously. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.
“She is the mate to Fane Lupei, the son of the Romanian wolves' Alpha.”
Cypher let out what sounded like a hiss.
“Vasile.” He whispered the name like an accusation.
“That’s correct,” Lilly confirmed, not picking up on the rage that had begun to cloak Cypher.
Desdemona had not bothered to tell him that the woman she'd singled out to be his mate was the mother of the Alpha’s daughter in-law. This was not good.
“I don’t know anything about your daughter,” he told her truthfully. “I know who Vasile is, and I met him once, many, many years ago. How does Mona know of your daughter?”
Lilly shrugged as she stood and began to walk around the room, looking at her surroundings. “When Mona called me she was pretending to be Alina,” she glanced over her shoulder at Cypher, “Vasile’s mate. She told me that they wanted to surprise Jacque and bring me to see her here in Romania. I knew something was off, but I played along anyway.”
“Wait,” he interrupted. “What do you mean you knew something was off? You knew she possibly meant you harm and you came with her anyway?” Cypher knew his voice had taken on a rough quality, but it angered him to think that Lilly had knowingly placed herself in danger.
“I will do whatever I have to in order to protect my daughter. If that means getting on a plane because a witch pretends to be inviting me to see her, then I will fly on the damn plane if I need to.”
Cypher didn’t respond. He simply watched as she continued to look around the room. He was lost in thought, finally realizing exactly what Mona had gotten him into. He did not want to be on the bad side of an Alpha, especially not one as powerful as Vasile. Cypher himself was powerful, there was no question about that, and if it was just Vasile against him, that might be an equal battle, but add Vasile’s wolves into the mix and the scales tipped. Besides, Cypher had nothing against the wolves, he just wanted a mate. He hadn’t planned for the two to intersect.
He knew that Mona wanted him to open the veil to let out the hoard of demons and he had planned to help her do just that, but there was something deep inside him that was telling him he wouldn’t follow through. Oh, he may appear to be doing what she asked, but he could find some way to foil her plan. Now, seeing Lilly in his house, seeing such goodness left in the world, he knew he wouldn’t help Mona. If he could convince Lilly to stay with him, to maybe one day love him, he would move heaven and earth.
“It’s late,” he told her in a soft, deep voice. “Let me show you to your room so you can get some rest. I need to think.”
Lilly followed him without a word. He led her up a flight of stairs and turned right down a hall. They passed three doors until he finally stopped at one on the right. He opened the door for her and turned on the light.
“There is a bathroom inside that should have everything you need. Your bag is in here as well.” Cypher turned to leave her for the night but stopped when she placed a small hand on his large arm. He looked down at the hand on his arm and then into the whiskey-colored eyes of its owner.
“You don’t seem evil to me,” she said softly. “Why are you working with Desdemona? What could she possibly offer you that would be worth it?”
Cypher turned so that his body was flush with hers. He took a step closer and took a deep breath, taking in her delicate scent.
His eyes locked meaningfully with hers when he spoke.
“You,” he told her. “She offered me you.”
Chapter 16
“'Who am I to you?' That’s what she asked me. 'Who am I to you?' I told her ‘You are my friend, my mate, my beloved; you are all the things I need and all the things I don’t deserve. That’s who you are, Sally. You are mine.'” ~ Costin
Costin walked with Sally and Drake to the bar the next evening. Things had been tense ever since Sorin had met his met. Decebel had ordered everyone but Costin, Sally, and Drake to stay in their rooms until he said otherwise. Costin had agreed that it was best that not everyone returned to the bar, especially after what had happened. They had drawn a lot of unnecessary attention to themselves. Though unintentional, it was still not good.
“How was Sorin when you talked to him?” Sally asked.
“He’s good, just a little off-kilter.”
“I can imagine. He’s been alone a long time. I’m so glad that he found his mate. We were all rooting for him.” Sally smiled up at the night sky.
Costin and Drake both laughed.
“You were rooting for him?” Costin asked playfully.
Sally pushed him. “Shut up. We hated seeing him alone when others were finding their mates.” She looked over at Drake. “Sorry Drake, I didn’t mean to…”
Drake cut her off with a wave and a smile. “No worries, Sally,” he told her. “Mine’s out there somewhere. She’s just not ready for me yet.”
Sally smiled back and then laughed when Costin pulled her closer to him.
“Problem?” she asked him, using their bond.
“You’re smiling an awful lot at someone who isn’t me.”
Sally laughed again as they arrived at the bar and Costin pulled the door open. He walked in first and after determining it was safe for Sally, he ushered her in.
“You find that amusing?” he asked her as they continued toward the bar and Drake broke off from them, heading to the back of the room.
“It’s just weird to see you be possessive, that’s all.”
Costin’s eyes began to glow as he paused just behind the counter.
“Make no mistake, Sally. I love to have fun and can cut up with the best of them, but when it comes to you, there is nothing I am more serious about. You are mine. As long as you and everyone else remember that, then all will be fine. If anyone forgets that, if they think that because of my good nature that I will be okay with anything less than the way Decebel expects Jen to be treated, they will be making the biggest and last mistake of their lives.”
Sally stared in awe at her mate as she saw his wolf stare at her through his eyes. Costin was fun and lighthearted, but as she stared into his hazel glowing eyes, she saw that Costin was also deadly – very, very, deadly.
“Now,” he said in a totally different voice and a big grin on his face, “let’s show these fine patrons what a fantastic bartender I am.”
Sally snorted. “We really should work on your self-esteem.”
“I know, I know. I really don’t think very highly of myself.”
Sally watched Costin greet new customers, pour drinks, and occasionally make the bottles dance in his hands doing fancy bartender tricks. He would turn back and wink at her to make sure she was watching anytime he performed a nifty maneuver.
It was during one of the times when Costin was chatting amiably with a guy who had just sat down that Sally overheard a conversation going on to her left. Distinctly she caugh
t the words, pixies, spell, witch and price. She listened harder, trying to figure out exactly which order those words went in. She knew that the group that Jacque and Fane were with was supposed to be meeting the pixies.
Sally picked up a round tray that she had seen one of the few waitresses that worked here holding – whenever they felt like it, it seemed – and walked out onto the floor. She went slowly around the table where the conversation was taking place. In the guise of cleaning dirty glasses off the tables and wiping crumbs off of them, she listened.
“I’m usually hunting in the Carpathian Mountains this time of year,” the guy in a long black jacket with messy black hair said. His eyes seemed to glow slightly and something in Sally told her he was a werewolf.
“So why aren’t you there now? Why are you way down here?” the other guy asked.
“It’s like I said, the pixies are all in a tizzy. The witch has offered them something they can’t resist, apparently, because they have protection spells all over the forest. She must be desperate if she wants something badly enough to petition the pixies. You know how temperamental they can be.”
Sally realized that she had caught their attention when they stopped talking. She looked over and smiled innocently.
“Hello,” the one with the messy dark hair said. She realized that he had been speaking really fluently in English the entire time.
“What’s your name?” His eyes were kind and his tone of voice didn’t indicate that he wanted to do anything other than talk. She glanced over at Costin, who had his back to her.
“I’m Sally,” she told him.
As soon as she spoke, both of the guys froze. She herself became still.
“Is everything okay?” she asked them cautiously
“Healer,” the light-haired one whispered.
Sally’s eyes got big. She realized then that both of the men had gotten a glazed look – it almost seemed like they were in a trance.
“What did you say?” She turned so that Costin couldn’t see the guy’s faces.
“You are a healer,” the dark-haired one answered.
