by D. R. Rosier
Jason sighed, “I understand, they’ll be guarded, and not harmed.”
She grinned, “I understand too, it’s a less satisfying course of action, but it will also be a far more effective one. Better to leverage against future deaths.”
She added after a moment, “I’m also going to request bids to put anti-shifter wards on all our clubs, and the coven. That will prevent more deaths, at least in our buildings, because I’m sure there will be more rogues. There always are, thousands of years and they haven’t run out of them yet. Still, better dealing with rogues than a full-blown race war.”
Helen asked, “Won’t that be expensive?”
She nodded, “Probably around eight thousand a month, a thousand for each location, which is why I want a bidding war to drive that down. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if the warlock would be interested in the job.”
Helen said, “We can afford it, if it saves lives.”
She smiled, she really did have hope for Helen. They left, and by the time she’d sent a message to Damon and Kelly, the buzz from her date truly was gone. She skipped the bath, and took a shower…
Chapter Twenty-Two
Julia surrendered to the pleasure Andrew’s body was having on hers. Her back was to the wall, her legs wrapped around his waist, as he held her up in his arms, mauling her ass cheeks as he plundered her forcefully from below. The spray from the hot water felt good on the top of her breasts, and running down her body as he took her hard and fast in the shower.
She squeezed his cock hard with her sex, and slightly rolled her hips in perfect synchronization with his long hard strokes into her pleasure, but otherwise just lost herself in the euphoric waves that spread through her body from his point of penetration, from his lips on her neck, and from his hands on her ass. Her body bounced, and slid up and down the slick tiled wall with each of his powerful thrusts.
She loved him so much, and she was his, and she felt powerful in that submission. Safe, cherished, and loved, she would do anything for him. She cried out in blissful pleasure as her body was overwhelmed, and felt him follow as he exploded deeply inside her, and filled her with pulses of his essence. A feeling she loved, and lived for at times. She just wished his seed could take root, but even in that she now had hope, thanks to Katia.
She played with his hair, and looked down into his warm hazel eyes, the sweet scent of their mixed liquid pleasure, and his love, made her feel weak, and impossible strong at the same time.
“Good morning.”
He smiled, “Yes, it is.”
She felt the loss of his cock, as he pulled out, and she stood a little shakily as he lowered her toward the shower floor, but then his hands were on her, supporting her and washing her with a loving touch. It didn’t take long for her to regain her balance from the intense coupling. She grabbed his soap, and returned the favor.
When they finished the shower, they went out to the kitchen and poured a couple of cups and coffee and joined Lilith in the study.
It was a new thing her and Lilith had been trying, they were taking turns seducing him as soon as they woke up, after leaving the bed of course, so Katia and Samantha could sleep. It was deeply satisfying, and she’d never felt as sated in her forty years since she’d made the pact with Andrew.
Of course, that wouldn’t stop her from playing again later, when they took him to Gina’s bed in an hour or two.
He asked from out of nowhere, “What about the countryside. I mean, I hear about the other major cities sometimes, vampires in the city, shifters on the outskirts where there are places to run, and mages all over, but what about small towns, or simply the wild.”
She shrugged, “There are rogues, small packs, but small towns generally can’t support a full supernatural community.”
Lilith nodded, “You might find a lone mage or two in a small town, someone that wanted to get away from their larger society. Smaller towns can’t really support a coven of vampires, and they aren’t meant to roam alone.”
He frowned, “So… the dregs of supernatural society?”
She tilted her head, “Some of them would be criminals, but others are just desperate. The Fae are also a higher risk in small towns, it’s why I didn’t even consider that option, I’d have preferred death by vampire if I couldn’t hide in Seattle.”
He shook his head, “Explain that, higher risk?”
She shrugged, “The Fae can be cruel, and they have nature magic. They’d have loved to have a cat shifter to enslave and experiment on. They wouldn’t dare risk a war with a whole shifter community, but a desperate rogue and loner has no such protections.”
He said, “That sounds evil.”
She nodded, “Not really though. Fae are amoral, and believe in power. They can perform miraculous and good acts, or experiment on another being in a horrible way out of simple curiosity, and not see the difference. So yes, evil from our point of view, but it isn’t a malicious evil.”
Lilith said, “It’s also why a lot of supernatural sightings are in the back woods areas of the world. In the cities, both mages and vampires take care of suppressing any knowledge of the supernatural to the humans, the former with memory spells, and the latter with compulsion. But… a rogue shifter living outside a small town has no recourse if they’re seen, unless they kill the witnesses. That’s where a lot of the superstitions come from, werewolves, dogmen, big foot, and Wendigo. Unfortunately, it also accounts for the strange animal attack killings that are all too common, and wilderness disappearances.”
He sighed, “I guess no one goes after those rogues?”
She shrugged, “Not officially, but between the fae, and other rogues, the population outside of normal supernatural society isn’t large. Much less than one percent, and spread out over a much larger area than a city.”
Lilith added, “There are a few mages in government agencies, and if things get too bad that they make national news, it isn’t unheard of for an angel to take interest.”
He raised an eyebrow, “Angels?”
Lilith shrugged, “Normally they won’t interfere. There are a lot of rules they have to follow, but they’re charged with keeping the secret when the rest of us don’t. Don’t ask me from who, I can’t answer that.”
He smirked, “But they let us warlocks summon demons from hell, or the infernal.”
Lilith winked, “Of course. At best, they could banish me back to hell for a day. There’d be no point in it, and the worst I could do would be to banish them back to where they come from. They can’t go after you, you’re just exercising your free will as a human, and the humans you make deals with are exercising theirs. It’s a real thing, free will I mean. There are exceptions of course, but seeing that you have no inclination to reveal the supernatural world to humanity, you’re fairly safe from that sort of thing.”
He said, “But I have, I mean I told Katia, and the two women who are having my heirs.”
Lilith shrugged, “Difference of degrees, it can’t be commonly known, and they won’t tell anyone. No one would believe them without proof, and in Katia’s case she’d die before she put you in danger.”
He asked, “And our child? You said Nephilim were… outside the plan?”
Lilith said, “Our child should avoid angels, they might attack, they might not. Our child will be one of the few things in creation that can permanently destroy an angel, of either persuasion, so they’re usually met with some fear and caution.”
He nodded, “I’d wondered why we kept it hidden, apparently it’s to stop angels from kicking our ass?”
She snickered, “Pretty much, we all learn that when we’re young. Humans shouldn’t be underestimated either, they wouldn’t enjoy finding out they were surrounded by various predators all higher on the food chain than they are.”
He sighed, “There’s still a lot I don’t know about this world, isn’t there.”
She smirked, “A bit yes. You’ve only known about the supernatural world for a few weeks, and you’ve sp
ent most of your time on more important things, like learning to defend yourself with magic, and securing your legacy. You know the important things though.”
He said, “Alright, I need to get to work, before it’s Gina break time, or I’ll feel all lazy.”
She laughed, “What are you working on?” she asked curiously.
He replied, “Other types of divination. Not useful in a fight, but it might help me avoid one, or track down an enemy in the future.”
She resisted the urge to go over there and distract him, and snuggled into Lilith’s side instead. It wasn’t her cat shifter highly sexual nature either, she was fully sated. She just… really wanted to snuggle into him, almost all the time. She smiled, when Lilith kissed her hair, and put an arm around her. It wasn’t quite the same, but she loved the demoness too, and it felt nice…
Samuel was late, but he didn’t want to leave. She felt so good against him, warm silky skin, soft supple curves, and her scent was alluring. He didn’t want to leave, he’d much rather bury himself in her again.
She was also incredibly wild in bed, it was an off day for the council, and they’d spent the day fucking like rabbits, only stopping for bathroom breaks and minimal food intake. He already felt rather smitten, and hoped she felt the same, and that this wasn’t a simple fling for her, or his life was going to suck for a while. They’d also talked for hours while they snuggled naked, he did need some recovery time between rounds after all.
Needless to say, she’d said yes to his request for a second date after the council broke last night, and the date had gone very well. In fact, twenty-four hours later it was still going well. He didn’t want it to end.
“I need to go, that treaty thing is kind of important,” he said doubtfully. It didn’t seem all that important right now, not with his hands on her silky-smooth skin, and her generous breasts pushed against his side as she cuddled into him. He also enjoyed the heat between her legs against his outer thigh, as she had one of her legs entwined around his.
Sally, the fierce and sexy fire mage councilor, and constant thorn in his side, smiled, “Go ahead Samuel. Don’t think I’ll start going easy on you in council now.”
He laughed, “Never even entered my mind that you would.”
She added, “But… why don’t you come back when you’re done. I’ll cook us a real meal.”
He searched her vulnerable brown eyes, and smiled at what he saw in them, that she was as nervous as he was, and worried that he’d gotten all he’d wanted from her and would just leave, and that was far from the truth, “I’d like that, very much.”
He wasn’t sure where this would go, he hoped far, but it was way too soon to hell. Whatever did happen between them, he knew it was going to be a hell of a ride.
He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss goodbye, and then rolled out of bed. He didn’t have time for a shower, so he recited some spells in his mind to clean up and become presentable as he pulled his clothes on, and raced out to his car…
Annaliese was on her way to perhaps one of the most historic meetings that had happened in the supernatural community in Seattle, and hoped it would be a true peace. She knew nothing lasted forever, but she hoped it could last a century or two.
Despite the significance of it, she was more excited by the fact she’d be seeing Andrew again. She was dressed in a gray pencil skirt, light blue blouse, and a pair of black high heels. She’d wanted to dress sexier, but there was a time and a place.
She also had the three shifters, including the old wolf shifter alpha, completely tied down with compulsions. They could pretty much breath and blink, and that was it unless she gave them an order. It was the best way to deal with them, and turn them over to Damon.
She walked in the conference room with Jason and Helen at her side, and nodded to both Damon and Andrew. The mage high counselor wasn’t here yet.
She turned, “Go stand behind Damon, do whatever he commands you.”
The three rogues walked around the table and stood like the condemned they were.
Damon nodded, “We will see justice done on these three. I’ll take them straight to Kelly after the signing.”
She nodded, and turned to Andrew, “You were attacked as well?”
He said, “Five of them, only one survived, we already turned him over.”
She really believed they wouldn’t have stood a chance against Julia, much less Andrew and Julia, but she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t a relief to see him safe and well.
She wondered where Samuel was, and hoped he and the council hadn’t decided to pull out of their arrangement. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long, and she smiled when she picked up his scent. Apparently, the young man had been very busy today. He’d even failed to bring his guards, but she didn’t say anything.
Samuel said, “Sorry I’m late, the council has agreed to the treaty as sent out by Annaliese from our first meeting.”
She nodded, good.
“Shall we get right to it?”
No one objected, so she signed one of the hard copies and passed it clockwise as she signed the second, then the same for the third and fourth. It only took about fifteen minutes, the others verified there were no changes in the hard copy, she wasn’t offended, it was a prudent move. Still, if she had changed it, the treaty would have been toilet paper, signed or not. It would have been a foolish and counterproductive trick, and she wouldn’t have done it anyway.
When they were done, she said, “The coven wants to put up wards around our seven clubs and bars, and the coven building itself. The wards should stop anyone that is both supernatural, and has violent intent. Unfortunately, we can’t have belligerent humans getting knocked out with sleep spells. Would you both send me bids for putting in the wards, and maintaining them?”
She looked between Samuel and Andrew.
Samuel frowned, “Bids?”
She nodded, “Of course. The lowest bid will be given the work.”
She didn’t think Andrew would bid, but the threat of it might make the mages lowball their price, which was convenient. A bit sneaky maybe, but business was business after all. Fortunately, Andrew didn’t immediately beg off on the idea, which would have ruined her ploy.
She handed Damon a piece of paper, “If you say that phrase out loud, the compulsions I placed with be lifted, with the exception of one. They will be incapable of reentering the city for the rest of their lives, just in case your Kelly shows them mercy.”
Damon nodded, “Thank you, but I’m sure that isn’t necessary. Disobeying their alpha’s orders is not a light offense.”
She smiled, “Gentlemen, you know how to reach me if you need anything. We’ll talk again soon I’m sure.”
Fast meeting, but that was a good thing in her opinion. Maybe in a few years they could swing another treaty, where the shifters would be welcome in the city, and her vampires out of it. Time would tell…
Chapter Twenty-Three
Damon, Gina, and Carl headed for the wolf shifter pack mansion. None of them had any standing or authority there, but wanted to witness the justice done on the three foolish wolf shifters who couldn’t let go of their fear, anger, and hatred, their need for revenge.
Kelly already knew they were coming of course, and he had no doubt most of her pack would be present for the judgement and sentencing.
He wasn’t sure about Gina and Carl, but he intended to record it and show his own snake pack the results of foolishly becoming a rogue. It was an ugly truth, but only fearing the consequences more than hating the vampires would stop rogue and revenge inclined individuals from trying to get justice on their own. He also planned to make sure they knew that the vampires’ businesses and home would be warded soon. That might cut down further on the chance of any of his people going rogue. It would probably still happen, and those people would be dealt with harshly.
With the similar wards around the pack homes against rogue vampire attacks, any rogues from either side would be rendered impoten
t for the most part. Though, vampires and shifters could still be hunted away from their homes and businesses, but they could only do so much, absolute safety was a myth.
They pulled into the long driveway, and up to the mansion. His was bigger, but not by much, and only because of the large center courtyard hot house jungle he had in his home. He pulled over, and got out. Kelly was out front, and there were at least fifty wolf shifters around them on the grounds. Not the whole pack by far, but enough to witness and spread the word.
“Come out, and present yourself to your alpha.”
The three rogues growled but did what they were bid, he walked over behind them.
He nodded, “Kelly, they’re under compulsion, if you wish to lift it for their sentencing, here is the phrase to do so,” and he gave her the piece of paper that Annaliese had handed him.
Then he walked back over to his car, and stood by Gina and Carl as he recorded the proceedings. He might have been Head Alpha, but this was no longer really his business, it was Kelly’s show.
Kelly growled, “For disobeying my orders as alpha, you three are named rogue, and condemned to death. I’ll show mercy and make it quick, or you can fight for your lives. Choose, now.”
He was a little surprised she gave them that choice, but it was her right. He also knew if they chose a combat death, she wouldn’t show any mercy. This wasn’t about attacking the vampires, not really, the treaty hadn’t been established yet, it was because they’d disobeyed their alpha. While his position of head alpha wasn’t a dictatorship, the position of alpha was. She couldn’t allow rogues or disobedience in her pack, any more than he could in his.
The two weaker wolves chose mercy, and were put down violently and quickly. Jeremy chose to fight.
