I thought about that a second, and then nodded, “I’ll feel my magic blocking and killing any trace of the virus as it enters our bodies, so we can probably assume it’s all dead when I stop feeling that.”
I took the doctors hand, and my other hand found Derek’s. I felt a boost of confidence, at the surety and utter faith in me that he had plainly written on his face.
I waited until we were all holding hands, then once again my magic rose within me. It was a peaceful feeling, and felt incredible as my magic filled the six others with me, as it flowed around the circle from person to person. It was a bit overwhelming, I could feel them all with my magic, and we stayed that way for almost seventeen minutes. I’d kept it up an extra minute or so, just to be sure.
“I think that will do it,” I said. My voice had come out a bit dreamy.
It was almost with regret, that I pulled my magic back.
“Monica, can you have the good doctor forget us all, and then we’ll get out of here.”
She replied, “Sure, but we still need to wait for Sherry.”
That was true enough, we were out in the middle of nowhere. It would take time for Sherry to recharge her magic after their mission was done, before she could come collect us and teleport us home.
Less than ten minutes later, we were waiting in the field we’d arrived in.
Grace said, “This feels kind of weird, are we really done? The last few days have been hell.”
I nodded, “Assuming Amber and the rest are successful, I think so. Though I want to scry one more time, maybe with a bigger map. I hate the idea the powerful one behind all the planning and organization of the demons got away.”
Diana interjected, “I guess Danielle and I can head back to campus in the morning then. We’ll need to do some serious cramming to be ready for finals.”
I grinned, “Sounds good, we’ll come get you if we need you.”
It was almost a half hour later when Sherry called, and came to get us. We sat around the table and shared stories.
Amber’s group had stopped the demons from taking over a top-secret drone control station. They managed to stop them before the demons even managed to get a drone off the ground. I was morbidly curious on what their targets would have been, but that was information we’d never know. Demons didn’t share, and they couldn’t be interrogated.
Even if we were inclined to torture them, which we weren’t, they all seemed to thrive on pain and misery, even their own. It just wouldn’t work.
We did try to scry one more time, with a larger map of the entire eastern United States. We found a handful of demons far from Charlotte, but had no way to know which one it was, if any of them. A part of me hoped to never see it again, and a part of me hoped it would come back one day and try again so we could take it down. We had a better handle on things now, next time there was a demon problem we’d all scry at once, exhaustively, to find as much information as possible and then move on it.
We’d been too reactive, and not proactive enough. We’d won every battle, and the war, but it had been fought on that demon’s terms and its strategies. Fortunately, we were more than powerful enough to meet and defeat all its plans.
Then again, perhaps it was better this way. One very powerful demon was out there now, and escaped demons were common enough and natural? What if we had gone after it proactively, instead of reacting. If we’d found and killed him, the hundred demons he’d had under his command might have scattered and ran from Charlotte at that point.
Maybe it was better this way, one powerful escapee, verse a hundred demons, and a few handfuls of slightly more powerful and magical demons running around.
Things wound down, it’d been a long day. The funeral this morning felt like weeks ago, as did the fact that I hadn’t trusted Derek very much. Was that really just this morning? I couldn’t look at him, without seeing his devotion, attraction, and joy in me. Maybe that devotion wasn’t based on love yet, but I felt it too. I’d never be alone again. The commitment of it all didn’t scare me, it thrilled me.
My mate wasn’t something that tied me down, even if it would take work, my destined mate was a reward for my service to the goddess, and my guardianship of the gateway. Whatever he’d been before didn’t matter, because now and for the rest of our lives, he was all mine.
Goddess, my knees went weak at the way he looked at me when he didn’t think I was paying attention. It made me feel sexy, strong, and incredibly vulnerable all at the same time. It was hardly one way either, I was sure he could see the stars in my eyes when I looked back.
After we were done talking things over, we broke up and headed to bed. I felt a bit giddy when I slipped between the sheets, and into his arms. I felt safe, warm, and cared for. I also felt a fierce need to protect him in return.
The kiss we shared in that moment was lingering, full of lazy passion, and I knew it wasn’t quite time to sleep yet.
It was quite a while later, before we settled down, and I snuggled into his side, completely and utterly sated, and closed my eyes to seek sleep.
~ Chapter Ten – Derek ~
I woke slowly the next morning, and drowned in the sweet and irresistible scent of my mate.
Her soft supple body felt good against mine. We’d gone to sleep with her against my side, but sometime in the night we’d started spooning. I leaned my head forward and sniffed her hair, and lightly stroked her stomach and up to her waist with my fingertips.
My heartbeat picked up, and my lower body reacted to the feel of her sexy ass against my manhood. My wolf urged me to take my pleasure, an urging I didn’t at all require. I wondered if this desire I always felt for her, outside of right after we’d sated our appetites, would ever fade.
I sure as hell hoped not, and I couldn’t imagine ever not wanting her, to please her, to hear those cute sounds of pleasure she made, or to feel the pleasure her body had on mine.
I rose up on my elbow, and looked down at her breathtakingly beautiful profile. Her breathing and heart rate were even, and her face looked relaxed and content in her sleep. I stroked her hips and waist softly with my fingertips, every touch of her silky-smooth skin, and the feeling of her slight wiggles against me in her sleep, made my body respond as I grew hard between her ass cheeks.
She was my life now, and I couldn’t imagine it, nor did I want it, any other way.
I moved back, and let her fall onto her back. She made cute sleepy sounds, but didn’t wake up as I kissed her neck softly, and started to work my way down her body. Asleep or not, her tight body responded to my ministrations, and as I worked my way over her breasts and down her stomach I could scent her arousal rising. Her heart beat sped up as well, in small increments, and mine answered in kind and matched hers.
I made it all the way down to her pelvis, before I heard a slight groan and her body arched in a full body stretch.
I kissed lower, my mouth watered at the thought of her sweet taste. I was now hard as a rock, as I anticipated taking her with my mouth, until she trembled under my tongue, and covered me in her liquid bliss.
Kimberly said breathily and sleepily, “Derek, what are…” she cut off with a light gasp, and a sigh as I teasingly licked down her labia. A deep passionate and pleased moan left my mouth as I tasted her, and gathered the light liquid arousal on the tip of my tongue. Her scent and flavor overwhelmed me.
My cock twitched almost painfully at the strength of my desire, and the sound of pleasure in her breathy sigh. I smiled when I felt her grab my hair tightly with her hands, and teasingly licked her lightly again along her silken folds.
My tongue went slowly, gently, and consistently up and down her folds, except I avoided her clit for the time being, I wanted her at a fever pitch before pushing her over the edge.
She said, “Don’t stop.”
I smiled, like I’d ever stop? Not until she begged me to stop, and even then, only if she truly meant it.
I led her slowly to the edge of the abyss, lost in her taste, her sweet sounds o
f pleasure, and the gratification that ran through me at pleasing my mate. I truly didn’t think I’d ever get enough of her taste, or the way her breath hitched, and the way her respiration rose the longer I pleasured her. The way her body arched and ground against my tongue, or the way she whispered my name like a prayer.
She said in a breathy demand, “Make me cum, I want you inside of me, now.”
I smiled, and slid a finger inside her.
She said, “Not what I meant,” but then gasped and started to tremble, as I curved my finger and found her rough spot at the same time I deliberately sucked her clit into my mouth and licked it lightly with my tongue.
Her whole body shook and bucked, and I held her down firmly as her fingers tightened in my hair and pulled me into her heat.
I moaned in pleasure, as I slowly lapped up her offering, ignoring her clit again as I claimed my reward, and let her down slowly.
She pushed my head away weakly as she came down, “Stop, fuck me,” she breathily begged.
She was ready, and very wet as I relented, I was so hard it hurt, and the relief of her hot, tight, wet sex as I slid into her slowly was pure ecstasy. Her eyes were wide with pleasure, and the intensity of our connection as our bodies joined once again.
“Good morning beautiful.”
She blushed, but at the same time her body was bold, as if it had a mind of its own. She arched and ground up into me, drawing a gasp from my lips. She was incredibly tight, and I’d never had another lover that could squeeze me as hard as she could at will. Her pelvic floor muscles were ridiculously strong. I felt like I’d been wrapped in a velvety vice, and her rocking motion milked me hard as I got lost in her eyes. When she did that, my stamina turned to shit, at least for round one.
“Good morning,” she said sultrily as she ran her hands around my chest, neck, and face.
“Mine,” I growled, and started to rock in and out of her. She was driving me crazy. Shy, and intensely sexual at the same time. I long-stroked her, firmly, but not too fast.
She gasped and started to grind up into me with every stroke I made into her. She was far from a passive participant in bed, she worked me in perfect harmony with her whole body. She was mine, my wild little sex pot.
“Yours,” she agreed with another gasping breath as she once again tumbled over the edge into an abyss of blissful rapture as she called out my name. It made me wonder if I’d said that last thought out loud.
That was about all I could handle, I’d been close to the edge just by pleasuring her with my mouth, and the feeling of her convulsing around me and squeezing me tight, and flooding me with her liquid bliss threw me over my own edge.
“Kimberly,” I grunted as my only warning, and an exhortation, before I buried myself as deep as possible, and lost control of my body as the euphoric storm wracked my body and mind.
It felt like an eternity of pleasure, but was over far too quickly as we started to come down together, our eyes locked on each other’s.
She whispered, “I liked that.”
I smiled, “Me too.”
She giggled, “I mean I like when you say my full name. I prefer Kim from everyone else. But yes, I liked that too.”
Her stomach growled, and she blushed.
“I guess round two will have to wait until later? I’m hungry too.”
She nodded, “I want to say goodbye to my younger sisters too, before they go back to college. Then I’m all yours for the rest of the day. Mostly.”
“Mostly?”
She grinned, “I need to check on our investments, and business news, but that won’t take long.”
I pulled out slowly, and then rolled and pulled her into me. She was so petite, light, and sexy. I liked this time right after sex, everything felt warm and relaxed, and I could enjoy her company and conversation without the all the lust hanging over us.
“Do you use magic at all?” I asked curiously.
She smirked, “Nope, just pay attention to the market. Well, mostly.”
I teased, “There’s that word again.”
She shrugged, “We don’t use spells, that would be personal gain and shady, but a witch’s intuition is incredibly strong and it’s not something we can turn off. It’s not very often I make a mistake. I learn all I can about the market, and then let my feelings guide me once my mind has absorbed all the knowledge. Informed intuition?”
That made sense, magic, but passive magic not in their control, it also explained how their money kept growing. They were far from greedy I thought. They had the big house to live in, but weren’t extravagant in their lives, and it enabled them to do their duty. There was no pay for being a guardian after all.
“Right, so you cheat on accident,” I teased.
Her eyes narrowed, and I started to snicker.
“Let’s shower, and get you fed.”
Her stomach rumbled again, as if at my reminder.
I added, “Then we can spend the day together, mostly.”
Her eyes narrowed at the tease, but she smiled.
The shower we took ran a little long, as she returned the favor I’d given her this morning as a wakeup call. Looking down into her eyes, and at her exotically beautiful face and full lips as she took me into her mouth was a mind-blowing experience. I was completely captivated, and couldn’t look away as she brought me to completion, and swallowed every drop. Her eyes were the most intense aspect of it, they glittered naughtily, and I could tell she was enjoying the experience every bit as much as I enjoyed going down on her.
We finished getting clean after that, and made our way down to the kitchen which was full of people, food, and conversation. There was an air of excitement in the air, we were done with the nightmare, and the future seemed full of possibilities. I knew they weren’t done mourning their parents yet, but they’d buried them and said goodbye, and in that moment the joy of what we’d accomplished temporarily overshadowed that sadness.
We took a seat at the table, and I loaded my plate with eggs and bacon, and a biscuit. Kimberly looked strangely guilty, and Sherry threw her a knowing look I couldn’t quite interpret.
Danielle said, “I suppose we’ll head back after breakfast.”
Diana nodded emphatically, with a mouthful of eggs she couldn’t talk.
I asked, “Are you sure?”
Danielle tilted her head, “Yes?”
I laughed, “You know, barring complications Adam should be home sometime today, aren’t any of you curious to stick around and meet him?”
Kimberly gave me a look, and I just shrugged in amusement. Why not? Three out of four of the single wolves in the pack had already been matched up with witches, why not my brother? The only time Adam had been present was during the ritual for them to claim their powers, and he’d been in wolf form the whole time. I had a nagging suspicion he already knew if one of the witches was his, why else would he have said I owed him one when he left yesterday, but I didn’t think the witches would know, not if they hadn’t met his human form yet.
Danielle said, “He has a point, we can hunker down in our rooms and study here just as well as we could in the dorm. We could just go back to start our finals in two days.”
Diana looked horrified by the idea, clearly she wasn’t ready for a mate, whereas Danielle seemed excited by the idea.
Diana said, “We should go back.”
Danielle rolled her eyes, “Not a chance. Even if it isn’t me, I want to be there when he and whoever it is figures it out.”
I took in the scents of the other two as well. Grace was cautiously intrigued, and a little unnerved by the idea. Monica was clearly curious, but also completely relaxed. She was usually unflappable, but I felt there was more behind it than that. I wasn’t sure what it was about, but I had a feeling that curiosity wasn’t for herself, as if she already knew he wasn’t her mate. Did that mean she’d already run across who was her mate?
I supposed that I didn’t actually care all that much, I was just a little curious, an
d enjoyed teasing the youngest pair of sisters, but in the end, it was all up to them to work out.
Kim pinched my leg, “Behave.”
I snickered…
~ Chapter Eleven – Kimberly ~
I missed him, and he’d only been gone for two minutes, which made me feel pathetic.
Kevin and Tony were gone as well, they’d gone to deal with some business things and pack more clothes. They were all going to share rooms with us, which I supposed meant I should update my… our room, to a more gender-neutral décor.
While they were gone, Amber, Sherry, and I were trying to catch up on our own coven work so we’d be free when our men got back. They’d live here, but I knew they wouldn’t be around all the time, they had jobs to do just as much as we did.
Tom, Jennifer, and Adam would be staying at the pack house, although if Adam matched up with anyone it would most likely change to just the former two. The coven and pack were definitely coming together, and I wondered what other changes that would bring for us.
It was new ground for the Taylor coven.
“I’ve been thinking.”
Amber asked, “About what?”
I said, “Our parents, and what they did, and why. I think I figured out a way to protect our children without betraying the goddess or our oaths. At least until they’re older and have come into their powers, and know how to use them to protect themselves.”
Amber raised an eyebrow, and looked a little skeptical, “What?”
“Well, we did make the pack house a magical stronghold. With the wards around the gateway, we’ll have plenty of time to move our kids to the pack house whenever we’re attacked, and even if a demon escapes, it won’t be able to harm them since they won’t be able to get back in here or in the pack house.”
Amber frowned, “I wonder why our parents didn’t think of that, it’s an obvious idea, and it wouldn’t violate our purpose.”
I shook my head sadly, I’d put thought into that too, since it seemed like such an obvious solution.
“I think our parents tolerated the pack as fellow guardians under the goddess, but I don’t think they respected the pack. Not like we do now. Now they’re family, not just wary allies. The only way this works at all is if we trust our children will be safe out of our sight, and watched over by one of the wolf shifters while we fight.”
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