by J. C. Diem
“Does this mean you still love me?”
“Not even death itself could make me stop loving you,” I replied and his mouth came down on mine.
Instead of the fast and furious sex that I expected, he took his time. Trailing kisses down my throat, he teased my nipple with his tongue before closing his mouth over my breast. His fangs scraped me again, causing me to shiver. I cried out when he nipped my skin then lapped the blood away.
Smiling wickedly, he slid down my body until he lay between my legs. I began to moan from the moment his tongue touched me. I endured the torment for as long as I could then I sat up and grasped him by the hand. He allowed me to pull him up until our mouths met again. He nudged my legs apart and my entire world seemed to steady when he joined us together.
The heat that I’d craved for so long burst into life at his first thrust. Our bodies slid together and I wrapped my legs around him. I held on as best as I could as the bed rocked beneath us.
“There is no one else but you,” he whispered, meeting my eyes. “You are the only woman I’ve ever loved. You’re the only one I will ever love. You are my true mate and I love you with my entire soul.”
With that declaration, I felt something click between us as our bond was permanently and irrevocably sealed. We reached our peak together moments later and our orgasms were enhanced as we felt each other’s pleasure.
Gasping for air, Reece slumped against me when the heat finally subsided. “So that’s what it feels like,” he said at last.
“What?” I asked, trailing my hand down to the small of his back. I’d never felt so content in all my life. I wished the feeling could last forever.
“Multiple orgasms,” he said with a grin. “Women really lucked out in that department.” His grin was infectious and I smiled back at him. There were no barriers between us now and we could see deeply into each other’s minds. There would be no secrets between us ever again. We weren’t just lovers, we were bonded for life and had melded together in every conceivable way.
“Do you regret it?” he asked, picking up on that thought.
“Not even a little bit,” I replied honestly. “I’m just worried about whatever plan Fate has for us.”
“I’m glad you realize you won’t be alone in this.” He rolled off me, but cuddled me close to his side. “You’ll never be alone again.”
He’d said that before, but this time he didn’t have his mother or the unknown entity to change his mind. I went still when I finally realized who had been responsible for all of the horrible things he’d been made to do. “That bitch,” I said in a low, vehement voice.
Reece’s surprise at my rare expletive lasted for only a second before he read my thought. Then his eyes narrowed in shared anger.
Looking up at the ceiling, I directed my words at the being who was controlling us both like puppets. “Fate!” I yelled. “I want to talk to you right now!”
You don’t have to shout, a voice said in my head. I recognized it instantly. It had been the insidious voice that had told me to give Reece up and to sever my bond with him. It had also told me that I was his destiny only a short while ago. I’m right here.
You are one psychotic piece of work, I thought to her with Reece listening in. What gives you the right to mess with us like we’re chess pieces?
What gives me the right? Her tone was as cold as a grave in the heart of winter. I am Fate itself, Alexis. I have seen the births and deaths of more worlds than you can even imagine. It is my burden to protect those worlds. I will use whomever I deem best to be my soldiers to try to stop the inhabitants of these realms from perishing. I have chosen you to be my champion for your world. Do you believe that I have chosen incorrectly?
I swallowed at harshness in her tone. “I’m just an eighteen year old girl. I’m not a warrior.”
You are young, but you are worthy. You have gained many skills, even if you have not yet realized your full potential. She went silent as she allowed me to mull that over. The trials that you and Reece have faced were regrettable, but they were also necessary. Yes, it was I who convinced him to mark you and later forced him to attack you. It was I who guided his mother to take him from you and it was I who convinced you to sever your bond. I needed you to descend into despair. This has enabled you to gain the skills you require to battle your coming foes.
I was stricken at her confirmation that Reece wasn’t to blame for the pain that he’d put me through. Reading that thought, he hugged me tighter to his side. “Don’t feel guilty,” he said bleakly. “You were right. I was weak. I couldn’t stop Fate or my mother from controlling me or from hurting you.”
Boy, Fate said and she sounded amused, there are very few beings in the universe who have the ability to resist my will. You are not one of them.
“Then why don’t you just force me to do what you want me to do?” I said angrily.
Because it must be your choice, she replied. It is the one rule that I am bound by. While I can manipulate the people around you, I cannot force my warriors to do what is right or what is necessary. I can only guide them towards the correct path.
“By putting us through hell,” I muttered, remembering what Natalie Pierce had told me.
If necessary, she agreed. Have I answered your questions sufficiently? I sensed her exaggerated patience and knew that she would soon lose it.
“I have one more.” I paused and she let me continue. “What are we saving the world from? What is the danger that we’re going to face?”
That is for you to discover. With that very unhelpful message, she left. I sensed it was for good this time. She’d told me all that she could, or would, and now we were on our own.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirty-Six
Reece left me long enough to take a shower and I used my cell phone to call Mark. “Reece is alive,” I said without preamble.
“Thank God,” he breathed and I heard unshed tears of relief in his voice. “I take it you re-bonded yourself to him?”
“Yeah. It was the only thing that could have saved him.”
“You have my undying gratitude.”
“And ours!” Kala called from somewhere in the background.
“We just had a conversation with Fate and she told us it was our destiny to be together. There’s no point trying to fight it.”
“You don’t sound as if you’re too upset about it,” he said cautiously.
“I’m not. This was meant to be.”
“We’re on our way back to the base,” he said. “You can tell us everything when we get there.”
Reece joined me downstairs and we sat together on the couch. Lost in a kiss, I didn’t realize the others had arrived until Kala loudly cleared her throat. “Oh,” she said in mock surprise when we broke apart. “Did I interrupt you?”
Flynn shouldered his way past her, shaking his head He was carrying the jacket and harness that I’d discarded. Tossing my jacket over the back of the couch, he handed me the gun then leaned over and pulled us both into a hug. “Man, am I glad you two are back together. The constant angst was really starting to be a downer.”
Kala jumped over the couch then flopped down to lie across our laps. “Yeah, it was like living in a teen romance movie,” she agreed. “The forlorn looks between you were the worst.” She mimed us sending sad looks at each other and Reece pushed her onto the floor. Quick as lightning, she leaped to her feet with a snigger.
“Please excuse them,” Mark said at Lauryl’s wide eyed expression. “This is how they show their affection for each other.”
“I see,” she said in disbelief.
Zeus trotted over and clambered up onto the couch. He pressed his head against Reece’s chest, telling him silently that he was glad he was alive. Reading the Rottweiler’s mind through me, Reece stroked his ears. “Thanks, fleabag,” he said fondly.
“Coffee?” Kala asked the room at large. I sensed she needed a few moments to collect herself.
“Do you even need to
ask?” was my dry reply.
“What happened after Lexi brought me here?” Reece asked Mark.
Guiding Lauryl to the couch, our boss took a seat beside her. “Lauryl was able to destroy the golem’s body and the other two heads, since it had reverted back to stone. But she can’t banish a living golem that was created by someone else.”
“We put the head in the back of the van and brought it here,” Flynn added. “Mark’s going to take it to a secure facility somewhere near Denver.”
“It’s the same place where Viktor D’Ath is being kept,” Mark told me.
I nodded thoughtfully and Reece took my hand when he felt my emotions swell. “I’d like to talk to Viktor,” I said.
“I thought you would,” he replied with trepidation. “I’ll make arrangements for you to visit him when we transport the golem.” He left to make the call in his bedroom. When he returned a few minutes later, he picked up the mug that Kala had placed on the coffee table and drank deeply.
Lauryl waited for us to finish our drinks before she spoke. “I have reached my decision.” We all went quiet and turned to her. “I have seen for myself how dangerous your foe will become if he or she is left unchecked. Clearly, they are my enemy as well as yours. Once they have finished destroying your world, they will then begin their decimation of mine. With Fate on your side, I believe you will prevail. While I cannot affect your world directly, I have decided to bestow my blessing on you all.”
“Any assistance you can offer us will be welcome,” Mark said diplomatically. He went still when she placed her tiny hand on his cheek. His face turned red when she leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. It was chaste, but I could see that it affected him. Taking a deep breath when she pulled back, he nodded politely. “Ah, thank you, Lauryl.”
At her imperious nod, Mark stood and she gestured to Flynn. He uneasily took Mark’s place and she kissed him just as briefly and chastely. My wolf didn’t like it, but she didn’t rise when it was Reece’s turn. I tensed, expecting him to thrust her away when her lips touched his. He didn’t, but the kiss was over so quickly that it barely counted.
“Now you,” Lauryl said to Kala.
“Me?” she said in horror. “Sorry, but I’m not into girls.”
“Don’t be silly,” the faery said with a laugh. “There is nothing sexual in bestowing my blessing on you.”
With great reluctance, Kala dragged her feet over to the couch and sat next to the diminutive faery. Closing her eyes, she hunched her shoulders and suffered through the brief kiss. Opening her eyes when it was over, she scurried back to her own seat again. “That wasn’t so bad,” she mused. Flynn cut her a look and she scowled at him. “No, that doesn’t mean I’m switching teams.”
“Did I say anything?” he asked innocently.
“Your face said it,” she said crossly. Mark glowered at them both and their squabble ended before it could really begin.
Then it was my turn. I figured it was best to get it over with quickly. I took a seat beside Lauryl and her fingers came to rest on my cheek. Her touch wasn’t quite as slick and unpleasant as Kurt Jorgen’s had been, but it still made me shiver. I kept perfectly still when she leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I wasn’t hit with a thunderbolt or with some kind of revelation. I felt something shift inside me, but I had no idea what had changed.
“There,” she said. “I have done all I can. I only hope it will be enough.” Sliding to the floor, she stood. “It is time for me to return to my realm. I am sure my subjects will be missing me by now.”
“Your subjects?” Mark said in confusion as we all stood.
“Are you not aware?” she asked in surprise. “I am Laurylayne, Queen of the fae.” His face drained of color and I thought he was going to faint for a moment. Kala had the same concern and steadied him with a hand on his arm.
“You truly did not know,” Lauryl mused. “I can see now that I have made the correct decision. For a human, you are very noble indeed. If you were fae, I would make you my consort.”
His face went bright red again and he almost took a step towards her. “Easy, boss,” Kala said with a frown at the monarch. “We need you here, not off cavorting with faeries.”
Lauryl gave a tinkling laugh then motioned towards the door. “If someone would be so kind as to give me a ride, I will take my leave of you now.”
“I’ll do it,” Flynn volunteered before Mark could speak. He hurried forward and offered her his arm. With a last flirtatious glance over her shoulder at our boss, she disappeared through the door.
Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Mark fidgeted with his cuffs and searched for something to say. “I’ll be in the coms room,” he said at last then headed for the stairs.
Kala shook her head in mock sadness. “Poor guy. She had him wrapped around her tiny little finger.”
“She’s very beautiful,” Reece said with almost clinical detachment as we both took a seat on the couch again. “I can see why he was so taken with her.”
“Are you going to let him get away with complimenting another woman?” Kala asked me as she also plonked back down.
“It’s the truth,” I shrugged. “Besides, I know he isn’t attracted to her.”
“How?”
“Because we know everything each other is thinking,” he replied. “There are no secrets between us now.”
She looked almost disturbed by that. “I’m kind of glad I’m not mated to anyone then. I’m not sure I’d want them to know everything I’m thinking all the time.”
“We’re not just normal mates,” I said. “Aiden told me his grandmother had a word for bonded couples. She said they were soulmates.”
Reece smiled at that and hugged me to his side. “I like the sound of that. Our very souls are bound to each other forever.”
Kala made a sound of protest. “Excuse me while I gag at the sickeningly sweet vibe I can sense between you two.”
“Do you want us to go back to being angst ridden again?” I asked.
She tilted her head to the side to think about it. “It’s a tossup. Can’t you settle for somewhere in the middle?”
“We’ll try,” Reece shrugged. “But we can’t promise that we won’t show public signs of affection.”
“Just keep your tongues to yourselves while I’m around and I’ll be happy.”
I flushed at the reminder of being busted making out. Reece sent me a knowing look. He wasn’t at all embarrassed at being caught. Clearly, he was adjusting to our relationship far more quickly than I was.
₪₪₪
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Flynn returned less than an hour later. Mark descended the stairs and we gathered in the living room again.
“Where did you take Laurylayne?” Kala asked.
“To the woods to the west,” he replied. “She told me to find somewhere with a hill and trees. I drove around randomly until we found what she wanted. She instructed me to stay in the car then climbed out. I saw her walk across a field to the base of the hill and then she was just gone.”
“She returned to her faery realm,” Mark said in wonder. He still hadn’t quite recovered from learning she was a ruler of the fae. “We should head out. The jet will be waiting for us. We’ll stop off at our base in Denver and leave Zeus behind. I doubt they’d be happy if we brought him with us to the facility.”
I nodded and we trooped outside. The flight to Denver was uneventful and so was the two hour drive to our base. We stopped at the compound and I fed Zeus before we left then asked him to guard the base while we were gone. Resigned to being excluded, he indicated he’d perform a check on the perimeter. I didn’t like leaving him behind, but I trusted him to stay out of trouble. It was unlikely the feral dogs would be able to infiltrate the compound. Still, I’d feel better once we shifted the golem away from the base. Just having it in the van was creeping me out. Covered in a blanket, it rolled around, giving an occasional muted snarl or bark.
He looked startled for a moment then remembered speaking the name when the golem had first appeared. “Cerberus was supposedly a three headed dog that guarded the entrance to the underworld,” he replied.
“So, it’s just a creature of myth then?” Kala queried.
“I’m starting to wonder if anything that we thought was just myth and legend might be real after all,” he replied.
“What about Norse mythology?” I asked, thinking of the encounter between Thomas and the female Asgardian.
“That’s unclear,” he hedged. “There are so many stories about different gods and other deities that it’s hard to determine what is real and what is fabricated.”
I wasn’t any closer to learning the truth, but I let it go. Who knew how many of the ancient stories were based on reality?
The drive to the secure facility only took forty-five minutes rather than an hour with Reece behind the wheel. We stopped at a fence that was similar to the ones that ringed our bases, but this one was only fifteen feet high rather than thirty. The entire facility was surrounded by a dense forest.
Mark held out his ID to the camera and the gate swung open. The long driveway was flanked by trees on both sides. I half expected to see one of our bases at the end, but instead we came to a much smaller building. It had only one level and seemed far too tiny to house a secret facility.
A guard was waiting for us. He stepped outside as we parked in a lot that held a variety of vehicles. He wore a dark blue uniform without any signs of who he worked for on it. He pushed a heavy duty hydraulic handcart ahead of him. It had been designed to transport heavy cargo.
He checked our IDs before we trooped around to the back of the van. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the shapeless lump moving beneath the blanket. We were careful to keep the golem covered as we grasped hold of it and picked it up. Without our supernatural strength, we’d never have managed to lift it onto the cart.
