by Ravyn Wilde
After he took the call he would see what he could make for dinner.
Since Adam had come to Eve’s home in Lupine form, he had no clothes. He would have to call someone to bring him something before they could leave the house. In the meantime, he had noted his mate’s preference for baggy sweats. He found a cut-off pair and threw them on. On him they were tight and extremely ridiculous; he had to shift his nuts several times before he didn’t feel like he was being emasculated. It wouldn’t be a pretty picture if someone were to see him dressed like this. The only thing worse would be to be seen naked by one of Eve’s relatives or friends. He wouldn’t care, but he knew most humans or non Others had a thing about nudity.
He found the videolink just before the last ring. Not bothering to request audio only he snapped, “Answer.” A male face looked at him in shock.
“Oh, holy hell! She is going to be impossible to live with after this.” The man on the screen fluttered...there was no other word for it. “Do you have her chained to the bed, ummm, that thought is just too vile. I’d rather imagine you chained to the bed. Has she finished ranting and throwing things yet? The good news is that most of the stuff she can throw is that disgusting kitschy 1990’s crap she collects. I mean, really, that stuff was called trailer trash back then. Whoever heard of collecting dashboard hula girls and one-legged plastic birds?” The man paused to catch his breath.
The advantage of this diatribe was that Adam had been able to figure out that whoever this was, he knew his mate well, he wasn’t heterosexual, and that he also knew that Adam had been intimate with her. “Who are you and what do you want?” he asked grumpily. The man was getting on his one good nerve.
“Eve. I need to talk to Eve Longtree. I’m Charles, her assistant and it’s important I speak with her immediately. Probably vital to her safety,” he added before glaring at Adam. “I don’t know you and I need to speak with Eve now.”
The man had finally gotten some sense. He had been babbling information to a strange man in Eve’s home. “Give me a minute,” Adam mumbled as he turned to go fetch his mate. She never had answered him about her last name. Longtree. Of The Longtree’s he was certain. Jacob Longtree (of course, biblical name) had been the genetic researcher that had saved his race and must have been Eve’s grandfather. She had said her mother’s name was Naomi. Naomi Longtree had uncovered several hidden species for the world. Adam winced, but none in the last decade or so.
Eve Longtree. His mate. The woman had already made her mark on the world. He should have put two and two together. Among other things, when she was still in college she had discovered the cure for Were-parvo, a debilitating disease that struck only werewolves. It was also one that most human scientists couldn’t be bothered researching. Interesting.
Eve was plucked out of bed, sheets and all, and carted down the stairs. “Adam, what are you doing?” Before her muddled brain could focus, jeez...around him her usually sharp mind seemed to be turning to mush...she was set down in front of her videolink.
Charles watched her intently from the screen. “You could have let me get dressed first,” she hissed at Adam.
“He said he had information that was vital to your safety. I didn’t want to wait for you to dress to find out what he’s yammering about.”
Eve started to comment, but Charles interrupted, “It’s serious Eve. Hunky and hairy was right to rip you out of bed. Nice look by the way, extremely well fuc—”
“Charles!” Eve spat. She could literally see Adam’s hackles rise at her assistant’s careless comments. Her assistant could be suicidal sometimes. “Get to the point.”
“Are you sure you want me to tell you while your friend is listening?” Somehow he managed to mix sarcasm with a concerned question. One that Eve had no trouble reading after the hours they’d spent together the last three months.
“Charles, this is Adam and in answer to your questions, yes...he is werewolf, yes...he is my mate, and yes...he can hear what you have to say.”
Charles sighed. “I hope he is as strong as he looks, Bella.... You are going to need a bodyguard.”
“Why Charlie? What has happened?” she asked worriedly. The man was making her crazy with anxiety.
Charles groaned and shook his head. “The worse possible scenario. Think money hungry boss, top scientist missing for two days and boss sneaking into scientist’s lab and uncovering a smidgeon of information about the new project. Think idiot boss making a ‘breakthrough’ announcement to the Sentinel’s governing counsel to generate excitement about the breakthrough and get their attention away from an investigation into his misuse of World funding.”
Eve closed her eyes. She was dead. Without some public relations spin and time to prepare, the One Racers would kill her before her next meal. Her only hope was that her boss had no clue of what she’d almost developed. “Tell me the SI made something up and had no clue what we were really working on?” she pleaded.
Adam’s eyebrows rose at the panicked tone in Eve’s voice. Up to this time, he had listened but assumed the man was being high-strung. But Eve was worried. “SI?”
“Supreme Idiot,” Eve and Charles said in tandem. Before Adam could ask about what the project entailed, Charles continued.
“No such luck, sugar. He pretty much nailed it. Except for the fact that you are not quite finished with it, he made it sound as if the serum was already developed.” Charles grimaced. “In fact, I believe his exact words were that production of the serum was underway. You can catch his commentary on the next special newscast.”
Eve looked at him, dumbfounded. Of course. Reporters. “Tell me he didn’t mention my name or yours? Tell me he took credit for the discovery himself?” she pleaded.
“Actually he did both, mentioned your name but tried to take the credit. Mine was thrown in for flavor.”
Trancelike, Eve stared at the videolink, her mind trying to process the horror of what her boss had done. Singled them all out for what would most likely be a violent and sudden death. The ridiculous part about this was that he probably had no idea what he had unleashed. Eve had joked with Charles about being on the One Racers’ hit list, but she never doubted the resources she could pull, the public relations work that would help mitigate the final outcome. Or if all else failed...the muscle she could hire until it all boiled over. Now that safety rug had been yanked out from under her. They would kill not only her, but also anyone associated with her. Eve closed her eyes to concentrate.
Adam made a move to go to his mate, he could feel her hurting and he wanted it to stop.
But Charles whispered, “Don’t! She is working out how to get through this, what needs to be done. Give her a minute.”
So Adam used his minute wisely. Keeping his eye on his mate, he reached for the earphones attached to the vid-screen and had Charles give him a quick rundown of the project Eve had been working on. What he heard took several years off his life. He started doing some plotting of his own.
Eve’s house monitor beeped. The vid-screen spilt in two, with Charles on one screen and the front of Eve’s house on the other. On her porch stood a man and a woman. Scratch that...a vampire and a woman. They didn’t look happy.
Adam rose to answer the door, glancing first at Eve. She still hadn’t moved.
The vampire’s eyes showed no shock at seeing Adam answer the door, but the human woman went ballistic. “If you have so much as touched a hair on her head, I’ll kill you!” she growled. And moved to go through him.
The vampire gently pulled her into his arms. “Jezi, dear, he has more than touched her, but I doubt he’s harmed her in any way.”
The small firebrand was Eve’s sister. Jezebel. Their parents may have been full human, but this woman was trouble, you could see it in her. Adam could believe that she never forgave, she got even and then some. He made a mental note to always use her nickname.
The vampire cradling her gently in his arms was Luke Skylord. If there was such a thing, he was king of all the Others
. “Luke,” Adam said in acknowledgement. They’d worked together for years.
“Adam. I am sure there is a fascinating story as to how you cornered Eve, knowing how she felt about Were-mates, but right now we need to speak with her on an urgent matter,” Luke said.
“I know why you’re here, Luke. Her assistant just called with the news. Eve has gone into some sort of catatonic state that Charles has warned me not to interrupt.”
“Of course not, she’s thinking. Get out of my way. I need to see my sister.”
Adam wisely moved from the doorway, letting the red-haired steamroller past him.
Luke sighed, “I have found that with all the women in the Longtree family, it is just easier to move out of their way unless it is vitally important. You might want to remember that, Adam.”
Adam followed the odd couple back into Eve’s family room. He wanted to laugh at the t-shirt the spitfire was wearing: “Vampires give the best hickies!” it proclaimed in dripping red letters across a black shirt. Cute. But he couldn’t laugh. Somehow he had to find a way out of this mess.
“Why don’t you just take her and hide her in Europe or Asia or something?” Luke questioned.
Adam shook his head, “Before I had any clue what I had gotten myself into I swore a Blood Oath not to interfere with her work. She seemed to have some sort of hang up about that. Foolishly, I wanted to reassure her.”
“Understood. With Jezi you don’t ever want to mention her appearance. God help you if you try to suggest how she dress, or say anything about what might be appropriate, or that you even like or dislike something she’s wearing.” Luke winced.
“Don’t tell me. Matthew, the short and hairy werewolf stepfather, told their mother how to dress?”
“Oh, it was never so crass as to be an outright demand. Just subtle emotional warfare that was visible even to a child.” Luke let out a pent up breath. “The good news is that he learned from his mistakes. Slowly, but he learned. He isn’t nearly the Cro-Magnon, male chauvinist pig that he used to be. Or so Naomi tells me.”
“Some day I hope to verify that for myself. What is Matthew’s last name?”
Luke grinned evilly. “Nightclan.”
Adam winced, his face showing his disgust. “Of course he is a member of a Neanderthal throwback clan. I should have guessed.”
Adam moved to Eve’s side. He couldn’t bear to see her like this. “Eve, honey.” Three people hissed at him to be quiet. Adam ignored them all. “Sweetheart,” he said as he knelt in front of her. He watched intently as her eyelids fluttered, then opened and he met her warm amber-toned gaze. “You don’t have to work through this on your own, Eve. I am in this with you,” he reassured her.
“I can’t come up with a plan, Adam. There are too many variables. My sister, Luke, my parents, my brother...Charles. I don’t know how to protect all of them!” she cried.
“Sweetheart, let Luke and me worry about protecting all of you. Right now you need to concentrate on telling me how to gather up your research. Is it all at the lab? Is there more than one copy? We need to make sure you have it, so that when you have a chance you can finish it. And that someone else doesn’t get a hold of it,” he calmly stated.
Jezi loudly interrupted, “How can you be concerned about her research at a time like this? What kind of a monster...”
“Jezi, love, hush,” Luke said firmly.
Eve blinked, and looked around the room to see her sister and Luke. “I didn’t realize you two had come over.”
Jezi rushed to her sister. “Luke heard about that jerk boss of yours making an announcement about some of your research and he felt you would be in danger. We came right over and he met us at the door.” She pointed an accusing finger at Adam. “Now he is more concerned with your research than with your safety. Who is he, Eve? What is he doing here?”
Eve looked at her sister and sighed. “It’s a long story, Jez. And one I don’t have time to go into. You are going to have to be quiet and let me hit the highlights. Adam is my mate. He’s a werewolf and he scented and marked me a few days ago.”
In order to prove her point, Eve started to drop the sleeve of her shirt when she realized she wasn’t wearing one. She was wrapped in a sheet.
“Oh, for heavens sake! You can see the marks for yourself, sis,” Eve continued, ignoring her sister’s gasp. “The secret project I have been working on is a serum.” At this she hesitated, looking first at Adam and then Luke. Both men nodded at her, giving their support. Sighing heavily, she turned back to her sister, her best friend.
The woman who was also the warm-blooded wife of a vampire and who stoically acknowledged the fact that she’d never be able to have children, when she wanted them so badly. Vampire couples weren’t allowed to adopt.
“I wanted to wait, Jezi. I didn’t want to tell you about this until I was one hundred percent sure that it would work and I haven’t finished my research. It hasn’t even been tested. I hope that the serum I’ve created will allow a Vampire male a small window of opportunity to produce viable sperm. If during this window the Vampire mates with a warm-blooded female, he could produce offspring.” Eve fell silent, waiting for her sister’s reaction.
At first a look of happiness, so unbelievable in its intensity bloomed across Jezi’s face. Then it was replaced with a look of abject horror.
“Oh. My. God,” she sputtered. “You’re not just in danger like somebody hates your guts and might try and tamper with your glide. Eve, they will kill you for this! Painfully!”
Sudden realization had her jumping to her feet. “And you did this for me. Well, Miss ‘I can fix everyone’s hurts’...take it back. I won’t have you do this and end up dead. I refuse to have a child with your blood! With your blood on my hands....Oh...you know what I mean. I am furious with you, Eve!” Then she seemed to deflate before their eyes. “Evie, they’ll kill you...”
Eve moved clumsily in her sheet to take her sister in her arms. “Look on the bright side, honey. I’m not the only one they’ll try to kill.”
Jezi closed her eyes for a moment, sighed and looked at her sister. Shaking her head she acknowledged the truth in Eve’s words, “No, anyone and everyone in your family tree and even nodding acquaintances will be marked for death.” Hugging her, she continued, “Good. Maybe they’ll get rid of your idiot boss. We need to get you packed and out of here.”
The Longtree’s didn’t waste time with worrying about things they couldn’t change. This was a time for action.
CHAPTER TEN
Much later that night Adam and Eve were getting ready for bed. For the moment Adam knew they were safe. The house was secure with a combined force of Were and Vamp protectors. A recovery team had successfully retrieved Eve’s research and supplies from her work lab. Most of the equipment and necessary paraphernalia from her very impressive home laboratory/sealed room had been packed and would be moved to his place tomorrow. Eve had been shocked when she discovered he was not only a member of the largest and most powerful clan of werewolves in the world, but their leader.
She had looked at him blankly, muttered whatever is needed indeed, and then agreed that the best bet for her and her family—and Charles’s safety—was to move them all to his home. At least for now.
His family had a large walled compound, almost a fortress. They had been the leaders of a strong werewolf clan through decades of war and unrest, but even in these ‘enlightened’ times it was necessary for them to have a stronghold to defend against the militant One Racers.
Adam’s home had the best in latest technology and an army of werewolves to protect his new wife. It had only taken his agreement to provide her a separate room for her lab, and any normalcy he could provide for her family. She had actually seemed relieved to hand over all the details of their safety to him.
And Luke and his reinforcements would provide backup and promised any support needed. After all, they had a vested interest in Eve’s latest development.
Eve looked a little pensi
ve as she came out of the bathroom. Adam quietly moved behind her to enfold her in his arms. “Now what are you worrying about?” he asked quietly.
“Ummm, nothing to do with our situation. Well, it has to do with the circumstances between you and me, not the safety issue,” Eve stated. “I know that some human mates stay...well—human when bitten. My mother is one that didn’t change. But some develop the ability to transform, become loupe-garou. I guess that since I found out you were a leader of your clan—a powerful clan—that you will be disappointed with me if I don’t become a werewolf.” Eve turned in Adam’s arms to look at him questioningly.
Adam looked at her seriously. “How do you feel about it? Do you hate the idea of transforming?”
Eve shrugged. “It won’t bother me either way. I will still be me, whether I turn hairy once in awhile or not. It is you and your family I worry about. And the fact that we could have human, not Were, children.”
Adam laughed. “You are worrying too far into the future, Eve. I can tell you that whether you turn hairy or not will never matter to me or my family. The same goes for any children we might have. Remember, Eve, you are my genetic match. More than that, I already know I love you.”
Eve’s eyes widened. “You do?’’
“Yes, love. I do.”
“Why?” she whispered.
“Your determination and love for your family that comes out in trying to make everything in their world right. Your dedication. And the weird fascination you have for anything with a pink stork on it.”
Eve laughed. “They’re flamingos! And you forgot to mention how my body drives you wild.”
“Oh, I didn’t forget that,” Adam said as he slid the butt-ugly blue robe from her shoulders. Softly he added, “And someday, you will come to love me. I have decided to make it my life’s work.”
“Short work,” she murmured, then smiled as she lifted her arms to pull him to her. Just as his mouth was about to claim hers she moaned, “I already do.”
