by Bianca D'Arc
“And that’s just one of the things I love about you.”
“If I were a shifter, I guess I’d be a lone wolf, eh?” She tried for a joke.
Mag laughed outright and she was glad she’d managed to lighten the mood. “Honey, you’re mated to a cougar shifter. You could never been a mangy mutt.” He reached over and stroked her hair. She felt the love coming from him through their connection and in his actions. How had she ever been so blessed as to have this amazing man in her life? “And actually, I understand all about wanting to roam alone at times. Ask any of my brothers. We’ve all taken time here and there to go out and be on our own. Cats are probably the most independent of all shifters.”
“And yet your family has built up a huge community. It seems like a contradiction.”
“Sweetheart, you still don’t get it. We’re cats. We are made of contradiction.” He chuckled and she joined in, glad to have something to make them both smile after the chaos of the evening.
Chapter Ten
While Mag and Miranda played house, Cassie was plotting. She’d been having sex with Raintree off and on for years. They were well matched, she and the Master’s second-in-command. Neither trusted the other and both liked to live on the edge.
The fact that either could turn on the other at any time added spice to the sex and there was nothing like fucking and sucking at the same time. That’s why, every few months, they hooked up to have a bit of vampire nookie. Sometimes alone. Sometimes with a few humans around who liked to be subjugated. Either way, fucking Raintree was some of the hottest sex she’d ever had.
And Cassie had fucked her way through the centuries. She’d become a whore because she liked sex. A lot. In modern times, they’d probably have called her a nymphomaniac, but Cassie didn’t care. She liked sex and the power it gave her over men. Always had.
“I don’t like the way my sister,” Cassie sneered the last word, “has jumped up in the hierarchy. She doesn’t deserve it and she shouldn’t be allowed to drink from her pet shifter. It’s not right.”
“Maybe so,” Raintree said, his voice lazy after climax as he reclined in the huge bed he kept in his underground lair. “But what are you going to do about it?”
Cassie didn’t like the rhetorical question. Raintree had clearly not thought this through. There was opportunity in this adversity and Cassie was just the vampiress to take advantage—if she could round up some more highly-placed, higher-powered support. She couldn’t do this on her own, but she could definitely reap the rewards of talking some bigger, stronger vamps into doing it for her.
She finished pouring the wine and returned to the bed, handing Raintree a full glass while she sipped at her own, fondling him with her spare hand. Men were so easy to manipulate. Get a hand on their joystick and you could maneuver them into any position you wanted.
“I don’t think I’m the only one to think Tony’s gone too far this time,” she purred, stroking Raintree expertly. “I bet, with not too much convincing, we could gather more than a few supporters and replace him.” She spelled it out, sitting up and straddling Raintree. “You could replace him. You’re strong enough. Ambitious enough. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about challenging him for the role of Master.”
Raintree’s eyes narrowed as he guided her hips. He slid into her as she began a lazy movement on his cock. She let him believe he was in control, though she really held all the power. Men liked it that way and she saw no reason to shatter their little illusions. Not if it got her what she wanted.
“I’ve thought about it.” His voice was lazy with sensual overload. They’d been at it for hours already—long enough to take the edge off.
“I would pledge my loyalty to you, Aramis. So would a number of others I’ve been talking to. Not everyone is on board with Tony’s weak approach to shifters and the Others in this town. We should rule the night, and those who walk the day should tremble in fear for the time we wake. Taking a back seat to the Redstones and their pathetic Clan isn’t the way it should be. We are stronger. Smarter. We’ve always been superior to those mongrel cats and dogs. We are the masters. Not them.”
She punctuated her words with expert rolls of her hips that brought them both a great deal of pleasure. She could ride Raintree for hours. That was one of the benefits of screwing her own kind. Humans just didn’t have the staying power.
“What do you want in return for your support?” Raintree asked astutely. He knew her well enough to realize she wouldn’t stick her neck out for free. Cassandra never did anything for free. She was a whore to the heart.
“A spot on your council, and the pleasure of killing my little sister and her pet.” She wanted more of course, but that was enough to start with.
“Why not?” Raintree almost appeared to shrug, but the cunning in his eyes belied the gesture. “We’ll start tomorrow night. Gather your forces and I’ll make a few calls. We’ll meet at my club at midnight. First we’ll take out your sister and the cat, then we’ll see about Tony.”
Damn. He could be decisive when he wanted. She liked that about him. He might seem lazy and urbane, but underneath he was every bit the scrappy fighter she was.
Raintree guided her hips, moving them faster and she complied. Talk was over for now. She’d planted the seed and he would make it grow…with her guidance. She was very good at guiding men. Leading them around by the nose—or other body parts. It’s what she did best.
And when all was said and done, Cassie’s wretched little sister would learn once and for all that hell hath no fury like a whore denied her sugar daddy. Cassie would finally make the bitch pay for killing their maker.
Miranda and Mag stayed in the house he’d built in the desert for another couple of weeks without much input from the outside world. At least, Miranda didn’t interact with anyone but Mag. She slept a lot, but regained her strength at record pace with Mag feeding her senses both physically and magically. Their bond grew stronger each time they made love and with each moment they spent together, simply being.
She cherished their time together, knowing things would change sooner or later. They always did. And not usually for the better, in her experience.
Miranda spent her nights with Mag, able to stay up longer and longer until finally, she felt back to her old self. In fact, she was much stronger than she had been, and would probably grow stronger still as their relationship deepened. She knew Mag spent part of the daylight hours working remotely, able to perform his duties for the construction company via the computer and phone connections built into his state of the art home.
Their home, now. She had the Master’s blessing and that’s all she needed to accept Mag’s mate claim. She wasn’t a hundred percent sure what shifter mating entailed, but she figured at some point they’d get his family’s official blessing on their union…or not. Whatever happened, they would face it together.
Along about the end of the week, Mag came to greet her when she woke at dusk, as he usually did. Sometimes they made love. Sometimes they just cuddled. This night, he handed her a glass of wine as he sat beside her in bed, sipping from his own glass. Apparently he wanted to talk. She eyed him over the rim of her goblet with a bit of trepidation.
Unless forced to discuss more weighty matters, he’d kept all conversations to light subjects that he thought wouldn’t upset her. When she pressed him on his ability to tiptoe around the more serious things they needed to talk about, he admitted he didn’t want anything to interfere with her full recovery. Not anxiety, or any kind of worry about things that could wait until she was all better.
Now that she was better…well…she assumed now was the time to broach the tougher subjects they’d been ignoring for a while. She wasn’t really looking forward to it.
“My brother Grif is hosting a get-together at his place on Saturday night. He invited us specially and I think he wants to introduce the concept of you being the vampire liaison to some of the more highly ranked members of the Clan.”
Mirand
a was surprised by the invitation, but intrigued.
“How do you think that’s going to go over?” She frowned, thinking over the possibilities. Some of the echoes of thought she picked up from Mag’s mind mirrored her own anxiety.
“Honestly, I have no idea.” He sighed heavily, crossing his ankles. He was stretched out beside her in their bed, his back against the headboard, his jean-clad legs flowing down the length of the bed, on top of the comforter. “Matt will be the most receptive, of course. I checked, and he’ll be at the gathering. The rest of my family will probably be cautious but welcoming. Grif set up the liaison thing with Tony, after all. He’s dealt with vamps before and is open minded. I’m not sure about the other Alphas.”
“How many will be there?”
She knew the Redstone Clan as a whole was structured around a core group of Alphas of each species who represented all the shifters who came under their rule. There was a werewolf Alpha who spoke for all the wolves, a raptor Alpha, a bear Alpha, and so on. It sounded like the leaders of each group would be at this little shindig and Miranda swallowed hard, a little bit of panic rising at the thought of having to face so much potential disapproval.
“More than a few. Plus their mates, though not all of them are mated. It’s going to be a backyard barbeque with an informal Clan meeting beforehand, and probably a bit of a howl after.”
“What’s a howl, exactly?” She thought she knew, but she wanted a more detailed explanation than the images she picked up from his thoughts.
“Howls can take different forms. Sometimes they’re mate hunts. Sometimes it’s just a group of shifters taking their animal forms and running through the woods. There may or may not be some hunting involved, but nothing dangerous. Most of the time, it’s all in good fun. Especially in our Clan. Grif has made sure we have more civilized ways to handle most disputes than challenge fights and dirty tricks.” He took a sip of his wine. “We don’t have to stay for the run if you don’t want to.”
“But it sure would impress everyone if I could shapeshift into a cougar and join you.” She finished his unspoken thought, smiling when he looked affronted.
Sometimes his thoughts came to her so clearly, it was hard to resist tweaking him a bit. Of the two of them, she was much more comfortable in sharing their thoughts and looked forward to the future when they’d perfected their bond and could speak in words, mind to mind. He was more resistant, which was probably why they hadn’t yet manifested the ability.
“Can you?” He almost seemed to hold his breath in anticipation of her answer.
She tilted her head, considering. “I’m not really sure. I’ve never tried to do a cougar. I can do monsters and a very convincing baby bear, but I don’t think that would inspire the right kind of memories—especially for Slade and the priestess.” She could almost laugh about it now, but she still regretted attacking the panther shifter when he and his mate had freed her.
“Yeah, we probably don’t want to remind anybody of that night. But if you could become a sweet little female cougar, I think they’d be a little more receptive to you. Plus, I’d love it. I always dreamed of running through the forest alongside my mate, chasing her tail.”
She laughed as he leered, and right then and there she decided to try. She drained the glass of the last sips of wine and placed it on the bedside table before turning back to give him a smacking kiss. She evaded his arms when he would have drawn her in for more and bounded off the bed. He grinned when she stood before him, but she didn’t think he picked up on her plans for the next few moments until she called her magic and started to shift.
She thought of the beautiful cougar he became and pictured a feminine version of the same. Sleeker, a bit smaller, and more compact, but tawny and four-legged with a long tail. She felt herself compressing and expanding into the form of the cat in her mind and a moment later, she was looking up at the bed through cat’s eyes from a much lower position.
Experimentally, she waggled her tail in Mag’s direction and he chuckled. The look of admiration in his eyes was worth every moment of effort on her part, though truth be told, it hadn’t taxed her much at all to become the cougar. Dining on his shifter blood had made her stronger than she’d ever been, and her magic had flowed her essence into the cat’s form with very little effort.
She padded over to him and reached up with her front paws as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat on the edge. Her paws were on either side of his muscular thighs as he reached out and scratched her behind the ears. Man, oh man, that felt good.
A rumbling noise started in her chest and she realized she was purring. Mag’s eyes widened before a satisfied smile lit his face.
“You’re gorgeous, sweetheart. They’re going to love you as much as I do.”
On Saturday night, Mag was a bit more nervous than he liked. This was his family. He should be able to count on their support. Instead, he worried that they’d reject his mate—rejecting him in the process. He’d never been in such a position before, but he knew if he had to make a choice, he’d chose Miranda every time. His mate was even more important to him than his family, which was really saying something.
They dressed casually, yet he knew Miranda took extra pains with her appearance. He knew from the incredible communication they shared that she wanted to make a good impression. She didn’t want to shame him in front of his family. Catching that thought, he went over and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her hair.
“You are too good for me, Miranda.” It was a thought he had often, wondering how he’d been so blessed as to have a mate as amazing at her. Miranda was everything to him. She was the brightest light in his world.
She turned in his arms and hugged him tight. “Whatever happens tonight, we will always have each other, right?”
“Without a doubt. You know how I feel, right? My family is great and I love them, but you are the most important person in my life now, sweetheart. Nothing will come between me and my mate. Not even well-meaning but misguided family.” He sighed. “Of course, I’m probably worrying for nothing. They were pretty cool about us at that little intervention they staged.” He chuckled now at the memory. “But I guess I’m concerned about the rest of the Alphas from the Clan. Some really hate bloodletters. If they cause waves, it could be uncomfortable for us.”
“We’ll deal,” she said, pulling out of his arms. She took one last look in the mirror and turned to walk out of the bedroom with him. He put his arm around her and didn’t let go until they were out of the house and in the garage.
He kissed her soundly before opening the passenger door of his Lamborghini. He wanted to zip through the desert night tonight, opting for the fastest car he owned. Mag really liked cars. Most of the Redstone brothers did, and they had quite a collection between them, now that the company could easily support such extravagances. Each year, he bought something new with the bonus money he earned from contracts completed on-time or even early, in some cases. The harder he worked, the more money he made to play with.
They were on the highway, heading toward Clan lands when he confirmed his suspicions about exactly who was acting as escort for them tonight. He caught sight of a raptor in the air above them—and not just any raptor. This was the Alpha of the group. The biggest badass of the feathered fliers.
“Looks like we might have an unexpected ally,” he muttered as the bird allowed itself to be seen for a moment.
“The owl, you mean? He’s one of yours, right?” Miranda asked, scanning the sky out her window.
“Mine? I wouldn’t say that.” Mag had to chuckle. “He’s a shifter, but he doesn’t really answer to anyone except Grif. That owl is the Alpha of all the birds under our Clan’s banner. Not just owls. He’s the top bird of them all, and I haven’t seen him in a while. If he’s our escort tonight, that means something.”
“What exactly does it mean?” she whispered, still trying to catch another glimpse of the elusive owl that shadowed their path.
�
�I won’t know for certain until we get to the meeting, but I’m going to take it as a positive sign. Joe’s not strictly a member of the security team. Although a few of his raptors have been working for my brother Steve and helping guard our house, Joe’s been flying under the radar—until about five minutes ago.”
“Why would he show himself now?”
“Who really knows? The guy is downright inscrutable sometimes. But if he volunteered to see us to our destination safely, then I have to think maybe it’s a vote in our favor. The owls, being true night hunters, have a bit more interaction with vampires than other shifters.”
“What kind of owl is he?”
“Horny,” Mag replied, the joke something he and his brothers had often sniggered over. “Although I guess the proper name is great horned owl. But the other name fits. Our boy Joe does seem to attract the ladies.”
“So he’s unmated?”
“Yeah,” Mag answered cautiously. He didn’t get any alarming vibes through their connection, but jealousy wasn’t something that was rational. She no doubt picked up on his feelings because a second later, her hand covered his on the console between them.
“I was just wondering if he’d understand the mating imperative. If maybe that was why he might be sympathetic to us.”
“To be honest, I don’t know much about him on a personal level. I don’t interact with him much and he’s even more private than most shifters. Grif knows him best, of course. Grif knows all the Alphas that answer to him. Next to Grif, I guess Steve is probably the other one of my brothers who has close dealings with Joe because so many of his fliers take shifts in security. Having so many raptors in our Clan gives us a real advantage when it comes to the business. First, they love working at height and are super safe to have as iron workers on our tallest projects, but they also are great at covert security. They always have the high ground and most of them can pass for ordinary birds of prey, even if they are a little bigger than their wild counterparts. Joe though, he’s the biggest of them all. A human sees him in flight and they’re gonna wonder at his size. Luckily, his beast is nocturnal and very well camouflaged. Few humans will ever catch sight of him in the air at night.”
