"Please, you have to believe me. I didn't know."
I looked at the level of the sun through the plate glass window. "You have twenty minutes to get here to your shop. You show up now and swear you'll help me find kids and I'll let you live. Run away, and I will track you down and drain you of every last drop of your blood, cut your head off, and piss down the hole. Got it?"
The phone line went dead in my hands. I glanced at Nigel who grimaced at me. "You know, that whole bad words thing, you've really got a knack for it."
I laughed and crouched beside him. "I'm practiced. What can I say?"
The minutes ticked by and I waited, not really thinking Camos would show. So when his red Camaro pulled in, spitting gravel at the nineteen minute mark, I was impressed. He jumped out the door and ran in as if he'd physically run the whole way rather than drove. "I want to help. I want to make this right."
"I'll be honest, I thought I was going to have to come after you." I stared at him, then held out my hand. He went to take it and I pulled back, grabbed a knife from my back and slid it through my palm. I held the knife out to him and he sighed.
"Binding me?"
"You betcha. I'm not letting you get away from me. I don't trust you. But this will be a step toward trust."
He slid the knife through his palm and then held his hand to me once more. We clasped fingers and I whispered a single word. "Bound."
A tiny fission of energy rolled from him to me, and back again. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "What are you? I thought you were a Tracker but they can’t bind like this."
"I was a Tracker, but that part of my life is over now. I'm a Huntress. Things change, times change, and I changed with them." No shame came with the words. "I'm going home. I need to see my family. We start searching for the other elemental half breed kids as soon as we can."
He nodded. "Do you want me to do something now?"
"Scour your contacts. See what you can drum up. We'll go from there. If you find kids on the street . . ." I gave him a wry grin. "Bring them to me. Apparently that's something that won't change."
The words couldn't be truer. When Nigel and I arrived at Liam's house, Belinda and Levi waited in a truck outside. I closed my eyes. Damn. So much for them hanging onto each other and making it through life together.
Belinda got out first. "You said there are bad people out there. That you're trying to make things right." She glanced at Levi then back at me. "We want to help. We want to be the difference you need to change the world. If you’re right and we have power, we want it to be for good."
I nodded, then grabbed her into a hug. "Come on, come meet the rest of the crew."
I led the way to the door, new pack members in tow. I couldn't help snorting to myself. Alex would have been in his glory. More people meant more fun, more love, more laughter.
Liam’s eyes widened when we walked in. “Rylee?”
I made introductions all around and settled Levi and Belinda into Pamela’s room. It wasn’t big but it would do. I pretty much gave them the bum rush. Nigel stretched out on the couch, Liam glanced at him and I shook my head. “No, we need to talk first. Everything else can wait.”
I led the way to our bedroom and shut the door behind me.
Liam frowned, concern etching his face. I held up a hand. “First, how are the babies?”
“Don’t you want to see them?”
“Yes. In about an hour. After we are done with our conversation.”
He frowned harder, the lines of concern deepening in his face. “They’re fine. The triplets are still quieter than usual but Louisa didn’t seem concerned. She said she would get back to me after doing some research, but she saw no reason to be worried. Probably just a growth spurt.”
I nodded. “Marcella and Zane?”
“Happy as clams. Zane is cutting another tooth so he’s shitting like a goose which has given him a bit of a rash.” He shook his head. “What the hell is going on, Rylee?”
Now or never, there was no going back. Either I trusted myself or I didn’t.
I launched myself at him, tackling him to the bed. My lips were on his faster than he could react and then he caught on. His hands worked to strip my clothes from me as I did the same to him. Six months, six months of no touch, no sex, very little anything and before that another six months while I’d been away in Tian Shan and Liam had been dead. A full year since our last time together.
I had never had a case of lust so bad in my whole life.
The material shredded under our combined strength of Guardian and daywalking vampire, tearing from our bodies as though there was no other way.
It was as if a dam had burst and we couldn’t go slow. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered between kisses, between running my hands over his body, of learning it for the first time. The last time I’d been with him, he’d been in his own body. This was the first time we’d make love while he was in Faris’s body.
To say it made the moment all that more intense was an understatement. Somehow it was making love to someone new and exciting, yet with the intensity of a love that knew no bounds, a love that had defied death twice so that we could stay together.
He nipped at my earlobe and I moaned, unable to stop the sound from escaping me. A chuckle slid through him as he caressed my body, his hands sliding down between us.
“I missed you,” he breathed into my ear as he stroked me.
I leaned into him, knowing he didn’t just mean the last few days. “I won’t ever leave again.”
He smiled against my lips. “You will, but not because you are afraid of this, of us.”
The pressure grew, and he slid into me, his body as hard as rock, his hands tangled with mine above our heads as he pinned me down.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, gripped him to me. Our eyes locked, and it didn’t matter that his were blue and mine no longer swirled with three colors. Our souls knew each other, and together we were home.
He kissed me, so soft and tender that I thought my heart would burst with the love between us. There were no more words needed. No more apologies, no more secrets.
Our hips rocked in tandem, finding that perfect place until the headboard began to bang against the wall. “Don’t, you’ll wake the babies!” I giggled, unable to stop the laughter.
“I can fix that.” Holding me tightly, he spun our bodies parallel to the headboard. He picked up the speed once more until I was biting my lip to keep from crying out.
“Better?” he asked, blue eyes all innocent.
“Better.” I arched my back, pressing myself to him. He slung an arm around my lower back and held me off the bed, and in moments we climbed the peaks of passion together, riding the crest of the wave and crashing down on the other side. I lay in his arms, my heart beating wildly.
“Liam, I need to feed,” I said.
He lay there. “Give me a minute.” Of course, he thought I meant for him to use the IV. I crawled up his body, kissing my way across his chest and stopping at his neck. I flicked my eyes so I could see his. He gave me a grin, blue eyes sparkling. “Oh yeah.”
I blushed, which only made him smile wider. He’d been on both sides of a vampire bite, he knew what was coming, the pleasure that the saliva gave was second to none. And here we were, still wrapped around each other. I sunk my teeth into his neck and took a long pull. His hands gripped my ass and he slid back into me, already hard again. Between the bite, the pheromones, the heat in our bodies, and the love in our hearts, it was all too much.
Epic.
Tears slid down my cheeks as I peaked for the second time. Liam brushed them away and rolled over so we faced one another. “Welcome home, Rylee.”
I smiled up at him and ran a hand through his hair and down the back of his neck. “That’s Huntress to you.”
He nodded, all serious. “It suits you, who you are. Maybe who you’ve always been under that Tracker veneer.”
I kissed him with a smile and slid out of bed. Even though it was late and there
was a chance I’d wake them I just wanted to see the babies. To touch their soft little heads. They had no idea why I’d gone but I needed to tell them I was back for good. That the fear wouldn’t drive me away again.
I put on some clothes and crept from our room and down the hall.
The nursery was quiet with soft breathing and tiny snores. I touched each of them. “I won’t ever leave again. Not like this. Not like this,” I whispered, my heart overflowing. This was my family and the fear that had ridden me was gone, washed away in the balance I’d so badly needed.
Balance I’d only been able to find by searching out who I was and acknowledging both the good and bad that came with it.
Closing the door behind me, I crept back to our room and crawled into bed.
I laid my head on Liam’s chest as his arms wrapped around me, and I fell asleep. Safe in his arms. Home. At peace.
The next day, I took Belinda and Levi to get clothes and stuff from their house, and groceries for our growing brood. I’d brought Marcella and Zane with me since the triplets were still under the weather, sleeping later than usual. I’d put the three ogre babies down for an early nap before we’d left, and they’d immediately crashed.
We got back in a matter of hours at the most. Arms loaded with babies and grocery bags we approached the door. “We’ll check on Eve once we get all this put away. Maybe we can camp at the farm tonight?”
“That would be awesome,” Levi said. “There’s really a dragon out there too?”
I laughed and opened the door. “Yes, there is really a dragon out there too.”
The silence of the house struck me like a bolt through the heart. This time of day, the three boys should have been up from their nap and playing loudly. But there was barely a peep. I listened hard for the heartbeats and my own nearly faltered. They were there, but were so weak, fading, as though they were counting down. I ran through the house with Marcella and Zane in my arms. Belinda and Levi were right on my heels. I burst into the nursery, the smell of sickness wafting over me in a cloud. Liam spun, crouched and ready to attack before he registered it was me.
He held a hand out to me and I hurried forward. The three ogre babies were lying side by side, so still, so quiet.
"What happened? We were only gone for a few hours!"
"Louisa called, and it was like what she told me set them off. There is nothing she can do. Ogres are like other animals where the mother's milk is essential to life. They can live a little while, but rarely make it past the six-month mark before they begin to fade. Rylee, they are dying."
A cry escaped me. I handed Ella and Zane to Liam, and then scooped up Bam first, holding him to me. "No, no. I won't believe we saved them only to watch them die." I picked up each ogre boy, holding them close, begging them to open their eyes. Kav was the last and I kissed his forehead. "Baby boy, wake up for mama."
His eyes blinked open once, solemn and serious as his father's before they closed once more, a sigh shuddering out of him. I waited, my own breath held as the seconds passed. Finally he drew a breath, but it was weak and slid from him quickly.
I reluctantly put him down. "Liam. They aren't the last like we thought. There's a tribe of ogres that haunt Seattle."
He grabbed me by both arms. "Are you sure?"
I reached up and put my hands over his. "Yes, they attacked us. Kerry Park in Seattle is their home ground, but Liam, you can’t go alone, there are too many. Even for you." I’d been planning to fill him in on everything, just hadn’t been time yet.
He reeled back. "You stay here. I'll bring the ogres to help and I’ll find back up on my way. There has to be at least one nursing mother. Or a female ogre that can . . .Louisa said as long as it was an ogre, she had herbs that could get the milk going."
"Go," I pushed him, "go."
He kissed me quickly and then was gone to our room in a flash.
I could hear him packing weapons, but no clothes. Of course not, this was no vacation he was going on. He jogged past me, his blue eyes hard with determination, he loved the babies as much as I did. The door closed behind him. I didn’t know how he was going to manage it, but I trusted him to make it happen. To make it to Seattle and back in time with the help the triplets desperately needed.
I checked on Marcella and Zane. Zane curled into me, crying softly. "Baby sick." He pointed at his friends. I placed him in the crib with the boys and he lay down so he could touch each of them. I'd never seen him so quiet, so not himself. Marcella clung to me. Nigel, who’d slept hidden away in Pamela’s room since he’d arrived, let out a choking noise.
"Who is that?"
"My daughter, Marcella."
“Goddess of war," he whispered. "The little warrior."
I turned and looked at him, realizing what he was saying. I crouched for him to see her and she immediately reached for him, grasping his ears. She looked him right in the eyes and babbled something. He closed his eyes and leaned into her. I put her on the floor, knowing she was safe. Knowing how hard he would fight for her. Right now the triplets needed everything we could give them.
I drew in a breath. "Belinda, I want you to get some blankets warmed up. We need to hold these babies tightly until Liam gets back, to keep them warm." I went to the closet and began pulling out blankets, knowing without knowing why that holding them, keeping them close to my skin to any skin would stave off death longer than any other remedy.
I made Levi take off his shirt despite his blushing. I handed him Kav, and the blue baby snuggled into him. "Go to the living room with him." In short order, I had Belinda on the couch holding Bam and Rut against her skin. They snuggled into her, soft coos escaping them. A good sign. I hoped.
Marcella and Zane were next. I put one on each of my hips and brought them to the living room where I could keep an eye on them. "Nigel—"
"You don't even have to ask. I am here." He lay down between the two that were siblings, but not. I ran to the kitchen and picked up the phone. We needed all the help we could get. I dialed the number from memory.
"Rylee?"
"Doran, the triplets are dying . . . Liam is gone to find a nursing mother . . . but I need help."
"You know I will come. Family first, Rylee. I'll come through the castle and be there as fast as I can." He hung up and I called my grandparents. Newly discovered, I was still getting used to the idea of them being in my life. My grandfather, John picked up the phone. "Ry?"
"The babies are sick. I need your help."
There was no hesitation "On our way."
I stood in the kitchen for a single breath and then went back to the living room. I stripped off my top, much to the still furiously blushing Levi's chagrin, then took Kav from him. "Play with Ella and Zane, Levi. Help them laugh, help them not be afraid."
Belinda nodded. “He’s good at that.” Of course, he was. He’d done the same for her.
Kav clutched at me, his hands digging into my flesh. I rubbed his back and paced the floor, a prayer slipping past my lips as I pressed them to his cool cheek. "Hurry, Liam . . . hurry."
Can’t wait for the second book in The Rylee Adamson Epilogues? Did you like Ivan the cabbie Rylee met in Seattle? He’s doing a cameo from the Blood Borne Series I wrote with Denise Grover Swank. Ivan is a wildly fun character you meet in the second book. The first two books are available in that trilogy, so go on and check them out (links are just a few pages after this).
You know you want to!
NEWSLETTER
For a list of all of Shannon’s other novels along with purchase links, see the NEXT page in this book.
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ALSO BY SHANNON MAYER
THE RYLEE ADAMSON NOVELS
Priceless (Book 1)
Immune (Book 2)
Raising Innocence (Book 3)
Shadowed Threads (Book 4)
Blind Salvage (Book 5)
&nbs
p; Tracker (Book 6)
Veiled Threat (Book 7)
Wounded (Book 8)
Rising Darkness (Book 9)
Blood of the Lost (Book 10)
Alex (A Short Story)
Tracking Magic (A Novella 0.25)
Elementally Priceless (A Novella 0.5)
Guardian (A Novella 6.5)
Stitched (A Novella 8.5)
THE ELEMENTAL SERIES
Recurve (Book 1)
Breakwater (Book 2)
Firestorm (Book 3)
Windburn (Book 4)
Rootbound (Book 5)
THE BLOOD BORNE SERIES
Recombinant (Book 1)
Replica (Book 2)
THE NEVERMORE TRILOGY
The Nevermore Trilogy
Sundered (Book 1)
Bound (Book 2)
Dauntless (Book 3)
A CELTIC LEGACY
A Celtic Legacy Trilogy
Dark Waters (Book 1)
Dark Isle (Book 2)
Dark Fae (Book 3)
THE RISK SERIES (Written as S.J. Mayer)
High Risk Love (The Risk Series, Book 1)
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCES (Written as S.J. Mayer)
Of The Heart
AUTHORS NOTE
Thanks for reading “RYLEE (The Rylee Adamson Epilogues, Book 1)”. I truly hope you enjoyed this glimpse into Rylee and the gang’s lives after the Final Battle. I heard you when you asked for more Rylee, and the characters ended up having more to say as well. If you loved this book, one of the best things you can do is leave a review for it. Amazon is where I sell the majority of my work, so if I can only ask for one place for reviews that would be it it – but feel free to spread the word on all retailers.
Again, thank you for coming on this ride with me, I hope we’ll take many more together. The rest of The Rylee Adamson Novels, along with my other novels, are available in both ebook and paperback format on all major retailers. You will find purchase links on my website at www.shannonmayer.com.
RYLEE (The Rylee Adamson Epilogues, Book 1) Page 15
