"What will I do?" Mal's voice entered the kitchen before he did. He appeared from the dark hallway, his black hair twisted in braids that rested on his bare shoulders. A yawn caught him as he pulled a white T-shirt over his head.
"Kill anyone who makes the baby frown," I said. Vanessa snickered and a grin spread across Mal's lips. He kissed my cheek when he joined us at the table.
"Damn straight I will," he said as he wrapped an arm around me. His hand fell to Vanessa's knee, offering her an affectionate squeeze. Her purrs returned a moment later as if his affirmation soothed her enough to relax.
"Are either of you hungry? I can burn some food for breakfast," I said, leaning into Mal's embrace with a smile.
"Don't even think about messing up my kitchen, Nee," Xany's voice boomed as she emerged from the clinic. Caden laughed as he followed her. "And besides, I'm making pancakes for when Kat gets here."
"Chocolate chip," Vanessa said, her gaze followed Xany toward the refrigerator.
"Spoiled." Xany sighed dramatically.
Vanessa grinned and settled herself into a chair. I joined Xany by the stove and helped her cook while the guys theorized about the speed of crossbows vs. composite bows.
"You know when to flip it by watching the bubbles popping," Xany told me. I watched as she flipped a perfectly round pancake.
"That's talent right there. Mine would probably come out as squares or something."
"Nah, probably just blobs." Xany giggled and I gave her a light shove.
Mom and Adia returned to the cabin together. Adia wore civilian clothes, which had her looking even younger than usual. Blue jeans and a purple sweatshirt complimented her boot moccasins. The feather in her braided hair was the second reminder of the traditional clothing she left behind. I wondered what prompted the change. Maybe the thought of a meeting with multiple weretigers had her concerned. Or maybe Mom nudged her into blending in with mixed company.
Vanessa stirred when I return to sit beside her after setting down two giant plates of pancakes on the table. She glanced toward the hallway.
"Company's here," I announced for her.
Before she joined us, Kat's voice rang out in the strong rolling sounds of her traditional language. Vanessa turned in her seat, leaning her elbows on her knees as if expecting something. Mal grinned as if he understood. Kat exited my bedroom holding Erin's hand in hers. The strawberry-blonde kit, clad in a sweet long-sleeve white dress, seemed to struggle with the disciplined pace of Kat's stride. Erin stumbled over her feet, huffed and puffed, then tried to yank Kat forward. Kat said something to her and Erin calmed, though her little lips curled into a frown. Xany giggled under her breath and I tried not to join her.
"Say hello to everyone, Erin," Kat said, her heeled boots clicking on the wood floor. As Vanessa's maternal aunt-turned-mother, they shared similar lithe bodies and general features. Kat’s naturally blonde hair set her apart from Vanessa.
"Vinnie." Erin reached for Vanessa with her free hand.
"Say hello first," Kat instructed.
"'lo firs." Erin squealed when Kat finally let go of her hand and she raced for Vanessa. I scooted out of the way as Vanessa scooped up the rambunctious kit. Erin squeezed her around the neck and after a brief round of fidgeting, settled comfortably in Vanessa's arms.
"Well, that was quite the entrance. Hi Kat," I greeted her as did the others. "This is Adia. She's a Shaman." I gestured toward her.
"O'siyo," Adia said and Mom nudged her. "Hello."
"Well met." Kat offered Adia a polite smile before turning her attention to Vanessa.
"We got lots of breakfast foods if you're hungry," Xany said, setting a small dish down in front of Erin. Vanessa's hand slammed down on the plate a fraction of a second before Erin's little hand made a swipe for it. "Whoa." Xany jumped. "Did it break?"
Vanessa shook her head and handed the plate back to Xany. "Paper plate."
"Good idea." Xany bounced off to fetch a paper plate from the pantry.
I watched Vanessa with Erin. The reflexes needed to care for such a feral kit had me nearly gawking. I glanced at Mal only to see that his mouth hung open slightly. He looked at me and grinned as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.
"She's feral-born," Adia said, dangling between a statement and a question.
"She is," Kat answered.
Xany returned and set a paper plate with a chocolate chip pancake in front of Erin. The kit made to reach for it with both hands, her fingers bent like little talons. Vanessa gripped Erin's hands, placing one hand in the kit's lap, and allowed her to eat the pancake with her free hand. Kat settled herself in the empty seat beside Vanessa. Mal slipped his arm around my middle and tugged me to lean against him, both of us watching. Vanessa never uttered a word to Erin, though their eye contact remained at times. Anytime Erin seemed puzzled, she would look at Vanessa. They'd exchange a twitch or facial tic, and Erin would follow through. The kit tore off bites of the pancake and settled back against Vanessa, eating contently.
"Erin say 'thank you' to Xany," Kat said. Erin's gaze fell on Xany and she twitched her nose. "English say."
"I think I understood that," said Caden around a mouthful of breakfast. "We're turning into cats."
Mal's chuckle pressed his hot breath against my ear.
"Thanks you," Erin's raspy voice reminded me of Vanessa's when she was in a particularly tiger-ish mood.
"Welcome, cute kit," Xany said, grinning widely.
"How many ancients have you killed?" Adia jumped right into it and she sat down across from Kat.
"Killed two, managed five," Kat didn't hesitate to answer.
"We have her blood and Vanessa sensed voodoo magic," Caden added. "What do we need to know?"
Our attention fell on Kat. She crossed her legs, leaning back in her chair as she pondered the question. Xany set a plate down in front of her and Caden passed her a glass of milk. Kat nodded her gratitude.
"First, what time is the ancient?" Kat glanced between us. The pack remained silent. My mother's eyebrows flicked upward as her gaze fell on me.
"She's Byzantine," I said.
"She told you this?" Kat asked.
"Yeah. In the ambulance on the way to her house after I went with her." I glanced at Xany and smirked.
"Kidnapped," Xany coughed and I laughed a bit.
"The thing to know is every word she speaks to you has meaning. As…" Kat drifted off, as if searching for the appropriate word. "As a riddle."
"She did that with the hospital assault," Mal spoke up. "After we attacked her, she said it would take five and a half people to heal from it. That's how many appeared at Shawnee's hospital."
"Right. Just like that." Kat nodded. "The same is to be said of her actions."
"Everything she says and does is a riddle. Is this normal for an ancient?" I asked.
"One of her advanced age, yes. Ancients are not undead. They haven't risen from death as modern vampires have. Ancients are born just as we are. Their bloodlust is the same as ours. Our lore and creed has forbidden us from feasting on humans. Our honor code requires it. Vampires and ancients don't have these codes or rules. They're lawless save for their own masteries and fledglings. Their worship is to each other, not to a deity," Kat's prophetic language settled heavily in my heart. I hadn't looked at vampires in such a way before. Ancients, born just as we were, shouldn't that mean they're susceptible to the same things?
"Evolution changed the ancients for resiliency and survivorship. Thick skin, shadow walking, illusion of rapid movement. They're difficult to strike. And as you've described, standard weapons don't work as well. Many of them also have magic, usually stolen." Kat glanced to Ana who nodded her agreement.
"Military weapons can decimate them, but those weapons are often slow and a stealth attack is unlikely," my mother said.
"Vanessa was able to take a slice out of her when she attacked Xany," I said.
"She is unusually quick-moving." My mother nodded in Vanessa's di
rection. She seemed to be listening though continued to tend to Erin instead of responding.
"Our kind has an easier time for that reason," Kat agreed.
"How did you kill the two?" Adia asked.
"Fire. Fast moving fire slowed them down enough for us to behead them. Same tactic on both ancients, a decade apart," Kat answered. Her readiness to share information reinforced our allegiance.
"And the others that you managed?" Adia pressed.
"Totems and magical bindings worked to keep them away, or keep them chaste. With one, we entered into a contract that, twenty years later, is still honored by both parties. Not all ancients are as evil as their undead spawn. Some choose not to feed on blood and sustain a partnership with our world." Kat's gaze flickered toward my mother.
"I have met one of the latter. There was no taint, and he chose to remain recluse and feed off animals as we do," Ana said.
"Anadaya is correct. This has happened. Many of the ancients still alive choose this path. It's clear your ancient has not," said Kat.
"So everything she says and does is a hint toward what exactly?" I asked.
"Ancients, like cats, grow bored with the mundane. Her secrets are her games. They give her power. She knows that you are trying to defeat her. I assume her test is that she's offering you all the information you need in order to do so." Kat offered Erin a sip of her milk. The kit drank from the cup more delicately than she had eaten the pancake.
"Dia left you some blood," said Adia, drawing my attention to her.
"Who? Me?"
"Yes. You can test it like you know how, okay? Okay." Adia nodded and stood up. "I'm going to make talismans."
"Um… okay. I guess I could do that." I laughed a bit at her abruptness.
"Adia," my mom said, frowning in her direction. She spat out a few reprimanding Cherokee phrases, calling her rude and that she should properly thank our guests.
"Oh. Thank you for your help." Adia giggled childishly, smiling in Kat's direction. Kat offered her a pleasant nod as Adia disappeared beside the window.
"She's quite unique," said Kat.
"That's putting it lightly." Xany snickered.
"Is there anything else we should know, Kat? What have we really got on our hands here?" Caden asked, leaning forward in his seat to rest his elbows on the table.
"She has magic and you were unable to stake her. If all tactics fail, you may need to look into terms of a truce. Of course, the Pride will assist if her demise and a truce are unobtainable," said Kat.
"I miss Evelyn," Vanessa said, her chin resting on Erin's head.
"Yes, kitten. She would've been the best help." Kat stroked Vanessa's cheek.
"Were you friends?" Xany asked Vanessa.
"I liked her magic," Vanessa said, sounding a bit dreamy.
"We should just get a necromancer and be done with all of this crap," Xany said.
"Ancient's aren't undead, otherwise that would've been a good suggestion for once." Mal smirked at his sister.
My mother patted Kat's hand as her attention drifted toward the living room. A soft smile pressed her lips as she watched something unseen by the rest of us. Xany settled in Caden's lap. His brow furrowed in thought. I wondered if he was considering our options against Ileana.
"Are you all coming to dinner tonight, kitten?" Kat asked, a soft purr returning to her torso.
"No," Vanessa's curt answer had me worried.
"We were invited to dinner? Why aren't we going?" Xany perked up at the mention of Ireland.
"Of course. It's Christmas eve." Kat gawked at us as if we were from a foreign planet let alone another first-world, country.
"Wait… tonight is?" Xany stumbled into full-on freak out mode. "How did we forget? Who's supposed to keep track of days? Being a nurse is too hard, it messed up everything!"
Caden laughed at her. "Easy, precious, we'll survive."
"Ness?" I had never celebrated holidays except the years that Vanessa coerced me to visit her family while we were in college. Her mate bond gave a grand lurch when I called her name. She didn't answer me but I knew she didn't want to talk about it right now.
"If you change your mind, let me know." Kat stroked Vanessa's hair as she stood. "I best get the kit home before she dozes off."
Vanessa gave the sleepy Erin a gentle nuzzle before handing her off to Kat. Erin sat on her hip, chewing her finger as her eyes blinked slowly.
"Thank you for your help," my mother spoke for all of us.
"We'll be in touch, Kat," Caden said.
With one last caress of her daughter's cheek, Kat offered me a sad smile as she disappeared down the hall.
"I will take my leave as well. My concern for the reckless Shaman is growing." Mom smiled and leaned across Mal to kiss my cheek.
"Mom?"
"Yes, Dodi?"
"Did we ever celebrate Christmas?"
"Tla, Dodi. Such things were as far away as the moon."
"Will you come to Kat's if we go?"
"Would you like me to?"
"Yeah, I would."
"Then I will." The smile that played on her lips told me of her delight in my request. It filled me with comforting warmth as she vanished in the doorway.
***
Xany continued running around like a wild woman well into the afternoon. By lunchtime, she had batches of cookies cooling, a strawberry cheesecake settling on the counter, and trays of chocolate truffles spread out on the table. She put Caden to work icing some gingerbread people. He took a few liberties with their attire, however. Since the onslaught of tension brought on by Ileana, paying mind to the pack bonds became as integral to me as my mate bonds. Caden and Xany seemed soothed by the sudden distraction, and somehow I could tell that Caden found comfort in our present safety.
My mates and I took up residence by the fire. Mal leaned himself against the hearth, cradling me in his arms as I sat between his legs. Vanessa rested on me in the same manner. Mal placed soft kisses up and down my neck every so often as I bathed in the contentment that flooded me whenever I found myself this way. Vanessa's purrs rocked me like a lullaby.
Looks like Xany and Caden are going to Kat's, Mal's voice popped into my mind. Think she'll change her mind?
I'm not sure. I can tell she's thinking about it though. We haven't spoken like this in a while, have we?
Not on purpose. His smile pressed against my cheek. I reached back and cupped his face in my palm, turning my head slightly to kiss him.
I like it on purpose.
Me too.
As the setting sun hung low in the winter sky, Caden emerged from the hall dressed in his wolven best. Jeans, hiking boots, and a button-down shirt. His hair remained as it ever was, in a ponytail.
"Looking rather dapper there, Caden," I commented. He tugged on his collar and pretended to brush something off his shoulder.
"I try." He chuckled and drew his gaze from me to Mal. "Are you guys planning to leave the house at all?"
"Erm, nope. No plans to leave the house. That's an odd question," I said.
"We may or may not join you later in Ireland but we won't be going anywhere else," Mal added.
"Good, the repellents are in place a few miles around. Are you sure you don't want to come?" Caden glanced between Vanessa and me.
"We won't go anywhere, Caden. Besides, Adia and my mom aren't far."
"And the rest of the Sept." Mal punched Caden in the foot. "We're fine."
"Jerk." Caden laughed and aimed a kick at Mal.
"Boys, boys, knock it off. There are delicate women in the room." I swatted at both of them and they laughed. Vanessa snickered under her breath. "We'll be along if we change our minds."
"All right. All right. Don't destroy the house." Caden looked at Mal. "Don't get kidnapped." He looked at me. "Don't give birth." He grinned at Vanessa.
"Yes, Daddy," Vanessa's words rolled along a purr. Our laughter filled the room.
"Okay! I'm ready let's go!" Xany bounced into the kitch
en. "Are you sure you don't want to come, NeeNee?" she asked as she balanced trays of desserts on her arm.
"We're sure. See you later." I waved at Xany as Caden carefully bended her away beside the window.
"You two want to watch a movie?" Mal asked.
"Sounds good." I sat up as Mal did, allowing him to move out from under me. "How about you, Ness?"
"I want to watch you," she said, leaning up with a yawn.
Mal laughed as he turned off the kitchen lights and grabbed the TV remote. The fire light illuminated Vanessa, casting a gentle glow that turned her ginger hair a blazing yellow.
"Aren't you sick of watching me yet?" I smiled and kissed her cheek as we stood together.
"No." She smiled and joined Mal on the sofa.
"Looks like you two need a high quality action film to set the right mood," Mal said as he flipped through the movie queue.
"Yeah." I laughed. "Just what every girl needs. I'll make some popcorn." I searched the pantry for a few packages of the microwave kind of popcorn. It was the safest, in my hands anyway. I set the pouch in the microwave and pressed the popcorn setting. While Mal and Vanessa went back and forth about what movie to watch, I observed their interaction. They were a lot closer than they had been a few months ago, thankfully. I couldn't bear it if they were always at odds. When Caden and Xany returned in the morning, I would ask them if I could visit Sam at the hospital. I knew Hank had some of the Sept watching her, but it bothered me nonetheless. My thoughts continued to wander and I ran some of Ileana's words through my mind.
The sound of the beeping microwave returned my focus. I poured the hot buttery kernels into a bowl and toted it back to my mates with a few bottles of water. "What'd you decide?"
"He picked Transformers. How lame is that?" Vanessa pouted at me as I set everything down on the coffee table.
"Really, Mal?" I laughed. "There wasn't anything better than that?"
"What's better than robot cars? C'mon." He grinned and grabbed a handful of popcorn.
"A lot, trust me." I made to join them on the sofa but Vanessa caught me. "Hey. Are you saving this spot for someone better?"
"No," she said through a snicker. "I wasn't ready yet."
"For what?" Mal asked, laughing at both of us. "You two are complicated."
Bound (Legacy Series Book 4) Page 25
