"Believe me, Wallace, Marcus wants what I've got. Please stay out of my way. I'd hate for you to get hurt.” The crackling stopped, and the intercom died. Maybe I could have gone about this in a better way, but it was too late for regrets now. Everything was almost over. I just had to make the drop off, and I would finally have the closure that almost cost me my life.
I trained my ears on the hallways beyond the doors and heard the thunder of footsteps as the guards ran to take up position outside. Despite the numerous clicks that signaled the presence of weapons, I didn't want anyone harmed. I had worked with these people for years. They were good people, and they were only doing their jobs. Time to see if I could perform the same trick twice.
I focused on the energy within, searching for the part that was Irulan’s, and drew from that. I gathered everything that was hers and focused it in the palm of my hand much easier than I had in the FaeLands. The moment the doors slid open, I threw it ahead of me, praying that it formed the shield I had seen her create so many times.
Forcing the group back into the walls with the shield cleared the wide hallway for me to pass. “Sorry, fellas, it's nothing personal," I said as I walked by. I paused long enough to break off the bit of energy, leaving the men frozen in place. Oh yeah, I thought, I'm gonna have some fun with this when I see my brothers.
I made it to Marcus' office without any more incidents. When I walked through the door, he was standing with both arms folded across his chest, and he was sporting a look hard enough to cut stone. "I thought I made myself clear five days ago that you were no longer allowed in this building."
I shrugged a shoulder. "Well...I was never one for rules. You know that.” He raised a finger in protest but I quickly cut him off by hauling Tristan from behind my back and tossing him onto a nearby couch. "Just wanted to drop him off. Now you can call off the hunt and save the taxpayers the cost of all the overtime."
Marcus jumped back as a low growl escaped his lips at the sight of the man who had caused us so much trouble. "I don't understand. We’ve had hundreds of Sentinels out searching night and day for weeks now. A few days out of the hospital after he almost killed you and you come waltzing in here, dragging him along like a harmless pup."
The Sentinels had quietly gathered at his door, so he motioned for them to come inside. "Take him to a warded cell and get someone from the Arcane Arts Division to add extra protection.” He looked down at Tristan and ran a hand through his hair. "Lock him down with mahogany spikes embedded into the skin just above his heart, but not deep enough to make contact. He needs to be alive when the VC gets here."
I didn't bother telling him that Tristan was harmless now. They'd figure it out on their own…eventually. Once the room was clear, he rounded on me and began bombarding me with questions. Where did I find him? How did I take him down? Why this? How that...I shrugged my shoulders at every single question.
Marcus was so infuriated at my refusal to answer his questions, that I could see his wolf rolling beneath his skin begging to come out and put me in my place. "Damn it, Valeria, when I ask a question, I expect an answer!" He roared as his energy pushed against me.
"I'm not a Sentinel for you to boss around anymore, Marcus, and I'm not one of your wolves.” I let my own power build inside me until it pushed back at the power of the Alpha before me. It was no contest. Marcus looked completely stunned before he reined his energy in and gazed at me with an almost sad expression. After a few moments of thought, he held out his hand. We clasped each other around the elbow and shook, his way of acknowledging me as an equal. "I've never left a hunt without catching my mark. I wasn't going to let something as small as losing my job stop me."
Marcus sighed and took a few steps away from me, "For what it's worth, Trumaine...I didn't expect you to. I knew you'd end this one way or another.” He took a seat at his desk. "I don't have anything against you, Valley Girl, but don't come here again unless we call. I can't let you cost me my job."
I nodded and turned to leave, "See you around, Marcus.” I pulled the door shut and stood there fighting to contain my composure before anyone saw me with tears in my eyes. For so long, Marcus and the CMS had been such a huge part of my life that. I wasn't sure what I was going to do now without my job to give me a purpose.
The sound of footsteps pulled me out of my stupor. I flashed the entire way out of the building and to my car. Just as I was about to open the door, Priest came barreling out of the building. "Wait up, Trumaine. I need to talk with you.” I hadn't seen him since Charleston when Irulan and he went running off into the night to save those kids. So much had happened since then. I'd changed in ways that my mind was having a hard time believing.
The bear hug Priest gave me caught me completely off guard. He crushed me so tight against him I could swear I heard a rib break. He spun me around in a few circles before finally putting me down. "When I saw them carry you out on that stretcher, I thought you were dead.”
I ran my hands down the length of my body with a smile on my face and began wiggling my fingers. "Nope, sorry to disappoint. I've even got all ten fingers and ten toes attached."
Priest frowned and looked completely blind-sided by my statement. "You still don't get it, do you? They didn't send me to stop you from killing Meriwether. I was sent to make sure you didn't get all nostalgic and spare the mother-fucker."
This time, I was blind-sided. "Wha...huh...what are you talking about, Jacob?” If they sent him, then Eric and Thomas were the ones that did the sending, and it didn't make sense for them to want their progeny dead.
Priest pulled a letter from his back pocket and passed it to me. "Read it for yourself. The young master became too much of an embarrassment for the family, but they couldn't bring themselves to put him down, so they used you to do it."
I read the letter written in Thomas' handwriting confirming everything Priest just said. As I read, Priest ran over, bought a Charlotte Observer from a vending machine, and brought it back so I could see the front page. A picture of both elder Meriwethers was staring back at me. The headline read, ’Family Mourns the Pending Loss of Son, but Condones the CMS's Actions for the Good of the Public'.
Priest tucked the paper under his arm and shielded his eyes as he looked up at the first few rays of sunlight peeking over the horizon. "Thomas' wife is pregnant. They're hoping for a boy, but if not, they've got plenty of girls to fill Tristan's shoes as heir apparent.”
“Well, Daddy,” I thought, “looks like they just played the player.” My father's going to have to wait a little while longer before he's going to be able to unseat Thomas.
"That's harsh, even for the Meriwethers,” I said before I slapped Priest across the arm. "You could have told me, would have saved us a lot of trouble."
He shrugged and shot me a sloppy smile, "I couldn't, I was ordered not to.” He dropped his head and paused before looking up at me. "I know you got canned, and I know I haven't exactly been the nicest of guys to you, but you're a good Sentinel and I'm gonna miss working with you.”
He held out his hand, but I pushed it aside and stepped forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. "You're not a total asshole yourself, Jacob Priest."
Priest leaned into me and took a long breath, "For old times’ sake," he said, right before his face froze. "Well, I'll be damned. I see the rumors are true. You've taken Sexy Red as your mate."
I laughed and nodded, "Yes, that's just one of the things I did when I was in the FaeLands, but it's the best one."
Priest nodded and opened my door for me. "Well you'd best get going before your new wife has a fit because you're not home yet. I need to get on the phone with Master Thomas and try to explain to him why his son is still alive."
We both laughed and shook our heads. "You know," I said. "It sounds even more fucked up when you say it aloud."
Priest laughed, "I know, right.” He stood in the door as long as the sun allowed, and watched me drive away.
I was heading home on Tryon Street frowning
at my reflection in the rearview mirror. I was sporting a few bruises that would have healed by now before my change. My phone began belting out the latest SWV song. I ran a finger across the face, to answer the call, "It's me, baby, talk."
Irulan huffed, "We have so got to work on your manners. There's no way I'm taking you anywhere important until you get some proper home-training.” I held the phone away from my mouth and did my best imitation of a snorting pig. She was not amused. "That's down right disgusting, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, well, now all the bad habits start to show themselves. Now's the time to back out before things get too deep." I said playfully.
"I think we passed 'too deep' a while ago, hon," she said. "I was just calling to make sure you were on the way home."
Some things never change. That's a good thing. "Yeah, Ma. I'm three minutes away, see you in....” The line went dead. Looks as if we were going to be in that etiquette class together. I pulled into the back of our building and slid my car next to Irulan’s. As I opened my door to get out, an incredible feeling of déjà vu washed over me. I stopped short of the stairs, and sent my aura ahead of me. I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt no one but David and Irulan.
Did I mention that David, the teenage vamp who helped rescue the children from the warehouse in Charleston is living with us now? I skipped up the stairs, shedding my boots along the way, as I went in search of the two. I found David in the spare room rearranging furniture. "Hey kiddo, how're you liking the room?"
David dropped the mattress in his hands, flashed to my side, and planted a quick kiss on my cheek. "Thanks for everything, Val. I'd be dead if it weren't for you.” I smiled and wrestled with the conflicting emotions the kiss invoked. Never once had I thought about what my life would be like with a child. Even though he was a teenager, David's presence in my life was jump-starting the maternal instinct inside of me. Although it felt natural to me, it also scared the shit out of me. David's addition to our household meant that we were responsible for the type of man he would grow into over the long years to come. It was daunting, to say the least.
I enveloped him in a quick hug and returned the kiss. "Let me know if you need anything else. I want you to be happy. Remember if this room isn‘t big enough we‘ve got the entire top floor to work with.” He nodded and went back to his work.
I bypassed Irulan's bedroom and went to my own, knowing she'd be there waiting for me. I pushed the door open a hair and peeked inside. Sure enough, draped across the bed and watching TV was Irulan.
As I stood watching her, I couldn't help but smile. She looked so innocent and unassuming lying there, when she was anything but. I had learned more about her the past few weeks than I had the entire time I'd known her. For one, she was a lot faster and stronger than she let on. Watching her lying there sparked the mischievous streak in me.
In a stroke of what I considered pure genius, I decided to flash into the room, pounce on her, and initiate a wrestling match. Now that I knew she possibly matched me in strength and speed, I had to find out just how close we were. I moved so fast through the room that it was impossible to track me by eyesight alone. My feet barely made a sound as I moved across the carpet. I was right on her, and prepared to jump onto the bed, when she reached out and caught my shirt at the last possible second. She used my momentum to throw me over the bed effortlessly and into the mess that was my closet.
If I weren't so damn surprised, I might have been embarrassed, but the only feeling I could muster was one of disgust at the dirty socks that were under my head. As I lay upside down in a pile of clothing and listened to her throaty laugh herald her victory, I couldn't help but feel a rush of pride.
All that strength wrapped up inside such a beautiful package. She was capable of so much, and she was mine. Irulan hopped off the bed and sauntering over to the closet offered me a hand. "Care to try that again, Val? Next time, maybe a little more effort.” I took her outstretched palm and jerked her down on top of me.
"Not necessarily that, but I can think of a few things I'd like to try again.” I wiggled and squirmed in an effort to set myself right beside Irulan. Her body shook with laughter as I clumsily struggled to maneuver my way on top of her. When I was finally right side up, I thumped her on the nose and planted a quick peck on her. "You don't have to laugh at me."
She returned my kiss amidst a fit of giggles. "And you didn't have to jump me as if your name were Kung-Fu-Joe. See, that's why I never told you how strong or fast I really was. I knew you wouldn't be able to help yourself."
She looked into my eyes with such intensity it made me feel as if I were the center of her universe. I felt like all the shit that we had been through in our lives was in preparation for us. Heartbreaks, victories, and tragedies had shaped and formed us so we'd be ready for each other. She was the other half of me, and I, her.
"What, baby?” She asked as she looked up to see the serious expression I was wearing.
"Nothing, love, just counting my many blessings, that's all."
EPILOGUE
I shot a quick glance at the clock on the wall. It read 6:15 pm. If I had a job to go to I'd get up, but seeing as how I didn't, I yawned and burrowed farther into the covers trying to get closer to Irulan. She moved her arm so I could rest my head on it and I draped my own across her side. Jesus, she smelled so good. I couldn't think of anything better than waking up next to her first thing at night.
In the last month and a half, my life had taken so many twists and turns, pointing me in directions I'd never thought I'd be taking, but this was one I would be eternally grateful for.
Irulan reached over with her free hands and ran a finger across my lips. Her wrist being so close to my mouth caused my teeth to drop. My stomach rumbled at the act, anticipating a feeding. Irulan's face took on a faraway expression all of a sudden and I had to snap my fingers to get her attention.
"Hey, what's wrong," I asked, "Where did you go just now, baby?” I pulled myself up to rest on my elbow, so I could look directly into her eyes. Irulan shook her head and mumbled that it was nothing, but I could see that there was something in her eyes. After a lot of coaxing, consisting of little bites here and kisses here and there, she finally relented in a fit of laughter.
"I realize that asking you to refrain from any type of contact with anyone else is unrealistic, Valeria, but I don't think I can handle you sleeping with anyone else while you're feeding," she admitted in one long breath. My heart melted. I could hear the insecurity in her voice, and it was so out of place. Irulan was one of the strongest women I know. I was determined to live up to the honor of having her love.
See, what many people don't realize is when you truly love someone and give yourself over to that love, you give that person power over you. That's why trust is so important in a relationship. I see that now, more clearly than I ever have in my life. I loved this woman in ways I never thought were possible. I flipped over so that I straddled her hips and leaned down to plant a not so chaste kiss on her lips.
"I don't think you're going to have to worry about me wanting anyone but you for a long time to come, baby. We're mated remember. I don't see anyone but you. Anyone I feed from will be the equivalent of cattle in my eyes. “Don't even ask,” I thought as I went in for another kiss and opened the door to my power. “Cow's blood tastes like shit. I couldn't live like that.”
The heat of the kiss intensified, and the cache of energy expanded until it rolled out of me. It thundered through the air, and filled the entire house with energy. As I rolled off her, both of us were breathless, "See, I'm too dangerous to sleep with anyone else but you, Irulan, as if I'd even want to."
This time I pulled her into my arms trying to make her see that her place in my life was as secure as my hold was. She jabbed me playfully in my side before letting her weight rest on me. "You could have just told me. Showing me probably just cost us every piece of electronics in the house. That's three times, Valeria."
I stifled a laugh and wre
stled her on top of me, running my hand up her tank top to take her left breast in my hand, "Let's see if we can knock out the neighbor's TV next."
"OH MY GOD, PLEASE DON'T!” David shouted from his room. I froze. If I looked in a mirror, I'm sure my complexion would have closely resembled the outside of an apple.
"Having a teenage Vampire in the house is going to take some getting used to," Irulan said, biting her lip to keep from laughing.
I brought my fingers to my lips and whispered, "We'll be really quiet, and he won’t hear a thing."
"DON'T COUNT ON IT!"
Irulan rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the wall. "First thing in the morning I'm looking into soundproofing our bedrooms."
"Good idea," I said huskily. "But for now, David will just have to turn his radio up.” Before I knew it, Ludacris was blasting through the house, proving that I hadn‘t quite destroyed everything.
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