A set of hands wrapped around me from behind, and Remo’s signature scent rolled over me. I leaned back into him and wove my fingers through his, a sense of belonging and love filling me up.
There were no words between us; there didn’t need to be. We were together, and that was all that mattered. He was now the leader of the North American Alliance of Vampires—NAAV. Another acronym Ernie laughed at.
“You ready for your big announcement?” he murmured into my ear.
“Hmm. Yes.”
He kissed me on the cheek and then gave me a wink. “And after the party, what do you want to do?”
“Break in that new bed of mine.” I winked back at him, slow and seductive. “But only if you are feeling . . . up . . . to the task.”
His eyes widened and then narrowed. “Don’t tease me, Alena.”
I crossed my heart with one finger and walked backward away from him. “I would never tease about that.”
I waved at Sandy, and she hurried over to my side. I took her hand and squeezed. Merlin watched from the corner of the big room, his eyes hooded. He’d been invited because he was family. I was surprised he’d showed up, actually. He had been working with my dad, helping him get better with his magic the last few weeks. I suspected his true motives but hadn’t been able to question him on anything yet.
I looked at Sandy. “Ready?”
She nodded, a grin plastered on her face.
“If I could have everyone’s attention,” I said.
All sets of eyes turned to me—family; friends who were like family; and those who’d been with me all the way from being a timid mouse of a baker, trapped in her own life, right through every battle, every hero I’d faced, every side of myself I’d had to come to accept.
Emotion flowed up through me, and I struggled to breathe, never mind speak around it. Finally I pulled myself together. “Thank you, to all of you. For standing by me when it would have been far easier to walk away. For letting me find my wings—”
“You ain’t got wings, or is that something you haven’t showed us yet?” yelled Max from beside my—Flora.
I rolled my eyes. “Manner of speaking, smart-mouth.”
Everyone laughed, and I took a deep breath and dove back in. “Sandy and I . . . we’re going into business together. We’re going to start two bakeries. One here in Seattle, and one on the north side of the Wall.”
The laughter died, and I knew why. The Wall was supposed to come down, but if I was putting a bakery there . . . “There is a reason. There are a lot of Super Dupers who aren’t safe to be part of the general populace yet.” I thought about the silly werewolf who’d tried to play with the protestors, how close he’d come to infecting them with the werewolf virus without even meaning to. “Not now, and maybe not ever. I want to . . . give them something that is normal until the Wall can come down in every aspect. I want them to feel like they are still a part of this world and not truly cut off. Sandy will run the bakery there. And I will run the bakery here in Seattle, but we’ll help each other.”
Really, the job of running two bakeries was going to be through-the-roof hard, but I was excited. A number of the vampires who’d tied themselves to me turned out to have a knack for baking, and they’d agreed to work the night shifts for the bakery across the Wall.
“What are you going to call it?” Ernie called from his perch. He knew darn well what the name was, he just wanted me to spill it.
I smiled. “Hisses and Honey.”
Merlin slid out of the house when everyone was congratulating his great-niece. He shook his head and strolled down the street. That she’d come so far . . . he wasn’t surprised. It was why he’d picked one of his own family members in the first place. Contrary to what he’d told everyone else, he’d chosen Alena because he’d seen the iron core in her along with her huge ability to love. That was where her power lay, and he’d known it from the beginning.
A soft set of footsteps didn’t turn him around; he knew who it was. “Good-bye, Flora.”
“You stop right there. You’re up to something. I know you, Merlin. You haven’t changed from that snot-nosed little brat who stuck tacks in his friends’ shoes when they weren’t looking.”
She caught up to him, and he forced a look at her. He could see why his brother had fallen under her spell. Of course, that romance had fizzled out long before Jack met the human who he would marry and start a family with, but she was undeniably enchanting. Her hair was a deep brown and her eyes close to ocean blue, and she had a lovely, curving figure. Lucky for her to have tied her life force to the belief in the gods. Lucky indeed. He raised both eyebrows. “I’m up to nothing.”
“Where are you going?”
He grinned and turned away from her. “I have clients to see. Your son-in-law is taking over my practice here.”
“He is?”
“You think I was training my nephew just for shits and giggles? Like his daughter believed of herself for so long, he’s stronger than he thinks.” He snorted.
She was quiet a moment. “What are you really up to, Merlin?”
He smiled. “You know, there are other Walls, Flora. I could use a hand in taking them down.” He paused and glanced at her. “That is, if you’re up for a challenge?”
She stared at him, the rise and fall of her chest going at a rate that told him she was going to say yes before she ever did.
Within hours they were on a flight across the world, headed for a place he’d sworn he would never return to. A place far deadlier than the one they’d just left.
“You really think we can get the Wall in Europe to fall? Where would we start?” she asked as they flew over the north Atlantic Ocean. “It’s been up longer than all the others.”
He nodded, a smile on his lips. “We start at the farthest tip of it, and push it over like a domino.”
She glanced at him. “Jankkila? You want to go to Finland first?”
He nodded. “That I do.”
“And you really think you can do this?”
With a grin he leaned back in his seat. “Of course I do. I am Merlin after all.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This one is for all the women out there who thought they weren’t strong enough. For the women who found their spines and stood up for themselves and realized, in doing so, they had far more worth than they could have ever imagined. For the women who broke free of tradition in order to give their children wings. You inspired this trilogy, and helped me to create Alena. Thank you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2013 BR Photography
Shannon Mayer is the USA Today bestselling author of the Rylee Adamson Novels, the Elemental Series, the Nevermore Trilogy, A Celtic Legacy series, and several contemporary romances. She started writing when she realized she didn’t want to grow up not believing in magic. She lives in the southwestern tip of Canada with her husband, son, and numerous animals. To learn more about Shannon and her books, go to www.shannonmayer.com.
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Hisses and Honey (The Venom Trilogy Book 3) Page 23
