“Angelo.” Fionn reached out a hand to shake. “What’s all the fuss?”
“Uncle Fionn, I’ve met my mate.” Sarita smiled, her adoration of her uncle apparent.
“Congratulations, Ita.” He smiled as he pressed a kiss to her cheek, looking over her shoulder at Angelo. “Angelo is a damn good man.”
The elevator chimed, and Gerard and Mac walked into the apartment.
“Hey, Mom; hey, Dad.” Mac waved to his parents and smiled sheepishly at Sarita. “Ita, can we talk for a minute?”
She followed him into his mother’s office, and they shut the door.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “That’s not how I wanted you to find out.”
“Not how you wanted me to find out about you and Bear, or not how you wanted me to find out you’re gay?”
“Both. Neither. Whatever. I hurt you, and I’m sorry.”
“You could have told me, you know.”
“I know. It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just wasn’t sure about everything? I thought I liked girls, I mean, I’ve fooled around with girls, but Gerard…”
“Takes your breath away and makes you feel all gooey-hot inside?” She smiled, thinking of her response to Angelo’s touch, to his kiss.
“Yeah.” Mac grinned. “I’m sorry. I knew how you felt about him. I should have said something. Ita, we tried to stay apart because we didn’t want to hurt you.”
“It’s okay. Oh honey, I wish you knew how okay it was. Don’t be mad at yourselves. I think I understand. Mac, I met my mate today.”
“What? Angelo? He’s your mate?” Mac’s expression was both stunned and thrilled.
“Yeah. Gerard didn’t tell you?” She raised an eyebrow at him. Gerard usually filled Mac in on most everything. The three of them had been inseparable for so many years—it just made things easier.
“Well, we weren’t exactly talking.” Mac blushed.
“Wow. You and Bear.”
“Yeah.”
“Awesome.” She grinned.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” As she folded her best friend into a hug, she knew they were more than okay. Somehow, it seemed right that it would be Gerard, her gentle protector, who won her best friend’s heart. “But how does that work?” She pulled back and looked at him curiously.
“Um. Don’t you think that’s a little personal?” He blushed again.
“No, I didn’t mean that. I have a pretty good idea how that works, actually. I mean, does this mean you don’t have a wolf-mate?”
“I don’t know, Ita. I love him. I don’t really want a mate.” He looked sad at the thought, and she comforted him, rubbing his shoulder as she searched for the right words.
“Well, we can always ask the Goddess once I bust her out of jail.” Sarita giggled at the imagery in her head.
“You’re completely insane. And adorable.” Mac smiled as he read the imagery out of her mind in the way packmates could.
“You love it.”
“I do, Ita. I love you. You’re my best friend. No more secrets, okay?”
“Okay.” She nodded, hugging him again.
Friendship assured, Sarita and Mac made their way back to Monica’s sitting room. Sarita was pleased to see Gerard had placed himself between Monica and Angelo, protecting her feelings while she was in the other room. Her eyes pricked with gratitude as she sat down next to Angelo. She squeezed Gerard’s hand and looked at her mate, feeling a shiver of desire.
“Glad you’re back,” Angelo whispered in her ear, nipping at it almost imperceptibly. The light touch of his teeth made her squirm in her seat.
“So, why now, Gerard? You wouldn’t tell me anything until Angelo returned. He’s here. What’s going on?” Monica looked at the Guide, her legendary abruptness bringing a smile to Angelo’s face. Damn, he’d missed her. She hadn’t changed much in the years he’d been away. She sat perched on the arm of her couch, her feet in her mate’s lap, her direct stare boring into Bear. Meanwhile, Fionn Murphy sat back and arched an eyebrow at the Guide, waiting patiently for an explanation. Sarita’s mother, as Alpha of Amazon, sat nearby, her pale lavender eyes absorbing everything.
“Angelo.” The Guide turned to him. “I believe you need to tell the Alphas about the irregularities you’ve been seeing.”
Angelo nodded, absently stroking Sarita’s hand.
“About five years ago, I started seeing some interesting business practices among very rich entities. I started tracking the businesses, watching how they changed hands, and I had one of my employees write a special software program to keep track. The targeted businesses operate much the way we did before the humans knew about us. Leadership and ownership in these companies seemed to cycle through patterns designed to disguise the age of the investors involved.” Angelo paused to scrub a hand over his face. “They are very clever. I might have missed them if I weren’t accustomed to looking at paranormal finances. I’m about 85 percent certain that the First Blood have come to America. If they haven’t yet, they will be here soon.”
“What or who is First Blood?” Sarita asked quietly.
“Humans would call them vampires, I suppose,” Fionn answered slowly. “They are the strongest paranormal species in Europe, and they weren’t created by the Goddess.”
“They were not created by a deity at all,” Gerard rumbled. “They aren’t like us.”
“What are they like?” Bianca asked, her face showing that faraway look she had sometimes that usually meant she was sharing something with Jack through their bond.
It was Fionn who spoke. “Imagine the perfect blend of organized crime and organized religion. Sprinkle liberally with bloodlust. First Blood are power-hungry, yet the strict laws and ceremony of their society keep them in check. Vampires feed on blood, though as far as I know, the Blood-Drinkers don’t kill their victims. Maybe enthrall them somehow. They live much, much longer than we do. Rumors that they don’t go out during the day are baseless—they may be sensitive to sunlight, but they can and do walk in the day. They are godless—worshiping power to the exclusion of everything else.”
“So why are they here?” Sarita asked. “Have they come to challenge you, Uncle Fionn?”
“I doubt it. I met some of them when I went to Ireland with Pop and Dev a decade ago. They didn’t seem interested in shaking down with the wolves. The ones we met were respectful of my rank among wolf-kind, very polite about it all.”
Gerard mumbled something under his breath, then looked at the wolves surrounding him. “The Blood-Drinkers are here for Sarita.”
The room erupted into chaos. Bianca’s claws emerged, and Angelo’s teeth were bared, Mac shouted something at his father, and Fionn and Monica both snarled at the Guide.
Finally Sarita stamped her foot and shouted, “Enough! Good grief, you all are adults. How about you let the man speak?” When everyone looked suitably abashed, she turned to her Guide and smiled, “Go ahead, Bear.”
“Blood-Drinkers worship power, and they crave it. Freeing the Goddess will disrupt the power balance.” Gerard shrugged. “They like things the way they are. They’re very old and resist change.”
“Sounds familiar.” Fionn and Bianca shared a knowing glance.
“So what’s my gig in all this? I’m barely more than a pup, and I’m small to boot.” Sarita felt her wolf whine slipping into her voice, and she blushed.
“You need to be at the proper place when the lunar eclipse occurs and the barrier is weak enough for you to pull the Goddess from her captivity. According to the prophecies, the Third Usher’s task is to make a choice. That is your task. Everything else is secondary.” Gerard tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. “I will protect you at all costs. I am secondary. First Blood will not touch you.”
“Why are they called that?” Mac asked.
“It’s a translation of a language that doesn’t exist anymore.” Fionn shrugged. “Their original name is lost to the wolves, but I imagine some Blood-Drinkers can still say it.”
Bianca cleared her throat. “Well, Bear, suddenly, you make a lot of sense.” The big man met the Albina’s eyes. “Your sister told me once that each Guide was especially suited to the Usher with whom they were paired. Sara’s vision—and visions—were necessary to me. Annie’s power and speed helped to bring resolution to Fionn’s task. You protect my baby. Frankly, it scares the hell out of me, but I’m glad you’re here.” She stood and left the room suddenly. Sarita stood to follow her, but Gerard and Angelo both pulled her back down to the sofa.
“She’s fine, Ita. She needs a moment to compose herself,” Gerard murmured. He met Angelo’s eyes over Sarita’s head and smiled softly, acknowledging the truth of Bianca’s words.
“Where is Annie?” Angelo asked suddenly, noting her absence. Fionn flinched and Monica rolled her eyes.
“She’s having a tantrum,” Monica said.
“Mo,” Fionn cautioned.
“Well, what would you call it then? She went off in a snit a couple of weeks ago. She’ll be back soon enough when she remembers that we aren’t the enemy.” Monica waved a hand dismissively.
“Goddess, you can be a bitch, Mom.” Mac scowled. “I’m going. I don’t need to be here for this.” He leaned across Bear and brushed a kiss to Sarita’s cheek. “Howl at me later, ’kay?”
She nodded.
Angelo looked pointedly at Monica, waiting for an explanation. She blushed under his gaze.
“Long story short?” Fionn grinned. “Annie and Mo got in a fight about something stupid, said really mean things to each other, and Annie left to sort out her feelings.”
“What were they fighting about?” Sarita asked. She had noted the absence of the cat-shifter from the compound, but Annie often took off for weeks or even months at a time.
“What was the fight about, Mo?” Fionn teased.
“I don’t remember,” she confessed.
“And my tough Alpha mate is not going to be the first to apologize, so…” Fionn shrugged. “That’s why we are one cat-shifter short of a full nuthouse.”
“Entendido. Some things never change.” Angelo snorted. “I need to run.” He turned to Sarita and smiled, “Will you join me, querida?”
She nodded shyly.
“I’ll join you,” Fionn smiled.
“Me too,” Gerard rumbled.
“I’m meeting Rose at the airport, so I need to go. Enjoy your run.” Monica dismissed them with a wave.
Sarita followed the other wolves toward the field at the edge of compound property. She was still new to shifting, but she already enjoyed the thrill of letting the animal side of her surface and take over for a time. It was a heady, addictive feeling, because the wolf left all the human bullshit behind and just felt. What would it be like to run with her mate? She shuddered in anticipation.
She pushed a quiet thought out toward Mac, inviting him to join them, and she wasn’t surprised to find him waiting for them. She watched with a smile as Gerard walked into Mac’s arms and kissed him, hard and sweet, silently declaring his feelings in front of everyone. She laughed out loud with glee as Fionn stopped walking and stared at his son.
“Did you know?” he asked Sarita.
“Since this morning,” she whispered.
“That explains the tattoo,” Fionn smiled as he gestured to the Ursa Major tattoo that Chandra, the Amazon tattoo artist, had placed above Mac’s heart over a month ago.
“And I thought he had a newfound love of astronomy.” She giggled, a sudden rush of joy working through her. She knew it was coming from her Guide, a giddiness and relief that he wasn’t keeping a secret any longer. Quickly, she began shedding her clothes, folding the borrowed dress into a neat square. When she turned to look at her mate, her breathing grew shallow.
Angelo was not a big man, in fact, with Bear nearby, even six-foot-and-then-some Fionn Murphy looked smallish. But every inch of his compact body seemed honed with a purpose. Spare and sinewy, he looked ruthlessly efficient. His expensive suit was neatly folded, and he reached for her dress, placing it on top of his own clothing before setting them aside. His body was mostly hairless, a surprise to her after spending so much time with the rest of the Murphy clan and the rather hirsute Bear. She blushed as she realized she was analyzing him like a piece of art.
“As long as you like what you see, querida,” he whispered, winking at her. She felt the change in the air that she had grown to recognize as others shifting, saw Fionn and Mac, two big black wolves, start loping away with her Bear following behind. For a moment, she and Angelo were alone and she grew shy.
“Are you worried you won’t be able to shift so soon?” Angelo cocked his head to the side as he looked at her.
She nodded. It was all new to her, and shifting was as exhausting as it was exhilarating. That morning, when she’d shifted-and-shredded, she hadn’t thought beyond getting as far away from Mac and Gerard as possible. That shift had been effortless. Now that she needed to consciously bring the wolf forward, it was different.
“Hey,” he whispered, pulling her into an embrace. “You can do this. Don’t overanalyze everything. Just—just let her out.” He buried his hands in her hair, and she felt his lips brush over hers lighter than air before seizing them hungrily. She gave in to the waves of heat washing over her and shuddered at the sharp pleasure of her teeth shifting. The sensitivity racked her body as his hands skimmed low over her back, and he pulled her tight to his body, letting his aroused state speak for itself.
“Feel her? Your wolf in there—she wants to come out and play. Just…” Suddenly Angelo groaned.
Sarita looked down at where her hand played across his nipples. Stifling a giggle, she looked up and saw his teeth had lengthened.
“Let her out,” he gasped, taking a step back.
Sarita could feel her then, the wolf inside her. She let the shift happen, and it sucked the air out of her with its immediacy. It didn’t take strength to wrestle her wolf to the surface this time. Nor did she need the anger that had coursed through her this morning. She felt her body shudder, then she was staring at her mate from within her wolf form. He dropped to his knees, smiling wickedly at her. Her tongue lolling out, she nipped at his hand, feeling again the sweet, tense heat of being close to her mate. When his hands stroked into her velvety fur, she felt a whine of impatience slip through. Throwing his head back, Angelo laughed—a sound of breathtaking joy. She watched from within the animal as his own change took hold. Efficient and ordered, he shook his head once, and his body seemed to lengthen. The next thing she knew, they were nose to nose. With a playful nudge to his flank, Sarita took off at a run.
To say the run filled her with peace was an understatement. Every sound in the forest, the feeling of Mac and Fionn at the edges of her consciousness, her handsome mate feinting and playing as he ran alongside her, it all settled into this feeling of necessity. Yes, necessity—this run, this shift, it had been necessary to build her faith in herself, and her mate had known just what to say and do. She threw her head back, a howl of majestic ecstasy tearing through her throat. She heard the other wolves join her, then an ursine bellow joined them all. Angelo nudged her face, stroking the side of her muzzle with his. She rolled her face into his for a moment before spinning and ducking into a crouch, her tail wagging as she teased him to follow her.
Though it didn’t seem possible that a wolf could look bemused, Angelo did as he swatted at Sarita with one large paw. Delighted, she spun and crouched again. This time, when he started toward her, she ran as hard and as fast as she could. She wasn’t as fast as the others, but she was pretty fast for such a petite wolf. Grinning,
she felt her mate running beside her, keeping her pace easily. Her mate.
Another joyful noise ripped from her throat as she celebrated the glorious run.
Chapter Four
“Alone at last,” Angelo whispered as the door closed behind them. Sarita shuddered, turning to face him. Wordlessly, she traced the planes of his face with her fingertips, then sank her hands into his hair. She leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips, and he absorbed her smoky scent as she nibbled at him. Finally, when he could stand no more, his hands circled her waist and pressed her hard against him as he took her mouth with his tongue and teeth. She whimpered against him, trying to squirm closer. Without breaking the kiss, he slid his hands up to her breasts. He’d seen them when they were in the woods, but now he explored them with his hands, knowing he’d be the only man to touch her like this, the only one to hear that breathy noise she made when he pinched her like that, the groan she made when he cupped her whole breast under his palm. She was perfection to him in a way only his mate could be.
“Querida,” he whispered. Wide indigo eyes met his, and she smiled languidly, a softness that belied the edge to her movements.
“I’m impatient,” she admitted. “But I’m also scared.”
“Tonight, perhaps we shouldn’t have sex.” He stroked the side of her face. “I don’t want you to be scared when we join together.”
“I want you,” she whined, the lupine noise slipping from her.
“I want you too. But I want our mating to be the most beautiful, sacred experience of your life. I don’t want you afraid, not when we have all the time we need.” Another gentle kiss, then he was nibbling along her ear, making her shiver and growl. She tugged him through the little living area to the bedroom, pushing him down on her bed.
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