by I. T. Lucas
“You’ve been awake for a while, haven’t you?”
“I thought that I was dreaming, but then the smells registered, and I realized that I’ve never dreamt about smells before, so I opened my eyes.”
Leon rubbed his hand over the back of his head. “Julian is busy, and I’m not sure that it’s okay for you to eat yet.”
“It’s fine,” Eleanor said. “She can eat some pho. It’s mostly soup and noodles. When I transitioned, they told me to take it easy for a couple of days and not to eat anything heavy, but you know me, I’m a rule breaker.” She winked. “I didn’t go crazy, but I had coffee, and I ate a sandwich, and I kept it all down.”
69
Anastasia
“You were a Dormant?” Anastasia looked the woman over.
That would explain why she looked older than Peter and Leon. She was in excellent physical shape, and her face was free of wrinkles, but she didn’t look twenty-something like they did. She must have been in her mid-thirties when she’d transitioned.
“I’m a baby immortal, less than three months old.” Eleanor shook her head. “It seems like so much longer. I can’t believe that I gained Kian’s trust and my freedom so quickly.” She smiled and put her hand on Ana’s shoulder. “I owe it to you. If you didn’t need rescuing, Kian wouldn’t have risked letting me out so I could help the team get you out.”
Ana searched her memories of what Leon had told her, but the name Kian didn’t ring a bell. She had been slipping in and out of consciousness or sleep, and Leon had been telling her a little bit more each time, but it was all a jumbled mess in her head.
“Who’s Kian? And why weren’t you free?”
“Kian is the head of our community.” Leon raised the bed’s back and pushed the rolling cart to the bed. “You can eat while we talk, love.”
“I’ll clean up the mess.” Eleanor removed the empty boxes and put them in the paper bags that were left by the door. “My transition wasn’t planned, and the one who facilitated it wasn’t a clan member. I didn’t have a bond with anyone in the village, and my past deeds didn’t paint me in the best of colors. Kian had good reason to mistrust me.”
Ana frowned. “I thought that anyone who became immortal could join the village.”
There were big holes in the story Leon had told her, and she needed them filled.
“I will answer all of your questions while you eat.” He put a napkin under her chin and then dipped the spoon in the pho.
Realizing that he intended to feed her, Ana shook her head. “I can do that myself.” She lifted her hand and took the spoon from him. “I’ll be careful.”
Eleanor regarded her curiously. “I have to say, you’re doing much better than I did. I could barely move my arms at first.”
Pride shone in Leon’s eyes as he watched her lift the spoonful of soup without spilling a drop. “My Anastasia is a tigress, a real fighter.”
Standing behind him, Eleanor put her hand on her hips and winked. “And I’m not?”
He turned to look at her. “You’re definitely a fighter. But you were probably out for longer stretches of time than Anastasia. She’s been waking up every few hours and moving her arms.”
“Good save.” Eleanor smiled at Ana over his shoulder.
She was starting to like the woman.
Eleanor was all rough edges, but Ana could sense the fragile core she was trying to protect. Someone or something had hurt Eleanor badly, and the crust she’d built over her wound had engulfed her like a prickly armor.
As she put the spoonful of soup in her mouth, the taste exploded over her tongue and her eyes rolled with pleasure. “Does the sense of taste become more acute as well? Because this tastes like heaven, and I’m usually not a big fan of pho.”
Eleanor chuckled. “You’re just hungry. The sense of taste doesn’t change.”
As Ana shoved another spoonful into her mouth and then another and another until the bowl was empty, Leon and his friends watched her with amused expressions on their faces.
She hadn’t even paused to remind Leon that he’d promised her answers. Instead, she eyed the other boxes. “What else do you have?”
“Perhaps you should take it easy,” Leon said.
“I’m still hungry.”
He looked at Eleanor. “That’s a good sign, right?”
“Excellent. The moment Julian is not busy, he should perform the test.”
Damn, as much as Ana wanted to find out whether she was already an immortal, she wasn’t looking forward to the cut the doctor was going to make on the palm of her hand. “I can wait, and in the meantime, you can distract me by telling me about who can live where in the village and why, and who are the Doomers or ex-Doomers, and whatever else you’ve forgotten to tell me about.”
70
Leon
Leon didn’t want to talk about the bond in front of Eleanor and Peter. In fact, he wanted them to leave so he could be alone with his mate, climb in bed with her, and hold her in his arms.
Instead, he sat next to Anastasia and took her hand. “The Doomers are our enemies. Doom is an acronym for the Brotherhood of the Devout Order of Mortdh. They are led by Mortdh’s son, Navuh.”
Her forehead creased with a frown. “You let them into your village while I couldn’t get in unless I transitioned?”
He smiled. “Those we let into the village are ex-Doomers who had left the Brotherhood a long time ago. They also had to sign a peace accord and vow to never hurt the clan before we let them join.”
“And that was enough? I could have vowed never to harm the village too.”
“Their vows were enforced by compulsion. Even their leader, who is a powerful compeller himself, submitted to the goddess’s compulsion. I think it attests to how generous Annani’s heart is. Their leader is Navuh’s son, and he escaped his father during WWII, taking with him his entire platoon.”
Anastasia scrunched her nose. “I remember you telling me about a god who’d turned against the others and dropped a bomb on their assembly. That was Mortdh, right?”
“Correct.”
“So this guy is Mortdh’s grandson.”
“He is.”
‘Wow. The Clan Mother is truly merciful. Will I get a chance to meet her?”
“You’re very lucky because she’s coming in a little over a week to preside over Sari’s wedding. Sari is Kian’s sister, and she leads the European arm of the clan.”
“How many arms are there?”
Leon took his time, answering Anastasia’s questions in detail while waiting impatiently for Julian to show up and, hopefully, dismiss their guests.
Unless he was still busy with his mate, Julian should have been aware of what was going on in Anastasia’s room. He could see everything through the camera mounted in the corner, provided that he was watching the application.
Eventually, though, Eleanor picked up on his subtle cues. “As fun as it is to hear these stories again, we should go.” She pushed to her feet and started collecting the rest of the empty containers and shoving them into the paper bags.
Peter got up and walked over to the bed. “Congratulations, Anastasia, and welcome to the clan.” He took her hand and shook it gently. “Next time I see you, it will probably be in the village.”
“Thanks.” She smiled at him. “I’m looking forward to it.” She turned to Eleanor. “Next time we meet, you need to tell me about Greggory and what’s his deal.”
Eleanor shrugged. “There isn’t much to tell. He was the one who induced my transition, and I thought that we had something, but apparently, I was wrong. He couldn’t handle what happened between Emmett and me, and he dumped me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.” Eleanor pushed her hands into her pockets. “I’m glad that he showed his true colors before we moved in together.” She cast a quick glance at Leon. “Perhaps you and Anastasia shouldn’t rush to move in together either.”
“I have no doubts.” He looked into Anastasia�
�s eyes. “Do you?”
She hesitated a fraction of a second before shaking her head. “None.”
It hadn’t gone unnoticed by their guests.
“We should let you talk in private.” As Peter lifted the paper bags, Eleanor opened the door for him. “Good luck, you two,” she said before closing the door behind them.
Leon let out a breath. “Finally. I thought they would never leave.”
Anastasia chuckled. “Why? Did you plan on doing naughty things to me?”
His fangs punched out as if she’d pressed a button to activate them. “I can’t wait to make love to you without that damn blindfold, but you need to get your strength back first.”
She tilted her head. “So you lied to me. You’re not into kinky games after all.”
If not for the twitching of her lips, he wouldn’t have known that she was just teasing.
“As soon as you are well enough, I’ll show you just how much I’m into them.” He leaned and kissed the tip of her nose.
“Oh, yeah? What are you going to do to me?”
“First, I’m going to spank that beautiful ass of yours for calling me a liar, then I’m going to tie you up and pleasure you for hours, keeping you on the verge of orgasm but not letting you finish until I’m good and ready.”
“Is that so?” she husked, and the heady scent of her arousal was accompanied by a sparkle in her blue, piercing eyes.
Or was it a glow?
“It is,” he continued the assault to see if the glow would intensify. “And after I let you explode all over my tongue while screaming my name, I’m going to feed my shaft deep into your welcoming heat an inch at a time, until I make you mindless with need. Then when I’m good and ready, I’ll let you watch my fully elongated fangs before I sink them into your lovely neck and pump you full of my essence.”
71
Anastasia
If not for the camera mounted across from her bed, Ana would have challenged Leon to make good on his wicked sexy promises. Her body was on fire, and it had nothing to do with the transition.
Giving the camera an evil eye, she put her hand on the back of Leon’s neck and pulled him down. “Kiss me, bad boy.”
He stopped an inch from her mouth and smirked. “I think we can skip the cut test. Your eyes are glowing, and I mean from the inside.”
With his sumptuous lips hovering an inch away from her mouth, she debated whether it was worth pausing to take a look at her eyes, but in the end, curiosity won.
“I have a compact mirror in my purse. Can you get it for me?”
“What, now?” His eyes didn’t move from her mouth.
“After I kiss you, the glow might be gone. I just want a quick peek.”
Reluctantly, he walked over to where her purse was hanging from a hook and retrieved the mirror.
He handed it to her. “Still glowing.”
Excitement bubbling through her, she looked into the compact. The glow wasn’t nearly as intense as Leon’s when he was excited, but it was there. If it were dark in the room, she was sure that her eyes would cast a glow on the mirror.
A soft knock on the door ruined her plans for kissing the living daylight out of her man.
“Can I come in?” Julian walked in without waiting for an answer.
There was a square aluminum tray in his right hand, and knowing what the things on it were for, Ana swallowed.
“I waited for the right moment.” He smiled sheepishly at Leon before turning to Ana. “Let’s do the test, and after we are done, Gertrude can detach all the wires and tubes.” He winked at her. “Kissing will be much more fun without them in the way.”
“You’re the boss, doc,” Ana affected bravado. “Just try to make the cut as small as you can.”
“I will.” He looked at the rolling cart and frowned. “This is a patient room. You shouldn’t have hosted a party in here.”
“My apologies.” Leon quickly removed what was left on it and dumped the containers into the remaining paper bag.
“You need to wipe it clean. Use a disinfectant wipe.”
“Yes, sir.”
The extra minute it had taken for the doctor to be ready was enough for Ana’s anxiety to build up. Thankfully, she’d already seen her eyes glow, so all she had to be anxious about was the cut itself but not the result of the test.
She was a freaking immortal!
Well, almost. It would take six months for her transition to be complete, but she was already nearly indestructible, which should have freed her of most of her fears, but it didn’t.
Maybe she needed more time to get used to the idea.
“Give me your hand, Anastasia,” Julian instructed.
Turning her face the other way, she extended her hand.
He chuckled. “You will want to watch it.”
“No, I don’t.”
She didn’t even feel the scalpel as he sliced her palm but hissed when it started to burn.
“I’ll blow over it,” Leon suggested.
“Don’t.” Julian lifted his other hand to stop him. “The pain is probably already gone, am I right?”
Surprisingly, he was. Anastasia nodded and turned to look at her palm. There was very little blood, and the cut was indeed tiny.
Julian held on to her hand with gentle fingers, watching until the bleeding stopped. He picked up a square of gauze and wiped the blood away. “Watch the skin closely.”
Ana leaned closer. The tiny cut was barely visible, and after about a minute, it was gone completely.
“Congratulations.” Julian patted her hand and then clapped Leon on the back. “I’ll send Gertrude in.”
“Give us five minutes,” Leon asked.
Julian nodded, and as soon as he left the room, Leon wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to his chest. “I can’t wait to spend eternity with you, my love.”
He hadn’t had a chance to explain about the bond yet, but he didn’t have to. She could feel it as he embraced her. It was more than love, more than desire, he felt like the home she’d never really had.
“I love you,” she murmured against his cheek. “Take me home, Leon, where I belong.”
“The village?” he asked.
Ana was about to say yes when she realized that they had both forgotten a very important detail. “I wish I could, but I can’t.”
Leaning away from her, he frowned. “Why not?”
“Because I can’t leave Margaret. What will you tell her? That I died? I can’t do that to her. I also don’t want to do that to my father. He will have a stroke for sure. We need another solution.”
“You can tell your father that you enrolled in a local law school. And later, you can come up with another story. Given that you are not close, it shouldn’t be difficult.”
Ana let out a breath. “I’m glad that I don’t need to disappear completely. But that still doesn’t solve Margaret’s situation. We have to go back to the cabin until she’s ready to return home.”
“I’m selfish, and I want you all to myself, but if you insist, I guess that I have no choice.”
“I don’t have a choice either, Leon. I would have much preferred to move into the village with you and make love all day long in our new home. But Margaret is like family to me. I can’t abandon her.”
Leon nodded. “Eleanor brought up an interesting possibility, and I agree with her. Immortals and Dormants feel an affinity toward each other. It’s like recognizing like. And it’s possible that Dormants feel that way about each other as well. You and Margaret became best friends even though you have nothing in common, and Bowen seems to be taken with her.”
“What are you trying to say?” Ana whispered.
“Margaret might be a Dormant.”
Her heart leaped with happiness. “That would be so awesome! She can move into the village, and we can remain best friends.”
“Not so fast. First, we need to find out whether she is indeed a Dormant.”
“Which means that she has
to have sex with Bowen, but she can’t because her leg is in a cast.”
“There are ways to work around it. Do you think she will allow him to get that close?”
Ana snorted. “Are you kidding me? Bowen is a hunk, and he’s kind and considerate. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t want him? Well, unless she’s pitching for the other team, which I know for a fact that Margaret doesn’t.”
He mock-glared at her. “Again with the hunk?”
“Do you prefer that I call him handsome?”
“No, I prefer that you call him meh, uninteresting, and totally unattractive.”
She laughed. “I love you so much, but I still have eyes, and when I see a hunk, I’m not going to pretend like I don’t.”
“Can you at least not say anything?” He rubbed his chest. “It hurts here every time you do.”
Smiling, she wrapped her arms around him. “I’ll do my best. Someone very smart once told me that relationships are all about compromise. Would it be okay if I say that Margaret thinks Bowen is a hunk?”
“That’s acceptable.”
“Good. Now kiss me like you mean it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
72
Kian
“Is this really necessary?” Emmett lifted his arms as far as the fetters connecting his handcuffs to the ankle cuffs allowed and rattled the chains. “This is ridiculous. You have these exploding cuffs on me, and you always come in with those two who are armed to the teeth. I’m not suicidal. I’m not ready to die yet.”
Kian leaned his elbows on his knees. “I’ll make you a deal, Emmett. Tell me the last location of your people, and I will not chain you again.”
Emmett narrowed his eyes at him. “Why do you need it? You said that you meant them no harm.”
