by Bryce Evans
Nolan’s mouth opened and closed. Did Bast really just say Skylar was his mate? The Elf just left him standing there with that little bomb of information.
What the hell was he missing? He would know if she was his mate, right? The man was an Elf and his magic was more powerful than anyone’s. Was it obvious to everyone except him? Why wasn’t it like Judd and Maggie’s mating? Fireworks actually went off, in the damn house. It had been an amazing sight to watch. How could he have missed this? Now all he could see himself doing was kissing her…
Leaning his head against the wall, Nolan shook his head, thinking back from the time they first met. It would explain why he wanted her from the moment he set eyes on her, and why she got jealous of MJ. Skylar was his mate. She’d saved him, wrapping her arms around him and protecting him from Jamal’s fire. She had to know they were mates. It all made perfect sense now. The question now was how could he fix this and show her that she was his mate?
Before he walked out, he glanced around his room and saw Carina smiling in her sleep. Finally, she had peace, even if it was in her sleep. He walked over and kissed her on the forehead, then walked out of the room.
Grinning as he walked into the kitchen, Nolan walked over and stood beside Skylar. He had a plan to show her that she was his mate, Nolan style.
MJ was finding something on her computer, giving him time to process this information. First, it was her scent. Inhaling deeply, Nolan closed his eyes as the smell made its way inside of him. It hit him like a ton of bricks. How had he missed this? God, she smelled good. She actually smelled like the sun shining through the trees on a fall day. Was that even a smell? Whatever, she smelled like that to him.
When he opened his eyes, Dag was watching him closely from across the room. So was Fisher, his Beta. He couldn’t hide from it now. They both straightened up, going on alert when his tiger came forward pushing against his skin, wanting his mate. He blinked several times and shoved him back down, promising that they would have her soon. This was happening so fast, and he never saw it coming. Or maybe he had and he’d chosen to ignore it. Whatever, he knew now, and she better get ready because he planned on letting her know after the meeting.
He could tell Skylar was trying not to look at him or touch him, even by accident. In fact, she moved closer to the wall. He suppressed a smile; as soon as she moved further away, Nolan stepped forward, moving just a little bit closer to her. Apparently, his scent was affecting her and that’s what he wanted to happen. She needed to see and feel that he was her mate, wanting him with the same passion that he was feeling.
Nolan’s lip quirked, knowing he was invading her space, and if he was right he was getting to her.
God, this woman drove him insane just by leaning against the wall. He found himself watching her instead of paying attention to the conversation. He had no clue what was being said; he was too busy thinking about those amber eyes gazing down at him while he licked her until she begged for mercy.
“Alright, let’s continue.” Bast stood up again and looked back at the photo. “So again, Carina has given us our first clue of when they are coming. When the flowers turn purple in the Meadow of Flowers, that’s when they’ll come. Who knows about this meadow?”
“We all do,” Brody answered. “We don’t have long—maybe four days—before the colors change. Fall is coming, and that’s when the flowers start to turn.”
That got Nolan’s attention. He needed to make sure before this even happened that Skylar understood that she was his mate. Protecting her was his most important task, but that was going to be hard because she was an Alpha and she was used to calling the shots. God, how was this going to work? One Alpha in this relationship would be hard enough, let alone two. She would push and he would pull. He didn’t know how they would handle that, but it didn’t really matter; he would make it work.
“Then we don’t have any time to waste. Do we think we have all the spies accounted for and outed? Because if we don’t, then we need to make sure that it’s done. All the innocents will need to go to the mines when this goes down. That includes the children and those who are unable to fight. Those who can will be needed. If I’m not mistaken, MJ has put people in groups already. Is that true, MJ?” Bast added.
“Yes, everyone will be grouped with their Alphas. They know their Alpha and how he operates and will feel more comfortable fighting beside him. There are a few extra people I haven’t put in a group yet. I don’t know how many Jackson will bring, if any, and I don’t know about Mick’s people — who we’ll be able to trust and where they’ll need to go.”
“Mick, how many do you have?” Bast asked.
Mick Vanguard stood up. “I have two hundred and seventy vampires, and two masters. However, one of those masters is Locke.” Mick knew once the others found out who Locke was it was going to get very crazy in a matter of seconds.
“Locke? As in Roman Locke?” Zoey asked, her expression hardening. Mick waited as Zoey’s mate whispered in her ear. Everyone was glancing back and forth between Zoey and Judd, who sat silently, waiting for him to finish. “I’m sorry Mick, but I didn’t know about this latest development. I was out when the news came in.” Mick was about to start up again when Zoey blurted out, “Actually, I’m not sorry, because I was here when that bastard killed Judd’s mom and he should be put down for what he did. Instead, that bastard is coming to my city to,” Zoey mimed quotation marks with her fingers, “’help’ us, when we all know he’s a dirty lying piece of shit who needs to be cut up in little pieces.” Everyone, including her mate, sat motionless, staring at Zoey as she spoke up. Nolan loved this woman. She never had an unkind word to say about anyone, but this blonde-haired, blue-eyed shifter could fight with the best of them and would protect them all with her life. Nobody spoke one word until Judd and Maggie both looked at each other and started laughing.
“I love you, Zoey Malone Lynn. Thank you for your passion, my friend, but I’ve come to terms with this. We need him here, for the time being.” Judd put his hand up, stopping Zoey from saying anything further. “Now Zoey, let me explain before you look at me like I’m crazy.” Judd leaned in and smiled. “I plan on killing him, don’t you worry your head about that, but the timing is off. We think he’s only here to report back to Claudia, which is exactly what we want.
“The High Master and Mick had already decided that Locke would be the one coming to help, even though we know that he’s only here to be a spy for Claudia. And this will work perfectly for us. He’ll never be alone, and we’ll be feeding him a lot of bad information. In fact, this will work out better for us, and when all’s said and done and we don’t need him anymore, I can assure you that I’m going to rip his head off,” Judd explained, and ended with a smile. Nolan knew that smile, too. He almost pitied the vampire, but, like Zoey said, not really. He couldn’t wait for Judd to get his revenge and give that low-life piece of shit a taste of his own medicine.
Zoey was correct when she said the vampire needed to die. He did. When Judd was only ten years old, Locke found his way into Judd’s territory. Unfortunately, he found a little Judd walking home from a friend’s house. The words he used were that Judd would make a great addition to his collection. He was going to turn Judd and keep him as if Judd was a collectible item. But before he could do that, Judd’s mom got to him first. She had enough strength to knock Judd out of Locke’s hands and screamed for him to run. Judd had to watch as Locke bit into his mom’s throat and drained her dry, then ripped her throat out.
It was a time Nolan would never forget. For the longest time, Judd wouldn’t socialize with anyone. He stayed at home sitting on his bed. His dad finally had to sit down and talk him into snapping out of it, but Judd was never the same. Maggie changed all of that, and since they’d mated they were stronger than any vampire or shifter. That’s what Locke feared, and Nolan could guarantee Judd was going to make him suffer for what he did. It was senseless, and he was never punished for it. But he would be, very soon.
Nolan chuckled, gaining Skylar’s attention. She finally glanced over at him and he just smiled back at her. He knew he had caught her off-guard, because she smiled back.
“We know that Locke can only bring in forty vampires from his coven, but I figure he will send the rest of his people to the castle where Claudia and Jamal are hiding out. We have trackers on all of their cars and with your video coverage we should be able to keep an eye on them. Locke has the smallest coven among us, with only one hundred vampires. Once the battle starts we will need to take those forty out. The High Master will be here and will explain to the other vampires how Locke and his coven betrayed us. Locke’s group will be taken out fairly quickly, and Locke will be taken out as well, by Judd.”
“Shouldn’t we do that before the battle actually begins?” London asked.
“Good question, and yes, but not too soon. We want to know that he and his people are relaying the wrong information back to Claudia and Jamal up until the last possible minute. We’ll make sure he thinks we’re set up in the wrong places. For every plan we make we’ll write up a fake one, and those are the ones he’ll see,” Mick added.
“Sounds good, Mick,” Bast acknowledged. “Now, MJ has everyone set up in different groups, and of course she’s printed out what you need to be preparing for. We have a lot to get done in a short amount of time.”
“I have a question,” Skylar said.
“Of course.” Bast nodded at her to go ahead.
“You may have already said this prior to our arrival, but will the other Elves be fighting with us?” Skylar asked the one question he and everyone else wanted to know. If they had other Elves helping it would be a big advantage.
“Yes; I’ve divided them up and put them in the groups with the others. I’ll also be leaving some behind in case we fail. They know what to do if that happens,” Bast answered. Nolan didn’t have to ask what would happen if they failed. He already knew that the other Elves would lock the entrance into Valceria, making it disappear. Each Elf King decided where the entrance will be, and Bast was the one who’d chosen Alpha City. There would be another king announced if that happened. Bast would choose to stay here and fight, and be with his mate until the end. “But we’re not going to fail.”
“Damn right.” Brody and the others echoed the same.
There wasn’t going to be an end, if he had something to say about it. Everyone in the room looked relieved to hear Bast state that the Elves would be fighting. It was a question Nolan had already known the answer to, but he could feel the tension ease once the question was answered.
Nolan’s scent was driving Skylar crazy, and he continued to stand beside her, inching closer and closer. If he continued to get any nearer she would be one with the wall she was leaning against. She closed her eyes, praying he would step away. She wanted to tell him he was invading her space, but she couldn’t. For the first time in her life she wanted a man close to her.
“Are we done yet? I want nachos,” London demanded.
The room busted out into laughter at London’s suggestion. Even Skylar couldn’t hold back a giggle.
Nolan laughed. Walking over to the stove, he started stirring the pot. He put a ton of cheese and meat on a plate and then handed it to London. “I love you, Nolan.” Ryder growled, but Nolan just smiled at London, ignoring his friend.
“Hush up pup, I’m trying to feed your hungry mate, and you know what happens when she gets hungry,” Nolan teased.
She knew London didn’t mean anything by her comment. Especially since she about ripped his hand off trying to get to the food. Skylar leaned her head up against the wall. It was fun watching how they all interacted with each other. She wanted that for her family. They needed this just as much as she did.
Skylar watched as MJ picked up the papers she had printed and started handing them out. She walked around the room, and finally got to Skylar. She leaned forward and whispered, “If you have a few minutes after the meeting, I need your help with something.”
“Of course.” Skylar responded. Now her mind was wondering what the woman wanted her help with. She had to give it to MJ; she was very smart. Glancing down at the paperwork, it looked like she hadn’t missed anything. She even put the type of foliage the shifters could hide behind. Skylar wanted to laugh, but she still felt bad about thinking that MJ and Nolan were together. If she had only listened to him, she wouldn’t be feeling like this. He’d tried to tell her, but no, she had to get jealous.
She needed to stop acting like a child and just tell him. She was the princess of the dragons, and she was an Alpha. But the little devil on her shoulder raised his head, taunting her with what-ifs. What if he didn’t feel the same as she did?
Then she would just move out when this was over. Leaving would be the hardest, but she couldn’t stay around if Nolan didn’t feel the same way. It would hurt too much.
Nolan was standing across from her watching her every move. Just a few minutes ago he’d been laughing, and now he was staring at her intensely. She looked down at the papers MJ had given to her and saw she was assigned to Nolan’s team. How was she ever going to do this? It was hard enough being in the same room with him.
“Okay, let’s take a break and then get back at it. I know we need to get that fire-proofing stuff and spray it on everything,” Bast said, and left the room. Skylar assumed he was going to check on Carina. MJ started to walk out too, and nodded at her. Skylar followed her into the living room and then out the front door. They walked to the side of the house, where MJ finally stopped. What was going on?
“I’m sorry for the secrecy, but I wanted to tell you that nothing is going on between me and Nolan. He’s a good guy, and I do love him, but not in that way. He still treats me like I’m twelve or something, and I’m twenty-five years old. They all treat me like their kid sister. When you walked in on us I had just fixed a broken camera for him and like always, he hugged me, and then messed up my hair. I just didn’t want you to think badly of him because he really—”
“What?” Skylar asked, breathless.
“He really likes you. I don’t think he even realizes how much he likes you, but we all see it. I hope you like him too, because Nolan is special. He acts like the goofball of the bunch, but he’s very sensitive and good to everyone. And he’s very smart at tracking and military strategy. To be honest, he cuts up to hide just how smart he is. I guess it has something to do with being an Alpha and not wanting people to think that he’s weak. It’s stupid, you know?”
“Did he say he liked me?” Skylar asked, staring at the girl. Her heart was beating fast and she knew MJ could hear it.
“No, but I know Nolan, and I think you’re his…”
They both turned around and stopped talking when they heard someone. Nolan peeked around the corner, his eyes wide and wary as he stared at both of them. Skylar could tell he was nervous that they were talking.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
MJ shook her head. “No, just girl talk.”
Nolan narrowed his eyes at MJ. Obviously he didn’t believe they could have girl talk. Staring back, she could see how close his tiger was. “You sure?” He was looking at her, waiting for her to say everything was okay.
“Yep, everything is good. Just girl talk,” Skylar agreed.
“Everyone is waiting on you two to eat,” Nolan told them.
MJ nodded, but Nolan didn’t leave. He just stood there, eyeing them. MJ muttered something, throwing her hands up in the air as she walked away. Skylar couldn’t understand what she was saying, but it made Nolan smile. He had a beautiful smile, too. He turned and watched as MJ continued to mutter under her breath and stomped up the porch steps.
“Do you think I made her mad?” Nolan chuckled.
“I don’t know. She’s kind of different, and I just met her, so I’m not a good one to ask,” Skylar answered.
“A
re you hungry?” Nolan asked, turning back to her. Somehow her stomach must have heard him, because it chose that particular time to speak loud and clear. Nolan smiled and held his hand out to her. “Come and I’ll feed you.”
She hesitated, wanting to say something about how he was bossing her around. But she had to admit that it felt good to let someone else take charge for a change. Skylar hesitated, then walked over and took his hand. When her skin touched his she got a feeling she couldn’t explain. It felt like coming home. His hand was callused, but felt wonderful against hers. She wanted him to touch her so badly that she was sure he could feel the shudder running through her body.
Emotions were zinging through her like a ping-pong ball bouncing around. She had to tell him that he was her mate…but they were already up the stairs and in the house. Laughter rang out in the kitchen, getting her attention. She could hear Thea laughing and it made her heart feel good. They hadn’t had much to laugh about lately. Thea and Xavier were talking to Ryder and London, obviously having a good time. Even Dag and Cry were involved in conversation with others. She even seen Cry halfway smile as Zoey spoke to him.
Nolan picked up a plate and started piling nachos on it. He stopped and looked up at her. “Do you like nachos?”
“Yes, yes I do.” Skylar cleared her throat glancing at the plate. “The spicier the better,” she added.
His preparing a plate for her said something. Didn’t it?
“My kind of woman,” Nolan muttered.
“What?” Skylar tilted her head, unsure if she’d heard him correctly.
Nolan stopped and looked over, at her mimicking her head tilt. His face went blank. “Huh?”
Skylar waited. “You said, ‘my kind of woman.’ What did you mean?”
A smile tugged at his lips. “I meant that I like my nachos spicy, too.”
Her cheeks turned pink. She thought he had meant something else. How stupid did she look now? Stop reading into everything he says. He’s just being nice. Wasn’t he? God, she was so confused right now. Why couldn’t this be easy?
