Accepting Fate

by Rivers, Brandy L

  He nodded, but she saw him thinking something through, most likely Sasha.

  Robert zapped them back to her condo. “She mentioned your dog. Can someone watch her?”

  “Most likely. I’ll call my sister. She has the key and lives across the street from me.”

  “Then good night.” He disappeared without waiting for a response.

  Gwen moved to the kitchen. “Beer or wine?”

  “Beer. I need to call Roxy.”

  “Go for it.”

  * * * *

  Roxy answered on the second ring. “Hey, Mike. I hear you disappeared from Shenanigans before we got there. Flat out vanished. You had Isa worried.”

  Mike sucked in a breath. “Yeah, I probably should come clean to a few people about what I am. That can wait. We had to take care of Amanda.”

  “You didn’t kill her, did you?”

  He rolled his eyes. “No. She’s a victim. Her brother…” he trailed off, not sure what to say. “Anyway, she’s safe now. I’m in protective custody for the moment.” He waggled his brows at Gwen. “Can you take care of Sasha?”

  “Sure. Should I tell Jordan he might have to wait a few days for practice?”

  “Would you mind if Gwen came to practice? If not, we can do it sooner. I’m supposed to keep a low profile. As long as I’m not wandering around, it’s probably okay.”

  “What the hell is going on?”

  “Would you believe me if I told you I’m not totally sure?”

  Roxy snorted. “Yeah, considering you’re finally stepping into our world.”

  “Please, I’ve known about Others all along, you only found out a few months ago.”

  “Grr, whatever,” Roxy growled.

  Sighing, he rolled his eyes. “It’s been a weird night. I’m with Gwen. We’re safe. Amanda is elsewhere, and safe. Please, keep my girl safe.”

  “All right, all right. We’ll keep her occupied.”

  “Thank you. If I can wrap my head around this, I’ll tell you all about it when we set up practice.”

  “Deal. Good night, Mike. We’ll head over in a few to grab Sasha.”

  Chapter 20

  Robert sat on one side of Amanda, Preston on the other. She was nervous. Didn’t help that Liz watched her like a hawk. Out of everyone in the room, Amanda was most terrified of the silent beauty. She seemed to take everything in. Last thing she wanted to do was piss the mage off, because she could feel her magic boiling beneath the surface.

  Robert calmly explained, “This won’t hurt, but may be uncomfortable. You’ll feel us in your head, but we won’t alter anything. We’ll be able to see all the details you never picked up on.”

  Preston nodded. “It feels weird, but doesn’t hurt. Trust us.”

  She was terrified but nodded. Mike’s magic no longer freaked her out, but there was a whole lot of power in this place. Attempting to submit to the process, she did her best to ignore the charged air. It wasn’t working. She was a trembling mess. “Do it.”

  Robert nodded and touched her head. Preston touched Robert’s arm. Next thing she knew, she was thrown into her memories.

  Cole sat at his desk, staring at the armoire with an affectionate gaze. It was weird. She didn’t understand. He tapped his fingers on a folder. The tab read “Nights” in bold black letters, but she hadn’t noticed it when she first arrived.

  “You miss Mike, don’t you? Want him back?”

  Amanda shook her head. “I’m sure he hates me by now.”

  His dark eyes briefly glowed an eerie green. “But you miss him dreadfully, don’t you?”

  She nodded, though she wanted to argue. Something niggled at her, but all the old emotions bubbled to the surface, pulling at her need to feel cherished and safe. The one thing Mike gave her that she missed. He made her feel secure, at least until the last few weeks they were together.

  A tear slid down her face as she fought back to reality. “He must hate me.”

  “He doesn’t. He came to me. Begged me to find you for him. You said you didn’t want him then. That you wanted to find yourself. You have. Now you miss him. Things can work between you.”

  Something was wrong, but she couldn’t place what. The emotional tidal wave she was under wasn’t at all what she felt before she walked into that dark room.

  His phone rang, and he picked it up. He answered, “Give me a moment,” then hung up.

  She learned the combination when he took the file to a hidden safe and opened it. Her vision was better than when she was alive. So was her memory.

  He shut the safe and swiped his phone. “I’ll be back momentarily.”

  As soon as he was out the door, she stood and walked to the armoire, curious. She found Josie, his girlfriend for as long as she could remember, staring back at her with dead, glassy eyes.

  Fear spiraled through her and she shut the door. Josephine’s corpse was frozen in time. She hurried to the safe, and entered the code. Inside she found macabre tomes, and papers she rifled through. The file that said Nights, she opened and found information about Mike and his family.

  Cole came back into the room and she was caught red-handed.

  “Naughty, naughty, naughty.” He closed the distance, seething, and stared into her eyes. “Forget what you learned.”

  Her breathing came in great gasps, though she didn’t really need the air, but it was a reflex she couldn’t break.

  “We need to shut him down,” Preston said harshly. “He’s testing his brand of magic on vampires and other undead. He’s draining druids.”

  “What?” Amanda had been too focused on the stuff about Mike to notice what else was in the vault.

  Tremaine rubbed his face. “We shouldn’t have let him leave the academy so easily.”

  “Too late now.” Preston shrugged.

  Robert nodded. “Let’s go raid Death’s Door. Last status update I received from Kevin reported Coltrain was there.”

  * * * *

  Cole sat at the bar, drinking a Sour Puss. The music was dark and throbbing, filling the place with a sense of desperation. The dancefloor was filled with gyrating bodies, some going further than most would consider decent in public.

  Normally he would slip away into his office, but he watched Kevin sling back shot after shot of iced tea, trying to pass it off as liquor. The mage doubled as a police officer and Silver Council Enforcer. The fact that Simone, whom he thought was his most loyal bartender, kept up the act without warning Cole was disappointing. He wondered how many of his employees would side with the Council.

  He felt someone breach the wards in his office. No one had gone down the hall. One person had the power to bypass the wards and appear directly into his damned office.

  Cole picked up his phone and brought up the security app to check what was going on in there. He got nothing but static, they’d already cut the security system. Luckily, it wasn’t linked to the rest of the building’s system, and he could still use that to escape.

  He pressed the button for the alarm. Sprinklers came on, the alarm blared, and people panicked creating enough chaos Kevin was distracted. Slipping off the stool, he pulled his hood up, and disappeared into the crowd.

  It was time to be someone else until he secured Mike and brought back Josephine. His empowered minions would have to wait.

  He needed Mike, and he was running out of options. Amanda and Angelique had fallen off the face of the planet. Worst case, he could control Mike through drugs, once he found him.

  * * * *

  “Want to talk?” Gwen asked Mike, who stood at the windows, staring out over the water.

  A storm was brewing. His turmoil bringing it closer. The forecast had called for a clear night, not that Seattle wasn’t known for clouds. Storms, however, weren’t common in the temperate Pacific Northwest.

  He scrubbed his hands over his cropped hair. “She’s probably freaking out with Tremaine, Liz, and Robert there all focused on her. Talk about being a bug under a microscope.”

&nbs
p; Gwen laughed. “Liz is strong enough to freak anyone out. Her magic is more wild than anyone I know. She’s a force to be reckoned with. Tremaine can be pretty scary too. He just hides it better.” Gwen shrugged. “I overheard him tell Roxy he’s part druid. Makes sense.”

  Turning back, his head cocked slightly. “Is that unusual?”

  She nodded. “That’s an understatement. It’s not often mages conceive with other casters. When they do, the baby is usually one or the other, sometimes neither. It’s extremely rare they’re both.”

  “Hmm, okay.”

  “Problem is, if the Council mages knew, he’d be treated like a criminal for being different. It’s fucked up, but true. That’s why when mage hybrids happen, it’s hush-hush and no one knows about them.”

  “Is that what you are?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. My father was a mage healer. They’re rare. Usually our talents are more elemental, healers being the exception.”

  “Hmm.”

  One corner of her mouth quirked up. “Why? Would my genetics change your opinion of me?”

  “Not at all. I haven’t learned to discriminate against various types of Others.” He winked.

  “Hey, not all of us are like that.”

  “Actually, I haven’t been around any who do. I wonder if that was an old view which has changed slowly enough you haven’t realized it.”

  “Nope. Unfortunately, most mages are elitist. It’s the truth.” Gwen tipped her head back and drank down the white wine. Her throat worked, tempting him to taste her sweet flesh.

  He closed the distance and placed his open mouth on her neck to suck gently. He was done waiting. Gliding his hands down her body, he grabbed her thighs, urging her to wrap her legs around his waist. “Bedroom this time?”

  “Yup, you taking me there?”

  He nodded before kissing her soundly. Her arms locked around his neck as he carried her back to her room.

  After placing Gwen on the floor, he wasted no time pulling her dress over her head. The red satin strapless bra and panties looked good on her, but he wanted every inch exposed.

  He yanked his shirt off as her hands went to his belt. She was shoving his boxers and pants down his legs by the time he kicked his shoes off.

  “Impatient much?” she teased.

  “You brought back the raging desire from earlier. Back when I thought I might die if I didn’t get to sink deep into you.” He hooked his fingers under the waist of her panties and slid them off her legs. After ridding her of the bra, he gently shoved her toward the edge of the bed.

  Staring up at him, she giggled. “I love this side of you.”

  His breath caught. That word kept hovering around them. The more he heard it, the more he felt it. He wasn’t ready to say the expression, but he didn’t want to lose the feelings it evoked.

  Growling low in his chest, he caught her thighs and pulled her upward until her back bounced on the mattress. Desire burned in her eyes as she propped herself on her elbows to watch.

  He dropped to his knees and tugged until her ass was at the very edge of the bed before spreading her legs open. She was already glistening. “You’re as ready as I am.” Leaning forward, he tasted her sweet nectar.

  “Shit, Mike, I need you.”

  “Now who’s being impatient?” he purred, but didn’t stop exploring her slick folds and teasing her pearl. Then she was coming. He didn’t give her time to recover before he stood and thrust into her, looking down at her body.

  “Yes, that’s it!” she cried, her back arching.

  He pulled one leg to his shoulder, sliding deeper with a groan. She was wrapped tight around him. The pleasure was so intense, he fell into the frantic rhythm. Her hips moved with his, driving him harder.

  “Yes, yes, yes,” she panted.

  Her hands fisted in the comforter as her body moved. She was beautiful, her body a masterpiece he wanted to paint. He felt her release and was pulled into his own.

  He held her hips, staying deep within her—a part of her. Too strong, the emotions threatened to bury him. Mike fell on the bed and pulled Gwen into his arms.

  She burrowed against him, tucking her head under his chin and clung to him.

  “Believe me now?” he murmured.

  “About what,” she asked with a yawn.

  “Wanting you. No one else.”

  Pulling back, she looked into his eyes. “I do.” Her lips met his in a slow kiss. When she settled beside him, she drifted into sleep.

  Inspiration still pumped through him. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her lost in passion. Her beauty haunted him. Once she was breathing heavily, deep in sleep, he left the bed in search of a notepad and something to draw with.

  He didn’t have his paints or colored pencils, so he’d improvise. In the kitchen he found a legal pad and pencils. He made himself comfortable on the couch and gave in to the love he could not yet verbalize.

  Chapter 21

  Gwen woke to an empty room. A chill travelled down her spine as she climbed from the bed and pulled a robe on. If Mike left, anything could have happened to him.

  With her heart sinking, she left her bedroom, and found immediate relief when she spotted Mike reclined on the couch sketching on a yellow pad. He was lost to whatever was on the paper.

  With a smile, she walked around the couch to look over his shoulder. He’d drawn a beautiful woman gripped in the throes of passion.

  Then she realized it was her.

  Her heart thudded in her chest as she stared in awe. “That’s what you see?”

  A smile lit his face as he looked up at her. “I’d do better with a real canvas and my stuff.”

  She reached out to caress his face. “Couldn’t sleep?”

  “Inspiration hit.” He set the pad aside, as well as the pencil, and pulled her over the back of the couch into his lap. “Probably think that’s ridiculous.”

  “Nah. Sexy. Besides, I found you naked on my couch, drawing something that makes me think you like what you see.”

  He grinned, his hand slipping inside the thin silk robe to caress her breast and tease a nipple. “How could I not? From the moment I laid eyes on you, I was captivated.”

  “Flatterer.” She sighed happily.

  “It’s the truth.”

  “Mike,” she whispered, “can’t get enough of you.”

  “That’s what I like to hear.” He rolled until she was under him and ground his length against her heat, shifting her robe to the side. “So fucking wet, always so wet.” With that he pushed in slowly and set a torturous pace. “And ready.”

  “For you? Yeah, that takes one look and I’m there.” Her hands found his stomach, and traced a path up his ribs and around his back. Dropping to his elbows, he kissed her, long and deep as he made love to her.

  The sex before was amazing, but this was intimate and full of emotion.

  His fingers tangled in her hair, his pace gradually increasing, the pleasure intensifying. She felt him all the way to her soul. He broke the kiss, looking into her eyes, his sounds becoming more urgent.

  “Gwen, oh Gwen.” It came out like prayer.

  His eyes flashed white with his climax. She was right there with him. She wanted to confess her feelings, but held back the words. For a long moment, he stared into her, his emotions playing over his face, making her fall even harder.

  Mike sat up, scooped her into his arms, and carried her back to the bed, where he curled around her before falling asleep. Smiling, she tugged the covers over them both and closed her eyes, enjoying his comforting presence.

  * * * *

  Preston and Robert stood in Coltrain’s office. They’d been there for hours. The second Robert zapped them inside the dark office, Preston warded the doors and frazzled the circuits to the security system in a single spell.

  Preston sat at the desk, going through an ancient book. The spells outlined in the tome were enough to turn Preston’s stomach. He jabbed the page with his finger and glared at R
obert. “I fucking told the Council, Coltrain needed to be put on watch. They let him slip into oblivion. Fucking morons.”

  “We all thought he was dead,” Robert pointed out.

  “Yeah, but it didn’t feel right. If I hadn’t been sent on the next assignment, I would have kept looking, but they sent me to France to chase after that damned phoenix.”

  “True. Hey, I wasn’t saying you failed.”

  He sighed. “I’m worried about Gwen and that kid.”

  Robert’s brow arched. “Do you really think she’s going to let him out of her sight?”

  “Not intentionally. But Cole’s a crafty bastard. Who’s to say he won’t find a way to separate them, at least for a few minutes. That’s all it would take.”

  “Can you make a case for Mike to stay out in Edenton for a few days?” Robert asked.

  “Not off the top of my head. Then again, Coltrain probably won’t come out to play without Mike. We could use him as bait.”

  “You want to use the kid as bait?” Robert asked with wide eyes. One hand rose and pointed at him. “You realize if that kid gets hurt, Gwen will implode.”

  “We may not have a choice. Gwen’s training him. We should talk to her tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, it can wait until morning.”

  “Got that right. Waking Gwen before she’s ready is never wise. Girl’s grumpy in the morning.”

  “You can say that again.” Robert looked away, a blush coloring his cheeks. Preston didn’t bother asking. He knew about their failed attempt at more than friends.

  “There wasn’t much here. Like he already took most of it wherever he’s going.”

  “Maybe Amanda has a clue trapped somewhere in her memories.”

  Robert shuddered. “That poor girl. Cole ruined her life.”

  “We deal with Coltrain and she has a shot at happiness. Where, I have no clue, but she has a chance to have a life without her strings being constantly pulled.”