by R. E. Butler
“Just coffee. Maybe some fruit or a muffin if I’m feeling peckish.”
“I’ll make sure you have those things before we leave the chamber, as well as your evening meal.”
“It’s weird to eat breakfast at night, but I’m getting used to it. And you know you don’t have to do anything special for me.”
The microwave beeped, and he pulled the hot plate from the interior and shut the door. Setting it in front of her, he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and said, “This is simply me seeing to your needs. Don’t ask me to stop, because I won’t.”
“Okay.”
He fetched utensils for her from a drawer and then took a bottle of SyBl from the fridge and opened it. The bottles were made of dark glass, but he worried she would be turned off by the sight of him drinking synthetic blood. When he asked, she promised that she wasn’t and even took the bottle from him and sniffed at the opening, declaring that it smelled only vaguely like copper.
“I wouldn’t change what you are anyway, Brone,” she said as she cut up the chicken on her plate. “I don’t know how all this beloved stuff works, but you’re my mate and that means I accept what you are.”
Her acceptance of his nature was not something he’d contemplated affecting him, but it did. He accepted what she was, but it was far easier for him to accept her Wiccan nature that she came by genetically than for her to accept his vampire nature. That she did, and so quickly, told him just how special she was.
The SyBl tasted quite bland in comparison to real blood. Synthetic blood had been around for many years, created in a lab by vampires who were afraid that eventually the vampires’ food would die out and they’d starve. Brone had not taken to it for many years, choosing instead to drink nightly from humans, but that became a hassle as the tide of public interest in vampires switched from general wariness to genuine desire to be changed. There was a romanticism associated with vampires now that Brone had thought would never happen. Starry-eyed human females and males came into the club nightly, hoping to find a vampire who would be willing to turn them. It did happen from time to time, but was still quite rare.
He settled the now-empty bottle on the table and looked at his mate as she ate her meal. “I wanted to talk to you about this weekend.”
Her fork stilled halfway to her mouth. “Sure.” She put down the fork and gave him her full attention.
“When we bond together on Sunday, we’ll share blood while we make love. It’s not just me drinking from you, but you will drink my blood as well. Sharing our blood during sex makes the bond unbreakable and ties us together supernaturally. You’ll see my life while we share blood, and I will see yours. My memories will flash through your mind, something akin to a movie on fast forward.”
She made a face but didn’t say anything. He reached across the table and took her hand. “What is it?”
Averting her eyes, she said, “I’m going to see you doing everything with other women?”
He opened his mouth and then was unsure of what to say. He thought she would be worried about seeing his violent past, but she was instead concerned about seeing him have sex with others. It was almost funny, except he remembered he would also have her memories and that meant seeing her past relationships as well.
He leaned to the side and snatched her from her seat, setting her quickly in his lap. She squeaked in surprise and then laughed. He stroked his finger along her jaw and looked down into her beautiful green eyes. “You’ll see all of my past, Arissa, and I’ll see yours. But the only thing that matters is that we’ll be bonded forever. I don’t want to witness the males that have come before me, as you don’t want to see the females that I’ve bedded in my long life, but trust me when I say this — none hold a candle to you.”
Her heart began to beat rapidly, and her voice was breathy when she spoke. “We haven’t done anything yet.”
“You meant more to me the moment I laid eyes on you than anyone else ever in my life. Never doubt that.”
“I won’t.”
Their mouths met, and he pushed his tongue past her lips, deepening the kiss. Her tongue slid against his as she moaned softly, her arms slipping around his shoulders. He pulled her closer, one hand on the small of her back and one hand cupping the back of her head. Her scent filled his nose, like the sweetest of wines, and his fangs throbbed at the thought of drinking her blood.
He heard the sound of heels on tile drawing near and he broke the kiss. Arissa made a soft protesting sound, and her eyes opened slowly, meeting his. Cella knocked on the open door, announcing her presence even though Brone was well aware of her.
“The mates are waiting in the War Room.”
“War Room?” Arissa asked, laying her head on his shoulder and cuddling closer, not seeming to care that they had an audience.
Cella said, “It’s just a fancy term for the biggest meeting room in the club.”
“So no war planning?”
Brone smiled at his mate’s sense of humor and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Not today, beloved.”
He thanked Cella for arranging the meeting and then set Arissa on her feet. After the dishes were put away, she took his hand, and they walked together into the outer hallway. He had instructed her previously that she was not to go out into the club because although the coven recognized that they were mates even though they were not officially mated, there were vampires who came to the club who would not know who she was. Once they shared blood and she wore his marks, no one would dare touch her.
Because he was with her, however, they could walk through the club and get to the War Room faster than going the back way through the covens’ chambers.
The club was crowded. The heavy, fast beat of the music made for dancing throbbed against his eardrums, and strobe lights and lasers flashed over the dancers, highlighting their writhing flesh. Vampires, humans, and shifters danced closely, mixed with food looking to be fed from to meet their nightly quota.
Brone heard a commotion near the front door and Cella volunteered to stay with Arissa while he investigated.
“I’ll be back,” he said and kissed Arissa swiftly.
“Be careful,” she called after him.
He strode to the front doors, his long legs eating up the distance quickly. He found Vex and several other guards looking out the open doors. A man writhed on the bottom step of the club, screaming. His skin smoked, and blisters formed as his body jerked.
Vex looked over his shoulder and shrugged. “He’s a human.”
“What’s happening to him?” Brone asked, the acrid scent of burning flesh beginning to fill the air.
“I don’t know. Apparently Finn’s mate was coming back to the club for the meeting with Arissa, and this human stepped out of the line and tried to grab her. She was on the second or third step, and when he stepped onto the bottom step and reached for her, he seemed to be stuck and in terrible pain.” Vex grinned.
Brone frowned as he watched the human’s skin slowly scorch. “Is Finn’s mate okay?”
“She’s fine. Shaken, of course. Finn is pissed beyond belief. Apparently she went out without a guard.”
Brone turned and looked to where Cella stood with Arissa and motioned them over. When Arissa looked out the door at the human who seemed to be frying to death, she gasped, her hand covering her mouth in shock.
“What the hell?” Cella asked, peering down the steps. A crowd had now gathered, and the lights from several police cars were flashing as the vehicles pulled to a stop in the street.
Arissa’s eyes were wide when she dropped her hand and said, “He’s caught in the witch glass. That means he has evil intentions. Apparently very, very evil intentions for the spell to be hurting him that much.”
“I bet he’s from that fucking church,” Vex said with a snarl.
Brone bet that as well. The male on the step went quiet, but his body continued to twitch and burn. “Beloved?”
“I think he’s stuck in the protection line. If someo
ne will knock him out of it, he’ll stop getting shocked. If you want him to stop being hurt.”
Cella chuckled. “I like her so much, Brone.”
He did, too.
Brone looked at Vex and the male nodded, striding down the steps to where the human twitched on the bottom step. “I’m not going to get shocked, right?” He looked up at them.
“I don’t know. Are you evil?” Arissa asked.
“Not tonight,” Vex promised.
Arissa laughed. “You’ll be fine. Just give him a good kick. And make sure when he regains consciousness that he knows not to come back here again.”
Vex nodded and then kicked the human hard. There was a small flash of light and his body rolled off the step and down onto the sidewalk. Smoke rose from his skin, but he had stopped twitching. Focusing his attention on the male, Brone heard the man’s faint heartbeat.
“He’s still alive,” Brone said to Arissa after he had instructed the guards to make sure the human police were informed that the human had trespassed and attempted to kidnap a mate.
They began to walk toward the War Room, and she leaned against him, one arm around his waist. He laid his arm over her shoulder. “Does it make me a bad person that I don’t care if he’s alive or not?”
“Of course not,” he assured her. “Whatever that male wanted with Finn’s mate, it was definitely not good. You kept her from getting hurt. You did your job.”
“I just don’t want him to come back and try to hurt someone else.”
“If that wasn’t a deterrent, then I don’t know what is.”
The door to the War Room opened, and Finn stood in the doorway. Brone and Arissa stopped. Finn dropped to one knee with his hand over his heart. “I am ever in your debt, Arissa. Thank you for saving my mate’s life.”
Arissa swallowed audibly, and Brone sensed she was fighting tears. “You’re welcome.”
Finn stood slowly and kept his head bowed in deference, slipping back into the War Room and joining his mate, whose face was streaked with tears. One by one, Arissa met with the mates. Finn’s mate, Donna, hugged Arissa tightly and wept, thanking Arissa over and over.
When the last mate had come by and met Arissa, Brone stood in the room with her alone and held her while she cried.
“Things just got really heavy for me, Brone. Meeting them and knowing that they trust me to help keep them safe…it’s a burden I didn’t expect.”
“You’re very strong. You can protect them and the club. And I will help you shoulder the burden in any way that I can.”
She sighed deeply and pressed herself closer. “I’m so glad that you’re with me.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
Chapter 9
Arissa loved going to sleep in Brone’s arms and waking up with his rock hard body next to hers. It was tempting — very tempting — to push their relationship physically so they could become mates instead of waiting. She knew all she had to do was say she didn’t want to wait and he would ignore Mishka’s request to wait until Sunday night. But she didn’t want to be the reason that he broke a vow for the first time in a thousand years, even though she liked that he valued her more than even his honor.
After meeting the mates on Tuesday evening, she knew that she needed to increase their protection. Although the witch glass had been extremely effective — even more so than she expected — she knew she could do more for them. Once Brone left her at the front desk with a lingering kiss, she called Lorene and asked for help in finding the right spell to protect the mates, no matter where they were.
“I think that the most appropriate mode of defense for the mates would be to give each one a protection amulet. When you come to work next Sunday, I will help you make the amulets so they’ll be exceptionally powerful,” Lorene said.
“I would appreciate the help. There are seventeen mates that live within the club, and several of them have jobs that require them to travel.”
“I’ll send some books to the club for you so that you can begin to research the appropriate spells. I have all of the ingredients here except what you want to make the amulets out of.”
“I’ll handle that and bring the supplies.”
She cleared her throat and said, “How are things going there, dear?”
“Really well. They’re taking good care of me.”
Lorene made a soft sound, almost a chuckle, and then said, “I suspect we have much to discuss the next time we see each other?”
Arissa couldn’t help the grin. “Definitely.”
“I’ll let you get back to work. Keep an eye out for the books, and let me know if you need anything special for the amulets outside of the traditional ingredients for the protection spell.”
“I will, Lorene, thank you.”
The call ended, and Arissa pressed the button to ring Cella’s office. When Cella answered, Arissa said, “I need to order some protection supplies for the mates. You mentioned yesterday that I have an expense account, so how does that work?”
“I’ll be right up,” Cella said and ended the call.
Within minutes, Cella was perched on the edge of the desk and asking what Arissa needed.
“I need gems to make amulets for the mates. There’s a website that the store uses, and I can have the stones carved with protection words. After they’re blessed, I can attach them to bracelets.”
“That’s cool. Do they work?”
Arissa raised a brow. “The witch glass worked just fine.”
“True,” Cella said with a laugh. “Let’s shop and I’ll fill out the order information when you’re done.”
It was time for her break by the time that Arissa finished ordering the stones.
“Those will be really neat bracelets. And it’s cool that they’ll help to protect the mates. But how does it work exactly?”
“It’s not like a real barrier like the witch glass, but the mates should be able to sense danger if it nears them, and in some cases, I’ve heard that people who wear protection bracelets have been passed by someone intending to harm them as if they were invisible. There are supernatural occurrences we can’t explain sometimes, but I know that they work.”
“You don’t wear one,” Cella pointed out.
“I wasn’t ever in danger before. And I do know how to cast quick protection spells if I need to. I can defend myself if I have to. I just haven’t ever needed to before.”
Cella smiled softly, her head tilting as she regarded Arissa. “We’re lucky to have you here.”
Cella said goodbye as Brone joined Arissa at the desk for break. “I’ve been asked to bring you to the cafeteria for your break today.”
“Really? Why?”
“The mates want you to eat with them.”
“Oh, that’s neat. Are you okay with us eating with them?”
“As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”
They linked hands and walked to the cafeteria together. “I’m definitely happiest with you.”
* * * * *
The rest of the week passed quickly, and with each sunset, her anticipation of the weekend rose. Each night at work, Brone took her away from the desk for an extra hour at her break so they could spend more time getting to know each other. She had a feeling he was trying to share more about his long life so she wasn’t so shocked by all that she would see when they mated. She was sure she’d be shocked by what he’d done before he became what he called “more civilized,” when he joined Mishka’s coven, but the sexy sweetheart who called her beloved was the man he was because of his past, and she wouldn’t change anything about him.
It had only been a week, but she hadn’t had trouble adjusting to working at night and sleeping during the day. Mishka seemed pleased with her work in helping the mates. For most of her life, she’d been happy to be part of a coven and working with Wiccans, but with the vampires, and especially with Brone, she felt as though she’d finally found her true place.
As the night waned early Sunday, her spine
tingled in anticipation. She felt Brone coming down the hallway, even before she heard his heavy footfalls. He strode into the reception area and stopped next to the desk.
She turned off the computer and pushed the forward button on the phones so the automated system would take over. Waving at the guards at the front door, she stood and joined her mate on the other side of the desk. He gave her a half-smile that made her want to melt into a big pile of goo on the rug as he enveloped her hand with his and led her away from the desk.
“How was your first week?” he asked.
“Hectic but good.” She smiled at his attempt at small talk. He was not a male of many words, but he was an excellent listener. She also knew that he was aware of everything that had gone on during the week because he paid close attention to her to make sure she was safe. She’d never had anyone care so much about her well-being.
Her own mother had only had her because, according to the coven her mother belonged to, it was every Wiccan’s duty to bear children for the future generation. Arissa wasn’t even sure who her father was. After she was born, her mother had dumped her off on her sister, Adelaide, who raised Arissa as if she were her own and taught her everything she knew about spell casting.
Arissa’s mother had never returned. Although she knew her name, Arissa had never met the woman who bore her, and she thought of Adelaide as her mother. An illness had taken Adelaide when Arissa was eighteen plus five, but she believed her aunt was still watching over her from the other side and would definitely approve of Brone.
Arissa had asked Brone about his family during one of their long breaks, and he said that his father was a warrior who died when Brone was a teenager, and his mother had died giving birth to his sister, who had not survived. Brone was a changed vampire, which meant that he would never be able sire children. Natural vampires, those born from two natural vampire parents, could have children, but ones who were changed from human to vampire, could not; their bodies became frozen and unchanging forever. When Arissa was changed due to her mating with Brone, she would be unable to bear children, too. It hadn’t occurred to her until that moment that she’d never have a child with her mate, something she had always thought would happen to her eventually.
