Moonlight: The Big Bad Wolf (Black Swan 4)

by Danann, Victoria

  "Monq thanked them for their commitment and said we are going to arrange quarters for them. He said the human population of this world is unaware that vampire exist. They laughed about that. And he said we're going to have to ask them to conform to a few ground rules.

  "They said, 'Like what?'

  "He said that they need to stay on the premises unless accompanied and that they are to eat the blood substitute - you know, the one we developed for Baka's confinement. And that they are not to interact with the people of this world, for obvious reasons."

  One of the vampire said something in reply, but was grinning at Elora as he said it. Glen translated. "He says they do no harm, that women love them. They have a little nip, spread a little seed..."

  Javier smiled at Elora seductively and spoke directly to her, saying, "Si je te mords, tu promets de couiner pour moi, mon amour."

  Glen paled a little when he looked at Elora. She frowned and said, "Go on. What did he say?"

  Glen turned an interesting shade of red and clearly didn't want to repeat it. "He said, 'If I bite you, will you promise to squeal for me, my love?'"

  Rammel went straight over the delicately set table en route to a spectacular mid air dive at the vamp who had been looking at his mate while suggesting biting and squealing in the same sentence. When Ram got his hands around the throat of the surprised vamp, it took the combined effort of Storm, Glen, and Elora to pull him away.

  Javier was unharmed, but flushed and looking angry, no doubt shocked about what he thought was an unprovoked attack. He didn't quite shout, but did give a small speech in an offended tone.

  When Ram had regained a semblance of control, Monq turned to the knights. "I won't repeat that verbatim, but basically he said, 'What's your problem? First, you ruined my blouse and now you come for my throat as well?'"

  Glen let go of Ram and walked toward Javier. He said a couple of things while pointing at Elora. Javier looked at Elora then at Ram. Considerably calmer, he straightened his clothes, looked at Ram and said something that was punctuated by a semi-sincere bow of his head.

  Glen was clearly working hard at stifling laughter. He directed his attention to Ram and translated the last exchange. "He wants you to know that he meant no offense, that he did not know the lady was your property."

  Elora gasped while jerking a wide-eyed and indignant gaze to the vamp. Javier looked thoroughly confused. He shook his head, threw up his hands, and muttered something.

  Glen translated. "He said, 'Jeanne's Voices, what now?'"

  The best idea they could come up with on short notice was to commandeer the trainees' rec room and turn it into a large temporary dorm. Sol called operations with instructions. When he hung up he said, "They can have it ready in forty-five minutes."

  Everyone simultaneously turned and looked at the five vampire who reacted by raising eyebrows and shoulders in a universal gesture to indicate, "What?"

  Monq explained that temporary quarters were being arranged and invited them to sit. The vampire said something among themselves and then cautiously advanced to pull five of the chairs toward a corner of the room. The Order personnel remained in a huddle on the other side of the room. The two groups eyed each other, except that what Ram was doing with Javier could better be described as glaring. No one on either side could miss that Javier was the target of a warning still in effect.

  Elora turned to her little group of reluctant hosts and looked between Monq and Sol. "We need to get Baka here right away. He should take lead on this project. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he speaks French. In fact I'd bet on it."

  "What do you mean lead?" Monq seemed agitated. "He's not a scientist."

  "No. He's not, but what does that have to do with it?"

  "Well, obviously, the study of these creatures falls under my purview as head of science."

  "Monq. Their principal value to us is not...

  "You're actually thinking they've just volunteered to sit still and be your lab rats?" Elora shook her head. "When I got them to agree to stay and help clean up the mess, I meant that they need to actually clean up the mess. They need to be helping Baka's people find the infected and administer the vaccine until the last one is cured."

  "What?" Monq was starting to look as petulant as a child being threatened with having a new toy confiscated. He looked at Sol for support. "Tell her she's off on a tangent. These vampire are mine."

  Storm jumped in. "No. She's right. She's absolutely right. We don't need them for a vaccine. We already have it." He glanced at Elora. "Thanks to her.

  "If they're willing to help, they could make short work of this because the va... the infected can't hurt them. They're naturally immune and, I'm guessing, just as quick and strong." He glanced over at the vampire who were practically huddled together. "They've already shown us 'hard to kill' with a demonstration that was sort of disturbing. To me at least, speaking in my capacity as hunter retired."

  Monq narrowed his eyes at Storm. "You know your opinion loses all value when speaking on behalf of a former teammate."

  "And why is that?"

  Monq looked from Storm to Ram to Elora and back again before snorting. "Who in the known world doesn't know that you're going to back each other? Always. No matter what."

  "That's crazy. Why do you think that?" Storm was calm, but baffled.

  Sol stepped in on Monq's defense. "I can answer that. Name one time when one member of B Team has failed to back up another member."

  Storm and Ram stared at each other for a minute and then smiled like they were sharing a treasure trove of private jokes. Ram grinned at Elora, put his arm over her shoulder, and pulled her toward him so that he could kiss her on the temple.

  Storm turned back to Monq looking unperturbed, like a person on the higher ground of an argument. "I can't think of an example offhand, but that doesn't mean she's not in the right."

  Monq opened his mouth to speak, but Sol held up his hand to stop him. Staring down at the floor, he crossed his arms then pressed his thumb into the indent below his lower lip as he so often did when he was contemplating a decision. Everyone knew when he was decided because he transmitted strong visual cues. He dropped his arms, straightened, and looked at Elora like he was about to give an order.

  "You call Baka. I'll call Simon and get him to prioritize transport."

  Monq threw up his hands in exasperation.

  Sol tried to placate him by saying, "You can have them for brief periods when they're not needed elsewhere, but only on a volunteer basis. You are to do nothing that might endanger this association. They're doing us a favor and we're not going to forget that. Don't start thinking of them as captives. These aliens can go anywhere, anytime, and can't be confined."

  Monq ran his gaze over the little group. "That's the point and none of you seem to be getting it. I don't need them because they're vampire. Like you said, we already have a vaccine. I need them because I'm trying to develop an Interdimensional Breach Defense System." His voice was getting louder and higher as he spoke, but it seemed to go with the shade of lavender he was wearing on his face. "And this, dear friends, was a very fine demonstration of Interdimensional Breach. It puts an exclamation point on why this work has become crucial.

  "How nice for us that they happen to be friendly - even helpful - THIS TIME. What if they weren't?"

  Again, everybody in the group looked over at the vampire. Again the vamps raised their eyebrows because the fact that they were being discussed was undeniable.

  Sol woke Simon to talk to him. At the same time, Elora talked to Baka, who had also been sound asleep.

  "It's a breakthrough for you. Well, for all of us, but you're in charge of the Inversion. You've got to get here soon as you can. Sol's talking to Simon right now about getting you on a plane. If you want to bring Heaven, he'll get it cleared."

  "Of course I want to bring her, but she's neck deep in recategorizing dead case files as possible Interdimensional Breach Events. If it pans out and we nee
d her, she'll figure out a way to extricate herself from the project. Count on just me for now."

  "Your call. Either way, tell her I said hello. See you soon. And hurry."

  Elora walked over to Ram who was still glaring at Javier. She pressed her body into his side and put her lips on one of his perfectly shaped elven ears. "You wrecked the table, hero. I'll have to protect you from Farnsworth because she's going to want to blister your gorgeous behind. And nobody gets to touch your gorgeous behind except me." She nibbled on his ear as he smiled at Javier with eyes burning like embers with pride of possession. She's all mine. It's not easy to maintain a glare while smiling, but Ram managed it brilliantly.

  When Sol got the call that the room was ready, he instructed Glen to invite the little band of merry vampire to accompany them. Sol and Glen led the way. The vamps were followed by Storm, Ram, and Elora with Monq and Litha trailing behind more in the capacity of observers than anything else.

  As they walked down the long hall past the mess, across the hub, to the elevator bank, the vampire flirted with every woman they passed, using a range of techniques from gestures to cat calls to body movements that could only be described as obscene. Elora thought Ram had cured her of blushing, but she felt it coming on and hated herself for not being able to control it. Black Swan knights should be above blushing, even in the presence of live porn.

  Every single woman responded to the antics, some with giggles, some with blatant sexual interest. When Elora realized that Ram was enjoying the effect they were having on women more than he should, she said, "Great Paddy," under her breath and rolled her eyes at no one in particular.

  "What was that?" he asked.

  "Your days of charismatic seduction are over."

  "To be certain. I'm just enjoyin' watchin' the goin's on from the other side of satisfied."

  "Very smooth, Ram."

  The newly established alien vampire barracks was large enough to accommodate five single beds without disturbing the TV-centric lounge seating or the pair of pool tables. The trainees were more than okay with the arrangement because they were given permission to use one of the entertainment centers normally reserved for active duty knights.

  The refrigerator was stocked with blood substitute and Glen showed them how to use the microwave if they preferred it warm. He also showed them how to request on demand video with French subtitles. The video feed had been programmed for trainees, which meant no porn.

  The vampire stood idly by and watched with curiosity as the beds were made up with comfortable linens. Their curiosity made Glen wonder out loud about their sleeping habits. They confirmed that they did not sleep, ever. Glen then asked if they would like the beds to stay or go. The vampire seemed amused and Glen understood three of them to turn to each other and say, "There is more than one use for a bed, oui?"

  Glen didn't bother trying to correct the misimpression of a future that included anything other than sleeping taking place in those beds. That was simply beyond his present pay grade.

  Word spread like wildfire through Jefferson Unit that there were five pure vampire, unknowing authors of the plague and aliens from another dimension, being temporarily housed in the trainees' rec room. Naturally everyone wanted a glimpse, but access was restricted for the time being. It was fortunate that the room was down a short hallway, easily blocked off. One of the former teams of vampire hunters was assigned guard duty - not for the purpose of keeping the vampire in, because that would be impossible, but for the purpose of keeping curiosity seekers out.

  It was late when the original dinner guests turned to leave.

  "Does it no' matter to anyone else that we did no' get dinner?"

  Storm grasped Ram by the shoulder affectionately. "Let's go to the lounge and see if they can rustle something up."

  Everybody more or less fell in line behind them. Litha asked Elora about the baby.

  "You can't leave without coming to see him. Are you staying tonight?"

  "No. We'll pop home after dinner."

  Elora smiled. "I keep forgetting. The ability to be anywhere almost instantly... Well, why ever sleep somewhere that's not your own bed?"

  Litha leaned close and whispered conspiratorily, "Do you really have to ask that?"

  Elora laughed loudly enough that Ram and Storm both turned around to see what their wives were finding so amusing. Elora gave them a too-precious look of innocence and hammed it up with a couple of big blinks. Litha wore an expression that said, "It's a complete mystery why she spontaneously breaks into hysteria at times."

  When Ram and Storm turned around, Elora grasped Litha's forearm and made a motion with her head, signaling that they should let the others pass by. When they had lagged far behind the rest of the diners interruptus, Elora whispered, "You're showing!"

  "I know."

  "How is that possible?"

  Litha shrugged. "Our baby has a unique heritage. We don't really know what to expect. My grandmother told me that, after my dad was born, he became an adult incubus in three days, complete with the sum of both parents' experiences stored in his memory. In detail." She chuckled under her breath. "Three years from now we could be taking her to preschool or planning a wedding."

  Elora's brain seemed to stop working when she tried to grasp that. "Wow."

  "I know. So. I guess we have to be flexible." She frowned a little. "And I'm not sure that's Storm's strong suit. The pregnancy is going a lot faster than... You know the only doctor they'll let me see is that quack they had treating you."

  Elora nodded. "You can't just walk into any OB/GYN and say, 'Hey. This might be a little outside typical.'" She paused and Litha sighed. "It could turn out to be good. Shorter pregnancy preferable to longer pregnancy? Anytime."

  "I guess so."

  "What are you going to tell Storm's family? And the monks?"

  "The monks are no problem because their sect is basically mystic. They'll be cool about it. Storm's family? I don't know. He said we're going to have to buy a story from Ram, that, 'Rammel is king at making shit up'."

  "Okay. I'm going to choose to not think about that too hard, but I feel fairly certain that, for Storm, he would make shit up for free."

  Litha gave Elora a full-throated, sexy laugh she'd never heard before. Over time, she'd grown more and more fond of Litha. She admired her poise and the serene calm she wore so naturally, not to mention that she was as multifaceted as a prism. She was a perfect match for somebody as complicated as Storm and, most importantly, she loved him the way he deserved to be loved.

  "So moving on to a normal question. How's married life?"

  Litha simply smiled like a person who was happy with her choices.

  "That good?" Elora laughed softly. "Just what I wanted to hear. He looks happy." She glanced at Litha and smiled. "You, too."

  "The vineyard is heavenly. Married life is heavenly. But Edinburgh is starting to feel like quicksand. Choking me, trying to drag me under. If they had their way, I'd be working for them round the clock like a robot."

  Elora stopped and turned to face Litha with a look of concern. "Does Simon know you feel that way?"

  Litha shook her head. "No. I haven't said anything."

  Elora searched her face. "It's not selfish to want a life, Litha. You need to take a lesson from the boys on this one. They would say that if you don't stand up for yourself, then you get what you get, and that's the way it should be. Figure out your boundaries and then fight for them."

  "Oh. Look who's talking. You have three of the strongest men in this world who would run, not walk, but run to stand up for you."

  Elora's eyes sparkled. "I know it looks that way now, but I did have to stand up for myself in the beginning."

  "What's goin' on?"

  The women both jumped like they'd been caught doing something wrong. They'd been so lost in the conversation they hadn't noticed their husbands approaching.

  Storm angled his head toward Ram. "What do you suppose they were up to that would make them
jump like that?"

  "Do no' know, but it will definitely be keepin' me awake."

  "We're jumpy because we've spent an entire evening being stared at by vampire in an overtly sexual way," Elora lied smoothly. Litha didn't dare look at her or she'd give that away for sure.

  "I see," said Ram. To Storm he said, "You might think that women who'd been made skittish by wicked horny biters would want to stick close to their males."

  Storm slid his eyes to Rammel. "You would think so." As he looked back at Litha his face broke into a grin. "Fortunately for us these women are not like any others."

  Ram grabbed Elora and pulled her in tight while bathing her in the light of one of his signature sexy smiles. "The talk about horny biters is downright arousin'. How 'bout skippin' dinner?"

  "Come on. We'll eat fast."

  Elora made a point of calling Litha almost every day after that because she was concerned about the pregnancy and knew that Litha, whose relatives consisted of an incubus and seven monks, had no women to confide in. Storm's girl was a new case study for The Order's annals and the delivery of a mostly demon hybrid was an event. Elora didn't want the woman to get lost in the shuffle.

  With each passing day that she called to ask for a report, she felt closer to Litha, and as she became more fond, she realized how much she'd missed female companionship - her cousin, Madelayne, and even her younger sisters. Litha managed to couch her concerns and physical complaints in an entertaining dry wit so that Elora was never sure which of them benefitted most from their talks.

  ***

  CHAPTER _6

  The next morning Elora woke to her phone buzzing on the bedside table. She looked around. Ram must have gotten up with the baby. She heard voices in the next room and knew that nanny had already arrived. She tilted the phone to look at the caller ID. Love Bites. He'd changed it from White Fang when he was cured. The first time.

  "Hey. Did you get a plane?"