Andromeda's Reign

by K. S. Haigwood

  He eased out of her, and then helped her off the piano, before pressing a finger and thumb to his eyes. “Only for a second. It happened before… the last time we had sex, just as I got off. I couldn’t hold onto it then, either.”

  Andra smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and urged him down to kiss her again. “Well, if an orgasm is the cure, we’ll just have to keep having them.”

  Ace grinned. “Not that I think that will cure my sight, but it will definitely cure this insatiable ache I have for you.”

  She shrugged. “I’m happy to be of service.”

  He snickered through his nose, and then kissed her quick and brief, before slapping her on the ass, making her yelp then laugh. “Get that sheet back on you. I’d hate to have to kill my Beta because he saw you naked.”

  “Just let me know when to come up,” Slade said. “I like my head where it is.”

  Andra tossed his clothes at his feet, so he wouldn’t have to search for them, and then she grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around herself.

  Ace pulled on his jeans, but didn’t bother buttoning them as he reached for his shirt and tugged it on.

  “C’mon up, Slade,” Ace said.

  Seven heavy footfalls sounded on the third floor staircase, and then Slade’s head came into view. His grin was knowing as he glanced at Andra. “Hope the two of you are well rested. The second crew is about to go out. The first crew found nothing, but one of the buildings they went in fried all their cell phones. Needless to say, they aren’t all that happy.”

  Ace’s eyebrows rose up over the aviators after he slipped them on. “They didn’t find anything?”

  Slade shook his head. “There was no sign of them. Nikon said it was like they were ghosts or something. There weren’t even any footprints in the dust covering the warehouse floor, but someone had to be there to zap their phones. I don’t know, man. Maybe we should just leave this one alone.”

  Ace shook his head. “No. Is Clay up?”

  “I woke him up before I came up here. He’s regrouping and doing his freaky magic thing again.”

  Ace nodded once. “I’ll order the next crew out after he’s done. Go get some sleep. And, Slade…”

  “Yeah?” Slade said.

  “Thanks.”

  Slade grinned over at Andra. “You bet,” he said, and then made his way back down the stairs.

  Chapter 40

  Friday, February 6th, 2015 1:03 p.m. PST

  Las Vegas, Nevada

  Ace

  As I buttoned my jeans, my cell started ringing from some distance away. After feeling for it in my back pocket, I realized it wasn’t there.

  Andra giggled. “How did your cell phone get all the way over here? You must have been in a hurry to get undressed—” She paused for a moment, and then she said, “Hey, Brad… yeah, sorry, my cell is on the charger in the bedroom. I’m actually in the, uh—the music room, learning to play the piano.” There was another long pause, and then Andra shouted, “What?”

  As her panic rushed through me, I put my hands out in front of me to keep from bumping into anything as I made my way to her. She must have seen me coming, because her hand slipped in mine sooner than I anticipated. I nudged her mind. Let me in! She didn’t.

  “Okay,” she said, calmer, “we’ll be right there. Give us thirty minutes.”

  My eyebrows popped up as she placed the cell in my other hand. “I need a truck, preferably a crew cab. Is Charlie free?”

  My brow furrowed. “Why?”

  She huffed as she tugged on my hand, leading me toward the stairs. “I have to go pick Brad, Heath, Tracy, Heather and… and Phoenix up from the Henderson Executive Airport.”

  The heart in my chest stopped beating, and then kicked into overdrive. “What? Why are they here?”

  Andra kept my hand in hers, but guided my other hand to the handrail of the staircase as we started our descent. “Brad said they missed me, but I have a feeling that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” she clipped out.

  “But it’s daytime. How is Phoenix here?”

  “That’s why I need the truck.” We made the left turn at the bottom of the stairs, and Andra pulled me toward my room. “He’s in a casket.”

  Regardless of the anxiety building in me over her not-yet-ex-boyfriend showing up unannounced, I laughed at that. Imagine that, a vampire… in a coffin. Classic. My laugh quickly faded and I lost my smile as I realized what could happen if she went alone to pick up her friends. If there really were slayers in Vegas, she could get hurt… or worse. Even with a crew cab truck, there wouldn’t be enough room for everyone to ride if I went with her. She couldn’t go without me. I pulled her to a stop once we were in my room. “I’ll have Slade go pick them up.”

  “I’ll be fine, Ace—”

  “Then I’m going with you and I’ll have Slade follow us in a different vehicle, so that there will be enough room for everyone to ride. I’m not letting you go alone. That’s not negotiable.”

  “You think Phoenix is going to seduce me back into his arms before I get back here with them?”

  What? I hadn’t even thought of that, and I really wasn’t worried about that at all. After all, the guy couldn’t even get out of the coffin without bursting into flames and ash. I gripped her shoulders in my palms. “There is a reason why I have our pride out looking for a missing girl, Andra. I won’t be able to rest or let you out of my sight—presence—until she’s caught. She and her friends meant you harm before. They won’t stop until they get what they want. You heard Slade. They are like ghosts and can’t be tracked. You aren’t going alone to the airport.”

  She sighed. “Fine. Come with me and have Slade follow us, but we need to leave soon, and I still have to get dressed. Call him.”

  I held out my cell phone when she started to pull away. I gave her a lopsided grin. “I can’t see how to pull his number up. Call him, and I will talk to him while you get dressed.”

  Andra took the phone from my hand. “Right. Sorry.” I heard some clicking, and then she put it back in my hand. “It’s ringing,” she said as she left me to get dressed.

  “Yeah,” Slade said just as I put the phone to my ear.

  “I need you to follow us to Henderson. We have an unannounced arrival.”

  Slade sighed through the line. “I’ll be ready in three.”

  Knowing at least where the End Call button was on my phone, I pressed it, and then just stood there, waiting. This wasn’t good. Why the fuck would Phoenix show up a day and a half early, and with part of Andra’s pack? Had something happened back in Montgomery that they thought they had to tell Andra about in person? The dread seeped through to my bones as I came to the most obvious conclusion about the reason they were really here. Phoenix knew he was losing her and had come to stop it from happening. He may not be able to seduce her at the airport, but that wouldn’t stop him once he was out of sunlight’s reach. Only over my dead body.

  “I’m ready,” Andra said as she took my hand to lead me out of the room, but I didn’t budge. “Ace?” she said, confusion lacing her tone.

  I gripped her hand with mine and jerked her to me, and then crushed my mouth on hers. She responded eagerly, kissing me back with a feverish need.

  She pulled away, breathless. “I meant what I said in the music room. Trust me, and let me handle Phoenix. Please don’t do anything stupid. And keep your jealousy and temper in check. I’m yours.”

  I let my forehead fall against hers, and breathed out a sigh of relief as I nodded. I couldn’t lose her. She was asking me to trust her. I did, but that didn’t mean I didn’t worry about what that vampire had up his sleeve. He wouldn’t fly seventeen hundred miles for nothing. “I trust you.”

  Her lips touched mine and lingered there for a brief moment, before she squeezed my hand and pulled away. “Let’s go.”

  Friday, February 6th, 2015 1:38 p.m. PST

  Las Vegas, Nevada (Henderson Executive Airport)

  Ace

  Th
ere was a warm breeze blowing as I stepped out of the truck. Even without seeing the sky, I knew it was a vibrant blue, just as it usually was in Nevada. The sun beat down on my neck, causing sweat to bead on my forehead from the heat of it.

  “Why is he here early?” Slade said as Andra met with her pack members. “And why did some of her pack come with him?”

  I grit my teeth. “We don’t know yet, but I have a pretty good idea.”

  “What happened to your face?” I heard either Heather or Tracy say, and I stiffened.

  Of course, I hadn’t forgotten that I had struck her yesterday, but I had hoped the contusion would have healed before Phoenix showed up. The guy didn’t need more leverage against me.

  Andra laughed nervously. “It was an accident and it’s nothing to worry about. I just happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  And didn’t that sound like every excuse a battered wife told people when she didn’t want anyone to know that she was being beaten? Fuck!

  Slade blew out a long breath. “They’re not buying it,” he muttered.

  “I didn’t figure they would,” I said. “I wouldn’t have, either. Not that I want her lying about that, but if she’s gonna lie, I wish she’d get better at it.”

  “She’ll get better at lying in time,” Slade said on a light chuckle.

  The memory of her telling me that she was mine replayed through my mind. That hadn’t been a lie. Nothing that had happened or been said between us over the last twenty-four hours had been a lie. “I change my mind. I don’t want her to get better at it. I’d rather someone spit in my face than lie to me.”

  “I know that,” Slade said.

  “And that’s why you are my Beta, because you would rather piss me off with a truth than make me happy with a lie.”

  “Did he do that to your face?” I heard Heath say, his temper evident in his voice, and that was all it took to get my feet moving in their direction.

  Fast and hollow pounding sounds came from their direction, but I could only assume it was Phoenix wanting someone to open the coffin so that he could get to her, since I couldn’t see it for myself. I was more than happy to open the lid and let that son of a bitch burn.

  “Ace,” Slade said, and then he swore under his breath as he caught up with my long, fast-paced strides.

  I felt Andra’s growing panic the closer I got to them. Guess she could feel my growing need to settle things my way. She’d warned me to keep my temper in check. That was cool; I wasn’t mad at the guy for wanting to protect his Alpha. I would have been pissed too, had I shown up in Montgomery, after time away from her, to find her face looking like someone had used it as a punching bag.

  Coming to a stop before the group, I raised my hand out to the side and waited for Andra to take it, reassuring her that I wouldn’t do anything stupid. I wouldn’t hit the guy if she was holding on to me. “I won’t make excuses or lie to any of you, but I would only like to say it once, so if we can get the casket in the truck and go to my house, I’ll tell you all what happened.”

  “Yes,” a muffled and angry voice said. Phoenix again, I assumed. “Let’s do that. If you’ve hurt her, you’d better have a damn good reason for it—no, scratch that. If you’ve hurt her, I will kill you.”

  “Can’t wait for you to try it, asshole,” I muttered. “Been looking for an excuse to bust your balls since day one.” Andra squeezed my hand, and I squeezed hers back. “Sorry,” I whispered. “Couldn’t help myself.”

  “Well, try,” she whispered back.

  Someone blew out a heavy breath, and then Brad spoke. “Dude, this had better be good or Phoenix won’t be the only one you need to worry about trying to annihilate you. Roel is gonna shit bricks. I won’t be a bit surprised if he doesn’t fly the whole pack here to take turns kicking your ass.”

  “Nobody is going to do anything to—” Andra started, but I interrupted her.

  “If that’s what he thinks needs to happen, I won’t try to stop him from doing so or fight back. Believe me, I never intended to hurt her, but that’s no excuse. I have no excuses, only the truth.”

  “Get me somewhere out of the sun and face to face with this asshole!” Phoenix shouted, and then there was another loud thump, as if he’d punched the inside of the casket.

  This wasn’t good. I knew it wouldn’t be, but if I kept my cool and he didn’t, maybe this could work to my advantage. Whether I wanted her to or not, Andra had forgiven me.

  “Put the coffin in the back of the truck,” Andra snapped, and the tone of her voice let everyone present know what I already knew by her emotions running hot through me: she wasn’t happy with Phoenix.

  There was some shuffling around, and then footsteps walking away. Tugging on Andra’s hand, I spun her in my arms and up against my chest. Leaning down, I whispered by her ear. “Watch your temper, sweetheart. They just want to protect you.”

  Her tone was cold as she responded. “That might be true, but none of my pack is going to touch you, by order of their Alpha. You’d be dumb to think I’d let that happen. They will not reign over me, and that goes for you and Phoenix, too.”

  Shit. She was mad at me.

  I sighed. “I understand, but may I suggest that you go up to my room and get the antidotes and give them to Heath to distribute between the three of them before you or I see Phoenix?”

  “Are you planning something I don’t know about, Ace?” she said.

  I let out a hard exhale. “No, but I’m not sure you can calm the bloodsucker down without some sort of physical contact. I have no intentions of hitting him back, but I am afraid that you will. I doubt Roel and the others want to feel your wrath for something they didn’t do. They are still linked until they drink the potions.”

  “I don’t want to fight with him,” she said, and through her thoughts I heard, “I just want him to go back home.”

  “I know,” I said, and pulled her into a hug then kissed the top of her head. “Do me a favor?”

  She eased back, and I knew she was looking up at my face from the feel of her soft breaths on my upper chest. “What?”

  “Let me fight my own battles today. It makes me look like a pussy when you fight vampires for me.”

  She laughed lightly. “I’ll try my hardest not to fight him, but I’m not letting him hurt you, Ace. You didn’t hit me on purpose.”

  I sighed. I knew she already had intentions to protect me, but I really didn’t want her to. For one, I deserved a beating. And two, I’d rather be beat to unconsciousness than to have someone, especially a girl, defend me when I knew in my heart that what I did was wrong, even if it was an accident. “Let him get a few punches in. It’ll make him feel better.”

  “And it’ll piss me off, but I’m guessing that’s what you’re hoping will happen. Am I right?”

  “The thought has crossed my mind. I won’t lie, but that’s not why I want you to let me handle it. I deserve punishment for what happened. You let me off the hook way too easily. Regardless of whether you think it was an accident or not, I won’t feel better about it until I’ve been punished for it.”

  “Oh, God, I can’t be in the room and watch him kick your ass, Ace. You can’t even see.”

  “I’d rather you not be in there. In fact, I’m asking you now to not be in there.”

  “I should just tell them to go back home now, without letting him out.”

  I shrugged. “Doubt they’d go. They would probably just call Roel—”

  “I am their Alpha. They will do as I order them to do, and so will Roel, if I tell him to stay put. You know that even better than I do.”

  “Well, you aren’t Phoenix’s Alpha. I’m pretty sure he would hop on the first flight out at dusk and come right back if you sent him away without letting him see you and that bruised face first.”

  Andra huffed as she pulled out of my embrace. “Let’s just go get this over with.”

  I grinned. “Are they looking at us?”

  “N
o. They’re loading the coffin. Slade is helping them.”

  “Good, because I want another kiss. It makes me horny as hell when you get irritated.”

  She laughed as she slapped my chest, but my hands came up to frame her face and I found her mouth eagerly waiting for mine when I bent my head down. I remembered what her face looked like in the music room, and wondered why I could see when I came. Was that the bond?

  “Mmm…” I hummed against her lips as the vanilla and cinnamon floated in the breeze around us. “Do you get horny when you’re irritated or only when I’m horny?”

  She snickered. “I honestly couldn’t say. I’m beginning to think that I get horny just by seeing you or thinking of you. What have you done to me, Mr. Keller?”

  I smiled as I rubbed my thumbs over her cheeks. The swelling had gone down on the left side, at least. “The very same thing you’ve done to me, baby.” A vehicle door slammed hard, followed by two others. Andra turned her head in the direction of the vehicles, her irritation rising. “They would rather you be with him,” I said.

  “That’s because you are taking me away from them. They would more than likely be indifferent about who I was with if you lived in Montgomery.”

  “We’ll all be together soon. They know the Shift is coming.” I took her hand and led her to the truck.

  “I’ve been wondering about something,” she said as I opened the driver’s door for her to get in.

  “And what’s that?”

  “About Justice…” she started, but trailed off in silence when I stiffened. “I know you’ll tell me when you are ready, and I’m not pressuring you to tell me now, but won’t he be at the Shift ceremony?”

  I nodded. “He will be, though it is one of our few laws that none of us are to challenge any other Alphas twenty-four hours before or after the ceremony. He can’t touch you then.”

  “You think he wants to challenge me? Why?” she said.

  I swallowed. I didn’t want to have this conversation now. Phoenix was in the box in the back of Charlie, and was probably hanging on our every word. Plus, we had other matters to deal with at present. I didn’t want her worried or mad at me. I smiled, like it wasn’t a big deal, though it was a very big deal. “He’s competitive and wants everything I have. I told you the story. Don’t worry. I’ll never let him touch you, Andra.”