She’d always had a temperamental spirit, but lately, she felt angrier than usual.
It seemed like the angrier Gareth got—like right now as he was shouting at her—the more anger she felt rise within herself.
Then all of a sudden, the anger dissipated like air escaping a deflating balloon, and she was only left with her own anger.
Gareth sighed. “Listen, can we talk?”
“Hold up, I’m hungry. I need to feed.” She stomped past him into the kitchen.
She opened the fridge, grabbing a blood bag. She didn’t even bother pouring the blood into a glass biting into the plastic. The cold liquid oozed into her mouth. Not the ideal temperature but still satisfying. She groaned in pleasure with her eyes half-lidded.
“It wasn’t all too long ago I made you moan like that.”
Her eyes snapped open, and she turned to face him, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t suppose you want one?”
“I won’t say no to blood.”
She tossed him a bag and turned back to the fridge gathering different ingredients—lettuce, luncheon meat, and bread.
Morgana spread all the ingredients onto the kitchen island and began making herself a sandwich. Then she groaned again savoring the flavor medley of ham, mustard, and mayo.
“Two groans of ecstasy and I didn’t cause either one for you,” Gareth joked.
Morgana opened her eyes. “You’re ruining my sandwichgasm,” she complained.
“Sandwichgasm? Is that even a thing?”
“Yes.” She took another bite of her sandwich and swallowed. “But you didn’t come here to discuss my different forms of orgasms, did you?” She could see the front of his pants tenting.
“No.” He adjusted himself before he leaned on the countertop. “The reason I came over is because I can feel you.”
“Oh, now you finally sense my vampire side?” she asked sarcastically.
Gareth snorted. “No, earlier in the day I sensed you were here. From my house. How is it even possible when we live in different parts of town?”
“Huh.” Morgana tapped her chin. It was starting to make sense now, why there were extra feelings on top of her own. They were his. “We must have a bond.”
“A bond?”
She nodded. “I suspected as much earlier. I’ve read about it and have even been told about it, but to experience it is totally different.”
Gareth’s eyes grew round. “We created this bond the night Randalf was killed?”
“Yes, that’s right. The bond is what makes vampire marriages so strong.”
“How come you don’t have the bond with your parents?”
“They’ve never taken my blood. But that night, you and I drank each other’s blood.” She turned to him. “Though I never heard of it occurring before the vampires were married.” She chewed on her sandwich, thinking. “But then again, vampires don’t usually drink each other’s blood until the ceremony.”
“So, can you sense me from long distances, too?”
She nodded. “Quite possibly. Married couples are always aware of each other. Makes it harder to cheat on your spouse.”
Gareth laughed.
“You know the best Council agent teams are the married vampires. They always know where their partner is when they’re out in the field.”
“Makes sense. But we’re not married.”
“No, but we’re bonded. So, it will work the same way. Speaking of which, I was going to go around town to see if Ragnorok was going to attack or take any more humans tonight. Want to join me to see if we work the same?”
“Oh, I have plans with Alastor tonight.” He rubbed the back of his head.
Morgana shrugged. “Fair enough.”
“But I can cancel and come with you for backup?”
Morgana shook her head. “It’s fine, Gareth. You know I like working on my own, anyway.” She’d meant it as a funny remark, but the scowl on Gareth’s face meant he didn’t find it so humorous.
“Back to that again, are you?”
She sighed. “No. I…” She wasn’t going to justify herself to him. “You know I didn’t intentionally keep Mariza a secret.”
“Look, you can tell me about it another day. I’ve had enough of Mariza-related issues for one day.”
Morgana smiled. “Mother told you her story, huh?”
“Yep. Do you know it?”
“Not all. She’s never divulged all the details.”
“That’s probably a good thing. I heard things I can’t unhear.” He shuddered.
Morgana laughed. “You’ve got to remember she was a newly-turned vampire with a half-human daughter in the same house. It’d make any vampire go crazy.”
“Yeah, you’re right. She always seemed like such a nice vampire, though.”
Morgana’s eyes shifted to the ceiling again.
“You keep looking up at the ceiling?”
“Didn’t you notice Mariza was wearing my clothes before at the campaign office?”
“Not really. I tried not to look at her.”
“Well, if you had, then you would have seen she’d been in my closet.”
“What has wearing your clothes got anything to do with… oh.” Gareth paled. Morgana could feel a spike of fear from him.
“Yeah.”
“Well, why are we still standing around here chatting?”
“I was hungry,” Morgana snapped, shaking her head and stomping past him toward the stairs.
Gareth chased after her. “Yeah, I get that. Jesus, can we ever turn off this sharing of feelings?”
“I don’t think you can.” She took the stairs two at a time.
“How the hell are you supposed to live with it, then?”
“Well, you’re supposed to be in love and want to feel what the other is feeling.”
Gareth grabbed her by the shoulder, turning her around. She wobbled and fell into him. He caught her and steadied himself before they both tumbled backward down the stairs. “Then why are you pissed? You think I’m out of love with you?” He shook his head. “I never said I stopped loving you. I’m pissed off about the whole Mariza thing.”
Morgana sighed. “I’m not angry because I think you don’t love me. I’m angry because you’ve been a dick the last couple of days.”
“I believe I’m allowed to be when my girlfriend is keeping a pretty big secret from me.”
“Fine. I’ll give you that one. So why do you want to turn it off, then?”
Gareth shrugged. “I’m a guy. We don’t exactly do feelings very well. It’s hard enough dealing with my own, then feeling yours as well.”
Morgana turned and walked up the stairs. “Good to know,” she muttered to herself.
She entered her room heading straight for the wardrobe. She nearly tore the doors off the hinges. She squatted down, running her fingers over the new board she’d replaced after Gareth had smashed the last one getting to the hawthorn stakes when they needed to kill Randalf. Digging her fingers into the crack, she lifted the wood. Relief washed over her when she saw the locked box still hidden inside.
Gareth let out a long breath behind her. His relief mingling with hers.
“What do you think she would have done with them if she’d found them?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
Chapter Thirteen
Gareth leaned against the bedpost while Morgana held the wooden box in her hands. It was like a sense of déjà vu from the last time she’d shown him the hawthorn stakes for the first time.
“I’m going to have to move this to another location now.” She paused to look at him, “It’ll probably be best if you don’t know where it is. It’s bad enough you already know about them.”
Gareth straightened up, his blue eyes darkening like sapphires. “What the fuck, Morgana?” he scowled. “Why are you worried about it now? I’m already in trouble with The Council for killing Randalf with one. Who cares if I know you have two left?”
Morgana bit her lip. “I’m so
rry. It’s going to take me a while to break the habit of being so secretive.”
“Why?”
“I’ve lived my entire life hiding, doing what needs to be done without anyone knowing.” She turned to face him.
“Well, the fact we’re together means we shouldn’t be keeping secrets from each other. The bond emphasizes the fact we now won’t be able to keep what we’re feeling to ourselves, even if we want to.” Gareth crossed his arms over his chest. “You hiding things means we don’t get to know each other properly.”
She was close now, inches from his face. There was love for him in her brown eyes. He could also feel it through the bond.
“You’ll learn this as an agent for The Council. This is how it is keeping your guard up and not letting anyone see the real you. Do you know what it’s like to be the only Dhampir to exist? To have your own family attacking you?”
“No, because you won’t bloody tell me.” He took her hands in his. “You don’t have to be like that with me anymore. You said it yourself. I’m an agent as well. You don’t have to keep anything from me.”
Her brown eyes searched his. “It’s been ingrained into me for the last three hundred and fifty years since I became an agent. You’re going to have to be patient with me.”
“Fine,” he said through clenched teeth, dropping her hands. He walked toward the bedroom door.
“Where are you going?”
“To give you more time,” he said sarcastically.
“You can’t keep walking away from us. We’re mates,” Morgana protested, grasping his arm.
“Mates?” Gareth growled and stopped. “Seems like a thinner line to me.”
Morgana took a step back, dropping her hand. “How could you even say that? You know there’s more between us than that.”
“I thought I did.” Gareth turned and exited the room. He raced out the front door, heading toward the woods. He was running so fast he didn’t see the large tree coming up toward him. He halted, sending dirt flying everywhere before he smacked into it.
Gareth brought his fist back, slamming it into the trunk instead. “Bloody women!” he shouted.
Then he felt Ragnorok, his cold and cruel vampire presence. The reason why the Van Wildens had arrived in the first place and turned his peaceful life upside down.
He turned around to come face to face with the Forest Clan leader.
“What do you want?” he snarled, fingers inching toward his waist. Crap, no stakes.
“Are you and Morgana having a lover’s tiff?” Ragnorok smiled, but his gray eyes remained cold.
“That’s none of your concern.”
“Having trouble with the in-laws, then?”
Gareth pursed his lips together, not daring to say another word to the vampire they were hunting down.
Ragnorok stepped forward. “You know I’m looking to recruit more vampires after your girlfriend killed off some of my followers. I could do with a man on the inside. How about you join me, and we’ll bring down the Van Wildens together?”
Gareth’s eyebrows rose. This guy was a real piece of work.
“If you think I would side with you to bring Morgana and her family down,” he scoffed, “then you’ve got another thing coming.”
“I’m giving you an opportunity to be free of your creator.”
Gareth stepped toward Ragnorok, grasping him by the neck, ramming him against the nearest tree trunk. “Don’t you dare lay a finger on Morgana. I will not hesitate to kill you, and I’ll make it as painful and slow a death as can be for a vampire.” His fangs were exposed as he gritted his teeth. He pushed Ragnorok back against the tree to re-iterate his point before stalking off.
***
Ragnorok rubbed his neck where the Daywalker had seized him. Fine, he would find another way to get Morgana.
***
Gareth sprinted back to the Van Wilden’s home. He should report his encounter with Ragnorok. When he reached their front door, he let himself in. He felt Oscar in the living room, but he also felt her. Mariza was there. He could hear them talking. He thought about not going in, but they would have felt him arriving. Besides, he had something important to report to The Council.
He stomped into the living room. Oscar sat in his usual place, the armchair in front of the fireplace, while Mariza sat on the adjacent sofa. They both looked up as he entered.
“Gareth, how good to see you, son,” Oscar greeted him. “If you would come back in a few minutes.”
“It’s fine, Daddy. I was leaving to get ready. I’ll see you later?” Mariza said, standing up. Oscar nodded, and she placed a kiss on her father’s cheek before exiting the room. “Gareth,” she said stiffly as she walked past him.
Gareth ignored her. He sat but not where Mariza had been as her scent still lingered in the air.
Oscar stood and walked toward his liquor table. “Drink?” he offered, holding up his crystal decanter. Gareth shook his head. Oscar shrugged and poured himself a scotch.
“Why do you even drink?” Gareth asked without thinking.
“Argh, yes. It does seem rather obsolete, a vampire drinking. I thought you were also in the habit of consuming alcohol?”
Gareth cringed. He was being hypocritical, though he only did it out of habit to keep up the ruse of being a human.
“I guess it’s out of habit but also to keep up the human ruse.” Oscar repeated his thoughts. “I’ve come to learn business conducted with the rich humans often means liquor is involved, but you didn’t come here to question my alcohol intake, did you?” Oscar took a sip of the amber liquor, watching him closely.
Gareth shook his head. “I saw Ragnorok in the forest.” Gareth relayed the scene of what had occurred between him and Ragnorok.
Oscar listened, quietly moving to sit in his armchair. He leaned forward, his glass now standing on the small table next to the chair. He was resting his elbows on the armrests, his fingers crossed.
“Well, it seems your encounter with him confirms our earlier thoughts. Ragnorok plans to kill us?”
“It seems like it.”
“Very well.”
Gareth raised his eyebrows at the Elder.
Oscar chuckled, his deep laugh booming around the room. “You don’t live to be my age in my line of work without a few threats on your life.”
“So, what’s the plan, then?”
“We’ll report this to the rest of The Council. Hopefully, they can finally decide to end Ragnorok now since a Council Elder is threatened.”
“What do you want us to do in the meantime?”
“You, Alastor, and Morgana are not to go into the forest on your own. Take one of the others with you. Always keep yourselves armed. Keep up your training with Vivienne, so we’re prepared for Ragnorok’s strike.”
Gareth nodded and stood. He made a move toward the weapons room.
“Oh, and Gareth?”
Gareth turned back to face Oscar, probably wanting to say something about his relationship with Morgana. But what Oscar said next surprised him.
“If you get caught by Ragnorok and tortured, make sure you keep quiet about the use of hawthorn.”
Chapter Fourteen
“I thought ye said we were having a night to ourselves?” Alastor grumbled as Gareth led them into the Oak Wood Steakhouse.
“We are. Only we’re going to go out first.”
“To a steakhouse? When we don’t even eat?” Alastor shook his head in dismay.
Gareth didn’t want to tell Alastor the real reason why they were here. This was the place where he had first started developing an attraction to Morgana, only he didn’t want to acknowledge it back then. He was hoping this was one of the spots she’d check out on her hunt for where Ragnorok might hunt for humans. Yes, it was a silly thought, but he couldn’t help it. Maybe too many of Morgana’s feelings were being transferred through the bond, making him think more like a chick. He really didn’t know how it worked.
The hostess was a curvy brunette who w
iggled her ass as she led them over to a booth in a secluded corner. Gareth noticed. Yes, he had eyes, but there was only one brunette for him.
“The waitress will be over shortly to take your order.” The hostess flashed them a grin, but they only jerked their heads at her in response.
Alastor looked around before taking a seat. “Explain to me again why we’re here.”
Gareth scrubbed his face when he sat. “Because Morgana’s been here before.”
Alastor chuckled. “She really has yer balls in a tight grip, ay?”
Gareth sighed. “I miss her, okay. I was hoping she’d be here. After being apart the last two days—”
“Aye, inside her box.”
Gareth narrowed his eyes at his friend. “No, not like that. When she’s not around me, it feels like part of me is missing.”
Alastor raised an eyebrow.
“I know it’s stupid, but I was hoping she would be here. I’m feeling nostalgic, I guess.”
“Aye, it’s dumb.” Alastor grinned. He leaned forward, his face softening. “But yer in love. And bein’ in love makes us act and think in crazy ways.” He waved the waitress over. “Can ye get my friend and I two bourbons?” He glanced at Gareth. “Make them doubles.”
“Sure,” the waitress said, walking away toward the bar.
“That’s not going to help, though the taste and the burn of the alcohol would feel somewhat comforting. ”
“Aye, but it’s not like I can whip out some blood here. We’re in a public place. Also helps to look like we’re humans again.”
“True.”
“What can I get you, boys?” Another waitress came over, interrupting any further deep and meaningful talk.
Gareth looked up to see her name was Rose. He was sure she was a nice enough lady, but she had too much blue eyeshadow and eyeliner around her eyes. Lately, he’d liked the natural look. Morgana hardly wore any makeup. Rose also leered when she smiled.
“We’ll have two steaks. Make them rare as ye can. The bloodier, the better,” Alastor ordered, handing her their untouched menus.
Rose scribbled their order. “Anything else?”
The Van Wilden Chronicles Box Set Books 1-3 Page 28
