She’d laid her iPad, and several manilla folders of paperwork in front of her. She steepled her hands and looked at each of us for a moment.
“We’re about to embark on something different,” she began. “It’s going to be tough, and we’re going to get challenged at every turn; but that’s what happens when you drive change in an organization that’s been around, in one form or another, for millennia. They’re going to see us as a threat, so we need to be strong. If you have a problem with that. There’s the door.”
No one spoke for a moment. “Um,” Mia raised her hand. “I’m new, but what are we changing?”
“The harem,” Lilith deadpanned. “It’s not as much a change for you as it is for me, but people will see it and look for weaknesses; so, it affects us all.”
“Do you really think mommy dearest and your bitch sisters are going to go ape shit over this?” Dani asked earnestly.
“I don’t think. I know. It’s already started,” she gave Dani a grave look. “Venus tried everything to tempt me when I was in prison. She threw everything but the kitchen sink at me, and if the kitchen sink had been full of dicks, she’d have tried that too.”
“That’s a mental picture I’m not going to get rid of any time soon,” I grimaced.
“I’m glad she tried,” Lilith continued. “If she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have discovered what we’re really capable of, and what her real motivations were.”
“What is that?” Fern had glamoured a pen and paper and was taking notes like a good pixie.
“Our bond,” Lilith reached out, and my hand instantly found hers. “What Cam and I have is special. Not in the lovey-dovey way, but in the magical way. I’ve checked.”
“As you can imagine. Succubae are a fuck and forget type of people. They’ll use you, you’ll love it, and then they’ll toss you for the next flavor of the week,” Dani added for Mia’s benefit.
“But every once and a while, a succubus will form something deeper with someone. The last recorded bond this deep was pre–Magna Carta. I even had trouble finding it in the archives,” Lilith smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“That’s why we’re going to be a target. The bond gives us advantages; me specifically, but it requires a structural change that is unheard of,” she physically braced for what she said next. “The harem isn’t built around me. It’s built around Cam.”
“Come again?” this was news to me, and everyone else at the table.
Even Dani was surprised. Not surprised enough she didn’t fire off a, “that’s what she said.”
“Cam will form the epicenter of the harem, but it doesn’t stop there. The bond is so much more,” Lilith’s eyes went unfocused for a moment as she looked into the future. “When I was in prison, I got jumped, and nearly killed; but Cam helped me. I felt you fucking through our bond. It fed me power. Enough power to defeat a few uppity bitches who thought the showers was a good place to throw down against a succubus. Wet and dirty is my bed and butter,” Lilith’s smile looked like she’d just slipped Snow White a poison apple.
Not gonna lie, I was sporting a woody right now.
“I couldn’t tell until I saw you, Mia; but that was when he was with you,” Lilith turned her attention on the mage, and her face was full of gratitude.
Mia didn’t look entirely comfortable that we’d been magically peeped on, but she kept her mouth shut and nodded like it was no big deal.
“I’ve felt it again and again, every time Cam has had sex; and I’m able to use that power as my own. It is the greatest power a succubus can achieve,” there was a little wonder in her voice, but I didn’t get it.
“That seems kind of flawed to me. Don’t get me wrong, me powering you up by getting my dick wet is great, but what if I’m locked in some Fae prison again. Then you’re gonna starve unless you hook up with some random dudes,” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice.
“There’s more to the bond than just you, Cam,” she smiled, and I felt my mood instantly improve. “It’s true, this new bond is fragile; but that is my responsibility. As long as I don’t engage in meaningful relations with other men, the bond will remain in place.”
“What about women?” Dani asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
“I’m not certain. There were tests done by the last succubus with this ability, but I haven’t gotten to the same-sex chapters of the handbook yet,” Lilith shrugged. It was on the to-do list.
“Yippee, there’s still hope. I know you’ve always wanted to get a piece of this,” Dani grinned. It was an old joke, and it cut some of the tension between them.
“What happened to this other succubus? They still around? Seems to me they might be a good person to talk to rather than digging through old, musty records,” I suggested.
“They’re dead,” Lilith deadpanned, shutting down that idea. “Under suspicious circumstances.”
“That’s ominous,” Mia added.
“Why’d someone kill her? I’m assuming suspicious circumstances means she didn’t get hit by a bus, buggy, carriage, or whatever they rode around in back then,” I was beginning to dislike this new bond, no matter the mileage my dick would get off it.
“Why else . . . power,” Lilith stated. “The bond holds the potential for enormous power for a mature succubus, because it’s not just Cam getting laid that fuels it. It spreads. Cam begets Mia. Mia begets a drunken frat boy. . .”
“I’m going to pretend that’s not offensive,” Mia mumbled.
“. . . that frat boy begets someone at a different bar the following week, so on, and so forth. It creates a web of power that links me to everyone who’s lust is tangentially connected to the bond.”
“It’s a succubus STD built out of love,” Dani snorted. “That’s great. Just great.”
Lilith glared at her, but nodded. “Essentially, yes. It is a magical parasite that resulted from my love for Cam, and possibly his other-realm status.”
I was sure she’d been read in on my Aesir half, but we hadn’t talked about it. One more thing on the to-do list.
“Why doesn’t Venus have this? She’s thousands of years old, and so many dudes have dipped their toes in her she might as well be Caligula’s tub. If she could create this web, she’d be unstoppable,” I asked the billion-dollar question.
“Simple,” Lilith looked at me. Really looked at me. “She isn’t capable of love.”
“You’re shitting us, right?” Mia asked. “No way this is some Disney story where love conquers all.”
“Love is powerful magic,” Fern spoke up. “The biochemical reactions in all species are intense when they perceive love. It leads to life, growth, change. It pushes people to do more than they would normally be capable of. I agree, this is not the love of your storybooks, but the powerful emotion of love is not something to be underestimated.”
“True,” the Aesir agreed.
“Okay. To sum it all up,” I rubbed my temples. “We’re all part of some succubus super bond that could lead to Lilith being the most powerful succubus ever; but only if she gets to maturity in . . .”
“Two years, eight months, and eleven days, five hours, and thirty-seven minutes. Give or take five seconds,” Lilith supplied, but I didn’t know how to respond to that.
I pushed forward. “On top of that, the last chick that had this got offed because it was going to make her too powerful. Someone, like say, Venus, might have an issue if she gets booted from being queen of the hill. Beyond that, Lilith has to worry about not fucking anyone other than me, and maybe munching some rug if she finds out that’s kosher. Did I leave anything out?”
“You’ve got to spread your seed like a motherfucker. Literally. You’re going to be fucking mothers so we can cast a net far and wide by the time Lilith gets her big-girl panties on,” Dani added.
“Thanks. Super helpful,” I glared, and she gave me a thumbs up.
“We need to sign some paperwork to make it official,” Lilith added, and pushed
a manilla folder to everyone while booting up the iPad.
“Is the bond going to care if we sign on the dotted line?” Mia asked.
“No,” Lilith answered. “but you won’t get paid.”
“Where do I sign?” Mia ripped open the folder and looked around for a pen.
I knew the feeling. Going from no money, to tons of cash, was a hell of an aphrodisiac. She’d probably try to sneak into my room later. Now that we’d cleared things up, I might let her.
“Do I get paid for fucking other people now?” I needed to skim my new contract thoroughly.
“You’re still a harem, and are entitled to all the rights, privileges, and protections; we’re just going to have more people gunning for us than our external enemies,” Lilith pulled a pen from her pocket and slid it across the table.
“Is it just me, or should we have had our meeting somewhere that’s not bugged by the other succubae that are going to be pissed Lilith is going to knock them down the power totem pole?” Dani didn’t even read the document before signing. I’d always heard that was a big no-no.
“My mother and sister have access to the archive logs, so they already know what I’m researching. There is no hiding what we have,” Lilith couldn’t hide her frown. it was a missed opportunity. Something we couldn’t pass up again. Our lives might literally depend on it.
Fern looked to me for my okay before signing, and I gave it. She might not believe it, but she was free to make her own decisions. “Just not when it comes to Dani.” I groaned. I was such a hypocrite.
With everything signed in metaphorical blood, Lilith had everyone do the same on a digital copy. That way, it was official when she clicked update. “Our harem has a payroll, expense account, and a slush fund that I’ve been able to keep separate from the watchful eyes of my mother’s accountants. This is all in addition to your private accounts,” Lilith informed as she pushed all the paperwork to me.
“Okay,” I gave the stack a confused look.
“You’re my First. It’s your job to protect me and manage the harem. That includes the books,” she smiled. It was the first hint of mischief that had hit her face since our time in the limo.
“I’m a high school dropout who never managed higher than a C in math; and I cheated,” I groaned. “Plus, aren’t you technically my First.”
She gave me a hard look that was a definitive no.
“Oh well, worth a shot. At least she didn’t say I had to go finish my GED.”
“So, what do I . . .?” the door opened, and I instinctively threw up a translucent, glamour shield between Lilith and the door. After everything we’d just talked about, I’d be jumping at shadows for the next two years eight months.
“Huh. I guess I’m not good enough to sit at the cool kid’s table,” Marcella walked into the room with swagger.
The elder vampire’s gaze scanned all of us. I couldn’t help the shiver that went up my spine. Fern echoed the sentiment. Dani looked unconcerned. Lilith’s jaw firmed up, and Mia just outright glared at the vamp. There was something there, but I didn’t want to step in the middle of a cat fight. There was a rule against that in the bro code.
“Geez, relax,” Marcella said after a moment of tense gazes. “Lilith called me up here to pick up some paperwork,” she rolled her eyes, and walked over to me. “I’ll get this notarized and filed right away,” she took the stack of folders, but her hand lingered on my forearm for several seconds too long. I also swore she sniffed my hair. Now I knew why girls found that creepy.
“Marcella,” Lilith’s voice stopped the vamp cold. “If you really want a seat at the cool kid’s table. We can arrange that, but it has conditions.”
“Hmm,” the vamp looked around the room with a raised eyebrow. “I might take you up on that,” she strutted toward the door, her hips swaying way more than necessary.
I still ogled. Sue me. I couldn’t help it.
“Oh yeah,” she snapped her finger just before she reached the door. “Venus told me to summon you. It was life or death, or some paradigm-altering bullshit. I don’t remember her exact words.”
“Tell her I’ll be right down,” Lilith got to her feet.
“Not you. Everyone,” Marcella’s gaze passed over the room. “Toodles.” She closed the door behind her.
“Busted,” Dani got to her feet and stretched. Her shirt rode up, and I saw the taught muscles of her stomach.
“Come on. Does everyone have to be so hot.” I tried to avert my gaze before she noticed. I failed.
“Oh, boo hoo. Poor Cam, surrounded by beautiful women all day long. Grow up,” the Aesir answered.
“Are we in trouble with the queen?” Fern asked as she fell in beside me.
“No,” I wrapped my arm around her short, willowy frame, and pulled her close. “We’ll be fine.”
I just wished I believed that.
***
“So, Van Helsing beat you, trapped you, and then stole your power,” the man sitting across from Aveena whistled and leaned back in his chair. “I’d expect more out of the daughter of the Lady of Winter.”
Beneath the table, Aveena made a fist until her knuckles popped, but nothing more than that. She’d claimed Sancta Familia. She couldn’t take action against anyone in the household unless they initiated it. The creatures that wrote the ancient laws weren’t idiots. They believed in the right to self-defense. Despite the imp’s fighting words, that didn’t count. She’d just have to suck it up and take it.
Aveena might be in a swanky suite, with a thousand-dollar-a-night view of the Vegas Strip, but this place was just as much an interrogation chamber as the UN’s windowless room. Just with a higher thread count.
“They do have some killer cheese danishes,” she gave the cabal credit where it was due. The chef here rocked, and she’d had breakfast in bed every day so far.
It was a hell of a lot better than carjacking truckers and rooting around in their glove compartments for sunflower seeds and those coconut covered cakes that looked like a pair of tits.
“Tell me about the Wild Hunt?” the interrogator asked, snapping her out of her reverie.
It was the same thing as with the UN: a bunch of people asking her the same question in every way imaginable. It was tiresome, irritating, and if not for the danishes, she’d be spitting mad. Still, she’d claimed Sancta Familia. That required her to be a good guest, and a good guest answered questions.
“The hunt has been chasing me since my provisional pardon from the queen,” she replied.
“Maeve?” the interrogator clarified.
“Despite what you think, there is only one queen,” she smirked. Her interrogator was an imp, probably distantly related to Venus. It might sting, but the succubus didn’t hold a candle to the noblest of noble Fae.
“The Hunt?” the imp brought her back on topic.
“They’ve tracked me across your country, and almost succeeded a few times,” she technically answered the question without going into details. If they were only going to show her the barest courtesies, then she was only going to give the most basic answers.
“Why didn’t they attack you in the semi as you drove through Vegas, or when you were unconscious in the lobby? Everyone knows of the Fae power to just appear from between realms. Why aren’t they lurking outside the building right now waiting to strike? Or beating against our wards to get to you if you’re such a prize?” the imp wanted the nitty gritty, and wasn’t beating around the bush.
“The Hunt has rules?” she shrugged.
“Rules?”
“Do your fishermen throw grenades in the water and let the dead fish float to the surface?” she tried to put it in terms the imp would understand.
“Some do?” he replied.
“Do you consider them true sportsmen?” she fired back.
“Of course not,” he looked offended at the accusation.
“There you have it,” she leaned back and snagged another danish. At this rate, she’d put on her freshman fif
teen before she even got to college. If that was even an option anymore. Her life was radically different now, and she had to make plans. Maybe she would go to college if she was able to get the Hunt off her ass. As far as she knew, there was only one way to do that: give them a bigger target.
“The Hunt has rules. They are the truest of hunters. They won’t just jump out of the realm between and grab their target. They will wait. They will stalk. They will flush out their prey, and only when they have you exactly where they want you will they pounce,” just saying it made her shiver.
She might have claimed Sancta Familia. The cabal might have defeated Van Helsing for her, but the Hunt was still watching, waiting, and would do so for a hundred years if that’s what it took. Sooner or later, the hunt would bring her down. With her reduced power, the smart bet was on the former. That was something she couldn’t abide. She needed to think of something to get out of this mess her mother had created.
The interrogator opened his mouth to continue the line of questioning, but the thunk of the door hitting the stopper interrupted him. In walked a woman. Aveena fought back a hiss from escaping her throat.
“Vampire,” the creature was a unworthy plague upon the Fae’s playground, and this one especially so. She sensed magic on her. “An elder.”
“Nice to see you too, little miss sunshine. My name is Marcella, and I’ll be your chaperone for the next hour. Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times, and you won’t lose them. Any funny business, and I’ll give you a little kiss,” the vamp pecked her lips, and Aveena glared.
In her reduced state, she would more than likely be susceptible to the abomination’s venom.
“Agreed?” the vamp was smart. By getting her word, under Sancta Familia, Aveena would be bound by it.
“Agreed,” Aveena growled. “Where are we going?”
It wasn’t like she wasn’t glad to get away from the interrogators. She’d had her fill of answering questions about Winter’s troop disposition. The special abilities of The Nine. Any unique weaponry they possessed, yada yada yada. It had been nonstop since she woke up in the soft bed after barely escaping with her life.
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