by Talyn Scott
Niall landed on the balls of his feet, snapped out his wings, and then folded them behind his back. He kept Jenny crushed against him, her legs still holding his hips. “You’re the one I love. Of course, you make me crazy.” Niall touched her lips with his. A healthy does of possession and a lick of trepidation backed the kiss, as though any admission of weakness on his part would alter his universe.
Chapter 24
When Niall lowered Jenny to her feet, breaking the kiss, she smiled up at him with newly swollen lips. “I don’t have to be your weakness, you know?” She hooked her hand on her hip, cocking it. “I can hold my own.”
With a flash of vulnerability, he nodded. “Doesn’t mean changes aren’t in order.”
“You’re trying to change me?” she teased. “No, it can’t be happening this soon.”
Niall stayed solemn. “Not you or even Searlas.” He gathered her hand in his, tugging her along. “But me, just like we discussed. By the way, you’re about to enter the Dynasty Empire.”
She felt her mouth drop open. “I, ah, the Dynasty Empire? I’m not ready!”
“You are ready.” Niall, generally insulted, brought her to where Searlas was waiting. “Except you think my very people would harm my Bride. You find my protection lacking.”
“Back off, Niall.” Searlas took her other hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “Are you good with this, Jenny?”
Jenny had faced down so many demons this year, so what could the Dynasty Empire do to her with a royal Gryph by her side? She nodded and squeezed both her males hands in return. “Nothing like jumping in headfirst.”
Niall’s wing curved over Jenny, the silken feathers brushing her cheek as he reached within a pocket of air, his hand disappearing and then solidifying with not one, but two silken cloaks. “Since you are Undead and not of Pack,” Niall explained apologetically, “you can no longer wear your WereClan colors, your crest of MacGelton.”
Searlas smiled brittlely. “Maybe not in public.”
Inclining his head regally, Niall replied, “When I think of you as mine, Searlas, it is not in ownership, but purely as a co-mate.” After Syon had escaped, another vampire had to step in and buy Searlas from the Coven, due to their ancient and ridiculous property laws governing the Undead. Of course, no one bid against the determined Gryph blazing down vampire after vampire with a promise of daily, excruciating death for an eternity if any of them tried to outbid him.
Searlas blew out a long breath and put on the cloak in clipped, efficient movements. “I know.” He closed his eyes a second, then opened them and gripped Niall’s shoulder. “Really, I know.”
Niall’s lips lifted at the corners. “Now, look over there.”
Searlas followed Niall’s direction and smiled, too, as if sensing a calling.
Jenny asked, “What exactly are we looking for?”
“You’ll know it when you see it,” Niall whispered back, his lips finding her temple for a reassuring kiss.
Wind ruffled Searlas’ cloak as he stood in the marsh with Jenny and Niall by his side. He didn’t look small, this Undead owned in the literal sense by his co-mate, or like a byproduct — the very subspecies of the vampire community. On the contrary, Searlas looked proud while facing a new world of clear uncertainty, all outside of Pack, and Jenny wished she could borrow an ounce of his courage since hers was waning.
She brought his hand to her lips, kissing the broad expanse of his palm. Searlas gave her a look that said, ‘we werewolves will still stick together wherever life leads’.
She nodded before turning her head again to face the unassuming dock before them. Then an opening formed in the horizon, the window of miasma leading to the Dynasty Empire’s Court.
“Wow,” was all Jenny could say when gleaming marble steps presented themselves moments later. They ascended them in the human way, single file with Jenny herded in the protective middle.
“If you give off any more adrenalin, Nevesta,” Niall said, reaching around for Jenny as the tunnel they’d entered allowed for double file, “my peers will assume you have no faith in me.” He lowered his wing around her. “We cannot bring tension into court.”
“I understand completely, and I’ll work it down.” Jenny took a deep breath, held it, then let it go. But she couldn’t stop the internal trembling, the distant fear of leaving Pack — the family she’d always known. The thought of only visiting her former Pack mates outside the Sanibel Island compound was a lonesome one. Her only consolation, she realized as Searlas ducked his head, just missing a sharp, dangling root, was her greatest achievement. “From this moment,” she added while they passed through another vampire-made tunnel, sand and dirt raining down on them, “my life may not be perfect — ”
“Whose life is?” Searlas asked.
“But I wouldn’t change it for anything,” she finished.
They ascended a seemingly endless tier of shingle steps. Jenny nearly slipped and Niall lifted her in his arms, carrying her in silence the rest of the way. She wasn’t helpless, but Jenny refused to miss a moment in his arms. She kissed his stubborn jaw, then looked over Niall’s wings at Searlas. In turn, Searlas gave her a panty-scorching grin that was purely werewolf, the power of its call undeniable even when facing another near-frightening unknown.
When they reached the next surface inside the miasma, the very heart of the Dynasty Empire, a blazing sun hit Searlas.
“Oh, shit!”
“Searlas!” Jenny gasped. Pushing at Niall’s shoulders as Searlas thew up his arm to protect his eyes.
“It won’t hurt you, not the way it would in the mortal world.” Niall sighed, stopping for a moment. “Do you think I would allow you to enter the miasma during the Dynasty’s daytime hours, otherwise? Do you not think I care for you as a co-mate?”
Warily, Searlas dropped his arm. His eyes slowly drifting up, up, up, until he faced the golden ball shining outside the miasma. “Is it really — ”
“Yes,” Niall answered, “which is one of the many reasons I brought you here. You have no death inside the miasma, no half days where you do not take a breath until the sun sets. And as I promised, the sun here will not harm you in any way.”
Searlas took Jenny from Niall’s arms, his trembling hands clasping her face. “Do you hear that? We could sleep at night, rise during the day.” His porcelain face radiant against the sun’s rays, he beamed. “I can face the sun again.”
“I never knew of this,” she covered his hands with hers as he kissed her.
“Prince Volos keeps his Undead here, and he has the power within his miasma to do most things we find impossible.”
Over the years, Jenny had seen Jayce Jordan and Dr. Dru Holt do many things she thought were impossible, but this seemed… “Too perfect.” Except Searlas was owned.
Searlas dropped his hands from her, as if he read her mind. “There are far worse things. Like final death, us separated for an eternity. Do I need to go on?”
“Nope.”
“We’re almost there.” Niall beckoned, his face stoic though his onyx eyes glimmered with satisfaction, with the prospect of showing his new Bride before the court, which was still startling considering she was werewolf.
They strolled several yards in silence before a shadow fell across them.
“Prince Volos’ castle?” Jenny asked, awestruck.
“Yes, and over there,” he explained with pride, leaning down and pointing her in the right direction, “is our home.”
Jenny’s heart kicked in her chest. “Our home?”
“Whoa.” Searlas, who Gage raised in privilege, looked as astounded as Jenny felt.
She stepped closer, staring up at the looming glass structure nestled high in overgrown trees that resembled Weeping Willows, their trunks as thick and as numerous as Banyon Trees. “Oh, I want to swing on those vines!” Jenny made to run, then noticed hundreds of curious eyes staring down at her, the Gryphs’ accompanying wings held at an odd slant.
“They are — ”
“Freaked out that a werewolf moved in the neighborhood,” Jenny finished in hushed tones.
“Paying homage to their Master as he welcomes home Gryph Niall,” a voice smooth as silk said from behind. “This is customary in my realm.”
Jenny turned on her heel; her mouth slowly fell open as Niall dropped to one knee, his wings held back at the same awkward angle as the others. Searlas followed suit by dropping to his knee and bowing his head. She had no idea what to do, and every werewolf instinct she had screamed not to bow down to the prince of vampires. Just like every instinct told her to keep her mouth shut and not make eye contact.
Volos was the predator of vampire predators, and he was studying her with unveiled curiosity. He stepped closer, his body blocking out most of the sun. “Of all the females Jayce Jordan had to lose,” he said, letting that thought hang out there. Then he touched a finger beneath her chin, lifting her face to make clear eye contact.
Jenny knew she could fight any vampiric compulsion, but not from this male, the purest in power of them all. She wondered, while standing there and openly gaping, how many females, who weren’t his subjugates, fell to their knees and worshiped Volos for his beauty alone.
“Welcome to my home,” he said, at last, dropping his hand from her face and gesturing for Searlas and Niall to rise. “I’m sure you will find the Gryph aviary comfortable.” Volos asked Niall.
At that moment, Jenny realized Niall had moved from another home — that this home was as new to her Gryph as it was to her.
“It is perfect for my family, My Liege.”
“Excellent.” Volos clasped his hands. “Since I have everyone’s attention.” His eyes, so golden in the sun’s rays, lifted to touch upon each of his flying subjects. “Due to Searlas MacGelton aiding in saving twenty vampiresses from a fate worse than any final death I can imagine,” he paused for full effect, the prince of vampires a master in his court. “I will welcome Searlas MacGelton, an Undead, to reside within the Dynasty Empire as Gryph Niall’s co-mate, and absolve him of any remaining Blood Debt owed to Coven or vampire.”
Fluttering wings stilled, the onlookers tilting their heads curiously. “You will extend him any courtesy you would Gryph Niall.” Volos raised a brow when a few whispers reached the ground. “In return for acceptance in my court,” he directed to Searlas, “you are bound to defend the Dynasty’s miasma at all costs.”
Searlas appeared shocked at the offer, then his shoulders went back in obvious defiance. Jenny knew he could never go back to Pack, not because of Jayce Jordan but due to vampiric laws governing all Undead, yet one thought hammered her mind.
Obviously the same matter needled Searlas, because he dared to propose to the most powerful vampire in the world a condition. “I am truly honored, Prince Volos, and I accept on one condition.”
Niall’s mouth dropped open in sheer astonishment, before he composed himself long enough to glare glacially at Searlas. “You have no right to barter.”
To Jenny’s relief, Volos seemed amused. “Only because I have twenty females back due to your heroics, I will entertain your condition.”
Searlas cleared his throat. “I will guard your Dynasty Empire, but I will never turn a weapon on my,” he stalled out, wondering if he could say former Pack males, but the words wouldn’t come.
Nothing, Jenny realized, was former to Searlas. In his soul, just as it was hers, Searlas would always remain a celestial creature — a werewolf.
After a few moments, Searlas spoke with clarity, his words reaching the treetops. “I will never turn my weapon on those of my species.”
Volos froze, not breathing for what felt like a minute. Then finally, “Perhaps we need more soldiers of your caliber, Searlas MacGelton, those exhibiting a higher moral aptitude.” Volos backed away, his cloak swooshing at his boots. “I will give your condition some thought.”
Niall seemed astonished, and Jenny didn’t bother looking up at the others. From their collective scent, astonishment was an understatement. Even her stomach had taken a nosedive, her instincts screaming she jump in front of Searlas to take Volos’ wrath, but nothing so horrible had occurred. The prince of vampires seemed reasonable, for the moment at least.
“Now”— Volos tilted his head, looking expectantly at Niall — “I believe we have another order of business before I take my leave.”
“Yes, my Liege, I would request a Coven vampire to act as Jenny’s guardian.”
They’d discussed this and Jenny had argued vehemently against it. She didn’t need a vampire acting as her guardian in the event something happened to Niall or Searlas. Jenny would simply go back to Pack. “Niall,” she started, then thought twice. She didn’t want to argue in front of all these vampires who were to follow Niall in any upcoming battles. Private business was private business.
Volos seemed to pick up on what was bothering her, the prince of vampires entirely perceptive. “You could easily go to Pack if you were mateless, but what would happen if you already birthed Younglings?”
“They would go to Pack, too?” That didn’t sound quite right after she’d said it. Volos crooked his finger at her, and she walked right up to him without a second thought. Oh, the power of this vampire!
“They would undoubtedly be winged.” Volos shrugged, a ripple of movement. “How would they assimilate in the human world?”
They wouldn’t. “So another vampire wouldn’t actually be my guardian, but the godfather to my kids?”
“Something like that,” Niall responded, his eyes pleading with her to accept this part of his Coven’s traditions.
“I don’t think anything will ever happen to my males, but I will honor them by not bucking vampire tradition.”
Niall exhaled in relief. “Excellent, then when — ”
“This will be my honor to oblige,” Volos interrupted. “After all, Gryph Younglings of half werewolf lineage should never fall into the wrong hands.”
Jenny’s stomach twisted. But she realized that if her future children needed a guardian vampire, why not go straight to the top? “Thank you. The honor is mine, Prince Volos.”
He wrapped his hands around her waist, his touch all wrong when compared to Niall or Searlas’, but she stayed still.
“I will bite you on your pulse point, and my mark will be upheld in the vampire world, just as a contract would be in the human world,” Volos explained. “Then I will accept a small feeding now and once a year afterwards.”
“All for protecting me and my future Younglings for eternity?” she asked shakily.
Volos brushed her hair away from her throat. “Gryphs are royals, after all, so are their Younglings.” When he tightened his grip on her waist, he lifted Jenny a good half a foot off the ground, his cloak silky smooth on her skin. She felt his cock harden beneath his pants as he sniffed and licked a line from the dip in her throat to the top of her cleavage. A hiss escaped him, when the tips of his fangs tasted the rise of her left breast.
Then he bit down.
The prince of vampires knew how to bite a female, Jenny thought as she moaned aloud, unable to hide her body’s response to this male. But she managed to stop just before she climaxed, which was an accomplishment considering how she responded to vampiric endorphins.
Her inner werewolf moved beneath her skin, the shimmering startling beneath the sun, right as Volos took his first swallow. His hold tightened on the second swallow, became nearly bruising on the third. Seeming to shake himself, Volos released his bite without licking it, in order to cement the mark’s visibility, and placed her back on her feet.
“I sense,” Volos said, as he kissed Jenny’s fingertips, “that I’m keeping you three from something pleasurably important?” In a whirl of theatrical, golden fog, Volos bid them farewell, “Zbohom.”
“Goodbye, Prince Volos.”
Above, the Gryphs scattered, going about their daily business. Jenny took Searlas’ hand. To his credit, it wasn’t shaking, but it was cold and clammy. And she
knew he needed blood for he hadn’t eaten dinner yet. Additionally, the stress of encountering Volos probably used up much of his blood reservoir, which was understandable.
“Are you okay?” Searlas asked.
“Never better, thank you.” She asked Niall, “Why did you take a new home for us?”
Looking down at her with nothing but love in his eyes, he answered, “I will lead our ranks beneath the Master Gryph Fedor.” He ran the tip of his nose down hers. “The aviary is where we need to be.”
This meant Niall was dropping below societal station for her. “No more dangerous missions?”
“Not unless I get bored,” he said as he captured her lips in a kiss of possession, of love, “and I don’t expect ever to get bored.”
“Neither do I.” Searlas removed his cloak and slung it over his arm, “Now,” he said, eyeing each of their throats, “who do I start with?”
“You need both of us?” Niall asked in alarm. “Is your appetite for blood growing?”
“Not exactly, but I’m thinking I need some extra energy for what we’re about to do.” Searlas’ eyes lifted as he studied their new home, complete with tiered rail-free balconies and hanging bridges. “Are we going up?”
Niall shook his head. “I have a better idea.”
Chapter 25
Niall curled his arm around the back of Jenny’s waist and slung his other over Searlas’ shoulders. He said to Searlas as they walked, “I think a sunny day at the beach is in order for a male who has missed the sun for a while.”
“Don’t tease me.”
“I would not be so cruel.”
After they turned a corner and stepped on the veranda positioned beneath their home, Searlas faced a very close replica of the Gulf of Mexico, though the water seemed calmer, and unnaturally blue. But above, the sun doted on Searlas, welcoming him back to the daytime with a warm caress. He looked around, his smile guarded. “Where are the others?”
