No Longer Alone (House of Garner Book 1)

by Erin R Flynn

  “Relax, we got this,” Jaxon promise, cupping my face.

  “Hey, did you fucking kill us, you bitch?” the first of a group of twenty ghosts bellowed as they appeared. I yelped as I always did, but seriously, it was the energy and like echo of when they got upset that I couldn’t ignore it.

  “No, it was these guys, but just she can hear us,” another seethed.

  Jaxon’s lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear him, the ghosts ramping up fast when there were so many of them. It was like they assumed we just went on a murdering spree or something. I fisted his shirt and tried to soak up his calm, freaked out enough for the day, Clarence’s dead body reminding me of all of that and then the super scary guy who found me interesting watching.

  Darius pulled me away and kissed me deeply, reminding me they were with me, they would always be with me. I nodded that I had this and let them lead me off to the back seat of the SUV, ignoring the shouts and angry energy. The second the first ghost got in with me, I focused on dissipating it, knowing what I had to do.

  And that the two men in my life who adored me would be there for me after when I needed them.

  19

  Kristof

  Waking with a random pull to head to Boston did not put me in a good mood. Forces, magic, or even Aether Herself pulling me never ended with something fun on the other end. No, it was normally a disaster I had to handle or bullshit I didn’t want to be involved in.

  So I was more than moderately surprised to find a noble who was clearly out of his mind and lost as to his path, plotting to subjugate a young princess. But the ones with her could more than handle the problem, and then Aether did Herself.

  Then why the fuck was I there?

  I wasn’t sure, but the breathtaking young princess and the quick conversation with her was enough to make me need to find out… And that was before she was almost overwhelmed with ghosts.

  “Take her around in the SUV,” Jaxon ordered one of the leopards as he tossed over car keys while the princess kissed her other noble. “Put her in the back so Kristof can ride with since she said she’d show him. We’ll get things set here.”

  “Got it,” he agreed, waving me to follow to an electric car.

  “How is this running?” I muttered, getting in when he did and Darius was bringing over the princess.

  “She did it.”

  The second she was in, he turned on the vehicle and threw it in gear. I glanced back at her, and shock rocked me as I watched seeds appear on the bench seat next to her instead of the normal salt or minerals when a vampire with the gift of seeing and passing on ghosts sent one to peace.

  “Yeah, I felt about the same,” the guy chuckled. “I’m Vance, Vance Begley. We might be the last Begleys as well. Our family was in NYC.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss, it was a good clan,” I said as I kept my gaze on her. “How did she make this start running? Charge it when there’s no electricity besides the rare generator that no one uses gas on instead of vehicles?”

  “She just can,” he sighed. “My cousin’s the electrical engineer, but she’s got energy coursing through her. She channels it somehow into electricity and also fixes whatever was blown by the EMPs or other bombs’ shockwaves. Hell, I don’t even know what took out stuff in as far as like Columbus, as I didn’t see any bomb damage.”

  “Many were done internally by those who thrive on chaos and saw their chance to take down the system,” I muttered, still watching her, unable to look away even. “Others probably to cover their tracks as if everything went down, no one would truly know who was to blame for the corrupted. And then it became a war of fighting against those with electricity and the ability to hurt them.”

  “Wow, nice, good thing those assholes and crazies survived,” he grumbled. He glanced at her in the mirror.

  “Why are we moving?”

  “Spaces out the ghosts, as it takes them a bit to catch up and they can’t all fit in here so they don’t overwhelm her.” He shrugged. “I don’t know much about this part, but the first day it happened after we went serious corrupted hunting, it was horrible. They were beating her with their energy basically, and she passed out. This seems to work out pretty well so far.”

  “And she’s willing to do it?” I asked, but clearly had the answer as I was seeing she was.

  “She wouldn’t hear of not doing it because less corrupted mean less victims they have.” He checked on her again. “She doesn’t even realize how much of a miracle she is.” She rubbed her head, and almost instantly he was passing her back a cold bottle of water.

  “Thank you,” she said too loudly as if her ears were ringing, and took huge gulps. “Fuck, Wilson was so right. Cold water is so much better. I didn’t even know what I was missing!”

  “She doesn’t remember cold water?” I asked.

  He cleared his throat and adjusted how he sat. “I’m not sure I should be the one to answer that. It’s pretty personal, and I would think you’d want the context or hear it from her if she’s willing to tell you.”

  “Fair enough, and honorable you would think of it that way,” I praised.

  “You can slow down,” she told him. “They’re coming in too slow, and we didn’t hunt that many yesterday.”

  He sighed heavily. “You can handle a bit of slow, sexy bite.”

  “I got this,” she argued. “I’m not going to faint today.” She rubbed her hands together. “Fuck, I might do a jig that Clarence and his band of merry harassing assholes is gone. Five years of that shit and I get a night off and a dance.” She smiled brightly. “Weren’t you guys talking about breweries? Let’s go turn on their fridges. I want to try beer.”

  “You are so much trouble,” he chuckled, laughing when she just shrugged.

  I glanced between them as they bantered and teased each other, unable to process how normal they acted together. None of the regular court hubbub and bullshit, posturing every second of every day, and all the games I hated.

  “We’re coming in,” Vance said into a long range radio.

  “Got it, we’re set at the first place we plotted,” someone replied. “We’ve found a lot for her.”

  “Good, because there are a ton we could clear out, and you know she’ll want to.”

  “Of course, she’s awesome,” the person replied with a chuckle. “We need to find her that seed book now that there’s real libraries and bookstores around here.”

  “It’s on the list.” He glanced at me and answered my unasked question. “When she starts itching, the energy is getting to be too much and it’s time for her to let it out.”

  I nodded, watching the show as more seeds appeared and she carefully put them into a baggie. Most might have waited until the end, but she took care with the task.

  We pulled up at an industrial park with a few shipping trailers next to each other in the parking lot. She jumped out the moment the SUV stopped and hurried over to where Darius guided her. I moved with her, not wanting to miss what came next.

  I almost fell over when I felt the energy she let out, the power and electricity jumping from solar panel to solar panel. I understood what the leopard meant that she fixed them, but more specifically, she deconstructed the broken component or chip and reconstructed a fixed one. It was miraculous and not how I’d ever seen that particular power used before.

  And then she charged up pallets of industrial batteries that looked as if they would belong in power plants or massive machines.

  She hopped into the SUV with a different leopard, and off she went again. I stayed this time to see what else was going on, their plans as it were. They were smart in how they used her power. They were gathering weapons that they could retrieve later, but more importantly, keeping them out of the hands of the wrong people.

  I even helped them with that task, thinking it smart since they had the way to manage it efficiently.

  “Hey, I found a camper like she suggested,” Vance said as he came jogging over with one of the leopards. “W
e were checking if we could find any more electric semis for later, and we found a whole dealership with top of the line ‘toy haulers,’ the sign said.”

  “Can it be towed with the SUV, or do we need a pickup truck?” Darius asked, glancing at Jaxon. “There are eight of us so four vehicles might be okay.”

  “It’s not like we’re doing long hauls of three days and no one to switch off driving,” Jaxon agreed with a smile. “Let’s see what we can’t spoil our princess with.”

  He snorted. “Right, because she won’t immediately make sure there’s enough room for everyone or mattresses can be added. Can you rig a few of the truck batteries in the bed of the truck like you did the semi so she’s got more to juice?”

  “Callum can no problem. He improved on what I did. Depending on what we find here, we’ll have her fix and charge it all so people can just drive them later. When we get more people for her court.”

  They seemed to remember I was there then and shut their mouths. It was understandable they weren’t sure if they wanted me to hang around or not, but they also weren’t letting out state secrets that the princess would have to build her court. Only that she didn’t have an existing one to take over and make her own. So she was a displaced princess? The last of her line?

  Interesting.

  A few more hours of systematic and impressively plotted out work, and she rejoined us, about bouncing to let out the energy. Then she did a sexy little dance in victory.

  “I did it. I did it,” she sang, shaking her hips. “I did it and didn’t faint. I’m totally—” Her fangs came out, interrupting her. “Fuck! Come on. I seriously thought I had it and control.” She growled and thumped the side of a trailer a few times before kicking it. “Uggghhh, I was so close.”

  “You didn’t faint, so that’s a win and improvement,” Darius reminded her, cupping her face. “You need to feed, Inez. Let us give you what you need.”

  Jaxon didn’t wait for her answer, letting the others know they were heading to camp before swooping her up in his arms and blurring away. I easily followed after them, the younger vampire taking a few minutes to catch up.

  I glanced around as they discussed hunting and dinner, seeing what their camp consisted of. There was a trailer that they must have towed with them, and a cargo van stocked with everything eight adults could need and much better than most in the apocalypse.

  Darius caught up, and he had eyes only for his princess, undressing her with practiced ease before himself. He laid her down on one of the mattresses they’d set up by the grills and main area. He gave me a smirk before spreading her legs wide, knowing any sane man would want even a glimpse of the heaven that was most assuredly there given she was such a beauty.

  And what a sight it was.

  I was painfully hard as he pumped his fingers in her and sucked one of those pale, stiff nipples as she whimpered and moaned. She leaned in and bit his neck, not taking anywhere near as much as I would have expected or thought necessary after all the power and energy she’d used that day.

  After a few orgasms, she rolled over and presented her firm, bouncing ass to him, mewling in need. My throat was dry as he slammed in her, wanting to do the same, especially given how much she loved it. I watched in awe, shocked to see a princess have sex so freely. She loved what he did to her, but more than that, it flipped her switch that he was enjoying her so much.

  She truly wanted to please him, make him happy and sated. Instead of all the games and everything dark and selfish I’d seen at courts and in princesses over my years, it flat did it for her that Darius was enjoying her so much.

  “Write it, write it on me,” she begged, pushing her body back to meet his as if she needed nothing but him.

  I wasn’t sure what she meant, but he bit his finger and wrote out “Mine” on her ass in his blood. She moaned as it tingled and her skin absorbed it. I’d never seen a princess give so selflessly something her noble would want.

  And then she begged for him to write it bigger on her. He did, and she thanked him, screaming in bliss as he gave her all of him. It was beautiful the way there was nothing but their passion, their desperate need for each other, as their bodies came together. It didn’t matter that she submitted to him or he took her as he wanted, but simply their need for each other.

  When it was over, he had one more word to write. Love. He spelled that out on her back, her eyes filling with tears as she realized what he’d done. She turned and let him see she was overcome with emotions, nodding as she accepted his feelings. They kissed, but when he went to move away, she pulled him back and he tenderly took her this time, their lips never leaving each other as they moved together.

  She was perfection in the body of a female, and I wanted her, but I had lived too long to buy any of this or take it at face value. I would crack the young princess and see what was truly there behind that shell of kindness, warmth, and beauty.

  I followed them when he brought her over to the lake with a basket of supplies meant for bathing. “Our discussion was delayed. I believe we should have it now.” She gave me a hesitant look but then nodded, Darius moving to still help her. “She can bathe herself, I’m sure.”

  And I hated selfish, spoiled, and bitchy princesses.

  “Yeah, I got this,” she agreed before he could argue. She accepted a quick kiss from him before being set on her feet, forcing herself to act as if her legs weren’t jelly like in that moment. She gave me another quick look, swallowing loudly as she realized I would be a very old perv and watch her bathe.

  Sounded fun to me. I pulled a log over to the edge of the lake and didn’t ask a single question as I watched her wash, all of her exposed to me. I cleared my throat when she tried to use the water to hide as she bathed, and she walked out of it so I saw more, getting the game.

  And what a game it was. When she bent over to wash her legs, letting me see how perfect she was from so close, something just for me, it took all my strength not to fuck her and make her scream. It had been so, so long since I’d had a woman, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever had one like her. I was itching for her body and touch.

  When she finished, she went to wrap a towel around her, looking relieved it was over as she’d been quick about her task.

  “Come here,” I instructed before she could cover up. She flinched, giving me a worried look, but did what I wanted. I reached for her and saw the tears in her eyes before she looked away. “You truly wish to cover yourself.”

  She nodded. “I know you saw a lot with us, um, you know, but yes, I want the towel, please.”

  “Of course.”

  She let out a shaky breath and covered herself, even wrapping her hair before coming back to me. I moved how I sat, rubbing my leg to tell her where I wanted her. She studied me as she moved, and then her eyes went wide as she sucked in a harsh, deep breath.

  And then she was hugging me. She hugged me tightly, straddling my lap and burying her face against my neck. “You’re not bullying me. You’re not being an asshole like Clarence who wanted to abuse me. You’re trying to break apart the con. You’re not buying the cult you think we are or whatever, and you’re pushing me so I crack. Oh thank fuck. I thought the scariest guy ever was going to abuse me forever.”

  “No, I would never,” I murmured, upset with myself for not having considered how it would appear to her, assuming she was the villainess here that was set on ensnaring me.

  “I would do anything to keep them safe, I would, but the idea of you just taking whatever you want, that threat of hurting them always looming.” She let out a choked breath. “Please, just don’t hurt them. Poke until you get your answers, I’ll tell you anything, everything, I swear it.”

  “Shhh,” I whispered as I slid my hand along her soft skin, seizing the opportunity since the towel fell off. “Calm yourself. I will not harm any of you. I promise that’s not why I’m here.”

  “Okay,” she breathed, shaking but then in a good way from my touch. She leaned back and gave me a soft kiss
. “Okay, thank you.” She hugged me again, slowly letting out the tension and upset, settling now that she knew there was no danger.

  And all I wanted was to bury my leaking cock deep in her. Damn, I really was an asshole.

  “Go to your love and relax, rest, as you did a lot today. I will stay and get my answers. That’s all that’s happening for now,” I murmured as I cupped her sweet ass.

  She nodded, clearing her throat and quickly putting the towel in place as she blushed deeply, unable to meet my eyes even. “Someone was talking about maybe trying for some lobster since we’re in the area. Sounds nummy.”

  “It does,” I agreed, trying to think of the last time I’d had lobster.

  She turned to leave but then spun around.

  “Right, um, we’re going to be attacked tonight, and like a lot since we’re not far outside the city.” Worry filled her eyes as she glanced at me. “Will you be okay? I mean, we have extra guns and weapons.” She snorted, rolling her eyes. “Right, yeah, stupid, sorry. You can move faster than air displacement with your own wormhole or whatever, and I’m worried about corrupted getting you. Idiot.”

  She walked off, shaking her head at herself, and I couldn’t seem to find my voice. When had anyone ever worried for my safety? Even when I was in danger, which had been so long ago I forgot as well?

  I watched her head to the cargo van and get dressed before announcing she was doing laundry. Then the princess actually gathered two bags of dirty clothes and, with some help from Jaxon, washed all their clothes in a large plastic tote on a washboard.

  Well, maybe the apocalypse had changed all the princesses? I snorted, not thinking that fucking likely.

  The leopards showed up and outlined with Darius where they were at and what the next steps were as the princess assisted Jaxon in preparing dinner. Then she called over she had a gift for the Begleys.

  “Strip and shift,” she announced when they moved towards her. They hurried to take off their clothes, each giving her a chaste kiss before shifting, clearly wanting more from her but not pushing her, willing to accept just that and her affection.