by I. T. Lucas
“No.”
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Then I’m coming in.”
At the sound of the door opening, Wendy tightened the blanket around her. She didn’t want Bowen to see her crying over stupid Vlad.
The bed sank as he sat beside her. “What happened? Did you and Vlad have a fight?”
“He is a liar.”
“What makes you think that?”
“He said that he loved me and then he said he wasn’t sure that I was the one for him. If he really loved me, he would have no doubts.”
Bowen chuckled. “You love him, but two days ago you still weren’t sure. You just didn’t tell him.”
She threw the blanket off and sat up. “I didn’t doubt my love for him. I only doubted that he was as good as he seemed, and I was right.”
“Having doubts is natural, and testing those we give our hearts to is a self-defense mechanism. Just as you are afraid of getting hurt, so is Vlad. Except, you’ve been hurt by others, so you have the luxury of thinking that it is you and him against the nasty world. But Vlad has been hurt by you, so you are the villain in his story. Can you really blame him for being cautious?”
He had a point.
Nevertheless, Vlad hadn’t even tried to prove to her that he loved her. When she challenged him, he stormed out. Perhaps they both needed a break to figure out their shit.
“Maybe we are not fated for each other. If we were, Vlad would have no doubts, and neither would I. Perhaps I need to broaden my horizons, so to speak.” Wendy cast Bowen a suggestive look.
It felt wrong, but she was angry and hurt, and she wanted to get back at Vlad.
Bowen laughed. “Sorry, kid. But you are not my type.”
Plopping down on the bed, Wendy pulled the blanket back over her head. No one wanted her. She was a short, chubby girl with a bad attitude.
A bad apple.
Bowen patted her shoulder over the blanket. “You love Vlad, Wendy. Everyone can see that. So stop with the drama and grow up. Don’t make things worse by trying to get back at him for hurting your feelings.”
“What am I supposed to do? Beg him to love me? Not going to happen.”
“Just give it time. Maybe a short breakup is a good idea. It will prove to both of you that you can’t live without each other.”
13
Annani
As Okidu walked into the dining room with a large tray, Annani spread a napkin over her knees. “Thank you, Okidu. Your waffles smell delicious.”
He bowed. “To serve you is my pleasure, Clan Mother.”
Breakfast with her children and their mates was a good way to start the day. At the sanctuary, it was just her and Alena, but here she could also enjoy Kian and Amanda and their partners.
Not that Dalhu said much. He seemed uncomfortable, and he was probably suffering the family gatherings for Amanda’s sake.
Perhaps he needed a little coaxing. “Dalhu.” Annani smiled at him. “I would love to see some of your new paintings. I am thinking about redecorating my suite of rooms in the sanctuary, and I would love to have one or two of your beautiful landscapes to hang in my bedroom. Gazing upon such beauty first thing in the morning is an excellent way to start the day on a positive note.”
He dipped his head. “I will choose the best ones and bring them over.”
“Perhaps it would be better for me to come to your studio?”
He swallowed. “As you wish, Clan Mother.”
Amanda clapped her hands. “That would be lovely. You haven’t visited us for the longest time.”
“Indeed,” Annani nodded. “I also have not visited Sari in a while, and I should. Perhaps after the wedding, Alena and I will head to Scotland instead of going straight home.”
“Speaking of the wedding. Are we going to test Kalugal today?” Syssi asked.
Kian put his fork down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “The council meeting is scheduled for one in the afternoon, and I would rather conduct the test beforehand. If you’re successful, I can use that to assuage their fears.” He looked at Annani. “Do you want to attend the meeting?”
“Not in particular. My presence would force the issue, and I would rather the council agreed to host the party in the village without pressure from me.”
Kian chuckled. “You are the one who wants to marry Kalugal and Jacki in the village. No one else is enthusiastic about it, not even Kalugal.”
Smiling, Annani lifted her coffee cup. “In time, you and all the other doubters will realize the wisdom of what I am trying to achieve. I have always taken the long-term view.” She took a sip from her coffee. “Have you decided on how to test Kalugal?”
“Have him compel you to stop smoking those stinking cigarillos,” Amanda said.
“I don’t want him to compel me. That would set a dangerous precedent. It needs to be someone else.”
“Fine. He can compel me,” Amanda offered. “I can tell Kalugal that I’ve been trying to be a good vegan, but that I can’t resist cheese. I’ll ask him to compel me not to touch it.”
Syssi shook her head. “For it to be believable, we will need to set it up, and it can’t be done willy-nilly just so you will have something to mollify the council with. You need to either postpone the meeting or think of some other way to sway their opinion.”
“I’ll think of something.” Kian took her hand. “So, what ingenious plan did you come up with that needs a long set-up?”
“Not long. We just need one more day. We will invite Kalugal and Jacki to dinner, and Okidu will serve something with cheese. Amanda will say that she shouldn’t eat it but can’t resist and ask Kalugal to help her.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Amanda tapped her finger over her lips. “Except, I suggest lunch instead of dinner. Jacki should feel well enough by then, and Kalugal knows that Annani wants to meet her. The invitation will not look suspicious.”
Annani looked at Kian. “Is that agreeable to you?”
“Sure. I wish we could have done it today, but Syssi is right that for the charade to work, it needs to appear spontaneous. Now we only need to figure out how to test whether you can compel the entire village. I liked Amanda’s idea of asking everyone to look for an earring or some other piece of jewelry that you supposedly lost, but we will need to assemble everyone in the village square to do that.”
“The wedding would be perfect for the test,” Syssi said. “But we need to know whether Annani can compel Kalugal’s men before we let them into the village.”
Smiling, Amanda leaned back in her chair. “We need an excuse for another party. How about a celebration for Jin and Jacki’s transition?”
“It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate.” Kian looked at Annani. “You could give a speech, and we could toast the occasion.”
“When do you want to do that?” Syssi asked. “If the wedding is in nine days, we don’t have a lot of time.”
Kian looked at Annani again. “Can I at least convince you to postpone the wedding?”
“I believe that we can complete the various tests and have everything ready on time, and I do not like to postpone until tomorrow what can be done today. But if you prove to me that it cannot be done, I will reconsider.”
Kian let out a breath. “I still have to hear what the council members have to say. If the opposition to hosting Kalugal and his people is strong, we will have to find a different solution.”
14
Rufsur
Rufsur clicked the remote, turning the television off. “Can we get out of the damn house? There is a beautiful village out there, and I’m pining for the outdoors like the damn dead parrot from Monty Python.”
The truth was that he didn’t give a damn about how pretty and green the village was. He wanted another glimpse of the sad judge, so he could figure out why she had taken permanent residence in his mind.
She wasn’t even his type. He’d been with women who were more beautiful, curvier, and blonde. He liked wom
en who knew how to dress to entice a man, and who were flirty and fun, not severe matrons with sad, smart eyes.
Those damn eyes haunted him.
He just couldn’t get them out of his mind. They followed him around whether he was awake or asleep, and all he could think about was finding out what had caused that sadness and a way to make it go away.
Naturally, there was no guarantee he would bump into Edna again, but if he stayed cooped up at the house, that wasn’t going to happen for sure.
Maybe if he broke a clan law or two, he would be brought before her. Vandalism was most likely considered a criminal offense. If he tore the damn flat screen off the wall and dumped it outside, the Guardians would arrest him, and he would get to see the judge.
Or he would end up in the clinic after his cuff had been activated, delivering neurotoxin to disable him.
“I wouldn’t mind going out for a walk,” Jacki said.
Kalugal rubbed his hand over her bare shoulder. “This morning you were still feeling weak. It’s too early for you to exert yourself with a long walk.”
“The café is only a fifteen or twenty minutes easy stroll away from here, and I can take rests along the way. I’m bored, and I’m wasting precious time that I could be spending with my friends. I can call Jin and have her meet me there, and maybe Mey can come too.”
“Wasn’t Jin supposed to come here?”
“Yeah, but I prefer to go out, see some people, and breathe fresh air.”
He lifted a finger. “On one condition.”
“What?”
“I don’t want you to push yourself. We stop at every bench on the way, and you spend at least five minutes on each. And if despite the rest stops, I decide that you are not up to walking the rest of the way, I’m carrying you.”
“That’s two conditions. I agree to the first but not to the second. If I get really tired, I will take a longer break on the bench.”
“Promise that you’ll tell me the moment you feel like resting.”
“I promise.”
“Then let’s go.” Kalugal pushed to his feet and gave Jacki a hand up. “Do you need to change?”
“No, I’m good.”
“You are wearing a sleeveless shirt, and it’s windy outside. You need a cardigan.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Kalugal smirked. “Wait here. I’ll get it for you.”
The two were so cute together that it was puke-inducing.
How had the mighty fallen.
Kalugal was fussing around Jacki like a mother hen, and she seemed to really enjoy all the attention.
Rufsur counted himself lucky that she’d rejected his advances. Jacki was an amazing person in many ways, and she was perfect for Kalugal, but Rufsur wanted a woman who didn’t require as much attentiveness.
Naturally, Edna’s angular face floated in front of his mind’s eye. She was a judge and a councilwoman, a busy, self-sufficient lady, who had very little spare time.
Perfect.
Except for all the other stuff that wasn’t.
Those ugly, too-large men-suits and grandmotherly shoes had to go, but he had a feeling that Edna was rigid in her ways, and convincing her to make changes would not endear him to her. He’d better not bring it up.
Besides, what did it matter?
When he seduced her, she wouldn’t be wearing anything at all.
Rufsur wondered what kind of a figure she was hiding underneath those unflattering clothes. For all he knew, Edna could be a knockout. Thinking of his favorite screen beauty, the Australian Margot Robbie, he tried to imagine her with no makeup, her hair pulled into a tight bun, and wearing a shapeless pantsuit. Even she would have looked drab in Edna’s garb.
Not that Edna looked anything like his dream girl.
So why the hell was he so fascinated with her?
With a sigh, Rufsur walked over to the front door. “I’ll tell our Guardians that we are going out for a walk to the café..”
Jacki chuckled. “So now they are our Guardians? I thought they were Kian’s.”
“Whatever.” He opened the door and stepped out to the front porch, where the two sat on the bench.
Theo and Jay were their daytime Guardians, and at night they were replaced by another duo. Twelve-hour babysitting shifts were boring, and he felt sorry for the men.
“Good afternoon, gentlemen. Get ready to stretch your legs. We are all going for a nice walk to the café.”
“Hallelujah.” Jay got up. “I hate this damn bench.”
“I told you to come inside. You refused.”
“We have our orders, Rufsur. You know how it is.”
He did. Obeying orders that didn't always make sense was part of every warrior and law enforcer's life. Except, he had a feeling that the two were just more comfortable outside and didn’t want to hang out with their charges. It was understandable. They were supposed to guard their community from the dangerous guests, not fraternize with them.
“Yeah, I do. But if you change your minds, you are welcome to keep an eye on us from the comfort of our couch.”
15
Kian
As usual, Amanda was late for the council meeting, making the other members wait for her. She just had to stop by the café and get coffee and pastries for everyone.
It wasn’t a bad strategy for putting the council members in a more cooperative mood, but she could have planned ahead and arrived on time.
When the door to Kian’s office finally opened, and she strode in with Wonder in tow, he did his best not to glare at her.
“Sorry I’m late.” Amanda smiled sheepishly. “As usual. But a meeting without refreshments is a drag.”
After Wonder helped her distribute the goods and left, Amanda took her seat to his right. “Now, we can talk.”
From the other side of the room, Shai cleared his throat. “I’m starting the recording. This is council meeting 451. All twelve members are present.”
More than ever, Kian regretted Turner’s refusal to accept a seat on the council. The guy was the voice of reason, and his input was especially critical when discussing safety measures. If he gave his stamp of approval, even Edna wouldn’t argue with it.
In fact, they could both benefit from his coolheaded advice.
Since it was a security issue, the head Guardians would participate in the vote, and Kian knew he could count on their support, but he would have preferred to have a unanimous vote from all council members.
“I would like to start,” the judge said. “I object to the presence of Kalugal and his party in the village. Furthermore, I want us to vote against having his wedding party here and allowing his men to attend.”
“What are your arguments?” Kian asked.
“As history has taught us time and again, total seclusion is the only way to guarantee our clan’s safety. Even those we consider allies should not be granted access to our community, and at this time, I’m not convinced that Kalugal is indeed our ally. This is new territory for us, and we should proceed with caution.”
Since Kian agreed with every word, he couldn’t argue against Edna’s statement. The only thing he could do was shine a light on the possible consequences, both positive and negative.
“I couldn’t refuse Kalugal’s request to bring Jacki to the village, so she could benefit from our clinic and have Bridget supervise her transition. First of all, because it was the right thing to do, and secondly, because refusing could have led to dire consequences. If Jacki didn’t make it, Kalugal would have blamed us and turned into a bitter and vindictive enemy.”
Anandur chuckled. “Trust me, Edna, we don’t want that guy as an enemy. He’s smart, powerful, and patient. I don’t want to think of how he would have retaliated.”
“You are just confirming my resolve, Anandur. Kalugal can be a powerful ally as well as a very dangerous opponent. But the prudent thing to do would have been to send Julian with the appropriate equipment to Kalugal’s place, the same way we did when Jin got sick,
and we thought that she was transitioning.” Edna cast Kian an accusing glance. “If you had bothered to inform the council of what was going on, I would have told you that, and this entire mess could have been avoided. Now, it will take complicated diplomatic maneuvering to cancel the wedding without offending Kalugal.”
Kian sighed. “I can deal with him. He is not too happy about staying here longer than he has to either. But Annani is adamant about having a big party right here in the village. She believes that it will do wonders for the spirit of cooperation between our people.”
Edna grimaced. “I know what Annani really wants. She thinks that she can tempt Kalugal and his men to join the clan.”
Edna knew Annani well, probably better than most.
“What’s wrong with that?” Brandon asked. “We could use a bunch of additional capable warriors, and our ladies would be very happy to snap them up.”
Edna shook her head. “You’ve seen too many Hollywood movies. Life is never as clean and as orderly as that. Bringing one unaffiliated man at a time into the clan, or one woman, is relatively safe. Those are individuals who have nothing in common and are not likely to band together against us. The opposite is true of Kalugal and his men.”
Brandon chuckled. “If we are talking about movies, your fears remind me of the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones. Have you been watching the series by any chance?”
Edna smiled sadly. “I’ve read the books, but I have real-life examples that are no less terrible. Those of you who are old enough should remember the Glencoe Massacre.”
Anandur crossed his arms over his chest. “And it wasn’t the only one. Aside from the run of the mill altercations, ambushes, and murders amongst the clans, there were also several instances of wedding massacres. Edna is right.”
Kian nodded. “True, but those were different times. The world is not as violent, and we are not going to make the same mistake the MacDonalds made. Our guests will not have access to us. We can put the fence between the two sections of the village back up and house Kalugal and his men in the new part. Naturally, Magnus and his family and Merlin will have to switch houses with Guardians. I don’t want any civilians that could be taken as hostages to remain in that section. Also, all of Kalugal’s party will have cuffs on, and I’ll have Guardians watching them day and night. I’m not fond of treating people as guilty until proven innocent, but the safety of my clan comes before any other considerations.”