by Susan Harris
Caitlyn and Donnie had kept them updated on their travels, and he had never seen the two look so happy. Melanie had asked, well, demanded that the new P.I.T. have a dedicated computer science department, and when she was not training the recruits, that was her contribution.
Once a hacker, always a hacker.
And Derek … gods, he was deliriously happy. They had bought a cottage not far from the rest of the team, with a massive patch of land where Derek and Ash could run during the moon or whenever the fancy took. Ever had taken time out to be a full-time mom, as Derek had his hands full with getting the new headquarters up and running and assembling new recruits.
Ever spent her time between Cork and frequent trips to Valhalla, with Derek often joining them, especially since there was no phone signal there and he could relax. He enjoyed his sparring sessions with Erika, though he’d never tell her that.
The first class had trained for ten months and had recently graduated, with Ricky’s brother Killian at the top of the class. Derek had wondered if it would be awkward with Ricky training his brother, but Ricky and Killian had grown close, with the two of them spending most Saturday mornings doing extra training at Ricky’s mom’s house.
Every Friday night, when the kids stayed at Grandma Diane’s, they all gathered together in one place, unless the team was in the middle of a case. Caitlyn and Donnie even joined them via video. Just last Friday, Ricky had hosted a barbecue where everyone turned up, even Loki, who was rather amused as Ricky thought he could beat the god at poker.
Now Ricky owed Loki a favor of his choosing, anything he wished.
“I see that you still are as broody as when I left, mon loupe.”
The words were said in a teasing tone as Derek turned to see his oldest friend standing in the doorway. Derek ran his gaze over Caitlyn, her features relaxed, a shimmer of light in her eyes that was no doubt in part down to the vampire being greeted in the halls. Dressed in tight black jeans, a tee that smelled like it was Donnie’s and a leather jacket, Caitlyn watched him with an amused look.
“Please tell me this is not a flying visit and I can put you two on the payroll Monday morning.”
Caitlyn chuckled as she came forward, pressed a kiss to each of his cheeks, and then, when he opened his arms for a hug, she stepped into them without a flinch or any reservation.
“We would not miss Ash’s first birthday. Plus, Donnie has been asked to help coach Zach’s rugby team. He forced me to come back.”
Donnie’s chuckle rumbled as Caitlyn stepped out of Derek’s embrace. “Oh ya, like I had to force you. I’m not the one who had the flights booked before I’d even said yes.”
Derek and Donnie exchanged a hug, clapping each other on the back as Derek asked how their trip to Paris was. Donnie and he shared a look as Caitlyn said, “Paris was lovely. We visited Marcel, and I signed the house over to the family who have taken such good care of it since I left.”
Donnie cupped the back of her neck. “We also purchased a small plot and reburied Caitlyn’s Sebastian and Jessamine. Got a nice little headstone so Cait can go visit whenever she wants.”
“Where the fuck is my nephew!”
Donnie chuckled as he rolled his eyes, turning just as Erika walked into Derek’s office. “Of course you’d come see him first. Does blood mean nothing to you people anymore?”
“Dude, we went to Asgard last week. I haven’t seen Derek in months.”
Erika laughed as she inclined her head to Caitlyn, then shifted her eyes to Derek. “Ricky wanted to know if you would come down and cast your eyes on the recruits.”
“Have you made someone cry?” Derek taunted with the hint of a smile on his lips.
The Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “Relax, Boyband. No tears or urine have been spilled tonight … but it’s still early.”
They all laughed as Erika grabbed Donnie by the arm and pulled him down the corridor. They vanished down the stairs, leaving Caitlyn alone with him.
“You doing okay after Paris? You know you don’t have to keep up pretenses with me.”
Caitlyn offered him a warm smile as she began to walk out of the office, Derek falling into step with her. They reached the stairs before Caitlyn responded to his question.
“I have laid my ghosts to rest. Being in Paris, it stirred some things in me that caused me some nightmares, but Donnie has been my rock. I may never traverse the catacombs again, yet I think I could go back to Paris, if I wished to.”
They descended the stairs. Derek inclined his head to the double doors to their right. Caitlyn smiled at the name over the door, Sergeant Thomas Delaney Training Centre. “Fancy coming to check out the recruits with us? I’d appreciate your input.”
Caitlyn tilted her head. “Ricky has done a good job with the last batch. I’m certain he has done so once more.”
Derek shrugged his shoulders. “We have a few vampires this time round. I’d like to see how they react to the vampire queen. See if they are unnerved.”
Caitlyn chuckled as Derek held open the door. Ricky stopped to give Donnie a punch. Melanie jogged over to Caitlyn and threw her arms around Caitlyn’s neck.
“Oh my god, I’ve missed you guys!” Melanie exclaimed as she stepped back, her bright smile lighting up her eyes.
“We have missed you, too. We will catch up this evening, oui?”
“Absolutely.” Melanie replied, pulling out her phone. “Let me tell Kenz that you are back and maybe she can slip out for a couple of hours. You should see how much progress she has made, Caitlyn. It’s remarkable. I mean, she was kick-ass before, but now ... Even Derek offered her lots of money to come back.”
Melanie slipped the phone back into her pocket, striding across the hall to the bleachers and plonking down. Ricky, who had been standing by Donnie, jogged up the steps to kiss her full on the mouth, earning a whoop of whistles from the recruits. Ricky winked over his shoulder at them.
“Don’t hate the player; hate the game.”
“Okay, Kanye, back to work,” Melanie rolled her eyes as Ricky strode back down, his face turning serious as he came to stand by Caitlyn and Derek. After Ricky and Caitlyn hugged, Ricky telling Caitlyn that Zach was all excited about seeing her and Donnie this weekend.
Caitlyn glanced over to Donnie, then back to Ricky. “Thank you for asking him to help with the little one’s team. He has been elated since you called.”
“I’m not exactly an expert, so having Donnie around will be awesome. The school is thrilled to have him on the training team.”
Ricky folded his arms across his chest, the muscles bunching. Caitlyn walked over to sit on the benches with Donnie and Melanie.
“We’ve got a handful of good potentials, D. I think the harpy has a few temper issues so not sure if she will pass. There’s one kid, one girl who I really like. She has instincts and smarts you just can’t teach.”
Derek flashed Ricky a grin that was all teeth, rubbing his neck, feeling the marred skin under his fingertips as he replied. “Then let’s see if I can pick her out.”
Ricky stepped forward, clapped his hands together and whistled. The ten recruits lined up in formation, legs apart and arms clasped behind their backs. Derek scanned his eyes over the group, who all looked to be in their early twenties, but Derek knew one or two of the vampires were years if not decades older.
“All right, ladies and gentlemen, this is the last exercise of the night, and we are gonna play a little game called tag.”
The recruits looked at each other, puzzled, but this was a tradition that each and every class had to take part in, like it was a rite of passage.
Ricky glanced to his left, and Erika flashed into view. Some of the recruits instantly paled as Erika appeared. Ricky chuckled as he held out his fist and Erika bumped it.
“The aim of the game is simple, folks. You just have to catch Erika before she tags you out. This is a test of your senses, of your ability to think on your feet. You need to be able to make decisions on the fly or you might e
nd up dead. It can literally be the difference between taking your next breath and a place on the memorial wall.”
Derek knew that Ricky was being blunt, but it was one thing to deal with a human assailant. Wrangling a rapid shifter was different than a coked-out human. The recruits would learn both sides, like Killian’s class, which was working with the human patrols right now.
Erika rolled her shoulders back, then vanished before appearing on the other side of Ricky. “If I take your ribbon, that means sit your ass down and watch and learn.”
“You will have ten minutes to try and catch Agent Sands.” Ricky continued. “This is like tag rugby, people, no claws or weapons. Anyone who doesn’t follow the rules or doesn’t want to, don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.”
Ricky handed the recruits a colored ribbon, which they fastened to their loop belts, and Erika did the same. As the recruits started muttering, Ricky lifted his hand and gestured to Derek, then to the vampires on the benches.
“Do not embarrass me. Watching you are the best of the best. I am the cop I am today because of them. I did exactly what you guys are going to do today, and I never looked back. But I promise, if you lot show me up in front of the boss, I’m gonna make you do the bleep test until you vomit.”
The recruits groaned but readied themselves, separating out. The vampires formed a little trio, huddled together, thinking that mass strength could win. The four shifters also joined forces, the two harpies sticking together so that left one lone girl standing on her own in the center of the hall, her face relaxed, but she had that quiet determination in her eyes.
She was the smallest of the recruits. Her blue eyes blinked twice before Ricky shouted go, and she stayed where she was. The rest of the recruits started running about the place, expending energy, and Derek knew they would tire long before the general of the Valkyrie army. Erika had the vampires’ ribbons in the first five minutes. One kicked a bin over in temper, and Derek nodded to Ricky that he was to be cut.
Derek folded his arms across his chest as the young woman watched every place that Erika appeared, ignoring the chaos around her as Erika grabbed one of the harpies’ ribbons, then ducked, rolling to catch the other before she vanished from view.
Holding back his enthusiasm, Derek now watched the young woman and remembered a certain warlock who had done exactly what this girl was doing to win his own game of catch. Ricky had only told them no claws or weapons, but he never mentioned magic.
The girl’s eyes opened, ice forming before she lifted her hand, and then as Derek saw her mentally count to four, she crouched down and iced the floor around her just as Erika appeared to grab her ribbon.
Erika slipped on the ice, and the girl snatched Erika’s ribbon. Then, right before Erika fell on her face, the girl reached out a hand to steady Erika so she would not hurt her. When Erika was steady again, she glanced down at the ribbon in the young woman’s hand, her smile brilliant.
“Well, I’ll be damned. Good job.”
Erika high-fived her. A blush darkened the girl’s cheeks. Derek clapped, and Ricky looked proud as punch. It was then Derek noted her appearance, from the slant of her nose to the thin, firm line of her lips. He moved forward to congratulate her, offering his hand and a warm smile.
“Congrats, recruit. That was quick thinking.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Derek tilted his head to look at her. “Do I know you?”
“No, sir. We’ve never met before. But I know all about you. My uncle used to tell me stories about you and your team. We moved back to Cork just before the longest night, and I joined up as soon as I was allowed.”
The girl clasped her hands behind her back. “My name is Cara Delaney, sir. Thomas Delaney was my uncle.”
Derek glanced at Ricky, who looked like an idiot being all smug back at him. Derek turned back to Cara with the warmest of smiles on his face.
“You didn’t use Delaney on your application.”
The girl shook her head. “No, sir. I wanted to be chosen on merit, not on my name.”
“Well, I’m glad that there may be another Delaney on the team soon. Keep up the good work, Cara.”
The girl was looking behind Derek, her eyes wide. “Um, sir … there’s a toddler in the training center.”
Derek glanced over his shoulder to see a small, chubby, blond-haired toddler waddling her way to him, her amber eyes bright and her laugh infectious.
“So there is … excuse me a second.”
Derek closed the distance in two strides, then dropped to one knee so that Ash could wrap her tiny little arms around his neck before he stood.
“Dada, look!”
Ash held up a pony with wings that had him laughing. His daughter wasn’t even one yet, but she was shifting, talking and walking mostly now. She pranced the pony up onto Derek’s shoulder and neighed, before resting her head on his shoulder, like she had done since the day she was born.
“Who gave you the pony, Ash?”
“Uncle Lolo! It’s pink!”
Derek rolled his eyes at the mention of Ever’s brother Loki. He tended to spoil the girl, but hell, Zach and Ash were both spoiled by them all. He wasn’t one to argue when just two weeks ago, Derek built a treehouse in Ricky’s garden with specialized cat-climbing stairs for when Zach was in cat form.
Shifting Ash so that she was balanced on his hips, her head still resting on her shoulder, he watched as Ricky dismissed the team, stopping to have a few words with Cara that had the girl flushing red.
Coming to a halt by the rest of the team, he dropped a kiss to Ever’s lips before Ash was squirming in his arms, her own little ones held out ... but not toward her mother or Caitlyn but toward Donnie.
Donnie scooped her up, then hoisted her up on his shoulders, then galloped around the floor, all while Ash laughed so hard, she hiccupped.
“She’s not even one yet, and she’s already enamored with my mate.”
Erika snorted at Caitlyn’s statement. “He probably doesn’t even realize it. When he was in Asgard, he spent hours letting the kids tell him stories from our history. He played with them, and all I get now is ‘When is Donnie coming back to visit?’”
They all laughed as Donnie threw Ash up in the air, and while Derek’s heart plummeted to his stomach, he knew Donnie would never drop her. Ever snaked her arm around his waist, leaned her body against his. “I have to go collect the cake before the store closes. You guys free for dinner tonight?
“We’ve gotta collect Zach from Diane’s, but dinner sounds good.”
They glanced over at Donnie and Ash as Ever sighed. “I can’t believe it’s almost been a year since she was born.”
Ever didn’t have to say it, but he knew that his mate was thinking about the teenager who had been with them a short time yet had left such an imprint on them. It was almost a year since Odin had been locked away, and he seemed to be where he was meant to stay. Those with the blood of the gods in their veins seemed to have no ill effects from taking in some of Odin’s power.
“I think the fact that it has been a year since we saved the world deserves a pint or two,” Ricky mused, his lips curling up on the edges.
“Did someone mention pints? Those Europeans don’t know how to pull a proper pint,” Donnie groaned as he handed Ash back off to Derek.
They all laughed as Derek glanced down at Ever, his mate up at him, and he wondered just how in the hell he got so lucky. Derek would always be grateful to Sarge for bringing him onto the team, then sending his grumpy ass to the college that day.
When he had started on this road, he was content to be a lone wolf, but these people were his pack, his family. Derek looked at all those around him, at his mate, his daughter, and felt happiness like he never had before. He was never alone, always surrounded by those he claimed as his own. The war might be over and victory theirs, but the future was looking good now. The end really was only the beginning.
* * *
Thank you s
o much to CTP Publishing for allowing me to share my stories and characters with the world.
* * *
Marya,
I am in awe of how you take my jumble of ideas and make every cover into a cover that gives Of Gods and Monsters that epic movie poster look!
* * *
Melanie,
Therapist, sounding board, person who notices weird stuff no one else will and more importantly, my friend. Thank you for all that you do and for being who you are. Xx
* * *
Massive thanks have to go to Chris Kidler,
for her masterful editing and preparing Of Gods and Monsters for everyone to read.
* * *
Special note of thanks to Ashley Brilinski for proofing Of Gods and Monster for me.
You might know the books better than I do at this stage!
* * *
I cannot let this book go by without a special shout out to Greg Newton
for his epic voiceover skills for the cover reveal video!
It means a lot that you took the time to work on this for me!
I feel extremely lucky to have such supportive parents.
Thanks for the cups of tea and the snacks when I am off visiting fictional worlds!
* * *
LJ and Taylor,
I love you both to infinity and beyond x
* * *
I am blessed to have a fantastic circle of friends.
Thank you all for supporting me.
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Muser Fam!
Thanks for being such a big part of my online family!
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And last but definitely not least,
To the readers,