by Erin R Flynn
He was adorable when he muttered that he really liked the hug and didn’t want to let me go. But finally he did when Havers and his teams arrived to handle everything since my office was spread thin getting the rest. I barely spared Brian a wave before hurrying back to the club, knowing everything had probably started and needing to handle too much.
Reagan was standing at the door with Luca, holding my heels. “I wasn’t sure what to do when you took off, so I started calling it in, figuring that’s what was going on.”
“You did the right thing. We needed immediate responses like we got,” I praised, knowing it was less than ten minutes from my kicking off my heels to retrieving them. We ducked inside, and I asked Luca to wait at the security check in for me, pulling Reagan into the elevator and taking it up to the third floor where no one would be yet.
“You forgave Hagan,” he muttered as we rode up.
“No, but I’m working on it.” I wasn’t sure what else to say. I didn’t forgive them. What did really happen then? “He healed some of the hurt by reminding me why I fell for him and his good heart.”
The doors opened; he pulled me out of the elevator and pushed me up against the wall. “How can I do that? Tell me what to do so you’ll love me again too, Sera? I can’t—my wolf won’t—it’s too hard to think past the exhaustion.”
“What about your wolf?” I asked, trying to keep up with whatever he was getting at and focusing on that.
He growled and buried his nose in my neck. “We’re your lovers. You are our mate. We would give you everything if you would tell us what you want, how you want us. All we want is you.”
“Do you mean we as in Hagan and you, or you and your wolf?” I whispered, a bit scared at the way he was acting.
“Both,” he snarled, and suddenly I was up off the ground and my legs over his shoulders as he pushed my dress aside. I moaned as he licked, nibbled, and sucked just about everywhere he could between my legs. “So amazing. So passionate. So perfect. You even taste perfect. No fish. Not a fish.”
I tried to form words or anything coherent as he worried me more and more, but instead, I came hard at his aggressive behavior, loving his intensity always. The moment I finished, he lowered me to my feet and looked as if he was going to do more but then dropped to his knees.
“I love you so fucking much I don’t even know what to do. The idea of losing you cripples me,” he mumbled as his eyelids fluttered.
I grabbed his face and fed him energy, not having realized just how depleted he was until then. He moaned as his body shook, and I lowered my forehead to his. “I forgive you, Reagan. I forgive you. I get it. You said something horribly stupid, and you didn’t mean it. I forgive you, and we’ll figure out the rest.”
“Thank you,” he sobbed and then passed out.
Fuck a fucking damn duck.
18
Luckily, security saw him go down, and after some debate, Nestor Martin called Noah to get a few of the vampires to come collect Reagan and get him to Timequake with the boys. At least he’d be safe there since he couldn’t go home, and people could fuss over him, as Nina had taken it upon herself to hang out with the boys after learning of the danger.
I seriously loved that woman and our friendship eight days a week.
A big part of me wished I could go with Reagan, as the important part of the day hadn’t really even started and I was exhausted from all the serious shit that had already happened. Which left me with no patience, and that wasn’t good on the opening night of such a big venture.
“Thank you for what you did, Grandmother,” I muttered to her when I reached the lobby and found my family hadn’t gone in yet since we were all sitting together. “I’m not sure it would have gone that smoothly without you. How did you know?”
“We were in the vehicle behind you coming from the hotel,” she explained quietly. “I did not know, as I have never been around those explosives before. But when I saw you run, I knew it was bad, and given where you were focused, it was not hard to determine your prey, as his heart raced so fast I was shocked it did not give out. The other as well.” She shrugged as if to say it was no big deal “At least now I know explosives and learned new things with those deadmen things.”
Right, because it was all a learning experience. Hey, being positive was always good.
“We have already been greeted and done greetings,” Alena filled me in, glancing from me to Luca. “And he has explained the situation. I wish you luck in the plan and the posturing you have to do.”
I sighed as they went ahead. Yeah, there was no way around the posturing, which always drove me nuts. Dain appeared out of nowhere to escort me as well as Luca, saying that having no Betas could easily be explained as everyone knew the bombers had been caught. It was hard to focus on what he was saying given he was wearing his formal court outfit like Luca and my thoughts kept flashing back to earlier in the day.
“I cannot keep my head and help you when all I feel is your desire and it’s aimed at me,” Dain warned, searching my face for answers as to what was going on.
I leaned in and pressed my lips against his ear, knowing too many could hear too much even over the music and chatter. “That was very possibly the best sex of my life. I mean, I’m still tingling and thinking about it even after what happened outside and Reagan passing out. We didn’t get enough time, and I want more after months of feeling like I was starving her.”
He let out a soft groan as his fingers danced on the side that was cut out from my dress. “Milady, it would be my greatest honor to please you anytime and anywhere you wanted, but right now, we have to get through this, especially given the ploy for Luca.”
“He took me again in the shower,” I taunted him, yelling at my siren to behave and get it together. “He is quite talented. You might need to prove to me that you are the best fae in my life.”
“Sera, why is she behaving this way?” he asked, talking of my siren and knowing what was going on.
“I think the roller coaster this week has been too much for her and my wolf,” I confessed, practically shoving her back in her mental corner. “We’re too all over the place with too much swirling around. It’s like I can’t get on solid ground.”
“I wish I could help with that, but not until we go in there and greet everyone.”
“I don’t think of you as a toy, object, or anything less than a person no matter what I say in there,” I assured Luca, giving him a quick kiss.
He chuckled as he moved his hand to my lower back, which was bare, as he was my “date” while Dain was more my second. We made our way to Laila first, mostly because they wanted to make sure I got through it before handling the other greetings.
“Alpha, you look stunning in that dress,” she complimented after getting to her feet and we did the whole head dip and greeting shtick.
“You have very talented people, Queen Laila,” I praised as I reached out and moved my hand over Luca’s naked stomach. “I’m embarrassed to admit I unknowingly stole one from you.”
“Is that so?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked between us. “One of my consort candidates no less?”
“I apologize profusely for the breech in decorum, but I was not aware you had any consort candidates,” I explained, feeling the eyes on us and knowing there were many ears listening in. “I was a bit depleted after the hunt earlier today and woke famished, your kind elf agreeing to watch over me while Dain saw to preparations for tonight. Before he could warn me of his being spoken for as a candidate, I pounced on him.”
“Were you willing, Luca?”
“Yes, my queen,” he answered, bowing deeply. “While I meant no dishonor to you, our wondrous leader, I knew how important your alliance is with Lady Seraphine and her family, and when I saw her in need, I willingly jumped to her aid.”
“Does he please you, Alpha?”
“Oh yes, he is very, very gifted,” I purred, stepping in closer to him. “Did you never taste him?”
&n
bsp; “No, I have not given much attention to my consort candidates, as none immediately drew me,” she answered, choosing her words carefully. There wasn’t a nice way to say she didn’t want him and risk insulting his family, but she also had to ride the line that it wasn’t a big deal to lose him for this to work. “Would you consider him a gift of friendship with your family and pack as I gave Dain, Alok, and Tasar to you as support with the FBI?”
“I would, a truly priceless gift, as he has much to offer me and my pack and has the potential to help me a great deal, Queen Laila.”
“Luca, are you willing to make such a sacrifice for your queen and pride of your family? To serve Lady Seraphine as you would have me if I’d chosen you? To put her before all others and to prove the loyalty that elves are legendary for?”
“My queen, I would agree to anything you would ask of me. If this is your will, I gladly accept it with complete sincerity and will not fail you or Lady Seraphine.”
“It is what you want though, yes? I do not, nor will I ever sell my people even for such a strong alliance and friendship.”
“Yes, my queen,” he admitted, blushing as his arms moved around me. “She has given me a taste of heaven, and I would like to stay by her side always as long as that does not displease you.”
“It does not,” she declared after a few moments. “Luca, I release you from being my consort candidate with my blessing and favor that you serve Lady Seraphine. Take the oath as you wish later, but I expect you to refer to her as Milady from this moment on. I will inform your family of the change and my sheer joy at this solidifying of our alliance.”
I think all of us who knew of the ploy let out a relieved breath. Just to make it good for the show, I turned in his arms and gave him one hell of a kiss, Luca practically whimpering as his hands moved over my naked back.
“Yes, talented indeed,” I praised, running my nails gently over his naked stomach. “You are mine now, Luca; serve me well.”
“Yes, Milady.”
We turned to head to the next table, and I felt butterflies as I realized it was Vlad’s. However, I was pleasantly surprised when he behaved and even gifted me several dozen roses in congratulations on our opening and success.
Maybe pigs could fly?
Next was Noe and several of the local leaders who were sharing two tables. All of that went well. I greeted Levi Sosa, and he was pleased to see me, thanking me again for my help in Vegas. A few more tables we got to skip, as they were humans and didn’t play these games, though I did smile and say a passing hello to be polite as owner.
I arrived at one of the tables we didn’t invite but had snuck in with the very few we let be booked on their own. I felt the tension rise as we approached, as we didn’t know them and it was odd to sort of crash an invite affair as shifters. I was too tired to risk shit, so I let my power out as I moved up to the Alpha, wanting it clear how he should act, as we had humans there.
He shot me a smirk as he leaned down and gave me his neck. A smirk was never a good sign, but I could be nice if he acted well, and kissed his neck.
To which he responded with moving his hand in my dress and fondling my breast as he leaned back to meet my eyes with challenge.
“Is that how you teach your sloth to offer themselves for a moon mate?” I drawled, unimpressed with the bear and his power.
“I’m Alpha, not just a member of the sloth,” he chuckled, flicking my nipple.
“Yes, so you should lead by example,” I chastised, smiling at the rage that simmered in his eyes. “You seriously think I’m going to say yes after you so publicly insulted me?”
“Why is it insulting?” he taunted, that smirk coming back and even pinching my nipple hard, and bordering on hurting, for all to see. “You’ve done this big showy thing and very publicly. The whole point was for you to find much needed friends. Be smart and make the right kind of friends before there are problems.”
The only good thing about him touching me was I knew exactly what he was implying. If I said no, him and his sloth would do everything from harass my employees to scare off customers to damage the club and everything in between. And he planned to share me with his five friends he’d brought with. Me and any of the females of the pack he liked the look of would please him, as Engle had kept him and his sloth away from the wolves, but he didn’t think I could.
Stupid fucker. He even picked out who he was planning to jump first, whether I denied him or not.
I gave him a bright smile, and I saw in his eyes he thought he’d won, but then I thrust the heel of my hand up into his nose hard enough that it not only broke, it probably went into his brain.
“That was stupid, you bitch,” he grunted, grabbing his face with both of his hands.
“It got your hand out of my dress without ruining something so pretty that was a gift,” I purred, giving him my best condescending look. “Plus, I thought maybe if I jarred your brain a bit, your IQ might rise. I’m not just Alpha, I’m FBI. How did you really think those threats would go over? I took the pack because Engle abused the wolves, mostly the female wolves, so if you think I would ever allow you to do the same and to me, you’re just stupid.”
“You’re fucking—”
“Threaten Milady again, and it will be the last words you speak,” Dain declared, moving a sword to the guy’s throat. I blinked at him a moment before recovering from the sword appearing. How had that happened?
Right, legendary fairy warrior.
“We’re leaving,” one of the bears said as he moved like he was going to get in the way of Dain’s sword.
“Oh, not that simple,” I chuckled, shaking my head. “I saw enough from your Alpha of what you planned to do if I said no, including who he plans to rape if I denied his offer. Plus, he’s played this game before. So now you get arrested and questioned.”
“You and what fucking army?” the Alpha challenged, knocking away Dain’s sword and taking the large cut on his arm so it wasn’t at his throat.
“Oh, I’d say my sloth would jump in on this for starters,” the local bear Alpha drawled. “The fact you made a move in Chicago when there’s already a sloth here is just—wow, you are stupid.”
“You’re no Alpha. You’re a bitch like she is.”
I rolled my eyes. The bear Alpha might be gay, but he was far from a woman. Hell, he had “linebacker and huge mother” about tattooed on his forehead.
Once again, Eva jumped right in, using her massive power to subdue the bad, bad bears. I raised an eyebrow at her, smiling, and she simply shrugged. “You are a leader and strong woman. You understand how one cannot help but join in the action when they can be of aid. Though I must say I am not normally so useful, Granddaughter. You lead a very interesting life.”
“I didn’t always, Grandmother,” I chuckled leaning over and kissing her cheek. “Thank you. And thank you for protecting the boys and all the help today. It heals some of the damage I’ve had in my heart for a long, long time to be able to know I have family at my back.”
She said something about me being a good girl and finish my greetings, which made me feel like a kid and almost giggle, as I’d never felt much like a kid when I’d been one. I held my breath as we reached the end of the greetings, knowing there just had to be one more issue, as they always came in three.
I was right and went to apologize to Councilwoman Diandra Haton who I hadn’t seen, knowing she should have gone right after Laila… Or maybe before, but that was a tough line to tell, and I knew she wouldn’t be offended, while others would talk if I hadn’t greeted Laila first. As I opened my mouth, I felt anger approaching fast, turning to see Riley hurrying over.
I wanted to groan. Right, the last person in my pack that I wanted around someone from the council was the one they’d screwed over so badly.
“Thanks for decreeing that my lover would become the visiting Alpha’s boy toy without even discussing it with me, Sera,” Riley seethed, completely ignoring where we were and who was around.
“Do you normally allow your wolves to speak to you like this?” the councilwoman asked, disapproval in her tone.
“No, but he does seem to think he’s exempt from the rules like others, and I’m not sure why,” I stated with a growl, narrowing my eyes at Riley. “Something he will cease as of this moment, or he will be looking for another pack soon.”
“You can’t just kick me out,” he snapped. “I helped get you to take over and save the wolves here. You can’t just turn on me—”
“Riley Greyson, meet Councilwoman Diandra Haton,” I cut in, hoping he might shut it when he realized how bad he’d fucked up.
Instead, she flinched at his name, obviously recognizing it. His nostrils flared as he spun on her as if ready to unleash whatever venom he thought she deserved. I reached for him, but he opened his mouth faster.
“Come to slaughter some more innocents when part of the pack was corrupt to show how almighty powerful the council is like you did my parents?”
“Are you insane?” I hissed, grabbing him by his hair and dragging him back from her.
The councilwoman had a completely different response though, throwing back her head and letting out a laugh so loud it echoed. It took her a few moments to calm down, grabbing her side she laughed so hard. “Is that what you were told happened? Is that the story someone spun to protect an idiot of a child who never realized there was more to it all when he grew up?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, more for my own knowledge than worrying for Riley.
She met my gaze, and I saw the simmering anger that this was all being dragged up with lots of eyes and ears around us, and she didn’t like that or what he’d done.
That made two of us.
She focused on Riley and adjusted her neck. “Your stepfather, as that man was not your real father, was up to his eyeballs in all that was going on. Your birth father died in the military, one conflict or another but by all accounts was a true hero. Your mother went on a date with the wrong man in the area of that pack, and he moved right in and took over you both. We’re not sure if she agreed at first, but she was just as complicit as he was.