Cat's Choice: The Chosen's War

by Jana Leigh

  “Maybe that’s not a good example.”

  “No, I understand what you’re saying. You’re saying that I shouldn’t judge all Vampire s from the actions of one. However, I have met more than one Vampire . I’ve been attacked and chased for the last seven years by many Vampire s. So it’s a little difficult for me to give my trust to another one,” she said.

  “I understand your point. And I promise you right now that as it comes to this issue; I will always be on your side. No guys ganging up on the girl. I swear, cross my heart,” a nd he used the age-old custom of drawing a cross on his chest the way he did as a child when playing with his brothers.

  “Oh, you,” she said with a giggle as she walked back to sit in her chair. “And there’s another thing. I don’t know if I can let him drink my blood. I have scars , Tripp. Diavolo didn’t care how he took my blood, and he tore at my flesh.

  “Caterina, I don’t care if you have scars from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. You are my mate, and I will love you until the day I die. And then I will follow you into the next plane of existence and love you forever. If you are uncomfortable with your scars, then we will do everything that we can to heal you.

  “I do need to ask you a question though. Did my mother speak to you about how werewolves mate, and how they bite during mat ing and gener ally bear scars?” h e asked with a sheepish grin. He carried their plates to the table , going back to the refrigerator for orange juice and butter for their toast.

  “That’s different. She said tha t when we made love, and you bit me, that it would give m e the best orgasm of my life,” s he said going red in the face.

  “Well, that’s true,” he said with a grin. “To be serious though, your exper ience has always been with evil. I would expect that the bite of a lover, any lover, would have the same results. Actually, I have an idea. There are some humans traveling with the Vampire s, I understand they are humans who willingly donate their blood. How about if you spoke to one of them? I think they would tell you the truth,” h e asked.

  “Okay, I’ll talk to one of them. It’s daytime now so they should be awake, right?” s he asked.

  “Yes.” He was just going to suggest some ways to contact the human visitors traveling with the Vampire s when there was a knock on the door. So he got up to answer it. It was Cami and Cloe.

  “How’s our girl this morning?” said Cami, walking in.

  “She’s feeling much better. She had a dream this morning about Adolfo.” They all walked into the kitchen where Caterina was standing at the sink washing the dishes. “You don’t have to do th at , sweetie; I’ll wash the dishes, ” s aid Tripp.

  “You made the breakfast; I’ll do the dishes,” Caterina said firmly .

  Tripp felt he had contributed all he could, for the time being, so he gave Caterina a kiss on the head and a warm hug and told her he would see her later, that he had to check in and work. So he left her with the women.

  After he left, Caterina explained to Cami and Cloe about the dream and Adolfo’s prophecy. That gave them both some food for thought.

  “Well, I like Tripp’s idea of talking to one of the human guests traveling with the Vampire s. Let’s go see if we can f ind one. Cloe , you up for that?” s aid Cami.

  “Absolutely, I’m with you ladies. And Tripp has a point about good versus evil , Caterina . You might want to talk to Bama. She was captured and tortured by the leader of the Rogue wolves. And like you, she escaped, and now she’s very happy with her two mates.”

  Not wanting to talk about this subject for a little while, Caterina remembered that Bama was the member of the Chosen Counsel that had the store in town. She’s the one who picked out all her new clothes. So on the way downstairs, the three of them discussed fashion. Cloe, for a person who wore primarily T-shirts and jeans, actually had quite a lot to contribute.

  Cami suggested that if she wasn’t busy having a honeymoon with her new mate, they should invite Isabella for a walk in the garden. A few minutes, later Isabella came walking into the room , wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Isabella; we didn’t me an to wake you,” s aid Cami.

  “Signora Cami, do not worry. I took a long nap while my mate was on duty. I still like to spend some time in the sun during the day. So soon I will give up the sun for my Abaven. I will not mind at all because I love him,” s aid Isabella.

  “Isabella, we have some questions for you. It appears that Caterina is a mate to your boss, Orfeo. However, she was, for a long time, a captive of Diavolo, who also killed her parents and younger sister. So she is very scared of Vampire s and having them drink her blood. As a human living with Vampire s, wha t can you tell us about them?” a sked Cami.

  “Oh, you poor thing. That coglione, Diavolo, is a horrible man! It is said he killed a man when he was still a bambino. He is evil to the core. People like my master and his mama and papa, they are good people. The y treat their followers well,” s he said passionately.

  “Excuse me, Caterina, but before you ask your question, I just have to ask, what does ‘coglione ‘ mean?” asked Cami, “You said it with such venom, it’s got to be a swear word.”

  “It is, it’s every swear word you can think of rolled into one like bastard-asshole-fucker,” s aid Caterina, and Isabella nodded , blushing .

  “Cool, I’m definitely using that one!” said Cami. “Okay, ask your question, sorry for interrupting.”

  “But how can you stand them drinking your blood and tearing into your skin?” a sked Caterina .

  “Tearing, what is this? Orfeo would never harm the skin of one who would bless him with their blood. You would not see even a mark. Look at this , see?” She removed her shirt and lifted her hair out of the way so that they could see her neck and shoulders. She spo ke as she put her shirt back on, “As you can see, for many years I gave blood to Orfeo. No marks, he is very careful. And in exchange, he gives me my Abaven and great pleasure.”

  “What do you mean, great pleasure?” s aid Caterina with a growl , surprising herself.

  “No, you misunderstand. He never touched me that way, you know what I say? He never asked to share his body with me. He was always respectful. By pleasure, I mean the taking of the blood. It’s hard for me to describe; I don’t know the words in your language. I only know that it’s great pleasure, almost like when yo u share bodies but different.” She looked at Caterina and then went off into a spate of Italian explaining in detail the wonderful drugging ecstasy of having Orfeo take her blood felt like . Caterina was surprised to find herself becoming jealous.

  “Of course, now that he finds his mates, he no longer takes blood from anybody. He uses, how you say ‘the bank’, the bank for blood. And of course, he is a powerful Vampire ; he does not need the blood every day. He has his meals with the rest of the family and all of his people and servants in the great Hall. We all eat together to show that we are fami ly,” s aid Isabella.

  “Wait a minute!” interrupted Cami. “What do you mean you all eat together? You mean Vampire s eat food?”

  “Si, you cannot keep a body alive on liquids alone. The blood feeds their power , their magic. The rest of the time they eat food like everybody else. They go to sleep in the daylight because they cannot go outside. But they don’t sleep like the dead in coffins and d irt. That is stupid thinking,” s he scoffed.

  “Oh wow, this is great. I’m learning all these great things about magical people,” s aid Cami. “Well, Caterina, no one else can make this decision for you. And nobody is going to pressure you to make a decision either way. You have our support and our protection. Take all the time you need.”

  “Thank you, Cami. Isabella, if you’re not too tired, would you like to take a walk in the garden with me?” s aid Caterina, and Isabella nodded. The two of them walked out through the French doors.

  Chapter 10

  Tripp spoke to Quin and Jaden. He was taking the next few days off to get his mate situation in order. While Cami and Cloe we
re with Caterina , he decided to try to visit with his other mate, Orfeo . He wasn’t as opposed as Caterina to taking a Vampire as a mate , though the entire sucking blood thing would take some getting used to.

  First, he went to the security office to get the remote control for the cameras in Orfeo’s room. He didn’t think he would need observers while he got to know his other mate.

  As he stepped into the security room, one of the Enforcer’s calle d out, “Hey Tripp, you missed the big show.”

  “What do you mean? Were you getting your rocks off watching our guests undress?” he growled.

  “No, Sir, I wouldn’t do that. But even if I were inclined to be an asshole peeping tom, it wouldn’t work. These guys don’t show up on cameras. It was really freaky watching it too. The clothes were invisible on their bodies. But if they threw something at a chair, it would appear as soon as they let go. Like a magic act or something. Weird, huh?”

  “Yes, very weird. Just make sure you show respect to all of our guests.” He waited to get an affirmative response before leaving the room.

  As he was leaving security, before he could open the door to the basement, Alpha Cami called out to him. He turned to her and said, “How is Caterina ? Who’s with her, is she all right?”

  Cami gave him a sharp look. “Look, worry wart, Caterina will be guarded and always have the protection we promised her. She’s in the garden walking with Isabella. And Cloe is watching from the Pack house. Annnndddd, ” she said before he could interrupt, “there are at least three Enforcer’s out in the garden. I asked them to pull some weeds while they were out there.” She sa w him raise his eyebrow at that. “I didn’t want them to look intimidating, besides, the weeds needed to be pulled. And since we’re in semi-lock down with our new guests, the mow and blow guys can’t come to the compound. So they might as well make themselves useful instead of standing around and telling us women where we can and can’t go.”

  Tripp crossed his arms over his chest. He knew his Alpha female well. “And where exactly where you trying to go?”

  “We wanted to check out the progress of the new day-care center. It’s our children who are going to be spending so much time there . We only had a few suggestions.”

  A few suggestions, that wasn’t what he’d heard. They’d wreaked havoc, and a half of a day’s labor was lost as the crews tried to keep them safe in a dangerous construction area at the same time as trying to keep them from wrecking work already completed. As it was, the center was now going to need re-wiring in one room. And in the reading room, Shea changed her mind AGAIN about the little chairs and tables and the paint color for the walls . Thank the goddess; they had headed her off before she went through the entire structure. They had learned quickly how fickle fairies could be, and even the ladies tried to keep from asking her opinion on things. How that woman got dressed in the morning and not have it take all day; he couldn’t fathom.

  “I know you’re all anxious for the Day-Care Center to be all the way done. Isn’t Bama busy with her store? Doesn’t Shea have another sexy book to write? And Kira with her gaming center. Don’t you all have enough to do?” he asked.

  “Yes, yes that’s all true, but we were curious.” They were curious, argh! “We were mostly locked up in the B&B when our homes were being built,” she said, and Tripp thanked the g oddess again for that!

  “Anyway,” she went on, “the real reason I stopped you is because all of us girls are taking Caterina and Isabella into town for lunch, and we’re stopping by Bama’s place. Isabella needs some new clothes. She’s been a servant and now she’s mating and becoming the mate of the Vampire head Enforcer or guard or whatever. Anyway, at the very least she need s some mating night lingerie.

  “And of course, we would like to get Caterina a few things too. We only got her the bare minimum before because we were picking. Now she should have the opportunity to pick out a few things. And since you paid for all the other things, it’s only fair Orfeo should pay too. He’s been around since the dark ages or something, right? He’s got to be loaded, go get his black card,” Cami ordered. As he went to open the door to the basement, she added, “Hey, did you know they eat food?” At his look of surprise, she explained what Isabella had told them earlier, then told him to bring the card to her in the living room.

  So he made a little side trip to the kitchen. Fifteen minutes later he was knocking on Orfeo’s door, trying not to be intimidated by the humongous Vampire standing guard.

  “Abaven, leave me in peace. Go to sleep!” Orfeo called out.

  “It’s not Abaven; it’s Tripp…your mate,” h e said.

  “Si? One minute, please,” Orfeo called out. He quickly glanced around the room making sure he hadn’t left a mess. Then glanced in the mirror to check how he looked. He gave it up for a lost cause —the bed head wasn’t going away. He walked over and opened the door.

  “Tripp, please, come in.” He stuck his head out the door. “Abaven, I’m telling you for the last time. Go find that mate of yours and go to bed!”

  “Sire, Isabella is visiting with your female mate. We will go to bed when she returns. Until then, I’m staying here. I d on’t have anything better to do,” h e added quickly when it looked like Orfeo was going to say something else.

  “Si tranquila, I will see you at the dark rising,” and he shut the door and turned to his mate. Tripp was glancing around the room.

  “Sorry the accommodations aren’t nicer. We knew very little about Vampire s and thought you’d come down before dawn and then just fall asleep. If you’re really bored, we can fix som ething up for the daytime hours,” h e said making small talk. “Um, I brought us a snack, but before we sit down and talk, I need to ask you a question from my Alpha female, Cami.”

  “Si, I will answer any question the small giant wishes,” s aid Orfeo, and Tripp smiled at the analogy.

  “Cami and the other ladies are taking Caterina shopping in town and then to lunch. When Caterina arrived here, she was wearing her pajamas. Diavolo had attacked the place where she was staying in at night. Her friend, Adolfo, fought with him allowing her to run out and escape. I purchased some clothing for her, and Cami want s you to provide her with a credi t card, so she can buy some more,” s aid Tripp sheepishly, as he felt uncomfortable asking Orfeo for money —they still were mostly strangers.

  “When I get my hands on that…but I do not want to think about him! Caterina may have whatever she wishes. Clothes, a car, a house, a horse, a puppy.” He looked over at Tripp. “I meant no offense; I just thought a pet would be of comfort to her, ” he said with a face that had darkened.

  What do you know, Vampires blush, thought Tripp. “Oh, and Cami thinks that Isabella should have some new things too. Like a mating gift, sort of.”

  “Of course! I am glad they are becoming friends. It is a good sign, yes?” Orfeo quickly found his wallet and handed Tripp his Bank of Italy credit card. “There is no limit on the card, please tell her she can buy whatever her heart desires. And no strings, this is the correct phrase?” he asked.

  “Yes, that’s right. I’ll be right back,” a nd Tripp quickly left the room.

  While he was gone, Orfeo decided to grab a quick shower to wake him up a little and tame his hair. Perhaps a cold shower, Tripp was a beautiful man.

  ***

  Tripp ran up the stairs, wow that guy looked good right out of bed. Coming off of last night’s frustration, I wish I could take another cold shower. He entered the living room and saw all the women gathered together. Cami was giving out the order of events.

  “So, we’re going to hit the shops first. Caterina, you need more clothes, and Willow sent me a text that she just loaded new stock.” When all the other ladies let out an ‘Ooh’, she went on, “Yes, I know! And Isabella is going to be mated, so she needs something special too.”