by C. M. Steele
“That works for me.” We stepped inside and were greeted by the hostess.
“Two?”
“Yes, please,” I said to the woman, who walked us to a large table against a wall covered in all things London. We took our seats at the table, but my lovely mate had to sit a little further away because her belly was in the way.
She blushed with embarrassment, but she had nothing to be uncomfortable about. She was pregnant with my son. It was only natural that she be so large in the abdomen. “Soon, my love. And then it’ll be forever before we have another one.”
“I know and somehow that makes me sad. I was an only child and life was not kind. A sibling would be awesome.”
“Remember, Charlotte’s pregnant, too. And Draco and I are brothers through time.”
“That you are. I suppose your bond is so great he doesn’t ring your neck over Charlotte.”
“Yes, I have spoken to him and apologized, but he has also told me my mother’s gift had annoyed him, too, and it didn’t affect him personally, so he gets it. He doesn’t appreciate it, but he gets it.”
“Fine, let’s order because I’m hungry and so is your baby.”
“Welcome, what can I get for you, today?” the waitress asked. Nora already was giving her a warning glare.
Nora, I warned.
I know. I’m being nice.
Your face says otherwise.
“I’ll have the steak and potatoes, medium rare, please,” she said with a smile.
“I’ll have the same.”
I want to bite her neck.
See this is why you can’t be out of the house.
You think you’re funny.
Only a little.
“Just wait until we get back to the hotel, mister.”
“I can’t wait,” I answered, winking at her, which turned that attitude right back around. Yep, I couldn’t wait to have her on top of me.
Chapter 32
Charlotte
I was nervous about this trip to London. I felt something bad was around the corner, but I didn’t know if it was here or back at the castle. I played the role and dressed in an expensive gown and waited in the lobby with Draco as Falcon and Nora exited the elevator. I took a deep breath and smiled. My body was telling me something was off, but it wouldn’t present itself. My visions weren’t strong at all. I knew it was going to take more time for them to grow and be all powerful like Falcon’s mother, and I wasn’t there yet. With less than a decade of them and only when I was in true danger, I didn’t have enough experience to understand them quickly. Some were obvious, but by the time I found out, it was short notice. The most time we ever had was six hours before an attack.
“Your dress is so pretty and I love the color. Green suits you,” Nora said. I gave her a brief barely-there hug. With our size, it was nearly impossible to hug each other.
“Tell me about it. Your dress was meant for you. I love the color and the fit. You look like royalty. Well, since you technically are, that’s true, but tonight it shows. So chin up and face taut, we’re going to the theatre,” I teased, attempting an aristocratic accent.
“Yes, my dear. Let us show the little people what class looks like,” she teased back in her own aristocratic tone.
Falcon rolled his eyes at us and shook his head. “They are going to be a handful tonight.”
“Handful, I’m like a truckload. At least it feels that way,” Nora remarked, rubbing her huge belly. I didn’t know who was bigger, but we looked like balloons tied to sticks.
“Come on, our limo is here for us.” The men helped us into the back before they climbed in, taking their seats beside us, then we headed off to the theatre.
Draco had said something that been fascinating me for hours and I had to ask Falcon about it before I went crazy with curiosity. “Falcon, Draco was telling me that you encountered the famous murderer, Jack the Ripper. Do you want to tell us?” The limo driver had his earphones in and was deciding to ignore us.
“Sure, it’s not a nice tale, but since you’ve seen worse, I suppose it won’t hurt to tell you.” He held Nora closer before he began, “I first saw him leaving the scene. Now, I hadn’t seen her body, but from the look in his eyes I knew what he was up to. Well, at least I thought I did. The body was discovered shortly thereafter and I knew it had been his handy work. He wasn’t a vampire I knew, but I decided that I would keep my eyes open. If he’d been caught by chance, someone may be onto our secret. Of course, back then, it was easy to hide who we were. Now, it seems as though we dodge the bullet, per se, on a daily basis. I ran into him again after the last one, Mary Kelly. The savagery had grown and I knew that he would only get worse. I picked up on his whereabouts from his lingering scent, and although I was no bloodhound, I was able to track him down to a lavish home in Grosvenor Square inside Mayfair. He lived alone with money that I have no idea how he acquired. The man was a ghost in the night. He was caught by surprise when I entered his premise.”
“How did you get him to stop?” Nora asked, just as intrigued as the rest of us.
“I didn’t. He claimed that Mary Kelly had been his last victim. It seemed that Jack took on a new profession, working as a hired assassin. I don’t know who hired him, but he did say that the one who hired him wanted it to be as demeaning as possible.”
“Wow. That’s crazy.” She shook her head at her mate. “What did you do about it?”
Falcon shrugged. “I let his actions go with a warning for his to stop. Many vampires killed humans for many reasons. There wasn’t any authority of ours to stop since most of us had moved into the real world and lived for ourselves. I monitored their behavior and saved a couple of humans. My concern was with our kind being discovered rather than a few humans dying. It sounds terrible, but he stopped, so I didn’t come after him. Sometimes, I feel guilty about it, but really, most of those people in that area died young, lives full of filth and disease lead to an early grave.”
“Yes, the numbers of those in White Chapel perished from disease. Drinking from them wasn’t appealing at all. You’d have to have no other choice than to drain them dry,” Draco added. They’d both consumed animals for longer than they could remember, but they hadn’t always dined on them.
Falcon nodded, agreeing with Draco, then he added, “Well, I don’t know if I believe that story or if he had a hatred for human females in that area. Our sense of smell isn’t like a dog’s, but it’s not bad and, at those times baths, were not the rage. It would burn our nostrils as their lust and grime hit our noses. In fact, I left London shortly thereafter to where it was more peaceful.”
“That is so gross. Especially with all their clients on them when they moved to the next. Hey, maybe one of them hit on him and he lost it, then made it a game,” I whispered my conspiracy.
“Yeah, but he stopped…” Nora said.
“Or he moved on to a new place,” Draco offered up.
“Perhaps we will never know. We’re here,” Falcon stated as the vehicle came to a stop.
The crowd had been gathered around the lobby when we entered. Our appearance garnered attention and I watched as Nora blushed. I just gave the enamored crowd a wink. They believed we were special people, so I gave them something to write home about. Our handsome dates escorted us up the stairs to our box and into our seats. The show was just about to start as the seats began to fill up below us. I wondered if this vampire and his mate were the problem. Somehow, I didn’t see them working for The Lamia because of her ties to the shifter world, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t involved before then. We’d find out after the show.
Three hours and a wonderful experience later, we headed down to the backstage. We needed a word or two with Mr. Aldridge and his wife. The crowd got in our way, but we couldn’t just teleport into his dressing room because it was shared with his bride.
They came out once more for another round of applause, then we listened to the set crew to find out where they were going.
“We’d
like to have a word with your stars, Mr. Aldridge and his wife,” Falcon said to the director.
“I’m sorry, but they don’t make it a habit to meet their fans.”
“I care not. It is rather important.” What, does Charles only know big beasts?
“I will ask if he will see you. Your name please.”
“Inform him that Lord Lombardi is here to speak with him.”
“I will.” Jackass.
Two minutes later, the door to the dressing room was held open. “Please go in.”
“Thank you,” Draco said, closing the door in the director’s face.
“Lord Lombardi, I’m sorry, which of you is he?” he asked, looking between the two men.
“I am Lord Lombardi and this is my longtime associate, Draco Romano,” he said. “These are our brides, Leonora and Charlotte.”
“This is my bride, Evelyn. What can I help you with?”
“We’ve heard rumors that you have some acquaintances in the U.S. that I wish to speak with, but I don’t know how to get in touch with them.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about and we don’t want to be in your war.”
“My war? This is everyone’s war, Mr. Aldridge. If The Lamia win, no more performances for you unless it’s in front of your new ruler. He will not be allowing the humans the joys of the theatre.”
“Listen, I cannot just tell you where they are. They have nothing to do with this and you know they hate our kind. I just happen to be mated to one of their mate’s siblings.”
“Yes, and I just have questions for them. I’m not asking for them to do anything for us. In fact, I don’t need much of their time, but I must speak with someone who has knowledge of the past.”
“That’s hard. They have less knowledge about our past than we do. They lost a lot in their wars against each other. But I will call my brother-in-law and see what he says and if he is willing to meet with you. Give me one moment.”
We watched as he dialed the number on his phone. Draco could trace it back easily if necessary, but I’ll give this vampire the benefit of the doubt for now.
“Hey, Kane, this is Charles.”
“I know who it is, what’s up? Is everything okay?”
“Yes, it is. I need you to do me a huge favor. We’ve got a sticky mess here in Europe with my own kind. I have the leader of the Army of Light here and he would like to meet with you.”
“We don’t want any of that war. They would tear our flesh to shreds.”
“It’s not that. He wants to ask you some questions. The meeting wouldn’t be long, he promises. And from what I know about him, he keeps his word.”
“We can set up a meeting for this week.”
“Tell him we can come right now.”
Charles looked at Falcon in surprise. Then it hit me. “No, we can’t. We need to get out of here and back to the castle. We’re in for a big one,” I replied stoically. My heart was racing as the vision appeared before me. The bodies to die wouldn’t only be The Lamia. I shook as I saw weapons left where the bodies had fallen. I closed my eyes.
“We’ll be in contact. Where do I go see him?”
“Redding, Oregon.”
“Soon, I just don’t know when.” Falcon clutched Nora and Draco wrapped his arms around me, and we were gone, leaving stunned expressions on their faces.
As soon as we arrived at the castle we could hear the sirens; the battle was closer than before. What was wrong with my senses? We needed to get changed and be ready to fight. We teleported to our rooms and rushed to change. Thor was at Nora’s side as soon as we arrived at the castle. He barked and brushed his head against her thigh. She rubbed his head anxiously. The men put on their battle armor and took us to Mary’s quarters. We took Nora’s dog with us because Falcon wanted her to have extra protection and comfort while they went into battle.
“All of you, hold on,” Draco said; clutching onto him, we were on the move again. This time we were in the fortress. Draco turned off the security alarm and kissed me goodbye before leaving us there.
“This is bad, ladies. Really bad,” I sobbed. I didn’t know who was coming out alive and who wasn’t.
Chapter 33
Draco
The men were suited up and ready to go just as I returned. Falcon had them lined up and outside the castle guarding it. I saw the fire first. They set it to the field of trees in front of us. It seems they didn’t care about exposure anymore. It was night time; they would attract any plane that flew overhead. Even from a distance, someone could see this blaze and call it in.
I circled the blaze as fast as I could, followed by ten of my men to assist in isolating it until it could be extinguished with large hoses. Shit, the blaze was growing. “Soldiers, fall back.” The fire alone couldn’t kill us, but it would weaken us during battle. Then out of nowhere, we were surrounded by a fire and around twenty Lamian soldiers. “Ready yourselves. They are weak and must use other means. Hold your blades strong and let’s kill them all.”
We were in a difficult situation. Their soldiers had gotten smarter. I couldn’t leave without my men, so I was going have to take all these bastards as best as I could. The smoke started to cloud our vision and that was when I felt the blade. It grazed my arm. It seemed that they couldn’t see in the smoke as well.
“Soldiers, circle me.” I took the hands of my men and teleported them outside of the blaze area. We were met with more Lamian soldiers, but we could see them now. They were all about to pay. I unsheathed my katana and my katar. It was a push dagger held in my hand and ready to thrust into their heart. I wanted to relish ending them, feeling their life leave them. My eyes were bright from having rage course through me. I could hear screams off in the distance, but I focused on the ones to come at my hand.
I rushed towards the vampire closest to me, slicing his head clean off, then jabbing him with my katar. “One down, many more to go.” I felt the wind on my back, so I teleported ten feet away and behind another Lamian soldier.
I had been slicing through vampires like I was tearing my way through a jungle. Their numbers were huge today. The size of ours was still greater. Some loomed larger than even Falcon and I. I was surrounded by soldiers when out of nowhere, Pietro and Placido came rushing out of the castle. I thought they were on my side until I felt the cold steel of Pietro's blade on my back. "Traitors," I roared and teleported to the castle. I needed a moment to recoup. Charlotte's voice cried out in pain in my head. I had to get to her, but my injury was a dangerous wound. I'm coming, I called to her. I heard the sound of ticking a second too late. The loud boom from an explosion sent me crashing into a wall that began to crush me.
Breathing was hard and I wondered if I'd see Charlotte again. I hoped she made it away from the pain. Damn, I had to get to her. I called out for help as I started pushing on the rubble. There was so much, though, I had no idea if I'd make it out. I had to warn Falcon of Pietro and his brother before it was too late. I could hear someone moving the stones off my grave. Using all my strength, I sent my love to Charlotte.
You are everything to me.
Chapter 34
Falcon
Draco had disappeared into the woods to fight the blaze The Lamian soldiers started. I saw him once he’d come back, but as I went to go and assist him, I heard the swift air coming behind me. I teleported fast enough to just receive a gash on the side of my throat. Fuck, I slammed my fist against the remaining walls of my family home. I saw the bastard who attempted to end my life and couldn’t believe my eyes. Placido panicked when he saw me stare back at him. My need for immediate revenge was a must. I teleported away from the wall, moving around and chopping heads off while keeping Placido looking around frantically for me. He uselessly swung his blade around as a smile crept over my face. The traitor would pay. My neck was throbbing as my blood moved to heal the wound. It didn’t heal as quickly as other wounds because it was normally a fatal blow.
I hid in the tree just off the clearing, whic
h was directly above him. Silently, I appeared behind him. My arm came around to his chest as I plunged into his chest. “Next time, be quicker. Sorry, no next time,” I growled, cutting his head clean off and turning a former friend to dust.
I couldn’t dwell on it because I was in pain and there were dozens of Lamian soldiers left to dispatch. Where was Draco? I scanned the fields before teleporting into more of the action. In front of me was Gideon, battling three more vampires, one of which was Placido’s son. What the fuck had changed their allegiance? As soon as he saw me, he fled, running into the woods. I would have gone after him if it wasn’t for the loud blast. My castle was crumbling right before my eyes. I just stood there shell shocked that my history was gone. Then I smiled to myself because at least my future was safe. Clashing of swords, knives, and an assortment of blades halted just long enough for people to see my home crumble. Stavros wanted to take everything from me. He was in for a surprise because he wasn’t going to get it all. I’d do everything to keep my mate safe.
I reached for a hunga munga that I spotted laying on the ground. It was a curved twelve-inch blade with a spike on the opposite side and a dull hammer edge on the handle. It was well made, but I hadn’t mastered its uses yet. I tucked it into my belt to save it for later, then continued on to the next soldier to meet my steel. The blood had almost stopped already, but I’d been so close. I needed to find Draco. I lost him through the haze. “Draco,” I called out; most of the fights had ended, but I couldn’t see him anyway. I didn’t know where he was. He couldn’t be gone. Fuck, I hoped he was just out of range in the wooded area, chopping off heads.
“I last saw him by the building,” David, one of our own said. My best friend was missing in the mass of rubble around us. Fuck, please tell me he wasn’t in the heaping mountain of stone. I searched for him through the fields and around the castle ruins.
“Falcon,” Gideon screamed. I turned to see him, digging into a pile of a side wall. I rushed and could hear Draco grunting as he pushed his way through part of it. I swiftly tossed the boulders and helped my lifelong friend from the makeshift coffin. He was broken and hurting. “Rest here,” I ordered, sitting him on the pile.