by Joyee Flynn
“We can’t help those who don’t want it,” Rylan said gently. “And you have no reason to be sorry. His words and actions are not yours. I hope you understand why I had to lash back. I didn’t mean to cause distress in your home.”
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I understand the position you’re in.” He sighed and gestured to the couch in his study. We sat down just as Elena joined us.
“Sorry it took me so long. Riley is on his way. There’s a boy of about ten who keeps hyperventilating after the attack and Riley doesn’t want to leave the boy just yet,” she explained as she sat on the arm of Desmond’s chair. “What is this proposal you have for us to bring to the High Council tomorrow?”
Rylan spent the next five minutes outlining in more detail the idea he’d had in the car. He went over what he’d found, how he planned to implement it, and any points he was flexible on. I was very impressed with the way he handled the discussion. But I could see it taking a toll on him.
My mate needed a stiff drink and to rest.
“I think it’s a great plan and you have our full support,” Desmond said after they thought about it a few minutes.
“Yes, it would definitely be beneficial to both parties,” Elena agreed. “Our High Council are good people, Rylan. They won’t leave you out in the cold. We’ll make this work.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your help,” Rylan said as he checked his phone. “Desmond, I can use your equipment, yes?”
“Of course. We’ll give you the room,” he replied as he stood with Elena and handed Rylan the remote. “You know how to use it?”
“Yes, it’s a lot like the system my father had,” he answered quietly. The Mariuses left and Rylan quickly connected to his conference. He wiped his hands over his face roughly as if preparing himself for what was to come.
“Prince Rylan, what is so wrong that you give us less than two hours’ notice for—” a man started to say after dozens of faces appeared on the screen.
“The palace was attacked tonight,” he said, interrupting the man. Several of them gasped in shock. “I was in America finding my mates when my father called me and warned me if I was on my way home to run.”
“Your mother and father?” a woman whispered.
“They were killed,” Ry answered, his eyes filling with tears. “The coven I was visiting along with the Queen of the fae came to our aid but it was too late for them. My brother survived with about half the people who lived at the palace.” When everyone quieted down, Rylan explained everything, from having dinner with Barnabas and why he’d been invited to how the Queen got us all there and what happened after we arrived.
“So where are you now?” the same woman asked, concern in her expression. Then he told them about bringing everyone back and being granted sanctuary in the coven.
“We’re not safe anymore. Either the demons know about our blood or they just want the strength it can provide and they’re willing to ignore the libido effect they might think it has like werewolf blood,” he finished. “We can’t go on as we have, throwing money at any problem that arises. Being stuck in the old ways got people killed tonight, including my parents. I refuse to do nothing and risk more of our people.”
“What do you want us to do?” the first man asked, tears running down his cheeks and fear in his eyes. “I respected your father, your highness, you know that. But I agree with what you’re doing and we will abide by your wishes.”
“Thank you, Ramon. For now, those who are in remote areas with no other supernaturals in the area, start packing. We need to move where there would be help if there was to be another attack. I’m going to rebuild the palace in America, pending the approval of this coven’s High Council. We can’t stay separate anymore. We have to help and ask for help from our allies.”
“Agreed,” the woman said firmly. “We have connections with the coven here. Do you think we should ask them for sanctuary as well?”
“Yes, but I will ask, as your King. E-mail me the name and number of who to call. I might have the Council members here that we’ve befriended help smooth the path to asking. There is one more issue we need to discuss. Our blood.”
“You want to let the vampires feed from us?” Ramon asked in shock.
“No, not bite us and just take a sip like we’re at their beck and call for a snack. I want to start implementing blood donations as part of the payment for our protection. There’s no reason we can’t give a pint every other week or whatever is healthy to keep the men and women strong that will be assigned to protect us.”
“Agreed, as long as they understand that we’re doing this to help them as they help us, not that we’re dinner,” the woman said carefully.
“If I may?” Ferris asked hesitantly.
“Everyone, this is my mate, Ferris Braden, one of the warriors of this coven. The mountain of a man is our other mate, Onah, who is a warrior for the fae.” He turned and winced. “I apologize for not introducing you both. I’m—”
“Dealing with a great tragedy and making sure your people are safe first before all else,” I said, interrupting him. “We understand and would never take offense. We’re here for whatever you need, Ry.”
“Thank you,” he said, getting choked up. “I wouldn’t be standing here if it weren’t for you both. I’d be frozen with grief.”
“No you wouldn’t,” Ferris whispered as he pulled Ry into his arms. I joined them, both of us kissing his head before we focused back on the people on the screen. “What I wanted to say is that in general, vampires are very respectful of the blood that keeps us alive. I can’t say that about everyone because there’s always that jerk in the group.
“Especially since yours would make us stronger and faster, giving us a better chance at surviving any fight we might have to get into, we’d respect that. I might tease Ry that he’s our kitty, because he’s just so adorable when he shifts. But it’s not a cut against him. I’ve seen how fast and strong he is, even against other shifters. You guys aren’t weak, at the bottom of the food chain, or simply dinner.”
“Thank you, warrior. That helps ease our minds in this difficult time. I’m not opposed to the idea.” He focused back on Rylan then. “Is this something you will set up with the vampire leaders as well or we should handle?”
“I will once I know if we’re allowed to join this coven. I wanted to inform you all about what happened tonight, discuss what I was planning on doing in the aftermath, and get your feedback on the plan.”
“I support you, my King,” the woman said immediately. The others followed suit and Rylan sighed in relief that they were in agreement.
“I will let you know what is decided tomorrow and what steps are being taken after that. We’re all in this together and we have to talk as a community. If anyone needs anything, let me know immediately.”
They all agreed and finished up their call. When it was over, Rylan turned everything off and set down the remote.
“Nothing will be the same now,” he whispered sadly. “The palace was our family’s home since it was built, the symbol of our people and how far we’ve come. I stopped moving. I stopped moving and it’s too much.”
“Shit, he’s going into shock,” Ferris growled as he swooped Rylan up into his arms. I got the door and I raced after him. He knew the house and I didn’t. We came barreling through the kitchen door and Ferris’s head darted around. “I need Riley. He was fine until after the call when everything started sinking in and I think he’s going into shock.” Desmond raced over to a control panel on the wall and punched a button, telling Riley to get up here.
“I stopped moving and it’s too much,” Rylan mumbled again as if to prove Ferris’s point again. “We’ve lost everything and our whole way of life.”
“He just finished with the boy who was having trouble breathing,” Elena said as she gestured us over and moved to the sink. “He said he was going to get supplies to take a blood sample from Rylan since he agreed to it.”
I wasn�
��t sure what she was planning until she turned on the water, pulled out the sprayer, and turned it on Rylan. Our mate sputtered and struggled in Ferris’s arms.
“There you are,” I sighed in relief. “You were going into shock.”
“Am I not deserving of some shock time?” he asked, his eyes filling with tears. “You couldn’t let me have a bit to process?”
“Not that kind of shock,” Ferris answered. “Like medical shock, not healthy for you, and really fucking scary zombie mode.”
“Oh. It didn’t seem like that to me, just everything got a little foggy as what happened tonight played over and over again in my mind.”
“That would be shock,” a man said as he entered the kitchen. “And the longer you are in it the harder it is to snap out of it most times.”
“Oh, sorry,” Rylan whispered, shaking his head and then pushing his hair off his face. “I’m okay now. Well, relatively speaking, I guess.”
“I’m Dr. Riley Johnson. You must be King Rylan,” the man said as he extended his hand. Ferris set Rylan down and they shook quickly. “I know it’s bad timing and all—”
“No it’s not,” Rylan argued, cutting him off. He started unbuttoning his torn dress shirt and slipped it off. “You want to kill every last one of those evil fuckers as I do and you have a chance to help us all with our blood.”
“Oh yeah, I want them to all fry,” Riley said as his fangs slid out. “They slaughtered my family when I was a boy. Death is too easy for them.”
I saw the look Rylan shared with the doc. They were in complete and total agreement on that one.
They all had to die.
Chapter 7
Ferris When Riley was done taking a blood sample from Rylan and my mate got his people all settled and in their guest rooms for the night, we could finally breathe. I’d already run back to Darcy’s to pack a few bags and grab Rylan’s stuff, so that was done. One of Onah’s friends had dropped off some stuff for him so he was all set.
Elena, Desmond, Onah, Rylan, and I, along with most of the other Mariuses and their mates, were sitting in the dining room. I had talked Rylan into eating something with the scotch he was intent on drinking.
And I was starving since we missed dinner. “Rylan, stop,” I whispered when he started working on his tablet again, ignoring his food.
“Stop what?” he asked, not even looking at me.
“Stop and breathe,” Onah answered for me, both of us on the same page. “You’ve done everything you can for tonight and more than I think anyone could fathom you would be able to do given what you’ve been through.”
“Just one more thing,” he mumbled, shaking his head. “I’m checking to see the price of renting a cargo plane to get everything from the palace here. There’s too much to be brought through the portal and that back and forth through it makes me feel sick. It would be easier just to go through it to pack and help the movers but then to have a plane fly it all over. There’s a landing strip we can use here if we get accepted into your coven, right?”
“Yes, of course,” Desmond agreed, shooting me a worried glance.
“Enough,” I growled and snagged his tablet. Rylan gave me a dirty look but I saw his lip quivering.
“Don’t. There’s too much to do,” he whispered.
“And it will all still be there in the morning,” I said gently as I set the tablet down out of his reach. “Just take twenty minutes to eat and relax a bit. Then we’re going to shower and head to bed.”
“I couldn’t possibly sleep tonight.”
“Who said anything about sleeping?” I drawled, wiggling my eyebrows at him.
“You think I’m interested in sex after what’s happened tonight? How can you think me so cold?” he whispered in horror. That’s not what I’d been going for, obviously. I was more teasing him.
“It was a joke to try and make you smile but there’s nothing wrong with letting your mates distract you and help you feel something other than loss.” He nodded, realizing he’d hurt my feelings slightly. The three of us ate in silence while everyone else discussed other issues, getting caught up with each other and checking in. It was nice. They were a real family who loved each other.
I wanted that one day. Granted, I knew my mates would be there for me, but we didn’t have the comfort level yet of just being completely at ease with each other.
“I’m going to take a shower alone,” Rylan announced ten minutes later when we got to the rooms in the residence wing Elena told us we could use. It was an actual suite on the same floor as her sons, instead of the guest wing that were single rooms and some didn’t have their own bathroom. It was silly but it made me feel special that she put us by her family.
“Whatever you need, Ry,” I agreed as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door. I sighed and sat on the bed, smiling when Onah joined me. Taking a chance, I leaned my head on his shoulder. “I’m worried about him.”
“I am too but there’s not much we can do beside just be here for him,” he replied as he wrapped his arm around me. “I can’t even imagine how he’s being so efficient and driven, much less moving after going through what he did.”
“Yeah, but he’s got people who rely on him and need him. I had no one and no goals after I lost my family. I basically curled into a ball and cried once I got back to the warrior compound.”
“Are you ever going to tell us what happened?”
“I was planning on it eventually but we all kind of got thrown into the deep end with the attack tonight.” I sighed when I saw he wasn’t going to let me out of telling him. “I came home from a break in training after I passed my warriors test. My parents wanted to throw me a big party in my home coven. It was small and peaceful and everyone truly cared about each other in my coven.
“I smelled burning when I got close. I kicked my horse into high gear and then jumped off when I saw some of the houses on fire. I swear I never ran so fast as I did that night to get to my family. Three demons leapt on me when I entered my parents’ home. They knocked me out but I did some good damage on them first. I came to tied up and they were toying with my parents and my older sister.
“I told them if they left my family alone, I would go with them and be their personal blood source. I tried to reason with them that since I was a warrior, my blood was stronger and would make them so as well. They didn’t buy it. Instead they told me to pick one family member and they would only kill one if I chose. I said no and they slaughtered them all right in front of me, bathing in their blood.”
“So you know exactly what I’m going through,” Rylan whispered from the doorway of the bathroom. I’d been so wrapped up in my memories that I didn’t even realize he was there.
“Yes, and I know that if you don’t deal with it a little at a time, it will consume you. At first all I could do was hunt for the bastards that killed my family and once I was done with that, it was like I had nothing and my world fell apart.”
“How did you get away?” Onah asked as he rubbed my back.
“They were cocky. The sun was coming soon so they went to ground after drinking about half my blood. I got out of the restraints, bleeding and exhausted, climbed on my horse, and let him handle getting me to the other warriors at the compound. I brought back help, we took care of laying my coven to rest, and then we went on the hunt. Once they were dead I went back to the warrior compound and basically had a breakdown that lasted six months.
“And even after I snapped out of it I was a shell of a man, grief consuming me. It took me another year to get back into training so I’d be mission ready.” I looked at Rylan, standing there hesitantly with a towel wrapped around his waist. “But I didn’t have help or mates, baby. You can’t keep going like you have and not even take a breath. Your grief will build and fester until you have nothing but an empty pit inside of you.”
“I don’t know how,” he admitted as he finished drying off.
“It will come if you don’t block it out.” He nodded as we g
ot undressed while he slipped into bed naked. We joined him, each of us on either side, wrapped around Rylan.
“Is it wrong that I still want to be claimed by my mates right now?” he whispered so quietly I barely heard him.
I moved so I was looking into his gorgeous orange eyes. “No. You lost family and you’re scared. You want to make sure you belong somewhere and will be loved. You need the comfort only your mates can provide you.”
“Yes,” he hissed and spread his legs. I moved between them and grabbed the lube I’d left on the nightstand just in case. I was dying to claim my mates as well and while I wouldn’t have pushed for it with what we’d been through, that didn’t mean I wasn’t hoping for it.
I poured some lube on my fingers and handed it to Onah. “Will you take me and claim me, my mate?”
“Oh yeah,” he growled and threw off the covers. He quickly got into position after grabbing the lube from me, slicked up his fingers, and started stretching me… All while I was getting Rylan prepared. When we were ready, I pushed into his hole, moaning at how perfect the tightness and fit were.
“Shit,” I hissed when Onah started working his cock into me.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked as he froze.
“No, just go slow,” I panted, the burning already starting to pass. Damn was he hung like a horse! He eased in and out of me slowly, opening my body up little by little as Rylan stroked my cheek.
“We’re all together,” Rylan whispered before pulling my head down to his. I moaned and plundered his sweet mouth. He moaned and Onah bottomed out inside of me. I sighed in relief. He fit. I knew logically he would, but when I thought of what he had between his legs penetrating my virgin ass, I couldn’t help but worry.
“I’m going to just take a sip when you get close,” I told Rylan as we started moving together. He nodded, mewling and yowling in pleasure as we went.