Sebastian turned. “You can stay, Mary. You’ll be safe here.”
Grateful, she nodded and leaned against his footboard.
Sebastian nodded at Lucas. “Stay with her.”
Mary shot Lucas a confused look as the two vampires left.
“He wants to give us a chance to deal with anything unresolved.”
“Like what?” She looked away, wanting to hide from the thought that there could be more for them to face.
Lucas came closer. “You haven’t asked if you are a wolf now.”
Mary shrugged. Was she ready to know? What if she was a werewolf? Would that force the choice her mother had hoped for? Would Sebastian cease to want her if she was? Would Lucas become her default and resent her for only coming to him if she had to?
He held silent so long Mary looked up and realized her attention was what he’d waited for. Lucas shook his head. “No matter what guilt you torture yourself with, you need to remember one thing. You fought too hard for there to be any confusion about what you want.”
Tears sprang to her eyes and her lips began to tremble. Why weren't her true desires as clear to her?
He sighed. “I have no doubt about what you want. I never did. We played our roles and we survived. I know at least Ben and Travis are nothing but thankful for what you did.”
“What we did.”
Lucas shook his head. “We were dead. The silver weakened us. The vampires surrounded us. We would have spent the next several months as their winter store of food. You were the one with the strength and cunning to play a damn good game. A brilliant one.”
Mary laughed, tears sliding down her face and throat. Now he praised her? Approved of her? She coughed. “Laying it on a bit thick, aren't you?”
He smiled gently and shook his head. “I hadn’t realized my neglect."
Mary frowned. "But I didn't say-"
"Out loud?"
She nodded.
Lucas paused a moment, considering. "What we did, has linked us for a time. I can hear you."
Mary gasped. Everything she'd said to Sebastian was supposed to be private, but he'd heard it all? Embarrassment flashed hot through her veins.
Lucas shrugged. "It'll pass in a day or two . We'll learn and grown from this. But no matter what, I want you to know you deserve every bit of praise, Little Crow.”
Mary's breath caught and her eyes widened. “You mean-"
“Hell, yes. Devious wench like you, I’m keeping you on my team.” Lucas straightened and walked away. “It’s the only way I’ll be safe.”
She aimed a pillow at him, but it landed against Sebastian’s chest as the men passed each other in the doorway. He raised a brow, probably confused by her tears and laughter.
“He said I earned Crow status.”
Sebastian gave her a small smile and latched the door before bringing the pillow back to the bed. “You deserve it. Hearing the story, it is hard to believe you’d be so good at manipulating vampires. Having Rosamunde show me, though…”
He shook his head and she laughed, then her laughter trailed off awkwardly. “It probably doesn’t endear me to the rest of them. I mean, they’re probably even more convinced that I’m manipulating you.”
Mary looked up, unable to prevent her next thought. And maybe you are, too.
Chapter Ten
Sebastian shook his head. “I have seen too far inside you to question your love for me.”
“Good.” Mary nodded. “Maybe if I hadn’t been so stubborn and had let them hear-”
“No.” He took her hand and held it to his heart. “I am glad you didn’t. There are too few protections for you. That you accomplish so much despite them is to your credit.” He looked down at their clasped hands. “And I like being the only one to know you like this.”
Mary rose to her toes and caressed his cheek, stepping closer to his chest. Lowering her voice, she whispered. “I like you being the only one, also. But there was another reason for my silence.”
“The traitor you thought of earlier.”
She nodded confirmation. “My mother said Grath snuck into the crypt and replaced her body, then left with no one the wiser. But I think he would’ve needed a little help.”
Sebastian sighed. Tenderly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, he nodded. “I will definitely be looking now that I know. Thank you. And I am sorry. If I’d controlled everything more carefully, she wouldn’t have been taken and you would’ve had her all this time. Or, hell, I wouldn’t have killed your father." Sebastian shook his head, "If I’d known, I could have weaned him away from his sire. Damn it, I should have protected the campgrounds sooner and prevented everything.”
Mary placed her lips against his. “I appreciate that you want to be my Superman and save me from all tragedy. But I like what we have too much to hold on to regrets.”
He stilled in that way only vampires could. “Even Lucas?”
Mary lowered to her heels until he pulled her against him again, lifting her feet entirely from the ground and holding her at eye level. She put her hands over his shoulders and met his gaze seriously, openly. “I think there will be repercussions to this test that neither of us can foresee. But no, I chose my path. Imagining another one was difficult, emotionally, but it changes nothing. I love you.”
“You just love him a little more than you thought you did.”
Mary opened her mouth, but couldn’t deny it.
Sebastian leaned his forehead against hers, looking into her eyes. “I’d thought this test would be the easiest. No worries. Pass it and you’re done.”
Mary shook her head. “None of the tests will be easy. Neither will they ever be finished. Not really.”
He frowned, both fear and hope warring in his face. “And you’re prepared to live with that?”
“As long as I am with you, it is worth it.” She nodded decisively. Laying her head on his shoulder, Mary cracked a yawn so deep it shook her entire body in his arms.
“Poor tired baby.” Sebastian nuzzled her neck and carried her around to his side of the bed, settling her with pillows and covers.
“It’s been a long day.”
Brushing her hair from her face, he smiled indulgently. “Sweetheart, it’s been a week.”
She shot upright, gasping in horror. “A week?”
“Yes.” He gently pushed her back down.
“Then tonight…”
“We waited for you, yes.”
She searched his face. “Why didn’t you have Rosamunde do her thing while I was out of it?”
Sebastian scooted her over and joined her beneath the covers. His skin brought a chill to her still feverishly hot flesh, a refreshing coolness she savored. He cradled one arm under her aching head and faced her. His delaying tactics were obvious as he chose his words, considering them as carefully as he ever did in council. Perhaps even more so since this was largely personal.
When he met her gaze, Mary braced herself.
“When the four of you arrived, you were hallucinating. There were no differences between fantasy and reality for you. Rosamunde wouldn’t have known the truth, even if she’d been allowed to try.”
Mary frowned.
Sebastian continued, “Lucas was a bit too…protective. The Lycan virus had swarmed your system and you were fighting it with everything you had. It was a battle that very well could have killed you. You would have died because of his actions—”
She shook her head but he kept speaking. “His virus, no matter how we see it, that was how he saw the situation. Ben and Travis told the story of being captured and by whom and what she wanted, but of the bite itself, they would say nothing. There were only your hallucinations and his actions to determine anything.”
“What was I dreaming that was so awful?”
“You were dreaming of your children. You spoke to him like you were married. Like you loved him.”
Mary bit her lip, listening.
“There were two places we could mute your thou
ghts so no one could hear. My chambers or yours. He insisted on yours and that was when his attachment became clear.”
Sebastian couldn't hide his aggravation, though he tried. Mary had to defend Lucas. He hadn't asked for their bond. It had been her idea for him to bite her. “He said he knew I would choose you. That he always knew.”
“Maybe he did. But during your illness, there were times you chose him.” When Mary would have turned away, Sebastian held her chin until her eyes focused on his. “Yes, I was jealous. At times we are all slaves to our beast. His claimed you, as mine did. But the final choice was, is, and always will be, yours.”
“And now?”
His thumb brushed her lower lip. “Now, you have chosen and he has retreated, but isn’t over.”
She frowned, worried, until he smiled with a wicked tilt to his lips. A thrill shot from her heart to her lungs and lower. Tired as she had been, adrenaline began to stir her body to life. “It isn’t?”
His eyes burned that special blue that made her swallow and shift against him. His mouth curved with that wicked tilt that made her wet every time. “Mary, really? My throne?”
Her eyes widened at the memory of that morning's - or rather, last week's - fantasy and heat spread over her cheeks. “I meant no disrespect.”
He rose over her, his arms on either side of her head as his weight came to rest on top of her. “And you said you didn’t covet my position.”
She raised a brow. “Somehow I doubt you’ve ever taken that position.”
“Leaning back with my knees hooked over the arms while your lovely little mouth devours me?” He slid between her legs, lowering his mouth to hers. “I could give it a try.”
She laughed against his mouth, letting her lips touch and slide lightly against his. “The council might disapprove.”
He shrugged, smiling and touching his tongue briefly to her lips.. “Or we could make a replica and place it in here for our own games.”
She arched up as his cool hand slid under her shirt, from her waist to her breast. The pleasure of that one caress had her trembling against him. “Perhaps we should just get undressed now.”
He grinned, his fangs on display. “I like teasing you. I’ll take care of our clothes when I’m ready.”
She pressed her pelvis up against his and ground against him. “I’m pretty sure you’re ready.”
Sebastian tweaked her nipple then slid his hand beneath the waistband of her pants. “From your memories of the last two months, you have been, as well.”
Had she ever! Mary closed her eyes, mentally following the trail of his fingers as they glided between her legs and through her moisture, back and forth, before he penetrated. She gasped. “I’ve missed you.”
“If you’d just come home when I first called,” he teased with more than just the words coming from his lips. “We would have had more time together.”
She tried to imagine the date, but couldn't. How much of her vacation had she lost? Her mind was as busy as her hands as they pushed his shirt open and away. His hard chest gave her more to sample with her touch, her kisses. His heart beat sluggishly. He would need to feed. “How long do we have?”
He released her and unsnapped her jeans, sliding them down and away. “One more week.”
She groaned. “That sounds too familiar.”
In moments, they were both bare and locked against each other. Sebastian trailed his lips over her jaw and down the right side of her throat as he guided himself to her entrance. She was so sensitive, the smallest movement dragged pleasure from all her nerves.
When he penetrated her throat with his fangs and her body at the same time, Mary gasped and held him closer. Her blood exploded on his tongue as her first orgasm hit.
For a brief pause, he pulled away. A perplexed expression crossed his face, but she dragged him back, clenching her legs around him. “Something wrong?”
“No. Not at all.” He shook his head and returned to her neck, his hips driving him into her, deeper than ever. He licked at her skin, closing the wound and savoring his feast. “You’re perfect.”
His intensity drove her to the heights of pleasure again and again. "You're perfect and you're mine."
He clearly needed to claim her. Probably some sort of alpha male thing, but what surprised Mary is that she needed his claim, too. It helped settle the chaos inside her.
Sometime later, she lay on her back with him on his side, curved around her and warming her. Mary listened to the strong beat of his heart, pleased to know she did that for him. Kept him strong. Kept him alive. He fed from others while she was away, but not as intimately.
“Do you need to leave?”
He shook his head. “Not for a while yet. It's just past noon. You’ve become a day person since going to school.”
He said it teasingly, but it was true. “Not many humans understand keeping vampire hours.”
He smiled. “Maybe that should change.”
She looked at him seriously. “It already has, hasn’t it?”
He angled his head questioningly.
“Lucas said I wasn’t a werewolf.”
“You’re not. I’ve never seen someone fight, and win, against his bite before. You’re amazing to behold. But you are not a werewolf.”
“But am I still human?”
He paused. “Surviving a bite unchanged has never been known to strip someone’s humanity.”
Mary frowned and eyed him more closely. He was dodging.
Sebastian shrugged. “But something tastes different. I don’t know why.”
“Would you still want me, were I a wolf?”
He speared his fingers through her hair, took firm hold and met her gaze unflinchingly. “Without a doubt.”
It took time, but he was so certain, her fears were soothed. Finally, she nodded. “Make sure you tell me if that changes.”
“No matter what you become, I will always want you. Alive, undead or changed. Do whatever it takes to survive.”
“I thought you might say that." Mary grinned. "That’s why I did.”
He smiled tenderly. “You’ve always understood me better than anyone else.”
“Do you think she’ll come back?” Her mom had never relinquished a goal easily. But for all these years, she’d given up her daughter. So what did that say?
Sebastian hugged her close. “There are an endless variety of stories that could explain her actions. I will search for the truth.”
“Thank you.” She pressed a kiss over his heart.
“What else are powerful lovers for?”
The smile she gave him was pure mischief. “Powering my fantasies until I can see you again.”
His eyes warmed and his lips, with their naturally wicked arches, curved even more. “Done.”
Letter from the Author
Murder Tales 2! I am so excited to be continuing this series of stories. Thank you all for your wonderful patience as I proofed and polished to bring you the best in short story fiction. Stay tuned for my announcement of Murder Tales 3!
I love to hear from friends and fans at [email protected]. Updates on my projects can be found at www.JamieLeighHansen.com. Drop by and say Hi!"
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The Murder King's Summons Page 6