Set In Sparks (Morningstars Book 2)

by Destiny, Sam

  “Don’t ever go on any crazy mission with her, okay? I don’t care how fucking safe you are, just don’t,” he growled, hearing Cany’s strained giggle. How had they all ever agreed to Maya leaving alone? They could have gone and just … maybe hidden out somewhere or … They would have found a way.

  “Go and say something manly, do something macho. Make them okay,” she pleaded and he felt how she pressed her lips against his chest before pushing him into the room. She left as the door swung close behind him. The twins didn’t even look up.

  “We could always tie her up next time around,” he suggested. It was the best thing he could come up with. Frankly, the twins looked up, pale, but smiling.

  “We thought about that, too, but there’s no way any ties will hold her,” Jaden replied, slowly pushing away from the table.

  “She’s pretty headstrong,” Ryder agreed.

  “Let’s follow her,” Jaden suggested and Ryder instantly wanted to nod, but Kaden coughed in disbelief.

  “You just got her as far as getting her to love you again and take you in and all you can think about is making sure she hates our asses from here to the moon and back? We need to trust her,” the second twin protested and Ryder pulled his shoulders up until they almost covered his shoulders. Kaden was the best one to have in your team to defend what you wanted while you were away.

  “Will you still say that when she’s –”

  “Not gonna happen. Lara and Matt will give their lives for her before they let anything happen to her. I want to be in that car with her, but we need to let her be Queen. Maybe it helps if you think of it that way. It’s not Maya in that car, but the Queen.”

  “She works well under pressure. Very well. I’ve seen her do it. You’ve seen it. That night Cany caused the chaos, she almost broke under the responsibility, but all that happened was her getting even stronger. Her people love her, and that’s what she needs. I’ve seen her notes. I know what she wants to do. Uniting the Morningstar under a Queen instead of the Circle of Seven will take bravery, fight and a lot of determination. If that wolf belongs to her Origin, let her get it here. You’ll never be able to imagine how a wolf-ally could help us!” Ryder explained.

  “It’ll only be a wolf as long is it doesn’t find its mate,” Jaden remarked and Ryder shrugged.

  “How high are the chances that the mate is here? Close to zero. It’s crazy enough that we’ve had three people here that belong together. For all we know her mate could be out there in the world, lost and what do we know,” Ryder protested.

  “Maya will be doing just right. It’s only a few days until she’d back and then we can always reconsider those lenient borders we allowed her so far,” Kaden suggested and then looked back at Ryder. “So, Cany and you, huh? It’s good to be mated, isn’t it?”

  “Most reassuring thing ever. She looks at me as if I hung the moon,” Ryder answered, not being able to keep the pride out of his voice. Maya had made his life so good, in a lot of aspects, and he had never been happier to have a family than he was right now. She definitely was on the right way with their race and with her mates. Mates that now would get a task. “Let’s go and see how the house rebuilding proceeds. You know that’s what Maya will want to know once she calls,” he nodded, slapping Jaden brotherly on the shoulder. It was the twin closest to him.

  “Yeah, let’s make sure we have something to tell when she calls,” he agreed and then they all left the room. It was probably the best to spend some hours busy. It would shorten the time until Maya returned, easing everyone’s mind.

  The woods surrounding the wolf pack were more than just pretty. Maya couldn’t remember ever having seen something as lush as those trees. It was incredible. Matt parked the car, tension radiating from the young vampire like she had rarely seen.

  “It’ll be okay,” she tried to soothe him and he gave her a forced smile.

  “I’m sure you’ve never seen it, but I saw the twins in rage. And when I say rage, I mean tearing someone apart from limb to limb. Add Colbin to that, who’s quiet, but vicious when being mad. If one hair on Lara’s pretty head is out of place, I’m going to be a very dead vampire,” he mumbled through gritted teeth and Maya went closer, hugging him tight.

  “Nothing will happen. We’ll change and then we’ll look as innocent as innocents come,” she promised, not seeing how a powerful Alpha would be able to see them as a threat. She still hadn’t made her mind up about how to approach the topic, but she and Lara had agreed that maybe there’d be a lucky coincidence offering them a way in.

  She turned to the little cabin they had found not three miles from their original destination. Matt had suggested starting their visit off with the Morningstar coven, but Maya just wanted to get the terrible meeting out of the way before being able to present her people with a smiling Queen. After all, only after the she-wolf was safe, she’d be able to breathe again.

  “It’s no five-star-hotel,” Matt apologized, coming up behind her. She couldn’t help but breathe easier with this little thing. She didn’t mind her bedroom, or the big kitchen, but that she could pass on as long as she had the twins. For a moment she wondered how it would be if they wouldn’t stay at the mansion each day, but simply stay at the twin’s cabin. By the Creator, how much she wished for that. Of course she knew it was impossible since no one would be able to reach her then in case of emergencies. She just needed to remember that she did this for all those people that needed her.

  “It’s more perfect than you can imagine. I wish I could stay with the twins every other night. I hate the mansion,” she admitted. She couldn’t relax there because at every turn she was reminded that she was the Queen.

  “Maybe you should mention that towards them,” Lara suggested and Maya followed her inside the little hut. It was simple, just a living room with a blue, used-looking sofa to her left, a window above it and then three doors across from her that probably led to a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen. Everything was made of wood, starting with the little table in front of the sofa, additionally to the floors and walls and everything in the tiny kitchen. The bed, once she glanced into the bedroom, looked rather uncomfortable with its sturdy frame and barely fitting mattress. From where she stood at the door she could see the springs protruding through the top. Since they didn't plan on sleeping much, it would be okay. She highly doubted that Matt would be able to close his eyes anyway. He was too worried about his reputation and the twins' anger. She and Lara could take turns, but then again, Maya didn't need sleep as much. The few daylight hours they'd have she'd probably waste with thoughts of the twins. The Queen smiled wistfully.

  “I think they regret not making me happier as it is, but that’s not true. I need them, everything else is just a luxury problem,” Maya assured them and then gave the two a smile.

  Changing into a dress and putting her hair up in a braided crown on top of her head didn’t take longer than an hour, making the meeting with the wolves approach fast.

  Matt came in after the females were done, handing them each a brooch. “There’s a camera inside. I’ll see and hear all you do,” he explained, pinning it where he wanted it. “I’ll be there as soon as there’s trouble, I promise,” he mumbled. “I’m only a few minutes away. Fight. Bite. We’ve always been stronger than those wolves and that’s all that matters.”

  Lara placed a hand on his arm, stilling his babbling and his movements.

  “I’ve dealt with a group of half grown vampires even before you were born, boy,” she laughed and Maya had to admit that it was easy to forget how old Lara was. She still looked barely twenty five. “We’ll be fine. I’m gonna get our Queen out healthy, no matter what happens.”

  Maya shot her and angry glare. “If trouble comes, you better save yourself,” she ordered, but Lara only shook her head. Fine, that was a discussion for a different time, Maya decided. She had the small hope that there wouldn’t come a moment where they needed to decide.

  Leaving with Colbin’s Origin, they opted
for crossing a few miles in a moderate jog. It was still a nice feeling knowing that you could go an easy speed without even breaking into sweat.

  “Maya, I missed seeing you,” Lara said into the quiet that was only interrupted by birds and animal calls. “I know Colbin was mad at you, but not for the reason you thought. He wanted to be there for you, be a hero for our race, but you didn’t need anyone to help you be amazing. You stepped up to your role without hesitation or question. It caught him off guard. Suddenly, his warriors stopped coming to him for advice. They were mad at him for having betrayed you. They were mad at Jaden, too. At least those that had a reason to. I thought Red would go off the deep end since he wasn’t ever around, but obviously you hired him for whatever tasks. I was always a little afraid of him, but you just walked right up to him and cracked his heart wide open. Watching you is something I could never tire of. I’m not your mom, and you’ve been with us a mere few weeks, but I feel like a proud mother. I wasn’t ready to let you go out into the world and yet you never once looked back.” Maya slowed her jog to a walk before stopping fully.

  “Coming back to see you wasn’t a good idea, I thought. I worried Colbin would feel as if I’d be challenging him more. I didn’t want that for you or him. By now I know that no matter what the twins would ask of me, I’d follow them, even if it meant to keep something life changing from them,” Maya told her and Lara stared at her for a very long moment.

  “You are lying. You would never do something like that. I think you’d tell them exactly what you think and –”

  “You did that, too, without a doubt,” Maya interrupted and Lara sighed.

  “I did, but you would still go ahead and try to right the wrong. You're here after all, even though they protested. And if I know them at all, I’d say they protested a lot.” She winked and it was hard for Maya to wrap her head around the fact that this woman had known the twins way before she ever had entered the picture. She knew the twins by heart by now and even though not everything in their past was yet known to her, they had lifetimes to venture into those topics.

  “They love me, and tried to stop me from what I thought was right once before already. It was a close call. I walked right into the waiting arms of my mother. I think now they realize that it’s much safer if they get a say in it instead of fighting me every damn step of the way.”

  Lara grinned, but Maya tensed. There was something wrong. The birds had stopped singing and the noise had vanished all together. There was a scent in the air she didn’t know and it wasn’t pleasant even though the smell of wood and earth had intensified. Beneath that though there was the smell of hatred and danger.

  They were surrounded by wolves.

  “Look innocent and non-threatening,” Maya whispered under her breath.

  Lara snorted. “You and non-threatening,” she smiled, but it was tense. Personally, Maya didn’t think she looked dangerous, but just the thought of the tongue-lashing she’d get if the twins heard she was injured made her want to fight all the harder and stand all the taller.

  A guy suddenly stood next in front of them and Maya looked up at him. He had the classical handsomeness of the eighties, honey-colored hair in a slight wave, a scowl on his face. Focusing, she saw a shining silver glow surrounding him – A Morningstar, and if Lara’s gasp was any indication at all, someone she knew. Following logic – and the way his wide shoulders strained against his shirt – Maya guessed he once had been a warrior. His stormy eyes only focused on her though and he ignored Lara fully.

  “You need to leave right now,” he urged and Maya shook her head.

  “We’ll be fine.”

  “The twins will hate losing you,” he announced and Maya had a hard time focusing on him when Lara next to her was all but crying her eyes out.

  “How do you know I belong to the twins?” she still asked since that wasn’t really common knowledge yet. “You smell of cinnamon and spice, like they do, but your own scent is much stronger. I’m assuming you’re mated to one of them. Which one is it? Which one got lucky?” The way he said ‘lucky’ made Maya shiver. Obviously, he didn’t consider her a good match.

  “I mated them both. What did I ever do to you that you don’t think I could be good for them?” she snapped, seeing the guy wince. Lara mumbled something next to her, repeating one word over and over again, but Maya couldn’t exactly understand her through the heavy sobbing.

  “You’ll die. It’ll break them like nothing else can. You don’t have any chance. That’s how I know you aren’t good for them. Move, now, or this will be the last conversation you ever have,” he promised, his eyes full of pain. She didn’t need to know him that he was broken and crumbled, only half the warrior he could be. She knew better than anyone that pain could be crippling.

  Before she could reply more, people emerged from the woods, guns drawn and knives on display. No matter how fast her healing was, if they all attacked at once, she wouldn’t survive that. Her eyes roamed the group until they landed on a dark - haired girl. She was bruised and battered, trembling visibly, and Maya knew it was not from fear. Anger surged through her, white and hot, and she felt alarm echo from the twins. It didn’t matter. She needed to get that girl out, even if it was the last thing she did.

  “Hey, Sarah,” she called; making sure her voice held none of the hatred she was feeling. The Morningstar stepped in her way, his grey eyes dark with threat. “You need to leave or I’ll take you out of here. It’s your choice,” he threatened and Maya glared at him.

  “I came because of the wolf and I won’t leave without her,” she gave back and then looked past him at the object of their rescue mission. A rough looking guy stepped forward, his body being big, yet not half as imposing as the angry male in front of her. “Who the hell are you to come here and say you want to claim a wolf?” he asked, the sneer clear on his face and in his voice. Maya pushed the vampire in front of her aside, making sure everyone could see her.

  “I’m Maya, Queen of the Morningstar and here to take Sarah with me.” Everyone stared at her, but since no one attacked her right away, Maya decided to count it as a minor victory towards her goal of saving the little wolf. Even if she wasn’t willing yet, she had a warrior at her side, Matt on call and Lara as last resort. This would work out. There was no longer any doubt in Maya’s mind.

  Lucas of the Morningstars had never planned to return to ranks of being a warrior. He loved his quiet life out in the woods, hunting those stupid wolves that killed innocent humans or the vampires he once used to protect. They were careless around here. There probably never had been anyone to tell them killing humans for sport was forbidden. Well, ever since Lucas had started taking that task upon himself, things around here had calmed down. He was a vigilante of sorts, but that didn’t matter to him. He had lost his love for life the moment he had lost Breen, the red-haired Irish beauty had been his everything from the moment he had first met her. Even though it had taken weeks before he touched her and actually realized that she was his, he had known during that first meeting that he’d love her more than life itself. She was beautiful, her hazel eyes always shining. She had died a painful death, no matter what Lucas had tried, and the twins had been by his side through it all.

  He had worried about fate taking away their Origin even before her time came, until she announced who she was – A Queen.

  Lucas wanted to sit, or actually he more needed to sit, disbelief coloring every breath. She was tiny, breakable and really pretty, but somehow he had always thought a Morningstar Queen would be impressive in size, loud in voice and strong in body. This female was none of those things.

  It didn’t matter to him though, she needed to be protected at all costs. No one deserved to feel the pain he had felt, the pain that had taken all his will to live from him. On the outside he looked strong and alive, but on the inside he was black and burned. There was nothing left for him to do but to hurt those that deserved it.

  He would have taken his own life, but if he believed i
n anything, it was life after death. Breen would be in heaven, waiting for him, so he did his duty. The Creator would know if someone died without a fight. He had been born a warrior and his mother had always trained him to be one. Warriors didn’t lose. Ever. It was something so deeply ingrained in him, he couldn’t just give up. Breen wouldn’t have wanted it for him anyway. She always had been sure that there’d be another girl coming. Chances were he’d find another Origin and that was the main reason why he wasn’t living in a big city anymore: He didn’t want to find someone else. He wanted to remember Breen forever and for always, until he met her again. He wanted to be untainted for her, closing her in his arms without the shred of a doubt that he loved someone else more.

  It was probably what the twins would feel. Maybe they could open a bachelor pad in the woods if the Queen died. And she was doomed to do so, especially after challenging the damn Alpha like that. What the hell was this female thinking?

  Lucas didn’t care. He used the moment of surprised silence and threw the tiny female over his shoulder, carrying her out of the circle of danger before anyone else could react. He didn’t care how much she’d hate him, the twins would thank him forever and ever.

  As long as it was his calling, they wouldn’t have to live without their Origin; wouldn’t have to feel the pain he felt. Maya, Queen of the Morningstar, would stay in his captivity until she’d promise him to just go back home and let someone else do the damn job of saving that wolf-whore. She surely wouldn’t do it.

  To Be Continued in Set In Burns…

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