by D. R. Rosier
It was Friday afternoon in my last class when I got a text from Kristi that he was relocating to the warehouse. We weren’t sure how long he’d be there, so we decided earlier if it happened we should ditch a class for it. It wasn’t us determining the schedule this time around.
We had no illusions we could sneak up on him out in the open the way we had with Feinir, and had come up with a plan to avoid being detected. Hope and I teleported through limbo into the warehouse and got situated. Two of the demons were at the doors and the other two were flanking our grandfather.
Hope and I split the demons close to grandfather. They would be the first to die. We couldn’t take the chance they would kill us right after grandfather died. Hopefully we would have enough time to react to the two by the door.
Kristi was watching us remotely. She, along with the rest, would be teleported around the perimeter by my mother using our attack as the signal. Their job would be to take out grandfather before he crossed the circle in case things went south in here. Our parents would be out there too, just in case the demons at the door went after the people outside, instead of assisting grandfather.
The plan went really well, at first. We silently slid out of limbo behind the demons, our shields up. Hope and I dropped our energy into the two demons, who met their end. That’s when things fell apart. As I turned to grandfather to end him, I heard the noise of battle outside. I thought we would have more time to get him before his associates showed up, but it seems our timing couldn’t have been worse.
I had no choice but to trust they would prevail outside, but when I went to finish it, I was hit by a blur of black, what I could only assume was one of the other demons, and went flying into the wall. My shield held, barely. I slipped into limbo to get my bearings. My sister hadn’t fared much better, she was in limbo with me. The two demons were looking around for us.
We had to attack before they figured out they were stuck. I ran behind one, slid out, sent my magic, and then slid back into limbo. It only took a second, but the demon was alert now and dodged my attack. Things were moving fast, but I saw Hope take out her second demon, and she stayed in the real world long enough to distract mine. I popped out and finished him off, he ran right into my magic on his way to Hope. Then we turned to my grandfather.
He growled, held up his hand and barked a word. Whatever kind of spell it was, it fizzled when it hit our shields. I shared a look with Hope and we both attacked. He was not a demon, and with none left to protect him we simply used our normal power. Our golden spikes of magic ripped through his shield and impaled his body. He turned to run, but had waited too long. He made it two steps before collapsing on the ground.
I moved to check him but Hope interrupted me.
“Don’t bother, he’s dead. I have no desire to plumb his mind, if you don’t object I’ll just let his spirit go.”
I nodded in agreement. He wouldn’t know anything about us Feinir didn’t, and learning about his other activities didn’t seem important enough to subject Hope to his twisted mind. I took stock and I was sore from hitting the wall, but nothing was broken. I took a moment to run some healing energy through me and also to scan my sister.
She didn’t even have a scratch. I really needed to get my shield like hers was.
Hope asked, “Does it get back to normal now?”
I smiled, “Maybe, but it won’t be the same normal. I think it’s going to be better. Let’s get outside and see what happened. With mom and dad, Kristi, four werewolves, two witches, a lich, two revenants, and an angel, I feel sorry for whoever it was.”
Hope snorted while turning the five bodies to dust before we headed outside.
No one on our side had been killed, although mom was in the process of healing Claudia. There were a few dead, but most of them had run fairly quickly and were allowed to escape. Kristi and Alicia met me with hugs and we all got together to teleport home.
I still wasn’t sure what I’d be doing with my life, but I knew one thing. I’d be enjoying every day I had with my mates, and my family. I also didn’t know who the firstborn between me and my sister was, or what that might mean in the future. I would study my magic hard, and live my life, and hope I was up to whatever challenges lay ahead…
Epilogue – Hope
It had been a day since we had taken care of things. Life was going on, but I was so different. I had fallen in love, killed, protected, improved my magic, and discovered things about myself and my family I wish I didn’t know over the last two weeks.
I was at a party, and I was still having fun, that hadn’t changed. But I found myself not flirting and being playful with every guy that came along. I wasn’t looking for Mr. Right Now anymore. Hell, I was hardly even checking the guys out. Really, the only man I cared to let in my bed was right next to me.
Rafe asked, “Penny for your thoughts gorgeous?”
Smiling mysteriously I raised one of my eyebrows playfully and touched his arm, “You’ll need to earn it, dance with me,” I turned to Bree, “You too.”
Rafe grinned, “Dance with the two most beautiful creatures here? That’s a price I’m glad to pay.”
I’m all grown up now, so I only thought about sticking my tongue out at him, instead of actually doing it, as we pounded down our current drinks. We moved out to the cleared area in the frat house to dance. It was a good night and I really enjoyed it. There was almost nothing to stress about at all. The prophecy was too nebulous, so I was determined to put it behind me.
When we got home, my mother was waiting with an amused grin on her face.
“Daughter, did anything happen in Texas?”
I smiled disarmingly, “I didn’t hurt anyone…”
She snickered at my obvious evasion and handed me a letter. Apparently they had caught me on video entering the hospital and tracked me down by my picture. The letter specified the Chicago council may want to censure me for reckless actions that may have lead to exposure. It went on to say, that I was not welcome in Dallas and would be attacked if I showed my face there again.
I shook my head and snorted in disbelief.
“They’re just pissed I didn’t obey that vamp and go before the council. He interrupted me while I was healing Elisha.”
My mom nodded slowly, “Regardless, no more Texas for you for a few hundred years.”
I grinned, “Yes mom,” I said in my best teenage voice, sounding completely unrepentant.
She snorted, “You are impossible…”
Short Stories: Necromancer Chronicles Book 2.5
Author’s note: There is a just over four year gap in the story between the second and third book. I’ve added some short stories and scenes here at the end of book two to try and preserve some continuity, add some character growth, and so that you can get to know some of the secondary characters a little better.
Alicia’s Camping Trip
I pawed silently through the brush. My prey, small though it was, would be cautious, clever, and fast. I pushed down the growl that wanted to leave my throat, sloppy hunters often went without. When I was close enough, I leaped, my jaws open. The large rabbit sensed something and looked my way. I harshly growled, startling it. The rabbit froze for just a split second before it tried to escape. That split second was more than long enough to get its neck in my jaws and break it.
I dropped my kill, threw my head back and howled my victory.
I picked it up carefully with my teeth, I was trying to minimize the damage done to the body, and started back toward camp. It has been six glorious months since I have taken a mate. He has another mate as well, Kristi. She is soft, not a wolf. Her magic makes her formidable however and she is worthy of respect as a companion.
The three of us spend much of our time together, but four months ago our mate decided we needed separate times together called dates. Something about not taking us for granted, and he wanted one on one time with us. This is the third month in a row he has taken me camping.
My human side unde
rstands this puzzling behavior, but the wolf does not. He is our mate, it matters not if we do this alone time together. Yet, I do enjoy it. Who wouldn’t enjoy hunting for one’s mate on occasion? These trips are also a perfect time to test my mate. I know he will never age, get infirm or feeble, but it is what wolves do, the instinct is too strong to fight. We constantly test and submit to see if the alpha is still worthy.
My mate is different, his wolf never comes out, yet I still hear it. He is too much man though to truly understand, but he comes close on occasion. His wolf still has influence, much like his father’s. They draw the human females to them like moths to a flame. For some reason they believe their demon blood is responsible. The truth is the wolf in them is what does this.
My mate is very strong, strong enough to hold many mates. I have suggested a few over the months that he should take, but he always refuses. He tells me that two are enough, all he wants and needs. I wondered at first if this was a weakness in him, but I learned it is a silly man thing. My human side seems to like this behavior as well, though I cannot imagine why.
He is working on getting a house for us, somewhere near the college since he is staying on. Both Kristi and Vinnie are starting graduate courses and plan to get their masters and then a doctorate.
It will also be closer to where the pack runs, which is good. I wish he could join me for that, the hunt, but he cannot. I took his scent in and adjusted my course slightly, heading straight toward the camp. I’d have to shift soon, be human again, when I got back I’d need to dress and cook the rabbit.
When I entered the camp I kept my tail down and bared my throat. I had challenged him again yesterday and he had beaten me soundly without actually hurting me. He was home to me and made me feel secure. I knew my place in the hierarchy of our family. Sometimes having a woman side complicated that, but overall it worked well.
Kim, my mate’s father’s mate, who was also one of the female alphas of the pack, helped me with understanding our strange mates. I studied him and he appeared to be meditating, but I caught his lips twitching in amusement. I felt a surge of anger, that he would mock me, not respect my power. He seemed to be making light of the importance of establishing dominance.
I chuffed in his direction, dismissing him. This is one of the things Kim had explained to me, the strangeness of the man. Beneath that amusement I could sense his wolf watching me respectfully yet fully ready to answer to any challenge. I could feel the woman inside me wanting out, and I relented, knowing that my mate would want his rabbit cooked and I needed hands for that.
My body started to break down and reform into a woman at the cellular level. There was no cracking of bones, or any other foolishness I had seen watching werewolf movies. How could breaking a bone change that bone into a human bone shape? I chuffed again as my muzzle slowly deformed and started to take a new shape, my paws absorbed my claws and started to reshape.
It didn’t hurt, but there was a tingle that seemed to cover my whole body, even within. It was neither pleasant nor unpleasant. I felt myself being shunted back as the human in me took over, for now…
I loved the hunt, nothing was more fun. Well, almost nothing. I could feel Vinnie’s eyes on me and I slowly stood, I loved the way his eyes roamed all over my body. It always made me feel sexy. I suppressed a grin and stretched luxuriously, as if I needed to do any such thing. I loved giving him a show, or at least, I loved his reactions to them. My smile broke through my control as I heard his heartbeat speed up.
My wolf thought this was foolish and didn’t understand, she thought if I wanted him I should just take him. But what fun was that? Better to tempt him into chasing me. I considered putting on clothes, but rejected it. The nearest other humans had been miles away from our camp.
I said, “Thanks for setting up the spit and building the fire.”
He grinned at me and looked me in the eyes, even though I stood here naked. I loved that about him, he saw me as a desirable woman, but also as much more than that. His voice was low, relaxed, despite the fast beating of his heart.
“Least I could do if you’re hunting down dinner for us.”
I winked and grabbed the knife from our supplies. I dressed the rabbit quickly and got it over the fire before going over and sitting on the ground with Vinnie, leaning my body up against him. The forest was beautiful, the sights, scents, and the essence of life surrounded and filled me.
Some would believe the witches were closer to nature than the other supernaturals. That would be wrong, it was the werewolves. We were little worried about in the supernatural world and because of that, there was a lot the other races of humans did not know about us. Despite our superior strength, the others had stronger magic except perhaps the vampires who were also physically strong.
We tended to keep out of cities, claim territories of forest and keep to ourselves. We weren’t anti-social; we just preferred to be where our other forms could run and we could feel the life around us. Cities felt… stifling. Plus, the vampires infested the cities, obviously because it was the location of their food source.
Werewolves were the strongest but our senses were also unparalleled. Not only could I hear my mate’s heart, I could focus my hearing much farther than any other race. We could also feel the magic of the world around us; feel the step of a foot or claw on the grass a mile away. We were perfect hunters, predators.
Our sense of smell was also highly refined. I could scent the pheromones of Vinnie and know what he was feeling. I could not only know if he was turned on, but how turned on he was. We could smell all the emotions, and even glean the intentions of others through their scent.
Our magic couldn’t affect the life around us, but we could feel it, become one with it.
I closed my eyes as I felt him pull me against his body. He kissed my hair and I could smell his attraction, love, and lust for me. I turned my head up and to the side and kissed him softly for a moment before breaking the kiss, shaking my head.
“Dinner will be ready soon, we should wait until we have more… time.”
In truth I was as horny as he was. I wanted to be taken, badly. But I knew if I could make him wait it would be even better after the buildup. He was always much more… rough and demanding, if I made him wait for it and let him build into a fevered pitch. Being able to make him lose control and take me savagely was one of my favorite things in this life.
Delayed gratification was hard, but always worth it.
I leaned away, my ass pushing into him and rubbing teasingly as I went to my hands and knees. I crawled in a swaying manner over to the pack. I could sense him stare at my exposed pleasure and tight ass. I wiped the smile off my face before I looked back over my shoulder in faux innocence, knowing I was driving him crazy.
“Wine?”
He cleared his throat, “Sounds good.”
I pulled out the Pinot Noir and a couple of glasses and made my way back over with my breasts swaying as I walked the few steps on my knees. He wasn’t watching my eyes this time and I felt my nipples tighten under his gaze causing sparks of pleasure to shoot down to my core. His heart wasn’t the only one beating a little faster.
My inner wolf was pressuring me to take him already, but I ignored her. She was wise about some things, just not a teasing seduction. If flaunting my naked body in front of him could be considered a seduction. I had to admit it was more like waving a red flag at a bull.
He took the wine and one of the glasses and poured for us both. We chatted for a while about things, both of us intensely aware of the other, as we drank that first glass. My nose told me the rabbit was cooked enough.
“Food is done I think.”
It was my turn to stare at his ass as he got up and took down the rabbit. He sliced some of the meat off for both of us and brought it all back on one large plate. To most this probably wouldn’t be a romantic meal. But I was not most women. I was in my favorite place, the forest, with my mate who I loved beyond reason. We also had good food I had
hunted and a wine that went with it.
It was absolutely perfect.
We fed each other as we slowly ate through the rabbit between fresh glasses of wine, kisses, caresses, and conversation.
We finished the last of the rabbit and I opened my mouth to express approval of the meal, but found myself pulled into a long passionate kiss. I rubbed my palms against his chest with my fingertips curled, my nails scratching down his skin. I was so wet, and my nose was drowning in the scent of his virility. I wanted to melt against him, but instead pushed on his chest slightly, as if I was trying to break the kiss.
He growled, sending shivers of lust through my body. His arms were wrapped around me like steel as he pulled me possessively against his body and renewed our kiss with animal passion. This is what I had wanted, what I had worked for. He grabbed my hair roughly to hold me in place and checked me with his other hand before twisting my body and pushing me to my hands and knees.
He slapped my ass and impaled my ready pleasure from behind.
His voice was half grunt and half growl, “Mine!”
My tingling core tightened around his rough invader and I gasped in pleasure. He pulled back sharply on my hair and started to pound into my pleasure hard and fast. I arched my back and started bucking back into him just as violently.
He growled, “Tell me!”
His words struck me like lightning. He was never more sexy or powerful then when he forced me to submit. Breathlessly I agreed with my mate, “Yours. Fuck me, fuck your bitch.”
Rather than calm him down, my submission seemed to spur him on and he started slamming into me harder. He was so deep inside my pleasure. I felt so full as he stretched out my velvet sheath, hitting all the right spots with the intense wet friction of his hard cock ramming into my hot sex.
I whimpered as my pliant soft body tightened around his length and my core exploded in pleasure. I could feel it as he kept slamming into me, but the rapturous bliss was overwhelming, making my body tremble.