by Abigail Owen
“Let’s get settled. Then we’ll figure it out.”
Her lips were pale as she clenched her teeth, but she gave him a jerky nod. After they got their keys, she followed him without a word. Their suitcases made a clack-clack-clack as they crossed the lobby with its original wood floors. They passed large fireplaces with comfy seating around them, then headed up the grand staircase covered in a deep maroon velvet carpet.
“I can’t stay here with you,” she said as soon as they got to their room and the door closed behind them. “I’ll get a hotel room down in Denver or Fort Collins.” She crossed to the mini-fridge in the corner and pulled out a bottled water which she proceeded to gulp down. Never a good sign when Lyleia needed to chug water.
Guilt pressing on him, Castor shook his head. “There are too many events, and I don’t want you driving the canyons at night. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
She glanced at the couch in the sitting room, a piece deliberately created to imitate an old-fashioned sofa, with the scrolling back and armrests in wood, and the cushions in a patterned, pink silk. Then she moved her pointed gaze to him, as she eyeballed his six-foot-three frame. Like every demigod, his body was built for battle—broad shouldered, lean hipped, tall and muscled.
“I’ll sleep on the couch.” She wrinkled her nose as she grudgingly conceded.
But he didn’t like that option either. Having Leia on the uncomfortable piece of furniture didn’t sit right with him. Before he could offer another suggestion, the phone rang.
He held up a finger and crossed the room to answer it.
“How do you like the suite?” Marrok asked after they exchanged hellos.
“It’s great. Thank you for the upgrade.”
“My pleasure. Thank you for agreeing to stand up for me on the big day.”
Castor glanced at Leia in case she’d caught that. He hadn’t warned her yet. But she wasn’t paying attention to him. Instead, she’d started unpacking and hanging her garments in the closet. He took the opportunity to appreciate how her black skirt highlighted her lovely behind. She’d removed her jacket, allowing him to see her hourglass figure better. He loved those pencil skirts she favored.
“Cas?”
He pulled his attention back to the conversation. “Absolutely, buddy.”
“Tala and I would love to have lunch with you and your date today.”
Castor glanced at his watch. “What time were you thinking?”
“Noon.”
An hour to convince Leia should be enough time. “Sounds good.”
“We’ll meet you in the lobby then.”
Castor hung up and turned to Leia, conjuring up his most winning smile. Not that he’d seen it have any effect on her yet, but, still, it was worth a try.
She turned from the closet and crossed her arms. “Don’t even bother with that fake smile, Castor.”
He blinked and snapped his mouth closed, swallowing the words on the tip of his tongue.
“I heard.”
“I see.”
“I noticed you didn’t correct his mistaken impression that you’re here with a date and not your assistant.”
“Um.”
She held up a hand. “Are you going to correct them at lunch?”
“Well—”
“I see. Is there a business reason not to tell them?”
“No. But I’d accepted while I was still seeing Pamela. They obviously assumed they were doing us a favor with the room. I wouldn’t want them to feel bad.”
“Uh-huh. And what will they say when I show up to the business-related meetings?”
“That I’m a lucky man?”
She gave a delicate snort. “You will tell them at lunch.”
He could tell this was a sticking point for her. Her chin was up in the air and her back straight as a board, a sign of stubborn refusal to budge on a point. One he recognized after a year spending hours with her on a daily basis. “Yes, of course.”
She nodded. “Give me a half hour to wash off the travel and change. More casual for lunch with a friend, I assume?”
“Probably a good idea.”
She pulled a dress from the closet where she’d just finished hanging it. He stayed where he was as she gathered other things and crossed the room.
“By the way…”
Her voice pulled him out of the daze he’d been in after the conversation hadn’t gone quite the way he’d expected. Now she stared at him from the doorway to the bathroom.
He raised his eyebrows in question.
“Congrats on being the best man at the ceremony.” She winked and closed the door behind her.
CHAPTER 5
“You should probably know this is not a love match.” Castor tossed the words in her general direction as they crossed the lobby of the hotel.
She kept the pleasant smile plastered to her lips despite the desire to glare at the man beside her. “You could have mentioned that sooner,” she muttered between clenched teeth.
“Great dress by the way.”
While she did like the knee-length blush colored dress with a sweet belt tied in a bow at her waist, he wasn’t going to distract her. “Thank you, but you’re not off the hook.”
“Too late, they’re right over there.” He grinned. “Marrok.” He held up a head to catch his friend’s attention.
The werewolf couple were waiting for them in white wicker chairs on the large porch at the front of the hotel. Leia was glad she’d changed, as both were dressed casually. Like Castor, Marrok wore jeans and a button-up with the long sleeves rolled back. His bride, whose first name Leia didn’t know, wore a stylish single-piece pant suit in a striking blue. They appeared to be deep in serious conversation until Castor hailed them. They stood, and Leia noted both were tall and lean, typical build for werewolves.
After the two men shook hands, Marrok introduced Tala, his bride-to-be. The male werewolf’s voice had a dark rasp to it, like a rumbling growl. She’d be nervous of him, but deep laugh lines around his eyes spoke of an inherent kindness. She decided she liked him.
“Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.” Leia offered her felicitation to them both.
Marrok simply nodded. The small smile she received from Tala was shadowed by a wariness in the elegant blonde’s stunning green eyes. Castor had said this wasn’t a love match, but was the bride reluctant?
Castor turned to Leia, his hand at her back, warm through the thin silk of her dress. She resisted the urge to lean into that hand and straightened away from him.
“I’d like to introduce you both to my Executive Assistant, Lyleia Naiad.”
She nodded to Marrok. Deep blue eyes gazed back at her from under thick black eyebrows. He had silver at his temples, not unusual for an alpha, even a relatively young one. She placed his age around thirty-two.
“Assistant?” Marrok asked, his gaze moving from her back to Castor.
“Yes. Change of plans at the last minute.”
Marrok laughed. “In other words, you dumped Pamela.”
Castor shrugged.
Marrok looked back at Leia with a grimace. “I hope my changing your rooms to a suite isn’t an issue, Lyleia?”
She gave him a serene smile. “Call me Leia, please. And not at all. I’m a nymph, which means I have a natural resistance to demigods.”
“Oh really?” Marrok’s drawl cut through Castor’s laugh.
She tipped her head up. “Of course. In fact, it’s why I was hired to be his assistant. Dark, movie-star good looks, charming personality, and adorable dimples do nothing for me whatsoever.” She gave Castor’s arm a patronizing pat even as she lied through her teeth.
His eyebrows winged high. “You think my dimples are adorable?”
She rolled her eyes. “You would only pay attention to that part.” She turned back to the other couple, who’d watch the exchange with wide-eyed interest.
Marrok led them outside and around to the valet parking. “It was a good idea to bring a shield to the c
eremony anyway.”
“A shield?” Leia asked.
“The unclaimed women will be naturally drawn to his power during the ceremony,” Tala explained. “He’ll have to beat them off with a stick even with you there.”
“So now I’m a stick?” She shook her head at Castor who was trying his best not to laugh. “I think I need a raise.”
They got into a sleek grey Jaguar sedan with Marrok behind the wheel. The werewolves’ scents, which had been subtler in the open air. swirled around them, reminding Leia of warm days in fresh plowed fields of fertile black earth, like the land close to her spring in Greece. She inhaled appreciatively, giving a small hum of contentment. “You smell like home.”
Tala turned from her seat in the front. “Most people say we smell like dirt.”
Leia shook her head. “I like it.”
“You said you’re a nymph?”
“I was.” Five-hundred years of facing that fact gave her the strength to keep the tremor out of her voice. “My spring was buried under lava and destroyed.” Thanks to a werewolf.
She kept that last part to herself.
“I see. I’m sorry,” Tala murmured.
An off tone to Tala’s voice caught Leia’s attention. “Have you met a nymph before?”
“No. But your gifts gave me an idea. I was wondering if you might help us.”
She was hard-pressed to think of what a nymph could do for a werewolf. “I’d be happy to, if I can. What do you need?”
Tala and Marrok exchanged a glance. “In order to explain that, let me fill you in on the reasons behind our marriage first,” Tala said.
“Okay.”
“Marrok and I are the alphas of our packs.”
“Castor told me. I know female alphas are rare. I’ve never heard of two alphas marrying. Is it common?”
“Our union is…unusual,” Marrok said.
Tala’s lips thinned in a grim line. “Our packs have been at each other’s throats for centuries. Marrok and I see this mating as an opportunity to end that fighting.”
Leia could appreciate the goal, but these two had a tough road ahead. “Who will be alpha of the combined pack? If you don’t mind my asking.”
“We will lead together,” Marrok said.
“As you can guess, there are factions within both packs against our mating.”
Made sense. A feud lasting that long didn’t die a quick death. “I fail to see how a nymph could help…”
Marrok pulled the car into the parking lot outside a hotel situated above a lake with beautiful views of the valley. The hotel had dark wood siding and white trim, blending beautifully with the surrounding mountains. A wide porch graced the front of the main building. Was there a building in this town that didn’t have a spectacular view?
Marrok parked, shut off the car, and turned in his seat. “There is a prophesy among our kind that two alphas—a male and a female—would unite our people in peace.”
She glanced back and forth between them, still not following.
“The sign would be a display of nature as has never been seen before,” Tala added.
Oh. “You want me to help put on a show?” she asked slowly while cringing inside.
“Maybe you could recruit other nymphs in the area?” Castor suggested.
She dropped her gaze to her hands clenched in her lap. “It’s likely they won’t even talk to me.”
“Why?” Tala asked.
“I lost my spring. They don’t see me as a sister any more. If anything, I’m a disease among them to be gotten rid of as quickly as possible. I might be contagious.” After over a thousand years of practice, she was able to keep the pain that still ripped through her out of her voice.
Castor must have caught a trace of how shattered she still was, though, because he reached over to cover her hands with his. “I didn’t know that.”
“Why do you think I needed a job as your EA? Or never talk about my past?”
The warmth of Cas’s hands on hers and his silent support seeped into her, warming her soul from the inside out. Thawing places she’d long through frozen inside her.
She pulled her shoulders back and raised her gaze from her lap to the couple seated before her. Their cause was worth her pride; she’d focus on that, rather than her pathetic little story. She was a stronger woman because of her past, dammit. Time to start acting like it. “I will try. That’s all I can promise.”
Tala laid her hand on Leia’s knee. “Thank you.”
CHAPTER 6
Wow. Interesting choice. Leia approved of the idyllic chapel Tala and Marrok had selected for the marriage ceremony.
The small building was positioned on top of a large rock base, built of the same granite as the rock, almost as though it had been placed there since the beginning of time. Below was a creek-fed lake reflecting the blues of the sky and the spire of the chapel.
Such a natural, gorgeous setting was perfect for this event. After the ceremony Marrok’s and Tala’s family and friends would follow them into the wooded mountainside for the mating ceremony and celebrations illuminated by the full moon. The following day a more formal reception would be held at the Stanley Hotel, where they were staying.
This location, surrounded by nature, also gave her ample opportunity to find her sisters. She could sense them, even from the car in the parking lot.
Castor placed his hand over hers, calling her attention to how she’d been wringing them. “Do you want me to come with you?”
Not really. This was sure to end in humiliation. However, the nymphs might be more likely to listen to a demigod than her. While they had the ability to resist a god, most nymphs didn’t. They were attracted to the power the same as other women. As a son of Zeus, power practically dripped off him.
“Yes.” Decision made, she hopped out of the car. Time to get this over with.
One thing Castor was good at was shutting up when he needed to. In silence, he followed her down around the chapel to where the creek met the lake. At the edge of the water, not quite touching, she paused and closed her eyes, absorbing the energy swirling around her this close to fresh water for the first time since she’d lost her own spring.
She breathed in the pure scent of it, her skin tingling with vitality. The gods knew she missed this. Crouching down, she waved her hand over the surface of the river, not touching. That would be rude.
“Sister.” She whispered the word.
No response.
“Sister. Will you speak with me?”
She braced herself for silent rejection, or worse, some form of denouncement. What she wasn’t ready for was a dripping wet woman, clothed in a diaphanous white gown, to launch herself out of the river and wrap her arms around Leia’s neck.
“Leia!” the nymph squealed.
Leia held up a hand to hold off Castor, who’d stepped forward, obviously confused by the scene. “Hello, Calliadne.” Leia pulled back to smile at her sister, Naiad. “I didn’t know you’d relocated.”
The adorable red head—now dry as a bone and perfectly coifed and made up, a trick Leia continued to use every time she got out of the shower—waved a dismissive hand. “The Nile was getting too crowded with all my father’s offspring. I much prefer this lovely place. But, Lyleia, as much as my heart sings to see you again, you need to leave. Quickly.” She glanced behind her.
Not good.
“I love you,” Calli continued, “But there are others who don’t want your kind of luck.”
“I said no to a god, and he buried my spring under a river of lava.” Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Castor’s twitchy movement in reaction to her words. She ignored him. “That’s not luck, Calli, that’s harassment.”
Calli grimaced. “I know.” She flicked a glance toward Castor. “Which is why I’m surprised you’re here with a demigod.”
“I’m his Executive Assistant.”
“Lucky you.” Calli winked at Castor who, in turn, sent Leia a confounded look.
&nb
sp; “We’re here for a werewolf mating ceremony, and I could use your help.”
The water in the river started to gurgle and ripple as it flowed faster. Calli shifted nervously. “We don’t have time.”
A breeze swept through the trees in a shoosh of pine needles. The Naiads in the area certainly were stirred up by Leia’s presence among them. “Will you meet me later?”
“You have to go. They’re holding back because it’s you.”
The gurgling changed to a rush, and the water was pouring in and pooling. Leia stepped back, careful to keep her feet dry. “In town at the Stanley Hotel. Please, Calli?”
“All right. Yes. Tonight at 5pm.”
Leia reached out and squeezed her sister’s hand. “Thank you.”
She stepped back to find Castor glaring at the water and the woods with a dark scowl. She tugged on his elbow. “Let’s go.” He didn’t move. Another tug. “Castor.”
Those blue eyes shifted to her face. “Yes.”
He placed his hand at the small of her back, that one gesture lending to the strength she needed to walk back to the car with her head held high. She wasn’t afraid, just sad.
She got in the back of the car. Tala and Marrok, who wouldn’t have had a full view of what had gone on, but couldn’t have failed to notice the strange water and wind activity, stared at her, a hundred questions in their eyes.
“I’m meeting with Calliadne tonight. We’ll see how that goes.”
The drive back to the hotel was a quiet one, and they said their goodbyes in the hallway. As soon as they got to their room, Leia snagged a chilled water from the fridge and collapsed on the couch. A long gulp had her feeling marginally improved. A bath would be even better.
“Are you going to explain what happened back there?”
“I’m not particularly in the mood for a postmortem right now.”
He crossed his arms. “Why would the other nymphs be mad at you?”
She sighed. “Not mad, afraid.”
“Why?”
“Because all nymphs fear what happened to me. Gods aren’t always good news for us. We’re also a superstitious lot and fear another’s misfortune will be visited on us. A nymph who has a negative run-in with a god is shunned.”