by I. T. Lucas
“I’m glad you did.” He lifted the hand that wasn’t hooked up to an IV and kissed the back of it. “If you hadn’t, we wouldn’t have met. It was fate.”
She rolled her eyes. “You keep talking about fate as if it is a real thing. What about fated mates being separated by death when we are supposed to be immortal?”
Leon grinned. “You said we.”
“I know what I said. Now, answer me.”
“Immortality means that we don’t get sick, our bodies don’t age, and we recover rapidly from most injuries, but we are still flesh and blood, and therefore can be killed, just not easily. No one can regrow a new head or a heart, not even us.”
“What about the gods?”
“Same thing. That’s why except for two, all the rest are gone.”
Ana burned with curiosity about the gods and what had happened to them, but the past could wait for later. Right now, she needed to learn more about her own future.
“The truelove mate thing. Isn’t it just a myth?”
“The bond is very real. So much so that mates can’t tolerate being separated for more than a few days even after years of being together, and at the beginning of their relationship not at all.” A smirk lifted the corners of his kissable lips. “When the bond between us solidifies, you will no longer think of any other guy as hot. You will not feel attraction toward anyone other than me.” He leaned and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “I can’t wait for that to happen, so I can finally relax and stop thinking about maiming Bowen and Julian. I happen to be very fond of both.”
She chuckled. “What about you?”
“Same thing. I only have eyes for you, baby. No one is hotter or sexier than my mate.”
Her lips twitching with a stifled smile, she lifted her hand and touched a finger to his lips. “You sound so sure that I’m your mate, and yet you never asked me if I want to be yours.”
He frowned. “You don’t?”
“I didn’t say that. But you can’t just assume that I am. You need to ask.”
“Do you want to be mine?”
“That depends,” she teased him. “You’re on probation, mister. No more lying, and no more half-truths. I want the truth and nothing but the truth. Not even white lies. When I ask you whether I look good in an outfit, don’t say that I do if you think that I don’t, just because you don’t want to upset me. I need to know that I can trust you completely and in everything. Can you do that?”
He nodded solemnly and put a hand over his heart. “I vow to always tell you only the truth, even if it’s brutal.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “But there are things that I’m not allowed to tell you, and there will be more in the future. I’m a Guardian, which is a cross between a soldier and a policeman. I can’t share confidential Guardian information with you. Also, there are things that I really don’t know. I’m not privy to all of the clan’s secrets, nor do I even know all of its history.”
“I can accept that as long as you don’t hide from me anything that you are not explicitly forbidden to share.”
“Deal.”
“Thank you.” She smiled triumphantly. “Now tell me about the gods and how they created immortals and everything else.”
“It will take hours.”
“I’m not going anywhere. If I fall asleep again, you can continue the story when I wake up.” She shifted sideways and patted the spot next to her. “Come lie next to me.”
Kicking his shoes off, Leon lowered the guardrail and climbed on the bed. Bracing on his elbow, he lay on his side and gazed at her with his glowing eyes. “You are so beautiful, my Anastasia.”
“You’re not too bad yourself, my Leon. Now tell me, where did the gods come from?”
“No one knows for sure, but there are several theories.”
60
Stella
Stella lifted the kettle, filled it with water from the faucet, and flicked the switch on.
As she sat at the counter to wait for the water to boil, the front door opened, and Richard strode in.
“You’re early.” She smiled and then glanced at the microwave clock. It wasn’t even four in the afternoon yet, and he was supposed to be at the construction site until five.
As she looked back at Richard, his grim expression didn’t bode well.
“We have a problem.” He dropped his briefcase on the floor next to the counter.
“What happened?”
“You have to tell Kian now.” Richard pulled out a barstool and sat next to her. “He thinks that Emmett made the whole thing up after participating in a Krall adventure in one of the Perfect Match virtual studios.”
“Why would he think that?”
“Because Emmett told him that his people call themselves the Kra-ell.”
This was actually great news. “Maybe he did, and then I don’t have to tell Kian anything because Emmett’s just a crazy guy and has nothing to do with Vrog and his people.”
“Vrog didn’t mention their name?”
She snorted. “Don’t you think I would have remembered such a detail? Especially after the Krall experience we shared.”
“I’m surprised that neither of us has connected the dots. The Krall have a lot in common with what Vrog told you about his people. A female-dominated society of bloodsuckers.”
“Vrog didn’t suck my blood.”
“Are you sure?”
“I blacked out, so no, I can’t be sure. But we hooked up several times before, and he didn’t even bite me. I don’t think they feel the need as strongly as immortals do.”
Richard swiveled the barstool to face her. “I don’t remember if the Krall in our story had more males than females. Do you?”
“No, but the halflings were always born male.” She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Given that we suspect Mey and Jin were fathered by one of Emmett’s people, that’s another way in which the Krall were different from the Kra-ell. The Krall fathered only male children with humans. Did Emmett say that his people had forked tongues and black on black eyes?”
Richard shook his head. “Kalugal would have mentioned that if he had.”
“The stories are similar, but not the same.” Stella crossed her legs and adjusted her skirt. “The question is whether Emmett based his fantasy on the Krall but changed some things, or if the Kra-ell are real, and Syssi got some of the details wrong. I don’t know much about her visions, but maybe she gets just bits and pieces, and her imagination supplies the rest. But in any case, Kian and Turner will figure that out. There is no need for me to come forward.”
“Yes, there is. Whether Emmett knows Vrog or not will help Kian determine whether there are more communities of Kra-ell or if Emmett’s is the only one. But what worries me the most is that they might drop the investigation, which will happen if they conclude that Emmett has used Syssi’s imaginary Krall as a base for his story and only changed a few details.”
“That would be for the best.”
Richard shook his head. “This will eventually come out, and Kian might consider you a traitor for not coming forward with what you know, especially if the Kra-ell come looking for us.”
“Why would they?”
“Because if what Emmett says is true, they have a big problem that our males can solve for them, and he sent them an email telling them all about it. Without the ability to activate their Dormants, they face extinction. Don’t you think that they would do anything in their power to prevent it?”
“What can they do?” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
For some reason, Richard was obsessed with her coming out and telling her story to Kian, but it was not going to help anyone and would only put Vlad’s life in danger.
“They will want to get their hands on our males, kidnapping them like Emmett did to Peter.”
“How will they know where to find us? Peter didn’t tell him our location.”
“True, but we don’t really know what they are capable of. They might have indi
viduals with paranormal talents like remote viewing, or some that we’ve never heard of. Just think of what Mey and Jin can do, and they are not pure-bloods or even hybrids.”
Stella didn’t have an answer for that.
It was a terrifying thought that the pure-bloods might have talents even more extraordinary than Jin and Mey’s. That would make them extremely dangerous. On the other hand, Emmett had eluded them for over thirty years, so maybe they didn’t have special talents that could allow them to find the clan.
Except, capturing Emmett might not have been important to the Kra-ell.
Preventing their extinction was a different story. They would surely use any means they could think of to find a solution for that.
She sighed. “Okay. You win. I’ll tell Kian everything I know.”
61
Eleanor
“Ouch!” Melanie clutched her abdomen and glared accusingly at Eleanor. “You kicked me.”
Eleanor glared back. “You should have blocked me. This is a self-defense class, not a dance studio.”
Kri put a hand on her shoulder. “Perhaps you should sit out the rest of the class. You’re in an aggressive mood today.”
Eleanor flicked her hand off. “I’m in an aggressive mood every day. That’s what we need to bring into a fight to win.”
“No. We need to bring a clear head. A hot head will get you killed.” She motioned toward the two chairs at the back of the classroom. “Sit. It’s not a request.”
Muttering under her breath, Eleanor stomped over to the chair and plopped down.
She was in a combative mood, and a good fight was just what she needed, but no one in the damn class could offer her that. Brundar refused to accept her into the advanced class he was teaching until the current one ended and a new one started, so that was not an option.
Besides, she liked spending time with Kri, her only real friend, and switching classes would mean seeing her less often.
When the class ended, Kri walked over and sat in the other chair. “What happened?”
“Greggory.”
“Did you talk to him?”
“Not since he told me it was over between us.”
“So why are you so angry? You were fine yesterday.”
“Because this morning the spineless jerk left a cardboard box on Vivian’s front porch with all the things that I had over at his place. He didn’t even have the decency to ring the bell and say hi, here are your things, see ya around.”
The nerve of the guy.
“That’s nasty,” Kri agreed. “And juvenile. You’re better off without him. You need to hang out in the café and check out the selection. There is no shortage of eligible bachelors.”
“Yeah, and most of them think that I’m a shrew.”
Kri laughed. “They don’t. They think that you are hot. It’s just that hardly anyone knows you are no longer with Greggory.”
“So what am I supposed to do? Tattoo it on my forehead? I’m free. Come and get me.”
Kri smirked. “That’s not you, Eleanor. You don’t wait around to be chosen. You need to be the chooser.”
“Did you choose Michael?”
“Of course. But to be fair, he flirted with me from the first moment.” Kri sighed. “He was so adorable. But we had our rough patches. He thought that he wasn’t good enough for me, and I thought that he was becoming distant because he resented me for being a better fighter. You know, the whole macho thing. Turned out we were both wrong. Communication is the most important part of a relationship.” She smiled. “Or is it the sex? Both. It’s definitely both.”
“What about respect? Mutual interests? Aspirations?”
“Yeah, that too.” Kri pushed to her feet. “Come on. Let’s grab a coffee. I’ll keep you company in the café while you’re window shopping.”
“I’m not in the mood for that.” Eleanor got up and lifted her duffle bag off the floor. “I mean the window shopping. I’m all for coffee.”
“Why not?” Kri walked out of the classroom. “Moping doesn’t suit you. You’re a go-getter.”
“Right.” Eleanor closed the door behind them and followed Kri down the corridor. “Except, I don’t know what I want to get. Or who.”
Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but she didn’t want to admit that she still thought about Emmett and the strange attraction she’d felt for him. Heck, she still felt it, and last night she'd pleasured herself while imagining what could have happened between them if he hadn’t gotten spooked, and she had been free of guilt over cheating on Greggory. The bastard didn’t even appreciate the effort it had taken to resist Emmett’s pull.
“You’re still thinking about him.” Kri cast her a sidelong glance. “I mean Emmett, not Greggory.”
“Busted. How did you know?”
Smirking, Kri tapped her nose. “You get excited when you think about him.”
Damn. That was what Greggory had said. “I don’t get it. I’m an immortal now, and I don’t smell people’s emotions unless they are really strong. How can you smell my very slight arousal?”
“I don’t smell that.” Kri scrunched her nose. “I smell the excitement, and I can hear your heartbeat accelerating. You should ask Kian to let you see Emmett. After all, you’re immune to his compulsion, and you don’t need to wear earpieces when talking to him. Maybe you could even have Kian assign you to guard him. That would free Arwel, who’s a head Guardian and has better things to do than babysit Emmett.”
“I’m not a Guardian yet.”
“True, but you are an experienced operative. I think you have a better chance of getting him to talk than any of the guys.”
“Why? Because I’m a woman?”
“Of course.” Kri pushed out her impressive cleavage. “Boobs make men stupid. And the larger the cup size, the stupider they get.”
62
Kian
“Please, take a seat.” Kian motioned toward the conference table.
Stella looked like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her hands trembling so badly that Richard had to take the purse from her and help her sit down.
Kian walked over to the bar refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water for his guests.
“You said that it was important.” He put one in front of Stella and handed the other to Richard.
“It has to do with the captured cult leader,” Richard said. “Stella has some information that might shed more light on his claims.”
Kian lifted a brow. “I didn’t know that you'd participated in the retreat.”
“I didn’t. I’ve never met Emmett Haderech. But I met another member of his community.” She swallowed. “Not from Safe Haven. From the original one.”
She couldn’t be referring to the Kra-ell. That was impossible.
“What do you mean?”
Stella swallowed audibly.
Richard patted her hand. “Just tell the story and be done with it.”
She reached for the bottle of water, but it slipped out of her hand.
“I’ll get it.” Richard twisted the cap off and handed it to her.
“Thank you.” She took a long sip before putting it down. “I met Vrog in a bar in Singapore during my travels in the East. We hooked up several times, and I didn’t notice anything strange about him or suspect that he was anything other than a handsome human.”
Kian straightened in his chair. “You’ve met one of the pure-bloods?”
She looked up at him with rounded, terrified eyes. “I don’t know if he was a pure-blood or a hybrid.” Her chin trembled.
He forced a smile and tried for a soft tone. “That’s okay, Stella. Tell me the rest.”
She nodded. “The last time we were together, our play got a little rough, and I guess he lost control and bit me. I blacked out, and when I woke up, he said that he’d screwed up and that he got me pregnant. Naturally, I dismissed it and tried to find out more about him and where he came from. He said that he could sense the life growing inside of me, a
nd he was surprised that I couldn’t. He wanted me to have an abortion because his leader didn’t allow him to plant his seed in a human. Then he started talking about how it was his duty to serve her and that he’d given her his vow that he wouldn’t impregnate any humans. Long story short, I vowed on my unborn child’s life that I would never tell anyone about him, and we parted ways. I returned home, and nine months later, Vlad was born.” Her chin quivered, and tears started streaming down her cheeks. “I’m terrified that by breaking this vow, I’m putting Vlad’s life in danger. But now that they know about us because of the email Emmett sent his leader, I’m even more terrified that they might come for us, or rather for our males. Fates know what special abilities they have.” She lifted her tear-stained face to Kian. “What if Jin and Mey’s talents pale in comparison to those of the pure-bloods? That’s why I could no longer keep it a secret.”
For a long moment, Kian was speechless. Stella had kept this a secret for over twenty years because she’d vowed on Vlad’s life never to reveal his father’s identity. He couldn’t even get mad at her because he understood it all too well. If he vowed on Allegra’s life, he would rather die than break it. He’d felt the same about the daughter he had so long ago. He had kept her safe throughout her human life, and then had continued safeguarding her children and grandchildren until the line eventually died out.
“You were very brave for coming forward, and I will personally pray to the Fates to reward you for your bravery and keep Vlad safe. I will ask my mother to do the same.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I was sure you would be angry with me for keeping this information from you for over twenty-one years.”
Leaning over, he patted her trembling hand. “I know what it’s like to be a parent, and I understand. What else can you tell me about Vrog?”
With Stella demolishing Kian’s last hopes that Emmett had fabricated the story, he had to switch gears again and put the investigation back on track.