by Bianca D'Arc
In the normal course of business, the Goddess didn’t really allow for such pairings. After all, She was the one who guided those fated to be mates together. If there was no call for beings of such power, then those kinds of matings tended not to happen. At all.
That an ancient vampire—and Dante was someone Ray remembered from a very long time ago—had found his One, true mate, among the shifters was very significant. Ray supposed the cross-species mating had started with himself and Evie, but theirs wasn’t as uncommon a combination. Fey could mate with humans, though it was often heartbreaking for the fey involved when their human lover died of old age. Fey often found companionship with longer-lived shifters, though matings such as Evie’s and Ray’s weren’t quite as common.
Bloodletters most often found their One, after centuries of searching, among humans. Not since Elspeth had been wreaking her havoc on the mortal realm had a bloodletter truly mated with a shifter. Not to Ray’s knowledge. And bloodletters mating with fey had been strictly forbidden, though during the battle with Elspeth, it had taken such a partnership to send the enemy to the farthest realms of existence. It had killed the bloodletter and her fey mate to do it, but they’d managed the incredible feat of magic…together.
“We’re living in interesting times again, it seems,” Duncan went on while Ray’s mind spun. Duncan raised his glass, and it felt like, in that moment, only they two, of all the people gathered around that dinner table, really understood the threat that lay just beyond the safety of this blessed house and this moment out of time.
The Mother of All increased the number of her Knights only when She knew they would be needed. Had Ray been so proud of his son’s achievement only to have to worry that Josh would be sent into battle before he was fully trained?
Ray vowed to have that talk about relocating with Evie before another sunrise. He had to be there for his son now, as he hadn’t been there before. Ray had a lot of time to make up for with Josh and much to teach him about how to survive the threats he might face as a Knight of the Light.
Duncan left after dinner, though he’d been invited to stay overnight. He’d graciously turned over Josh’s training to Ray with words of encouragement and happiness. He’d also agreed to check back with them from time to time as Josh’s training progressed. Duncan could be of great help, even if he wasn’t to be Josh’s primary teacher.
They stayed up late talking after Duncan left, but eventually, everybody said goodnight and headed for their rooms. Now was the time, Ray knew, that he had to talk with Evie about where they would live. He didn’t think she’d object to moving closer to their son, but he was working hard at remembering he was part of a couple.
For so many years, whatever decisions he’d had to make while trapped in faerie—and there hadn’t been many—he’d made on his own. He’d been alone there, but for his tormentor.
But now, he was back in the mortal realm and had Evie’s feelings and plans to consider. He loved that. He loved being part of a couple, even though it meant a slight delay in finalizing and implementing plans because he had someone to talk things over with. How he’d missed that. How he’d missed her.
As they entered the guest suite they were sharing on one side of the big farmhouse, Ray took the opportunity to broach the subject. He wanted her full agreement and input. They were a team. They would make the important decisions like this, as a team.
“If I’m going to be teaching Josh,” he began, pausing just inside the doorway, “it would be a whole lot easier if we were nearby.”
Evie turned to look at him, a smile on her face. “I’m glad you brought that up. I was wondering when you’d get around to asking me what I thought.”
“Oh, honey, don’t be like that.” He smiled, moving in on her, then wrapping his hands around her waist, pulling her closer. “I planned this all out. I wanted to talk to you in private first before I made any stupid assumptions and blurted them out in front of everyone. We should present a united front, shouldn’t we?”
“Hmph.” She gave him a sly look. “That was your master plan?” He could tell she was just teasing him. She wasn’t really mad, which was a relief. They hadn’t been back together long enough to fight over something they probably both agreed on, anyway.
“Well, it was a plan. Not sure if it was masterful.” He shrugged as she chuckled.
“When Duncan started talking about how you were going to take over Josh’s training, I kind of figured a move might be in order. Deena’s tied to this land for the moment. She can’t just up and move to wherever. Josh explained a bit of that to me already. It’s why he moved in here, rather than them finding a place together somewhere else,” Evie explained. “If Deena’s tied to this location and Josh is bound to Deena, then it only makes sense that, in order to teach him, you’d have to do it here. And I suppose commuting from North Dakota is probably out of the question.”
“Not entirely.” Ray tilted his head, knowing he needed to give Evie all the facts. “I could port in and out if Fred and Deena don’t object to my using the standing stones for cover. It’s risky. Any one of my ports could cause a ripple that our enemies might trace back to us, but I could theoretically travel back and forth every few days. The big problem with that scenario is that either you would travel with me or I would have to leave you behind in North Dakota, on your own for days at a time. I really don’t want to do that. We’ve been apart long enough. And that’s all presupposing you want to live at the cabin in Fred’s territory and he’s agreeable to my use of the stone circle.”
“I live much closer to town now, actually,” Evie said, almost offhandedly.
“I don’t suppose there’s a convenient set of standing stones near your new home?” He had to chuckle because such things were rare, indeed.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Evie told him with a shake of her head. “But I agree. I don’t want to be separated from you either, and I don’t like the idea of commuting back and forth. The danger of discovery is a problem, but I also don’t like the idea of never knowing where I’m going to be from one day to the next. My wolf likes to know the bounds of her territory. She needs a sense of belonging in one place.”
“Then, have you given any thought to relocating somewhere nearby?” Ray asked, hopeful. “We could buy our own place around here somewhere and be on hand for Josh and Deena when they need us, but still have our own home. Our own territory. How does that sound?”
Evie hugged him. “I think it sounds just about perfect.”
He kissed her, then, as he backed her toward the big bed. He lay her down upon it and showed her all over again how much he loved her.
They made love several times that night, sleeping sporadically, but it was enough. It was enough for Evie just to be in her mate’s arms, safe in his embrace, having him here with her, where he belonged. Where they lived didn’t matter as much as that they lived together, in the same realm of existence.
Just before dawn, she woke him with nibbling kisses all over his chest…and lower. She took him into her mouth, rousing him in every way. She loved how responsive he was to her, even after he’d claimed she’d tired him out completely.
Shifters were demanding lovers, which was part of the reason they didn’t often mate outside their own species. Few humans could keep up. But Ray was proving the fey had every inch the sexual energy of any shifter…and more than most.
Ray flipped them over, his greater strength appealing to her inner wolf. She liked that her mate was the Alpha in their relationship, though she knew theirs was a partnership, not a dictatorship. They were perfect together and had been since the day she’d first stumbled across him—a stranger in the small town near which she’d grown up.
Back in those days, she hadn’t really liked being around humans all that much, but she’d had a part-time job in a convenience store, working the night shift. One dark night, Ray had walked in and changed her life forever. He’d recognized what she was right away, though she hadn’t ever considered she
’d meet a real live fey in her lifetime.
It had taken Ray a few days before he admitted what he was, and even longer before he told her about being a Chevalier. They’d already run away together, heading south, out of Canada, before he’d come clean about his commitment to the Mother of All. It had been okay, though. Evie had always had a strong respect for the Goddess and counted herself blessed to have a mate who not only respected Evie’s beliefs, but served the Goddess as a warrior for good. She’d been proud of her clever, skilled mate once she’d known.
But then, he’d disappeared, leaving her in a new country, pregnant and alone. She’d always known in her heart that he hadn’t meant for anything like that to happen, but even so…
Ray distracted her from her twirling thoughts by the simple act of joining with her yearning body. He came into her, coming home. Making them whole.
Then, he began to move, and the sparks of magic began to swirl around them anew. They’d managed to tone down the light show over the past hours, but they still needed a bit of practice at keeping it completely under wraps.
Ray had cast a ward of protection around the room before he’d taken her to bed, making sure that any magic they did spark would be contained within the room. He’d explained that Deena had wards on the property itself and her home, but Ray was only being polite in containing their own magic within Deena’s walls. Apparently, there were special rules for magical house guests that Evie had known nothing about.
Ray drove her to the stars, biting her shoulder at the end, making her inner wolf want to howl in joy. He might’ve picked that little biting thing up from her, but as long as he didn’t mind, she certainly wasn’t going to complain. Far from it. She loved it when he got all primal on her. Ray might be fey, but he was definitely a warrior when it counted, and that appealed to her on every level.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Deena’s family started showing up the next morning. They showed up in a big ol’ rented minivan, driven by a young man who looked human but had the distinct whiff of magic about him. When he jumped out of the minivan and immediately grabbed Deena for an off-the-ground whirling hug, Josh stopped what he was doing to watch with narrowed eyes and a small growl that only Ray could hear.
They’d been out in the barnyard practicing sword forms since the sun had risen, getting in a few hours of work before the relatives showed up, but Ray hadn’t counted on them arriving so soon. Ray took Josh’s practice swords—sticks that Ray had whittled down to the approximate size and shape of swords to use until they had suitable equipment sourced and sent here through circuitous channels—and prodded his son to go meet the in-laws.
“That better be her brother or he’s going to lose a limb,” Josh growled under his breath as Ray patted him on the back and sent him on his way.
Evie came over to watch the proceedings. She’d exited the house with Deena when they’d heard the minivan pull up, but like Ray, Evie had hung back to allow time for Deena to greet her family before springing the new in-laws on everybody. Ray put his arm around Evie’s waist after he stowed the improvised practice swords into a corner of the barn where nobody would stumble across them accidentally.
They weren’t dangerous or anything, but they did look more like swords than sticks now. Best to keep them away from those who might ask too many questions. Ray wasn’t sure how open Deena or Josh could be about their callings with her family. In fact, he didn’t know much about her family at all except that they were magical. Some were human, some were mages, and more than a few were servants of the Goddess.
“They look like a fun bunch,” Evie observed, smiling as they watched Deena introduce Josh to her family.
“Good thing that tall one is Deena’s little brother. Josh is rather protective,” Ray observed wryly.
“The mating is new. The wolf is very protective. Especially now,” Evie explained. “Cut him some slack.”
“Oh, I wasn’t criticizing. I know just how Josh feels. When I first saw you interacting with Fred, I wanted to rip him apart,” Ray admitted.
Evie turned to look up at him, wonder on her pretty face. “Really?” She paused a beat, searching his expression. “I’m flattered.” She turned back to watch the family reunion, but not before Ray caught a rather smug smile of satisfaction curve her lips.
It wasn’t too much longer before Deena looked around and motioned Ray and Evie over to meet her family. Josh was off to one side, deep in conversation with the brother, so Ray and Evie got to meet the others first.
“This is my mother, Melanie, and my dad, Peter,” Deena introduced them as they smiled and offered handshakes and hugs. “My sisters, Barbara and Laurie, and my aunt, Gladys, and her husband, Geoff.”
Ray offered to help the men with the suitcases as Evie settled in for some girl talk with the ladies in the group. If Ray didn’t miss his guess, each and every one of those females was a priestess at one level or another. All had that fey influence on their energies, as did the brother, who came over to help with the bags. Josh introduced him as Gabe, and Ray was able to take the younger man’s measure a bit, through their handshake.
The other two men were married into the family line. They were both humans with magic of their own, though Ray would have to be around them a bit more before he could gauge how much power each of them could command. He could do it with a quick magical query, but that was considered rude among friends, and if these men were married into a family so heavily laden with priestesses, Ray was pretty sure they were all right. The Mother of All kept a special eye on Her servants, as he well knew. Ray had no doubt the Goddess had Her hand in both of the older ladies’ marriages.
It didn’t take long to bring in the bags and set them in the rooms Deena had prepared on the other side of the big farm house. Every spare inch was serving as guest space now that there were three other couples and three singles staying here with Josh and Deena, and a few more were expected to trickle in over the next day or two until everyone was gathered for the Solstice celebration.
The day was spent catching up with, and learning more about, Deena’s family. Wedding plans were discussed in some detail, and when that kind of talk started, the men found excuses to go outside and do manly things.
“The last thing I want to do is talk about matching the tablecloths to the napkins,” Geoff muttered as the five males went out into the cold of the day, ostensibly to check the barn and see if anything needed fixing.
Josh was greeted by the critters around the barn as if he was their papa, and he spent a few minutes patting noses and stroking coats. Ray stood back and watched, marveling at how the small herd of mismatched animals had come to welcome the protection of an apex predator.
“I’ve never seen anyone but my sister be so accepted by her little tribe. Even the other girls don’t get that kind of reception,” Gabe observed, leaning one foot on the fence rail a couple of feet from where Ray had stopped.
“Josh is their protector,” Ray said. “And perhaps they sense the wild spirit in his own soul.”
“But he’s a wolf, right?” Gabe objected. “I’ve never seen anything like that before, between a predator and its prey.” He gestured toward where the two alpacas were eagerly receiving scratches behind their fluffy little ears.
Ray had to chuckle as the female alpaca leaned forward to nibble on the ends of Josh’s hair. She certainly was friendly toward a being she probably should’ve been running from. But then, the animals had probably learned over the past weeks that Josh was there to keep them from all harm, not cause it. What he hadn’t really expected was that Josh would take to the animals as much as they apparently took to him. That had been surprising to Ray.
“My son is still very much a mystery to me, but even the simplest creatures can recognize friend from foe. He’s won them over. How? I’m not really sure,” Ray told him.
The other two men had finished wandering around the barnyard, gazing up at the roof and checking the hinges on everything, then circled back to the fe
nce where Ray and Gabe leaned. They also leaned against the sturdy wooden split rail fence, their breath hanging in the air as a frosty cloud each time anyone spoke. The weather had turned overnight, and it was starting to feel downright chilly, but nobody seemed to mind. It was a glorious day with not a cloud in the sky and temperatures cold enough to send an invigorating chill through a man’s skin.
“We really have no excuse to stay out here,” Deena’s father, Peter, observed. “Josh seems to have repaired anything that might’ve needed fixing. Usually, that’s our job—and our excuse to get out from underfoot when the ladies want to chat on their own.”
“I’m pretty sure they figured that out long ago, Pete,” Deena’s uncle, Geoff, replied. “Don’t worry about it. If they want us to come back in, they know where to find us.”
“But it’s cold out here,” Pete replied, grinning.
“That’s easily remedied,” Ray said, waving a hand and bringing a small bit of warm air from the surrounding area to puff gently around their little group.
It was a negligible use of magic that wouldn’t draw any attention, especially as they were well within Deena’s protective wards here, and the small kindness might help Ray make friends with the in-laws.
Three sets of eyes turned to look at Ray wearing various expressions of astonishment. Hmm. Maybe he’d overdone it? Or miscalculated how readily these men might accept Ray’s magical nature? Probably the latter.
“You really are fully fey, aren’t you?” Gabe blurted out. Of the three men, he seemed the least fearful.
“I’m afraid so.” Ray frowned a bit, regretting drawing such attention now that his little trick hadn’t gone over the way he’d intended.
“It’s cool,” Gabe replied nonchalantly. “Grandma does stuff like that all the time. It’s just a little spooky to mere mortals who don’t have that kind of command over the natural world. Weather work is a specialty among human mages. My dad is a potions master,” Gabe nodded toward his father, Peter. “And Uncle Geoff specializes in teaching the younger generation about spell work.”