“What are they talking about?” Max asked me.
“I’ll fill you in later, okay?”
Shade turned to Mom, and hugged her. “Cyn filled us in on Kristoff’s connection with Rosencratz. She totally went above and beyond to help us find you. She’s waiting back at headquarters with Miss Daisy and her kittens. I’m sorry this took so long. We’ve been searching for you all over Manhattan.”
Mom nodded. I tried to stand, but Max held me firmly in place. “You’re not going anywhere. Sit still.”
Mom went into my father’s arms, and placed her hand on his chest. “I’m fine now.” Their expressions were filled with love. I never thought I’d see that again, and it made me feel complete on some level, as if things were gonna work out okay for our family, after all. “I think Samantha’s earned a few weeks’ vacation, don’t you, Shade?”
Shade looked down at me. “She’s right. Take some time off. I need you at your best before you try to take on the selkie mission in Ireland.”
I nodded. R&R sounded pretty damn good about right now. Max pulled me closer, the expression on his face grim.
“Kitty Ra-Ra, you’re due to report in for basic in one week. Commander Caine has officially accepted you into the Were Division, which makes sense because you people are always shifting forms and shit. Let’s see if you’re man enough to handle basic and qualify for his division.”
“How about we make it two weeks, Shade? I want to spend some time with my family,” Mom said, resting her hand on Max’s shoulder. “And that clearly includes Max now.”
Oh, boy. She noticed. I’ll have a lot of explaining to do once we all get back home.
Shade put his hands on his hips. “Fine, Helmina. Make Kitty-Boy swear to quit texting me about the HWB manual, and it’s done.”
I grinned. Max chuckled. “Someone’s gotta watch out for this organization.”
“It was cute when you didn’t have opposable thumbs. Now, it’s just a pain in my ass. Cut it out. Somebody get a medic over here to see to my agent,” Shade shouted, then he stalked off. Shade took a couple of his best agents with him and they disappeared into the night, hot on Kristoff’s trail. The sadistic vampire had to pay for his sins.
The thing was, with the Hunters’ Watch Brigade, there was never time to rest. Someone was always up to no good, and when they were, especially when it was supernatural no-good, we’ll be there to stop them.
Chapter 32
Max
MAX WATCHED OVER Samantha all night. They were discharged from HWB headquarters the next day after all the monks who worked for Rosencratz had been rounded up by HWB agents.
“What should we do now?” Sam asked, as they all walked out into the busy streets of Manhattan.
“Since Max has two weeks before he ships out for basic training, let’s all go back to the farmhouse and spend it there,” Helmina said.
Poseidon smiled, and pulled her close. “A couple of days down at my castle are in order too. I want to show you guys off to my brothers so they can see how this falling in love thing is supposed to work.”
“I’d like that,” Max said.
“Me too,” Sam said, looking around at the city. “Maybe we can come back here someday, and spend some time sightseeing. Frankly, I’m over New York for the moment. Let’s go spend some time at the beach.”
So, they did. They spent the next two weeks on the shores of Cape Cod, swimming, eating seafood by bonfires on the beach, sleeping in the hammock, and acting like a normal family. Poseidon convinced Helmina to come down to his castle for a few days, which was fine with Max. He and Sam spent the private time they had together making love when they could.
Miss Daisy, back in her cat form, taught her new litter of kittens to hunt at the farmhouse. They spent their afternoons chasing the whirligigs out in the yard, and fishing for minnows in the shallows.
Cyn came to visit for suppers, and she and Sam were working on their relationship. Cyn spent a lot of time talking about Shade, which often left Max feeling nauseated. “You shouldn’t date a vampire. Find yourself a good wizard, Cyn, and settle down.”
“That’ll be the day,” Cyn said. “Wizards are nothing but trouble. I prefer the vampire. Okay. I’m off. You two behave yourselves tonight. When’s Mom supposed to be back from the deep?” Cyn asked.
“Tomorrow morning. Our pedicures are scheduled for eleven a.m. Don’t be late,” Sam said.
They hugged, and Cyn left. In Max’s opinion, she couldn’t have gotten out of there fast enough. “You and I need to talk about something. Upstairs. Right now.”
“Does this something have something to do with making love? Because if not, I’m really not interested,” Sam said.
He smacked her bottom playfully, and Sam shrieked, then raced upstairs to their bedroom. He was the luckiest shifter on the planet, and he didn’t want to waste a second of the time they had together. He ran up the stairs after her.
By the time he got into the room, Sam was gloriously naked, and ready for him. He shed his clothes, slipped off his boots, and joined her on the bed. He planted a kiss on his favorite spot on her neck, and she giggled.
When he tugged on her silken skin with his lips, her giggles turned to moans. “You taste so damn good,” he said, then turned his attention to her two perfectly plump breasts.
He tongued her nipples into hard, rosy peaks, and spread her legs with his. She clung to him as they made love, moaning his name over and over until they were both breathless, struggling for air, soaked with sweat, and at the mercy of their passion.
A few hours later, Max finally broached the subject he’d been dreading. “You ship out for your new assignments next week too, right?”
“You know about those?” Sam snuggled her naked body closer to his, draping one arm low over his belly, moving lower with her fingers until she cupped him in her hand.
Max tried to focus. “I saw the hunters’ board at headquarters. I don’t want you going alone.”
She smirked. “I can’t back out now. Besides, what will I do while you’re in basic training?”
“It’s only twelve weeks. I expect you to wait for me. I’ll be signing up officially as your guardian once I’m credentialed.”
“I’ll miss you every minute I’m away from you. I can’t imagine what it’ll be like when you leave here in a few days.”
He kissed the top of her head, and let his hand drift down to cup her breast. He rolled her nipple between her fingers, and she let out a soft sigh. “Me neither. Look, with your record of successful kills for the HWB, you don’t have to take those jobs. You could wait.”
“If I don’t go, Shade will have something to say about it. Let’s not fight, Max. I’ll be fine.”
“According to the manual, you can change your mind at any time before you embark on the mission. Let someone else go in your place. Stay with your dad while I’m gone. Keep your mom company around the farm.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “The way the two of them have been sequestered together for the past few days, the last thing they need is a houseguest. Besides, I’d be bored to tears. Not a good thing for me.”
“It would literally drive me insane if you left the continent without me. If you waited, and no one else picks up the selkies, we could go back to Ireland together, you know.”
“I’ll think about it, Max.” She slung one leg across his hips and straddled him. Her wetness, her heat, made his cock soar to life. He nudged the tip against her entrance, and watched her suck in a tight breath.
“You will?” he asked.
“Mmm . . . hmm . . .” Sam worked herself against the length of him, searching for what she wanted. “On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“Let’s spend a little less time talking.”
His heart soared with her words. �
��Well, let’s just see if I have something left in my bag of tricks that might convince you to see things my way.” He lowered her down onto his shaft, and watched the expression on Sam’s face change to pure bliss.
“This could work,” she said, digging her knees into the mattress for leverage, leaning forward to kiss him, then plunging her hips backward to meet his cock.
He grasped her hips with both hands, and did exactly as she asked.
Epilogue
Max
MAX FROWNED, not so much because of the ache for Sam was wrenching his heart into shards—he was actually dealing with the separation pretty well, as long as he kept busy. He thrust his final part of the HWB paperwork exam into Samson Caine’s hands. “This just isn’t right, commander.”
“What do you mean, it’s not right? You scored one hundred percent on the written portion of the credentialing exam, Maximillion. What’s the problem?” Commander Caine asked, inspecting the papers.
“Problem? The problem is fourteen of these questions are incorrect.”
“Here we go again,” Shade said, snatching the exam papers from Caine’s hands. “What’s wrong, Kitty Boy? This is a perfect score.”
Max shook his head. “I chose the answers you wanted, because they were pretty obvious, but it’s clear whoever wrote this test didn’t even read the HWB manual. I marked the ones that are incorrect. You can’t issue an exam to new recruits if you don’t understand the testing material.”
Shade blanched, and his face turned whiter than usual, if that was possible.
Max spread his hands wide. “Someone needs to rewrite the questions. What are you guys running here, anyway?”
“Oh, geez. I see what you’re doing. Now that the written part of basic is over, you’re afraid to face the physical stuff. You’re afraid your handler is going to kick your ass.”
“I am not,” Max said. Truth was, the next few weeks of his life was gonna be pure hell. Maybe Shade was partially right.
“Why don’t I add some extra weight to your schedule for the next few weeks? After we grind your ass into the mud all day, you can stay up late and rewrite the damn exam. How’s that, Kitty Ra-Ra?”
Actually, he wouldn’t mind. It would keep him busy, keep his mind off of missing Sam, and distract him from worrying about his alleged curse. Still, something about Shade Vermillion just burned his ass. When would he learn to keep his mouth shut, and just blend in with everyone else? He looked back over the classroom. The other recruits snickered at him.
Shade jabbed his index finger toward the other cadets. “Take a seat.”
Max walked back to the classroom chairs.
Caine inspected the papers, and sneered at Shade. “You and I need to talk about what Cadet Ra has pointed out, Vermillion.”
Max had definitely chosen the right division. While the weres didn’t slack physically, and his performance for the next few weeks would be critical to his success, Caine was just. Fair. A pretty wise leader, too, and he didn’t smell like a vampire.
Sure, it crushed Max whenever he saw Caine with his mate Olivia. It always made him think of Sam. The least he could do was fill his empty time with extra work. Too bad she couldn’t help him with basic, the way he’d helped her all those years ago.
Would he wash out when it came to the practical application of the work ahead of him?
Hell no, if for no other reason than just to prove Shade wrong.
“Cadets, you’re to assemble outside where you’ll meet with your new taskmasters for the next portion of basic. Good luck,” Caine said. “Hope to see you on the other side.”
Max trudged outside along with his classmates. Each recruit was assigned a handler, and Max silently prayed to Ra he hadn’t been assigned to Shade.
Handlers could be tough. It was their responsibility to ensure the success of each cadet in the HWB, and working that closely with someone had its own share of troubles.
He closed his eyes, wishing he could fast-forward the next weeks into a mere memory. “Cadet Ra,” the assignment sergeant called his name. He moved up in line, and held his breath.
“You’re assigned to Hunter Silverton, Water Specialist. Good luck.”
Max couldn’t believe his ears. He blinked open his eyes, and Sam stood before him, in her black HWB uniform with her trident in hand. The insignia patch on her left shoulder bore three red stars, and an instructor’s insignia.
“Welcome to the physical portion of training, Cadet Ra. Let’s see if we can make a Hunters’ Watch Brigade agent out of you after all, shall we?”
The End
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Acknowledgements
Because stories take a village to get from author to reader, I want to thank my fabulous critique partner, Bonnie Gill. This series is better because of your contribution, and your magic red pen.
To my amazing husband Carl, one of my first readers.
To my editor, Brenda Chin, who saw the characters in this series in their full potential.
To my publisher, Debra Dixon, for giving me the chance to bring the Hunters’ Watch Brigade to life for our readers.
And finally, to all the readers and supporters of this book, thank you for your time, your reviews, and for spreading the word to other people who need this story on their shelves. You can find me @ PaulaMillhouse.com
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About the Author
PAULA MILLHOUSE was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, where Spanish moss whispers tales in breezes from the Atlantic Ocean to her soul. As a child, she soaked in the sunshine and heritage of cobblestones, pirate lore, and stories steeped in savory mysteries of the South.
She lives in the mountains now, but honors her Southern heritage as a storyteller by sharing high-heat paranormal adventures and urban fantasy with her readers. She writes books where fantasy, romance, and suspense collide. Escape your daily routine with stories where justice does exist, true love is worth fighting for, and happily-ever-afters are expected.
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