by Ali Vali
“From the blood on your muzzle, I can see you’ve taken the life of something that doesn’t belong to you,” she said as she stood with her sword ready. “I don’t want to hurt you, so take your family and leave. You’ll find plenty of game away from here for your survival.”
She spoke hoping there’d be some kind of recognition, but her experience with young vampires had taught her that the thirst trumped everything and everyone. One of the wolves started to make its way to the right, but she kept her eyes on the other three. It didn’t take long for the aggressor to get behind her, but she still didn’t move her head.
Patience made her wait until she heard the crunch of ice before swinging the sword down and up, catching a paw and slicing through it. The blood sprayed her face, and the other three moved a step back when their pack mate lay wounded at her feet. “All you need to do is move on,” she said as the wounded were started to shift back. The tall woman held her hand against her chest and glared at her.
“Who are you?” she asked in German. “I want to know your name, which will make sucking your eyes out of your skull all the more enjoyable.”
Another one of the pack grew brave and came forward, snapping its jaws as if trying to intimidate her. “What I’m asking isn’t hard, so think about it before you lose someone you care about.” She spread her feet a little and tightened the grip on her sword. The one she was using was coated in silver for the occasion.
“Do you honestly think you can defeat all of us?”
“All of you are outcast from the true pack leader, Queen Beldar. I spoke to your queen before traveling here. She gave me permission to kill every one of you if I wished. She has no use for your disobedience.”
“You know nothing,” the wounded woman yelled as Erik moved toward the closest wolf with her sword ready for a killing blow. “Wait,” the woman screamed louder. She then spoke some kind of language that sounded inhuman and guttural. After hearing her, the other three shifted and stood naked before Erik.
“Start out in the morning and never return here. Start on the path you were meant to run, and Beldar will welcome you home. Your mother misses you.” She took a small jar from her bag and gave it to one of the young men. “Convel, use that, or the silver will eventually poison your blood. The salve will stop it, but it won’t do anything for the scar it’ll leave.”
“This won’t end here.”
“If you want, next time I’ll sink my blade through your heart and leave the job of redeeming your family name to your sister.”
Oakgrove, Present Day
Piper opened her eyes when she felt the baby move, and she hoped Kendal would come back soon. Erik Wolver seemed to be a persona Kendal had used over more than one lifetime and had more than “his” share of tales to tell.
“At least your mom didn’t have some sex scene in this vision,” she said to Hali, who was awake and puckering her lips at her. “You are so beautiful.”
Hali favored Kendal more in coloring and eye color, but Piper could see herself in this child she’d been dreaming about from the first night she’d been conceived. She’d known for months it’d be a girl, but Hali’s future had stayed a dark mystery to her no matter how many times she’d wanted to catch a glimpse of it.
She thought of her own parents and how different her life would be if they’d lived. Pain, though, got you to where you needed to be to recognize true happiness. That’s what Kendal had given her, she’d thought, when she’d wiped out their debt, but in reality they could be penniless and she’d still feel the same. She heard something in the distance and made out Kendal and Charlie galloping toward the house.
“Look, Hali.” She held the baby up and set her on her lap. “With that sword and her comfort in the saddle, you can see that soldier in shining armor beaming through.”
“What did you say, sweetheart?” Piper’s grandmother, Molly, asked as she came out and took the baby into her arms.
“I was saying that it’s not hard to see the pharaoh’s elite soldier if you look that way.” She pointed to the right.
“She does inspire you to either become a writer or just kiss her senseless,” Molly joked.
“If you were five years younger, I’d worry about you,” Piper said, kissing Molly and then Hali. “Will you two behave until I get back?”
“Are you sure you should be riding so soon?”
“The sunrise made it like it never happened. These healing powers make me want to fill up the bedrooms in the house, but for now I’m going with that kissing-her-senseless idea you had.” She waved and headed down before Kendal dismounted.
“Charlie,” she heard Kendal say before he made it out of the front drive. “Make sure those guys take their patrol seriously. I don’t want my family harmed.”
“I’ll let you know if we find anything. Good morning, Mama,” Charlie said when she stepped outside. “Congratulations, and I can’t wait to meet her.”
“We’ll all have dinner tonight, and you can fight my grandparents for her, Uncle Charlie.” She held her hand over her eyes to cut the glare and smiled up at Kendal. “You’re using a saddle today? Is there room up there for me?”
Kendal dismounted and removed Ruda’s saddle before lifting her up. They headed for the gate and the levee, which was now one of the areas their new staff was patrolling and making off-limits to any outsiders. Ruda made quick work of the slope, and Kendal held her as she headed for the clump of trees that went all the way to the waterline.
She fell into Kendal’s arms and followed her to the most secluded spot Kendal had carved out for them. “Did you find anything?” she asked as Kendal spread Ruda’s blanket out.
“We might have a wolf problem,” Kendal said, sitting with her back against a big willow.
“That makes sense.” She straddled Kendal’s legs. “I had another waking dream about Erik Wolver and his many exploits.”
“You’re not pinching me, so it couldn’t have been too bad,” Kendal joked.
“You’re hilarious, but no. You were in the mountains, and you fought a big wolf and cut her. The wound caused her to shift to human form, and you warned her to move on. Even though she’s a werewolf, you scarred her. We’ll get into how I’ve only seen that in a movie later.”
“Convel Lupo is who you’re talking about, and I was sent to hunt her and a few of the weres who’d left with her. They’d broken from their leader because she showed too much restraint when it came to respected territorial boundaries. If you saw her, it’s probably who hunted down a deer on our property after cutting through the fence.”
“Is she dangerous?”
“She doesn’t like me very much, but she knows better than to challenge me again.”
“She actually hates you, and I can’t understand it,” she said, unbuttoning her shirt. “I find you utterly adorable.”
“It’s good to know you aren’t bored with me yet.” Kendal glanced down as Piper started on her shirt next.
“I loved being pregnant, but I’m glad to have the body you’re used to seeing back and to not have anything between us.” She leaned closer and hummed when they met skin to skin. “I will never get enough of you.”
“You are the main reason I’d love to have the ability to dream, but not sleeping means I’ll enjoy every moment of my life with you.” Kendal placed her hand on her ass and picked her up so she could kiss her.
“That’s mighty sappy of you, baby.” Her crotch pressed against Kendal’s abdomen, and she held on to maintain the pressure.
“No one but you believes I’m capable of it.” The way Kendal kissed her always made her feel possessed. It was as if Kendal needed her to realize how much she wanted her, and for the first time in her life she felt wanted and incredibly sexy. No one could fake that kind of response over and over again.
“We aren’t going to be surprised by one of Rolla’s people, are we?” She ran her hand up Kendal’s hair from her neckline and moved her head closer so she could kiss her again.
“Do you need me to touch you?” Kendal tightened her hold on her ass, and Piper sucked in her bottom lip.
“I want you to put your mouth on me and make love to me,” she said, hissing when Kendal laid her back and sucked in a nipple. “Shit.”
“Sorry. Too hard?” Kendal laid her down and stretched out next to her.
“No. Not too hard, so take your pants off and let me feel you.”
Kendal stripped for her, then helped her take off her jeans. She loved seeing Kendal standing naked with the sun shining through the trees, appearing as if she could conquer the world as easily as she had her heart. The emotion that swamped her at times when she saw the way other people looked at Kendal had a way of disappearing when Kendal’s eyes met hers. No matter the years that stretched out before them, Kendal would be hers forever.
“You’re beautiful no matter what. At least I’ve thought so from that very first day when you sat screaming at me.” Kendal touched her, never really lingering in one spot. She seemed to want to revisit every inch of her, and the calluses on her hands from thousands of years of wielding a sword raised goose bumps wherever she touched. “I love you with all my heart.”
“I love you, but I can’t wait anymore.” She spread her legs as Kendal hovered over her with a ravenous expression.
Kendal twirled her tongue around each nipple slowly until both of them were hard and dark pink, but she resisted when she put her hand behind her neck to keep her in place. “Slow down, my love,” Kendal said, coming back up to kiss her.
“That’s a hard demand.” She reached down and touched herself, wanting to get her fingers wet. “See what you do to me.” Kendal closed her eyes when she painted Kendal’s lips with her wetness before allowing her to suck her fingers in. “You make me wet…you make me crave you…and you make me want to beg to be fucked.”
She reached down again and circled her nipples, this time getting the result she wanted when Kendal sucked each one hard enough to make her hips buck up. She’d had other people in her life, but not one of them had ever made her this crazy for their touch. The only answer that made sense to her was that she’d never been in love. That was very true now with Kendal, who fueled every fantasy she’d had from the first time they’d gotten naked together.
“You never have to beg me for that, mon amour.” Kendal moved down her body and used two fingers to open her up, but then she only looked down on her.
“Is something different after the baby?” She began to close her legs in reflex when the old fears that the elixir hadn’t really worked on her came back. No matter how many times the elders had told her she was as immortal as they were, the fact that her eyes were still green haunted her.
“No, but I missed seeing you like this.” Kendal dragged her tongue from her opening slowly over her clit. “I missed the taste of you and how wet you get for me.” Kendal repeated the move with her fingers positioned to keep her open. “That you want me this much makes me hard and crazy.”
“God, when you talk—” She didn’t finish her thought when Kendal flicked her tongue rapidly over her clit and slammed two fingers inside her. “Shit,” she said again, but this time Kendal knew not to stop. The way Kendal filled her made her wish she had the patience to make it last, but she could already feel the tightness in her belly as the orgasm started to burn through her as fast as Kendal’s tongue moved over her clit.
She put her feet on the blanket and thrust her hips into Kendal’s mouth and fingers, wanting everything Kendal was offering.
“Oh God, don’t stop. Don’t fucking stop,” she said, her voice strangled and oxygen-deprived. “Ah,” she said as she reached that place only Kendal had brought her to.
The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was a few birds startled out of the high branches as she screamed Kendal’s name when she came. The sensation of the orgasm made tears run down into her hair, but Kendal seemed to understand that their appearance had nothing to do with sadness or a problem as she moved up and held her. That innate knowledge was one of the best things of being in love.
“I love you,” Kendal said softly as she strengthened her hold.
“You certainly know how.” She kissed Kendal’s collarbone and moved so she was lying on top of her. “And you’re certainly good at it.”
“Thank you, love. It’s always my honor to touch you.” Kendal smiled, seemingly content to stay just like they were, but she wanted her content for other reasons.
“It’s no wonder my grandparents love you almost as much as I do.” She ran her fingers along the curve of Kendal’s cheek and almost cried again at the way Kendal looked at her. “Almost, since I want to be the only one who gets to touch you like this.”
“I’m yours, Piper, forever. Never think otherwise.” Kendal rolled them over, and she went willingly.
She reached down when Kendal kissed her and found what she knew was waiting, smiling at the wet hardness she found. They had to break their kiss so she could reach comfortably, but this was all the proof she needed that Kendal did indeed belong to her.
“I want you,” she said, moving the pad of her wet fingers over Kendal’s steel-hard clit. The military training Kendal had received all those years ago helped her with that cool-and-in-control façade she displayed in every aspect of her life except here. Piper had a way of making her lose that tight hold and let go, and she knew she had done it again when Kendal brought her hips down hard. “And I want all of you.”
The way she stroked her with no gentleness made Kendal flare her nostrils, but when she smiled, probably too smugly, Kendal held herself up with one hand and touched her. After the orgasm she’d had she shouldn’t be this turned on, but she was ready again, and it was a good thing Kendal was so damn strong.
“I can wait, baby,” she said, and Kendal smiled and pinched her clit hard enough to make her almost come.
“Can you?” Kendal tugged up and down.
She put her feet on Kendal’s ass and shook her head, trying desperately not to lose complete concentration as she touched Kendal in return. “I can’t, please,” she said, her voice pitching lower as her need grew again. “Please, baby, keep going.”
Something about making love like this and seeing Kendal’s strength on full display really turned her on, and she kept her eyes open to see Kendal go over the edge. She followed right after her and wrapped her arms and legs around Kendal when she fell into her.
“You think we’ll be okay?” The question came out without permission, but Kendal didn’t move.
“We’ll be fine, and nothing will come between us,” Kendal said, kissing the side of her breast. “Your waking dreams have the ability to be changed, so no matter what comes, we’ll take care of it.”
“When you say it like that, I believe you.”
“Good, but you don’t have time to worry about anything.” Kendal raised her head and slipped her tongue into her mouth. “Not for the rest of the afternoon anyway.”
Chapter Five
Rolla opened his eyes and stared at Bruik for a long moment before he sighed. “How can they have gotten so close? I thought we put measures in place and had a watcher in the region?”
“This generation’s family are the ones who called me,” Rawney said as she brewed more tea for him to bring back his sharp intellect. “We’ve always known the Order of Fuego exists, but their numbers have dwindled steadily through the centuries. The last few are the true believers of the old fairy tales that most have forgotten, or believe to be simply that.”
“So our watchers eventually came to think the same since they waited until someone actually started digging before they bothered to send a message?” Rolla sat back as one of his attendants wiped his chest clean with a warm towel. He wasn’t used to such doting, but his new man, Louis, seemed to enjoy touching him whenever he could.
“They will be dealt with, Rolla, but one of their sons was killed at the dig site. We’ll send someone to speak to the head of the family before they’re st
ripped of their land and wealth,” Bruik said. “It shouldn’t come as any surprise since each new head must sign a pledge before he or she takes control of the largesse of the Clan in return for their vigilance.”
“Don’t wait too long,” Rolla said as he buttoned his shirt. “If they didn’t know the ramification of their laziness and disloyalty, the future won’t change that.”
“Aishe is in the area awaiting your order.” Rawney tapped her fingers together. “She knows what to do to avoid any problems going forward.”
“She’s ready for something like this?” Rolla asked.
“She’s learned the old ways from me, so she won’t disappoint you.”
Rawney was invaluable, and he’d given his blessing to her apprentice turned lover because she’d never given him reason to doubt her. “My apologies, but I think we all know the consequences of failure.”
“The easiest route is to kill every member of the Order, but for every member we know, I’m afraid there are four unknown. They would burn the world down to avenge any attack on their ranks.” Bruik sat with his legs folded under him, appearing relaxed, but Rolla knew the truth of what he’d said. His old friend very seldom made idle conversation.
“We need to talk to Asra and especially Morgaine. There has to be a way to stop all this before it becomes disastrous.” He stood and walked back to his window.
“There’s one more thing, sire,” Bruik said.
“Something you’ve seen?”
Bruik nodded and took a deep breath. “It’s about Piper’s grandparents, and Piper’s future.”
“Their future will be to remain here with their businesses,” he said, missing the solitude of their main complex in Egypt. Scrolls and old books were so much less complicated than all these people Asra had surrounded herself with. This had been one of her habits from the beginning, and none of them had been able to steer her away from her nurturing nature.