“Because I wanted to say it,” he replied. “Only I don’t have the energy.”
“Wow,” I whispered. “I wasn’t certain if this would happen because I’m human—I think. Let me try.”
I scrunched my brow, and narrowed my eyes as I thought, ‘Pink pineapples.’
He laughed. “Pink pineapples? That’s the first thing you thought?”
Shock filled me. I sat up. “What the…? This is… Incredible.”
“Yes, it’s incredible.” He picked up a lock of my hair and swirled it around his finger. “But try not to look constipated while you’re doing it. People might get the wrong idea.”
“Hey!”
He smirked. “Just a suggestion.” ‘My beautiful mate.’
I heard and felt his contented sigh. But I also caught sight of his wolf, curled up, sated.
“This is all too surreal.” I slapped my head, tapping it to make sure I was still me. Kaleb found this hilarious. “We’re like human radios!”
“Yes, we are.” He lifted my hair and stroked the place where he bit me. It no longer hurt.
“Is there a mark there?” I asked.
“The holes have healed, it’s just red. Like a hickey.”
“Great.” I rolled my eyes. “My reputation will take a hit when we stroll back to camp.”
“Mine won’t.” He looked smug, resting his head on his hand. “If I had my way, I’d have a sign put on you: Property of Kaleb Cipher.”
“Yeah right,” I snorted. “But I’d say it’s you who needs the sign. A lot of ladies will get depressed now you’re off the shelf.”
“I was never on the shelf,” he said, affronted. “And none of those women ever stood a chance with you around.”
Remembering all I’d see in the vision, a rush of love came forth. “Did you see what I saw?”
“When?”
“When we connected?”
“What did you see?”
“Our past. Our time at the academy.”
“Ah,” he said, chagrined.
“Yep. And how you couldn’t sleep with Libby because she’s not me.”
“But I told you about that.”
“I didn’t know you’d told her though. And you were sweet with her after. No wonder she’s so in awe of you.”
“Libby isn’t in awe of me.”
“Yes, she is. Aside from Bernard, you’ll probably one of few men who looks at her more than a piece of ass. Although, I still owe you both for your little jealously game. That one’s going to cost you.”
“You kissed my brother.”
Crap. He had me there.
“Fine. We’ll call it even. But I wasn’t with you then.”
“You still kissed him. What will we tell our kids?”
I blushed. “You mean, our future psychic wolf babies?”
He’d mentioned such things in the past trying to wind me up.
“Told you. But we’ll have plenty of time for that. I have a list.”
“A list?” I played with the light hairs on his chest. “You hate lists.”
“Yeah. But you deserve one. And once we’ve sorted out the IET gig, I plan for us to have that Blessed Union. Maybe Brent can bless it?”
“That would be nice.”
“After that, we’ll assess what’s happening career-wise. Continuing as Enforcer Field Agents won’t be the same when we return.”
“Yeah,” I sighed, “I kind of figured that after we left the shifter lands.”
“We’ll move in together.”
“Will we now?”
“Yep. And when you’re ready, we can get married like they do on Earthside.”
“My my.” I climbed on top of him and kissed his cheek. “You have been busy.”
“Yeah, well. When the woman you love thinks you’re a man-whore, you get a lot of time on your hands.”
“In between all those other women filling your bedsheets, you mean?”
“There weren’t half as many as you think.”
“Is that right?”
“Yep. I only liked to tease you about it.”
“It worked.” I admitted. “But you’ve totally turned my opinion of our history on its head. Did you view any of the visions?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I felt your pain. Your tears. Your love. It consumed me.” His eyes held mine as his palm encompassed my cheek. His words floated into my head, ‘You’re my ending and my beginning. You’re my soul mate, my wolf mate, my twin flame. You’re my stars in the sky, and the hand on my heart. You’re my whisper in the wind, half of my soul, my missing piece.’
My heart had found its center with him, and his words wrapped around it, holding me close. A tear fell down my cheek. “Who knew you were such a romantic?”
He wiped the tear away. “I’m better up here.” He tapped his head. “And I can send you some super dirty thoughts, too.”
“And he’s back.”
“Yes, I am.”
He leaned up to kiss me, his hands on my face to hold me close. I felt him harden beneath me once more.
“Do we have time for a second round?” I whispered.
“It will take more than an army of zombies to stop me from burying myself deep inside you,” he breathed. “So yeah. We’ve got time.”
Part II
The Last 24 Hours
19
A light snoring woke me. I opened my eyes to see the muscled planes of Kaleb’s chest.
The early dawn had come upon us, and part of me didn’t want to leave, lying in my mate’s arms among the trees.
What we faced was dangerous. One of us might not come back from it. But my denial wanted to caress me a little longer.
Something felt different between us now. It connected me to him in ways I’d never imagined before. The mate bond deepened over time. And from the taster I’d got last night I couldn’t wait.
I lay there for a while longer, stroking his chest. His breathing changed, and I looked up to see him watching me.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” he said, his voice groggy.
“You’re the sleepyhead. Do you feel better today?”
“Better?” He lifted me around so my body covered his. He brushed the hair back from my face and found a leaf among the waves. He grinned, lifting it to his lips. “I’m ready to take on the world and then some.” He raised his hips against my stomach. “Would you like me to show you?”
I laughed. “We have to get back to camp.”
“And we will,” he threw the leaf away, “after I’ve showed you.”
He showed me all right.
When I finally found the energy to stand, I got dressed, blossoming beneath his stare as he watched me do so.
“You enjoying the show?” I tugged the shirt over my head.
“You’re mine.”
“You want me on a leash now?”
He got to his feet and grabbed his pants. “Only in the bedroom.” He leaned over and kissed me, short, yet intense. “I feel like I can take on a hundred zombies at once. Between you, the moon, us being mated.” He sniffed the air, his eyes flashing amber. “I’m ready.”
“You know you need to rein that in among the soldier boys, right?”
“Yeah.” He fed his fingers into the back of my hair and tugged me close. Oh, I do like this side of him. “But only if it’s safe. If anything comes at us hard, I’ll hold back nothing. I don’t care what Dan said.”
“We can’t risk exposure.”
“And I won’t risk you dead.” He rubbed his nose against mine. “So there.”
Once we’d dressed, Kaleb collected our belongings. Off he sauntered, all domineering and shit.
I hid a smile. But realizing what we had to face, it soon melted away. He was right. If it came to the crunch we couldn’t hold back. And we had no clue what we were up against.
Magicks, powers, spells, levels, everything was different for the one wielding it or coven practising it. We had a sense of what Dreven was capable of from his file
s and the power he’d shared in the amulets to protect the prisoners from being tracked. But we had no indication of his agenda, and we’d have better odds jumping into an ocean riddled with sharks. We had no clue what to expect with Dreven and his dead army. And we were leading a group of soldiers in with us.
Yes, we figured he wanted to dominate the powers of this world. But to what end? And what lengths would he reach to get to his goal? Reality hit hard and fast.
“I can hear you all the way from here.” Kaleb waited for me to catch up.
“I didn’t think I pushed that to you.”
“You didn’t. I just know you too well.”
“Funny. But this is big. Freaking huge. I think I’m just realizing that.”
He took hold of my hand. “Bigger than walking into an estate filled with vampires? Or taking on a djinn? Maybe worse than being tied down by a demon hitchhiking a serial killer?”
“It’s way worse than that and you know it. An army of dead people waiting to strike. A dangerous mage. Humans we’ve got to shield from the truth. I need to try Dan again.”
“No, you don’t.”
“What?”
“You’re doubting yourself. You do that, then whatever Dan says you’ll do without question. He threw you into this mess, disappeared, and isn’t answering your calls. There’s a reason you haven’t fled from here to hunt him down and deal with it in your stead. So trust in that.”
‘I trust in Dan,’ I wanted to say. But then I also knew how clever and manipulative Dan could be in ensuring things planned out as they did. If he’d left us here with no word, not returning my calls during such a sticky situation, then one of two things was going down: he was manipulating things escalated by his absence, or he was working on the bigger picture. Who knew with him?
“Something bigger’s going on isn’t it?” I asked on a sigh.
“It’s Dan, so most likely. Let’s do what we can.” He chuckled. “I cannot wait to see you take on zombies.”
I shuddered. “Yeah. If I run the other way, promise to fetch me back?”
“I won’t let you go far.” He vowed, a sensual promise in his statement.
Head in the game, Terra.
And off we went to go face the mayhem.
Bernard met us at the border of the camp, relief on his face when he saw us. “I was about to radio you guys. Mayra’s had a breakthrough.”
“With the shield?” I asked.
“With both of them.” He leaned in close, trying to hide a smug grin while studying my neck. “Nice hickey.”
“Told you,” I growled to Kaleb. He smirked. But he was wise enough to divert the conversation.
“What happened with the shield?”
Bernard took his attention from me and said, “Mayra got up early morning to finish what she started last night. But her magic gave her a surprise. Once she finished setting up her own shield, she started work on creating a hole in Dreven’s. But she melted through the mage protection with no issues. It’s worried her.”
“Dreven wants us to go in. He’s expecting the IET to be here.”
He nodded in agreement. “That’s what she said. Our escaped prisoner has made it easy enough for us to get through his protection. You know what that means.”
“He’s laying a trap.” I blew the tendrils of hair from my face. Snatching the tie from my wrist, I scooped it back into a ponytail. “We don’t have any alternative but to go inside. Dreven plans to take us out while building an army. We go in and refuse to let him.”
“Great plan,” he drawled.
“Do you have any better ideas?”
His jaw clenched. “No.”
“Then we roll with it. Where’s Grady?”
“With Hanley. We’re all set to go in at zero eight hundred as agreed. He’ll brief them soon.”
Kaleb’s stomach rumbled. He had eaten little the day before. If anything. “You had breakfast yet?” he asked Bernard.
Bernard smirked. “My version of breakfast, yes. Zax stored my blood in the weapon trunk out of sight. Your kind is being served as we speak.”
“We’re getting breakfast first.” He appealed to me with his puppy dog eyes.
“You don’t have to hold my hand to eat,” I replied.
“I know that. But you need to eat, too. My wolf wants to look after you. And for once, I’m happy to do it knowing I won’t get punched in the balls.”
I hid a smile. “Fine. We’ll eat first. But then I have to get cleaned up and changed.” I turned to Bernard. “While we eat, make sure Mayra is okay, and she has everything she needs going in. Also tell her she can’t use any magic in there until we absolutely need her to.”
“Why?”
“We can’t risk Dreven honing in on her. Seeing her as a threat. If he’s done his homework, he’ll have details on what we all are. He’ll know she’s the one, out of all of us, who can wield magic. And if he’s aware of her Portiside profile, then he will see she has a license to wield both light and dark.”
“But she used her magic to do the shield?”
“He’s not aware of the second one she’s conjured. And you’ve already said yourself he’s made his weaker to ensure we get through. As for anything else—such as a tracking spell—let’s get in as far as we can first.”
“So you plan to tell Mayra that not only do we have to watch her back because she’s the weakest fighter. But she can’t use her magic either?”
“I don’t plan on telling her anything,” I replied.
“But that’s what you just said.”
“Yeah. But I plan for you to tell her.”
He frowned. “You’re kidding?”
“Nope. You’re the best one to do it, my darling, sweetheart of a vampire. We appreciate how charming you can be.”
“You’re even more annoying now you’re claimed,” he muttered.
Kaleb laughed. “Come on, darling, sweetheart of a vampire. Those stunning eyes of yours can even charm the likes of me.”
“You two will be a nightmare to handle now you’re all romantic and crap.”
“Nah.” Kaleb tugging at my hair. “I can still annoy her.”
“Watch yourself,” I told him.
“I always do. In the mirror.”
Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “Bernard. Will you please tell her?”
“And say what?”
“The truth. That we can’t do this without her. And if Dreven discovers her level of ability, he might take her out of the running before we’ve even got our foot in the door.”
“Fine,” he relented. “But if she turns me into a toad, I’m coming for you.”
“I’ll kiss you back into a prince.” I made kissing noises.
“And me,” Kaleb said, joining in with the air kissing.
“You’re both assholes!” Bernard shouted, turning on his heel. He stomped back toward the shield.
We chuckled, watching him go. “Come on,” I told Kaleb. “Let’s go eat something I’ll probably throw up if I find a zombie dining on a raw diet.”
“They’re not those kinds of zombies,” he reminded me.
“Kaleb, it’s us. You know they’re gonna be those kinds of zombies.”
“Yeah.” He threw his arm around my shoulders. “You’re probably right.”
20
Several soldiers were still eating breakfast when we arrived.
Hanley introduced us to a small group who I’d deemed The Bodyguard Six.
The IET were to lead the way. But he’d assigned the six soldiers to stay close to the IET until we positioned at the final point to take on the mage. Or the hostile threat as they called it. The assigned soldiers had their orders not to lose sight of me and my team, and to flank us where necessary.
Private Young and Stevens barely looked old enough to buy alcohol, their fresh pale faces eager to get into a fight. Second Lieutenant Lopez had an edge to him. Older. More serious.
Private Rye, built like a brick shit house sweet country boy, had a
predatory air about him. He sat next to Jackson. Blonde hair, pale complexion, stern jaw. She was also a gum chewer who had focus. Opposite her sat Private Clarke with brown skin, icy mahogany eyes, and a serious demeanor. He had his head in the game. His shoulders rigid, his welcome minimal.
I understood why Hanley had appointed them to us, aside from Young and Stevens. But a lot can be said for enthusiasm.
Jackson moved up a seat so Kaleb and I could sit together.
“Thanks.” I sat down. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“We’re good.” She hesitated. “Some of us are confused on what we have to face. But we’re trained for this. We’ll see you in safely.”
I smiled, reaching for the eggs, some bacon. Someone had either bought or cooked pancakes, but I stayed away from those, even if my stomach yelled out for them. We needed the protein, the calories, for what was to come. I also opted for water instead of the coffee someone had close by. It smelled good.
Kaleb, on the other hand, didn’t have to worry about something as pathetic as the human metabolism. He piled his plate high. With everything.
Private Clarke stopped his conversation and greeted us with a ‘good morning.’ Lopez gave an abrupt nod. Rye didn’t look up from his pile of food almost as high as Kaleb’s. And Young and Stevens laughed between one another.
“Hey, Vane,” Young said, still tittering away. “You ever been in a zombie apocalypse before?”
Lopez snapped, “Show your respect.”
“Sorry,” Young put up his hands, “Agent Vane. Have you experienced such activity from drooling monsters before?”
Stevens chuckled from the side of him.
“Not these kind,” I said on a smile. “But I’ve fought a few monsters in my time. How about you?”
His cheeks reddened slightly. “Nah. Not this kind anyway. But we’re ready. I can’t believe we get to use swords. I mean, we’ve trained with other weapons before, but not like this. It’s awesome!”
He high-fived Stevens. Lopez shook his head, resigned, and went back to his food.
“We’re told the person orchestrating this is in there.” Clarke nudged his head toward the mall. “And we need to get you in.”
Death Be Rising (The Terra Vane Series Book 7) Page 12