Ava giggled into his chest before standing up and pulling him with her. “Well, come on, then.”
Chapter Eight
The next afternoon, Oscar sat in his armchair watching his daughter enter the foyer. Brutus barked and ran over to her, sliding over the hardwood floors, nearly tripping over his large paws.
“Brutus,” she exclaimed, squatting down to pat the Tibetan mastiff puppy. Oscar raised an eyebrow when Morgana let the puppy lick her face. Gareth walked in behind her, beaming. He bent down to scratch behind Brutus’ ears, who scrambled off Morgana and began pawing at Gareth. Morgana chuckled and patted Brutus along his back, the dog’s tail wagging like a pendulum.
Oscar tilted his head. He had never seen his daughter so happy before. The way she gazed at Gareth was the same look the Daywalker returned. He had been right in talking her into coming on this mission. It worked out well for her. Warmth radiated through him, seeing his youngest daughter so happy. He smiled to himself.
Well, at least some good was coming out of the past few weeks of loss and heartache. He stared down at his empty hands. Usually, he held a glass of liquor, trying to be human. Brutus turned and lumbered his way over to him, staring up at him with those big brown eyes. Clever dog. It was like he could sense whenever Oscar was sad and went to cheer him up. Oscar smiled at Brutus, running his fingers through his thick tan and black fur.
“Hello, Father,” Morgana greeted. Even her demeanor was friendlier of late. He should thank Gareth somehow for inspiring that to pour out of her.
“Mr. V.” Gareth nodded, taking a seat beside Morgana but not too close. Oscar liked that he was still respectful around him regarding his daughter.
Brutus barked, making them all wince—the vampire hearing amplified the dog’s decibels. Maybe that’s why vampires shouldn’t keep dogs. But Brutus was part of the family now, and they were never going to get rid of him.
“Brutus, quiet,” Oscar commanded. He just needed to train him not to bark as much.
Brutus whined but still scrambled over to the foyer, watching the door.
Alastor entered and stilled when he saw Oscar, who shifted slightly as he gazed back at the Daywalker. Oscar wished he could alleviate this awkwardness between them, but that would mean telling him, all of them, Mariza was still alive. Luckily for them, Brutus whined at that moment. While the other vampires covered their ears, Alastor’s body relaxed, and he chuckled as he scooped up the large puppy with ease. “Aye, ye little brute. I missed ye, too.”
Brutus was like a squirming mess of fur.
“He really does like you,” Ava commented, a wide grin on her face as she scratched Brutus’ ears as best as she could.
Alastor held Brutus out, his feet dangling in the air. “Aye, yer me little buddy, ain’t ye?”
Brutus yapped in response.
“Brutus,” Vivienne said sternly upon entering the foyer. “Enough with the barking. How many times does Mommy have to explain we have sensitive ears?”
Brutus twisted to look at her, and Vivienne took him into her arms. Once again, Oscar was amazed she let the puppy lick her face.
Oscar smiled, his chest swelling. Brutus was indeed part of their family, and everyone accepted him.
“So, what’s the plan here, boss?” Gareth’s voice brought Oscar back to the matter at hand. Gareth waved his hand over the maps spread on the coffee table.
Alastor, Ava, and Vivienne entered the living room. Vivienne placed Brutus down onto the floor. The puppy ran straight to Oscar and flopped at his feet.
“Right,” Oscar began. “Now that we know the lair is in the old outskirts of town, we should play it safe.” Morgana opened her mouth, but Oscar held up a hand to silence her. “Let me finish. If all of us go in with ‘weapons blazing,’ we’d be playing right into Ragnorok’s plans. So, what I suggest we do is go out on patrol, and if you see a Forest Clan vampire, kill it on sight. It doesn’t matter what they are doing… feeding, running errands, etc., it’s dead. We pick off Ragnorok’s army slowly letting his numbers dwindle.
“Another reason we have to play it safe is the new housing developments start in the next week or two, so by keeping the ash piles to a minimum, we won’t raise suspicions as to why there are so many piles of ash but no fires.”
“Makes sense to me.” Gareth sat back, resting his arm on the sofa behind Morgana’s head.
Alastor nodded in agreement.
“What about you, daughter? What do you think?” Oscar asked.
Morgana shrugged. “I’m working in a team now, remember? But what I will say is there’s been a movement of Forest Clan vampires back in the forest.” She pointed at the map—the one the betrayer, Randalf, had left behind. “I think we should also go back into the woods and trail after anyone we see in there. Find out what they are up to.”
“Good idea.” Oscar rubbed his chin. “But kill them before they lead you into any traps.”
“Of course,” Morgana scoffed.
“Right, well, that’s settled. Keep weapons on you at all times. Keep your blood intake up, and let’s start taking these bastards out.”
“Oscar, language,” Vivienne admonished, but there was a twinkle in her eyes. “Speaking of keeping your blood intake up, are any of you hungry?” She looked at each of them.
“Aye, Mrs. V, I could eat,” Alastor said.
“I’ll help you, Mother.” Morgana stood.
Vivienne’s eyes widened at Morgana who merely shrugged. “What? I’m hungry, and I was going to get a snack while I was waiting, anyway.”
Gareth smirked at Morgana, his eyes roving over her body, but sobered when he looked toward Oscar. “I’m going to check out the weapons,” he said, trying to find a quick escape from Oscar’s stern expression.
“Can I come, too?” Ava asked, her eyes lighting up. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen the training room.”
“Aye.” Alastor offered her his hand when he stood. “Well, then, it’s about time we showed ye.”
Oscar was left alone in the living room, Brutus now asleep at his feet, his paws twitching like he was dreaming.
Morgana and Vivienne’s voices floated in from the kitchen. They kept the volume low, but Primus hearing was second to none.
“You seem happy, dear,” said Vivienne as she opened the fridge.
“I’m happy, Mother. Happiest I’ve felt in a long time.”
Oscar smiled at hearing that. He shouldn’t be listening and should leave to do something else, but he was curious.
“Well, hopefully, The Council will assign you two together for a mission.”
“Yeah, that would be nice. But I don’t want to be assigned one straight away.”
“I think we all need a break after this one. But I do hope we get more family assignments in the future.” Vivienne’s voice was wistful.
“I must admit, I was against the idea at first, but I’ve enjoyed doing a family mission again.”
“I’ll miss training you and the boys. Maybe I could get Alastor to be assigned with us next.”
“You’ve taken a shining to him, haven’t you?”
“Yes, he has such great potential as an agent, even for a human-turned vampire. He will go far.”
There was silence before Morgana spoke again. “How’s Father?’
Vivienne sighed. “He’s tried to hide it, but I know the election results devastated him. I think he thought maybe if he won, we could use that as an excuse to stay,” Vivienne’s voice was barely above a whisper, “… to continue acting human.”
Oscar shifted in his seat, not wanting to hear anymore.
Gareth, Alastor, and Ava were busy chatting amongst themselves as they entered the living room. They fell silent when they took him in.
“Everything okay, Mr. V?” Gareth asked.
Vivienne gasped from the kitchen. “Oh no, your father heard us.”
“Yeah, he would. Oh,” Morgana gasped, “… the human bit.”
Gareth, Alastor, and Ava looked at him
gauging his reaction.
Oscar cleared his throat, giving them a grim smile. “Right, then, shall we have something to eat and go kill some vampires?”
Chapter Nine
They gathered around the dining table. Glasses of blood were placed in front of everyone except Ava, and platters of meat and salads filled the table runner. Brutus was running around the table rubbing his nose into everyone’s elbows, and Morgana was sneaking pieces of meat to him every now and then.
Oscar sat back watching them laughing, drinking, and chatting. Here they were, his family coven minus a few members—his other three children. It was a shame they all couldn’t get along. It would have been nice to have them all gathered together.
Gareth draped his arm around the back of Morgana’s chair. “I don’t know how you can eat that slop.”
“Don’t you like my cooking, Gareth?” Vivienne called out to him at the other end of the table.
Gareth put up his hands. “Not saying anything bad about the way it’s cooked, Mrs. V. Just teasing Morgana about liking human food.”
“Whatever,” Morgana mumbled through her mouthful. “Tastes good.”
“I agree,” Ava said pointedly, looking right at Gareth. “You’ve done well, Mrs. V.”
“Thank you, Ava.”
Laughter ensued.
Oscar cleared his throat, bringing everyone’s eyes toward him. “Right, but now that we’ve all consumed some form of sustenance, we should think about heading out. We’ll work in teams. Gareth and Morgana, you’ll work as one team, Vivienne and Alastor as another.”
“What about you, dear?” Vivienne asked.
“I’m fine to go by myself.” He patted her hand. “If I come across anyone, I’m sure I’ll be able to handle them. I’ve been hankering for a good fight since we arrived here. Besides, you and Alastor work well together.” Once again, Oscar averted his eyes when he spoke to him. In truth, there was nothing for Oscar to forgive Alastor for. He hated to make the Daywalker feel bad, but he couldn’t tell anyone the truth about Mariza.
Brutus barked several times.
Oscar’s eyes brightened. He smiled down at the dog, scratching him behind the ears. “No, my little friend, you have to stay here. We need someone tough to guard the house while we’re out.” Brutus barked again, wagging his tail.
“I swear he can understand you,” Gareth said incredulously.
“Of course, he can.” Oscar’s chest swelled. “We have a special bond, the two of us.”
***
Alastor watched Oscar while he was speaking about Brutus. He had seen the way Oscar cared for his children, and now the Elder had formed the same type of paternal love for Brutus. He only hoped the Elder would make eye contact with him again soon instead of always averting his eyes.
One day he’d earn Oscar’s forgiveness for killing his daughter. But for now, he’d just have to deal with the tension between him and Oscar. Besides, they had bigger issues to deal with like getting Ava home safely. He turned away from Oscar and looked to his girlfriend. “Do ye want me to drive ye home, love?”
Ava shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I’m too old for them to take me.”
“Still a young ruffian to us.” Gareth leaned over Morgana to ruffle Ava’s blonde hair.
“I’m not that young.” She shifted away from him, cringing.
“Still, it would be best to take precautions, Ava,” Oscar said. “Let young Alastor take you home. Safety in numbers.”
“Wouldn’t Alastor be better off staying here to get ready before going out?” she said, standing up. “Besides, I’ll just be driving straight home and heading right into my apartment.”
Oscar opened his mouth to speak again, but Vivienne placed her hand on his. “Leave it be, dear. Otherwise, you’ll be here all night arguing.”
“I’ll walk ye out to ye car, love, as a compromise.” Alastor stood, holding out his hand.
“And we better get a head start, then.” Morgana stood, looking at Gareth.
Gareth nodded, gulping down the last of his blood.
“Good luck with the interview, Ava.” Morgana held out her arms to Ava. The two girls embraced. “I’m not quite sure when I’ll see you again.”
Alastor smiled. He loved that the Van Wildens had accepted Ava into the fold with no hesitancy.
“Thanks, Morgana.” Ava pulled back and smiled. “Good luck out there, too.”
“Luck,” Gareth snorted, swaggering past them. “We don’t need luck, just pure skill, baby.”
Morgana shook her head, but there was a twinkle in her brown eyes.
Alastor stood and sauntered over to his best friend, slapping him on the back of the head.
“Hey!” Gareth turned around to swat him back. Brutus wanted to join in the rabble and jumped up, padding over to them and barked loudly. Alastor was getting used to the dog’s bark, but he still couldn’t help flinching from the sound.
“Boys, save it for the field,” Vivienne chided, though her icy-blue eyes shined in amusement, and the corner of her lips were tugging up.
Morgana clicked her tongue, grasped Gareth’s arm, and dragged him toward the basement.
Gareth winked at Alastor before disappearing around the corner and down the hall toward the basement stairs.
“Come on, let’s go,” Ava said, also grabbing his arm, before sliding her hand down and nestling it against his. He looked down at their joined hands and smiled at the warmth spreading through him from her touch.
“Are ye already for yer interview, lass?” he asked as they walked out of the dining room and toward the front door.
“Yes, as ready as I’ll ever be.” Her eyes darted around, and she clasped his hand tighter.
“What’s wrong, lass?” he asked quietly.
“Can you feel that?” she whispered, leaning in closer.
“Nay, feel what?”
“Like someone is watching us.”
Alastor tugged her hand, striding quickly to her car, throwing furtive looks around, but there wasn’t anyone to sense besides the vampires inside. “It ain’t a vampire, that’s for sure. I’d have sensed whoever it was.”
Ava clutched her purse closer to her body before sliding into her car and locking the door behind her. He gave her a wave and watched her drive away before turning back to the house. He also couldn’t shake the feeling like they were indeed being watched.
Chapter Ten
Morgana placed stakes into her holster, feeling Gareth’s eyes on her.
He stood next to her, his hand hovering over his holster.
“What?” she asked, not even bothering to look at him. She kept at her task.
“There’s a weird hyped-up energy coming from you.”
Morgana smiled, still placing stakes into her holster.
“You really enjoy this, don’t you?”
Her grin grew bigger.
“My little savage.” He chuckled and resumed filling his holster.
She looked toward him. “Who are you calling little?” she snarled, though she couldn’t mask how her body was reacting, knowing he could both smell and feel her arousal through the bond. Ever since they’d fallen into bed together, they had this strange tug and pull over who had the sexual control—something that thrilled her lady bits to no end. And Gareth knew it.
He looked up at her, smirking before dropping his holster and sauntering over to her. His swagger was slow and deliberate to taunt her.
Gareth wrapped his hands around her waist and brought her up to his height, planting a kiss on her lips. If she’d been standing, it would have left her weak in the knees. He placed her back down, and she stumbled a bit. Okay, it did leave her feeling a little weak. She was totally in love with this stubborn, blue-eyed vampire.
“You ready to get some bad guys, Morgana?” He winked at her. He knew the effect he was having on her.
She steadied herself on his arm—that hardened muscular bicep. She shook her head trying to get her mind clear and focused on the
mission. “Target, Gareth. We don’t call them bad guys.”
Gareth shrugged. “Same difference.” He grinned.
Morgana smirked. She stepped toward him, running a finger down his chest. “Unless you’ve changed your mind about having sex while my parents are in the house, we can do that instead.” She looked toward the ceiling where they could hear her parents and Brutus moving around.
Gareth narrowed his eyes and grabbed his holster. “Well played, woman, well played,” he growled. “Fine, let’s go.”
Morgana chuckled as she followed him up the stairs.
Morgana and Gareth didn’t have to wait long for a Forest Clan vampire to emerge. They had hidden in the rooftop shadows of the buildings in the deserted real estate development waiting for one of the Forest vampires to get hungry and slip away from the rest to hunt down a human. Ragnorok may have created an army, but they were a greedy army and took more humans than they should.
Their mark was skulking his way over to the back alley near the Old Oak Steakhouse, possibly waiting for a drunk human to come around, stumbling their way home.
Morgana and Gareth grinned at each other before turning back to watch the vampire. No words needed. They both knew what the other was thinking. Showtime.
They leaped from building to building following the Forest vampire, both keeping a safe distance, so he wouldn’t hear or sense them. Morgana had masked her scent with wolfsbane, but her beating heart always gave her presence away.
When he stopped, Morgana dropped down next to the Night Dweller. He looked young like he had been turned in his early twenties. His body wasn’t quite filled out yet, and he still looked gangly. He looked around, his movements were twitchy and uncoordinated like he was nervously waiting for something.
“Ragnorok is recruiting them young, isn’t he?” Gareth stepped out from behind a dumpster.
Morgana tilted her head. “How old are you?”
“Twenty.” He gulped.
Morgana rolled her eyes. “Not your human age. How long have you been a vampire?”
The Van Wilden Chronicles Box Set Books 1-3 Page 43