by Talyn Scott
Finding her inner werewolf, she pulled from the strength of the moon, and shimmered with renewed power. Jenny’s eyes glowed pure cerulean, igniting the wraiths leaving Cyna’s body.
She whirled out and kicked Cyna straight on the chest wound Jenny had inflicted, and sent her reeling backwards. Then she punched her in the mouth just to stop her screaming. One of Cyna’s fangs got lodged in Jenny’s knuckle but she didn’t care, the broken bits of her enemy fed her werewolf’s bloodlust.
Right as Cyna delivered a blow that knocked the air out of Jenny, Niall reached down with both hands and gripped Cyna’s neck. “Now!” he commanded in a booming Gryph voice.
Jenny flexed her hand on the dagger and shoved the blade back into the chest wound, aiming for the lower part of Cyna’s heart. This time, she thought as the black fire left Cyna’s eyes, she aimed true.
“Done!” Jenny jumped back, refusing to drop to her knees, though her legs demanded support.
To be on the safe side, Niall wrenched Cyna’s head off and tossed each piece of the body in opposite directions, both going into immortal fire.
“You are one tough female,” Searlas said, now alive and fighting, while stabbing the last wraith, “my tough female.”
“Ours,” Niall said after a long pause, staring at her with a mixture of love, relief, and anger. “If you ever get yourself in another situation like this again, I will — ”
She cut him off with a kiss, then delivered one to Searlas. When she pulled away, she redirected Niall’s thoughts, “It’s time to go home.”
Joint Faction Facility
Marco Island, Florida
In the recovery room, where Jenny rested uncomfortably, she gripped Searlas’ hand. His face grave, he whispered, “I don’t deserve you.”
“Stop saying that or at least explain why you’d think it.”
“Twice now, in the very throes of battle, I died, leaving you to fend for yourself.”
She knew how males worked, how they needed to protect their females. “That night on the complex, you carried me to safety.” She placed her fingertips on his mouth, when he started to argue. “No, you listen to me. If you hadn’t taken me inside the bunker, I would have been taken by a rogue or burned to death. And even though Syon is… I can’t even wrap my head around what happened, but in the end, you’re here with me because you’re Undead and you’re mine.”
He brought her knuckles to his mouth, kissing on the other side of her IV line. “Yes, I’ll always be yours.”
“I wonder where he is.”
“I hate that you get this gleam in your eye when you talk about Syon,” Searlas muttered.
“He deserves my blade.”
“When did a waitress slash college girl start carrying a blade?”
“Don’t try and distract me. I want to know what Syon was doing with Maxim and that place…” A shiver ran through her, and she pulled the stiff blanket underneath her chin.
“Relax, Syon’s gone.”
She shook her head, the movement paining her face. “We don’t know where he is or when he’s coming back to do… Who even knows?”
Searlas looked guilty.
“What?” Jenny prodded, as she pressed a hand over her facial bandages. “Tell me, Searlas MacGelton, or I will turn you over my knee.”
His lip curled. “Reversing the roles? Nah, I don’t play that way.”
“Tell me now!”
“Syon is in Russia,” Niall replied quietly as he stepped into her room with Gage MacGelton, who’d earlier apologized to her for his rude behavior, by his side. One of Niall’s wings was withered to a crisp, the other in pristine condition, though he’d assured her he would heal in a week’s time. She could barely look at him. Not because he was ugly to her, but because Jenny knew the pain he went through for her, for Searlas, to get them off Maxim’s island alive.
“Why is he in Russia?”
Gage answered, “We’re working on it.”
Niall lifted her other hand, rubbing his thumb against the inside of her palm. “Sage followed Syon’s power trail, the last of it misted over Russia, though we don’t know why he would go into such a place that boasts an extraordinary vampire stronghold, unless he was also involved with virgin clubs there.”
“How will we capture him?”
“We?” Gage shook his head no. “Jayce put a bounty on him, an astonishing amount. It won’t be long before someone brings Syon’s head to the Alpha.”
Jenny knew Syon was after something more, something no one had figured out, and it was a bone chilling thought. “If Sage couldn’t follow him after he hit Russia, then what are the odds?”
“I don’t know,” Gage said, “but Eagan is heading over there the moment Sage has word. On the upside, with your help we saved many females of human and mixed genetics from a hellish prison.”
“Where are they?” Jenny asked.
“Here, for now,” Gage said, frowning. “It’s a difficult situation since I’d invited many unmated males from Packs around the world to court you.”
Jenny rolled her eyes, when Niall hissed brutally at Gage. “I didn’t ask him to.”
Gage laughed mirthlessly. “Most of them are circling Marco Island as we speak, and these poor women are itching to get out of here.”
“Sounds like a problem,” Jenny said, knowing from growing up inside a Pack, how aggressive Pack males could be when scenting females of their species. Then she smiled at Gage, thinking he deserved this. “I’m sure you can handle the situation.”
Gage smiled back. “You’re mocking me.”
“Yes, I am.” She looked around the sterile room, her stomach twisting from facing this place again. “What about the Norwegian female that Master Andreev took?”
“We’re searching for him,” Niall explained. “But we haven’t much to go on.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Hey, don’t make that face. We were a success by anyone’s standards. Searlas also saved twenty female vampiresses that we nearly left.”
“That’s awesome, Sear,” she praised, “But I still wonder what’s happening to that female…”
Chapter 23
Two Weeks Later
“Who are you and what have you done with my cousin?”
“I know,” Kalen said, swatting at Jenny. “I hate it, too.” Her ensemble consisted of boyfriend jeans and a denim vest layered over an acid washed T-shirt, which depicted The Wild Lime’s logo. “Renee picked it out for me.”
Jenny leaned away from the bar and gave her another once-over. “I thought you wanted The Wild Lime to be an uppity place.”
Kalen plucked at the shirt. “This is just for tonight. Renee thought it would lend an air of relaxation to our family gathering.”
Jenny had to laugh. “You can’t relax a werewolf, unless he’s finished a bout of marathon sex.” She glanced at Kalen’s mates. Mason, Archer, and Jude were talking to Bane, though their collective attention was divided between listening to Bane and lusting for Kalen. “Your males seem relaxed, by the way.”
Kalen grinned saucily. “Damn straight they do.”
Something on a barstool caught Jenny’s attention. “What is that sorry looking bag?”
“Renee thought a hemp handbag completed my assemble.”
“Hemp?” Jenny didn’t smell anything iffy but still. “Isn’t that illegal?”
Jayce stopped in his tracks. “Kalen, if anyone bothers you about your purse, let me know.”
“I’ve got moves now, Alpha,” Kalen teased her brother-n-law. “You should see them.” Then, she lowered her voice. “Since you and Maestru pulled the plug on mixed bloods working for the vampire task force, maybe you could utilize me for Pack.”
“No!” her males growled in unison.
Jayce raised an eyebrow at them, then said to Kalen, “I second that.”
“Why?”
“You know why, and if you have a problem with that, you can notify my complaint department,” Jayce said of Bane, as the
male strolled by.
“Fill out some forms, Kalen,” Bane muttered, “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Really?”
“Nope.”
“The Alpha and your brother are so old school.” Kalen plopped down on a barstool next to Eagan.
Ignoring that, Eagan asked, “What’s on the toast?”
“On the baguette,” she corrected with open exasperation, “is eggplant caponata with caramelized onions and grated chocolate.”
“Looks more like chocolate chips, than grated chocolate.”
“Nope,” Jenny explained, “they’re raisons.” She put her elbows on the bar, resting her chin in the palm of her hand and glancing around at The Wild Lime. Chef Kalen had outdone herself. From cocoa dusted ribs to blue crab macaroni and cheese, she would surely please the foodies. Though thankfully, Kalen had kept the fried candy bars on the menu.
“Then where’s the grated chocolate?”
Jenny lifted a candy bar to her mouth, trying not to dust her maxi dress with powdered sugar. Since the task proved impossible, she shrugged off the mess. “You can’t really see the chocolate under the balsamic reduction.”
Eagan pushed aside his plate. “I don’t think any food worth eating should include the term reduction.”
Searlas nodded. “This is one time I’m not sorry to depend on blood.” He held a hand up in surrender when Kalen flashed fangs. “But you’ve done a great job with the place, Kalen. You’ll have lines out the door tomorrow for your grand opening, I’m sure.”
Kalen softened, releasing the butter knife she’d grabbed. “Thank you.” She smiled at Carther Holt when he brought another tray of ribs to the deck.
Jenny wiped her mouth, scooting her empty plate. “Dru’s brother is really staying?”
“He goes back and forth between here and Chicago.” Kalen refilled Jenny’s tea. “It’s easy for him to mist when the weather is clear. But when he’s stuck catching a flight back, he grumbles for days.”
“He doesn’t like to fly?”
Kalen shook her head. “Carther hates airplanes about as much as I do.”
“I think it’s because humans paw on him during those flights.”
Searlas’ eyes narrowed. “Why are the humans pawing at Carther?”
“I can’t tell whether you’re really jealous or just cranky because you need to feed.” Probably a little of both, Jenny realized. Today was her first day back on Sanibel Island, so Jenny and Kalen had played volleyball and worked on their tans, without their males, though Archer had circled. Searlas, however, had spent the day… dead. She tried not to think about that, though. Since there wasn’t anything she could do for his situation.
“I guess we’ll find out after I feed,” Searlas replied as he handed the sweetest bundle imageable back to Uncle Eagan. “Kid needs his diaper changed.”
Eagan made a face, then signaled for Ail. “I’m handy with everyday decapitations, lifting cars from women and children, and leaping cabana rooftops in a single bound to get away from clingy women. Stinky diapers, however, are not my thing.”
Ail kissed Molly’s forehead and strolled over. His face softening when he lifted his son from Eagan’s arms. “What’s going on, little guy… Oh,” he said, suddenly glaring at his brother, “that’s how it is?”
“It smells, man.”
“I can’t believe you would treat your nephew that way, making him feel unloved, unwanted even, all because he made a tiny stinky.”
“There’s nothing tiny about it.”
“And you,” Ail accused Searlas, “had better get used to this, since you’ll have a little cousin due soon.”
Searlas laughed. “Don’t look at me. Gage, Sayer, and Azure can change the damn diapers.”
Molly found her way to Ail’s side, gripping the diaper bag slung over her shoulder. And although she was as beautiful as always, she didn’t look too happy when she took her son from Ail. “Don’t let Ail con you into changing any diapers.”
Jayce slipped his arms between them and yanked on Ail’s collar. “Let’s go.” He lifted the baby and grabbed the diaper bag, too, from an exhausted Molly. “I’m teaching you how it’s done.”
Ail put up his hands. “No lessons necessary.”
Jayce flashed his canines. “What made you think that was a request?”
“Fine,” Ail grumbled, starting away, then he glanced back at Jenny. “Can we have a second?”
Though the question was directed at Jenny, she knew damn well the permission was asked of Searlas. But this was the world she lived in, where males killed other males just for looking at their females too long, so she raised a questioning eyebrow at Searlas.
Though he didn’t look pleased, Searlas nodded.
Jayce seemed relieved the two were going to talk, so he told Ail he would take care of the baby himself.
Jenny laughed when they stepped on the deck. “I’d say your son is already spoiled, if the Alpha of North America changes his diaper.”
“No matter his crazy schedule, Jayce has turned out to be an awesome uncle.”
“And diapers notwithstanding, you turned out to be an awesome father.”
Mason ran his fingers through his blue-black Ruyter hair, his eyes glowing under the moonlight. He was beautiful, absolutely stunning, yet Jenny had learned the difference between true love and infatuation.
“I just wanted to say that after I found out Molly was my female, I kind of dumped you as a friend, and I’m sorry.”
It all seemed so long ago that Jenny found none of the hurt left. “We’re good.”
“No,” he disagreed, “we’re not good at all. Everything is distant between us, and I don’t like it. I hate what I’ve caused.”
“You can’t take the blame for our uneasiness.” An ocean breeze tangled her hair in an earring, and she pulled the strands from her gold loop. “When we approached Youngling status, my feelings turned our friendship awkward.”
“Yeah, because I otherwise considered you a sister.”
“Later on, your werewolf repelled me because it didn’t want Molly distressed.” She leaned against the railing, hooking her elbows on the wood. “I get it.”
He tilted his head, his mouth playing at a smile. “Where are you at now?”
“Now? I know the love I feel for you isn’t romantic.” She sensed Niall hovering above them, and by the tensing of Ail’s shoulders, he did, too. “It’s love for a friend lost.”
Ail looked so relieved that Jenny thought she would cry. “I want your friendship back, too. I’ve missed you, Jenny.”
“I’ve missed you, too, Ail.”
When he moved to hug her, a whisper as sharp as a blade said one word. “Don’t.”
He watched Niall land, tug Jenny from the railing, and wrap her within the safety of his wings. Ail shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you mated a Gryph.”
She leaned her head on Niall’s chest, his heartbeat a soothing sound she’d missed since they’d rolled out of bed at dawn. “Neither can I,” Jenny admitted. “I keep pinching myself.”
With a crooked smile, Ail asked, “Do you realize that when you have babies, they’ll be flying werewolves? How badass is that?”
Jenny hadn’t given any thought to winged children. Her heart jumped a little in her chest, when she spun within Niall’s wings. She stared up at him with anticipation and a dose of fear. “How will I catch them?”
“We’ll worry about it when the time comes.” Then, because Niall was the sexiest Gryph alive, he took her mouth in a heart-stopping kiss that roused applause from those partying below on the sand.
Ail pulled open the door and whistled for Searlas. “You’re up, man.”
When they parted mouths, Jenny mock glowered at the Pack males as Searlas walked out and took her hand. “Damn voyeurs!”
“Ignore them.”
Niall tucked Jenny beneath his wing. “Hey, Carther,” he called down to Dru’s brother. “Think you can give Searlas a lift to the d
ock?”
Carther’s eyes widened in apprehension, then a peculiar look of resignation settled on his face. “Sure.” After all, how could any species say no to a royal Gryph?
“The dock?” Searlas asked when Carther moved behind him, his hands going on Searlas’ shoulders. “Care to tell — ”
A hiss left Carther before his fangs locked on Searlas’ throat; he stumbled back a bit before both misted into the air.
“I know Gryphs are used to obedience,” Jenny said, poking him in his very fine chest, “but you two need to set up some personal boundaries.”
“You never seem too worried about personal boundaries when we three make love.” Niall smiled wickedly, wrapping one arm around her back, the other beneath her bottom. “Now, wave goodbye, Nevesta,” he commanded in the aristocratic arrogance common to all Gryphs, as he flared out his wings to take flight. “You’re coming with me.”
Niall shot straight up into the air. Jenny’s hair whipped back as her friends and family, those she’d known since birth, grew smaller as Niall gained altitude. “You are,” she said as she wrapped her legs around his hips, tightened her arms around his neck, “rude.” This close, Jenny couldn’t resist licking the salty skin of his neck. “I might feel a headache coming on.”
Midnight wings gaining momentum, Niall turned his head, grazing his open mouth across her jaw, his lips sliding over the fire stirring beneath her skin. “You’re temperamental when you don’t get cock, so I’m confident your headache will vanish by the time I remove all of your clothes.”
At his promise, his very confidence in the way she would always melt for him, Jenny admitted, “You’re probably right.” Her body ached for him as they flew across Captiva Island, over the short bridge connecting to Sanibel Island, and aimed for Fort Myers Beach. “Not touching you is impossible.” She rubbed her hands over his shoulders, sensing his heat rising beneath his thin T-shirt. “It’s just crazy how I feel.”
“No, this is natural for us.”
Jenny dug in her nails when his wings arched out to slow their descent on a secluded part of Fort Myers Beach, the surrounding lighting nonexistent apart from the moon. “Do I drive you a little crazy sometimes, too?”