Trying Times (The Valens Legacy Book 14)

by Jan Stryvant

  Adam blinked. "Wait, you trust me?"

  "Course I do. You're my brother-in-law. Which means I have both your mother and your sister on my side, should I ever need to administer a beating," Sean said, with a very big grin.

  "I can't believe I'm being read the riot act and ordered around by someone a couple thousand years younger than me!" Adam grumbled, shaking his head.

  "Yeah, the First hates it even more."

  "You've told off the First?"

  "You're not the only one with anger issues," Sean said with a shrug. "Besides, why the hell would you want to leave all this?" Sean said, waving a hand around. "You've been doing a great job here, people look up to you. Do you really think the First is going to let you sit on your ass at Ryla's bar?"

  Adam laughed. "No, probably not. And this is a lot nicer than some of the hell holes he's likely to send me to. But how do you know he'll even let you keep me here?"

  Sean smiled. "Oh, that's simple. I'm not going to ask him if I can keep you, I'm just doing it."

  "And you think he'll be okay with that?"

  "He lived in my head long enough to know what I'm capable of. Of course he'll go for it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go track down a certain fox."

  "Sheila?"

  "Yup, I think she's hiding from me." Sean sighed.

  "Why would she do that?"

  "Because she's got this worship/fear/love thing going on. There are times I just have to prove myself to her."

  "Have fun, guess I'll go let Ryla know we're not moving anytime soon."

  Family

  Sean yawned and kissed Sheila on the top of the head as he spooned up against her back. Finding her had been difficult at first, until he'd decided to cheat and use magic. She might have one of those tokens he made on her, but all of them were copies of the original, which had a back door in them specifically keyed to him and Jolene.

  She'd been a much more demanding lover for a change. Apparently having his child had awakened a realization within her that she really did matter to him, and that had triggered an avalanche of her admitting her own feelings to him.

  "I missed you," Sheila admitted in a whisper.

  "I missed you too, Sheila," Sean said and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there when Bethany was born. I wanted to be there for you, just like the others."

  "Peg was very unhappy with you missing her delivery," Sheila told him.

  "I know. What about you?"

  "Ummm..."

  Sean nipped her ear. "Tell me the truth, Sheila, I want to hear it."

  Sheila squirmed a little in his arms. "Yes, I was unhappy as well," she said with a sigh.

  "I promise to make it up to you with the next one, assuming of course...?"

  Sheila sighed happily and relaxed against him. "Yes, I'd like that, Sean, I'd like that very much. I don't know why you want me when you have Peg and the others, but I'm just happy you do."

  "What, don't you want me?" Sean chuckled.

  Sheila rolled over and slid up a little so they were suddenly eye-to-eye.

  "I want you very much, Sean. You're my lion, my king, and my god." She got an evil glint in her eye then. "In fact, let me show you just how much I want you!"

  They were interrupted eventually when the baby started crying.

  "Saved by the bell!" Sean said, panting heavily. Sheila was no slouch in the sex department, having been raised to be an actual sex toy for rich magic users. He only hoped she and Jolene didn't compare notes!

  "Somebody's hungry," Sheila said with a smile.

  "Yes, our daughter."

  "Well, why don't you go get cleaned up. I'm sure someone has to be looking for you by now."

  "Actually," Sean said and gave her a kiss, "I think I'd rather spend my time with you and Bethany."

  "There you are," Roxy said coming into Sheila's room.

  Sean smiled; he was sitting on Sheila's bed, Sheila sitting on his lap as she nursed their daughter, with his arms around her waist.

  "Sit," Sean said and patted the bed next to them.

  "Maybe I should get Sean, Junior?" Roxy said with a warm smile.

  "Bethany is almost done," Sheila said, looking the happiest Roxy recalled having seen her in some time.

  "I guess that means I need to get back to work then," Sean said. Giving Sheila another hug, he carefully picked her up off of his lap and set her on the bed.

  "Thanks, Love," Sheila said and smiled at Sean. He gave her a last kiss, then followed Roxy out of the room.

  "So, what's up?" Sean asked as he stopped and stretched.

  "First off, I think you should put some clothes on!" Roxy snickered.

  Sean shrugged then shifted into his full lion form. "Don't know where I left 'em last," he said with a chuckle. "What time is it?"

  "After nine. You need to get cleaned up, eat dinner, and then make the rounds with me while I check on everything to be sure it's all ready for the next window."

  "Is there anything specific you need me to look at? Or is this just a 'show your face' thing?"

  Roxy hip checked him in the shoulder as he padded along next to her.

  "You've been gone a month. They need to see your face, Sean."

  "Okay, I'll be there."

  "What's this I hear you've ordered Adam to stay?"

  "I figured I could use the help. He's done alright so far, and you haven't managed to kill him yet."

  "What did the First say?"

  Sean shrugged. "Haven't talked to him yet."

  "Oh, that's right. I forgot he's not in your head anymore."

  Sean nodded. "I wonder if that means I'm no longer 'the one that leads'?"

  "Why do you say that?"

  "Because before, anyone who was talking to me was also talking to the First, and all the other lions knew it. So anything I said, they figured he was pretty much okay with it."

  "Huh, I never knew that." She looked down at him. "Miss him?"

  "A little," Sean said as he ducked his head. "It was nice to be able to ask him for advice when no one else was there. He also saved my butt when I got hit with that spell that knocked me out. He just picked right up and pretended to be me."

  "Still, I'd have thought you'd be happy to have him gone."

  "Eh, he really is like a father to me now. But you know what the worst part of it is?"

  "No, what?"

  "Now if I meet with Arthur or Joseph, I can't just let the First fence with them and drive them crazy!" Sean said with a laugh.

  "Oh, I'm sure you'll manage," Roxy said with a sigh.

  "How's Stewart been doing?" Sean asked, changing the subject as they walked into the bathroom.

  "He's been getting good grades in the courses you wanted him to take. He'll be finished with most of them by the end of this semester."

  "That soon?"

  Roxy nodded. "Remember, he doesn't have to take any of the liberal arts courses we had to take. He also took a pretty heavy course load last semester. If we can find someone to tutor him for the remaining classes over the summer, he'll be finished come August."

  "Huh, we need to get someone to teach him ASL."

  "Already on it," Roxy said with a grin and pushed him into the shower. "Actually, I'm trying to get everyone to learn it now."

  "Oh? Why?"

  "Because while the demons all seem to know English, they don't know that."

  "I guess that's a good reason," Sean said as he shifted back to human and turned on the water. Setting the temperature, he found the soap and started to wash himself.

  "One other thing, while we're on the topic of Stewart," Roxy continued from outside the shower.

  "What? Nothing bad I hope?"

  "No, it's just that he's been going out with the djevel hunters."

  "Wait, he's doing what?"

  Roxy sighed. "We had a big blow up in Sacramento. A bunch of demons snuck in there and rampaged, killing a couple hundred people, and it all made the news. We sent Jester's team in, and Stewart went with th
em."

  "Why'd he do that?"

  "Because they needed a magic user and he volunteered? Fact is, he accounted for himself well enough that everyone on Jester's team likes him. Jester loves having him along; he's gone out with them twice now. He's all but a member of their team."

  "What's Art say?"

  "Couldn't be prouder."

  "Guess I should sit him down at some point and see where he's at and if I can start teaching him my way of doing magic. Speaking of magic, how much support are we getting from the magic users?"

  "It's ramping up. We've got ten sorceresses from the Guild, eight from Sapientia, and four from Eruditio."

  "That's all?"

  "Those are the ones who are either staying here with us, or out in the field at one of those two bases Jack set up."

  "Oh! Well, that's pretty good then."

  "When a gateway opens, they're willing to send more over to help if we need them. Right now, they're trying to figure out the best way to hunt down any of the djevels that manage to get away from us."

  "How's Steve doing? I need to call him."

  "He married Tisha," Roxy said with a laugh.

  "What? What about Terri?"

  "Apparently she was cool with it." Roxy shrugged. "She told me that Tisha might be older than us all, but she really seems to have a thing for megalomaniacs, and has been completely taken in by Steve's plans for world domination."

  Sean shook his head and laughed as he rinsed off. "Well, as long as they're all happy. How's John doing?"

  "I think he and Cenna are settling down into something of a permanent relationship. She's moved in with him."

  "Huh, that's surprising."

  "Why's that?"

  "He said he never wanted a lycan girlfriend, yet that's exactly what he ended up with."

  "Maybe he's okay with a lycan wife?" Roxy teased.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Sean asked as he turned off the shower.

  Roxy handed him a towel. "A lot of lycan gals, when they're dating, are pretty wild and flighty. Remember, it's not uncommon for lycans to start hooking up at an early age, especially the ones who were slaves to magic users. But once they settle down?" Roxy winked at him. "Lycan women tend to commit strongly to their husbands."

  "Not unlike you have," Sean said, looking up at her with a smile as he dried his legs.

  "And Peg, and Estrella, I'm sure," Roxy said, agreeing with him.

  "And Chad and Max?"

  "I think Max's pregnant."

  "What, you don't know?"

  Roxy shrugged. "I figure she'll tell us when she's ready to tell us."

  Sean nodded and, hanging the towel up to dry, he padded out to their bedroom and got dressed. Looking back at his time in the onderwereld, he had to laugh. He had so much more to do here that it really was almost like a vacation.

  "What's so funny?" Roxy asked.

  "Just happy to be home."

  "Good," Roxy said, leading him out of the bedroom. "Because we all have something else for you to be happy about."

  "Oh? What's that?" Sean asked, coming into the dining room.

  "Happy Birthday!" his mother Louise said, coming over and giving him a hug.

  "You forgot, didn't you?" Roxy said, smiling at him.

  Sean blinked, he had forgotten!

  "Well, with the day I've been having, can you blame me?" Sean said, letting go of his mother and giving Roxy a kiss.

  "I know, I heard," Louise said with a chuckle.

  "Well, he may be soft in the head," Daelyn chuckled and gave Sean a kiss, "but he's hard enough in other places!"

  "Hush, you!" Sean laughed and gave her a smack on the butt. He thought about that as he kissed each of his wives, then Deidre and Sheila, who were both there as well.

  "Man, has it really been just a year?" he asked out loud, looking at the girls, because it definitely seemed a lot longer than that.

  The Game of Foxes

  Clifford looked around, checking the area. It was late out, after ten at night. He was in a small suburban neighborhood just outside of DC with Billie. He thought Billie was kind of cute, so he hadn't objected when they'd been sent off to check up on the people who had connections to Senate Majority Leader Phil Dirk's staff.

  "Oh, how I love these collars," Billie sighed as they padded along in wolf form, cutting through the backyards of the many homes between where they'd parked and their destination.

  "I don't know, I kind of miss getting to see the gals naked," Clifford teased.

  Billie laughed. "Yeah, I kind of miss seeing the guys in the buff, too." She gave him a sidelong look. "Maybe after we're done here, we can find someplace quiet and do a little looking of our own?"

  "You're on." He chuckled.

  "Who are we checking out next?"

  "Some gal who works in the capitol building coffee shop."

  "Really? Why her?"

  "'Cause she's a real looker, and she's been leaving all the guys and half the gals in the senator's office with their tongues hanging. Criss has been hacking staff members' accounts, and she discovered more than a few of the guys and gals in the office have been spending a little private time with Miss Coffee Shop. Apparently she's very impressed with those who work so closely with the people in power."

  Billie snorted. "Wonder how much she charges?"

  "Apparently nothing at all."

  "Okay, either she's a ditz, a gold digger, or something else altogether."

  "Hence the reason we're checking her out," Clifford agreed.

  Clifford's headset beeped then as the GPS told him he'd reached the house they were looking for.

  "Gee, Miss Coffee sure has a nice house," Billie noted.

  "She lives here with four other gals; it's a rental."

  "Ah."

  "Let's nose around and see what we can find, I guess."

  Cliff headed to the east side of the house and noticed there were quite a few cars in the driveway.

  "They having a party here?" Billie whispered.

  Checking to be sure they were in the shadows and there weren't any security cameras around, Clifford shifted and looked in the window.

  "Living room is clear."

  "I wonder about the bedrooms?" Billie said, looking up at the second floor.

  "I don't know if we want to jump up that high," he said, looking around. "We'd be pretty visible to anyone looking."

  "Why would anyone be looking?"

  "Hot girl with her shades up?"

  Billie blushed. "Oh..."

  "Especially if she's doing the nasty with some guy."

  "Let's check the other houses first, then, just to see if someone else is watching."

  Clifford shrugged. "Sure, go ahead. I'm going to sniff around and see if I can pick up anything."

  Clifford left Billie and, shifting back into wolf form, he went out front to check all the cars. He recognized the scent of Miss Coffee Shop, and he also picked up the scents of her three roommates. Then there were the ones on the cars.

  When the front door opened, he ducked for cover and watched as a guy came out, a very attractive woman waving from the doorway. He waved back, got in his car, and drove off, and she went back inside and closed the door.

  Nothing at all strange about that, really.

  Heading back around behind the house, Billie came trotting over.

  "Cliff?" she asked excitedly, "I think I found something!"

  "Really?"

  She ducked her head and he followed her across the backyard, then around a fence and through a hole in it, into the backyard of the house next to the one behind their target's.

  "Look up at the window," she whispered.

  "It's black, I can't see anything."

  "It's open."

  Clifford blinked. Sure enough, it was. And it wasn't a warm night. In fact, it was decidedly freezing.

  "Go up carefully and take a look. Just don't get in front of it or make any noise."

  "Why?"

  "You'll see."
>
  Shifting back into his werewolf form, Clifford carefully jumped up and caught the edge of the small ledge that ran around the back of the house. Probably from when they put the dormer expansion on. He carefully pulled himself up, leaned against the wall, edged himself over to the window, and glanced inside.

  There were four video cameras with some seriously long lenses on them. On top of each one was a very strange looking device with two barrels sticking off of it. Grabbing his phone off his collar, he got a couple of pictures, making sure he had his flash turned off.

  Then he looked where it was all facing and took a few more.

  The house with the girls in it. He could easily see into all four bedrooms. Three of the girls were definitely entertaining guys. The other one was making her bed. As he watched, she stripped naked, grabbed a robe, and left the room.

  Less than ten minutes later she came back, got dressed, did her makeup, and made a phone call.

  Carefully climbing back down, he looked at Billie.

  "Place looks like a whorehouse," he told her, having seen his fair share of them in Nevada.

  "I know, right? What do you think that gear is for? Blackmail?"

  "I don't know," Clifford said, shifting back, "but I think we need to get back to the office, now, and let them know exactly what we've seen."

  "Okay," Steve said looking at the picture on his computer monitor, "I have no idea what that stuff is. Anyone?" He looked at Terri, Tisha, and Granite, who were all looking over his shoulder.

  "Not a clue," Terri said. "Send it to John."

  "Already did," Clifford said.

  Grabbing his phone, Steve dialed John and let it ring.

  "Steve, it's dinnertime. Make it quick."

  "Have you looked at the pictures Clifford sent you?"

  "No, I'm having dinner, and it wasn't flagged. Hold on a second."

  Steve heard a couple of thumps as John worked his phone, then came back on.

  "Nice gear, haven't seen a setup like that in a while."

  "What is it?"

  "Oh, a video camera with a microphone set up."

  "Those don't look like microphones, John."

  "One of the two tubes contains an infrared laser. The other has a sensor that picks up it up and senses vibration on glass. Turns it into an audio signal. I take it the four of them are pointing at the windows on the house in the last picture?"