He turned around and headed back in the other direction.
Where are Margetta’s headquarters? Olivia asked. Because I’m pretty sure the camp she had here in Swanicott wasn’t her primary fortress?
I have no doubt that the camp at Angler’s Cliff was merely a staging point. As for where she resides, or from which location she launches her attacks, no one knows. It’s one of the greatest mysteries in our world. I’m convinced she’s holed up in one of the realms, and making use of powerful shields of some kind. Believe me, we’ve all hunted. But this recent spell that kept Margetta’s camp hidden from view tells its own story.
He felt Olivia shudder. I just have the worst feeling Margetta has taken Regan back to her lair.
You may be right, but I think this is my fault. Guilt pummeled him all over again How is this on your head, Zane?
Because I chased you away. If you’d stayed, then together, we could have gone to Regan immediately. As it was, you saw how many Invictus surrounded our cottage.
Well, hindsight and all that. Please don’t think about it, not right now.
You’re being gracious.
I’m being realistic, she said. And the exchange at the cottage didn’t mean anything, not really. You were upset. You lashed out. We hardly know each other after all. We should be allowed to have a few squabbles, especially given all that we’ve been through.
You’re right. As always, Olivia took a pragmatic view and it eased him. Yet another sign the woman was right for him.
Zane added, For now, then, we’ll focus on the attack at the Guild. I’m going to path Chase and see where we’re at.
Good idea.
He headed for the mainland as he contacted his lieutenant.
When Chase responded telepathically, he assured Zane that the Vampire Guard and the Shifter Brigade had quickly taken care of the Invictus.
So you have everything under control? Zane asked.
We do. I have another crew coming in from Bergisson Realm to transport the surviving wraith-pairs. We made an effort to capture as many of them as we could, rather than kill them. We’ll be sending twenty-one pairs back to undergo dissolution and rehab.
That’s good, he responded. Do you need me to come back right now? I can, though there’s something I should take care of first.
No worries here, Chase said. We’ve already gone through every building on the premises. And Zane, here’s the good news; there wasn’t one fae casualty. Many were hurt from the feedings, of course, because the wraiths are brutal with their fangs. But your Guard force disrupted the Invictus before any of the women were actually drained to death.
Thank the Goddess for that.
And Luther has his brigade hunting through the forest in wolf-form, putting those noses to good use, ferreting out any Invictus that might be trying to hide.
Zane breathed a sigh of relief as he ended the connection. The report had been so much better than he could have expected. However, it shaded Margetta’s attack with a new, more sinister meaning. She’d had a single goal in attacking the Guild, which was to kidnap Regan, and she’d succeeded.
Reaching landfall, he pathed with Olivia, sharing everything Chase had told him. But before we head back, we need to talk. There’s something I need to say to you. How ‘bout I set us down on the beach again.
I think it’s a good idea.
He flew along the coast, taking Olivia back to the beach south of Angler’s Cliff, the place they’d first made love and where she’d swam as a wolf then bounded against the cliffs.
Setting her down on the sand, he didn’t let her go. Instead, he surrounded her more fully with his arms and kissed her. She responded by slinging her arms around his neck and returning his embrace in full.
After a moment, she said, “Zane, I’m so sorry I took off when I did.”
“And I apologize for what I said. It was unconscionable.”
“Well, yeah it was pretty bad. However, I knew you were hurting, that you were just trying to create some distance because of what you’d just learned about Emily. But that’s not the reason I left.”
He’d never been more surprised. “It isn’t? Why did you go, then?”
She licked her lips and he could sense she was nervous. “Because I’m feeling so much for you. I should have stayed and been honest about why I reacted as I did. I tend to withdraw, and that’s not a good thing. But I confess I’m overwhelmed by what’s happened between us. Yet, I’m excited as well. I think what we have is extraordinary.”
He smiled down at her. “I think so, too.”
“And I don’t mean just the sex.”
“Neither do I.”
She nodded. “I want you to know it means the world to me that my shifter abilities have helped you and have served Swanicott. Which leads me to ask, how will we ever find Regan?”
As the ocean waves settled gently on the shore, one after another, an understanding came to Zane, a knowing beyond himself. “I think I’m beginning to understand why so many blood roses have shown up in such a short space of time, and almost designed for ruling mastyrs. It seems to me that you’ve each arrived when most needed, which means I think Ian should take over at this point.”
Olivia’s eyes widened. “Do you think Regan is a blood rose?”
“I’m almost sure of it, though I didn’t react to her as I did to you.”
Olivia slid her hands down his arms and gripped his forearms. “I don’t think I was always a blood rose. It’s possible that I became one the moment I entered your captor’s tent in the Dead Zone. I think you ignited this gift in me. Maybe the same thing will happen if Ian goes after Regan.”
He nodded slowly. “That’s what I’m thinking as well.”
“Then what are you waiting for? You should let Ian know right now.”
“Damn, you’re right.”
He pulled away from her just enough to draw his cell from his pocket. A few seconds later, he had Ian on the line.
As soon as he told Ian what had happened to Regan, the Mastyr of Camberlaune Realm cursed long and loud. Zane had to hold the phone away from his ear.
“I’m on it, Zane. I’ll find her, though I’ll probably begin at the Fae Guild, so be wary if you end up there as well.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
With that, Ian hung up.
Zane returned his phone to his pocket, then slid his arms around Olivia again. “Maybe this isn’t going to sound right, and maybe it’s not the right time but dammit, I’m in love with you, Olivia. When you left, it was as though all the light disappeared from my world. I’d never known anything so crushing in that moment.
“Maybe it’s the memories you allowed me to have through ‘the knowing’, or maybe it’s the journey we’ve taken together for these last few nights, but, ah, hell, I want to complete the blood rose bond with you. There I’ve said it. I feel as though I know you inside and out.”
“Well definitely inside.” Her lips grew crooked.
When he caught her meaning, he laughed, then ground his hips against hers. “Yes, definitely inside and I want to be there again.” He growled softly and shifted just enough to kiss her throat above her vein. And I want my fangs buried in you as well.
She moaned. And for my blood to be flowing down your throat. And I want to bond with you as well, Zane. I think I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you during one of my first nights in Barker’s Bend.
His heart swelled, knowing they were of one mind. Then we’ll bond.
Yes. We will.
He drew back a little, but kept his hips tight to hers. He loved having his hard cock pressed against her abdomen. He kissed her once more and when desire rose swiftly, he was tempted to take her again, right on the beach as he’d done before.
He pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers. “I know there’s more to be said between us, but we need to go to the Fae Guild first.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
He lifted her into the air, his ent
ire body vibrating with need and desire. Now that the decision to bond had come, he didn’t want to wait.
He flew swiftly so that they landed in the Fae Guild’s central grassy compound a few minutes later. Chase had everything well in hand, just as he’d said. The Bergisson team had already transported at least half the captured wraith-pairs back to Mastyr Ethan’s realm. And the Troll clean-up team had the bodies of the dead settled on stretchers and covered with sheets.
Several of his Vampire Guard patrolled in the air, making slow turns around the entire perimeter, continuing to check for Invictus just in case more arrived to do battle.
He spoke with Chase for a few minutes, as well as Luther. All the fae had been accounted for except Regan, a circumstance that had many of the women weeping.
Other than a few of the Invictus pairs having fed on a handful of the fae, injuries were few and no lives had been lost.
Zane saw Ian at a distance, talking to Regan’s servant, no doubt gathering as much information as he could about Regan’s abduction. Zane slid an arm around Olivia’s waist and pulled her tight against him. The sight of another mastyr vampire had Zane’s muscles jumping in quick fits, ready to do battle, though he knew Ian would keep his distance.
“I see him,” she said quietly.
A soft growl formed in his throat and he leaned close to let Olivia hear it. She grabbed his coat and pulled him down to her, kissing him on the lips. “We’ll bond soon, Zane. Then this will never be a problem again.”
Still, Zane couldn’t help but keep his eye on the mastyr of Camberlaune Realm.
Ian turned in Zane’s direction and lifted a hand in acknowledgement, then pathed, I’m heading out now.
Let me know if you need my help, Zane responded. I’ve got your back.
I know you do. Ian put on his sunglasses and flew swiftly into the night sky toward the southwest, just as Zane and Olivia had done earlier.
Right after, Chase drew near again. “We’re wrapping things up. Several of the fae women here are healers so those who were attacked are in good hands. The leadership is working to restore the spell Regan had created to protect the Guild property from the Invictus. And there is a consensus that Margetta knew exactly where the Guild was so that when she chose, she came straight here and broke Regan’s spell.”
Zane scowled. “That woman needs to be brought to earth. Hard.”
“That she does. And Ian might be the one to do it.”
Zane glanced around once more, satisfied with the state of the Guild.
To Chase, he said, “We’ll be heading out now. Olivia and I have business to discuss.”
He must have sounded as serious as he felt in making this statement because Chase nodded somberly. “If I need anything, I’ll contact Marian first.”
“Good deal.” Zane clapped him on the shoulder. “Thank you. I can always rely on you, Chase, and that’s meant the world to me.”
Chase left to continue overseeing the captured wraith-pairs. Zane held his arm out for Olivia, and when she was pressed tight against him, he rose into the air and headed northeast to his lighthouse home.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Olivia’s heart beat furiously in her chest. She couldn’t believe the man she’d ghosted for so many months was taking her to his lighthouse. The place he’d lived with his wife.
As much as he enjoyed his treehouse complex in the Arundels, the lighthouse, on the east coast of the realm, was the place he considered his home.
Zane was taking her home.
She nuzzled against his neck as he flew at top speed. He would cover two hundred miles in just a few minutes, faster than most mastyrs. What would be impossible in the human world had become an incredible ride in Swanicott. And what amazed her was that there was no air resistance; flying with Zane was like moving through soft clouds.
He set her down just outside his front door. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I pathed to my housekeeper; we have the place to ourselves.”
Olivia was relieved. She knew what she and Zane were like in bed and she couldn’t imagine just how the bonding process would amplify what was already an exhilarating though somewhat noisy experience. The idea of an audience didn’t appeal at all.
He opened the door for her and she moved inside, trembling, but not from fear.
He caught her from behind, wrapping her up tight in his arms. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m overcome.”
“I didn’t pressure you, did I? Are you sure this is what you want?”
She turned in his arms and caressed his face, letting him feel the fur on the back of her hand. “More than I can say. I know this was fast, yet I feel as though I’ve always known you, that you’ve been part of my life forever.”
He nodded. “I know what you mean.” He kissed her, pulling her close, stroking her back. “It helped a lot that you allowed the ‘knowing’. More than anything, it confirmed for me who you were at your core, your physical, wild shifter side, your love of your farm, of the realm, of the ocean and the mountains. Sometimes I wonder if I’m not part shifter because we seem so much alike.”
She smiled but shook her head. “You’re a vampire, Zane, with just a touch of human. I’ve felt your fangs. Believe me, a shifter can’t do what you can do, and I’m glad for it.”
He chuckled softly then kissed her again. She parted her lips, wanting to feel his possessive tongue once more.
Olivia, this is so much more than I ever expected to have in my entire life. Thank you for coming to me.
She hardly knew how to respond. She wanted to say a thousand things, but no words could adequately express all that she felt. Instead, she drew back slightly and licked the dagger on the side of his neck then opened her mouth wide and took his throat between her teeth, clamping down firmly in a shifter way.
He groaned heavily. I take it that’s you’re way of saying you like me, too.
It is.
When she released him, he lifted her up in his arms. He carried her through the house and up a flight of stairs that led to his large master bedroom, a place she’d ghosted, but had never been in. The room overlooked the dark ocean and a sky full of stars. The moon was high as well, casting a gleam over the waters.
She undressed quickly and after he was rid of his Guard uniform, he joined her in bed. She was so ready for him and he seemed to be in the same mode because he settled between her thighs and entered her quickly. He released a deep sigh of relief. “I’ve needed to be back here, joined to you.”
“Me, too.”
His hips worked her in a heartbeat, but this time his mating vibration came roaring toward her. She opened so that she felt his frequency flying over hers then entwining, holding hers tight. Pleasure flowed as it never had before.
He looked down at her, his blue eyes glinting in the dark. “I need to be drinking from you at the same time.”
Her hips arched just at the thought of his fangs. He groaned in response.
She rolled her head to the side, lifting her chin. He sank his fangs quickly and began to drink, heavy pulls that sent chills over her shoulders.
Olivia gave herself to the sensation of his cock deep inside her well, of his mating frequency taking possession of hers, of his mouth suckling at her throat. And a sense of euphoria, beyond just sexual release, began to build inside her.
She opened her mouth, grabbing as much air as she could and panted.
The bond tightened, and at the same time ecstasy flowed in a hot wave up her body, invading her abdomen, her chest, her heart.
She screamed as Zane pumped into her and as their mating frequencies became one.
She held him tight, digging her nails into the muscles of his shoulders.
No words could come, not even mind-to-mind.
Zane lifted off her throat and began to roar.
She was all sensation, lost in the rapture of the moment, of Zane connected to her with his cock and his mating frequency.
She became more in that moment, more of
herself, more of a shifter, more engaged with her realm. Mostly she was now and forever Zane’s blood rose. And no other mastyr could touch her.
She sensed what he was feeling as well, which was one of the benefits of the bond. She could feel the pleasure he took from having his cock buried deep, of nuzzling her neck, of making the soft grunting sounds as he kissed her face, her throat, her ears.
“You’re mine,” he murmured, nuzzling her some more.
“I’m yours.”
“And I can feel how you’re savoring my touch, my kisses, my cock inside your body.”
“This is amazing,” she whispered.
The deep sense of loneliness she’d lived with her entire life lifted from her body. She’d experienced two decades of living apart, of isolation, of sadness, but in this moment the sensation simply turned to vapor and disappeared.
Never again would she be alone. She would always have a home with Zane and they would build a life together.
~
For a long moment, Zane couldn’t put into words what he felt. Finally, he identified the sensation: He was happy. The five years of grief had ended, to be supplanted by a kind of contentment he’d never known before, not in all his long life.
Now that he’d bound his mating frequency to Olivia’s, he felt amazingly complete and deeply satisfied. At the same time, he could feel and experience what she experienced when he brushed his lips against her check, or caressed her with his hands, or what his lips felt like to her when he kissed her.
The pain that had lived in his heart was now long gone. Gone perhaps, the moment he’d sensed Olivia on the front porch of her green house in Barker’s Bend.
“I’m so glad you’re here, Olivia.” He couldn’t help that his throat had grown tight, or that one or two tears escaped his eyes.
She caught one of them and like the shifter she was, she slid her finger in her mouth. “Mmmm, like the hillside grasses near the ocean. I love your flavor, the way you smell, all the scents and tastes of you.”