And Abel would strongly accept that precaution and not let Delilah sleep without him around.
“There’s more to share,” Gregor butted in, “and more to learn, most especially about you and your history.”
“How crucial is that to know at this juncture?” Abel asked.
“Not more crucial than us learning what we all need to know, that being how our enemy was able to find you and Delilah before we did,” Gregor returned.
“Yeah,” Abel snarled. “That’s somethin’ I’d like to know too.”
“We have people working on it,” Gregor assured him.
“Like you had people keeping us safe today?” Abel asked derisively.
“I lost a good man I respected today too, Abel,” Gregor reminded him quietly.
Abel clenched his teeth. His blow was low. He knew it and he had to cool it.
Gregor took a sip from his whiskey, giving Abel a moment to pull his shit together. Abel had to give that to him too. It was a cool thing to do.
Once he sensed Abel had sorted his shit, he went on.
“One of the many reasons I wished for Callum and Lucien to be here is that, unfortunately, I don’t have more time right now as I have a great deal to do. Today’s attack means things have escalated and I’m concerned how that escalation may be taking shape, not only here but elsewhere. The wraiths have information and I need to brief with them. I also need to contact The Vampire Council so they can make the world’s governments aware of today’s activities, giving them the information they need to continue with their own preparations.”
“The world’s governments?” Abel asked.
“Very few humans know of the existence of immortals,” Callum explained, and Abel turned his attention to him. “But select trusted officials high up in every nation’s government are aware. They’ve also been made aware that the enemy is uniting, planning, and we, all of us, must be prepared for attack. Not like today. On humans.”
“This just keeps getting better,” Abel muttered.
“It’s a lot to take in, we know,” Lucien said in a low, conciliatory voice. “But even so, you need to take it in, you need to prepare your mate and your family, and you need to move on from that to where we all need to be to fight this.”
He didn’t like it, but he was getting that this was the fucking truth.
Abel nodded to Lucien and looked back to Gregor. “Explain about the enemy uniting.”
Probably because he had to get out of there, Gregor gave it to him quickly and without delay.
“As I mentioned earlier, we thought the wraiths had allied with those who would subjugate humans. Fortunately, they have not. Or, at least, not the vast majority of them who follow their empress, Serena. The Wee, who I also previously mentioned, have long since retreated under the earth. It’s been centuries and no one has seen them or heard from them, thus there’s no way to get a message to them. Regardless, they washed their hands of anything that happens topside a long time ago. They left the surface with some disgust as to how mortals and immortals were behaving, saying they would never get involved. Knowing this, it would be a waste of time and energy to attempt to communicate with them.”
He paused, and when Abel nodded, Gregor continued.
“You must know there are factions of all immortals who side with the enemy. However, the bulk of vampires, werewolves, and, now we know, wraiths are with us. Phantoms, we don’t know. They don’t often get involved with immortal dealings so they could be neutral. They could also be foes. They’re refusing to speak with us or Callum’s emissaries. However, it’s our understanding they’re also refusing talks with our enemy. Unfortunately, golem have aligned with our adversary.”
“And what the fuck are golem?” Abel asked.
“Human lore says they’re creatures created of clay or mud, formed into human shapes and magically imbued with life, completely controlled by the human who created them, mindless besides,” Lucien shared.
“And the real story?” Abel pushed.
“They’re immortals whose procreation includes the female and male tearing away their own flesh and bones to form an infant. They cover the child in their blood, perform a ritual, and breathe life into their potential offspring from their own mouths,” Callum finished the story.
“Fucking hell,” Abel murmured.
“And they’re not mindless,” Gregor put in. “They’re quite powerful, if clumsy in battle, their bulk, which is considerable, being to their advantage. They can also be beheaded and survive for some time, five, ten minutes, as long as they can find and reattach their heads.”
“Jesus,” Abel mumbled.
Gregor kept speaking.
“The only way to kill them is to dismember them into as many pieces as possible and set fire, again, to as many pieces as possible.”
“They also don’t procreate easily,” Callum added. “The child formed by parts of their parents does not always take their breath and then breathe. Golem mates can try for decades, even centuries, before they create one child. This means they’re particularly careful about losses so it’s a surprise they’ve not stayed neutral. Then again, they don’t look quite like humans, stay hidden almost completely, and have had a very difficult history, including much vilification at human hands that at many points some centuries ago was extreme.”
Gregor sighed and Abel switched his gaze to the vampire. “I wish I had the entirety of the evening to share more, but I must prepare. Serena is en route and she and I have much to discuss.”
“Right,” Abel muttered.
“Lucien and Callum can fill in many blanks, Abel,” Gregor told him. “But I’ll leave you with this. I’m pleased you and Delilah are in the fold. But I’m more pleased with the immortal we’ve discovered you to be—a great warrior, loyal to his family, protective of his mate. As The Prophesies have foretold, you would be that kind of immortal. But in reality, you are that and more. I have always had hope, knowing Lucien and Callum were to lead our fight. Now, fighting at your side with the family you’ve created, the loyalty they showed, and the way they mourn their loss, my hope has increased greatly.”
Abel didn’t want to give a shit about what the guy thought, but he couldn’t help but do it.
And since the vampire put it out there, Abel had to give it back, doing this by muttering his “Thanks.”
Gregor smiled a small smile, downed his whiskey, set his glass aside, turned his head, and tipped his chin to Lucien and Callum.
He left the room, saying, “Until tomorrow.”
The door closed on him and Callum remarked, “You want to get to your mate.”
He gave the wolf his eyes. “And you want to get to yours.”
Callum smiled and crossed his arms on his chest.
That meant yes.
Callum was also right. Abel wanted to get to Delilah.
But there were a few things to cover first.
“Can phantoms attack from the sky, and are there mermaids who can attack by sea?” Abel asked.
Callum’s smile got bigger, but it was Lucien who answered.
“Phantoms can attack from the sky, but The Dominion has an invisible electronic net shielding that area. This net would not entirely stop them, but it would hold them back long enough for us to prepare.” His lips quirked before he concluded, “There are no such things as mermaids.”
“Well thank fuck for that,” Abel murmured.
“My wolves are making camp on the grounds,” Callum told him, and when Abel looked his way, he saw he was now deadly serious. “You undoubtedly sense the vampires filling the rooms of the compound. What you may not have noted was that The Dominion has soldiers in guardhouses lining the fences. They, and I, have wolves and vampires infiltrating the local towns. The wraiths are doing the same. This is for the humans’ safety as well as ours. Our adversary would have to concentrate a foolish amount of their forces here in order to penetrate our current defenses and claim The Three.”
“That makes me uneasy
and easy at the same time,” Abel told him.
“As you should be,” Callum replied, “for that means they can concentrate elsewhere.”
“And we have people out there concentrating on elsewhere?” Abel asked.
“We do,” Lucien replied, “as well as the United States military being aware of the situation and on high alert for attack.” He threw out a hand Abel’s way, indicating his body which, since their earlier situation, had fully healed. “We immortals can sustain many injuries. But this doesn’t mean modern weaponry is futile against our kind. Far from it.”
“Will they fight fire with fire?” Abel went on.
“Likely,” Callum grunted.
“So we’re at war. We’re just waiting to see what they do next,” Abel surmised.
“We’re also trying to discover what they’ll do next in hopes of being in position to stop it,” Lucien told him.
“And these Prophesies,” Abel kept at them. “You know of them?”
Both men nodded, but Callum spoke.
“They’re unfortunately vague. They’re also unfortunately vaguely dire. There are no conclusions. We don’t know what will happen definitively. We don’t even know what will happen to lead up to the ultimate campaign. We just know the stories of The Three have all come true. So we know they are not just words written on paper by the Ancients.”
Abel didn’t even bother asking what the Ancients were, not that he didn’t care, just that he was done with this shit.
For now.
“Further,” Callum continued, “the wolves have Oracles. I’ve spoken with them, but they say the destiny of The Three has not yet been written in the stars.”
“I’m sure you’ve impressed the importance of a phone call if that happens,” Abel noted, and Callum grinned.
“Indeed, I have.”
Jesus. The entirety of this shit was fucking whacked.
“This is a lot to take in,” Lucien said quietly. “Go to Delilah. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
That was the only good suggestion he’d heard all day.
He nodded to Lucien, gave a nod to Callum, and moved to the door.
“Take the whiskey,” Callum called.
The second good suggestion of the day.
He gave the wolf a look, changed direction, and took the decanter of whiskey.
He had his hand on the knob when Callum declared, “I do not die in this war and my queen sure as fuck doesn’t.”
Abel turned to him, and if he was another man, say a human one, the look on the wolf’s face would have him shaking in his boots.
Being who he was, what he was, and just learning what he and Delilah were facing, he did not.
He got Callum. He liked what he got. And he gave the wolf another nod.
“Leah and I the same,” Lucien said with deceptive calmness, and Abel looked to him. “And we, none of us, will allow you or Delilah to fall.”
“She likes people she cares about to call her Lilah,” Abel said in reply.
Both men stared at him.
“She’ll give you that go-ahead, my guess, tomorrow over breakfast,” Abel finished.
Lucien’s lips again twitched and Callum gave him another grin.
Abel didn’t give them anything.
He turned back to the door, opened it, moved his ass through it, and went directly to his mate.
Chapter Twelve
It Felt Like Falling in Love
Delilah
My eyes opened in the dark.
I felt exceptionally soft sheets, the most heavenly mattress I’d ever experienced, as well as even more heaven.
Being tangled up with Abel.
Entirely tangled up. Our legs. His arms wrapped tight around me, mine around him, my face in his throat, my hair scattered over my neck and shoulder as well as his.
“Sleep, pussycat,” he murmured into the top of my hair.
How he knew I was awake when I didn’t move anything but my eyelids, I didn’t know.
I just knew he wasn’t sleeping, likely from worry for me.
“He taught me how to play checkers.”
I meant Snake.
Abel knew what I meant and his arms gathered me even closer.
“When am I gonna settle in the knowledge I had that kind of love?” I asked, thinking of Snake’s words days before.
“Baby,” he whispered but gave me no answer. Probably because there wasn’t one. It would happen when it happened and I just had to ride the wave of grief until it came to me.
“I see him when I close my eyes, Abel,” I told his throat. “I fall asleep and wake, because in my dreams, I see him lying there in all that blood.”
“Talk to me,” he urged.
“I am.”
“No, bao bei, about Snake. Talk to me. Tell me about him.”
I didn’t know if this was a good idea.
But still, I nestled closer, took a deep breath, and talked to my man about Snake. My father’s friend. Someone I’d known my whole life. Someone I’d laughed with. Someone who’d also been disappointed I’d dated a preppy. Someone who’d come to my high school graduation, given me a hug and a present of a gold crucifix necklace, and told me he was proud of me.
Someone who’d taught me how to play checkers when I was seven.
Someone who’d died for me when I was twenty-nine.
I kept talking, held close in Abel’s arms, tangled up in his powerful limbs, until my words drifted away and I went to sleep.
It wasn’t until later that I’d realize, when I was hurting, my man gave me just what I needed.
* * * * *
The next morning, sitting in Abel’s lap in the big chair by the window, still in my nightshirt, Abel having tugged on jeans, I listened to him talk as I stared at the sea.
I didn’t say anything. Too much was in my head—what had happened the day before and all he was telling me.
I still didn’t say anything when he was done.
He let me have my silence until he was finished letting me have my silence.
“Lilah?” he called, his arms giving me a squeeze.
“We’re destined to save the world?” I asked.
“Apparently,” he answered.
“Yeesh,” I muttered.
“It’s a lot to take in, pussycat.”
He could say that again.
“It sucks. But one thing about it doesn’t suck. It brought you to me,” he stated, and I closed my eyes.
God, he liked me. He really, really liked me.
That was good since I felt the same.
I opened my eyes. “You’re good at finding the silver lining.”
He gave a soft, short chuckle.
It, too, was heavenly.
Then he said, “I gotta know you’re processing this ’cause I gotta brief our families about that shit.”
“I’ll go with you,” I told him and got another squeeze of his arms.
“No. Take your time. Have a bath. They say we can order up breakfast. I’ll take care of that for you. Then I’m gonna go get some blood and, after that, talk to our people. You need to take care of you. Give Snake some of your headspace. Come to terms with what he gave you. I’ll be back.”
“I wanna check in on Chen and Jabber.”
“You can do that after you take care of you.”
“That is taking care of me.”
“No, that’s my Lilah takin’ care of other people. But my job is to take care of you. This morning is yours. You don’t need to think of destiny. Fuck, you don’t even need to give your headspace to Snake. You just need to do what you need to do and have the space and time to do it.”
One could say having a long hot bath in the huge, super-luxuriant bathroom that was all ours, hanging in the equally huge and super-luxuriant bedroom, taking time to get ready, have breakfast, get shit sorted in my head, all in a stronghold of The Vampire Dominion where no one could hurt us and I could stare out at the sea, was not a bad idea.
I cuddled closer
even as I moved my head to catch his eyes.
He felt them, tipped his chin, and gave his to me.
“You get the sucky jobs,” I said softly.
His eyes went hard. “Takin’ care of you is not a sucky job.”
Okay, I knew how he felt about that.
And I liked how he felt about that.
So much I felt my nose sting with oncoming tears and shoved my face in his throat so he wouldn’t see me cry again.
He curled a hand around the back of my head and held me there.
“I like you,” I sobbed into his throat.
I felt his body tense, then relax, and there was humor in his voice when he said, “Well, that’s good.”
“Like…a lot,” I clarified.
“That’s good too.”
“You’re very sweet,” I told him.
Abel didn’t reply to that.
My voice was croaky with tears when I went on, “You treat me right, and you’re respectful of my family, and you’ve given me more by giving me yours, and you’re great in bed.”
“That’s it?” he teased.
“You’re hot.”
He shoved my face in his throat reflexively when his entire body tensed again, but this time, because he burst out laughing.
Startled by the sound, I pulled my face out of his throat and watched him do it.
Yep, he was hot.
He kept doing it even as he focused on me, his hand sliding from the back of my head so he could use a thumb to rub the wet on my cheek away.
The laughter was gone when he said gently, “I like you too.”
Fuck, that felt awesome.
“Well, that’s good.”
He grinned at me.
“I missed two,” I told him.
He kept grinning when he asked, “Those are…?”
“You’re a biker, and Dad likes you.”
He continued to grin, but it died slowly as he said quietly, “Let me take care of you, bao bei. Later, you can face the world and all the shit that’s goin’ down. Now, you take time for you. Yeah?”
I nodded.
“What do you want for breakfast?” he asked.
“I’m not very hungry.”
“How about fruit and toast, then?”
God, he was really good at this.