Chapter 26 #3
The alpha finally killed the quiet, clearly irritated by the weredolphin’s scrutiny with how clenched his jaw was. “What are you picking up?”
She turned her eyes to me next. “Nothing from either of you. Only Trev gives off a reading.”
“A golden gift?” Arlo said. “Weird. Maybe it’s in Dunstable. Get to the heart of Dawn and it might show itself.”
“Possibly,” Malorie replied. “We’ll find out, if you agree to the next step.”
“I’ll make more tea,” Andrew said, getting up.
“Thank you, dear,” Malorie replied, taking his hand and kissing it.
He left the room after winking at her.
Malorie took a few moments to think before revealing her plan.
“My gift is in mind walking and unlocking. We can explore together, shining light on truth. I can brew a concoction, literally using my blood and sweat, to open your minds completely. Unblock you both, unbury the truth.” She pointed at Trev and Miko.
No one interjected.
“It will work with me as the core of the quest, linked to you both by touch. You will need anchors to ground you inside the magic.”
Paige and I shot our hands in the air.
“Wonderful,” Malorie said. “How does this sound? I’ll warn you, this will be exhausting, the concoction vile to drink. But I have every faith you will receive much clearer pictures.”
Miko asked his pack what they thought.
They all agreed it would be for the best.
“In case there’s more,” James said. “To spare your life.”
Miko drifted off into thought.
Andrew returned with tea and a message. “There are two vampires here.”
Daria and Joe appeared behind him.
“Greetings.” Daria waved, offering introductions.
Joe nodded, sucking on a marshmallow.
Miko didn’t seem to notice their arrival.
The family looked at each other in concern, but quickly settled knowing the blood drinkers were friends of ours.
Daria sat beside Malorie. “You have a charming home.”
“Would you like some tea?” the weredolphin asked.
“No, thank you.” She offered her a warm, if not slightly creepy smile.
Joe popped another marshmallow into his mouth.
“Apologies for our late arrival,” Daria said. “We had a zombie issue.”
“Same,” James replied, explaining Richie’s bomb and the speedies.
“Explains those smoking ruins. How awful. I trust you are all well now?”
“For the most part.”
Andrew placed the tea tray on the coffee table while the vampires got caught up to speed.
“It’s a noble thing to do, Miko,” Andrew said afterward. “There aren’t many who would willingly give their lives to save the world. I admire you. A lot.”
“Same,” Arlo agreed. “You’ve got balls of steel.”
Miko remained unresponsive, staring at the wall.
I curled my fingers around his arm. “Miko?”
He faced me. “Yeah?”
“Do you want some fresh air?”
“What?”
“Shall we take a walk?”
“Yeah. That…” He swallowed, rubbing at his cheek. “That’ll be good.”
“Would that be alright?” I asked the family.
“Of course,” Andrew said. “Take your time. If you go through the back door, you can go to the watermill for some space.”
Miko turned to Trev. “I want to do this.”
“Me too, mate,” Trev answered.
“I’ll begin the brew,” Malorie said. “It will be ready by morning.”
Miko nodded, linking his arm with mine.
Was this really happening? Could this mind walk change things?
We left through a dark utility room, laundry pegged on two lines to either side of the door.
Outside, Miko sucked in a big lungful of air.
“Better?” I wondered.
“Much better.”
Stars peppered a clear night sky, the moon bright and milky again. Even though London lost its light pollution, the stars still seemed so much brighter out here in the countryside.
“I can still smell burning from Richie’s house,” Miko said.
I leaned my head on his shoulder for a moment. “Do you want to talk at the watermill?”
He touched my face with a warm hand. “Yeah.”
We walked together across the grass, passing the chicken coop and the locked barn, enjoying the peace and quiet. There were no zombie moans on the wind, at least to my ears, and the perma-stench of decay stank a lot less.
I clicked my penlight to the mild beam, though the moon’s brilliance lit everything enough. The watermill’s wheel turned gently, sloshing the clear river water reflecting the lunar light.
“They use these a lot in western Faery,” I said. “But on a grander scale. The wheels are huge. They scare me, actually.”
“Scare you?”
“You’ll have to see them to understand.”
He stopped. “Want to look inside?”
“Yes.”
But the door into the watermill was locked.
“Bollocks,” he muttered.
“Don’t worry. Let’s sit by the river. There’s a bench there.”
He knocked his knuckles on the wood. “Fucking door.”
I smiled, ushering him toward the bench. “Forget the door. It’s better being outside.”
“Yeah.” He waited for me to sit first, then settled beside me, crossing his legs to match his arms. “Nice night.”
“It is.”
He sprang to his feet. “Fuck this.”
“Sorry?”
“Fuck this, Ori. Fuck this shit so fucking hard.”
That was a lot of f-bombs in a row. “What’s the matter?”
“Everything.” He picked up a stone, tossing it into the water. “Every damn thing.”
“I—”
“This is getting too much.”
I stood, planning to hug him. But he turned, striding past me toward a single tree close to the river’s edge. “Fuck this.”
“Miko, wait.” I hurried past him. “Talk to me.”
He stopped at the tree, leaning against it. “Talk to you? About what? The same shit? Because that’s all it’ll be. Rinse and repeat. Blah, blah, fucking blah.”
“Maybe Malorie really can help. Maybe there’s—”
“Hope?” He shook his head.
“Why is that so hard to—”
“Believe?”
I put my hands on my hips. “All I’m saying is—”
“The same old thing.”
“Keep interrupting me, by all means.”
He offered no emotional response, only a dark stare. “Sorry.”
“I want there to be hope for you. We all do. We don’t want you dead. If there’s a chance…” My eyes pricked with moisture. “If there’s a chance…” Here came the tears. “Stars…”
“Ori…”
I took a step back. “No. I’m fine. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to cry and shout at you. James did that already. But you have to know that I’m…” My throat closed up as the words tried to break through. In this moment, they were too painful to let loose, too, well, hopeful.
“What is it?” Miko pushed himself off the tree. “Tell me?”
“Can we go back to the bench?”
He came closer, his body seeming bigger, a looming presence drowning out the starlight. Scary, sexy, and mine.
“Ori?”
“I can’t…”
“You can. What’s up?”
Closer, closer, making me tremble, sweat pooling at the base of my spine. “Miko…”
He was too close now, my throat breaking open.
Oh, stars. Here were the words. “I’m in love with you.”
They burned my lips, my tongue trying to call them back.
But it was done. I’d been the first to say it. Even though we were bonded, speaking the truth felt like pulling teeth. It changed things, pushed this bonding to the next stage or broke me into a million pieces. With everything going on, they were probably the last words Miko wanted to hear.
His dark eyes widened. He growled, turning his back on me.
Here comes the breaking…
“Fuck.” He paced, arms firmly crossed. “I want to say I tried to avoid diving too deep, but that’s bullshit. I threw myself off the diving board and belly flopped into you.”
In that moment, the creases forming on his brow intensified his cuteness, the fractures in my heart not so severe.
“Ouch,” I responded.
Thump, thump.
Thump, thump.
“You know what I mean.” He sighed, dropping his arms. “With everything around us, it would’ve been better to push you away. Fuck that. I’m not going down that road again. We’ve already been there. I’ve already hurt you enough.”
Those fractures threatened me again. “I’m sorry.”
“For what? And don’t say for coming into my life or some bollocks. Because I’m so happy you did. Happier than I can say.”
Butterflies danced in my belly. “Miko…”
“Whatever my dreams really mean, I know one thing for sure—you’re supposed to be here with me. But how does that work? What am I supposed to do with what you just said? How am I supposed to think or do anything when I feel the same?”
I gasped, totally stunned.
He came to me, taking my face in his hands. Stars, I loved it when he did that.
“I’m so fucking in love with you, Ori.”
It hit me like a runaway train. I almost lost my balance, the thumping of our entwined hearts rocking my world.
He released me, pacing again.
“I get jealous, too,” he said.
“Jealous?”
“I heard Basil back in the tunnels. You know I heard Basil. When he healed you, it pissed me off. Yeah, I wanted you better, but his lips on your cheek, his arms and body and…” He paused, hands balled into fists. “I kept thinking about breaking his face for touching my things.”
Goodness, how overprotective and hot. “Things?”
“You know what I mean.”
My skin flushed with heat, lust spiking again. The air between us crackled with an intensity we both understood. We moved closer to each other in perfect synergy, my cock flooding with blood.
“Did we really just say that?” Miko wondered.
“We did.”
“Shit.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“I know.”
We stepped closer, a smile of pure sensuality releasing dark fires in his eyes. “I meant it.”
“Me, too.”
“I need you. Right now.”
I felt a rush of excitement, a loosening of my inhibitions. I weakened under his gaze, so ready for him. Our moment in the bathroom had been a teasing prelude, this the main event.
I took charge, manifesting bigger energy than him.
“Ori?” He backed away, bumping into the tree.
“Stay right there.”
“What?”
“It’s my turn to show you what my mouth can do.”