Chapter 8 – Locheran
Iwake at sunset with my cock achingly hard.
It doesn’t matter that I drained it twice after getting home from the conference’s first night party.
It’s because I can’t stop thinking about her.
Farrah.
Her wonderful scent. Not only her sweet perfume—vanilla, coconut, and a hint of passion fruit—but her mouthwatering cunt.
I’ve never tasted a pussy so addicting.
I’m still trying to figure out why Farrah is special. Why, after one thousand years of living, is this human the one I’m obsessing over?
Is she my mate?
It doesn’t seem possible. I’ve been around her before and hadn’t reacted the way I am now—this feral need to knot inside her and sink my fangs into her neck.
I was sporting a chub all night after she let me use my tail on her. If she hadn’t told me about her lack of good sex, I’d have fucked her too. But she deserves better than a rooftop hookup. She deserves worshipping and drawn-out orgasms… multiple orgasms.
Sighing, I jump out of bed and head straight to the shower to jack off.
I turn the water ice-cold to calm down my heated and horny body.
Once I dress and eat a hearty breakfast, I fly to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown where we’ve set up headquarters for the hunter search.
The landmark has hosted supernatural meetings since construction was completed in 1878.
When I arrive, I find Xander and Thorne at the head of the conference room table chatting while other supernatural soldiers—shifters, weres, vampires, fae, witches, ogres, and more—take their seats.
The International Supernatural Conference is getting underway for night two, and I have an hour to update the hunter task force team on the new surveillance image. It’s the first image of an O’Hern hunter captured in years.
Once the team is up to date, we’ll head over to Brooklyn for the conference and talk to the attendees about security measures and protection procedures, for supernaturals and humans alike, now that the unveiling plan is moving forward.
There’s still a lot of work to do, but the priority remains focused on protecting our kind. Supes in cities around the world also need time to gather armies and train them on how to respond to backlash.
To prepare for war, if that’s the worst-case scenario.
The problem is we can’t kill humans for lashing out on us because of their fear.
That’s not going to win us any favors with hesitant or skeptical humans.
We also can’t allow witches or vampires to erase their memories or alter their feelings towards us.
While we can defend ourselves, we must do whatever it takes to keep a human alive.
It’s not something we’re used to, which is why training is needed.
Hunters who attempt to capture or kill us will need to be handed over to mortal law enforcement agencies.
They’ll need to be treated the same as any regular human despite the belief that they’re anything but normal.
Many supernaturals believe hunters are cursed or destined.
It’s yet to be proven, but I’m confident that there’s something in their blood… their DNA… that makes them hate us.
Gargoyles are no stranger to curses. We were cursed to the night by a witch after a scared human spotted a gargoyle flying the skies while on patrol. It didn’t matter that we protect humans from the evil that threatens the world. The witch cursed us anyway.
I approach Thorne and Xander who are all but glowing. They’re both happy. In love. Mated. They both deserve it too.
Xander’s the first to see me, and he smirks before speaking. “So, my wife’s best friend?”
He claps me on the back.
“Farrah?” Thorne asks, intrigued. “She is lovely. Congratulations, friend.”
I huff at the assholes.
“It’s nothing serious. It can’t be. You both know that. She’s human, and we’re not mates.”
“Stranger things have happened,” Thorne says, referring to himself. He’s fated to two beings—something that is rare even for our supernatural world.
But he’s also right.
“If she were my mate, wouldn’t I have known the moment we met?” I ask.
“Unless there’s a reason your connection is blocked," Xander offers. “It could be anything: a curse, a spell…”
I considered this as well.
The room has quieted, and I know everyone is listening to our conversation. Supernaturals are nosey and love to gossip. It’s bad enough that King Xander’s first in command returned to last night’s party smelling like human pussy… a human that many monsters had eyes on.
It still pisses me off thinking about all the horny fuckers eyeing my mouse.
“It's because she was turned on all night. Her sweet cunt smelled divine,” a familiar and cocky voice says beside me.
Rorik barely finishes the sentence before I’m in front of him, cracking his neck, and tossing him to the ground.
I glance at Xander and Thorne who gawk at me, mouths open because I just incapacitated the first vampire. The rest of the room has similar reactions. A shifter has even pulled out his phone to take a picture or record video.
I’m not sure why they’re all shocked. Rorik can’t even die. No harm, no foul.
But still… if word got back to Layla, she could impose a fine on me or ask Xander to punish me.
Supes aren’t supposed to attack each other.
Certainly, Layla would understand, especially after the way he spoke about Farrah.
Not even a minute later, Rory gasps and picks himself up off the ground.
“Locheran, baby, you know I like it rough,” he chuckles and brushes some dirt off his black suit.
“No one invited you. Why are you here?” I ask and cross my arms.
“Actually,” Rory says, stretching his neck as the bones work to mend, “Xander invited me.”
“Of course, I did.” Xander scowls at me. “We’ve been using Rorik and his mind reading abilities to extract information from captured hunters. Why wouldn’t I invite him?”
Rorik holds up a finger as he speaks. “As the king’s first in command, you should know this. Also, wouldn’t it be second-in-command since Xander is king, which means he’s first and that’d make you second, and… you know what? It doesn’t matter.”
I ignore the ‘first in command’ comment because he’s technically right, but Xander has always called me his first in command, ever since we were young.
He says it’s because he trusts me with his life.
He trusts me to make decisions without consulting him.
I often make decisions for him. I could never be second to him because he considers me his equal, even though he’s royalty.
Besides, I did think about inviting this fucker. Then I decided not to because he’s an asshole.
“Fine,” I say, relenting to Rorik’s presence. “Take a seat.”
Dickhead, I silently add, knowing Rory would have heard the word.
Rory. What a dumb name for a vampire.
I get to work before Rory can respond to any of my thoughts and fire up my laptop. Once I have the surveillance picture pulled up, I project it to a screen on the wall.
“I’ll make this quick as most of us are eager for night two of the conference.
We pulled this image of a hunter last night from a suspected safe house.
We have a team observing the house now, but there hasn’t been any activity since this image was taken.
If we get confirmation that the O’Herns are holed up here, we’ll move in.
“You should have already received this image on your phones. Please share it with the soldiers of your species. They need to be on alert. We believe as long as the hunters are here in the city, they’re planning another attack.
They seem to want Vara for her golden feathers or a gargoyle for their horns; however, no supernatural is safe. ”
I close my laptop and scan the team. Angry and eager faces stare back at me.
“They’re getting desperate and messy, which can work to our advantage, but I want to be clear.
Do not take a life. Now that the unveiling plan is in motion, we need to do everything in our power to show humans we are of no danger to them.
That includes not harming hunters. Defend yourself, capture them, and turn them over to human law enforcement agencies we’ve allied with where they’ll be punished under their rules.
I know that isn’t fair since these hunters want to kill us, but this is why we worked with human politicians to craft new laws to protect us.
Only resort to death if your life is on the line. ”
I wait for their confirmation and despite the begrudging nods, everyone agrees.
“Great. There will be a panel tonight discussing some of the newly constructed laws as a result of the unveiling plan. I highly recommend sitting in and taking notes. Try to have fun tonight but don’t let your guard down.”
I pause to let my words settle in.
"You’re dismissed.”
“This could have been an email,” Rorik mumbles as he slowly makes his way out of the room with the other supes.
I flip him off and he pretends to grab it and put it in his pocket. He blows me a kiss before walking out the door.
Xander and Thorne, who had been up against the wall watching as I led the meeting, return to my side.
“You’re seeing Farrah tonight?” Xander asks, already knowing the answer because I’m sure Farrah told Evangeline who then told him.
“We’re meeting up around ten after I lead tonight’s presentation,” I explain.
“Why don’t you go to her now?” Xander says, a hand on my shoulder.
“I can do the presentation,” Thorne adds.
“You hate talking and being on stage in front of people,” I say.
Thorne shrugs and crosses his muscle-packed arms. He’s the biggest gargoyle in Xander’s army. Bigger than Xander himself. The look of contentment and happiness is strange yet fitting on him.
“I’m a changed monster. My mates are bringing out my extroverted side.”
It’s true that Layla and Vara are two outgoing and powerful women. There’s nothing shy about either of them. Thorne is learning to find his voice by being mated to them.
“I don’t know…” I say, not wanting to sound too eager.
The task force is something I’ve been building for months. I’ve put a lot of hard work into forming battle plans with them and organizing operations to keep the supernatural world safe.
But at the same time, it’s exhausting. Not just this task force, but everything. Life has become predictable for me. I’ve been fighting since I was a pup. Xander and I joined his father’s army in France when we both turned eighteen, but we’ve been training for battle since we were ten.
Protect the humans. Go to war with evil. Win. Protect the humans. Go to war with evil. Win.
Farrah has been the most exciting thing to happen to me in centuries. I’d ignore all my responsibilities if I could to be with her every minute of the day.
“We’ve got you,” Xander says and walks out of the room.
Thorne follows but before exiting he turns to me.
“Nothing is impossible in our world.” He reiterates. “I’ve experienced that firsthand.” He smiles and once again the emotion is strange on the intimidating soldier. “I think it’s your time.”
Thorne leaves, and I clutch my chest over my frantic heart.
What if he’s right?
What if Farrah is really my mate?
If that’s the case, then something is blocking our connection. And tonight I’m determined to figure out what’s getting in the way of my one true love.