Chapter 32 – Locheran
It hurts.
Everything hurts.
Of all the times I’ve been injured in battle, my wounds have never felt as if they were on fire. As if my blood had been replaced with flames. As if a million bees were stinging every inch of my skin. As if a horde of cats were clawing me to death.
I was ready to give up. I was preparing for my end.
Then I heard her.
My mate.
The light to my darkness.
She claimed I saved her, but she’s the one who saved me. She saved me from a life of solitude. A life of emptiness. A life where I never experienced true love.
And now, she saved me from a warspear wound.
I wake to a heavy weight on my chest. My eyes struggle to focus, and I panic when I see nothing but blackness.
Everything is vibrating.
“Potato!” a familiar voice calls out. “Get off him!”
The cat springs off my chest and I humph.
Okay.
I’m not dying.
And now I can see.
It was just the cat… trying to kill me.
“He wasn’t trying to kill you,” Farrah snorts.
The feline—now sitting at the foot of the bed… on my legs—meows as if agreeing with Farrah.
“I was hoping you’d stay awake long enough this time to eat,” Farrah says, carrying a tray to the bed. “Don’t worry. I didn’t make it. I ordered from a deli down the street.”
I sit up and she sets the tray on my lap. Pancakes, eggs, and bacon fill a plate with a mug of coffee beside it.
“I ordered two servings since I know you eat a lot.”
“I am a big, ravenous monster, you know,” I say with a smirk.
She sits next to my knees. Potato remains perched at the end of the bed, staring at me. Or maybe he’s staring at my food.
“How are you feeling?” she asks, placing a hand on my leg.
“Better.” I stab into the pancakes and shove the food into my mouth. I close my eyes and chew, appreciating the taste. “How long have I been asleep?”
Farrah frowns. “Two weeks. You woke up yesterday but only for a minute before passing out again. Evangeline and Claudia said that was a good sign and that you’d likely be fully awake today.”
I nod. I’ve known gargoyles who’ve been injured by a warspear to sleep longer.
Months even. I set the fork down and lift my shirt.
The wound is healed but a nasty scar has been left.
I was lucky. The toxin from a warspear can spread fast, and once it reaches our heart and brain, there’s no saving us.
My friend, Thorne, was slashed on his face. Thankfully, a gargoyle medic was nearby when it happened, and they were able to seep out the poison before it got deep enough. It took months for him to fully recover, and it left a huge scar across his face.
I still ache, but it’s somewhat bearable.
“The witches believe my blood helped you heal. And Xander explained that gargoyles are stronger with a fated mate. If I hadn’t been there…”
She sniffs, swiping a tear away.
I palm her cheek, and she leans into my touch. “But you were there. My little hero.”
She smiles and kisses my palm. The bond between us purrs with satisfaction.
I pick up my fork to continue eating. “So, what did I miss?”
Farrah exhales. “A lot. The witch that created the first vampire escaped.”
“I thought she was supposed to be this all powerful, scary witch? Yet she dipped at the first sign of losing a battle?”
My mate nods. “The coven thinks she’s weakening. That using black magic for as long as she has is wearing down her body. And when she realized our army was massive, she fled to save herself. Rorik tried to chase after her, but he lost her trail.”
“I bet he’s pissed,” I say.
Farrah winces. “We wouldn’t know because Rorik is also missing and he took the witch’s daughter.”
“He took her?” I ask, shoving a forkful of eggs into my mouth.
Farrah nods again. “Xander and Layla have teams out searching for them. They’re worried he’ll harm the woman if they threaten to take her back.”
“What do they think he wants with her?”
Farrah shrugs. “Who knows with that man. Millie thinks he wants revenge on her mother, and he’s going to use the woman as bait. Evangeline thinks she’s his mate, and he captured her to go into hiding to protect her.”
“His mate? Why would Evangeline think that?”
“Well, when Thorne found her, he brought her to the triage tent. That’s where we were also keeping the hunters that we captured.
Rorik was in there reading minds to see if he could get anything on where Ciara had escaped to.
The moment Thorne walked in with the woman, she froze.
Rorik had his back to her, and he stiffened before slowly turning around.
Evangeline said they had ‘a moment’ before Rorik grabbed her and took off. ”
“Did we ever figure out her name? The daughter?” I ask.
“No. Dean and some of the other hunters we caught might eventually tell us, but so far, none of them are spilling.”
“Anything else happen?”
“Yes,” my mate groans. “The video we took of the fake vampire attack got out and it went viral. Some people believe it; most don’t.
But because of this, the committee that has been planning the unveiling has decided to move up the reveal date.
It’s happening in two months. They plan to send cameras to a few supe homes.
Like Millie and Teddy’s penthouse and Evangeline and Xander’s place. They want to show how normal we are.”
I swallow a piece of bacon and smile.
“We? You’re a monster now?”
Farrah blushes, and it reminds me how beautiful she is when she’s bashful. I reach my hand up to her face and palm her cheek. She leans into my touch.
“I’m not human, that’s for sure,” she says with a sigh. “Between being mated to you and whatever the hell I did to my father…”
Her voice hitches and a few tears fall. I quickly wipe them with my thumb.
“I’m sorry you had to do that.” I cup her face and bring her head down to kiss her forehead. “What did happen though? I remember a bright light.”
She laughs and the sound fills my heart.
“I’m not sure. I slammed my palms into his chest. There was the light, then he was on the ground. He’s not dead, but he hasn’t woken up either. He’s in some sort of magically induced coma. The witches are stumped. Though Teddy thinks I sent his soul into another dimension.”
When it comes to supernaturals, anything is possible, I suppose.
“What about the battle. Did any humans witness it?”
Farrah shakes her head. “The witches were able to get a shield up again. There were a few humans who saw the standoff, but we told them it was a movie shoot.”
“What's going to happen with your brother?”
She sneaks a piece of my bacon, and I snap my teeth at her, causing her to giggle again. God, how I love hearing her sweet laughter.
“He’ll be turned over to human law enforcement. They officially passed protection laws for us. And for humans. I haven’t read up on them though. I just know any humans found hunting monsters will be reprimanded.”
“It’s what we planned for, but I’m still not confident in the human justice system.”
“Yeah, me either. But I guess this ‘revealing monsters to humans’ thing will be a learning experience. Didn’t you tell me you can only do so much planning because everything could change once the truth is out?”
I nod. “The plan mostly consisted of forming allyships with humans and getting protection laws for both humans and monsters fast-tracked. Taking down powerful hunting clans was the main thing holding us back from setting a date.”
“And now that that’s taken care of…” Farrah’s words trail off.
We sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes while I finish breakfast. I eat everything on the plate and drink all the coffee. Once finished, Farrah gives me a quick kiss and takes the tray before leaving.
I hear her in the kitchen rinsing off dishes and placing them in the dishwasher. I use the time to shower and dress in fresh clothes.
My wings are stiff, so I stretch them out across the bedroom.
The pain from the warspear is still there, but it’s more of a throbbing annoyance at this point. The longer I’m next to my mate, the better I feel.
I walk into the living area with Potato following on my heels.
“He hasn’t left your side the entire time you’ve been passed out,” Farrah says, spotting us from the open concept.
“He was probably waiting for me to die so he could finally have me as a meal.”
“Or…” Farrah begins. “He likes you and you’re now a cat monster.”
“Cat monster doesn’t make sense. Besides, there are real monsters that resemble cats.”
“Ooo! Tell me what they are! I never learned about these creatures,” Farrah says and joins me on the couch, cuddling up to my side.
“Well, there are werecats and cat shifters, winged cats that are in the same family as sphinxes and griffins, underwater panthers, and a wampus cat… to name a few.”
She wraps her arms around my waist. One hand slips underneath my shirt and finds my wound. My eyes close at the warmth of her touch. It helps ease any lingering pain.
“I love you, Mouse.”
“I love you, too, Loch.”
“So…”
Farrah sits up, anticipating my next words. “No. You need at least another month of recovery.”
“I was just going to ask if you wanted to watch a movie.”
“Uh huh. Sure. Is that why your cock is hard right now?”
I chuckle, unable to deny it. “I can’t help it. You smell so good, and I love having you melded to my side. Your body was made for me. We fit together like pineapples on pizza.”
Farrah gags. “You did not just say that.”
“Pineapple, ham, lots of cheese. Yum!”
“I’m never going to have sex with you again. It’s against the law in New York to say pineapple belongs on pizza.”
“You’re just a hater. It’s really good. And you will definitely have sex with me again.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I’m already counting down. One month. We’ll fuck on this couch. On the kitchen counter. On our bed. In the shower.”
She laughs, shaking my body with hers. “Anywhere else we’re having sex?”
“Yes. I still owe you sky sex.”
“And sex in one of Vara’s clubs.”
I groan, my head falling back to the couch. “Do you realize how hard it will be to not murder everyone who looks at you while I fuck you?”
She pats my chest. “I think you’ll be okay.”
I kiss my mate and she opens for me, whimpering when I graze my fangs over her lips.
Just how she likes it.
But I try to be good and end the kiss before our libidos can take over.
We spend the rest of the night watching movies while cuddling.
Something I didn’t think I’d enjoy doing.
Now? I couldn’t imagine a night when I didn’t have my mate in my arms.