Chapter Twenty-Eight
One week later…
I’d never appreciated Auberre as much as I did in the week after we returned from London.
No crowds. No traffic. No criminals waiting to ambush me.
Just a sleepy little town with one bakery and acres of peaceful forests and vineyards.
Best of all was Chateau Nocturne — a safe, private world of its own where I got to make the rules and invite or exclude whomever I wanted.
But the week since we’d returned — and my first week of mated bliss — hadn’t been as peaceful as I’d hoped. First, because my dragon side had emerged much more quickly than expected, and it was all so new to me.
“Feet out. Wings back. Back!” Marius roared as I plunged toward the ground in what was sure to be a disastrous landing.
And, yikes. I was still reeling from the fact that I’d managed to get aloft in the first place.
I’d only meant to shake out my wings after my first shift, but my inner beast had had other ideas, taking off for several out-of-control loops over the chateau.
If Marius hadn’t shifted and caught up to coach me, I would have died in the first few minutes.
At one point, I nearly crashed headfirst into the chateau’s central tower. Then I’d come within inches of clipping a chimney. Now, I was plummeting to certain death.
Whee! my inner beast squealed happily.
“Steady out! Tail straight! Steady!” Marius hollered in dragon-talk that my mind immediately translated.
Steady would be great, but I was wobbling like an albatross.
Then, thump! My teeth jarred as I touched down — to put it mildly — and tumbled head over heels over the south lawn. When I finally came to a stop, it was just inches away from the ballroom windows. Big windows with arched frames that cost a king’s ransom to replace.
I picked myself up off the ground, cursing every bruise on my leathery body.
“Amazing — shifting and flying only one day after the bite. Must be a new record,” Marius had announced proudly when the dust had settled.
A day later, my landing was a little smoother, and the one after that was even better.
Encouraging enough that I let out a victorious roar afterward.
I wasn’t just a mixed-up relic with magic that came and went unpredictably.
I was a dragon shifter too, and those skills came to me quickly, even naturally.
So much that I started to believe I might be able to harness more magic if I really put my mind to it.
But that would have to wait, because adjusting to the new me wasn’t the only thing on my mind that first week back at home. The police championships were rapidly approaching, and we had a hell of a lot of work to do to get ready.
On the plus side, that kept me from worrying about Celeste. Word was, she’d returned from London, acting innocent as a lamb, then departed Paris — quickly — once Gordon started asking her hard questions. Where she was now, and what Gordon planned to do about it, I had no idea. But it worried me.
For now, though, I decided to focus my nervous energy on the police championships.
“Today’s the big day!” Bene announced cheerily that morning.
I was anxious as hell — hence the lecture I delivered over an extra-early breakfast.
“Swear to me you’ll all be good,” I demanded.
Marius and Roux nodded earnestly. Henrik made a face.
“Goes without saying,” Bene promised.
I didn’t believe any of them. Well, maybe Marius. Possibly Roux. But not Henrik, and definitely not Bene.
I pointed at him fiercely. “I mean it, Bene. Do not mess this up. Don’t even show yourself — in human or lion form.”
He stuck up his hands. “Not in my self-interest. Not when the place is crawling with police officers.”
His tone suggested roaches rather than Burgundy’s finest, so I pinned him with a hard look.
“Please. I need to get this business up and running, and this is an important first step.”
Bene looked doubtful. “Sports business?”
I rose to put away the dishes. “Any business! And this is free advertising. People will come away from this event talking about what a great place this is for weddings and other events.”
Roux scratched his cheek doubtfully. “Police weddings?”
I stamped my foot. “Normal people’s!”
Bene cocked his head. “Define normal.”
Simple question, yet I came up totally blank. Six weeks of living with these men — and two missions for Gordon — had warped my sense of normalcy forever.
I gritted my teeth. “It will also give me a sense of how well logistics will work for future events. Road access, parking, toilets…”
A slight exaggeration, because the event organizers had trucked in dozens of portable toilets. But any detail they let slip would reflect poorly on the venue, and my hopes for future business could be marred forever.
“Oh God.” I grabbed for my clipboard. “Spare toilet paper—”
Marius touched my shoulder gently. “Already taken care of, remember?”
Was it? Over the past week, we’d made more runs to the hypermarché than I could count, and it was all a blur to me.
“We have enough toilet paper to survive the apocalypse,” Marius assured me.
“Or the next pandemic,” Bene threw in. “Whichever comes first.”
Henrik looked smug, the only one of us immune to both those events.
I carried the plates to the kitchen, then hurried back to the dining room. The event organizers would be here any minute, and hundreds of contestants and spectators would follow.
“Now, listen,” I instructed them. “Roux has a list of jobs I need you to do today…”
Roux leafed through the pages with a dry expression. Yes, pages — plural.
“As soon as you finish one job, you’re to start right on the next,” I went on.
That was my strategy — to keep them so occupied indoors that they wouldn’t find time to sneak outside and mingle with our visitors.
“That’s not a list. That’s a goddamn manifesto,” Bene protested.
“Don’t like it? Move out,” Marius growled.
Bene made a face but held his tongue. That was the nice thing about our new arrangement — I still had something to hold over them. I also had Marius as the ultimate enforcer.
Joy trickled through my veins, and I reminded myself to maintain a sense of perspective. I’d survived a combined vampire/shifter attack and my godfather’s latest sketchy scheme. I could survive hosting a sports event too.
“We really, really can’t afford any trouble today,” I admonished for the last time. “So, please. Stay out of sight. No exceptions — not even for you, Henrik. Not until the last police officer leaves the premises. Understood?”
He shot me a sullen expression but nodded. “Understood.”
Back in London, he’d volunteered to find his own accommodations. At the time, that sounded like a great idea, and I hadn’t asked any questions.
That was before I realized he would go and rent a house on the edge of my property. Now, I had lots of questions. Had he had that in mind all along? Had he chosen that particular property to spite me, or could he genuinely not bring himself to part ways with our motley little crew?
I was grateful for what he’d done in London, but that didn’t exactly make us besties.
As for the house he’d rented… Oh, the irony.
Years ago, my grandmother had sold the roomy caretaker’s “cottage” on the edge of the property to a friend to help pay expenses.
That friend had sold it to a friend and so on, until it ended up in the hands of a complete stranger.
Their plans to renovate the place had fallen through due to unexpectedly high expenses (an all too familiar theme), and the house had stood empty for years.
It was still run-down, but that hadn’t stopped Henrik from moving in.
He’ll feel right at home with all the dust and cobwebs, Bene had joked.
The thought had saddened me. Didn’t Henrik have anywhere better to go?
On the other hand, I was still stuck with an unpredictable vampire, and I had less oversight of him than ever. Over the past few weeks, he’d both threatened and saved my life. What would he do next time?
Another problem for another day. For now, I had to get through the next twelve hours.
“And on no account should you let anyone into the house,” I reminded everyone.
I had a priceless Van Gogh upstairs, and I didn’t want to have to explain that to anyone. Especially a police officer.
The doorbell rang, and I steeled myself, expecting the event organizers. I hurried to the door and opened it. But instead of the four nice officers who’d stopped by before to discuss logistics, I found my sister.
“Geneviève?” I squeaked.
“Surprise!” she chirped. “I’m here!”
I didn’t know whether to clap or cry, because wow. Talk about timing.
Gen threw herself into a tight hug, which was a good thing. Otherwise, I might have keeled over.
The floorboards creaked behind me, and I knew without looking that my houseguests had found us. More importantly, they’d found Gen.
Like me, she had blue eyes and long, straight hair, though hers had an auburn tint. She was a little shorter, a lot prettier, and much more outgoing.
If I’d had some police tape to cordon them off from her, I would have.
“Dammit, guys. I said, stay out of sight!”
“Of the police,” Bene said, flashing my sister a dazzling smile. “Nice to finally meet you.”
She blinked, confused but delighted. I would have felt the same if I had turned up to her house and found four strikingly handsome houseguests.
I introduced everyone through gritted teeth, and the guys practically swooned over her. Henrik kissed her knuckles. Bene turned up the charm. Roux’s nostrils flared like she was the best thing he’d scented in a long time.
Marius was the only one who was more guarded.
Now? his eyes asked me.
I had no words. After months of delays, my sister had somehow picked exactly today to turn up.
“Gordon says hello,” she said, all blissful and ignorant.
Boy, did we have a lot to discuss.
Then we all looked up, hearing cars coming down the drive. Three, to be exact, all adorned with police logos. The event organizing committee, no doubt.