18
I wanted to stay in the hot spring all day, but we had to go to Lawan after I’d promised. She was ready and gave me a hug, only a few with her and the whole thing super hush-hush.
Which I appreciated.
I went and put a handful of buildings and places online for them. The main power facility for the area was the big one now that they had it all secure and more. They’d been tapping with the solar panels and… Engineering stuff that hurt my brain. This would help. They had what was the priority and knew the best.
Sisay let me have more blood when I was out of juice, but we warned Lawan that I would have to immediately leave once I was done because I’d be vulnerable. She looked almost glad that the risk of me getting hurt wouldn’t be at her coven so if something did happen she wouldn’t be blamed.
I understood. It seemed harsh or heartless, but I understood.
I really did.
Petre was more than happy to make me happy when we were done and I was on fire. But yeah, I was half asleep before my last orgasm finished. Then it was the helicopter hop back to Alaska… And people were waiting.
Except I was too tired to open my eyes.
“Seatle had an earthquake,” someone said. “And we think here in Alaska. We came to tell you and…”
Clearly, they could see something I couldn’t.
“Yeah, this wasn’t the way it looked when we left a few hours ago,” Cerdic muttered. “You hearing this Inez, or completely out?”
I managed a noise but yeah, that was it. I was on empty.
No one was hurt. That was the big takeaway. It seemed moderate. People kept calling it a “five” because a building was damaged that was going to be taken down anyways. But others said that might not hold true after all the buildings had been through already.
All I cared about was no one was hurt and where they were staying was fine. So I let myself zonk out.
I woke with James playing with my hair. I yawned and stretched.
“You’re just as much of a lazy cat as my leopard, baby,” he said with a deeper than normal chuckle. So he’d been snoozing too. “Canada had an earthquake too. No one hurt and they’re checking the foundations—everything seems okay. They think it’s the something, something, and something fault lines of the something.”
“Yeah, got it. Now you know how I feel when your cousins and brother talk to me.”
He snorted. “Baby, we all feel that way.”
That made me hesitate. “What’s with the change in name?”
He curled up closer and kissed my hair. “Not sure. Trying it on for size. I like the idea of getting to call you something sexier or different when we’re intimate. No go?”
“Not a no go, but I really like the way you say my name.”
His hand moved up my stomach. “You do now?”
“Yeah, you have a nice accent and voice.”
He did. James had a sexy NYC kinda movie accent. Not the mobster over the top one, but… It was nice. I liked it.
I liked hearing it especially saying my name. “You should moan it.”
“When?” he chuckled.
Right then. I slid under the covers and sucked him off, shivering when he did moan my name and ran his fingers through my hair. I glanced up when he got closer, and it was completely unintentional, but my gaze met Tian’s.
So I was mean and moved my hand over James’s, making it clear he could do whatever he wanted to me.
“Shit, yeah, just like that and suck harder, Inez,” James moaned, and I focused back on him.
After that, we headed to dinner and I got the normal updates. Right as we were finishing, everyone went tense which meant people were approaching the castle fast who shouldn’t be.
“Representatives are here from the former Pinault coven on behalf of Joi and one of your allies,” one of the guards told me. “We recognize all of them and they’re clean.”
I glanced at Kristof. “Handle security however you want, but let’s see them.”
“Yes, My Princess.” He darted out of the room and went for who he wanted. Namely, the oldest and deadliest we had.
We let them into the dining hall since we didn’t have anything else ready and weren’t prepared for visitors.
“From Joi, Princess,” the first messenger said and handed me an envelope.
I thanked him and focused on the other group.
“That probably will tell you exactly what this says,” the leader of them said. “Italy was hit with a large earthquake. We believe over a seven and close to the coven. We have sustained damage and injuries—luckily, no deaths but—my princess is requesting aide.”
And I would give it. Princess Martia was outside Lombardia, Italy and had always given more than I’d asked.
I nodded and quickly read her letter before handing it to Kristof. “We had smaller earthquakes here too.” I read Joi’s letter and my eyes about popped out of my head. “They had one in France? There’s not even a fault line there or…”
“They felt a major one from the ocean?” someone else muttered.
I nodded that I heard them. “Minor. Just a tremor and nothing, they thought someone playing chicken with their power, but then they heard word about Italy. She wants information and instructions.” More than fair. I glanced around seeing I had the attention of everyone and sighed.
Except I wasn’t sure what to really do.
“Your gut is always right, my love,” Kristof said quietly as he took Joi’s letter next and read it over.
“I want to put everyone on lockdown in case this is Erebus,” I muttered. I shrugged when people seemed shocked. “Aether made it rain when I doubted Her. What would the other God do if His champion kept failing or maybe wouldn’t get off her ass? We don’t know.”
“True, but even if it’s not and we’re just on earthquake watch because the world fucked itself, lockdown and high alert is smart,” Jamelle muttered from the other side of the table.
We’d trimmed down who could eat in the castle a long time ago. It wasn’t most visiting nobles. Only the nobles and knights of the coven—others of the coven as well—and then my in-laws or favorites basically. No others unless they had an invitation.
I nodded that I heard him. “And we need to check in with every coven we’re allied with. Even ones they’re aligned with and might talk to that we’re not. We need to know if the whole world just had a bit of a shake and harder in some places than not or—should we check volcanos?”
“Yes,” several people said and firmly.
Okay, glad it wasn’t a stupid idea.
“Then let’s get to it. Alert every outpost and settlement. Even the ones we left to implode and aren’t in control of.” I glanced at Kristof. “Right?” I chuckled when he gave me a dry look that clearly said to fuck those people.
Fair enough. I shrugged, leaving it up to the people giving out the messages then.
I sighed, ready to head to Boston to handle what was on the agenda before we could sleep. I turned when a throat cleared and I had a frowning cat.
Then I frowned. “I don’t think you should be upset about anything after today.”
He chuckled, taking the comment how I wanted. “I’m not. I just don’t know how to say that I want to come with or ask if I can come with?”
I shrugged again. “Sure, come with. Just ask. That easy.” I had no idea why he wanted to, but clearly it was a thing. I wouldn’t like it if he started problems, but he normally wasn’t one to. I figured he either had questions or he’d heard something that made him want to see it for himself.
But Jamelle was actually on my security and he seemed amused. I simply rolled my eyes and went over to him. I acted like a kid and bounced on my toes and held out my hands like I was asking for uppies.
“You said I was silly that she could make me laugh too easily, but you almost crack every time she does it too,” Sebastian ribbed him. “The idea for us that a princess behaves that way and everything going on is—”
“Yeah, yeah, plus you’re way more uptight than I am,” Jamelle grumbled as he lifted me up and even set me on his hip. “Be good and we can go pony shopping after.”
We all died. It was the comic relief we needed before heading off to handle more than we should.
Just as we did every fucking day.
James was close to me once we arrived to meet up with Joel Hart, the head of the huge black bear clan and all of Boston. The five large clans who wanted to join the coven were supposed to get a month trial, but with everything going on and the fact I’d barely spent any time with them, we’d all agreed to extend it to six months.
Half understood, half were pissed.
The heads of the clans of my coven basically reminded them that they took the chance while they waited so yeah, they could wait some more instead of pressuring me… Or they would get pissed.
Joel was fine with it. He was former military and prudent. A few of his adult children took issue with it and I was pretty sure me?
I had no idea and I didn’t really care. I couldn’t keep up with it all.
“Good news and early,” he told me after greetings as he looked over something. “The first batch of blood pressure meds—the ones that eat sodium in the body and were the safest type with the least amount of side effects—passed inspection. So we’ve got it according to the chemists and docs. They also think the inhalers for asthma will be next week.”
“That’s amazing,” I praised.
“It is,” James agreed… As he moved behind me and put his hand on my hip. Okay, so my pretty kitty was marking his territory with another shifter?
He didn’t like me leaving our dates for another shifter?
I wasn’t sure, but I also wasn’t going to try to figure out the minds of men and he could tell me when he was ready. I was just glad that we’d listened to Vanessa and gotten the pharmaceutical company’s labs and… Place? Facility? I wasn’t sure what it was called since it wasn’t really like a typical factory.
We got it back online and were starting to have it working again to make drugs the humans needed. Yay us. That was the takeaway.
“Sometime this week I want you to see Seattle,” I told him. “They’re doing something new with shipping containers and the energy beads. I like the results and protection it can provide.”
“I know the plan, but I haven’t seen it,” he said. “I agree it was a good plan in theory, but vamps—and even some shifters—are strong enough to make those come tumbling down, and then what was it worth?”
“No, they’re not just one line,” James explained. “I would agree then, but they’re side stacking.” He nodded when Joel’s eyes went wide. “Yeah, this took work and their people driving trucks all over to collect the beads and bring them to their barrier plans. It works for by the water—it’s solid.”
“Yeah, I’ll check that out. They were smoothing as they went. My only change would be to lay out the area where they’re going first and even it out with paths to facilitate the plan. No shade, improve upon it,” he muttered. He met my gaze. “Something good for people learning to fly choppers to practice lifting off with cargo and placing.”
“He’s right,” James agreed.
Joel’s lips twitched. “Good, you can visit here more often. I look forward to it, Princess.”
James’s hand on my hip gripped harder.
Yeah, this was definitely a territory thing and Joel was interested in me. I glanced at Jamelle and he gave a slight nod… While not hiding that I was a bit behind to just have figured this out.
I simply rolled my eyes. They were all pains in the ass and crazy. Like I could keep straight what was going on with all of them.
We went to a large area where they’d collected thousands of old vehicles and I broke them all down before rebuilding them into shipping containers. This had been on the agenda even before the shipping container wall idea because where to hold all of the energy beads was becoming a problem.
And all the old shipping containers normally had holes.
The little fuckers were just that… Little.
“If you need blood or anything else, I’m more than willing to offer myself, Princess,” Joel said as he moved closer, his voice husky.
“She’s good,” James said, his voice cold.
“You already donated today. I can tell,” Joel countered. “I’m just offering myself for her needs.”
James snorted. “Yeah, just your blood.”
Joel met his gaze before dipping his head to me, like he didn’t want to be rude talking about me when I was standing right there. “No, not just my blood.” He sighed when James growled. “Look, don’t get your tail knotted. I’m looking for a good time—not a long time.”
I held up my hand to James and focused on Joel. “Is that why your kids don’t like me? A few give me shit looks and I heard a stepmom joke that went over my head.”
He did a double take. “Your hearing is better than I would expect someone your age. For the record, I smacked the shit for that. He’s… His mom died right after this all went down. Protecting him. We weren’t together, but—we’ve all suffered. So he doesn’t hate you. He hates everything most days.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I know that feeling well. And I don’t care if they talk trash privately . I’ll be honest that the comments—not just about this or me—are why you guys got the extension.” I nodded when his eyes flashed shock but then worry. I looked to Jamelle for help.
“I’m speaking as basically her father-in-law here and because there aren’t many ears, but don’t bring my coven or princess into it,” Jamelle warned Joel, waiting until the bear nodded. “Many of the vampires in and out of here have heard comments about getting into her bed gets you a knighthood and secures the clan.
“They’ve been less than thrilled, even the lazy vamps who think they’re amazing and court bums. The only shifter she’s been with, she is in love with. The performance at her wedding was just that, and it wasn’t sex with all of her knights. It was a showing of her loyalty to them and for visiting courts to not make a play for them.
“But the whispers from these last five clans have been a bit too aggressive. You waited and were prudent. Bully for you for prudence, but some of you aren’t getting the full picture still. I’ve personally heard one of your children say just sign the ‘stupid fucking treaty’ and annex yourselves in a few years to have all of Boston for your own. Play the dumb young bloodsucker.”
Steam was about coming out of Joel’s ears. “When I calm down, please tell me which idiot because right now I might make them a pretzel.” He met my gaze and I saw his bear in his eyes. “I don’t think that about you, and I want this for what it is. I want the future you offer—the whole package. Fuck, I don’t want—leading a clan is—”
“Yeah, being the boss is hard. You want the relief after what you’ve been through. The boss, but not so much anymore and—I get it. The other clan leaders have talked to me about it. Both the guys in New Orleans especially. They’re boss down there, but not every little fucking thing is on them constantly. I’m someone their people can blame now.”
Pity filled Joel’s eyes, but he didn’t deny it. “Yes. I’m sorry, but yes.”
“Then you need to handle this shit. We can have a meeting and figure out whatever after this new issue, but I’ve never heard one whisper from the Gagnon clan. Fuck, Maddy Dogo and her clan have been in limbo jumping all around for almost a damn year and you know what they bitch about?”
“Not a fucking thing,” James chuckled. “They are so fucking grateful and loyal that—they’re safe in both forms. They know you’ll take care of them in the end and let them have their quiet piece of wherever. Maddy talks construction ideas with Darius and is learning about the precast concrete stuff with the Salt Lake City clans.”
“Her whole clan is,” I told Joel. “It hasn’t gone unnoticed how the five new clans are all together and a bit of isolationists and yeah, like you think this will be your corner and yours and we’ll just be allies. Naw, not gonna happen, bro.”
“Shit, I heard you, and I’ll handle it, but you are seriously delicious when you lay down the law,” he muttered, scrubbing his hand over his head. “They call you ‘sexy bite,’ right?” He glanced from James back to me. “It’s a fitting nickname for sure.”
James went tense again and I decided to handle this. Joel Hart was delicious as well, and under different circumstances, I would absolutely want several bites of him too.
But things were too complicated, and I definitely wasn’t going to blow up my life like this.
I winked at Jamelle. “You might want to take a walk, Da.”
“I’m fine. I’ve told you, my princess is much scarier than anything you could or would do. I’ve also seen dirtier from—I’m fine.”
Fair enough, and he wasn’t mine to worry over.
I pressed myself back to James and angled my head up for a kiss which he gladly gave me… While moving his hand under my shirt and to my breast. He got the idea and slid it under my bra while his other one went into my pants.
I moaned and let Joel see my fangs as James kissed along my neck and touched me intimately right there. “He normally calls me whatever he wants, especially when I suck him off. Don’t you, lover?”
“ Fuck , Inez,” he groaned.
“Should we show him? Should I suck your delicious cock right now?”
“No,” he snarled. “He doesn’t need to see you be so sexy and want you more.”
“Whatever you want, James,” I purred, smirking at Joel before licking my fangs. I raised my arms so they looped around his neck. “Can I tell him how you gave me that blood? How you ate me out and the way you came on me again and again while we played at my private hot spring? Or tell him how you’re going to take me to bed once we’re done here?”
“I don’t care,” he admitted. “I just want you to come for me again, My Princess. My Princess, because you’re mine in a way you aren’t anyone else’s, right?”
“Yes, yes, I am, James,” I panted, already so close. “Do you want me to drink from his wrist while you touch me, my Alpha?” He flinched and I chuckled. “That’s a kink of Kristof’s too. I get it.”
“Yeah, shit, I’ll play in any and all of your games,” Joel whispered, lust in his eyes.
“You better make it crystal fucking clear you gave blood and didn’t get anything back,” James warned, his voice deadly. “Not even chuckles or hints or we’re going to have a problem, and I tend to shoot the problems that upset my princess.”
“He does,” I confirmed, angling my head for another kiss.
He gave it and then told me to drink from Joel’s wrist while he played with my body. I orgasmed and it was great.
Not really for Joel since he wanted a lot more, but we had fun and James was very ready for another round once we got home. Me too.
And we did. Not sex yet, but we had fun.
What wasn’t fun?
Waking in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.
“Inez?” James mumbled, his voice heavy.
“What’s wrong, my love?” Kristof worried, his voice sleepy too.
Shit. On top of everything, I woke him on the rare times he actually slept.
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
“Was it a vision?” he asked after a moment. “That’s normally the only time you wake in the middle of the night.”
“No.” I frowned. “I don’t know.”
“They reported all the volcanoes are fine and about the earthquakes, baby,” James mumbled, still sounding half asleep.
Yeah, that had been a hell of a report. The whole world had apparently had varying degrees of earthquakes. Some places had been hit bad, but we couldn’t really know exactly because some countries were basically gone. Like Japan which used to get bad earthquakes—it was gone. From bombs and—it was an island. Once corrupted went there they were screwed.
Only two of our allies got hit with any worry and no one died. Injuries and damage only. Italy and China.
If it was Erebus, then why was no one killed? It had to be more than a temper tantrum, right?
So this was nature after all of the bombs and everything we did to the planet before the apocalypse. Climate change and how the winter wasn’t much of a winter now and all of the seasons had shifted—everything… Right?
Right?
“What if it wasn’t Erebus or nature, but Aether?”
James snorted in a way that sounded more like a snore. “Why? Telling us to check the ground? Send a vision like fucking email.”
I blinked at the smart man before looking at Tian who was guarding the door and lacked faith in everything like I did. “What if She couldn’t? What if something got cut off?”
“When was the last time anyone had a vision or anything around here?” Petre whispered. “Here specifically? The quick one you had of Keres arriving, yes?”
Kristof was fully awake and I shook James, letting him know this was real. My husband rolled out of bed and reached for me, and something about the way he did it reminded me—it triggered a memory in my mind.
Another time he’d reached for me like that.
“The mine,” I breathed, hearing the fear in my voice. “That mine you showed me that you found not far from the castle. How far underground did it go? Could the snakes scent that far underground? ”
“No,” the four of them said together, James fully awake now and already jumping out of bed.
Yeah, I was moving too.
We were dressed in seconds, and people were alerted on the radios because not five minutes later we were outside and more gathering. Travis looked mostly still asleep, and Vitor was amused, half carrying the younger shifter.
I went to turn to tell him something and almost pissed myself with fear at what I saw.
“Inez?” Kristof bellowed, snapping me out of my fear, but making me realize I’d been out of it for longer than I’d thought.
“I know where the ghosts have gone,” I practically whimpered, pointing to the castle. That wasn’t the full story. I was still getting ghosts, but I wasn’t getting all of them from what we could tell and certainly not ones I should have.
Kaitlin.
Eddie’s mom.
The other princesses.
My psychotic brother.
Hell, I expected my mother Josephine even if she’d killed herself.
And suddenly I knew why Aether couldn’t reach us—or at least me. The ghosts were blocking her… Energy? Seriously?
“That sounds weird even with all of the weird we’ve dealt with,” Cerdic muttered, his voice not judging, just tired. Really tired like the rest of us. “Okay, tell us what you see, love, and then we go check out this idea before we figure out how to take back your castle from the ghosts. I’ve always wanted to be a Ghostbuster since I saw their cool toys.”
I gave him a grateful look. I needed that snark wrapped in support right now.
Then I took what he said seriously and studied what I was looking at, but all I felt was fear, dread, and like it would eat me. “I have no fucking clue, and I’m seriously about to piss myself. Get me away from here. Please. Anywhere but here.”
I tried to keep from crying, but now the one place I’d felt safe was the last place I wanted to be. I really hated my life and being the champion in the middle of this fucking war.