Chapter Twenty-Two
TWENTY-TWO
We’re still on the ground, though not where we’d been a few moments ago. Bishop has carried me to a sheltered spot. He’s also brought over his jacket and shirt to wrap them around me before wrapping himself around me, too, pulling me into his heat.
As he rubs my arms, I could tell him I’m warm already, but I don’t.
I like to watch this part of him, the nurturing and considerate part, and I love how that switch can flip, from ordering me to undress in the cold to doing everything in his power to ensure I’m warm.
It’s a quiet apology, but an unnecessary one.
Oh, I have heard of men who mistreat their lovers and then shower them with affection.
But what we did was mutual, me granting him that power, knowing I was free to take it back at any time.
A game we both enjoyed. But that won’t keep him from making up for it now, just so I don’t worry that it might have presaged a shift in our relationship.
“Thank you, Delia,” he says when we’re cuddled in again and I’m quietly casting more spells for his battered hands, to speed the healing process and relieve the pain. “I needed that. All of it.”
I smile up at him. “I know.”
He looks down at me. “That wasn’t how I intended our first night to be. I had a very clear vision of what I wanted.”
“And what did you envision?”
“A perfect wedding night. A big bed, piled high with blankets and pillows, and I would go slow, ensuring a gentle and loving first time.”
I consider. “That does sound lovely, but not what I would consider perfect.”
“And what would have been perfect for you?”
I wrap my arms around his neck. “Being chased through the forest and taken in the grass, with a cool evening breeze and the song of night birds.” I smile up at him. “As I predicted, it was the ideal first time for a werewolf Alpha and his lycan mate.”
He laughs, the vibrations rumbling through me as he runs kisses up my throat. “You will still get the other one. The more human version.”
“Acceptable.”
“Also…” He goes quiet for a moment, sobering.
“When I was collecting my clothing I realized that, in the heat of the chase, I did something unforgivable. When I said I wanted to give you that perfect night, everything prepared just so, I meant everything. I have always prided myself on taking precautions, and tonight that flew clear out of my head.”
He looks at me. “It will not happen again, and I only hope my apology won’t seem like empty words spoken too late.
” He cups my face. “We will not make love again until I have the proper protection. This started with your father wanting you for heirs, and I will never, ever give you cause to question whether I secretly want the same.”
“I know,” I say. “As for tonight, I did think of it, but I’m not at the part of my cycle where I need to worry.
That is hardly an exact science, though, and so I agree that we shouldn’t do it again until we’re prepared.
However, as a witch whose aunt specialized in women’s health, I have my own ways of avoiding pregnancy, once I have the proper ingredients.
A melding of magic and medicine that has proven more effective than what you would have been using, which would have been partly for protection against pregnancy, but also for protection against the pox. Presuming you do not have the pox…”
The look on his face is priceless. “Certainly not.”
“Then we’ll use my method. For tonight we were safe enough.”
I lift his fingers and kiss the scraped knuckles as I whisper another healing spell to ease the pain.
“You shouldn’t waste your magic on me,” he says. “Not when that was self-inflicted.”
“I consider it inflicted by Hamish. And, as for your earlier fear of me seeing you angry…” I lean into his ear. “I have seen far worse.”
I ease back. “But I understand what you fear is a loss of control. Again, though, I’d argue that in a true loss of control, you wouldn’t have stopped punching trees until you broke your hands.”
“Hmm.”
He settles back, pulling me atop him and arranging the jacket and shirt over us. “I can’t do what he asks, Delia.”
“I know.”
“It’s not that I won’t lower myself to it.”
I shift to look down at him. “It’s that you truly can’t do it. How would you expect the Pack to respect an Alpha who killed on the orders of another werewolf? And once you do what he asks, he knows he can keep asking.”
“Yes. That’s it exactly. This wouldn’t be a one-time request.”
“He’s testing you, as you said. Testing your desperation.”
Bishop sighs. “I wish he’d asked for something that I could have done. I’m asking a favor, and I expect to pay for it. But not like this.”
“But now that he’s set the conditions, he can’t change them, which suggests—I fear—that he never planned to help.
At least not unless you passed his threshold, which would prove you’re such a weak leader that he can take over your Pack, maybe give it to one of his sons.
” I consider. “Or that could be the whole of his scheme. Caledonian, Cambrian, Albion. Three Packs. Three sons.”
Bishop stares at me for several long heartbeats and then smiles. “Yes. That’s it. The Cambrian Pack isn’t a territorial threat to Hamish, no more than it was to Silas. Hamish complains that they’re stealing his wolves, but he actually has too many.”
“He just wants to choose which wolves he ‘donates.’”
“One strong but overburdened Pack. Two weaker ones in need of wolves. And three sons in need of Packs. Use me to kill Franklin Doyle, which leaves the Cambrian Pack in need of an Alpha.”
“And, also, you killed the Cambrian Alpha. Hamish did not, and he can massage that to position him as the Cambrian Pack’s benefactor when he installs one of the sons as the new Alpha.”
“Which he will also do with the Albion Pack. He’ll let me lead us out of this current predicament and win back Trevelyan, but then he’ll use what I did against me, ousting me in favor of his son.
Edwin is the businessman, the manager, so he will be Alpha-elect for the Caledonian Pack, which needs that.
Angus is the general. He will get the Albion Pack, which faces more threats and must maintain London and its ports.
Dennis has not yet established a leadership style, so he will get the Cambrians, a new Pack of young wolves, and if he can’t make a go of it, the Pack can disband easily. ”
Bishop gazes up into the stars as he thinks. “Alternately, if I fail and Doyle kills me, it leaves the Albion Pack without an Alpha, so he could take over from there and deal with the Cambrians later.”
More thinking. “Hamish is known for his machinations. And if he hasn’t realized he could take over all three Packs, he’ll figure it out soon enough.” He kisses my forehead. “We make an excellent Alpha pair.”
“We do.”
“The problem is that knowing Hamish’s plan isn’t enough. I can’t afford to refuse his offer outright. I considered leaving without giving an answer, but I don’t think that’s the right tactic. I’ll need to agree to do it. My fear is that he might know it’s a lie.”
“We can discuss that. Julius will help.”
“Once I agree, Hamish will expect me to proceed to Wales. So I’ll need to do that. If I can’t ally with the Caledonians, the Cambrians are the only other realistic option. I would prefer the Hibernians, but the distance makes them unsuitable.”
“Do you know where to find the Cambrians?”
“I do. With Silas taking no interest in them, I took charge of tracking their movements. They’re living in a rented property outside Cardiff. It seems to be the region where they hope to settle, which was a little close to our border for my liking, but Silas was unconcerned.”
“If we are headed south again, might it be possible to stop in Glasgow first? I mentioned making a potion to prevent pregnancy, and I know a witch there who’ll have what I need.
She’s an old colleague of my aunt’s. I wouldn’t ask for the detour—I could find the ingredients in any large city—but I’d have another purpose in stopping there. ”
“Informing her of your aunt’s death.”
“Well, yes, as well as seeing what she knows about the Levine Cabal. But also something that might help you.”
I tell him what I have in mind.
We dress and return to the mouth of the forest, where Julius and Rufus soon join us. They’ve been walking the perimeter for nearly two hours, but neither even jokingly complains. They also don’t comment on the state of our attire or Bishop’s bloodied knuckles or the twigs in my unbound hair.
When Bishop says, “I fear I’ll have no choice but to accept Hamish’s terms,” neither says a word about that either.
Julius murmurs, “You will do what you must,” and Rufus only grunts, with a look around.
In other words, they both know that’s not Bishop’s actual decision, but he needs to say it aloud, in case we’re overheard.
I cast a quick privacy spell and say to Julius, “My spell only works on myself and one other person or I’d use it so we can all speak.”
Julius nods.
“For now,” I continue, “we need to make Hamish think Bishop is giving in to his demand. Which means he can’t agree too quickly nor too slowly, both of which would make Hamish suspicious. Bishop could use your advice on that, Julius.”
“Certainly.”
“I know you need to talk in private, and I wish I could cast this on the two of you. Beryl used a version that includes more people. I’ll learn that when I can. For now, while it’ll be awkward, I’ll need to pass messages between you two.”
“Will that take a lot of spell power? Casting and recasting?”
“It’s the best and safest way for you two to communicate. Is there anyone about? Close enough to see your mouths moving without any sound?”
“We caught scents on the breeze,” Julius says. “No one came close, but we should err on the side of caution.”
“All right then. When I’m speaking to Bishop under the spell, can you talk to Rufus? Bishop can do the same when I’m speaking to you, and if someone is listening in, they’ll hear normal conversation.”
He smiles. “Good idea. Let us begin.”