Havermouth, Present Time, 1.5 weeks after Retaking Havermouth From the Van HelsingsThe hospital had become the center of Havermouth in the aftermath of the Van Helsing’s eviction. Not only had the community rallied around those people who had been trapped in the hospital during the occupation, but the relocation of injured from Haven Farm and the ongoing water-illness infections kept the halls busy with people in various states of distress.Leighton’s sleepers had been relocated to the wards, and with them had come the witches, vampires, and Meguitte and Connery.The lower level of the hospital carried the scent of food from the steady stream of trays being wheeled from the kitchen towards the elevators. Those who had been affected by the water-virus required a massive amount of calories to regain weight lost to the illness.Sigrid held her breath as she and her Triquetra squeezed into an elevator along with two volunteers and their laden trolleys. The smell of food did not normally
Havermouth, Present Time, 1.5 weeks after Retaking Havermouth From the Van Helsings“No biting, and no chewing,” Harry cautioned the zombie-woman sternly as they held a knife to their wrist. “Are we absolutely clear on that? This,” they gestured to their body. “Is an artwork. You do not maul it. That would be very rude of you, and we would have to rethink the hospitality that we are extending you.”“I’ve… eaten recently,” the woman grimaced slightly. “I think you’re safe from me. I’m not so thrilled about this blood thing, but…” She glanced towards the doorway to the room in which her green-haired man and Jules were. “It seems to work.”“Mhm,” Harry used the knife. “Open up.”“Heath and Talen are bandaging that other woman, and Rhett’s snuck out for a smoke,” Cameron commented wrapping his arms around Aislen’s waist and nuzzling into her hair. “How are things here?”“We put the big green-haired man in the bathtub like she insisted we do, along with a kilo of salt, and your dad’s in th
Havermouth, Present Time, 1.5 weeks after Retaking Havermouth From the Van Helsings“Well,” Connery said as Sigrid and her Triquetra left. “Nice chat.”“Hmm,” Leighton chuckled through his nose as he returned to his workstation.“She is eager to turn her mates,” Meguitte explained Sigrid’s chilliness to them both. “Plus, she’s Sigrid,” she added with a quirk of her lips as Connery raised his eyebrows teasingly at her. “She was Talen’s second in charge when Concordia was Concordia,” she said to Leighton. “All but a queen in his absences, and when we left Concordia, she managed his businesses whilst he traveled the world with his mapping ships…”“She is very impressive,” Leighton said with a small smile. “You do not need to make apologies for her, Meguitte. We all have our moments of… hmm,” he gestured to the vials before him. “We all possess our flaws and weaknesses.”“I think Aislen is having one of those moments,” Meguitte sighed heavily, bracing the heel of her hand on the counterto
Havermouth, Present Time, 1.5 weeks after Retaking Havermouth From the Van HelsingsVampire blood was sourced from two locations.There were a number of Van Helsing prisoners, survivors of the attack on Haven Farm or rounded up from around Havermouth and the surrounding area, who occupied scavenged and re-built cages in one of the hospital wards. They “donated” every couple of days, and their blood was packaged and distributed around the vampires in Havermouth for convenience.There were also volunteers from the Havermouth civilians who, as they came to understand the needs of the supernatural amongst them, saw that they could give back to those who protected them. Gratitude was not universal. Many of the humans were hostile, suspicious, and reluctant to interact with anyone who was “out” as supernatural.Those who did volunteer sometimes did so with ulterior motives. It had not escaped Havermouth’s human residents that the supernatural were generally better looking, stronger, and fas
Havermouth, Present Time“Fuel is becoming an issue,” Talen observed as they drove towards the train bridge. The arrow on his tank showed that it was under a quarter full. “We must hope that they have managed to get the petrol stations operational again and that there is petrol within them, or we will all be walking in the future.”“River is going down,” Rhett commented. “I can see the safety rail of the bridge.”They all turned to look as they passed that section of the road with its bedraggled-looking ropes of yellow “Do Not Cross” tape and the stranded 4WD peeking through the current. The water had retreated back, revealing more of the road, and leaving its edges entangled with debris.“I’ll be happy when we can use that bridge again,” Aislen decided. “I’m really not a fan of the train bridge.”Silence fell in the cab as Talen confidently navigated the train tracks to the other side of the river. A roadblock on the inner side of the bridge stopped them and a pair of green-clad were
Havermouth, Present TimeLunch was served in the conference room. The control room buzzed with energy as the werewolves monitored whatever it was that they monitored, and Aislen watched them through the open door as the kitchen staff placed a plate of sandwiches and fruit onto the conference table along with coffee and juice in a sweating glass jug.“What are they doing?” She asked Rohan as he helped himself to the food.“Monitoring the outside world, mostly,” he replied offering her coffee. “Listening to the news reports and broadcasts of parliamentary meetings. Others are communicating with other branches of the army. Some are monitoring the Van Helsing’s communications.”“Anything interesting?” Heath wondered.“It’s all interesting to someone,” Rohan offered the plate of sandwiches around the table. The Triquetra and Talen declined, shaking their heads. “More for us, eh, Aislen?” He set the plate between them. “Something needs to happen and soon,” he continued answering Heath’s que
Havermouth, Present TimeAbigail’s door was opened by Mrs Gale. Aislen had only encountered the other woman a couple of times and had no idea what the other woman thought of her, or the fact that she was Heath’s mate. For a moment they stared at each other and then Mrs Gale’s face lit when she saw Heath behind Aislen.“Oh Heath,” she stepped forward to wrap her arms around her son. “It is good to see you. How are you?” She stepped back holding his cheeks in the palms of her hand as she searched his face with her eyes. “You look…” She reached up to run her fingers through his hair. “I like your hair a little longer like this.”“Thanks, mum. How are you?” Heath asked warmly.Her smile was brittle but bright. “I have been staying with Abigail. Your father is less than pleased.”“A wise move,” Heath told her gently. “One long overdue.”“Don’t start, please,” Mrs Gale murmured. “You know how it is amongst us. It wasn’t like I could just walk away…” When Heath lifted his eyebrows, she shook
Havermouth, Present Time“Aislen’s worried about you, puppy,” Rhett said under his breath as they walked down the hallways toward his father’s room.The passages were busy with soldiers, civilians, and service staff and he hesitated to reach out to take Cameron’s hand as he spoke, the habit of hiding that they were mates making the gesture feel uncomfortable under so many eyes. It wasn’t a secret anymore, though, and everyone knew that the Triquetra were each other’s mates, as much as they were Talen and Aislen’s. Still, Rhett hesitated.Aislen wasn’t wrong with her suspicions. Despite warning her off when she had spoken to Rhett about it earlier, she had echoed what Rhett already knew. Everything wasn’t alright with Cameron. It was subtle, but it was there. Cameron was just more withdrawn, rising earlier to tend the farm, skipping morning sex, and was lingering in the fields rather than hurrying to return.Rhett had let it go, mainly because his head was so fucked up, he wasn’t sure
Rideten, Present Time Aislen was jolted awake when Talen shot out of the bed to the door. She was nicely nuzzled into Heath and Talen had been a warm spot against her back, his sudden moving causing a draught that was quickly filled when Cameron rolled over and snuggled up. She could hear Talen’s voice through the open door, and the reply of other voices on the other side. Cameron’s hand cupped her breast and his cock nudged against her arse. He rocked his hips suggestively, still mostly asleep. Heath tensed. “Fuck.” “- leave in fifteen,” a woman spoke crisply and in a tone that said there would be no compromise. “Victor’s orders.” “No,” Aislen pressed her face into Heath’s ribs. “Nonononono.” “It’s retaliation,” he decided. “For last night.” “It’s mean,” she grumbled. “Cruel.” “No sex?” Cameron sat up. “That’s not fair.” “You had sex last night. Good sex too, from the holes you left in the covers,” Heath pointed out. “It was good sex,” Cameron was smug. He nudged Rhett. “Hey
Havermouth, Present Time Embroidering living human flesh was somewhat harder than Meguitte had anticipated, but the challenge was very absorbing. Midway through the first flower, she realized that she wanted the knots required every stitch to cluster at the center, so she snipped and undid what she had started, much to Bianca’s distress. Meguitte was tempted to stem the witch’s complaints by explaining that it was becoming obvious that the stitches were not causing enough pain to override the wards, and her choices had become doing greater, potentially maiming, harm, or being patient and hoping that a lot of small agony would eventually become enough. The second attempt turned out better, and by the time she had completed the third flower and created a stem to connect the three, she was quite proud of her efforts. The blood kept getting in the way of her design, however, and she paused a moment to suck her fingertips. “I do believe I understand Mercy’s aversion to magical blood,” s
Rideten, Present Time The water was all but cold, but Talen had bathed in worse – recently, in fact, during the troubles in Havermouth. He scrubbed himself with a washcloth, rubbing away the sticky blood. A rhythmic thudding started against the wall behind him, causing him to pause and grin. It sounded like Cameron was putting some force into it, he thought amused and absently reached down to cup his cock, already hard at the thought. He turned off the water, deciding to join them. As he briskly dried himself, his phone began to ring from where he had set it on the vanity. Fatima’s number flashed onto the screen. He raised his eyebrows and answered it. “Fatima.” “Talen,” she was breathless and her voice tense. “They did it. They actually did it. Jules is alive.” Talen almost dropped the phone in surprise. “He is?” “Yes. He’s not quite… He’s very disorientated, but Harry’s looking after him. But he’s alive.” Talen braced his palm against the cold stone of the vanity, relief floodi
Rideten, Present Time Aislen grinned. “Is that right, Mr Wolf?” She purred stalking him over to the bed. “If I get it, I get to do whatever I like with it?” Cameron’s lips curled in a smirk. “No. But I will do something you like with it.” “Promises, promises,” she lunged for him, and he sidestepped so that she landed face-down on the mattress, before pinning her there with his body, his hands slowly drawing her hands up and holding them down to either side of her head whilst he nuzzled under the tangled sprawl of her wet curls to nibble along her shoulder and neck as her giggles gave way to soft moans as she closed her eyes and surrendered to his seduction. He nudged her legs apart and her knees onto the edge of the mattress, lifting her hips from the mattress so that he could rub his cock against her cunt in a slow, hot tease whilst his teeth pricked little bloodspots along her neck, his tongue soothing away the little sting each time as it captured the droplets. She could feel t
Havermouth, Present Time Tears streamed down Harry‘s face as they rose to their feet. They ran their hands over the lush hide of the weredragon. It was precisely the colour of Jules’ hair. Harry draped their body over the dragon’s chest, pressing their ear to the hide, celebrating the steady beat and rise and fall of the ribs. Alive. Gloriously alive. And they could feel the tie of their mate bond twining them together. With their eyes closed, Jules was a glow within the darkness. “Oh Jules, Jules, Jules…” They wept the words, stroking and luxuriating in the living creature that surrounded them with its bulk. It did not matter in the slightest that this Jules was not as Jules had been before… Harry’s most fervent wish had been granted and they had their mate back. “I knew it,” they whispered pressing kisses into the fur as they moved along the length of the dragon towards its head. “I knew that you were not gone.” They stroked over the dragon’s snout and pressed a kiss between his n
Havermouth, Present TimeHarry did not know how long they had been tending to Jules in the small cold room. Time had lost any meaning as the room had no natural light. They fed when Fatima brought them blood, or one of the ancients descended the stairs in order to donate. And then they would patiently drip blood into Jules’ slack mouth, watching for a sign that he had swallowed, before unbandaging the ruin of Jules’ hand, examining the wound for signs of healing before coating it again with blood and carefully, tenderly re-wrapping it.Jules was not dead. They were certain of it. Although he did not breathe, did not swallow, and his heart did not beat, Harry was certain that they sensed a spark of life within him, that they would know if the body that they held was nothing but flesh.They had, after all, handled many dead bodies in their long, long life.And the hand wound... It looked better. They could not precisely say how it was so - it was still a mess of bone and meat, and the b
Rideten, Present Time“Oh gawd, so good,” Aislen moaned as she squeezed in between Rhett and Cameron. “I so need to get this blood off my skin. It’s beginning to itch. Tsk, look at you two,” she added taking the washcloth from Rhett’s hand and tugging him down so that she could scrub the blood from his face. “You even have some in your ears. How do you get blood in your ears?”“Beats me,” Rhett’s hands gripped her hips, and his thumbs stroked her skin suggestively. “I have some blood lower down,” he smoldered. “Cameron was just offering to lick it off for me when you came in and gave us a better idea.”“Oh?” Aislen knew precisely what they had in their dirty, dirty minds - basically the same plan with slight variations between the two men. But she wasn’t going to make it easy on them. “Come here,” she scrubbed at Cameron’s face with the cloth. “Good enough,” she decided and handed it to him. “Do me whilst I rinse my hair out.”“Do you, or do you?” Cameron teased as he and Rhett shifte
Rideten, Present TimeSamuel’s wing sails caught the air with a whoomp. The guard heard it, looking up in astonishment a moment before Samuel seized him. In the old days, Samuel thought ruefully as he carried the struggling man up into the air again, he would have just let the man go and let gravity take care of the rest. However stealth was required in the current situation and now that he had the man, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with him, other than sate his thirst.It had to be something that wouldn’t be noticed immediately, Samuel concluded as he sank his teeth into the struggling guard’s neck. Whatever he did with him needed to have a visual impact, as the Emissary had been clear that part of the reason for the attack was psychological - to show the enemy that they weren’t even safe in their own headquarters.He saw a flash from the corner of his eye as Ember spread her wings, slowing her descent as she targeted another guard - but only slowing enough to prevent her from i
Rideten, Present Time“And here I thought you’d achieved the most outrageously jaw-dropping appearance the last time you walked into my bunker Mr Gale,” Victor observed dryly as he closed the meeting room door behind them. “Look at you,” he added gesturing at the three of them.Heath slid a look at each of his mates. Talen raised his eyebrows. Of them all, their vampire hybrid mate had escaped the massacre with only a few blood splatters in his beard. Seeing Heath’s look, he raised his hands to show that they were as bloody as Heath’s own, which made Heath feel better. He scratched at his jaw feeling blood flake away under his nail.“This is what war looks like,” Aislen replied snidely. “Something you might find unfamiliar from a bunker, Victor, but true nonetheless.”Victor shook his head as he crossed to a cupboard and pulled out a decanter. “Whiskey?” He offered them.“I will,” Talen said.“Not us,” Heath declined regretfully. Whiskey would have gone down well after the night in th