Dear Readers, as it is Christmas Eve here in Australia, I am releasing tomorrow's chapter today as my morning will be busy. I hope you enjoy the chapter and wish you all a Merry Christmas.
Havermouth, Present Time The river was noticeably lower than when she had seen it last, Meguitte noted numbly to herself as Tony took them along a parallel road. Where the water had receded there was a crust of rubbish and debris left behind, amongst which she picked out the carcasses of sheep, wildlife and probably domesticated pets, their species unable to be identified in a quick glance from a car window, just the impression of soggy fur. “Are you looking like I am, making sure that the dead creatures are actually dead?” Connery asked her quietly as she leaned over him in order to look out of the window. “Can you imagine being overrun by small, sharply teethed zombie rodents?” She shuddered. “Let’s not even imagine it,” she told him. He took her hand and held it between his on his lap. “How are you doing, Meguitte?” “I think I’m in shock,” she slid back into the seat and leaned against him. He released her hand in order to put his arm around her shoulder, drawing her towards hi
Havermouth, Present Time“Where is August Mason?” Meguitte asked as they left the bedroom.“Below, where Jules’ body is,” Tony told her.“Hmm. Convenient,” she stopped by the kitchen and searched through the spice rack. “Do you have a pestle and mortar?”“Here,” Connery retrieved it from a cupboard and set it before her. “It’s clean, I washed it after using it.”“Thank you,” she smiled up at him tightly, her mind on her task and her hands already combining spices and herbs into the bowl and grinding them into dust.“An interesting choice of components,” Connery commented mildly after inspecting the little jars. “Do you have any absinthe?” He asked Tony.Meguitte’s grin up at him was spontaneous and bright. Of course, Connery would know what she was mixing and what other ingredients would be required.“I do,” Fatima responded, eager to have a task. “I’ll go get it.” She hurried out of the room.“What is this for?” Tony asked warily from the other side of the kitchen bench. He was not a
Rideten, Present TimeIt was safer to walk according to Phillip’s contact, and so they set off down the pretty Rideten streets with their heritage buildings shaded beneath ancient trees. Talen had probably seen them grow from saplings, Aislen thought to herself.With her mates in agreement that Talen, Cameron, and Heath would follow, and Rhett would go with her, Aislen should have been able to focus on the problem ahead of her rather than fretting over all the egos of her menfolk. She tried to do so, but the nagging resentment remained.She hadn’t missed that Talen and Heath had been working out the future together, including her future, without consulting her. She had only caught the tail end of the conversation, but it had sounded like they’d reached an agreement on how it would be between them, and that pissed her off more than a bit.The Triquetra had been arseholes to her in the past, but she’d honestly thought they’d worked that out, and everyone would settle in and be happy wit
Rideten, Present TimeTheir movements echoed hollowly round rooms that were bare of furniture. The house was in mid-renovation from the way the walls and floors had been stripped, light fittings hung, and boards or plastic covered many windows.“Dwayne,” Phillip had greeted their guide and turned now to them. “You, of course, know Stella, and my son Rhett. This is Aislen Carter, the Havermouth Triquetra’s mate.”“Hi,” from the way Rhett spoke, he had no idea who Dwayne was.“This is one of the backup entries,” Dwayne told them. “The Van Helsings having taken over the main facility. We’ll go down to the bunker now.”“You mean the church?” Aislen asked, shocked.“It came up for sale a while ago,” Dwayne snorted in amusement. “It seemed appropriate that we build our base under something that they would see as sacred. And the renovations were a good cover for building the bunker. The location however attracted their attention when they moved into Rideten, and they took control of the surf
Rideten, Present Time“It’s a matter of public perception,” Victor continued. “We cannot be seen attacking a peaceful population that is simply afraid of us and pursuing legal steps to protect themselves against us. We need to respond in kind. We have some very good politicians and lawyers working on representing our interests.”“They are killing and torturing us. We are responding in kind in attacking the Van Helsings occupation. Tabitha Marie has been reporting on what has happened in Havermouth and the Van Helsing torture of our people, surely that is justification enough,” Aislen said immediately, but her tone lacked confidence as the thoughts of the werewolves in the room were on how to dispute what she was saying, and how she was wrong, and they were so loud and certain that an edge of self-doubt wormed itself into her heart.“We have seen Tabitha’s reports on the internet,” Victor’s tone was indulgently patient as if he were speaking with a child. “However, they’re not being pi
Rideten, Present TimeChoosing the church as the base for the bunker had many disadvantages Aislen learned as Victor and his council went on to discuss how to mobilize their army without exposing their location to the Van Helsings above. The peaceful occupation of Rideten meant that their vehicles would immediately attract attention and panic.It was decided that teams of soldiers would exit through the various backup locations, such as the house that they had brought Aislen, Rhett, Phillip, and Stella through, and obtain their vehicles before making their way in stealth to Trayrock. Once in position within the town, they would contact the local werewolf pack and army, and co-ordinate a fast and hard attack aimed at driving the Van Helsings out.Aislen and her mates, would return first to Havermouth, and then travel to Trayrock in the wake of the battle with the reporters.“If they’re ignoring Tabitha Marie and putting it forward as a hoax, how are we going to get them to come with us
Rideten, Present TimeWalking through the Van Helsings with Heath and Cameron whilst keeping an eye on Rhett and Morgana as they entered the house behind Phillip and Stella had Talen’s nerves on edge. What the fuck were the fool werewolves playing at inviting his mates to a meeting directly across the road from a Van Helsing headquarters? That people often overlooked that which was directly under their noses was a sound theory, but this was taking it too far.They must have experienced one of those moments of bad luck, he decided, and built their bunker, only to have the Van Helsings move into the same neighbourhood. It would cause issues with Morgana’s hopes of using the Rideten army to rally the other branches if mobilizing the army would expose the werewolves’ stronghold.However, that was a problem for the future, and he had more immediate demands for his attention. He led his mates around the block until they reached the house directly behind the one into which Morgana and Rhett
Havermouth, Present TimeMeguitte set the phone down. It had not been an easy call to make. She knew that the weight of guilt on Talen’s shoulders would be heavy, and he had already been so weary. He had not said whether he would tell Cameron or not. She had not asked the question knowing that he probably had not decided for himself, though his question about the security of Havermouth made it clear that he had understood what she was suggesting.She looked down at the man before her and stroked his hair back from his face tenderly. Such a handsome man, she thought. Harry’s blood had been reversing the effects of age, and Jules Edison looked no older than his son, his thick ash-brown hair free of silver and his skin uncreased by time and exposure.“I am sorry that your eternity with Harry was cut short,” she told Jules softly.“What did Talen say?” Connery entered the room and placed his hands on her shoulders, the contrast of the heat of his palms to the chill of the air divine. “Ah,
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