Havermouth, Present TimeInside the room was worse than the hallway, and explained why Connery had his seat propped in the doorway – for relief from the stench. Aislen tried not to look too closely at the gore that remained around the room. Some of it had belonged to Bianca, and that was too raw a wound for her to deal with at the moment. She was just too tired from giving birth, and too ragged from losing her telepathy.Meguitte sat just inside the door, with another notepad, and a look in her eye that spoke of darkness and trauma. Aislen could smell fresh blood from Meguitte, and the scent worried her. “Are you okay?” She asked.Meguitte’s eyes flicked up to Aislen’s, her cheeks heating. “I am exhausted,” she confessed.“Okay,” Aislen didn’t think that was everything wrong with the vampiress, but she rested her hand on Meguitte’s shoulder in empathy. If Meguitte didn’t want to talk about it, Aislen wasn’t the right person to push the conversation.Within the room, was a circle drawn
Havermouth, Present TimeDown the hallway enough for the stink of the torture room and the crunch and slurp of Mercy’s meal to be less nauseating, they formed a huddle, with Sigrid, Greg, Niarthen and Lyric in the centre, discussing what they had seen, and what the Mer would do next.Aislen leaned her cheek against Heath’s shoulder, exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to shower for a really long time, put on something that wasn’t coarse and itchy, and sleep. Heath put his arm around her absently, his attention on the discussion. She wanted to tell him that the world needed to take care of itself for a while, she had done her best for it, and it was time for her to sleep.“I can’t believe that she ate him,” Dan was seriously grossed out, Aislen could tell, although he kept his voice to a whisper.“I know,” Tom replied from the corner of his mouth, his eyes on Sigrid and Greg as they spoke with Niarthen. “Did you see the look on his face? He was just as surprised as we were.”“Will
Havermouth, Present TimeThe journey to the river house was slow. Thanks to Sigrid’s roadblocks and the damage from the Mer. They also encountered many groups of people just standing on the road, talking in confusion. No one could quite understand what had happened, and no one was entirely confident that it was the end.Gera, true to form, had woken wanting to be fed, and so Aislen held the baby in her arms and watched out through the windows as they passed along the river road towards the bridge. “We’re a long way from done,” she said softly.“Yes,” Talen agreed. “But still, I feel as if we are far closer to peace, and I find myself optimistic and excited about the future before us.”“Me too,” Cameron agreed. “But that’s also how it feels when Aislen does her thing in your brain, so it could be that too.”“We haven’t really talked about that,” Heath added. “About what happened, Aislen?”“It’s hard to explain,” she said looking down at Gera and tracing the curve of the baby’s cheek wi
Havermouth, Present TimeTears 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 nos
Rideten, Present TimeAislen 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 the s
Rideten, Present TimeThe 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 flooding th
Havermouth, Present TimeEmbroidering 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,” she
Rideten, Present TimeAislen 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, wake up
Havermouth, Present TimeThe journey to the river house was slow. Thanks to Sigrid’s roadblocks and the damage from the Mer. They also encountered many groups of people just standing on the road, talking in confusion. No one could quite understand what had happened, and no one was entirely confident that it was the end.Gera, true to form, had woken wanting to be fed, and so Aislen held the baby in her arms and watched out through the windows as they passed along the river road towards the bridge. “We’re a long way from done,” she said softly.“Yes,” Talen agreed. “But still, I feel as if we are far closer to peace, and I find myself optimistic and excited about the future before us.”“Me too,” Cameron agreed. “But that’s also how it feels when Aislen does her thing in your brain, so it could be that too.”“We haven’t really talked about that,” Heath added. “About what happened, Aislen?”“It’s hard to explain,” she said looking down at Gera and tracing the curve of the baby’s cheek wi
Havermouth, Present TimeDown the hallway enough for the stink of the torture room and the crunch and slurp of Mercy’s meal to be less nauseating, they formed a huddle, with Sigrid, Greg, Niarthen and Lyric in the centre, discussing what they had seen, and what the Mer would do next.Aislen leaned her cheek against Heath’s shoulder, exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to shower for a really long time, put on something that wasn’t coarse and itchy, and sleep. Heath put his arm around her absently, his attention on the discussion. She wanted to tell him that the world needed to take care of itself for a while, she had done her best for it, and it was time for her to sleep.“I can’t believe that she ate him,” Dan was seriously grossed out, Aislen could tell, although he kept his voice to a whisper.“I know,” Tom replied from the corner of his mouth, his eyes on Sigrid and Greg as they spoke with Niarthen. “Did you see the look on his face? He was just as surprised as we were.”“Will
Havermouth, Present TimeInside the room was worse than the hallway, and explained why Connery had his seat propped in the doorway – for relief from the stench. Aislen tried not to look too closely at the gore that remained around the room. Some of it had belonged to Bianca, and that was too raw a wound for her to deal with at the moment. She was just too tired from giving birth, and too ragged from losing her telepathy.Meguitte sat just inside the door, with another notepad, and a look in her eye that spoke of darkness and trauma. Aislen could smell fresh blood from Meguitte, and the scent worried her. “Are you okay?” She asked.Meguitte’s eyes flicked up to Aislen’s, her cheeks heating. “I am exhausted,” she confessed.“Okay,” Aislen didn’t think that was everything wrong with the vampiress, but she rested her hand on Meguitte’s shoulder in empathy. If Meguitte didn’t want to talk about it, Aislen wasn’t the right person to push the conversation.Within the room, was a circle drawn
Havermouth, Present TimeJules and Harry led the way into the hospital, pausing on the top level to open a door into a ward. It was busy in there with patients and people tending to them. Due to the lack of uniforms, only the injuries separated patients from carers. Aislen stood just inside the stairwell door, holding baby Gera in her arms, with the chaos unfolding before her, a little shell-shocked.A vampire that Aislen did not recognise saw Samuel and encouraged him and Ember into a room, despite the dragon’s protests. Samuel surrendered when Ember sternly ordered him to let the vampire donate some blood and help his healing.“Well,” Jules ran his hand through his hair awkwardly. “I guess we should find a midwife?”Gera decided to wake up and demand to be fed. The baby’s cries drew the attention of those near to them, and Tyler suddenly appeared through the crowd, his whole face contorted with excitement. “Oh, my fucking heart!” He declared. “You have a baby!”“I do, and a hungry o
Havermouth, Present TimeHeath and Talen helped Aislen have a sponge bath in the kitchen, whilst Cameron, who knew his way around the stock and feed shop like the back of his hand, produced a pair of overalls and a shirt in hi-Vis yellow. As her men washed and dressed her, Aislen watched as Rhett and Phillip showed Gera off to Jules and Harry and felt her heart melt at the pride on her dark-haired mate’s face, and the way his tattooed fingers carefully cradled the baby’s head.“Are you alright?” Heath asked her as he buckled the overalls up.“Yeah,” she looked down at herself. “Feeling really stylish.” Thankfully the bleeding had stopped after another dose of her mates’ blood, as she was sans-underwear. Despite her complaint about the clothing, she was relieved to be covered.Cameron smirked. “You’re the best-looking farmer this shop has ever seen.”“And boy, did it see a lot of me,” Aislen pulled a face. “The owner is going to come in and wonder what the fuck happened here.”“They’ll
Havermouth, Present TimeAislen lips were sticky with blood. It was not unusual, she existed on a diet of it, but she could feel the stick of this blood on her cheeks and glueing her eyelashes together. She fought to open her eyes, blinking away a wash of blood that blurred her vision for a moment. “Something’s wrong,” she rasped.“What is wrong, little demon?” Talen asked, his voice thick with emotion. She was leaning against him, his legs to either side of her, and his chest cushioning her back. His arm was resting just under her breasts, holding her to him. He rubbed his cheek against hers, the rasp of his beard against her skin. “Are you in pain?”“Oh, thank the goddess you’re awake.” Heath exclaimed, heavy with relief. She saw the blur of him appear in the field of her vision. “She’s awake. Rhett - water, and a cloth…” He held out his hand. The dark form of Rhett knelt on her other side, and she heard the slosh of water as he wrung out a cloth and began to wipe her face.The wate
Havermouth, Present TimeLyric watched Niarthen with a heavy weight on her heart. He had always been honest with her that it was unlikely the Mer would make peace, but she had been hopeful, and she could tell that under his apparent pessimism, he had been too – if mainly because he had not wanted to disappoint her and had understood that as someone who had come so recently from the land, she had some loyalty to it and its people.The betrayal from above and the siren Priestesses' efforts to kill Leighton had stung Niarthen’s pride and his faith in his people. The disaster that had resulted had caused an even deeper wound. However, Niarthen’s helplessness hurt her mate the most. She could see it in the way he stood, the line of his shoulders, the lift of his chin.Sapphire’s death was another blow as Niarthen had held hopes of rehabilitating her. Lyric had been relieved when Sigrid had killed her. She was almost certain that the Mer woman had been using some sort of power to entrance N
Havermouth, Present TimeAislen reached out and found Tabitha Marie, and the power of her coven. She pulled on it, drawing it into herself. She let herself drift and her consciousness expand. Her mates appeared first, they were bonded to her, and so physically close to her body, their minds bright with mixed emotions of distress and joy. Talen was feeding Aislen his blood, his wrist at her throat, whilst Cameron was busy between her legs. Heath supported Gera on Aislen’s chest as the baby cried and nuzzled at Aislen’s milk-heavy breast.Phillip and Rhett were at the filthy window at the front of the warehouse and were looking out with expressions of alarm. Above them, on the roof, out of sight of the battle below, Ember tended to Samuel’s wounds, whilst keeping an eye on what happened below.Ember worried that Samuel was too injured to wield the power of the gloves, and if he did, the dark veins of poison that had already spread up his arms and across his chest far further than she li
Havermouth, Present TimeMeguitte placed herself between Leighton and the spell trap. She wanted his attention focused on her and away from where Mercy was hidden behind a fragile illusion and the longer that she kept it to the center of the room, the better.She had felt the shift of power when he’d used it outside the hospital and wondered what he had done. It had to have been a significant magic for her to feel the shiver of it cross her skin standing the fine hairs on end like static electricity. Good, she thought. There was a limit to how much magic any witch or warlock could use. It took effort and tired the user. The more Leighton exerted himself elsewhere, the better.And then she thought about the injured people and began to fret as to those she knew below. Sigrid and Talen had gone, she comforted herself, but she could not recall if she had seen Harry leave. And had they let the other vampires know?She stood with her heart pounding heavily in dread.“Meguitte!” The call was