Havermouth, Present Time“Well,” Bianca cleared her throat and pressed her fingers to her eyes. She was crying too, Aislen realized. “Something worked. I think Toby is back to normal.”“Yeah,” Toby agreed softly. “I am.”“What now?” Aislen asked him. “We can’t let you go back to the Van Helsings, you know that don’t you?”“It sort of wasn’t in my plans to go back,” he told her. “I wouldn’t exactly be welcomed with open arms. I set you free, along with all the people that they’d captured and caged, and I shot a few people. I’m pretty sure that Sparrow would have fun cutting small strips out of me and I’m not keen to let that happen. So, yeah, not exactly sure what to do now,” he looked around them. “I guess… I’m changing sides.”Aislen wasn’t entirely sure whether they’d welcome him in, or be able to completely trust him, but as long as he stayed with the witches in the warehouse, she couldn’t imagine what sort of trouble he could get into. “Alright,” she said slowly. “You can stay her
Havermouth, Present TimeThe moment Aislen broke the circle, Talen was on his knees beside them, biting open his wrist and placing it over Bianca’s mouth, the blood smearing over her cheek and the burn upon it.Meguitte, Connery, Harry and Jules ran in from outside, responding to either the screams or the energy of the magic, Aislen did not know.“Put her on one of the benches!” Meguitte ordered with authority and Talen lifted her with one arm whilst keeping his wrist in place. As soon as Bianca was on the bench top, Meguitte tore open her shirt, following the burn trail to the source of the strike over Bianca’s heart. She held her hands over the point and began chanting in a language that spoke to Aislen of antiquity, the tones familiar and yet foreign, the rhythm of its delivery wildly musical, and the power behind it raising the hair on Aislen’s skin.Bianca’s erratic breathing slowed and eased into something like sleep.Talen licked his wound closed. “Her heart has steadied.”He s
Havermouth, Present TimeAislen agreed to remain behind and send Aaron in her place to the witch supply shop. As much as she wanted to go, she was responsible for Bianca’s injury, and owed it to her friend to stay and nurse her, plus, Cameron wanted her to stay, and, as they had prepared to leave, Talen had asked her to keep an eye on Meguitte. She was, however, determined to go to the Megastore when they returned and hoped that having given in to her men about the trip into town, they’d be reasonable about her going to the store.She slid onto one of the bench seats next to the bench top on which they had placed Bianca and took her friend’s hand in hers. Bianca’s mind was warded against her so she could not tell if the thin camp mattress on the table and her injury gave her discomfort or pain in her sleep, but she seemed peaceful and that was a relief, Aislen decided as she released Bianca’s hand.Meguitte brought over a bowl of water in which floated herbs plucked from the baskets a
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen leaned his hip on the thick stone of the window, looking out through the warped glass of the window. The tents that had not been burnt or destroyed in the initial invasion had been repurposed by the Greibron army into barracks and the land which had been dedicated to being developed into a symbol of peace was instead, yet again, a battle ground.“I’ll be back soon,” he said to Harithen pushing away from the window and crossing to the door. “Try to get some rest.”“I should come with you,” Harithen protested pushing back the blankets. “My supporters need to see that I am alive.”“Harithen,” Thaelen caught at the doorframe and turned back slowly. He closed the door behind him and crossed to sit on the edge of the mattress. “A well-aimed arrow, or one of those handheld guns… And you are dead. They are already trying to kill you. I will take Alandra’s body to the meeting point and hope to reason with Jermyne. But you need to stay here, where i
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeHarithen was leaning against the window looking out at Greibron when Thaelen entered the chamber. He wore a robe belted at the waist, his feet bare, and his hair swept over one shoulder. He glanced over his shoulder at Thaelen and smiled, turning to face him. “So, what did that pompous arse Jermyne have to say for himself when he saw that I was alive?”“He denied that it was you,” Thaelen replied closing the door behind him. “You should be in bed resting.”“Denied it was me? The slimy arsehole. I told you that I should have gone with you, he couldn’t deny it face to face with me.”“If it makes you feel better, I told him that if I saw him again, I’d take his head. Now, into bed, Harithen.”“Take his head,” Harithen laughed. “I like that. I might give it to you as a wedding present. And I’m fine,” Harithen tossed his hair back over his shoulder. The robe gaped at the neck revealing that he was bare beneath it. Thaelen inhaled through his nose, desi
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeHarithen’s head was thrown back, his Adam’s apple exposed, and his golden hair tangled and matted against the pillows. His breath was gasped out, his lips peeled back from his teeth, and his fingers clenched on Thaelen’s shoulders, the heels of his hands pushing him away instinctually.“Thaelen,” he groaned. “Please. It hurts.”Had he been too rough? Thaelen chastised himself. Or just rough enough?“And I’m… Oh, f-k. No. Don’t stop!” Harithen protested when Thaelen eased the suck of his mouth and lifted his face from where he had been drinking from Harithen’s c-ck.Thaelen laughed under his breath. “Make up your mind. Do you want me to stop, or keep going?”“Both,” Harithen laughed wildly. “Neither. I don’t know. It is too much, and yet also, so good…”“Hmm,” Thaelen swiped his tongue over the fragile, sensitive skin, turning his healing of the wound into sensuality, so that Harithen’s groan changed tone.As a prince, Harithen had been raised to b
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen watched as Harithen ran the gauntlet in the courtyard. The prince was barefoot, his trousers rolled to mid-calf and his shirt untucked and untied, revealing his chest and stomach as he leapt between the obstacles, dodging with grace the swinging pendulums that sought to knock him off his perch, his loose hair shimmering as he ducked and weaved completing the course to the congratulations of the menfolk around them.Watching the laughter on Harithen’s young face, Thaelen’s eyes met Sigrid’s across the courtyard, and he smothered his wince. Despite Sigrid’s disapproval, he did not regret turning Harithen, he told himself as she continued on her way into the building, disappearing from his sight. It was true that Harithen was very young, but the prince revelled in his vampirism, embraced it gleefully, and enjoyed his strength and speed.He was glorious.Below, in the courtyard, Harithen was being dressed by adoring blood slaves. Thaelen saw D
Concordia, Seven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen woke late in the morning to an empty bed.He knew before he even opened his eyes that Harithen was gone, but he told himself that, perhaps, the other man had woken early, or had been hungry. He was even willing to contemplate that Harithen had left in order to find sex elsewhere. But, deep down, he knew.He had been a fool not to take Harithen back to Concordia as soon as he was turned vampire. He should not have lingered at the tower in the hopes of delaying the conversation between them. Harithen had come to the conclusion that Thaelen was not going to throw Concordia’s forces against Greibron and had gone to raise his own army against his mother and sister and take back Greibron for himself.Thaelen dressed and made his way to the watch tower, not surprised to find Sigrid already there. “When did he leave?” He asked her as he took his place on the balcony looking out over Greibron at her side. Harithen had not been wrong about the weath
Havermouth, The Present Aislen sat on the bench seat of one of the Unimogs whilst Talen and the Heath met with Rohan. There were lot of hand signals gesturing beyond the destruction of the farm and solemn expressions on their faces. When she looked up, she could see that Rhett and Cameron were busy helping to carry injured to the waiting vehicles and that the vampires and werewolf soldiers were destroying what remained of the farm’s buildings, ensuring that there was no way that the Van Helsings could return and continue to use the site. The crashing and shouting as they tore the buildings to pieces was giving Aislen a headache and she paused in her poetry writing to pinch her brows. “Here,” Bianca climbed nimbly up the Unimog’s ladder and offered Aislen a bottle of water and two pills. “Paracetamol. You’ve been sitting here rubbing at your head, so I know you’ve got a headache.” “Thanks,” Aislen took the pills and washed them back with the water. “Ah shit,” she said after she’d sw
Havermouth, The PresentRhett and Heath shifted into human form and the Triquetra threw their arms around each other and him, their hands smearing mud and blood onto each other unheeding in their relief that all four had made it through unscathed. Over Heath’s shoulder, Talen saw Morgana slip and slide through the mud, her cheeks streaked with tears as she saw them, and he held out a hand, welcoming her in, the Triquetra pulling her into the center of the embrace.It was where she belonged, Talen thought as he leaned his face into her hair and breathed the scent of his female mate into his lungs. Morgana had always been the center, the heart of their family, the piece that made the rest of them make sense together.“Everyone’s in one piece,” she pivoted slowly round the circle of her men, inspecting each for injury, smearing away blood and mud with her hands in order to make sure that they didn’t hide wounds below.“We’re fine. We are fine,” Heath laughed wetly. “Really, Aislen, we’re
Havermouth, The PresentTalen kept watch as Harry set the explosives under the last of the guns. Of all five machine gun stations, this one was the most exposed, and Talen could feel the prickle of stress sweat between his shoulder blades. They had debated leaving this one completely and hoping that the explosions from the other stations would be enough, but the Van Helsings on duty there had been called to help load a helicopter that was waiting to take off, leaving the station as an open invitation for sabotage.When Harry eased out from under the station and slunk through the shadows to Talen’s side, the relief dragged through Talen’s muscles like the heavy refractory period after sex. He was exhausted, and that terrified him as he knew that the battle was ahead. Get through it, he told himself. Win this battle, and then take your mates to the river house, as Cameron had suggested, for three days and nights of f-king and feasting upon his mates as he turned them.It would be bliss.
Havermouth, The PresentIt was one thing to ride a Unimog through town, and another to travel on one long distance for over an hour, Aislen thought grimly. She was certain that most of her bones had been shaken loose and that when she eventually did stand up, she’d collapse in a jumble of limbs like in a cartoon. She’d been trying to work on another Secret Keeper post, working in a notebook that she’d stolen from one of the desks in the bunker, but her handwriting was so shaky that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to read it afterwards.She also wasn’t sure if she was being optimistic in it’s message.However, if she wasn’t writing, then she had to focus on what was happening around her, where they were going, and the fact that they had to be getting close, and there still was no sign of Talen. Was he okay? She would know, wouldn’t she? She asked herself. If something had happened to him, she was sure that she would feel it somehow, like a wound to her heart.“He’s fine,” she said out lo
Havermouth, The PresentThe farm’s vegetable gardens had been trampled underfoot, without any care for the vegetables and fruits left unharvested, the Van Helsings having abandoned any pretence of the site being anything other than what it was – a military facility. Entrance into the farm from the main road was controlled by guards and cement roadblocks, however, away from the public side of the farm, the security relaxed. There were flood lights set at key points, but their focus was inward and in daylight, they had been turned off.One field contained neat rows of tents, and a portable shower and toilet building which was in use as Harry and Talen crept around it’s edges, someone singing an atrocious rendition of a popular love song as they showered.It made Talen pause, hearing that singer, and a fury began to burn in the pit of his stomach. The Van Helsings at this site were so at ease, so comfortable, that they sang in the shower, where he and his mates had spent nearly every mom
Havermouth, The PresentHeath woke to discover that he had slept through Talen leaving and that pissed him off as whilst he recognized the vampire’s seniority and experience, Heath was faster and stronger, and he felt that it just made sense for him to be included in the mission, and that if anyone should have been left behind, it should have been Harry.Sigrid and her Triquetra had control of the bunker by the time Heath’s Triquetra left their room with Aislen. They met briefly in the room and ran over the sparse information that Talen had given to Cameron and Rohan before his departure and to try to piece together a plan of attack with Rohan – something which was difficult as they had no idea the total size of Haven Farm, and Heath could only roughly sketch the areas that he had been admitted to when visiting Charlotte, and on the times he’d been on the escorted tour.None of the maps that they had showed property boundaries, and even Sigrid’s Triquetra’s fancy toys didn’t have any
Havermouth, The PresentTalen slipped out of the bed when the wait staff arrived in the morning, pulling on yesterday’s trousers in order to open the door and pressing his fingers to his lips to indicate that they should be quiet as they delivered the breakfast and clothing. He admired the efficiency of the bunker, despite the disruption to the leadership everything continued to run like clockwork and thanked the staff quietly as they departed.He showered quickly and dressed in the clean clothing, before creeping back out into the main living area.Cameron looked up from the table. “You’re up early.”“Shh,” Talen placed his finger on his lips as he checked to make sure that Cameron had closed the bedroom door behind him. “You should be asleep, Cameron,” he said quietly as he crossed to ruffle the werewolf alpha’s russet curls.“I smelled pancakes,” Cameron told him with a bright smile as he uncovered them. “Ahhh,” he sighed in satisfaction. “Would you just look at that? Blueberry pre
Havermouth, The PresentHeath rose from the bed as Rhett lifted Cameron’s face to his and kissed him, pushing Cameron’s hand away from his c-ck so that he could take hold of it, causing Cameron to moan into the kiss as Rhett stroked him.Talen released, Morgana’s leg, leaning over to suck on the nipple that was exposed as she lowered her knee to the mattress. He teased the tips with his teeth, knowing that the pinch of the clip would make them sensitive, and slid his hand down her stomach to rub against her clit as Heath positioned himself.“Would you like some Edison brand lube?” Rhett’s grin was wicked. He had wrapped his arm around Cameron, holding his redhaired mate by the throat, just under the jaw, and Cameron’s face was slack with pleasure as Rhett’s other hand jerked his c-ck viscously.“Hmm,” Talen laughed through his nose. “Go on then,” he encouraged them. Cameron would have time to recover from the orgasm and be good for a second round before the night was through, he predi
Havermouth, The PresentThe moment the door opened; Rhett jerked Aislen to face him, his eyes intense. “Play time,” he growled his wolf shading the amber of his irises with an oily sheen of green and gold. He pulled her top up and off her without breaking their gazes, and then lifted his own top up slowly in a delicious display of tattooed skin and muscle made more striking by his leanness.Heath and Cameron fell in behind him, assuming the Triquetra formation that she had seen them take so many times, an unconscious werewolf move, hunters stalking their prey, and she caught her bottom lip between her teeth as she backed towards the bedroom, Rhett keeping pace with her, the distance between them precise, his eyes locked on hers.Talen closed the door behind them and strolled nonchalantly towards the kitchenette.Rhett unbuttoned his trousers, his c-ck pushing against the fly so that the teeth opened little by little with every throb. “Undress, Aislen,” he purred the words, his smirk w