The Concordia, Twelve Hundred Years Before (Give or Take a Century)The pilgrimage towards the mountains took several days as it was traditionally made on foot. Many vampires chose to make the pilgrimage each year, and so Thorarin and Thaelen were accompanied by a number of vampires, slaves, and wagons ladened with supplies for the humans and gifts for both the lords of the Concordia who would host them along their path and to sacrifice to the gods.The days were filled with the slow trudge towards the mountains on the horizon, and the nights with stories told by firelight, the storyteller’s throats lubricated by blood mixed with mead or beer. When they reached a stronghold, the entire caravan would be absorbed into the homes of their hosts, and they would stay for two days, in order for Thorarin to spend time with the lords and ladies of the Concordia, with Thaelen at his side learning how to negotiate and resolve the concerns of his future kingdom.As they passed through the strongh
The Concordia, Twelve Hundred Years Before (Give or Take a Century) The Temple of the Gods was perched high in the mountains, and it took most of the day to guide the wagons up the steep and narrow roads to where, around a jutting point of rock, the way suddenly widened into a generous courtyard and the temple appeared, cunningly carved into the mountain. The temple was as large as a stronghold, the chambers uncounted, with many layers of openings and balconies looking down into the courtyard it framed on three sides. The stone-smiths who had carved it were artist vampires, and their efforts were still ongoing, with scaffolding built against one side showing the newest renovations. The arrival of the pilgrimage was anticipated, and the courtyard was filled with acolytes, priests and priestesses of the various gods, and their blood slaves. Thaelen and Thorarin were guided through into the great hall, lined with the altars of the gods, and began the slow progression from altar to al
Kabramatta, One Year Before Aislen dreamed of Rhett, dressed formally in a black suit and shirt, standing on the balcony of the river house with the wind trying to suck his hair free of its tie as he gazed out over the river. His hands were in his pockets, the suit jacket riding up around his wrists, and he was clean shaven. His cheekbones were sharper, his jaw more defined, youth faded into manhood. Heath walked up behind him, wearing charcoal grey to match his eyes. His hair was closely and severely cut. He placed his hand on Rhett’s shoulder and they both stood, grimly looking out at the flowing water, before turning together as Cameron stepped out of the river house. Like Rhett, Cameron wore a black suit, his shirt crisply white. He was weeping and shook his head as both Rhett and Heath started forwards. “Don’t,” his lips shaped the word though there was no sound. He turned and walked around the corner of the house. Aislen woke and lay awake gazing at the ceiling, her heart rac
The Concordia, Twelve Hundred Years Before (Give or Take a Century)Thaelen admired the way that the moonlight played over Akaus’ skin, his muscles flexing as he thrusted into Besafora, his fingers gripping her hips so tightly that the skin dimpled beneath his fingertips, but it did not seem to hurt her at all.“You can be rough,” Akaus grunted. “Rougher than you think, faster than you think. You have been raised to be careful with your vampire strength but have trust that Besafora will let you know if it is too much. With some practice, you will learn to read your partner’s response.” He withdrew and moved to the side. “Try it.”Thaelen’s heart pounded as he moved between the human woman’s legs and Akaus curved over his back, confident that his weight would not affect Thaelen, his hand stroking over Thaelen’s stomach, guiding Thaelen’s c-ck into the human woman.Thaelen groaned dark and gritty. “Ah, by the goddess,” he sobbed out.“Yes,” Akaus enjoyed Thaelen’s pleasure. “She feels w
Havermouth, Present TimeAislen pried Rhett’s hand away from the wound and cried out. Nathan Lowe had more than bitten Rhett, he had almost torn a chunk of his forearm away, only a section of skin holding it into place. Rhett made a wet sound in the back of his throat, looking away. “F-k.”“Talen!” Aislen’s call was a panicked wail.“Let me in, little demon,” the vampire picked her up by the waist, lifting her off her feet, and setting her to the floor outside the small powder room so that he could see. “Hmm, that is… unfortunate. I can try to lick it, but I suspect that saliva alone will be insufficient. Better, I think, Rhett, for you to take some blood. Let’s bandage this and sit upon the couch, as a powder room is no place for such things.”Heath put his arm around Aislen as they both watched Talen bandage the wound on Rhett’s arm. Through the touch, Heath’s thoughts spilled into Aislen’s mind in a rapid fire of worry. (Talen hadn’t wanted to lick the wound) Heath thought, (becaus
The Concordia, Twelve Hundred Years Before (Give or Take a Century)The room grew hot as the moonlight was replaced by sunshine, and their bodies were slick with sweat and caked in come, the periods of time between their sex longer as all three tired, and the men struggled to grow hard again swiftly. For a time, all three slept, entangled, and Thaelen woke to the sun setting when Akaus and Besafora rose from the bed.“It is time to bathe, my prince. Our time is up,” Akaus told him gently.“Thank you,” Thaelen said as he waded into the water and washed the slime of oil, sweat, and come off his skin and hair. “I had not known what to expect of the full sacrifice, but it… I will remember this time for the remainder of my life.”“You honor us, my prince,” Besafora smiled happily. “We hope that we will see you again on other pilgrimages.”“Will it be allowed?” Thaelen wondered. “This is my first, I do not know of the rules for priests and priestesses.”“Of course, it will be allowed,” Akau
Havermouth, Present TimeTalen took the back streets under Cameron’s instruction, weaving his way to the edges of the town, before circling towards the warehouse district. At first, they would catch glimpses of black-clad soldiers and vehicles at the intersection of streets, but too far away for the soldiers to react. There were many houses marked by paint, the majority of which was green, with the occasional blue slash.“People who refused entry?” Aislen wondered.Rhett frowned. “It’s… weird,” he said slowly.“What’s weird?”“Well… Maybe it’s because we have more to hide,” he said uncertainly. “But… Cameron?” He pointed to a blue door with his bandaged arm, grasping the back of the driver’s seat and leaning forward between the front seats.“Yeah, I see it,” Cameron said darkly.Aislen reached forward and touched Cameron’s shoulder, seeking to find in his mind what they were talking about.“The blue marks werewolf homes,” Talen said quietly. “Or suspected werewolf homes. They have a m
Havermouth, Present Time“Do not fear,” Verina, Leighton’s mate, said from the doorway. “You will know if you begin to turn. First there will be a hunger and thirst that food and water cannot sate, and food and water will become nauseating. Then you will find your sense of smell heightened until you can smell the meat and blood of the people around you. When that smell becomes irresistible, only then do you become a danger to others.”“Yay,” Rhett said with a grimace. “Good to know.”“I’m sorry,” Verina’s expression was saddened. “I truly am.” She closed the door behind her leaving Rhett and Aislen in the room alone.There was a desk pressed against the wall with an old-fashioned typewriter and a black and white photograph in a frame. The wall behind the desk had old articles about Havermouth and the surrounding areas pinned to it, and Rhett walked over and pretended to read them, his palms on the table surface, and his shirt straining over the tension in his shoulders. The white of t
Havermouth, Present Time Aislen hit her head hard on the floorboards and lay for a moment with white noise ringing in her ears, staring sightlessly up at the beams of the roof. Her entire body ached. She could feel the sharp sting of the cuts across her torso and the wetness of her blood, and she knew that she was dying. She groaned and put her hand to her chest, surprised to encounter cloth and not skin, and lifted her hand, wondering at how it was not covered in blood and what the black chalkiness was that stained her skin. She slowly lowered her chin to her chest. There were no wounds. Oh, yeah, she wasn’t the one bleeding... The thoughts rolled through her mind in slow motion, as if she was thinking through treacle. “Shit,” she groaned. “Heath!” Where were her mates? “Cameron, and Talen,” she whispered, closing her eyes and then opening them again, her vision focusing, the beams coming into focus. She was on the floor of Leighton’s workspace, she realized, and recalled the salt
Havermouth, Present TimeCameron cried out and threw his arms around Rhett, gripping him tightly before catching his face between his hand and kissing him with a thoroughness that left Rhett breathless until the bathroom door suddenly opened, and he released him out of habit, both men breathing heavily as they stared at the startled intruder.“Ah, sorry,” Will Peters was wide eyed. “I can wait…” He backed out letting the door swing shut behind him.“Shit. Oh well, I’m not hiding anymore,” Cameron shrugged, turning back to Rhett, and pulling him back into his arms. “I’m so happy to see you. And you’re looking so much better. Skinny. But better.”“Wow, Cam,” Rhett laughed. “I should come to the rescue more often. Hey there’s power on here!” He added squinting up at the neon lights. “Who would have thought I’d be happy to see the flicker of neon again.”“Did Aislen send you?” Cameron asked, leaning back in order to look at him. “Did she do one of those portal thingies? Where’s Heath? And
Havermouth, Two Weeks BeforeHeath Gale and Rhett Salem, Talen turned the names over in his mind as he reviewed the details that Tony had sent through to him on his laptop. In one of those twists of little towns, Heath Gale owned the firm that handled some of Zeus’ legal work. A lawyer.Well, that explained the expensive suits and impeccable grooming.Young, he observed, lifting his eyebrows as he saw the date of birth. Young and rich. The rich wasn’t a surprise, most of the werewolf families did well by themselves, but this young man did better than most. Lived just outside of Havermouth, in a heritage home owned by another pack family, the Edison’s.Rhett Salem, the sexy tattoo artist, owned the tattoo parlor in town and made more than a decent living from the business, though the bulk of his wealth had been inherited.“Hmm,” Talen tilted his head and flicked back to Heath’s file.They lived at the same address. Interesting. But not necessarily remarkable, he decided. Young men ofte
Havermouth, Two Weeks Before “I already knew what you all were, and I didn’t tell anyone.” Aislen finished her glass and held it out for Heath to refill.“Yeah, Rhett said that.” Cameron looked at Rhett.“If the pack knew that, though,” Rhett explained. “They would decide that you were too great a risk and kill you anyway, so we couldn’t let them know about that…”“And we couldn’t talk about it with you without breaking werewolf law,” Heath told Aislen. “Until you were officially ours, officially recognized as part of the pack, we could not openly talk about ourselves to you, or show you…”“I’m not part of the pack, or yours now,” she pointed out.“No, but things have changed,” Rhett let his hair fall over his face, avoiding looking at Heath. “You are in danger.”“You were an idiot,” Heath sighed out his frustration. “Arrogant and prideful as always and decided to show off what you knew with that f-king Secret Keeper poem.”“When you came back to Havermouth, we had another chance, be
Havermouth, Two Weeks Before The necklace around her neck was held together by a padlock. Heath hadn’t noticed it at Rhett’s tattoo parlor – things had happened so quickly, and he had been so angry, it was no wonder that the details of her outfit had skipped his notice. But he had seen it the moment they’d entered the kitchen, noting the workmanship of it and the glitter of diamonds.A love token from the vampire, he had decided straight away. It wasn’t until they were sitting across the table from each other and the infinity knot had slipped to the side, that he’d seen the padlock holding it closed at the rear. A tiny padlock, but a significant one. The necklace wasn’t a lover’s token but rather a declaration of ownership.Considering how the vampire had defended her against Heath the evening before, he wasn’t surprised that he had made sure to mark Aislen as his. A warning to Heath to back off, and a notice that the vampire intended to continue his pursuit of Aislen.Heath wasn’t s
Havermouth, Two Weeks BeforeJules leaned against the fence and wiped his brow on the back of his sleeve. “That’s done then,” he decided his eyes on the indignant wet sheep in the holding pen. They’d spent the day putting this part of the herd through the dip – a process that Rhett always found comical when he was drafted in to help, enjoying the complaints of the sheep as they treaded dosed water before being drained and released into the pen.Cameron had left him in bed that morning, however, as Rhett wasn’t himself. The sex the night before had been… strange. It had held shadows of the early part of the last five years, when sex between the Triquetra had been about hurting each other as much as getting off. Rhett hadn’t hurt Cameron precisely, but Cameron had known that the sex hadn’t been about him, although he was the recipient, but about Aislen.“Yeah,” Cameron agreed. “I’ll grab a shower, change and head home.” He headed towards the house.Jules checked the gate before followin
Havermouth, Two Weeks BeforeRhett couldn’t concentrate, so it was lucky that he didn’t have any clients booked – he had cleared his schedule anticipating that they would still be at the river house with Aislen. He pottered aimlessly in his office as a result, shuffling paperwork that he didn’t have the focus to read, and collecting up the empty coffee cups that clustered on every surface, pulling his face at those which had a skin of green over them.Coffee was a good idea, he decided, and the walk to Boyston’s and back would clear his mind, even if the trip risked him bumping into Heath. His blond mate had returned from work the night before in a foul mood having broken his own rules and gone to see Aislen, only to find the vampire already there.Rhett was the only one who hadn’t broken the rules so far, as Cameron had come knocking on his door the previous afternoon, still sweating from his run and reeking of sex with Aislen. Rhett had been trying to do something constructive with
Concordia, Eleven Hundred Years Before Thorarin looked out from the top of the sand dune. “A kings worth is measured not by his success on the battlefield during times of war, but in his daily judgements. It is too easy, my son, for a man to overlook the day-to-day in seeking glory, but the true glory of a ruler lies not in the battles won, but in the actions that he takes during peace time.” “Father,” Thaelen’s voice caught in his throat as he watched the wind string out Thorarin’s hair, the colored beads arranged in a pattern that only Abara had ever mastered and had taken to the grave with her. “How did you die? I must… I need to know. Were you…” He closed his eyes on the tears that burnt there, but they escaped anyway, sliding down his cheeks and into his beard. “Was it peaceful?” “Is death ever peaceful, Thaelen?” Thorarin replied without looking at him. “Especially for immortals such as we are? But, yes, perhaps. I recall little of it. We drank… and slept, and there was no mor
Concordia, Eleven Hundred Years BeforeThaelen was pleased to see Gyrd and his son leave through the stronghold gate as Thaelen led his army within the range of the archers on the walls of Gyrd’s stronghold – a move that required confidence that Gyrd would not turn traitor and shoot them from behind. The Lord’s presence was reassurance that treachery was not planned although the archers remained at alert, the top of the wall bristling with their strung bows.“My king,” Gyrd bowed. “You are a welcome sight to behold in the Gulgane armor.”“Gyrd,” Thaelen reached out to clasp the Lord’s arm. “And Timal,” he greeted Gyrd’s son and heir. “I thank you for your loyalty to the Gulgane family, and for holding this stronghold against the invading humans.”They turned to regard the campsite. The distance made the details difficult to make out, however there was no gathering of men, no readying of the siege machines that they had been constructing, and minimal activity. Thaelen narrowed his eyes