All That We Can Be

Delilah

 

As the sun snuck beneath the horizon, the sound of Abel’s guitar strings bounced against the rocks of the bay.

A bay that was crowded shoulder-to-shoulder with vampires, wolves, wraiths, phantoms, and humans.

Up front, his khaki pants rolled up his ankles, the breeze blowing at his white linen shirt, the sea lapping against his bare feet, stood Yuri.

To one side, leaning in, her hand in his, her head on his shoulder, stood Aurora.

On his other, her arm around him, her head also on his shoulder, stood Sonia.

And at Aurora’s side, also holding hands with her daughter, stood Barb.

A few feet behind them, arms wrapped around each other, stood Callum and Regan.

And we stood behind Callum and Regan. Me. Leah and Lucien. Jian-Li, Xun, and Chen, the boys holding up Wei who, even with his injuries, refused not to come. Dad, Ursula, Moose, Poncho, his auntie, Josefa, and Jabber. Aurora’s witch buddies. Ryon, Calder, and Caleb.

All of us held hands (except one of my hands was unavailable since my arm was in a sling, so Leah held me about the waist at my other side).

The rest, there to pay respects, stood to our backs.

Our eyes were on the Viking ship drifting peacefully on the waves.

Abel’s guitar was joined with another, the power of the strums reverberating through our bodies.

And as Abel’s voice rang out, the strings of an orchestra joined him.

In his baritone, he sang John Denver’s “The Eagle and the Hawk.”

The words tore through me as tears raced down my cheeks.

But I listened.

I listened to every beautiful word.

As the final notes drifted through the still air, hundreds of flaming arrows arced their buttercream light through the dark lavender blanket of sky.

Some hit the water.

Most hit the boat, and it and its precious cargo, taking its final journey, burst into flames.

I failed at swallowing back my sob and Jian-Li’s hand in mine tightened.

The boat burned.

No one moved.

I felt Abel push in beside me and take my hand from Jian-Li’s to hold in his.

“All that we can be,” Leah whispered.

At her words, more tears slid down my cheeks. The burning boat was blurry, but I kept my eyes to it.

Soar, Gregor, I prayed. You’ve done your job. We’re safe now. The whole world is safe now, because of you.

Sparks shot to the heavens on my thought.

I tasted salt as I smiled.

Aurora lifted her head from Yuri’s shoulder and we all heard her say quietly, “I’m glad I got the chance to know him, Yuri.”

With his gaze straight to the sea, Yuri dropped her hand and curled an arm around her shoulders.

But he made no reply.

Callum did.

“You will never meet a stronger man in your life,” the king of wolves declared, his eyes on the burning ship. “With eternity lying before us, not one of us will.”

Sonia looked back at her husband and smiled through her tears.

I dropped my head to Abel’s shoulder and gave him my weight.

And Abel, my mate, he stood strong and let me.

* * * * *

Lucien

“Where were you?” Lucien demanded.

“We were there,” Avery replied.

“You were? You were where?” Lucien clipped.

“We were there. The Ancients are everywhere. Do you think the insurrectionists had the ability to hack satellites?’ Avery shook his head and his eyes claimed Lucien’s in an unbreakable hold. “The humans, Lucien, they had to see.”

“You televised it?” Lucien hissed.

“They had to see.”

“You’ve said that,” Lucien bit out.

“The magic, Lucien, the magic that makes us, the magic that binds us, the magic that gives us immortality, links our races, flows through all of our veins only exists because of hope. Hope and love. Etienne and his minions represented the death of that. The Three was its salvation.”

“If you knew what they had planned, why didn’t you help us?” Lucien asked.

“We did,” Avery told him.

“And how’s that?” It was a scoff.

“For the last several decades, we gave you Gregor.”

Lucien’s jaw went hard.

He changed subjects. “After he attacked Leah, I could have dealt with my father. You wouldn’t allow it. I could have done something before he violated concubines, slaughtered villages—”

“Yes, but if you had, they would not have seen.”

Lucien blew out an infuriated breath. “I don’t understand your logic. In love and hope, you accept innocent collateral damage?”

“If you don’t understand, then I’ll tell you this,” Avery returned. “If I’d told Gregor he would lose his life to this fight, he would not have changed one thing he did, including going to aid his son, his daughter, you. That’s love, Lucien. That’s hope. That’s beauty.” He leaned forward. “That’s magic.”

Fuck, but Lucien couldn’t argue that.

“They saw,” Avery continued. “All around the globe, they saw you fight. They saw you bleed. They saw you sacrifice. They saw you face an undefeatable foe. And they saw you beat it. They saw the power of hope. They saw the might of love. And now, what do we have?”

Lucien didn’t answer.

“Harmony,” Avery whispered. “Immortals and mortals, after millennia, living together in harmony.”

He wasn’t wrong.

In the five days since the battle, there had been incidents.

But immortals were outing themselves around the world and none of the incidents had been violent. None of them alarming.

What Avery said was true.

The acceptance was astonishing.

Lucien let that go and asked, “Did you know we would lose Gregor?”

Avery shook his head. “I am millennia old, I have skills and strengths, but I’m no seer. Neither are the others. We knew what the enemy had planned because we had the skills to find out. But we had no idea of the outcome. Only hope.”

Lucien held his gaze and said, “Lilah’s light.”

“She’s the best of you.”

It was then that Lucien stared. “Pardon?”

“She was the key all along, Lucien. Her light. Lilah’s light made her the most powerful of all of The Three.”

“Love,” Lucien guessed, and Avery nodded. “But we all had that,” he pointed out.

“Acceptance is a word not in Delilah Johnson’s vocabulary,” Avery announced. “I’m sure you’ve noted why.”

It was dawning on him. “Because she sees no difference. She doesn’t have to accept, because she doesn’t even begin to judge.”

Avery nodded again. “She takes everyone just as they are. Even under frightening circumstances and even more frightening explanations, she took Abel’s side almost immediately. The power of that, Lucien, coupled with her capacity for love, loyalty, hope…There is nothing more powerful than that on the planet. Delilah is not all that we are. Delilah represents all that we can be.”

Lucien knew down to his bones that Avery was right.

There was no more to be said.

Therefore, he rose from his seat, murmuring, “I wish to get back to my bride.”

“Give her my love.”

Standing, looking down at Avery sitting in Gregor’s chair at Gregor’s desk, he felt his throat constrict.

He liked Avery. Respected him. As angry as he was, that would never change how he felt about him.

But he detested seeing him in Gregor’s chair.

“We often do not know what we have until it’s lost,” Avery said gently. “You’ve been on this earth a long time, but that’s a lesson we all seem consistently to forget.” Avery regarded him warmly. “I hope that this time, you won’t forget, Lucien.”

Lucien lifted his chin.

He wouldn’t forget.

None of them would.

Then he walked out of the room to find his bride.

* * * * *

Yuri

“Douse,” Yuri called.

When he did, the witches lounging on blankets and in lawn chairs on the grass around him, sipping wine, popping cashews or grapes or crackers slathered with brie in their mouths, lifted lazy hands and the fire consuming the vampire chained to the stake went out.

It was the vampire who’d killed his father.

His screams of agony faded to whimpers.

Yuri, with his back against a tree, legs out in front of him, laptop on his thighs, continued to catch up on email.

It had taken some time, but when he hit send, he saw he was finally done.

“Fire,” he said, and Barb, Ruby, Jezza, and Flo lifted their hands again.

The fire blazed and the screams returned.

Yuri snapped his laptop shut and rolled to his feet.

“You know,” Ruby stated casually over the shrieks, staring at the roaring fire like it was a campfire and not a vampire burning at the stake, “this is doing wonders helping me work out my feelings for vampires.”

Yuri felt one side of his lips hitch up.

“He’s at your mercy,” he announced, and the witches looked to him. “However, when you’re finished, so is he.”

Barb nodded.

“I go to Aurora,” he said to Barb. “We’re dining at a seafood restaurant in town tonight. You’ll join us for dinner?”

“Of course,” she replied.

“Be there with bells on,” Ruby called, shoving another cheese-smeared cracker in her mouth.

She wasn’t exactly invited.

Then again, she would be amusing company.

He dipped his chin Ruby’s way.

Then he walked away to find his little witch.

* * * * *

Callum

“We don’t do things that way in the United States,” the president, on the large screen in front of him, snapped.

“We’ve had our governments alongside yours for centuries, Darren,” Callum replied. “We dispense justice our way and you do not interfere. You do it your way and we return the favor.”

“That was before. Now the immortals are out—”

“We’ve already spoken of this,” Callum cut him off, allowing his impatience to show. “The nation of wolves will continue to be governed by me, the vampires by The Dominion,” he went on, gesturing to Rudolf and Cristiano who were sitting at his side. “And the wraiths and phantoms by Serena and Gastineau,” he finished, gesturing to the pair who floated at his other side. “This is as it was and as it always will be.”

“He and his army attacked two American towns,” the president shot back.

“And he and his army will pay for their crimes,” Callum returned. “We’ve already rounded up the golem and all the others. They have fallen.”

“The vampire Etienne must stand trial,” the president declared.

“He has and has been found guilty. Which is why we’re speaking,” Callum reminded him.

“You can’t simply execute him without—” the president began but stopped when Callum leaned forward in his seat and his expression changed.

“Humans do what they do and much of it I don’t understand. I know what you wish. I know you wish for his trial to be televised. And, in a small way, I understand that would provide closure, not to mention the understanding of justice being done…and vengeance. But mostly, the only purpose it would serve would be to provide titillation and an opportunity for voyeurism. Immortals don’t do things that way. We will make the transcripts of the trial available to the ruling bodies of all nations and you can decide to do with them what you will. But Lucien takes Etienne’s head tonight. And then it is done.”

“We cannot—” the president tried again.

“This call was a courtesy,” Callum bit out. “It was our people who committed the atrocities. It was also our people who bled and fell to put a stop to it. We will have justice. You will only be assured of it. And now, we’re done.”

“If this is how you intend to conduct our affairs for the future, Callum, I have grave concerns,” the president sniffed.

“And if you haven’t learned from our sacrifice that we wish harmony but autonomy, not dominance or interference, I fear for your nation’s future as that would prove you’re not a very astute leader,” Callum retorted.

The president reared back in his baronial chair.

“As you are very aware, this threat was not new. We have lost much in order to contain it for a very long time. And further, in all matters, we have kept order amongst our people for an equally long time,” Callum shared something the President knew. “We know how to govern our own. You have no idea. But regardless, at no time during the negotiations to conceive a plan to share the knowledge of immortal existence with humans was such meddling discussed. I’ve carefully gone over the minutes and Gregor’s copious notes on all of your meetings. After we, and we alone, secured a safe transition into society for our people, changing your tactics now would be foolhardy.”

The president’s brows shot up. “Is that a threat?”

“If you wish to take it as one, I’ve no control over that,” Callum replied. “However, it wasn’t one. It was simply a statement of fact.”

The president glared.

Callum finished it, “We’ll share with you when we’ve concluded the matter with Etienne before we release a statement to the press. Now, I wish you a good day.”

With that, he leaned forward, moved the mouse, and clicked, disconnecting the call.

“In the upcoming election, the candidate campaigning against him and favored to win is a much more open-minded human,” Cristiano noted.

“This is because his daughter is dating a wolf,” Callum muttered, rising from his seat. “I must go to Lucien.”

“When you speak to him, if you would, mention our invitation to join The Council,” Rudolf called as Callum moved to the door. “He’s refused, but he would be an excellent addition to our fold and your recommendation would hold great sway with him.”

Callum stopped and cut his eyes to the vampire. “Don’t you think he’s earned at least a small time of peace?”

“He’s revered, Callum, and we’re all going through colossal adjustments,” Cristiano replied. “He could be very helpful.”

He understood their concerns.

They’d lost Gregor.

They needed to fill that hole.

A hole that couldn’t be filled. Not even by Lucien. Hell, especially not by Lucien, who was absolutely no politician.

“Give him his time of peace, time with his mate, a year, five, then try again,” Callum suggested, even though he knew no matter how much time elapsed, they would fail.

The vampires nodded.

Callum looked to the queen of wraiths and the king of phantoms.

“You’ll attend?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” Gastineau replied, curling his arm around his mate to pull her close to his side.

The wraiths and phantoms had reunited.

An additional gift to Gregor’s legacy.

Callum jerked up his chin.

Then he left to tell Lucien the execution would commence as planned.

After that, he would find his queen.

* * * * *

The Three

In Speranza, Italy, at the headquarters of The Vampire Dominion, where the trial took place, they stood side by side along with Yuri but save Lucien, who stood in front of them, the shining, long, thin, lethal blade of a sword with its ornate gold grip that curled in swirls around his hand.

Serena, Gastineau, and a delegation of wraith and phantom witnesses floated behind them, off to the right.

Standing amongst them were Julian and Isobel, Lucien’s children, and Magdalene, his mother. They did not come as representatives of Etienne’s family. They came as the blood of Lucien and were there, as it was their due, to witness Lucien’s vengeance.

Beyond the phantoms and wraiths stood a five-person delegation of humans.

Regan, Ryon, Calder, Caleb, Saint, and a delegation of wolf and she-wolf witnesses stood to their back left.

Right behind them, Leah’s mother, her aunts, and a delegation of concubine witnesses stood.

Etienne, diminished of much of his strength due to the efforts of the phantoms, looking haggard and wearing an unattractive khaki jumpsuit, was on his knees in front of Lucien, his hands manacled behind his back.

Rudolf was off to the side, Cristiano just behind him. Rudolf had a tablet in hand and was reading out the charges.

And the verdicts.

The Dominion didn’t waste time. It had been only two weeks since the battle had taken Gregor’s life.

However, regardless, the evidence was irrefutable.

And unfortunately, there was a great deal of it.

When Rudolf finished, his gaze went to Lucien before he moved to him.

“Are you sure you wish it to be you?” he asked quietly. “This is unprecedented. His crimes are against all immortals and a member of The Council normally would carry out such a sentence.” He got closer and finished, “Cristiano has volunteered to take up the sword.”

“It will be me,” Lucien bit out.

“Lucien—”

Lucien turned his eyes to Rudolf and Rudolf fell silent.

“As discussed, I call this as my marker,” Lucien growled. “The Dominion’s debt to me is paid.”

Rudolf slowly nodded before he moved back to his earlier position.

He looked to Etienne. “You understand the charges. You understand the verdict. And now we carry out our ruling. Do you have any final words?”

Etienne’s face twisted with malevolence and he opened his mouth.

But no sound came out except a gurgle because Lucien had sunk the tip of the blade into his throat and twisted.

“I think we’ve all heard enough from him,” Lucien declared.

“Hear, hear,” Kate, one of Leah’s aunts, called.

“You feel the point of my blade through your throat for touching my mate,” Lucien said softly, eyes to his father’s.

Hate beamed from Etienne’s straight to his son’s.

Lucien was impervious to it.

“You’ve lived long, Father,” Lucien said to Etienne. “You’ve had much time to read, I know. It was something you enjoyed.”

He twisted the tip the other way and another gurgle discharged from Etienne’s mouth as his eyes got wide in hatred mixed with pain.

“You encouraged that with me when I was a child,” Lucien continued. “Mother did as well. She gave me a book once, which was excellent. Since she gave it to me, I’ve read it several times. It taught me a great deal. She told me you dismissed it as fantasy and unworthy of your attention. But it had an important lesson. One that clearly escaped you.”

Lucien twisted the blade again, pushing it in deeper as he leaned toward his father.

“Might does not equal right,” he whispered, his eyes locked with Etienne’s. “Right equals might. It’s a shame, so soon after you learned that lesson, you will die. But at least you learned it.”

Etienne’s eyes narrowed.

Lucien pulled the blade out, and with a human’s speed, he took his father’s head.

Without hesitation, he tossed the bloodied sword on Etienne’s body and moved to his bride.

With no one saying a word or even giving the remains of a monster a passing glance, they all filed out.

And an hour later, on televisions around the globe, news agencies broke into regular programming to report that the vampire Etienne had been executed by the Allied Protectorate of Wolves, Vampires, Wraiths, and Phantoms.

There were a variety of responses.

But mostly, the response was relief.

And the next day, everyone went to work as usual.

Except some of them did it alongside vampires and wolves they’d had no idea were such.

Until now.

* * * * *

Abel

His bike in the distance, parked on the road, Abel had been roaming as wolf, his mate at his side.

Now he was man and he had her on her back in the leaves, the stars overhead, his hands curved around her ribs, yanking her down on his face between her legs.

He was sucking, deep and hungry, at her clit.

Phenomenal.

He stopped and buried his tongue inside.

He felt her back arch. He tightened his fingers and drove her down harder on his mouth.

He heard her moan.

Fuck yes.

His mouth opened on her clit again, tongue lapping, then he went back to the suction.

She dug her heels in his back. He knew it was coming.

So he stopped, surged over her, and bathed her neck with his tongue as he rammed his cock inside the hot wet of her cunt.

He tore through, her blood pouring into his mouth, and he knew it was on her.

“Abel, baby,” she moaned.

Abel heard it, kept thrusting, kept feeding, but did it smiling.

Wild.

As usual.

But now…

Free.

* * * * *

“Brother, take that back,” Hook warned.

“Nothin’ to take back, it’s the damned truth,” Moose retorted.

Abel turned his head, not knowing why the mood in the room shifted so quickly. Also not having heard anything since he’d been listening to Sonia talk about Calder’s (enforced by Callum) reluctant but adventurous search for his mate.

“Then I’ll make you take it back.” Hook, at the head of the table, Delilah to one side, Aurora to his other, with Abel next to Delilah, shot out of his chair.

He then leaped over the table, arms extended, and as he did it, he took plates and platters filled with food, as well as much of the tablecloth, with him.

He hit Moose, who was sitting beside Yuri, the vampire next to Aurora, and Moose’s chair fell back.

They started grappling immediately on the floor, rolling around, grunting, and cursing.

Delilah leaned forward in her chair toward a wide-eyed Aurora and said, “Don’t worry. This happens a lot.”

She was speaking truth.

It was Thanksgiving at the Johnson compound and it was far from surprising that all hell broke loose.

Ursula, who had been sitting down the table between Moose and Jabber, leaped to the seat of her chair and shouted, “That’s it, my darling. Show him how it is!”

Abel looked down to the foot of the table to see Jian-Li watching the biker wrestling match with amusement settled firm on her features.

“Bummer, man, the hoisin sauce is all over the floor and I needed some,” Xun muttered.

Aurora started giggling.

Delilah burst out laughing.

Sonia and Leah grinned at each other.

Lucien raised a brow to Callum, who just shrugged.

Chen asked for the eggrolls, which were one of the only things left on the table.

Barb handed them to him.

Cain held Teona in his lap, where he’d pulled her five minutes ago, and he shoved the last of his pancake filled with crispy shredded duck in his mouth as his mate craned her neck to watch the action.

Wei took a sip from his beer bottle, doing it eyes to the floor behind him where the men were fighting, his lips grinning.

And Abel sat back in his chair, staring at one of what he’d discovered was his mate’s myriad brands of wild, and he did it with a smile, feeling free.

The wrestling match turned out to be a draw.

And then the table was cleared and Jian-Li and Delilah served four types of pie.

* * * * *

Abel lay on his back in their bed, eyes to the ceiling, his woman curled close, her finger moving in a whisper of touch, drawing patterns on his chest.

“Everyone leaves tomorrow,” Delilah said quietly.

“Yeah,” Abel replied.

“We’ll be back together for Yuri and Aurora’s Claiming Ceremony in December,” she told him something he knew.

“Yeah,” Abel repeated.

“That’ll be fun,” she muttered.

“Yeah,” Abel agreed yet again.

“Hope Dad and Moose behave,” she kept muttering. “Barb might spell them bald and impotent if they don’t.”

Abel’s body started shaking with laughter.

Delilah snuggled closer, resting her cheek to his chest and stopping her hand in order to wrap her arm around his stomach.

“You wanna ride out the next day?” she asked.

He did.

Absolutely.

For months, they’d rode.

They did it from place to place. To visit Lucien and Leah. Jian-Li and his brothers. Cain and Teona. Or just places one or the other of them wanted to see.

And in that time, Abel had stood at the back of a roadhouse outside Austin, sipping beer, watching his mate scream and shout and dance with abandon to live music.

They’d also stood on the top of a cliff in northern California, holding hands, jumping off together, and falling straight into the salty, warm waters of the sea.

And she’d sat on his lap while trying to break the record of eating forty Coney dogs (she lost, she only could hold down fifteen) at some place outside Philly.

They’d fucked on the beach in the moonlight in South Carolina.

They’d sat in a speedboat Lucien drove fast on Dragon Lake next to the house he shared with Leah, Abel holding Delilah close, Delilah having both arms in the air most of the time, screaming in glee.

They’d sat at table after table with those they loved, eating, talking, sharing, laughing, dream after dream coming true as he’d seen his mate sitting back, chopsticks in her hand, boots on the table, teasing Jian-Li.

They were going to Scotland after Yuri and Aurora’s Claiming Ceremony to spend Christmas with Sonia and Callum and their family.

While doing all of this, they were often recognized practically everywhere they went.

But they’d found, surprisingly, and gratefully, that this was always respectful.

Always.

Someone might approach but only to say “thank you” or ask to shake Abel’s hand or give Delilah a hug.

Mostly, they just got nods or smiles.

The others reported they experienced the same.

So nothing marred their eternity of adventure.

Nothing marred their wild and free.

“Baby?” Delilah called into his contented thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“Wolf traits won out.”

His brows drew together as he dipped his chin.

She slid her cheek on his chest to look up at him.

“What?”

“They’re prolific,” she whispered, and his entire frame strung taut.

“What?” This word came out on a sharp breath.

“I’m sure you want a girl you can spoil rotten. But I want a boy with two-colored eyes and—”

She didn’t finish because she was on her back, bearing his weight, taking his tongue in her mouth.

When he broke their kiss, his voice was hoarse when he asked, “You havin’ my baby?”

She nodded.

Abel stared into her green eyes that were filled with love and joy.

His mate.

His woman.

His temptress.

His Delilah, who would soon be the mother of his children.

Then he tipped his head back and did something he’d never done in his life.

And he’d never done it because he’d never had a reason to.

To the ceiling, Abel Jin howled his exaltation to the moon.

Those in the Johnson compound who heard and understood it, smiled happily at each other.

Those who didn’t understand it still couldn’t mistake it.

And they smiled happily too.

* * * * *

Retired Warriors

As the onlookers stood silent after the new president of the United States turned from the podium where he’d just made a stirring speech of gratitude and remembrance, they watched him move to the towering, veiled mass behind him.

Then they watched him tug on the red velvet cord.

The dark shroud fell away, revealing the statue of a woman set hauntingly in bronze, the wound in her shoulder gaping, her neck bent, each line of her body the picture of sorrow.

On a plaque at the base, it read:

“We are The Three!”

Delilah

Of The Three

In Memoriam of Gregor

Fallen

In the Battle of Goodwill, Missouri

The Beginning and End of the Noble War

“So that we all can be free.”

The First Lady set a large wreath of red roses at the base of the statue, then moved to her husband and held his hand, their heads bent to take in the plaque as silence kept the large crowd in its hold.

Eight figures stood looking down from the swell of a hill well beyond the onlookers.

They said not a word.

Until one of them did.

“I need a drink.”

That was Abel.

“Aurora’s and my suite?” Yuri suggested.

“See you there,” Lucien muttered, taking Leah’s hand and guiding her to the gleaming black Porsche parked on the street.

Callum lifted his chin in assent and slung his arm around Sonia, moving her to the green Range Rover parked behind the Jag.

“Hope you got Jack,” Abel said.

Aurora laughed.

Yuri replied, “We have everything.”

Abel nodded and hooked Delilah around the neck. “We’ll be there after we check on Jian-Li and Greg,” he said to Yuri before heading with his woman toward his bike.

“You ready, my sweet?” Yuri asked, looking down at his mate.

“Always, Yuri,” she replied, gazing up at him, her lips twitching.

He took her hand, and as was his habit whenever he did this (and he did it often), when he had her small hand in his, he rubbed his thumb over the large diamond nestled between bands of gold on her left ring finger.

It was a reminder that she was his.

It was a reminder of his love for her and the gift of her returning the same.

And it was a reminder of his father, who did much in his long life, including helping to make their union possible.

Then, as one, he and his little witch strolled to their Jaguar.

 

 

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