Chapter 7
Love Me
Annie was tired of waiting and exactly what was she waiting for anyway? He was her mate, of that she had no doubt. His kiss set her on fire and she wanted that fire put out. There was only one way to do that. Right now, they were sitting at a table covered with food and Ram was smiling at her.
Her heart was so full of feelings, she thought it might burst. He’d been out of town all day working hard and still had arranged for this wonderful meal. She had never felt more cared for. Ram was eating his meal, but monitoring her closely so he could meet her every need. The man had also ordered a meal for Cam so they could take it to him when they were finished eating.
Thoughtful people made a big impression on her and this guy was as thoughtful as anyone could be. “You seem distracted,” Ram noticed.
“No, I’m just wondering what you intend to do with the prisoners,” Annie admitted.
“We’ll question them and once we’re sure we’ve gotten what we can out of them, the peacekeepers will take them.”
“How will you be sure?”
“Sure of what?”
“That you’ve found out all they know?”
“It’s an educated guess, I suppose.”
“Do you want me to double check?”
“How would you do that?”
“The easiest way is a truth spell.”
“That makes them tell us whatever we want to know?”
“In a perfect world, maybe. It just prevents them from lying. Usually that means they’ll say nothing at all.”
“But if they do speak, it will be truth?”
“Yes, that’s how it works. They can’t lie, but it doesn’t make them talk.”
“We can work with that. At least we can check out whatever they do tell us.”
“How do you like your meal?”
“I love cordon bleu. It’s hard to find the good stuff.”
“I hope this qualifies.”
“It certainly does. The rice pilaf is marvelous too.”
“I wasn’t sure what you might like and the chef here is French. He suggested the escargot but I don’t eat snails,” Ram admitted.
“Me neither,” Annie shivered. “I don’t like oysters either and I use sushi for bait.”
“You go fishing?”
“I do. Whenever I get a chance.”
“Do you dive or maybe swim?”
“I do both. The waters around Florida are gorgeous and they hide many amazing sights.”
“I know a place you’d like just as well. I plan to take you all over the world to many exotic locations.”
“I’ve only traveled in the U.S. I would love to travel the world with you,” Annie agreed.
“I’ve seen the world, but it will all be like it’s new with you at my side.”
Ram was a romantic at heart which surprised her. It shouldn’t have because she was too and that matched them perfectly. They finished their meal and he pulled out the dessert. He took a fork and cut some cheesecake then held it up to her. She took it and savored it.
“Mm, that’s so good.” They shared the dessert until someone entered the room and dropped off Cam’s food.
“Let’s finish this and bring Cam his food and discuss what he’s found out.” They finished dessert and he grabbed the bag loaded with Cam’s food.
Heading down to the bottom level, they walked next to each other and Ram had his arm wrapped around her waist. It was almost as if he needed the comfort of her touch. When they got to the stairs, she dropped back and followed him to the bottom floor. After they stepped into the entry, Ram dropped the bag of food onto a table.
“Hey, Cam?” Ram said.
Cam appeared like magic. “You brought me something?”
“Of course, Sit down and eat. Then you can fill me in on what I missed.”
Cam started unpacking his food. “You didn’t miss much. Those two fools claim to know nothing.”
Cam began to eat. They didn’t have anything to do but wait. “Why don’t we do the truth thing on one of them?” Ram asked.
“That’s fine. Pick one and get him ready,” Annie agreed.
Ram went and dragged the one who claimed to be the boss out of his cell and into the interrogation room. “I thought you was done with me.”
“It’ll be a long time before we’re done with you.”
“Where’s Mason?” The guys asked.
“The other guy? He’s not in charge. We’re sending him to the Pen.”
Ram strapped him into the chair. Annie came over and touched the other guy and whispered something. “We ready?” Ram asked and she nodded.
“What’s your name?” Ram asked. The male tried to answer and just choked.
“Jake. My name is Jake.”
“Okay, Jake. Were you in charge of that group in Miami?”
He choked again. It almost looked like he might pass out. Jake didn’t, he finally spit an answer out. “No.”
“I didn’t think you were. Why did you claim you were?” Ram asked.
“The other guy made me. They threaten our families and kill without a thought,” Jake admitted. He’s the one really in charge.”
“Can you tell me anything about this Hubolla?” Ram asked.
“Only that he intends to rule the world and he’s cruel and filled with hate.”
“Thank you, Jake.” Ram unbuckled him and led him back to his cell. Now he turned his attention back to Con.
“I’m not talking,” Con insisted.
“We’ll see,” Ram said as he opened the cell and reached in and grabbed a hold of him dragging him into the interrogation room. As he strapped him in, Annie touched him and whispered to herself. Looking at his mate, he saw her nod. “What is your name, Con?”
“You already know.”
“Your full name.”
Con didn’t say anything. “Are you in charge in Miami?”
He began to choke and his face turned red. “Just answer honestly,” Annie said.
“You’re a witch,” Con said like it was a curse word.
“I might be,” Annie noted.
“Con Merit. I don’t want to choke to death,” He was obviously terrified.
“Just answer honestly and you’ll be fine.” Annie realized that Con thought he’d die if he didn’t answer. They would use that to their advantage.
Annie and Ram exchanged a look and she stepped back and sat in a chair near the door. She was no interrogator and this was Ram’s show. Watching was all she wanted to do. Ram began to go through a list of questions and Con answered them all. He gave them everything he knew. His life might not be much, but he clung to it desperately.
“Where are you in the hierarchy?”
“I’m second to Vin who is Hubolla’s number two. He got me with money and power. No one’s ever given me respect before. Now they’ve dug in and he’s working on a way to make money. Whores and drugs is what he’s working on first,” Con admitted.
Ram wrote down everything of importance that Con said before taking him back to his cell. Once Con was back in his cell, they sat down with Cam who was relaxing after eating his meal. “Any luck?” Ram handed him the sheet he’d written on. “Do we know if this is accurate?”
“We know this is accurate as far as Con knows,” Ram admitted.
“How do we know that?” Cam asked.
“Truth spell,” Ram informed.
“I think I love your mate,” Cam said.
Ram growled. “She doesn’t need you to love her.”
Cam laughed. “Never thought you had a jealous bone, Bro.”
“Me neither. Seems we were both mistaken,” Ram admitted. “When it comes to Annie, I’m different.”
Knowing that Ram not only felt that way, but that he was willing to admit it made her feel loved and blessed. However, it was unfortunate that they were discovering each other in the midst of an evil awakening that might drag them all down. At least if the world fell and chaos ruled, she would have a taste of love before it all came about.
“Come, my love; Cam will handle things for now and we can go get some sleep,” Ram suggested.
Nothing was further from her mind as she nodded her agreement than sleep. Her mind came up with an old saying she had heard but never used. You can sleep when you’re dead. Ram led the way to the stairs and they quickly moved up them.
“You’ll stay with me tonight, won’t you?” Ram asked.
“I will,” Annie agreed.
They moved to another set of stairs and went up those too. Annie’s heart was pounding and her blood was heating. They had arrived at Ram’s door and now she would be able to put her decision in play. He held the door open and stood aside to let her walk through first. She literally shook with excitement and maybe a touch of nervousness. This was the male she would spend her life with.
Ram shut the door and wasted no time pulling her into his arms. The male felt so hot he was sizzling. Annie realized she knew almost nothing about this man she was about to give her body to. Putting that out of her mind, she gave herself over to the kiss.
He pulled back as they both panted and their hearts pounded. Ram began undressing so Annie took her cues from him and stripped too. “Gorgeous.” He whispered as she dropped one item of clothing after the next.
It wasn’t long before they stood naked, staring at each other. Ram was magnificent from his golden locks of hair, to his massive and thick cock, and on down his muscular legs to his proportionate feet. Annie felt like licking him like a lollipop. Desire washed over her in waves and she felt weak with need.
“Get on the bed, please.” Ram asked.
Annie did as he wanted. She got in the middle so he would have room to position himself any way he wanted. Nothing was going to stop them now. Ram got on the bed and moved on top of her. He leaned on his forearms keeping his weight off her and fencing her in so she couldn’t escape.
“I’ve got you now, Annie, and I’m never letting you go.” Ram whispered in her ear. His hot breath hitting her made goosebumps rise and she writhed with need. It took almost nothing on his part to turn her on.
“Take me, I’m yours.” Trite? Maybe, but also oh so true.
Lowering his chest to where his body touched hers, his mouth claimed hers in a deep kiss where his tongue licked and tasted every nook and cranny of her mouth. Heat seemed to emanate from him, more than she had expected. Annie had heard many shifters ran hot, but Ram was smoking.
His chest rumbled either with desire or the needs of his beast. It made her wonder for the hundredth time what that beast was. Rare? Without a doubt, but what could possibly justify this level of identity safeguarding? Ram began to work his way down her body licking and nipping, causing the ability to form clear thoughts to leave her.
By the time he made it to the space between her thighs, Annie was a primitive creature feeling only the pleasure he gave her. The sounds she made were animalistic as she spread her legs wide and arched up toward him. Her fingers were twisted in his hair, holding him in place.
“More.” She grunted and groaned.
Ram slid one of his large hands under her ass and cupped her cheeks, tilting her up slightly. The position opened her up further to him. With his other hand, he slid a finger into her hot, wet pussy even as his tongue worked her clit. He added a second finger and finally a third to stretch and prepare her.
Annie shivered with need and was on the verge of an all-consuming orgasm. Ram was no longer gently easing his fingers into her channel, he was slamming them in and it felt marvelous. His tongue and occasionally his mouth were working her clit until she was ready to explode. It was sudden when it hit. The orgasm rolled over her like a tidal wave and she screamed out his name.
Once her jerking climax began to ease, Ram whispered in her ear, “On your knees on the edge of the bed, Baby.” Annie assumed the position he’d requested immediately.
She was his equal completely, but she wanted him to take her so it suited her to do as he directed this time. Once she was on her hands and knees, she looked over her shoulder at Ram moving in behind her and she sent him a saucy grin. Annie was ready for him to bring it on. When he slammed into her slick center, she groaned and her body clamped onto him.
Her mate kept pounding into her, building the need back to where a climax threatened to erupt. Friction built tension and tension had an explosion headed her way. Ram wrapped one arm under her belly and his magic fingers worked her clit. His other hand was on her shoulder holding her steady and he hammered harder and harder into her. He leaned over her and she felt his breath on her shoulder and excitement ran through her, as she wondered if he was going to bite her, claiming her for all time.
Ram licked her where her neck met her shoulder and picked up his speed. “I want you so much,” he proclaimed and he whispered words in a language she didn’t understand. The second his fangs sank into her neck, her orgasm exploded.
She could feel their souls being drawn together. The bond wrapping tighter than she’d ever imagined. Two were now one and she would never let this male go. The sad thing is now he was a part of her, but she still didn’t know what he was. When two paranormals mated, there was an exchange of traits and energy. It was different, to some extent anyway, every time.
Heat filled her and she wondered if his temperature would now affect her. It seemed likely. What else might happen was something she couldn’t figure out without knowing what he was. There was a good chance he would either pick up the ability to do some magic, or in some cases mates became immune to it. Either possibility would be helpful.
Now that their mating was complete, Annie felt exhausted and she fell over onto her side and crawled up to the pillows. Ram joined her wrapping his body around her and they fell into a deep restful sleep. When Annie woke up, she heard the shower and knew Ram was getting ready for the day. A look at the clock told her she’d slept in later than usual.
Once Ram came out looking handsome and smelling wonderful, she ran into the bathroom to shower herself. It was only once she got out that she realized she had nothing clean to wear. There were few choices, either wear something Ram had, or break one of her rules about magic and that had been hard learned from her father and get something to wear that way.
She decided to spell herself some clothes and pray it didn’t have the repercussions she’d had last time she had used magic for convenience. Annie had been seven and her abilities were coming along wonderfully. Her parents had both been proud of her and she felt like a super witch. One task she always hated was cleaning her room on Saturday mornings because her father inspected it before lunch.
If your room wasn’t up to standards, you didn’t get fed until it was. Annie was not lazy, usually. She’d been working hard on a new spell and had left cleaning her room to the last minute. Her father was on his way up the stairs and she had seen no harm in stretching her magical muscle and casting a tiny spell to clean her room. It was true they’d been told to save magic for the important things so they wouldn’t run out when something really urgent came up.
Such a small thing, it couldn’t hurt just once, right? The spell had set her room to rights just in time, but her father looked like a rain cloud on the horizon. He’d sensed her magic and he wasn’t happy. His spell immediately undid hers and now she had to clean her room herself. That was enough of a punishment, right? Her father didn’t think so.
Casting another spell, he took away her magic for a month. To Annie, it was like losing a limb. Her magic was a big part of who she was and she missed it terribly. Her mother had pleaded on her behalf, but her father almost never changed his mind once it was made up. To this day, she looked back on that month as the worst time of her life.
Her sisters had been lucky not to be the oldest because her father had mellowed a bit by the time they came along, if anyone could view Royal Worthington as mellow. Annie was determined to cast the spell, but her hand shook as she tried to do it. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she finally pulled up the courage to do it. There, that wasn’t so bad. She looked around quickly to make sure her father wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
Annie knew that was silly. It was amazing the affect that one experience had on her and it looked like it always would. She exited the bathroom and Ram whistled. “You look amazing.”
Magic could do that for you. “Thanks. You look good enough to eat.” She winked at him. “What are we going to have for breakfast? I had a hell of a workout last night and I feel starved.” Annie tried not to think about how pissed her father would be when he found out they had mated.
It was a shame she wasn’t more like her sister, Gertie. She wouldn’t give a flying fuck what their father thought. Annie was tough as nails where everything and everyone was concerned except her father. It wasn’t that she was scared of him so much that she was afraid of letting him down. Ever since she was old enough to talk, he’d told her she was the pride and joy of the next generation. And that put a lot of pressure on her; he told her she was strong enough to handle it.
She was the one he’d always treated as the heir to his position. Even though he’d told her that it would be her son that followed him to lead their people. It was like he’d already known he would only have daughters. Neither Gertie nor Pru had ever felt the need to live up to his expectations. He’d selected her position with the company and trained her for it personally. Her sisters had both chosen their positions. It was probably the typical complaint of the oldest child. Too many expectations and discipline was too hard growing up. Annie didn’t want to be a whiner.
“Breakfast is waiting for us downstairs. I’m feeling ravenous myself.” Ram opened the door and waited for her to walk through before closing it and escorted her to the rec room where a small buffet was set up. There were some other people including Cam sitting around and eating.
They each piled their plates high before Ram escorted her to a table off by itself. “I want you to myself this morning. Let me get you a cup of coffee and a glass of juice,” Ram offered.
He got a tray and brought back coffee with creamer and sugar and juice for both of them. It made Annie feel cherished the way he was looking out for her. “Here you go,” Ram said as he offered her silverware.
“Thank you. You’ll make me a wonderful wife.” Annie giggled.
“I can cook too,” Ram admitted.
“We’ll be able to take turns. I can cook too.”
“At least we’ll be able to keep our kids fed.” Annie blushed at the reference to kids. She wasn’t on any birth control because she didn’t have a boyfriend. Those kids Ram had mentioned might be coming sooner rather than later. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, we just didn’t talk about kids or birth control.”
“I want children with you. If we have them sooner, I’m happy. If we have them later, I’ll enjoy our time together first. The only thing that matters is having you in my life.”
“Wow. Are you really that perfect?” Annie asked.
“Cam would tell you terrible stories. Don’t believe him, there’s no truth to any of them. I am indeed just that perfect and you are perfect for me. We better hurry and eat.”
“What will you be doing today?”
“I’m not sure. We got some good information, but now we need to dig deep and start eradicating the infestation. I will be talking to my dad and we’ll get some teams called in. Those crazies won’t know what hit them. It’s easy to get enforcers for criminal activities when they are beating up average citizens. It will be harder to get them to stay loyal when they are fighting well-trained troops.”
“Will you be able to pull in that many troops?”
“We have them, but the locals will need to provide some assistance too. All the local paranormal groups need to chip in with some help. This is their land, they need to defend it.”
“Do you want me to talk to my father?”
“No. I’m not ready to fill him or the others in yet. We’ll get more proof and detailed information before we tell him and the other leaders. This is a war, Annie. Our plans will be for the long run. Even if we beat Hubolla here, it won’t be long before he springs up somewhere else. Eventually, the fight needs to go to him.”
“I think I understand. As long as you do plan to fill him in soon?” Annie wondered.
“We need a plan first. Not all leaders will be easy to convince. It’s important to have the proof and the plan before we meet with all the leaders. There are also some groups that distance themselves from the others. Those need to be found, if possible.”
“What groups are those?”
“I believe dragon shifters may still exist.”
Annie laughed. “You’re kidding.”
“No, they did exist and some may still exist. People hunted them for their horde. Kings wanted the gold and jewels for themselves.”
“I thought they were just a legend.”
“Most legends are based on fact.”
“What about unicorns?” Annie asked thinking about her cousin, Daphne.
“They existed once. Now? Who knows, none have been seen, at least not a confirmed sighting for centuries. We need to find them if they do exist, along with many other groups.”
“I agree all groups need to work together, but how can we possibly find groups that have hidden for centuries?”
“You’re the witch. Isn’t part of your job sometimes finding things?” Ram asked.
“Well, yes, that’s true. But the people who hire us give us what we need for the search.”
“What is that?”
“Usually an item that belongs to them.”
“If you were searching for unicorns, would a unicorn hair work?” Ram asked.
“Maybe. If it was real and not fake.”
“I assure you, if we give you something, we will know that it is real.”
“Alright. If you can find the required items, and the groups still exist, I believe I can locate them.”
“See? Now we have more possibilities than we had before. We will need to start with a list of groups and it will be a long one. Once we have a list, we will have to locate the groups and then determine who their leaders are.”
“You make everything sound so easy,” Annie observed.
“You mentioned Darby was Gertie’s mate. Who is Pru’s?” Ram asked.
“Pru isolates herself away from others. Why would it matter?”
“I fear your dad will try to mate her to the werewolf.”
“Aren’t you worried about Gertie?”
“Darby is her fated one. I can only hope the fates knew what they were doing like they did with us.”
“I suppose so, but I’ve seen them together and they don’t seem suited.”
“Perhaps if they are forced together that will change?”
“Maybe, but I hold out little hope,” Annie admitted.
“Maybe this battle coming up will distract your dad from mating his other daughters off.”
“We can hope. By the way, call him Father. He doesn’t like informal terms. Don’t look at me like that. It’s not because he’s stuck up. Everyone has their oddities.”
“Okay. Nite and Dae came back last night.”
“When did you find that out?”
“Before I took my shower. Don’t they have first names?”
“I’m sure they do, but everyone calls them by their last names.”
“It seems odd especially with a lady.”
“I’m not sure Nite likes to be called a lady.”
“It’s meant in the most respectful possible way,” Ram assured.
“She fought hard for her place among the guys. If they start viewing her as different, they’ll think she can’t hack it. Then she’ll have to beat them all up again.”
“I never looked at it that way. They brought his family to that guy, Jake. Cam put them in a room with a guard.”
“I’m glad you did that. He was a victim, not a criminal.”
“We all agreed on that. Are you going to work today?”
“I need to go at least until lunch time.”
“Okay. You’ll be back then?” Ram asked.
Annie hated to leave but her father relied on her to handle the harder jobs. She wasn’t sure what would happen if Ram took her away. They were through with breakfast and she needed to get her notebook out and pull up her schedule.
Ram walked her to her SUV and gave her the sweetest kiss. “Be careful and come back to me as soon as you can.”
“I will,” Annie promised. Goddess, she hated to go. She pulled up her first job, taking the one the farthest away.
Driving on autopilot, Annie revisited the hot mating sex she and Ram had enjoyed last night. It was worth the aggravation it would cause her with her father. She belonged to Ram now foremost and her family second. Just as Ram was now hers and his family’s second. Annie told herself she needed to remember that and not worry so much about what her father thought.
She arrived at her first location and was surprised it looked like the house of an average family. No mansion on the hill or high earning business. Knocking on the door, she heard footsteps approaching. “Hello. I’m Annie Worthington. Do I have an appointment here?” She was usually more confident.
“Yes, please come in.” The lady invited her in. “Have a seat. Let me explain what I need. I want you to find my fated mate for me.”
Annie looked at the woman and wondered what group she was from. She looked human. Of course, so did Annie. “I have to mix a potion and add a drop of your blood. Even then, he may not appear right away. It will just pull him toward you.”
“I still wish to proceed.”
“Alright,” Annie said and she stood. Holding out her hand to the woman who took it, Annie spelled them back in the woods where she had summoned her own mate. The cauldron was there already boiling with the needed ingredients, the same ones Annie had used herself.
A needle appeared in Annie’s hand. “Poke your finger and let a drop of blood drip into the kettle.” She handed the woman the needle. The drop of blood rolled off her finger and into the kettle. Annie said the words and the spell was complete. “Now you’ll have to wait.” A flash of light and they were back where they started.
“Thank you,” the woman said. Annie nodded and turned away walking out the door and to her car. She’d probably never know how things turned out for this woman.
An hour later and a simple protection spell later, Annie decided one more job and she’d head back to her mate. The last job of the day was at Mammoth Mercantile. It was the largest paranormal retailer in the south. She headed there and it was halfway between where she was and where she wanted to be which was with Ram.
Arriving at the store, the guard waved her in. She went to the office of the manager. It was a relief it turned out to be a simple case of employee theft. Two of the warehouse employees were helping themselves to boxes of product and sharing it with the guard who was supposed to stop thievery. Glad to be done, Annie headed back toward Phoenix headquarters to spend the rest of the day with her mate.
Once she arrived, she headed in the back employee entrance. Sandy sat at her desk speaking on the phone. She held up her hand to indicate Annie needed to wait and so she stopped. “Thank goodness I got off that call!” Sandy exclaimed. “They are downstairs waiting for you.”
“Thank you,” Annie said and headed down to the holding cells to see what was going on now.