Chapter 8
Terrified
Ram was thrilled when he saw Annie coming into the holding area. She was just in time for lunch. He stood and pulled her into his arms as soon as she came near. The kiss he gave her told everyone present that she belonged to him and him alone.
“I’m glad you made it for lunch. It’s about to be served and I ordered a plate for you,” Ram informed.
“Thank you. I’m hungry.” They both sat but Ram noticed they had drawn everyone’s attention. He really didn’t care. If they were going to be working together, they should get used to it. His people, in general, demonstrated affection regularly.
“Anything exciting happening?” Annie asked.
“We are creating a list of potential paranormal groups that haven’t been heard of for ages. A few I’m not sure ever existed,” Nite offered.
“They existed,” Ram assured. “If you were a rare unicorn whose horn was coveted for health and sexual benefits by humans and paranormals alike, you’d hide too,” Ram assured.
“What about big bad dragons?” Nite challenged.
“They were hunted for their hordes of gold and jewels. A king would gather his best warriors and a magic user and even badass dragons would fall,” Ram explained.
“Mermen?” Dae asked.
“I know they existed. They used to come to my people for charms that allowed them to stay on land for long stretches of time. Others hunted them because they were exotic and said to be incredible lovers. Mermen die in captivity,” Annie explained.
“Any more questions?” Ram asked.
“Yes, how will dwarves and trolls help us? They are rumored to be extremely disagreeable,” Nite wondered.
“That is true, but they have worked with other groups in times of strife. They don’t wish to be slaves any more than we do,” Ram said.
“How will we ever find all these groups? They are all hiding for a reason.” Dae observed.
“That’s were Annie comes in. If we can find an object that belongs to them, she can locate them.” Ram explained.
“It’s that simple?” Nite asked.
“Few things are simple. Some have been hiding so long it will be difficult to find objects they owned,” Annie pointed out. “Even if we locate them, some will be in isolated areas that are hard to access, like the bottom of the ocean.”
“The dolphin shifters can find them,” Nite suggested.
“They must already know where they are and they haven’t shared the information. They may have an agreement that won’t allow them to do so,” Annie observed.
“Maybe, but they can still take them a message,” Dae said.
“That’s an excellent idea. Anyone know a dolphin?” Ram asked.
“I know a few. I swim from time to time,” Dae explained.
“Vampires don’t need to breathe. I imagine you go deep,” Ram observed.
“How did you know?” Dae asked.
“Sometimes you forget to breathe for too long to be anything else,” He explained.
“Vampires do need to breathe. We can just go longer than any other kind without doing so,” Dae remarked.
“All this is almost like entering a dream. I’ll believe in pretty little unicorns and flame throwing dragons when I see one face to face,” Nite challenged.
There was a knock on the door and someone wheeled a cart in. Several servers came in and started setting up the food. Salad and some sides were set out family style while the main course was served on the plate. Most of the people there had steak. There was Nite, Dae, Cam, Annie, and three others he thought Annie had met before because they were around headquarters often and they were all Phoenix.
“Now that we’re about to eat, in case anyone hasn’t met my mate, this is Annie. Annie, I’m not sure if you’ve met Greg, Sorin, or Natalie?”
“I’ve seen them around, but never actually met them. It’s nice to meet you,” Annie said.
The three people murmured greetings in return. Everyone started serving themselves and passing food around. Ram had to admit, he was starving too. For a while, no one spoke because everyone was busy eating. Once the initial hunger was sated, Annie spoke.
“I’m looking at this list and wondering, what about giants, banshees, three-headed dogs, golden sheep, and Phoenix.”
Ram choked. “What about them?”
“If unicorns exist, why not other legendary creatures?” Annie asked.
“What about dragons? Don’t you find them hard to believe in?” Nite asked.
“Not as much because there were still stories of dragons in the times of knights. That’s not so long ago,” Annie explained.
“True, but there are people that swear unicorns are real too,” Nite insisted.
“Believing in something and having accounts of its existence are two different things,” Annie observed.
“Okay, this is getting us nowhere,” Dae interrupted.
“It’s lunchtime. We don’t need to get anywhere,” Cam argued.
“At some point, we’ll have to decide what groups may exist and what groups truly are legendary,” Ram pointed out.
“All the top half of the list are known to exist. The closer we get to the bottom, the less proof there is of their existence,” Annie commented.
“I say we research the existence of any questionable creatures and then vote on it.” Nite looked around the table to judge support of her suggestion.
No one countered it. “Most of our kinds have libraries,” Annie added.
“That’s true,” Dae admitted.
“The largest would be werewolves, vampires, and witches since they have the largest populations,” Nite suggested.
“What about elves?” Annie asked. “They are known to be keepers of knowledge.”
“Elves are real?” Nite asked.
“I know a few so I can ask them,” Annie added.
“All these suggestions sound good. Nite, Dae, and Annie will take a few days and research. Any of us who know people in the groups on the list, will contact them and send a message to the leaders. It sounds like we all have plenty to do. Let’s finish enjoying our meal,” Ram said.
Everyone took Ram’s suggestion and finished their meal. Cam got up and put his dishes in a nearby tub and everyone followed suit. He also brought a covered platter to the table that had a large selection of pre-sliced pies and cakes.
“You outdid yourself, Cam,” Ram praised.
“Cam didn’t cook these,” Nite teased.
“No, but he selected the menu for us,” Ram informed him.
“Thank you, Cam!” Annie added as she picked two pieces of dessert. Ram raised his eyebrow in question. “Who needs supper when you can double up on dessert?”
“I second the motion only I’ll take a run once we’re done for the day,” Nite declared as she also took two.
By the time everyone had their selections, only one piece remained. It seemed Cam had judged the amount of dessert rightly. Leftovers would not be a problem. Ram grabbed the last piece and left the room. Sandy was at her desk having already returned from lunch.
“Here’s a reward for being so good,” Ram said as he set the plate in front of her.
“I shouldn’t, but I’m going to anyway,” Sandy said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Ram said with a smile.
He was glad he could talk to Sandy and even do something nice for her without her drawing the wrong conclusion. He hoped she might be a mate for one of theirs. That way they could keep her for a long time. Not only was she a good person, she was good at her job. Ram was a big believer in rewarding employees for good service.
Ram hurried back to the meeting and his beautiful mate. Annie was enjoying her dessert and she never commented on his absence. She wasn’t the jealous or petty type. He didn’t have to worry about being constantly questioned or having to explain his decisions. His mate trusted him and he trusted her.
The next step in his plan required his dad to be here. As far as Ram knew, his parents would be here in two days. Royal Worthington would get his desired meeting with Ram’s father the day after he arrived. To say his parents were overjoyed about his mating, would be an understatement. Fated matings were a celebrated blessing among his kind, they happened so rarely these days.
Hopefully, his was the beginning of a new age were his people would be revitalized. More mates and some births would be an incredible gift to his kind. Ram was looking forward to his parent’s arrival and his mating ceremony. Maybe that wasn’t a typical male response, but he wanted Annie tied to him in every way possible.
With lunch done and everything cleared away, it was time to get back to the meeting. He intended to get done early so he would have time alone with his mate. Once they got back to the meeting, much of the discussion seemed to center around the existence of legendary creatures. Nite and Dae just couldn’t seem to get their mind around the existence of creatures they had never believed truly existed, including Phoenix.
Ram was tempted to give them a show, but his father would not be pleased with him making that decision alone. It seemed obvious to him that at some point their existence would be revealed, especially if they began finding mates outside of their own kind like he had. That Annie didn’t know made him feel terrible especially since she accepted what he told her as true so readily.
Since nothing was being accomplished and all they were doing was arguing over beings he already knew existed, he called an end to the meeting. Everyone went their separate ways until only he and Annie were left behind.
He was about to turn to speak to her when her phone buzzed. She read the text and bit her lip. “Is it something bad?”
“No, not really. My cousin Sophie is afraid my father is going to try to force her to mate a dwarf. He has been having discussion with their leader who is looking for a mate for his oldest son.”
“What does she think you can do for her?”
“She wants to spell for her fated one but doesn’t know how. Sophie is younger than me and not as strong or skilled yet,” Annie explained.
“What will you do?”
“Help her. She has problems though, because she can’t get away easily. Her father is overprotective. That may be why she’s not found her mate. He never lets her go anywhere. My uncle will have a cow if my father tries to mate her to anyone, but her fated one, but he’ll eventually give in.”
“He’d choose your father over his daughter?”
“No, he’d obey his king when he has to make a choice.”
“Even when it goes against the basic law of paranormal mating?”
“Even then.”
“By the ancestors, you must help your sisters and cousins.”
“All but Gertie?” Apparently, Annie had noticed his reluctance to speak out about Gertie.
“Your goddess chose him for her too. Maybe she knows something we don’t?” Annie snorted. “That wasn’t very ladylike.”
“I’m not always a lady,” Annie whispered seductively.
“I think I want to explore that side of you.”
“You can explore any side of me you’d like.”
“Follow me, Sweet thing. I want to lead you to heaven.”
Ram led the way up the stairs and she willingly trailed after him. This female turned him on and excited both halves of his being. There was just something so right when he was with her. She was his safe harbor, she was his home. They would have to decide where they would call home soon. Her father would not be happy if that home was far from here. His father would not be happy if it was far from his home. It seemed they both wanted their children near them and working in their own businesses.
From what he’d seen and what Dae and Nite had said, Annie was good. She was beyond just competent. He liked to think he was too so one family would be losing something they needed. He wondered if Annie’s father had thought about that. Ram was sure his father was thinking of that constantly.
His parents would be preparing for their departure and trying to plan for every possibility. Being prepared was something Ram’s dad was well known for. Ram was known for it too usually, but he’d not been prepared for waking up on the beach with sand up his nose. The way things had worked out had been to his advantage anyway. He wondered if Annie’s father’s attempts at unfair matings would result in more witches spelling for their mates and more mates waking up in unexpected places.
They made it to his room and he opened the door so Annie could go in ahead of him. He closed the door and started removing his clothes. Ram couldn’t get naked fast enough. His inner beast wanted to be skin to skin with his new mate. Nothing else would calm him. Praise the ancestors that Annie was also getting bare or he would have probably shredded her clothing leaving her nothing to wear. He knew for some reason she hated to use magic for convenience.
Ram took two steps and pulled her into his arms. He rubbed himself all over her, probably reminding her of a dog. He couldn’t help himself and he needed his scent to be all over her. She didn’t seem to mind.
“On the bed,” he directed and she immediately got on it.
Ram stood next to the bed looking down at her and his hand stroked his generous cock. “Beautiful,” he whispered and his cock dripped with need.
His mate stared at his cock with need and licked her lips. Yes, he would fill her lovely mouth with his cock, but not right now. Right now, he had a need to drive into her hot, wet core. His beast was going crazy as her ripe, musky scent filled his nose. Moving fast, he threw himself on top of her catching himself so he wouldn’t drop his weight on her.
Someday soon, they would experiment, but now the need to mate was over whelming. “Take me!” Annie cried out. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who felt it.
Lining them up, he slid into her slowly. She was drenched and relaxed. Her body arched up against him and a low moan of pleasure came out of her. “Yes, Baby. You feel so fucking good.”
He tried to hold back, but there was no way. Ram drove into her over and over like a wild animal, but she responded in kind. Her climax was near and he moved harder and deeper to wring it out of her. A tingle ran down his back signaling his own oncoming release. The tingle was getting stronger and he was fighting against it so his mate would release first. Reaching his hand between them, he pinched her clit lightly and she went off like fireworks.
The strongest orgasm he could imagine rolled over him almost making him pass out. He roared like a lion as wave after wave of his seed shot into his lovely mate. Never had he felt so in tune with anyone and the feeling didn’t leave. Their bond had just attained a higher level than before.
“Goddess, that was amazing,” Annie whispered in awe. “Have you ever felt anything like that?”
“Never. But I have a feeling it will be just as good next time. We belong together, Sweetheart. Now and always.” He rolled them over and she lay across his chest. His fingers stroked her back and relaxed her.
Ram couldn’t be happier with the mate the fates had given him. His body slowly relaxed, his breathing eased, his heartbeat calmed, but the blissed out feeling stayed with him. He could get used to feeling this wonderful every day. Annie drifted off to sleep, worn out by their bed play, but Ram wouldn’t have minded playing a bit more.
Phoenix had amazing stamina and Annie’s would increase. She was in good shape for a witch, but her work wasn’t physical. If they moved back to the island of his people, she would have the opportunity for a lot of physical activity. He would want her to go with him when he climbed mountains or went diving in the ocean.
There was nothing he could imagine doing that wouldn’t be more fun with her at his side. He also couldn’t imagine her not being willing to go with him. She was adventurous and willing to try new things. Annie also liked to keep busy and keep moving. He liked all those qualities. Ram couldn’t think of one thing he didn’t like about Annie, except maybe her father.
He realized he didn’t really know him but he seemed harsher than loving. It also seemed like he was arrogant and thought himself above others. This mating for the benefit of their kind was messed up too. Paranormals had fated mates and the first law was to find them. Mating someone else was just unnatural. Annie had recognized that and so did her sisters and her cousin. Good for them, is what Ram thought. The best thing that could happen was for Annie to help them all find their fated mates before her father messed up their lives.
Ram knew they should get up and do something, but it felt so amazing to lie here with his mate touching him. Had he known how incredible it would be, he would have been out actively searching for her ages ago. Would he have ever found her that way? He couldn’t imagine how. It made him thankful she had known how to search for him.
They fell asleep, but Ram woke a couple of hours later. It was too early to stay in bed and they hadn’t eaten supper yet. He woke his mate who looked adorable with her hair disheveled. Ram got up and dressed, although he wasn’t sure what they would do until supper time. Checking his messages, he found one from his parents. They were packed, ready, and would be leaving soon.
Annie was dressed too now and they left the room. “What do you want to do?” He asked.
“Is there some place we can go to do research?” Annie asked.
“Wouldn’t online research be the best to get started?”
“I think you’re right. We can narrow down the libraries that have the most information about paranormals locally.”
“I think you should focus on unicorns and dragons,” Ram suggested.
“Any particular reason why?”
“I have reasons to believe they exist and there is a lot of information out there on them.”
“Okay. Sounds good to me. We should probably work on one at a time anyway,” Annie said and she had her computer set up and her hands flew across the keyboard. “Wow, look at this. It says the last dragon was believed to live in the Himalayas. Why would a dragon go where it’s so cold?”
“Remote and hard to access. That would be the ultimate place to hide,” Ram said as Annie wrote down the possible location.
“I found something on unicorns. It says here they’ve been known to hide in plain sight running with the wild horses in various locations across the globe. This says they can hide their horns with glamour. How will we ever find them?”
“That will make things difficult. Any other kinds they are known to hang out with?”
“It says Pegasus hung out with the Gods. That doesn’t help.”
“Does it mention any in particular?”
“Yes, Hercules.”
“Where do you think you would find him?”
“My best guess would be Greece or Rome. Probably Greece. That’s where the Gods originated.” Annie thought about that a minute and wrote that down. “Dragons were present in a lot of English tales from medieval times.” She wrote that down too. “I don’t feel like this is going well at all.”
“We have some time. Hubolla has had a setback in Miami and local cops have been notified of the activities of a new cult,” Ram explained. “It will limit any progress he hopes to make.”
“That’s good, but we need to crush him completely.”
“My bloodthirsty mate. Who would have thought it?”
“I have no sympathy for evil. They are hurting a lot of people. There is no place for their violence in this world.”
“You are right, but we must plan carefully. Going in unprepared and losing helps no one.”
Annie sighed. “I know, I’m just not a patient witch. Most of the things I do have immediate results. They are something I can see, hear, smell, or touch. Hurry up and wait isn’t my style.”
“I don’t like it either, Sweetheart, but this war is going to teach us all some patience,” Ram pointed out.
They researched some more, finding little that was credible. Annie decided to go home for the night because she had none of her stuff here. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“You’d best bring a bag with you when you come.”
“I will. I’ll try to come early too.”
Ram hated the feeling of walking Annie out to her car knowing she would be driving away. He was already used to the feeling of her sleeping in his arms. She was like a drug he needed and now he would be without for entirely too long.
Since he had nothing to do, he hunted Cam down. “Hey, Buddy. Any ideas to kill some time?”
“Annie go home?” Cam asked.
“No, she went to her parent’s house where all her stuff still is.”
“Sorry. She’ll be back tomorrow.”
“I know. I’ll be glad when we live together.”
“Your parents will be here tomorrow, won’t they? That will speed things along.”
“Can’t happen fast enough to suit me,” Ram admitted.
“I figured you’d be the last of our group to settle down, not the first.”
“That’s what I thought too, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s so wonderful I can’t describe it. There are no words to express how great she makes me feel.”
“I get it, sort of. Why don’t we go to the rec room and play some cards?”
“That sounds good,” Ram agreed and went to the rec room and sat at the game table. Ram went behind the bar and poured them each a beer and brought it to the table while Cam dealt the cards.
“Poker, man.”
“Do you want to bet on the game?”
“Money?”
“What do we need money for?”
“What do you need that you can’t buy?”
“Okay, we’ll play for fun this time.”
About ten hands and several beers later, it was a good time to quit for the night. They’d discussed everything they could think of and they both were looking forward to Ram’s parents coming. Ram and Cam cleaned up the room putting everything back where it belonged.
“Good night, buddy,” Ram said.
“Good night, sleep tight,” Cam replied.
Ram was finally tired enough that he thought he could sleep. Since he smelled like spilled beer, he stripped to take a shower. He wondered what his lovely Annie was doing right now. Was she already asleep or was she in the shower too. Did she think about him and wonder if he was missing her? He was!
Once he was clean and dry, he went to bed, preferring to sleep naked whether his mate was here or not. The only thing different was her luscious and naked body wasn’t in bed with him. Ram hoped he wouldn’t have too many nights alone like this. He grabbed the pillow from her side of the bed and breathed in deeply. There was only a trace of her scent on it, because he was her pillow most of the time.
Sleep came quickly even though he wasn’t expecting it. A good night’s sleep would help him in the next few days, which would be full of political bargaining. Since he and Annie were already mated, they were bargaining from a position of strength. No doubt that would piss her father off.
He woke up early feeling ready to handle whatever came his way. His parents would have his back and Annie was already his. Ram got up and got ready. Breakfast would be available downstairs, but he didn’t know if Annie would be here for it or not. Ram decided to go eat breakfast and he would just sit with her while she ate if she stopped by.
Cam was in the rec room eating so he sat with him. His friend seemed to spend more time there than anywhere else. It didn’t matter since he kept everything running smoothly. Ram fetched himself a plate and piled it high because he suspected once his parents arrived, he would be constantly running to keep up. He ate his breakfast and Annie was a no show, but in all fairness she’d never said she would be there for breakfast. It had just been his hope that she would.
Nite and Dae turned up and he invited them to eat. Even though he was nearly done, he slowed down so his food would last until they were through too. “So, have either of you found out anything on our rare groups?” Ram asked.
“I’m just more firmly convinced they don’t exist,” Nite replied.
“I spoke to a friend who says he knows a unicorn. He’s usually pretty normal so I gave him a message for their leader. He insisted he’d give it to him. It will take a while to hear back. According to Lars, the unicorns are pretty spread out,” Dae explained.
“If he’s being honest, that would help us a lot. Annie and I researched unicorns and dragons last night and all we found were vague hints,” Ram admitted.
“That only makes a person wonder if they just aren’t real,” Nite noted.
“It’s funny that being a werewolf which to humans is mythical, you don’t believe in anything you can’t see, touch, hear, or smell,” Ram observed.
“Not everything that’s written about exists. That’s why we call it fiction,” Nite declared.
“I know at least some of them do exist. It doesn’t matter if you believe in them or not, you’re going to come face to face with some of them. Mark my words,” Ram promised.
It amazed him that she was a detective and she couldn’t stretch her mind to believe in something like, well, him. Maybe that’s why it bugged him so much. Nite was going to be stunned by all she would soon see. He should be glad they had convinced so many that they didn’t exist. The other rare kinds wouldn’t thank them for bringing them out into the open.
When they were all done with eating, they went downstairs to discuss Hubolla and the latest information on where he was trying to take over next. Miami was still in trouble, but he’d had major setbacks. By the time lunch rolled around, they had three areas pinpointed where unusual activities had occurred.
Lunch was being served, when Annie showed up. Ram immediately felt better. She sat next to him as plates were set in front of them. He’d ordered for her again. This time it was cod in butter sauce with rice pilaf. It smelled and tasted amazing. The mood today was quieter than it had been yesterday and everyone concentrated on their food.
Nite and Dae received a call and finished their food in a hurry before saying goodbye and rushing away. “I suppose they had an emergency,” Cam observed.
Ram’s phone buzzed and he checked his texts. “They’re here. The plane just landed. A SUV has already been arranged and they just want us to wait here for them.”
“That’s what they usually do,” Cam remarked.
They finished their meal and cleaned everything up. “What do we do now?” Annie wondered.
“We grab a drink and chill. They’ll be here and it’s best to be ready,” Ram explained. He fixed Annie a mixed drink to help her relax. They sat around talking and sipping on drinks until he got another text. “They’re here and about to come in.”
They all looked to the door, as if expecting it to be thrown open right at that second. It didn’t. Several minutes later, the door finally was opened and a guard stepped through and held it open. A beautiful female came through next, Ram’s mother. His father followed her and Ram was looking at a duplicate of himself, his dad.
They came to the table where Ram, Cam and Annie all stood waiting on them. “Mom, Dad, this is my mate, Annie. Annie, these are my parents.”
“She’s lovely,” Ram’s mom said as she stepped forward and hugged Annie. “Welcome to the family.”
“Thank you,” Annie said.
Ram’s dad, Aha, stepped up next and gave her a hug too. “Why don’t we sit down and get right to what’s going on here?”
Ram handed his dad a notebook. “That covers the trouble that’s brewing. You’ll also be meeting Annie’s father. He hopes to negotiate for something. I’m not entirely sure what he expects.”
“I’ll talk to him, but he may not get what he wants. This danger on the other hand, looks like it will threaten all of us,” Aha admitted.
“That’s the way I saw it too. They have a prophesy, but no other group seems to have the same one. It seems odd to me,” Ram observed.
“It’s not unheard of for only one seer to foretell an event. Even a big event that will affect the world,” Ram’s mother informed.
“This is my first world changing prophesy. I guess I thought more people would know,” Ram admitted.
“It looks like enough people knew for the word to get out. That’s all that matters,” Aha pointed out.