Dark Day

Abel

 

Abel stood at the basin, the light over it the only light that lit his space, his hands curled around the edge of the sink, his eyes to the mirror.

They were meeting the vampires and wolf that morning at nine at the restaurant.

He could not, for the life of him, sense anything other than genuineness from the human bride of the vampire and the queen of the werewolves, and his senses were keen. The women were open, honest, friendly, as well as slightly guarded, but only in a way that it was clear they wished to establish trust and not do anything that might harm that mission. They also bonded with Delilah swiftly and easily.

And he knew, being who he was and now understanding part of what he was, that it was a massive statement, their mates allowing them to come to the restaurant unprotected.

He was still worried.

That day was going to be a dark one; he knew it in his gut.

He’d left Delilah asleep in bed, but he sensed her stirring.

He didn’t move. It was early and he hoped she’d go back to sleep, something he had problems doing after Leah phoned her to arrange the meeting. They’d gone back upstairs to make plans with the men as to how to handle it¸ then back downstairs to fuck yet again and go to sleep.

His hopes were thwarted when she didn’t settle. After a few moments, he heard the covers thrown back, then he heard her pull on her nightshirt and panties, and finally he heard the fall of her bare feet moving across the floor his way.

When she came into view of the mirror, Abel watched her approach, her face sleepy, her eyes on him, her hair tangled and messy, the vision of her starting to make him hard.

She said nothing. Just disappeared behind his back at the same instant he felt her hands light on the sides of his waist right before he felt her lips brush the indent of his spine.

He closed his eyes to fight against the pull of how good that felt.

He’d hoped he’d have this. Just this. He’d hoped when he found her this was what they would be. What he saw with Jian-Li and Ming. What he saw with all the women who had been family to him, who had held him close to their hearts, and who he had watched with the men they eventually let in them. The casual affection. The quiet support. The catching of eyes where things were communicated perfectly with no words, things no one else would understand except the two communicating them.

But having it…

It was more than he could have imagined and he’d spent over a century imagining it, building it up, making it so beautiful that deep in his gut he’d worried the reality would never live up to it.

But it did.

And then some.

It got better when he felt Delilah press her cheek to his back and whisper, “It’s early.”

Abel opened his eyes. “Yeah.”

“You didn’t sleep well,” she noted.

He thought she’d slept well, but apparently he was wrong. She’d felt his restlessness and he could tell by her tone and actions she was concerned.

Yes, she lived up to the dream and made it better.

“No,” he confirmed.

She slid her hands around so her arms were wrapped around his stomach. He felt her shift her head so her nose and forehead were pressed to his spine. When she did that, the soft feathering of her breath drifted down his spine and he again had to fight against going hard at the same time he gave the tightness forming in his chest free rein.

After she did this, she gave him a squeeze and assured, “It’ll be okay, honey.”

“I hope so.”

Another squeeze. “It will.”

He didn’t reply, just stared into his eyes in the mirror.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot,” he invited.

He got another squeeze, this one seeming automatic, before she stated, “No recriminations. I don’t know why I need to know, I just do, and it’ll be okay because you’ve been around for a long time. You had a life. I get that. But have you, um…held another woman in your lap like you did with me yesterday?”

“Absolutely not,” he replied immediately and felt her tense at his back.

“Really?”

Abel wrapped his fingers around one of her forearms and gave it a tug. She got him, let him go, and he shifted her to his front, moving in so she was pressed to the sink.

She tipped her head back, lifted her hands to rest them on his chest, and he caught her eyes.

“I honest to God didn’t even know I was doin’ it with you,” he told her.

He saw relief in her face before she murmured, “I kinda sensed that, but I asked because I, well…had to be sure.”

“It’s only been you, Lilah.”

Her peering into his eyes turned to staring.

She understood what he was saying.

Two hundred years and only one.

Her.

Still, she asked, “What?”

“Never lived with a woman,” he informed her. “Never had a relationship. Never really even dated. Went out with women. Had drinks. Had fun. Did other shit,” he added the last carefully. “Nothin’ else. Especially not the lap thing.”

“That’s important,” she guessed, still staring in his eyes.

“Only realized it when Sonia pointed it out. But yeah. The minute I became aware of where you were and that I put you there, I knew I couldn’t handle you bein’ anywhere but there.” He dipped his face closer to hers. “Not another woman got that from me. Not another woman really got anything from me, save my dick. But I don’t think in all my years I’ve even put one in my lap for any reason, pussycat. Not shittin’ you. Musta sensed it was important so I didn’t do it.”

“That’s cool,” she whispered, the relief still there, but now it was heavier.

“Yeah.”

“So many things about you are cool, Abel,” she kept going and he felt her words deep in his gut. “The more you learn, the more awesome it all is.”

Fuck, he fucking loved that she thought that way. And she was not handing him a line, saying words to make him feel better. It was written clear in her expression.

Awe.

And something else. Something warm and exquisite.

Something he felt in his gut, tightening further in his chest, and hardening his cock in a way he couldn’t fight.

He gave in to the last, moved his hands to her nightshirt, and bunched it at the waist.

Her lips parted, her eyes went hooded, and he smelled the rush between her legs.

That did it; his cock stiffened and began to pulse.

He pulled her nightshirt up further, slid his hands in, then down. Hooking his thumbs in her panties, he pulled them down.

She bit her lip and leaned into him as they dropped to her ankles and she stepped out of them.

He gripped her hips and yanked her up, resting her bared ass on the edge of the sink.

She opened her legs, the lush rise of the scent of her cunt assaulting him, and he growled.

Her fingers went to the jeans he’d tugged on and gave a passable go at buttoning, leaving the last two undone. He dropped his mouth to hers and stared in her eyes, their breaths coming heavy, twining as she unbuttoned more, reached in, and wrapped her hand tight around his dick.

“Hard for me,” she breathed.

“Yeah,” he grunted as her hand got tighter.

She stroked and he braced, his fingertips digging into the flesh at the top of her ass, wanting to thrust into her hand but wanting more to give her what she wanted to take.

“Is this mine?” she whispered.

“Fuck yeah,” he growled.

She stroked again, a groan stuck in his throat, and he slid his hand along the juncture of her thigh and in.

She gasped against his mouth, the rush of breath so sweet, he thrust into her hand as he slid two fingers deep into her wet.

“Is this mine?” he asked, voice rough.

“Oh yeah.”

He thrust his dick into her hand again as he did the same with his fingers into her pussy.

Her breath hitched and wet flooded around his fingers.

Beautiful.

“You need me to fuck you, baby?” he asked.

“Yes, Abel,” she whispered, then finished on a husk, “Need.”

He slid his fingers out, muttering, “Guide my dick home.”

She didn’t hesitate. She pulled him fully free of his jeans and straight to her cunt.

The instant his cockhead felt her wet, he plunged, her hand flying free, both going to his shoulders to hold on.

He tipped her ass on the basin so he had more of her, dipped his knees, and took her hard, back bowed, forehead to hers, their eyes locked, breaths cutting fast.

She slid her hands urgently up to the sides of his neck, slightly back, fingertips in his hair, and held tight.

“God, you fill me.”

He knew she meant in more ways than one.

“Hold on, pussycat,” he warned, and she held even tighter, jerking up her knees, taking more, loving it, showing him that by clutching hard with everything she had. Her thighs to his sides. Her hands to his neck. Her fingertips against his scalp. And her pussy around his cock, milking him deep.

“Fuck,” he groaned, hammering hard.

“Faster,” she begged on a breath.

He gave her faster.

“More,” she gasped.

He wrapped his arms around her so he was supporting her weight—she was only balancing on the edge of the sink—and drove deeper.

Her head dropped back, her hair falling down, whispering against his arms.

“Drink,” she breathed.

“Pussycat, no. Had you yesterday. Too soon,” he forced out, wanting her blood, wanting it surging into his mouth every time he drove his cock home, but knowing he couldn’t have it.

She lifted her head again, her eyes attempting focus but failing.

She was gone.

It was magnificent.

“Draw from me,” she ordered, but her voice was vague.

“Can’t, baby.”

Her pussy gripped his dick so tight it was a miracle he didn’t come instantly.

“Draw,” she begged on a whimper.

Fuck.

He was powerless not to. She wanted it. He wanted it. And her cunt was demanding it.

He slid a hand up her back, tangled it in her hair, tugged, getting her throat, and he went in. Licking her, preparing her, her pussy rippled against his cock. Then he bared his fangs and tore through.

She cried out, her fingers driving up and fisting in his hair, her wet drenching both of them as she came hard.

He drove harder, her blood flooding his mouth with each thrust into her slick tightness, fucking, fucking ecstasy.

Abel felt it moving over him. He swept her wounds with his tongue, buried his face in her neck, his cock in her cunt, and groaned rough against her skin when he shot deep inside her.

When he came down, she was stroking his hair with one hand, had the other one stroking his lower spine, and had wrapped her calves around his ass.

“Don’t do that again.”

Her hands stopped moving and her body stiffened.

He lifted his head and looked in her eyes. “Love your blood, Lilah. But don’t do that again.”

“Abel—”

“You got me wrapped around your finger and it goes without saying, my dick is buried inside you, your cunt takes control. Give you anything to take you there. But it’s not safe for me to draw from you too often.”

She gripped his neck again and assured, “I’m not woozy from yesterday or anything.”

He shook his head and pulled her closer in hopes of driving his point home. “Askin’ you this ’cause it’s important to me. I get you like it; you come the instant I tear through. You can want it. I’m fuckin’ beside myself that you do. You can have it. But you gotta help me take care of you.”

She held his gaze before she nodded.

He relaxed.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“Heat of the moment, bao bei,” he replied gently. “Just need to be aware in future moments.”

She grinned at him.

He grinned back, his eyes dropped to her mouth, then he put his lips there. He kissed her deep and wet and she kissed him back the same way.

In order of preference: cunt, blood, mouth—that’s the way he liked the taste of Delilah.

When he lifted his head, he said, “Now, we’re takin’ a shower.”

That didn’t get him a grin.

That got him a smile.

Fuck, his Delilah.

Better than a dream.

* * * * *

At two to nine, Abel prowled the dining room of Jian-Li’s restaurant.

Hooker and his boys were in the alley, prepared for the meeting (that being heavily armed with knives and guns) and chain-smoking.

Xun and Wei were in the kitchen, also heavily armed, with swords crossed on their backs.

Chen, also ready, was at the front door, keeping watch.

Delilah and Jian-Li were sitting at a round table in the middle of the room. Carafes of coffee, cups, jugs of cream, bowls of sugar, pastries Jian-Li had demanded Xun go out to get on platters, all of this was on the table, the women sipping coffee and gabbing like everything was A-OK.

He fought back the urge to snarl.

“Abel, eat a pastry,” Delilah called.

“Not hungry,” he replied, and he wasn’t. He’d had her blood, which meant he’d had a gourmet breakfast. He didn’t need a fucking pastry.

“Honey—” she started, but he turned his eyes to her and she snapped her mouth shut.

She then gave big eyes to Jian-Li, who replied by shaking her head and taking a sip of her tea.

Abel tensed.

Then he called to the back, “They’re here.”

“This is kinda exciting,” Delilah whispered.

“I agree,” Jian-Li replied.

Fuck.

“SUV’s pullin’ up,” Chen confirmed from the front.

Fuck.

He heard and smelled the men coming in from the back.

Abel moved to position himself between the door and the table where his women were sitting.

He saw Chen standing at the front door, eyes to him.

Abel nodded.

Chen nodded back and turned to the door. He saw his brother take in a deep breath, then he opened it.

The scent of vampire and wolf drifted through.

Abel successfully fought his fangs extending and stood braced.

They came in: Vampire one, his human bride, male wolf, his she-wolf queen, and last, vampires two and three.

All the males’ eyes were on him.

The females moved directly to the round table, Sonia greeting, “Hey! Good morning,” with Leah’s greeting being, “Oh thank God! Coffee and pastries.”

Even as this happened and he heard chairs scraping, dishes clinking, his mate and Jian-Li returning greetings, Abel didn’t take his eyes off the males.

They lined up in a semicircle ten feet from Abel.

He divided his attention between the first vampire and the wolf, not only because their threat was strongest, but because they were tense in a way that didn’t sit well with Abel for this supposed we’re-all-friendly meeting.

They didn’t move when, as planned, Chen entered the room at their backs and Hook and his men entered from the kitchen, surrounding the women and the vampires and wolf in a circle around the room. Then again, they saw Chen and he knew they smelled the others.

“Precautions,” one of the other vampires said, the one he knew to be Gregor. “I understand, Abel, but I do hope we can establish trust quickly as much needed to get done this morning prior to our meeting and I haven’t had my morning coffee.”

As if Gregor didn’t speak, the vampire he knew to be Lucien stated, “You feel it.”

Abel looked to the tall, bulky, black-haired vampire and saw Lucien’s black eyes sharp on him.

He didn’t know how, but he got what the guy was saying.

They weren’t edgy because of him.

They were edgy because they knew.

It was a dark day.

“I feel it,” he confirmed.

“Fuck,” the wolf called Callum growled.

Abel looked to him and saw the large, dark-haired man’s light blue eyes were turning tawny.

And there it was. Another part to his wolf. But where Abel had two-colored eyes, one going brown when he felt extreme depth of emotion, this wolf had the same colored eyes and they both went tawny.

“We’re fine,” Gregor put in, his gaze to Lucien and Callum. Then he turned to Abel. “As much as I wish to discuss other things, as a priority, you need to be aware that it’s come to our attention that our enemy has returned. They’re outside the city limits, likely in an effort at keeping you, as well as ourselves, unaware they’ve returned.”

This was not good.

“We have human scouts all over, however, so this intelligence has been reported to us. And I can assure you we have one who is currently watching them for signs of approach,” Gregor went on.

“They’re approaching,” Abel told him.

Gregor shook his head. “Our scout is checking in every ten minutes. They’re miles out.” He drew in breath and finished cautiously, “You should also know we have a legion of wolves fifty miles to the north and a regiment of vampires fifty miles to the south. They’re also aware that the enemy has returned, but their presence is still secret. They’re set to advance at our call, which we will give them at any sign the enemy is on the move.”

Abel was not a big fan of knowing Serpentine Bay was surrounded by supernaturals, but in that moment, he chose not to dwell.

He looked to Lucien and Callum. “You know this?”

“Yes,” Lucien answered.

Callum only nodded.

“That make you feel any better?’ Abel asked.

“No,” Lucien answered.

Callum again growled.

“It’s fine,” Gregor stated impatiently. “And we have much to discuss. We should—”

Abel cut him off by looking to Xun and saying, “Be alert.”

“Already am,” Xun replied.

“More alert, brother,” Abel said low.

Xun held his gaze steady and nodded.

Abel glanced around to all the men. “Threat not from within,” he told them.

He got more nods and there was shifting of feet as they moved from facing the inner circle to facing out.

“Really, this is not—” Gregor began again but then stopped, tensed, bent slightly, and whipped his head around, baring his teeth, his fangs extending.

But Abel already sensed it, as did Lucien, Callum, and the other vampire, Yuri, all of them having the same reaction except Callum, who didn’t have fangs to bare. Instead, he crouched in preparation to transform.

“Jesus, shit.” Abel heard Jabber mutter.

“Sonia, get the women under the table,” Callum growled. “Now!” he roared, crouched deeper and jumped, coming to wolf, snarling.

Abel heard chairs scraping, sensed Delilah and Jian-Li moving, smelled their fear, but he had to focus on fighting the transformation.

They were near and getting closer.

They had no time to run.

“Yuri, call Stephanie and Ryon,” Gregor ordered.

Yuri pulled out his phone.

“Perimeter around the women,” Lucien ordered. “No one breaches it.”

“Got it,” Hooker muttered, his back now to the center of the room, a gun in one hand, his knife in the other.

Xun, Chen, and Wei unsheathed their swords.

Jabber went to the table where the other weapons were hidden. He ducked beside it, Abel heard the steel scrape against the floor, then he emerged with Abel’s sword and tossed it to him, point up.

“Got another one of those?” Lucien asked.

“Or three?” Yuri added, phone to his ear.

“Jabber, outfit them,” Abel ordered.

Quickly, Jabber, going from table to table where the weapons were hidden, did as told.

Abel smelled it, felt it in his throat, and knew what was coming.

“We’re outnumbered,” he informed the room.

“Fuckin’ great,” Moose muttered.

“By a lot,” Lucien shared. “Close ranks. They’re almost here.”

The men moved in to close ranks.

Lucien’s tone had deteriorated a fuckload when he kept his eyes to a window but said to Gregor, “You’ll explain how this happened when my bride and the rest of The Three are safe.”

Callum was circling the outside of the group, growling low and snarling with his wolf lips curled high over his teeth, and Abel wondered briefly if he should turn wolf.

He had no time to wonder more.

They were there.

He lifted his sword as the doors flew off its hinges, front and back, and armed vampires and wolves burst through the windows, glass flying everywhere.

Abel knew in an instant, that instant being the next second when he was battling four-on-one, that he’d dreamed this. The location a blur because the action was too intense, but he’d dreamed it. And in the dream, he knew they were outnumbered and he knew they were all going to die.

He’d just never dreamed the end.

Now he knew how that dream would end.

But Delilah was there.

And she was breathing.

So he fought.

Viciously.

The room was a cyclone of activity. Grunts. Growls. Snarls. Gunshots. Steel clashing against steel. Wind wafting as bodies shot around the room. Flesh thumping against walls and floors. Blood spraying.

Within moments of the fight starting, he heard, sensed, and smelled Snake go down and knew the man was dead before he hit the floor.

The only other thing that could enter his mind was to fight until he died so they wouldn’t get Delilah.

So he did that. Even when his flesh was torn away by wolves’ teeth. Even when a blade sliced into his thigh, then his forearm and through his side, he didn’t falter. He didn’t tire. He took head after head because his mate’s life depended on it.

“No!” He heard Leah shriek, sensed Lucien dart toward the table, and Abel knew all was lost.

But Delilah was still safe.

So he kept fighting.

“Chen!” Delilah shouted. Abel tensed to pounce, knowing he was going to her instead of his brother, his heart squeezing so tight he thought it’d explode.

And then the vampire and wolf he was fending off dropped, both headless at the hands of two women he’d never seen in his fucking life who’d materialized out of goddamned nothing and were floating in the air.

They didn’t float long.

They, and dozens of others beside them, were darting around the room, unarmed but seriously fucking power-packed and in a motherfucking fury.

And they were on the good side.

What the fuck?

Abel didn’t give it more time to process. He kept fighting with the others, pushing the enemy back. With their reinforcements joining the battle, they reestablished the perimeter around the center table and forced them back.

“Withdraw!” a vampire shouted, and as one, the enemy turned and shot through the windows and doors, the floating women charging after them.

Abel stood, breathing heavily, bleeding heavily, staring out the windows and listening to Delilah’s rapid, but healthy, heartbeat.

Lucien didn’t stand. He moved in a blur and ended another blur, slamming Gregor’s body into the floor in front of Abel with his hand at the vampire’s throat, Lucien kneeling over him, face an inch from Gregor’s.

“Fucking explain how that fucking happened right…fucking…now,” he snarled.

“Lucien—” Gregor choked.

“They touched my bride,” Lucien bit out.

As Abel watched this, something cut through him, nearly bringing him to a knee. He twisted and saw Delilah on her knees on the floor bending over Snake, Hooker on Snake’s other side, the rest of the bikers, his brothers, and Jian-Li gathered close.

“He’s not dead. He’s not dead. Tell me he’s not dead,” Delilah chanted, her hands moving over Snake’s prone body frantically, her words and the rasping emotion behind them cutting Abel to the quick.

Abel bolted to her side.

“Fuck me, fuck, fuck me,” Hook whispered, his fingers pressed tight around Snake’s neck like he could stop the flow. But the blood rush was done. Abel knew it at a glance, seeing as Snake had no throat left, the entirety of it torn out by wolf teeth.

“We need a doctor, Abel,” Jian-Li said softly beside him. “There are many injuries.”

He crouched beside Delilah but tipped his head back as he did, his eyes to Xun.

His brother had cuts and bites, but he was relieved to see they were only flesh wounds.

“Call our guy,” Abel ordered.

Xun nodded and moved quickly away.

Abel’s eyes shot swiftly through the group.

Jabber was in trouble. He was down on a knee, his arm angled over his chest, his fingers curled into his shoulder, blood dribbling from his mouth, his wound hidden by his arm but bleeding profusely. His eyes were to Snake. Poncho was squatting close, hands on his friend to keep him steady, but Jabber was wheezing.

Wound to the lung. Or worse.

Abel kept looking and saw with a slice through his gut that Chen was also bleeding. An injury to his middle side. His brother was standing only because Moose was holding him up.

“Talk to me,” he demanded to Chen.

“It doesn’t feel great, but it won’t kill me,” Chen replied.

That was all Abel needed. He looked to Moose, who was bleeding profusely from a cut on his upper arm and had teeth marks on his neck, but they weren’t deep.

“Put him down. Pressure to the wound,” Abel ordered. Moose moved instantly and Abel looked to Jian-Li. “First aid.”

She nodded and rushed away.

He looked to Wei. “Doc gets here, Jabber first, then Chen.”

Wei jerked up his chin, then rushed after his mother.

Finally, he did what he needed to do most.

He put his hands to his mate, who was now quietly sobbing.

“Come here, pussycat,” he murmured, trying to pull her away from Snake.

She tensed against his hands, then suddenly fought him, viciously, striking out at his arm, her other fist connecting with his jaw. Just as suddenly, before he could even move to contain her struggles, she collapsed into him, curling her hands in his tee and pushing in hard with all her strength.

And in another quick change, her head jerked back and she cried, “You’re injured!”

“I’ll heal quickly, pussycat,” he assured her.

“But—”

He curved a hand around her jaw, getting closer. “Promise. I’ll heal quickly.”

She stared into his eyes, must have read the truth behind his promise, nodded, and again collapsed against him, burrowing her face deep in his chest.

He held her as she wept in his arms, his throat feeling thick, and watched as Hook finally moved away from his friend, his throat convulsing. Hooker grabbed a bloodied tablecloth from an upended table and draped it over Snake.

Abel’s throat felt thicker.

“Abel, we must move.”

He looked up and saw Yuri, covered in blood like the rest of them, looking down at him.

“We’ve suffered a loss,” Abel told him, which he had to fucking know since the man was dead at his feet.

“We’ll take the body with us,” Yuri stated. Delilah bucked in his arms at his words and Abel felt his eyes narrow as the snarl ground up his throat.

“Careful,” he growled.

A muscle jumped in Yuri’s cheek and he nodded.

“We must move,” he said, his voice quieter. “We have physicians who can see to your family’s injuries. They’re well-equipped. But it isn’t safe here.”

Abel glanced around at the carnage of headless vampires and wolves littering Jian-Li’s restaurant, then back to Yuri. “No shit?”

“No shit,” Yuri returned stiltedly. “So as you can see, we must move.”

“Your physicians get here and say my family can safely move, we’ll move. Until then, I got a doc comin’ and we’re stayin’ put until I know they’re good.”

“This—” Yuri started.

“He says we’re staying, we stay,” Callum entered the conversation. He was back to man, dressed, and moving with Sonia clamped tight to his front.

“None of their injuries—” Yuri started but stopped when he reared back because Callum bared his teeth, snapped the air in Yuri’s direction, then clipped, “We stay.”

“We stay, Yuri,” Gregor said, getting close, his go ’round with Lucien obviously over. He was looking down with disheartened eyes to Snake before he took in Delilah and Abel’s family and finally his attention came to Abel. “We have our people on the move. All of them. Including physicians who will be here imminently.” His voice went soft. “And rest assured, we will care for your fallen.”

He felt Delilah move in his arms and looked down at her to see her wet, grief-stricken face turned up toward Gregor. The sight of it, the heavy weight of her emotion he felt bearing down on him, forced another uncontrollable snarl to roll up his throat.

He had no idea what she would say, but when she whispered, “Thank you,” that was a surprise. She then looked to him. “I’m okay now but need to go to Dad.” She drew in breath and her fingers tightened in his shirt. “Please let me go to him, honey.”

He nodded and didn’t hesitate in giving her what she needed. He pulled her up to her feet, bent, and touched his lips to hers. Then he let her go.

She moved to her father.

Gregor got closer but stopped when Abel cut his eyes from his mate to the vampire.

“The Vampire Dominion has a compound about two hundred miles south of here,” Gregor told him. “Considering what’s been happening, it’s been prepared for our occupation. It’s very safe, already guarded, and where we’ll be heading. Once your wounded have been seen to, you must pack what you need, including any weapons you wish to have, and do so in a way where you will be covered for a good deal of time as it’s doubtful we’ll be returning.”

“You’re serious, right?” Abel asked sarcastically, not about to go any-fucking-where with this fucking guy.

“Whatever happened that allowed this attack will not happen again,” Gregor assured him, though Abel was far from assured. “But we must get you and the other couples that make The Three to a safe place and do it as soon as possible.”

Before he could reply, including asking what this fucking Three business was, he heard ambulances and turned his head to the door.

“Our physicians,” Gregor murmured, and Abel looked back to him. “You must trust us.”

“And I do that how?” Abel asked. “One of my mate’s family is dead on the fuckin’ floor.”

“Don’t trust him, trust us,” Callum stated from his side, and Abel looked that way to see Callum still holding Sonia close. Lucien was now there and was also holding a freaked-way-the-fuck-out-looking Leah just as close.

“It’s where we need to be,” Lucien added.

Callum leaned toward Abel. “Feel it,” he said quietly. “Abel, you’re fortunate. I know. You have many brothers, as do I. But now, you have two more.”

He’d already felt it, when he knew they knew this day was going to be a dark one.

But he knew it more seeing how they held their women. There were men cut and bleeding, needing assistance, but those women, along with Abel’s, had been under threat, a threat that almost took them all.

So they were not fucking letting go.

Yeah, he had two more brothers.

But he also had the ones he’d always had.

He looked down at the floor to Chen, who Wei was now bending over, putting pressure on his wound with a big square of gauze.

Chen read his gaze and nodded.

His eyes moved to Xun, who was in a squat, working with Poncho on Jabber. Xun felt his eyes, lifted his, and nodded.

“Wei,” Abel called.

Wei looked up. “We go, brother.”

Abel looked to Jian-Li, who was working on Moose’s arm, and saw her already looking to him and nodding.

He finally turned to Hook, who looked uninjured but was still covered with blood and had both his arms wrapped tight around his daughter.

“We get stitched up, they take care of Snake, and we get…the fuck…outta here,” Hook ground out.

Only then did Abel turn his eyes to Gregor and declare, “Right. We go.”

* * * * *

Abel stood at the window watching the waves pound against the rock below the huge-fucking-ass fortress they’d brought them to.

On the journey, he rode his bike with Delilah at his back, wishing it was in better circumstances that he had her there for a long road trip, but liking her there all the same.

The others rode their bikes surrounding them. Chen’s and Jabber’s bikes were ridden by some humans Gregor had assigned to them, seeing as Chen and Jabber had been stabilized on the floor of Jian-Li’s dining room, then transferred to ambulances for what Gregor referred to as their “relocation.”

Gregor assured him that they were having rooms made up with everything needed so the doctors could continue to care for the men when they arrived.

Callum and Sonia, Lucien and Leah went back to the hotel to sort their shit, and his family sorted theirs. While they were doing this, a shitload of wolves descended, led by one who introduced himself to Abel as Ryon, cousin to Callum.

Ryon held his gaze steady and had a scent that was similar to Callum’s, so Abel trusted him and allowed his family to move out while SUVs filled with a cleanup crew of wolves arrived to deal with the bodies.

He’d also left behind his doc, who he’d mind-controlled. The man was on retainer should they need him and part of that retainer paid for his silence. But what he saw when he charged in and helped Gregor’s doctors with Jabber, no way he’d keep quiet.

So Abel had quieted him.

Once they moved out with their protective cavalcade of SUVs led by Ryon, they went to the hotel where they picked up the rest, then headed out to relocate.

After he was certain the wounded were settled, Abel had left Delilah with her father and Jabber (Jian-Li, Wei, and Xun were in with Chen) and he asked the first person he saw where he could find Gregor.

He’d been led to this room and told the vampire would “attend him shortly.”

So he waited at the window, but not patiently.

The one good thing about this shit was that Gregor had not lied. They rode on a massive fucking compound, a building well back from the front gate and surrounded by a tall, brick fence you couldn’t get through unless you spoke to someone at the gatehouse which held three men (all vampires). At either side were structures that Abel could smell were filled with the same.

There was also razor wire lining the upper inside of the fence so you couldn’t see it from the outside looking in, but you sure as fuck would catch it if you tried to scale that wall.

The building itself was mammoth, a long, handsome, three-storied brick front with two wings jutting at wide angles back from its sides.

Each of them was to have their own room and, he reckoned, half an army could be put up there. Which was what was happening. He sensed it being filled with those arriving, mostly vampires, some wolves.

He was now in a room on the bottom floor at the far back of the north wing. It was the library, if the walls covered in shelved books was anything to go by.

Abel sensed Gregor’s approach and turned from the view well before he walked through the door.

Abel watched the vampire close it behind him, but the instant he turned toward Abel, Abel spoke.

“You got a shitload of explaining to do.”

Gregor lifted a hand, nodding and slowly moving into the room. “I understand, Abel. But I’ve requested Lucien and Callum come to us so we can finally share with you all that needs to be shared.”

“My guess is they already know what those bitches were at the restaurant, so you can start with enlightening me on them while we wait,” he demanded.

“Those…bitches?” Gregor asked, sounding confused.

“The ones who formed out of thin air,” Abel explained.

“Ah,” he murmured, moving further into the room, then stopping. “You mean the wraiths.”

“The what?”

“Wraiths,” Gregor repeated. “You see, there are more immortal beings beyond vampires and werewolves. There are wraiths, phantoms, golem, and The Wee.”

Fabulous.

“You obviously don’t know this,” Gregor started as he moved to a chest that had a bunch of glasses and finely cut stoppered bottles on it. “But their appearance today was most welcome.”

“I do know it, seein’ as if they hadn’t shown, we’d all be dead,” Abel returned.

“No,” Gregor said quietly, making the chest with the bottles but turning to Abel. “That’s not the entire reason. You see, until recently, we did not have their allegiance. They’ve since explained to me that this was withheld for the purpose of them being able to intervene in the likes of what happened today. Knowing plans were being made, plans that were to be carried out, they were paying lip service to our foes. This meant there was a trust established that allowed them to be in the know of things we were not, including their plans to attack today, en masse, after they’d dispatched my scout. Something they did within seconds of his making his all-clear call, giving them the opportunity to be on the move swiftly and take us by surprise.”

“And they found him how?” Abel asked.

Gregor shook his head, his expression turning profoundly unhappy. “I don’t know. He was a human. Ex-Special Forces. Exceptionally well-trained at what he did, he was almost like a phantom, except not immortal, so I’m surprised they discovered him.” The vampire turned to the chest, pulled out a stopper from one of the bottles, and poured himself a healthy dose of what Abel smelled was whiskey, doing this while talking. “He leaves behind a two-year-old son, a six-month-old daughter, and a wife he’s been with since high school.”

Abel’s throat closed.

Fuck.

Gregor lifted the bottle Abel’s way. When Abel shook his head, the vampire topped the bottle, grabbed his glass, and turned back to Abel. “He’s a great loss,” he said, sounding like he meant it, before he took a sip of whiskey.

“Your wraiths couldn’t save him?”

“If they did, they would have exposed early where their allegiance lay and would not have been able to surprise our enemy, which allowed us to defeat them soundly and deliver to them a number of casualties. I haven’t been able to tell you this, but none of them escaped. The wraiths dispatched them all.”

Finally, good news.

“Right, so they couldn’t have given that aid before Snake got his throat torn out?” Abel pushed.

Gregor’s focus intensified on him. “I understand your anger.”

“Sorry, you don’t,” Abel bit out. “See, my mate clung tight to my back on my bike, her cheek to my shoulder, and she cried the whole fuckin’ way here. I felt it. I sensed it. I heard it. It’s good my instinct to keep her safe is strong or I woulda crashed that bike, seein’ as her grief cut me that deep. And I liked the guy. Didn’t know him that well, but I liked him mostly because he loved my woman in a way he was willing to die for her. And then he did.”

“Whatever burial your mate’s people request, we will provide for him,” Gregor replied quietly.

“That’s appreciated, but my point is, we gotta have a fuckin’ burial.”

“Abel, we’re at war,” Gregor told him. “This happens. It’s hateful. But it happens.”

He was not wrong.

Abel let Snake go, since the man was dead and there was nothing he could do but help his woman and her people mourn him, and he asked, “You wanna explain this war?”

“Perhaps I should get you that drink you refused while we wait and get into that when Lucien and Callum arrive.”

“Respect, you’ve held up everything you’ve promised, including getting my people medical attention and bringing us to your fortress.” He threw out a hand. “But I got an injured brother. My woman has a member of her family down too, and she’s fucked up with grief. I need to get to her and not do it after waitin’ for Lucien and Callum to get here.”

Abel was grateful Gregor immediately inclined his head.

“Then we’ll begin.”

And then the asshole began, spouting shit about mates destined not only for each other, but to save humanity from enslavement by the evil supernaturals, who had, for centuries, been wanting to make their play and were now preparing to do that.

The mates, known as The Sacred Triumvirate, or The Three, specifically three couples who have eloquent understanding of both supernatural and human existence, being prophesied to engage in what was called The Nobel War and save the world.

Or die fucking trying.

It took a lot more words for the vampire to share this with Abel, but that was the gist.

When he was done, Abel snarled, “Are you fuckin’ kidding me?”

“As I raised Sonia from a child, I love her as my own, and she is as vulnerable to these Prophesies as you and your mate, I wish I were. But I’m not,” Gregor replied.

He knew both Lucien and Callum were approaching, but that didn’t stop him from stating, “This is totally fucking whacked.”

“That cannot be argued. But it’s still true,” Gregor told him.

Jesus.

“There’s more you need to know,” Gregor kept going. “such as the dreams.” Abel’s body got tight at that, but Gregor didn’t stop. “And added abilities. For instance, today we were outnumbered, my guess, ten to one, and the reason we weren’t bested swiftly is not only because you wisely trained your brothers to handle themselves against the additional speed and strength they’d be facing. Nor was it because Lucien and Callum are both experienced and exceptionally skilled. But because you, as Lucien is, as Callum is, are uncommonly gifted in battle.”

Abel said nothing.

Gregor did, guessing, “You trained your brothers because you knew this day would come.”

“Dreams,” Abel grunted as the door opened and Lucien, followed by Callum, came through.

They said nothing, but Abel tilted his chin up to them as he caught their eyes.

They moved into the room, Lucien looking his way even as he went to an armchair and sat his ass in it, Callum dipping his chin as he moved toward the couch but didn’t sit. Instead, he leaned against it.

As they settled in, Gregor asked, “Does Delilah dream?”

“Yeah,” Abel answered.

“Yours are premonitory,” Gregor noted.

“Dreamed today. Not the outcome, but dreamed it happened, felt we were gonna lose. Didn’t dream about us getting help,” Abel told him.

Gregor nodded and Abel had to give it to the guy. His expression shared he got that having that dream really wasn’t all fun and games and living with sensing it might come real was worse.

Then he prompted, “Delilah’s dreams?”

“Said she never dreamed anything that happened, but they’ve been frequent since we got together and they fuck her up.”

“Fuck her up how?” Lucien asked sharply.

“Get hold of her. Know one was good from the noises she was making, real good,” he said and knew Lucien got him from the vampire’s lip twitch. “Another, not so good, took hold. I couldn’t wake her. She eventually woke, but it was her comin’ out of it, not me making her do it.”

Lucien’s lips quit twitching as his mouth got tight.

“Does she recall them?” Gregor asked.

“No,” Abel answered and looked to Lucien. “Leah?”

“The same,” he said on a curt nod. “Be vigilant, Abel. Leah’s dreams took such hold, they nearly killed her.”

“Fuck,” Abel hissed and turned his gaze to Callum. “Sonia?”

“She had dreams, but they were only the good kind,” Callum told him.

“Lucky you,” Abel muttered.

“Don’t allow Delilah to sleep without you close,” Lucien advised, and Abel turned his attention back to him. “My connection with her was the only thing that could keep Leah safe from her dreams.”

“And you know that’ll work for Delilah, if this same shit is happening to her?” Abel asked.

Lucien shook his head.

“With certainty, no. But I would strongly advise taking that precaution.”

And Abel would strongly accept that precaution and not let Delilah sleep without him around.

“There’s more to share,” Gregor butted in, “and more to learn, most especially about you and your history.”

“How crucial is that to know at this juncture?” Abel asked.

“Not more crucial than us learning what we all need to know, that being how our enemy was able to find you and Delilah before we did,” Gregor returned.

“Yeah,” Abel snarled. “That’s somethin’ I’d like to know too.”

“We have people working on it,” Gregor assured him.

“Like you had people keeping us safe today?” Abel asked derisively.

“I lost a good man I respected today too, Abel,” Gregor reminded him quietly.

Abel clenched his teeth. His blow was low. He knew it and he had to cool it.

Gregor took a sip from his whiskey, giving Abel a moment to pull his shit together. Abel had to give that to him too. It was a cool thing to do.

Once he sensed Abel had sorted his shit, he went on.

“One of the many reasons I wished for Callum and Lucien to be here is that, unfortunately, I don’t have more time right now as I have a great deal to do. Today’s attack means things have escalated and I’m concerned how that escalation may be taking shape, not only here but elsewhere. The wraiths have information and I need to brief with them. I also need to contact The Vampire Council so they can make the world’s governments aware of today’s activities, giving them the information they need to continue with their own preparations.”

“The world’s governments?” Abel asked.

“Very few humans know of the existence of immortals,” Callum explained, and Abel turned his attention to him. “But select trusted officials high up in every nation’s government are aware. They’ve also been made aware that the enemy is uniting, planning, and we, all of us, must be prepared for attack. Not like today. On humans.”

“This just keeps getting better,” Abel muttered.

“It’s a lot to take in, we know,” Lucien said in a low, conciliatory voice. “But even so, you need to take it in, you need to prepare your mate and your family, and you need to move on from that to where we all need to be to fight this.”

He didn’t like it, but he was getting that this was the fucking truth.

Abel nodded to Lucien and looked back to Gregor. “Explain about the enemy uniting.”

Probably because he had to get out of there, Gregor gave it to him quickly and without delay.

“As I mentioned earlier, we thought the wraiths had allied with those who would subjugate humans. Fortunately, they have not. Or, at least, not the vast majority of them who follow their empress, Serena. The Wee, who I also previously mentioned, have long since retreated under the earth. It’s been centuries and no one has seen them or heard from them, thus there’s no way to get a message to them. Regardless, they washed their hands of anything that happens topside a long time ago. They left the surface with some disgust as to how mortals and immortals were behaving, saying they would never get involved. Knowing this, it would be a waste of time and energy to attempt to communicate with them.”

He paused, and when Abel nodded, Gregor continued.

“You must know there are factions of all immortals who side with the enemy. However, the bulk of vampires, werewolves, and, now we know, wraiths are with us. Phantoms, we don’t know. They don’t often get involved with immortal dealings so they could be neutral. They could also be foes. They’re refusing to speak with us or Callum’s emissaries. However, it’s our understanding they’re also refusing talks with our enemy. Unfortunately, golem have aligned with our adversary.”

“And what the fuck are golem?” Abel asked.

“Human lore says they’re creatures created of clay or mud, formed into human shapes and magically imbued with life, completely controlled by the human who created them, mindless besides,” Lucien shared.

“And the real story?” Abel pushed.

“They’re immortals whose procreation includes the female and male tearing away their own flesh and bones to form an infant. They cover the child in their blood, perform a ritual, and breathe life into their potential offspring from their own mouths,” Callum finished the story.

“Fucking hell,” Abel murmured.

“And they’re not mindless,” Gregor put in. “They’re quite powerful, if clumsy in battle, their bulk, which is considerable, being to their advantage. They can also be beheaded and survive for some time, five, ten minutes, as long as they can find and reattach their heads.”

“Jesus,” Abel mumbled.

Gregor kept speaking.

“The only way to kill them is to dismember them into as many pieces as possible and set fire, again, to as many pieces as possible.”

“They also don’t procreate easily,” Callum added. “The child formed by parts of their parents does not always take their breath and then breathe. Golem mates can try for decades, even centuries, before they create one child. This means they’re particularly careful about losses so it’s a surprise they’ve not stayed neutral. Then again, they don’t look quite like humans, stay hidden almost completely, and have had a very difficult history, including much vilification at human hands that at many points some centuries ago was extreme.”

Gregor sighed and Abel switched his gaze to the vampire. “I wish I had the entirety of the evening to share more, but I must prepare. Serena is en route and she and I have much to discuss.”

“Right,” Abel muttered.

“Lucien and Callum can fill in many blanks, Abel,” Gregor told him. “But I’ll leave you with this. I’m pleased you and Delilah are in the fold. But I’m more pleased with the immortal we’ve discovered you to be—a great warrior, loyal to his family, protective of his mate. As The Prophesies have foretold, you would be that kind of immortal. But in reality, you are that and more. I have always had hope, knowing Lucien and Callum were to lead our fight. Now, fighting at your side with the family you’ve created, the loyalty they showed, and the way they mourn their loss, my hope has increased greatly.”

Abel didn’t want to give a shit about what the guy thought, but he couldn’t help but do it.

And since the vampire put it out there, Abel had to give it back, doing this by muttering his “Thanks.”

Gregor smiled a small smile, downed his whiskey, set his glass aside, turned his head, and tipped his chin to Lucien and Callum.

He left the room, saying, “Until tomorrow.”

The door closed on him and Callum remarked, “You want to get to your mate.”

He gave the wolf his eyes. “And you want to get to yours.”

Callum smiled and crossed his arms on his chest.

That meant yes.

Callum was also right. Abel wanted to get to Delilah.

But there were a few things to cover first.

“Can phantoms attack from the sky, and are there mermaids who can attack by sea?” Abel asked.

Callum’s smile got bigger, but it was Lucien who answered.

“Phantoms can attack from the sky, but The Dominion has an invisible electronic net shielding that area. This net would not entirely stop them, but it would hold them back long enough for us to prepare.” His lips quirked before he concluded, “There are no such things as mermaids.”

“Well thank fuck for that,” Abel murmured.

“My wolves are making camp on the grounds,” Callum told him, and when Abel looked his way, he saw he was now deadly serious. “You undoubtedly sense the vampires filling the rooms of the compound. What you may not have noted was that The Dominion has soldiers in guardhouses lining the fences. They, and I, have wolves and vampires infiltrating the local towns. The wraiths are doing the same. This is for the humans’ safety as well as ours. Our adversary would have to concentrate a foolish amount of their forces here in order to penetrate our current defenses and claim The Three.”

“That makes me uneasy and easy at the same time,” Abel told him.

“As you should be,” Callum replied, “for that means they can concentrate elsewhere.”

“And we have people out there concentrating on elsewhere?” Abel asked.

“We do,” Lucien replied, “as well as the United States military being aware of the situation and on high alert for attack.” He threw out a hand Abel’s way, indicating his body which, since their earlier situation, had fully healed. “We immortals can sustain many injuries. But this doesn’t mean modern weaponry is futile against our kind. Far from it.”

“Will they fight fire with fire?” Abel went on.

“Likely,” Callum grunted.

“So we’re at war. We’re just waiting to see what they do next,” Abel surmised.

“We’re also trying to discover what they’ll do next in hopes of being in position to stop it,” Lucien told him.

“And these Prophesies,” Abel kept at them. “You know of them?”

Both men nodded, but Callum spoke.

“They’re unfortunately vague. They’re also unfortunately vaguely dire. There are no conclusions. We don’t know what will happen definitively. We don’t even know what will happen to lead up to the ultimate campaign. We just know the stories of The Three have all come true. So we know they are not just words written on paper by the Ancients.”

Abel didn’t even bother asking what the Ancients were, not that he didn’t care, just that he was done with this shit.

For now.

“Further,” Callum continued, “the wolves have Oracles. I’ve spoken with them, but they say the destiny of The Three has not yet been written in the stars.”

“I’m sure you’ve impressed the importance of a phone call if that happens,” Abel noted, and Callum grinned.

“Indeed, I have.”

Jesus. The entirety of this shit was fucking whacked.

“This is a lot to take in,” Lucien said quietly. “Go to Delilah. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

That was the only good suggestion he’d heard all day.

He nodded to Lucien, gave a nod to Callum, and moved to the door.

“Take the whiskey,” Callum called.

The second good suggestion of the day.

He gave the wolf a look, changed direction, and took the decanter of whiskey.

He had his hand on the knob when Callum declared, “I do not die in this war and my queen sure as fuck doesn’t.”

Abel turned to him, and if he was another man, say a human one, the look on the wolf’s face would have him shaking in his boots.

Being who he was, what he was, and just learning what he and Delilah were facing, he did not.

He got Callum. He liked what he got. And he gave the wolf another nod.

“Leah and I the same,” Lucien said with deceptive calmness, and Abel looked to him. “And we, none of us, will allow you or Delilah to fall.”

“She likes people she cares about to call her Lilah,” Abel said in reply.

Both men stared at him.

“She’ll give you that go-ahead, my guess, tomorrow over breakfast,” Abel finished.

Lucien’s lips again twitched and Callum gave him another grin.

Abel didn’t give them anything.

He turned back to the door, opened it, moved his ass through it, and went directly to his mate.