Awesome

Abel

 

Abel and Delilah walked into the breakfast room the first fucking thing the next fucking morning. They’d been summoned there by a loud knock on the door an hour ago, one of Gregor’s minions calling to them that this was what Gregor was expecting.

Regardless of this, Abel was in a mellow mood.

This had a lot to with last night, feeling the centuries of pain inside him swept away with Delilah’s quiet understanding.

And her love.

Christ.

He’d never forget it.

It got better after their moment, which was whacked because they were at a funeral.

But after the sun had set and the flames died, they all wandered to the bonfire and sat around it. Gregor’s minions had brought bottles of whiskey, chilled vodka, premium tequila, bags of marshmallows, bars of chocolate, and boxes of graham crackers, and some good-looking human guy came to sit with Lucien’s friend, Stephanie.

Poncho, Moose, Hook, and Jabber told stories of Snake. Conversation flowed, shifted, turned, and did it naturally. The melancholy stole out and goodness drifted in on a wave of memories, booze, sweets, and good people sharing time.

They drank. They made s’mores. They smiled. They even laughed.

And Stephanie turned out to be one seriously hilarious bitch.

She also was the first who started making out with her guy.

This prompted Moose to grumble, “We shoulda ordered bitches,” which made Delilah, Leah, and Sonia giggle and the men exchange smiles.

Things got heavy with Stephanie and her human around the time Sonia and Callum started going at it. Stephanie left with her man. Wei and Xun took Chen back up, Jian-Li following them. Sonia and Callum left not long after. Gregor and Yuri drifted away. So did Ryon, Caleb, and Calder. Leah and Lucien started whispering and kissing, then they took off. And finally, with Moose carrying his friend, Jabber bitching about it, Hook lugging up the wheelchair, and Poncho handing Jabber shit, they went up.

Leaving Abel and Delilah on the beach with a roaring bonfire and blankets.

So he’d made love to her there with Snake’s ashes floating up the pebbles at the edge of the sea.

He’d never forget it, not a second of it, not in his life. Even the part with Snake being there when he sank his cock in Delilah for the first time after she’d shared her love.

Snake belonged there. He’d died so they could have that and Abel thought it was fitting.

So he was good the next morning when he pulled Delilah in the bright breakfast room, which was one of several conservatories at the compound, this one jutting from the end of the south wing.

And he was good with who was there: Gregor, Leah, Lucien, Sonia, and Callum.

That was it.

The Three.

And, of course, Gregor.

“Sit. Let’s get you some coffee,” Gregor greeted expansively as they hit the room, throwing out an arm to two empty chairs to his left.

More greetings were exchanged and Abel sat only after he’d shoved Delilah’s chair with her in it under the table.

Delilah looked at Gregor. “Last night was exactly what we needed, Gregor, so I need to thank you again.”

“No thanks necessary, Delilah,” Gregor replied.

“Lilah,” she corrected.

He smiled.

Abel looked to Lucien and Callum, who were both grinning at him.

“Right.” Delilah shook off the mood and reached for the coffeepot. “Saving the world.”

“We’ll get to that, Delilah—” Callum started.

“Lilah to you too,” she cut him off to say.

Callum’s glance darted to Abel, his lips twitched, then he said, “Lilah. But first we need to understand something.”

“That is…?” Abel asked.

“Your scar,” Lucien stated.

He felt Delilah tense at his side, but he looked to Lucien. “What about it?”

“We don’t scar,” Lucien informed him. “We’re wondering if you do because you’re the only known hybrid in the world. So we’d—”

He stopped speaking when he sensed Abel’s and Delilah’s moods swing, that being to complete fucking shock.

“Uh…what?” Abel forced out.

“Fuck. He didn’t know,” Callum muttered.

“Of course he didn’t know,” Sonia whispered with more than mild irritation.

“Know…what, exactly? The only known hybrid? What the fuck does that mean?” Abel demanded.

“Werewolves and vampires can’t procreate, Abel,” Gregor shared, and Abel swung his gaze to the vampire. “Not until…well, you.”

“Oh my God,” Delilah breathed.

“Are you kidding me?” Abel asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Gregor said carefully. “You had no idea?”

“No fuckin’ clue,” Abel grunted.

“Your parents didn’t share that with you?” Gregor went on.

“My parents didn’t share dick,” Abel told him.

“Do you know where they are?” Gregor asked.

“I know they left me in an alley two hundred years ago. Other than that, like I said, I don’t know dick. Don’t remember dick about them either,” Abel answered.

“Interesting,” Gregor murmured.

“Not interesting. Abusive,” Delilah suddenly snapped, her back shooting straight. “He was left in an alley as a pup. It’s a miracle Hui found him, took him in, and kept him, even after he transformed. Others might have done him harm, or worse.”

“I meant no offense, Lilah,” Gregor said pacifyingly. “It is, of course, unspeakable for a parent to leave their child in an alley.”

“It absolutely is,” Delilah agreed sharply, and Abel reached out a hand to cover hers on the table.

When he did, her head jerked around and she caught his gaze.

He shook his head.

She narrowed her eyes.

He shook his head again.

She sighed a sigh that sounded like a grumble, pulled her hand from under his, and reached for the jug of cream.

“Was this in China or here, in America?” Callum asked.

“China,” Abel muttered distractedly, watching Delilah finish with the cream, put it down, and again commandeer the coffeepot.

She lifted it his way and tipped her head to the side.

He nodded.

She poured him coffee.

“Do you have registers of wolves in China two hundred years ago, Callum?” Gregor asked, and Abel sliced his eyes from his cup to the vampire.

“Wolves check in with governors if they move to a territory, and governors pay attention to wolf activity, but only if there’s a need, such as insurrection or activities that might lead to humans discovering the existence of werewolves. Outside that, we let wolves roam without keeping records, so no,” Callum returned, then asked, “What about vampires?”

“We tend to keep tabs,” Gregor murmured. “I’ll ask The Dominion. But it’s not very helpful if we have no wolf.”

“Are you talkin’ about finding my folks?” Abel asked.

Gregor shook his head like he was clearing it. “Sorry, yes. Sorry,” he repeated. “Very rude. Much is on my mind. ” He took in a deep breath and focused closely on Abel. “But I’ll repeat my apology for not being sensitive, something we’ll be in future. But I’ll do that now by warning you I’m about to speak bluntly. I’m concerned that perhaps you were not left in an alley. Perhaps you were saved in one, purposefully, for your parents might have been hunted due to The Prophesies. The Prophesies were not widely known. However, we’ve recently learned that a once-trusted member of The Council, Marcello, was an insurrectionist. He shared them. And it’s our understanding he shared them some time ago.”

“Great,” Abel muttered.

“He’s since been dispatched,” Gregor told him. “But if your parents were under threat, or felt that you were, there’s a possibility they would find the kind of human who would do no harm to an immortal once they discovered that. A human who would keep you hidden in the mortal world due to your abilities. A human they could leave you with to do just that.” His voice lowered as he finished, “It might have been their only choice to keep you safe.”

“Jesus Christ,” he snarled and felt Delilah’s hand curl around his thigh.

“Yes, terrible, if it happened that way. Tragic,” Gregor said. “But if we can trace this, we may be able to trace whoever found you and Delilah in Serpentine Bay.”

“And who scarred me,” Abel added.

“Sorry?” Gregor asked.

“Who scarred me, seein’ as I don’t scar either. But some bitch in a roadhouse in Texas slipped me a mickey, somethin’ else that doesn’t work on me, ’cept hers did. Then she used some weird-ass knife to carve into my face. She was goin’ for my heart, but I passed out. She didn’t finish me off, and considering what that knife did to my face, that would have finished me off.”

Gregor looked to Lucien, so Abel looked to Lucien and saw his jaw get hard.

“Did she…” Leah began, then paused before asking, “get cold feet or something?”

“No, he was saved by somebody,” Delilah answered.

“What’s got you tweaked?” Abel cut in, asking this to Lucien.

Lucien looked his way, then replied, “Witches.”

“Oh shit,” Delilah muttered. “More supernaturals. Fabulous.”

“There are witches?” Sonia asked, surprising Abel. Then again, she was new to this supernatural business too.

“Yes, baby doll, and some have power, but not much,” Callum answered. “I never mentioned them, because, by not much power, I mean they’re no longer of consequence.”

“Those who held long lines of power, and thus were very strong, were annihilated centuries ago,” Gregor explained.

“By who?” Leah asked.

Gregor shifted in his seat, suddenly looking uncomfortable, his eyes going to Lucien.

So everyone’s eyes went to Lucien.

“Unfortunately,” he began, “I’ve learned only recently, as I’ve also learned only recently that true magic exists on this earth, it was vampires.”

“Perhaps not one of our more shining moments,” Gregor murmured.

“You think?” Delilah asked sarcastically. “Now they’ve gotta be pissed too, pissed enough to roofie a vampire werewolf and carve into his face when they meet one at the local roadhouse!”

Her voice was rising so Abel pulled her hand from his thigh, curved his around it, and dropped it back, holding it there.

She took in a calming breath.

“Or, perhaps she was sent on a mission to take care of one of The Three,” Gregor said in a carefully even voice.

Watching Gregor, Abel knew he, too, was tweaked.

Abel broke it down. “So what you’re sayin’ is, vampires knocked off all these witches, the witches who remained are probably seriously shitty about that, so they’re probably workin’ for the dark side.”

“This could be,” Gregor allowed.

“Great,” Delilah muttered.

“And they came after me, which means they know of The Prophesies,” Abel kept at him.

“Oh, they know about The Prophesies. The witches have seers among them, even now. We may have kept The Prophesies secret, but as witches have that power, they’ve known about them for centuries,” Gregor confirmed. “But we have yet to discover if they knew who you were.”

“Why did vampires kill off all the witches?” Leah asked, and Gregor looked to her.

“There was a bit of a power struggle.”

“I’ll say,” she muttered.

“It was a different time,” Gregor murmured his lame explanation.

“It was fucked up,” Lucien put in.

“You will remember when I shared with you our history with witches that I did not support The Dominion’s decision,” Gregor reminded him.

“You didn’t,” Lucien returned. “But you enforced it.”

“It was my duty,” Gregor shot back, beginning to sound impatient. “And I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that when Callum’s father…and I, I’ll add…finally talked members of The Dominion into seeing sense, those vampires who’d championed that unfortunate situation were dealt with harshly.”

“After hundreds of years of persecution and thousands of witches extinguished, executions that were quick and for the most part painless was hardly a proper punishment, as the lasting chasm between vampires and witches will attest,” Lucien retorted.

Whoa, the supernaturals certainly had a dark and checkered past.

I gave big eyes to Leah, who gave them back to me.

“Enough,” Callum cut in. “It’s been done for hundreds of years. There’s no undoing it.” He looked to Abel and changed the subject. “Who saved you? Any clue?”

“I was passed out, man, so I have no idea.”

The door opened while he was answering and Yuri walked in, eyes to his father, his face strange.

“A word,” he called.

“Yuri,” Gregor began, “we finally have The Three assembled and—”

“A word, Father.” His eyes shifted to Abel, something Abel didn’t like much, then they went back to his father. “It’s urgent.”

Gregor sighed, threw his napkin on the table, and pushed away, murmuring, “One moment.”

He took off.

Abel let Delilah’s hand go and reached to a platter of bacon, hoping like fuck that wasn’t about Chen or Jabber taking a turn for the worse.

As if reading his mind, Leah asked, “How are Chen and Jabber this morning?”

“We don’t know,” Delilah answered. “We came up late last night and got the knock on the door this morning. I hardly had enough time to hop in the shower and not to scare you by coming down here without doing my hair.” Leah grinned and Delilah continued, “We’ll go see after we’re done here.”

She took the platter of bacon from Abel and was picking her strips when the door opened and Gregor called, “Lucien, a word.”

“Fucking hell,” Lucien groused, shifting his seat back and stalking to the door.

“Never boring when you’re saving the world,” Leah noted, her eyes to where her husband disappeared.

Delilah laughed softly, as did Sonia.

Abel shared a look with Callum, who looked about as happy as he was with their interruption, then Abel reached to the eggs.

He’d handed them off to Delilah when the door opened again.

“Abel, will you join us out here, please?” Gregor called.

Abel looked from his plate to the door. “Is this a big deal?”

“We believe it is,” Gregor answered.

“A big deal in a way that everyone in this room can’t know what the fuck you’re all talkin’ about in the hall?” Abel asked.

“This was my question,” Callum put in.

“It’s private,” Gregor explained.

“To who?” Abel asked.

“To you,” Gregor answered.

Abel’s chin jerked back. “What?”

“Please join us in the hall,” Gregor said as Yuri moved into the room from behind Gregor, who was standing in the door, Lucien following him.

“We need to have a chat elsewhere,” Lucien said carefully.

What the fuck?

“A chat?” Abel asked.

“What’s going on, Lucien?” Callum demanded to know.

“Yuri, Gregor, and I need to speak with Abel. It may take some time. Eat your breakfast. We’ll return as quickly as we can,” Lucien replied.

“Not hip on secrets,” Abel declared.

“You may be…hip on this,” Gregor replied.

He felt and smelled Delilah’s anxiety and his patience slipped. “What the fuck is goin’ on?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Yuri clipped. “You’re drinking bagged blood.”

Abel’s brows snapped together. “Yeah, so?”

“The kitchen told us you requested they place a large supply you brought with you from Serpentine Bay in their refrigerators,” Yuri told him something else he knew.

“Yeah…” Abel said slowly. “So?”

“And you requested they heat it…in a microwave,” he said with disgust, “for your meals.”

“Man, you’re tellin’ me shit I know. What’s the big fuckin’ deal?”

“Why aren’t you feeding from your mate?” Gregor asked cautiously.

“Not that it’s any of your business,” Abel bit out, “but I am. Though, seein’ as she was destined for me, I waited a couple of centuries for her, and I kinda like having her around, draining her, or drawing her down so she’s got no energy, isn’t somethin’ I’m big on doing.”

The mood in the room changed completely in a way that Abel had to concentrate on his fangs not snapping out. Delilah felt it too; he sensed it and knew it when her fingers curled around his forearm.

But the expressions on their faces didn’t match the mood.

Yuri looked incredulous. Gregor and Lucien looked remorseful.

“What?” Abel clipped.

“He doesn’t know,” Leah breathed, and Abel glanced at her to see she’d grown pale.

“What?” he snarled.

Gregor, Yuri, and Lucien advanced into the room, closing the door behind them.

It was Lucien who spoke.

“Do you know you can numb skin?” he asked.

“Figured that out,” Abel answered.

There was some relief in his expression before he went on, “Abel, vampire saliva is healing.”

“Figured that out too,” Abel told him. “Numb, bite, draw, heal.”

“No.” Lucien shook his head before lifting a hand and dropping it. “Of course, you’re partially correct. Numb, bite, draw, heal, but when I say vampire saliva is healing, I mean miraculously so. I feed from Leah three times a day, sometimes more.”

Delilah’s fingers curled tight on his arm as Abel grunted with revulsion, “What the fuck?”

“My saliva in her bloodstream means her blood regenerates faster. It takes time to build it up, but only weeks until she can withstand feeding regularly,” Lucien shared.

“Oh my God. Awesome,” Delilah whispered.

“It’s more,” Lucien went on. “The longer you feed, the more healing properties she gets. You immunize her from disease, and by that, I mean any disease, like we vampires cannot suffer. Including diabetes, cancer, neurological disorders, all of them.”

“Christ,” Abel whispered.

“And more,” Lucien continued. “She’ll begin to heal more rapidly. Cuts, scrapes, bruises will disappear within hours, then within minutes. And the longer you feed from her, things such as broken bones will heal in days.”

“Oh…my…God! Awesome!” Delilah exclaimed on a muted cry.

It was then Lucien gave it to them.

Everything.

In a variety of really fucking good ways.

“And feeding regularly will halt aging. Meaning as long as you continue to do so, she will never die,” Lucien finished.

Delilah’s nails sank into his flesh, but he didn’t feel it.

He didn’t feel anything.

She will never die.

“You must feed from her regularly, Abel, starting once a day for several days. Then twice a day for perhaps another week. Then you can likely feed from her whenever you wish, doing her great good while you do,” Gregor said.

He heard it. He understood it.

He still didn’t move or speak.

She will never die.

“Honey,” Delilah called.

She will never die.

“Baby,” Delilah called again.

He felt her leaning into him, her hand on his neck, squeezing.

She will never die.

“Abel, baby, this is good,” she whispered into his ear.

That was when he moved. In a blur, he had her in his arms, and in seconds, he was tossing her on the bed in their bedroom.

She bounced, blinked, and looked up to him.

“You’ll never die.”

She stared at him before her face went soft, her eyes shining bright and her lips started curving.

“Told you you were awesome,” she whispered.

Fuck, she was right.

She was fucking right.

He was awesome.

Because he could keep his Delilah alive.

Forever.

He lunged.

He’d had a bag of blood brought up while she was doing her hair, thinking the other vampires in residence were probably doing the same thing.

But he still drew from her as he fucked her, hard, fast, rough, quick, making her cry out when she came, his cock driving deep, her blood flooding his mouth.

She will never die.

He’d have that, all of it (or countless varieties of it, they had centuries to get creative), for a lifetime.

His lifetime.

She will never die.

Fucking finally.

* * * * *

Abel lay on his back, naked, Delilah on top of him, also naked, with his cock still inside her since he rolled her there after he rode her.

Her head and shoulders were up. She was looking down at him, the fingertips of one hand stroking lazy on his chest, his hands were curled on her ass.

“What’s in that awesome head of yours?” she asked softly.

“Coulda saved Hui,” he told the ceiling.

“Abel—”

“Mei.”

“Honey—”

“Sying.”

She slid her hand to his neck. “Baby, stop.”

He tipped just his eyes to her. “Coulda saved ’em all.”

“That wasn’t meant to be,” she told him gently.

“Obviously not,” he replied caustically.

“Okay, I’m trying to go easy here, so cut me some slack, but I’ll point out that feeding is sexual.”

He looked back to the ceiling, his gut roiling at the idea of drawing from any of them.

Obviously, in the beginning, when he was a kid, feeding was feeding.

But she was right. When his body started changing and the world became all about his dick and how he could get off, he’d never drawn from anything but a human female, giving it to her as he took.

Doing that to Hui, Mei, Sying—it would be like having sex with your sister. Or your mother.

“You wouldn’t do that so maybe it’s good they never knew you could,” she suggested. “And that you never knew either.”

He couldn’t argue that, but it didn’t make him move out of his current dark mood.

“Since I knew I’d have you, lived knowin’ I’d lose you,” he told the ceiling.

“I know, baby, but you won’t lose me now.”

“No,” he stated, again giving her his eyes. “Now I gotta worry about losin’ you to these fuckin’ Prophesies. Had a whole twenty minutes to celebrate. Now I know I can have you forever with me, and that hangs over our heads. So somehow that makes the thought of losin’ you worse.”

She stiffened on top of him. “We’re not gonna let the evil supernaturals beat us.”

“Yeah? You’re sure? ’Cause they probably got witches on their side, pissed witches, who got knifes that can fuck an immortal up.”

“That wasn’t the best news of the day,” she muttered, her eyes drifting to his shoulder.

Too much was flooding his mind; he couldn’t sort it all. He needed space, so he dug his fingers into the flesh of her ass and ordered, “Off me, pussycat.”

He saw the hurt shift through her eyes, but before he could do anything about it, she rolled off. He moved to catch her, doing it with human speed, which was a mistake. She kept rolling and was off the bed, nabbing her panties and pulling them up.

“Bao bei, just need some room to think and breathe,” he explained.

“You got it,” she said, her voice forced to light. “You gave that to me yesterday. I’ll give it to you now. I’ll go downstairs. Check on Chen and Jabber. Go and tell the others you need a few hours and we can start again.”

She said all this while struggling to put on her bra. When she finally got it on, he moved, grabbing her hips and yanking her back into the bed, settling them on their sides, her back to his front, their bodies curved to each other.

“By ‘room to think and breathe,’ I just meant you off my cock. I still want you at my side,” he said in her ear.

She took in a deep breath, but it was ragged.

What the fuck?

“Lilah,” he growled.

“You have this…thing where you turn off on me, pull away from me,” she explained, but did it facing the pillows. “It’s just seconds, but I lose you and I don’t mean your dick. I mean whatever is going on in your head.”

“I don’t do that.”

She twisted her neck to catch his gaze. “Yeah, you do.”

“Tell me when I did that,” he demanded.

“Just now,” she replied.

“I explained that.”

“You didn’t see your face when you told me to get off you.”

Fuck.

“When else did I do it?” he asked.

She averted her eyes and started to scoot away, muttering, “It doesn’t matter.”

He hooked her with an arm at her belly and yanked her back. “Answer me.”

She twisted to look at him again. “You know, I’m going to be essentially immortal too. So all that gut-wrenching despair I felt for you and with you and for me when I got my head out of my ass and realized how shitty your life had to be and how awesome and tragic it was you finally got me, that was for nothing. We should be celebrating. Not edging toward a fight.”

“I agree, except about the part you’re using not to answer me.”

She turned in his arms to face him. “We have a world to save, Abel.”

“And now you’re using that not to answer me.”

“I don’t touch your face,” she declared suddenly.

“What?” he asked.

“I don’t touch your face,” she repeated.

He shook his head in confusion. “Why not?”

“Because the first time I tried, you pulled away from me.”

Fuck, he did.

And she was right, she’d touched his neck, she’d kissed him, she’d touched his hair, but she’d not once touched his face or even tried since that night.

And she’d given him total access from the first time he fucked her. Nothing was off limits, not when they were fucking, not when they weren’t.

He’d waited lifetimes for her. He had her. He touched her all the time, held her all the time. But more, she shared liberally and he always had her attention. Fuck, as she was walking to her friend’s burial, the burial of a man Abel had known for days, when he let her hand go, she looked to him to include him in something that wasn’t his to have.

“I explained that then too,” he reminded her, beginning to feel uneasy.

“Yeah, and the first day we met, you calmly discussed banging other women. The first morning I woke up in your bed, before you even kissed me, before I even realized to its fullest what you were to me, I still lost it just thinking of you with other women in that bed. What we have isn’t natural. What it does to me isn’t natural. Fuck, you can’t leave with me not knowing where you are without me eventually getting the pain back that I’d had for years. You pulling away from me doesn’t affect me like it would some normal biker bitch. It guts me.”

“Jesus,” he muttered.

“Yeah, Jesus,” she agreed. “And trust me, this does not make me happy. I’m not clingy. I don’t want to be clingy. Not one guy I’ve been with have I been—” She stopped on a sharp cry because he was squeezing her side uncontrollably, with all of his strength.

All of it.

He forced his hand to relax and did it miraculously before he snapped her ribs.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

“What was that?” she whispered back, her entire body stiff.

“Sorry, pussycat,” he muttered.

“What was that?” she bit out.

He stroked the skin he’d no doubt just marked, saying, “You shouldn’t talk about bein’ with other guys.”

Her eyes got big.

Then she whispered, “You feel it too.”

“Just don’t do that again.”

“Oh my God, we’re so fucked,” she kept whispering. “We’re both gonna be clingy.”

“This has to be something else,” he kept muttering.

“What?” she cried, no longer whispering at all.

But it came to him.

“Added abilities.”

“What?” she repeated.

Abel focused on her. “I told you about my dreams. When I told you about all this saving the world shit, I told you that your dreams might be like ones Leah had and we had to be careful. I told you Sonia dreamed too.”

“I remember.”

“What I forgot to tell you is that Gregor said The Three had added abilities, like me being gifted in battle. But that was a for instance. As in, there were others. We just haven’t gotten around to hearing them yet.”

“Keep going,” she urged.

“So, you came to Serpentine Bay because you sensed me there. I sensed you in danger. You sensed the same with me. I don’t know, maybe we’re attuned to each other somehow. We lose that, like you not knowin’ where I am, and it causes pain. If I’m not with you and you know where I am, do you feel it come back?”

She shook her head.

“So we just need to be careful about letting each other know where we’re going.”

“That doesn’t explain the hyper-jealousy and how I feel when you pull away from me, mentally or emotionally,” she pointed out.

“The hyper-jealousy, yeah. Though, if we’re connected as in connected, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think that even the consideration of us connecting with someone else might strain that. But when I drift away in my thoughts, shutting you out, that jibes with you not knowing where I am.”

“That is actually a stretch, Abel,” she remarked dubiously.

“I’m not sure it is,” he returned.

She continued to look dubious so he explained.

“When you and me were talkin’ about whether we should leave our families behind or not, you had your quiet moment, I had mine. You gave me mine; I gave you yours. You knew where my head was at; I knew where yours was at. Did you get that feelin’ of me pullin’ away then?”

The dubiousness started lifting when she answered, “No.”

He nodded. “Right. No. Because you knew where my head was at, which makes sense with the rest.”

“It kinda does,” she whispered.

“So maybe this shit is more and it’ll develop as we’re together,” Abel continued. “We’ll get a lock on it, figure it out, maybe even learn to control it. But dreams that tell the future, me bein’ good at fighting, it seems whatever the fates have chosen to give us, if we figure out how to use them, they’re weapons. And if this shit gets any more extreme, me knowing you’re in danger and the same with me for you is a good thing.”

“That’s the damned truth,” she mumbled.

“So we tell each other where we’re gonna be if we’re gonna be apart, I have a care with not shutting you out of my thoughts, and you don’t ever mention bein’ with other guys again.”

“Same with you with women,” she shot back, and he grinned.

“Learned that lesson already, pussycat. Think that toothbrush marked me.”

“Bullshit,” she retorted but did it fighting a smile.

The mood shifting, he curved both arms around her and rolled to his back, pulling her on top of him.

“Now we can get back to celebrating,” he announced.

“Or we can check in on Chen and Jabber, then go back to planning our efforts to save the world,” she offered an alternate, not near as tempting suggestion.

It was also one they weren’t doing.

“We haven’t even been gone an hour.”

“And I haven’t had but two sips of coffee and no breakfast.”

“I’ve had two breakfasts and you didn’t have to do any work the last time.” He slid his hand into her hair and pulled her face closer to his. “Just gotta lay on your back for me to eat you.”

She squirmed but said, “Saving the world is kinda important.”

“And just lay on your back when I fuck you,” he continued like she didn’t speak.

“Abel,” she snapped, but it was breathy.

“Though, thinkin’ of bangin’ you against the headboard…not sure about that. That iron might hurt.”

“Oh, just shut up and fuck me so we can get on with saving the world.”

He grinned.

She shook her head like he was a naughty boy she didn’t know what to do with.

So he rolled her and played the naughty boy who knew exactly what to do with her.

But he didn’t bang her against the headboard.

Because the iron might hurt and he had years of drawing from her before he could make her heal.

Years.

* * * * *

Callum

Late that evening, Callum walked into the bedroom he shared with Sonia and saw his queen sitting in bed wearing another fucking nightgown and rubbing lotion in her hands.

Her eyes were on him and he kept his on her as he closed the door behind him and watched her start to open her mouth.

He beat her to it.

“You tell me I told you so, I’ll turn you over my knee.”

She shut her mouth in order to smile but then opened it again to speak.

“Not sure that’s a deterrent, my handsome wolf.” He moved toward her as she kept going, “How was your run?”

He sat down, his hip to hers in the bed, and answered as he leaned toward her to rest his weight in his hand at her other side. “It was an honor to be the first wolf to run with Abel Jin.”

Her eyes got soft and she gave him another smile, this one sweet.

“And his first run was with his king,” she said softly.

“Yes,” Callum agreed. “He didn’t hide that he liked it either.” His mood shifted as his gaze went unfocused, thinking on this. “I can’t imagine a lifetime as a lone wolf. Running alone by choice, yes. Running alone because you knew no other like you, no.”

“That part of his life is over,” she replied, still speaking softly and placing a hand on his chest, so his focus returned to her. “He has brothers now.”

“Yes,” he repeated.

“Did you and Lucien fill him in on all the rest?” she asked, and he nodded.

“With Gregor and Yuri. Believe it or not, Yuri was best with him. He’s a proud vampire. Lucien’s confidence is a part of him. Gregor’s as well, in his way.” He shook his head and gave her the grave news. “I got the sense, little one, that Abel’s lived his whole life not thinking he’s simply an anomaly but that he was some kind of unnatural, loathsome beast.”

“Oh no,” she whispered.

“Yes,” he told her. “So Yuri’s pride in who he is and all that comes with that was welcome.”

“Yuri can be callous, but he isn’t entirely unfeeling,” she told him, and she would know. She’d lived with the vampire as her brother most of her life.

That said, there came a time when Yuri didn’t want to be her brother but something else entirely. Unfortunately for Yuri but exceptionally fortunate for Callum, she was destined to be his queen.

He nodded and went on, “There’s a great deal more for Abel to learn. While we were running, he was like you on your first run. Unable to communicate. He can control the transformation but can’t converse as wolf, though he was picking it up by the end. He’s a fast learner.”

“Also like me.”

He grinned at her and lifted his hand to curl around hers at his chest. “Like you, my queen.” She returned his grin and he kept going. “He’s excellent with a sword, but he still needs training. He should learn how to fight with his claws and teeth.”

“Hopefully you’ll have time to teach him.”

“We spoke of it and we’re starting tomorrow,” he shared.

She tipped her head to the side. “And the rest?”

“After we finished with Abel, he called Lilah in and they both now know it all—Leah’s absorption of Lucien’s abilities, sensing danger, being able to track and mark, speaking to his mind as he’s able to do with her; your affinity with wildlife; all of our dreams. We’ll be sitting down with Serena, Avery, Stephanie, Cristiano, Ryon, and Caleb tomorrow to discuss what we know about our adversaries and how to proceed.”

“And does Lilah have any special abilities?” Sonia asked.

Callum shook his head but said, “Abel does. He can control minds.”

“Like Lucien?” she asked.

“No,” he answered. “Not exactly. It’s more powerful. He doesn’t have to be in the same room or even the same building as his target to achieve his purpose. They also don’t remember it or know they’re being controlled. When Lucien uses his skill, his voice can be heard in their head and they know he’s doing it. Abel leaves barely a trace.”

“Wow,” Sonia breathed, and he smiled.

Then he shared, “So far Lilah’s only having dreams she can’t remember. However, their connection seems even stronger than ours or Leah and Lucien’s, but not all in good ways.”

“What does that mean?”

“The good part is they can sense if one or the other is in danger, even know where they are or are able to get to where they are without actually knowing where they are,” he explained.

“That is good,” she noted.

“The bad part is that Lilah feels pain, quite significant pain, if Abel is away from her and she doesn’t know where he is. They also both experience what Lilah refers to as ‘hyper-jealousy’ if they even think of one with another that is not their mate.”

“I would say we would experience that too, if it was in a wolf to be with another outside his mate,” she pointed out.

“Well, it’s not. However, you had others before me, and I did too. We both knew this and it was far from welcome, but for them, their responses are more extreme. Abel explained he’d not even known Lilah a day when she flew into a rage at his mention of ones before her.”

“Strange,” Sonia murmured.

“Indeed,” Callum agreed.

“Do you know what that might mean?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I’ve no idea, baby doll. We can just hope we have time as Leah’s abilities increase and you practice with yours, so that Lilah will come to understand hers and they’ll be useful.”

“Mm,” she murmured, and when she did, Callum lost interest in their conversation.

“Time for bed,” he declared.

Her head gave a slight jerk. “I’m in bed, wolf.”

“Then time for me to get in it with you and turn you over my knee.”

Her eyes said one thing, her lips said another. “You’ll not be spanking me.”

“No, I won’t,” he confirmed. “But I will be doing other things to you.”

The message in her eyes deepened as he saw the tip of her tongue slide out to wet her upper lip.

“Get rid of your nightie,” he ordered.

“Yes, my king,” she said on a breathy false grumble.

He straightened from the bed to take off his clothes.

She got to her knees and he watched as she pulled off her nightie.

It was then Callum wasted no time joining her and turning his queen over his knee.

* * * * *

Abel

Lilah was lying naked on top of him after he’d made her come for the fifth time that day.

And she was bitching.

“Why can’t I have something cool, like being able to speak in your head?”

“Maybe you’ll get somethin’ like that,” he responded in an effort to get her to quit bitching.

It was like he didn’t speak.

“Or talking to animals?”

Abel decided this time to say nothing.

“All I’ve got is the ability to give good sass.”

“And you got that down,” Abel muttered, and she focused on him in order to narrow her eyes.

“And be clingy,” she hissed. “What’s the good of that?”

“You cool it and be patient, we might find out.”

She glared at him.

He had shit to do and he needed her asleep so he could do it. Therefore, he had to deal with her mood to get on with it.

He also had to give her something, something she needed, something he had no idea he’d withheld until she told him.

And he was hoping, in giving it to her, he’d kill two birds with one stone.

So he set about attempting that, taking one of her hands from where it rested on his chest and lifting it.

“Abel—” she started and he had no clue what she was going to say but she snapped her mouth shut when he kept lifting her hand until he touched her middle finger to where he knew the scar began on his forehead.

“She started here,” he murmured then slowly slid her finger across his forehead, down through his broken eyebrow, and picked up the scar on his cheek. He kept going, trailing her finger to his jaw where he stopped but held her finger there. “She ended here.”

She didn’t look pissed anymore, thank fuck. She looked something he wasn’t sure he liked much more, but it was better than pissed.

She looked sad with a hint of angry.

He lost her look when she leaned up and put her lips to the start of the scar on his forehead. Her hand cupped his jaw and his cupped hers as a thrill chased down his spine while she traced the scar with her lips until she had to move their hands away to get to the end.

Delilah’s touch, how it made him feel, he wouldn’t have been surprised if he went to the mirror, looked, and saw the scar was gone.

He didn’t reckon that actually happened, but in his gut, the touch of her lips had a different kind of healing power that meant almost the same thing.

Finally, she slid her lips to his and looked in his eyes.

“You’re awesome,” she whispered.

“So I’ve been told,” he whispered back.

“You beginning to believe it?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he answered.

He watched her eyes smile.

Then he asked, “You good to go to sleep, or do I need to fuck you again?”

The smile in her eyes got brighter before she closed them to press her mouth to his. Then she, broke away to settle over him, snuggling close, her face in his throat.

“I think I’m all fucked out,” she replied.

Abel grinned at the ceiling as he wound his arms around her.

“For today,” she finished.

That was when Abel tightened his hold and started chuckling.

“It’s been a good day,” she said softly.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

“Best part, outside the bestest best part, was telling your family and my dad about the bestest best part. That we can be together, literally forever.”

That had been the best part, outside the part where they learned they could be together forever.

After they told them, Jian-Li had excused herself, but Abel knew she’d begun crying. Fuck, even Hook had lifted a hand to squeeze the bridge of his nose before sweeping his thumb and a finger under his eyes to hide the wet gathering there.

Delilah’s dad got it. He’d sorted it out way before Delilah did and his relief was extreme, for the both of them.

Delilah cuddled closer. “So Snake died for forever love. It was beautiful before. But now…” She sighed. “Now maybe I can start to understand the gift he gave me. Gave us. And settle into it.”

Thank Christ.

Abel kept her held close as he replied, “Yeah, baby.”

“We’re gonna be happy,” she told him, sounding like she was getting sleepy but still sounding convinced.

He hoped she was right.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

“Wild and free and happy,” she kept talking.

“Yeah,” he repeated.

“For eternity.”

He rolled them to their sides but kept her close as he whispered his final, “Yeah, pussycat.”

She drew in breath and let it go.

In five minutes, she’d relaxed, asleep in his arms.

Abel waited fifteen more to make sure that sleep was deep.

Then he carefully extricated himself from her, rolled off the bed, tugged on his jeans, and moved silently to and through the door.

He walked five doors up the hall, stopped at one, and knocked.

It was opened in thirty seconds by Poncho, who was like Abel, wearing nothing but faded jeans, his hair a mess, his eyes alert.

“Everything okay?”

“Not really, but there’s nothing new that isn’t okay. Just need a chat,” Abel replied.

Poncho kept his eyes sharp on Abel and guessed, “My auntie.”

“Yes, and no,” Abel told him. “See, found out today that the vampires killed off a bunch of witches a long time ago.”

“Fuck,” Poncho mumbled.

“Right. So it’s likely they’re not hip on helpin’. The thing is, it wouldn’t hurt to have one on our side. So yeah, I need you to get in touch with your aunt. But I need you to be cool about that. I need you to see where she’s at with this supernatural shit before you tell her you’re neck-deep in it. Only when you know she isn’t gonna fuck us will I talk to the others and see if we can make an approach.”

“Consider it done,” Poncho stated instantly.

“Poncho—” Abel started.

“No.” He shook his head. “Don’t need to say more. I dig this has to be handled. You got my word I’ll handle it.”

Abel looked into his eyes and nodded.

Poncho jutted his chin down the hall. “Get back to our girl.”

“Right, later.”

Poncho gave a short salute and a “Later, amigo.”

He was closing the door before Abel turned down the hall.

As silently as he’d left their room, he returned, carefully gathering Delilah in his arms after he pulled the covers back over his body.

Unconsciously, she snuggled deep and relaxed in his hold.

That was when Abel took a breath and let it go. He did this hoping Poncho could handle it and hoping Delilah would get some ability, and not only so she’d quit bitching. He also did it letting the sheer brilliance of all he’d learned that day wash through him (and there was a fuckload he’d learned that day about who he was and the fact it was far from monstrous).

Then he closed his eyes and went to sleep, doing it further hoping a dream would come.

Not like the dream come true he held in his arms.

Any dream they could use to help them stop evil so he and Delilah could live wild, free, happy…

And forever.

* * * * *

Gregor

Gregor sat at the desk in the compound’s study, tapping his fingers, his eyes to edge of the desk, his mind filled.

“It’s impossible,” Yuri said from his seat in a chair across from him.

“I know,” Gregor murmured.

“His senses are acute, wolf and vampire. It’s impossible he hasn’t run across at least one of our kind in two hundred years.”

Gregor lifted his eyes to his son and stopped tapping. “I know, Yuri.”

“He’s been protected, and not by a family of loyal Chinese,” Yuri declared.

Gregor sighed.

“He was saved from that witch,” Yuri said quietly.

“He was,” Gregor agreed.

“We can trace her. We have a date and a place. We can find out who she is. We might also find her.”

Gregor kept his eyes to his son. “Do you think another immortal would happen upon a witch attempting to dispatch the only known hybrid and she’d survive?”

“No,” Yuri replied. “Especially since it wasn’t just another immortal. It was his mother, or his father, or both. There’s no chance they allowed her to survive. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look for her. She might have people. People who may know things. People who I can make talk.”

Gregor’s attention on his son became acute.

Yuri was hotheaded. He was also passionate. It was uncanny since it was not vampiric nor was it inherited from his father or his mother, who showed less emotion than even Gregor.

He was almost like a wolf.

But he was not wolf. He was vampire, a vampire with a variety of skills he’d honed over his centuries so that he was uniquely gifted in using them.

“Find who you can find,” Gregor said quietly. “And make them talk.”

He watched his son’s slow smile.

Then he watched his son straighten from the chair and move to the door.

Only when he had it opened did Gregor call, “Yuri?”

Yuri turned back and lifted a brow.

“Be careful,” Gregor whispered.

Yuri nodded once.

Then he disappeared.