At All Costs

Abel

 

“I don’t know how it happened,” Abel watched Patricio say to his phone, which he had held up in front of him and on speaker. “It’s like they knew the golem were to attack.”

Abel was in his room with him, though he’d mind-controlled Patricio into not seeing him, as well as putting the call to his superiors on speaker so Abel could listen.

It was the morning after the attack.

They’d sent a shit-ton of golem. And golem were huge, strange-looking, lethal motherfuckers that Abel hoped he never encountered again. They’d sent so many because it was clear they meant business. It wasn’t an exercise. They meant to annihilate The Three, or as many of them as they could get.

And the golem who showed absolutely meant business. It was lucky they’d found the traitors, or Abel didn’t know what the outcome would have been.

It could have been ugly.

It could have been the end.

But it wasn’t and that was where they were now.

Still alive.

Still breathing.

Now they had to move the fuck on.

They just didn’t know to where.

“Bjorn?” the voice on the other end asked.

“I can’t ask him, seeing as he was killed in the fight,” Patricio answered.

This was true. Bjorn lost his head and he’d done it to Wei’s sword. Abel had been close. It was unavoidable. It was Wei or Bjorn and Abel thanked God it came out the way it did.

“As far as I know, he was faithful to The True until the end,” Patricio finished.

“He was killed by golem?” the voice asked.

“I wasn’t there, but as our orders were to remain covert, which meant he had to at least pretend to fight them, I can only assume that’s the case,” Patricio told him.

That wasn’t the case. When they’d met the surprise attack with prepared force, things turned pretty quickly for the golem, which meant Bjorn switched sides pretty quickly, to his detriment.

Press for details of what they’re doing next, Abel ordered.

“What are your plans?” Patricio asked into the speaker.

“None of your concern,” the voice replied. “Find out if they knew about the attack, and if they did, how.”

Keep pushing but be smart about it, Abel commanded.

“I could be of further help if I knew what Etienne was planning for his next move,” Patricio said.

“I’m not certain how that would be or why you’re requesting this information, Patricio, when you know it isn’t yours to have unless we feel it pertinent to share it with you,” the voice returned.

Back off, Abel demanded.

“You weren’t here,” Patricio snapped. “They were merciless. You sent two hundred and fifty golem and only seven survived the fight.”

Those seven didn’t know either. They’d had their mission and that was all they had. Abel had gotten that information out of them the night before.

Though, there were more golem allied with The True, and what they were up to was anyone’s guess.

“Do you fear for your safety?” the voice asked.

“They have no idea I’m True,” Patricio replied.

“Then do your job,” the voice ordered. “Watch. Listen. Report. If we have anything for you, we’ll be in contact.”

“Right,” Patricio said into the phone, but he was talking to no one. The voice on the other line was gone.

You’re needed, Abel, immediately. In the hall. Keep Patricio in his room as you leave.

This came into his head in Lucien’s voice, the first time he’d done that to Abel, and Abel tensed when it started. Then he gave his orders to Patricio and walked out of the room, seeing Lucien just outside the door.

Lucien caught his eyes and immediately moved down the hall, doing it quickly, his body language communicating urgency.

Abel followed in the same way.

Lucien only stopped when they were all the way down the hall and had descended half a flight of stairs.

“What?” Abel asked before Lucien could say anything.

“Moose has returned,” Lucien told him.

“Shit,” Abel clipped, his stomach tightening. “Is he okay?”

“He’s perfectly fine. The three humans he brought with him, however, are not.”

Abel stared at the vampire.

“Come,” Lucien murmured and again began to descend the stairs.

Abel followed all the way to the front door, out it, down the steps, and to an SUV that had a wolf behind the wheel.

Lucien got in the backseat and Abel angled in beside him.

They barely closed their doors before the wolf hit the gas.

He turned to Lucien. “Wanna tell me what’s goin’ on?”

“I don’t know,” Lucien replied. “This was called in. They didn’t give details, just asked for us to come to where Moose is and where they’re holding the humans. Callum was out with his wolves and he’s on his way. We’ll be at the barracks where they’re holding them shortly.”

Abel nodded.

“Did you get anything from Patricio?” Lucien asked.

Abel shook his head. “Nothin’. Worse, tried to get him to press for info, but the minute he did, they shut him down. Patricio reported it was like we knew there was an attack coming, and with the other one out of the picture, they can’t know which one gave it up. But if Patricio pushes when that’s not his normal gig, they might turn to thinkin’ it’s him. We gotta be cool with that.”

“Annoying,” Lucien murmured, his eyes drifting to the windshield.

“Any word from Serena?” Abel asked, and Lucien gaze returned to him.

“Not that I know of.”

“Annoying,” Abel muttered.

Lucien’s lips turned up just as the SUV started to slow. Abel looked out the window and saw they were at a barrack at the far northwest part of the property. There was a lot of activity outside, and Abel had never been there to know for certain, but it seemed more than what would be normal late-morning activity at a vampire barrack.

They got out and Abel followed Lucien into the barrack.

Ryon met them inside the doors and said instantly, “This way.”

They moved behind Ryon down a hall to the end and into a room that was guarded outside by two wolves.

The door closed behind them.

In the room were Callum, Moose, and three young men who looked like they were in their midtwenties.

They were also fucked right the hell up. Eyes nearly swollen shut. Noses twice their size, one of the kids’ looked broken. Fat and split lips. Serious bruising. Cuts seeping blood. All of them holding their bodies gingerly like the visual damage was not all they’d sustained.

They were also warily surveying the vampires and wolves in the room and looking scared out of their minds.

They looked something else too. Something that creeped Abel right the fuck out. That being, when he and Lucien walked in and the men’s attention turned to them, they looked less scared and more hungry.

And not for food.

For whatever Abel would give them.

“Right, you’re here. I can get this out all in one go, then get back and get some shut-eye,” Moose proclaimed the moment the door shut behind them, and Abel tore his attention from the guys and turned it to Moose.

He motioned to the kids with a swing of his arm and Abel saw his knuckles were split and bloodied, but otherwise, he looked fine.

“Was at a bar coupla days back, doin’ my thing. Heard these fuckers talkin’,” he began. “They were hammered. The kind of drunk that makes you messy and they got all kinds of messy.”

“And how’s that?” Callum prompted when Moose quit talking.

Moose jabbed a finger at one of the kids. “That one was off on one, braggin’ about how good it felt to get fed from while takin’ it up the ass.”

Abel looked to the kid Moose indicated. Blond, slight, his was the nose that looked broken.

Moose kept going, “The other two, they didn’t like that shit, seein’ as they didn’t get their asses fucked, but they did get fed from and wanted the other with it. Now, I don’t give a shit what a body’s gotta do to get off. I just got tweaked when they were talkin’ about bein’ fed from. So I paid attention. They didn’t say much more, seein’ as they got into a bitch slappin’ fight. Middle of this, some big dude walks in and gives them a look. They all immediately go docile and follow him out.”

“Vampire?” Lucien asked.

“I didn’t know, but I guessed and followed them,” Moose replied. “Since vamps can sense things, didn’t get close enough to watch, not that I’d wanna see that shit. But between me kickin’ the snot outta them and bringin’ them here, they spilled the dude was vamp.”

“Shit, Moose,” Abel clipped. “You followed a vampire without backup?”

“Yeah,” Moose retorted curtly. “And it’s good I did, seein’ as he had three boy toys to take his concentration so he didn’t make me, even if I stayed distant, because now I know where the motherfucker is stayin’. It’s far enough to be off compound radar, but it’s still close. I been watchin’ and followin’ for days now so I also know that these assholes”—he swung an arm out to the men again—“are his human eyes and ears on the compound. Not only that, they pass some shit to some dude named Bjorn in the compound.”

“This is all very good information, Moose,” Callum stated. “But that doesn’t explain why they aren’t in very good condition and are here instead of simply you being here reporting this to us so we could utilize this intelligence and they could stay in play.”

“They made me,” Moose explained. “Tried to jump me.” He shrugged. “That didn’t work out too good for them.”

Abel looked back to the kids, thinking Moose was not wrong.

“Did you get the vampire’s name?” Callum asked.

“They called him Miko,” Moose answered.

“You have an address on where he’s staying?” Lucien asked.

“Already gave that to Stephanie. She’s been and gone, took off with it,” Moose told him.

Lucien stepped back, pulling his phone out of his pocket, and murmured, “I’ll give her a call.”

Callum turned to Abel. “We need them back in play.”

“Say what?” Moose asked, and Callum turned back to him.

“We’ll brief you later,” he said and again gave his attention to Abel. “Make up a story as to why they’re in the shape they’re in, erase all memory of Moose and their visit to the compound, and get them back in play. Once they’re set loose, they need to get the vampire away from where he’s staying so we can set up electronic surveillance.”

Abel lifted his chin to Callum and moved to the young men. They shrunk from him, but he got that under control, thought fast, and sorted out the rest.

When he was done, he stepped back and looked to Callum. “They’re good to go.”

Callum nodded and turned to Ryon. “Get them out of here, let them loose, but put a human on them. The minute Miko’s clear, get eyes and ears on him.”

“Got it,” Ryon muttered, opened the door, motioned to some wolves beyond it, and they moved in.

Callum got close to Abel and they watched the men being moved out.

Once they were gone, Lucien finished his phone call and joined their huddle.

“Stephanie knows of this vampire. She’s never met him, but she’s not surprised he’s part of The True,” Lucien shared.

“They’re everywhere,” Abel muttered.

“This isn’t surprising,” Callum noted and held Abel’s eyes. “Lucky we have you so they don’t know that we do know.”

Shit had been extreme with the golem, but they’d made it through…because of Abel.

And now there was this, but they were turning the tables…because of Abel.

He could not say that this didn’t feel fucking great, but he didn’t share that with Lucien and Callum. All he did was again lift his chin.

“We’ll let that take its course, see what we can glean from it,” Callum continued. “You brief Moose on what’s been happening. Then we have an appointment to train.”

In other words, carry on as normal.

Abel could see going that way, not making a big deal out of what little they just gained so no one would get any hint they’d gained it, so he nodded.

“Once we know more, you’re likely up again,” Lucien warned him.

Abel didn’t have a problem with that. He’d had centuries of being able to do something that was huge, but it had no purpose except to make him feel like a freak.

Now it had purpose.

No, he had no problem with that.

“Whatever needs to get done,” he replied, before he asked, “Where’s Gregor?”

“Gregor’s distracted,” Callum told him. “Yuri moves on the coven this evening.”

Abel could see this too. Gregor and Yuri looked like brothers, but they were father and son. And since Yuri had been gone, Gregor had been like a man who was worried about his son. He had serious shit going on that he had to have a lock on, but most of his mind was in Texas with his boy.

If Abel had any doubts about Gregor, this would have satisfied them.

“Right,” Abel muttered, then stated, “I’ll talk to Moose. Then we’ll get on with shit.”

“Yes, then we’ll get on with shit,” Callum said on a smile.

“But first, gotta get Moose back to my mate. She’s worried. She’ll wanna know he’s back and safe.”

“Take the SUV we came in,” Lucien offered. “I’ll ride back with Callum.”

Abel gave Lucien a nod and looked to Moose. “Let’s go, big man.”

Moose didn’t hesitate, obviously ready for soft sheets. Abel did the best he could to get him up-to-date on the way back to the compound and left him in a living room when they got back, deciding to find Delilah himself, give her the news, and get her to her friend.

He found her three living rooms down. He also found her alone, not with Jian-Li or any of the other women. She was standing at a window, staring out, completely oblivious to anything, including him walking into the room.

“Bao bei,” he called when he was close.

He watched her jump in surprise and turn to him.

“You okay?” he asked.

She kept her face aimed at him, but her eyes slid back to the window.

When he made it to her, he looked out and saw three dark gray columns of smoke heading straight up to the sky through windless air from beyond the dense woods that surrounded the sides of the compound.

He knew what those were. Those were the ultimate end to the dead golem. An end that included certain body parts that had been hacked to shit and then far removed from their mates, especially the heads, all this being burned to ash.

“They might have had women,” Delilah said softly, and Abel looked back to her to see her head again turned to the window. “They might have had kids.”

“And if they’d succeeded, there is no ‘might’ about what they were gonna do, which was something we couldn’t let them do. At all costs.”

“At all costs,” Delilah whispered to the window.

“Pussycat—” he started, lifting his hand to curl it where her neck met her shoulder.

This again got him her eyes. “Are you okay with all costs?”

He didn’t understand the question.

“What?”

She turned fully to him and rested her hands on his abs. “You took lives, honey.”

Now he got her. More than got her.

She was reflective and looking out the window because the bodies of men who likely multiple someones had loved were being reduced to ash. She was also reflective and looking out the window because she was worried about his state of mind.

“I’m good,” he assured her.

She wasn’t assured and he knew this when she tipped her head to the side and asked, “You sure?”

He slid his hand to the back of her neck, pulled her closer, and bent to her.

“I’m sure,” he said, soft and firm. “And you’re going to be good too, seein’ as Moose returned, he’s fine, and he’s waiting in living room three for you.”

Her eyes lit in a way he liked at the news Moose was back and they started dancing in a way he liked even more at his comment about living room three.

“Which one is that, then?” she asked.

“I’ll take you there,” he offered.

“Awesome,” she said softly, and he used his hand at her neck to pull her around until she was at his side. Then he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and started guiding her to the door. “We should officially number them so there’s no confusion, you know, seeing as it seems we’re gonna be here awhile,” she went on as she slid her arm along his waist.

“We’ll do that after you welcome home Moose and I get your dad and Jabber so they can do the same.”

She looked up at him and said, “Right on.”

Even as they walked out the door, he bent and touched his mouth to hers.

Her arm curled around his waist gave him a squeeze and her eyes gave him a smile when he lifted his head.

Then he took her to her friend and found her father and Jabber and took them to Moose too.

It ended up being after training when they officially numbered the living rooms.

There were twelve.

* * * * *

Yuri

Yuri was annoyed, and thus, he didn’t speak.

“Yuri?” his father on the other end of the phone called. “Did you hear me? I want you to report in the minute you secure the implements.”

But Gregor didn’t want Yuri to report in the minute the implements were secured. He simply wanted him to report in.

“I’m not one hundred anymore, Father,” he replied drily.

“I’m aware of that,” his father returned even more drily.

“I’ve got a coven of thirteen witches who Aurora has shared are quite powerful at my back,” Yuri reminded him of something he’d told him but moments before. “However, as per their plan, which they’re quite adamant I follow, they are the ones who are in the most danger.”

And this was true, as Barb had told him, and he believed her.

Which meant Yuri was concerned.

He might not be Barb’s favorite being, but he had to admit, he held some regard for her if only for the fact she adored her daughter.

Though, it was more.

She might not like him, but he couldn’t help but have some affinity for her, considering she was not only Aurora’s mother, she was also taking her life in her hands to assist with this mission. Not to mention the fact she could be quite amusing when she wasn’t being irritating.

But the truth of the matter was, Yuri was mostly concerned about Aurora.

He’d learned she was only twenty-seven years old. She was brave. She had what she referred to as “juice,” something he’d witnessed repeatedly, and she was far from stupid. However, if something happened, this would affect Yuri’s future plans of fucking her, which he was very much looking forward to.

But it wasn’t only that.

If something happened, it would mean a world without the witch Aurora living in it, and Yuri didn’t like the thought of that at all.

It was Gregor’s turn to be silent.

“It’ll all be fine,” Yuri told him.

“After this is over, I’d like to meet this Aurora,” Gregor stated, and Yuri sighed.

It was rare when he envied humans. However, this was a time when he did.

His father had had centuries to get to know him and could likely correctly predict any move Yuri made before he made it. More, Gregor could read into subtleties no human parent had enough time or experience to read.

This meant that Yuri had not shared Aurora’s pull on him, but his father had read it.

“There’s a great deal to do before such a meeting can occur, not only securing the implements, but also in locating Abel’s brother,” Yuri reminded him.

“Of course,” Gregor muttered just as a knock came at the door.

Yuri moved that way, speaking. “I’m to leave shortly to meet the coven. I should let you go.”

“Fine, Yuri. I’ll expect a call in a few hours,” his father replied.

Yuri didn’t reply this time because he smelled her before he made it to the door. He looked through the peephole, regardless, and saw her standing outside, her head turned, eyes aimed down the corridor, her mass of dark hair arranged in soft plaits leading to a loose bun at her nape.

She looked as if she was prepared to go on a date, not approach a volatile coven in a battle of magic that might have dire consequences.

Furthermore, he was meeting her and her sister witches. Why she was at the door to his hotel suite, he had no idea.

Except she was Aurora, vexing in a way he liked.

“Good-bye, Father,” he murmured into the phone.

“Until later, Yuri,” his father replied.

Yuri ended the call, then unlocked and opened the door.

Her little, curvaceous body jolted when he did, as if she wasn’t expecting him to answer.

“You’re here, my sweet…why?” he asked as greeting.

“Hey, Yuri,” she returned.

“Hello, Aurora,” he replied, then ordered, “Now, answer my question.”

She looked beyond him and asked, “Aren’t you going to ask me in?”

He had no desire to ask her in. They had important tasks to see to that night. They had no business being in a suite of rooms that included a king-sized bed and two double beds, not to mention two couches.

Nevertheless, it was Aurora, and he had less desire to leave her standing out in the hall. Therefore, he shifted to the side to allow her entry.

She took his invitation and moved in, graceful on another pair of attractive, but ludicrous in the circumstances, high-heeled boots. She wore them with enchanting light gray slacks that hugged her generous heart-shaped ass and a very un-witch-like, stylish periwinkle sweater that did lovely things to her eyes and was woven so loosely, he could see the skintight matching camisole underneath.

He cast aside his reaction to her garments, shut the door, and inquired, “Do you have an assignation after our business tonight?”

She turned to him to give him startled but amused eyes. “An assignation?”

He moved into the suite while flicking his hand her way. “You’re quite fetching, Aurora.” He stopped several feet away from her and crossed his arms on his chest. “More fetching than normal. More, indeed, than need-be considering our business this evening.”

She lifted a hand and lightly touched a tendril of hair he had no doubt was not tucked in her attractive coiffure for the very purpose that it was more appealing curling around the skin in front of her ear. Appealing enough to make him want to touch it, curl his finger around it, and maybe tug it lightly just to see her response.

He tore his attention off the tendril and gave it back to her, prompting, “Aurora?”

She started before she wet her bottom lip, peering at him under the thick fan of her lashes, and whispered, “You haven’t kissed me yet.”

Bloody hell.

He sighed before he began, “Aurora—”

“It’s important you kiss me,” she stated on a rush, and he felt his eyes narrow.

“Pray, why?” he asked.

“We need that connection,” she explained.

“I beg your pardon?”

She made to take a step toward him, stopped, lifted her hands to her sides in a helpless gesture, and dropped them.

But she spoke.

“I need to be connected to you. The more connected to you I am, the better I can protect you.”

He needed to be connected with her as well, but not for that reason, nor would that be happening now.

“From what Barb has explained about tonight’s proceedings, it would seem you need to focus on protecting yourself,” he stated.

“You’ll still be there and you’ll still be in danger,” she returned.

“This is true, but you’re there to take care of me, as are your witch sisters, and beyond that, I can assure you, I’m quite adept at taking care of myself.”

“And I can take better care of you if we…” She trailed off, moved a step toward him, and began again. “Something’s happening between us,” she said quietly.

“No, my sweet,” he disagreed. “Something will happen between us after we finish tonight’s business. Before that, neither of us needs distractions.”

“But I—” she started.

“Want me to kiss you,” he finished for her. “Because you’re young, you desire me and tonight frightens you, so you came here hoping I’d give you something to see you through. And if the fates frown on us, the unspeakable happens and you don’t get through, at least you’d have something you wished to have before you die.”

“Okay, to put a very fine point on it…yeah,” she muttered, casting her eyes to the floor.

“Aurora, come here,” he ordered, and her gaze instantly came back to him.

She hesitated nary a second before she moved to him.

When she got close, for the first time, Yuri gathered her in his arms and brought her closer.

And he very much liked the feel of her there.

“Put your arms around me, my sweet,” he murmured when she seemed not to know what to do with herself.

She did as told, and when she did, he slid a hand up her spine to the back of her neck and around to the side where he stayed it, curled there.

“No harm will come to you tonight,” he told her quietly.

“Yuri—”

“No,” he stated, still quiet but now also firm, underlining his word by pressing the pads of his fingers into her flesh. “I will not allow it; your mother will not allow it. We will prevail tonight.”

“Okay, I believe you,” she replied in a tone that said she didn’t exactly, but she was trying. “Still, I don’t understand why you won’t kiss me.”

Yuri pressed the pads of his fingers deeper, bent his neck, and took her mouth, demanding and receiving access inside by gliding the tip of his tongue along the crease.

When he had her, she tasted better than he imagined—of honey, moonlight, and fear.

He ended the kiss moments after he started it, his cock already beginning to harden, opening his eyes to see hers closed, her lovely face dreamy, her breaths escalated, feeling her fingers clenched into his sweater at his back and her breasts pressed tight to his chest.

And his cock continued to harden.

“That, my sweet,” he whispered, “is why I didn’t kiss you.”

Slowly, her eyes opened and the dreamy was still there, as was the moonlight and fear.

Enchanting.

She didn’t move away and he knew why when she breathed, “That was the best kiss I’ve ever had.”

Unfortunately, in their current situation and as short as it was, he could say the same and he’d had vast amounts more experience than her.

“Do you want more?” he asked, knowing the answer. He could see it, feel it, and smell it.

“Absolutely,” she answered.

“Again, Aurora, that’s why I didn’t kiss you.”

Confusion glided into her features as she peered up at him. “I don’t understand.”

“A kiss like that leads to other things. We need to focus our minds elsewhere. Now, you need to be very good; leave me and go back to your mother. As arranged, I’ll join you in half an hour.”

“Why can’t you just take me to go get Mom and the others when it’s time to leave?”

He dipped closer and slid his hand at her jaw back into her hair, against her scalp, under her soft, thick bun.

He also pressed his now-swollen shaft into her belly.

“Because,” he whispered, watching her eyes widen, knowing he need say no more. “Now, go,” he ordered.

She studied his face for long moments before she nodded and said, “Okay, Yuri.”

As he loosened his arms, she pulled from them, and he felt a curious sensation of loss when she did. He ignored it and turned to watch her walk to the door.

When she had her hand on the knob, he called, “Aurora.”

She turned back to him, and finally, Yuri addressed the real reason she came to him.

“I die before you,” he vowed, but he wasn’t done. “And I do not die tonight.”

Her entire demeanor calmed right before his eyes, and as he watched it, he felt another curious sensation, this being an odd mixture of pleasure and relief.

He felt something else curious (and wonderful) when she replied, “Right back at you,” before she disappeared behind the door.

* * * * *

Thirty minutes later, Yuri walked into Aurora’s charming bungalow and stopped dead.

“Bloody hell,” he muttered at what he saw.

Primarily, Aurora standing amongst a bevy of women, and gone was the delightful chignon at the nape of her neck. Gone also were the lovely garments she’d been wearing.

In their place were black jeans, a black turtleneck, her hair shoved under a black knit cap, and she even had black smudges marring the rose and cream of her face.

Her witch sisters were similarly attired.

Yuri, too, had on much the same outfit—a black V-neck sweater and black slacks—however, he’d donned them that morning as a matter of course.

“Are we approaching a coven or a terrorist cell?” he drawled, shutting the door behind him.

Aurora giggled, a sound that had a pleasant effect in two very different places in his body.

“This operation is covert,” one of the witches hissed at him. Yuri vaguely recalled her name was Jane.

“Indeed,” he murmured but decided to say no more.

“Right, let’s start this,” another witch, named Jordana, stated and looked to Yuri. “Remember, we get the protections down before you approach. We may need your speed and strength and we don’t need you going up in a ball of flame before that.”

Yuri wholeheartedly agreed with any plan that included him not going up in a ball of flame.

“As we finalized plans not twenty-four hours ago, I do recall them,” he assured her.

She sniffed and did it with her eyes on him as if she smelled something foul and it was emanating from him.

He sighed, walked further in, and pinpointed Barb with his gaze.

It was time to share what he’d decided between Aurora’s visit to his suite and his arrival at the bungalow.

“Aurora stays with me and doesn’t approach until it’s safe.”

“Yuri!” Aurora cried.

“Agreed,” Barb stated over her daughter’s cry.

Aurora turned sharply to her mother. “Mom!”

Barb turned calm eyes to her daughter. “Leave this to your elders.”

“I’ve got juice,” Aurora snapped. “I can help. I want to help.”

Barb completely ignored her and looked to Yuri. “If something happens to me, you’ll see to her.”

Yuri gave one short nod. “Until she dies.”

Barb immediately looked relieved and this was an expression Yuri didn’t much care for considering it told the tale of how uncertain she was about the outcome of that evening’s events.

“Yuri,” Aurora whispered, taking his mind off Barb and onto her.

She didn’t look peeved anymore. Under her black smudges, her face was soft, and around the delicate makeup still adorning her eyes, her gaze was warm.

“It wouldn’t be a hardship, my sweet, considering I’m a billionaire.”

Those warm eyes got wide and her lips parted.

Taking her in…fuck.

He was looking forward to fucking her.

“Centuries and nothing changes. Put a vampire in close proximity to a comely witch, shit happens,” an elderly witch, her name Yuri believed was Ruby, muttered. “I just hope this isn’t the beginnings of history repeating itself.”

“Considering I have a few centuries on you and I was actually alive during said history, incidents my father kept me privy to while they were happening, I’ll share that the dispute began when a witch accrued a vast amount of debt, found herself in dire circumstances, and spelled her vampire lover to dispatch those who held her debts. Alas, one of those had a wife who was also a witch. She cast a different spell on the vampire and this unfathomably ended with five vampires being burned at the stake,” Yuri noted.

“One bad apple,” Ruby mumbled.

“In that story, there were two,” Yuri pointed out wryly. “However, upon hearing it, quite a number of other witches cast their lot, spelling their vampire lovers, or simply vampires they were aware of, to do their nefarious bidding, which saw one hundred and fifteen vampires burned or beheaded at the hands of witches and their partners.”

Ruby’s eyes narrowed on him. “And this excuses centuries of persecution?”

“Do not ever test a vampire,” Yuri whispered, and the room went still. “Your kind tested mine, exerting power over them, forcing vampires to bend to their will and do their bidding. Your ancestors knew that was playing with fire. They got burned. I disagree with how and just how long that fire raged. But it’s been centuries. Tonight, we have a common mission, therefore, at least for this evening, shall we call bygones?”

“Whatever,” she muttered and looked away.

“Let’s prepare,” Barb called, thankfully putting an end to that discussion.

Yuri sighed and moved further into the room as he’d been instructed to do the night before.

The women surrounded him and his eyes sought Aurora’s. Her hands were up and white-hot and burnt-orange sparks were glittering between them. All the witches started muttering, chanting, so mote it being and then the sparks burst forth around him, glinting on his clothes and against his skin before they were gone.

“Right, that’s done. Let’s roll,” Barb ordered, and everyone moved to the door. Barb looked to Yuri. “You’re in van two, driving. Aurora is with you.”

He said nothing. Only when he felt and smelled Aurora coming to his side, did he murmur, “Why the lot of them consistently remind me of things I know, I cannot imagine.”

“They’re nervous,” Aurora murmured back.

Excellent. Nervous witches.

They were fucked.

A vampire never got nervous. Or at least Yuri never knew one to do so, including himself.

Therefore, he calmly climbed behind the wheel of one of the three black vans parked at the front of Aurora’s house. Aurora climbed in beside him as four witches climbed in the back.

Their convoy was on their way before Aurora remarked, “I’m prepared to go in with them. Do my bit.”

“You’ll wait until you’re cleared to do so,” Yuri replied.

He knew she’d turned to face him when she stated, “I know what they’re up against and I’m not afraid.”

She was lying. He could smell it.

However, she was brave. He could smell that too. And in that moment, facing whatever they were to face that night, he wanted to stop the van, gather her in his arms, and absorb both until he knew he’d never forget either, even if he lived until the sun fell from the sky.

He gave no indication these were his thoughts. He kept his eyes on the road as he returned, “That may be so, but you’ll wait until you’re cleared.”

Her voice held a soft snap when she shot back, “Yuri, I’m not a child.”

That was when he looked at her. “No, you’re not.” He returned his gaze to the road but kept speaking. “However, you’re young. You have much life ahead of you and that life, God willing, will be beautiful. Your mother loves you, she wants that for you, she’s worried about you, and she does not need to face that coven with her mind on you. So you’ll wait until you’re cleared.”

She made an adorable exasperated sound but said no more.

Yuri joined her in silence, and within an hour, they arrived at the designated stopping place. All alighted from the vehicles and Barb and Jane approached Yuri as Aurora made it around the van and stopped at his side.

“Hopefully, they’ll only have three or four guarding the implements,” Barb said to him. “But word on the witch vine is that they hang here so we’ll undoubtedly be facing more. You need to get close so you can sense us. If things turn, that spell we cast on you will deflect two, at most three direct hits from them. You take them running and get my daughter out of here.”

Yuri nodded.

Barb turned to her sisters and called quietly, “We ready?”

She got a lot of “Yeps,” “Yeahs,” and “Readys,” and they moved.

Yuri took hold of Aurora’s elbow and trailed up the rear.

After some trudging, the witches stopped at a bank of trees and looked back at them, which was when Yuri knew that was where he and Aurora were to stop. He tugged gently at Aurora’s arm and she came to a halt beside him.

“Careful, Mom,” she called.

“Always, sweetheart,” Barb called back.

“Love you,” Aurora went on.

“Same,” Barb finished.

The witches moved into the shadows.

Yuri looked through those shadows and saw the house. Not a hovel, not a mansion. It was nondescript, old, established, comfortable looking, alone in the middle of nowhere, and not something that would catch attention.

Not that it would, having a lane off a narrow rural road that meandered half a mile to the house.

It was several minutes after the witches disappeared when Aurora whispered, “Okay, I’m a little freaked.”

He’d known this since she’d visited his suite, but he was pleased she had the courage to admit it.

He slid his hand down her forearm to catch hers and murmured soothingly, “Calm, button.”

Her hand spasmed in his, and still whispering, she asked, “Button?”

He looked to her. “You. As cute as.”

There was no spasm of the hand at that. Her fingers simply tightened their grip and didn’t let go.

Yuri returned the gesture even as he returned his attention to the shadows, listening, feeling.

“Anything?” Aurora asked after more minutes passed.

“No.” He squeezed her hand.

More minutes passed.

“Anything?” she repeated.

“No, my sweet,” he murmured.

More minutes passed.

“Any—” Aurora began just as a shaft of violet light shot from a window of the house and pierced the dark sky, straight to the heavens.

And that was when it hit him in a wave so violent, it knocked him back on a foot.

Fear.

And agony.

“No no no no no,” Aurora chanted, and he knew it was strong enough, she’d felt it too. Then came a terrified, tormented, “Mom.”

“Fuck,” Yuri bit out, took the van key from his pocket and turned to her. “Back to the van. Get in, start it. You get a bad feeling, go.”

“Yur—”

He caught her at the back of the neck with his vampire speed, bending and yanking her to within an inch of his face.

“Go,” he growled.

He let her loose, and maddeningly, as she was wont to be, she didn’t run as he instructed, and this time, he didn’t find it charming.

Her voice dripping with fear, the rest of her reeking of it, she asked, “What if they haven’t gotten the protections down?”

“There’s little time, Aurora,” he warned.

She latched onto his arm. “What if they haven’t gotten the protections down? You’ll burn, Yuri.”

“Then be prepared to stop me from doing that if I make it to the van and I’m on fire,” he replied. “Now, go.”

“But—”

“Go!” he thundered.

She wasted a precious second, then turned and ran.

Yuri ran the other way.

Toward the clashing covens.

He was far faster.

Within an instant, he was at the door, and without hesitation, he burst through.

What he didn’t do was burst into a ball of flame.

What he did do was take in the state of play which, unfortunately, was grimmer than he’d suspected.

The coven that guarded the implements was not formidable.

It appeared they were invincible.

He dashed over Jane’s dead body, sensing and speeding toward Barb, who was hanging upside down at the top of the stairs, her frame contorted in unnatural ways, her face twisted in agony, her mouth opened in a silent scream.

He located the witch spelling her, made it to her in a millisecond, snapped her neck in less time than that, and Barb was falling.

Before she hit the stairs and broke her neck, Yuri caught her, raced out of the house, and dropped her to the grass by the side of the van.

“Mom!” he heard Aurora shout from inside the van.

He also heard her moving.

And last, he heard Barb beg, “Help them.”

Yuri caught her anguished eyes, jerked up his chin, and sprinted back.

When he arrived, in short order he found Jane was lost. Jordana was as well. Ruby was still fighting, and apparently losing, until Yuri dispatched the witch she was battling, then grabbed hold of her and deposited her back at the van before he went back to the house.

He then dispatched six of the opposing coven, and while doing it, saw that eight of Barb’s coven were gone.

He vaguely felt the blast of a spell and knew he was under attack. He slayed the witch who’d spelled him only to feel the blast of another spell. He dealt with her too before he heard something that made his blood turn to ice.

“Yuri, watch out!”

He was hit with another spell that deflected as he turned to see a witch with her hand up, a ball of red and blue fire floating in her palm, her aim: Aurora.

In a flash, the warm gush of blood spraying his torso, the witch’s body was at his feet, but her head was in his hands.

Then Aurora screamed and shoved both hands forward. A shimmering wall of undulating white and glittering vermillion and silver burst forth, moving through him, and Yuri looked over his shoulder to see a ball of deep blue slam against it and ricochet back, hitting the witch who threw it, making her immediately burst into flame.

“Fuck,” he clipped, sprinted to the witch and shoved a hand through the fire and into her chest with such force, she flew backward through a wall and outside, where he heard her short scream as she fell.

He also heard her scream die when she landed.

He raced back, hooked Aurora at the waist, and felt her body move like a ragdoll as he bolted through the house, locating the last of the enemy coven and eliminating them, all with Aurora held close to his side, her arms locked around him.

He stopped, dragged in a deep breath, and opened his senses.

There were humans alive in that house, not many, but they were all from Barb’s coven.

The rest were dead.

He put Aurora to her feet, whispering, “It’s clear.”

“Thank the goddess,” she whispered back.

At the sound of her voice, Yuri let her go and took a step from her as he took in another breath.

A breath that didn’t work.

Therefore, he bent toward her and roared, “Are you out of your mind?”

Her body gave a jerk before her expression turned placating and she said softly, “Yuri, I was just—”

“Living out a death wish?” he finished for her irately.

“No, I wanted to—”

“See the end of your days?”

“Let me—”

His voice turned deathly cold when he informed her, “You’d already earned a spanking, my sweet. This fucking stunt,”—he threw out a hand to indicate the house they were in— “means writhing.”

She blinked and asked, “What?”

He bent closer. “Writhing,” he hissed. “What you’ll be doing, along with begging, before I allow release.”

Her eyes rounded as he heard her pulse spike. “I—”

“Nearly got us both killed.”

She straightened her shoulders. “I saved your life.”

“Something that would not have occurred if I hadn’t first saved yours,” he retorted.

Her eyes shifted side to side before they fell to his throat and she admitted, “That’s kinda true.”

“There’s nothing ‘kinda’ about it,” he clipped.

She lifted her gaze. “I was worried about you.”

“And this, my sweet, is the only reason you’ll be writhing and begging for hours rather than days.”

“Yur—”

“Is the coast clear?” they heard Barb call from downstairs, and Yuri clasped Aurora about the waist again, dragging her to him, and took her with vampire speed to the bottom of the stairs.

There, Barb, Ruby, and one of the other remaining members of their sisterhood stood. The other witch was bent to the last survivor, who was unconscious on the floor of the foyer.

“Okay, that didn’t go too good,” Ruby muttered.

Yuri kept Aurora clamped tight to his side as he took in Ruby, then slowly turned his infuriated gaze to Aurora’s mother.

“Were you aware they were that formidable?” he asked.

She had the good grace to look abashed before she answered, “I had an inkling.”

He let that go and noted with false calm, “According to the intelligence you reported to me last night regarding their numbers, the entire coven was here.”

“Apparently, they were having a party,” Barb shared.

Yuri gritted his teeth.

“That was good,” Barb noted. “They were involved in that, which meant we could get their protections down so you could get in and help.”

“Indeed. You achieved that, leading your daughter to it and your sisters to slaughter,” he grated.

“And our other option was what?” she snapped back.

“Gather more intelligence and hit them when their numbers were fewer,” Yuri returned.

“We can’t sit on this house. They’d know,” she retorted. “We had to go with what we had and hope for the element of surprise. The Sacred Triumvirate has been united. There was no time to waste and we both know that.”

He couldn’t argue that, but that didn’t mean he was done.

“Regardless of popular culture saying otherwise, I do not relish taking the lives of twelve living beings,” he bit off. “And you lost eight.”

“I’m standing,” she shot back. “That doesn’t mean my heart isn’t bleeding.”

Yuri snapped his mouth shut.

Tense moments passed before Aurora asked quietly, “What do we do now?”

Yuri took in Barb and Ruby and noted the other one was helping her now-conscious sister to her feet.

“You four, find the implements and secure them,” he ordered. “I’ll call The Vampire Council and have them send someone to deal with the carnage.”

“Witches require a pyre,” Ruby told him.

“That will be arranged,” Yuri replied, “for all of them.” He looked back to Barb. “How is this going to read on your witch vine?”

“The quieter we can keep it, the better it will be,” she answered.

Yuri pulled in a breath before deducing, “They have allies.”

“Pretty much everyone is scared of them, but a vampire taking out a coven isn’t gonna go over too great, even if the true story is told and nobody much liked this coven,” Barb shared.

“Fuck,” he murmured and felt Aurora’s small hand curl around his.

“We should finish the mission,” she said gently. “Get this done. Cover our sisters, do a blessing over them, get the implements safe, and get home.”

Finally, she said something smart.

Yuri gently pulled his hand from hers and shoved it in his pocket to retrieve his phone. “Go. See to the implements. I’ll call The Council.”

A call he did not relish making. His father would be pleased the implements were secured. He would not be the same about the bloodbath.

He’d engaged his phone but had not pushed any buttons when he felt a light hand on his arm.

He looked down at Aurora even as he sensed her mother and the others moving to search for the implements.

“Thank you for saving Mom,” she whispered. “And me. And well…” She squeezed his arm. “All the rest.” Her voice turned melancholy. “What’s left of us, that is.”

He regarded her and took his time doing it, before he lifted a hand and trailed the tip of his middle finger from her temple, along the apple of her cheek, to the side of her lip. Once he made that destination, he dropped his hand but dipped his face close to hers.

“You should be aware, Aurora, that when I’m angry at you, being sweet will do much to tame that emotion,” he told her quietly.

She nodded, drawing in breath through her nose, and he easily read she was relieved.

“However, when I’m furious at you,” he continued, “being sweet will only fan that flame.”

She bit her lip and he watched her do it, therefore, he had more to say.

“And being adorable will make it worse,” he carried on.

“Maybe I should leave you to your phone call,” she suggested.

“I would run with that,” he agreed.

She nodded, removed her hand from his arm, and swiftly moved away from him.

With iron control, Yuri didn’t watch her go but turned his attention to his phone.

This didn’t last a second before he heard Aurora call, “Yuri?”

He lifted his eyes to see her—her black clothing, her ridiculous knit cap, and her utterly preposterous black smudges—standing halfway up the steps, looking down at him.

“I know you’re mad, but my thank-you still stands. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t…I mean, it doesn’t bear…” She trailed off and he sensed the sorrow saturating her soul because he could smell it in his nostrils and taste it down his throat.

Therefore, within half a second, he was one step below her. As she gasped at his sudden proximity, he laid his hands gentle on her cheeks and pulled her to him. He bent and kissed one glistening eye, then moved and kissed the next.

He kept hold of her face as he urged, “I’ll comfort you when we’ve finished our mission. Now, you must go. Help your sisters.”

She held his eyes, hers brimming with tears, before she nodded, pulled free, turned, and continued to walk up the stairs.

Yuri watched until she disappeared.

Then he again pulled out the phone he’d put back into his pocket, engaged it, moved his thumb across the screen, and put it to his ear.

* * * * *

Her body jolted against his and Yuri opened his eyes to the dark.

He folded her closer.

“Sleep, button,” he murmured.

“Mom,” she breathed.

“Your mother is safe in the other room.”

And this she was, slumbering in the other bedroom attached to his suite, with Ruby and the other two in another suite on that floor. In the hall stood a guard of vampire soldiers, complements of The Vampire Council.

Aurora, however, was in his bed with him. Somewhere she’d gone without demur (not a surprise) and somewhere her mother had allowed her to go without a fight (a definite surprise).

Another surprise was that she’d slid between the sheets—her little frame enveloped in one of his shirts—and promptly passed out.

“I’m dreaming that feeling,” she whispered.

He knew what she meant and wished he could wash it away from her.

He couldn’t.

All he could do was remind her, saying, “Your mother is safe in the other room.”

She pressed closer. “Jane. Marianne. Jordana—”

Yuri cupped her cheek with his hand, pressing it to his chest as he tightened his other arm around her, and murmured, “Shh, sweet. It’s done and there’s no undoing it. You have work ahead of you, and what little I knew of those women, forging in to face what they knew they might face, they’d want you to rest so you can focus on that and quickly get to where your memories of them are comforting, not solemn.”

“Yeah,” she mumbled. “They would.”

“So close your eyes, Aurora.” He slid his hand into her hair and through it, then back. “Sleep,” he finished, continuing to run his fingers through her long, silken hair.

She pressed closer, winding an arm around his middle, before she relaxed into him.

Yuri continued to run his fingers soothingly through her hair.

“You feel good.” Her voice was muffled against his chest, sounding mostly asleep. “All warm and hard and soft and nice.”

Yuri kept his gaze to the ceiling, continuing his ministrations with her glorious hair, and fought getting hard in the way she was not describing.

Her weight pressed into him as sleep claimed her.

Only then did he succeed.