Blood Legacy: Adult Urban Fantasy (The V V Inn Book 5) (12 page)

He presses his hips toward my bottom. “Hush now, or I’ll rally for another round and prove my opinion is spot on.” A warm hand caresses my hip with affection and then draws back to deliver a resounding smack. The small zing of sensation jolts me from falling asleep. “And with two weeks away from you, I’m more than able to go for round four. Say the word, liebling.”

“Is this where I cry ‘uncle’ and admit you’re the studliest man on the planet?”

He grunts and digs his fingers into my hip. “You aren’t saying it like you mean it, darling. I think I will have to do you again, you insatiable wench.”

I smile, content to lie here the whole day. I love goading him. “Oh yes, that’s it. Do me. Then I’ll proudly proclaim you king of all fuckery.”

Before he has a chance to respond, there’s a solid knock on the hidden basement door. A sigh escapes us both.
 

“What the hell could that furry bastard want?” Rafe glances at his watch. “Crap. It’s after three. We really should get up.”

I push back with my hips, grinding into his, unable to resist teasing him after he was so cocky a moment ago. “I thought you were ‘up’ already?”

He leaves the bed, taking his welcoming warmth and growing hard-on with him. “Rise and shine, liebling. Don’t make me drag you out.”

We dress quickly in the cold basement. As I watch my husband, a shiver steals over me that has nothing to do with the cold. He’s heavily muscled all over and it takes a considerable amount of will power not to jump on him and feast from his throat while I ride him to another hard and fast orgasm.

“Dria!” he calls loudly, breaking into my naughty daydreams. His voice softens as concern lights in his eyes. “Did you get enough sleep or should you stay down here and rest for a little while longer?”

My husband has been much more doting since my ordeal with Coraline and her henchmen, more concerned with my well-being and welfare than I’ve seen him in decades. “I’m fine. No need to worry about me.” I don’t have the heart to tell him to stop.
 

We both came away from that night changed forever—me with an increased sense of self-preservation and how delicate life can be, him with a stronger need to protect and shield me. I’ll never take a moment with him for granted ever again. Maybe that’s part of why we’ve both been insatiable the past day. I wasn’t strong enough when we were last together to really show him how much he means to me.

He mumbles under his breath while dressing, it sounding suspiciously close to “someone has to look out for you since you won’t.”

After digging for clean underwear and pulling them on, and I add jeans and a sweater, we ascend the stairs and trigger the release mechanism in the wall near the railing. The small door swings inward. In a moment, we’re in the tiny bath, resetting the latch to our new sanctuary. The scent of brewed coffee and scrambled eggs trickle in past the hallway door.

“Smells like someone did a little shopping,” I say.

“It was the last thing I did before meeting you at the hangar.” Rafe snuggles up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, planting a kiss on my neck. “I knew it would be the only chance I’d have. After that, I’d be lost in our ‘reconnecting’ for the next twenty-four hours or so.”

“Let’s join him before you convince me to have my way with you again.” I look in the mirror and cringe at my bedhead. “You go first. I want to wash up and brush my hair.”

“Sure thing, I’ll make you a coffee, too.”

I finish my brief toilette and head into the kitchen, unsure of what awaits me between the two men in my life. Hopefully Rafe will be more tolerant now that he’s had his way with me non-stop for hours. Jon stands over the stove, finishing up what appears to be, judging by a dirty plate at the table, a second batch of food. I take the offered mug from Rafe and settle in an empty chair across from the men’s spots.

“How did last night go?” I ask Jon.

“Not bad, but not great, either,” he says, swinging a frying pan from the stove and moving to fill Rafe’s plate and the used one I noticed earlier. Fluffy yellow eggs slide onto the ceramic. “There have been changes in the local pack, and an issue they have demanded my help with.”

I take a sip of the coffee and place my mug on the table. “Demanded? Interesting. Tell us about the changes first.”

“Hector, the previous leader, is dead and—get this—it was at the hand of his alpha mate. She strikes me as a little on the crazy side. But that could just be the circumstances.”

“Why do you think she’s crazy? Weres in unstable packs tend to vie for supremacy quite often.”

“It’s not that. I think she’d have to be a little cray-cray simply for what she’s doing. She’s the first female leader of a pack I’ve ever encountered—but then again, it’s not like I’ve traveled the world and met dozens of pack leaders, so what the hell do I know?” He shakes his head, getting up to grab the plate of bacon he left on the counter. “The insane opinion comes from something else. She fears her pack will accuse her of the recent killings in the city and wants my help to prove her innocence.”

“That doesn’t sound crazy. But I doubt we’ll have time to help her. Why do they think she’s responsible? Had you ever met her on previous visits?”

“No, I hadn’t. She must not have been at the bar last year when I briefly met with Hector. She’s hot enough I would have remembered seeing her. And two years ago they had a different pack leader. You’re right, this pack does appear to be more volatile than most. Romeo and Elsa have held the Manitoba pack for decades.
 

“This new leader is named Magdelena, and she has news regarding the killings the media doesn’t. The first death, the woman behind the herbal shop—she was a witch. And the wounds on the animal victim were made by something much larger than a werewolf. Oh, and get this—she’s a rare type of alpha who can partially change her body, achieving an in-between state of humanoid and werewolf—a form much larger than a regular human, or werewolf on hind legs, could ever be.

“And to answer you’re other question—they think she did it based on the fact she can half-shift. Her hybrid claws could have easily made similar damage as what the M.E. described.”

Rafe pauses in eating. “I haven’t heard of this half-form trait before. How common is it?” He looks to me, wondering if I might have more data.

I shrug. “Weres and their history have never been my specialty.” I return my attention to Jon, assessing him with new eyes. “But is this an alpha skill that can be acquired over time? Could you learn to do it?”

Jon stares back at me, curiosity lighting his eyes. “I have no idea. That’s something I hadn’t thought of. I could ask.”

Rafe snorts. “Oh yeah. That’ll work.” His voice take on a falsetto tone. “
Sure, I’ll teach you my prized secret that allows me to control my entire pack.
”
 

“Hey. It might work. She wants my help. I could bargain with her.”

“Why does she think you’d be interested in helping her anyway?” Rafe asks, a hint of incredulity in his tone. “Did she turn up the sexy werewolf pheromones to lead you around by your dick?”

I watch Jon’s reactions carefully. Before the summer hunt with lots of female werewolves at the inn, he would have jumped at the chance to seduce or play with an eligible female alpha, but now he seems… reluctant. I won’t ask him about his possible recent conquests. His responses to this new situation should reveal all I need to know.

“She tried. But I’m not so sure I’m interested. Especially after she threatened to blame me for the murders.”

“How? And are they even related?”

Jon nods, grabbing his coffee and taking a long drink. “Turns out Hector had an affair a while back with the witch who was killed. And the second death—if the animal wasn’t an animal but a supe—would mean supernaturals were involved in both cases.”

“Surely no one would think the killings could be attributed to you when you just arrived in the country last night?”

Jon cringes. “While yes, that’s technically true. I have a feeling she’d twist the truth to enflame and enrage the pack further to get what she wants.”

“And why do you think that?”

“Because she told me her pack members traced my scent back to where I’m staying. She already knows about you
and
this house. And… She… uh… stated I had twenty-four hours to decide to help her or she’d tell everyone I was the culprit for the animal attack and reveal your daytime location to the supes in the city.”

We’re all quiet for a moment before Rafe speaks up. “Well, shit. I really liked this place. It’s got the escape route through the root cellar and everything.”

“Dammit,” I say, no real heat in my tone because the damage is done already. “Looks like we need to pack and move out.” I stand and glance around the tiny space, sorry to be leaving it so soon. “And then we need to have a chat with Justin again.”

“Why Justin?” Jon asks. “I’d rather have you ‘talk’ to Magdelena so she’ll leave me alone.”

“Justin is inspired by money and a job. We’ll give him both. I want to hire him to help me locate Rolando. And you,” I look deeply into Jon’s eyes. “You could be working on getting closer to the crazy bitch to learn her unique ‘skill.’ I guarantee, if she wasn’t born an alpha with these traits, she discovered or learned them later.”

Jon looks surprised. “Really? I don’t know how that could be possible. But then again, if it was a learned skill, wouldn’t she tell others how to do it, too?”

Rafe glances at the shorter man with a snarl of disbelief curling his lip. “Come on, furball. Didn’t you hear me before? Why would she teach her packmates a skill that could potentially help them kill her?”

“Well, if that’s the case, why the hell do you think she’d teach me?”

I arch an eyebrow. “You’d be surprised what lovers share.”

Jon pales in the afternoon light. “You’re suggesting I seduce this woman to learn what she knows?”

I step closer to the indignant young man, a harshness coloring my tone. “No. I’m suggesting my right hand man learn a useful skill that will make him a more powerful protector of
me and mine
. Do you have a problem with that?”
 

Am I pushing him too hard? Can he separate his feelings for whoever he bedded in Alaska to focus on the task at hand? I’ve done it myself over the centuries, and would have done it again in a heartbeat before marrying Rafe, but would I do it now? I ignore the niggling in the back of my brain. There’s no way Jon’s recent love interest can compare to the dedication of a sixty-five year mate-bond.

Before Jon can answer, Rafe chimes in. “Did you tell him about my entanglement with Coraline before beheading her?”

Jon lashes out, “
Yes
, I heard about it. Can you really compare saving your wife’s life by having to
pretend
interest in your captor, to this scenario?”

Rafe’s eyes cut to mine before he responds to Jon. “You weren’t there. You don’t know what I had to ‘pretend,’ as you so artfully put it. It was a matter of life and death. I’d do anything to protect Dria.
Anything
.” He glances back at Jon. “But then again, she’s
my
life, not yours.”

Jon jerks up from the table, his face livid with anger. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Are you doubting my loyalty and sincerity to Vivian? I’ve given up everything for her—and I will continue to do so, no matter the price.”

“Take a step back, both of you.” After a few deep breaths, I approach the topic another way. “Jon, do you love your new pack?” He nods, annoyance in his eyes as he struggles to keep them from turning a light golden brown, a sign his wolf is very close to the surface. “Would you attempt whatever was needed to keep them safe? Even if it brought you harm?”

“Of course, I would. You know that.”

“Well then, how is this suggestion any different? Your pack is growing. One day you will have a mate of your own and maybe children, too.” He’s listening now, and his eyes are staying hazel, indicating he’s fully in control of his beast. I resist the burning desire to ask if he found someone he could see himself having children with. It’s his decision and I want to see him happy.
 

“Do you want to learn a skill that could essentially make your whole pack contenders against any threat? No matter where you all were, no matter who stood by you, your loved ones would always be safe.”

“You’re suggesting I learn this and teach the whole pack?”

I raise a shoulder and let it fall. “Why not? You’ve always talked about forming a network of packs, opening up communication for a system to keep people safe and informed. This could be the
thing
to entice packs to unite. You could become the lynchpin in something much greater than yourself.”

My message sinks in and Jon quiets, leaning against the back of his chair, staring at the uneaten food on his plate. “And all it will cost me is my dignity—
and
it will hinge on my success to seduce a woman I don’t really like.”

“Not a bad price, overall,” Rafe says, rising from his place and carrying his plate to the counter. “And how about with the next safe house, you don’t mess up and lead people right to us on the first night?”

In a few hours we’re settled in a new apartment. It’s not nearly as nice or as big—nor as convenient—staying in a basement unit under an old repurposed bank. Since it’s located much farther from San Telmo where the Tribunal resides, we’ll be using the car more, which could help in shaking possible tails, too. Jon will now experience the joy of staying in the bedroom next to ours—I’m sure it will drive home his mistake greater than anything else I could possible say to him.

“What’s next?” Rafe asks.

“Time to question a few vampires,” I say, a feral grin stretching my face.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Rafe

I’m not happy with the immediate change in locations, but we did plan for the possibility of having to switch daytime resting places daily, so I keep my frustration under wraps. Full dark has descended as Dria and I drive from the new apartment to the Tribunal’s neighborhood, the luxuriant “new car” smell seeps into my senses, soothing my annoyance. God, I love a well-made automobile.