Nikolas (29 page)

“We were weak. We let him convince us it was the best course of action. As for siblings, no. I refused to have another child until your father agreed we could keep you. I wanted to tell you; I did. But you know how Jonas is. The fewer people who know secrets, the less chance they have of being found out.”

Sophia didn’t know what to say. She was hurt. Felt betrayed. Then again, who was she to pass judgment? She had kept her own secret for three years. She didn’t feel hers was as life-shattering, but again, what did she know?

“I guess you can understand why I didn’t tell you about Nikolas. Were you ever going to tell Xenia? Now that’s she’s transitioned and knows about the family, I think you owe her the truth.”

“And we’ll tell her. Together,” Sam said as he finally sat down next to his mate.

Zeke turned off the eye of whatever he was cooking and said, “Now that you’re safe, I’m going to see Cyrus. He’s the only sibling left who hasn’t transitioned. I’m going to tell him the truth. I’m going to stay close in case he needs me. Once that’s done, I’m going to take a long vacation. Away from Jonas, away from the family.” He left the room and walked out the door.

Sophia didn’t blame her uncle. If the truth had been kept from her and she had to live without her mate the rest of her life, she’d be pissed, too. “Mom, right before I hopped the bus to New Atlanta, you were looking at a map of Egypt. Did it have anything to do with these codes?”

Monica nodded. “Yes. Your uncle was sure he’d found the burial place of Antony and Cleopatra. He was on a dig and unearthed a disk. Even though it was buried, it was pristine, as if it had been in a tomb all along. Mercer got the idea that there had been a possible underground shift and a new tomb was somewhere in the vicinity of the disk. His home was robbed and the disk lost forever, but he still had his notes in his head. The only reason he ever put them to paper was in case something happened to him. He wanted Xenia to continue looking for the tomb. This note was his insurance that she would eventually come in contact with me. He knew I would recognize the numbers for what they were. Once the disk was stolen, he gave up his search for the tomb and went after the disk. He was killed before he could find it.”

“What happened when you were taken?”

Sam answered, “We had just come home from supper. I felt a charge in the air, like something was off. When we stepped into the house, the lights wouldn’t come on. I went downstairs to check the fuse box, and as I got to the bottom of the stairs, I heard your mother screaming. Then silence. I forgot about the fuses, and before I could get to her, I was injected with something that knocked me out. When we woke up, we were in a dark tomb surrounded by rebels. We were told if we behaved, we would live. We complied. I knew being a half-blood I was stronger than they were, but there were too many of them. I couldn’t risk them shooting your mother. So, we sat in that dank tomb for a month. We were fed stale bread and given a jug of water a day. Not too long ago, someone came to the tomb and told the rebels they were leaving the country, but they had someone else watching them. They were paid half their money and told they would receive the other half when the job was done. If you hadn’t found us when you did…”

“Will you tell us your part of the story now?” Monica asked.

“Yes. Why don’t you all fix a plate and begin eating. I need to talk to Zeke.” Sophia kissed Nik and left him to talk to her parents. She found Zeke leaned against the SUV studying the sky. It was a cool, overcast autumn day.

“What do you see up there?” she asked as she mimicked his position.

“Escape, Sophie girl. I spend my time alone so I don’t have to observe the love between Sam and Monica. Now I see that same love growing between you and Nikolas. Don’t get me wrong; I’m happy for you. He’s a good male. The fates chose well when they picked the two of you for one another. He comes from a strong Clan, and the more I’m around Julian, the more I realize you have been blessed beyond measure. I don’t know what I did to deserve the hand I was dealt, but it’s the only hand I have to play. I either continue bluffing my way through the game, or I fold. I don’t have it in me to quit, so I will go take care of Cyrus. After that?” Zeke shrugged. Sophia’s heart was breaking for him. It wasn’t fair.

“I’m so sorry, Uncle. Seeing the tombs and knowing the Egyptians believed so strongly in reincarnation got me to thinking. I’m going to pray to the gods and ask that they intervene on your part. I pray the soul of Nefertari, or some other great queen, finds its way into this life and into the body of your new mate.”

Zeke placed his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “You do that. I won’t hold my breath waiting, but you pray for me. If the gods listen to anyone, it would be you.” He kissed her on top of her head and walked off. Sophia stood where she was until he was out of sight. The front door opened and Nik said, “Soph, Baby?”

She wiped the tears from her eyes and sent up that prayer. “Coming.”

Sophia returned to the kitchen where she explained to her parents everything that happened, from the time she received her note to the present. The only thing she left out was mating with Nik. They could imagine that part for themselves, if they were inclined to do so. Somehow, she doubted it.

The next morning, the Stone Society jet was waiting for them at the Luxor airport. Monica was still weak, but the more good food she ate, the stronger she got. Sam rebounded quickly; then again, he was part shifter. When they arrived at the villa, Zeke packed his bags and made arrangements to fly to Montana. Sophia was a little envious of her uncle. She had hoped to be the one to visit the wide open land where Cyrus had hundreds of acres.

Since Monica was still recovering, Sam asked Sophia to call Xenia and request she come visit the villa. While they were in Egypt, they wanted to come clean with their daughter. Their other daughter. While Sophia had her on the phone, she suggested Keene accompany her. She knew firsthand how important it was to have the strength of your mate when you are blindsided with such a revelation.

When it was time for Xenia to arrive, Sophia asked Nikolas if they could go sightseeing. She didn’t have to explain why. They had already talked at length about her having a sister and being kept in the dark all this time. Tessa piped up and said, “Gregor and I are coming with you. Might as well enjoy the city while we’re here. Julian, do you want to come with us?”

Julian rose from where he was studying something on his laptop. “Yes, it will do me good to see something besides a computer screen for a while.”

Monica stopped Sophia, “Don’t you want to stay and talk to your sister?”

“I’ve talked to Xenia. I practically spilled my guts to her, thinking she was my Aunt. You’ll have to forgive me if I leave you and Dad to explain the situation by yourselves. I won’t be a buffer for you.” Sophia understood why they’d given Xenia up for adoption; it still didn’t hurt any less that they kept it from her once she started training to be a watcher. “I came to Egypt to rescue the two of you. My work here is done. I’m pretty sure the threat is over; at least I hope it is. Now, I’m going to enjoy the sights while I can.”

The five of them piled into the SUV and headed toward downtown. “What would you like to do?” Julian asked from the driver’s seat.

Sophia answered, “I sure as hell don’t want to go to the zoo.” Everyone laughed including her. She could look back on the situation now that her parents were safe at the villa and Nik was by her side. “I would love to see the pyramids and the Sphynx while we’re here.”

“I’d like that, too,” Tessa said.

“More sand it is,” Gregor said. Both Sophia and Tessa had joked about carrying sand back to the States in their hair.

Sophia and Nik sat in the back seat of the vehicle, enjoying the banter between Tessa and Gregor. She knew her cousin was a handful, but spending so much time with the feisty redhead put a whole new perspective on the woman’s wit and demeanor. She was strong and hardheaded, but she loved her mate fiercely. Gregor Stone was one badass shapeshifter, but Tessa wouldn’t hesitate to put herself between him and someone or something who was trying to harm him. Sophia felt the same way about Nik; she just wasn’t quite the hellion her cousin was.

They spent the rest of the day exploring the Sphynx and touring the pyramids. Sophia and Nik walked with their fingers linked, always touching. Gregor and Tessa were just as bad. She didn’t miss the wistful look on Julian’s face when he watched couples together. He said he wasn’t going to pursue his own mate until everyone else’s was safe. Sophia had other plans, though. She was becoming quite fond of her new brother, and she was going to see to it he had the happiness he deserved.

Nik was ready to go home. Having your mate’s parents sleeping down the hall put a damper on your sex life. He shouldn’t care considering Sophia was a grown woman, but they did tend to get a little on the loud side. He wouldn’t say he was content holding her while they slept. It was nice having her in his arms all night long, but his cock was aching to slide into the wet heat of his beautiful bunny. Sophia shifted, and her ass snuggled closer to his hard-on. She wiggled again, and Nik groaned. She was subconsciously trying to kill him. When she did it again, he slapped her on the ass, and she giggled.

“You naughty minx,” he hissed.

Sophia snaked her top leg over his thigh and pushed back into him. “Nikolas Stone, do I have to spell it out for you?”

“But your parents,” he reminded her.

“Are adults who may or may not remember what the mating pull felt like in the beginning. I really don’t care. What I do care about is I have an itch and I prefer that you scratch it.”

Well, allrighty then. Nik had been dying to get his face between her legs since he first saw her in the library, but he was going to wait until they were alone. When he assaulted her pussy with his mouth, he wasn’t going to let up until she was shattering the windows with his name. He whispered in her ear, “Let the scratching commence,” and bit her earlobe. Nik ran his hand down her leg and lifted it so he could reposition his cock at her entrance. He slid it through her slick folds. His woman was ready for him. With no warning, Nik thrust into her body, stopping when he was balls deep.

“Oh gods, Nik. Move, Gorgeous. Please move,” she begged.

He kept a tight grip on her leg as he slid in and out of her slick core. This position was nice, but he needed more control. Nik pushed her over to her stomach and pulled her onto her knees. He took a mo
ment to admire her perfect heart-shaped ass while stroking his cock. When she wiggled that ass, he smacked her on the cheek before rubbing the sting away. He gave the other side equal treatment and kissed the pale skin that was now pink. One day, he was going to turn both of those cheeks red. That, too, would have to wait until they were alone. He grabbed his length and put it where they both wanted it.

Sophia met him stroke for stroke, her ass rising higher with each thrust. Her moans were muffled by the pillow her face was hiding in. When her claws came out, he knew she was ready to come. He kept his own claws sheathed, but he did grip her hips tighter. It took all his power to keep his wings from unfurling when her pussy gripped his dick and pulsed with her orgasm. He pumped his hips through his own orgasm and squeezed his eyes tight when the blackness started to take over. He had never busted a nut so hard that he saw stars before he met Sophia.

She collapsed onto the bed with him top of her. Nik had to move her messy hair so he could get to her face. He loved her long, wavy hair, even when it got in the way. “Good morning, Baby.”

“Morning, Gorgeous. I need a shower. And coffee. And food.”

“In that order?” Nik asked as he rolled to the side so he wouldn’t smash her. He wasn’t a large man but he had at least eighty pounds on his mate.

“Yes, in that order. I don’t want to walk through the villa smelling like sex. Not that everyone doesn’t know what we’re doing. They all have excellent hearing. Everyone except my mother.”

“Then let’s get to it. I’m ready to get back to the States. We accomplished what we came for, and now we can go home.”

They took a quick shower together, but Nik left Sophia in the bathroom so he could start breakfast. When he got to the kitchen, Julian was already at the stove. “You’re going to make someone a good wife,” he joked with his brother.

“If I had a female in my bed, I wouldn’t have reason to get up so early. Listening to you and Gregor go at it with your mates is not easy. Besides, Dante called and woke me up.”

Nik was pouring coffee when Gregor joined them. “Is everything okay back home?” he asked.

“I don’t know if things are ever going to be okay again. First off, Jasper and Trevor are mates. Jasper’s ex, Craig, was killed and the evidence is pointing to Jasper. We know it wasn’t him, because he was staking out Abbi’s house. Someone sent Trevor some compromising photos of Jasper, so Trevor, feeling betrayed, took off. While he was gone, someone started following him. You’ll never believe who it was.”

“Who?” Nik asked.

“Theron. It seems Jasper and Theron have a past together.”

“Theron’s gay?” Tessa asked as she came into the room.

“From what Dante could get out of Jasper, Theron’s a sadist. I doubt he has a preference of the gender he wants to inflict pain on. That’s not the worst of it.”

“The worst of what?” Sophia asked. She shooed Julian away from the stove and took over breakfast.

“Thank you. Remember I told you Frey’s mate had an abusive husband? Well, he grabbed her from the community center and was going to kill her, but not before he tortured and raped her.”

“What?”

“Oh, gods!”

“That motherfucker!” Everyone was talking at the same time.

Julian held up his hand, “Long story short… Frey found them right as Troy dumped Abbi over the bridge. Frey phased and caught her before she hit the ground. Jasper beat the hell out of Troy and was going to arrest him. Matthew confronted the man about abusing him and Abbi all these years. Troy shot at Matthew. Jasper phased, wrapping his wings around the boy. Trevor was there with Dante, and he ended up killing Troy. The good news in all that is Abbi’s going to be okay.”