sunfall (24 page)

I leaned back in my chair, satisfied that she would continue to sniff out Blaine’s underhanded dealings. As both Alexa and I knew, Olivia in bloodhound mode was relentless. And in the meanwhile, her investigation had had its desired effect. The regulatory attacks on my bank had completely stopped while Blaine dealt not only with the fallout of Olivia’s efforts, but of our assassination of his father.

The slide on the screen changed to a satellite photo over Africa. Malcolm stepped forward and Foster surrendered her laser pointer to him. “Scouting forces have captured the last of the Telassar raiders. We’ve secured the compound and installed a defense force onsite as well as reinforced the armed personnel at the nearest outposts.” Malcolm flipped to a new image and used a laser pointer to highlight the reinforcements.

“Communications systems?” Helen’s voice was soft but steady. It was her first question of the meeting.

“Negative. We’ve decided to maintain the technological blackout at Telassar. Instead, we have implemented a patrol and check-in system that increases the participation of the outposts and guards in communicating the situation in the keep.”

Helen nodded solemnly. “Constantine would have wanted it that way.”

Malcolm dipped his head in acknowledgement. “We have pushed the boundaries of our secrecy with the recent infiltration of the Four Seasons and Brenner’s attack on Consortium Headquarters. It has taken all of our political capital and then some to cover up our actions. It seemed prudent to fly under the radar as much as possible in all manners of our operations.”

“Thank you both for the update,” she said. “Is that all?”

“Actually…” Malcolm hesitated and glanced at Karma. “I’ve decided to step down as Weremaster of New York City. Instead, I would like to oversee the reconstruction of Telassar.”

A collective gasp and mumbling erupted throughout the room. I turned to Alexa and saw that she was as shocked as I. Simultaneously, we both turned toward Karma who sat calmly and with great poise. I managed to catch her eye and she smiled so slightly I barely caught it. Damn it, she had known. Beside me, Alexa growled subvocally. Neither of us liked to be kept in the dark.

Helen showed neither surprise nor alarm. “When will you be leaving?”

“Next week. I have already begun transferring my responsibilities to Karma and I plan on making frequent trips back to New York until the leadership transition is complete.”

Helen turned her steel gray gaze toward Karma. “Ms. Rao will be your successor, then?”

Karma smiled, the effect of Helen’s scrutiny making as little impact as BBs against Kevlar. “We’ll be forming a Were-council to make executive decisions. Eventually, we hope to have half a dozen council members, but for now, we will start with three. I will be serving on the council alongside Alexa Newland and Sebastian Brenner.”

Alexa’s hand jerked on my thigh and Sebastian, who had been leaning back in his chair throughout the meeting, came crashing down with a string of muffled obscenities. Even Helen gave a start at the proclamation. Helen glanced at Malcolm who stood silent and intractable at the head of the room.

Silence stretched for long seconds before Helen finally turned her attention back to Karma. “I look forward to working with your council.”

I wondered how hard that sentence had been to spit out. Helen wasn’t exactly known for espousing any kind of democratic process.

“If there is nothing more?” When no one spoke, she nodded once. “Then we will reconvene in a week’s time.”

Solana stood first and helped Helen to her feet and then toward the door. One by one, the members of the meeting followed suit. I saw Sebastian make a beeline for Karma. Alexa, I could tell, wanted to do the same, but she was waiting on me. “Go ahead, love, I’ll catch up with you later. I’d like to talk with Helen.”

Alexa leaned in and kissed me and then hurried after Karma and Sebastian. I exited the conference room, jogged down the hallway, and caught up with Helen and Solana at the elevator bank.

I smiled at them both, but let my gaze linger on Helen. She was wearing lighter bandages on her face and hands and her limp was almost gone.

“How are you?”

“Harold tells me that my recovery is proceeding as scheduled.” Helen’s right hand was tucked gently in Solana’s arm. The elevator arrived and we stepped inside together.

“Good. I’m glad to hear it.” I swiped my ID badge against the scanner and punched in the floor where my new research facility was being built.

“How is your lab coming along?” Solana keyed the floor for Helen’s private residence. “Do you need me to stop by again to provide more samples?”

“The equipment is almost all in. Brenner was very extravagant in his research. I’m grateful for his generous, albeit posthumous, donation to our cause.”

Solana laughed and I joined her. This sense of optimism still felt so new.

“I’m set with samples for now, but we’ll probably want to run some more tests in a month. How are you feeling?”

“Good. Great. I took the flower extract yesterday, as soon as it arrived from Argentina. I think I probably could have gone several more weeks without it, but I didn’t want to risk it.”

The elevator dinged as we arrived at my floor. I stepped out but held the door open. “I don’t want to jinx anything, but all the tests on the flower thus far seem promising. I have a briefing set with Clavier next week to finalize the next step in our research plan.”

Helen reached out and grasped my forearm. “Well done, Valentine. I’ll look forward to Harold’s report.”

I stepped back and let the elevator door close, reflecting on just how much my life had changed over the past two years. Then, I had been a medical student. Now, I commanded a medical lab. Then, I had never fired a gun. Now, I was one of the best marksmen in the Consortium. Then, I had believed vampires and shifters to be fantastical—if entertaining—stories. Now, I counted many vampires and shifters to be closer to me than my blood relations.

Then, I had been on the verge of proposing to the love of my life. Now…a smile formed on my lips and I turned toward my office to wait for Alexa.

*

She didn’t arrive for over an hour, and as soon as I opened the door, she dragged me over to the couch beneath the window. The sun had risen moments ago, and its new light played across the glossy leather.

“How did everything go, Councilwoman?” I asked, leaning back against one armrest and pulling her into the space between my legs. “Is that what I’m supposed to call you now?”

She tilted her head back and glared at me. “Don’t make fun.”

“No? All right then, I’ll make fun of Sebastian. How’s he taking the news?”

Alexa laughed. “Oh, he hates it. It’s responsibility.”

“Make him do everything,” I said. “I mean it: everything.”

We sat in silence for a while, simply enjoying each other’s company. I gently stroked her arms and she occupied herself by kissing my neck. But after a while I felt her withdraw, and I knew she was thinking of Constantine.

“How are
you
doing, sweetheart?”

“It hurts,” she said after a moment. “It hasn’t stopped hurting and it probably never will.”

I took my time in replying, choosing my words carefully. “You know I never want to see you in pain. But maybe this kind of hurt is…okay. Constantine was like a father to you. I don’t think something like that is ever supposed to stop being painful.”

She nodded against my chest. “I’m glad Malcolm is going over to Telassar. He’s the perfect person to carry on Constantine’s legacy.”

“Well, besides you.”

“I’m only related by blood. In many ways, I think Malcolm’s better suited for it. Ever since he came back from being feral, he’s had really profound insights into the animal psyche. He’ll serve Telassar well.”

I stared out at the lightening sky, wondering if now was really the right time for what I’d planned.

“Aside from Constantine,” I said carefully, “is there anything else on your mind?”

She turned in my embrace and threaded her arms around my neck. “No, not at all. Aside from that, I’m happy. Relieved. Cautiously optimistic.”

I kissed her neck, then gently moved her forward so I could stand. “That exact word popped into my head earlier,” I said as I went to my desk and opened the top drawer.

I looked up to find her watching me—not because she was curious about what was I doing, but because she loved me. No matter where I was in the room, her eyes followed me. I did the very same when it came to her.

I withdrew a small piece of paper and held it out before me as I crossed back to her. She took it from me with a quizzical look, then bent her head to read it.

“I want you to have this,” I said into the silence. “I want us to have this.”

“The deed to that cabin?” Her eyes glowed with happiness as she looked up at me, and I could practically hear her inner panther purring. “And the surrounding one hundred acres?”

“Well, I thought your other self might enjoy some space for hunting.”

When she smiled at me in childlike anticipation, I had to return the expression.

“Are you serious?”

“So serious,” I said, “that I want you to go there with me. Right now.”

The next moment, she was in my arms.

*

The first signs of spring—the occasional budding tree and intrepid crocus—had arrived in Manhattan. But up here in the Catskills, winter still wrapped the land in frozen bonds, and I was glad of the metal spikes on the undersides of my snowshoes. The trail wound between trees whose branches seemed to have been dipped into frosting. On a whim, I stopped and tasted the snow cradled by a nearby pine. Cold and pure, it dissolved instantaneously on my tongue, momentarily eclipsing the fire of my ever-present thirst. When a breeze rattled the evergreen treetops, the thick canopy parted enough for me to see the sky. Its subtle mocha hue foreshadowed the sunrise a scant half an hour away. I needed to keep moving if I was going to make the summit in time.

Reflexively, I felt for the small bundle in my right pocket as I continued along the trail. Common sense told me that I’d zipped up that pocket back at the trailhead and hadn’t touched it since, but until this plan had been executed to perfection, I knew I’d keep checking. Alexa and I had arrived last night to find “our” cabin virtually unchanged since the last time we’d been here two years ago. Back then, Alexa had still been struggling to find equilibrium with her panther, and this had been the place where we’d finally made a breakthrough. The cabin represented the strength of our relationship in the face of all obstacles, and it was the perfect place for us to rest and recharge after the grueling months we’d just endured.

We were both exhausted from dealing with the fallout of Brenner’s schemes, and Alexa hadn’t been all that keen on the idea of waking up at four o’clock in the morning for a chance to watch the sunrise from the mountaintop. She had groaned and grumbled, delivering ominous ultimatums about how I’d have to make this up to her. But once on the trail, the contentment of her feline half trumped any residual annoyance. Now she was off somewhere in the forest, indulging her panther’s desire to hunt.

The trees began to thin out as trail became even steeper. After a series of switchbacks, I emerged onto a long curving ridge ascending to the summit. As I walked along the exposed spine of the mountain, I watched the stars gradually fade from view. A hush had settled over the world, as though the rocks and trees were taking a long, deep breath in preparation for the day ahead. Even up here, the air was still.

One last, steep ascent stood between me and the stone cairn that marked the mountain’s highest point. I had just begun the climb when a sudden blur of motion stopped me in my tracks, and instinctively I fell into a defensive crouch. But as quickly as it had come, the spike of adrenaline faded and a smile tugged at my lips. Never taking my eyes off the large black cat that now crouched upon the pile of rocks, I rose to my full height and continued my approach.

As a woman, Alexa inspired in me a passion laced with love, admiration, and respect. As a panther, she commanded my deference. The coiled strength of her haunches, the volatile twitches of her thick tail, the deadly elegance of her curved teeth—she was a living weapon in ways I could never be. Together, we were the perfect team. Now more than ever.

I stopped in front of the cairn. “You can be Queen of the Mountain. Really. I won’t fight you for it.”

Her eyes squinted in that characteristic feline smile, and a low purr rumbled from her throat. When I set down my backpack and pulled out her clothes, she leapt from the rocks to land soundlessly at my feet and butted her head against my legs. I lost my balance and stumbled backward, laughing.

“You’re not exactly a housecat, baby.”

Crouching, I stroked the silky fur behind her ears and dared to meet her unblinking gaze. Face to face with her like this, it was so easy to understand why Egyptians had worshipped their cats.

“You’re beautiful. But the sun is about to rise, and I’d like to give you a proper kiss when it does. What do you think?”

Immediately, the air began to shimmer, and I stepped back to give her some room. When she appeared, naked and kneeling before me, I swallowed against the hot flare of thirst that parched my throat. Her pale skin glowed in the fading starlight and my hands ached to touch her, but I balled them into fists. Right now, I had a different priority. I needed to stay focused.