Tales of the Were: Magnus: Redstone Clan (11 page)

“She still blames me for his death. She has from the very beginning.”

“I did not realize the depths of her cruelty until recent events, Miranda. I’m sorry to have been so blind where your family was concerned.”

An apology from the Master Vampire? Mag was impressed.

“Miranda will explain the delicate details about her family to you later, I’m sure,” Tony added when he noticed Mag’s
curious expression. “For now, I will give you my blessing, for what it’s worth, on your union. I ask only that you don’t publicize it. I fear that with so many shifters in Las Vegas, and so many youngsters looking to increase their power, if it became known openly that you two are mated, the less scrupulous of my people would begin to prey on yours, Magnus. That is something neither of us want. So for everyone’s sake, you must keep your union as low profile as possible. To that end, I’m creating a new position within my power structure. For the first time, both bloodletters and shifters are going to have liaisons. Liaisons that will have to work very closely together.”

Mag smiled. It was an elegant solution to the problem. Tony was right. If their mating was common knowledge, it would be open season on shifter blood
, and nobody wanted that.

“You, Magnus
, are now the official shifter liaison to my court. I’ve talked it over with Grif and he agrees, though you will undoubtedly talk to him about it after we’re done here.” Tony nodded as if he expected no less. “The position will give you an excuse to be in constant contact with my own liaison, Miranda.”

“Do you think it’ll work?” Miranda asked, looking from Mag to Tony and back again.

“Yeah, I think it just might.” Mag smiled, glad his brother and the Master had been plotting behind his back. They’d come up with a good option for everyone concerned.

“Cassie might be a problem,” Miranda put in.

“She is already a problem,” Tony agreed. “I am having her watched. As soon as she returns, I will compel her to secrecy about your union.”

Mag knew the Master was the most powerful
vampire in the city. He probably had the skill with magic, and strength behind it after seven centuries of practice, to bind the younger vamp. Mag didn’t care to speculate on what Tony could do to just about anyone, if he felt the desire to screw with their minds. Luckily, the priestess had assured Grif—and by extension, the rest of the family—that Tony was on their side. He wasn’t capricious or evil, for which everyone in a hundred mile radius could be thankful.

“Cassandra
has been angling for more and more power within my domain,” Tony went on. “She fancies herself my right hand. I’ve allowed it so that I can keep a close eye on her, but the time is coming when she will overstep her bounds and I will have to call her to task. Leave her to me for now. I will keep her on a short leash.”

They left the penthouse a short while later. They’d settled things for now, but Miranda still worried about Cassandra. She was devious. Even the Master probably didn’t realize the depths of her cunning. Miranda would have to be on guard. And she’d have to tell Mag the whole, sordid story so he understood the situation fully.

She wasn’t looking forward to it. They kept silent until they were heading home in Mag’s car. He’d taken the precaution of having it guarded by two shifters while they were at the party. No one had gotten near enough to plant any sort of tracker on it this time.

Before they’d left, the Master had explained that as his new liaison, Miranda had moved significantly up in the bloodletter hierarchy. She reported only to him now, and if any bloodletter interfered with her in any way—and surveillance would definitely be considered interference—there would be severe consequences.

Miranda hadn’t looked for any sort of increase in position
within the vampire community, but it had come to her nonetheless. Though it would take some getting used to, the advantages to her new role far outweighed any disadvantage, from what she could see. Things just might work out after all. And if she had to keep quiet about finding her One, then so be it. She didn’t exactly have a ton of friends among her people. In fact, she had damn few.

Mag reached across the seat and took her hand in his. She realized he was picking up on her emotions and maybe some of her thoughts as well. The connection between them was strong, but they hadn’t yet
really shared their thoughts in words. That would come in time. For now, they had to learn their way…together.

“It’ll be harder to hide our ma
ting from my people than yours,” Mag said into the silence. “But if it keeps you safe, I’ll do anything.”

“You know I feel the same.” She squeezed his hand. “Whatever we need to do to be together, that’s what we’ll do.” She felt good putting the feelings she knew they shared into words. “Now…” She really wasn’t looking forward to what she had to do next. “There are a few things you need to know about my past.”

She knew he sensed her dread. She felt his emotions through their connection, and was pleased that he didn’t want to put her through dredging up the past. She, on the other hand, felt it had to be done. Her past had to be put out in the open so nothing could surprise him later. She took a deep breath.

“I didn’t become…what I am…by choice,” she began. “My maker
, Geoffry, was a predator of the worst kind. He was young for a bloodletter, with only a century or two under his belt. He decided he wanted a harem of playmates and began turning women against their will. At first, he chose pretty prostitutes. Cassandra is the only one of those many women who continues to exist. She was one of the few who were happy of the change when she woke up from a night of debauchery to find herself immortal. The others weren’t quite so strong of will. A few ran out into the sun on their first day as immortals. Others fell to different circumstances. Regardless, when Geoff got tired of playing with women of questionable virtue, he began looking around for others. Somehow I caught his eye and he began the seduction.”

She felt so stupid, even now, all these years later. “I was innocent. Naïve.” She looked out the window at the passing scenery. The desert was
really beautiful at night, but nothing could quell the ugly memories of her past. “Geoff began to court me and I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world to have such an elegant and educated suitor. He took me out dancing and to parties. He was so worldly and I was such a little girl back then. Inevitably, I fell for his act and on the night I expected him to propose marriage, he attacked and drained me almost to death. He gave me a huge dose of his blood and the change began. I woke up a day later as I am now.”

She had to pause to regain control of her emotions before she could go on with her story. She blinked several times to halt the tears she could feel welling in her eyes.

“I couldn’t go back to my family. Geoff had arranged everything. He faked my death so my family wouldn’t look for me. He whisked me away from everything I knew. I was totally dependent on him for everything. Cassandra was my tormentor from day one. She didn’t like being replaced by a younger model, and she hated the fact that I was a virtuous woman. She harassed me constantly, belittling the fact that even after all I’d been through, I was still a virgin. Geoff took care of that though. I’d barely recovered my strength when he used his magic to seduce me into his bed.” She felt the old bitterness and disgust at her maker’s actions fill her mind.

“If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him for you,” Mag said in a quiet, deadly growl at her side.

It was just what she needed to hear to anchor her back to the here and now instead of the miserable past she’d already survived. Dwelling on Geoff’s treachery did her no good. She’d been there, done that for far too long, and didn’t want to go back.

“Cassie blames me for his death.
She’s probably right. I ran from him and he was stupid enough to chase me. He got caught out in the sun and fried. And I was glad.” She reveled the feeling of bitter satisfaction she’d felt when she woke the next night, knowing he was dead. “There’s a special bond between us and our makers. I didn’t know how, but I knew the next time I woke that the bond was severed. He was gone. And I cried in relief. And I ran. I knew the remaining members of his harem would be after me. They’d want revenge. Without him, they’d actually have to work for a living and scramble to figure out how to get by. Most of them only had their looks to fall back on and not much in the brain department. He mostly picked weak-willed women. Almost all were dead before the next year was out. I felt it each time one of them left this realm. The bond between us faded each time one did something stupid and died the final death. The sibling bond isn’t quite as strong as the bond to the maker, but it’s still there.”

“How did you meet up with Cassandra again?” Mag asked
, calmer now.

“We only reunited a few years ago when I moved to Las Vegas.
She was already here, which made sense to me. She was always one for glitter without much substance. This city is perfect for her. It was a tough reunion. She actually dragged me before the Master demanding justice for the death of our maker. The Master stopped just shy of laughing in her face once he heard the whole story. Besides Cassie, and now you, he’s the only one who knows how my maker died. Though I’ve long suspected Cassie was spreading lies about me. I wasn’t welcomed by many, and those who did give me the benefit of the doubt were cautious. I didn’t mind because I didn’t choose this life and I don’t particularly like hanging out with other vampires. I go my own way.”

“And that’s just one of the things I love about you.”

“If I were a shifter, I guess I’d be a lone wolf, eh?” She tried for a joke.

Mag laughed outright and she was glad she’d managed to lighten the moo
d. “Honey, you’re mated to a cougar shifter. You could never been a mangy mutt.” He reached over and stroked her hair. She felt the love coming from him through their connection and in his actions. How had she ever been so blessed as to have this amazing man in her life? “And actually, I understand all about wanting to roam alone at times. Ask any of my brothers. We’ve all taken time here and there to go out and be on our own. Cats are probably the most independent of all shifters.”

“And yet your family has built up a huge community. It seems like a contradiction.”

“Sweetheart, you still don’t get it. We’re
cats
. We are
made
of contradiction.” He chuckled and she joined in, glad to have something to make them both smile after the chaos of the evening.

Chapter Ten

While Mag and Miranda played house, Cassie was plotting.
She’d been having sex with Raintree off and on for years. They were well matched, she and the Master’s second-in-command. Neither trusted the other and both liked to live on the edge.

The fact that either could turn on the other at any time added spice to the sex and there was nothing like fucking and sucking at the same time. That’s why, every few months, they hooked up to have a bit of vampire nookie. Sometimes alone. Sometimes with a few humans around who liked to be subjugated. Either way, fucking Raintree was some of the hottest sex she’d ever had.

And Cassie had fucked her way through the centuries. She’d become a whore because she liked sex. A lot. In modern times, they’d probably have called her a nymphomaniac, but Cassie didn’t care. She liked sex and the power it gave her over men. Always had.

“I don’t like the way my
sister
,” Cassie sneered the last word, “has jumped up in the hierarchy. She doesn’t deserve it and she shouldn’t be allowed to drink from her pet shifter. It’s not right.”

“Maybe so,” Raintree said, his voice lazy after
climx as he reclined in the huge bed he kept in his underground lair. “But what are you going to do about it?”

Cassie didn’t like the rhetorical question. Raintree had clearly not thought this through. There was opportunity in
this adversity and Cassie was just the vampiress to take advantage—if she could round up some more highly-placed, higher-powered support. She couldn’t do this on her own, but she could definitely reap the rewards of talking some bigger, stronger vamps into doing it for her.

She finished pouring the wine and returned to the bed, handing Raintree a full glass while she sipped at her own, fondling him with her spare hand. Men were so easy to manipulate. Get a hand on their joystick and you could maneuver them into any position you wanted.

“I don’t think I’m the only one to think Tony’s gone too far this time,” she purred, stroking Raintree expertly. “I bet, with not too much convincing, we could gather more than a few supporters and replace him.” She spelled it out, sitting up and straddling Raintree. “
You
could replace him. You’re strong enough. Ambitious enough. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about challenging him for the role of Master.”

Raintree’s eyes narrowed as he guided her hips. He slid into her as she began a lazy movement on his cock
. She let him believe he was in control, though she really held all the power. Men liked it that way and she saw no reason to shatter their little illusions. Not if it got her what she wanted.

“I’ve thought about it.”
His voice was lazy with sensual overload. They’d been at it for hours already—long enough to take the edge off.

“I would pledge my loyalty to you, Aramis. So would a number of others I’ve been talking to. Not everyone is on board with Tony’s weak approach to shifters and
the Others in this town. We should rule the night, and those who walk the day should tremble in fear for the time we wake. Taking a back seat to the Redstones and their pathetic Clan isn’t the way it should be. We are stronger. Smarter. We’ve always been superior to those mongrel cats and dogs. We are the masters. Not them.”

She punctuated her words with expert rolls of her hips that brought them both a great deal of pleasure. She could ride Raintree for hours. That was one of the benefits of screwing her own kind. Humans just didn’t have the staying power.

“What do you want in return for your support?” Raintree asked astutely. He knew her well enough to realize she wouldn’t stick her neck out for free. Cassandra never did anything for free. She was a whore to the heart.

“A spot on your council, and the pleasure of killing my little sister and her pet.”
She wanted more of course, but that was enough to start with.

“Why not?” Raintree almost appeared to shrug, but the cunning in his eyes belied the gesture. “We’ll start tomorrow night. Gather your forces and I’ll make a few calls. We’ll meet at my club at midnight.
First we’ll take out your sister and the cat, then we’ll see about Tony.”

Damn. He could be decisive when he wanted. She liked that about him. He might seem lazy and urbane, but underneath he was every bit the scrappy fighter she was.

Raintree guided her hips, moving them faster and she complied. Talk was over for now. She’d planted the seed and he would make it grow…with her guidance. She was very good at guiding men. Leading them around by the nose—or other body parts. It’s what she did best.

And when all was said and done, Cassie’s wretched little sister would learn once and for all that hell hath no fury like a whore denied her sugar daddy. Cassie would finally make the bitch pay for killing their maker.

Miranda and Mag stayed in the house he’d built in the desert for another
couple of weeks without much input from the outside world. At least, Miranda didn’t interact with anyone but Mag. She slept a lot, but regained her strength at record pace with Mag feeding her senses both physically and magically. Their bond grew stronger each time they made love and with each moment they spent together, simply being.

She cherished their time together, knowing things would change sooner or later. They always did. And not usually for the better
, in her experience.

Miranda spent her nights with Mag, able to stay up longer and longer until finally, she felt back to her old self. In fact, she was much stronger than she had been
, and would probably grow stronger still as their relationship deepened. She knew Mag spent part of the daylight hours working remotely, able to perform his duties for the construction company via the computer and phone connections built into his state of the art home.

Their
home, now. She had the Master’s blessing and that’s all she needed to accept Mag’s mate claim. She wasn’t a hundred percent sure what shifter mating entailed, but she figured at some point they’d get his family’s official blessing on their union…or not. Whatever happened, they would face it together.

Along about the end of the week, Mag came to greet her when she woke at dusk, as he usually did. Sometimes they made love. Sometimes they just cuddled. This night, he handed her a glass of wine as he sat beside her in bed, sipping from his own glass. Apparently he wanted to talk. She ey
ed him over the rim of her goblet with a bit of trepidation.

Unless forced to discuss more weighty matters, he’d kept all conversations to light subjects that he thought wouldn’t upset her. When she pressed him on his ability to tiptoe around the more serious things they needed to talk about, he admitted he didn’t want anything to interfere with her full recovery. Not anxiety
, or any kind of worry about things that could wait until she was all better.

Now that she
was
better…well…she assumed now was the time to broach the tougher subjects they’d been ignoring for a while. She wasn’t really looking forward to it.

“My brother Grif is hosting a get-together at his place on Saturday night. He invited us specially and I think he wants to introduce the concept of you being the vampire liaison to some of the more highly ranked members of the Clan.”

Miranda was surprised by the invitation, but intrigued.

“How do you think that’s going to go over?” She frowned, thinking over the possibilities. Some of the echoes of thought she picked up from Mag’s mind mirrored her own anxiety.

“Honestly, I have no idea.” He sighed heavily, crossing his ankles. He was stretched out beside her in their bed, his back against the headboard, his jean-clad legs flowing down the length of the bed, on top of the comforter. “Matt will be the most receptive, of course. I checked, and he’ll be at the gathering. The rest of my family will probably be cautious but welcoming. Grif set up the liaison thing with Tony, after all. He’s dealt with vamps before and is open minded. I’m not sure about the other Alphas.”

“How many will be there?”

She knew the Redstone Clan as a whole was structured around a core group of Alphas of each species who represented all the shifters who came under their rule. There was a werewolf Alpha who spoke for all the wolves, a raptor Alpha, a bear Alpha, and so on. It sounded like the leaders of each group would be at this little shindig and Miranda swallowed hard, a little bit of panic rising at the thought of having to face so much potential disapproval.

“
More than a few. Plus their mates, though not all of them are mated. It’s going to be a backyard barbeque with an informal Clan meeting beforehand, and probably a bit of a howl after.”

“What’s a howl, exactly?” She thought she knew, but she wanted a more detailed explanation than the images she picked up from his thoughts.

“Howls can take different forms. Sometimes they’re mate hunts. Sometimes it’s just a group of shifters taking their animal forms and running through the woods. There may or may not be some hunting involved, but nothing dangerous. Most of the time, it’s all in good fun. Especially in our Clan. Grif has made sure we have more civilized ways to handle most disputes than challenge fights and dirty tricks.” He took a sip of his wine. “We don’t have to stay for the run if you don’t want to.”

“But it sure would impress everyone if I could shapeshift into a cougar and join you.” She finished his unspoken thought, smiling when he looked affronted.

Sometimes his thoughts came to her so clearly, it was hard to resist tweaking him a bit. Of the two of them, she was much more comfortable in sharing their thoughts and looked forward to the future when they’d perfected their bond and could speak in words, mind to mind. He was more resistant, which was probably why they hadn’t yet manifested the ability.

“Can you?” He almost seemed to hold his breath in anticipation of her answer.

She tilted her head, considering. “I’m not really sure. I’ve never tried to do a cougar. I can do monsters and a very convincing baby bear, but I don’t think that would inspire the right kind of memories—especially for Slade and the priestess.” She could almost laugh about it now, but she still regretted attacking the panther shifter when he and his mate had freed her.

“Yeah, we probably don’t want to remind anybody of that night. But if you could
become a sweet little female cougar, I think they’d be a little more receptive to you. Plus, I’d love it. I always dreamed of running through the forest alongside my mate, chasing her tail.”

She laughed as he leered
, and right then and there she decided to try. She drained the glass of the last sips of wine and placed it on the bedside table before turning back to give him a smacking kiss. She evaded his arms when he would have drawn her in for more and bounded off the bed. He grinned when she stood before him, but she didn’t think he picked up on her plans for the next few moments until she called her magic and started to shift.

She thought of the beautiful cougar he became and pictured a feminine version of the same. Sleeker, a bit smaller, and more compact, but tawny and four-legged with a long tail. She felt herself compressing and expanding into the form of the cat in her mind and a moment later, she was looking up at the bed through cat’s eyes from a much lower position.

Experimentally, she waggled her tail in Mag’s direction and he chuckled. The look of admiration in his eyes was worth every moment of effort on her part, though truth be told, it hadn’t taxed her much at all to become the cougar. Dining on his shifter blood had made her stronger than she’d ever been, and her magic had flowed her essence into the cat’s form with very little effort.

She padded over to him and reached up with her front paws as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat on the edge. Her paws were on either side of his muscular thighs as he reached out and scratched her behind the ears. Man, oh man, that felt
good
.

A rumbling noise started in her chest and she realized she was purring. Mag’s eyes widened before a satisfied smile lit his face.

“You’re gorgeous, sweetheart. They’re going to love you as much as I do.”

On Saturday night, Mag was a bit more nervous than he liked. This was his family. He should be able to count on their support. Instead, he worried that they’d reject his mate—rejecting him in the process. He’d never been in such a position before, but he knew if he had to make a choice, he’d chose Miranda every time. His mate was even more important to him than his family, which was really saying something.

They dressed casually, yet he knew Miranda took extra pains with her appearance. He knew from the incredible communication they shared that she wanted to make a good impression. She didn’t want to shame him in front of his family. Catching that thought, he went over and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her hair.

“You are too good for me, Miranda.” It was a thought he had often, wondering how he’d been so blessed as to have a mate as amazing at her. Miranda was everything to him. She was the brightest light in his world.

She turned in his arms and hugged him tight. “Whatever happens tonight, we will always have each other, right?”

“Without a doubt. You know how I feel, right? My family is great and I love them, but you are the most important person in my life now, sweetheart. Nothing will come between me and my mate. Not even well-meaning but misguided family.” He sighed. “Of course, I’m probably worrying for nothing. They were pretty cool about us at that little intervention they staged.” He chuckled now at the memory. “But I guess I’m concerned about the rest of the Alphas from the Clan. Some really hate bloodletters. If they cause waves, it could be uncomfortable for us.”