Raiden measured the available space and added the information to the notebook. The question was, he thought as he drew the house onto the sheets of paper on the dining room table, whether to redesign the house for him and Lia, or whether to renovate for a quick flip.
It depended on the book. Could it be moved? How did that work with the turret? If they managed to move the book to his house, would it suddenly sprout a turret and secret entrance? He wasn’t sure how he would feel about the addition. It was cute on Lia’s house, but on his, it would look odd.
If they couldn’t move the book, they would live here, he decided, but he didn’t like the idea of his mate and cub being so far from the pack. It was alright for a single man to spend time away from the pack, but mates and cubs belonged with the pack, for the protection, the shared care, and the community.
Lia needed community. It did not surprise him that she was traumatized by what she had been through, but it was f-king hard to watch her revisit it in her sleep. He could only do so much to help her through it and being surrounded by pack would help them both.
For four days, she had read that book obsessively, and he had kept himself busy downstairs, out of her way. It was unwise to go outside as he wanted as little sign of their presence as possible in case the vampires were watching the house, so there were limits to what he could do, but he had been able to clean the fridge of rotting food, water the plants in the conservatory, do some laundry, draw up the house plans and spend some time browsing online catalogues for inspiration.
The broken windows might be a blessing in disguise he decided looking at the plan. He could replace them with bay windows, or, if the property line allowed which he was sure it did, he could put an extension out on that side. He would have to plan it carefully, however, not to ruin the street appeal of the house, but if he did that, he could move the en suite to that side, and double the size of the walk-in-robe to the master room.
He tensed, his ears picking up Lia’s voice. She did not sound alarmed, but there was no one else to talk to in the house and she should not be out of the turret. He stalked down the hall avoiding the floorboards that creaked and pressed himself up against the wall outside the bedroom door.
“You can go now,” Lia said softly. “Your job is done.”
There was a paused as if she were listening to someone else speak. Was she on her phone? Raiden had found it under the bed. It must have been knocked off the bedside table when the vampires had attacked.
“I love you too.”
Temptation too great, he looked around the door frame. She was standing in the doorway of the walk-in-robe and smiled when she saw him.
“Hi.”
“Who were you talking to?” He walked across the room and drew her into his arms, pressing his face into her hair and breathing in the scent of her. She carried his scent, along with her own, something which soothed the wolf within him. It was how his mate should smell – of him, and not of other males.
“My grandma,” she held him tightly against her. “Her ghost. It still wanders the house. I am trying to release her. I wouldn’t feel right about leaving her here. I am pretty sure she is lingering because her death was sudden, and she knew that she was leaving me vulnerable.”
“Oh,” he remembered that she had spoken of her grandmother’s ghost before. It was odd to think of a ghost walking the house around him, and him not knowing. “Did you succeed?”
“I don’t know,” she sighed heavily. “She isn’t always coherent. I don’t know if she understood me.”
“How is reading going?”
“I have finished again,” she said. “But every time I do, when I open it to check something that I have read, it has changed and there are new pages I have not read before. I think I will never truly finish reading everything in the book.”
“Anything helpful?” He eased her back into the turret staircase.
“Sort of. Maybe.” She led the way up. “I think I know how to relocate the turret, but I am not sure I can do it yet. It is not a simple spell.”
“Perhaps someone from Alatar’s coven may be able to help.”
“That is true. But I am also…” She leaned over the book. “Reluctant to let them near the book. What if they try to take it from me?”
He had to admit she had a point. Whilst he trusted Alatar, he did not know the other members of the coven, and if the book was, as Alatar suspected, their version of a bible, and the original at that…
“We can renovate this house,” he suggested. “And live here, until you work it out.”
She turned to face him and reached up to touch his cheek. The jewel toned light through the window caught in her hair. He leaned over her and stroked his tongue over the softness of her bottom lip. His mate, his Lia. The taste of her fed into his craving, and as she tilted her head back and opened her lips for him, he deepened the kiss, seeking more.
Her hands trailed down his chest and hooked under the hem of his t-shirt, until she could press the palms of her hands against his stomach, and he moaned, her touch on his skin spiking the need for her. He pulled his t-shirt off impatiently, wanting more of her against him, and she curled her arms around him, her hands against his shoulder blades and her body pressed against him as their kiss grew heated.
He stroked up her thighs, finding her underwear and tugging them down her legs, baring her to his touch. She drew in a shaky breath, pressing against his fingers wantonly. Perfection, he thought, was his mate seeking his touch.
He wanted to spend his life with her wrapped around him.
She released the button of his jeans, and eased the zip down, pushing them off his hips. He lifted her onto the edge of the desk and stepped into her. She gave a sigh, her eyes fluttering closed and her head falling heavily from her neck as he entered her. He kissed the underside of her jaw, following it to the point beneath her ear.
She had been wary of his touch there, he thought, after coming from Lucian, remembering the vampire’s teeth, but she had come to enjoy the pressure point again.
Just the thought of the vampire touching her made his Other leap to the forefront and he growled as he tugged her hips to his, almost unseating her from the desk. Her eyes opened and met his, and she reached up to touch his cheek, drawing his mouth back to hers. She liked to run her fingers through his hair, he knew. He was tempted to never cut it again, for that reason alone.
He leaned back to lift her dress from her. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and her skin was bared to him completely. Drawing her back to his chest, the feel of her skin against his made him moan. He kept his strokes into her close and steady, though his wolf wanted him to take her hard and fast. Had to be gentle with her, not wanting to remind her of Lucian.
He could feel her heartbeat increasing, the rising heat of her skin, and the silken changes within her, and knew she wasn’t far from coming.
“Raiden,” the grip of her legs around his hips tightened and his breath staggered.
“Yes, Lia,” he encouraged her. “Yes, my mate.”
He felt it overcome her, the heat and clench of her against him glorious. “Oh, f-k,” he ground out, and felt the tug from within him as he crossed the point of no return. “Oh, f-k,” his hips jerked against hers, seeking depth as he came, his fingers clenching against her hips.
He held her tight against his chest and closed his eyes, letting his cheek rest against the top of her head. He could feel her heartbeat against him, her breath against his skin evening out, the slip of her hair across her back like silk. Her arms were wrapped around his chest, holding him to her.
“I love you,” he murmured. “My mate.”
“I love you,” she whispered, and he could feel the movement of her lips against his skin.
His phone rang and he groaned his complaint. She reached into his back pocket, finding, and retrieving it for him. It was his father.
“Dad.”
“Raiden,” his father’s tone held urgency. “You don’t have the radio on?”
“No,” Raiden went to alert. He stepped back from Lia, and held the phone between his shoulder and chin as he fixed his jeans. “What is going on?”
“The vampires have come out to the humans. Worldwide. It is all over every TV and news channel. They have taken over the city… And not just this city.
“There are riots on the streets, the police are being overwhelmed. There are reports of the army being mobilized to try to protect the government, but the vampires have been threading themselves into positions of authority for decades now and it is just chaos.”
“Shit.” It was like an icy blade between the ribs. “Shit. Have they outed us?”
“I don’t think it is a priority. They are not trying to work with the humans, they are trying to enslave them.”
“F-k. Can they succeed?”
“Elior thinks so. He can’t reach the elders. He thinks Lucian might have dispatched them.”
“F-k.” He met Lia’s eyes.
“Raiden…” Ward’s voice was gentle. “Elior may be the only vampire who can raise resistance to Lucian. He can’t reach anyone above him. He out-ranks Lucian, and there are many who would still adhere to the bloodlines, especially if he matched Lucian in strength.”
“No,” Raiden shook his head. “No.”
“Raiden,” Ward’s tone held alpha command. “We would not ask, except…”
Raiden’s Other rose, and he growled. “Lia’s pregnant.”
Ward fell silent for a long moment. “That is excellent news,” he replied, his tone warming. “But f-king bad timing. You are just going to have to keep your wolf under control.”
“Because watching a vampire drink from my pregnant mate is something tolerable under normal circumstances,” Raiden replied, his voice harsh. “Let alone after everything that has happened.”
“I am sorry Raiden. We will chain you if we have to.”
“F-k!” Raiden met Lia’s eyes again, evaluating her reaction. “Lia…”
“I know,” she said with quiet resignation. “I guess I knew it was coming.”
“I am sorry,” he breathed it, his heart clenching. “I am meant to protect you. My mate. My cub.”
“You are protecting me, Raiden,” she reached out to him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her cheek against his chest. “As much as I can be protected.”
“We will come to you,” Ward said. “Elior has his limbs back now.”
“Alright,” Raiden was grudging.
“We are very sorry Raiden.”
“I know. I love you,” he added more gently. “Be safe coming here.”
“We love you too.”
“What is going on?” Lia asked as he disconnected.
Raiden flicked open his social media. The feed was full of images of broken windows, burning buildings, the red and blue of police lights, silhouettes of armoured officers against rioters, and vampires.
“The vampires have dropped their glamours,” he grimaced.
“Oh my god,” she took his phone from him, scrolling down the feed. “Oh my god.”
She almost dropped the phone when Lucian’s grinning face appeared on the screen, and Raiden took it from her quickly, putting his arm around her shoulders. They read the news report identifying Lucian as the vampires’ leader.
“He will be looking for me,” she whispered. “If my blood has enabled him to do this, he will want more.”
“He won’t get it,” Raiden promised her. “And he won’t get you.”
“I need to read the book,” she said, turning towards it. “There has to be something in there,” she braced her hands against the desk and leaned her weight on her arms, her head hanging forward. He rubbed his hand between her shoulder blades, offering what comfort he could. She drew in a deep breath. “There has to be something.”
“Maybe some protection spell?” He suggested. “Or a defensive magic of some sort?”
“No,” she was grim. “No. Something more.” She stood upright and held her hand over the pages. “I am sick of being used by those stronger than me. I want to… I want… Power.” The last was a command delivered to the book.
The pages lifted to the center of the book, showing blank, and then with words writing themselves shining gold before fading to black. She murmured as she read it.
“Ah,” she whispered.
“Lia?” He leaned over her but could not read the writing.
“It is just more of the same,” she sighed a little. “How long until your dad arrives? Do you think there is time to eat something? I am starving.”
“I will fix something,” he kissed her. “Keep trying. You might find something.”
“I will,” she smiled at him. “I love you.”
“You are just saying that because I’m making you food,” he replied on a laugh as he started down the stairs.
He went to the kitchen, and then hesitated, something catching on the edge of his awareness, something not right. He turned and returned to the bedroom questioning what it was that made him uneasy.
The secret door wouldn’t open.
He tried to release it again, his anxiety increasing. “Lia!” He banged against it.
Something raised the hair across the back of his neck and along his forearms. For a moment, his vision wavered, his equilibrium shifted, and he grabbed the shelves to steady himself. He felt the passage of energy over him, lifting his hair and blowing it back from his face with a roar in his ears that was all air pressure and no sound.
“Lia!” He screamed her name, a ringing setting into his ears as the pressure receded. What was in the book? What had she read, and then sent him away in order to do? “Lia!”
The secret door released, swinging open.
She stepped out, and he seized her against him, burying his face into her hair. “I couldn’t reach you.”
“I am sorry,” she stroked down his back. “The spell… I wasn’t sure what it would do.”
“What did it do? What did you do?” He held her back from him, scrutinizing her head to toe. “Are you alright?”
“I am alright,” she told him. Her pupils were pinned, and she looked bewildered.
“No, you are not alright,” he realized. “Something happened.”
“It is fine. It is fine. The grimoire is gone.”
“Gone?” He repeated. “Shit.”
“It is in me,” she put her fingers to her chest. “I absorbed it.”