The main street was busy when they made their way from the house back to the meeting place. In the bright morning sun, their breaths misting in the chill of the air, the remaining townspeople, a large number of werewolves, and a number of Nephilim worked together to remove the debris and repair the buildings.
“This looks promising,” Dior observed. He hoped the discussions of the day went well and that he could take his mates back to their city and nest by evening. As comfortable and well used as the make-shift nest had been, it was not their nest.
There was a fire going in the intersection and several cooks were preparing breakfast from the smell, a gaggle of eager children already gathering around them impatiently.
Verity pressed her hand to her grumbling tummy.
Dior chuckled. “Hungry, my mate?” He drew her against his side and pressThe main street was busy when they made their way from the house back to the meeting place. In the bright morning sun, their breaths misting in the chill of the air, the remaining townspeople, a large number of werewolves, and a number of Nephilim worked together to remove the debris and repair the buildings.
“This looks promising,” Dior observed. He hoped the discussions of the day went well and that he could take his mates back to their city and nest by evening. As comfortable and well used as the make-shift nest had been, it was not their nest.
There was a fire going in the intersection and several cooks were preparing breakfast from the smell, a gaggle of eager children already gathering around them impatiently.
Verity pressed her hand to her grumbling tummy.
Dior chuckled. “Hungry, my mate?” He drew her against his side and pressed a kiss onto the crown of her head. They were all hungry, he thought, a night and morning of hedonistic sex worked up an appetite, and that, more than anything else, had coaxed them all from the make-shift nest and house.
“Starving,” she admitted.
“Me too,” Blaise replied with a wicked grin. “F-king burns a lot of calories.”
“Especially the way we do it,” Etienne smirked, his arm around Charon.
“There is Galatia and Arael,” Charon nodded his head to the left. Dior spotted the alpha werewolf leaving a building with Galatia and another Nephilim. Raiden spotted them and the three paused, waiting for them to join them.
“Good morning,” Raiden greeted them. His expression and body language were relaxed, Dior noted, hoping that it indicated that discussions were going well. “We were just going to grab some breakfast whilst we wait for Liberty to join us.”
Verity swallowed heavily, looking up at Arael and meeting his sapphire eyes. From his expression, he recognized her also. She prayed he would not say anything, or the discussions would disintegrate as she did not think that any of her mates would be satisfied without there being bloodshed.
She shook her head ever so slightly and dropped her eyes from his.
“Maverick,” Raiden was amused. “Claimed her last night, rather publicly, and she told him where to go. I am intrigued to find out if he was successful in changing her mind.”
“It does not look like it,” Dior observed as the blonde werewolf slunk out of a building, his expression and body language dejected.
Raiden laughed. “Serves him right,” he commented. “He has been driving Lunas in the pack mad for years. He will persuade her eventually,” he concluded. “But he will have to put some effort into it.”
Galatia watched the blonde werewolf with interest. “It is,” she said to Raiden. “Eye opening to be amongst the sl-” she caught herself. “Other species,” she amended, obviously uncomfortable for the term. “We have been so long apart, that we have forgotten as a people what charm you hold for us.”
“It was the appeal of human and Others,” Arael explained, deliberately avoiding looking at Verity. “That caused our people to divide. There was a very real threat that the purity of our race would be threatened by continued association.”
“In other words,” Blaise preened. “We are so pretty that you couldn’t resist f-king us.”
“Yes,” Arael’s smile was genuine and flirtatious. “That is correct. The leaders of the Elioud believed that the temptation presented by continuing to have human and Others amongst us, was too great for us to resist, and that eventually we would intermingle to the extent that we all became hybrids.”
“Like my mate and daughter,” Raiden murmured.
“Exactly,” Arael nodded. They had obviously discussed Raiden’s mate and daughter during the evening before. “As a result, they were relocated from our aeries, and it was agreed that the Rephaim would only retain a minimal population of purely human slaves.”
They moved towards the food queue.
“Look,” Blaise breathed and nudged Verity. She saw the townspeople’s leader, Liberty, leave a building and Maverick spot her. The red-haired human deliberately walked past the werewolf without acknowledging him. He fell into step with her, silently. “Oh, amore,” the goat gargoyle was gleeful. “She is not as indifferent to him as she pretends.”
Verity wondered if the werewolf would be allowed to remain in the town in order to pursue his mate. She glanced at Raiden and saw that the alpha werewolf watched the pair as well, and, from his expression, she thought he would assist Maverick’s pursuit of his mate. Raiden met her eyes and smiled warmly before returning to the conversation with Arael and Galatia.
Whatever Maverick’s difficulties were with the pack, she thought, they were fond of him.
They took breakfast to the circle of seating and Maverick and Liberty joined them. The conversation revolved around the plans for the town and farmland between the town and the two runs. During the meal, Arael’s eyes returned to Verity enough that Dior noticed, his brows drawing together.
As they concluded the meal, and they broke up into groups, the lion gargoyle caught Verity against him. “Is all well with the blue-eyed winged man?” He murmured under his breath.
“Oh, yes,” Verity embraced him tightly. She would be going with Etienne to assist townspeople with repairs to the street, whilst Blaise had volunteered to assist with preparing for the next meal, and Dior and Charon would remain with Raiden, Galatia and Liberty to set their plans into motion. “I healed him once, is all.”
“Hmm,” he pressed his face into her hair, breathing in her scent, and was pleased that she strongly carried the scent of his mates and himself, marking her clearly as theirs to other males. “Stay near Etienne.”
“Okay,” she stood on tiptoe to kiss him before stepping away. Etienne took her hand, and they strolled down the street companionably.
Dior watched them go with a fond smile before taking his seat beside Charon. He noted that the blue-eyed winged man had disappeared during his distraction and wished that he had thought to caution Etienne that the man was showing too much interest in their female mate.
Verity was not entirely surprised when, the moment that Etienne was distracted helping to carry some heavy items from the street back into buildings, and she was sorting through the contents of the supermarket crates in the company of several other towns women, but effectively alone because of the size of the storage area, Arael approached her.
She felt a fission of fear, and paused, her eyes sweeping the room. Whilst none of the other women were close enough to hear their conversation, the were too close for Arael to do anything untoward, she told herself.
“I mean you no harm,” he said quietly. “I just wanted to speak with you.”
“I will not say anything,” she replied. “About how you raped me, if that is what is worrying you.”
He drew closer. “You do recognize me. I wondered if you did.”
“Of course, I recognize you,” she told him, her voice hard. “It is hard to forget the man that rewards mercy with rape.”
He looked away. “We do not think of you as people,” he said slowly and dragged his eyes back to hers. “My people do not even keep slaves, all that we know of you is theory, in which we are taught from a young age that you existed for no other reason than to meet our needs of the time, no different to a domesticated animal or a tool.”
“And now?” She demanded. “Am I to believe that overnight you have changed?”
“No,” he replied, a muscle in the corner of his jaw working. “Change takes place slowly. But only a fool would see what has occurred since yesterday and not recognize that what we were taught, will not serve us here. We need your people to survive and do not possess the strength or numbers to enslave you.”
“Or you would,” she returned to sorting through the crate. “I am not surprised.”
“Our nature is what it is. We will adapt to the situation at hand, but for us to unlearn generations of belief…” He shook his head. “It will take a long time.” He paused. “For your people and mine to move forward peacefully from this point, we need to forget past harms.”
“So, you have come not to apologize for raping me, but to ensure that I don’t cause you problems,” she stated dryly. “I am not going to say anything, Arael, but not because you ask it of me. I will not say what you did to me, because I believe that peace is needed, and because I don’t want my mates to rip you into shreds.”
“I would have kept you,” his voice was almost inaudible. “I had thought to keep you, when I woke and found you lying at my side.”
“My mate, Charon, is one of your people,” she said looking up and holding his eyes. “He was raised by in the same culture as you and was taught the same beliefs as you were. And yet, despite having the opportunity to rape me, he did not. You should think about that. Your actions reflect the measure of the man that you are.”
He stared at her for a long moment, and then turned and walked away. ed a kiss onto the crown of her head. They were all hungry, he thought, a night and morning of hedonistic sex worked up an appetite, and that, more than anything else, had coaxed them all from the make-shift nest and house.
“Starving,” she admitted.
“Me too,” Blaise replied with a wicked grin. “F-king burns a lot of calories.”
“Especially the way we do it,” Etienne smirked, his arm around Charon.
“There is Galatia and Arael,” Charon nodded his head to the left. Dior spotted the alpha werewolf leaving a building with Galatia and another Nephilim. Raiden spotted them and the three paused, waiting for them to join them.
“Good morning,” Raiden greeted them. His expression and body language were relaxed, Dior noted, hoping that it indicated that discussions were going well. “We were just going to grab some breakfast whilst we wait for Liberty to join us.”
Verity swallowed heavily, looking up at Arael and meeting his sapphire eyes. From his expression, he recognised her also. She prayed he would not say anything, or the discussions would disintegrate as she did not think that any of her mates would be satisfied without there being bloodshed.
She shook her head ever so slightly and dropped her eyes from his.
“Maverick,” Raiden was amused. “Claimed her last night, rather publicly, and she told him where to go. I am intrigued to find out if he was successful in changing her mind.”
“It does not look like it,” Dior observed as the blonde werewolf slunk out of a building, his expression and body language dejected.
Raiden laughed. “Serves him right,” he commented. “He has been driving Lunas in the pack mad for years. He will persuade her eventually,” he concluded. “But he will have to put some effort into it.”
Galatia watched the blonde werewolf with interest. “It is,” she said to Raiden. “Eye opening to be amongst the sl-” she caught herself. “Other species,” she amended, obviously uncomfortable for the term. “We have been so long apart, that we have forgotten as a people what charm you hold for us.”
“It was the appeal of human and Others,” Arael explained, deliberately avoiding looking at Verity. “That caused our people to divide. There was a very real threat that the purity of our race would be threatened by continued association.”
“In other words,” Blaise preened. “We are so pretty that you couldn’t resist f-king us.”
“Yes,” Arael’s smile was genuine and flirtatious. “That is correct. The leaders of the Elioud believed that the temptation presented by continuing to have human and Others amongst us, was too great for us to resist, and that eventually we would intermingle to the extent that we all became hybrids.”
“Like my mate and daughter,” Raiden murmured.
“Exactly,” Arael nodded. They had obviously discussed Raiden’s mate and daughter during the evening before. “As a result, they were relocated from our aeries, and it was agreed that the Rephaim would only retain a minimal population of purely human slaves.”
They moved towards the food queue.
“Look,” Blaise breathed and nudged Verity. She saw the townspeople’s leader, Liberty, leave a building and Maverick spot her. The red-haired human deliberately walked past the werewolf without acknowledging him. He fell into step with her, silently. “Oh, amore,” the goat gargoyle was gleeful. “She is not as indifferent to him as she pretends.”
Verity wondered if the werewolf would be allowed to remain in the town in order to pursue his mate. She glanced at Raiden and saw that the alpha werewolf watched the pair as well, and, from his expression, she thought he would assist Maverick’s pursuit of his mate. Raiden met her eyes and smiled warmly before returning to the conversation with Arael and Galatia.
Whatever Maverick’s difficulties were with the pack, she thought, they were fond of him.
They took breakfast to the circle of seating and Maverick and Liberty joined them. The conversation revolved around the plans for the town and farmland between the town and the two runs. During the meal, Arael’s eyes returned to Verity enough that Dior noticed, his brows drawing together.
As they concluded the meal, and they broke up into groups, the lion gargoyle caught Verity against him. “Is all well with the blue-eyed winged man?” He murmured under his breath.
“Oh, yes,” Verity embraced him tightly. She would be going with Etienne to assist townspeople with repairs to the street, whilst Blaise had volunteered to assist with preparing for the next meal, and Dior and Charon would remain with Raiden, Galatia and Liberty to set their plans into motion. “I healed him once, is all.”
“Hmm,” he pressed his face into her hair, breathing in her scent, and was pleased that she strongly carried the scent of his mates and himself, marking her clearly as theirs to other males. “Stay near Etienne and Blaise.”
“Okay,” she stood on tiptoe to kiss him before stepping away. Etienne took her hand, and they strolled down the street companionably.
Dior watched them go with a fond smile before taking his seat beside Charon. He noted that the blue-eyed winged man had disappeared during his distraction and wished that he had thought to caution Etienne that the man was showing too much interest in their female mate.
Verity was not entirely surprised when, the moment that Etienne was distracted helping to carry some heavy items from the street back into buildings, and she was sorting through the contents of the supermarket crates in the company of several other towns women, but effectively alone because of the size of the storage area, Arael approached her.
She felt a fission of fear, and paused, her eyes sweeping the room. Whilst none of the other women were close enough to hear their conversation, the were too close for Arael to do anything untoward, she told herself.
“I mean you no harm,” he said quietly. “I just wanted to speak with you.”
“I will not say anything,” she replied. “About how you raped me, if that is what is worrying you.”
He drew closer. “You do recognise me. I wondered if you did.”
“Of course, I recognise you,” she told him, her voice hard. “It is hard to forget the man that rewards mercy with rape.”
He looked away. “We do not think of you as people,” he said slowly and dragged his eyes back to hers. “My people do not even keep slaves, all that we know of you is theory, in which we are taught from a young age that you existed for no other reason than to meet our needs of the time, no different to a domesticated animal or a tool.”
“And now?” She demanded. “Am I to believe that overnight you have changed?”
“No,” he replied, a muscle in the corner of his jaw working. “Change takes place slowly. But only a fool would see what has occurred since yesterday and not recognise that what we were taught, will not serve us here. We need your people to survive and do not possess the strength or numbers to enslave you.”
“Or you would,” she returned to sorting through the crate. “I am not surprised.”
“Our nature is what it is. We will adapt to the situation at hand, but for us to unlearn generations of belief…” He shook his head. “It will take a long time.” He paused. “For your people and mine to move forward peacefully from this point, we need to forget past harms.”
“So, you have come not to apologise for raping me, but to ensure that I don’t cause you problems,” she stated dryly. “I am not going to cause you problems, Arael, but not because you ask it of me. Because I believe that peace is needed, and because I don’t want my mates to rip you into shreds.”
“I would have kept you,” his voice was almost inaudible. “I had thought to keep you, when I woke and found you lying at my side.”
“My mate, Charon, is one of your people,” she said looking up and holding his eyes. “He was raised in the same culture as you and was taught the same beliefs as you were. And yet, despite having the opportunity to rape me, he did not. You should think about that. Your actions reflect the measure of the man that you are.”
He stared at her for a long moment, and then turned and walked away.