Lily almost rolled her eyes in resignation but managed to contain herself. She knew she couldn’t avoid it much longer. It wasn’t going to be easy facing her father’s wrath but she had to do it. She sighed mentally. “Yes, Annie.”
Rhianna dropped her hand and smiled, giving her a quick wink before she turned back to Mac who was silently watching her test the candidates. There was tension in his stance and she knew why. She’d spent a little too much time with Lily and he was concerned she’d found some deception.
“As always you find the very best of our people to entrust our loved ones to,” she smiled as she reached him.
His tension melted away and he leaned down to brush her cheek with his lips. “Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Annie.”
He was once more in control, the same old Mac she was used to seeing. Did that mean he had made his decision and it wasn’t Lily? She almost snorted in laughter. If he had, then good luck with that one. There was no way in hell Lily would ever let him get away.
“I should come more often, Mac. I keep forgetting how beautiful it is up here in the mountains. You could do with making your home a bit more appealing though. All the wood is just… oh, never mind. It’s your house, not mine.” She smiled again and turned to flick her eyes once more down the line of new Praetorians.
“Well, I must be going before Caleb reaches the compound and finds me AWOL. He’ll be calling out the Praetorians to track me down. I love him dearly but he’s such hard work at times.” Her voice was full of laughter as she waved over her shoulder, vanishing into trees an instant later.
“She’s amazing,” Brandon muttered under his breath, his expression full of hero-worship when Lily turned to glance at him. He was one of the new recruits and the one she liked the most. He was a bit on the wild side, so their personalities were in sync.
She smiled. “She is that,” she answered just as quietly.
Her gaze shifted to Mac who was staring intently at her. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Was he imagining their almost-kiss in his study? She sure as hell was and had a knot of frustration in the pit of her stomach. It had been wonderful to see Annie once her initial fear of discovery had passed, but she couldn’t help but wish the redhead had arrived five minutes later so she would know what it felt like to kiss her mate.
“Karn, break out the alcohol,” Mac said tearing his gaze from Andrea’s and turning to survey the rest of them. “You have tomorrow off so get the partying done tonight to celebrate your acceptance into the Praetorians. The day after tomorrow the real training starts.”
He strode away without a backward glance, disappearing into the house and to the sanctuary of his private rooms. He had made his decision. Andrea Ruminskey was a Praetorian now which made her off limits. His moment of madness was over. It would never happen again.
Lily watched him leave, wanting to go after him but knowing it probably wasn’t a good idea. She had a lot to think about. Annie showing up had scared her witless. Now she understood why everyone was so confident in the loyalty of the Praetorians. Annie, Caleb, or Gard performed their Ancient magic on each candidate before they were fully accepted into their ranks.
All the Vârcolac had been told the true history of the vampire nation. It had been hard to keep that knowledge from them because they were so attuned to Rayne they’d been able to tell something was different about her even though they were only children at the time.
The more they’d been around Rayne and her mate Gard, the more they’d come to understand that magic surrounded them. Real magic — the kind they’d read in stories about witches.
A decision must have been made in a pack meeting to inform them of the whole story. It was obvious that the Vârcolac had their own brand of magic, linked to the same kind the triumvirate used but different. They would most likely detect the same power in others, so it made sense to let them in on the secret.
Thinking back, Lily couldn’t understand why their parents and Alpha had kept the Praetorians secret from them. It didn’t make sense. If they’d trusted them enough with the knowledge of the reincarnated king and queen, then why hadn’t they trusted them with the knowledge of the Praetorians?
Her internal musing was cut off by Brandon nudging her in the ribs. “Earth to Ruminskey!” he laughed. “We’ve got some serious alcohol consumption ahead so let’s go get some.”
“How old are you?” she snorted, shaking her head even as she laughed.
“Too young for you, cupcake, I’m just a mere one hundred and one years old. Find someone else to be your boy toy, you lecherous woman!”
“Like I’d ever be desperate enough to look at a mutt like you,” she laughed, ruffling his black curls and elbowing him in the ribs.
Brandon’s fighting skills came a close second to hers, but when he let his hair down he did it with outrageous flirting, lewd gestures, and a hint of wildness in his eyes. He sometimes reminded her of her father. Maybe that was why she was drawn more to him that any of the others.
“Come and get plastered, Andi girl! The night’s young, the company’s good, and no one’s going to hand us our asses on a plate tomorrow. Let’s take advantage of this brief reprieve and have some fun.”
Lily rolled her eyes and laughed loudly. This was why she’d chafed at being restricted to the compound. This was why she hid her identity. With these people she was just Andrea Ruminskey, a fierce fighter and a good friend to chill with.
There was none of the hybrid rubbish, no delicate little girl to be cherished and kept safe. There was no need to look over her shoulder to ensure her father wasn’t waiting to smack someone around for having a bit of fun with his daughter. This was what freedom felt like.
She allowed Brandon to push and prod her into the house, laughing as he performed some outrageous dance moves sans music because no one had put any on yet. His lewd movements earned him a smack around the head from Karn.
“No fornication!” The vampire grunted as he walked into the sitting room where about twenty Praetorians were gathering, both old and new.
“He was just dancing, Karn,” Lily laughed following him into the room. “You do remember what that is, old man? Or maybe they didn’t dance in your time?”