“We’ve got first-class tickets on a commercial flight into Boston. Master Emily has placed her jet at our disposal, so we’ll use that to go to Chairman Carver’s funeral in Lake Placid tomorrow night. They won’t be happy to see me, I’m sure.” Adrienne cracked up, and I looked between her and Leo.
“What did you DO, Unky Leo?”
“A lot happened we haven’t told you about yet, Sharkbait.”
“It’s a long drive to the airport,” I replied. “Spill.”
Over the next thirty minutes, they caught me up on everything that happened while I was gone. I was sad to hear about the framing and murder of Lawrence Fenwick; he was a good wolf, and we’d already missed his funeral. I was shocked hearing what Leo had done, attacking Alpha Stan and faking the murder of Chairman Carver after accusing the Werewolf Council of being involved in our kidnapping. “Where were you when he was acting like a bull in a china shop,” I turned and asked Adrienne.
“I was having drinks in New Orleans, actually,” she said with a smile. “I went to find out if Master Pontalba set you up. Hammer and I were ready to kill him if he was a part of it. He wasn’t, and he put together a coalition of Masters to take on Master Vespucci and his lawless Coven.” She told me everything that happened. “Your Vampire friends came through for us,” she said. “Without their help, we couldn’t have taken on a hundred vampires without horrific losses.”
“All this over werewolf blood,” I said.
“Werewolf blood was a tool; this was about power and ambition,” Leo said. “Vespucci wanted to be the Supreme Vampire. He wanted to start a werewolf war, then take over the vampire world and wipe us out.”
Adrienne patted my leg. “Your travel schedule was on the Internet, but we haven’t figured out how he knew about the Council moves. Somehow, Vespucci knew Lawrence went to meet you in Jamaica.”
“I don’t remember anyone there except the Council enforcers and Lawrence,” I said. “I didn’t scent any other wolves the rest of that visit.”
“The four Enforcers returned home the next morning; we’ve verified that already,” Leo said.
“What about Timothy Lords? Did you pick him up in the raids?”
All three people looked at me with blank expressions. “What?” Leo looked confused. “What does that little bitch have to do with anything?” Timothy was my fated mate, who rejected me at the Scratch ‘n Sniff in favor of his girlfriend.
“I scented him at the Cancun hideout. He arrived with the vampires but never came to the building.” I remembered how I felt when I scented him on the wind. I was over him, and I had another mate now. That didn’t stop the feeling of betrayal I felt, knowing the man I helped rescue from Vampire captivity was complicit in mine.
“We had no idea,” Leo said. “We’ll find him, and you can decide what to do with him.”
I just shook my head. My fated mate meant nothing to me now; he was dried up dog poop on the treads of my shoes, unworthy of my attention, just an annoyance. His actions resulted in my friends getting hurt and seven wolves dying, though. That could not go unpunished. “When the vampires arrived with him to the bandit’s hideout, it was a little weird. They called Mateo ‘Lawrence,’ and Timothy didn’t say anything.”
“What did Mateo say?”
“It was more what Carlos, the leader of the gang, said to Mateo. We think Timothy hired the bandits to kidnap Vicki. He was going to pay a half-million for me, and Carlos was going to auction off the rest of the girls to slavers. Somehow, Mateo got involved and took over the deal. He negotiated $1. 2 million for all of us. It didn’t matter, as the vampires killed them all moments later.”
“I never scented Timothy, but if he stayed with the vehicles, he probably bleached the whole area,” Colleen said. “An air scent would never last that long.”
“I’ll put out a reward on him at the funeral today,” I said. “If the vampires didn’t kill him, let Mary do it.” Lawrence Fenwick’s widow deserved to get her revenge.
“I’ll make it happen,” Leo said.
***********
My growing celebrity made it impossible to get on a plane without being noticed. People recognized me in the security lines, the first-class lounge, the departure gate, and onboard the aircraft. I was an ambassador for Bodyglove at a time every human interaction could end up on the Internet, so I smiled and posed for pictures with them all. Leo thought it was best to stay away from us so he wouldn’t appear in any photos and ruin the surprise for the other Alphas. Adrienne ran interference for me while Nicholas and Colleen watched my back. When it was too much, my Aunt would move me along, apologetically telling them that I was still recovering from my ordeal.
It wasn’t all bad. When the flight crew realized I’d be on board, the co-pilot asked me if I’d like to board early. They invited me to the cockpit to watch them go through their pre-flight checks, knowing from the gossip magazines that I was interested in aviation. I enthusiastically agreed to this, spending a good twenty minutes in the jumpseat behind the crew’s seating. I had to leave before they locked the cockpit, but I learned a ton. The Captain’s daughter was a big fan, so I took some pictures with him and promised to send her some souvenirs.
Once the flight departed, I slept most of the way, waking only long enough to eat and drink some juice. When we passed through the tunnel to the terminal, the temperature reminded me that I was in the Northern Hemisphere. My lightweight Bodyglove dress was not in season. “I need clothes,” I sent to Adrienne.
“I’ve got it covered,” she told me. We made it through Customs and waited for Leo and Nicholas to get our luggage before leaving the security area. The press was waiting for us, and I didn’t want to talk. Colleen and Adrienne put me between them, and we pushed our way through, diving into the waiting limo.
“There are clothes in these bags for you two,” the young female vampire in the back with us said. “Adrienne called ahead and asked me to get them for you.”
“Thank you, Melanie. I’m freezing,” I said. I stripped off the summer dress and heels, replacing them with jeans, Uggs, and a thick L. L. Bean plaid shirt. At the bottom of the bag were driving gloves, a knit hat, and a North Face ski jacket. Nicholas was wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and a matching shirt and jacket. “Where are we headed, and can we get some barbecue on the way?”
Adrienne snorted while Melanie asked the driver to roll down the window and hand back the cooler. “Four-meat meal for eight, heavy on the ribs and sauce,” she told us. “My Master left specific instructions on how to make sure you stayed happy.”
“Emily knows me well,” I said as I started filling a plate. “I’ve missed you so,” I said as I gazed in wonder at the slab of ribs. I ate until I couldn’t eat another bite, and then Melanie said there was pecan pie. “Definitely the start of a great friendship,” I said with a smile.
“I’d like that,” Melanie said. “Our Coven is so much better now, and we have you to thank for that.”
We stayed in guest rooms in the Boston Coven headquarters building, out of sight of the press. “We go shopping at eleven; I’ve arranged a private room at Macy’s,” Melanie said as she left our room.
When the door closed, Nicholas and I were finally alone. I started tearing my clothes off, needing to feel my mate’s skin on mine. He pulled his clothes off, then pulled me into his arms. It felt so good to be with him again, kissing and touching each other. He finally pulled back, looking down at me with a worried face. I was still bleeding from the miscarriage. “We can’t,” he said softly. “Your body needs to heal.”
“My mouth doesn’t,” I said. I walked over to the bed, flopping down on my back and moving until my head was leaning back over the edge. “Bring that monster over here, my love.”
“Whatever you say, my beloved Alpha,” he said. He was hard as a rock, and the position allowed me to take him deep. He started playing with my hard nipples and my clit as I blew him, which is another reason why I love this position. His need was too great to hold out, and my tongue and throat weren’t going to let him. It took less than two minutes before he let out a yell and started pulsing his cum straight down my throat, setting off my orgasm.
I kept him deep until he stopped, then backed off and licked him clean. The sex had worn me out, and he could see how tired I was. He picked me up and carried me into the bathroom, cleaning me in the shower before bringing me back to bed. I slept deeply, my head on his shoulder, my body clinging to his until our alarm went off at ten.
Breakfast was waiting on a tray outside our room, and we ate at the small table and watched the news over pancakes and bacon. There was a short segment showing my return to the United States and my press conference outside the hospital. The station cut to an interview with the FBI Special-Agent-In-Charge of the Human Trafficking Task Force. “It’s so sad. I could have been one of those lost girls.”
“As far as anyone knows, you are one of those girls. You’re just one of the few lucky ones.”
As we took the limo to the department store, I thought of what I might be able to do to help. Shopping was highly efficient, with two clerks and a manager bringing whatever we needed. The staff even had a gourmet lunch brought in. By three, we were on our way to the airfield, each of us with a suitcase full of new clothes.
I sweet-talked the copilot out of his seat, of course. Getting my pilot’s license was on my to-do list, and Nicholas wanted to learn as well. A private plane would be great for managing a Pack with members all across the south of Australia. “You can be my co-pilot,” I teased him over the link.
“And you can be the naughty stewardess,” he answered back.
“Sexist!”
“Not my fault you’re so damn sexy,” he answered back.
The pilot let me do everything except land, and I was in a great mood as we entered the rental car Adrienne had waiting for us. I did another backseat change, donning a long-sleeved black dress with a skirt below the knees and a black dress coat. We arrived at the entrance to the Keene Valley Pack, and Adrienne rolled down the driver-side window as we stopped. “Miesville and Southern Cross Pack Alphas here for the funeral,” she told the guard.