All Knight Long, Book I: One Warlock's Love Story (12 page)

“Here it is!” Giovanni exclaimed. “Here is the ruby looking stone spell. I think I can reverse it, but I’ll need some supplies and a quiet room. I can’t do it from a moving car.”

“Then what do we do?” Tau asked.

Giovanni sighed. “I don’t know. If Zander’s grandmother is... still alive, and if she still has the looking stone, then we go get her.”

“And if she isn’t?” Tau continued.

“We find out who the fuck did this to the supernatural community, and we tap that ass,” Giovanni said.

Zander glanced between them. “You two don’t have to do this.”

“We want to,” they said in unison.

“Thank you,” Zander said, and sat back in the cramped backseat, trying to digest it all. He had gone from being a mortal high school graduate to a supernatural bad boy in a matter of days. Although Zander suspected that Tau and Giovanni were both adrenaline junkies anxious for the next big adventure, he was glad that they were both so willing to help him. He had barely gotten to know them, and they had already proved to be more loyal than any human friend that he had from high school.

“Let’s get a hotel room at the next city so Zander and I can start working on the spell and Lion King can go to the store and get us a few ingredients.”

“Sure,” Tau said easily. Zander suspected Tau was being so accommodating in order to get back into his good graces. Zander didn’t say anything, but it was working.

“You may not be able to find one of these ingredients in the store,” Giovanni warned, looking down at the Grimoire.

“Which one is that?” Tau asked warily.

“A newly rendered heart,” Giovanni read from the book.

Tau grinned. “Well it’s a good thing that we’re out here in the country.”

Chapter 16

With Zander and Giovanni tucked away at a local hotel and working on the potion, Tau left for a nearby organic grocery store to get the first few ingredients. Having noticed a horse farm a few miles back, he knew he wouldn’t have a problem delivering a fresh heart.

He was about to head to the checkout counter when he noticed a bin of recently cut orchids directly next to a bin of stuffed animals. Tau dug through the entire bin before he was able to find the one palm-sized lion beanbag. He had just placed the perfect orchid in his shopping cart, when the storeowner approached him.

“Are the flowers and stuffed animal for someone special?” she asked. She was a weathered little woman with a short, gray pageboy haircut.

“Very,” Tau said.

The woman nodded. “Then you should get a basket so that it’ll make a really nice presentation for her. Does she like candy?”

“He,” Tau corrected. The little old woman acted as if she didn’t even hear him and guided him to a shelf of organic chocolates, where she recommended a gourmet bag of chocolate covered figs.

“What is her favorite color?” she asked.

“He,” Tau repeated.

“How about red?” she asked.

“How about blue,” Tau said, remembering that Zander had had on a cerulean blue shirt the night they met. Once he had all of the ingredients and the contents of the I-am-sorry gift basket for Zander, he proceeded to the checkout counter.

“Did you get everything you needed?” she asked, curiously surveying the contents.

“Yes ma’am,” Tau said.

“I’m glad. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear that someone was preparing a potion,” she said. Tau just smiled and nodded. He wondered why the old witch wasn’t in hiding like Zander’s family, and assumed she must be out of touch with the rest of the magical community.

“It’s okay. I’m a witch, and my grandson is in a different kind of relationship, too. It was frowned upon when I was a young witch, but things are different now. Love is love, and any of us is lucky to be able to find it.”

“So, was it hard for him to come out?” he asked.

“Oh, he’s not gay. He’s seeing a shifter.” She smiled and winked. It dawned on him the lengths that Zander’s mother and grandmother must have gone to in order to hide Crystal’s true identity. It would have taken powerful magic to conceal the fact that she was part shifter. He could only imagine how Zander would respond to the revelation. He was just coming to terms with his magical heritage.

Tau thanked the old witch for her help and exited the store. His phone rang before he could get back to the car.

When he answered it, the first thing he heard was, “Zuri Tau Long!”

“Yes, Father,” he replied respectfully.

“Where the hell have you been?” his father yelled. “Why have you not been answering my calls?” Tau’s father was Zuri Omega Long, known to those in his pack as Pack Leader Long, the alpha male, or simply Omega. He was a larger, grayer, more battle-worn version of Tau. Like most pack leaders, he maintained his shifted part-human and part-animal state in order to show his control and dominance. His mane was a beautiful crown of gold and silver, and it was thought to be an honor to be chosen by him for sex and an even greater honor to be chosen for mating. As the pack leader, he could have his choice of any member of his pack for sexual pleasure, be it a male or female. Omega Long strictly preferred female feline shape shifters, although he had been known to have a few of the finer, more delicate males in his pack on occasion. He had had three mates, the first of whom was Tau’s mother, Arabella, who was as beautiful and gracious as her name.

Tau had known this call was coming, he just hadn’t known when.

His father rambled on. “I supported you when you wanted to go off to Africa and visit the motherland. I supported you when you said that you had no interest in females and that you would probably never give me any grandchildren. I even supported you when you said you needed to get away from the pack and take a road trip to Atlanta before the pack trials -- but enough is enough! The pack leader trials and coronation are in one month, and we have a lot of work to do. You should have been back by now. You could actually become the first feline shifter to lead the largest pack in the country. Do you know what this could mean for our family? I’ll ask you again -- where the hell have you been?”

It was just like Tau’s father to go off on a tirade and not give him a chance to explain. Tau could only imagine how his twin sister Quay was dealing with their father. When Tau wasn’t around, which was quite often, Quay was left to bear the brunt of their father’s anger.

Tau sighed. “Father, I was at an underground supernatural club the other night, and it was attacked.”

“I thought that was just a rumor. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, but a friend of mine may have lost someone in the attack, and I’m helping him.”

His father paused. “That is noble, but you have your own family to worry about.”

“The witch and warlock community has all gone underground over this,” Tau continued.

Omega snorted. “That does not surprise me. They always cower at the first sign of danger. We are shifters.”

“Even the vampires are nervous about this,” Tau told him.

“How do you know all of this?” Omega asked.

“You do want me to become a pack leader, don’t you? Isn’t it important that I forge alliances with other supernaturals?” He hadn’t gotten to know Zander, Giovanni, or Hung because of any desire to become a pack leader, but his father didn’t need to know that.

“So, you mean that you are still intent on competing against Benin in the pack leader trials?” Omega asked hopefully. Benin was a physically imposing canine shifter, who was believed to be the next pack leader for the region. Tau was the only thing standing in his way.

“Not only that, father, but I plan on beating him. I just need a few more days, and I’ll be home,” Tau said.

His father gave a hearty laugh. “Do you need me to send a few pack members to assist you?”

“Not right now, but I’ll call you if I need you,” Tau said. They exchanged good-byes, and Tau hung up the phone and leaned against the car.

The pack leader trials were not to be taken lightly. Normally, pack leader trials were only held if there was a challenge after the death of a reigning pack leader, but these upcoming trials were unique. Both the Northeastern United States canine and feline packs had grown, and the two groups were struggling to maintain peace.

In a daring effort to unify the shifter communities and gain unprecedented clout and control, the leader of the feline shifters, Omega, and the leader of the canine shifters, Benin’s father, had agreed to combine the two packs under one leader. And since Benin and Tau had both come of age, it only made sense that they be the contenders.

A fight to the death would decide the leader, so it was no great wonder that Tau wanted to experience love and life in the time that he had left. He could be dead within the month.

Chapter 17

Zander and Giovanni had showered and eaten and were going through the Grimoire to make sure that they both understood the looking stone reversal spell. With dusk fast approaching, all they needed was the ingredients that Tau was sent to get. Zander was amazed at how much magic Giovanni knew. They sat cross-legged on one of the king-sized beds in the large hotel room that Tau had purchased, both wearing nothing but a tank top and underwear that Giovanni had packed at the last minute.

“Are you okay? I can tell that something’s bothering you,” Giovanni asked, still flipping through the book in amazement.

“I guess I’m just a little bit overwhelmed,” Zander admitted.

“You’ve been through a lot. What made you come out to your family like that?”

Zander sighed. “I guess it was a combination of things. I was really mad about the fact that I’m the same age as you, but I don’t know nearly as much magic as you do because of how my parents raised me. I was mad that my father tried to embarrass me in front of you and Tau. I was mad at Waverly. I was mad at the news of my grandmother. I was just fucking mad. You know what I’m saying? I guess a small part of me figured if you could survive without your family’s blessing, then so could I.”

“I’m glad that I could inspire you, but this life is not easy,” Giovanni said.

“Speaking of things not being easy, what do you think about me and Tau?” Zander asked.

“What do you mean?” Giovanni asked absentmindedly.

“Should I date…
mate
with him or not?” Zander asked.

Giovanni smiled. “What does your heart say?”

“I don’t know what my heart says, but my ass says yes,” Zander said. Giovanni, surprised at Zander’s forwardness, laughed and threw the book aside.

“Tell me more,” Giovanni purred. “Wasn’t it your first time? Didn’t it hurt?”

“It hurt like hell at first, but then I guess I got used to it. I could start to tell that it was feeling good to him, too, which only made me want to give it to him more,”

“You do know that shifters are known for polyamorous relationships,” Giovanni told him.

“What do you mean?” Zander asked, eyebrows raised.

“I mean like that television show
Sister Wives
or like that episode of
Good Times
when Thelma was going to marry that African prince Ibe -- that kind of thing.”

Zander flopped backward on the large, fluffy pillows. “Are you sure?”

“It’s what I’ve heard. I don’t mate with shifters. I just fuck them when I can’t find a vamp.” Giovanni winked.

“I guess that’s one more thing that I didn’t know,” Zander groaned.

“Speaking of shit we don’t know, when is that knot on your head going to go down?” Giovanni teased. Before Zander could answer, there was a knock at the door. Both of the young warlocks readied themselves in case it wasn’t Tau.

Giovanni ran to the door, his booty jiggling as he lifted up on tiptoes to look through the peephole.

“I don’t see anyone,” he whispered.

“Who is it?” Giovanni called aloud. There was still no response. “Do you remember the offensive spells that I taught you?” he whispered to Zander.

Zander got off the bed and positioned himself. Giovanni swung the door open, and there stood Hung, carrying his luggage and dressed all in black. Giovanni dove into his arms and wrapped his legs around Hung’s waist. Hung groped and grabbed at every part of Giovanni -- especially his ass.

“Did you miss me?” Hung asked, throwing his luggage into the room on the floor.

“Sure I did,” Giovanni said.

“Never lie to a vampire,” Hung teased, letting Giovanni drop back to the floor.

Giovanni smiled. “Okay, I was busy, but I am glad to see you now.”

“How glad?” Hung asked. Zander cleared his throat.

“Hello, Zander.” Hung waved.

“Hey, Hung,” Zander said, jumping back up under the covers.

“Now, how glad are you to see me?” Hung asked Giovanni again.

Giovanni turned around, pulled down his shorts. “This glad.”

Zander flinched when Hung bent down and clamped down on Giovanni’s right butt cheek with his razor sharp teeth.

“Excuse us,” Giovanni said after a moment, pulling Hung toward the bathroom.

“Don’t mind me,” Zander called, as he pulled the cover up to his neck and turned his attention back toward the Grimoire.

Giovanni and Hung stripped off pieces of each other’s clothing with every step. It didn’t take Giovanni long to get completely naked, and Hung was in nothing but boxers and a single black sock by the time they reached the bathroom.

With both of them completely naked and the bathroom door closed behind them, Hung grabbed Giovanni by his ass checks and lifted him up onto the large bathroom vanity. It was the perfect height for penetration. Giovanni’s anxious hole was perfectly level with Hung’s already rock hard dick. Giovanni propped his feet up onto the vanity, making his hole even more accessible to Hung.

“So you didn’t think about me all day?” Hung growled.

“I was a little busy,” Giovanni said between kisses. Hung licked his middle finger and slid it into Giovanni’s hole. Giovanni sighed when Hung’s finger entered him. Hung began working his finger around and then in and out until Giovanni started to moisten. And when he was wet enough, Hung slid in a second and third finger.

“I want you to fuck me,” Giovanni pleaded.