Dreams of the Forgotten (11 page)

I snorted. "You are the best healer we have. Don't belittle your worth." Gregori blushed and glanced away.
I regarded the Magi. They still held hands and I'd originally thought it was for comfort but every time they glanced at each other there was a subtle intimacy reflected there.
"How do you feel about Blood Oaths?" If I accepted so many Magi into my tribe after what happened with Caspian, then I'd require the full allegiance of their leaders to me. I refused to worry about betrayal from within. I could handle three Blood Oaths.

With so many strange faces around, I'd kept the illusion ring on. We didn't share everything with the Magi, expressly my pregnancy. Though I had a hunch there wouldn't be many secrets between us and those three in the near future. Right now there were some things we needed to keep to ourselves.

When I went to tell Neesie we needed to find accommodations for about fifty Magi, I found her in a serious lip-lock on the front porch. Neesie wore her customary black and white, but you could hardly tell because she was plastered all over a tall, towheaded Lycan in an expensive charcoal suit. He had one hand fisted in her long brunette hair and the other hand squeezed her rear like it was a Nerf ball. Ack! This stranger had his hand on my sister's ass!

"Hey!" I barked in agitation. No one touched my baby sister like that!
Neesie jumped and squeaked but the man refused to release her. "Moron!
Hey
means get your damn hands off my sister!" I took a threatening step forward, my hands fisted.
My raised voice brought people from all over the house and yard. The man growled. He actually had the audacity to growl at me! A vicious snarl burst from me in response, claws extending. Those who were closest to me grunted from the release of power.
Neesie struggled in the stranger's arms, yelling for me to stop, calling for Ushna. The man started talking to me over Neesie and all I registered was a stranger wouldn't release my sister.
Warm arms slipped around my chest from behind me, soothing my beast with the simple contact. "He's touching her," I snarled to Ushna.
"Step back from Neesie before Tristan rips your arms off," Ushna immediately commanded.
Once she was freed, Neesie rushed over to me. "I'm okay, Tristan, everything is all right." She repeated the phrase over and over to me until I had control of my anger. The man glared at me and watched Neesie's hands when she touched me.
Nathan pushed his way through the crowd and grabbed my head, making me look at him. "Dammit, Tristan, twice in one day! You're supposed to stay stressfree." Nathan glanced over to the man who had eyes only for Neesie and cussed quite impressively. "Didn't you tell him?"
"There didn't seem to be a good time." Neesie wrung her hands as Nathan examined me.
"Tristan, I want to see you in my office." Nathan's tone brooked no argument.
"What was Neesie supposed to tell me?" I asked, watching the man out of the corner of my eye.
Neesie took his hand, "Tristan, I'd like you to meet Lonnie Fowler, my fiancé."
Ushna's arms tightened around me as I snarled again.
"Please, Tristan, hear him out. Don't judge him yet," Neesie begged with tear-soft eyes.
I looked away from them, grinding my teeth down on my automatic response. She was my baby sister and he was the boy who'd made her cry. What was I supposed to understand?
"We'll meet the two of you later, after Nathan's satisfied." Ushna pulled me away. Warriors surrounded us as we headed to Nathan's office. A few hand signals and Ushna had men guarding Neesie's fiancé.
Fiancé! A bad taste formed in my mouth. Neesie hadn't once said a word about Mr Fowler or of their engagement since she'd come to the ranch. Long suppressed growls rumbled through my chest. Ushna made shushing noises in my ear as he walked me to Nathan's office.
My arm was in the pressure cuff when Nathan finally said, "We told you she was engaged to Lonnie before we came out here."
"Why? What the hell, Nate!" I barely recalled that phone conversation. I had been estranged from my family and it was mentioned in passing when we were reconciling. When nothing more was said about it I assumed Neesie had given him the boot. "I didn't think she was serious. Lonnie and the asshole twins stormed Neesie's Halloween party and threw bags of dog poop on her and her friends. Neesie was so mortified she refused to leave the house for two weeks. Dad had her schoolwork brought home to her. She cried for days!"
"I know, Tristan, I was there. I also remember you changed into your wolf and chased the three of them home. Mr Fowler stormed over to our house and demanded to know why you, a Lycan who was older than his boys, had threatened them. Dad invited Mr Fowler in and let him see what his sons had done. Everyone knew he tore into them when he got home."
"I wasn't that much older than they were." I tried to hide my smile as I remembered that night. The little punks were so scared they nearly pissed themselves.
"You were sixteen, Lonnie was eleven, and the twins were thirteen," Nathan replied. "What you need to remember is they were only pups. The Fowlers have never pulled another stunt like that. After that prank, those boys were on the straight and narrow."
"Does Lonnie know about me?" I didn't think Neesie would tell Fowler but, if they were planning on marriage, Neesie wouldn't want to bring secrets into the union. I know I wouldn't.
"No and it's probably killing her to keep it from him. He won't understand why she hasn't been home and she can't explain her absence to him either. He's not her Twin Flame but she's in love with him. As much as you don't like it, that is how it is."
I rested back against Ushna. I was tired. I'd rest my eyes while I figured out what to do about Neesie and Lonnie Fucking-Fowler. I woke with Ushna snuggled against my back, arm draped over my stomach, hand splayed protectively while he slept. Slow steady exhales feathered over the back of my neck. His hips were snuggled up close to mine and I suppressed the urge to wiggle my ass against him.
Gregori was in bed with us, lying in front of me, as close as my stomach would allow him. We were back in our bedroom, though I didn't remember how I had come to be there. My stomach was eating a hole through me. I was in for a lecture about limits and such. I could already hear it, warnings about staying stress-free and holding onto my temper.
Ushna's breath ruffled my hair. There wasn't anything I could do about the day's events. Stan was an impulsive asshole and it didn't help he'd challenged me in front of others. Stan was a strong alpha in his own right but he was also born a warrior. The combination hadn't happened often. Warriors and alphas weren't one and the same. Imagine a military company of alpha-prone warriors. Those who were that dominant made good leaders but they weren't common.
Leading was what Elder Koller assigned Stan to do. He was responsible for a contingent of enforcers who were allocated to Janus by Colonel Mani Koma. Stan still reported their activity to his superior in the Order but this way the brass made sure the warriors weren't compromised again. While Stan was here we had to find a balance.
Neesie and the Punk, well, I wasn't sure there was anything to do about him. I'd gladly eat him but I doubt Neesie would forgive me. Liking him wasn't required but life would be easier if I could get along with him. Honestly, I didn't want to tolerate him. I didn't want to look at him, much less call him family. If I didn't at least try, I'd alienate my sister and eventually it would make her choose between us. I wouldn't lose her because of him. I suppressed a grunt of frustration, not wanting to wake Gregori or Ushna.
I added fifty Magi to my rapidly growing tribe but with the dorms finished, we should be able to house them without a problem. For now they could stay here until it was decided what to do with the College.
"I can hear you thinking," Ushna whispered groggily.
I didn't suppress the shiver. "Well, there's much to think about." I smiled at his grunt.
"You're supposed to be resting," he groused as he pulled me more firmly back into him.
"I'm lying down therefore I'm resting." The answer wouldn't placate him.
"The brain is supposed to be off," he countered, doggedly running his hand up and down my stomach.
"Well, that would be interesting to see, but since I'm not dead, there will continue to be brain function." I ground my ass against his groin to stall the dressing-down that was coming. Ushna grunted. The sound made me smile wider. My pulse picked up as his hard erection pressed against me. I placed my hands over his.
Gregori opened his silver-gray eyes and smiled at me. "Hey you. How do you feel?"
Reluctantly I stopped teasing Ushna. That had been so promising. "Hungry," I replied, returning his smile. "We need to talk first though." Gregori's smile dimmed. "I wanted to give you and Stan time to work through your problems but it seems the longer you two are together, the worse Stan's behavior has become. Normally, I wouldn't pry but I need to know what is going on so I can decide how to handle him."
Gregori's silver eyes turned sad and liquid. "I'm so sorry, Tris. I didn't mean for my problems to overflow into the tribe's business."
I took his hands between mine. "Stop. You and Stan are my friends. Yes, Stan's behavior has caused him to overstep his boundaries but it's more than that. I don't know how to explain it, but I need all four of you with me and right now we're fractured. Somehow I have to fix it."
"How do you know? What's going to happen?" Gregori searched my face and then glanced behind me to Ushna.
"I sense it too, the need for us to be together and strong," Ushna gave me a reassuring squeeze. "It feels like time's running out." I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn't the only one to have this sense of anticipation, like something big was on the horizon. I didn't know how to explain it and not sound crazy.
Gregori looked back at me and I nodded my head to his silent question. He watched me with growing concern. "I don't know what you can do to fix anything with Stan and me."
"Have you spoken to him?"
"Actually no and I know that is my fault. I'm angry at both him and Jory. I know there was an outside influence that helped push them away from us. I…" Gregori struggled for words. "I… expected more from them, and yet I know if someone played on my fears and weaknesses, the outcome could've been the same. If that was the only thing that had been between us, then it'd be easier to get past." Gregori pulled in a deep breath, his gaze turning sad.
I listened to him as he told me how he'd come close to dying to save a friend. Stan had found him and saved his life.
"We were so young, Tristan. I needed comfort and he needed to give it." Another tear slipped down his face. "We were only kids, and maybe I loved him a little. We were wrong for each other and sleeping together changed something between us. In some ways, we've forgotten how to be friends."
I wiped the tears off his cheeks. "Are you still in love with him?"
Gregori gave a tear-choked laugh. "I honestly don't know. I've been so pissed at him for so long that it's hard to see past my anger. I didn't understand why he stayed away.
"I keep wondering, if I had gone to California, I don't know… made him talk to me, maybe I would've noticed the spell and caught the conniving bastard Xzavier. Maybe it's my fault they've been isolated from us. If I'd only had the courage… Goddess, I'm so confused."
I leaned forward and kissed Gregori's forehead and wiped away the remaining tears. "He broke your heart whether you want to admit it or not. You still care about him and even though you may not know what you want right now. The two of you still need to deal with what happened. Sit down with him and talk over what you told me. Then, when you're finished, he needs to see."
"Are you going to send him back to Cali?"
I sighed, "That all depends on what he has to say."

The door had barely closed behind Gregori before Ushna had one of his hands under my shirt, another hand down my boxers. He gave me open-mouthed kisses on the back of my neck and shoulders, his tongue came out to tease my skin here and there.

"Am I going to have to make you relax?" Ushna asked between kisses.
"Ahm…" Hell yes, if
this
was his relaxation technique! I'd have said so if my mouth hadn't disconnected from my brain at the same moment Ushna wrapped his fingers firmly around my shaft, squeezing slightly before he stroked.
"You aren't following doctor's orders. What am I going to do with you?" Ushna sucked on my earlobe, nibbling, sending tingles down my neck.
"Anything. You can do anything with me." Well, that's what I'd meant to say but the last couple of words were slightly garbled when Ushna pushed his arousal against my ass.
I pushed back. He released me and grabbed my hip. "No, sir. You're supposed to be relaxing. If you can't behave, I'll have to stop."
"I'm behaving, I'm behaving," I gasped.
"Hands above your head." They were already on their way up before he completed the sentence.
I heard a suppressed chuckle behind me but I didn't care. I wanted him touching my body. Slowly, he took off my shirt; his large callused hands skimmed my stomach, my chest, the underside of my arms and then dragged the material off. Could a shirt come off any sexier?
Next he toyed with the waistband of my boxers, running his fingers barely under the edge. I loved it when he did that, the way it built the anticipation before he'd push them down. Goose bumps formed, following in the wake of his fingers. I gripped the headboard tighter to keep from shucking the boxers off myself.
Lycan pregnancy constantly changed the dynamics of sex for us. I was large enough we were quickly running out of usable positions. Lying on my side was easier on both of us. I hated that I couldn't see his face or kiss him properly. Ushna knew this and tried to make up for it with his magic hands.
After he slid off my boxers, he quickly disrobed, and I didn't dare take my hands off the headboard. See? I could relax. This was me relaxing. My breath stuttered when Ushna came back to me and he took my sex in his warm, slick hand.
"You have a temper," Ushna breathed into my ear before licking the shell.
"Temper bad," I moaned. I was coming undone with a few simple touches and all I wanted was more.
Ushna grabbed my thigh and drew it up over his leg as he scooted closer. His erection pushed against my perineum, up to the base of my balls and then back down again leaving a trail of slick pre-cum.
"What did you say?" he whispered.
I huffed like I'd run for miles. "Bad temper. Bad… bad… temper." I would agree to anything so he wouldn't stop.
"I don't know what I'd do…" Ushna sucked on the back of my neck as his magic fingers reached between the cleft of my butt cheeks and circled my entrance once, twice, before he pressed a finger into me, teasing, twisting, and pulling strangled moans out of me.
"You need to take it easy," Ushna said as he pressed two fingers into me and I gripped the headboard again to keep from pushing back into him. "Did you hear me?"
"Relax," I groaned.
"And how are you going to relax?" Ushna kissed his way down my shoulder where I had my face pressed against my arm to stifle the moans.
"Relax… fingers… magic…" Ushna pressed three fingers into me, pumping and twisting. I turned, burying my face in the pillow as I moaned nonstop. With Ushna as my lover, I have officially become a pillow biter.
"Lean back into me." Fingers stiff, I pried them loose from the death grip on the headboard and reclined against Ushna. I turned as he moved an arm under my head for support and stroked my chest. I gazed up into his handsome masculine face. His bi-colored eyes staring back as he steadily pressed into me, past the guardian muscles until he was fully sheathed.
Gods. His cock was hot, hard, and slowly stroking in and out, drawing out each sensation until I thought I'd scream with it. Ushna leaned farther over me and captured my mouth in a searing kiss. I curled my arm over and behind his neck to keep him there. I loved his kisses, his mouth, and the way his lips moved across mine.
The magic in me moved freely between us, making everything more profound. Damn, he did it to me every time. He set me on fire, ignited this inferno in me that my predator loved to writhe in. He licked his lips, he pushed into me until his groin was flush with my ass before he slowly withdrew, holding tightly to his control, loving me with exaggerated care.
"Ah! Gods, Ushna, give me more!"
He devoured me with his eyes, the green glowing iridescent, the brown ring turning to molten gold. He made love to me, drawing out each sensation until he brought me to the edge and then over as he held me tightly to him. Ushna growled into my neck, his teeth pressing, bruising, but not breaking the skin as he came, marking me with his scent until I couldn't separate him from me. There was nowhere else I'd rather be than in the circle of his arms, breathing him in.
"Tell me, Tristan, tell me what I want to hear," Ushna whispered in my ear.
I shook my head.
No
. My world tilted just a bit with the strong perception of déjà vu. I glanced at him and there was the face of another.
Angelo
.
"Tell me. Say it." Ushna nipped my earlobe.
I had a strong urge to grab onto Ushna, to hold him tightly to me, or he would disappear, slip through my fingers and be only a dream. What if all of this was merely a dream? No. It couldn't be. I wouldn't let it be.
"I need to hear you say it."
My arm around his neck, his hands stroked my stomach; I looked back at him, his face glowing from exertion, his golden-ringed emerald eyes dilated, fevered as he regarded me.
"Tristan, I don't think I could stand it if something were to happen to you."
I tried to smile at him but his concerns mirrored my own. I worried how to make sure he was safe, that he was protected. I refused lose him to some crazy assassin or vengeful Magi. Life had no meaning without him. Family. Tribe. Kingdom. None of it mattered if I were to lose this man. So I understood what he meant when he said those words to me.
"I love you, Ushna, with every part of me. I promise you, I'll never leave you. I swear it." I meant the vow with every fiber of my being, with each breath I took. "I swear I won't allow anything to take me away from you. No matter what it is, I'll fight it and I'll win because there's no other alternative for me. I won't ever be without you." A soothing calm blanketed me. Something unraveled within me, as if the universe had been waiting for those words to be said.
Magic filled the room with a silent explosion of power and color. Electricity arced through my body, looping through Ushna, tying us together. From the tips of my toes to the hairs on my head, my body filled with the power of my words, my intention, my will, and bound me to them. When the magic was finished, I lay in Ushna's arms, limp and tired and so hungry I could eat the tires off my pickup truck.
Ushna rocked me back and forth, rubbing his hands all over my chilled body. "Gods, Tristan, what've you done?"
"I made you a promise."
In human culture, promises were mere words. Some honored them, others didn't. For Lycans, if conviction and will were strong enough, oaths had power. Promises that were given had dire consequences if they weren't kept. For better or worse, I was bound to my vow.
Ushna kissed the breath from me. As he pulled me into him, I thought maybe we could have another go but my stomach rumbled loudly. I chuckled as he scowled, mumbling under his breath about ignoring my basic needs. I tried not to laugh again because He wouldn't take it kindly.
He helped me out of bed and into a matching set of brown fine woolen tunic and pants with golden swirls on the hem and cuffs. Randy's gift was invaluable. The clothes reminded me there were some unanswered questions I had yet to address with him. I wouldn't make him divulge his secrets, but he needed to explain how he had known my father. He had left to attend family business but when he returned, we'd have that conversation.
Ushna move around the kitchen. His blue jeans hung loose on his lean hips until he opened the refrigerator. When he bent over, the denim stretched tight over his rounded cowboy ass. I didn't think I made a noise but he gave me a wicked look over his shoulder before backing out with an armload of food.
I had always loved watching him eat. Maybe it was an oral fixation thing because he'd completely mesmerize me, the way his lips sipped coffee, then his tongue coming out to lick them clean. Something that mundane shouldn't make me hard but it did.
After two monster sandwiches, mustard potato salad, baked beans, tall glass of milk with ice, plus two homemade apple Danishes that I secretly pilfered and scarfed after Ushna went to find Stan, I followed the thump of music. Licking my sticky fingers to get rid of the evidence of my sneakiness, I walked into our new four car garage. This was Gregori's oasis. He crawled under the cars, fiddled, tweaked, and performed routine maintenance. I'd seen him work before. The calm he found when he worked on the vehicles was as close to Zen as he could be without finding his Twin Flame. This was where the bass driven music led me to, Gregori's garage, and his small audience.
I stopped in the short hallway for a moment. Gregori's grease-stained pant legs stuck out from under his Ford Mustang. The car was the color of an orange caution barrel. I had no idea why anyone thought it would be a good color to put on a vintage car. Juan reclined against the workbench, talking. Surprisingly, Jory sat next to Juan laughing along. Stan stood farther away, not relaxed or laughing. He stared Gregori's feet, a frown on his face. I wondered where my conversation with him would take us. He didn't appear as tense as he was earlier and Gregori seemed relaxed enough to joke back with Juan while Stan was present. I hoped this rift between them could be mended.
Unfortunately, I didn't know how much time we had.
I walked out into the garage. Juan smiled at me. Jory rose, and strode over to me. "Are you supposed to be out of bed? I thought Corey would have a coronary when Ushna carried you out of Nathan's office." Jory's hands waved in front of me like he wanted to touch me, help me, but didn't know where to start. He was adorable, but never would I utter that in his presence.
"I was worn-out. I overdid it this morning but as you can see, I'm a-okay." I moved away from everybody and motioned Jory closer. "I've a favor to ask of you."
Jory's expression turned serious. "Sure, what do you need?"
"If I gave you a couple of names, would you be able to check the history records?" Jory was our computer expert. Through his council access, he'd be able to search more records than I would. If he needed to, he could utilize Elder Miguel Luis' help, who was the keeper of the King's Library. "I need you to find a couple of people. They are dead but I'm not sure how long ago. I need whatever you can find on Nikita Minoas and Angelo Giannis. Could you also look for a connection to someone by the name of Seth?"
Jory didn't blink at my odd request. "Finding the first two shouldn't be too difficult. Many of the records have been put into databases and the documents scanned into electronic files. The one without a surname will be harder. I can't make any guarantees but I'll do the best I can."
"Thanks, Jory, that's all I can ask."