Haven (15 page)

"Baby,"
her voice stroked over him. "I'm fine, Leo."

He
breathed hard, his chest heaving up and down as he fought to subdue the beast and
change back to his human skin. He clasped his hands in front of him, fighting
the need to snatch her into his arms. Liliana rolled from the bed. 

"Don't."
He closed his eyes and fought harder. "Give me a minute."

She
kept coming until her cool touch brushed his arm. He opened his eyes and stared
into hers. She didn't say anything, simply looked at him until his body settled.
His claws receded along with his teeth and he breathed easier. He changed back
to his human skin on a shuddering sigh. She opened his arms and stepped into
his chest. Her body trembled and Leo rested his head on her hair and held her.

"Don't
cry,
ina
, I didn't mean to scare you." He felt self-conscious. He'd
not lost control of his beast since he was a boy, and twice in her presence
he’d done so.

Liliana
hit his arm. “I’m not scared of you. I‘ve just had a shitty couple of days,
ok.” She sniffled and snuggled back into his arms.

“I’m
sorry for losing control. The mating instincts have me on a hair trigger.”

She
shook her head at him. “It’s okay.”

“I
need to go take care of this.”

“Let
it go, Leo. It’s over.”

He
grunted in answer, he disagreed, but he’d let her think otherwise. “You should
lie down.”

She
sighed. “You’re always trying to get me into bed.”

“Of
course.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I’ll be right back.”

“Fine.”
She pushed him out of their bedroom.

He
smiled back at her and waited until she closed the door. Once he heard the
click he turned back to his brother, the fake smile dropping from his face.

“Leo…”
Fallon started.

“I
don’t want to hear it, Fallon. You’d do the same.”

“Of
course.” Fallon stood, no use denying the truth of that. “Xavier is waiting for
us in the commander’s office.”

Leo
paused at the front door of the apartment. “You called X?”

“The
prince was involved.”

“What?”
Rage simmered again below his skin. His beast rumbled, his fangs aching his
gums as jealousy ripped through him. The prince was in their room. Had she
invited him? Was there something he’d missed? Insecurity flashed through him,
his normal distrust and cynicism taking over his concern for Liliana. They had
been betrothed, could they still have feelings for each other?

He
closed his eyes and breathed through his nose.

No
way.

He
didn’t imagine the heat between he and Liliana, and he certainly didn’t mistake
the look in her eyes when they kissed. Not to mention the terror on her face
whenever the prince was mentioned. There couldn’t be lingering feelings between
the two.

“I’ll
fill you in on the way to the office.” Fallon said grimly.

He
let go a string of curses. Shaking the last of the jealousy. “We’re not leaving
until I put guards I trust on her.”

Pulling
out his communicator he called the Atlanta Haven looking for men he’d
personally trained. He didn’t want ones from this realm looking after Liliana.
Especially if the problem was Prince Kedric. He picked two men he knew wouldn’t
be swayed by the Legba monarchy. Quiet men, but vicious. A Benu and Cagyn, he’d
been training them for a couple of months now. Xavier was worried about him
when he left Haven, Leo thought having the men with him would alieve his
brother’s stress. Until he could find a permanent solution to security for his
mate, he wanted them to shadow her every move. He was no longer taking chances
with her life.

It
only took the soldiers half an hour to reach the officer’s quarters. Leo let
them in, grateful for their haste. He quickly briefed them on what had happened
in the past couple of days.

“I
have to leave for a little bit, no one is to enter this room until I return.
Understood?”

They
nodded in silence. He went back to check on Liliana and found her asleep on top
on the covers. Satisfied, he and Fallon left his temporary apartment, marching
with quick feet to the commander’s office. The two guards he’d originally
assigned to protect her stood in the office at attention. Xavier sat on the
commander’s desk, his arms crossed over his chest, and his legs crossed at his
ankles.

His
rage exploded at seeing the male’s faces, but he kept it under wraps. That is
until he saw the smug look they give him. Neither guilt nor remorse showed on
their face.

Oh,
that wouldn’t do at all.

Changing
into his Cagyn form, he used his magic to slam one of them into the wall. The
other he grabbed around the throat, lifting him off the ground.

 “Leo,
mind the furniture please.” Xavier uncrossed his legs. “We did borrow this
office after all.”

He
nodded. It was a valid point. “Explain to me how my mate got hurt under your
watch?”

The
guard was gasping, clawing at Leo's arm.

“He
can't talk while you're choking him. Maybe let enough air in for him to talk.”
Fallon suggested as he took up a spot on the other side of the desk.

Leo
smiled and lifted his claws a fraction. The guard hissed and sucked in small
huffs of air.

“Well?”
Xavier barked.

“The
prince said he grew up with Lady Marcolev. We thought-”

Leo
speared the soldier on the wall with a hard look. “I didn't ask you. You're
hanging on that wall because I can feel your remorse. So shut the hell up
before I open your gut.”

The
male shut his mouth and grimaced.

“Now
this piece of shit, you're not sorry at all are you?” Leo lifted the guard and
slammed him down into the carpet. He picked him up and threw him into the wall,
watching with disinterest as he slid down into a heap on the floor.

The
soldier changed into his true form, and Leo bared his teeth. The Eshu struggled
to stand. Leo walked over and grabbed the yards of green and aqua hair to help
the soldier up.

“We're
going to have us a bit of fun, brothers.”

Xavier
and Fallon both stood. Leo smiled. Yeah, the Eshu had a lot of explaining to do
and Leo had no problem making the conversation as painful as possible.

***

Liliana
lifted a groggy eye and felt the bed next to her. Empty. Damn him and damn her
for going to sleep. She’d slept more in the past two days than she had the
entire four years she was on Earth. She scrambled from the bed and rushed into
the living room. A uniformed soldier stood next to the bedroom door and Liliana
backed away.

“What
are you doing here?”

The
soldier blinked, but said nothing.

She
sighed and marched to the intercom on the wall. “What’s the number for the
commander’s office?”

Getting
no answer from the guard, she searched the emergency numbers on the intercom
pad to no avail. Growling in frustration, Liliana eyed the soldier and debated
her next move. Leo went to punish the security officers even though she’d told
him to drop it. That wasn’t what had her upset. The guard hanging in her room,
not speaking, was the source of her anger. He stood over the door like a prison
warden.

“Am
I allowed to leave?”

 Sharine’s
taunting words echoed through her mind. She hadn’t wanted to believe the woman,
but here she stood, stuck in the room ‘for her own good’.

The
Amanda soldier tapped an earpiece and spoke quietly. She tapped her feet and
wrestled her temper down.

“I've
only been told to keep others from entering.” He said.

Benu,
his accent gave him away. Though his human skin disguised his true form, his
small eyes and pointed nose gave him bird-like features, so common to their
race. Liliana growled and stomped to the door. She opened it to find another
soldier there.

“Lady
Marcolev, do you have need of something?”

“Are
you supposed to keep me locked up in here?” Irritation sharpened her voice.

The
soldier shot a confused look to the Benu behind her.

“I
asked you a question.”

“No,
my lady. We're to guard you, not keep you locked up. If you have somewhere to
go, we will get you there.” Perfectly polite, his answer annoyed her all the
more.

“Like
what, an armed escort?” She worked to calm herself. After all she’d nearly
died…twice. She rubbed her neck, imagining the bruises still marring her skin.
Okay, so perhaps the guards were needed.  “Where is Leo?”

The
soldier spoke quietly into his ear piece. “In the commander's office, if you'll
calm yourself, we'll escort you there.” The Benu's voice held no emotion, his
face gave nothing away.

She
sighed, she wasn’t being held prisoner. She knew better to let Sharine get into
to her head. The woman said herself she’d come to stir up trouble. Liliana
refused to feed into the other woman’s mischief. They walked her down the
hallways to what she assumed was the commander’s office. The Benu held out his
arm at the door, stopping her movement.

“We
cannot enter until we get the okay.” He knocked quietly on the door.

Fallon
peeked out of the office. “Liliana you shouldn’t be here.”

“I
want to see Leo, now.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Fallon continued to
block the door and she wanted to know why.

“Hold
on.” He disappeared back into the room, closing the door tightly behind him. 

She
growled and kicked the door, the small move petty, but made her feel better.
The soldier next to her snickered. She shot him a deadly look.

Leo
slid out of the door a moment later in his Cagyn form, his black hair around
his shoulders in disarray and his eyes meeting hers, no remorse.

“You
left me.” It slipped out. She winced at the hurt in her tone.

“
Ina.
”
He dismissed the soldiers with a flicker of head. He pulled her close. “I
needed to take care of this.”

“I
asked you to drop it.”

“No
one hurts you and gets away with it. Would you rather I kill Kedric?”

She
searched his eyes, and shuddered at the chill in them. He was telling the
truth, he would kill Kedric despite the punishment he’d suffer for it. She
didn’t want that for him. Not to mention all manner of skeletons were sure to
pop out of Kedric’s closet with his death.

 “No.”

“Your
guards were responsible for you, and the Eshu allowed the prince to push his
way into our room. This after the healer was given instructions to let you
suffer your injuries. Clearly the monarchy has a lot more power in this station
than they should. It stops today. I plan on making a staggering example out of
these two so it doesn’t happen again.”

The
anger etched on his face was implacable. Talking him out of punishing the
guards was not going to happen.

She
sighed. “Fine, I’ll leave you to deal with it.” Not like she had a choice. But
for the sake of her pride, she would pretend she did and leave while there was
a miniscule amount of dignity left.

Leo
motioned the guards over. “I’m not locking you up, sweetheart. The guards are
there for your protection only. I swear.”

He
kissed her cheek and went back into the office, the door cutting off any other
conversation. Her protection only, huh? Still, Sharine’s words were there
taunting her. She could only hope once they were back in Atlanta everything
would return to normal and she would get some semblance of freedom.

THE SURVEILLANCE ROOM WAS EMPTY, as usual around this time of
night. It certainly suited Verity’s purpose just fine. She’d heard Xavier had
left the Atlanta Haven to take care of something on Legba. Security all around
would be a tiny bit more lax with him gone. She planned on using the
opportunity to clean up behind herself a little. There was a meeting with a
certain noble she needed to hide. She smiled at the soldier who let her in, and
blew him a kiss, shaking her hair a little to dazzle him. Men made it so easy
sometimes.

Dismissing the gullible male, Verity spied her reason for
sneaking into the surveillance room. Adding an extra sway to her hips, she
sidled up to the captain in charge. His cubby sat at the back of the room, the
walls gave her privacy for what she had in mind. He smiled as she perched
herself on the edge of his desk.

“To what do I owe the honor?” He sat back in his chair, clasping
his hands behind his head.

Sliding a finger down the front of his chest, she purred. “Can’t
a girl just visit?”

His eyes widened and his pupils dilated in lust as she weaved a
spell over him. “You’re always welcome.”

She hooked the belt loop of his pants and slid his chair closer,
careful to complete the spell she was murmuring under her breath. The captain’s
breathing evened, and his eyes glazed as she finished. She leaned into his
space, stopping a hair’s breadth from his mouth.

“I need to see the Oras.”

For a moment, the captain’s heartrate picked up as he fought
through her magic. But it was useless. Verity had honed the magic native to her
race. There wasn’t a Dziva faster than her at enrapturing their prey, nor one
as thorough. The captain would be under her spell until she dispersed it.

But just in case…

She pushed a little more of her magic into it.

The captain’s jaw slackened a bit and she knew he was completely
under. Satisfied, she ordered him to pull up the Oras from the date of her
meeting with the Eshu noble. His hands lifted, if a bit slowly, weaving a spell
only he and maybe three other people knew. She’d tried to use the spell outside
of Haven’s surveillance room and it not only changed every day, but the magic
didn’t work outside of Haven. Unfortunately for her, it meant that anytime she
needed to corrupt them, she had to do so from here. It increased her chances of
being caught, so she made sure to make each time count.

She sighed in relief as the images from her meeting floated in
the air in front of them. Pulling out a crystal given to her by a shaman she
used, she laid it on the captain’s desk. She pulled out a piece of parchment
and read the spell quietly. The images wavered and blinked out. She was never
sure what the stone was for, but each time Sergio weaved a spell for her to
erase the Oras, he had her bring it along. One of these days she’d get around
to asking him. Satisfied that she’d completed her task she kissed the captain
on the lips and left.

She would drop the stone off to Sergio, along with his payment
and leave Adro. She didn’t necessarily hate the Earth realm, but she hated the
restrictions of being in her human form. Her cellphone beeped at her hip. Her
frown turned into a grimace as she realized who was trying to contact her. Not
wanting to take the call at Haven, she made quick steps to the exit.

“Yes, mother.”

“Verity, your grandmother wants to see you.” Her mother didn’t
bother with a greeting.

She sighed as she unlocked the Porsche she drove on Adro. “Will
she be sane?”

“I doubt it, but it doesn’t matter.”

Verity rolled her eyes, happy her mother couldn’t see. Of course
it didn’t matter to her mother that her grandmother was insane. The woman had
given up half her power to contain Ofeeree, that type of sacrifice demanded
respect. Which meant, every time her grandmother yelled jump, they were to ask,
‘How high?’

“I don’t have time.”

“You will make time.” Was her mother’s simple answer.

Not bothering to argue, Verity locked the doors of her Porsche
and walked around the back of Haven. There was an illegal portal nestled in the
forest behind Haven’s back door. That the Amanda continually missed the portal
baffled her. Though, in their defense, a lot of care was taken to keep it
hidden. Weaving the spell for Uhlango, her home realm, Verity stepped through
the portal and into complete darkness.

For some reason, time on this realm, ran differently than other
realms. Not bothering with a cab, she walked the mile to her grandmother’s
house, using the cool air to center herself. Meeting with her grandmother was
always a chore. According to family legend one elder from each realm gave a
portion of their power to bind Ofeeree to stop him from taking over the world.
Those elders and their families were heralded as heroes, each of them given riches
incomparable. Unfortunately, her grandmother was paying for her contribution
with her sanity. She was going insane, and each decade it got worst. It didn’t
help that the loss of her grandmother’s power made her an outcast in Dziva
society, despite the money and property.

She didn’t know how the other families lived on other realms,
but on Uhlanga, power ruled. And giving up your power voluntarily…Her family
was ridiculed. Dzivas were a matriarchal society, a cut-throat one who saw
noble deeds as useless unless they garnered favor. And money, unfortunately for
her family didn’t count. Verity had spent her formative years dressed in the
finest money could buy, but shunned because both her mother and grandmother
were weak. It had taken her a while to hone her magic and a lot of shady deals
to build her power, but she had. She’d clawed her family back up the rungs of
Dziva society and made examples out of anyone who got in her way. Now the same
ones who looked down on her family, wouldn’t dare look her in the eye, for fear
of what she’d do.

Not bothering to knock, she entered her Grandmother Helen’s home
and called out for her.

“In the living room, dear.” Helen’s voice sounded strong, so
clearly it was a lucid day.

Verity rounded the corner, surprised to find her grandmother not
only lucid, but combing through old family albums. She leaned over and gave her
grandmother a perfunctory kiss on the cheek.

“I don’t have time to waste, darling, I don’t know how long I’ll
be lucid.” Helen’s hands shook as she flipped through pages.

“What’s going on, grandmother?”

“You’re working to free Ofeeree, right?”

Verity gasped, and sat down in alarm. “Grandmother, you can’t go
around…”

“Never mind the lying, child. You want the family’s power back
and Ofeeree is the only way that will happen. You will need to know the names
of the families who gave up their power. Likely the Kokoro souls will be born
to them.”

She nodded. It was the same thought she and the rest of the
guild were counting on.

“I have those names here in this book.” Helen mumbled absently.
“They swore us to secrecy, but you know a Dziva could never resist having that
kind of information.”

“I would’ve done the same.” Verity said, leaning forward to look
in the album her grandmother was searching.

Old pictures and family announcements were taped into the scrap
book.

“Of course you would’ve. You’re nothing like your weak mother. I
love her dearly, but she would never have the power or the audacity to return
us back to our rightful place in society.”

Pride swelled her chest and a new found wonder for her
grandmother filled Verity. She too loved her mother, but Helen was right. Her
mother had no time for politics, and no desire to mingle in society. She’d been
content to live with her father on the outskirts of both the city and Dziva
society. Verity would never settle. She watched her grandmother flip through
the pages. A few moments later, the page turning slowed down, and then finally
came to a halt. Helen looked up at her granddaughter, her once sparkling violet
eyes, clouded with confusion.

“Verity, darling, shouldn’t you be in school?”

She cursed, standing to pace Helen’s small but opulent home. Not
bothering to answer, she simply marched into the kitchen and called the nurse
they’d hired to care for Helen. Answering on the first ring, Verity arranged
for the woman to come back and sit with her grandmother for the rest of the
evening. According to the nurse, Helen had given her the night off. She’d known
it was only a matter of time before the woman submerged back into the murky
confusion where she spent the majority of her days, so she hadn’t gone far.
Just down the street to visit a friend.

Walking back into the living room, Verity kissed her Helen
goodbye, grabbed her family album and walked out. Perhaps her grandmother did
have the name of the families where the Kokoro souls could possibly be born
too, and perhaps she didn’t. There was no harm in checking.

***

Between the plans for the
di êjê
and chaos of being
attacked, Liliana had lost track of the days. It had taken two weeks to get the
ceremony planned to the royal family’s exacting expectations.  The bonding
ceremony had been an intangible concept until she’d awakened this morning. Now
with the ceremony looming in just hours, her nerves were all over the place. She
stood in the middle of her and Leo’s room being prepared for the ceremony by
Bea. She fluttered around Liliana, making last minute adjustments, fretting
over every miniscule flaw. Liliana eyed her reflection in the floor to ceiling
mirror on the wall in their bedroom.

The gown she'd chosen was the palest yellow, with gold thread in
geometric shapes throughout. Strapless, it displayed her shoulders shining from
the hours spent in traditional preparation. She didn't want to attend another
bathing ceremony for as long as she lived. She'd been scrubbed, lotioned and
invigorated within an inch of her life. The invigorating process was especially
joyful. Over eager maids with small, flat straw brooms briskly tapping her body
until her brown skin glowed. Liliana curled her lip in remembrance. Some were
more eager than others, no doubt at the instruction of her mother. Arian had
had a week’s worth of admonishments for her while she watched on in glee. From
the ever unfolding story of the market stall bombing to the drama between Leo
and his mother, Arian covered it all as the palace servants tapped her body.
The results could not be denied though. Her skin felt like silk.

 Bea grumbled behind her as she used magic to finish her hair.
Liliana rolled her eyes as her hair changed styles with the flick of Bea's
wrist. Leo would have her tresses down her back soon after the mating. Bea's
work would be for naught in a few hours.

She smiled secretly. He liked her hair down. He'd told her so
every time he yanked out her pins during the moments they’d had these past few
days. The planning and his investigation had kept them both busy, but the
nights were theirs, and they’d not wasted a single one. Liliana clamped her
mouth shut, trapping a moan.  She looked forward to the rest of her life with
him.

"It’s important you not upset your mother today,
Lily." Bea's words brought her back to the present.

She sighed. “My mere existence upsets my mother. There’s nothing
I can do about that.”  Liliana closed her eyes and put a hand to her stomach.
Butterflies fluttered, making her anxious.

Beatrice clucked her tongue. “You shouldn’t say things like
that, my love.”

Liliana shook her head in impatience. “You know it’s true, Bea.
My mother loved Kita more. I’m resigned to merely being a thorn in her side.”

“That’s not true, Lily.” She met Liliana’s eyes in the mirror.
They both knew the truth. Bea looked away.

“You’ve always been more a mother to me than she.” Tears
gathered and Liliana blinked them back.

The fact that Beatrice helped her prepare and not her mother
testified to it. Tradition dictated her mother be here, helping her dress,
giving her last minute advice and soothing the nervous bride. That her mother
was not, was proof of their tumultuous relationship. The room should be filled
with both friends and family, but no one wanted to be seen with a social
pariah. She understood her friends being absent, not that she’d ever had a lot
of friends. The few she had, had mothers as strict as her own. They wouldn’t
allow their daughters near her. Her mother’s sisters were another story. Her
mother, their baby sister was not here, so they wouldn’t be. In fact, none of
the women from her mother’s family were there, especially the ones with
daughters unmated. Whether or not they showed up to the ceremony at all was
questionable.

She’d lost a lot when she’d left.  All at once anger filled her.
That Kedric would ask her to just drop her search for her sister after
everything she’d lost pissed her off anew.

“I’ve always thought of you as my daughter, and I couldn’t be
more proud of you.” Beatrice’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.

She turned and pulled her into a tight hug. “I love you, Bea.”

“Oh now, let’s not start the waterworks.” Bea backed up and ran
a critical eye across Liliana’s appearance. “Just beautiful.” She wiped her
eyes.

“Thank you for everything.” Liliana stepped into her shoes.

“Be sure to visit me once in a while. I know your mate will be
taking you to Adro straightaway.” Bea fanned her face, looking up to trap her tears.

“I've a better idea. Come to Adro with me. You can stay with Leo
and me. Not as a maid, but as my family. Think about it, Bea. Leo wouldn’t deny
me this."

Bea fussed with her own gown. “I’ve not much use for Adro. Can’t
stand the crowds if you must know.”

"You can help me with my children, be there for them as
you've been for me." Liliana wheedled.

"My place is here." Bea wiped her cheeks and turned
Lily to face the mirror.