Love Bites (Bitten Book 4) (33 page)

I assumed the question was directed to the entire table. I looked at all the faces that surrounded me, and everyone looked weary and strained.

“We can’t form a plan of attack if we have no clue where or who we’re supposed to be attacking!”

Conner scrubbed his face with his hands. “We know they’ve sustained heavy losses. Since all the vampires who were captured killed each other and themselves and all the wolves were killed in battle or in the jail, they’re down by fifty.”

“That would be helpful if we knew how many they had to start with,” Gabriel Crowe, one of the vampire council, interjected.

This discussion was getting us nowhere.

Apparently, Lach agreed with me because he interrupted. “Instead of worrying about what we don’t know, let’s discuss what we do know.”

Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

“The Faction wants to amass power, not only over the supernatural groups in this city and state, but the humans too. Cornelius will not be content with just Dallas or even Texas. He’ll want everything. The nation and eventually the world. In order to maintain control of that magnitude, I’m assuming he’ll need a great deal of strength, not just the physical kind, but magical as well.” Lach looked at Kerry and Finn. “Am I correct?”

They nodded.

“Now, I’m going to make a logical assumption here and state that the Prophecy of the Five has something to do with how he intends to gain this power.”

His statement made sense. Especially when put into context with the discussion Ricki and I had not long ago about how each of the women had a talent.

“I think Lach’s onto something,” I stated. Then I explained my conversation with Ricki and how each of the five women were special and gifted in some way. Each powerful enough to take charge of their respective communities, even Ivie and Shannon, who were still human, could best vampires and shifters.”

Kerry began to nod. “You’re right. I considered that our special talents might have something to do with the prophecy but never thought that it might be part of the reason Cornelius wants us.”

“I don’t know a lot about magic, but do you think there is some way he could….take your powers from you?” Chloe asked Kerry.

The High Priestess pondered the question for a few moments. “There are all sorts of binding spells and ways to transfer power, but nothing I know of is permanent.” She paused. “That doesn’t mean it’s not possible, especially if Cornelius is using one of the black grimoires. I’ll have to do some research, but if it exists, I’ll find it.”

Chloe nodded.

“Another thing we know is that technology isn’t something the Faction seems comfortable with. In fact, they seem to abhor it. It’s a weakness, a rather large one,” Lachlan stated.

“But how do we use that to our advantage in the future?” Lex asked.

Lach shrugged. “I’m not sure, but it’s definitely something to consider. If we’re willing to use non-supernatural ways to track the Faction, we might have better luck than what we’ve been doing so far.”

Conner leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows on the table. “Excellent suggestion, Lachlan.”

I could see the gears were turning quickly in the vampire’s head, but he didn’t speak again.

“So what’s next?” Chloe asked to the room in general.

Lex shrugged. “We keep our security tight, keep our guard up, and when we have the information we need, we make a plan.”

By the way everyone in the room shifted in their seats, I could tell this was not what any of them wanted to hear. They were all leaders, strong and capable and accustomed to taking action. Hiding was not in their nature.

Curious, I changed the subject and asked Kerry, “Did you determine how Brittany and Gerard were killed?”

Her face grew pale. “Yes, I did.”

When she didn’t continue, I prompted, “And?”

“It was a spell,” she answered softly. “One of the most repugnant, evil spells I’ve ever seen. The victim would be in incredible agony before they died, unable to move, breathe, or scream as their body boiled from the inside out.”

Remembering what the bodies looked like when I went into the jail early that morning, I cringed at the description. They may have deserved to die, but to die like that…..it wasn’t right.

“If they’re able to perform that kind of magic, why aren’t they using it on us?” Gabriel asked.

Finn spoke before Kerry. “Because it takes a tremendous amount of power and very few are strong enough to manage it. Either Cornelius is more powerful than we realize or he’s found another warlock to do his dirty work.”

The discussion of what should be done or could be done continued for another half hour. Finally, Conner called the meeting to a halt.

“We’re talking in circles now. I think it’s time to take a step back and try to examine the situation from another angle. We’ll meet again in a few days, unless one of us stumbles upon something important.”

Everyone agreed and filed out of Lachlan’s dining room. While I was saying my good-byes, Donna, Ivie, and Shannon came inside the house.

“Everything okay?” I asked. I knew Ricki had been really looking forward to spending time with them.

Donna grinned. “Yeah, Ricki’s just tired. Now that she’s in such a delicate condition, I told her she should consider the value of naps. Especially since it’s highly unlikely she’ll get any sleep after that baby is born. Congratulations, by the way.”

I grinned at Donna’s reminder of my impending fatherhood. “Thanks.”

Hugs and kisses were spread around as the vampires and their mates departed. It made the meeting seem more like a social event than a battle planning session. Having those five women involved in the supernatural community was changing things. I thought they were definitely being changed for the better.

I said my good-byes to Lach and Chloe and headed back to the house. When I came inside, I found Ricki curled up on the couch, a light blanket over her legs, and her little black cat lying with its head across her ankles. She was watching some action movie with a muscular blonde hero wearing a cape and an Aussie accent. I’d never seen it before and probably wouldn’t considering he was twirling a big hammer and flying around like a bird. Why on earth would she watch a movie like that?

She smiled at me when she looked up. “Hey.” Ricki waited until I was leaning over her to give her a kiss before she asked, “So how did the meeting go?”

I stopped, my lips a couple inches from her forehead. “What?”

“The meeting you just came home from. How did it go?”

I blinked and straightened, feeling vaguely threatened, as though somewhere in that question there lay a trap. A big, scary bear trap with huge teeth.

“It went fine. We’re not any closer to the Faction than we were before, though Lachlan had an interesting perspective….I was planning on discussing it with you after dinner.” I stopped speaking when she merely smiled up at me, blinking innocently. “How did you know about the meeting?”

She rolled her eyes. “Calder, I’m not an idiot. All the girls were here except for Kerry and Chloe, both leaders of their people, and all the men were with you at Lachlan’s. It doesn’t take a nuclear physicist to know something was going down.”

“And you’re not…mad at me?” God, I hoped I wasn’t digging my own grave with that question, but this discussion felt like a conversational minefield.

Suddenly her eyes narrowed and I knew I was about to catch hell. “If you thought I might be mad you kept it a secret,
why didn’t you tell me
?” she asked softly.

Hoping to defuse the situation, I crouched down in front of her. “Darlin’, your arm was almost chewed off yesterday, you found out you had a grandfather, who was a dick, he died a horrible death, and you’re pregnant. I thought an afternoon with your friends might be more relaxing for you than a meeting where we discussed how much we don’t know about our enemies.”

Suddenly, she grinned at me. “That’s exactly why I wasn’t mad at you.”

I stared at her, frowning and confused. “You weren’t mad?”

She shook her head.

“Really?”

With another smile, she kissed my cheek. “No, Calder. I understood why you didn’t want me to go and actually agree with you. I needed time with my friends and I needed to rest today.”

I began to smile back, glad I wasn’t going to be chewed out for keeping her away from the meeting.

“However,” she said sharply, “if it happens again, I might not be so understanding, so don’t make a habit of it. Yes?”

“Okay, okay. But, in the future, there will be times I can’t take you, Ricki.”

She nodded. “I understand that, but just know I’ll be able to tell if you’re lying to me.”

I shook my head and kissed her lips this time. “You’re somethin’ else, darlin’.”

“Yeah, but you love it,” she retorted, kissing me back firmly. “I love you, Calder.”

“I love you too, Ricki.”

She leaned back slightly, lacing her fingers together over the back of my neck. “How about some show and tell to prove that to me?”

Her squeal turned into a loud laugh as I pounced on her and proceeded to show her
and
tell her over and over how much she meant to me.

Shannon

A
t Donna’s insistence,
I was staying at the mansion she shared with Conner tonight. I hadn’t argued because there was something important I needed to discuss with him. Judging by the way he looked at me during dinner, Conner had something on his mind as well.

I waited until Donna decided to go take a long, hot bath before I walked downstairs to Conner’s study.

At my light knock, he called out, “Come in, Shannon.”

I opened the door and entered, shutting it behind me. This conversation needed to be private.

Conner was in his desk chair, facing the fireplace, a glass of whiskey in his hand. Looking at him sprawled out in the luxurious room, he appeared every bit the urbane man. It wasn’t until he swiveled toward me, revealing the roughly hewn bone structure of his face and the slightly wavy length of his brown hair, that he looked like the battle-hardened warrior I knew him to be.

“What can I do for ya this evening?”

I wondered if he knew that his Scottish brogue was peeking out as I moved to the chair in front of his desk and sat down. Folding my hands in my lap, I studied him, but didn’t answer his question.

Suddenly, I felt the gentle nudge of his mind against mine as he tried to get a read on me. Suppressing a laugh, I gave him the telepathic equivalent of a slap on the back of the hand.

Wincing slightly, Conner lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck, his electric blue eyes sheepish. “Sorry, lass. Your silence has me a bit worried.”

I decided then and there that he not only knew his accent was heavier, he was attempting to use it like a weapon. I was going to smack Donna upside the head for revealing the weakness so many American females had for deep voices and foreign accents. It was a betrayal to all of womankind, especially with a man as blessed as Conner. He didn’t need any more weapons in his arsenal.

“There’s something I need to ask you and I’d like your assurance that you’ll hear me out before you say anything,” I began.

Conner sipped his whiskey, staring at me unblinkingly.

Then I felt it. It wasn’t a gentle nudge this time, more like a battering ram. He basically put his boot in the middle of my mental gates and kicked it as hard as he could.

Shaken, I kept my shields up, but barely. This time I didn’t smack the back of his hand, but gave as good as I got. I bitch slapped him with my telepathy.

As though my strike had been physical rather than mental, Conner’s head jerked to the side. When his eyes returned to me, they glowed brightly. Typically, that response would have terrified me, but my special internal warning system was silent. Whatever Conner was doing, it wasn’t with malicious intent. In fact, I was almost positive he was testing me.

Draining his glass, Conner set it on his desk abruptly. “So Calder was right about you. You’re a sensitive.”

I nodded once to confirm it.

“And that’s how you survived that night in my house. And killed those vampires.”

Again, I nodded, my hands clenching tightly in my lap. I forced myself to relax my fingers and keep my gaze even on Conner.

He leaned back in his chair, resting his elbows on the arms and steepling his fingers. “Interesting.”

We stared at each other across his office for another couple of minutes before he finally asked, “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

I took a deep breath, held it for a split second, and released it. It was something I did in stressful situations, like in the middle of a firefight, or a first date, or when planning to ask my best friend’s man for a huge favor.

Keeping my eyes steady on his to convey my seriousness, I made sure to speak clearly and firmly when I stated, “I want you to make me a vampire.”

The End

A native Texan, C.C. grew up either reading or playing the piano. Years later, she’s still not grown up and doing the same things. Since the voices in her head never shut up, C.C. decided to share their crazy stories and started writing books.