“Day walker.” They both looked at
Lachesis. “You’re a day walker. And you’ve been promoted.”
“I don’t understand. I can walk in the
day.” Andi looked at Mac. “He’s a vampire, he can…do you want us to find one
for you?”
“She means I’m a day walker now. That’s
what she’s given me. And you…I have no idea. What is her reward?” Mac looked
around the room when several other people suddenly appeared. He leaned into her
ear and whispered. “Don’t make any sudden moves.”
Terror ripped through her and, of course,
she needed to move more than anything. Shifting on his lap, he held her to him
and growled low. He apparently didn’t care for the new visitors. She stiffened
when one of them approached her.
“My name is Draco. I’ve heard of you,
Brandi MacManus. I am giving you a gift. One I have not given in many, many
years. Would you like it?”
She glanced back at Mac and he nodded.
“Give me your hand.”
She held out her hand and was
embarrassed to see it tremble in fear. Draco chuckled slightly and leaned down
and kissed the back of it. The tingling didn’t last long and before she could
question it, he stepped away.
The next person who came to her was
beautiful. And she was winged. There were jewels in her ears and along a crown
she wore on her head. Andi had a feeling this person was someone of great
worth. Not of money, but of prestige.
“I’m Tess.” She winked at her. “And yeah,
I have something. Want it?”
Again, Andi looked at Mac who nodded and
smiled.
“You should have seen him as a kid.
Chubby little bugger. And a pain in my ass.”
“Behave, Tess, and give her your gift.
There are others waiting,” Athropos said quietly. Tess turned to look at her
then back at Andi. “She’s a pain in my ass too. Give it up girl, I’ve things to
do.”
Andi put out her hand and the woman
dropped something into it. She told her to swallow it and Andi did as she
asked. Tess walked away, but not before she stuck her tongue out at Mac. He
returned the favor.
Three more people gave her something. Two
of them were nothing she could see and the last was nothing more than a kiss on
the cheek. When they bowed before her and disappeared, she nodded. Something
weird was going on. But before she could ask, everyone, with the exception of
Maddy, disappeared.
“Mac is going to be the master, if he
wants the role?”
Mac nodded at Maddy’s question.
“Good. Now, if there are no more
questions, I have to get home to Kyle. He’s going to massage my feet. Man, I
love that guy.”
Then she, too, was gone. Mac wrapped his
arms around her and they were suddenly in his house, the kitchen, where they
seemed to spend most of their time. Duncan didn’t even bat an eye, but handed
her a glass of juice and an apple dumpling from earlier. Before she was half-finished
Andi was nodding off. It had been a very long day.
~~~
Mac put her to bed and watched her
sleep. She wasn’t going to be happy when she woke, but what was done was done. He
moved to his side of the bed and laid down beside her. She turned in her sleep
and snuggled into him. He held her while he thought of what she’d gained tonight.
Tess’s gift was the best of all for her.
He knew that she’d begged to gift her something, but what she’d given Andi had
been beyond what the others had shared. The fates had decided that Andi would
be honored, as was he. And this honor came about for what she’d done for the
realms. Not just this one, but the one in which they lived in as well. Mac
reached for Mel.
“She accepted her gifts. Did you know that was going to
happen?”
He waited for an answer as he covered them both up.
“Yes and no. I know that the fates had
planned this, but what was given, I didn’t know until Andi accepted them. Did
you tell her to take the gifts or okay them?”
He knew that that made a difference in
them. He told her he’d only nodded to her and said nothing. He wasn’t giving
her permission, but telling her that the gifts were okay. Mac laughed when she
thought of the gift from Zane.
“Zane gave her the gift of fertility. Andi
might not be happy about that one.”
Mel laughed
.
“What if we have twins with every
birth?”
“You won’t. This first one is a boy. The
next…who knows. But your son will have all that she was given, as well as what
you gave him. He will be a great man, as his father is.”
And his grandfather,
Mac thought. He
loved and respected his father more every day since he’d found his own mate. He
said as much to Mel.
“Yes, well, don’t tell him. He has a big
enough head as it is.”
She was quiet for a while before she spoke again.
“Will
you tell her or will you wait until she figures it out? The one from Draco may
cause her a fright.”
The ability to become a dragon, a real
dragon, was a great gift. There were a few who could do it, shift into a dragon,
but that’s all they were. A shifted dragon. When Brandi shifted, she would be
the true kind, one that, if she wasn’t already mated, could mate with one and
sire full-blooded dragons.
“I’ll explain them to her tomorrow.”
Mac looked down
at the mark on his bicep and wondered if hers had appeared. It was the mark of
warrior fae, something that few ever saw in this world.
“Mel, thank you. For
everything.”
“You’re my little man, Mac. I couldn’t
let you destroy yourself because you wanted something I couldn’t give you. You
had to earn it.”
He nodded, knowing she could feel it.
“Mac? Would you do me a favor?”
“
Anything
.” When she told him
what she wanted, he readily agreed. And he knew that Andi would as well. Smiling,
he rolled into his mate’s warmth and closed his eyes. He was as happy as he’d
ever been.
The door opening woke him, but only for
a moment. Before he could go back to sleep he remembered that he would be able
to spend the day with Brandi and spend it in the sun. For over fifty years he’d
missed the daylight, and he got up intending to enjoy it whenever he could. He
was slightly disappointed it was raining out, but he didn’t really care. It was
daylight.
Duncan came back from the front of the
house with a frown. He’d been asked to allow someone in the gate and had gone
to speak with David when the gate had refused to open. He looked at Andi when
he came in.
“It is a person of meanness at the gate,
my lady. He says that he wishes to speak to you. I believe he is someone you
should avoid. He does not seem to be anyone that you would want to be alone
with. If you would allow it, I would be there in the event that you need my
protection. I am quite the boxer, my lady.”
Andi froze, not really hearing Duncan,
he was sure. Mac reached over and took her hand and she looked at him before
she looked at Duncan. “Did he happen to say who he was? I mean, is his name
Reginald Wall?”
“Yes, my lady. He said that he is your
father and has come to…I believe he said he was here to pitch you.”
She looked at Mac then. She then grinned
at Duncan as she stood up. “Fetch. He’s here to fetch me.” She looked at him. “He
uses that all the time. He thinks it’s clever. I think he’s really here to sell
me off.”
His dad came into the room as if
summoned. He didn’t look any happier about the new arrival than Andi did. He
sat down and took several deep breaths. He looked at him and tried to smile. It
was a smile that didn’t reach his red eyes, and Mac was suddenly very nervous.
“You do know that he is only here to try
and take you, don’t you? He won’t actually be able to touch you.” His dad
looked at Andi as he spoke, but he knew he was speaking to them both. “I’m the
master of this realm and as such, if he comes here, he’s going to get his ass
handed to him on one of the big platters that Duncan forever has.”
“What are you going to…you’re not going
to eat him, are you?” Andi sounded so horrified that Mac laughed. “This isn’t
funny, you overgrown ass. This is serious. He could hurt someone. Or, at the
very least, make you puke. I’m pretty sure that his blood is nasty. As nasty as
he is.”
“No, he won’t.” Mac stood up. “Come on,
love. Let’s go invite your stupid stepfather into this house. He won’t know
what hit him.”
The back door opened and Bradley came
in. He had five men with him and more, he said, on the lawn. Tess was suddenly
there and she said that “enough men” were with her. She acted like she’d been invited
to a kegger. Mac moved to the door just as Marcus, Shamus, and a few men from
the castle showed up as well. They were ready.
“Shall we?” He took her hand as Duncan
opened the gate. They were standing on the front step when Reggie drove to a
stop. He got out and he looked over the man who was going to pay for everything
he’d ever done to his mate.
“Brandi, I’ve come to fetch you home.
It’s time you stopped bothering these…what I’m sure are lovely people and come
home. Your mother is worried.”
“Come inside, please.”
Mac looked at his dad; the compulsion
was very strong and Reggie would have no choice.
“Come into my home now.”
Reggie had no idea he’d just entered a
house that he might never walk out of. Mac wrapped his arm around Andi and
kissed her on the head. He leaned down to her ear and told her the shit was
about to hit the fan.
Chapter 19
Reggie entered the big mansion. Fuck,
but these people had some dough. He decided that he was going to try and play
it up like Brandi had robbed him and left him high and dry. Maybe he could
convince these people that he could use a few grand to take her off their
hands. He watched the younger man with interest and wondered if he could kidnap
him and ransom him to someone.
The house on the inside was more impressive
than it had been on the out. Furniture was old as shit, but he decided that if
he lived here he’d take it all out and get something new. He’d have a big
screen television in every room. He moved to the big room with them and
marveled at the size of the fireplace. “You could roast a pig in here.” A man
with a tray came in and looked at him oddly. “Ah, food. It’s been awhile since
I’ve eaten. Been chasing this one for some time now. She gave me…her mother and
I had such a scare when she took off. I’m really hungry.”
“Me too.” The younger man licked his
lips and Reggie felt the hair on the back of his neck dance. “Why don’t you
have more to drink? It’s good for you.”
“I’m Aaron MacManus. This is my son,
Mac. These people are Andi’s boss, friends, and well…family.”
Reggie looked around the room as they
stared back at him. He was sure that one chick was wearing wings. “Nice to meet
you. I’ve been looking for Brandi for a while now. She has worried her mother
something fe—”
“Lie.”
Reggie looked at the man that leaned
against the fireplace mantel. He looked like he commanded armies, and the kind
that didn’t hold back on the field, but killed at will. Reggie started to stand,
but didn’t. He hated when men were taller than him and this man was taller by
something like five or six inches.
“What did you say?” He looked around the
room and glared at Brandi. “I’m just here to get my daughter back. Her mother
is missing her.”
“You killed her mother some years ago. You
buried her in the lot where you lived. The police have already found her.” The
man stood. “I’m Shamus, King of Magic. And you, sir, are a liar.”
“Now see here. You can’t accuse me of
something like that.” He looked at Brandi again as he stood. “Come on, girl.
It’s time for you to get your ass home.”
“She is home.” The man Aaron had called
Mac took Brandi by the hand. “This is my wife and she is home.”
Wife? If she was his wife then… “I
didn’t approve her getting married. I know you need permission to marry no
matter what state you live in.”
“I’m over eighteen, you moron.” Brandi
stepped forward and he nearly backhanded her. But someone had his wrist held
tightly. “You should have stayed away, you moronic dick.”
He looked over at the chick with wings
on. Christ, she had to be over six feet tall and her body seemed to glitter. He
tried to pull his arm free, but he couldn’t budge it. She laughed at him and
smiled. And that’s when he saw her teeth.
“Fuck. You have…are those fangs?” He
looked around the room. Really looked this time. There was a man who was stretching
and suddenly, he was a dog. A great big fucking dog. Reggie moved back until
the chair he had been sitting in nearly tripped him up. The Amazon still had
his arm.
“Yep, fangs. So do most of the people in
his room.” She leaned closer. “Including her husband. And he has a nasty bite. Ask
her.”
He looked over at Brandi and she smiled.
Her teeth looked longer, sharper and, as much as he didn’t want to admit it,
scarier. He tried to pull away again and his arm was suddenly free. But it
didn’t last long; he was pinned now against the far wall.