Prophesy Book III Page 16

  “I am,” Adres complained. “What in the underworld is wrong with those children? They practically attacked me as soon as I made it to the compound.”

  Henry laughed, and it sounded like Belleron’s, full of joy and contentment. “They love to make us their toys, especially on a full moon. They want us to use our speed and play tag and chase. I take it you didn’t enjoy it?” Adres must’ve given Henry the look of death because he wrung his dish towel in his hands and grimaced. “I suppose you did not. Can I get you anything, my Lord?”

  “No, thank you. I am fine. I was hoping to see Belleron before they departed.” Adres followed Henry into the eat-in kitchen.

  “He will be around shortly, I presume. Wick and Justice are almost set to go in the morning. I was just preparing a few things for him and his enforcers to snack on while on the road.”

  “That is very generous of you,” Adres noted, sitting at one of the stools around the large island.

  “Well, even though cooking was never in my official duties for the king, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for Justice.” Henry smiled, going back to his big copper pot of sauce. “I never in a million years thought I’d be doing this, but I can honestly say that I love it. Warming blood is a bit redundant and requires little to no thought.” Henry sniffed the spoon but did not lick it. “Now making a béchamel sauce with the absolute perfect amount of nutmeg… that takes skill.”

  Adres wasn’t sure what to say to that besides, “If you insist.”

  Henry grinned. “Justice loves my sauces. I think he even smears some on Wick when—”

  “Ei.” Adres balked, not needing that visual. “I really don’t think those are necessary details.”

  “Well, if Macauley ever runs out of here with my gravy boat like Justice did last week… I’ll know why.”

  Adres was glad his hood was low enough that Henry couldn’t see the heat radiating in his eyes. He couldn’t imagine Macauley smothering him in that steaming white sauce that Henry stirred methodically and then licking it off of him. Adres used a couple of his shields to block the lust rising in his pants.

  “Also, the shifters are usually starving when they finish on a run, so I like to have some food ready for them.” Henry shrugged as if that was no big deal, but it was obvious now why he was so loved and pampered. Those sandwiches on the counter were overflowing with slices of meat.

  “It is honorable what you do for them. You cook for Macauley too, yes?”

  “I do. Justice’s home is open to not only his siblings but the entire pack.”

  “Then I should thank you.” Adres nodded.

  Henry stared at Adres a moment as if he was trying to see him through the cover. “I hope you and Mac will be okay. He’s such a great guy. Loyal beyond measure. Funny, and so talented with his hands—”

  Adres hissed, his eyes widening in shock before he cut it off quickly. “My apologies. I do not even know why I did that. I do not consider you a threat.”

  “No, I am not a threat, my Lord.” Henry chuckled. “I am in love with Macauley’s brother. What I meant was that Mac is so good with his hands and building these cabins and the furniture and things.”

  “Of course.” Adres was embarrassed. He should apologize again. The last thing he wanted was to ignore Taleb’s warning he gave when they’d first met. He’d been very clear that Henry was not to be hurt. Ever. “Again. My sincerest apologies.”

  “It is fine.” Henry set another sandwich on the platter. “Once you are mated, all that aggression will simmer down.”

  Adres doubted it.

  “Come on. I’m on my last sandwich, and Justice’s food is already packed.” Henry washed his hands and removed his apron.

  “‘Come on’ where?” Adres stared, dumbfounded.

  “Outside, of course.”

  “It will be snowing in the Underworld before I go back out there with those crazy pups.” Adres stayed where he was sitting. “I think I once saw a movie about those kinds of children. I believe it was done by a man who went by the name of Hitchcock.”

  Henry blinked, his long brown lashes brushing his cheek. “Well, I wanna go outside and enjoy the weather and activities, but you won’t go with me. I’ll just wander around by myself. Heavens forbid anything happens to me and Taleb hears that you refused to escort me, Lord of Arms.”

  If Adres had been capable of a laugh, Henry could probably have gotten him close to it. How could such a pretty vampire have been so cunning? A small tilt lifted one side of Adres’s mouth as he got off the stool. “Yes. Heavens forbid,” he deadpanned as Henry rushed to put on his thick black parka over his suit.

  “It’s cold out there,” Adres muttered.

  “Hence the coat.” Henry cocked one smooth brow. “But I hear you can summon the west wind.”

  “This place is nothing more than a gossip mill.” Adres shook his head. “I guess I have lived in isolation for too long and forgot what socialization is like.”

  “Perhaps you have.” Henry stood in front of him and waved at the tattoos on Adres’s hands and his foreign wardrobe. “All of this should not be kept a secret, my Lord.”

  Adres gestured for Henry to precede him out of the front door, just in case those insane pups were lying in wait. Thankfully, the courtyard was mostly empty except for Farica and her friends walking. They must have babysitting duties.

  “Wow. Look at that.” Henry pointed towards the sky, a wistful smile gracing his soft features. “Have you ever seen anything more majestic?”

  Adres sucked his teeth. “Well, actually—”

  “That was rhetorical, my Lord,” Henry snapped, cutting his eyes towards him.

  Adres pfft’d. He was supposed to be looking for Belleron, but for some reason he found himself enjoying Henry’s company and his annoying way of finding the beauty in everything. Even him. There was something so unique about him to be a vampire. He was nurturing to the pack, comforting, and sweet. Like a human.

  “I think as vampires, we take the miraculousness of the night for granted. We believe it is ours, and therefore we ignore all that it has to offer, all that it gives to us. The shadows and darkness that we seek comfort in, that we use to protect and shield ourselves, disappear while we slumber. And reappear only when we wake. Have we ever once stopped to say thank you?”

  Adres supposed not.

  “That is what shifters do. They are the most grateful creatures on the earth. They roam during the day in the brilliance of the sun that causes their fields to grow and produce food. And they constantly give thanks.” A wolf howled long and slow in the distance. “And every twenty-nine and a half days, they give a special thanks to the night. In the most glorious way. I mean, just listen, my Lord, as they become one with the elements.”

  Adres was getting lost in Henry’s words.

  “And everything about them is amplified tonight. Their voice, their scent…” Henry was unable to conceal his trembling when he added, “Their touch.”

  Adres allowed the distant noise to filter to his mind, and he could hear the shifters running and howling far off at a perfect pitch, sounding like a song. He listened for his young wolf, but he only heard pack members. Where are you?

  Henry glanced back at him, a faint blush creeping up his high cheekbones, and that was when Adres heard the rutting and moaning. So much that he quickly blocked those noises out as it was not going to help his predicament.

  “I think we’ve experienced enough now, don’t you, Henry?” Adres declared.

  “You are quite the enigma, Adres Cavalerie. I know you’re blocking some of your scent but you are just as enamored by the new moon as the rest of us, nightwalker.” Henry nudged his arm as he walked past.

  Adres would not admit or deny either way— He stopped and turned towards the towering mountains. He frowned as a buzzing began under his skin. A feeling he hadn’t felt since he’d allowed Macauley inside him. Something was wrong.

  “What is it, my Lord?” Henry stopped when he did.


  “There’s someone attempting to break through one of the guardian wards I have around the perimeter,” Adres mumbled, straining to reach that far with his hearing.

  “An intruder? Are you sure?”

  “A spider knows when its web has been disturbed.” Adres released a sharp whistle, and Război appeared beside him, shaking his wild black mane. His war companion could feel it too.

  “What would you have me do, Lord?” Henry asked as Adres leapt onto his horse’s back and settled into the saddle.

  “Go find Justice and Wick immediately. Tell them whoever is at the border, I’m bringing back with me.” Adres shoved his boots into the stirrups and lowered his hood. “Dead or alive.”

  “My gods.”

  Henry flashed away, and Adres took off into the woods and up the steep mountain. Whoever was trying to enter from that point was someone powerful. Adres’s heart pounded rapidly as he thought of not only protecting his beloved, but all of the shifters who were oblivious and vulnerable right now.

  Adres used his speed, and by the time he reached the perimeter, he could barely feel the presence of the intruder anymore, which meant they had a shield. Adres pulled his sword from concealed within his armor and extended the blade. He didn’t want to kill. But he would for his cherished… without mercy.

  Adres tore down just enough of the barrier for he and Război to run through. It was eerily quiet on the other side of the border—too quiet. Adres didn’t hear a single coyote, racoon, not even a bark beetle.

  Adres harnessed his light as the air began to heat around him. “Show yourself now,” he called out. “That is not a warning!”

  Adres heard footsteps running towards him, but he didn’t see anyone. A voice carried to him, almost startling him off his horse. “Horseman, it is me. Let me in—hurry!”

  Adres held Război’s reins secure in his left hand as he stomped at the ground. “What is it, Boi? Where are they?”

  “I am here,” the male called out again, more panicked.

  “Show yourself!” Adres boomed, stabbing his blade into the ground, causing it to quake. He got off his horse in case he needed to battle.

  Seconds ticked by before Adres narrowed his eyes at the tall naked figure running directly towards him. He had shoulder-length, milky white hair that caught on the wind, and his scent made it to Adres before he did. A smell that could only be described as divine caused his fangs to throb under his gums, but they didn’t descend. The gods. The man coming at him was not human, nor was he a shifter or a vampire.

  The ethereal-looking being was a few yards away when he gritted out, “I am being chased.” He practically collapsed into Adres’s arms, his eyelids barely open, a speck of his lavender irises showing. “Take me to the AZ.”

  “Who are you?” Adres held the man securely in his arms, seeing he was far too beautiful to be a demon or a threat.

  “It’s me… Orion. You do not recognize me?” The man sighed. “The curse still plagues your mind.”

  “How do—?”

  “You saved me when I was a boy and took me to a safe place after my land was raided and my parents’ slaughtered by a coven.”

  Adres stared into violet eyes as flashes of him with a toddler under his cloak fleeing from a pack of wolves and rogue vampires appeared before him.

  “I could feel the curse on you then, but my powers weren’t developed enough for me to help you.” He reached beneath Adres’s hood and touched his rough cheek, gazing up into his eyes as if he could see him through the hood. “I could not heal you then. But I can now.”

  Adres’s eyes widened as he became light-headed, and the earth began to tilt under his feet. What kind of sorcery is this?

  “You do not remember parts of yourself.” The man, Orion, splayed his long, narrow fingers along the scar that ran down his skull. “Those memories are not gone, horseman. You are half Titan; they were only locked away.”

  Adres grunted as a sharp pain jerked his head back, but the disorientation didn’t last but a moment. Adres could feel that his light was brighter, sharper than before, and his mind was clear. Crystal. He remembered exactly who and what he was. And he was far more than just a horseman, and a lot older.

  “I was brought from the fairy lands and the journey was difficult” the man whispered, his silky voice trailing off as if he was falling asleep. “I am the prophesy. The end.”

  Holy goddess.

  It was then Adres heard the sound of paws charging towards him.

  “It is my scent, horseman. They won’t stop until they get to me and…” Orion clutched onto Adres’s cloak. “Get me to my mate, now. Hurry.”

  “The AZ can’t be your—” Oh, fuck it. Adres didn’t have time to debate or figure out what was happening. All he knew was he had someone very rare and special in his arms, and he was calling himself Orion the prophesy. What Adres needed to do was not ask another question and get him to Justice now.

  But, yes, his scent was a problem. There were hundreds of unmated betas and alphas in this area, which was what he assumed was coming towards him now. The man in his arms smelled ripe for sex, his pheromones pulling hard even on Adres’s senses, and he was partially mated. He’d fed from his cherished. He should not be so affected if at all by another’s lust.

  This was dangerous.

  Adres hefted Orion in his arms and climbed back onto his horse, cradling him as if he was holding a precious artifact. He mouthed a spell and threw his cloak over the man’s body. Just as he had two hundred years ago. “Hold on to me,” he murmured and urged Război to run faster than he ever had before.

  Adres’s cape was flying up behind him he was moving so fast. He didn’t know what kind of injuries Orion had sustained, but he groaned in his arms as if he were in pain.

  “Hang on,” Adres urged as he heard the sound of snarls and howls following the scent that he was doing his best to hide.

  “I have to shift,” Orion said, his heartbeat getting slower.

  Shift to what? Adres didn’t have to wonder for long. The weight in his arms changed to something more solid and muscular as he now clutched a white wolf with fur so soft and luminous that some of the strands appeared iridescent in the moonlight. Orion was beyond stunning, and he smelled like the Mother herself. Like nature personified.

  Adres cleared the woods without having to blow any shifters out of his way. He saw Justice, Wick, Belleron, Aleksei, and Farica standing with Ramon in front of the king’s legion, waiting outside the main cabin with concerned expressions. Adres checked behind him one last time, hoping he’d made a large enough gap between him and the older shifters who were looking for something good-smelling to have fun with tonight.

  “Adres, what’s happening?” Justice asked. “Who was at the border?”

  Adres slung his cloak off and revealed the beautiful white wolf that was damn near glowing in his arms.

  “Heavens.” Wick gaped. “What kind of shifter is that?”

  “Holy shit! He’s a fairy omega,” Justice whispered. “Give him to me. He is in great danger.”

  Adres frowned, holding the almost unconscious wolf tighter in his arms. “But his scent. He said that wolves will try to force him if—”

  “I know,” Justice reasoned. “But I’m bonded to my true mate. I won’t be affected by his scent like the others. He’s safe with me. I promise.”

  Adres gently lowered Orion into Justice’s outstretched arms. He cradled the animal to him and rubbed his rough stubble along the wolf’s muzzle. Orion cracked his eyes open and sniffed at Justice’s cheek before licking him along his stern jaw.

  “He recognizes who I am,” Justice told Wick.

  Wick ran his hand over the wolf’s fur, his eyes lowering as if he was dozing off. “He feels like…”

  “Peace,” Adres whispered, dismounting from his horse and sending him away.

  “Oh my gosh… he smells too good… Justice.” Farica panted as she inched backwards. “I don’t think I can control my shift. My wolf wants
him, badly.”

  Justice and Aleksei both glowered at their sister.

  Aleksei gripped her elbow. “Get yourself together, Farica. You are an alpha.”

  “I know!” she snapped at her brother, yanking her arm free. “You think I don’t know that? I’m trying my best.”

  “Try harder,” Ramon bit out, appearing offended.

  “My dear. It is not my fault,” Farica huffed, staring at her lover in exasperation. She was spasming, and the muscles in her arms were straining as if she was just barely holding her animal back.

  “Control yourself,” Justice growled at his sister.

  Farica didn’t shift, but she ran towards her cabin, and the Lord Protector flashed after her.

  Adres felt bad for Farica. Both her brothers were mated and unaffected by the omega’s lore, but it was hardly fair to demand that she ignore her nature. It was understandable. But if she tried to get too close, Adres would have no problem blowing her onto the other side of the mountain. He felt a strong urge to protect Orion, feeling in his soul that he was always meant to cross paths with him again.

  Now they had saved each other. Adres’s karma had finally turned in his favor.

  Justice stood enamored, as did they all. “Taleb going to the Monstrous Reef must’ve triggered his arrival now.”

  “His name is Orion, and he said he is the prophesy.”

  Justice’s blue eyes got wider, and he was about to say something when they heard a commotion in the distance. The sound of glass shattering and wolves snarling had Justice running into his home with the omega tucked against him. The rest of them followed behind Justice, Adres being the last to cross the threshold. A pack of wolves burst through the tree line, falling over each other and scenting the air. He closed the door and put a ward on it to keep it from being forced open.

  Justice laid Orion on the couch, and he shifted immediately and stretched his long, naked body along the leather sectional. His iridescent-white hair resembled a waterfall as it hung over the side of the brown armrest. His body was toned, not dainty, with strong thighs and corded biceps, but it was the flawless, alabaster skin covered with fairy dust that made him look and smell like magic. The omega groaned, with his eyes half-open as he stared at the mesmerized vampire standing on the opposite side of the room.