Tales of the Were: Magnus: Redstone Clan (13 page)

Everyone at the table stilled. She knew it was presumptuous of her to even obliquely ask Grif to contact the Lords on her behalf, but really, that wasn’t quite what she was doing. She merely wanted someone to have the information—someone who was actively working to oppose the lunatics that were trying to bring the Destroyer of Worlds back to this realm.

At length, Grif spoke. “I would like to see your notes,” he admitted. “But I have to ask. Why would you give them to us and not to your people?”

“That’s easy,” she replied, feeling on firmer ground with his question. He wasn’t suspicious of her information, merely of her reasoning in offering
it to shifters and not vamps. “From all I’ve seen, you guys are actively working against the
Venifucus
. My people seem to be more caught up in their own little power struggles at the moment. I don’t really know if the Master would care about my information. If it makes you feel better, I’ll give him a copy too, but I don’t have much confidence he’ll be able to do much with it.” She shrugged. “Mag told me that shifters have been gathering and sharing intelligence. I thought maybe my notes could help with that effort in some small way.” She felt a little silly, but she really did want to give her notes to somebody, somewhere, who might be able to figure out what it all meant.

“Fair enough,” Grif said after a moment’s thought. “I’ll be interested to see what you remember. You’re right. We are sharing intel
, and every little bit helps. Thank you for offering.” He went back to his meal and the conversation flowed more easily from that point on.

When
the shifters near the edges of the property began to disrobe and turn into animals, Miranda knew it was time to put on a little show of solidarity. Mag stood and stripped without a hint of self-consciousness. Of course, as gorgeously built as he was, he had no reason in the world to be self-conscious of his body. Miranda was glad though that she wouldn’t have to get naked in front of everyone. Her magic allowed her to shapeshift without having to disrobe.

It was a different kind of magic than the shifters possessed, but at the moment all that really mattered was that she could become the female cougar and run alongside her mate. Miranda focused her magic and transformed, well aware that everyone around them was watching while trying not to stare. She felt their approval when she took her place at Mag’s side and they loped off into the darkness together.

This was the first time she’d been able to run with him and their frolic took them around the perimeter of the Clan’s lands, through a few backyards and into the desert a bit before they eventually found their way back to Grif and Lindsey’s backyard. They chased each other, nipped and played, rolled around in the sand and batted each other with big paws that did no harm. It was a very freeing experience. One that she could not have imagined if she hadn’t lived it.

She
finally understood the appeal of becoming a four-legged beast once in a while and running her cares away. She’d have to do this more often with Mag. It would do them both good.

When they returned to the backyard, only a few of the guests had come back. Grif and Lindsey were still out roaming around, but Kate and Slade were sitting on a bench under a tree near a spot of lush greenery that was only a little out of place in the desert climate.

Kate called a greeting as they neared. “I wanted to tell you,” Kate began as they drew closer, “I spoke with a close friend of Dante d’Angleterre’s, and he’s going to try to take some time to come out and meet you both. His name is Duncan and he’s a very magical being according to the High Priestess. I’m not really sure what he is, but the Lords vouch for him. They were the ones who suggested I talk to him in the first place.”

Miranda could feel Mag’s surprise and acceptance through their link. The fact that the leaders of all the
were
in North America vouched for this guy carried a lot of weight.

“We’ll look forward to meeting him,” Mag answered politely.

“He might be able to shed some more light on your cross-species situation. He’s well acquainted with the vampire-werewolf mating of his friends, Dante and Megan. The High Priestess hinted there was more to his story, but left it for him to reveal it or not.”

“A man of mystery,” Mag mused.

“Indeed,” the priestess answered with a grin. She stood and her mate followed suit. “It was good seeing you again. Don’t be a stranger, okay?” She reached up to give Mag a kiss on the cheek before sharing a brief hug and smile with Miranda. Slade merely nodded at them both as they took their leave.

Miranda was impressed that Kate seemed so at ease around her. There were few people who would dare come into her personal space once they knew what she was. The priestess was either brave or trusting.
Maybe both. The more Miranda saw of her, the more she liked Kate. It was just possible, they could be friends. The thought intrigued her. Miranda hadn’t had a real friend in decades.

Mag put his
arm around her shoulders, squeezing her close to his side. No doubt he had picked up on her slightly melancholy thoughts. He was such a good man. Such a caring mate. Instantly her feelings brightened with the love she felt for him.

“Let’s go home,” she whispered, knowing he heard her.

“Your wish is my command,” he replied, a slight growl in his voice.

They were thinking along the same lines. A frisson of heat coursed through her body as she picked up on his very naughty thoughts. Thoughts that mirrored her own. She couldn’t wait to get home.

The first time they came together was hard and fast, and up against the wall in the garage. They were too hot to wait until they got in the house.

The second round was only a little less intense, and still in the garage. Mag laid her across the hood of his Lamborghini and admired the way she made the expensive Italian sports car look even better. He drove into her, reveling in the feel of his mate under him, willing to do whatever he wanted.

By the third time they joined, they’d finally made it inside the house. Mag had paused only long enough to secure the alarm system before depositing Miranda on the sheepskin rug in front of the fireplace in the living room. He lit a fire and before the embers had turned to flames, she had wrapped her arms around him. She unbuttoned his shirt from behind, tugging it off over his shoulders while he made sure the fire would be safe enough while they were…distracted.

Miranda took control this time, and Mag was more than happy to let her push him onto his back on the soft sheepskin. She worked her way down his body, undressing him as she went. When she had him naked, she did a little strip tease of her own, though her clothes were already in delicious disarray due to their earlier activities.

Both naked, she returned to him, straddling his legs to give him an enticing view of her body. She smiled, teasing her fingers over his skin, working their way up his thighs to the erection that stood hard and proud at the apex.

She didn’t disappoint. Her soft hands felt marvelous on his most sensitive skin. She squeezed him, moving close and allowing her hair to brush the tops of his thighs as she lowered her head. The combination of sensations was subtle and exhilarating.

When her lips closed over him, Mag only spared a moment
’s thought for her fangs. They hadn’t dropped, and he didn’t expect them to. Not while she was going down on him. Miranda wasn’t sadistic, and she was in his mind, in his heart. He trusted her. He also knew she could sense his thoughts—especially when they were making love.

Some guys might get off on the idea, but it wasn’t something that appealed to Mag. He’d never been all that kinky, though his fellow shifters probably considered having sex with a vampire pretty kinky all by itself. The thought amused him, but a second later, all thought fled his mind as Miranda started to suck.

“Damn, baby,” he whispered, throwing his head back on the soft sheepskin. “That feels so good.”

She hummed in agreement and he felt the vibrations against his cock, increasing his pleasure. She was blowing his mind…among other things. But he didn’t want to come without her. Watching and feeling her come increased both of their pleasure. The connection between their minds meant that the pleasure they felt mirrored back and forth between them, increasing the total effect for both of them.

He lifted her by the shoulders, easily handling her slight weight. Mag had always been strong—shifter strong—but now he had increased abilities due to his new mate. He knew she gained from being with him too, so he didn’t feel any guilt about it. Hell, it came in handy at times like this. He was able to position the very willing Miranda to his exact desires. Over him. Ready to receive him.

He’d leave the joining up to her, letting her decide when and how to take him. Fast or slow, it was up to her. But he’d made it clear without words that he wouldn’t be coming alone this time. Not ever again, if he had anything to say about it.

“So that’s the way you want it, huh?” Miranda smiled at down at him, her hands on his chest. “I suppose your wish is my command, lover.”

She sank onto his cock, taking him by storm. Fast and tempestuous seemed to be the order of the day as she began to ride him. He helped, guiding her hips and lending a little bit of his strength to help her keep up the pace she’d set.

It was fast and hard, mind blowing and fantastic in every way as she began to shudder over him. He came with her as her pleasure echoed through their connection, triggering his. He followed her into rapture that went on and one between them, their minds, hearts and souls connected on a primal level that elevated them both to the stars and beyond.

They lay together in bed sometime later, both bare and breathing hard after an orgasm that had only come a little slower than all those that had preceded it. A trail of clothing led from the living room to the bedroom. Miranda had tried to gather up the bits they had discarded in front of the fire, but Mag had distracted her with kisses and she’d managed to drop most of them on the way to the bedroom. She smiled as she thought about how it must look.

Never in her life had she been so hot for a man.

“And you never will be again, love. Only me,” her mate purred at her side, his hand idly stroking her skin.

Something occurred to her. “You heard me?”

Mag leaned up on one elbow, looking sexier than any man in history, she was sure. His golden eyes gazed down at her with a sexy, satisfied, almost feral light of both cougar and man. He was amazing.

“Glad you think so.” He leaned down to kiss her, long and slow. When he broke the kiss and leaned back upward, her whole body was humming. “And yes, I do believe we’ve had a breakthrough. I heard your thoughts clear as a bell. In sentences, not just emotions or stray words.”

She smiled and reached up to stroke his stubbly cheek, then tackled him so that she was on top. He laughed. Her big, predatory cat liked to wrestle and seemed to get off on the fact that she was as strong as he was.

“You’re getting quicker too, have you noticed? Just a fraction, because bloodletters are already faster than just about any creature, but you’re gaining the sure-footedness of my cat, which makes you even faster. Have I told you how much I’m enjoying the effect my blood has on you, baby?” He stroked his fingers over her hips and lower, to squeeze her ass. She loved the way he handled her body, his movements so sure, so perfect.

And now he could hear her thoughts. She wondered if she could hear his too.

“Can you hear me now?”
he quipped, like the old cell phone commercial. He hadn’t said it out loud, but she’d heard it. She giggled and her heart felt a kind of joy that only this man—her One—could bring.

“I love you so much, Mag.”
She lowered herself onto his body so that he was not only inside her, but so that she draped over him, her curves fitting so perfectly to his hard planes. The wetness of her tears mixed into the kisses she placed all over his face and throat.
“You are my life. My everything. My One.”

“You are the same to me, sweetheart. My mate. There will never be another you.”

Their lovemaking was slow this time and so incredibly sweet. She rocked on him until they were both nearly incandescent with passion. Then he took over, rolling them so that he could bring her to the highest point of pleasure and hold her there, on the precipice, before finally allowing them both to tumble over together.

They lay together after, replete in each other’s arms, basking in the closeness and the love.
Dawn was approaching and she would sleep for the day while her lover did daytime things that they could never share. She felt sorry for herself for just a moment, but then thanked the Mother of All for giving her such a man. He could share her nights and still live in the sun. Miranda would never take that from him. She was glad he could still live a normal life in the daytime world, even if she could never join him under the sun’s rays.

She went to sleep with that thought
, and a prayer of thanks to the Mother Goddess uppermost in her mind.

Chapter Twelve

When the call for help came in, it was unexpected. Mag and Miranda were both tapped as liaisons for the first time within hours of each other. Mag got the heads-up in the afternoon and sure enough, when Miranda woke after sunset, there was a message waiting for her as well.

Mag had gotten her a new cell phone and laptop weeks ago so she could get back into the swing of things with her business interests. She’d called her lawyer and accountant the night after they’d gone to the wine bar, and made them aware of her return to the States—or such was the excuse she’d used for her long absence.

She was pleased to learn that they had taken very good care of her finances while she’d been
away,
and were just as glad to have her back at the helm to give them further direction. She had spent a few hours here and there over the past weeks reestablishing her online presence, with Mag’s help, and after their meeting with the Master, she’d been given special numbers and email accounts by which to reach him. The Master left her a message when her very first official job as liaison presented itself.

Mag greeted her with a kiss at sunset
that evening. He also brought her up to speed on a situation involving his next oldest brother, Steve.

“Some wild stuff has been happening with Steve and his lady,” Mag told her as they began their evening. “She was targeted by someone
—a human, they think—who apparently killed that vampire downtown a while back.”

It wasn’t often an immortal was staked
so publicly. The few times it had happened in the past, the entire vampire community in Las Vegas had felt ripples of unrest that lasted for weeks, until the perpetrator was caught. This time was no different.

The Master had
contacted Grif directly when the murder had been discovered. After they’d discussed the problem leader to leader had she and Mag been called. Should anything further develop, as liaisons, they were going to be on the front lines of it.

Mag had met the woman in his brother’s life briefly. Steve had called him early one morning, desperate for a little familial support when the gal’s father and brother showed up at Steve’s house out of the blue. After meeting them, Mag could see why even his fearless brother Steve had called for backup.

It turned out that Trisha was not only the sister of one of Steve’s human Army buddies, but she was
also his mate. That little fact changed everything. She had apparently been raised to blend in with humans, but had an incredibly magical dad. Steve’s Army friend turned out to be a non-magical half-brother, but he was very protective of his little sis. For that matter, so was their dad—an active duty, Navy Special Forces admiral.

Mag had met up with Grif and Slade before going to Steve’s house. Slade had greeted the admiral and his step-son as old friends. Grif also knew
them both from his days in Spec Ops. He’d introduced Mag and when the admiral got a good look at him, he’d felt the full weight of the man’s scrutiny.

“This is Mag,” Grif had said. “He’s been liaising with the bloodletters for us.”

“And letting them nibble a bit too, it appears,” the admiral had quipped with a hard glint in his eye. The handshake the older man had delivered had been brutal, but Mag had learned to deal with big bad Alphas early on. His family was full of them. He wouldn’t be cowed by this man, even if the admiral was reputed to make Navy SEALs cry like little girls on a regular basis. The admiral stared at the bite marks on Mag’s neck and asked a whole lot with a single word. All he said was, “Voluntarily?”

Mag nodded under the older man’s stare. “She’s an old friend,” he’d replied, adding a bit of Miranda’s story.

“Just be careful not to give her too much,” the older man had cautioned. “Vampires are unpredictable creatures at the best of times.”

Mag didn’t want to contradict the man, so he let it go. He knew Miranda’s heart. She was his mate and he was her One. What the admiral didn’t know…
well…it didn’t really matter. Mag’s relationship with Miranda was private. And just about perfect, as far as he was concerned.

Mag had listened to the discussion and reported his information on the unrest in the vampire community when asked. When the admiral heard that the
Las Vegas vampires were searching for a man who’d staked one of their own by night, plans began to form. Then Slade had revealed his intel. They knew the perpetrator’s name, and that he was a low-level magic user. It seemed the
Venifucus
was involved to some extent, which Mag reported back to Miranda that night.

Miranda turned around and gave the information to Tony, fulfilling her role as liaison and then the discussions had been turned over to Grif and Tony, as leaders of their respective peoples. The liaison thing was working. They’d managed to get the right information to the right people in good time, and Grif had commented to Mag that he thought the new role suited him. Mag was glad to help. He liked that he was able to work with Miranda on Clan
issues. It seemed a good use of their time and skills.

And so, when the
planning started in earnest, they were as ready as they could be to lend a hand. A major operation was being planned for downtown. Steve and his new mate, Trisha, were hoping to flush out the magic user who had been targeting her. It was believed the same man had also killed the vampire.

As a result, both the Redstone Clan and the Master vampire had agreed to work together. Miranda spent hours on the phone, coordinating the immortals Tony had asked to help. It was a little like herding cats,
she’d joked, but she managed to pull them together and get them all to the Las Vegas strip at about the same time.

Mag was doing the same for
the shifters, helping his brother Steve coordinate his security team with Miranda’s people. The beginnings of a plan were set in motion and the only thing left was the execution. Mag would have looked forward to the action if the circumstances weren’t so dire—and if Miranda weren’t in the thick of it.

But as newly appointed liaison, she needed to be involved. Her people needed to see her doing her duty. Mag vowed he’d be at her side at all times. The two liaisons wouldn’t go anywhere separately.

To that end, Mag and Miranda were pre-positioned in a hotel suite from which the evening’s operation would be launched. Miranda was working the phones, setting up the coverage areas for the bloodletters while Mag kept the shifters updated on what the vamps were doing.

“Tony’s people are ready,” he told the gathering in the next room. Steve, Trisha, her dad and brother were all waiting for the signal to move. Once the vampires were in place, they could go at any time.

The bloodletters had been asked to use their psychic abilities to steer traffic away from Trisha as she walked down the Las Vegas strip. It was pretty well known that they could alter perception and influence what people saw—or didn’t see. The idea was to draw the bad guy out into the open using Trisha as the lure. Then they’d move in and capture him, all while using the vampire’s psychic gifts to keep regular humans unaware of the magical battle that took place right on the street.

Mag had thought it was a pretty tall order when the admiral had first suggested
that part of the plan, but Miranda had merely nodded. She knew what her people were capable of and apparently, so did the admiral. Tony had agreed to the request and set Miranda on the task of organizing everything. Even Mag had been impressed by her ability to manage so many moving parts.

Miranda and Mag had to play their
roles and stroll down the strip so her people could see her—see them both—as liaison. Mag kept a close watch over her, and he knew she was doing her part to steer regular folks away from the action on the sidewalk. They were about a hundred yards from Trisha, on the other side of the wide boulevard. Steve was out of sight, further up the road, but he’d be close if and when the trap was sprung. For now, Miranda was out in the open, aiding in the psychic deception.

Mag learned a lot that night. He saw how the bloodletters were able to target exactly who could see reality
, versus the rest of the world that saw the illusion they created. He also learned about the different flavors of magic, and how vampires worked on a whole different level than most human magic users or most shifters, for that matter.

When the action really started, Miranda couldn’t see much. She was busy actively steering humans out of the way and clouding their minds. But she did notice when two heavily armed men seemed to surf a giant wave out of the man-made lake behind Trisha. Whatever kind of magic those guys possessed, it was something she’d never seen before.

T
hen Trisha dove into the lake and did the same surfing thing on the way out. She had to be related to those military guys—or at least part of the same magical race. Miranda watched, working her own kind of magic on the humans all around, making sure her fellow bloodletters were doing the same.

When it looked like things had been
resolved, Tony appeared. He greeted Miranda with a smile and a kiss on the cheek, like an old friend.

“You’ve done good work here, Miranda. I’m very impressed with your organizational skills.” That he took the time to compliment her in the midst of so much tumult touched her greatly.

“I was glad to help,” she murmured.

“I think it may be time to cross the street and offer our assistance,” the Master said, his gaze straying to where Steve and Trisha stood on the pavement across the wide road.

Miranda kept up her psychic work while they crossed through traffic and made their way to the couple. Mag stood behind her, nodding at his brother’s greeting but didn’t make introductions, so Miranda took it upon herself.

“I’m Miranda,” she said, reaching out to Trisha. “Your power is impressive.” Miranda smiled, hoping to put the other woman at ease. After all, the
y were going to be sister-in-laws, of a sort, if Mag was to be believed.

“Indeed,” Tony added, chiming in. “I suggest we move off the street. My people have strong influence over mortals, but we cannot be sure there are not Others watching our every move.”

That seemed to sober everyone up and they walked as a group back toward the hotel from where they had started earlier that evening. They were silent until they’d reached the safety of the suite of rooms they had used earlier. There was already a bit of a crowd gathered there but Trisha and Steve stayed with Mag and Miranda for a moment while Miranda introduced them to the Master.

He was formal at first, but after a few moments of conversation, he seemed to mellow and invited them all to call him Tony. That was a bit of a surprise. The Master didn’t often invite such familiarity. It meant he respected them and felt they were if not exactly
equals
, then at least powerful enough to have earned the right to use his given name.

When the two military guys from the lake arrived with an older man, Trisha moved away to greet them with big hugs. They were, no doubt, her family. Miranda could see the resemblance now that they were standing closer.

“Those are some very powerful beings,” Tony observed quietly, still standing next to Miranda.

“What are they? I’ve never seen anything like what they did back there,” Miranda admitted.

“Water elementals of some kind,” Tony said, watching the three men closely as he spoke. “Very magical in a way that we can never be. Such creatures usually don’t become so heavily involved in mortal matters. It’s strange to see them so ingrained in the human military.”

“Really?” Miranda wanted to know more and the Master seemed in a talkative mood.

“If they show themselves in the mortal world at all, it is usually as environmental champions. Their power is tied closely to the elements and they have a vested interest in protecting the Earth.”

Miranda saw the sense in that. She would have asked more, but the room was full and
the after-action meeting was starting to take shape. Miranda listened with interest as they talked over the events of the night. Grif started by thanking everyone—especially the Master—then asked Tony to start the discussion by telling them all how much damage control they would need to do among humans who might’ve seen something.

“Certainly,” Tony replied with his typical, engaging smile. “The elders of my forces were engaged in active illusion while the younger and less adept with such things were set to watch. We had only three instances where otherwise normal humans noticed some of the action. Each was intercepted and evaluated. Two were bespelled into forgetfulness. The other is still with one of my operatives. It is a woman. Her mind is resistant.” The Master frowned as he reported that last bit. “I will go have a look at her as soon as we’re done here and see what I might be able to do to mitigate the problem. Maybe one of your people would like to accompany me? The snowcat or his mate, perhaps?”

Kate and Slade agreed readily, so the Master went on. “Other than the three humans, only agents of the enemy saw what happened. All of those are accounted for—either dead or awaiting our questioning. They have been taken to a remote location and will remain under guard there until we are ready to talk to them.”

It became clear that Slade and Kate would be in on the interrogation of the prisoners as well, and the meeting went on from there. Miranda leaned against Mag, her energy fading a bit. Even though she was feeling much better each day, when she used her powers for an extended period of time, she tired more easily than she should. It would take more time to build up her psychic muscles again to where they’d been before she was taken. Her skills were there, it was just the stamina that was lacking.