24

A R Y A

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"Look, my sister's getting really naughty." Now it was Reah who laughed as she sat in a chair wearing a new top while I tried to keep the blush from my cheeks.

Luckily, no one paid any attention to my blushing face as Aramis swung himself over the pavilion's parapet and joined Zaira. "Is that so?" He leaned against the stone pillar, overlaid by green ivy that snaked along the parapet up to the pillar, and then with one small movement of his hand pulled Zaira's chair toward him.

I had almost forgotten what powerful abilities Aramis possessed. Telekinesis - a power to move anyone and anything they wanted.

Aramis folded his arms across his chest. "Who says she's yet to come and isn't already long?" A mischievous little grin graced his lips and his green eyes seemed to shoot lightning as Zaira looked up at him.

Aramis was one of the few people I was wary of. His dominance was far stronger than Xenos' - and that should mean something. There was a certain darkness in his eyes that I could never quite grasp. Besides, he was so protective and possessive of Zaira that it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up in alarm—I wondered how Zaira could handle so much dominance and a mate whose protection could suffocate you.

I had to look away as Aramis grabbed Zaira's chin and kissed her deeply, fiery. However, it wasn't the kiss that made me look away, it was the looks they'd exchanged before - that felt too intimate for anyone else to see. Looks in which there was so much love that it was almost tangible.

Koray shifted on my lap and I held him tight. "Dada!"

Arami's face was covered with a tenderness I never thought I'd witness. "Hey little one." He held out his hands. "Do you want to come to my house?"

For a moment it looked as if Koray wanted to go to Aramis, but then he turned to me, giggled and pulled at my hair. "Da Aya."

"“Aee”, this is Arya." Aramis nodded at me with a slight smile. "Arya, nice to see you."

"Likewise." I was about to add something when Xenos swung himself over the parapet and stepped into the pavilion. What did all these wolves have to do with jumping over the parapet than using the stairs in a civilized manner?

His white linen shirt stretched over his muscular torso and covered up the umpteen scars I had inflicted on him with my nails during the night. Again my cheeks, which normally never blush, became blazing hot.

He seemed to have noticed and already raised an eyebrow questioningly when his gaze slid to Koray. His eyes darted quickly from the little button on my lap still busy with my hair to me and back again. I didn't know what was in his eyes, but it took my breath away and I felt alternately hot and cold. Glowing blue and so longing... “no”. It wasn't a desire. It was “longing”.

My pulse was racing as he strides toward me. Firmly and without hesitation, his hand cupped my face and he bent down to place a firm kiss on my mouth. "I missed you this morning."

"It's only been a few hours," I contradicted him automatically, immediately relapsing into our old pattern of constant rejection as I bit my lip. Who could I fool? I had missed him as well. And there was no reason I couldn't tell him the truth. I no longer had to withdraw from him, since he was mine. Softly, very softly, hoping the other werewolf ears wouldn't hear me, I whispered against his lips, "I missed you too."

He smiled and then gave me a short, chaste kiss that expressed more connection than hot passion. Then he straightened up and stepped behind me. His arm wrapped around my shoulder and pulled me to his chest while his other hand ran through my hair; they were probably all the rage today.

“Hey Xenos, did you finally manage to convince a woman of yours? About time shit, dude.” Aramis coughed behind his hand. “Not long now and you would have become celibate.”

Xeno's hand continued to run through my hair. "Like you did before your sparrow brain finally figured out who your mate is, huh?"

Aramis grinned and his hand went over the mark on Zaira's neck. "Touché."

"Come over to Aunt Reah, honey." Reah reached out for the little man on my lap, and I handed it to her without hesitation, seeing the faint sad gleam in her eyes that she was trying to hide. At first I wanted to say something, but then I let it be. What do you say in a situation like this? I'm sorry your mate is dead? I gave my head the faintest shake, then leaned back in the chair and snuggled up against Xenos, reminding myself that he understood. With him I didn't have to struggle trying to find the right words. It was so natural with him, so easy. We understood each other without a word – or in a little banter.

"Aramis, I've been to see the kindergarten here - it's beautiful!" Zaira turned to face her mate, but I caught her squeezing Reah's hand under the table. "And Koray liked it too."

Arami's eyes traveled to the werewolf behind me. "Xenos, what do you think? Do you still have room for a little rowdy in your kindergarten?”

Xenos tugged at my braid. "Naturally."

Zaira beamed at him. "Oh that's wonderful, thanks “Grimmy!"“

Xenos growled. "You still want to be thrown in a cold lake, don't you?"

Zaira smiled sweetly. "No thank you."

Arami's teeth snapped shut with a clatter and although it was obviously a joke, and from his best friend at that, he pushed Zaira so hard that he was almost standing in front of her. So protective, that's what I meant.

Aramis growled. "No one touches my heart." But the amused glint in his eyes was teasing Xenos brotherly.

Xeno's hand trailed over the hickey on my neck. "Yes, neither does mine."

"Then we understand each other." Aramis grinned wickedly.

Xenos laughed. "Now, let's get down to business." His tone turned serious. "How did it go in the palace of the gods?"

Arami's teeth ground. 'Not very successful. Unfortunately, Mother and Gaia are not here.”

I took a sip of the lemonade. It still seemed inconceivable to me that Aramis was the son of the moon goddess herself, and his aunt the holy Gaia. What would I do to see her just once.

Zaira stroked Arami's hand on her shoulder, all the way up to his forearm, inadvertently pushing his black shirt back, revealing the reddish scratches that were beginning to heal with each passing second. She must have been aware of this as well, for her cheeks immediately blushed crimson and when Aramis leaned towards her with a lascivious grin and whispered something in her ear, they blushed even more - if that was even possible.

“Heaven”, when I thought I was blushing, Zaira turned into a tomato herself.

Zaira cleared her throat. “You are with the Council of Gods at the moment. Hades sentence has been determined, he is sentenced to death. His execution will be soon, and of course you want to be there.”

"Certainly," agreed Xenos. "Reah, did you find anything useful in the library of the gods?"

I myself had once stood in the vast library of the Gods' Palace, which literally floated above the clouds, and it was truly a “Library of the Gods.” Thousands of works and scrolls had to be stacked on the countless shelves that were in the great white hall . So if Reah hadn't come across anything in that library, I doubted there was a work on it anywhere else.

"I did find some books on echinda, as well as blood oaths." Reah tapped Koray on the nose. "I've already brought them all to your Pach house, Xenos."

Xenos nodded. "Very good."

Reah grinned cheekily at him. "I had no idea the Werewolf King thought so highly of legends?"

Xenos said without giving a damn, “Neither do I. But I want my pack to get a decent education.” He pinched the back of my neck and I bit back a small laugh that was already on my lips. We both knew that the legends had nothing to do with the education of the pack children - at least not primarily. It was something only the two of us knew, something he had only mentioned to me. A site that only I knew. On impulse, I quickly turned to him and planted a kiss on his chest, just above his heart.

His hand gripped my neck and his eyes lit up. He whispered, "What was that for?"

"Just like that," I whispered, shrugging. Then far more quietly, so quietly that I almost didn't hear it myself: "Because you make me happy."

In a flash, he leaned down, buried his hand in my chin and planted a firm, hard kiss on my cheek. There was so much desperate, raw emotion in that simple, innocent gesture that my whole body tingled.

"So what's the plan now?" Zaira took Koray on her lap.

"You will search the books for clues that will reveal more about how to break Echinda's blood oath without hurting the innocents she has bound to her." Xenos straightened up again. “Meanwhile, Aramis and I will train the soldiers. Border patrols throughout Semeera, especially those adjacent to Fyrsald Forest, must be heavily guarded. And I'll have soldiers keep an eye on Daemon's pack, just in case it was one of his wolves. This monster shouldn't get any more of our people."

“Can't we just take out Echinda? Wouldn't the blood oath be complete anyway?” Aramis objected.

"No. It depends on the exact blood oath.” Reah brushed back her hair. "It could be that if we hurt Echinda, all those injuries will befall her victims as well."

"No one touches Echinda until we know exactly what blood oath she used," Xenos ordered firmly. "Until then, you're trying to figure out how to break blood oaths, and we're going to get you one of their victims."

"That could work. If only we had someone, we could find out what blood oath she used and then break it for everyone,' I agreed.

Aramis scratched his chin. "Reah do you know what the caves look like?"

Reah nodded. ““Aee”, I have a card. I can show you everything.”

"Very good. Then it's decided. We'll be watching the cave entrance for a few days, finding out how many guards she has and how her security system works. Then we'll grab one of their warriors.” Xenos decided.

My hand gripped the glass in my hand. I saw Takar dead before my eyes. Brook, shattered, mourning her packmate. "And then we will kill them."

Xenos locked his hand in mine. "“Zeris atek Zeris”."

"“Aee.”" I said between clenched teeth”. "Zeris atek Zeris.”"

"Just one more thing, shouldn't we postpone the ball?" Zaira asked, frowning, her purple dress shimmering in the sun and contrasting starkly against her fair skin. "I mean, it'll be in a few days."

"No. My kingdom needs security. Security and something to look forward to, we can't take that away from them. Echinda won't bring us to our knees.” Xeno's voice was almost more a growl than anything else.

I squeezed his hand. We just had to hope we could figure out how to break that vow fast enough. Otherwise, their army will get bigger and bigger. An army we couldn't fight without hurting our packmate.

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