Meryn held up two fingers. "Two words. Meat. Kebobs."
"Absolutely," he said. "Anyone else coming?"
Kendrick and Anne stepped next to them. Kendrick met his eyes. "Us for sure. Anne can help with the children and I'll do everything I can to free Serenity of the spell."
Feeling impatient Micah turned toward the door. "Let's go."
*****
It felt like centuries as they waited for Vivi to arrive with the different injectors, in all actuality, it was less than ten minutes. Micah stood next to his mate who was frozen in place in the center of the room, faintly glowing silver. Laelia and Radclyffe were on either side of the room helping the children. When they saw them enter, their hands dropped, and they rushed over to him.
"How can we get Serenity back?" Laelia asked.
"Meryn and the ladies think they have a workable cure. They'll be up here soon and the second the children are cured we'll be able to pull Serenity from the spell." He swallowed hard looking at his mate. Her skin had no color and a bright white streak of hair had appeared at her right temple. He reached out and touched it gently.
Fear gripped him as he turned to Kendrick. "She's out of time. There's hardly any magic left."
"Marjoram!" Vivi yelled, running into the hospital.
"We're here!" Marjoram met her in the middle of the room and divided up the injectors between herself, Rheia, Ellie and Anne. They ran to the little beds and started treating the children.
They had made it halfway down the row, when the first set of children began to have a reaction. Violent convulsions lifted their bodies off the bed and ripped them from their parents' hands as they tried to hold them down.
Suddenly the faint glow around Serenity disappeared and she fell forward into his arms. He knew before he lowered his head to her chest that her heart had stopped. "She's not breathing!"
Behind them the children continued to thrash, but his focus was on his mate. He would not allow her to go into the unknown alone. Heedless of the duties he was leaving behind he thrust his magic into her body, so he could follow her, where ever she was going.
"Micah! Pull your magic back! She'll take you with her," Kendrick yelled.
Micah tightened his arms around his mate and sighed happily. He could smell the sweetness of her skin, familiar and tantalizing. He threw open every channel of magic he had and was mildly surprised when earth magic responded. He had long ago given up on the ability. Without coaxing the green tendrils sunk deep into the floor. Through his magic he could feel it branching out, tiny roots fanning out over miles. Feeling sufficiently anchored he threw caution to the wind and rested his cheek against hers. Gods willing he'd see her again soon.
*****
At first there was darkness, but in the distance, he could see a tiny figure. As he got closer he could see the outline of his mate.
"Serenity!" he called.
She turned looking confused. "Oh no! You head back this instant."
"No."
"No? What do you mean no? You have things to do Micah. You made a promise to Kendrick, you have to help our people."
"They'll be fine without me."
Tears appeared in her eyes. "Please my love. You'll forget about me soon enough. We only had a few days together. You have your kittens, and delicate flowers and dew drops to ease your pain. Please," she pleaded. "Go back."
He shook his head. "It is true, I have called hundreds of women kitten. Hundreds of dew drops and goddesses and delicate flowers. But I have only called one woman, my one and only, and that is you. An endearment that encompassed every hope, dream and desire I had for my mate. There is no me, without you. So, either we both go back, or we continue on to see what lies ahead."
"You stubborn goofball!" she whispered harshly.
"Your call, my one and only. Where do we go?"
"If Fate is willing to let me return, I want to go back. I want to experience every single moment she showed us. I want to carve them into my memory as they happen, and not have them slip away like a dream at dawn."
He took her hand. "It may hurt," he warned.
"Nothing worth having is easy. Besides, I can torture you later in repayment."
"I shudder in anticipation," he teased.
"Let's go."
He gripped her hand tightly and began following the now thick green rope securing him to the land of the living. Slowly they made their way toward the harsh white light.
*****
Gasping he turned on to his side and began to choke. Next to him he heard a similar noise as someone else fought to breathe. Soft weeping came from all around them. He opened one eye to find that he was being held by the twins who had sweat dripping down their faces. He looked around for Serenity. Across from him, Kendrick sat on the floor with her cradled against his chest. Behind him Aiden, Colton and Gavriel lent him their strength. He let his head fall back to look behind Nigel and Neil. There his unit brothers supported the twin witches.
Now the thicker rope made sense. Kendrick, Nigel and Neil had used their earth magic to reinforce his anchor. They risked being pulled into the darkness to give him a chance to save his mate.
Kendrick glared at him breathing heavily. "If you ever try this again, I'll bury you before you stop breathing," he threatened.
Aiden bopped him on the back of the head. "He only did what any of us would do."
"Micah?" A weak voice called.
Micah pitched forward and started dragging himself along the floor toward his mate before Etain and Declan lifted him and carried him over to Serenity. They set him down and Kendrick gently lay her across his body.
He held her close as he leaned against Etain's legs for support. "Gods I love you so much."
She clutched at his shirt. "I am so mad at you right now. How dare you risk yourself," she said, her voice a meager whisper.
He tilted her head back and kissed her nose. "You promised to punish me later," he said.
"That's our Micah!" Declan exclaimed, plopping onto the floor visibly exhausted.
Serenity tried to look around but didn't have the strength. "The children?"
Ellie knelt down beside them, though her face was tear streaked her eyes were jubilant. "Meryn helped us figure out a cure. They're doing just fine." She looked over her shoulder where the children and their grateful parents looked on worriedly.
"How long?" Micah asked.
Kendrick tilted his head. "How long did it seem?"
Micah shook his head. "Minutes," he responded.
Adriel wiped his eyes. "You both were clinically dead for twenty-three minutes," he said in a shaking voice. "After Kendrick figured out what you were trying to do he called for the twins and they used their magic to help."
"They did help. If they hadn't, I think the thin string anchoring me would have snapped," he confessed.
"Of course, it would have snapped!" Kendrick growled. "Who uses an emerging power to anchor their soul to their body while they traipsed through the underworld!" he shouted.
Anne rubbed his shoulders. "There, there my love. They're back." Like their friends around them, her eyes were also bloodshot from crying and her cheeks were stained with tear tracks. "Don't you scare us like that again."
Micah knew he had just received his first order from his queen. He simply nodded before closing his eyes and resting his cheek on the top of Serenity's head.
"Okay people, let's get them both downstairs to the infirmary. That way you can visit whenever you want," Marjoram's practical voice rang out.
Micah fought to open his eyes. He saw Meryn standing behind her mate looking scared and nervous and pissed. She scrunched her nose up at him and sniffled. "You died."
"I was only mostly dead," he said and enjoyed watching her mouth drop. She covered her mouth as she chuckled. "I hate you right now."
"No, you don't."
"Come on," Etain said as he and Declan lifted him between them while Adriel carried Serenity.
Declan grunted. "How come
we have to carry his heavy ass and you get to carry Serenity?"
Adriel looked at him flatly. "I outrank you," he said in a deadpan voice. "Now move out," he ordered.
"Tell Serenity not to freak out, but I'm going to rest my eyes for a bit," Micah told his friends.
"As long as you keep breathing I don't care what you do," Etain retorted.
"Put them here! I got the larger bed ready for them," he heard Broderick say.
He tried to give the man a thumbs up but was too tired. "Good looking out," he managed.
They gently placed him on the bed and set Serenity down next to him. He instinctively curled around her in a protective position. This time when darkness came he wasn't afraid.
*****
Serenity stared at herself in the mirror. She braided the long white lock at her temple, a reminder of what she lived through. She flipped it back and forth. She still wasn't used to seeing it when she looked at herself.
She and Micah had technically died two days ago. When they woke up yesterday Vivi filled them in on everything they had missed.
Meryn's idea worked. The shifters bounced back almost immediately but the vampires still slept. Vivi said that every time she took their blood, less of the virus appeared. She said it was only a matter of time before they woke.
Vivi also confessed to finishing her cure. Until they figured out who created the virus, they could use her synthesized antivirals to treat any future outbreaks. The best thing about her cure is that it required very little vampire blood and didn't have to be processed.
Vivi's voice was somber when she told her that she finished it the night before. What she didn't have to say is that it would have been too late for her and the children.
"Serenity?" She heard Micah calling for her.
"Upstairs," she yelled back.
He appeared in the doorway holding a small cardboard box. "I got us something."
"What?" she asked.
He handed her the box. She looked up at him. "Twister?"
His eyes darkened. "One of my favorite memories from the night of our mating. Us laughing and playing naked Twister."
"Naked?" she asked feeling her body tighten in anticipation.
"Naked," he confirmed.
She pushed past him and ran to the large open space in their new master suite on Level One. It was still undecorated, but Micah wanted to stay close to his unit brothers. As she understood it, the other unit witches would be coming by next week to help them move everything down from the Unit Level.
She tore open the box and set the large mat on the floor. Micah set the dial to one side. Without saying a word, they each rushed to remove their clothing. Serenity knocked him over twice when he was trying to take off his pants. She was already laughing so hard she was having trouble breathing and they hadn't even started yet.
She stood naked in front of him playing with her breasts. "You going to go?"
Micah was staring at her hands. "Right." He shook his head and spun the dial. He looked down and placed his foot on a small blue circle.
Serenity deliberately bent over in front of him to spin for her turn. Behind her Micah whimpered. "Left foot, red." She chose the circle furthest from him.
"Hey!" he protested.
"Your turn."
Five moves later he somehow ended up behind her. When she got right hand, yellow she knew she was in trouble. Bending over slowly she placed her hand on the yellow circle.
She grazed up against him causing them both to groan. When last she looked his cock had been hard and leaking. She grit her teeth, determined not to be the one to give in.
"Y-y-your turn."
Using his magic, he spun the dial.
"No cheating!" she exclaimed.
"The rules state that I spin the dial, technically my magic is a part of me, so it's not cheating," he countered. His move had him bending over her to place his right hand next to her left.
All along her back his body pressed up against hers. She felt his hard length slide against her. She went to spin and gasped. She turned her head to glare up at him. "You've been using air magic to pick your moves!"
"I was wondering when you'd figure it out." He kissed the back of her neck. She felt his body shudder. "I almost lost you. You left me," he whispered.
She reached behind her and wrapped his arms around her body. "But you wouldn't let me go."
"I'll never let you go," he vowed.
She dropped to her knees and went to all fours. "Reclaim me Micah." When she looked back she saw his eyes had darkened. He stroked his cock from base to tip. "You belong to me," he said as he knelt behind her.
"Yours only. Forever."
She threw her head back in ecstasy as he plunged two fingers deep inside her. "Yes! Micah, please!" she begged.
He lined up the head of his cock and drove forward. There were no soft words or promises of tomorrow. It wasn't needed. She needed him in the most primal way imaginable. He wasn't making love to her, he was branding her. Claiming her as his own from the inside out.
She tilted her hips until he was hitting her g-spot with every thrust. She was so close, the sound of his flesh pounding against hers echoed all around them. She reached down and rubbed her fingers on either side of her clit. "Micah," she breathed.
"Mine!" he roared. She twisted her fingers and came harder than she ever had in her life. Her arms gave out, she would have pitched forward onto the floor, but he caught her and gently lowered her. He pulled from her body and slumped to the floor next to her.
"I love you Serenity."
"I know you do. No other woman has ever been loved the way you love me." She turned to face him and reached out her hand. Their fingers intertwined. She looked him in the eye. "I love you more than the promise of heaven."
His eyes filled. "Heaven still awaits us. But by the time we head there in truth, we will have accomplished all we set out to do in life. Our great-great-great-grandchildren will see us off and we'll go hand in hand. Together."
"Together," she repeated. "Forever."
"Forever."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Meryn sat quietly at the dining room table as conversations buzzed all around her. Everyone seemed to be talking at once. The children were virus free and the sleeping vampires were getting better by the hour. But something was off. Vivi checked in on Micah and Serenity and reported that they were both awake and doing just fine. Though it wasn't said out loud, everyone seemed to understand why they weren't at dinner. Meryn smirked, she'd be lucky to see those two before she left the city.
She leaned back in her chair as something continued to eat away at her. She just couldn't remember what it was or why it was important. Stupid baby brain.
"Denka, are you well?" Ryuu asked reaching for her wrist.
Around her the table quieted.
"Ryuu, is the child well?" Magnus asked.
Meryn stared at Rheia. What on earth had she said? Something about coming so far. Meryn gasped as she remembered why it bothered her.
They had come so far. Exactly down the path laid out for them, but by who?
"Meryn, baby?" Aiden took her other hand.
Meryn turned to Magnus. "You said I could have whatever I wanted, whenever, right?"
Magnus nodded. "You, more than anyone, deserves whatever your heart could desire."
"I want to speak with DeLaFontaine."
"No," Aiden said immediately.
She scowled up at him. "I didn't ask you."
She turned back to Magnus. "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."
Magnus gave her a soft smile. "I am beyond doubting you." He looked over to Adriel. "Secure him and bring him here. If she wants to meet with him, I want her surrounded by unit warriors at all times."
Adriel stood and motioned to Declan. "You are with me."
Declan grinned. "I knew you liked me best." Adriel was still ignoring him when they walked out.
Magnus stood. "Meryn if you would like to adjourn to the ante
chamber, I think you will be more comfortable there." He looked around. "And when he leaves we can return here without of dinner being spoiled by his presence."
"Dibs on the recliner," Meryn said standing.
Beth laughed. "I think it's pretty much yours now anyway."
Meryn let Aiden help her stand and escort her to the antechamber.
Quicker than she thought it would take, the door opened, and Adriel pulled DeLaFontaine into the room. When he saw Meryn, he snarled. "You!" he hissed. "Do not think I do not know that you were behind that humiliating spell."
Meryn frowned, then remembered the twin's diarrhea spell. She burst out laughing. "I actually had very little to do with that one, but thanks for reminding me. I needed a good laugh."
Adriel drove DeLaFontaine to his knees in the middle of the room facing Meryn. "He is all yours," he announced.
DeLaFontaine stared up at her. "What is this about?"
Meryn tilted her head. "I'm not sure yet. Something about you bothers me."
"He bothers all of us," Vivi muttered under her breath.
Meryn stared into DeLaFontaine's eyes. "Black, slick, oil," she said to herself.
She felt two hands come to rest on her back. She knew without turning it was Ryuu and Kendrick. "Keep going Meryn," Kendrick urged.
"I saw that black stuff again, with that Dubois douchebag, but not like him," she pointed to the man at her feet.
Meryn's gut instinct was proven correct when DeLaFontaine paled at her words. "Impossible," he whispered.
"You know what I think?" she asked him. "I think whoever is really in charge, the one who created this virus, I don't think they are kind enough to leave us an out. We did everything they thought we would do. We opened the city, we welcomed the refugees, we gathered blood, everything according to plan." Meryn raced after that one thought evading her. "Right up until I visited you. That's when I got those awful premonitions about Magnus. That was when we stopped doing what they wanted." She turned to Vivi. "What would've happened if I hadn't warned you about Magnus?"