"We routed the gallu out of Olympus," Falcyn said, sitting back on his haunches. "But it was a bad day for Zeus and crew. They're not happy with the damage that was wrought."
Sin least of all, since his wife insisted that Artemis stay with them until things settle down. And Apollo is captured again since he is now working with the gallu against his father and the rest of his former pantheon.
Max sucked his breath in sharply at that. Sin and Artemis had a bad history together. No doubt Sin was extremely unhappy to have his mother-in-law camping out in his casino since he could barely tolerate Artemis's presence. Even though he had plenty of room, he wouldn't welcome her there.
Falcyn brought his attention back to him. "I have Hadyn's Tablet. We decided it would be safer to break it apart from what you carry. And keep them in separate locations."
"Thank you."
Falcyn inclined his head to him. "Still doesn't mean I like you, though."
"Hate you, too, brother."
There was a timid knock on the door before it was pushed open to show Edena and Hadyn entering. They came in with food and drink that they set down on the floor, beside their mother.
"We'll give you space," Falcyn said before he led Illarion and Blaise from the room.
Alone with his mate and children, Max wasn't sure what to say. It was extremely surreal to have them here in his solitary loft. Or rather their loft. As a family, they'd be sharing it from now on. Yeah, that really did a number on his head.
Edena sat down next to her mother. "How do you feel?"
"Good."
She smiled. "Glad to hear it." Even so, there was a hesitancy that blemished her smile and feigned cheerful words.
Max manifested a blanket, then turned himself human. "Better?"
She blushed profusely. "Um ... it doesn't matter to me. I'm used to Hadyn as a dragon."
"Deenie's the one who tends to me whenever I'm sick or ... stuck. Did you ever get trapped in one form or the other and not be able to change? It really sucks."
Max grinned as he remembered those days, and he welcomed his son's friendliness. Unlike his sister, Hadyn had no reservation in his form, tone, or manner. "It's been a while, but yeah. It sucks."
Hadyn came forward more slowly. "We know you need to rest some more. We just wanted to make sure you were all right. You haven't moved in three whole days. All of us have been scared about that."
Max choked at his revelation. "Three days? Are you serious?"
Edena nodded. "The demons are so unhappy. Zakar, Thorn, and Fang have put up seals and mirrors all over Peltier House and Sanctuary so that they can't get in again. So far, it's working."
"What about the Amazons?"
"They tried," Hadyn answered. "Mom and Samia, along with the Peltier females and a Dark-Huntress named Chi kicked their butts so hard that I doubt they'll be back for a while."
"Good."
Edena leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "We'll be back later to bother you. Get some more rest." She got up to leave.
Hadyn moved forward. "I'm really glad Mom didn't kill you." And with that, the twins were gone.
Max wasn't sure what to make of his kids. They were a bit odd, but he loved them. And speaking of things that made him uncomfortable ...
He gently pushed the blanket back and shifted.
Sera immediately gasped. "What are you doing?"
"It's been three days. I need to go to the bathroom."
Sera's face exploded with color. "Oh. Sorry." She let go of his arm so that he could stand up. "You need me to help?"
Her offer charmed him. But ... "There are some things I prefer to do alone. This is one of them."
"Okay."
Seraphina leaned back on her arms while Max went to attend his needs. It'd been a strange few days while they'd acclimated to their new lives. This world was so different than the one they'd known.
Luckily, Hadyn and Edena seemed to be adjusting easier than she was. Of course it helped that the Peltiers had children close to their age who'd taken them under their bear claws and were teaching them idioms and culture.
Max's brothers were still quite suspicious of her. As were Fang and the others.
There was nothing she could do about that. So she did her best to ignore it and not let it bother her.
When Max returned a short time later, he had a black towel wrapped around his lean hips and his long blond hair and feathers were wet.
"You showered?"
Nodding, he headed back to his pallet on the floor.
He'd also shaved. The fresh, clean scent of soap and dragonswain set her head reeling. But the sight of his stitches across his abdomen, where Carson had tended him, reminded her that he was in no condition for what her hormones wanted.
Too bad, that.
As he lay down, she was overwhelmed by the sheer size of him in his human body. While he wasn't as large like this as he was as a dragon, he was still a good-sized creature. Still ferocious and delicious.
"You keep looking at me like that and you're going to have to fulfill that silent promise in your eyes."
She scowled. "What promise?"
"To climb on top of me and ride me like a giddy kid on the mechanical horse outside of Piggly Wiggly with a sack full of quarters."
Her jaw dropped. "I'm not completely sure what that analogy means, but--"
He interrupted her words with a scorching kiss that left her breathless and dizzy. "I think you know exactly what I mean." And to prove his point, he pressed her hand against the bulge under his towel.
"I don't want to hurt you."
Laughing, he nipped at her lips and then her chin. "You're worth the pain."
"Maxis!"
"It's true." He slid his hand under her shirt to cup her breast and tease her hardened nipple with his thumb. "Make love to me, Sera. I've lived too long away from you."
"And I, you." She reached down between them to remove his towel. Her breath caught as she stared at his unadorned beauty. He was unbelievably handsome and fierce.
Best of all, he was hers.
And he watched her with a hunger that was its own form of foreplay. One that made her want to please and tease him until he was as giddy as the child he'd described with the sack full of quarters.
Rising to her feet, she slowly stripped for him like she used to, delighting in the murmurs of pleasure that escaped his lips as he watched her peeling her clothes off. When she was finally naked, he reached for her and pulled her close enough that he could lave her breast while his hands gently stroked and caressed her body.
Her heart pounded as she savored his touch and did her own exploration of his long, hard, muscled flesh. She'd always loved spreading her hands over the massive planes of his back. Feeling the texture of it and the flexing of his muscles as he moved.
"You are exquisite," she breathed.
"And you are beautiful." He tongued her ear until chills sprang all over her arms. Laughing, he slowly slid his fingers up her thigh, to the center of her body where she craved his touch most. She groaned out loud at how good his touch felt while he gently played and teased until she was so hot and breathless that she was on the verge of coming.
But this wasn't how she wanted it to end. And definitely not this soon. Pushing him back, she straddled him and gently impaled herself on his body.
Gasping, Max gripped her hips and thrust against her, driving himself in even deeper.
Afraid he'd hurt himself, she adjusted her weight until he was forced to surrender all control over to her.
The smile on his face made her heart beat faster. "I see what you're doing. I'm all yours, my lady dragon. Have your wicked way with me until your heart's content."
She buried her hands in his damp hair and slowly rode him until they came in unison. Only then did she slide off him and lay by his side as she listened to his ragged breathing.
Closing his eyes, Max held her as he savored the familiar New Orleans and Sanctuary sounds blending with her precious b
reaths.
So familiar and so alien. Nothing would ever be the same again.
"Where do we go from here, Sera?"
"What do you mean?"
He was so afraid of her answer, but he'd never been a coward and he had to know. "What are your plans for our future?"
Seraphina froze at his emotionless tone. "Do you want me to leave?"
"Gods no. I just ... I know how you feel about this time period. About..."--he barely bit back the word "me"--"dragons. So I was curious where you saw this going."
"What do you want?"
"You."
"And?"
He tilted his head to look at her. "I've always been a dragon of simple means. You know that. But we've stirred a hornets' nest with everything that's happened since your arrival. One I'm not sure we can walk away from. The gallu will be able to follow us. And it's not just us we have to think about. I am still the Dragonbane."
Seraphina swallowed hard at something they couldn't escape. That would be with them forever. "Why did you kill him, Max?"
"Does it matter?"
"No. I love you, regardless. But I would like to hear your side of it."
With her head tucked beneath his chin, he toyed with her hair. "Would you believe my truth should I give it?"
"I have learned to trust you. Whatever you say, I will believe."
Still, he hesitated before he answered. "It was an accident. He wasn't the one who was supposed to die. Rather it was his brother."
Gaping, she rose up to stare down at him. "And that makes it all better?"
"Had you met his brother, yes. He was an asshole."
"Max!"
Before he could respond, another knock sounded on his door. By the scent, he knew it was Alain Peltier. The eldest of the bears. "Yes?"
Alain didn't open the door, rather he spoke through it. "I hate to disturb you, dragon. But we have a bad situation. Savitar has called the Omegrion and you've been summoned. By law, we have to take you in. However, we've taken a vote and we're standing in solidarity by your side."
"No!" Sera shook her head. "You can't go. I won't allow you to face them. I don't care what Savitar says or how many stand with you. This is suicide!"
Max didn't respond to her upset outburst. "How long do I have?"
"We need to leave immediately."
18
After the quickest shower of her life, Seraphina dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt, and walked with Max down to the parlor of Peltier House, where their children and basically every adult resident under the roof waited for him. As well as every Dark-Hunter, former and current, in New Orleans, along with Acheron, Sin, Zakar, and Styxx.
"This is utter bullshit!" Dev snarled, unaware of their presence behind him. "I say we tell Savitar where to shove it."
Acheron laughed as he glanced past Dev to meet Max's gaze. "I dare you."
Max stopped next to Dev and put his hand on his shoulder. "It's all right, bear. I'm not afraid."
Seraphina laced her fingers with his. "For the record, I am."
With a stern frown, Aimee caressed her stomach. "Can't we do something? Max is here under our protection. I thought our laws protected him, so long as he doesn't leave."
Styxx sighed heavily. "They did. But the other dragons are calling for his ass. He attacked and they have the right to demand a hearing for his new crime ... and the old when he appears for it."
Vane nodded. "That's why we're all going. As Kattalakises, we're character witnesses. Our family started this against you and we're going to do our damnedest to stop it."
Hadyn's scowl matched Aimee's. "And if you can't?"
Dev cracked a wicked grin. "I'm tossing the dragon over my shoulder and running for the door. You gonna cover my retreat, kid?"
Sighing heavily, Samia pressed her gloved hands to her nose. "I wish he was joking with that threat. Instead, I have this awful vision in my head and an ulcer in my stomach."
Dev kissed her cheek. "I promised you that living with me would never be boring."
She let out a tired breath. "That you did. You are definitely a bear of your word."
As they started to leave, Illarion stepped forward to go with them to the Omegrion.
"No!" Max roared, pushing him back toward his brothers. "Blaise, keep him here."
The stunned look on Illarion's face would have been hysterical if Max's life didn't hang in the balance. You can't leave me out of this.
"I can and I will."
Illarion shook his head in denial. He tried to step around Max, but Max wasn't having any of that.
Max caught his brother and pushed him back again. "I mean it. You go and I'll run." He looked to Falcyn, then Blaise. "He's not allowed to go. You have to keep him here. No matter what."
A chill went down Seraphina's spine. Illarion knew something about all this. Something Max didn't want spoken out loud. And given what she knew about her mate, it would incriminate Illarion in the murder and free Max.
There was no other reason for him to act this way. To be so angry and insistent. No other reason to bar Illarion's presence from the hearing. Not unless he was afraid his brother would speak up and condemn himself in order to protect Max from harm.
She met Illarion's grief-stricken, tormented gaze and in that moment, she knew exactly what had happened. "You killed the prince, didn't you? It wasn't Maxis. It was you."
"Sera," Max growled. "Stay out of this."
But she couldn't. Not if it meant saving her mate. Releasing Max, she went to Illarion and forced him to meet her gaze. "Tell me what happened."
"It doesn't matter." Max swallowed hard. "I bear the mark and I'm the Dragonbane, not Illarion. Leave him alone." He glared at his brothers. "Do not let him leave here."
And before she could say another word, Max vanished.
"No!" Yet it was too late. The irritating beast was already gone.
Terrified and shaking, she turned on Illarion. "Tell me the truth. What happened?"
It was an accident.
She met Acheron's gaze. "We've got to get the others to listen. Somehow."
Vane agreed. "Don't worry, Sera. They can't start the council yet. Four of the members are still here."
She arched a brow at the number. "Four?"
"Me, Fury, Alain's mate--Tanya, and Wren Tigarian behind you."
Tanya Peltier she'd met while tending Max's wound. Quiet and shy, the tall, dark-haired Katagari bear worked as one of the cooks in the kitchen of Peltier House who oversaw caring for the residents there, and not in the public Sanctuary bar. She made the menus for their children and families, and was the Ursulan Regis for the Katagaria branch since the death of the Peltier matriarch, Nicolette.
And while Tanya was mated to the eldest Peltier bearswain and had three sons with him, Seraphina couldn't help noticing the way the bearswan's face lit up whenever the lead singer of the Howlers came near her. Tanya positively glowed at Angel, who did his best to avoid being around her.
That too said a lot about their relationship, since Angel was extremely friendly and easygoing.
Not wanting to think about that, Seraphina turned to find the other council member, watching her from the back corner of the room. A part of the group and yet apart from them.
Like Max, Wren held that same disturbing aura of quiet predator that said he was eyeing you like prey. Sizing up your every movement to detect the weakness he was about to use to bring you down for a kill. The most disturbing thing was the way his eyes that changed color depending on the way the light hit them. They went from a light gray to a vibrant turquoise.
Highly disturbing.
Until he unleashed a friendly grin at her that made him appear boyish and shy, and around the same age as Hadyn. "Sorry. My wife Maggie is always getting on to me for making people uncomfortable. Although she seems to enjoy my doing it at her father's cocktail parties. Sometimes she even puts me up to it, but it's a bitch at the playground. I've sent three of my daughter's playmate's nannies in to the
rapy."
Unsure what to think, she let out a nervous laugh.
He held his hand out to her. "Wren. Nice to meet you."
She shook his hand and by the mark on his palm, she knew he was a rare tigard. His scent told her he was a Katagari snow leopard and tiger.... What a peculiar mixture.
"Sera. Thank you for coming."
He tucked his hands into his pockets and stepped back. "My pleasure. I had a similar unpleasant experience with the Omegrion a few years back. Let's hope this turns out as well, shall we?"
Tanya moved closer and rubbed Seraphina's arms comfortingly. "Don't worry. We won't let them take your Max, any more than we let them hurt Wren. We always watch after our own."
But as they arrived in the Omegrion council room on the mysterious Neratiti island home of Savitar, Sera felt her hope dwindle quickly. The large circular chamber was decorated in burgundy and gold. Through the open windows that spanned from the black marble floor to the gilded ceiling, she could see and hear the ocean on all sides of the room. Oddly enough, the entire room reminded her of an ancient sultan's tent. Lavishly decorated, it had an enormous round table in the center that made her curious as to what the rest of the palace might look like. But one look at the angry grimace on Savitar's handsome face and she knew she wasn't about to ask him for a tour.
He was still dressed in a black wetsuit, his hair damp and his arms crossed as he sat on his throne that was set to the side of the room so that he could watch over the council members--most of whom were already there, and so silent you could hear the wood drying on the walls.
That, too, said it all about Savitar's somber mood.
Composed of one representative from each breed of Were-Hunter, and from the Arcadian and Katagaria branches, the Omegrion council that made the laws to govern their races should have had twenty-four members.
But one chair at the table remained forever empty. An eerie warning and reminder.
Back in the day, it'd belonged to the Arcadian Balios or jaguar patria. Legend had it that centuries ago, the Regis of that group had run so afoul of Savitar's temper that he'd single-handedly destroyed every member of their species.
Total extinction.
Which said it all about the power and temperament of the disgruntled Chthonian sitting in judgment of her mate.
His long dark hair brushed back from his face, Savitar glared at the group who'd arrived with her. "How nice of you to join us. I trust all of you had a nice nap after I summoned you?"
Acheron had the audacity to laugh. "Miss a gnarly, awesome wave, Big Kahuna?"