“I need to promise to take care of ya’ll. To feed you, to bring you the sunshine you can’t access on your own, to clean your clothes, to cook for Ajax.” I’d only promised to belong to Ajax. That hadn’t required me to provide anything.
“Dear Arabella,” Sophia told me, “you’ve promised more than anyone else. You’ve given your willpower, your lifeblood, your very soul to a werewolf, and in doing so, to the vampires with a claim to his lifeblood. I thought you understood?”
“I did! I just didn’t know that simple sentence said all of that. I wanted to be clear about what I’m offering!”
She seemed relieved, and she stood and looked down at us. “It’s clear, my beautiful swan. I’ll leave the four of you to your celebrations. The bus will leave from TBC tomorrow at noon. Bring a tent if you don’t want to have sex in front of others.” She leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “You will always be mine. I will always be your Queen. However, you also have obligations to Ajax now. I hope the two of us can keep from making you feel as if you have divided loyalties.”
Ajax stood and offered his hand. “That’s my hope as well, Your Majesty.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ajax
The first time Arabellachangedwhile my dick was in her, I was a little freaked out. My wolf was far below the surface back then, but it freaked him the fuck out too.
We were used to it now, though.
Also, we’d been raised as slaves. Slaves have no right to privacy. For anything. We didn’t bother schlepping a tent into the massive cave system. After about a four-mile hike, we ended up in a huge cavern. You could’ve played four football games at the same time. With spectators. A decent sized lake was at one end, with a stream meandering through the cavern. The swans would easily be able to fly in the high-roofed cave, and they’d also be able to float on the water.
It was fucking brilliant.
Arabella stripped, and I lowered my jeans to my thighs. I was already hard, but she leaned forward and gave me a short blow job, just to be certain I was ready. Or, perhaps she was adding to the moisture, though she was plenty wet when I lifted her and sat her on my cock. She wrapped her legs around me, and I held under her arms while I bounced her up and down. I was a little long at first, and she winced, so I went shorter and fatter until her moans were total bliss and zero pain.
This wasn’t about sex, it was just about the orgasm, and within minutes, I sensed she was close enough. I ordered her tocome, and ten seconds later, a beautiful white swan flew away from me. I fastened my pants, opened the cloth folding chair I’d brought, and sat to watch the festivities. Lots of fucking was still happening all around me, and I could’ve probably beat off and enjoyed myself, but I’d gone soft on purpose once my Arabella flew away. Tonight wasn’t about me.
Sophia and Aaron put up a large tent, and ten minutes later, the door was unzipped and yet another beautiful white swan stepped out and then flew away. Aaron saw me and walked to me with a grin.
“Sophia wanted the tent back in the corner, but I’d planned to station myself exactly where you are. The most strategic place in the cavern.”
I looked around. “Right. I can see a good ways up the passage we took to get here, and I can see the passage high up.” I motioned to it. As far as I could tell, there were only two ways in and out to stay dry, and another unseen ingress where the water entered the cavern. It exited via the same way we’d entered, and followed the side of the walkway. So, three ways in and out, two of which were visible. Plus, I’d scented lots of Drake Security employees outside. Aaron Drake wasn’t going to let anything happen to us, but I still needed to sit where I could be certain to see any danger as soon as possible.
He sat on a nearby boulder. It looked as if it’d been made for him. Perhaps it had. I didn’t ask. Even in his human form, I could see the dragon.
We sat in mostly silence. There was a little talk of Abbott being gone, but Aaron planned to stay in Chattanooga at least another decade, and his partner at Drake Security planned to stay as long as possible as well.
“Abbott wants Kieran and Gwen in Alaska. They’ve put it off until April. We’ll go with them.” I didn’t tell him about the house.
“Fairfax isn’t bad. You won’t see much of them during the summer, but you’ll see more of them in the winter. It’s a nice city.”
“Abbott’s the only one who left. Chattanooga is still packed with a lot of power.”
“Yes. There are those who point out we lost AbbottandRandall, but Cora’s consolidated even more power than Randall had. Abbott is the only one who intentionally left, and Kendra is holding the power he had. She hasn’t gained any territory, but neither has she lost it. She’s a formidable vampire. Always has been, but she never wanted to lead before.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Arabella
The alarm went off at four o’clock Christmas morning, and Ajax made mewalkto the downstairs den. I managed it, but barely. Actually, I skipped my way past the last locked door, once there were no more barriers. I couldn’t help myself.
The tree had so many presents under it, we’d put up another tree a week earlier. Not only was the area under the trees full, but the space between them was as well.
I’d already received the one present I wanted more than anything, though. We were now an official family. No one could rip me away from them. I belonged to Ajax, and Ajax served Kieran and Gwen. We were a unit.
But it was Christmas morning, and I couldn’twaitfor the others to open their presents.
Lots of gifts were silly and happy. I’d chose matching pajamas for all of us. Not that the vampires needed soft, fluffy, warm jammies, but they got them anyway. Mine were pink, Gwen’s were burgundy, Ajax’s were black, and Kieran’s were a deep eggplant.
Ajax loved his suit, but I think he may have liked some of the t-shirts better. I asked Eric to help me choose new smartphones for Kieran and Gwen, and they loved the ones he’d told me to get. He’d already set everything up for them, and he’d arrangedfor someone to come by later in the day and swap out the cards inside that would make them work on the cellular network.
