Hearts of Warriors Ch. 13

Mac spun on his heels and headed back downstairs, forcing himself not to react to the further hurt he saw in Lily's eyes. He needed time to think things through and work out what they were going to do about the issue of children as well as what the impact would be of some unknown Alpha appearing in the future. But before he could do that he needed to address the threat to the Vârcolac.

Lily wasn't the only one thrown completely off-balance by the events of the day. Granted, he was older and should have been able to deal with everything better but for so many centuries everything had been work related to him. Nothing had touched him on a personal level. Nothing had ever been so important and yet so totally incomprehensible that he just didn't know how to react to it.

Walking away from Lily was hard when every instinct within him demanded he turn around and protect his mate but how did he protect her from himself? When all was said and done his Lily was getting the worst of the bargain when it came to their mating. He didn't deserve her and she sure as hell didn't deserve the pain he was about to inflict on her.

Lily watched Mac walk away, swallowing down the hard knot of pain lodged in her throat. She had no idea what Mac thought he was protecting her from and she was angry that he hadn't listened to her earlier. Was it really only a handful of hours ago that she'd made it clear to him just what she was willing to accept from her mate? It felt like a lifetime ago. And he hadn't listened to her.

Spinning on her heel she marched into her room and threw her pack onto the bed. She was aware Mac expected her to take her things up to his room and it had been her intention of moving in with him when they returned from the pack visit, but if he wasn't willing to treat her as an equal then she wasn't willing to take that final step until he did.

Uttering a frustrated curse, Lily unpacked and hung her clothes in the closet before she changed out of her dress and into a pair of comfortable jeans and a red tank top. Pulling her hair up into a ponytail she headed back out of the room and went looking for Liam and Kallum.

She found them easily enough; Liam was only two doors down from her own room. It was a subdued Lily who joined them on the bed where they were sitting discussing the news Andrei had imparted to her brother as he'd said he would.

Both males dwarfed her in size and immediately sensed her mood. Kallum reached out silently, pulling her between them. The need to comfort her was a tangible thing as they tried to digest everything they'd learned. Liam moved closer until she was curled protectively between them, their wolves reaching out and connecting on an inner level that excluded everyone bar the other Vârcolac.

Dara joined them first, closely followed by Cassia. Elina arrived, her aura moving to Liam instinctively. Kothari joined them last, a remoteness to his mental touch which hinted at darkness.

"We will not let this happen." Kallum's firm mental tone was implacable. "No one threatens our families or our mates." His gaze turned to Lily and she nodded silently.

"They will seek to overprotect us," Kothari answered. "They don't have the first clue of what we're capable of despite recent events."

"Do any of us know what you're truly capable of, Kothi?" Dara's words held a bite to them which was unmistakable. They sparked mocking laughter with a cruel edge to it.

"Little girls should be careful of what they wish for, Dara Romanov."

"Enough," Kallum sighed wearily, keen to stop any petty bickering before it began. Sometimes dealing with Kothi challenged even his patience.

"Everyone stay in close touch with at least one other. No going off on your own. That includes you, Kothi. No vanishing acts. We'll see what course of action Rafe and the others come up with and work out what we'll do once we have more information."

"What if they won't let us help, Kal? Elina asked. "My mother will most likely speak on our behalf but the rest of our parents still view us in terms of what they know of pack and vampires."

Silence greeted her words for a moment. There was no denying that any action they tried to take would be met with strenuous objections.

"We'll deal with that if or when it happens, Elle. For the moment we watch and listen. I'll let you know when we need to act. Hopefully our parents will understand that we don't need protecting anymore."

One by one, the Vârcolac agreed with Kallum's words, Liam's mental voice being the last to give his assent, his tone clearly unhappy at the possibility of any conflict with the pack and their parents.

Lily extracted herself from her brother's embrace and moved to wrap her arms around Liam. "It'll be okay," she whispered. "We'll make them understand."

Secretly she wondered just how she would be able to make Mac understand anything he didn't want to. Her mate was proving to be particularly obstinate about most things already, hence her current irritation with him.

Still she soothed her friend as the other Vârcolac dropped from their mental link leaving the three of them alone once more, quiet and introspective.

*****

It had taken longer for Mac to organise his people than he'd anticipated. The day had waned into early evening and finally full dark as he increased the duty roster and recalled all Praetorians from leave.

He sent Karn out to liaise with the wolves, his number two reporting back that the Alpha's mate had indeed come along to help supervise the younger males and protect her pack members residing at the Praetorian Compound.

Mac had taken the time to meet with Lacey Hanlon as she was second only to the Alpha of the Armand-Hanlon pack and rated the respect of being greeted by the head of the Praetorians. She was an impressive woman, physically beautiful but also with an inner-beauty that shone out from behind the eyes of her outraged wolf.

He'd have had to be dead not to admire her and think that Rafe Hanlon was a very lucky man to have such an exquisite mate. Which inevitably turned his thoughts to his own mate and the fact she was pissed at him and he hadn't seen hide or hair of her since he'd left her without a backward glance.

Sighing, Mac ran his hand through his hair and took the stairs two at a time heading up to their room. He couldn't avoid Lily forever and didn't want to. After the events of the day, he wanted nothing more than to breathe in her sweet scent, to hold her close and try and find a moment's respite from everything.

He knew she wasn't in their room the instant he entered. Always before, he'd found a joy in entering his inner sanctuary after a hard day. Tonight it was just another series of rooms in the house, the feeling of coming home he usually experienced not in evidence. How could it be when his Lily wasn't there? Home was now very firmly wherever she was, no matter what their differences were.

Mac slipped back downstairs scenting the air as he did. Lily was still with Kallum and Liam so he headed there, opening the door quietly. He froze in the doorway taking in the sight in the darkened room.

His mate was piled in a mass of arms and legs fast asleep in the middle of the bed. She'd changed into the cutest pair of pyjamas he'd ever seen, the top deep red, the cropped-legged pants white but covered in hundreds of red butterflies.

Her brother was curled around her back, his arm loosely around her waist as he slept. Lily's head was resting on Liam's lower thighs, her hair tangled about her, Liam's hand resting in the silky mass.

As he took in the scene his feral nature rose in a flash. His mate was in bed with two other males! It didn't matter that they were siblings, that Lily counted Liam as much her brother as Kallum. She was supposed to be in Mac's bed, not someone else's!

A low growl reverberated around the room filled with so much menace that it cut through Mac's fury and he blinked in surprise.

"Don't go there, Mackenzie," Kallum breathed quietly. "We are pack. We are Vârcolac. Don't ever forget that and don't ever think that you can take Lily from us." He silently extracted himself from his sister and sat up, turning molten amber eyes on the vampire in the doorway.

Mac remained still as he confronted Kallum's wolf in full protective mode. He had enough sense not to make any sudden moves until the animal backed down from its aggressive stance. Unlike with Lily, her brother's wolf was a true Alpha and any aggression on his part would spark a confrontation which would hurt his mate so he allowed the wolf its dominance.

Kallum suddenly relaxed and shot a rueful smile at Mac. "Sorry about that. I don't like being woken by aggression." He turned to look at his sleeping sister for a moment and then his gaze met Mac's again.

"She was upset earlier. We heal our distress with a wolf's touch. We go pack, our animal instincts taking over. This is normal for us."

Mac relaxed too, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. He'd had no idea how much the wolf half of the Vârcolac played in their psyche. He realised he was guilty of thinking of them as more vampire than wolf because they didn't appear to let their animals free as often as normal Weres.

He could see he was going to have to rethink some of his previous misconceptions when it came to his mate. Walking into the room, he approached the bed cautiously, earning a soft chuckle from Liam as he sleepily opened his eyes.

"Kal's bark is worse than his bite," he yawned, before closing his eyes again and stroking Lily's head lightly. "My legs are going to be cold when you take her," he added with a sigh, before going back to sleep.

Mac smiled as he bent down and scooped his sleeping mate into his arms. Lily didn't wake but she did instinctively curl into his chest, an arm wrapping around his neck. Her closeness instantly soothed him, her scent surrounding him and invading every part of him. God, how he'd missed her.

"Whatever it is you can't talk to Lila about, perhaps you can talk to me?" Kallum said, as he settled back on the bed, lying on his side as he watched his sister being cradled tenderly by the vampire.

Mac regarded him intently for a long moment before brushing his lips against Lily's forehead. "Thank you for the offer, Kal. I will bear it in mind." He headed to the door with his precious bundle. He turned before he left the room.

"Security is heightened around the compound and some of your pack are in the area too. Stay within the compound limits though. If they want to visit, fine, but none of you are to go looking for them."

He waited for Kallum's nod of agreement before he left and closed the door behind him. He stared down into Lily's sleeping face as Karn walked upstairs to come and stand beside them.

"Was it only the other day I said this was fucked up?" the other vampire asked with an ironic laugh. "Didn't know I had psychic abilities."

Mac's lips twitched in a half smile as he met his friend's gaze. "Sometimes fucked up is so worth the effort my friend. Wait until you meet the woman who brings you to your knees."

A pair of cold green eyes flashed in Karn's mind and he unconsciously ran a hand over his recently healed ribs. "Never going to happen, Mac. I'm going to run like fuck the instant I see her." He laughed and headed off towards his room.

Mac watched him go, a shadow of a frown on his face before he looked back down at Lily once more. "There was just a hint of a sparkle in his eyes there," he whispered, kissing her temple. "I think our Karn is in as much trouble as I am, sugar."

Lily snuggled against him at the sound of his voice and he smiled. Even pissed at him she still wanted to be close to him. She couldn't argue with her subconscious mind though he was sure she was stubborn enough to try.

Mac swept his mate upstairs to their bed. He was tired and tomorrow would bring about more headaches to deal with. For tonight he wanted to luxuriate in the feel of his woman in his arms. Tomorrow he'd deal with her wrath and find some way to answer the questions she had without breaking her heart.

To be continued...