Sharkbait Down Under Ch. 61-70

Nicholas asked the security guy if we could stop somewhere for a late dinner. "That won't be necessary, sir. The chef at the house was informed of your arrival and food preferences and will have dinner waiting for you."

"Food preferences?"

"Barbecued meats and cheesecake," he replied.

"Busted," Olivia said as she laughed. "Did you guys figure out the house design stuff?"

I rolled my eyes. "I need a good night's sleep before I can look at another historical house, Mom. At least our tastes are close enough that we aren't fighting over stuff. Nicholas will be working with the architect now, and we'll talk again when she has drawings and options for zoning." I wanted to get all the information on what we like to Jennifer quickly, allowing her to incorporate it in the drawings. On the flight east, we'd pored over the information she gave us on my tablet, using the pen feature to jot down notes. We even used the tablet's drawing program to sketch out our ideas for floor plans and layouts. We'd sketched out a big house even before the pool and cottage, and it wasn't going to be cheap.

I'd gotten a little overwhelmed, but Nicholas brought me back. He told me that he would oversee the building project, and I could focus on Sharkbait Productions and my other commitments. "It's all in South Australia, while you've got commitments around the world. I've got nothing else going on except the Pack," he'd told me. "You're not alone. Let me take some things off your plate."

He was right, and I trusted him to listen to what I wanted and make it happen.

We arrived a short time later at Alessandro's home in a toney Mermaid Beach neighborhood. "This house is off the hook," Olivia said.

I had to tease her. "Off the hook? What decade is THAT from?"

"Don't start on me, young lady! It made more sense when people had phones that physically hung up," she said with a laugh. "What do you say? Swipe right?"

"You're dating yourself again, Mom."

Our security guys got out first, talking briefly with a man in a suit who was waiting for us. When they gave the nod, we got out of the limo and walked towards the big, modernistic home. I could hear the surf and smell the salt air. "Where are we?"

"Mermaid Beach, south of Brisbane," a security man told us. "The rest of your party is out the back, to the right." The security detail stayed outside as the guy with the suit grabbed our bags.

The house was spectacular. White marble floors and white walls with an open floor plan kept the look clean and modern. We walked up two steps from the entryway, and we could see the pool and beach past the living room and a wall of windows broken by open glass doors. I picked up a scent. "I don't believe it," I said as I took off for the back yard, dragging Nicholas with me. "The GIRLS are here!"

"VICKI!" The twins yelled my name together as they swam towards the near end of the pool. "Congratulations!"

I knelt at the edge and hugged them, not caring that my dress was getting wet. As I let the twins go, I spotted the beautiful Hispanic vampire swimming up behind them. "Consuela?"

"Hello, Vicki," she said nervously.

"Come here," I said as I opened my arms. Talking with the doctors, I knew she might have saved my life, and she was the reason the rescue took place. She climbed out of the pool, accepting the towel Nicholas opened for her. "Thank you, Consuela. I'm glad you survived that night." I'd been told her story on the flight back to the States; I had nothing but respect for her, standing up for what was right while surrounded by such evil. I pulled her into my arms and squeezed her. "If you ever need anything, just ask me," I told her.

Our group greeted the others, starting with the adults. Linda called my parents over to join her, plus Jack and Kaia Steele, Lewis and Carolyn Wolfe, and Ivan and Karen Volkov at the tables. They sat around drinking beer and eating from the trays of food. The kids stayed in the pool; my brothers Mark and Chance playing with Amy's brother Luke.

As we accepted congratulations, my stomach growled loud enough to wake people next door. "I better feed the beast," Nicholas said as everyone laughed.

"Chef Natalie has your food ready," Linda said. Sure enough, a platter of smoked ribs slathered in a mango-tropical fruit sauce appeared at an empty spot at the table. I sat down and dug in while Nicholas got a plate full of grilled seafood.

It was great to see everyone again, and we traded stories about the last three days. "Australia is the best place ever," Luke said. "I can't believe we have to go back to twenty below weather after this!"

"Our place on the water will never see snow," I teased him.

"Can you tell us about it?"

"Tomorrow," I promised as I rubbed my belly. "Right now, I'm taking this meat baby to bed."

"That's my cue," Nicholas agreed. "We'll see you in the morning."

The man who had taken our luggage led us upstairs to the master bedroom. "Press the intercom button if you require anything of the staff," he said as he left. I thanked him as I looked around, ending up on the windows overlooking the backyard and the beach. Nicholas turned out the lights so we could see better. "This is one cool house," I said as Nicholas moved behind me.

"The home next door sold for twenty million," he said. "Not much room for our wolves to run."

"No, I prefer our land."

"I do love the view," he said. I felt fingers along my side, gathering my dress before pulling it over my head.

I stayed facing the window as he unsnapped my bra. "Baby, everyone is less than ten yards away from us."

"Then you better be quiet," he whispered in my ear. He didn't make it easy for me as I leaned against the door to the private overlook.

His skillful tongue burrowed inside me, making my squirm and fight to keep from making noise. "Please," I whispered. "Don't tease me."

He pulled off his shirt, rolling it up and offering it to me as a gag. "If they look up when I do this, what will they see?"

With that, he pushed his cock into me, stretching me around his length. I let out a low moan into the shirt; I couldn't stop myself. I worked my hips back at him, urging him to move harder and faster as I rapidly approached a crest. I came once, then again a minute later, screaming into the cloth as he pinched my nipples before filling me with his seed.

I heard the round of applause from around the pool. Blushing madly, I spit out the shirt.

He pulled out as I put my hand there to keep from dripping, and he picked me up and carried me next door into the bathroom. We showered quickly, then headed for bed.

I woke at seven to the sun streaming into the bedroom and headed to the bathroom. I looked outside after I finished, seeing the twins stretching in the grassy portion of the yard. I'd been neglecting my exercise, and I wasn't going back to sleep anyway, I thought. Going to the dresser, I found my exercise gear and started getting dressed. "What's going on," Nicholas asked groggily.

"Going running with the girls," I told him.

He got out of bed, his hot body giving me other ideas as he passed me. "I'll join you." Fifteen minutes later, the group included Jack, Brent, and a trail car of security personnel.

Nothing about my life was easy.

The beach was almost empty, the sun was out, and the morning air felt good in my lungs. Jack set a challenging pace as we ran north along the high water line. As we ran barefoot through the soft sand, I knew I'd soon be paying the price for my lack of exercise.

It didn't take long for me to start feeling the burn. We'd gone a little over a mile, passing Kurrawa Beach, when I started breathing hard. Another mile later, and my legs started cramping up. I wasn't the only one having problems; Makani and Noelani wanted to turn around. "I've got... a better... idea," I told them as I pushed forward. "Follow me."

I slowed the pace a little and turned off the beach when we reached a familiar sight; the SkyPoint observation deck where we'd filmed some of our series. I stopped at a beach hut selling flip-flops, called 'thongs' Down Under. "What's going on," Jack asked.

"If you want to keep running, you can turn around and head back. We'll take the security guys; there's a place I saw the last time we were here and didn't have time to visit."

The twins looked at each other and nodded. "We're with Vicki," Makani said.

"I'll stay too," Nicholas said.

Jack and Brent knew something was up, and Brent figured it out first. "It's must be about food; Vicki has that look," he said.

I smiled as I turned to the woman at the booth. "Six pairs," I said as I pulled my phone from its pouch and paid. We cooled down as we walked a few blocks, passing the hotel and turning right.

"I should have known," Brent said when we turned the corner. "Pancakes in Paradise?"

"Spotted it from the top," I said with a grin. We entered the place, taking a table in the corner. I loved pancakes almost as much as ribs, and that was saying something.

"They have all-you-can-eat pancakes," Brent said.

"No," Jack replied. "I know how this works. There's enough room in the car for the girls, and the rest of us will have to run back home. Do you want to do that after pounding fifteen pancakes?"

"They can come back for us," Dad said as we all laughed. I ordered a Canadian with the Works, which gave me eggs, bacon, grilled banana, and pineapple along with the pancakes. I had to steal some of Nicholas's food, as he ordered grilled banana crepes with a butterscotch sauce. Absolute heaven.

The food was great, and we relaxed as we talked about the day. Brent, Lewis, Jack, and Ivan were going golfing at Burleigh Golf Club, while the twins planned to join a large group going shopping on the Gold Coast with the security guys. "I think we'll take a nap and relax," I said.

And that is what we did. We had the house to ourselves after lunch, and we took advantage of it. While we recovered, we worked through some of my email and work backlog.

The days flew by, and I cried a little as I said goodbye to my family and friends. School had already started, and Mom wouldn't let them miss more. I promised them we'd get together again soon, perhaps over spring break when I'd be starting work on the second season of our reality show.

It was only Nicholas, Consuela, and I to head down to Sydney. It was a little more than an eight-hour drive, and we decided to travel with the security guys rather than fly. I'd never seen some of the Australian Coast, and I had plenty of work to catch up on.

When we got to Sydney, we still had a little time and daylight before dinner with Alessandro. Nicholas gave the driver some addresses, and we headed into the city. We saw the pier where a young Philip Corcoran had arrived in the Colony as slave labor and the nearby prison. We visited the farm, now housing, where he'd worked after winning his freedom, and finally the claim he farmed before leaving for a new land claim a hundred miles south. I pulled up stories about the places as we walked around, learning more about my mate's heritage and his Pack.

Consuela was interested, but I could tell she was getting nervous as the day went on. "What's going on," I asked her.

"Is it wrong that I'm more comfortable around you guys than vampires?" She looked down at her hands. "Being around a Coven makes me nervous."

"Has Alessandro done anything to make you worry?"

"No, he's been great," Consuela replied. "Help in our world comes at a price, and I'm afraid of what Alessandro might demand of me."

Ch. 66

Consuela Vespucci's POV

"Price?" Vicki looked at me, a little confused.

I nodded. "Protection, sex, money, power, training; everything has a price. Vampires do nothing for free because they have no intrinsic value system that would drive charity or self-sacrifice. It's all about power, Vicki. Vampires build up their strength, consolidate power, and take advantage of their power over others. It makes me wonder what Alessandro will demand from me and why I'm worried about you."

"I've never asked for any of it. I bargained with Master Alexander before I found out he was playing me. Master Emily gave me all that stuff because it shifted blame away from her; the fake will proving to the police his obsession with me."

She pulled me over to a park bench and sat down with Nicholas on her other side. The security guys were well back, watching for any threats. I looked at the young Alpha and continued. "Master Emily made you independently wealthy and gave you the money to kickstart the Sharkbait Foundation. Master Emily and Master Cyprian bought the Sea Scout for you, another multi-million dollar gift. Master Alessandro and the others gifted you six million dollars worth of coastal property in South Australia, and now he's entertaining your family on vacation here. Why do you think that is? Why pour all that money into an eighteen-year-old Pack Alpha?"

"Master Cyprian owed me; I warned him of a plot against him and how one of his Coven leaders was breaking Council law. We were able to work together to resolve the situation and avoid a war."

"So the Sea Scout was Cyprian's payout to you?"

Vicki shook her head, no. "Not at all. I'd already received my compensation for removing Alexander for him out of Alexander's estate. It ended up cleanly resolving it for both species. The Vampires couldn't blame Cyprian for Alexander's death when he invited me there, and Werewolves couldn't blame the Vampire council for holding werewolves in captivity. One of Master Cyprian's businesses owned the Sea Scout, and after buying its replacement, it was effectively surplus. He got a big tax deduction out of it, and the Foundation got a platform. It was beneficial for both of us."

"And it got him a big chunk of your goodwill," I replied. "Would you have trusted Master Cyprian as much if he hadn't done this?"

"Probably not. I trusted Emily more; it was only after seeing them in New Orleans that I started to trust Cyprian as much. He shared his dream with me; Vampires and Werewolves living in peace, and how I could help change things."

I nodded. "Exactly. The two Masters turned you into an agent for the change they wanted by befriending you and giving you these gifts. It was a cheap investment on their part, and a wise one. They found an Alpha heir destined for greatness among your people, and they invested big and early to get in on the ground floor."

I could see in her face how she wondered if they played her. "Why me?"

I laughed. "I heard all the stories on the way here, Vicki. Five years old, and you're defying the Werewolf Council? Jack said no female who just came of age has EVER pushed the Werewolf Council around the way you did. Your courage and leadership are inspirational for wolves of all Packs, not just your own. The sheer number of resources and levels of cooperation that went into your rescue proved it."

"So they are using me to push their agenda?"

I nodded. "Masters Cyprian and Alessandro want to see the Australian Council established, Vicki. If they can show that supernatural beings can govern in harmony, it will spread worldwide over the next century. Why do you think vampires would suddenly be reaching out to share their power after all these centuries?"

"Well, with population growth and technology, it's becoming harder to hide our nature. Working together can help with that. It also avoids any wars that would spill over into the human world."

"Yes, but what else," I prompted.

"If our secret DOES come out, we'd need a coordinated response to survive." If just one kind of supernatural got outed right now, the others would go into lockdown mode and wait it out.

"True, but vampires are the oldest, most powerful, and wealthiest of all the species. You'd need our power to glamour and control more than we need your ability to lick your genitals."

She growled, then thought about it for a while. "Mermaids can distract, which is handy, but we could never have made it through Customs without the Masters entrancing the human agents."

Nicholas finally spoke up. "If what you are saying is correct, the only reason for them to form the Council is that they gain power from it. They think they will control the Council."

"DING DING! We have a winner!"

The pair thought about it for a while before Vicki answered. "The Vampire-Werewolf Peace Treaty limits their numbers."

"Yes," I said. "Five vampires per Coven and restricted to large cities. The Treaty goes away if a NEW governing agreement is signed. The Masters could raise more of their kind in more cities, becoming the dominant force over the entire supernatural world. They could turn on werewolves and mermaids any time they wanted."

She closed her eyes and leaned into Nicholas' shoulder. "Do you think that is their play? That all of this is just to set up another battle later?"

"I don't know, Vicki. I've only been a vampire for a year, and I've had a hard adjustment to my new life. I've seen how the older vampires work, and it scares the hell out of me. They ruined my life to gain access to a hospital blood supply. Others they turned because they were in key government positions, or owned companies Vespucci wanted, or they were a hot piece of ass he wanted to fuck more than once. If I could run away and never see another vampire again, I would, but that isn't an option. I could give Alessandro every peso I have, and it wouldn't gain my freedom. I either stay in their circle, or I get destroyed. I want to live."

"Strange phrase for the undead," Nicholas said.

"You understand what I mean." I stood up, noting the time on my watch. "I've told you what I think, and I hope you'll watch your backs and keep your eyes open. I might be wrong about everything; I've only had one Master, and maybe the others are different."

"That's what I believe, but I'll be careful," Vicki said.

"That's all I can ask."

Vicki reached for my hand. "You are my friend, Consuela, even if I am suing the pants off of you for pain, suffering, and emotional distress." I laughed at that since Francisco already informed me of their lawsuit.

Alpha Steven hired an attorney on their behalf as soon as he got the message from Beta Jack. My late husband had a brokerage account containing almost fifty million dollars in the United States. The FBI froze his assets after our rescue. The Pack's lawyer filed a lawsuit in Federal court on our behalf and headed to the Justice Department with a deal. If I abandoned my claims to the overseas account, the US Government would use it to pay restitution to the six American crime victims. It might take a year, but it would be clean money for the girls who suffered at his hand. Vicki stood up next to me. "If it gets to be too much here, come see me. I'll work out something with Alessandro so you can be under his domain, but stay with us."

"Thank you," I said with some relief. "I'm going to do some shopping and find some dinner while you're at your meeting. Take the car and go, and I'll hire a cab."

"At least take one of the security guys with you," Nicholas said.

"I'm not a famous model, Nicholas. Nobody knows me here, and I'll be fine." They headed back to the car while I looked for a cab. Finding one, I got into the back seat.

The driver turned around. "Where to, Miss?"

"You see that Range Rover down the street? The red one? My husband just got in there with his latest floozy. If you can follow him to her place without getting caught, there's another hundred in it for you." I handed him two hundred dollars for now.

"He'll never see me," the cabbie promised. "I hope you take the bastard for all he's worth."

"Oh, I will," I said as I settled back. Something about the meeting had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. I didn't know if it was Alessandro or something else, but my instincts said to stay back and watch.