Born By Moonlight by Krista Street
Chapter 14
~ AVERY ~
Wyatt grinned, and the excitement his expression held told me he would let me join him.
“I’ve got to get permission from Wes first. He’ll need to get clearance from the Bulgarian library. It may take an hour, but I’m confident he can do it. You’re the reason we’re going there, and you’re technically still an SF member so clearance shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Really? Then all I need to do is call my parents and tell them about the change of plan, and I should touch base with Charlotte and Eliza too.” I quickly explained that my parents were currently en route to Idaho. “They can probably change course and meet me in Bulgaria, so once I talk to them, I’m ready to go.”
He threaded his fingers through mine before sweeping me to him and devouring me in a plundering kiss.
I was breathless by the time he pulled back.
“You’ve just made me the happiest wolf on earth. The thought of leaving you again has been killing me.”
My toes curled, and a flush crept up my neck. For the first time since the Safrinite comet, a hopeful smile streaked across my face. “I want to be with you too.”
His grip tightened, his throat bobbing. For a moment, he just stared at me, his irises pools of liquid gold.
After another moment, he cleared his throat, his voice rough when he said, “Come on, let’s head upstairs so I can grab my bags and sort this all out.” He tugged me inside up to his apartment.
Once there, I called my roommates first. Not surprisingly, both were more than surprised when I explained what had been going on with me since the Safrinite comet.
They put me on speaker phone, and given the music that played in the background, I knew they were still at the party.
“Hang on,” Charlotte said. “I’m going to move us into the hall.”
A moment passed, and the music grew fainter.
“Okay, we’re somewhere private now. So you’re really going to the Bulgarian library because of what the comet did to you?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, goodness me, Avery,” Eliza said. “This is the most devastating news. I so wish you had confided in us earlier so we could have assisted you in whatever emotional or physical support you needed.”
Tears pricked my eyes. “I should have. I’m sorry that I didn’t, but I was hoping none of this would amount to anything.”
“So your magic is truly gone?” Charlotte sighed. “That would explain what happened in your final test. Shit, girl. That’s awful. I’m so sorry. What can we do?”
“Nothing, other than keeping your fingers crossed and hoping for the best. But thanks for listening.”
“We are most happy to listen at any time,” Eliza replied. “Please keep us up to date on any new findings.”
“Ditto to what she said,” Charlotte added. “And seriously, girl, if you need anything, anything at all, just let us know.”
“I will. Love you guys.”
“Love you too,” Charlotte echoed, as Eliza said, “I carry the deepest affection for you also.”
I managed to keep the tears back when we promised to speak soon and then hung up. Behind me, Wyatt continued talking to Wes, so I rang my parents.
They answered readily, and I told them about my change of plan. They said they would change course and meet us in Bulgaria.
When that call ended, I stood in Wyatt’s kitchen and stuffed my phone into my pocket. Gods. Talk about intense conversations.
Wyatt at last finished his call with Wes and raised an eyebrow. “You okay?”
I managed a shaky nod. He drifted closer and pulled me into a hug.
I sank into him, relishing his feel. A hug was exactly what I needed.
“Do you need a minute, or do you prefer going?”
“Let’s go. Charlotte and Eliza now know what’s going on with me, and my parents said they’ll change course and portal hop to Bulgaria instead of coming here. There’s nothing left for me to do.” My hands were trembling so I gripped him harder. “So we’re really going to do this, huh? Search that massive library together?”
He pulled me tighter to him. “With the help from some gargoyles. But yes, we’ll figure this out together.”
I laughed at the low grumble of satisfaction that filled his chest. I would have sworn that if he could purr, he’d be purring right now. “So is everything ready to go on your end?”
He nodded and loosened his arm from around my waist. “Wes knows you’re joining me. He’s arranged to have the rest of your belongings packed and stored in my apartment for your return.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead, his scent lingering around me. “By the time we get back, you’ll be healthy again, and all of this will have felt like a bad dream.”
A glow lit the halo around his irises. One thing I was coming to learn about my commander—he didn’t accept defeat. Like, at all.
“Okay, should we go then?”
He held out his hand.
We picked up our bags in our free hands, then Wyatt slipped the portal key between our interlocked fingers. He whispered the spell to activate it, and the air spun around us, dipping and swaying, as if we’d been propelled by a rocket blast through a portal door.
I swallowed my yelp of surprise. It was only the second time I’d used a portal key to transfer, since I didn’t count that jump from the fae lands when I’d been unconscious following the comet.
Wind screeched through my ears, and my grip on Wyatt tightened. I was terrified of losing him in this void and ending up somewhere entirely displaced.
But just as quickly as the plummeting sensations and the screams of the portal winds had started—they stopped.
“Avery?” Wyatt said softly. “We’re here.”
I pried my eyes open, not realizing I’d squeezed them shut, then gasped.
We stood in a vast hallway in a large, dim, and ancient-looking building. Huge towering columns rose up around us as a marble floor sprawled beneath our toes. An endless hall stretched down either side of us, like a stone walkway in a tomb long forgotten.
“Is this the library?” I whispered.
It was dark and still. Heaviness blanketed the air, as if we’d crept into a giant’s cave as he slumbered in the back and disturbing him would create an unwelcome response.
“It’s one of the hallways between libraries,” Wyatt replied. “Nobody can portal transfer directly into the libraries. The closest you can arrive are the hallways if you have pre-approved clearance to breach the wards.”
“Wow.” I gaped, wide-eyed. Even though I’d traveled the world and had seen my fair share of wonders, the Bulgarian libraries were not something I’d been privy to—not even their hallways.
One required special admittance to be allowed here since these buildings weren’t tourist venues. They were heavily guarded fortresses cloaked in iron-fused wards and ancient spells. It was impossible to break into them. Nobody had managed that feat since the supernatural war of 1178 when the wards had been weakened by the death of the libraries’ head sorcerer.
I pivoted in a slow circle, taking in the faint scent of anise and thyme—herbs commonly used to magically preserve parchment. Even here, outside the actual libraries, I detected that magical scent. “Where is everyone?”
“Probably sleeping. They’re nine hours ahead of us in this part of Europe.”
I nodded, wondering where we were supposed to go. Strangely, I felt rather tired even though it was only late afternoon back in Idaho, but I’d had an emotionally draining day, so I wasn’t overly surprised.
I squinted into the darkness down the halls. “Is anyone expecting—”
“I see you survived the portal transfer in one piece,” a silky voice purred from behind us.
I whirled around just as Wyatt’s jaw clenched.
A vampire sauntered toward us. Wavy blond hair hung to his shoulders, smoldering blue eyes regarded me with delight, and a mischievous smile tilted his lips up.
“Nicholas?” I said. “Is that you?” I hadn’t seen the vampire since we’d first met three months ago in the SF’s cafeteria.
“It most certainly is, Ms. Meyers.” His tone dropped seductively.
Wyatt gritted his teeth as Nicholas Fitzpatrick glided our way.
The vampire looked as I remembered him, only today he was wearing slim-fitting tailored black pants, what looked like expensive Italian-leather loafers, and a crisp button-up shirt open at the throat. Everything about his attire reeked of money and was just foreign enough to let me know we weren’t in Idaho anymore.
“It’s been a while since I last saw you,” I remarked.
“Indeed, it has. Too long if you ask me.”
Wyatt’s jaw locked even tighter, and with a flush, I realized he knew how aroused I’d been that night Nicholas and I first met. Not because I’d wanted the vampire, but because that was how vampires affected most women.
I’d been in my first week of training then. Nicholas had been visiting the SF following a trial in the fae lands. We’d met in the SF’s cafeteria and dined together. It had been a memorable dinner, mostly because my response to him had been rather embarrassing.
My cheeks warmed when I recalled the vampire’s blatant sexual interest in me and my body’s intrinsic reaction to him. Vampires and sex went hand in hand. Everyone knew that, but it was still mortifying when one got caught up in their thrall.
But now, Wyatt felt that I was his mate . . .
Nicholas took my hand, as a warning growl rumbled in Wyatt’s chest. But Nicholas ignored him and brought my hand to his lips. “I will say that this is a most pleasant surprise. I couldn’t believe it when I received the message that you’d be accompanying Major Jamison, but let me say that you look even more beautiful than I remember.”
My lady bits throbbed despite my effort to control the reflex.
Wyatt’s nostrils flared, and I shot him an apologetic look, but the air still crackled with energy as my commander looked ready to murder the vamp.
I clamped my thighs together as the feel of the vampire’s cool lips finally left my skin. A blush rose in my cheeks, heating my face. My body’s excitement made guilt flood me, but I could tell from Wyatt’s expression that he one hundred percent blamed my arousal on Nicholas.
Which was rightfully who it should fall on. I couldn’t stop my desire. If I could, I would, but I was as hopeless to resist a vampire’s charms as any human—probably even more so because I basically was human now.
I frowned when that thought struck me because I’d just portal transferred with Wyatt. Humans couldn’t portal transfer, not without strong magic from a talented sorcerer assisting them. Yet I’d managed to do it just fine even without my magic. And, come to think of it, I could also detect the magically enchanted scent of anise and thyme. A human wouldn’t be able to smell that either.
My brow furrowed more. So what did that mean? That I was still magical, somehow? Even if I didn’t have magic? Was it the comet’s power that allowed me to do those things?
I didn’t have a chance to ponder it further. Nicholas’s finger grazed the skin on my hand like a silky ribbon, my core throbbing again, before Wyatt snarled and his hand shot out, shoving the vampire away from me. “Enough already!”
Nicholas’s face became a mask of innocence. “Really, Major Jamison,” he said as he straightened his shirt. “I was just saying hello.”
“It was a rather long hello, even for you. And I suggest that you remember that Avery Meyers is my guest,” Wyatt bit out. “Which means you don’t touch her.”
My commander’s knuckles cracked as he stepped closer to the vamp. I could practically feel the rage simmering under his skin.
A nervous thrill spiraled down my spine, but then I shook my head. It was crazy that I was getting so wrapped up in Wyatt’s possessive behavior. He was a wolf, it was to be expected, but I’d be lying to myself if I said I didn’t enjoy the territorial gleam in his eye.
And seeing Wyatt like this made my core throb on an entirely new level, but this time it had nothing to do with the vampire and was entirely about my commander.
Wyatt’s nostrils flared, his gaze cutting to mine. But he must have sensed that my arousal was for him, because his jaw loosened, if only a little. Still, he placed an arm around my shoulders, drawing me close. He effectively stamped mine on me with that gesture.
“Now that we’ve all become reacquainted, shall we discuss our endeavors?” Nicholas clasped his hands behind his back and acted as if he didn’t have an alpha werewolf glaring down at him while possessively claiming his mate. “Unfortunately, since it’s the middle of the night, I’m afraid all of the gargoyles are sleeping.” He waved toward the ceiling of the long hallways.
My gaze drifted upward. Hundreds of stone gargoyles perched atop the mighty columns. I twirled around in a slow circle, peering into the darkness.
The hallways stretched forever, and gargoyles lined the top of all of the hundreds of columns.
“So many. Are there really four hundred and six gargoyles employed here?” My curious mind buzzed with all of the things I could learn. While I knew the basics of the Bulgarian libraries, so much of these gigantic monoliths were shrouded in secrecy.
Nicholas raised a finger. “Four hundred and seven actually. We just added one last week who showed advanced aptitude for hunting out myths and legends regarding the sea creatures of the fae realm. Now, I’m one of twenty representatives that work with the gargoyles. You’ll be working directly with me during your stay here. You may also see other staff in the halls, but if you have questions or concerns, I’ll be your contact.”
“Speaking of work, should we get to work?” Wyatt’s terse comment cut through Nicholas’s idle tone. “Time is of the essence, or did you not get that memo?”
I frowned at the growing tension.
“Of course.” Nicholas’s lips thinned. “But first, I shall show you to your rooms so that you may drop off your bags. Then we can venture to the libraries. You won’t have the gargoyles to assist you until the sun rises. However, I can show you a few of the scrolls that they found in anticipation of your visit.”
My heart thumped. They’d already found something?
Wyatt seemed of similar mind. He gave a curt nod, his feet already moving down the hall as he pulled me with him. “Fine. I want to get to work right away.”
Nicholas bowed mockingly. “Whatever you wish, commander.”
The vamp glided ahead of us, and we followed him down one of the long corridors. Near the end, two huge ancient-looking doors waited. They had to be around twenty feet tall, with arched tips, and door handles at least three feet long. I wondered how they were opened. They had to each weigh a ton.
“That’s the entrance to the Sacramentum Library,” Nicholas said with a wave. “It’s one of the five ancient libraries in this underground monolith.”
My jaw dropped. “We’re underground?”
Nicholas’s lips curved up like a cat ready to pounce. “Oh yes, my dear. You just stick by me and I’ll show you all of the secret delicacies that can only be found in this wonderfully historic city.”
I glanced at Wyatt to see if he was as enthralled as I was, but he was looking daggers at Nicholas again. The vampire had treaded closer to my side, only inches from touching me.
I cleared my throat and took a step back. Already that unbidden coiling tension was forming in my core as Nicholas did nothing to hide his sexual interest. A part of me wondered if he was doing it on purpose, to get a rise out of my commander.
Wyatt watched him like a hawk. I imagined that his reliance on Nicholas opening the libraries to us was the only thing saving the vampire from having his head ripped off.
Nicholas seemed to know that, too, because he winked slyly at me.
I gave him a meager smile in return, but it didn’t stop my interest in learning more about the libraries. Even though I’d grown up in various countries and had seen more venerable buildings than I could count, I never tired of their entrancing history. And I had a feeling none of my previous ventures would hold a candle to the secrets held here.
I slid closer to Wyatt, hoping my deliberate attempt to distance myself from the vampire would put Wyatt more at ease. But my commander kept scowling at the vamp, and I swear the energy was rising off him again.
A pang of longing filled me. If I had my magic, I would have been able to feel the energy emitting from my commander, but as things were, I couldn’t feel a thing, at least nothing more than a human could detect.
“Why the long face?” Nicholas asked me as he turned toward a massive spiraling stone staircase.
Wyatt placed his hand on my back, his touch eliciting a bolt of pleasure from me. I knew he’d sensed my melancholy, probably scenting it.
I forced a smile at Nicholas. “Nothing, I think I’m just tired.”
Concern instantly lit Wyatt’s eyes, and the heat from his palm grew. “Do we need a healing witch?”
“No, I’m just tired really, that’s all. It’s been a long day.”
Wyatt kept his hand on my lower back as we ascended the stairs. The tall, winding staircase was filled with shadows as large candles flickered from sconces on the wall, as if a ghostly breeze disturbed them. It was only then that I realized there were no electric lights anywhere.
“Is it always this dark down here?”
Nicholas shook his head as we reached the next floor. “Not during daytime hours. Even though there are no windows here, there are enchanted fae lights that adorn the corridors, hallways, and libraries.” With a smirk, he added, “I have to say, as a vampire, I much prefer them to natural daylight streaming in through windows.”
I laughed, which got another glower from Wyatt directed entirely at the vampire.
“Visitor chambers are at the end of this hall,” Nicholas stated as we traipsed down another stone walkway. “Meals will be brought to you three times a day. You’re not allowed to venture between libraries unaccompanied, nor are you allowed to leave your rooms during nighttime hours. Such behavior is forbidden, and I’m afraid I cannot make any exceptions, not even for someone as lovely as you, Ms. Meyers.” His gaze moved leisurely down my frame, fixing on my boobs as the heat burned in his eyes.
Another rush of lust shot through me, and damn if it didn’t make me mortified. I had no defenses against this vamp and he knew it.
Wyatt’s nostrils flared, and he grew so tense I feared his knuckles would cut through his skin from his clenched fists. “Just show us to our room, will you?” he barked.
Nicholas smiled before giving me another once-over. “Of course. This way.” He continued on. “Your door is the second to last on the right. Now remember, if you’re found wandering the halls or trying to gain access to the libraries without me, your representative, you will be instantly banned. Let that be fair warning.” He slowed until he glided alongside me, then playfully nudged my arm. A snarl tore from Wyatt, but Nicholas ignored him when he said to me, “I would hate to have to escort you off the premises. It’s such a tiresome climb to street level.”
I flashed him a pacifying smile even though I was getting tired of his games, but just as my lips stretched, another wave of fatigue rolled through me. Damn. I really was tired. Something told me I was going to need coffee if I wanted to join Wyatt right away in the libraries.
“Here we are,” Nicholas said when we reached the end of the hall. He pulled out a key from his pocket. It was four inches long, carved from smooth metal, and held an unfamiliar symbol—a human-headed lion—at the end of it.
“What’s that symbol?” I asked pointing at it.
“It’s a magical heraldry. This is an enchantment key from the twelfth century. And this symbol is spelled with lysenteeth. Whoever uses this key is automatically tracked throughout the libraries. It’s similar to the SF in that regard. We monitor everybody’s movements here, unless you’re a working gargoyle or someone such as myself, a gargoyle representative. Only we can frequent these buildings unencumbered.”
He handed the key to Wyatt, then frowned. “Oh dear. I’m afraid I only reserved one room and only have one key. I didn’t realize you would be coming along until last minute, Ms. Meyers. No matter. I can find a room for you. In fact, there’s one free near my chambers. If you’ll just follow me while Wyatt gets settled.”
Wyatt’s arm shot out, ensnaring me around the waist. He leveled Nicholas with a potent stare promising violence. “We only need one room. She stays with me.”
Nicholas arched an eyebrow at the possessive growl from my commander. “I see,” the vampire replied. “And this arrangement suits you, Ms. Meyers?”
I brought a hand to my forehead, a slight headache brewing behind my eyes. “Yes, it does. It was kind of a last-minute decision that I join Wyatt—I mean, Major Jamison. Sorry about that.”
Nicholas pouted prettily. “No need for apologies, even if it would be delightful to have you near my chambers. But regardless, I’m most pleased that you could accompany him, even if you’re sharing a room. Now, we’ll just set your things inside, then we can venture to the libraries to begin combing through the records. If you would insert the key, Major Jamison.”
Nicholas clasped his hands behind his back, and it felt as though the floor shifted. I swayed and brought a hand to the wall to steady myself.
Wyatt’s arm tightened on my waist. “Avery?”
Another rush of dizziness swept over me. “I’m sorry. I’m just so tired—”
The key clanked to the floor just as Wyatt’s other arm shot out. The next thing I knew, air was rushing around me as Wyatt’s arms cushioned my fall.
Then everything went black.
