Hope Awakened by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 10

They walked in silence. Reece still wasn’t sure how he had kept his prick from becoming fully erect. By tar and feathers, this female was testing him at every turn. Firstly, wearing that sexy garment and then showing him her snatch. It shouldn’t matter. He was used to nudity. It was something that normally didn’t bother him. Dr. Bristol was not a Feral. She was a human. A lush, delectable human. That part of the equation did bother him a whole lot. His jaw tightened just thinking about it. Other parts of him threatened to tighten, too.

Griffin shifters had the best vision out of all the shifters, only not at night. But the moon was full, and his eyes were much better than a human’s were. It took all of his willpower and then some, not to stare at the junction of her thighs. The covering she wore was filmy. He’d caught a glimpse of her thick snatch fur.

Fuck!

It was a human cuss word that many of the males used after picking it up on human soil. It seemed fitting to use it right now. Fuck! Fuck!

Then she’d groaned like that when he’d touched her. Was she trying to kill him? The sound had gone straight to his cock. His balls had tightened. Reece found himself thinking about his own stern warning to the others on his team. His own words were ringing in his ears about how this female was out of bounds. There was so much at stake. Too much!

“Good evening, Dr. Bristol,” Zaire said as they arrived at the royal chambers. The male smiled so widely that Reece thought his face might crack in half.

“Hi, Zaire.” Dr. Bristol smiled back.

“You look…you look absolutely…” The male’s eyes raked over her body in a way that irritated the feathers right off of Reece. In a way that had him grinding his teeth, but only because he had eyes too. “You look fantastic. Like a million bucks…no a billion bucks.” Zaire winked at her. “A million wouldn’t be enough.”

Dr. Bristol giggled. “Thank you. That’s sweet.”

“I mean it, you—”

“That’s enough!” Reece practically roared the words. “Your job is to keep your eyes and ears open for anything out of place. I will do the same from inside the chamber.” He pointed at the top of the tower. “Do not hesitate to sound the alarm. Rather a false alarm than a missing queen because you didn’t want to come across as a fool.”

“Yes, Reece.” Zaire bowed his head for a moment in deference.

Good!

“Bye, Zaire. I will organize a takeout for you.” The female waved.

“That would be wonderful, Dr. Bristol.” More of that stupid smiling.

Reece pushed the button a second time for the elevator. The doors opened a few seconds later. Reece held back, waiting for the doctor to go in first.

“What is a takeout?” he asked as soon as the doors closed behind them. The elevator started to move.

He could see her bite back a smile. It aggravated him that he didn’t know enough about humans. “It means that I will put some dinner into a container and bring it to him. It’s exactly how it sounds…a takeout.”

He frowned. “Zaire can go and get food during his break. There is no need to give him any. We all have more than enough.”

“I know that he has food, but bringing him some would be the nice thing to do. Zaire is guarding the royal house,” she shrugged, “we are going to enjoy a lovely meal. It would be wrong not to take him something later.”

Reece grunted. He disagreed, but he didn’t say anything. Thus far, he had done a good job of alienating her. Thing was that he didn’t want Zaire getting the wrong idea. Reece was going to inform the male that the doctor was very considerate. That it did not mean that she was giving him mounting signals. Humans were strange creatures. Interesting and strange.

He also needed to be sure not to pick up the wrong signals himself. Like the way she stared at his prick when he was naked. He had been told that human males were not so well endowed. She was probably startled every time he disrobed. That had to be it. She wasn’t interested in him. Not after he was so hard on her that first day. Even if she was attracted to him, it wasn’t like he would ever act on it. He couldn’t!

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.

“Hi!” The queen waved at them. What was it with humans and waving? Dr. Bristol also liked to wave. “How are you, Hope?” The females hugged each other tightly.

“Good, and you?” the doctor asked as they released each other.

They began talking about a whole lot of nothing. Things like clothing and hair. He wasn’t sure why.

Reece turned his attention to his king. “Sire.” He bowed to Leukos. “Magnar.” He inclined his head to the male.

“Glad you could make it, Reece.” Leukos smiled broadly. “Please call me by my name. We are here as friends.”

“I am technically on duty,” he reminded his king.

Leukos snorted. “Ekon wants our chicks, which means that Claire is relatively safe.” His eyes darkened. “At least up until they are hatched. At that point all bets are off.”

“With all due respect, I would rather not take any chances,” Reece said.

“I have several very trustworthy spies amongst the Fallen,” Magnar pointed out. “Ekon wants our chicks.” His voice turned deep and menacing. “Leukos is right…we can relax somewhat for now.”

“I will keep my wits about me if it’s all the same to both of you.”

Leukos laughed. “Of course, my friend.” He patted Reece on the back. “That is one of the many reasons why you were chosen for this assignment.”

The two females were looking at them expectantly. All three of them turned in their direction. Reece noticed that they were quite different. Claire had golden hair, and Dr. Bristol’s hair was a very dark brown. Like chocolate. A human delicacy a few of the males had brought back. He had enjoyed the taste of chocolate very much. Dr. Bristol was smiling, her eyes glinting in the candlelight. The chamber had electricity, but Claire had chosen to keep things traditional for the evening by lighting the many candles in the chamber.

“It’s lovely to see you again, Doctor,” Leukos said; he put his hand out, intent on shaking hers.

Dr. Bristol flapped her own hand at him. She hugged the king instead. Blast and damn!Hugged. The king. His eyes widened. “It’s Hope, please. I’m not working right now.”

“Of course. You are absolutely right.” The king smiled and touched a hand to Dr. Bristol’s back.

Reece pushed out a pent-up breath.

“I agree. We’re having a meal together,” Magnar said, giving the doctor a bear hug. “Welcome to our home. We are glad that you have become such good friends with our mate and in such a short time.”

“I’m happy too,” Dr. Bristol said. “I was a little worried that I might end up alone, staring at four walls every day. Not that I mind being on my own. It’s just that it’s nice to have a friend.”

“I hardly think you would ever have a problem with meeting people,” Magnar said. “You are a nice person and, if I might add, you’re attractive.” He looked at Claire. “I’m just stating a fact, sweets.” He winked at his mate. “You should never be lonely, staring at four walls.”

“I decided to take this position in order to—”

“Hold that thought,” Claire said. “Can we pick up this conversation once drinks are poured?”

Blast!Reece had been leaning forward, wanting to hear what Dr. Bristol had to say. She’d clearly stated that she didn’t like to be alone. Did she take this position with the intention of finding a mate? It sounded that way. He felt his feathers rustle and his fur stand on end. If that was why she was here, she could wait until this particular assignment was fulfilled. After that, once she was reassigned, she could look at testing compatibility or dating. Humans apparently dated each other. They ate meals together and talked about all sorts of nonsense.

Reece was sure to keep listening for Zaire sounding the alarm. At the same time, Zaire might miss something. He needed to keep watch as well.

“Reece!” Leukos said. It was obvious that it was not the first time that he had called to him.

“Apologies, my lord.” He inclined his head. “I was listening for anything out of the ordinary.”

“Think nothing of it. I opened a lovely Bordeaux. Can I offer you a glass?” Leukos’ eyebrows were raised. He lifted the bottle in his hand.

“No…thank you, Sire…”

“My name, please,” Leukos said.

“No thank you, Leukos,” Reece said. “I’m technically on duty.”

“It’s not like you can get drunk.” Magnar laughed, “Or even tipsy, for that matter.”

Reece was not familiar with the word, although he could guess. He didn’t like wine. Chocolate was great but wine and that other morning beverage…the dark one… They were a big no to him. Both pungent and acquired tastes. As far as he was concerned, wine tasted disgusting. There were other human delicacies that were much better…to him, at least. “Perhaps a soda?” he asked. “The dark one with bubbles.”

Leukos laughed. “I have Coca-Cola.”

He noted that Dr. Bristol already had a glass of red wine in her hand. Claire looked like she was drinking juice.

Magnar poured the soda and handed him a big glass full of the beverage. “Thank you,” Reece said. He took a sip. Now this was more like it.

“At least I don’t have to not drink alone.” Claire held up her glass to him.

He did the same back. Again, it was a human thing. He couldn’t remember what it was called. He smiled at the queen. Magnar poured two glasses of red. One for himself and one for Leukos.

They made small talk for a while. The weather. How Dr. Bristol was settling in. How the clutch was coming along. Several other topics. He tried to add to the conversation wherever he could, but for the most part, he listened to what the others had to say. Moreover, he kept guard, which was technically why he was there in the first place.

They finally sat down to dinner.

The queen bit down on her bottom lip for a few moments. “Most of what we have on offer is traditional Feral cuisine,” she said to Dr. Bristol.

“Oh…that sounds interesting.”

“I hope you enjoy eating meat, Doc?” Magnar added.

“I like meat.” Dr. Bristol nodded.

“I’m talking mountain goat stew and elk steaks.” Magnar lifted his brows.

Dr. Bristol swallowed hard. “I would be happy to try them.”

Leukos laughed. “There’s also salmon, root vegetables and salad.” He wrinkled his nose. “We don’t eat much rabbit food, but Claire enjoys it.” He beamed at his mate, who beamed back.

“Vegetables and salads weren’t high on the list of meals when I first arrived.” Claire laughed.

“We’ve started a wonderful garden,” Magnar said.

“I was very thankful for that once I became with clutch. I was a little sick for a while there.” She touched her belly. “I couldn’t eat too much meat. It made me ill. Vegetables and fruit were a must.”

“We still have to bring fruit in,” Leukos remarked. “The trees we’ve planted will take a couple of years before they yield a harvest.”

Fruit was another human food Reece had taken to. “I enjoy oranges very much,” Reece remarked, watching as some servers exited the elevators with platters. Things had certainly changed since they started taking humans as mates.

“You should try strawberries. In fact, any berries,” Magnar remarked. “Strawberries are my favorite. So sweet and tasty.”

“I have never heard of such a thing,” Reece remarked.

“We stocked Hope’s fridge. Perhaps she will share some of them with you,” Magnar said.

“I would be more than happy to share.” She smiled at Reece.

He nodded back. There was no way he was sharing anything with Dr. Bristol. It wouldn’t be appropriate. Not at all.

Leukos held out a platter to Dr. Bristol. “This is the goat stew.”

“It’s quite delicious.” the queen remarked. “It’s slow-cooked for hours until the meat is falling off the bones.”

“I’ll try some.” The doctor took the ladle and dished up a tiny portion.

“What about some elk steak?” Magnar held out the platter this time.

“Um…” Dr. Bristol looked worried.

“It’s probably undercooked by human standards.” Claire wrinkled her nose.

“We can send it back and ask for something more well done,” Leukos commented.

“No.” Dr. Bristol shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll have the stew and some of that salmon…as well as the sides. That salad looks amazing.”

Reece dished up for himself, sure to let Dr. Bristol and the Royals dish up first. The elk steaks were cooked to perfection. He was sure that the humans would like it if they tried it. Then again, humans didn’t have an animal side like the Ferals did. He couldn’t imagine being that weak.

They ate in silence for a few minutes.

“The stew is good,” Dr. Bristol said. “But the salmon is to die for.”

Reece heard a rustling noise outside. He put down his knife and fork, wishing he could just pick up the meat. It took forever with all the cutting. What was the point? He had teeth. Humans had teeth too, and yet they insisted on eating with these things.

There it was again…another rustling noise followed the sound of a twig snapping.

“Excuse me.” He put his napkin on the table next to his plate.

“What is it?” Leukos asked.

“Nothing, my lord. I want to do a quick check.”

“Now?” Magnar’s eyes lifted. “Can’t it wait?”

“I won’t be long. I won’t be able to enjoy my meal otherwise.” Reece headed for the terrace. He listened. Then quietly stepped outside. He noted that Zaire was walking the perimeter. Chances were good that it was he who had made the noises. He held his breath and listened some more. There was a soft rustling as he walked over a grassy patch.

Satisfied that all was well, at least for now, Reece went back inside and sat down.

“All good?” Claire asked. She clutched her eating utensils tightly, to the point where her knuckles were white.

“Yes, my queen. I did not mean to startle you. Just doing my job,” he said.

“You have nothing to worry about, sweets.” Magnar put his arm around his mate and gave her a reassuring hug.

Claire sighed. “Good! I don’t ever want to see that madman again.”

“You met him already?” Dr. Bristol said; her fork was midway to her mouth. “When?”

“I sure did,” Claire said. “He had Magnar kidnap me. His intention was to take me as a mate. He essentially wanted to marry me against my will and get me pregnant as soon as possible, so that Leukos couldn’t have me.”

“Oh, my gosh…that’s awful! You kidnapped her, Magnar?” Hope’s eyes were wide.

“It’s a long story. I was on Ekon’s side. There were some cracks visible, but I didn’t realize until that moment how unstable the male had become. Up until then, I had thought that Claire would meet Ekon and that she would fall in love with him.”

“It obviously didn’t happen that way.”

“Not at all.” Claire shook her head. “It was apparent quite quickly that he had several screws loose.”

“His true side was revealed.” Magnar stated, clearly thinking back to the memory. “I felt terrible for what I had done to Claire and helped her escaped, becoming a fugitive in the process.”

“Magnar took me back to Leukos, even though he knew he would be in big trouble.” Claire added, putting some salad into her mouth.

“He didn’t exactly bring you back,” Leukos interjected. “We captured him. Rescued you, my love.”

“I didn’t need rescuing. Magnar was bringing me back, my darling. You know that.”

“Leave him, sweets. Leukos is still pissed with me for everything that happened.” Magnar grinned at Leukos.

The king rolled his eyes and chuckled. “I’ll never let you live it down.”

“I don’t want to ever see Ekon again. He can’t have my babies.” Claire was ghostly pale.

“You have the best male on the job.” Leukos gave Reece a hard stare before looking back into his mate’s eyes. “You are in good hands…as are the chicks.” His voice softened.

Reece read the warning loud and clear. His tail was on the line here. The nervous tension quickly dissipated as Magnar began to tell funny stories about when he and Leukos were young. Reece tried hard to relax. He couldn’t!