Page 75 of Those That Defy the Realm

Iwake up feeling far more refreshed and energetic. Claire and I spend the morning together, thoroughly testing the new bed. But even when we’re not reacquainting our bodies, we’re laying naked, tangled in the sheets and talking.

The only time we’re separated is for the five minutes it takes for Claire to go grab herself a sandwich, some water, and me some more blood. She tells me about how she and Ash installed a small fridge just for themselves, so they could keep some real food at the ranch. They have also taken over some of the minimal amount of kitchen cupboards installed in the out house kitchen.

She tells me about the plans she has for the large common room downstairs, which is getting fitted next week, and for the other, more private shared space next door to my room. Ty and Rory suggested it, turning the makeshift office, which has been moved back downstairs, into a lounge of sorts for those in the inner circle.

“Rory messaged me, by the way,” Claire says around a bite of food. “She’s asked if we can meet up with her this afternoon.”

“Did you not just see her in the out house?” I say, confused.

“No, she’s in the city this morning. But I told her to let me know when she’s back. That’s okay, isn’t it?”

Claire’s question holds a note of nerves. Her confidence might be growing, but she still has moments of uncertainty when she thinks one of us might shoot her down for making a decision. Or maybe it's my sudden tight posture. “Of course it is.” I give her a reassuring smile and run my hand up her thigh where she’s sat cross legged on the bed, eating her food. “I just didn’t realise she’d left the ranch.”

Claire’s head tilts. “Are you worried about her? I’m pretty sure Antares is with her. She never goes anywhere alone.”

“Sorry,” I say, shaking myself out of the sudden protective mode that’s come over me. I’ve been away for weeks and I think it’s messing with me a bit. “I know she won’t take risks, I’m just a little out of sorts with Ty gone.”

Claire nods at my answer, accepting it and taking another bite of her sandwich. Swallowing the mouthful she chews her lip before asking, “Is the danger really that much of a risk?”

Running my free hand through my hair and blowing out a breath, I take a second to think of how to summarise it best. “In all honesty, Ty is probably in more danger than Rory right now. The war really broke down our pack system. Several still have mated leaders, those are the ones the authorities are wanting to reach out to initially. Some without any mates are doing fine as well, but the fewer bonds in a pack, the more volatile our magic can be. It becomes easier for a vampire to give in to our baser, less humanised instincts. Our numbers are far fewer but there are packs now out there, like the one that was here before Ty and Rory came back, that are being run by power hungry individuals who think that because we’ve been extinguished from following the laws, that they don’t have to live by them.”

“How does that affect Rory and Ty?”

“Well, the packs without a female can’t breed. It’s barbaric ancient thinking. Yes, males of any species can be made vampires, but some cherish the purer bloodlines. And purely want a female from the fact that they are hetero and can’t create one. In a nutshell, some of those with packs want females to bed and breed to increase the numbers of vampires with the magic solely seen in the species.”

“That’s abhorrent.” Claire looks aghast.

“Yes, it is. And it means that there are vampires out there who would be willing to kill Ty to break his and Rory’s mate bond. To take Rory for themselves.”

“No wonder he’s so protective.”

I burst into laughter. “I think half of Ty’s personality is his protectiveness, but yes, there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do to protect his mate from that kind of fate.”

“I don’t know if I could live like that,” Claire admits, finishing her lunch.

Her words pull at something in my chest. We won’t ever have the issues that Ty and Rory have, but if Claire were a vampire, then we could be looking at centuries together instead of decades. I nod in agreement instead of saying my thoughts. In my head, I think that the time we’ll get would be worth the protection we’ll need.

It’s late afternoon when we shower and finally dress, anticipating Rory to come looking for us. We’d video called Ash for a while and spent a lazy few hours together, and my leg felt strong once more as I strapped on the metal bottom half, getting ready to head downstairs.

Claire slipped on a floaty sundress in a sunset yellow, it was full length with thin straps and somehow made her look even prettier.

We head out of our little sanctuary and wander across the property to the out house, where we find Rory and Antares in the open plan lounge.

It had been fitted with two huge comfy sofas, a couple of armchairs, and a large coffee table in the middle. Along one wall were the kitchen units, huge double refrigerator and a variety of drinking vessels. I also noticed the glass cabinet which had been well stocked with a variety of liquors and spirits.

“You’re feeling better,” Rory says in greeting. It’s not a question; she must feel through our bond that the day of mostly rest has done me the world of good.

“Yes, I can’t wait for the next two semesters to be over.” I take a seat on the sofa opposite her and Antares, who is holding a cocktail of some sort, and pull Claire down with me.

“Anyone for some tequila?” Antares asks, but we all decline. I make a mental note to check in with my friend later; tequila is normally his drink of choice when he’s struggling with something. I hope things with him and Atlas aren’t worse.

“What did you want to talk to us about?” Claire asks Rory.

“Right.” Rory sits a little straighter. She reaches for an envelope on the table and tips out the contents. “I guess I should get to the point.”

“What’s all this?” Claire leans forward and starts leafing through the pieces of paper. When I clock that some are newspaper articles and that there are a couple of photographs in the stack as well I join her, moving to the edge of the couch to get a closer look.

“It’s a mixture of things. Documents from the orphanage where our parents grew up, identification papers, ferry timetables, war reports, and some photos I found of vampires that I think might be related to us.”