Warlock's Fate: An Andrew Moore Novel 03 Read online

  I had coffee waiting at home, but it would be rude not to buy something, so the four of us grabbed a small iced mocha, and went over and joined the three mages.

  Samuel nodded to me, and wordlessly passed me a folder.

  “I’m not much of a politician, but here’s my offer.”

  I smirked, “Me either, which I’m sure you figured out after last time.”

  I’d been more than a little blunt with Carlos, in my defense he was being a hypocritical asshole and had no intentions of compromising.

  I opened the folder and started to read through his offer. It was basically a bunch of flowery language that said the mages would go his way, and I’d go mine. It also specified that if we did come into conflict over our actions, that Samuel and I would speak personally to work it out without violence. Such as a mage stumbling into my business, or me souring one of their deals. I wasn’t too worried about the latter part, Samantha knew what pies the mages had their hands on, and should be able to steer me clear of them, and I didn’t see where the mages would have any business at all with humans. I didn’t see any loopholes or hidden traps in it either. The language was flowery, but far from hard to understand.

  I said, “This is exactly what I wanted to begin with. Maybe we can work toward actual cooperation in a few years, but I’m more than satisfied with this.”

  Samuel pulled out a pen, and signed both copies, and then handed the pen to me.

  He shrugged, “It was an effort to bring the council around this far. The vote was five to four in favor. Still, with this signed treaty any mage that breaks it will be facing the death penalty in our society. You shouldn’t be harassed at all, but if you are, call me.”

  I signed both, and handed one back.

  He smiled, stood, and walked out the door with his coffee, the two mages following.

  That felt almost too easy. Now if I could just get the vampires to back off, I could relax a little and live my life. Still careful and watchful for rogues of course, the supernatural world would always be a violent place, where strength ruled, but I wouldn’t have to worry about whole races coming after me anymore. Somehow, I doubted Arthur would be so accommodating.

  “What do you think changed their mind?”

  Samantha touched my arm, “Samuel was always a good investigator, level headed. I bet after Julia spared him, he read my reports, and then did his own research on you and your family. He wouldn’t have backed away just because it was dangerous, or people died, not if it was the right thing to push it. I’m sure he believes you just aren’t a problem.”

  I nodded, “That sounds right.”

  Peace with the mages and shifters, and cowed vampires. I wasn’t sure that latter one would last for much longer, and wondered what was coming. In the meantime, we got up and headed back home, I had studying to get back to, and Samantha to please…

  Chapter Five

  Annaliese was intrigued.

  She’d done a lot of research online, not only of Andrew Moore’s life, but also what she could find on the Moore line, not only in their databases, but the human systems as well. It painted a picture of a line of warlocks who were not out of control, cruel, or even evil in any way. Which was strange, since they were warlocks with pacts connecting them to the infernal.

  She’d even called her old friend Dion, the vampire coven master of Chicago, who had dealt with more than one of the Moore line over the last few hundred years, and had a few stories to tell her. She’d honestly expected to find horrors, and a list of unstable individuals that needed to be put down. But so far, she’d found the opposite.

  Andrew Moore intrigued her, and she was equally dismayed by Arthur’s actions. He’d acted without thought or true judgement, had assumed Moore was unstable, and for the last hundred years had been treating the shifters like vermin, something else she hadn’t been aware of, or thrilled to hear. Andrew Moore had destabilized the shifters, but it sounded like that had been necessary, a small bit of violence and anarchy to restore true stability.

  Joseph Bennington had needed killing.

  She refocused her thoughts, stories and anecdotes about his ancestor’s accomplishments and stabilizing influence on Chicago was one thing, but Andrew Moore was his own person and had to be judged as such. His past and predecessors were only a hint at how he might turn out. She’d researched as much as she could online, and with her old contacts, now she had to look into things more directly and speak to various people from her reports.

  First, she went mage headquarters, and flirted a little with the door guard. Men are fairly easy, they love to help out a beautiful young woman and teach them how the world works, and she had him chatting with her and telling her everything she wanted to know, as she tossed her hair, gave him wide eyed looks of appreciation, and smiled vacantly. Okay, she wasn’t quite that blatant about it, but she did walk away with more than a little information. The most surprising of which, was that the mages now had a non-aggression treaty with the warlock. Apparently, the new council, or at least most of it, thought the old council had been paranoid, and that the warlock wasn’t one of the typical bad ones.

  She didn’t think her next stop would be so easy, but she was still going. She wanted a shifter point of view about the warlock, his actions and protections, their own civil war, and she reluctantly admitted to herself, information about Arthur’s actions toward them the last hundred years…

  The cat shifter pride was north of Seattle, close to one of the state parks and forests to the northeast. It was an open and beautiful area that she could appreciate, but she was a city girl at heart. She may have been wandering for millennia, but it was from city to city. She approached the large mansion slowly. She wasn’t nervous about being hurt, she just didn’t want to cause a fight, and she was fairly sure they’d never met a friendly vampire before.

  She smirked at that self-assessment, not sure if it was accurate or not, but she truly didn’t mean harm, she was just looking for answers. If they attacked her, she would probably flee rather than risk an accidental kill by trying to subdue. There was a bobcat and a lynx on the porch, both growling low in their throats, tails lashing angrily.

  She nodded politely. She did try to be polite to everyone, it was the golden rule.

  “Good afternoon. I was hoping to talk to Gina, I mean you, her, and your pride no harm.”

  A sexy golden blonde-haired woman opened the door and smiled, it wasn’t a nice smile.

  “I’m Gina, the alpha here, why don’t you come on inside and we’ll… talk.”

  She laughed, knowing what the alpha had in mind, and stepped up the stairs and into the house quickly enough that they wouldn’t have time to react, yet still be able to see her move.

  “Hi Gina, a pleasure to meet you. I’m Annaliese.”

  Gina’s eyebrows narrowed in consternation, and she smiled wider.

  “Did you expect the wards to take me down alpha? I told you, I mean no harm.”

  Gina scowled, which she thought looked wrong on the attractive cute heart shaped face.

  “What do you want?”

  She shrugged, “In truth? A history lesson, from your point of view, on both the warlock and Arthur. I’m looking for the truth about what happened, and how you got tied to the warlock. I also want to hear all about the coven in Seattle, and then I’ll leave you in peace.”

  Gina said, “I won’t help you hurt Andrew, he’s… my ally.”

  She was shocked, but didn’t show it. The alpha cared for the warlock, a great deal. Something not usually seen in a cat shifter outside of a true mating, or at least, in her limited experience. Usually for them the man was forgotten before he was even dressed. She suppressed a wince at that thought, that wasn’t true either.

  “I’m asking for the truth of what happened, why he chose Julia as his guardian, and why he protects your pride. Not about his powers, abilities, or those of his companions. I’m giving you an opportunity to sway me to his side, and tell your side of the story about t
he non-stop war with the vampires. Will you turn me away to assume everything I’ve learned from Arthur is the truth?”

  She gave brief thought to just using compulsion, but dismissed it. Compulsion was an assault, and she didn’t want to violate the alphas mind. Plus, she wasn’t sure really what questions to even ask outside of the obvious. She might miss something important using compulsion, and she needed to simply guide the conversation and get Gina to open up.

  Gina asked, “Why?”

  She said, “Arthur asked for my help, I don’t do blind help, and I don’t kill if I don’t have to.”

  Gina frowned, “Come with me and we’ll talk, but if you try and hurt Andrew I’ll tear your pretty little throat out.”

  She smiled at the sexy blonde, “You think I’m pretty?”

  Gina snorted, and led her to the office. She learned far more than she ever wanted to know, about the war and the shifter point of view on her vampire child. Then she was told that a spell had picked Julia to be guardian, and Andrew made a treaty of mutual protection because of Joseph Bennington, that Julia’s demand for her loyalty and service was to make the pride safe again. She heard about all the lead up to the fight with Bennington, and how Gina’s and Andrew’s relationship had evolved far past a simple treaty. She didn’t think Gina had wanted to reveal as much as she had, but Andrew seemed to be one of the cat shifter alpha’s favorite subjects.

  When she left, she was even more intrigued with the warlock than before. She was almost sure now, that the warlock was no threat to the coven. Potentially he was of course, especially with Julia and a powerful mage at his side, not to mention the succubus. But she didn’t believe he was a threat by inclination. The warlock just wanted to do his thing with pacts and magic, and be with his family. She also had no doubt he’d adopted the cat shifter pride as an extension of that family, scents don’t lie.

  Still, she wanted to meet him herself and take his measure personally before she closed her mind on the subject, she just wasn’t sure though if that was the real reason, or if she just… wanted to meet him. She was fascinated with the information and story that had unfolded. She just wasn’t sure of the best way to make that happen yet.

  As for her child, her turn, Arthur… she didn’t want to think about that yet.

  Samantha walked into Katia’s office, and the young woman looked up and smiled at her. She was even getting a little used to being greeted with joy, as if they were happy to see her.

  “I’ve got everything I need out of my apartment.”

  Katia asked, “Are you sure you want to do this? I’m thrilled of course, but it’s a big step.”

  She was sure. Over the last two weeks she’d only been back to her apartment to get the rest of her clothes, and grab a few odd books from her library that Andrew didn’t have in his, they had stuff in them that he should be familiar with. She’d already ordered Alma to read them as well. The rest of her books could stay where they were, or rather, be stored. She’d also grabbed her personal spell books so she could continue her own research, there were a few new ideas she wanted to test out. Other than that, she couldn’t imagine returning to that cramped empty apartment. The last time she’d been there it felt cold, and unlived in compared to the welcome and warmth she got in this home, and her new chosen family.

  She couldn’t imagine her life without Andrew and the others in it. It was unconventional maybe, but so was she, she always had been. She wanted this life, with a man that could care for her and share her passion for magic as well as her heart, mind, and body. She’d found exactly what she’d always wanted here. She looked into Katia’s dark brown eyes, and knew she’d found what she wanted, and so much more that she hadn’t known she’d wanted.

  She was more than sure. She belonged, felt safe and loved, and she was… home.

  “I am very sure, if you’re sure you don’t mind?”

  Katia shook her head, “Already set it up for you after we first talked about you moving in a few days ago, I just have to pull the trigger on it.”

  She smiled and bit her lip, “Please do.”

  Katia asked, “Do you want to help me pick out a theme and decorate the nursery?”

  She smiled and circled the desk, and saw the baby store website, and sat on the corner of the desk. They had fun picking out colors, crib, a changing station, and everything else that comes with having a child.

  She wasn’t sure when it started, but the feeling snuck up on her and overwhelmed her. She loved the fact Katia shared this with her, as part of the family, she was truly touched. But… she had an overwhelming surge of desire to do this for herself too. The thought of Andrew knocking her up was almost alarmingly appealing, she wanted it badly with every fiber of her being, and she crossed her legs as she grew wet at the thought.

  She’d never really given a thought to having kids of her own before, figuring the man came first. Now that she’d found him, sharing him or not, she felt a shockingly powerful need to take the next step. If Katia could marry him, then surely, she could be his mate, and have his children as well. She’d have to think about it, her own thoughts were making her blush, how could she possibly be able to tell him?

  Her thoughts filled with the idea of him holding her down helpless, as he took her hard and demandingly, and then as he emptied his seed inside of her and made a baby.

  Katia cleared her throat bringing her back to reality, had her mind wandered off in that delicious fantasy? Yes, yes it had. She blushed at Katia’s raised eyebrow…

  Chapter Six

  The bed was warm, comfortable as hell, and filled with the sweet scent of my four mates, and the touch of their naked bodies against mine. Even if just a foot, or a hand for Lilith and Julia on the outside. It was about two in the morning and I was fully rested, and as was usual, I slipped out of bed via the foot of it without waking Katia or Samantha, while Julia and Lilith simply and easily rolled off the sides.

  They made their way out to the hallway, where Lilith cleaned and dressed them with magic. Something he could accomplish himself now, although it would take him two spells. One to clean his body, and a second spell to conjure some of his clothes directly onto his body. He knew that for angelic beings, magic was a thing that could be directly accessed and manipulated, they didn’t need spells, they just organized the magic to shape the spell, and released it. He kind of wished he could do something like that.

  Lilith said, “It’s handy, but in a lot of ways it’s harder. I can’t just make shit up. I learned magic through trial and error, and more often than not the spells I use most were created by mortals, I simply learned the spells and then learned and copied how those spells form and manipulate the magic. It’s not a free ride, although I admit, once something is learned through effort and study, it is a lot easier to cast, but that’s the end result of a lot of effort and hard work. I just make it look easy.”

  I laughed, “I see, study?”

  Lilith said pensively, “In a minute, I need to see you privately before we start our day.”

  Julia kissed my cheek, and spanked the succubus cheekily, “I’ll make us all coffee, and meet you in the study.”

  My eyes trailed her as she walked down the hallway, her hair looked like liquid midnight and her swishing bubbled ass drew my eyes.

  Lilith spanked me, “She does have a nice ass, doesn’t she?”

  I nodded, “But I enjoy worshipping your ass too.”

  Lilith laughed, “Come on, you can kiss my ass later,” and I wasn’t sure if she was joking or not. Not that I hadn’t done that already, or wasn’t quite willing to do it again. I couldn’t help where my mind went after that conversation, Lilith’s and Katia’s asses were sexy, and I loved them, then there was Samantha’s cute tiny but pert sexy ass, which I’d kissed and loved on to her consternation and pleasure in the past, and of course the other end of the spectrum was Julia’s supple bubbled ass that brought to mind very naughty things. Let’s just say magic was very good at getting things clean, opening
up options that otherwise might have been hygienically unsound.

  Lilith pinched me, derailing my thoughts about my four favorite asses, and dragged me into one of the other bedrooms.

  She giggled, “You’re too much, I know you’re just doing that to drive me crazy.”

  I looked at her in mock shocked innocence, “That doesn’t sound like me,” and I pulled her into my arms, and started to softly caress her ass.

  She giggled harder, and then outright started laughing as she pushed me away.

  “Pervert.”

  “Says the succubus who just last night had her tongue up my a…” I was cut off mid-word as she kissed me hungrily, and then pushed me back into the bed. I flopped down onto the mattress, and laughed.

  She crawled on the bed and on top of me, and with a flash our clothes were suddenly gone. That really was handy, I’d need to work on those spells some more, they needed excellent visualization skills.

  Then I was a little lost in her aggressive kiss, and the amusement from earlier left me, as I hardened under her soft body, and the wet heat which she was rubbing softly up and down my manhood. My Lilith, my sweet succubus, my gorgeous demoness, the owner of my soul, and my heart. I knew she would hear all those thoughts, and more as we tongue wrestled and kissed passionately. My hard cock was now pinned against my body, as her silken labia slightly parted around my girth, as she slid herself along my cock teasingly. Her hot liquid arousal left a trail on my sensitive skin, and her gasping little breaths of pleasure, and the way her fingernails dug slightly against the skin of my chest were driving me crazy. My hands were moving around her body, desperate to touch her everywhere at once. Her sexy firm C cups, her mouthwateringly thin waist, the curve of her hips, and her aforementioned succulent ass cheeks.

  My Lilith was rarely this aggressive, and I found it was evoking my passion and need. She was usually sweet, innocently seductive, and let me take the lead. Not that I thought that meant I was usually in charge, she could seduce me easily in her innocent way. I belonged to her, and she belonged to me. We were usually coupling though, before she turned a little wild on me. I loved her, did you hear that demoness?