She did have a point about that.
"But-"
She ended his words with a kiss.
Velkan growled as she explored every inch of his mouth and buried one hand in his hair. "Esperetta-"
"No," she said, tightening her grip in his hair. "I won"t hear any protests from you."
He laughed at that. "I wasn"t protesting. I only wanted to say welcome home."
Retta drew her breath in sharply at his words. "Really?"
He nodded, but even so she could tell that he didn"t truly believe her. But at least he was allowing her to stay. It was a start, and it was one that gave her hope.
The door opened again as Viktor and Andrei brought in the next trunk. They paused in the doorway.
"Should we come back later?" Andrei asked.
"Yes," Velkan said, his voice thick. "And take your time about it."
The men reversed course.
Retta laughed until Velkan kissed her again. Yeah, this was what she needed, at least until he pulled back and glanced at the trunk. "You didn"t arrive here with trunks."
She bit her lip sheepishly. "It"s symbolic," she confessed. "They"re actually empty." Then she frowned as she realized he was dressed. "Where were you going?"
"No place."
She arched a brow at that as a sneaking suspicion went through her. "No?"
She saw him hesitate before he spoke in a deep, emotionally charged voice. "I was going to find you and ask you to stay."
"Really?"
He nodded. "I don"t want you to leave, Esperetta."
"You"re willing to trust me then?"
He hedged. "Well..."
"Velkan!"
He kissed her lips, melting her anger. "I will trust you, but only if you swear to never leave here again."
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and met that dark gaze levelly. "I will only leave if you"re with me. Promise." Then she rubbed the tip of her nose against his before she met his lips and sealed that promise with a scorching kiss.
EPILOGUE.
In all the centuries, Velkan had never bothered with the Order. He"d left them alone to run amok without his interference. But all that was about to end.
They"d threatened Esperetta and had almost killed her. Now that he had his wife back, he wasn"t about to let anyone take her from him again.
Without preamble, he used his powers to open the door to Dieter"s home. Velkan strode through the doorway as if he owned it.
Dieter and Stephen looked up with a gasp, as did five other men.
And before Velkan could move, an arrow was shot at his chest. He caught it in his fist and tossed it to the floor. "Don"t even try that again," he snarled.
"W-what are you doing here?" Dieter said as a fine sheet of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Velkan pinned each member there with a hostile glare that should adequately cow them. "I"m here to bury the proverbial ax.
Where exactly I bury it is entirely up to you. Either we can bury it in the ground and let bygones be bygones or I can bury it in the heart and head of every one of you here. Either way, the persecution of my wife and her friend stops now."
Dieter stiffened. "You don"t come in here and order us about."
Velkan shot a blast that knocked him off his feet. "Be smart. Take the out I"m offering you. I promised Esperetta that I wouldn"t
be a barbarian anymore. So I"m trying to be civilized about this and let you live even though the warlord inside me would rather I bathe in all your entrails."
"We are sworn-"
"Save it," Velkan snapped, cutting Dieter off. "I was one of the members of this Order five hundred years ago and I know the oath you"ve all taken. And I"ve taken a new one. The next man or beast who threatens my wife or my servants will not live to regret that stupidity. Is that understood?"
He waited until each man had nodded.
Velkan took a deep breath. "Good. Now that we have an accord, I"ll leave you in peace."
Turning toward the door, Velkan caught sight of something from the corner of his eye. Before he could react, a single gunshot
rang out.
He snapped his head toward a corner of the room where Esperetta stood with Raluca, Francesca, Viktor, and Andrei.
Esperetta was holding the gun in her hands. Her eyes were narrowed on the men in the room. "Anyone else want to try and go
for my husband"s back?"
Velkan looked to see Dieter lying on the floor with a single gunshot in his chest. Stunned, Velkan met Esperetta"s gaze.
She didn"t speak as she moved forward to take his hand while the wolves stood their ground. "Gentlemen," she said quietly. "I
think most of you have met Illie"s family and I believe they"d like a word with you. Alone."
Stephen came to his feet. "Retta..."
"Save it, Stephen. You already told me what I needed to know."
Velkan wasn"t sure what he should do, but as Esperetta pulled him from the house, he followed. And as soon as the door was
closed behind him, he heard the screams of the men.
He stared in stunned awe of his wife. "I thought you wanted them spared."
"I"m not the girl you married, Velkan. I"m a woman who now understands the way the world works. They wouldn"t have
stopped coming for us. Ever. Frankie and her family owed a blood debt for what the Order did to her father. I say bon appet.i.t." She stepped into his arms and placed a chaste kiss to his cheek. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For trying to be a gentleman when I know it had to go against every part of your nature."
He took the gun from her hand and threw it into the woods before he cupped her face in his hands. "For you, Esperetta,
anything."
She gave him a speculative look. "Anything?"
"Yes."
"Then come and get naked with me. Right now."
Velkan laughed before he kissed her lightly on the lips. And for the first time in his life, he gladly submitted to someone else"s
orders. "As you wish, Princess."
RIDE THE NIGHT WIND.
by L. A. Banks
This story belongs to my Street Team... those folks who have embraced the Vampire Huntress Legends series and who ride it like the night wind. THANK YOU! The whole concept of doing backstories for each of the series Guardians within anthology shorts came from your fantastic, avid support. Feel the love coming right back atcha...
BIG PHILLY HUG,.
Leslie!
Chapter One.
The Legend of Neteru Guardians After the fall of the dark angel, after man and woman were deceived and ousted from Paradise, the legions of evil beset humanity with all manner of strife and hardship to sway their choice. Earth became the Gray Zone of choice, where free will could manifest for good or evil, and a soul could be compromised in this fragile environment that cast shadows of darkness amid the light.
The angels on High wept as they watched the fate of humankind in their struggle against demonic forces, mere flesh and bones and the hope of earthbound spirits crushed by plagues, pestilence, famines, disasters, violence... no mercy. The cry for help that went up to heaven from the peoples of the earth was heard.
From the twelve scattered tribes, twelve Guardian Councils were mission-anointed and made up of honorable, courageous men and women of all positive faiths and all races, working as a united front, quietly moving behind the scenes, each battling evil in their own corner of the globe. The balance could not be easily tipped; their fight was vigilant. But just as the forces of evil had human helpers to reinforce the negative spheres of soul-killing influence, the forces of good had the Guardians... those who held the line no matter what challenges befell them. They would not allow the Light to be extinguished.
And from those twelve armies came the Covenant-one from each Guardian Council, twelve members in all, the bravest of the brave, the wisest of the wise, the keepers of the faith and the knowledge between worlds.
Only the Covenant could foretell the coming of the Neteru, although they would never know whether this mortal superbeing would come as male or female. All they could do was prepare a special Neteru Guardian Team as they searched for the prophesied being.
Anointed with the Divine mission to protect the Neteru, this elite category of spiritual warriors was chosen to surround their charge with heightened extrasensory awareness, superior physical and inner strength, unmatched courage, keen battle strategy, and unparalleled skill. These strengths not only protect but also reinforce the Neteru"s learning curve and developmental life preparation for his/her own perilous mission.
Each Guardian"s mastery was a lone, hard-won trial by fire and a baptism of struggles until their faith was made impervious to doubt. They come from the ranks of the unwashed, huddled ma.s.ses, the tired, the poor, the downtrodden, the nameless, the faceless, the obscure-but they are mighty... for in the last days "... the first shall be last and the last shall be first."