By the time Friday arrived, Cella was fully smitten with Cyrus. He was an amazing male with a great sense of humor, and she was enjoying taking the time to get to know him. If they’d become beloveds right away, they would have shared their memories during the process and they would have known everything instantly about each other. It was a fast way to bond. But there was something very sweet about waiting to become beloveds and getting to know each other the old-fashioned way.
Every night, he walked her to her office and gave her a kiss that devastated her senses, then he headed to the restaurant. He’d switched to the evening shift with the other vampires so that he and Cella were working at the same time. They met for breaks and the mid-shift meal, and then at the end of the night, when the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, he’d pick her up and take her to their chamber where they’d spend the day driving each other wild.
She couldn’t believe that after three centuries she’d finally found her beloved.
And she also couldn’t believe that she’d tried to push things with the human, particularly grateful she’d kicked him to the curb before she met Cyrus.
Her phone buzzed on the bathroom counter and she glanced at the screen, seeing a text from Angie that Gretel was in the reception area for their appointment. It had occurred to Cella that her normal way of dressing – in short skirts and tight tops – was fine in the club, but not so much for a parent meet-and-greet. Cyrus had told her that he loved how she dressed and that she shouldn’t change up the clothes she wore just because she was meeting his parents. But she wanted to anyway as a sign of respect.
Glancing at herself in the mirror for a last check, she tied the sash of her robe and opened the bathroom door, just as Cyrus finished buttoning his long-sleeved shirt and turned to face her.
“Gretel is here. I’ll meet you at the reception desk when I’m finished.”
She rose onto her toes and kissed him.
He slid his hands up the curve of her waist with a purr. “You could go like this. Very sexy.”
She swatted his shoulder with a laugh. “You’re crazy.”
“Just for you.” He wiggled his brows, then brushed his lips over hers. “I’ll meet you upstairs.”
Several minutes later, she met Gretel in her office and shut the door.
“Thank you for coming on short notice,” she said.
“It’s no problem,” Gretel said. “I enjoyed finding less revealing clothing. It’s not the norm for the club.”
She showed Cella several outfits that were more romantic and feminine than straight-up sexy like the clothes she usually wore. She draped her robe over her desk chair and took the first outfit, a pair of beige dress slacks and a lavender sweater. Gretel’s assistant angled a long mirror for Cella to look at herself.
“It’s a little... I don’t know,” she said.
“No good,” Gretel said. “It’s not you. Let’s try another”
The second outfit wasn’t quite what Cella was looking for, or the third one. She was beginning to wonder if she’d be able to find something she liked. She could wear anything, she knew, and Cyrus would be happy as long as she was. But she wasn’t happy yet.
And then she tried on a dress that made her eyes light up as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.
The long, blue dress was a V-neck with small pearl buttons down the front. The floral-patterned fabric was lightweight and draped her curves beautifully.
Cella twisted and turned making the dress swish around her ankles. “It’s perfect.”
Gretel nodded. “It’s boho. I thought you’d like this one. It looks like you, feminine and lovely, but also sexy in a subtle way.”
She smiled at her reflection. “I’ll take it.”
“Just one finishing touch,” Gretel said, handing her a pair of blue tassel earrings in the same shade as the dress.
Cella put them in her ears then hugged Gretel. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. Would you like me to start including some items like this in your clothing deliveries?”
“I was just going to ask if you would.”
“Happy to do so.”
Cella walked Gretel and her assistants out to the reception area and said goodbye. Then she texted Cyrus she was ready to go.
“Holy crap, that dress is beautiful,” Angie said.
“Thanks, I love it.” Cella felt positively giddy. The dress was perfect, and she couldn’t wait for Cyrus to see it.
There was a low whistle from behind her and she turned and smiled at Cyrus. “Damn, baby, you look fantastic!”
She hugged him. “Thanks.”
He helped her on with her coat.
Angie said, “Your escort’s waiting in the garage. Have fun!”
Cella waved at her and took Cyrus’s arm as they left the reception area and headed to the garage. Ven and Temple stood by one of the coven’s special SUVs. It was equipped with bulletproof glass, hidden weapons, and other safety features including the ability to become a haven for vampires in sunlight.
“Thanks for driving us,” Cyrus said, shaking their hands. “What’s the protocol?”
Cyrus opened the passenger door for her, and she scooted into the center of the bench seat.
“There are two other SUVs that will be with us. We’ll be taking a long route and ensuring we aren’t followed before we head to your ambush’s territory,” Ven said.
Cyrus nodded and climbed in next to Cella, pulling the door shut.
“This is a nice SUV,” Cyrus said.
Ven and Temple got into the front seats and Ven put the vehicle into drive, pulling in between two identical SUVs.
“It’s got all the bells and whistles,” Temple said. “But unlike the limos, it doesn’t have privacy glass.” He gave them some side-eye which made Cella laugh.
“We’ll behave,” she promised.
Cyrus made a face and then chuckled. He turned in the seat to face her. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Oh?”
He lifted a box from his shirt pocket and handed it to her. Inside was a tree of life pendant dotted with blue gems hanging from a delicate chain.
“It’s so pretty!”
Taking the box from her, he removed the necklace and put it on her. “I mentioned to Merrix that I wanted to get you something special, and he said the coven had a jeweler they used, so I called and had the owner bring me some necklaces to choose from. The tree of life is about immortality, and I thought it was a perfect way to celebrate our first week together. And I especially like the little sapphires, because they match your eyes.”
“I love it, thank you.” She kissed him.
He smiled at her, and in the darkness of the SUV she wished there was a privacy screen. Because she’d really like to thank him, and she didn’t want an audience.
“Hold those sexy thoughts until we get home,” he murmured in her ear.
She leaned against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love that you think of the club as home.”
“Wherever you are is home, plain and simple.”
When they eventually reached the ambush territory, she watched out the window to see what Whisper Creek was like.
“I grew up here. It’s mostly tigers, but there are humans who live here. All the businesses are owned by ambush members except for the coffee shop, which is run by a human family. They have the best iced coffee.”
“That wasn’t a thing when I was human,” she mused.
“I guess not,” he said with a laugh. “Do you remember a lot about being human?”
She hummed as they turned down Main Street and the ambush-owned businesses came into view. “Not really. It was a long while ago. If I really think about it, I can remember some things, but mostly about my family, not so much how food tastes or that kind of physical stuff.”
“I’m glad you’re a vampire.”
“Oh?” She looked at him curiously.
“Hell yes. If you were human, you would have died before I was born, and I’d never know you. I’m glad you’re immortal and here with me. I’m grateful that Mishka turned you and brought you to Cleveland.”
“Me too.”
“Do you guys wanna come in?” he asked as the SUV stopped in front of his parents’ home.
“Nah. We’ll just hang out here. Take as long as you like,” Ven said.
“Thanks,” Cyrus said.
He got out of the SUV and helped Cella out. The cold wind buffeted them, but her beloved did an excellent job of shielding her as they hurried up the sidewalk to the house. The ground was covered with fresh snow, but the sidewalk and porch were clear. A welcome sign made of rough wood slats hung on the door. Cyrus knocked twice and opened it.
“Hello,” he called.
“Come on in,” a feminine voice said. “We’re in the family room.”
They walked down a hall and through a spacious kitchen done in yellow gingham, which spilled out into a large room. A red brick fireplace contained a fire that crackled and spit against the wrought iron screen. Picture frames lined the mantel, and she was dying to check out the photos to see if there were any of Cyrus at a young age. But first things first.
Cyrus said, “Mom, Dad, Midas, I’d like you to meet my truemate, Cella. Baby, these are my parents – August and Cora – and my king, Midas.”
She shook hands with August and Midas and accepted a sweet hug from Cora. “It’s so nice to meet you all in person.”
“Please sit,” Cora said. “Cyrus, would you like something to eat or drink?”
“No thanks. The coven has a gourmet chef working at the club, and he keeps the break room stocked with amazing meals, so I already ate.”
“Nice,” August said.
“As long as I don’t have to try to cook, it’s great.”
Cyrus had told Cella that the extent of his cooking abilities were relegated to the grill, where he could cook steak or burgers without them being burned to a crisp. She’d offered to have the chamber remodeled to include a kitchenette for him if he wanted, but he hadn’t been interested. She had a wine fridge in the corner of the chamber that she used to store bottles of SyBl, and Cyrus had added bottled water and cans of his favorite soda – RC Cola. He’d also stashed bags of dried meat strips which he called jerky, and she’d attributed the need for a meat-based snack on the fact he was a predator in his shift, although that was purely a guess on her part.
Her attention refocused on his family and leader, who were talking to him about the ambush.
The king felt very powerful to Cella. He wasn’t the king because he was nice or handsome or the best speaker, it was because he’d fought for the position with fangs and claws, and he kept the position through the same measures. She’d followed Mishka for centuries and she understood how much power it took to lead a group of predators, whether they were vampire or shifter. Cyrus had a great deal of respect for Midas, and she could understand why. He was not only the leader, but he was a counselor and friend as well. Vicious when needed, but with a softer side for those deserving of it.
The mating ceremony for the ambush was fairly simple but steeped in tradition. The female took a bath in water that had oil made from a special lily added to it. Then she dressed in a traditional gown.
Cora laid a photo album in Cella’s lap. “My mating gown is in the attic. I’d be honored if you’d wear it for your ceremony.”
Cella was touched as she opened the album and saw the gown. “I’d love to. It’s beautiful.”
She looked through the album that showcased the couple before they were mated, their ceremony, and several years afterward. The last photo was one of Cora cradling a very pregnant belly and smiling sweetly for the camera.
“I started a new one when I had Cyrus,” she said. “I wanted to have an album for the next chapter of our lives.”
“Please don’t show my baby pictures to my mate,” Cyrus said.
“I bet you were an adorable baby,” Cella teased.
“Of course,” he said. “But come on, Mom, let me mate her first and then you can show embarrassing things to her.”
Cella laughed. Then she looked at Midas. “I have a question.”
“Of course,” he said.
“I’m curious why Cyrus can still be an ambush member once he and I are bonded as beloveds.”
Midas’s brows rose. “Why wouldn’t he be?”
“You said that you needed to perform the mating ceremony while he was still fully tiger. If it matters for the ceremony, why doesn’t it matter afterward? Why would he still be an ambush member when he’s more than a tiger?”
Midas leaned back against the cushions of the plush couch and nodded. “I understand the confusion. The mating ceremony not only joins you in the eyes of the ambush members, it also cements your membership in the ambush. It’s why it’s important that he’s fully tiger and not changed, otherwise my cat wouldn’t allow me to perform the ceremony.” He tapped the side of his head. “He’s all about the laws.”
She could relate. Mishka was as well.
“If we’d become beloveds immediately and he came back here?”
“He’d still be allowed on ambush lands because of his family, but he would no longer be an ambush member. It’s one of those laws that’s tricky on the surface, but it was established in the beginning of the ambush because the ruling king at the time had a daughter who wanted to mate with an elf. The elvish mating ceremony involved sharing blood. It would have changed her enough during the elvish ceremony that she wouldn’t have truly been a tiger anymore. The king didn’t want that to happen because he wanted his daughter to mate with the son of another tiger ambush to join the groups together, so he’d created the law that only full tigers could be members of the ambush.”
“And half-breeds,” Cyrus said.
“Right, right,” Midas said. “If someone is not fully tiger by birth, that’s different. But choosing to not be fully tiger through a mating means the connection to the king can become tenuous. The pre-change mating ensures that my cat, and the ambush, recognize your mating. Then the change doesn’t matter. It’s something the original king didn’t count on.”
“What do you mean?” Cella asked.
“The elf had the ability to change forms, and he took on the mantle of the other king’s son, mated the daughter, and then revealed his true self. The king was distraught and attempted to kick the couple out of the ambush, but the ambush rose up to stand against him on the couple’s behalf. They demanded an amendment to the laws to state that any tiger could mate anyone they wished, no matter if it changed the essence of what they were, so long as they mated ahead of the change. Then the tiger and their mate would be ambush members regardless of what changes occurred after that.”
Cella smiled. “That’s pretty neat.”
“It’s also amazing that even back then, ambush members stood against the king,” August said. “That was unheard of.”
“Did that answer your question?” Midas asked with a smile.
She linked her fingers with Cyrus’s and looked at her beloved. “It did. Thank you.” She looked back at the king and Cyrus’s parents. “I also wanted to thank you for being so gracious to me and open minded.”
Cora frowned. “How else would we be?”
She told them about the problem Angie had when she took her beloveds to the wolf pack.
“Well, first off, Cyrus is an adult and he can mate whomever he wants,” August said with a smile. “We’ve never been the sort of parents to put those kinds of prejudicial limits on him or anyone else in our family. We had no idea who Cyrus might end up mated to someday because it didn’t really matter. What matters is that he’s with the right person, and that’s definitely you.”
Cella felt warm all the way to the center of her being. She’d never known such genuine acceptance in her life, and it was humbling.
Cyrus bumped her shoulder with his. “Told you.”
“You told her what?” Midas asked.
“That my parents were awesome and wouldn’t have an issue with her being a vampire.”
Cora sniffed. “There are certainly parents who have a vision for their kids of what their lives should turn out like, but it’s not our place. And part of the reason we feel that way is because when we were newly mated, one of my cousins – Jeffrey, whose ambush lived in Texas – had agreed to an arranged mating to unite their ambush with another one. A day before the mating was to take place, Jeffrey was in a terrible car accident and woke up in the hospital staring into the face of his truemate, who was a human doctor. He brought her home, and his family was in an uproar about the arranged mating and exiled him from the ambush when he refused to go along with it.”
“That’s terrible,” Cella said. “There are vampire covens that are exclusive to vampires and will force out members if they choose to mate with someone who refuses to be turned.”
The conversation turned back to the mating ceremony.
“Cella needs a place that’s light tight if we’re going to stay here the night before so she can be ready for the ceremony once the sun sets,” Cyrus said. “My place doesn’t have a basement, and we don’t have time to outfit an entire house to make it sunlight proof.”
“Our basement is finished,” August said. “There are a couple windows, but it would be easy enough to block them.”
“There’s no tub down there,” Cora said, “but the shower would work just as well. We’d need a bed.”
“I’ve got a futon we can put down there for you,” Midas said. “It’s not the comfiest thing, but it’ll do for a night. You can work on your house after that so it’ll be safe for you.”
“Will you have a problem with sunlight after becoming her beloved?” Cora asked.
“No,” Cella said. “He’ll still be him, just immortal.”
Cella had a wonderful time getting to know his parents and Midas and was particularly tickled when his mother brought out another photo album so she could see how cute her beloved was as a baby. She stood in the kitchen with Cora and looked through page after page of Cyrus’s childhood.
“Being a mom is one of my great joys,” she said. “Cyrus was a handful as a boy, but he’s a wonderful male and I’m so glad that you found each other.”
“Me too,” Cella said. “Thank you for sharing this with me. I feel like I know him even better.”
Cora gave her a hug. “I’m grateful you were willing to wait to become beloveds. I know that Cyrus would have happily joined with you if it was what you needed, even if it meant not being part of the ambush. All the same, August and I are thankful to be able to share this with him and you and welcome you into the family and ambush officially.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
After saying goodbye to everyone, they returned to the waiting SUVs and headed back to the club. “What did you think?” Cyrus asked as the vehicles pulled away from the curb and accelerated.
“They’re amazing,” she said. “You were right that they had no problem accepting our mating or that you’d be different after we become beloveds.” She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment as she looked into his eyes. He freed her lip from her teeth with his thumb.
“What’s on your mind, beautiful?”
“How did you know I was thinking about something?”
“You bite your lip when you want to say something but you’re thinking it over.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I wasn’t aware I had a tell.”
“We all do, I suppose. Whatever it is you can talk to me.”
“I was just wondering if you were bothered by the fact that I can’t give you children.”
“It’s not that I never pictured myself as a father, but it just wasn’t anything I gave much thought to. I figured it would come up when I found my truemate. I was aware that you couldn’t have kids and it’s okay. It’s not like I was burning with the need to sire a child or something.”
“I’m glad you weren’t burning,” she said with a chuckle. “I would give you children if I could.”
A smile curved the corner of his lips and he kissed her. “I know, baby. All I need in life to be happy is you by my side.” His voice lowered to a bare whisper. “And under me. And over me. And in front of me.”
“I wonder how I got so lucky to have a sexy beloved.”
“I’m the lucky one, Cella, trust me. I’m humbled you waited for me, when I know you were lonely. I want to be yours in every way forever.”
“I want that too.”
In a few short days, they’d be in Whisper Creek joining together as truemates and celebrating her joining the ambush, securing both of their places with the tigers. And then they’d become beloveds, sharing blood and memories and linking their lives in a profound way. She’d never wanted anything more.