Chapter Twenty-Five

As March’s snow and sleet turned to April’s rain and warmer temperatures, Cella finally found someone to take over the coat check position, which freed her up from dealing with the cranky vampire bitches who thought taking coats from people was beneath them.

She walked into the reception and smiled at Angie. “I’m ready for a drink.”

Angie nodded. “Me too. I’ll see you up there in an hour.”

After coming back from her short honeymoon with Cyrus, she’d suggested that the females in the family get together for a drink during the meal break once a week. Arissa, Harmony, and Angie had been thrilled with the idea, and Cella looked forward to the time with the girls each week. Even if it did mean that she had to miss seeing Cyrus.

Cella turned and faced one of the overstuffed chairs, where a petite human female sat, drumming her fingers on a worn purse.

“Hi, Avery, it’s nice to see you again.” She extended her hand and shook hers. Avery rose to her feet and smiled.

“Thanks, it’s nice to see you too.”

“I’m going to have Angie take your picture for your ID badge first, and then we’ll get some papers signed, and go on a tour.”

Angie took a picture of Avery, and then Cella laid out the employment papers. She went over her hours and gave her a sticker to put on her windshield that would allow her to park in the employee lot. By the time they were finished, Angie had printed out the ID badge. On the tour, Cella showed her the employee cafeteria and restrooms, and the interior of the club.

“What’s that?” Avery said loudly, pointing to the glass-enclosed family room.

“Mishka’s inner circle is called the family. That’s the family room. It’s off limits to anyone but the bartender on duty, the family members, and their mates.”

Avery nodded. “I’ve never been to the club before. I’m not... much of a dancer. And I wasn’t sure if I could come here if I didn’t want to feed someone.”

Cella understood. Humans had a lot of misconceptions about vampires. “Remember what we went over in the interview. Don’t ever wear white, because that’s the color that our paid food wear. They also wear red ribbons on their necks or wrists, depending on where they prefer to be fed from, but there are vampires who wouldn’t necessarily care to notice if you had a white top but no ribbon.”

“Right,” Avery said, blowing out a breath. “I promise I won’t.”

Cella nodded with a smile. “Good.” They finished the tour at the coat-check, where Vivian sat on a wooden stool with her phone in front of her face. Cella cleared her throat and Vivian slowly lowered the device. “You’re not supposed to be on your phone while you’re on duty.”

Vivian placed the phone on the counter and folded her manicured hands. “I don’t want to be here at all. What do you want?”

Cella inhaled, thinking that Vivian was the most unpleasant female she’d ever met. She’d been part of the coven for the past several years, joining from another out West. Of the unmated females in the coven, Cella found her to be the least willing to work and the most interested in finding a male to attach herself to. She seemed to prefer the males in the family, but none of them were interested in her and secretly Cella was happy about that. She didn’t think she could handle being around her any more than necessary.

“This is Avery,” Cella said, gesturing to the human beside her. “She’s been hired to fill this position.”

“Great,” Vivian said, rising swiftly to her feet. The micro-dress she wore hardly covered her, and Cella bit back the comment she wanted to make about how to dress more appropriately for the position.

“Where are you going?” Cella demanded as Vivian walked out of the booth.

“I’m out of here.”

Feeling like she was channeling her beloved, Cella growled angrily and Vivian paused, her eyes wide. “You’re not leaving; you’re going to train Avery for the evening.”

Vivian sneered at Cella, her eyes narrowed to slits, and then she sighed so loudly and with such aggravation that Cella was immediately embarrassed for her behavior. “Fine. It’s not like it’s hard.”

“It’s not, but it’s necessary. Mishka wants the club to have a coat check, and that makes this job just as important as any other.”

“You keep telling yourself that.”

Tempted to rip her own hair out in frustration, or perhaps Vivian’s, she turned to Avery and said, “I’ll come get you in three hours for your meal break.”

“Thank you,” Avery said as she moved behind the counter to stand next to Vivian.

“You’re welcome. And welcome to the club. There’s another stool in the back, behind the coats.” Cella smiled sweetly at the human and when she turned her back to go get the stool, she leveled a glare at Vivian. “Do your best or I’ll report you to Mishka. You’re part of the coven by invitation, and that can be rescinded at any time.”

Vivian sniffed, opened her mouth as if she would protest, and then snapped it shut.

Good. Cella didn’t want to have to haul the female out of the booth and give her a beating, but she would. She was feeling pretty primal, and she knew part of that was her beloved bond with Cyrus. As she’d given him her immortality and need for blood, he’d given her a healthy dose of his tiger, and that beast did not like to be ignored.

“See you soon,” Cella said, a polite promise to Avery, and a stern warning to Vivian.

Tugging gently on the bottom of her silky vest that she’d paired with a skin-hugging tank top, she turned and headed into the club. She stood for a few minutes near one of the long bars and watched the crowd dancing, the laser lights painting their bodies with flashes of color. The tables were full, and she could see the white shirts of the paid food as they wove through the crowds and offered themselves to the vampires.

Her fangs throbbed a bit as she thought about feeding, her need for Cyrus rising high and hard within her. She was tempted to text him for a quick tumble but put aside the thought. Not only was she meeting the girls for a drink, but he was busy at the restaurant and needed to focus on his work. And not her crazy-at-times libido. It absolutely wasn’t her fault that her beloved was super sexy.

With a chuckle at her train of thought, she sent him a quick text. Love you.

He replied quickly. Love you too, gorgeous.

Can’t wait for our meal break.

Thinking sexy thoughts of me already?

Always.

He sent her several heart emojis and she returned them to him, her heart swelling with emotion. She made her way to the stairs leading up to the family room, smiling at the guards as they parted for her. Her heels clicked on the stairs as she made her way up, and she paused mid-way and looked at the crowd. She’d been so lonely for such a long time. Now she’d never be lonely again. No more nights by herself in her chamber, wondering if she’d ever find her beloved. There were moments when she’d considered that perhaps not every vampire got a beloved, that perhaps it was only a lucky few. Now, with Cyrus firmly in her arms and heart, she truly hoped that every vampire would find their beloved, their one right person. For sure, she wanted that for the family members who were still alone – Temple, Traz, and Ven – as well as the others she’d come to know and care for in the coven.

Someday. She hoped.

She had her happily ever after, and she wanted that for everyone else too.

 

* * *

 

Cyrus stood on the club’s roof and watched the sunrise as a rainstorm brewed in the distance. He stood underneath a tall pine tree that sat in one of the decorative containers and drank a cup of heated shifter blood. He caught a few raindrops on his hand, the cold water heating quickly against his skin. He watched the drops slide from his hand and disappear into the stone pathway below his feet.

How quickly the seasons had changed, winter’s roar giving way to spring’s softer features. The days since he’d met and mated Cella had passed by at a quick pace. He was busier than he’d ever been in his life. Mishka had appointed him the manager of the coven’s construction company, which meant he now had an office – right next to Cella’s – where he oversaw every project the company was part of. Once he’d taken over, he promoted Merrix as his assistant, giving him a nice bump in pay and upgrading him to one of the larger suites in the coven’s apartment complex.

From sunset to dawn he worked his ass off for the coven and family, looking forward to the moment that he could sweep his beloved into their chamber and rock her world for a good, long while.

And sometimes, like today, he would come up to the roof alone and watch the world awaken while the vampires prepared to bed down for the day.

It hadn’t even been two months, and he was an entirely different person than he was when he went to work that one night at the restaurant and discovered the female of his dreams was there. He wouldn’t trade his life for anything. He had a gorgeous female at his side who was respected by his ambush and loved by his coven, and she was his sun and moon and stars all wrapped up in a killer body that made his fangs throb and his tiger purr.

He was a lucky male.

The sun rose above the buildings, the storm causing the rays to be muted in a way that made them appear pale yellow and not brilliant gold. Finishing his blood, he turned on the gas firepit in the center of the garden and burned the cup. He didn’t like to tempt any of the vampires with the fact he had access to shifter blood. Midas had asked for volunteers to donate a pint of blood for Cyrus’s twice-a-month needs, and many had turned up to help. Cyrus was humbled that not only his family had been willing, but also his friends and other ambush members. Even Midas had opened his vein once for him. The scientists who created SyBl were working on a shifter synthetic, and Cyrus was a taste-tester. So far, none of the batches alleviated his shifter blood needs. Someday though, he hoped they’d figure out the formula.

After turning off the firepit, he headed to the stairwell, texting Cella he was on his way to their chamber. She was waiting for him, wearing a drool-worthy short skirt and corset that made him want to purr.

“Hello, gorgeous,” he said gruffly.

“I missed you.”

“You know I missed you too.”

“I know,” she said, rising onto her toes and kissing him. She hummed and licked her lips. “You taste like blood and rain. You must have been on the roof.”

“It’s storming.”

“I bet the sun looked pretty coming up with all the rain.”

“Not as lovely as you.”

She gave him a slow, sexy smile. “My charming tiger. Take me to bed.”

“As my lady wishes.”

He and Cella tumbled to bed together, and he thanked his lucky stars for bringing her into his life. When he was younger, he’d never imagined his life would turn out this way. He’d envisioned himself finding a tigress to mate with and having a few cubs, staying in Whisper Creek forever, maybe venturing outside of Ohio for the occasional family vacation. What he had with Cella wasn’t anything close to that, but he felt like he’d gained so much more than what he’d thought he needed and wanted. Not only was he immortal, but he was different – unique in his powers, able to take care of his mate and their people. He and Cella would never have children, but they were rich in family nonetheless. And Gavin had promised to name him and Cella as godparents once he found his truemate and started a family. Cyrus was honored.

He loved his family and cared deeply for the coven, family, and ambush. But Cella was the light of his life and the center of his universe. As long as he had her by his side and in his arms, he’d never need for anything else.