I shrugged, “Not sure. Your power would make you a wonderful companion to keep at my side, a bodyguard and advisor, mate and best friend. Someone I wouldn’t have to be king with, just… mate. The question is can you compromise, or see if you’d even like those other things, for the loyalty I can offer. I’d never betray you, cheat on you, try to use you or share you, but I’d expect the same loyalty in return.”

  She asked, “Just like that?”

  I asked back, “Do you have faith in Sara? Why not? We can date while we live it. Tell me that doesn’t appeal to you, to work with me and play with me, to be not just a wife but a partner in all my dealings. Yes, it would ultimately be my decision, but you’d have ample time to measure my sincerity and how I value your input and advice before we make a real commitment. What job do you have now?”

  She sighed, “Not advising a king, nor keeping him safe.”

  I snorted.

  She shook her head, “This is happening, isn’t it? I mean, I’m not having a nightmare or anything.”

  I grinned, “Am I that bad?”

  She bit her lip, “You’d trust me to keep you safe, to step in if another tier-one came at you, to tip the scales. You’d listen to my advice and give it weight. You’d be loyal, to me.”

  “I would, if you could consider a polyamory relationship, a triad, along with letting me be both chivalrous and ultimately in charge. I would never shut you out, and you would always be by my side.”

  Her eyes kind of glazed over, so I took a sip of my coffee, which prompted her to sip her iced coffee.

  She said, “I’m an investor. I used to be a real estate agent, but you know I’m like… sixty-five now. So, after building a retirement I just spend what I make off it with a nice buffer, though I haven’t needed it yet, and my fortune keeps growing.”

  “How much time on that?”

  She shrugged, “Depends, sometimes a full day, sometimes a few minutes here and there throughout the day. I’d have to give that up.”

  I said, “At the risk of sounding like I’m from the nineteen sixties, as my mate you wouldn’t have to worry about money again.”

  She giggled, “I think you’re back in the eighteen sixties now, in nineteen sixty women were taking the workplace by storm.”

  I smirked, “Does it not appeal to you at all?”

  She frowned, “You sound surprised.”

  I shrugged, “I’d have thought Sara wouldn’t send you to a man who was that incompatible. Besides, if you’re stuck being my bodyguard twenty-four seven, you should have access to my wealth in recompense for being taken away from your earning activities.”

  She blew out a breath, “No, it does appeal to me. It’s just… not supposed to,” she blushed, fidgeted cutely for a moment, then took a deep sip from her straw.

  I chuckled, “What part.”

  She winced, “Well, all of it, really. I want to be taken care of and be indispensable to a loyal man. I want to be cherished and to follow the lead of a loyal man. I even find the idea of sharing another to be… at least curious. But that’s so… last century, as I said.”

  “You afraid the feminists will yell at you? Or you just felt it was your duty as a woman to give me a hard time first?”

  She giggled, “A little of both maybe. I did tell you about the crazy. I can be.”

  “So, we’re on, to see where it goes? To be clear, that’s for the bodyguard and get to know each other part, as well as advice when I need it, or if you want to offer it.”

  She nodded, “So you’re saying my agreement won’t give you rights to my body, yet? But otherwise, we’ll be living as a couple, and king and bodyguard, always at each other’s side. Until I say you can… umm, have those rights, I mean,” she blushed.

  I touched my nose, “You sniffed my meaning, yes. Jumping in with both feet doesn’t mean I get a shortcut to the promised land.”

  She giggled, “You know this is crazy right?”

  I shrugged, “Didn’t you just admit to being crazy?”

  She laughed, “Good point. What about the vampire part?”

  I nodded, “That can wait a little bit, a few weeks, at least two, more than long enough to either decide we’re not for each other, or for you to give me the green light for the full experience. So we’ll be… together, together, before we add anyone else to the equation.”

  She sighed, “Alright.”

  “You look nervous.”

  She bit her lip, “Terrified.”

  I laughed, “I’ll be gentle.”

  She giggled, “Not too gentle, I hope.”

  Then she took a sip of her coffee, while it was my turn to gape at her…

  Sassy.

  She pinched her arm, then fidgeted for a moment, and then nodded slowly, as if accepting she wasn’t dreaming. She was a total trip and a half.

  “Why are you terrified?”

  She shook her head, “Because I’ve waited so long, and my hopes are so high, and at the same time seem impossible because you’re… you’re you, the king, and I’m just me, crazy Lianne with the crazy temper. You’re very blunt.”

  She’d get over it, I hoped. I mean, the whole fear awe reaction because of who I was. Once she got to know me, anyway. If I tried to comfort her or tell her that her fears were baseless, that would just make her more nervous, it was her thing to figure out in this.

  I tapped my nose, “Shifters never lie or shade the truth. Too easy to smell a lie, call it a result of the culture I grew up in. It’s engrained habit, and I don’t want to change it anyway.”

  She said, “That’s a part of it, but most of those subjects were post date-three conversation material, not pre-date coffee level at all.”

  I grinned, “Good point, I suppose I really just wanted to give you the big facts about me to chew on, so you’d stop worrying about what I am and making assumptions about it?”

  She blushed, then asked, “So what’s first?”

  I said, “I won’t have my mansion for two weeks, do you have a guest room? Or we can live out of the hotel suite I’m in, it’s not the penthouse but it is a spacious two bedroom, enough to afford a little privacy in our downtime should you wish it.”

  She giggled, “My place works. Let’s get your stuff.”

  “After the coffee, no rush. Then we’ll be going to Mark’s, to get my intro to this new council, as well as take Steven to task. After that, I’m thinking Italian, dancing, and then getting lost in your sweet voice and crazy talk over a nightcap.”

  She giggled, “That sounds… wonderful, Liam.”

  I winked, and we drank the rest of our coffees.

  She was mesmerizing, not just her exotic beauty and warm energy, or her stubbornness, or her dulcetly sweet voice when she wasn’t yelling like a crazy person. But also her nervous tells, her fidgeting, the way she put herself out there even as she expected it all to blow up in her face any second. She was brave, enthralling, and so very complicated and lovely. The last thing I wanted to do was read her life, I wanted to learn it all the hard way, and sweep her off her feet, make her fall for me.

  My first mating had been a nightmare, but I already had the impression that Sara was a much better matchmaker than my pack master had been. I was already captivated, after all, and far more interested in her than all the rest combined.

  Chapter Three

  It didn’t take long to move my wardrobe and check out of the hotel. Her casual humor in saying her place worked, was explained when we got to the six thousand square foot Brownstone in the heart of the city. She apparently did a lot better in her investments than she’d let on, and the house was decorated elegantly but also with warmth. There was more than enough room to get lost in the place, if either of us needed a moment. We’d be spending a lot of time with each other after all, and everyone needed time to decompress in solitude on occasion.

  She’d also changed, she was wearing a red women’s business skirt suit, the top clearly tailored for her gentle feminine curves, with a creamy white blouse under the blazer. She looked professional, confident, and quite sexy in it, and had obviously done so to dress up to my level, since I was in a suit and tie.

  “You look amazing and intimidating.”

  She blushed, “This is from my real estate days, I’ll have to upgrade my wardrobe soon, to a more modern formal businesswomen suit.”

  “There’s a difference?”

  She nodded, “They’re a little more… less stodgy.”

  “Sexier then?”

  She blushed, “That’s where I was going at first, yes. The definition of formalwear has shifted a bit since I’ve worn this, but it’ll do for now.”

  I grinned.

  We teleported to Mark’s mansion, the sidewalk specifically, then walked up and rang the bell on the front door. Something Nate never would’ve done. I felt Mark and his nine-goddesses approach slowly, obviously wary at my aura and strength.

  Mark opened the door with a grimace on his face, “What do you want?”

  I laughed, “No hello? I’m Liam. I actually wanted to avoid this, I know from history you and Nate had issues, but I need an intro to the council. I tried contacting Steven first, but him and ten of his spies tried to kill me. Very unfortunate. So, if you could give me Bruce’s number, or call him yourself, or something?”

  Mark frowned, “Steven attacked you?”

  “If by attacked you mean he tried to suck me into the ground and kill me, then yes.”

  Mark looked past me, “Lianne?”

  She smiled, “How’re things?”

  Mark laughed, “Crazy as ever, apparently. We’re you around for the attack?”

  She nodded, “I’m the reason he’s still breathing, actually. I let Steven have it with everything I had, spooked him so bad he teleported out like a chicken. So yes, I witnessed the assault.”

  Mark sighed, and turned back to me, “You’re different.”

  “How so?”

  Mark said, “Nate didn’t let his lieutenant talk.”

  I chuckled, “I am sorry about this. I’m not him, but if possible, I’d have spared Amber feeling my aura, which is the same. So… the number?”

  This was going to be an uphill battle, if I could go back in time and kill Nate, I totally would.

  Mark gave me the number, then after a moment of consideration, he said reluctantly, “They’re all looking for you already. Steven said you attacked him, called out a council alert.”

  I rolled my eyes, “Of course he did. Well that does it, then, doesn’t it? They’re all out for my blood?”

  Lianne yelled, “That lying jerk! I’ll kill him myself.”

  I snickered.

  Mark shrugged, “They say they’re going to capture and read your mind, but…”

  “That would screw Steven, so he plans to kill me. Or he’s planning on the idea that I’d never surrender to them and have to be put down. Yeah, got it. Thanks for the head’s up.”

  Well, this was a grand start. Time to go on the offensive, and to hell with the risks of them finding out the truth.

  “Okay, baby, as soon as we teleport, I want you to blast all your power straight ahead. Got it?”

  She nodded.

  I waved, took out my cell phone and started to record video, and then teleported us. We landed right in front of a very surprised Steven, deep underground in his domain. His face barely got to show that surprise, before he was slammed into the cavern wall, deep under the earth. Lianne’s raw energy and force digging a tunnel and pushing him against the growing corridor.

  Just the feather I needed, but more like an anvil.

  I reached out, crushed his aura and power directly with my own, and compelled, “You will obey all my orders from this moment on,” then I ordered, “You will not try to harm me and Lianne in any way, through deed, inaction, or with a proxy. You will not flee from me.”

  I nodded to Lianne, who cut off the power.

  Steven looked enraged.

  “Calm down,” I snapped, “This is your own fault for being a lying little weasel. Confess, now.”

  Steven said, “I tried to kill you, not you me. We’ve had it good the last twenty years, without your damned arrogance, interference, and playing us against each other. You and the bitch queen of the gods, we’re better off without you.”

  I nodded, “What other crimes or power grabs have you committed over the last twenty years.”

  Steven grimaced, “Murder, rape, theft, unauthorized or non-justified compulsion are my crimes. I have not overreached my authority as spy master of the council.”

  I nodded, “Thanks.”

  I turned the phone around, “I trust that is enough to damn him and prove I’m not the aggressor here, without submitting to your power or mind spells. When you’re ready to come get us, just use farseeing on Lianne. I know you all know her, so it shouldn’t be a problem. See you all soon.”

  I hit stop on the recording, then cast a spell to get signal down here, and then I attached it to a text and put in Teresa’s, Freda’s, Bruce’s, Gary’s, Natasha’s, and Kaya’s phone numbers. After a moment of thought, I added in Darrell Hudgens, the new god of war, rebirth of Aries, had been born at the same time I had, but hadn’t waited two weeks to reveal himself. He was already Bruce’s new lieutenant and responsible for chasing down the most dangerous gods on the wanted list.

  I hit send.

  “You doing okay, Lianne?”

  Lianne said perkily, a little hyper and like she was aroused too, “Uh huh. Just great. You called me baby before?”

  Apparently kicking ass with me turned her on, or maybe how quickly I’d gotten around Steven’s machinations too.

  I smiled, “I did.”

  She bit her lip, “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  She said, “Yes, I liked it.”

  I grinned, “You are a treasure, baby.”

  She blushed, and then glared at Steven.

  Steven accused, “You saved him, you’re the one that hit me in the park.”

  She snorted, “You should’ve given him a chance.”

  I nodded, “My views are more modern and more responsible. Nate was a fool, or rather he was raised foolishly. You’re also a moron.”

  Steven frowned, “Why?”

  I shrugged, “Because all the tier ones are on the council and acting in one direction. Do you really think if I’d come out like a bully, you wouldn’t all join together to take me down? Easily take me down. You’re an idiot. It’s just as well, since you’re a murderer and rapist, that you screwed up and got yourself busted.”

  Steven shook his head, “I… didn’t consider that.”

  Like I said, moron. He let his fear of me and the past Nate make the decision for him, not realizing I really didn’t have all that much power or leverage to do the type of damage Nate had, not with the council acting as one, anyway.

  Steven asked, “How did you find me?”

  I said, “That’s a secret. Maybe I’m a tier-0, all along, and none of you knew it.”

  Steven snorted in dismissal.

  Of course, that was crap, I was a tier-one with the same strength as the rest, it was just my access to the information wasn’t blocked by what blocked farseeing, and Mark’s visions. It was more like Aria knowing who won a battle and the circumstances around it, that ability just couldn’t be blocked.

  Finding Steven had been easy, I just needed to want to know where he was a split second ago. That had told me exactly where to go. It was also the one place he was dumb enough to let his guard down, in his domain, deep under the Earth, and far from mine.

  Steven said, “We’re just waiting here?”

  I nodded, “Logic chain. If we stay here, we’re hidden until they get to the end of the video and know to look for Lianne. That way I can be sure they’ve seen it before they find us. If I take you to them, and they haven’t seen the video yet, that could be bad. So enjoy the last few minutes of your life.

  “The most annoying thing is there’s no one to replace you, I’m certainly not doing it. The new queen of the gods will be here in a week, maybe she can be spymaster, and you can be her bitch in twenty-two years when you get back. Do you like to be pegged? I bet that’ll happen, that seems like the kind of thing she’d do, doesn’t it?”

  Lianne giggled, while Steven shuddered, and also stayed quiet.

  That was a bit mean of me, but he had just tried to have me killed, so I was feeling a bit petty about it, and I was already heartily tired of eating Nate’s shit sandwiches. But I supposed that’s how Karma worked, maybe in this life I could improve mine a bit for the next ride. I mean, I’d probably deserved Raelyn too, at least that nightmare had only lasted a couple of weeks.

  Or maybe I could even earn it in this one, my apology to Mark had gotten him to give me a heads up. Maybe it wasn’t so hopeless after all. At least, not with everyone, Lianne included.

  I took a good look around for the first time. It was literally a cavern, deep in the ground. It looked a bit like a house, if there was no ceiling or walls. Like a twenty thousand square foot studio apartment, if you can imagine such a thing.

  Of course, there was someone to replace him when I thought about it. I’d be taking over the watch dog and head of council positions of sorts, which would free Kaya up.

  Kaya would hate the job, and make a horrible spy master, which of course is why I planned to demand it.

  When they came, they all came together, which really, was just wise of them. I was the evil king of the gods after all, they shouldn’t be taking chances. Yeah, I’ll try to dampen down the sarcasm, sorry. But it was what I was feeling in the moment.

  I said, “Steven, go stand with Bruce and do whatever he asks you to, until you’re delivered to the justice council.”

  Bruce grimaced, “Compulsion is illegal.”

  I snorted, “In self-defense it’s justified. He tried to murder me in cold blood, then when he failed he tried to get all of you to do it by lying his ass off. If that isn’t justified compulsion in self-defense, then nothing is. But I suppose if you’d like to go fetch Amelia, I’d be happy to let her decide who’s right.”

  Gary grimaced, “What do you want?”

  I shrugged, “Umm. Steven punished for his crimes might be a good start. I might have considered letting the incident pass, but they say mercy for the criminal is treason to the victim and the innocent. If not for me, for his murders and rapes, the god of death needs to die. Obviously, I’m king, so I’ll do my kinging, while you all carry out the laws, and all that good stuff. Watch dog, I think was mentioned.