Vasile shook his head. “I have no idea, but knowing Peri, it might include leveling an entire city.”

Chapter 8

With all the lovey-dovey crap going on around us, you wouldn’t think that some major ass kicking was about to go down. Then again, maybe that is the perfect reason to be breaking in the mattresses. Strong mated pairs mean strong individuals, so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining about everyone having shag fests with their mates. Maybe we should start calling it “plugging in.” Oh man that’s awesome. Plugging in, get it, like a power source, but it totally works as a pun for—” ~Jen

“They get it, Jen. Geeze.” ~ Jacque.

Peri slammed another book closed causing dust to fill the air of the archive room. She’d been there for an hour, searching in book after book to no avail.

“Hey,” Wadim called out from down the hall. “Go easy on the books. It’s not like I can just zip down to Barnes & Noble and pick up another copy.”

She ignored him. Peri could go to the fae archives and see if she could find any information on Sincaro, but there was no telling how long it would take to look through their extensive records. The fae archives made the wolves’ library look like the kiddie section of a bookstore.

“Hey, scary fae lady, I found something,” she heard the annoying history wolf yell.

Peri let out a groan. She placed the book back on the shelf and walked back to the main room of the archives. Wadim sat at his desk in front of a ridiculous number of computer screens. He pointed to the one on the far right.

“I did a scan for Sincaro. Nothing came up, of course. But then I did a scan for vampire king.” He looked over his shoulder at her. “Figured if he’s the oldest, then that sort of makes him the king. Anyways, when I did that, I got three references.”

Peri stepped closer to the screen and began reading.

1502 A.D. in the ninth month, the fifteenth day. The vampire race has grown so large in number that they can barely hide their kills. The Alphas have met with the high fae and made it known that they want the numbers decreased significantly. The high fae are in agreement and willing to bring forth the fae warriors. Perizada of the fae, in particular, argued extensively for intervention. The vampire king has grown too bold and is encouraging his race to be bold as well. There are already mutterings and superstitions among the humans concerning the vampires. The humans cannot be allowed to find out about paranormal beings. The governing councils of each civilized race agree that it would be too dangerous for the humans to know.

In three days’ time, the fae will go to war with the vampires. The Canis lupus will not be a part of the battle. The fae have insisted that they are more than capable of eliminating the vampires without our help. As much as the Alphas hate to miss the opportunity to rid the world of that scourge, they have agreed not to participate. It is not in the nature of the wolves to let another supernatural race face such a peril alone. But the wolves petitioned the high fae council about the vampires five years ago with the same dilemma and the fae did nothing. At this point, it is not the wolves’ problem.

1502 A.D. in the ninth month, the twentieth day. It has been a fierce battle and the fae have finally prevailed in culling over half of the vampire population. They believe the vampire king was one of the fallen, though his body has not been found. Though he was a powerful foe, his army fell quickly to the high fae magic, and the fae did not believe there could possibly be any survivors.

Peri growled in frustration. It had been a waste of time. The documentation didn’t confirm or deny Sincaro’s death. It was simply speculation. Speculation was about as useful as an intoxicated pixie.

“I’d like to say thank you for taking your time to look up the information, but that would imply it was helpful,” she growled to Wadim.

He shot her the finger over his back causing her lips to twitch. She actually liked the historian, and his tee shirts were something to look forward to. Peri flashed from the archive room and reappeared in her bedroom where her mate was currently lying, shirtless, in their bed. She removed her own clothes with just a thought and then slid into bed next to him. She wouldn’t have long to be with him before she’d have to begin shuttling the wolves to Little Rock and begin preparing for battle.

She closed the distance between them and sprawled her body across his warmer one. His arms immediately wrapped around her, pulling her tightly against him.

“Welcome home, beautiful.”

His voice was rough with sleep and entirely too sexy. “It’s good to be home, no matter how brief.”

Lucian rolled and she was suddenly beneath him. He pressed a kiss to her lips and then pulled back to look at her. His blonde hair fell forward brushing her face. He smelled amazing, as usual. It didn’t matter if the man was sweaty from a good workout or fresh out of the shower, he always smelled incredible.

“Are you trying to tell me you won’t be staying long?” His silver eyes flashed mischievously.

“Duty calls,” she said in a near whisper. Only Lucian had the ability to make her lose her breath. He alone could cause all thought to slip away from her mind and replace it with him, only him. He filled up her senses. He was all she could see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. Lucian’s body lowered and settled firmly against hers, causing her eyes to flutter closed.

“Then I suppose we’d better make the most of it,” he said softly against her neck as he pressed a kiss to the spot where his bite was located. Her skin flushed as blood flowed quickly through her body. Peri’s pulse jumped as his hands gripped her hips.

“Don’t you want to get some rest?” she asked, practically panting like someone who’d just sprinted as hard as she could for a hundred yards.

“I can rest anytime. What I can’t have anytime is you. So I will take you when you are here.”

“You know you aren’t the only one who needs. I need you. I don’t like being away from you anymore than you like being away from me,” Peri told him as she traced the contours of his masculine face.

“I know that, beloved. I have no doubts about your feelings, wants, or needs when it comes to me. I also know that just because you are mated doesn’t mean all of the responsibility you’ve carried all these centuries suddenly disappears. It simply means that you no longer have to shoulder it alone.”