The Coast of Alden, Nine Hundred and Forty Years BeforeThe ships’ holds were crowded and uncomfortable, but the villagers were not secured or restrained within and had access to both barrels of water and to the top deck for bodily eliminations. Many of the men and the young boys chose to remain above deck and helped the sailors with the ropes and sails, making themselves useful in the fresh air rather than remaining in the stuffiness of the hold.Most of the women chose to remain below and, as the ship left the mouth of the river and entered the ocean, Thaelen hovered at the stairs, waiting for the inevitable trouble that would arise. It was just a matter of time, he predicted grimly.Sure enough, as Etrait and Concordia became a dark shadow on the horizon, some of the soldiers decided to seek “comfort,” laughing as they nudged the youngest amongst them, joking that he should get some experience before battle and whilst the women were “fresh.”Thaelen had positioned himself with a cr
Etrait, Nine Hundred and Forty Years BeforeThe training camp was much like any army camp, Thaelen observed as he led the villagers forward, following the soldiers from their ship. There was a chaos of tents and camp fires with women and young children moving between preparing food, carrying clothing and linen, their faces bruised and eyes haunted, whilst the menfolk sat before their tents maintaining their weapons and armour, looking up at the new arrivals with derisive sneers.They were taken to the largest tent, where several priests worked as scribes. Their ship name, the village they were taken from, and their personal names were written down, and then they were escorted to be out-fitted with clothing, boots, and basic, padded armour before being allocated tents and blankets in a section of the camp set aside for the spearmen.Johil, the Sentinel, or captain, of their regiment, signalled for the village men to follow his soldiers to the training field – an area which had been so
Etrait, Nine Hundred and Forty Years BeforeThe smaller man cupped Thaelen’s cheek. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you queuing before the priest, a f-king mess of golden hair having just arisen from bed, and I thought to myself, that I wanted you in mine,” he said with a smile. “I had to trade three bottles of good whiskey to have your intake assigned to me.”“I hope that I’m worth it,” Thaelen rumbled in reply.“We’ll find out soon, won’t we?” Johil drew Thaelen’s face down to his. His kiss was direct. It was not an exchange of affection, but a prelude to sex, sampling what Thaelen had to offer him. When Thaelen went to draw Johil’s body flush to his own, the soldier turned the action, sliding his leg between Thaelen’s and stepping him back against the trunk of a tree.Thaelen grunted in surprise. Johil’s handling of his body wasn’t precisely aggressive, but the other man knew what he wanted and how he wanted it – and that was for Thaelen to be the passive partner. Gera had u
Etrait, Nine Hundred and Forty Years BeforeThe mountains were beautiful from the Etrait side. Perhaps more so, Thaelen admitted to himself, than from Concordia. The jagged points were regal and the craggy shadows that they cast mysterious and magical. The land from Etrait eased into slope, running greenly in between the dark rock, giving no hint that the path beyond was as deadly and dangerous as it was.On the Concordian side, they had carved stairs into stone, and laid roadways from the temple to the strongholds. In Etrait the pass was not much more than the animal trail that was reputed to have begun it, meandering between the rocks, no wider than a wagon. The ground might have been designed to destroy wagon wheels and shoes alike, for it was a slippery path of sharp edged gravel and pot holes.Thaelen worked his way through the rocks until he could stand and look down at the camp that spread below him. They had been at the new camp for three days, long enough to return to routine
Havermouth, Two Weeks BeforeSparrow calls woke Talen just before dawn. They had left the curtains open and in the grey sky, a host of sparrows dipped and dove, reminding Talen of Meguitte’s familiars. He pressed a kiss into Morgana’s hair. She lay over him, her cheek and hand on his chest and her leg over his, her knee nudging up against his c-ck. He lay for a moment, enjoying the intimacy of laying skin to skin with his sleeping mate, breathing in her scent, marvelling at the miracle of the woman in his arms.He had to get up and leave, he told himself. He wanted to get Tony to meet at the Zeus site before it opened for the day. There were minimal security cameras at the site – just around the office – but he wanted to see if they had caught any unusual nocturnal activity. He would stop by the MegaStore on his way and purchase whatever security cameras they had. With a bit of luck, they would be able to install the cameras before the site became active and the night would bring answ
Havermouth, Two Weeks BeforeTalen drove down Morgana’s street and immediately noticed the expensive Ute parked across the road, and the sleek sports car on the other side directly out front of Morgana’s house. As he pulled into the drive, he considered the implications. He was earlier in the day than he normally visited, it was possible that he had intruded in the werewolves’ time with his mate.Well, he decided, it was time that they learned to play together nicely.He closed his car door with deliberate care so as not to make too much noise, before picking his way across to the porch. He raised his eyebrows at the ladders leaning against the porch railings, the cans of paint set on the steps, and the graffiti on the door and porch floorboards. Interesting, he noted, but not as interesting as the occupants of the house.The front door was open. He stepped within the hallway, easing the door slowly closed behind him. From the laundry, a load of washing beeped that it was finished its
Havermouth, Two Weeks Before Rhett tightened the ropes holding Heath to the bed with enjoyment before stroking his hands down the muscled torso of his mate, enjoying how the position made Heath’s muscles stand out against his skin. “I like you like this,” he breathed into Heath’s ear. “I’m going to have my wicked way with you.” Heath slid him a look out of the corner of his eye. “You’re next,” he promised with a small, tight smile. His mate really wasn’t comfortable with being tied down, Rhett thought, running his fingers through Heath’s hair reassuringly, but Heath knew that Cameron and Rhett would look after him, and Heath would let them know if he were truly bothered by the position, so Rhett felt free to make the most of the role reversal. “Hey, just enjoy it, eh?” Rhett encouraged him. “Hmph,” Heath nodded and swallowed hard his eyes going to Aislen and his jaw setting with determination. Aislen moved to stand between Heath’s feet, leaning forward to run her hands up and down
Havermouth, Two Weeks Before Here they were, Heath thought as he stared at Aislen. He had known, he admitted to himself. It had been there growing in the back of his mind the entire time, the understanding of the role that the vampire would play. However much he desired the vampire, however, he wasn’t entirely convinced that he could trust him. The Concordia were… mysterious, aloof, and secretive. This vampire, as well, had quite a reputation according to the pack’s history books. There were also the complications of a vampire to consider. No one was entirely sure how long vampires lived for, but if Heath allowed the vampire to claim Aislen, then he knew that at some point the vampire would want to turn her. That would mean that they wouldn’t grow old together, and when the Triquetra began to age… He needed to think about it, he thought, something he couldn’t do clearly with his c-ck straining against his jeans. The vampire wouldn’t claim her right that moment whilst they all were f