Havermouth, Three Weeks BeforeA loader stood over a pile of logs and the grass between it and a void where once a truck might have been buzzed with insect activity. Blood had been spilt, still discoloring the grass a week after the event and the scent strong – at least to a vampire. Talen looked from the loader, the tumble of logs, and the blood, his mind drawing a mental picture to match that on the report.“Where is the truck now?” He asked Anthony.The other vampire squinted against the sun and took his sunglasses out of his breast pocket, sliding them on. “The police saw no reason to prevent the shipment. It was a tragic accident, not a crime.”“Who was operating the machine?” Talen asked.“Victor Benton,” Anthony said. “He was interviewed extensively. It was late in the day and both the driver, Chip Taper, and Victor were keen to get the job done and move on. Patrick Carter was site supervisor. According to Victor, Patrick wasn’t where he was supposed to be. For a reason known o
Havermouth, Three Weeks BeforeCameron parked his Ute just down from the restaurant and spent a moment to run his hands through his hair, trying to stir the curls into some sort of style. He had spent an hour in the bathroom shaving his face, trimming his body hair, before showering and using all the skin care that Heath stocked for the Triquetra, but which Cameron usually ignored, reading the instructions on the back of the containers with care.He'd changed clothes three times, and had even resorted to raiding Heath’s wardrobe and trying on a suit, but it was a look that only Heath could carry off effortlessly – on Cameron it was trying too hard, he decided.In the end, he’d put on a pair of jeans and a white knit that Heath had given him for his birthday. He had been happy with the result – not farmer Cameron, but something a bit more sophisticated. He was scrubbed, scented and dressed to please, he thought as he stepped onto the sidewalk. He just had to pick up Heath and then Rhet
Havermouth, Three Weeks BeforeTalen swept his mate up and over his shoulder, placing a hand over the back of her thighs in order to hold her safely in place, grinning as she shrieked with laughter, the joy of finally finding his mate effervescent within him. How quickly his day had turned around from grim depression to this new hopefulness, he thought, and all due to the arrival of the delightful armload of soft curves and wickedness by the name of Morgana Ivy.As he passed down the street, a blonde werewolf rose from a sidewalk restaurant table, his expression outraged as he locked his gaze on Talen and his mate. Interesting, Talen thought, but did not pause his stride. There was obviously a connection between Morgana and the werewolf for him to react that way – considering that Morgana had given the impression that she did not belong in Havermouth and was just there for a week or two, he wondered at that connection and whether it would become an issue. He had long operated peaceful
Havermouth, Three Weeks BeforeRhett crawled into Cameron’s bed around midnight and slid his hand around Cameron’s waist and up his chest as he pressed himself up against Cameron’s bed. “Mmm,” Rhett pressed his lips to the back of Cameron’s shoulder. “I love sneaking into your bed when you’re all sleepy and warm…” His palm skimmed down Cameron’s stomach to his c-ck, cupping him. “Wake up, puppy.”“I’m awake,” Cameron mumbled. He hadn’t slept, his thoughts busy wondering what Aislen was up to with the giant blonde vampire. He was hovering between anger at Aislen for taking someone else home, and aroused voyeurism imagining them together.“So, I feel,” Rhett smirked as he stroked Cameron’s c-ck. “Did I wake you out of a naughty dream?”He rolled to face Rhett, opening his eyes, and blinking as his vision adjusted to the limited light. Rhett’s hair was loose and showed signs of a restless night, frizzed around the back as if he’d tossed and turned on the pillow for the last couple of hou
Havermouth, Three Weeks BeforeRhett stayed the night in Cameron’s bed, waking with his red-haired mate lying half on top of his back. Rhett couldn’t remember the last time that he’d slept in one of his mates’ beds until the morning. It was nice, he decided, he’d have to try to do it more often. He heard the water switch on and off, and then the creak of floorboards down the hallway to his room, followed by a knock.There was silence as Heath took in Rhett’s empty bed, and then footprints to Cameron’s room, the door creaking open. Heath walked over to the bed and looked down at them for a long moment before running his fingers through Cameron’s curls.“He stayed the night and left with dawn.”“Ah f-k, Heath,” Rhett groaned. Heath was speaking of the vampire. He must have gone to town after they’d all gone to bed and stalked the Carter house overnight. “You didn’t…”“I went in wolf form and stayed across the road. The vampire didn’t even see me when he left,” Heath replied and sat on t
Havermouth, Three Weeks BeforeAislen paused in the doorway to the kitchen. She hadn’t dressed after her shower, the satin dressing gown clinging to her still-damp skin, and the tie trying to work itself loose in order to reveal the body beneath the fabric. Her eyes travelled from Heath to Cameron, and landed on Rhett, her expression wary – and no wonder, Rhett thought as he followed her gaze, for both Cameron and Heath’s wolf was in their eyes.“Morgana Ivy,” he said to break the tension. “I should have known. I think on some level, I did know. I just didn’t…”“Rhett tells us that you draw men getting off with other men for a living,” Cameron grinned his leer, gripping his c-ck lewdly through his jeans. “Let me guess your inspiration.”“Hmm,” she leaned on the doorframe, her hand on her hip belligerently. “We’ve played this game before. Rhett’s Mr. Nice Guy, and you guys are the bullies. You break me down in public with humiliation and cruelty, seduce me in private when you can force
Havermouth, Three Weeks Before“You heard him, Rhett,” Cameron murmured, holding onto Rhett’s wrist.“Why was it f-ked up? Why do you think that what we had was so f-ked up that you didn’t come back afterwards? That it has taken your dad dying for you to come home?” Rhett wasn’t prepared to just let it go. He rounded on Aislen, determined to make her see what she had done to them, what she was continuing to do to them.“Rhett, Heath said to leave it,” Cameron pleaded.Aislen sighed, looking away before returning her eyes to Rhett’s. “Rhett… How can you look at what happened between the four of us and not think that it was wrong? Just look at what happened at the river house that night… That was rape. That was… It was an assault. I went into that bedroom with you…”“We are the Triquetra. We do everything together,” he was bewildered by the subject. Why, after so long, after everything that had happened between them, had she gone back to that first time, that first, special night of the
Havermouth, Present Time“What are you doing here?” Heath exclaimed in shock. “And how did you get into the town?”Greg’s eyes travelled over Talen, Leighton, and lingered on Aislen, the expression on his handsome face blanking before he dragged his eyes back to Heath and recovered his focus. Aislen frowned, trying to discern the reason behind the strange look.“On foot, avoiding roads. Havermouth appears to be the apex of the infection, and it became evident that we needed to investigate just what was going on here,” Greg answered Heath’s question.“Have you been into the hospital?” Talen asked him with quiet authority.Greg’s eyes travelled over the vampire with open assessment before deciding to answer. “No,” he replied with a slight shake of his head. “We were approaching a side door for that purpose when the helicopter landing drove us into a tent for cover. We saw you hiding between the tents as we took cover.“We have explored the tents surrounding the hospital, however,” he co