Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

Amalie felt deep in her soul that something special had happened between them. She had never met another man like Billy. She doubted she ever would. He had told her things about his family that she intuited he'd never told anybody else. It made her want to return the favor, but she couldn't talk about her parents while she was naked in bed with her lover.

Hard as it was to leave his side, she got up and went into the bathroom. After cleaning up, she went back into the bedroom and started looking for something to wear. Billy watched her with half-lidded eyes that made her feel warm inside. He looked like the cat who had gotten the canary, and enjoyed it too.

She ignored the impulse that told her to go back to bed and forget everything else. But one thought kept her on her course. If he was right and there really was trouble coming their way, he probably needed to know what her magic was all about. And to understand that, he had to know where she'd come from.

Dressed in a casual blouse and pants, she sat down on the side of the bed to put on her socks. Once that was done, she turned to meet his gaze.

"There's something I want to tell you," she began. He frowned, but she went on. "You shared about your family background. I'd like to tell you a little bit about mine."

She noted the relief that crossed his features. She wondered what he would make of what she had to tell him. Only one way to find out.

"My mother was a witch. One of the Marsh Witches of Sagaponack, in fact. But, like me, she took some time off from the coven to go out into the world and learn new things and see new places. In her travels, she met my father. He is a warlock, but his origins are little different. He's fey, and even among his people, his magic is different enough to make him unique. You see, my father is a master of dimension travel."

Amalie paused for a moment to see how Billy was taking this. So far, he didn't look upset, just interested. Taking a deep breath, she went on with her story.

"That's how my father came to be here, in the mortal realm, in fact. He has the ability to open portals at will. I don't know if you realize it, but that's something incredibly rare. Most people don't know that such things can be done at all. Oh, obviously portals between here and the fey realm exist, but they require one heck of a lot of energy to use. Most mages will never travel between dimensions. Most mages will never have the need—or the power—to do so. That's probably a good thing for the stability of this realm, and all the others. But a precious few of us have that special talent." She cringed a bit and looked up at Billy, meeting his gaze again.

"Do you mean that you…?" he began.

She nodded. "I inherited my father's ability. I may not be quite as powerful as he is, but I can open portals too. If the Venifucus are after me, that's why. If they know about it. I just thought… If you really think trouble is heading my way… That's probably why. I think Mrs. Entwistle figured out what I can do when I first came to live with my grandmother. She never said anything outright, but I always got the feeling that she knew and was watching me. I never liked that old hag, but Gran wouldn't hear anything against any of her coven sisters." Amalie shook her head.

"Well, she believes it now. Mrs. Entwistle exposed herself in front of the entire coven, siding with those who were trying to destroy the sisterhood and steal their power, killing them all in the process." Billy reached out and took her hand in his, squeezing lightly. "Thank you for telling me. You know I won't tell anybody about your ability. Not even my brothers. But it does really make you a prime target. We know for a fact that the Venifucus has been bringing things across from other dimensions."

"Really?" She hadn't realized that.

"Absolutely. Our side foiled a couple of attempts at triggering earthquakes and volcanoes to harness that natural power to open the rift between the realms, but not all. In one case, the enemy managed to bring a Leviathan across into our oceans. That problem, which went on for a very long time, has only just been solved, and it took a lot of people working together to do it. And a lot of magical power." He shook his head briefly. "And there are rumors about the Venifucus opening a portal to the forgotten realms to retrieve Elspeth. Nobody on our side has seen her yet, but we have mounting evidence that her followers have succeeded in bringing her back. The reason they wanted to drain the Marsh Witches was to feed their power to Elspeth and speed her recovery from the drain of traveling between realms. At least, that's what we've heard."

"This is a lot worse than I thought," Amalie said, thinking hard.

She had been blithely going about her life, taking time away from her Gran and just playing at being human when all the while evil had been plotting. She felt like she'd been a fool, but she could remedy that. At least, she hoped she had time to remedy it. With her skills and level of power, she had to be ready in case the enemy attacked.

Billy squeezed her hand gently, bringing her gaze back up to his.

"It'll be okay," he promised her. "Whatever happens, I'm here to help you."

"Thanks. That makes me feel better already."

She leaned in to kiss him, and the kiss lingered a little longer than she'd intended, but he kept it light and eventually let her go. She couldn't help feeling a little bit disappointed, but then again, they'd already made a mess of her bed, and she was feeling hungry. His stomach rumbled again, and she giggled.

"I guess we better go get some food," he said, finally rising from the bed. He looked good enough to eat, but she counseled her inner hussy to stick a cork in it. Food was the next thing on the agenda. After that, she could get back to devouring him .

Billy felt privileged that Amalie trusted him enough to tell him about her special power. And it was a doozy! What little he knew about creating portals had always seemed far out of reach of even the most powerful of mages. He'd only ever heard it as something done by a group, not a singular practitioner. Which meant Amalie must have immense power.

He had to keep her safe at all costs, but it seemed reasonable to go out for dinner. There hadn't been any threats to this location yet, and he was keeping an eye out through his electronic surveillance. He would know if anybody set foot on her property whether he and Amalie were there or not. So, he might as well take his mate out for a romantic dinner. It was the least he could do.

She paused to feed her cat, who had spent the day outside, as was his usual routine. He came in when she called, which made Billy arch one eyebrow in surprise. That cat was not quite normal, but he'd be damned if he could put his finger on it. Mr. Humblebee just stared at him with an inscrutable gaze and then turned to eat, having dismissed the humans. Billy had to grin. That housecat had the balls to mess with a lion. Good , he thought. Amalie needed a strong companion.

On the way to the restaurant, Billy taught Amalie a few of the hand signals he and his brothers used in the field. If the worst should happen and they were attacked, he wanted her to be prepared. Knowing a few basic communication signals might help them, and it was fun to show her a little while he drove. She seemed to get a kick out of it, anyway.

Dinner was just what he wanted, both food-wise and in atmosphere. The restaurant had subdued lighting and a lit candle on each table. They weren't crowded too close together either, which he liked. Amalie's eyes sparkled, and she seemed to be enjoying herself. She really was the most beautiful woman he'd ever had the good fortune to know. Stars! How had he been so blessed to find a woman like this?

Her revelations about the uniqueness of her skills had thrown him a little, he had to admit. He had a lot of questions about whether or not a witch as powerful as she was could commit to a mate the way a shifter needed his mate to commit. If he thought about it too much, it would drive him crazy, so he decided to just enjoy the evening with his most alluring of companions.

They talked a little more about her family, in roundabout ways, though he doubted anyone could hear what they were saying. Still, it paid to be cautious. She seemed to feel the same way.

"My folks still live where my dad grew up," she said offhandedly.

From the way she'd been talking earlier, he had assumed they were both gone, like his parents. She'd managed to surprise him again.

"I didn't realize. Somehow, I got the idea that they were gone," he admitted.

"No, but I left home a while back to come and live with my grandmother. I still see them from time to time, but they really wanted me to marry one of my father's colleague's sons, and it didn't work out." As sad look came over her face, and he wanted to punch out the boy who would put it there. "The whole concept of time to them is very different. He wasn't serious, and I'm only half like that, so I don't have the same luxury, if you understand my meaning."

She was only half-fey, so in all likelihood, she wasn't exactly immortal. Oh, she might live a very long time compared to a regular person, but the half of her that was mortal would eventually fade and leave this realm. Not so with the fey, from everything Billy had heard. Regardless of the fact that her father wanted to marry one of his buddy's sons, it would've been a terrible match.

Billy's lion wanted to roar in agreement. She was his. Nobody else's.

"I'm sorry that happened, but glad it brought you here," he said gently, reaching across the table to touch her hand.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not upset about it anymore. I fried his ass real good before I left. The jerk was just stringing me along because that's what his father and my father wanted. But it made me realize that I didn't really belong there. It's fine for my mother. She and my dad were made for each other, but I needed to find my own path. And for me, that's here."

That was a relief to hear. Billy would hate to have found his mate only to lose her to another realm, where he could not follow.

"Well, I, for one, am glad to have you here. I bet your grandmother was glad to have you come stay with her too." He leaned back as the server brought their desserts.

"Yeah, I enjoyed living with her and learning from her and her friends," Amalie admitted. "But they were pressuring me to join the group full-time, and I still wanted to live a little."

"That's understandable," he said.

He really wanted to tell her how he was feeling, but he didn't quite know how. Last thing he wanted to do was to scare her off. And a lion shifter coming on too strong could scare even the bravest of women.

Plus, they couldn't really speak freely out here in public where anybody could be eavesdropping. Not that he thought anybody was, but anything was possible. He'd have to find another way to tell her what his lion already knew for certain. That she was his mate, and he would do anything to have her in his life forevermore.

They finished off the decadent cakes they had ordered to top off the meal, sharing a little bit off each other's plates. It was fun. He felt younger than he had in years, and carefree. That wasn't something Billy was used to, but Amalie seemed to bring out the joy in life for him. Just like a mate should.

They left the restaurant and headed back to her house, but as they pulled into the drive, Billy went on alert. Something didn't feel right. He didn't see anything out of place, and he could tell through a quick check of his surveillance system that nobody had gotten into the house, so he sent Amalie inside.

"I'm just going to check something in the backyard," he told her, trying to sound casual. "Go on inside."

He added the hand signal he had taught her on the way to the restaurant that instructed her to secure the perimeter. She nodded in understanding. Good girl . She was a fast study, and she remembered what he had shown her earlier.

Billy headed for the backyard when his phone rang. He took a quick look at the screen. The call was from the number on Gavin Kinkaid's card. The sneaky little bastard had gotten Billy's private number somehow. Billy answered it.

"Not a good time, Gav," Billy said, on edge as he neared the backyard.

"Entwistle's in town," Gavin said quickly. "Likely up to something soon. Just thought you should know."

Billy was nonplussed. "How do you know?"

"My mother was a mage. Like yours," Gavin said quietly. The little bastard knew entirely too much. "Only, in addition to the lion spirit, I also got some of the hocus pocus, and I've been training with Mom and her people all my life. You need magical backup, just say my name three times, and I'll be there."

"Seriously?" Billy wanted to throttle the kid. "Does that really work?"

"Only if I happen to be nearby," Gavin admitted with a chuckle.

"Well, then. I hope you're nearby soon because something is going on in Amalie's backyard right now." Billy felt the gathering of energy, but he had no idea what fresh hell was about to rain down on him. He only knew something was coming. Not what.

"I'll hurry," Gavin said and ended the call. The creepy feeling in his gut that Billy would not admit to anyone made him almost wish the kid could help with this. Whatever this was.

Billy took a deep breath and moved into the center of the garden. Something was about to happen. He just didn't know what form it would take.