Chapter Twenty-Three

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The next morning, Amalie and Billy took a quick look at the two houses in the neighborhood that were for sale. When they arrived at the second house, Mr. Humblebee was waiting for them, sitting patiently on the front stoop. Billy looked at Amalie as they walked up the front walk.

"I think we know which house your cat likes," he said, grinning.

"This one is a bit bigger than the other one, and it's closer to Gran. Closer to Meg's house too," Amalie observed.

Billy said nothing as he punched in the code the real estate agent—another member of the coven—had texted them earlier on the lockbox that would allow them to enter and tour the empty house. When he got the door open, Mr. Humblebee went inside as if the house was already theirs, going from room to room, checking out the place. They did the same, only a bit slower, and returned to the front foyer to find the cat waiting for them once more.

"What do you say, Humblebee?" Amalie addressed her cat. "Is this our house?"

The cat answered her with an emphatic meow and raised one paw.

"I think that's a yes," Billy said, grinning at the orange cat. He had to ask her about Humblebee's behavior. He wasn't like normal cats. Not by a long shot. "Is he what they call a witch's familiar?" The question had been bothering Billy ever since he'd met the strange orange housecat.

Amalie picked up the cat and stroked him as she cradled him in her arms. "You'd have to ask Gran to be sure, but I do know he's a lot smarter than your average cat. Aren't you, Mr. Humblebee?" She turned the cat's face to hers and placed a kiss on his forehead. Surprisingly, he licked her cheek in return. Yeah, that wasn't a normal cat.

Billy called the realtor once they relocked the house and walked away, Mr. Humblebee slinking along close behind them. He put in an offer on the house as they walked toward Amalie's grandmother's place. They had a long to-do list today and spreading the news of their impending marriage was high on the list.

For the sake of their human neighbors, they were going to say they were engaged with a wedding to follow as soon as they picked a date. But the shifters and the members of the coven knew that they were already bonded as deeply as magically possible. It shone out of their eyes and when they touched. Sparks of magic twining in their souls.

They told Amalie's Gran first, out of respect, and she regarded them coolly. So much so that Amalie's hackles—if a human could be said to have hackles—rose in instant defense of her mate. Then, her grandmother smiled, just a little, and asked Billy why he'd taken so long to seal the deal. Amalie was appalled, but her grandmother only cackled in that way she had perfected over centuries of living and patted Amalie on the back.

"You caught a good one," Gran whispered to her as they hugged, and Amalie knew then that her Gran's gruffness was just a big act.

Meg and Rich's response, when they told them, was joyous. Rich teased his brother and gave Amalie a big hug, officially welcoming her to the family. Meg had tears in her eyes when she hugged Amalie.

"I'm so glad we're going to be family," Meg said. "I always wanted a little sister, and I think you're just about perfect for the job."

Amalie was touched and felt like she had a beautiful future ahead, not just with her mate, but with his family. If not for the specter of evil trying to overtake the world once again, everything would've been perfect. As it was, today was beautiful, and tomorrow would be here soon enough. She decided to bask in the present and worry about the upcoming darkness when it showed up.

No matter what happened, she would have her new mate at her side, and that made any challenge a little bit easier to bear.

The only sticky bit to their announcement was that the youngest brother, Colt, was on a mission of his own, and they had to wait until he checked in with base—that was Rich—later that day. Billy took care of telling his youngest brother that he was also a newly mated man. That left Colt as the only bachelor of the three left.

For that reason, Billy wanted a chance to speak to Colt about this privately before introducing him to Amalie. She was having coffee with Meg while Rich and Billy took Colt's call in the guest room they were converting into an office for Rich.

When Colt called, Rich took the report first then handed the phone over to Billy. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Hey, Colt, guess what?" Billy knew this probably wasn't the most original opening line or the best way to handle the announcement, but he'd always been a man of few words. That was, until he'd met the love of his life. Thinking of Amalie steadied him. "I found my mate, Colt," Billy said quickly in a strong voice. "Mrs. Talridge's granddaughter. We ran into trouble and had a little encounter with Mrs. Entwistle in Ohio. She's in the wind, so keep a weather eye out for her. We're back on Long Island now and plan to move into the neighborhood and have a wedding for all the neighbors to enjoy."

"Whoa, Billy, slow down. That's the most words I've heard you speak at one time, like, ever." Colt chuckled on the other end of the phone. "Your lady must make you pretty excited if you've become a chatterbox. I'm happy for you, man. And tell your mate, I plan to dance with her at the wedding reception."

"Of course," Billy replied at once, wondering if Colt was really as happy about this as he sounded.

One never knew with Colt. He tended to be the still waters that ran deep, and he often hid his real emotions with a jovial exterior. He was saying all the right things, but Billy was still concerned. Colt was the only one without a mate now. So much had changed for them in such a short time. Which reminded Billy…

"And by the way, if you happen to run into a Clan Kinkaid named Gavin, he's okay. Dude saved my life when Mrs. E summoned a demon to fight me while she tried to make off with Amalie."

"Really?" Disbelief colored Colt's tone, but Billly figured he owed Gavin. He was going to be invited to the wedding, so his brothers had better understand that Gavin was okay.

"Yeah, really. Don't give him any shit for being what he is. His mother was a mage, by the way," Billy looked at Rich, telling him at the same time, "so he knows a bit more about magic than the average lion. And though he wasn't in the service, he did a stint as a soldier of fortune in foreign lands. Crazy S.O.B." Billy shook his head. "He didn't talk about it much, but I got the impression it wasn't a good experience. He's okay, and we're…sort of…friends."

Silence reigned for a moment as those words were absorbed by both of his brothers. It seemed Billy was going to be the first to officially call one of the extended family of Kinkaids a friend. Well, then. So be it.

It was Colt who finally broke the silence. "A guy saves your life, I reckon he qualifies as a friend."

Billy nodded, grateful for Colt's understanding. Rich looked a bit harder to convince, but he wasn't saying anything negative.

"When you get someplace you can do a video call, I'd love to introduce you to Amalie," Billy turned the subject to one a bit less prickly.

"I'm driving at the moment, but I plan to stop and set up a secure call tomorrow morning if you're around. I'm entering a later time zone, so it shouldn't be too early for you," Colt offered.

"We'll make it a point to be here when you call in. I want you to meet her. Colt, she's the best thing that ever happened to me." Billy didn't really care if his words sounded like dialog from a mushy chick flick.

Rich simply nodded, understanding. He'd found his mate. He'd figured it out.

"It's good to hear you sounding so content," Colt said softly. "I am truly happy for you, bro."

"Thanks, Colt. You be safe out there, and we'll see you tomorrow morning at the check-in. I'm handing you back to Rich. Bye for now."

Rich took back the phone and finished up the call with only a few more words of caution. Then, he ended the call and stood there, looking at Billy.

"Gavin is a friend?" His tone was challenging, but Billy wasn't going to back down on this point.

"Yeah, he is," Billy replied, shaking his head. "I know he's one of them, but he's a good kid, and he did the right things when push came to shove. You should've seen him in the fey realm. He knew how to handle himself politically, putting out feelers for alliance talks and doing more than I would've known how to do when I was his age. He really impressed me."

"You talk about him like he's another little brother," Rich observed.

Billy shrugged. "I can't help it. That's how he feels to my lion. When I caught him following me and Amalie, I wanted to put the fear of God into him, you know? But I just couldn't do it. My lion kept thinking of him as a younger sibling or something. Kind of like Colt, but not exactly."

"He's a cousin, I guess," Rich observed.

"Yeah, he is, but he feels closer than that. Not quite a brother, but not as far away as a cousin. I've been thinking about it, and it might be because his mother was a mage too. He's got more magic than the other lions we've met. For that matter, according to Amalie, so do we. Even if we've never learned how to use it or had it really manifest in any way."

Rich looked thoughtful. "I never really thought about that, to be honest."

"Maybe it's time we explored a little bit of the magic legacy left us by our mother," Billy suggested. "We're both going to be living in a powerful coven of ancient witches, mated to women of incredible power. I think we need to start asking questions about the magical side of our heritage. I don't mean getting in touch with the Rollins family. From all accounts, they're as shady as they ever were, and we don't want to get mixed up in anything like that, but we have magical resources now. People willing to tell us more and maybe some who can diagnose any magical gifts we might have that we've just never known about or used."

"Our mates can help with some of that," Rich thought aloud. "They'll know us better than anyone else in time."

"I suppose they will," Billy agreed with a broad smile. He liked the sound of that. "But there is a wealth of magical information in the coven. I think some of them would be willing to help us explore the magical side of our heritage. If there really is anything there that could be useful. I see this as a time for preparation. We know the war is coming. Now's our time to get sharp enough to face all contingencies."

"That in mind, I bought a small building on the edge of the development, and I'm going to open a dojo," Rich said, astounding Billy.

"You what?"

"You heard me." Rich was smiling like the cat who got the canary. "It's the perfect cover since we'll be living in an area that is densely populated with non-magical humans just outside this development. We can't spend all our time here. We need a cover job. I'm going to be a sensei. You could work with me, if you want. That would give us both more flexibility. What do you think?"

"I think a dojo is a good way to get friendly with law-enforcement types and those who are into martial arts," Billy observed.

"Yes, and we're going to have very special classes—private classes—for shifters. I think it'll be a good place to pass information and keep in touch with the local shifter communities. Lester is going to help me get the word out with the local Alphas he already has contact with. It's time, like you said, to get our side organized for what we all fear is coming."

"You've been busy while I've been off visiting the fey realm," Billy complimented his big brother. "And yes, I'll take the job as instructor, since you're offering."

"Good," Rich said, putting some papers back on his new desk and heading for the door. "Let's go see what the women are up to. I want to be near my mate."

Come to think of it, so did Billy. His mate was nearby, which calmed his inner lion, but it craved her touch, her scent, her presence. Yeah, it was time to finish yapping and go find their women. Billy grinned at his brother and followed him out of the room.

Billy took the seat at the kitchen table next to Amalie when they joined the women who were having coffee. Meg wanted to jump up and make coffee for the guys, but Rich waved her back down and operated the fancy single-serve coffee maker like a pro. Within moments, he had a steaming cup of coffee for each of them, and they were all seated around the table.

This was good, Billy thought with satisfaction. His brother, their mates. Family. His lion wanted to roll around and bask in the togetherness. For the first time since their parents had died, their family was growing and thriving. It felt really, really good.

"All three brothers have those nicknames," Meg was saying to Amalie as Billy tuned into the conversation that had flown right by him while he was basking. "Richard the Lionheart," Meg pointed at her own mate. "William the Conqueror." She pointed at Billy. "And Colt prefers Peacemaker, I think, though they sometimes call him Colt Forty-Five. Both refer to guns from the Wild West." Meg nodded knowingly.

"Conqueror?" Amalie said playfully, smiling at him. "Well, you certainly conquered my heart, so I'd say the name fits."

His own heart melted, and he drew her into a quick side-hug as they sat at the table. He'd show her just how much her words meant to him later…when they were alone.

*

Thanks for reading Conqueror . If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review. The next book in the series is titled Peacemaker , and tells the youngest brother's story. Scroll down for an excerpt.