Chapter 53

Connor ordered a tonne of steaks and chicken drumsticks and had Lee bring over a brand-new barbecue that he placed in my back garden. I invited Gunnar, Sigrid, Sidnee, Thomas and Stan to come on over and meet Reggie. I'd invited John, but he'd politely declined. He said that he needed time to process his loss, and he didn't want to bring the party down. I told him it was a standing invite, and whenever he was ready, he'd be welcome.

Happy to be able to use his hands again, Reggie cooked some potatoes and veggies whilst Connor grilled. It felt like a party – and we all needed one. I introduced Reggie properly to everyone and saw tears in his eyes as Sigrid enveloped him in a hug. I got it.

‘You want to still work at the Nomo's?' Gunnar asked, in between chewing some greens. ‘If you can still shift into a dog, your nose would come in handy.'

‘I don't have anywhere else to go,' Reggie admitted. ‘I'd love to stay if you'll have me. I know you have April now, though, so I'd understand if…'

‘Pshhh.' Gunnar waved a chicken leg around. ‘We're always run flat out. It'd be great if we could train you up a little, show you the ropes. Though I guess you probably know a lot of it already from hanging with Bunny here.'

‘Yeah,' he agreed. ‘But seeing and doing are different.'

‘Right you are, kid. We'll get you on the right track in no time.' Gunnar was in a gregarious mood, delighted that Sigrid had been released from the hospital although she was under strict instructions to take things easy and had a few more days of potions to take. Her recovery had been markedly slower than Stan's, even though he'd been worse off; as a shifter, his body was primed to heal at warp speed but her witchy one wasn't.

Somehow Shadow seemed to know exactly who Reggie was. He was miffed at all the attention his friend was getting, so he upped his antics to steal back the attention. He jumped up on the table, knocked things over, took off with Sig's scarf. Reggie finally picked him up and cuddled him, and Shadow settled down to sleep in his arms.

After an evening of laughing and joking – and longing glances between Sidnee and Thomas – everyone finally left me with a messy home and a happy heart.

Connor helped me tidy up and clean whilst Reggie had a shower. Once we'd restored my home to an acceptable level, I walked into my living room and stopped abruptly – because there was Fluffy curled up on the sofa, next to Shadow.

I walked over to him and his tail thumped happily. ‘Hey,' I greeted him, stroking his head. ‘Everything okay?' He licked my face, making me grin. ‘You can take the spare bed, you know. Now that Mum's gone that can be your room for as long as you want it.'

His tail tapped happily again but he laid his head back down. For now he was happy as a dog on the sofa. I guessed it would take him a long while before he felt normal in his human form.

I locked up, checked the shutters and turned out the lights, leaving Fluffy and Shadow to sleep. Connor and I went to my bedroom. I had so much in my headspace. I was a forbidden vampire – a hybrid – and I'd barely scratched the surface of what that meant, or what my powers would be. My father was responsible for turning me into said hybrid vampire, he and the vampire king of London who undoubtedly had his own agenda – and I wasn't sure if Octavius was done with me yet. He'd sent John here to fuck with me, so my gut said no.

I'd be going to the police academy soon and I hoped they'd give me the skills to track down Chris Jubatus and his black-ops buddies. It didn't sit right that they were free, wreaking havoc on the world with their horrifying drugs, and I no longer wanted to let Calliope take point on that.

Then there was a prophecy about me and the beast beyond the barrier. It had mentioned my cursed wolf, Fluffy – Fluffy who was Reggie, and Reggie who was Fluffy. I didn't know Reggie yet, but I loved Fluffy and I was sure that Reggie and I would bond properly once we got to know each other as humans.

‘He's in dog form again,' I said to Connor.

‘It's going to take time for him to adjust.'

‘Yeah. He'll be okay though, right?'

‘I'm sure he'll be fine. After all, he has a very understanding roomie.'

‘And you're okay with that?' I said lightly, searching his eyes. ‘Reggie staying here with me?'

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Why wouldn't I be? Fluffy has looked after you since the day you arrived in town. He's been by your side through thick and thin, he crossed the barrier with you and faced the beast. It turns out he's a brave young man still trying to find his way into adulthood.'

‘Yeah. He's young and he's already been through a lot.' I paused. ‘He didn't mention family or parents.'

‘I noticed,' he said softly. ‘We need to give him time to tell us his story. Like you, he was pedestrian most of his life – he was only bitten at sixteen. The paranormal world must still be daunting.'

I snorted. ‘It's not daunting, it's amazing! Coming to Portlock is the best thing that's ever happened to me!' I grimaced. ‘Though it turns out I accidentally abducted a man from London to come with me.'

‘Did he seem upset when you left England?' Connor asked me.

I replayed the whole crazy series of events in my mind. Fluffy had been protective, but he hadn't resisted once when I was trying to escape. He'd happily gone into a pet carrier and come to the airport with me. ‘I don't think so,' I said finally.

Connor pressed a kiss to my forehead. ‘There you go, then. You didn't kidnap anyone. If you want a life in crime, you'll have to start somewhere else.'

I grinned suddenly and pushed him back onto the bed. ‘Maybe I should start with soliciting.'

His eyes darkened. ‘I could get on board with that.'

I climbed onto his lap and he rolled us over so that he was pinning me down. When he leaned down and seized my lips, the zing between us made me gasp. ‘Hold on,' I said abruptly. ‘Can you make the zing happen? Because it always seems to come at the most opportune time.'

‘It comes when one of us is riding high on desire.' His voice was gravelly. ‘Are you feeling a rush of desire, doe?'

I groaned and rocked against him. ‘You bet I am.' I seized my courage. ‘Is that all there is between us Connor? Desire?'

‘You know it's more than that.' He looked into my eyes. ‘I love you, Bunny Barrington, with all of my tattered heart.'

Thank God. He loved me, not that I'd doubted it, not really, but it was something else to hear those words fall from his lips. I felt like my heart would burst from love. I'd never felt this way about anyone before. Connor made me feel safe and grounded, loved and cherished. Everything he did, his every action, had our best interests at heart. I'd never been the centre of anyone's world before and it was a heady feeling.

‘I love you too, Connor MacKenzie.' I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me.

‘Thank God for that,' he murmured, lowering his lips to mine again. I swear his kisses were divine; they should have been listed as one of the wonders of the world. The way he touched me, was like he always knew exactly what I wanted. But then he'd had a lifetime to get really good in bed, several lifetimes probably.

‘Since we're confessing things,' I whispered against his lips, ‘do you want to tell me how old you are?'

‘Nice try.' He grinned. ‘You're going to have to work harder for it than that.'

‘Harder than declaring my undying love for you?' I protested.

He ground his hips against my centre, making me gasp. ‘Much harder.'

‘My head is too full,' I admitted. ‘Distract me?'

‘With pleasure,' he purred as he peeled off my clothes.

I reached up to undo his black and red flannel shirt, revealing a muscular torso the gods would be jealous of. ‘I love it when you wear flannel,' I blurted out.

A slow smile tugged his lips. ‘I've noticed.'

‘You did?'

‘I did.' He kissed my collarbone. ‘Since we're confessing things…'

‘Yes?'

‘I only owned one flannel shirt but I lent it to you that time after you were shot and all I could think of was you wearing it. So I bought fifteen more.'

I burst out laughing. ‘Really? Fifteen?'

‘Fifteen. For you.'

I was still giggling. ‘I'll wear your shirt for you later,' I vowed. ‘But first you promised me some distraction.'

‘I'm on it,' he said mildly, snaking down my body. ‘Get ready to see stars,' he purred.

Oh boy.

The End…