The Royal Jagger

Finding one’s true mate is the most intense thing a woman can ever experience. Markael was an arranged match, and I believe I loved him after a fashion. But not in any way the same way I love Cor. Where Markael was my life, Cor became my rebirth.

Marissa came back to herself with a start as Peter’s fingertips brushed against the side of her bre*st. She gasped into his mouth, and he chuckled as he wrapped her into his arms.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“I was just imagining your Uncle Darius walking in on us right about now,” he admitted.

“You’d better not be kissing me just to annoy my uncle,” Marissa scolded as she backed away from him.

“Of course not,” he told her. “I’m just trying to cool my jets a bit before I decide to ravish you right here where anyone could catch us in the act.”

“I think I’d better go back into the mess hall,” Marissa said circumspectly. “We shouldn’t be doing this. We hardly know each other.”

“I—I know,” he agreed. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I feel so connected to you. Does that make any sense?”

“Perfect sense,” she whispered. “I’ll see you later, Peter. Don’t follow me right now.”

“I’ll phone you tonight, and we could talk,” he suggested.

“Maybe I’d better call you,” she said. “If the phone rings, someone else would hear it.”

“All right, then call me,” he said, writing his number on a piece of paper and slipping it into her hand. “Hide that somewhere.”

Smirking, Marissa slid it into her bra. Peter groaned as they both stood up, and he kissed her again, hard. After another minute, Marissa slipped free of his arms and ran out into the corridor, leaving him standing there and staring after her.

She tried to sneak back into the mess hall and act like she’d been there the whole time, but when she saw both of her uncles standing around looking upset she knew they must have noticed her absence. Making a quick decision, she made up her mind what to tell them.

“Where have you been, child?” Darius demanded. “We have much to discuss, as well you know. Do you not want to learn how the dog fares?”

“Yes, of course,” Marissa exclaimed, amazed that she hadn’t been thinking of her little aunt all this time instead of becoming completely distracted by Peter Shane. Had she forgotten the importance of keeping her safe? No, she hadn’t, but she had to think about what she wanted from her own life as well as Raife’s. It wasn’t wrong to want something for herself, right?

“Then come with us now,” insisted Eric. “Penz has done some leg work and discovered the connection between our caves and those of the magicians. The set up appears to be quite similar to the one in Yosemite, thank goodness. In fact, your own cave has a hidden passage to the corridor we require. You can go to Raife whenever you please.”

“But that’s perfect!” Marissa exclaimed. “Maybe she can come to my room often, even in her own form. I worry that remaining a dog every day when she is just an infant could be harmful. Won’t it stunt her growth or something?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I certainly hope not, though.”

The three of them returned to their own caves and exited through Marissa’s room. The corridor beyond connected to the larger magician corridor deep within the mountain. The magicians’ area was even more elaborate than the one at Yosemite, Marissa realized. She also realized that she had no idea where to find Gwen’s home within it.

Of course, since Gwen was supposedly Marissa’s servant, she was allowed access to the werewolf caves through the servant’s corridor, but her dog was never allowed to come along. This suited everyone fine, since they didn’t want to risk the Agents scanning the puppy and figuring out it wasn’t what it seemed.

“Gwen’s gem is this way,” said Darius as he followed the blip of light in a crystal he held out to find her. Everyone followed him as he led them to a cabin exactly like the one Gwen had left behind.

“Wow, nothing has changed,” said Marissa as she looked around.

“Well, now that we’ve got you here, Darius and I have other business to attend to,” Eric told her as he bent to pet his sister on the head. “Keep this crystal. It glows green to get here, or red when you’re aimed at mine. It’s been placed in your bedchamber. You may visit here for a time, but you must return in a few hours.”

“I promise, I won’t be too long,” Marissa said as she hugged each uncle in turn.

“Do you want to be made invisible?” Gwen asked them.

“No, we should not be noticed from here,” Darius decided. “You may sneak Raife in to visit Marissa sometime tomorrow, but mind you do not remain there long, either. You do not want to risk discovery.”

When her uncles had left her, Gwen cast her an assessing eye. “You’ve seen your shifter again,” she decided after a few moments.

Marissa blushed. “How do you know that?”

“It is plain on your face that you want to tell me so,” she teased. “Tell me.”

“We met in the mess hall, that’s all,” she hedged.

“Eric told me you were not in the mess hall when he and Darius returned.”

“We—um, he just showed me where the social caves are located,” she explained. “They have computers and televisions in them.”

“I doubt you were paying much attention to either,” Gwen snickered. “So, how does he taste?”

Marissa snorted. “I didn’t—well, I don’t know. I didn’t taste him.”

Gwen scoffed. “You’re remembering the taste of him right now.”

Raife, now in her own form for the moment, cooed and scooted over to touch her niece’s foot.

I get the feeling he tasted divine, Raife teased through their mental link. What’s it like to taste a man?

You don’t need to know that for quite some time,” Marissa answered. Besides, it was just a kiss.

Just a kiss? From a man like him? Impossible.

Never mind. I’ll tell you nothing more about it.