Recovering the Siren Read online

  I glanced over and saw the president talking with Apollo at another booth, Haton nodding at whatever was being said. Laila muttered under her breath that the best way to break down walls was to break bread with people.

  Yeah, it was.

  “I was quite impressed that your president didn’t even flinch or seem to make note that we drank blood at lunch,” Bijan said as we moved on. “That is rare in a human.”

  “I think it’s new for a lot of people, but honestly, once they see it and it’s not as big of a thing as some make it seem, it really doesn’t matter,” I replied after a moment. “And I didn’t try for this because he’s my president. It’s because he’s the president.” I waited until understanding filled his eyes that he heard the difference. “He’s truly a caring and good man. Everyone says it from the people on his details to those who meet him.”

  “And that is rare as too many find fault with much,” he agreed.

  “I didn’t realize you were such a fan, Thomas,” Galvin said from behind me.

  I nodded, looking over my shoulder. “I worked on one of his campaigns in college. I met his wife, worked with her for a week when she visited that office, and everything I got off of her was about helping people and doing better than the last generation. Nothing once was about power or people chanting their names. She is truly one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, and no one like that could be married to a man who wasn’t the same.”

  “I’ll have to tell my wife you said that,” the president said, smiling when I looked at him. “I didn’t know you were one of the coordinators.”

  “I wasn’t. I was just a kid at college earlier than everyone and with no friends.”

  “I think your wife was her first crush, Mr. President,” Jason chuckled. “She was totally all hyped and said she wanted to be like her when she grew up.”

  “Jackass,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes when he smiled brightly. “She was the first female role model I ever had. That’s not a crush.” I caught something over his shoulder and smiled, bringing Bijan with me. “I love tofu. Well, I love good tofu. I worked an undercover case in Japan with that field office, and there was such good tofu anytime I turned around. I was going to gain so much weight from all the noodles and rice, but the tofu helped.”

  “It is very good,” Bijan praised the beaver shifter working the booth. “My compliments to your Alpha.”

  “Thank you, Mr. President,” he accepted. “And thank you for the invitation, Alpha. I apologize that my Alpha was unable to attend.”

  “I think it’s terrific you guys made it. The booth is great,” I replied, sharing a look with Haton. Yeah, we weren’t getting as many Alphas as we’d thought, but it was progress. She nodded she’d heard it too and still it was a good first step. I noted Councilman Martin seemed to catch on as well.

  No matter if all or none of the Alphas came, we had enough booths to fill the west building exhibit halls of McCormick Place, and that was a fan-fucking-tastic first step. Especially with the late notice and limited time for most.

  I made sure to be extra nice and full of smiles when we stopped at vampire booths as they were informed of the change in leadership in Chicago after they arrived. Some were not happy Vlad was gone, but most were curiously optimistic, and they’d come because he’d used my name anyways.

  Moaning as I tried what was at the next booth, I turned and held an amazing meringue cookie up to Brian’s lips. His eyes danced with amusement as he took a bite. “Crap, those are good.”

  “Right?” I groaned, going back for another sample. The lemon swirl ones were even better, and I totally fell in love with the raspberry one. “These are so good.”

  “Thank you, Mistress Sera,” the vampire said, dipping his head to me. “Our master just stepped out to take a call, but he will be thrilled to hear you like our cookies. He was hoping for a chance to speak with you.”

  I bobbed my head as I tried a chocolate dipped mint one. “I love meringue bites.”

  “More than chocolate? Are you cheating on my chocolate?” Virgil asked from my right, amusement in his tone. “Let me try it.” He slid his arm around me and kissed me in a way that was not appropriate given my party.

  I ducked him when he tried again. “Really, Virg?”

  “Yes, Sera, I’m male, and this is the first chance I’ve gotten to see you.” He cupped my face and didn’t let me go when I went to move away. “You scared the shit out of me. Don’t do it again. We were all panicked.”

  “Thanks for helping so much,” I muttered, reaching up and getting the crumb from his lip he’d gotten from kissing me. “Everyone told me how much you did. Thanks for protecting the boys and my pack.”

  “Always, but no more almost dying, okay?”

  “I don’t try to get hurt,” I grumbled, pinching him when he didn’t let me go.

  He kissed me again and then let me go, doing a double take when he saw who I was with. “Oh, you’re so going to spank me later.”

  “Yes.” No reason to deny it. “You weren’t warned of the guests today?”

  “No, there was a huge friggin’ accident with a semi taking out both lanes on I-57 on the south end of Illinois, and we were ridiculously late instead of very early or first here like we planned,” he admitted, looking a bit tired. “I knew Queen Laila was here, but that was it.” He turned to her and bowed. “Your Majesty, you are a true friend to the wolves and shifters to immediately show your support of Sera’s idea.”

  “Virgil, lovely to see you again,” she greeted, letting him kiss her hand. “Mr. President, if you wish to bring your wife home something lovely, you should stop by Virgil’s booth. We switched all of our chocolates at my hotels to the confectioner his pack has, and we get more compliments than ever before.”

  “That’s wonderful to hear,” Virgil said with a bright smile. He cleared his throat, looking nervous as he was introduced to our president and Bijan before acknowledging the shifter council and then turning to Apollo. “Councilman, it’s nice to meet you in person.”

  “Yes, though I thank you for the Skype chat before,” he replied.

  I flushed so hot I was seconds from fanning my face. I gave Laila a pleading look to leave it alone when she gave me a curious glance.

  “I will be your proxy anytime, Councilman,” Virg promised.

  “Seriously?” I hissed at him.

  “What am I missing here?” Jason asked Brian quietly.

  “Lots, and we’re not friends, asshole,” Brian answered under his breath. “You only got a pass for me not to shoot you because of whose party you’re in. You come back to Chicago alone, and I will absolutely shoot you before I let the twins claw your ass up.”

  They both winced when they caught me watching, gesturing around that all the paranormals heard them. Carter offered to officiate the fight, and I gave him a warning look.

  “Emilio, go get the taser,” I said under my breath.

  Carter held up his hands in surrender. “I apologize. I thought a fair fight was better than someone getting seriously hurt.”

  “Right, because you wouldn’t be sitting there eating popcorn while…” I cleared my throat and looked at the next booth.

  “Wait, who do you think would win that fight?” Jason asked me, blocking my path.

  “Are you all children?” I snapped. “You want to talk about this now?”

  “Wait, now I want to know too,” Brian muttered, giving me a curious look.

  “Thank you, Laila,” I said at a level the humans wouldn’t hear. She looked way too amused. “I’ve not seen either of you spar recently. I don’t know. Jason would absolutely fight dirty because it’s the only way he knows how to fight, and Brian’s a boy scout except when it comes to me, and let’s not forget you’re a big reason I was on the CIA’s radar even before I was a wolf, Jas.”

  “Come on, that’s because you’re a language master,” he defended. “There was no way for me to know that the one day director would go so far off the rails even I
was puking when I heard what he tried to do to you.”

  “Actions have consequences, and you of all people know that,” I told him in German. “No, I don’t blame you for his crazy, but you dangled knowing someone adept at languages in front of your CIA contacts to boost your own career. It was just one of a series of you using me, Jas. You will always put yourself first over me, and Brian never will, so if you hit him, know the return punch will come from me.”

  His eyes darkened, and gone was the light and easy Jason most only saw. “I thought they could offer you a better life. Translator was better than being at the front of everyone or always in the middle of sexist shit as you aced it all faster than the men around you. You could have been translating intercepted communications or whatever else that would have been a much safer path.”

  “That wasn’t for you to decide, Jas. Even if you had the purest intentions, you move people around the chessboard like you have that right. You don’t. I had every right and ability to go into undercover work. Your penis doesn’t make you better than me or more able to handle the dangerous stuff. So you could be at the front of the shit but not me?”

  “It’s his love for you that drove his decision, not his doubt in your ability, as he believes you are much more talented and better than he could ever be,” Laila interjected gently.

  I bobbed my head, hearing her. “The difference was Brian did everything to protect me while supporting me, working with me. Jason pushed for me to get out of the Navy and sit at a desk gathering the intel or whatever. There is a huge difference there and one he will never understand.”

  “I didn’t at twenty-four, but I figured it out later,” Jason said quietly. “I never wanted you hurt. If that meant you had to be away from me, I was willing to make that tradeoff because no matter what you’d been through, you were still such a baby, and I couldn’t bear to watch you ever lose that if I could stop it.”

  “Idiot. You’re an absolute idiot,” I grumbled. “And I’m done with the personal damn floor shows.” I brushed past him and moved on to the next booth, telling Ashley what I wanted for the others we’d been to. Everyone was too agitated around me, the upset spreading when they sensed it in the group of such big wigs.

  “Enough,” Dain whispered as he slid my ring on my finger and held something cold to my forehead. “You are recovering, and the doctor was very clear you should not be in situations where you’re chewing migraine meds like candy. Please, there are enough of us here to sense everything and keep the president safe. We won’t let anyone be harmed when they came to your wonderful idea to bring people together.”

  I knew he said that last part for everyone else as to why I was so stressed. I nodded, leaning against him. It didn’t normally happen so fast, but I was so much weaker than normal that it didn’t take much to knock me down now if I wasn’t careful.

  “I’m sorry,” Brian murmured as he moved so the two of them were blocking me from all the eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t let him push my buttons like that. I don’t know why he can push my buttons like that.”

  “It’s his greatest super power,” I forgave. “Mostly because he’ll push the buttons no one else will, but yeah, he knows exactly which ones to push. He always has.” I looked up at Dain. “Thank you. It’s not normally this bad.”

  “I know, but you are not your normal self, so it makes sense.”

  “Where did you get the ring?” Brian asked.

  “Her pocket. She always carries it with her so she never shorts out,” Dain answered. “I felt her distress and picked up the ice pack on the way.” He turned us as he moved the ice pack to the back of my neck like he was just touching me in a friendly way. “Come, they had some ginger shots over here that I thought you would find interesting.”

  “Thank you,” I breathed, relieved when the tension around us dissipated.

  “Not to add to your issues, but the other team leader you met tried to get on this trip to see you,” Haton told me quietly at the next booth. “He’s made it clear he wants to take any chance he can get and his vacation here.”

  I couldn’t even hide my shock. “Do people seriously think my vagina is Grand Central Station?”

  “No, but I know many people who would buy tickets if that was an option,” one of the council guards said.

  I wasn’t the only one who burst out laughing. “That was good. I can’t even get mad that was so good.”

  “I will be here all week, Mistress,” he replied, giving a bright smile at his joke.

  The ginger shots were okay, but way too expensive when you could just add ginger to protein shakes… And we did all the time. I went over to Bijan when he was speaking with a pack that sold smoked salmon of the highest quality that had the price tag for it too.

  I switched to Farsi as I tried a sample. “It’s excellent, but I don’t know the trade everything you have with the US. It honestly might be smarter to speak with Queen Laila about seeing if there are any elves in Iran or the area who would like to start a fish farm like here and have this pack maybe teach them how to smoke the fish. I know you’re careful of outside blood, but I would think other wares could be dangerous too.”

  “You are such a treasure,” he praised, giving me an assessing look. “Truly, you are. You could never stand here and let anyone look into a path if you knew a better way.”

  “Only if they were willing to listen and it wasn’t rude to suggest,” I admitted after a minute. “I know you guys have the oil, but speaking as someone who wants to be able to breathe with this immortal life I now have, I would prefer we focus more on electric cars and cleaner energy.”

  “You are not the only one, as I remember well what the air used to be like. There is a push among those of us who took over as well, but keeping order has to always be first and foremost.” He reached over and cupped my cheek. “And this has been an amazing step to securing peace with the US, and I thank you for that. I think this whole idea a wonderous blueprint for other nations’ paranormals to follow your wise example.”

  “Honestly, it was Queen Laila’s convention coordinators that saved the day. I know none of this, and it was so last minute after I got back and then Vlad was gone that they put it all together. No one knows flair like fairies, and when you do have your first state dinner or whatever event, it will need to be one to remember.”

  “Wise, absolutely wise, and I thank you for the advice.” He smiled and let me go, trying another sample.

  I told Ashley what to add to the list, as we had fish but that was a good option if we wanted to send gifts. I made my way over to the booth across the aisle that had pizza samples, as they did frozen doughs for restaurants, which might not be a bad thing to know a place to get them. I said as much to Ashley after I tried it.

  “What are you up to, Thomas?” the president breathed as he leaned over for another sample.

  “Lots, sir, I’m always up to lots,” I promised, thinking about the afternoon and how things were playing out. There was a lot to think about all around, and that distracted me a bit from the party that night. We were starting the event off with a bang, and well, it seemed the only way paranormals knew how to party after all.

  “So how come Havers told me he’s taking me out tonight but you won’t be coming?” Galvin asked, joining us.

  “Because you have to have the paranormal club ID to get into certain parties,” I muttered, nervous enough about tonight without the idea of the humans there. I shook my head when he opened his mouth to argue. “Sir, there is a lot you want to make sure to be protected from and be able to deny. Remember, I could survive an actual pound of flesh being taken from me if I insult someone, you can’t.”

  “I want to ask if you’re joking, but I know you don’t about that sort of thing,” he replied, noting the president’s shock. “Welcome to the dark side, Mr. President.”

  “I know Monroe has said that too, but it’s not very flattering,” I grumbled, not able to disagree that it was the dark side after all.


  Maybe just the naughty side? Fuck a duck.

  15

  That night after the convention ended for the day and everyone had a chance to freshen up, the real event for the vampires began. It was all Noah’s now, and the coven had made sure to redecorate and move everything around, but I still saw Vlad’s place where both parties I’d attended had gone wrong.

  “Hey, you met me that night,” Noah reminded me gently as if knowing where my mind went. “Not all of it was bad.”

  “You’re right, thanks,” I whispered, angling my neck and accepting a kiss. We were host and hostess of this after all, and we were playing the part, along with any who were mine. Goran was standing with us, and so was Dain. Any of the vamps and fairies were invited, as Laila’s court could get as dark as the vampires, but most of the shifters were left off the invite, though we were having another party just for shifters too.

  Which was why I was shocked when Apollo invited Virgil. He said it was his thanks for the Skype fun and hopefully led to more of that type of fun.

  The shifter council members were invited as Haton had made it clear since I was still a wolf that it was appropriate they make sure something fishy didn’t go on. Really they didn’t want me to become closer with the vampires than them. I swear most days I felt like the rope toy dogs tugged on.

  “You look amazing, and we will keep you safe,” Carter promised as he made a loop as security.

  I nodded I heard him and let out a slow breath. I was almost back to my normal size, still a bit light on muscle but not glaringly so anymore after the weeks of doing what I should, especially after I’d shifted at the full moon. My wolf getting stronger pushed me, and honestly I was eating a ton like after I was hurt but all the time, which the doc said was normal.

  Gayle and Beth had helped me get ready, and my makeup was flawless, dramatic with the deep red glitter eye shadow and lipstick along with the thick but very flattering eye liner to compliment the fake lashes. It went with the blood red dress I was wearing. It was sleeveless and incredibly low cut. The train was gorgeous, and I had to be careful of it, but the slit on the right went all the way up to my hip so it showed a lot.