I stand in the upper viewing sky box as the concert rolls on below. Starting out with a solo from Verando, a casual number on the piano before rolling into the more holiday themed Christmas music. Looking at the itinerary for the evening, I knew it would transition into their more seductive, pop and rock style music that the younger crowd would stay for as the older patrons departed.
We'd been lucky with the venues, catering towards the upper class much as it made Verando's stomach churn. It kept us out of the elements and into a more civilized viewing atmosphere where I could put my mind on auto pilot and be the social butterfly I'd been bred to be. Mostly, I was interested in seeing who I could recognize in the upper ranks of the sky boxes.
Music was still a commodity in this world, recovering from the destruction of a near demise, there were few bands that managed to rival the Siren and a lycan. While many had tried, the diversity that the band offered was hard to compete against. Coupled with the occasional solo pieces that both sides performed, the well rounded arch of their spectrum and the full service nature of their shows provided an experience that lasted hours and catered to many.
The place was packed, and sold out, due to the publicity of my husband, now pegged as a murderous hitman. While I'd like to think it was majority a popularity show out, it would seem there were many signs and t-shirts that spoke to the contrary. Supporters and questioners alike.
Unfortunately, his interviews hadn't done much for his public persona as he was as coarse in television as he was by any personal accounts. The only ones who managed to get a decent interview from him were the children of his friends, the media was not interested much in the charismatic side of him and the charity work he continued to do. Of course, they attempted to contact me but that was met with retaliation and threats of violence that didn't soothe the concern.
Reguardless, Tyler's nieces had taken it upon themselves to jump to social media and turn my husband into a more 'likeable' person. While many preferred him over me when it came to the average man, the elites of our world questioned the ability to work with such a person. We had to keep public opinion strong, it was the only thing keeping the US from turning him back over to Europe.
England was still in full pursuit of his arrest, leading many of our fans to flock to the concerts to show their support. The number of magical users flooding the area made my nose twitch, flooding my senses in an uncomfortable overhaul that made my head spin. I flinch as I feel the vibration in my core, he must be fiddling with the remote.
To distract myself, I flip through my phone from a prompted text by one of the girls. A short video of the band getting ready and signing autographs from before the concert had started. I smirk at my warlord, uncomfortable but charming none the less. Surely Tiberius had reminded him that he needed to be accommodating to those who wanted fan service.
While I hadn't planned on sharing the sky box, we were overwhelmed with those wanting to watch the concert and it felt selfish to demand the space for myself. I clench my stomach as casually as I can, gripping the edge of the table as I attempt to make it look as though I were getting a drink. Earning a couple of concerned glances, I force a smile and sigh heavily as the feeling ebs and I get some relief.
Why had I made this decision? Giving him the remote had been from desperation to not lose ground on my nearing orgasm. My body was desperate for relief, an internal struggle to reproduce, and anything that brought me closer to that goal was the direction I'd take if I thought it through or not.
I hadn't planned on how difficult this would be for me. It only brought back the memory that I'd fornicated with the younger version of my husband in a venue just like this. That Tiberius was attempting to train Helen while I received oral satisfaction from a broken youth.
"Your Majesty." A woman makes an attempt at a curtsy and I lift my hand to dissuade her. I'd sensed her coming, I was just hoping the discomfort on my face would dissuade her. Perhaps I wasn't as good at socializing anymore as I'd thought.
"Please, I haven't gone by that in quite some time." I suppose I was a king to this people in some regards, much as it was recorded in history, I struggled to keep up such appearances given that my life here was very different than my past one.
She smiles, keeping a respectful distance, "It's not often one gets to speak with royalty, it's as much for us as it is for you I'd imagine. I'd encourage you to hold onto your title, in such a world, there is very few of any sort of breeding left. You also did travel through time... quite exceptional if you ask me."
I hadn't asked but I offer a polite smile all the same. I'd be feeling more social if Verando wasn't playing a cruel game with my insides. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" I manage, straightening as I gather a glass of wine. Taking a small sniff, it doesn't appear to have been drugged. Reguardless, I'd go slow. I hadn't gotten the chance to explore much, I make the mental note to keep an eye out for enhancers.
"B." She addresses, making me raise an eyebrow, pulling me out of my musings.
"A slayer then?" I ask, curious. While putting her immediately might not have been the best decision, if she was here to cause trouble it might spook her off to know I was unafraid.
With a small shrug, she smiles once more. "In a past life." She was vuloptious, well rounded hips and a split dress that fell between her thighs in pooling layers of silken red fabric. A simple, fluffy, fur coat over her shoulders. I flinch when I recognize the coloring as something feral, something belonging to the woods.
"Real fur? To a function like this? Bit disrespectful, don't you think?"
B frowns just slightly, carressing the oversized folds of the shoulder scruff on her coat. "It was my first kill, it's an honor to the man who it belonged to. I think of it more as insurance." She muses with a soft exhale, it didn't seem to be a boasting conversation. She hadn't brought it up, she hadn't obviously flaunted the material and if I weren't married to one, I would recognize the coat as a Lycan fur.
My wolf stands on edge, I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Much as she was maintaining a casual persona, she'd made the decision to come up to me. It was not common knowledge that I was Lycan, but it was clear my husband was. "What's a slayer doing in a place like this? You'll not be the most welcomed with that pelt. I suggest not letting Verando see you."
Losing my cool would not bode well for any of us. I flinch at the buzzing of the toy, struggling to focus on the conversation with such an intensity building in my core.
"Keeping the peace, a professional courtesy. A great deal of us followed your group here from Europe, if nothing else, we are trying to be loyal. You have one of our underlings in your midst, though she's gone back to her tech roots. K... remember that Verando also aided us in starting this little operation. I'm just paying my respects, but I hadn't met you in person so I figured I'd say Hello. If I'm not wanted-"
Hesitating as my body ignites from the sensation of the toy, I hold back a moan, swallowing my wine and clearing my throat. "I often forget K came from your group. Did you receive the remains of X?"
With a small smirk, she nods once, moving to angle her body towards the stage through the massive windows as she takes a half step closer to me. I grab a glass of wine, handing it to her which she graciously accepts. The heavy tresses of blond hair fall around her shoulders in thick, bouncy curls that were not natural. The hazel eyes and full lips, she set my senses on fire, something about her made me suspicious beyond her obvious red flags.
"It was a shame that X acted against the Alpha."
"Does he still go by that?" I scoff as the sensation ebbs, I want to get away, take care of this and remove the toy.
"Of course. The transition to the female has not been an easy one, she's a Queen but not in the same way that the Alpha acted. She has her own set of followers, a softer clan, but those who hold to the philosophies that he instilled are loyal. Obviously or I wouldn't be here." She runs her tongue over her upper lip, before taking a sip of her wine. "These memories are quite interesting, it's like living with two different people in my head..."
Hesitating, I watch her out of the corner of my eye to see that she's watching me as well. "Oh?"
"There's a healthy respect for man who rose the way he did. Both of you, tangling with gods and continuing to come out alive. Now hosting one... it's been fascinating to watch." Tapping her glass with her lengthy nails, I come to realize the person I'm talking to is not the original owner of this body. I recognize the tone, almost wrong for the body it was placed in.
I was talking to a vessel, a curious deity perhaps? "Verando often says that living with Alpha is exhausting, a constant inner dialogue. I imagine Fenrir is no different." I challenge, curious if that would draw the entity out. "Did you pick a slayer to see how capable we are at casting you out?"
"No. I thought she was beautiful so I started there. She accepted my ideals, so here I am. Living with a human in the back of my mind has been refreshing in some instances, as a god, you begin to forget what it would be like to be a mortal. To sleep and dream... hmm." She takes another sip of the wine with an appreciative sigh. "I'm just enjoying my time back on mortal ground. Did you know gods walked among human's for quite some time before we were all cast out by the unicorn?"
Frowning, I run a hand through my hair, attempting not to set off any alarm bells. "To protect mortals."
"Yes." She agrees. "Not all Gods have righteous intentions. Much like Fenrir."
"Did you come to warn me, too? I've heard a lot of it, I'm sure there's not much else you can tell me." Should I really be so dismissive of a person I didn't know? What if this was some upper wordly form that could smite me where I stood? It was uncharted territory. Yet, she did not feel dangerous, she was merely curious. Her eyes were large and round, her energy relaxed and peaceful.
While I was entirely certain 'B' had killed a lycan and wore it's coat, it did not seem like it was something for this being beyond a parroted story to keep suspicions down. How much was truth and how much was fabricated? "Everything you're telling me comes from the memory of B?"
She nods again, striding closer to the window as I follow her. "Yes. God's like me aren't necessarily involved with the lives of mortals. Relating to you is difficult, I need her memories if we're going to find common ground." Following her, I stand at her side, the light trickle of sand her fingertips leave on the railing make me suspicious. A gold bracelet around her wrist, clinking lightly against the metal.
"I'm Bastet, the goddess of women's secrets, childbearing, fertility, and protector of household's against evil or misfortune. Does it make sense now why I have come to you?" Flicking the hazel eyes up at me, I can see glimpses of the cat like features if I truly look beyond. My wolf picks up on it better than I do, her aura was different, her scent almost that of a corpse and yet the sweetest flowers and deepest, purest oils.
"Fenrir, I'd assume?" I suggest, flinching at the vibrations once more. I can't shrug out in front of a goddess, I must ignore it.
Bastet chuckles lightly, "Well. I have no business with the dog, he'd kill me if he saw me... though it appears you have him quite contained. Your guardian, Tyr, is no more. For that I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you myself. This line you've married into is a strong one, a fertile one." Tapping the long nails lightly on the rail, she purses the full lips. "Others are going to come for you, not only for the chance to strip Fenrir's vessel of his bindings, but to challenge the gift you're carrying with you. You've been touched by the unicorn."
Her eyes tread down to my stomach and I shy away from her, protectively wrapping my arm around myself with a low growl. "No such thing has happened."
"So the unicorn isn't dead. If he was, you'd not have acted so defensively. Mmm.. I'll enjoy my time on the plain while I can." Meeting my eyes once more, her expression softens. "You are going to be in a great deal of danger, I can't say that the path you are on will ever get easier. There are some who are... cursed... in a way. This line, this breeding, it's bathed in blood. It has been since the dawn of time."
Her eyes look distant, far off as if she truly felt pity for me. Her voice soft, silken, yet echoed a hollow sound of being to large for the space that held it. "If you'd like to me to take the gift back. I can. I'm the goddess of fertility and you are a man, this is not a natural desire or occurrence, but you've cherished it like a mother and for that I weep. Human's are strange and complex, more so than in my days of walking the earth.
My duty is to women, but your heart is as strong as any mother. You feel the pain a mother would feel, the loss of her child in her womb. It's confusing to me. But the unicorn must have given it to you for a reason."
I could not tell her that the reason was he was hardly even four and heard me talking about it. He was a child and my 'gift' was incomplete. If I wasn't immortal, it'd probably kill me.
We share locked gazes, she searches my eyes as if looking for begging, pleading, anything other than silent acceptance of her words. I knew I was weird, strange, wanting children in a way that was not natural for a man. Something that people laughed off awkwardly, something that made little sense to anyone yet broke me from my core with how badly I wanted it.
"I don't know what to do." I tell her honestly.
She places her hand over mine with a small gasp, I flinch and she smiles apologetically. "Sorry. You're so warm. So soft." She marvels at my skin for only a moment, before clearing her throat. "You will make a wonderful mother. I see in you two boys that you already love so dearly." Moving from my hand, she places her palm over my stomach with a look of patience. "You're going to be fine."
I blink rapidly at her. "Did.. did you take it away?"
Shaking her head, Bastet glances back out at the crowd. "This world could use more miracles, more life. If it's the burden you choose to bear, then I can't take that from you. It will not be easy, but birth and child bearing never is. I will facilitate this. I will give you my blessing." Taking off her bracelet, she slides it over my wrist and the gold band broadens, bonding over my wrist like a cuff. "To protect this household from evil, for there is a great deal of evil under those seals and chains."
"Will it hurt Verando?" I grip the cuff, I didn't want to do anything else to send him away from me. I wouldn't take it, I'd give it all back if it meant hurting him any worse than our situation already had.
With a smile, she touches my cheek. "You're going to make a great mother. No. It will not. But it will keep Fenrir from hurting you."
My face falls, it's as if nobody else exists, time moves around us and yet we stand still. "You say that like Fenrir is going to get out again."
"It is his destiny." She frowns.
"I'll change it." I retort firmly.
With no response, she takes a step back, "Good luck." She's gone as quickly as she was there, vanished as if I'd blinked and she'd never existed. Conversations swirl around me, the sound was overwhelming, my body was on fire all over again. The band moves out on stage, I see that Verando is gone and imagine it's a costume change. Pulling out my phone, I text him to meet me in his dressing room before making a beeline for back stage.