Ferran Calderon as Beta Cole Smith
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Esme's POV
I insisted on this visit. Now I wish I had listened to Blaze. I am upright in my chair across from Blaze's dad in his home. It's not normal for a parent to lose a child. What do I say to him? I'm sorry my root killed your wife and child?
"Mr. Crane, I'm so sorry for your loss," I trail off, not sure what else to say.
"Would you like something to drink?"
"No, I'm fine," I reply.
"We're fine, Dad," Blaze replies.
Blaze and Cole insisted on coming with me. Blaze came because he's not sure what his dad will say to me. According to him, his dad is going through so many emotions that no one knows what he's liable to say or do. Cole says he will not let me go to Aurora without him until he feels I can be safe going in and out of the coven. Adorable mates!
"Hmm. Izzy told me what she knew, so did Blaze. Now why don't you tell me what you know," he looks me straight in the eye.
"Dad---" I place my hand on Blaze's lap and squeeze, silencing him.
I return Mr. Crane's stare and told him what happened from when Lars invited me to their house until I found myself tied to the stake to be burned alive.
"I thought you and Lars were at the very least good friends. Why would he do such a thing and convince his mother to go along?"
"He believed I killed his root-"
"Did you?"
"No. For the sake of transparency, I was there when she died. She kidnapped and tortured MY root. She planned to kill his mates and another High lord with the help of a vampire and a werewolf. I took away her powers and honestly, I didn't lose any sleep when she was killed," I conclude.
"Esme, I've seen you grow up. You are a good friend to my daughter, the ex-girlfriend of my dead son, and now the mate of my older son. No matter how I look at it, they entwine you and me. My impression is that you are a kind and good witch. Nevertheless, I loved my son and cared about my wife. I'll give anything to go back to that day and change the way they acted and what happened, but I cannot. I am not blaming you for anything, but I need you to understand one thing. It will take me a while to reconcile all that happened that night, making any attempt at being close right now, hard."
"I understand, Mr. Crane."
I got up, wished him well, and left. It's too soon to expect anything from the man.
I take a huge breath when we got back to our home.
"I'm off to the pack," Cole says.
"Will you be back?" I ask him.
"Tonight."
I nod.
"I'll be in my office," Blaze leaves.
"I'll make dinner-"
"NOOOO!" They scream.
"I'll take care of it," Blaze replies.
Silly mates, as if I'll go anywhere near that oven.
― ☾ ―
I am addicted to Rafe's plane, and I moan in pleasure. Next to sex, this has to be the other thing that can make me orgasm. I roam my hand over the soft leather seats, sinking my butt into the curvy butt warmer. A few minutes later, I walk through the plane. I admire the gym - not my thing. I continue to the rooms and I can picture my mates and I doing the freaky dicky in them. Not to leave out the bathroom. Now I would love to try the mile-high club in all three bathrooms. The kitchen is state-of-the-art, helpful for the hosts and hostesses. I make my way back to where Raven, Ed Johnson, and my mates are. I sit between my mates, and we turn our chairs around to face Ed and Raven. Dang! I love this plane.
The same hostess on our trip a week ago makes another round passing out snacks, drink, and whatnots. She reminds us we land in Philadelphia in about an hour.
"Now Raven, down to business. What's your take on MC Accounting handling our accounts?"
"Hmm, well," she scoots a few inches away from me.
"Relax, mutt, I will not bite. You've known me for over eight years, time to relax. I won't bite you... at least not today. Just joking, relax."
"Yeah, okay. Fine. Well, based on the information you sent me and my full background check on Mira Cooper and the company itself, they sound promising. I'm particularly impressed with her ideas on how to diversify our portfolio."
"I looked through the information we got on the background of the company and they do excellent work. She sounded impressive when I spoke to her. I look forward to our meeting," Ed jumps in.
"Cal and I talked, and we want to see what her charges are and how much she bills as a retainer. We plan to go with ten percent above industry-standard payment."
"That sounds reasonable to me if she's worth it," Raven says.
"Raven, once you decide to hire her, we can sign with her immediately and get her going on our account. We will pay her just her retainer for the next six months today besides taking her on."
"Why?" Raven asks.
"The company needs an influx of funds for Mira to employ staff to help her with our account. This way, we can help without making it obvious."
"Again, why her?" Raven persists.
"She's my sister."
"I'm sorry, she's your what?" Raven screams.
"You heard me, mutt."
"She's a witch?"
"No, she's human. Listen, explaining our relationship will blow your mind and I'm not in the mood to go into it. Let Cal fill you in. A word of caution, she may be as stubborn as me, so be prepared to counter any argument she'll have against handling a big account like ours. Do everything except tell her Cal and I are also owners, okay? We want to keep that under wraps, for now."
"Got it," Ed nods.
"Next business. Raven, did you see Ed's monthly report? What do you think?"
"I think he's right. We need more employees and that means a bigger space."
"That's what I think too. Besides, my mates and I want a separation of my workplace and our home, right guys."
"Ahh, sure," Cole replies.
"I'll meet with Salim to expand my house. At the same time, build another structure for the company that'll still be close to the house. There will be a separation between production and sales. The store will be about a block or two from my house. Far and still close enough."
"How soon will the new building be up?" Ed asks.
"Well, with Salim, usually not longer than three months, all things considered-"
"-Might take him longer. He's not-- you know what? Never mind." Raven stops herself.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Nothing. As a psychiatry intern, I'm not allowed to discuss any client's visit-"
"-Salim visits you?"
"Forget it. Anything else we need to discuss before we meet Ms. Mira Cooper, your sister?" she scoffs.
"Nothing."
I respect Raven's professionalism and decide not to peek. I'll just grill Salim when I see him. I like that werecat; I hope he's okay.
Meeting over, and the hostess walks everyone over to the dining area. We enjoy a four-course meal. I love Rafe's plane!
― ☾ ―
"Mira, hello, it's good to see you again." I offer my hand for a handshake, but she pulls me close for a hug.
"Esme, nice to see you again. Hello Cole, Blaze." She waves at them.
"Jaime, come on out, Esme's here. It surprised me when you called that you'll be in Bala Cynwyd today. Is everything okay?"
Jaime walks out of their side room to Mira and side hugs her.
"Everything's fine," I reply as Jaime walks up to us.
"Hello Esme, Blaze, Cole. How are you guys?" Jaime greets and shakes hands with them.
"Hi, Jaime. Good to see you, again."
"Come in everyone, please sit down," Mira tells us.
"Mira, as I told you on our call, I recommended your company to a couple of friends of mine who own a company in dire need of accounting services. Let me introduce you to Raven Hayes and Ed Johnson. They manage a company called Wood Inc. Did you research the company as I suggested?"
"Wood Inc? I did. Their main office is in Bendor, South Dakota, but it is a national company that is slowly going global from what I gleaned. It has excellent customer and Better Business Bureau rating. I couldn't find anything about the owners. Are you two the owners?" She asks Raven and Ed.
"I'm a part-owner and Ed's the company director," Raven tells her. "And it's nice to meet you, Ms. Cooper."
"Please call me Mira. Why would a big firm like yours want a small accounting company like mine to handle your finances?"
"Please call me Raven too. Wood Inc started small too. Between the ingenuity of our two founders and the excellent products we sell, it has become a multimillion-dollar company. The founders believe in giving small companies opportunities to grow. When I got your information, I did a background check on your company myself-"
"-Quite reasonable," Mira acknowledges.
"Thank you. Now my only concern is that you will need at least four more full-time employees to manage our account, keep us on a retainer, and work with us in diversifying our portfolio. I believe you're the lone employee. How do you plan to handle this huge account by yourself?"
"Good question. If you go with my company, all I can justifiably offer right now is managing your accounts. In about three months, I might hire two full-time employees to retain your accounts and another two further down the line to diversify your portfolio."
"You're right, she is honest," Raven turns to me.
"Excuse me?" Mira asks.
"Esme told me you are an honest person and your answer just verified it. Out of our five owners, I was the only one against giving you our account. Please, believe me, it has nothing to do with you, I would challenge the Moon goddess herself-"
"-Em, Em, Em," I cough.
"Excuse me. The thing is that I handled our finances, and it's become too much for me. I want to be sure that whoever takes over does an excellent job. Mira, we'll like to hire you to handle Wood Inc's accounts, put you on retainer and work with you to diversify our portfolio. Here's the contract. Please have your lawyers review it and let us know of any changes you want to make, and we'll go over it together. Attached to the contract is our initial payment for your services for the next three months should you agree to take us on as a client."
Raven hands Mira the contract and check we brought with us.
"This is, whoa! Jaime, look at this," she hands the packet to Jaime.
"Shit! You'll be able to hire all your staff back, sweetheart," he says and hugs her.
"True, but first my lawyer needs to review the contract," she cautions him.
"You continue to impress me," Raven whispers.
"Mira, we don't want to impose any unnecessary burdens on you, but we'll like to hopefully sign a contract with you and employ your services within a month. Then Raven and I will visit you again to hand over our account and meet your new employees," Ed jumps in.
"Of course. I'll meet with my lawyer ASAP and get back to you. If no issues arise, we can start on your account in a month. I am honored by this opportunity. Will you guys like to stay for lunch?" she asks.
"Thanks, but not this visit. Maybe next time," I jump in. "We need to return home as soon as possible. Congratulations, Mira. I'm sure you'll do a good job."
"Thank you so much Esme for recommending my company. I won't let you down." She hugs me.
"I know you won't. Well, take care and we'll talk soon. Jaime, good to see you again."
We all got hugs from the jubilant couple and make our way back to the airport.
"Esme, you know when she goes over our account, she'll know that you and Cal are majority stockholders and owners of the business," Raven tells me.
"True. I'll handle that when the time comes. Now let's go home."
"Now she, I like," Raven whispers.
"I heard that mutt," I reply.
"I have a meeting with Alpha Darric when we land, so I'll take a detour." Cole says.
"Will you be back?" I ask him.
"Of course, I'll see you two later," Cole tells Blaze and me.
Cole POV
"Blaze, can we talk?" I ask him. I pull him into one bedroom, drag him to the bed, and we sit facing each other.
"Sure. Is everything okay?"
"Something has been gnawing on me, and I want to run it by you to see if I'm making a big deal out of nothing."
"What is it," he scrambles closer, crisscrosses his legs, and pins me with his gaze.
"Have you noticed that every time I leave the house, Esme always asks me if I'll be back? Am I putting too much into something that isn't there?"
"You finally noticed it, unh?"
"So, I'm right? You noticed it, too? Why? I always come back home."
"I think I know why but talk to her and let her tell you. Before you ask me, no, she said nothing to me. I can only guess why."
"And you won't tell me why or give me a clue?"
"Nope. This is between you and your mate."
"You are my mate too, you know."
"True, but I'm staying out of this till you both resolve it."
"Fine. Unfortunately, I can't cancel this meeting with Alpha Darric, but I'll be home tonight, and we'll all talk."
"Will you be back?" Blaze asks, mimicking Esme's voice.
I jump on him and punch him playfully. "Not funny, mate," I growl.
He rolls us over, holds my hands above my head, sniffs my face, and slams his lips on mine. I pull his tongue deep in my mouth, toying with it. He releases my hands, angles my head, and deepens his kiss. His knees spread my thighs apart, and he settles on me. His lower part rubs mine aggressively, making my dick lengthen in response. I moan into his mouth.
"Guys, we land in ten minutes so finish up and join us," Esme mind links us.
We slowly pull apart, and I smile.
"How did she know what we're up to?"
"Because she's Esme and she can smell our horniness a mile away," Blaze laughs.
I get up, straighten my shirt and pants.
"Come on," I tell him.
I watch him fix his clothes and I tell myself that I'm going to fuck this man and I'm looking forward to it.
― ☾ ―
"Alpha Jacob's perimeters are secured now. I also talked to Minerva as you requested. The soldiers that monitor the school will expand their reach to WinterTooth Pack. The lead soldier and I met with Alpha Jacob and he now knows that their first line of defense in another situation like they encountered recently is the school's soldiers until we arrive to help."
I sit opposite Darric in Yorke Manor's den. He's laid back on the large sofa, legs out and crossed, arm on the sofa.
"Thank you, Cole. I spoke to Jacob, and he has no idea where this rogue group came from. But Cal told him to ramp up Kynder's protection. He read the rogue's mind, and someone paid them to kidnap Kynder."
"Why her?" I ask, puzzled.
"No one knows, not even Jacob, but he's not taking any chances with his daughter's life. Unfortunately, Kynder is almost ten and tries to dodge her protection detail every day. She's quite the stubborn Omega. Like another Omega, we both know, right?" He chuckles.
"You don't mean me now, would you, my dear Alpha?" Lord Cal walks in with High Lord Rafe. He walks over to Daric who pulls him close, smiles, and kisses him. I turn away from their public display of affection and greet High Lord Rafe.
"Besides being stubborn, my Omega is cute, lovable, strong, and I'm crazy in love with him," he nuzzles his face.
"Unh, unh! Hi Cole. Not to interrupt, but I wish I could find out who wants Kynder that much. The rogue you captured is a low level were, and all he was told was to kidnap Kynder at all costs. That scares me guys. Kynder is a baby. Who wants her?" Cal sighs.
"No idea, but Jacob is more vigilant and hopefully whoever it is will reveal themselves soon. I called Salim, and he's pulled folks from his current project to build WinterTooth's dungeon ASAP. Transferring that rogue to BloodRose is a risk I don't want to take again. So how did it go with Mira," Darric asks?
"Amazingly well. She'll have her lawyer review the contract and hopefully sign it. Raven and Ed like her."
"I knew they would. Now Raven can concentrate on her internship. Will you stay for dinner, Cole?"
"No, thank you, Luna Cal. I must head out. Alpha Darric, may I speak to you in private?"
"We'll leave you two to it. We'll be in the dining room, Darric. Good to see you again, Cole."
"You too, High Lord."
"So, what's up?" Darric asks.
"If your mate doesn't quite trust you, what will you do? I mean, every time you leave the house; they ask if you're coming back. But you always come back. Tell me, how did you earn Cal's trust?"
"It wasn't easy. I took a good look at myself, and what I'll lose if I didn't shape up. I owned my errors, asked for forgiveness, and allowed him the time to trust me without rushing the healing process. And I work every day not to abuse that trust. The thing with trust is that once broken, it's awfully hard to get it back. It's like when you rumpled a plain clean piece of paper, no matter what you do, it can never be as clean, unused as it was before. You may get close to its original shape, but never the same. Why do you think Esme doesn't trust you?"
"How—never mind. Every time I leave the house, she always asks the same question, 'Will you be back?' She never says that to Blaze. I don't understand it. I always come back to our home."
"I'm going to say something to you that if you repeat to your mate, I will castrate you. And as your Alpha, I can do that. Esme is the best woman I know. She's loyal, fierce, and will go to battle with the Ancient One himself for her loved ones. You and Blaze may be the chink in her armor and if she doesn't trust that you will stay with her permanently or always come back to her, you need to talk to her and find out why she believes that. Now let me ask you a question. Remember when we were young, and your mom will always try to get you to eat some vegetable? She knows you will always say 'No' but she hopes one time you just might say 'Yes'. It's the opposite with Esme. She must think that one day, even if you say you'll come back, you will not, and is preparing herself for that pain."
"But I'm always going to come home, Goddess allow. How do I make her understand that?"
"Simple. Talk to your woman."
"That's what Blaze said too."
"He's not as dumb as he looks," Darric laughs.
"That's my mate, Darric," I chide him.
"You hit the jackpot, my friend. Esme is a gem and Blaze from what I'm told and have seen so far is a keeper. If I were you, I would do everything in my power to keep my mates. And it starts with you talking to that witch."
"Hey, that's my other mate!"
"She is a witch, isn't she," he smirks. "Come on, I'll walk you out."
― ☾ ―
I'm not a talker. I act. Now I must talk to my mate and I don't know where to start. We're having dinner and Esme knows something is up because she keeps glancing at me. But she wouldn't read my mind per their rule. Today I wish she would and make having this conversation easier. I sigh.
"What's going on, Cole? That's your fourth sigh since we started dinner," Esme asks.
"I talked to Blaze about something that's been bothering me, and he said to talk to you."
"What is it," she asks?
"We need to be honest with each other, okay? Do you realize that every time I leave the house, you always ask me, 'Will you be back?' You never say that to Blaze. Why do you ask me that question when I always return?"
"Hmm. I do? I didn't realize that" she answers, scrunching her face.
"Why do you doubt that I'm here to stay? Don't you want me to come back? I mean, I always come back home, don't I?"
"I think I know why;" Blaze interjects. "Esme is the 'not liking witches as mates' Cole's initial reaction makes you wonder if he'll stay with us, permanently?"
"Come on! Are you kidding me? That was eons ago, and that's not how I feel now. Can you honestly say you weren't also questioning your Sun god with a werewolf as a mate?" I challenge her.
"He's got you there, Esme."
"Shut up, Blaze. I agree that we both may not have gotten the mates we were expecting, but you were more stubborn than I was when you found out I was your mate. You were adamant that you don't want a witch as your mate. It's just that I want to be sure you're here to stay, that's all."
"Is that why you've refused to have us mark you or you seal us?" Blaze asks.
"Seal? What's that?" I ask.
"It's the equivalent of when a were or vamp marks their mates. Witches and the Others seal their mates."
"Sounds painful," I whisper.
"Actually, it's less painful and easier than were or vamp marks."
"Esme, look at me." She faces me. "Good. I am your mate. I love you and to be honest, I like you. You're funny, smart, loyal, quirky, and downright annoying sometimes. And I wouldn't change anything about you. I enjoy being around you. I enjoy waking up with you guys in my arms. I like it when you try to help with dinner, even though you make a mess of everything. I like it when you sit down to paint, and you're lost in your own world. You're an unusual person and I won't have you any other way. I did in my shortsightedness wished and hoped for a werewolf as a mate, but I wouldn't trade my witch and hybrid for any werewolf. Understand?"
"I do," she whispers.
A weight was just lifted off my shoulders. I smile, lift her off her chair and deposit her on my lap.
"So how about you seal Blaze and me as your mates and I can wait to mark you," I tell her.
"How about we do both. I know the best place to do it. Come on boys, let's get busy."
"Esme Wood, what are you up to," Blaze asks.
"Shush! Have I ever done anything to your bodies you didn't like?"
― ☾ ―
If I didn't love these two so much, I would hightail it out of Esme's basement. Now that we've decided to mark and seal each other-whatever sealing means, Esme suggested we do it in her basement where her altar is located. I haven't been in this basement since she died, I just didn't want to relieve that horrible time in our lives.
We're all dressed in long black robes, with hoods and bare feet. We stand outside the triangle on the floor, at the three points. Esme is at the head of the triangle, her back to the insignia of her coven, which is the sun overlays the moon on the wall.
She chants a greeting to the Sun god.
"Now disrobe and step into the triangle," she commands.
We drop our robes and all step, naked as the day we were born, into the triangle. What on earth is a witch's seal?
Author's Note: I don't know about you BUT I think I might love the way witches 'seal' their mates 😁.