Her Warriors (23 page)

“I’ve never mixed with bloodsuckers much,”
Beau admitted, curious about the human warrior’s experiences with
vampires.

“Some of them aren’t bad at all. In fact,
they’re pretty nice people, once you get to know them,” Ben said.
“Which doesn’t mean they don’t have their bad eggs in the group
from time to time. I’ve just been pretty lucky with the ones I’ve
met so far.”

Geir came out of the small office in the
back of the dojo, which was the signal that the men were about to
take the floor. The ladies had all finished their various exercise
routines that weren’t necessarily martial arts-based.

The fighting practice would come later and
the classes wouldn’t be segregated. Women would train to fight
alongside the men because in the real world you couldn’t always
choose your opponent. An enemy might be male or female, shifter or
human, mage or vamp. They had to prepare as best they could for any
and every opponent they might face. This little morning dojo
takeover was just a way for the ladies who hadn’t been able to
stretch their legs in a bit to get some exercise.

Jacki had participated off to one side in
the big room, lifting weights, much to Beau’s surprise. She could
bench press almost as much as he could, which was another surprise.
Apparently selkies had very strong arms and legs because, as Tom
had told Beau, when in seal form, their flippers and muscles were
what they relied on to help propel them through the water.

She finished off her weight routine with a
stretching session that had Beau craning his neck as she bent
almost completely in half—backwards. She was limber, was his little
mate. He would have to remember that and put it to good use the
next time they were making love.

He watched her as she came over to sit at
his side, in the space between Beau and her brother, Tom. She
squeezed both their hands, grinning from ear to ear. She was happy
and the feeling was contagious. Beau brought her hand to his lips
and kissed the back of it before he got up to join Geir. It was
time to spar with the other half of the Royal Guard contingent.

They had just arrived with one very
important human in their midst. Jake was here and Beau did his best
not to stare as Harper was introduced. As far as Harper knew at
this point, Jake was just another of the strange new inhabitants of
the mountain. Their guest would learn soon enough that Jake’s word
was law up here and Harper was about to be put through a very
thorough assessment by a man who had trained his human body to
perfection…and beyond.

Even Beau was impressed with Jake’s skills,
and that was really saying something. Jake was a natural leader of
men and had often assessed the warriors who were considered for his
team when he’d been in the service. This wasn’t Jake’s first rodeo,
and he would be able to learn more about Harper simply from the way
he fought and defended himself than most men could learn with a
full-on lie detector test. Harper didn’t have a clue what he was in
for.

Beau smiled as he took his place on the
floor, standing next to Geir. He watched the others approach with
anticipation.
Oh, yeah…
Let the games begin.

Jacki almost felt sorry for Harper when Jake
took the floor opposite him for a sparring session. Almost.

She was sitting next to her big brother, at
the back of the dojo near the barn door. A small set of bleachers
had been set up back there for those who wanted to observe, and
they were close to full as everyone who didn’t need to be somewhere
else at the moment seemed to sneak in to watch the match.

The rest of the class that had started out
sparring with each other were gathered around, standing in a
semi-circle on the mats as the two men faced off. Harper might’ve
sensed that something was up from the way everyone was watching,
but he didn’t let it show. Jacki gave him a little tick in the plus
column for that.

“Watch how Jake works around his guard,” Tom
whispered next to her. “He’s a master at the bait and switch. He’ll
draw his opponent out just so far and then…blam.” Tom’s expletive
coincided with a roundhouse kick that scored a definite point on
Harper’s midsection. “Damn, he’s gotten better since we trained
together in the service,” Tom went on. It was clear her older
brother admired the human who had just become the effective king of
the
pantera noir
Clan by mating its queen.

Speaking of whom… Ria sat down next to
Jacki, passing a bag of popcorn around. Jacki tried not to giggle
as she munched on a few pieces of the salty snack and passed it
back.

“How much did I miss?” Ria asked. The Nyx
was not the kind of queen who stood on a lot of ceremony. She was
very down to earth and Jacki respected her a lot.

“Not much. They just started,” Jacki
replied.

“Oh, good,” Ria replied, munching away on
the popcorn she’d brought with her. Jacki saw her cringe and she
realized Harper had gotten a punch in past Jake’s guard while she
hadn’t been looking.

“Good move,” Tom commented. “If Jake has any
weakness, it’s that left hand. Occasionally—very occasionally—he
drops his guard on the left. Harper is pretty good to have noticed
it so early in the fight.”

“You knew Jake before I met him.” Ria said
to Tom, talking quietly over Jacki, who sat between them. “He said
you taught him to dive, but did you also train or fight
together?”

“We were always training in the service,”
Tom confirmed. “And when Jake was part of my team, he fought and
trained alongside me and my men. We were all selkies. Jake was our
token human on assignment only for a couple of months, but he never
kept us waiting. He was just as good as any one of us and if he had
any deficits, he worked on them until they were strengths. I’ve
never met a human more dedicated to being all he could be,” Tom
mused with a smile. “Jake’s the real deal.”

“I don’t know,” one of the others leaned in
from his seat in the row above. “That Harper guy has some
moves.”

“Wanna bet?” Tom asked quickly, and within a
moment he had quite a little pile of money and favors riding on
Jake’s victory.

From that point on the observers were
quietly rooting for one or the other of the men. Jake kept Harper
on the mats for the better part of an hour, drawing him out and
making him work for every point he scored. By the end of the match
it became clear that Jake could have ended it at any time he chose.
He had been playing with the other man—testing him.

And Harper’s reaction when he realized what
was going on was gratifying. The man simply laughed and shook
Jake’s hand in respect and friendship. Harper didn’t seem to mind
he’d been evaluated and schooled by someone with more knowledge and
experience than he in the art of hand-to-hand combat. If anything,
he looked like he’d enjoyed the intense battle.

Tom collected his winnings with a broad
smile and Ria’s pride in her mate’s skill was clear. She didn’t
seem to mind that some of her Guards had bet against her new mate.
They’d lost their cash, or some kind of favor now owed to Tom, for
their lack of faith in the Nyx’s choice of mate. And they had
learned a hard lesson. Each one of them looked at Jake with new
respect.

The class broke up after a few more minutes
and the group dispersed. Jake and Harper walked with Geir and Ben
toward the bleachers at the back of the dojo. Geir grabbed some of
the towels that were stacked to one side and threw a clean one at
each of the guys.

Ria stood and went to her mate, reaching up
to kiss his cheek as he put one arm around her waist. They looked
so happy together, Jacki was touched by the deep emotions of love
and caring both wore so openly on their faces. She wondered if she
and her new mates looked the same and figured they probably did,
but she didn’t mind. She was too happy to not want the world to
know.

She reached out and took both Geir and
Beau’s hands as they offered to help steady her as she climbed down
from the bleachers. She didn’t really need their assistance, but it
felt good to have them fuss over her a little. The small gesture
spoke of their care for her safety and comfort, which was yet
another expression of the love they shared.

She let them draw her between them while Tom
climbed down, still a little unsteady on his feet. He probably
could have used a helping hand, but Jacki knew better than to
offer. Her stubbornly independent brother would rather fall than
admit weakness. She just intended to stick close to him while he
healed so she could catch him if he fell.

“Do you want to stay for lunch?” Jacki asked
Ria and Jake. “Bettina was making something that smelled wonderful
when I left the house, but she refused to let me peek. She said to
ask you to join us, if you have the time.”

Ria looked up at her mate before answering.
“We’d love to. Thanks for the invite.”

“You’re welcome anytime,” Geir said formally
though a smile lit his face as they all started walking out of the
dojo. “You can use one of the guest rooms to clean up a bit if you
like, Jake. I can loan you a change of clothes.”

“Thanks,” Jake replied. “I’ll take you up on
that.”

It was only about twenty minutes later that
they all reconvened in the formal dining room. A couple of the
Royal Guard had been drafted by Bettina to help carry in an array
of covered dishes from the kitchen. Heavenly aromas were wafting
around the table, but Bettina made everyone sit still for her
blessing before she would let anyone attack the platters of
food.

Though it wasn’t done at every meal, often a
prayer would be offered up to the Mother of All for special
occasions. Bettina declared this lunch a special occasion and spent
a moment offering thanks and praying for continued blessings on all
those gathered and all those who opposed the darkness. She
specifically mentioned their allies, old and new, with a
significant look in Harper’s direction.

He had been told to sit, by Bettina, at one
end of the massive, oval table. She was at the other end. When she
held her hands out in the final part of her blessing, it was clear
she wanted Harper to do the same. Standing, he matched her pose and
the arc of rainbow light that passed from each of their hands, to
the other, encompassed the entire table and all those who sat
around it. Clearly, some kind of magical kick had just been added
to the blessing by the presence of two powerful fey-blooded magic
users.

The colors faded after a timeless moment and
the two lowered their hands, sharing a look of pleased wonder
across the length of the table. Bettina smiled knowingly. Harper
just tilted his head as he grinned back at her.

“Thank you,” Jake interrupted the moment,
speaking loudly into the somewhat stunned silence. “You just
cleared up a few things and now it all makes sense.”

“What does?” Harper asked, looking at the
man who had whooped his butt in the dojo not an hour before.

“His vision,” Ria responded, lifting one of
the covers off the platters in front of her. She licked her lips,
clearly hungry and not willing to wait to dive into the food. “Jake
sees the future. He saw something extra powerful—and confusing—this
morning.”

“You’re a seer?” Harper looked at him with
even more respect, if Jacki was any judge. “I thought you were a
tiger shifter.”

Jake laughed outright at that. “Sorry to
disappoint you. I’m as human as you are. Maybe more human, judging
by what I just saw, actually.” Jake looked at the other man
consideringly. “I just have a little gift.”

“It’s not little,” Ria put in helpfully,
making Beau guffaw at the unintended double entendre from Jake’s
mate. “What I mean is…” Ria said, shot a comedic, quelling look at
Beau, “…his gift is actually rather large.”

“I bet that’s what he told you to say if
anyone ever asked,” Beau charged, still laughing.

“Dammit, Beau!” Ria lobbed a bread roll at
his head. Beau caught in midair and promptly took a huge bite out
of it, grinning all the while.

“Thanks, milady,” he said around a mouthful
of roll.

Jacki punched him in the arm and turned to
Ria. “Ignore him. I’m still trying to house train him.”

“Hey!” Beau groused, but it was clear he was
enjoying the laughter, even if he’d become the butt of the
joke.

“Harper, Jake is human with a gift of
foresight. Other than that, he’s not magical. Apparently, human
magic users make him sneeze,” Jacki added helpfully.

“And itch,” Jake added, forking a huge slab
of meat onto his mate’s plate, serving her first, before he served
himself.

It was so sweet to see him take care of Ria,
Jacki thought. The Nyx deserved every attentive moment of her
mate’s presence in her life. She’d had it so hard to this point.
They both deserved the obvious happiness they found in caring for
each other.

“I saw you as a mage who wasn’t one of those
who make me break out in hives, but I didn’t really recognize what
you were. After the little light show, I understand now. You’re
like Bettina. Touched by the fey realm,” Jake said
matter-of-factly.

Harper looked stunned as he retook his seat.
“Forgive me, but until I met Bettina, that was a closely held
secret in my family. It’s a little weird to be talking about it so
freely here.”

“Get used to it,” Jake advised. “I’ve seen
some weird sh—stuff—in my military career, but nothing compares to
what I’ve seen in the weeks since joining my life to Ria’s.”

“You’re mated, then?” Harper asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Ria replied to his
question with one of her own, taking Jake’s hand in hers.

“Not to a human, love. They don’t have
matings that last for a lifetime all that often anymore. They no
longer recognize the signs. At least, that’s my personal theory.”
Jake shrugged as they all dug into their lunch.