Viking Sensitivity (Night World Series Book 2) (28 page)

He managed to get his keys out while holding Mia still in one hand. He was able to open the door and get her into the bedroom. When he heard his front door open. He knew without looking it was going to be Barrett or Marco come to release her from whatever sleeping spell they put on her.

Both MPs entered the room. They both stood at the end of the bed and started chanting. Once they finished they both smiled at Viking without saying a word and left.

There was no small talk. No mention of payment. Though he knew the Warriors would be paying out the nose for this particular instance. However, they had the decorum not to bring it up at the moment.

As it turned out the noise of the front door closing was enough to wake Mia up. At first she stirred. Then her blue eyes blinked open. They seemed to adjust for second before landing on him. Then they grew curious.

Chapter 18

"What happened? Your face has ‘bad event’ written all over it."

It was almost as if Viking had a black cloud over him. Mia knew instantly something was wrong. That wasn't right. There was a sense of relief there too. Something had gone wrong while she slept but had been fixed.

He sat down on the edge of the bed near her feet. Mia took the chance to sit up and leaned against the headboard.

"The short version is the being somehow got possession of you. I'm guessing because it didn't have any other bodies to possess, you got the full concentration of its efforts. It controlled you while you slept. I think it tried to go after your aunt. But I have no proof, since we did not let it stick around to find out. My guess is it had her followed at some point and remembered where she lived. But we got you back here in time and were able to corner it in the interrogation room where Gwen got rid of it."

Mia's head reeled. She didn't remember any of this. Surely she would remember something in possession of her body. It seems absurd that she wouldn't.

"What? How did that even happen? I have the medallion and everything…" Mia trailed off mid-thought.

She had lost the medallion in the shuffle. That must've been why the being jumped her in the office building. It took the chance she would drop it. But that didn't explain how it got into her. So far as she knew, it needed to travel from blood to blood. There was a flash in her mind. When they were struggling and he put his hand over her mouth. She had tasted blood. But figured it had been because he punched her in the face and she cut her lip on her teeth.

Was it possible the being had enough foresight to punch her in the face, to cut her lip and then slice the real estate agent's hand and then put it over her mouth so the blood would mingle? That seemed ridiculous. How had the being been able to think that out? It had to know it was a set up from the beginning.

She looked at Viking again. "Is it possible that it orchestrated that whole meeting just so he could get control of me?"

She almost didn't want the answer. She didn't want to believe this being wanted revenge or thought her so important it would go to such lengths. But then again it was running out of bodies since the Warriors handed out those medallions. And they talked about wards on the building and she had a splitting headache when she walked through the door. That headache was completely gone now. Was that headache caused by the being's presence in her head?

Everything was incredibly overwhelming. Mia felt her breathing going ragged. She almost seemed to be gearing up for a panic attack when Viking responded.

"Just breathe. I don't think ‘orchestrated’ is the right word. I think it took advantage of a bad situation. We kind of put it in a corner and it came out fighting. We assumed it would.

But everything is fine now. It's gone. We can all get a good night’s sleep. And tomorrow you and I can discuss how we want to handle the future of us. But for now you should go back to sleep. I'm going to call the king and recap with people downstairs. Then I'll be up to join you since it is after three in the morning."

Mia wasn't entirely sure she could sleep. Even though moments ago she had slept blissfully, or so she thought. She wasn't sure she would be able to catch sleep a second time.

"If it's all the same to you, I think I will watch television until you get back. I’m not entirely sure I'm comfortable sleeping alone. Even with your assurances that everything is okay."

Viking gave her an understanding smile. "I get it, that's fine. I'll be back up when I can." Then he leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She felt her heart softened a little.

She watched him leave and waited a beat until she heard the door close before getting out of bed. She needed to find something that would be pointless and distracting. She made her way out to the living room and glanced at Viking's movie selection. After several minutes she picked one she had never heard of before. But it looked like the kind of comedy she would find distracting. She set it out on the table and went into the kitchen to make some tea. She tried as hard as she could to concentrate on the tasks at hand. Instead of letting her mind wander to what apparently happened while she slept. She wasn't sure if she would be able to get a good night sleep again knowing something like that could happen and she wouldn't even be aware of it. Taking another deep breath Mia made herself focus on the simple, rhythmic act of making tea.

֍

Mia hadn't really slept. But then after Viking's news of last night she hadn't really expected to. By late morning she gave up altogether. Viking got up with her. She tried to get him to go back to sleep but he refused. Saying something about wanting to spend every waking minute with her he could.

They showered together again. This shower started out sweet like the first one but it quickly became hotter and they ended up making love. By the time they got around to actually showering the water had gone cold.

Now she sat in the lounge on the floor around the coffee table with Gwen and Poet. All three of them played poker. As Gwen refused to play cribbage, just like Viking said she would. It was fun. It was a good distraction from her whirling thoughts. Which Mia was sure that was what Gwen and Poet meant it to be.

She was still waiting to have that conversation about the future with Viking. When he came back to the apartment the night before he simply sat down on the couch with her and they watched movies until Mia felt too exhausted to continue to sit and pay attention.

Now he sat at the table with Raider, Carter, and Craig. She wasn't sure what they were discussing but they looked fairly serious. Mia turned her attention back to the game just in time to hear Poet trash talk Gwen.

But before he could finish his taunt one of the younger warriors, Stanley, barged into the lounge with an envelope.

"Viking, this was left at the back door. One of the Weres working at the shop took out the garbage to the dumpsters and saw it sitting there. It couldn't have been there longer than three or four hours. Since the morning shift dumped all the night trash earlier this morning. It's addressed to the king." Stanley handed the envelope to Viking.

Viking came around the table and took it from him. Opening it with one hand while presumably dialing the king on his phone with the other. Putting the phone up to his ear and balancing it on his shoulder, he pulled out a folded piece of paper then frowned.

"Oh, this is not good."

Everyone in the room fell completely silent. All eyes were on Viking. Mia had no idea what could possibly be on that note that would be considered bad news.

The king must've picked up because Viking shifted his hand to lift the phone to his ear. "Yeah, we have a note outside the door that was left for us this morning. It was addressed to you. But I've opened it. You're not going to like what it says." There was a pause. "Yeah, I'm in the lounge. With Craig, Raider, Carter, Stanley, Poet, Gwen, and Mia. So yeah I nowhere near alone." There was another pause.

Viking motioned at Stanley with the envelope. "Stanley, go ahead and wait outside and shut the door behind you."

Stanley looked a little offended. Then he looked around the room before giving a slight pout and left. Mia wasn't entirely sure how old Stanley was. But she didn't think someone that old should pout. When the door shut, Viking went back to speaking into the phone.

"Okay he's gone. Yes, I'm sure no one else wants start rumors." another pause. "All right, it says, Your Highness, I regret that it has come to our attention that you have put out of commission one of our friends. The Puppet Master, while a little overzealous, was an important part to our movement. We are sending you this note as a congratulations on your part to destroy said movement. But also, at the same time, to let you know he was not so important that we will not continue moving forward. We want you at the top of your game when we take your kingdom from you. Signed lovingly, the Rebellion."

There was a much longer pause this time. Then Viking walked out of the room. Mia could only assume it was because the king wanted privacy for their conversation. She looked from Poet to Gwen.

"How serious is this rebellion thing?"

Poet and Gwen looked at each other before Gwen answered.

"It's serious. They're just starting out though. Well, that's not entirely true. They're just starting to be noticeable. So it isn't a full-fledged battle yet. But the king and his advisors, as well as the king of South America are concerned about it. You're not exactly joining us at the best time. I'm sorry for that. You and Viking both deserve a better first stage of mating than this."

Something in Gwen's voice made Mia think perhaps she meant her relationship as well as Mia and Viking’s but she didn't say anything. They sat in silence shuffling the cards but not really playing. As if they were all lost in thought.

"Look, I'm going to be honest with you. I have lived through many wars. Several rebellions. Had several wish they were rebellions. The key to surviving is to enjoy what you can when you can. Dwelling on this nonsense when there's nothing you can do about it only makes things harder. It's harder to get through when everything seems to be out to get you. I've been around a while. Take my word on that. Plus, can we really trust a passive-aggressive note left on our back door?"

Mia groaned and she saw Gwen rolled her eyes at Poet's last comment. He seemed to have been headed in a serious direction and then veered off at the last second. She was starting to think that was simply the way he was. But he did succeeded in lightening the mood because they started playing again. Within a few minutes the serious cloud still hung in the air, but it had lifted high enough for them to enjoy themselves.

It couldn't have been more than ten minutes before Viking came back into the room. He headed straight over to their table and stood next to her.

"If you two don't mind, I'd like Mia to sit out a couple hands so that I may speak to her. Please."

Poet snorted. "Since when has my opinion ever mattered. Take her away." He made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

Mia looked at Gwen who simply smiled. Mia dropped her cards and stood up. She heard an exclamation over her shoulder which she assumed meant Poet was looking at her cards and saw she had a full house. She was sure he was making some sort of comment about how lucky he was that she was taken away.

Once in the hall Viking grabbed her hand again. It was becoming a pattern, one she liked. She assumed he was looking for as much privacy as he could get when they ended up in his apartment. When he shut and locked the door behind her he motioned for her to sit on the couch. Then he followed suit, sitting on the opposite end and turned to look at her.

"Mia, I like you. And I mean that. I greatly enjoy your company. Not because you're my mate, but because of who you are. I am sorry this has not been under the best circumstances or the best timing. But I would like to make as much of it up to you as possible.

"I would like for the first stage of mating for us to live in separate domiciles. That way you can still maintain your privacy and no one will think it's weird you're seeing someone and suddenly move in. I would like to take you out. I would like to negotiate at least two dates a week. I would also like to have a sleepover either at your house or here once a week. I only say that last part because the first stage of mating requires it. Though I would be lying if I did not say I know I will greatly enjoy every sleepover and the chance to tie you to the bed next time." He gave her a mischievous smile.

"That being said, I think we could wait a while before playing around again. But the longer we wait and the less frequently we do it the longer the first stage of mating will be. I will be frank, the first stage of mating doesn't affect you too much. Most of the ill effects are on me as my body adjusts to having you around. With all that out there, what do you think? Is that all right with you?"

He sounded completely confident through the entire speech until he got to the very end with his questions. There had been a slight lift as if he realized he had been dictating and got worried. Mia found that kind of endearing. He valued her opinion but was used to doing things his own way. She appreciated his effort to change.

She smiled. "I am perfectly okay with that. Two dates a week sounds good, as long as you realize my schedule is very busy as it is."

She hesitated a second before deciding to say exactly what she thought. Mia always felt the truth was the best policy. She grabbed both his hands in hers.

"I also think we should have more than one sleepover a week. Not because of the mating thing, but because I want to.

"Now, I appreciate you making an effort to make this as normal on me as possible. I'd like to change the subject for second and ask how the phone call with the king went. Should we be concerned?"

Viking blinked at her as if caught off guard by the change in subject. "He is not thrilled. But he will be moving out here within a month's time. So I think that will help some. Bare minimum, it will throw off the rebellion because they will have to reevaluate. All we can do right now is wait. The king has experts who will check the handwriting on the note based on a picture I sent to Roman.

"He also wants the MPs to see if they can track where the letter came from. If we could do that we might get a heads up on who these people might be and where they're coming from. The idea of being proactive with some part of this rebellion is important. All we have been able to do so far is to react to their advances. It hasn't even been true advances, they've all been stumbled upon or mistakes.