21: Oh, My, Goddess

That was something else.

He rolled off me, and we lay on the table together, trying to catch our breath. “That was amazing,” he whispered, voice low.

I turned to face him so I could watch his eyes. “It really was something else, Nathaniel.”

His smile was annoyingly smug.

I scowled at him, but that scowl turned into a groan as his fingers trailed back up the inside of my thigh. I opened my legs wider, encouraging his hand closer to my core. He complied, his fingertips rubbing small circles around my clit.

The door slammed open. “Alpha, I… oh fuck.” Lyla. Lyla was back.

“Give us a moment, Lyla.”

She nodded, spinning to give us a little privacy. In hindsight, HQ wasn’t a good place. We should have moved downstairs to my own quarters. That was my bad.

I pulled my trousers and blouse back on, not worrying about my bra, and of course Nathaniel had ripped my thong, which was currently in the middle of the floor for everyone to see. I slipped my shoes back on, waiting for Nathaniel to do the same.

“Okay Lyla, have you got an update for me?”

She turned back around. “We watched the ritual until it wrapped up. It was Edward and Maximillian creating some kind of substance that would enable them to take total control over another individual.”

“Did they mention anything about what they planned to do with it?”

She shook her head.

“We have a lot of people in Edward’s pack, it wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to say that some of them could be the target, especially since they are well aware now that we’re planning to take over. Lyla, I don’t suppose you managed to get a list of ingredients, did you?” This was just what we needed. It was predictable, but still. Not helpful.

She smiled. “Of course I did, alpha. We couldn’t get close enough to have any clue as to quantities, but we believe we have successfully identified the ingredients.”

“Perfect. We need to manufacture some kind of vaccine for this, as soon as possible.”

“Lyla, can you meet me in the pack doctor's lab in about fifteen minutes; I've just got something I need to take care of first.”

She gave a knowing look between Nathaniel and I, both of our hair still just-fucked, and apparently I'd done my buttons up wrong too.

As soon as she left the room, Nathaniel's mouth crashed down on mine, his hands undoing the buttons of my blouse before making light work of my jeans.

I melted into the kiss, my arms winding around his neck, nails scraping along his scalp. Once he dropped his jeans, pushing him backwards until he sat on the table.

He pulled me with him, so I ended up straddling his lap. He slipped one hand between us, guiding himself inside me. I sank down his length, groaning as he filled me inch by inch. His hands went to my hips, controlling my movements, stopping me moving as fast as I wanted to.

He groaned beneath me; he wanted faster too. “Effie, mark me.”

I froze.

“Nathaniel, I… I’m sorry. I can’t, not yet.”

He sighed, eyes closed, looking dejected. “I understand.”

I let him slip out of me, ending up sitting next to him.

“It’s too soon, Nathaniel. I just… I need more time.”

“I understand, Effie.”

He was hurt, I could tell he was, but I absolutely could not do this yet. “I just need some time, Nathaniel. I promise this isn’t a goodbye.”

He nodded. “We should get back to it, we’ve got a vaccine to develop.” He stood, pulling his clothes back on and turning to leave the room.

Yeah, he was definitely hurt.

I sighed, making myself presentable before heading to the lab. Regardless of whatever was going on with Nathaniel, we had a vaccine to develop.

Everyone was already in the lab when I got there. Nathaniel and Luke were on opposite ends of the room, their expressions stony. Lyla, Julienne and Grayson were all gathered around the desk, catching up with Dr Bauer. “Alpha, good morning,” Dr Bauer said, her voice low and gravely as if she’d smoked twenty a day for most of her life. Of course she had; even vampires struggled with the side effects of cigarettes.

“Morning, Dr Bauer. Has Lyla got you up to date?”

“I was waiting for you, alpha,” Lyla responded. I nodded my thanks, before motioning her to get started.

“We have reason to believe Edward has developed some kind of compound that would allow him to control another’s mind. We’ve got a list of ingredients,” Lyla passed her the paper, a longer list than I expected.

“Dr Bauer,” I continued. “Edward is aware of our plans, so we believe the wolves in our teams may be at risk. We need to develop some kind of vaccine and treatment. Ideally I’d like to give everyone protection from it, but we also need to be able to reverse the effects if Edward gets hold of someone before we can vaccinate them. Do you think it’s possible?”

The room fell quiet whilst Dr Bauer looked over the list. If anyone could do this, it was her. Her background was in medicine and chemistry, but during the wars and before she was turned, her skills were used for more… nefarious purposes. She had worked with the powers that be at the time on biological weapons, until something happened that meant she changed allegiances. That was how she was bitten. Apparently her old employer took offence and tried to take her out before she could develop a cure, but it didn’t really work.

“I can, alpha. A lot of these substances are psychoactive, which are easy enough to counteract. Some of these other ingredients slow down brain activity enough to make them more susceptible to commands.”

She paused for a moment, her face concerned. “Lyla, you’ve written cyanide in brackets?”

Lyla nodded. “We believe they are also developing a capsule that would be injected under the skin as a fail safe. The capsule contains cyanide.”

Dr Bauer raised her eyebrows. “One of the ingredients you’ve given me counteracts cyanide?”

Lyla nodded. “We’re not sure what they’re up to, but it can’t be good.”

Dr Bauer turned back to me. “Alpha, it would be useful if I could get hold of a sample of the toxin and the capsules.”

I winced. “I thought you’d say that.”

“Lyla, do we know where it’s all being held?”

She shook her head.

“Okay, we need to get eyes and ears on both Edward and Maximillian. Lyla, do you have enough people for that, or do you need additional support?”

“I’ll let you know, alpha. I’ll get two teams of two into position, and then see where we are. I don’t want to take too many people because we’ll be more likely to draw attention.”

I nodded. “Julienne, Grayson, can you both make sure your teams are on standby in case they’re needed. Nathaniel, please discuss the layout of the packhouse with Lyla, you know it better than anyone. “Luke, make sure Dr Bauer has everything she could need. I’ll be in HQ.”

As soon as I heard the chorus of “yes, alpha”, I turned on my heel, heading back up to HQ. I’d skipped feeding again, and I was really starting to regret that.