by Michelle M Pillow & Mandy M Roth

Begin Again

Powers That Be meeting… 

“Jody, I cannot believe my ears. You say that the human called Mandy has managed to lure Muir to her but how? We did not send him forth,” Garmor said, staring at his friend and fellow councilman with nothing short of shock on his face.  

“I speak the truth, Garmor. Somehow she tapped into the powers he bestowed upon her prior to her birth. Our scout has sent word that Muir has been with her months now and that he has told her that he represents our wishes.”  

Shocked, Garmor shook his head, sending long waves of white-blond hair scattering about. “This cannot be true. Muir stepped down from the council. He chose to go his own way and sever all ties with us because…” 

Jody nodded as he touched the white marble table before him. It lit with a blue flame that burned out quickly.  “Muir left because he did not like the destiny we had laid out for her. His concern for her has led him to care about the destiny of the other as well.”  

Garmor snorted. “It was not for him to like. It is how it should have been. It was bad enough that she fell into bed with a vampire.” 

“It is how what must be? And who fell into bed with a vampire?” Tru, the elder of the Fay asked as she entered the meeting chambers. Her short, spiked black hair only added to her pixie-like appearance.  

Garmor grit his teeth. “It would appear that Muir has contacted the human called Mandy.”  

“The one he bestowed with his own power prior to her birth?” Tru’s eyes widened. 

Both men nodded.  

Tru shook her head in disbelief.  “No.”  

“That seems to be the standard response.”  

“Has he done what he threatened to do?” Tru asked, her hands shaking slightly. “Has he changed her fate as well as the human they call Michelle?”  

Jody laughed, drawing attention to himself. “Do you think Muir would take corporeal form and not meddle to that extreme?”  

Garmor sat silent as he thought about what Jody had suggested. Of course Muir would intervene. He’d done it without thought when he stumbled into the mortal realm and happened upon Mandy’s mother. Something had made him give powers to a child that should not have that sort of power. Sure, Mandy had the blood of supernaturals in her veins but it was diluted to the point that it could very well have laid dormant for all her life. Muir’s gift assured that someday she would indeed develop gifts.  

Jody sighed. “We should call the council together at once. I fear that Muir has left us no choice but to act swiftly and without mercy.”  

Garmor rubbed his temple not liking what he knew had to happen. “The council will not take kindly to having to rewrite history.”  

“They will take to having Muir mating a woman carrying the blood of a vampire, Fay and the power of an elder. It has been proven that she can indeed carry a child with a vampire. What says that she cannot carry one of an elder?” Jody asked.  

Tru stiffened. “Would it be so wrong to allow that to happen?”  

Garmor did his best to keep his temper in check. At two hundred, Tru was the youngest elder on the council. She did not know all that she needed to, yet, but soon she would. “Tru, Muir is among our most powerful warriors. To allow him to simply select a mate of his choosing goes against the carefully woven fabric of destiny. Do you not wonder what he may have changed by simply interfering with her prior to birth?”  

“But what if he was right? What if he was meant for her?”  

Jody slammed his fist down on the table. “Elders, we have no idea why Muir acted the way he did all those years ago and we know not what his intentions are now. All that we are aware of is this situation became uncontrollable years ago. Mandy and Michelle were not created and destined to run around doing nothing but spinning the wheels of gossip in a journal devoted to supernaturals. They were destined to fight the evil that they hold so dear.”  

“I do not believe that for a minute,” Tru said, baulking at the very suggestion. “I have seen Michelle’s love for Dmitri. I have felt it as it were my own.”  

Garmor rolled his eyes. “That is precisely why I said no women should be on the council. You get too emotionally attached.”  

Tru flicked her wrist and a bolt of power shot forth from her hand, narrowly missing Garmor’s head. “I am an empath you buffoon. Of course I would pick up on her feelings. Mandy’s love for Armando was true as well until the rest of you decided to interfere and tear them apart. Darren would not have come if you had not given him the ‘suggestion’ to seek out his wife again. And bringing in Conner to tear apart Michelle and Dmitri was wrong. I vetoed that from the get go but none of you listened.”  

Jody laughed. “You underestimate Darren, Tru. We did not push him nearly as much as we should have. Garmor merely whispered the human’s name while the were slept and the next day he went to her. Conner would have succeeded in winning Michelle’s hand if Muir had not opened the lycan’s mind to Michelle’s need for him.”  

Garmor nodded. “It is true. It is also true that this has all spiraled out of control.”  

“Then it is up to us to put them back on course.” Tru smoothed her white robes down looking less than pleased with her own words. 

“Yes. I agree,” Jody said. “Though this is no small matter to adjust. Too many lives have been touched by the girls. This calls for drastic measures and the assistance of all the elders. We will not be able to do a thing to re-write Muir but the rest should not be an issue. The vampire and the lycan will prove to be a tiny challenge but I believe we can handle them as well.”  

“I vote we leave them be.”  

“Tru, you are outnumbered. There are no sympathizers on the council to go with you on this.”  

Garmor smiled as an idea came to him. “Rather than re-writing history would it not be easier to simply make them do it over again?”  

“There is a limit as to how far back we can go,” Jody offered, shaking his head. “And this can only be done once. From that point on we will not be permitted to meddle with their lives using our powers.”  

“We should not interfere at all,” Tru said, her eyes narrowed and her jaw tight. “By doing so we are giving up any and all chances of fixing future mistakes. Allow chance to run its course.”  

“Chance will run its course, woman. Should the girls end up with their supernatural lovers again then so be it but I believe it is our sworn duty to assure ourselves that everything was done to prevent it from happening.”

~*****~

“I find it hard to believe that two sexy supernatural studs can’t hold a picture up straight for me to hang it,” Mandy said, smiling as she watched Muir and Darren exchange knowing looks.  

Muir arched a dark brow. “Tell me, Darren. Does she always demand that men take their shirts off and do manual labor before her?”  

Shrugging, Darren chuckled. “Pretty much. Be happy that Michelle isn’t here. The two of them would be in lounge chairs with margaritas watching us do this.”  

“I see.” Muir glanced at Mandy and she gave him an ‘I’m so innocent’ look. He didn’t appear to buy it. “Seems only fair that should go both ways.”  

Darren’s eyes widened. “No, don’t dare her to…” 

Mandy pulled her Stabbing Westward T-shirt off and tossed it aside. Putting a hand on her hip, she stared at the two of them wearing only a black bra and her jeans. Muir’s eyes widened a second before he dropped his end of the six foot wide painting of a demon orgy. It crashed to the floor. “Hey, be careful with that. I had to date a werewolf for years for that gift.”  

Darren snorted. “Oh, dating me was such a chore, huh? Is being married to me growing on you or am going to have to go out and buy you a statue of the two demons having at one woman?”  

Mandy wagged her brows and winked at Darren. “Oh, you know me well, baby.”  

Bending and grabbing his portion up again, Muir smiled. “You could just use your power and hang it yourself without our help. It would be so much easier for you.”  

Snorting, Mandy licked her lower lip. “One, I have no clue how to do anything but act like a human channel changer. And for two, why the hell would I do that when I get to stare at two buff supernaturals flexing their muscles? Are you mad?”  

“I’ve been accused of that from time to time. Though, more often than not I’m referred to as…” 

Darren growled and gave Muir a hard look. “If my wife starts staring at you and demanding to see your ‘equipment’ I’m going to be pissed.”  

That piqued Mandy’s interest. She grinned as she watched the two men before her size each other up as if they were about to drop the painting and start brawling. That thought scared her. “Boys, fight outside. Hurt the painting and die. Immortal or not, I will kill you.”  

Darren blew her a kiss and winked. “You’d never hurt me.”  

“Oh, what makes you think that?”  

“Because the timeframe you agreed to give me to try to make our marriage work has been up for almost a month now, Mandy. I’m still here and I’ve referred to myself as your husband more times than I can count. Never once have you corrected me.”  

Mandy stilled, thinking about what Darren had said. Had the time really passed by that fast? So much had happened that it was impossible for her to keep track. Losing Armando had been hard, finding out she’d lost a child had been devastating. In that entire time Darren had stayed true, never once pressuring her for sex, nothing beyond friendship. And never once did divorce enter Mandy’s mind.  

I don’t want to be married to Darren, do I? 

Something tickled the back of her mind. Armando’s scent suddenly filled the air around her and images of satin sheets and nights of passion assailed her. Closing her eyes, Mandy did the unthinkable; she opened her mind wider to the memory of their time together. The moment she felt as though Armando was wrapping his cool arms around her, Mandy pulled back, understanding then that it wasn’t her doing. It was his.  

Are you well? Armando asked, his voice so clear that she could have sworn he was standing next to her and not communicating through her mind.  

Mandy tried to close a mental door on him. It didn’t work. I have nothing to say to you.  

I did not bed the woman you found me with, Mandy.  

Letting out a soft laugh, Mandy shook her head. Pity. I’d have loved to see you thrust her over a railing to her death. You probably should have knocked her up first. You could have assumed it was the milkman’s and tried to kill him while you were at it.  

The minute she projected the thought out at him Mandy felt his pain, his sorrow for what he’d done. Slowly, her lips curved upwards into a smile. Her mind took pity on him but her body had been trained to react to situations with a hard as nails bitch approach. Too bad Armando wasn’t there in the flesh to witness it.  

I deserved that and so much more, Mandy.  

Yeah, I know. No updates required. She drew in a long breath, doing her best to calm her nerves. What do you want?  

Only to tell you that I love you.  

Mandy was prepared to hear Armando try to apologize or explain away his actions. She wasn’t prepared for that. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she loved him too but she stopped when a warm hand fell on her shoulder. Opening her eyes, Mandy found Muir standing there staring at her.  

“Mandy? Do you wish for us to hold this steady in the air the rest of the day while you daydream?”  

“Huh?”  

Mandy, his intent is to keep us apart. Our union is not one the high council wishes to see occur again. I have learned that Muir may have more at stake than he is willing to admit. He does not want us to reconcile.  

Fat chance of that, she pushed out at Armando. Why the hell would they care one way or the other? And why now?  

They did not know that we were able to conceive a child. Armando sighed. That changed everything for them, Mandy. It changed everything for me as well. I was wrong. Dead wrong and I will never be able to forgive myself for that. I only ask that you let me know that you are well, that you are happy and I will bother you no more.  

Muir touched her cheek and soothing energy moved through her, chasing the smell of Armando away. He smiled. “Are you ill? Perhaps you should lie down and allow Darren and me to finish up here on our own.”  

Nodding, but unsure why she suddenly felt so complacent, Mandy locked gazes with him. “That sounds like a good idea.”  

“Mandy?” Darren asked, sounding puzzled. “You’re really going to relinquish control of the decorating decision making to us?”  

“Of course she is, Darren.” Muir caressed her cheek gently. “Don’t you see how tired she looks?”  

Staring into Muir’s eyes, Mandy found herself smiling gently. “He’s right, Darren. I’m really tired.”  

“Hey, what the hell’s going on?” Darren asked, dropping the painting and moving towards her fast.  

Muir put his hand out and Darren stopped in mid-motion. A slight buzz of power surged up and around the room.  “Nothing is wrong, Darren. You know that all is well and that Mandy is cared for. Now, you wish to go to town and finished the errands you needed to complete. No part of you wishes to return here today. Understood?”  

Darren nodded. “Errands. Yeah. Errands sound like a good idea.”  

~*****~

“Dmitri.” 

Dmitri stiffened, automatically waking up at the seductive sound of Michelle’s voice. It was dark, but his lycan eyes could see around his bedroom easily.                

It had been a month since he’d found her in her office surrounded by shifters. She really didn’t talk about what happened, but she was jumpy and extremely nervous. Dr. Putnam had examined her for all of two seconds and handed her a bottle of pills. She was taking them once a day. All Dmitri could see them doing is making her sleep. If she wasn’t working, she was sleeping. It made it really hard to talk to her. Dr. Putnam said it could take up to a few months for the pills to work and that Dmitri wasn’t to pressure her until then.               

“Dmitri, are you awake?” 

It was Michelle’s voice, but it didn’t sound like Michelle. There was something to her tone—a lowered confidence. It was almost sultry, vixenish. His eyes focused on her and he couldn’t breathe. It was like someone punched him in the gut. Her eyes were outlined with a heavy black, her hair fell straight along her shoulders. Dmitri’s eyes drifted down, over her body. She was in a dark blue negligee.   

“Dmitri…” The bed shifted as she crawled over his thighs. “I want you, Dmitri. Make love to me right now.”   

Dmitri’s body hardened. Was this a dream? How long he’d waited to hear those words from her lips!  

Her hands skimmed along his outer thighs. His cock hardened in response. For some reason, he didn’t move. Fear curled in him—fear of scaring her off from her purpose. Though, looking at her, she didn’t seem scared at all. Her body moved with catlike grace over him. She pulled at his silk pajama bottoms, forcing the material to glide over his heated flesh to leave him completely naked. 

“Michelle—” 

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