"No."
"You're sure we can't keep her up at the cabin with us?" Ed pulled me against him, nuzzling my hair.
"It might be good idea," Nikolai agreed.
"We'll talk about it. We also have to worry about Victoria's safety," Doc reminded us.
"We could bring her up, too," Ed suggested hesitantly.
"Regardless, she's not going anywhere tonight." The possessive tone in Doc's voice sent tingles through me, and I squirmed in pleasure.
∞ ∞ ∞
Allan still felt awful about killing that mage, so Doc pulled him onto the couch and put an arm around him, comforting him. I sat on the other side and lay in his lap, one hand stretched to Doc's thigh, and the rest of me pressed into Allan. The werewolf leaned into Doc and rested his hands on my arm and hip. Doc held my hand with his free one.
We didn't speak, just let the physical contact keep us connected while Nikolai helped Ed in the kitchen.
"Food will be done in about thirty," Ed declared when he came into the living room, followed by Nikolai. He sat down on the loveseat, and Nikolai sank into the armchair.
"Nikolai, Sam was very surprised when you turned yourself invisible. She said that was supposed to be impossible. Do you know what she was talking about?" Now that everything had settled down for a while, I thought we should talk about the day a little.
"Perhaps she thought I teleported? Invisibility is my favorite spell." He grinned. "I perfected it to steal pastries."
I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"
He ducked his head for a moment, grin widening. "Yes. I was four. The baker was a werewolf. Very sensitive nose. It took six months before I perfected the spell so I wouldn't get caught. It has proven very valuable. It is easy for me, but most people have a hard time with it."
"How old are you, Nikolai?" Doc asked after a bit.
"I am old. Twenty-five." He smiled.
Ed snorted. "Not that old."
"Not now, no," Nikolai agreed. "Practically ancient for someone who's been fighting in battle since he was ten." He shrugged. "I am lucky to have survived."
"Ten?" I blurted.
"Different times. Powerful mage in a family of powerful mages. I learned the sword as soon as I could hold it. Magic almost since I was born. If we weren't fighting the Tartars, we were fighting the elements."
The oven timer chimed, interrupting us.
I reluctantly got off of Allan's lap, and we all headed into the kitchen. Even if he still felt like crap, not much would keep a werewolf from dinner. I helped Doc bring over food, and we dug in. No one spoke much, and by the time everyone had finished, my eyelids were drooping.
"Why don't you three go to bed," Nikolai suggested. "Doc and I can clean up and keep an eye on things for a while. It may be best if someone keeps watch tonight."
I shivered, unnerved by the necessity. Nikolai was right, though. We were safer here, with established protections and whatever Nikolai had added to the house, but we weren't safe.
It didn't take long for us to get ready for bed. I curled up between the two werewolves, and, knowing Nikolai and Doc kept watch, fell deeply asleep.
Chapter 17
Nikolai
"Can we keep her safe?" Doc sank down onto the couch and Nikolai sat next to him, pulling his leg up on the cushion and turning so he could face him.
Nikolai shook his head. "It is hard to say. In my time, yes. We would simply take the Andersons out. Then she would be safe. Now? Well, I don't truly exist on any records. I could still do it." He shrugged. "I would need help though, and it is dangerous. Best bet is to keep training her. She has to go to classes, though, and that takes up time. One of us should be with her all the time, but I am not sure how that's possible." He wished he had a better answer, but he didn't know enough about this time to really come up with a good solution.
"We can ask Victoria if she minds if you sleep at the dorm," Doc suggested.
"It would be better to keep her here, but that could work."
"Victoria has some protection against the mages. Sam made a shield spell for her."
"I noticed. It will not protect against physical attack, though." Nikolai sighed and leaned back against the couch. "It is very complicated. Things were much simpler when you could simply attack the enemy."
"Do you miss home?"
He shrugged. "I barely know enough about this world to say if I miss home or not. I miss some of the people. I don't know that I miss dealing with the, eh, politics, I guess you could say." He did miss the familiarity, but the companionship he had found with Sofia and the others was making up for a lot of his loss.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while before Nikolai held out his arm. "You must be starving."
Doc glanced at Nikolai, raising an eyebrow.
"You used a lot of energy helping Sofia today. Seems to follow."
Doc nodded and took Nikolai's arm. "Are you sure you're not exhausted?"
"No. I am fine. Remember, I am used to fighting entire battles with magic and sword. Despite this altitude, I'm not tired."
"Thanks."
Nikolai wasn't in the mood to start anything with Doc, and he was fairly certain the vampire wasn't interested at the moment, either, so he tried to ignore the pleasure when Doc bit down on his wrist. He leaned on the back of the couch and stared at the wall, concentrating on keeping his breathing even. Peter, his vampire partner, had never quite been able to explain how vampires controlled what the person they fed from felt, but he'd had quite a range that he could inflict on people, from outright pain, to a more neutral pleasure that only masked any potential discomfort to varying degrees of pleasure, depending on what the situation called for. Doc didn't seem to have as much control
