It was also something he had never really dreamed could be an option. His mother’s warning against turning someone had pretty much ruled that out for him. He had never found a female vampire to his taste, since many of them were among the Forsaken. The few that were not had possessed an arrogance that set him on edge. Trying to build a relationship with a Were faced two problems. The first was that he was a Pack Leader, with the obligations that went with the position. Additionally, he was an oddity among Weres in that he had an extended lifespan. If he had taken a fancy to a Were, it would have complicated things within the pack, and he would have lost his mate after what was only a small portion of his life.
He felt a warmth in his heart that he had rarely experienced before in his long, long life. He realized that his life before he met Janna — apart from the all too short love a century ago — had been just marking time. He had causes and people for whom he cared but after seeing so much of the worst of humanity, he had kept them at arms length with very few exceptions. Paul, Danislav, a handful of others, he had let in close. But none of them as close as the redhead lying next to him.
“I know a way to distract you from your damned introspection,” Janna said with mischief in her voice. She rolled over and changed her word to action with a deep, lustful kiss.
They had a late and leisurely breakfast. After eating, Boris sat on the couch and Janna sat on his lap, kissing him and trying to prod him back to bed. It was not likely that they would have another chance at an uninterrupted weekend for some time. Boris was basking in her affection, and not tempted in the least to move at all. Both were noticeably startled and upset for different reasons when there was an interruption.
Their phone rang. It was set to only let four people ring through. Danislav, Paul, Bethany Anne, and Frank. Janna reached it first.
She looked at the name, clicked the button and started talking, “Frank, what’s so important that Boris and I can’t get a full weekend alone after nearly two months of combat operations back to back?” she said, unable to keep the irritation completely of her voice. She was worn to the bone. Everyone else involved, even Danislav, had already had some time off to avoid combat fatigue.
“Hey Janna, I apologize for the interruption, but we have two important items to give you updates about. Would you please put me on the speaker?” There was a pause, as she switched the phone to speaker. “Boris, I figured you would like to know you two didn’t end up splitting up Paul’s marriage by changing him. While Alecta was not happy, she used the situation to first insist, then argue, then finally ask that she and their sons have the right to choose the same change if they so wished. This was after not talking to Paul for two weeks once he got out of the medipod. Once she was properly respectful, Bethany Anne made sure she understood the risks. She ignored everything she had just been warned about and decided she wanted to be changed as soon as possible.” They could hear the amusement in his voice
Boris sighed and said “She was always worried that if he got severely injured on one of our jobs or missions that I’d change him and that afterward, he’d feel she was somehow less. That was just paranoia in my opinion. Paul dotes on that woman.”
“I’m more worried about what this will do to our longtime friendship. I am more than his boss, he is my friend. It would grieve me terribly if that changed. I do not want to lose his friendship and our closeness. Besides, this is worse in some ways. Until recently I didn’t know I, personally, could change people. Previously, Paul would only have been a werewolf. Now he is a werebear, which is not something his wife had ever prepared for or even thought about.”
Frank continued, “Bethany Anne agreed that inactivating the Pricolici protocols for the nanocytes in Paul was a good idea, so we used his as the base. Their sons are undecided as of yet. Alexi agreed to help the reconciling couple get used to their other forms a few weeks ago. I think he must be one of the few people who likes Paul’s sense of humor.”
There was a pause on the line, the two of them heard some paper shuffling, “The second thing that you need to know is that you need to get moving. Paul and Alecta will meet you at the location I plan on providing you. We have narrowed down a likely site for the Archangelsk Base. Just give me a time.”
Before Boris could answer, Janna said “We’ll get back to you.” She quickly killed the call.
“Just one more day Boris?” she asked, a pleading look in her eyes.
“Janna, this is important. We need to find the site. I am not thrilled about having to go to Archangelsk or the region near it, since it was the only place that I always got the headaches apart from being near Michael and Barnabas before Bethany Anne fixed me. I can now feel when the Etheric is drawn on but it no longer hurts. Also, my mother told me some family legends about the region that were somewhat terrifying, even when I think of them now. It is said that there was a beast in a cave there from whom our ancestors had fled but…” Boris said
“Wait… headaches?”
“Yes. Terrible headaches, triggered by the Etheric draw of the new technology.”
“Give me another day with just us and I’ll tell you of a way that I think we can vastly reduce the time it will take us to find the base.”
“Or you could tell me this miraculous method now and we could find it a day sooner,” Boris said in a teasing tone. He knew their time alone together would be cut short as soon as this weekend was over.
Boris, please? she thought to him, the need to continue their time together flowing with her thoughts.
Boris smiled and picked up the phone. He sent a quick message to Frank and said, “Okay, but we leave at noon tomorrow.”
He was almost knocked to the floor by the unexpected and very enthusiastic tackle hug. It was going to be a pleasant and very sweaty day he suspected.
Author’s Notes – Paul C. Middleton
August 12th, 2016
Ahh, the second collaboration and the third book is done.
It should be published in 12 hours or so.
At least 30,000 words of this book are my work. I hope people like it. I’ve been told they will.
I keep getting told that my writing is constantly improving. Personally I can’t see the massive improvements people tell me I have in anything but speed. It could be I can’t see the forest for the trees.
But my Enjoyment of writing is increasing. I rarely have a day where I don’t want to write, where it all seems too hard anymore. Most of this I credit to the fans — Just knowing that my work is getting out there and being appreciated is a big boost. Even if life decides to screw me at least once a week recently.
One of these day’s I’m going to find that bloody Murphy and hang him by his toes over hot coals.
But onto the regular theme of my author’s notes: How does a Collaboration work in the way that Michael and I are doing it.
Short answer: Well.
Long answer: Communication. I remember early on in the book there was one scene I had to, for all intents, completely re-write because I’d misinterpreted a scene in one of Mike’s early books. It was a pain. But the end result worked better.
Running things past Mike at least twice a week helps me make sure I’m on target. If I’m unsure if something fits his universe I drop him a note.
It would be very different if the Universe was shared. Again, and I cannot emphasize this enough, I consider the universe his. I respect that. If there is something he wants changed or scrapped, that is what I do. I think that I now see why some authors explicitly state a ‘No Fanfic’ rule. It actually makes more sense to me now, than when I was just writing in my own. I can also see why many authors either turn a blind eye or actively (if covertly) encourage it. I’m still on the fence, personally, but in my on series (Betrayed by Faith) I am leaning towards a ‘No Fanfic’ if only because I will be walking a fine line between condemning some things and disrespecting them. The difference at times, to me, can be a molecule wide.