Chapter dedicated to White_she_wolf96. Thanks for slapping the Vote button silly!  Much love!

Chapter 101 –Decisions– Raine's POV

After Cage left, I sat down in one of the chairs and motioned to another for Talon to join me. He hesitated, but this time it was because he was staring at the plans spread out on the table. I couldn't quite interpret his expression, and wondered what he was thinking, and then the moment was gone. He made his way to the chair and sat across from me.

I jumped right in fervently, "Talon, I am so sorry for trying to kill you, and...um..." I let the sentence drag in the air because I wasn't exactly sure how to apologize for giving him an orgasm.

He twisted his hands in his lap and a light blush painted his cheeks as he replied, "It's fine."

"No, it isn't. I never wanted to treat you with force...or um, sexually..."

He surprised me with an impish grin, and said softly, "I didn't mind the orgasm."

I exhaled, relieved that he truly seemed okay and we could laugh about it now. He continued, "And I was extremely grateful that Master Cage did not take offense to my...response...to you."

"Yes, he completely understood that I didn't give you any choice in the matter. And honestly, I don't even recall doing it. I was appalled when Cage told me about it later."

He nodded.

Another knock at the door interrupted us. I wondered who it was because Cage wouldn't have knocked, and we hadn't planned to meet up with Echo and his men for another hour. Talon automatically stood and went to get the door. He briefly looked through the peephole and then opened the door for Ivy to come in.

As soon as she was in the room with the door shut behind her, she saw me and dropped to her knees. I urged her quickly, "Ivy, please stand. Come join us."

When she and Talon were both settled in chairs, I realized she was still wearing a collar. I was distracted for a moment as Cage's words about borrowing a collar for sex play flashed through my brain. A little burst of heat caused my pelvis to clench, but I immediately shoved the thoughts out of my head. Now wasn't the time to be fantasizing about Cage.

She could be a bit skittish, especially around me, so I spoke softly, in an effort not to alarm her, "Ivy, while we are away from our kingdom, I do not want you to wear a collar. We want to avoid being recognized as vampires, if possible, and the collar would be a tell-tale sign."

"Of course, Mistress," she answered immediately and turned her back to Talon, so that he could unhook the collar. He slipped it off and placed it onto a small side table. Ivy straightened in her chair and stared down at her carefully clasped hands, following pet protocol for when they are in the presence of royalty.

My glance drifted to her outfit. She wore a pair of extremely short shorts that hugged her frame and barely covered her ass. On top, her cleavage was pushed higher by a black corset. It was a hell-of-a-lot more clothing than most pets were allowed to wear, but not at all appropriate for civilian travel. I frowned. Why had I not thought about this before we left?

Talon eyed me warily, sensing my displeasure.

I met his gaze and instructed, "Talon, take Ivy into my closet and have her change into a pair of my pants and shirt. Find something black. I have several sets of fighting gear on hand, use one of those."

Ivy lost her decorum for just a minute and her eyes snapped up to me in surprise. She quickly refocused her gaze in her lap again, but Talon was already standing and held his hand out to her. She looked up at him, her eyes still questioning. He nodded, and she took his hand and let him lead her out of the room.

Five minutes later, they returned. She had changed into a pair of tight black leathers that hugged her hips and legs. Talon had paired it with a matching black top.

She settled back in her chair and looked down at her lap.

"Ivy," I spoke gently again to get her to look at me. Her head snapped up obediently. I smiled and teased, "You look great, like you're ready to kick someone's ass. I think Talon had better watch out."

She blushed a beautiful shade of pink, and grinned widely at my words. She breathed, "Thank you, Mistress."

"Of course. Also, until we return to our kingdom, I do not want you to bow to me or anyone else. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mistress," she replied quickly.

I turned back to Talon to give him instructions. "While we are gone, you will be in charge of the humans. Echo has given them explicit instructions that they are not to do anything without your express permission."

Talon's eyes were wide, but confident. "Yes, my Queen."

I frowned. I hadn't seen any of the other pets when we left, so had no idea how they were dressed. I asked him worriedly, "Do you know if they are wearing collars?"

He shook his head and replied, "No, I saw all ten males before we left and again when we stopped to refill fuel for the vehicles. None had collars."

I relaxed a little. He went on to answer my next question before I asked it, "They are also dressed in normal human civilian gear."

"Okay, good." My glance drifted down to what he was wearing. It was almost identical to Cage and he surprisingly filled the shirt and pants very nicely. I probably should have already been aware of that fact, but when I had seen him naked in the past, I had avoided looking directly at his body, trying to give him some semblance of respect and privacy. After that point, he only wore jeans and t shirts, so nothing that really hugged his form.

Looking at him now, I found he had a broad chest, trim waist and thick thighs that suggested unreleased power. His shoulder length dark hair was pulled away from his face and tied at the back of his neck, highlighting his strong cheek bones, chin and nose.

He must have been confused by my obvious ogling because he interrupted tentatively, "My Queen...?"

I didn't answer him. Instead I noticed he had several sheathes strapped to his body. I looked up at him and asked in surprise, "Talon, are those knives?"

Another soft blush graced his cheeks. "Yes, Master Cage insisted I carry whatever weapons I felt comfortable with."

My eyebrows rose. I had become quite familiar with weapons thanks to Cage and could recognize throwing knives verses hand-to-hand-combat knives. And it appeared Talon carried all throwing knives. They required a much higher skill-set to successfully manipulate. I asked curiously, "And you are comfortable with throwing knives?"

This time there was a hint of pride and confidence in his features as he replied, "Yes, my Queen."

I was intrigued. "Would you give us a demonstration?"

His eyes widened and he looked at me in confusion. I stood and found an unusually small book from a nearby bookshelf. It was only about 3 x4 inches in size. I walked across the large expanse of the room to a chair at the farthest wall. I placed the small book in the seat of the chair so that it stood up against the back. I looked over my shoulder at Talon and questioned, "Is this too far?"

He shook his head and murmured, "No."

"Okay." I returned to him. He stood from his chair. Ivy and I moved to the side and slightly behind him.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting. Maybe I anticipated he would extract a knife and then study the target for a moment, maybe even move his arm a few times to practice the movement before he threw it.

But he did none of those things.

Instead, I never even saw the knife before he grasped it from some unknown pocket and hurled it across the room, all in one smooth motion.

There was a wooshing noise as it sliced through the air and then a distinct thud as it impacted the target. I stared in astonishment, I could plainly see he had hit the book in the dead center.

"Oh!" Ivy squeaked and jumped at his sudden and unexpected aggressive release of violence.

I finally breathed, "Fuck, Talon."

He turned to face me, clearly proud of himself. He should have been. That was a hell of a throw. I asked, "Does Cage know you can throw like that?"

He answered sheepishly, "Yes, Master Cage is aware. It is the reason he encouraged me to carry them during this trip."

I was still staring at him like he had three heads. A part of me probably shouldn't have been surprised because I had always felt an incredible undercurrent of strength and calm inside of him, but I assumed it only pertained to his character and never expected to find it was physical as well. "Where did you learn to throw like that?"

His eyes clouded over. His lips were set in a thin hard line as he replied, "I used every private moment I had to train my body. Mistress was never aware that one of the other pets allowed me to practice with their knives. I guess I naively thought if I became strong enough, I would be able to escape her one day."

Rage coiled through my belly again, but I controlled it. I didn't want to scare Talon. No one spoke for a moment. Talon broke the awkward silence by asking quietly, "My Queen, if it is not too forward of me to ask, why do you have plans for Marku's Under Cellar?"

My head snapped to attention and I asked sharply, "Talon, are you familiar with these drawings?!"

He took an unconscious step back at my unexpected intensity and replied quickly, "No, my Queen, I have not seen those documents in the past. I recognize them because I have traveled the passageways before."

I just stared in stunned disbelief. My head swirled with questions, so many that my mouth couldn't quite bring any of them to audible words.

And then it all made sense.

Talon was from Marku's kingdom!

I don't know how it had eluded me before. I had meant to ask Talon which kingdom he was from, so that I could track down his insidious previous owner, but we never got that far in our conversations. His pain was so keen and close to the surface that I hated to put him through it, until I was ready to focus on giving her my own brand of justice.

"What is her name?" I asked quietly.

His face looked stricken. I didn't need to clarify who I was asking about. It took him a moment and then he mumbled, "Seraphine." He shuddered hard.

Fury coursed unchecked through me again. I knew we were here to find Marku's location, but I had no intention of letting this opportunity pass me by. I would find that bitch and then she would pay for what she did to him.

I asked, "How familiar are you with Marku's kingdom? Do you know where his Security Team is located?"

"No...I know where the Council Room is, but not the Security Unit."

Cage also knew where the Council Room was located, so that didn't really help us. But if Talon had been in the tunnels, he was vastly ahead of us in knowledge. I motioned him toward the table and pointed at the drawings. "These are the two routes we planned to take. What can you tell me about them? Is there a better route we should consider instead?"

He studied the plans carefully. His brow furrowed and he shook his head. He followed one of the lines we had marked with his fingers and murmured, "I don't think that is right. These two tunnels do not exist and there are several that are not included in this drawing."

"Fuck!" I swore under my breath. We knew using the drawings was a risk, but I had hoped for more accuracy. I needed to let Cage know. It might be too dangerous for us to attempt an Intel mission now.

Talon interrupted my troubled thoughts, "Take me with you."

"I'm sorry, what?"

He said it firmer, "Take me with you. I can help...please let me help."

I flat out refused. "Talon, I am not allowing you to get anywhere near that horrid woman ever again. Even though I feel confident that Cage and I could protect you, I would never put you at risk like that. You are too vulnerable."

Unexpectedly, hurt flashed over his features for just a moment and then it was gone. His next words completely floored me. His tone was quiet but contained zero hesitation when he said, "Turn me."

Ivy sucked in a sharp breath.

I looked up at Talon and said as gently as I could, "Talon, you hate vampires. I know you do not want that."

His resolved only seemed to strengthen. He stood straighter and his eyes tightened as he spoke meaningfully, "I do not hate all vampires. Like it or not, this is my life now." His voice waivered as he continued, "I don't want to be weak anymore."

My heart went out to him. I intimately understood what he meant. I hated that feeling of being so vulnerable and so out of control. I studied him carefully to see if this was what he really wanted.

He held my gaze, silently communicating he had no doubts.

I finally agreed, "Okay."

"Really?" he breathed, hope growing in his expression. It was clear he hadn't expected that answer.

I nodded, fully focused on how I would accomplish it. He interrupted my thoughts when he asked, "Shall I call Master Cage?"

"No!" I answered a little bit too strongly.

He looked at me in confusion and a little hurt, assuming I had changed my mind. I hadn't. I just didn't want Cage to change him.

I wanted to do it.

Talon belonged to me.

.

Soooo...thoughts here? Do you think she will go through with it?