by A. E. Via
He had received a head from a horseman.
What did it mean that Adres hadn’t hesitated to kill for him? And that Macauley had liked it. His wolf had been proud to receive it.
Guys, guys, I’m fine. Yes, I’m home. No, I’m not hurt, not even a scratch. Justice, I need to take a quick shower, then I’ll be headed towards you. Macauley stepped into the shower, groaning at the high-pressured water beating against his chest. And Farica, I was not hit, I promise. If I was, I wouldn’t be talking to you now.
My gods… I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you… I wouldn’t—
He could feel her anguish, but he didn’t have the strength to console her. Instead, he told them goodbye and hurried to clear the link… meaning the conversation was over. They weren’t forceful with their communication if one of them was done talking; it could cause a splitting migraine if either of them pushed too hard.
Macauley began to wash quickly, not having the luxury of enjoying the peace and quiet as he scrubbed away caked-up dirt and grime. He continued to replay the details of the fight in his head to keep them fresh, knowing he was going to have to give a full account to his brother and the vampire king in front of their entire court.
However, all he was able to focus on was Adres’s frustrating scent… or lack thereof.
Adres had slowly allowed Macauley to smell a bit more of him than he did at their first encounter, but it wasn’t near enough to satisfy him or his wolf. The small amount he did get had been good. Really good. When Adres had permitted him to get as close as he did—so close that Macauley had felt the vampire’s cool breath on his jaw—he’d caught the scent of berries beneath the potent smell of leather and darkness.
His heart began to beat faster, and his cock got heavier, which was confusing the hell out of him. It was no secret he adored the ladies. When the female betas went into heat was one of his favorite times of the month, always being one of the first to offer his services. Never had he gotten a fucking chub from thinking of another man’s scent, so he was sticking with his original theory that Adres was someone important to him.
Most likely his mate.
It was the unexplainable void in the center of Adres’s soul that made it impossible for Macauley to know for sure, and it was making his wolf anxious to claw its way to its origin and eliminate it. But the only way he could do that was if Adres allowed it, because the brute force he’d been using before to penetrate Adres’s core had been ineffective.
He thought of the way Adres had pushed his righteous energy right back at him and blocked him from reaching a deeper part of him. No one had the strength to do something like that except for his older siblings or a god.
And Adres was neither.
Unless, of course, he’s more than just a vampire. Macauley turned off the hot water and stepped out of the steaming room, his head almost as foggy as his bathroom mirror. Fuck! I just wanna know if he’s mine.
He ignored his hard-on that refused to go down as long as he kept reliving what’d just happened. Macauley hadn’t been able to see the fight, but he’d heard it. And he now knew firsthand just how deadly Adres Cavalerie was.
Fuck me. He groaned as a long trail of pre-come leaked from the tip of his dick to his thigh. Is this really happening? He was still dripping wet from his shower when he struggled to pull on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve sweater that only had a couple of holes in the back.
It was almost three in the morning, and his king-sized bed was calling to him, but his stomach was yelling even louder. He was on his way to his kitchen to grab a couple of protein bars when he heard growling just outside his front door. Still on high alert from the attack, Macauley darted around his dining table and leapt over the sofa. He exploded out of the door in time to hear his first beta give Anna and Rich the order.
“Shift,” Bundy growled, and both of Macauley’s betas ripped through their clothing, their snarling wolves glaring towards the tree line. “Either come out, or I’m sending them in to get you!” Bundy stood with his big fist clenched at his sides, the veins in his forearms bulging, his jaw set firmer than steel. “Your choice!”
“What the fuck is going on out here?” Macauley barked, his eyes trained on the dark woods.
“There’s someone watching your place.” Bundy narrowed his eyes.
Macauley couldn’t see anything but blackness, but his betas were right. He could smell them. Vampires.
“Come out now!” Bundy demanded, his temper flaring.
Macauley didn’t think any hostiles would’ve made it this close to the main compound—they had too many guards posted for that—but he wasn’t taking any chances, and it didn’t appear his betas wanted to, either. So, it’d be wise if whoever was hiding didn’t test them.
It only took a few seconds before two identical vampires emerged through the thick foliage surrounding the side of his cabin. They were not threatening as they came towards them with their heads lowered and their eyes darting back and forth between each other as if one was silently blaming the other.
“Why are you lurking outside of my alpha’s house?” Bundy asked in his stern tone before the vampires could open their mouths.
“I am Omor, and this is my sister, Daciana. We apologize for making our presence so obvious, Alpha. We’ll do better in the future,” the male said. At least, Macauley thought he sounded male, but he looked exactly like his sister. Long, thick blond hair, plump lips, and flawless alabaster skin.
“What do you mean ‘in the future’?” Macauley stepped in front of Bundy.
“We are to keep you safe, Alpha.” Both of them bared their throats, causing him and Bundy to gasp as they glanced at each other in disbelief.
“Did that seriously just happen?” Anna whispered after she shifted.
“We only bow to our king, but we understand that this is the greatest form of respect to an alpha,” Daciana said in a low tenor with her head still tilted to the side.
“I appreciate your respect.” Macauley didn’t touch their throats like he would’ve another shifter, because vampires didn’t have a beast within that would feel the comfort. But he wanted them to know that he respected the gesture. He just wasn’t sure what he’d done to earn it. “Thank you. But you don’t need to hide in the woods behind my house. I don’t need your protection. You can go back to your duties for Wick.”
The twins glanced at each other, appearing uncomfortable before the male tilted his head again. “We assure you, we will be far more discreet if our presence bothers you.”
Anna put her vest back on and slid the flimsy material she used as a skirt up over her full hips. “Our alpha said he doesn’t need your protection. Besides, he has us.”
“That’s right. So, you’re both relieved of your duty.” Bundy folded his arms over his chest, still eyeing the vampires as if he didn’t believe them, but so far, they had told nothing but the truth.
Omor seemed to be the more vocal of the pair as he was the first to address the awkward silence. “I’m afraid, beta, that you do not have the authority to relieve us of this duty.” He glanced at his sister, and she gave him a quick nod. “Our orders come directly from the Lord of Arms.”
Omor looked Macauley dead in his eyes. “We are to guard you with our lives… or else…”
He didn’t need to finish his sentence for Macauley to understand what he meant when he let the rest of his words trail off. “Adres sent you?”
Daciana nodded, a slight smile tilting her angelic face. “It is a high honor.”
“Holy shit,” Bundy muttered. “That scary-ass guy did this? Why would he give you a protection detail?”
Macauley knew exactly why. It meant he hadn’t been the only one who felt their connection.
The war room was a large underground bunker made into the side of a steep mountain about four miles from the main compound. Taleb had it set up with the latest state-of-the-art technology, complete with satellite and black-market hacking software allowing them to ga
ther intelligence and strategize if under attack. The bunker had been his little brother’s brilliant idea as a precaution. They’d been run off their birth land after the last war. And they all agreed that it would be best to be ready if it ever happened again.
That was many years ago. They had made quite a bit of use of it since then.
Everyone was already waiting for him when he and his betas walked inside. His eldest brother, Justice, sat at the head of the long table with the vampire king looking regal and important at his side. Wick was having a private, animated conversation with Belleron, who sat to his right. All heads turned in his direction, and discussions quickly died to complete silence. With his shoulders back and his head high, Macauley went and took his seat, third down from his AZ.
Are you okay, brother?
Macauley met Justice’s assessing blue eyes. I’m fine. Let’s get started.
Important pack members, officers, and Wick’s royal court were all in attendance and about to hang on his every word. Macauley wasn’t used to being the center of attention. His voice was dominant and held weight in this room, but he rarely needed to speak. He would always concur with Justice and Alek’s counsel since his role in the family was more of an enforcer. A worker. The AZ and his second oldest brother had to do the diplomatic traveling, and Macauley was usually required to stay home and protect the pack with Farica. Now, he had to try to explain what the fuck had happened tonight. There were only three people that could give an account, and one of them was missing.
“Mac. In your own words, as simple as you can put it, tell us exactly what happened when you were near the border tonight.” Orwin St. Charles was Wick’s lead intelligence officer. Macauley had gotten to know the older vampire well over the last several months when he’d arrived with Wick. He had several files and books spread in front of him as if he’d been researching all evening. “And please start at the beginning. The first thing you remember.”
“I remember it all.”
Macauley retold everything that happened up until Adres had presented him with an assassin’s severed head. He was careful to leave out his and Adres’s personal conversation and what he’d discovered when he caught a glimpse of his core.
He wouldn’t start out whatever it was they had building by violating Adres’s trust.
Adres stood out of sight, beyond the entrance to the tunnel that led to the holding cells below ground. He’d already recounted the events to the king and AZ in private; he wasn’t interested in talking politics or war strategy. They most likely wouldn’t appreciate his suggestion of killing any and all who had anything to do with the attack, even ones that had secondhand knowledge but did nothing. That was his irrational feelings about the attack on the young wolf.
He had all of his shields up so the other vampires could not smell that he was just on the other side of the wall inside the war room, but as he listened to Macauley tell his version of the events tonight in his deep, throaty tenor, he felt them slip when he glossed over the parts where he’d pressed Adres against the tree and he’d allowed a minuscule portion of his soul to be seen.
Zeii! What was I thinking? It was not in his character to lose control like he had… especially for a shifter he barely knew.
“We are your intelligence officers, Your Majesty, we should be permitted to question the other witness.”
“Orwin, I already told you and the other officers, Justice and I questioned the Lord of Arms. You all have his complete transcript before you.”
There was an extended moment of tense silence, and Adres imagined each entitled vampire in King Bentley’s court, glaring back and forth at each other, appalled that they were being denied anything.
“We have a Cavalerie in the royal court, my king. The eldest no less.” Another spoke up, his tone revealing his offense. “It would be a great honor if he would sit with us.”
“An honor for you, maybe, but not for him.”
Adres’s heart sped up at Macauley’s sharp comeback.
“Excuse me?” the uppity individual balked. Adres could imagine the outrage on the vampire’s face. “Are we no longer required to speak to each other with respect?”
“I said nothing disrespectful.” Macauley replied.
“Adres Cavalerie does not wish to participate in the king’s official business or in Justice’s pack politics—”
“Yet he swore an oath and accepted the title as Lord.” The vampire cut Belleron off, and Adres smelled the pungent stench of anger inside the darkened cave.
Belleron’s voice traveled on a higher sound wave, and Adres knew he’d stood to address whatever lower-ranking officer had interrupted him. Belleron’s tone held warning. “We do not need Adres for planning and strategy. He has sworn to execute the king’s orders without question and protect his territory.” Belleron paused before he finally added, “Tonight, he went above and beyond that duty.”
“He saved my brother’s life.” Justice rumbled. “I couldn’t care less if he wants to sit here and have a back-and-forth or not.”
“Our brother could be dead if Adres did not kill those assassins—”
“Farica, I mean no disrespect by cutting you off, but—”
“You don’t mean to be disrespectful, but yet, you still decided to interrupt me.” Adres heard a delicate sigh. “Now, like I was saying, General, before you so rudely interjected. If those assassins would have made it into the mainlands, heaven knows what kind of havoc they might have caused. The Lord of Arms is a hero. Yet it sounds as if you are sowing doubts.”
“I’m simply stating what no one else here will. That Adres Cavalerie should be questioned. Our king has not been attacked in the United States since his mating. Something seems off.”
Adres felt his insides start to heat with rage as he quickly picked up on the insinuation. And this particular vampire—the general—was not surrendering without a decent fight.
“I’m far too old to believe in coincidences. The horseman is here for a week—a family that has built their legacy on challenging royalty—and then suddenly, assassins lethal enough to breach your stronghold, Justice, appear in the middle of the night.”
“What the fuck are you saying?” Adres heard Macauley growl.
It was amazing how Adres could easily distinguish Macauley’s voice amongst the twenty other alphas in that room. He pressed his back against the cold stone wall as he put a tight clamp on his fury and reinforced his shields. How dare he be accused of such treachery and dishonor? Adres might have been evil, but he still lived by a moral code. This vampire spoke boldly of his family’s origin, but he spoke false truths.
An offense punishable by death.
The room suddenly erupted with stern murmurs and passionate threats. So many spoke up at once that Adres didn’t try to keep track. Instead, he was more focused on the long, threatening snarl that came from one wolf.
“What are you trying to say?”
“How dare you, sir?”
“You are way out of line, General.”
“That is a solely baseless theory.”
“We were there. We saw the horseman fight with honor. A real soldier can recognize true heart on the battlefield.” Adres recognized the Lord Protector’s Hispanic accent. “He wielded a power that is not of this world. And I and the king’s legion were privileged enough to witness it tonight.”
“You are being blinded by his stardom. How do you know that you have not all fallen for his act? We have to at least consider deception.”
Adres had heard enough. One should be more hesitant before they spoke about him so casually. The room burst into more angry disagreements. Many of them coming to his defense and others giving consideration to what was being implied.
Adres pulled his hood lower on his forehead and eased from behind the wall. He moved like the stealthy killer he was, until he was standing a couple of feet from the back of Macauley’s chair.
Belleron was the first to spot him, his voice catching before he stood to his fe
et and announced, “Lord Adres. Thank you for coming.”
Adres ignored the startled gasp when the others turned and saw him, as it seemed that he had appeared out of thin air, but he had not. They had been too busy bickering and sowing division within the ranks to notice him.
Adres stared at the vampire who had sullied his name and called him out. He felt an icy hand curl around his anger and squeeze before he gritted out, “So, you have a theory, General…”
The one who had been so strong in his convictions and had almost fallen out of his chair when Adres appeared now sat paralyzed with his heart beating too fast. The smell of panic tore through him and caused an odor vile enough to clear the room.
“Are you finally feeling honored, General Telek?” Macauley asked.
The legion vampires snapped to attention and returned to their tight formation behind the Lord Protector, showing Adres the respect his title earned. All eyes in the room were on the parts of Adres they could see—his nose, his mouth, his chin. No one could overlook the leather armor over his chest and the charmed sword across his back. His hood had been designed with a specially crafted fabric that allowed him to see out, but no one could see through the thick, midnight cloth.
The general’s nostrils flared before he gnashed his fangs. “Yes. It is indeed an honor. I am General Telek Denys of the Northern Forces Defense Alliance.” He stood slowly and extended a shallow bow in Adres’s direction, appearing more than uncomfortable. “You can lower your shield now, my Lord.”
“Disregard that,” Macauley growled. “He does not need to scent you.”
Adres had a difficult time tamping down his body’s reaction to Macauley’s possessiveness… to his commands.
Neither the king nor the AZ interfered, though a single word from either of them would have put an immediate end to the standoff, but Adres was glad they understood a man was responsible for his own actions… and his words.
General Telek tugged at the immaculate Windsor knot of his black silk tie as he stared at the dark tribal markings on Adres’s fingers.