Stay True To Me: An MM Vampire/Wolf Shifter Standalone Story

by Lisa Oliver

  “So, Con can stay asleep with our precious babies, and I can, with the backing of the shifter council, handle this my own way?” Suddenly, Ven didn’t feel so tired anymore.

  “Under shifter law, you have every right. In fact, when my contact realized who the Donel alpha mate was, he actually giggled. Said it was ‘the demoness situation all over again’ and wished you and Con well. I don’t think my contact likes territory takeovers very much as they involve too much paperwork.”

  “And I am the law in my own territory anyway. Hmmm…” Ven tapped the desk with his fingernail. “The only question is, do I tell my beloved about this before or after I’ve dispatched Jones back to his own lands with his tail between his legs?”

  “If the advice from a confirmed bachelor is worth anything, you tell him before,” Mosh said firmly. “He’ll be pissed and think you’re treating him like a weakling if you don’t include him in the decision-making process. Plus which, you need a shower like yesterday, security needs to be beefed up around the little ones until that alpha is gone, and you need to feed from your beloved, before meeting Jones.”

  Ven nodded. “I did wonder why there were extra guards around the elevators, but I’ve always trusted your judgement.” This time his finger tapped on the space above his upper lip. “We’re going to need help, Con and I, I mean. I can understand Con insisting he and I are the only ones who deal with Donny and Demetra considering how young and helpless they are, and I know all other parents go through a similar anxiety about leaving their young with others when the little ones are so small. But Con needs to realize they are all safe in this territory.”

  “Not to mention, if Con insists on meeting Jones with you, which he probably will, you’re going to need nannies and guards to keep the babies safe and away from any action.” Mosh reached inside his jacket, pulling out a piece of paper which he handed over to Ven.

  “What’s this?” Ven scanned the paper. It was a resume.

  “Your new nannies are on standby. Lion shifters, a sweet older couple whose own children have grown and moved on. They were running a little trinket shop in town up until a year ago. They thought at the time they’d retire, travel and see some sights. However, Marsha claims her mate Rose is driving her nuts. She hates travelling and would far rather stay in town. They actually came to me asking me if they could set up a nanny agency, but there’s not a lot of need for it here. As you can see, both Marsha and Rose have previous nursing and nannying experience, and they are both powerful enough in shifted form, to protect the twins if anyone got past the guards.”

  “They’d have to live at the hotel.” Ven’s mind was already racing, picturing how something like introducing nannies to his beloved would work. “It would probably only be a few days or nights a week at the moment. Con is a very hands-on father.”

  “So are you,” Mosh noted. “But the fact remains, you have responsibilities here, and the consort does need to address what he is going to do with the Donel territory and the pack house. You would both be in a better frame of mind to handle the challenges to your positions if you got some solid sleep and did a spot of connecting with each other.”

  “Gods, that sounds like heaven.” Ven sighed and looked at the paper again. He remembered the ladies; they had approached him to live in town about fifty years before after their pride wouldn’t recognize their mating. “Call them now and ask them if they can start in an hour, do an overnight tonight, through until at least lunch tomorrow. Tell Jones he can have a meeting with me at eleven in the morning, all normal protocols to be observed. And Mosh…”

  “My lord, as if I would ever let anyone near the twins who I thought would harm them.”

  “I know, but until Con and I are confident Marsha and Rose fully understand the needs of our children, watch them.”

  Mosh chuckled. “I’ll probably be giving them a hand. There’s nothing that stirs my masculinity more, than holding a tiny baby in my arms and knowing they trust me enough to sleep.”

  “You seriously need to start looking for a beloved of your own, but the uncle status is yours.” Ven grinned and stretched. “Okay, Con and I are on a date night, effective as soon as I can get Donny and Demetra out of his fur. I just hope my dick will rise once my fangs have dropped, because heaven knows at this point, I’m not sure either thing is possible, I’m so freaking tired.”

  “Welcome to the joys of parenthood, my lord.”

  “Asshole.” Levering himself out of his chair, Ven hurried back to the bedroom to prepare his beloved for the next twenty-four hours. Being as tired as he was, Ven’s diplomacy skills were running low and the last thing he wanted to do was spend the next twenty-four hours arguing with Con.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Con was torn. He’d accepted Ven’s hiring of nannies, purely because he was too tired to protest. By the time the two delightful women had swooped in, cooing and making cute faces at the little ones, who didn’t cry when they picked them up, he was emotionally and physically shattered enough to be grateful. He couldn’t do a lot about the feelings of guilt he got, leaving his babies with others while taking a long hot bath with his mate, uninterrupted. Their lovemaking and feeding Ven afterward did settle something niggly in his soul, letting him know how important it was to stay connected with his mate, and he felt better for that reinforcement.

  But the business with Bartholomew Jones raised an ugly question Con wasn’t sure how to address – if Jones was the twins’ father, and Ven said Mosh was rarely wrong, what right did he have to keep two pups who weren’t his by blood?

  Because that’s what Megan wanted? Con wasn’t convinced on the validity of that point. Megan was under considerable duress when she gave the twins away and took her own life, and it could be argued she hadn’t been in her right mind for a while.

  Because I was Megan’s alpha, and that gave me the rights under shifter law? Con thought about this argument a lot. It was credible, and if mentioned in front of the shifter council, Con would probably win his case. But the problem Con had was, did he want to be known as the alpha who refused a biological father rights to his flesh and blood?

  “You’re worrying again.” Ven came into the room, looking as sharp as he did the day Con met him. His suit was new, the creases evident in his hip hugging pants.

  “I can’t help it,” Con got up from his seat on the bed, reaching for his own new jacket. “Fathers often get a bum deal when it comes to custody of their kids. What if this Jones is a decent character who just wants to see his flesh and blood?”

  “If he cared at all for the mother, and we both know how unlikely that was, he would’ve been plastered by Megan’s side the moment he heard Donny was dead.” Ven came over, standing in front of him, his amazing powers simmering, but definitely present.

  “Think about it, babe. In shifter society, what man knowingly shafts the mate of another alpha – an alpha who’d approached him for a merger deal because he was worried about the safety of those unborn twins, even though on a subconscious level at least, Donny knew they probably weren’t his.”

  “An arrogant son of a bitch.” Con hadn’t considered that angle. “If Jones knew, or even suspected the twins were his, then why was he still emailing Donny two days before Don’s death?”

  “And more to the point, in the six weeks before you moved your pack here, for the safety he could have provided, why didn’t Jones get in touch with you, offering a renewed merger deal, and at least enquiring about Megan’s health? He could have met with you, told you about the twins being his, claimed Megan as his own bond mate and taken her off your hands.”

  Con huffed. “Unless he thought Megan was responsible for killing Donny and the other pack members. But you don’t think this is about the twins, do you? You think he wants the Donel territory.”

  “I think a virile alpha like Jones claims to be, probably already has a dozen pups to his name. I think you stunned him by moving the remains of the pack out of Donel territory when you did. It could be, a
fter the attack, he believed you’d reach out to him for merger talks then. Jones knew it was Donny’s twin being offered for a mating treaty. He had to have known you’d be the first person Megan would call with Donny dead.”

  “Or Jones imagined Megan would call him.” Con was starting to see a much bigger picture emerge from the whole tragedy.

  “The thing is, after losing your twin, being riddled with grief, it would be logical for an arrogant man like him to assume you’d go begging for his help the moment the dust had cleared. I imagine that’s why he’s held off so long from getting in touch. If you approached him, asking him for help with your pack decimated and an alpha mate who was ready to have twins your pack couldn’t protect – imagine what sort of power that would give him over you then.”

  “There’s still no guarantee he’s not after the twins as well.” Con’s arms felt empty without them, and the only reason he wasn’t in the nursery checking on them, was because Marsha and Rose had taken them for a walk in the park, along with a whole contingent of vampire guards.

  “If one of our babies was born with the alpha gene, then I agree we might have to fight for our claim on them in front of the shifter council. He took in all three omegas from your pack, and our omega is male. A lot of alphas still don’t like that despite the progressive changes the council are trying to make. I’ll bet you anything you like that once Jones knows Megan didn’t get her wish for an alpha son, his only interest is going to be on what will happen to our territory.”

  Con was quick to pick up on his mate’s emphasis. “You think he’s going to challenge me, don’t you? And you’re letting me know, in your oblique way, that you’d rather fight him than see me do it.”

  Ven patted his chest. “I’m a lot older than you, and more inclined to be cynical. I also know it never pays to go into any meeting without being prepared for every eventuality.” Standing on tiptoes, he brushed his lips across Con’s chin. “I won’t weaken your standing as an alpha in front of him, but I also know that if one drop of your blood is spilled today as a result of this meeting, the Jones pack will be looking for a new alpha by nightfall. Is that clear enough for you?”

  “Crystal, babe.” Con wanted to be angry, insist that as an alpha it was his business to protect Ven and the twins. But in reality, he just wanted to be cocooned in their suite, watching over Donny and Demetra away from all the pack politics and showboating that so many alphas seemed to enjoy. He’d already killed once to avenge his twin’s death, a victory that still felt hollow to him. Donny was still dead. He’d never be able to hold his namesake and his sister. Con would never again hear that teasing voice over the phone, telling him to get a life, or at least get laid. His twin was gone. Nothing was going to change that, and all Con wanted to do now was focus on the family he had.

  “Let’s go and deal with this asshole, and then find lunch before the twins get back from their walk,” he suggested. “You mentioned Jones doesn’t know you and I are true mated?”

  “It would appear your little pack omegas believed all Megan’s lies and didn’t think it was possible two men could lay together like a man and a woman can, so they didn’t mention it to Jones.” Ven smirked. “Jones thinks he’s meeting me as a courtesy demanded of him while visiting my territory. Mosh tells me he’s most put out, having to wait three days to do it. Not to mention, we’re running late. He’s sitting in one of the regular offices down on the ground floor.”

  “Then let’s not keep him waiting any longer, shall we, babe?” Con offered his arm, which Ven took. Time to pull my alpha pants on.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Ven didn’t like Bartholomew Jones on sight. The man was huge even for a wolf shifter, as though he’d regularly ingested steroids for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and his sneer did nothing for his harsh looks. Built like a water tank, his arms were permanently forced out from his sides due to his barrel chest, his biceps covered in thick veins. In contrast, his fingers were chunky, short in comparison to the rest of him, and Ven idly wondered if the joke about thumb and penis size applied to Jones. If so, Jones’ lovers would be disappointed.

  The man was sprawled across a two-person love seat, dressed in an old t-shirt, baggy jeans and scuffed boots. For someone who ran a large pack, Ven imagined the dressing down was Jones’ way of making a point and was glad he’d worn a new suit.

  Mosh didn’t like Jones either. “Get to your feet when the Prince enters the room,” he snarled, showing impressive fangs.

  “This is the Prince?” Jones didn’t try to hide his sneer as he slowly got to his feet, barely nodding his head in greeting. “I didn’t imagine someone who ran such a large territory, would be so… petite.” If curses were horse shit, Ven would be drowning in it.

  “Fortunately, ignorance is curable, Alpha Jones,” Ven said steadily as he and Con took chairs on the other side of his desk. “I’ve never made the mistake of thinking a person’s size equated to their strength, or moral fiber. I’m sure anyone with an ounce of intelligence would feel the same way. You may sit.”

  Jones remained standing, his face flushing bright red. “I didn’t come here to be insulted by Nancy vamps who’ve got nothing better to do than keep an alpha sitting around with his thumb up his ass for three whole days. I came to speak to Donel, so if you don’t mind fucking off, I’ll get this matter over with, and get out of your territory.”

  “What you do with your thumb in your free time, is entirely your affair, Jones.” Ven put on the bored tone he used with so many visiting dignitaries who thought their shit didn’t stink. “Anything you need to say to Alpha Donel, you can say in front of me. I keep a very close eye on everything that goes on in my territory, as I’m sure you already know. After all, you would have done your homework before you came barging into my territory, I’m sure – an astute alpha like yourself.”

  Jones’ face was going purple. “Look, you, whoever you are. This is wolf business, right? Nothing to do with bloodsuckers who take some perverse pleasure in taking in shifters and paranormals of all types into their ‘oh so sweet’ little town and then lording over them like dragons with a horde. Wolves don’t need anyone sticking their nose into their affairs. Nothing I’ve got to say has anything to do with stuck up pretty boys in fancy suits like you.”

  “I’d watch your tone, Jones,” Con said firmly, acknowledging the other alpha for the first time. “Prince Venedict Semyonov is not only the ruler of this territory and the most powerful vampire in the entire country, he’s also alpha mate of the Donel pack, which gives him every right to hear what you have to say. I won’t have you insulting my true mate in any way, and if you don’t show respect for the various titles he’s earned through his many years, I’ll take you outside and teach you the meaning of the word myself, understood?”

  “You… you…” At least that got Jones sitting down again, although it was more like his knees gave out on him and he fell. Ven winced as the loveseat creaked under his sudden weight. “You bonded yourself to a bloodsucker? What type of weakling wolf are you?”

  Con allowed his growl to come through. “Vampires prefer the term life force drinker, and I claimed the Prince because he’s my fated mate – something you seem to have forgotten the significance of.”

  Jones seemed to make a rapid recovery, in fact, after a moment he laughed out loud; a chilling sound that raised the hairs on the back of Ven’s neck. “Shit, this is going to be easier than I thought. Let’s forget about the pleasantries, shall we? Alpha Conroy Donel, I challenge you for the position of the Donel pack, and demand the challenge be held immediately.”

  Ven sliced a finger through the air in Jones’ direction, rendering him paralyzed. “I’ll accept the challenge on your behalf, babe. Mosh can call in a few guards and make sure this idiot’s out of our territory within the hour. Then we can go have lunch.”

  “What the fuck? What have you done to me? Let me go!” Jones was visibly struggling, but the only thing he could move was his head.

  �
�I’ve accepted your challenge, of course, immediately as you asked. As alpha mate, I have as much right to do that as my beloved. Con, hon, I have no idea what we’re going to do with another wolf pack under our control.” Ven ignored Jones completely, turning to Con who had a smirk flirting with the edges of his lips. “Did you want to keep the Jones’ pack and land intact, or should we kick everyone out, fence the land and keep it for a holiday hideaway?”

  “I could approach the council for an alpha second to run the existing pack I suppose,” Con said as though he was actually considering the idea. “The Jones’ pack lands do butt up against mine, so…”

  “You can’t take my lands,” Jones raged in voice only. He couldn’t do anything else. “I haven’t submitted, and I never will, not to the likes of you.”

  “Oh dear, this is going to be tedious isn’t it?” Ven pouted. “I could just slit his throat and be done with it, but that would make such a mess on my pretty carpets and you know how us bloodsuckers hate to leave a mess.” He sighed, for effect. “In the challenge laws, do we actually have to stick around and wait for him to submit, or can we have lunch and come back later?”

  “You’re cheating!” Jones spat. “A wolf challenge is about who is the stronger wolf. You only stepped in because you know damn well your mate’s too weak to win against me in a fair fight.”

  “Oh, no. Did you just insult my beloved?” Pushing back his chair, Ven stood up, his claws extended, his fangs showing as the power he was famous for flooded out from his skin. “No one insults my beloved!”

  The stench of urine filled the air. It seemed something else could work on Jones’ body after all.