“We guard our children carefully, sweet, even the adopted ones.” Nathaniel reached forward and cupped my shoulder with a warm hand. “I found him wandering the streets one night, alone and half starved. He was a beacon, so I took him in, searched for his parents, and eventually decided to care for him myself.”
I thought I’d seen his deepest secrets the few times we’d exchanged blood and I’d delved into his memories. This, though, I’d never seen, and he’d never so much as hinted at it. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I would’ve, eventually.” He nudged the edge of my plate with one finger. “Eat, now. The men are close to the meeting point. You’ll want to have your mind free to concentrate on that.”
I reluctantly picked up my fork and tucked into the herbed chicken Mathias had prepared. I missed my days in the kitchen under his tutelage. One day, I’d return to my duties there, but not until we’d put this whole blessed mess behind us.
Chapter Seven
We’d finished eating and retired to the parlor for a rousing game of Cribbage before Jason sent the first image of the meeting to me.
Alice’s hand paused in the middle of moving a peg and her eyes seemed to focus on a spot far removed from the cozy room where we sat. “Gregory says Devin didn’t come alone.”
“Devin is many things,” Nathaniel said. “Stupid isn’t one of them.”
I pinned down the images pouring into my mind in a kaleidoscope of color and muted sound. The meeting place was in a cleared spot in the middle of the woods. I had a hazy sense of a quarter moon shining down from a starry sky and dense shadows stretching across the ground between the tangled growth of oaks and pines. Eric stood in the middle of the clearing, his back to Jason. Devin was some distance away facing him, I couldn’t tell how far, and though they were the only two people in the clearing, I could feel Jason silently counting the others who hid within the deepening shadows.
Himself, Gregory, Marco, Darien. With Devin, perhaps twice that number. A delicate sniff of the spare breeze stirring the dying leaves clinging to the autumn-cloaked hardwoods. Pets, vampires, something feral that might’ve been a werewolf.
I shoved the quiet alarm down where Eric and Jason wouldn’t feel it, folded my cards into a pile, and laid them facedown on the table. The smell of one of the vampires seemed familiar. Raquelle, but not Raquelle. How could that be? Either it was her or not. Surely the only person who could smell like Raquelle was Raquelle.
“Her crèche.” Nathaniel’s soft voice startled me into losing my focus on the meeting. He caught my puzzled expression and added, “It’s one of her unnatural children, a vampire she’s made.”
I scrubbed damp palms across my thighs. “She has to know her made child is out there.”
“Probably,” Nathaniel conceded. “That doesn’t necessarily mean she’s involved.”
“She ignored Elizabet’s summons,” I countered.
He shrugged. “There could be other reasons for that. Perhaps she’s incapacitated or too weak to respond.”
I shot a narrow-eyed glare at him. “You’re making excuses for her.”
“No, sweet. I’m simply waiting to form a judgment until all the evidence is in. Right now, we know only that Elizabet called and Raquelle failed to answer. We have no idea why. Let’s not be so hasty to accuse her of a crime she may not have committed.”
I wasn’t convinced he was right, though I admitted reluctantly that I was biased against Raquelle, had been since the night I’d crawled out of the cage and she’d hinted she’d like to take Eric and Jason from me. No matter what they said, I knew she could do it. They might not have a choice in it, either. God knows I hadn’t.
Another spate of images distracted me from thoughts of the other vampire. Eric and Devin were talking quietly. I’m certain Jason could hear them clearly, but for some reason, the sound came through to me a little garbled. I caught random words, Willow, Zane, didn’t know, and a desperate plea from Devin for Eric’s understanding.
Eric’s shoulders were rigid beneath the thin knit shirt he wore. Something else came through, Elizabet and punishment, I thought, and before I could even process what was happening, Devin was gone and the clearing erupted into a mini-battlefield. Eric fell back two steps under the charge of a partially-transformed werewolf. Jason leapt from his hiding place, and as abruptly as the images had come, they cut off.
I swayed in my chair and clasped my head with both hands in a futile attempt to tame the vertigo battering me. Alice groaned softly. A chair scraped back a moment before a soft finger stroked across my mouth.
“Take from me,” Nathaniel said. “Stop pushing my hand away, Alice.”
My eyes popped open. Nathaniel knelt between the two of us, one hand extended to Alice, the other to me. I grasped his hand, held it to my mouth, and sank my fangs into the tender skin of his inner wrist, watching as Alice did the same. I took the bare minimum I needed, just enough to help me regain my balance. Any more and I’d need sex to control the bloodlust. Frankly, we didn’t have time. We needed to get to that clearing, needed to help the men fight off whatever monsters Devin had brought as backup.
“Eric made me promise I’d keep you here,” Nathaniel said.
Friggin’ bonds. Would I ever learn to keep people out of my head?
I sealed off the small wounds on his wrist and released his hand. “They need our help.”
Alice shook her head slightly. I waited patiently while she consumed what she needed of Nathaniel’s rich blood. The seconds ticked ominously passed, marked by the steady swish of the grandfather clock’s pendulum. Swish, swish. The faint sounds seemed to echo between the foyer where the clock rested and the parlor, stretching the tension between us thin.
After what felt like an aeon, Alice lifted her head away from Nathaniel’s wrist. “Thank you.”
His smile was soft, tender, the way most men looked at her. “My pleasure.”
“Can we go now?” I asked.
Alice shook her head again. Her blonde curls bounced around her sweater-clad shoulders. “We stay here and guard the house. That’s our duty tonight.”
“Oh, for crying out loud.” I flopped my palms down against my thighs and slumped into my chair. “They’re in the middle of a fight. I can’t stand by and do nothing while Eric and Jason are out there, fighting my battles for me.”
“It’s not your battle, or not solely.” Nathaniel cupped my shoulder and squeezed. “They don’t need us out there. They need us here protecting the seat of Elizabet’s power. There could be others waiting in the wings for us to leave. We can’t take that chance.”
The calm tone persuaded me as much as the logic. “Fine. But if Eric or Jason is injured, I’m going out after them.”
“If someone is injured, we’ll take care of it.” Alice reached across the square wooden table toward me. “This I vow.”
A weary breath sighed out of me. Instinct clamored at me to join my husbands in battle, egged on by the shadows jeering madly from their confinement in the recesses of my mind. Reason dictated that I follow Nathaniel’s lead. Eric would want me to and so would Jason. I’d wait, then, but not forever.
* * *
Elizabet entered the parlor while I was still reeling from the shock of Jason cutting off images of the meeting in mid-stream. She was dressed in a cranberry colored sweater over jeans and sturdy hiking boots and had plaited her midnight hair into a tight braid. She pulled out one of the empty chairs around the square table where we sat and sank gracefully into it. “So it begins.”
“It would seem.” Nathaniel rose and took the fourth chair. “They’re on their way back?”
“Soon. There have been injuries.”
My hands curled into fists on my thighs. I didn’t want to risk reaching out to Eric and Jason again, not when it could distract them at a key moment, but the need to know they were ok rumbled through me in a panicky spate of fluttering heartbeats and hitching breaths.
Therese and Marlene entered the parlor
together, followed closely by roughly a dozen pets. Dinky trailed behind, and for the first time since I’d met him, he had on something other than the uniform all the staff except Mathias wore. I goggled at the brightly patterned bowling shirt and baggy corduroys, then forced my gaze away before my astonishment hurt his feelings.
Dinky owned casual clothes. Who knew?
The others ranged out across loveseats and sofas, with a few of the pets dropping in casual heaps on the floor at Therese and Marlene’s boot-bedecked feet.
Dinky made his way to Elizabet and bowed to her. “Mistress, how may I be of service?”
Elizabet grasped his hands and smiled gently. “I apologize for calling you away from your leisure. If the situation were less dire, I would never have intruded.”
“It’s no intrusion, as you well know,” he said softly. “Now, tell me what to do and I’ll see it done.”
“Organize a defense of the house. Take the youngest pets with you and round up the experienced staff. The newer staff should return to their homes where their safety will not be in question.” A furrow appeared between her eyebrows, marring the pale perfection of her skin. “Perhaps it would be wise to gather first aid supplies and have them at the ready.”
“As you wish, Mistress. I’ll send one of the young’uns back with bandages and whatnot.” Dinky bowed again, then turned and surveyed the pets lounging around Therese and Marlene. He pointed to seven and shooed them out of the room with sharp waves of his hands and sharper words for those who didn’t move as quickly as he wanted them to.
Elizabet relaxed in her chair, though her faint smile failed to erase the furrow in her brow. “The men will return shortly. Gianna, please return to your room and dress in clothes appropriate for an outing.”
I glanced down at my t-shirt and jeans. Surely she didn’t mean for me to wear fancy clothes, not tonight.
Alice took pity on me. “You need sturdy shoes. Come on. I’ll go up with you. It’ll keep my mind occupied.”
We raced up the stairs together hand in hand. I tugged on brand new boots with a good tread, one of half a dozen pairs I’d bought in the past few weeks that I had yet to wear. We stopped by Alice’s room on the way back and she did the same, exchanging the slip on shoes she’d worn during the evening meal for plain, black boots.
At the top of the stairs, instinct kicked in again. Something was coming. I glanced at Alice. Her skin had paled beneath the light makeup she wore. A loud bang sounded on the front door. I jerked my gaze around just in time to see Jason staggering into the foyer half dragging Eric, who held a hand to his side over the blood-stained rip in his shirt.
The world around us faded quietly away. He lifted his head and met my gaze, and even across the distance between us, I recognized the sorrow in his expression for what it was.
Devin had betrayed Eric, and in the doing, had broken his heart.
Chapter Eight
I rushed down the stairs in a clatter as Jason swung Eric up into his arms. I followed them to the parlor, barely aware of Marco, Darien, Alice, and Gregory behind me. Jason deposited Eric into the chair at the square table I’d vacated and knelt by his side. I knelt on the other side and grasped Eric’s hand in mine.
Elizabet rose and brushed gentle fingers over Eric’s forehead. “What happened?”
“He knew something.” Eric gritted the words out through clenched teeth. Dots of sweat broke out across his skin and the metallic scent of fresh blood wafted upward from the gash in his side. “Refused to tell me what. He wanted a deal, information for immunity. I told him I didn’t have the authority to negotiate that.”
Marco moved to stand behind Elizabet and pulled her back against his larger form. “Devin panicked and ran. Soon as he did, all hell broke loose.”
“I went after him. He defended himself.” Eric lifted a shaky hand and wiped sweat off his forehead with the cuff of his shirtsleeve. “Stupid. Just stupid.”
I had no idea if he was talking about him going after Devin or Devin running from him. It didn’t matter. The damage had been done. Devin was in the wind, Willow was still missing, and now Eric’s blood was dripping out of him at an alarmingly steady pace.
One of the pets Dinky had commandeered burst into the room carrying a first aid kit and a canvas tote. He pushed his way through the crowd gathered around us, took one look at Eric, and dumped the load on the table. “Shirt off,” he snapped. “Jesus. What’re you guys doing letting him bleed all over the place for?”
Marco’s lips twitched. “We were enjoying the smell of his blood.”
The pet cast a dark-eyed grimace at Marco, then knelt between Eric’s widespread knees. I steadied Eric as Jason worked his mangled shirt carefully over his head. The pet leaned forward and peered intently at the wound, prodding it with sure fingers.
Eric turned his head toward me and closed his eyes. His lips parted slightly, showing the tips of sharp fangs. “He smells delicious.”
Jason’s eyes met mine. He yanked one sleeve of his long-sleeved t-shirt back and shoved his bared wrist under Eric’s nose. “Take a bite, baby.”
Eric shook his head. “I need you whole.”
“He can take mine, soon as I’m done.” The pet leaned away, grabbed the first aid supplies from the table, and rummaged through them. “I have to stay here anyway.”
“Mmm. A fresh pet.” Eric hissed in a breath and faced him, his hazel eyes glowing brightly. He ran a hand through the pet’s short, blond curls. “The cold man wishes to taste you. Perhaps you’ll make a suitable addition to our stable.”
A cold fist clamped down around my heart. “Don’t talk crazy, Eric. You can’t let the cold man out, not right now.”
“He’s already out, darling Gianna.” He fingered a curl, rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger. “And he likes what he sees.”
“Eric,” Elizabet said. The single word had the force of a hurricane behind it, deadly and swift, devastating in its impact. “You may have Brian if he so desires, but the cold man may not. Control yourself or I shall lock you in the cage.”
Eric’s head fell against the back of the chair and his hold on Brian slipped away. The young pet tended to Eric’s wound, first cleaning the dried blood away, then applying butterfly bandages over the already closing gash before taping a large section of padding and gauze over the whole. He pushed himself to a stand and glanced around the gathered crowd. “Anybody else?”
“That was the worst,” Jason said. “Gregory’s got a small cut, but I can fix that.”
“Right. Feeding time, then.”
I moved out of the way and watched helplessly as Brian bent, slung Eric’s arm over his shoulders, and helped him up. “Attaway, big guy. Let’s get you to a bedroom so you can feed.”
A small smile flickered across Eric’s mouth, so quickly I almost missed it, and a slow curl of dread wound through my gut. Eric hadn’t pushed the cold man back. He was still there, waiting to pounce, and Eric wasn’t doing a thing to rein him in. “Maybe I should go with them.”
Jason shook his head. “Eric’s fine.”
I frowned after the slowly moving couple. “But I…”
Jason’s mind brushed over mine. You have to trust him.
I twisted my fingers into a knot at my waist. Eric, I trust. The cold man? Not so much.
Darien stepped up to the table and spread a topographical map out on its polished, wooden surface. “Here’s the cabin I was telling you about earlier. It’s in the middle of fifty acres of dense wilderness. Animal trails crisscross the entire property, but there’s only one road in…”
The conversation faded away. I was more concerned about Eric. He and Brian slipped through one half of the double doors. It swung shut behind them, muting the sounds of their progress. I focused on their footsteps, shutting out everything else going on in the house.
A scuffle, followed by a low moan. The rustle of fabric. “Eric, wait.” A low, sensual laugh from Eric, a gasp from Brian. A thud against the hallway’s wal
l, another on the marble floor. Brian said, “Jesus, no. Not… Sweet God, don’t stop,” and Eric laughed again.
I glanced around the occupants of the parlor. Everybody appeared intent on the conversation between Darien and Marco as they planned their foray into the area used by the unmated female werewolves of Darien’s pack as a retreat when they were in heat. Nobody at all appeared concerned that Eric and Brian were having sex out in the hallway, not even Jason, who was bandaging a slow-oozing cut on Gregory’s forearm.
Brian’s gasps turned to soft pleas as he begged Eric to let him come. This was a game I knew, more from Jason’s memories than my own experience. Eric enjoyed teasing his partners. He often pushed them to the brink of release and held them there while he continued to pleasure them at his leisure. It was usually his brand of discipline, though. Why was he doing it now?
He’s not quite in control. Jason applied the final piece of tape to Gregory’s arm before pushing away from him and moving to my side. He draped a comforting arm across my shoulders. Don’t worry. The cold man doesn’t have a firm enough grip on Eric’s mind to do any real damage.
I didn’t bother with a but. It wouldn’t do any good. Jason was convinced Eric was fine, him having sex with a pet in the hallway to the contrary, and nothing I said would sway him.
Brian gasped. The harsh sound bounced off the hard walls and floor surrounding him and was clearly audible in the parlor. “Merciful Heaven.”
Yeah, I knew that feeling, too. I scowled at the doors. That should’ve been me and Jason taking care of Eric, not some strange pet with perfect golden curls and a cute butt.
Jason ran a hand over the smile blooming on his face. A cute butt, huh?
I turned the scowl on him. The tirade coalescing in my mind was interrupted by Brian staggering into the parlor. His skin was a shade paler than when he’d gone out and he had one hand pressed to the base of his throat. “He needs another one. Holy Mother of God. Is he like that all the time?”
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