by Cat Miller
Griffin couldn’t blame Sarah for her resentment and anger. She’d believed in the fairytale all vampires were told as children. They all knew that one day you would bond to another vampire through a blood exchange and that vampire would be the center of your universe forever. You would be their whole world. The blood bond tied you together on a soul-deep level. Neither of you would ever want another. That’s how it was for everyone. Even if you hated the other vampire before you shared blood, nothing would ever come between you but death. It hadn’t happened that way for Sarah and Griffin. Their union had been an arranged one, as all bonds between vampires of their elevated station were. They were nearly strangers when they bonded. Sarah thought she was getting an epic love. Griffin thought he was ending the tremendous pain that came with losing a mate. Because, unbeknownst to him, the mate he’d believed was dead was, in fact, alive and well, his bond to Sarah had never been a solid one.
His stable but empty relationship with Sarah had crumbled when the daughter he’d believed to be deceased appeared and shook up his entire world. At first, Griffin hadn’t known Dani was the child he thought he’d lost. Once he learned the truth though, Griffin brought his child into the fold and introduced her to their people. Sarah was mortified that Griffin had publicly admitted to having a mate before her. So she tried to make his life hell, and she succeeded for a time. He tried to do what he thought was the right thing for the family he’d made with Sarah. Griffin was a councilman, so he also worried about his people and the good name of his house. Then one day Griffin stopped worrying about what his people thought of him, not because he didn’t care, he did, but how long could he live for others? He may not deserve a chance at happiness, but he remembered what his life with Tessa had been like and he wanted it back. He wanted the all-encompassing love and sureness of knowing his place in his mate’s life. He wanted that sense of wholeness again. He started thinking about his love for Tessa and what they might have together if he could only get his head out of his snobby vampire ass. But his effort had come too little, too late. He’d lost Tessa forever. After over two decades of waiting for Griffin to wake up and realize she was still out there, Tessa had moved on with her life. And a long life it would be, now that she was a vampire. Another male had given Tessa the gift of long life that Griffin had failed to provide.
Either way, it was truly over between Griffin and Sarah. Griffin was attempting to be civil for their children’s sake, in spite of Sarah’s efforts to end his life. He drew the line at allowing her to take J.R. back to her father’s house of vampires, though. Griffin wouldn’t allow any more stress or drama to touch his youngest child than was absolutely necessary.
It wasn’t that Griffin didn’t like Sarah’s birth house. He respected her father very much and they’d always gotten along. Lord knew the business relationship between their houses had been a smashing success. They’d made a fortune in the joint business ventures brought about by the betrothal contract between the two houses. Her family wasn’t the issue. Sarah was the problem. Griffin would never forget or forgive the treachery Sarah had committed against him and their people in her anger.
In her rage at Griffin for ruining her hard-won image of the perfect family, Sarah had passed vital information to the rogue, a lawless vampire who murdered indiscriminately in his effort to put vampires where he believed they belonged, at the top of the food chain and in control of the world.
Sarah’s hearing before the council was to be held that day, in conjunction with David Deidrick’s second hearing since his capture. David was accused of being the rogue, the mastermind behind a revolutionary effort to overthrow the ruling vampire council. He was also the vampire who had kidnapped and murdered many young vampires to steal their extraordinary powers before they were old enough and strong enough to defend themselves. Dani had been one of the rogue’s victims. She was born with the same white markings in her hair that Griffin bore on his head. He’d been so proud when his firstborn came into the world looking like a miniature version of him. Those markings were said to be a sign of great power. So Danielle and Griffin had both been targeted by the rogue. Unfortunately, due to Sarah’s act of treason, J.R. became a victim as well.
When David was captured months ago after an epic battle to retake the Enclave from the invading Shade Army, the three houses that made up the ruling vampire high council were rocked on their foundations. David was believed to have been murdered by the rogue over twenty-five years ago. He was the eldest son of the high council house of Deidrick. David’s mate, Leann, was Griffin’s older sister and the daughter of another high council house, the Vaughn’s. It was believed that Leann had committed suicide when she learned of David’s death. It happened all too frequently when a vampire lost their mate. Griffin himself had considered ending his life when he lost Tessa. The only thing that stopped him was the idea of his parents enduring the loss of another child. He was the only vampire left in their direct line to step up and take a seat on the council. Duty had prevailed.
When David was found more than two decades later, alive and well, the Vaughn’s and Deidricks were stunned. David wasn’t in his right mind after being under mind-control for all of those years. He was the face of the rogue, but the real rogue was his second mate, Sheena. Sheena, by her own admission, had murdered Leann in a fit of rage and jealousy. Sheena was human, or so David believed, and she thought he’d mated with Leann instead of her because Sheena wasn’t a vampire. In truth, David and Leann fell in love. It was as simple as that. But jealousy was an ugly thing, and Sheena felt like a woman scorned.
Sheena was actually half vampire, but the human half was genetically prevalent. She didn’t even need blood to survive. The one gift she had received from her vampire parent was mind control. Dani had the same power, and she was also born half-human. It was an interesting correlation, but Dani’s mother, Tessa, was a human with precognition. So Dani inherited psychic gifts from both sides. Sheena’s ability to control the actions of others even extended to vampires, just like Dani’s. This trait, along with the existence of half-blooded human-vampires, was only very recently discovered. Sheena was psychically gifted, but her skill only worked on certain people, human or vampire. Many vampires were immune to her tactics, but David was not. Sheena used that gift to keep David in a dream state and following her every directive for all those years.
David was understandably confused and grief-stricken when he fully awakened. When Sheena’s control cracked, she was forced to leave him behind or be captured herself. She’d also left Abel, the son she conceived with David, to deal with the backlash of her actions. Thankfully, Abel was nothing like his mother. David and Abel were both struggling to find a place in their family as well as among their people. David was only now dealing with the loss of Leann. He was also working to come to terms with the crimes he committed while under Sheena’s control. Abel was now Griffin’s son-in-law. Abel was mated to Brandi, one of Griffin’s twin daughters, and Griffin prayed daily that his daughter would be happy with the brooding young man she’d chosen to spend her long life with.
Griffin shook himself out of his wandering thoughts of all that had happened in the last few years to concentrate on his current dilemma. Sarah had aided and abetted David several times. She had allowed David’s men access to their home so they could kidnap Griffin. She hadn’t foreseen the events that would follow. The rogue’s minions thought it would be a bonus to also take J.R. to the rogue as a captive. J.R. had an allergic reaction to Hypnovamp, the sedative the rogue was using to subdue vampires when he took them against their will. J.R. almost died that night. The boy was only ten years old at the time, and he still had nightmares about people sneaking into his room to take him away.
Sarah had also informed David of the best time to strike the council hall. The right time was, of course, when Griffin was there for the picking. The council had been half destroyed. Brandi, one of Griffin and Sarah’s twin daughters, had also been present when the attack took place, and they’d almo
st lost her that day as well. That was two of their children who’d almost lost their lives due to Sarah’s machinations. These were unforgivable offenses. By law, Griffin could end her life in retribution, but he feared how that would affect his children. Griffin didn’t want to see Sarah dead even if she deserved it. He just wanted her out of his home.
Sarah was an embarrassment to the House of Vaughn and a stain on their name. The Vampire Nation was in a state of upheaval. The council hall had been half destroyed. Sheena, the real rogue, was still on the loose. David was to stand before the council to explain his actions now that he was in a mental state to do so. And Sarah would do the same if only Griffin could find her deceptive ass.
He rushed down the hall toward the lobby to see if Sarah was there waiting to be called to the stand, as she should be by that time. It would be like her to disappear just to cause him embarrassment. Then show up at the last minute. Sarah was no fool. She would be found if she actually fled the council and her punishment would be far worse when she was returned for judgment.
A door to Griffin’s left opened, and someone stepped out directly into his path. He was too close to stop the collision. The soft curves and familiar vanilla aroma of the female Griffin loved short-circuited his brain on contact. She’d been irresistible before, but now that Tessa was a vampire her scent had morphed into something that was sweeter and more alluring than he had ever experienced. He’d grabbed the lusciously formed female by the arms to keep her from crashing to the floor. He should have released her as soon as she was steady, but his fingers refused to let go. He never wanted to let her go again. Not ever.
Tessa looked up at Griffin, and the bright blue of her eyes bled to black. It broke Griffin’s heart. Tessa’s eyes were the most beautifully unique color he’d ever seen. Newly changed vampires couldn’t control that reaction for several years. So every time she fed or experienced any extreme emotion, her lovely eyes would take on the obsidian darkness of any other vamp’s eyes. Griffin wondered what emotion he had inspired in her that caused the display. Was it anger, hate, or sorrow? Dare he hope her reaction was due to love? Griffin would never know for sure.
“I’m sorry, Tessa.” He caressed the creamy skin of her bare upper arms. Tessa shivered, and chill bumps rose on her skin.
They both knew he was apologizing for more than just the accidental collision. It seemed he was apologizing every time he saw her and that would likely never change. Griffin regretted every hurt he’d ever caused Tessa and he always would.
Tessa took a deep breath, and her eyes bled back to blue. Griffin smiled. He couldn’t help it. She had allowed him to hold her there for two slow blinks of those captivating eyes before she pulled herself out of his grasp and walked away. Griffin watched her go with his heart in his throat.
Eloquent silence; that was all he got from Tessa these days. He loved her so much. He would always hold her deep in his fractured heart. She had loved him, too. So much that she’d waited decades for him. Tessa was mated to Doctor Reilly Stevens. Griffin and Stevens had been friends for many years, but now he hated the bastard. Doc Stevens had saved Tessa’s life by turning her when she impersonated Dani and turned herself into the rogue. She sacrificed herself for their daughter. Griffin and Tessa’s tentative bond had been truly shattered that day. It was Griffin’s turn to suffer through the waiting Tessa had endured. Only Griffin would be waiting for the end of time. He would never mate again. Griffin would suffer through losing Tessa by choice. He deserved no better.
Tessa was shaking after her run-in with Griffin. When he touched her, it was as if the last decades hadn’t happened and she belonged to him again. It was as if they were still madly in love, and nothing could ever come between them. It was a lie back then, and it was still bullshit now. He had never loved her in the same way she’d loved him. Her stupid heart was always trying to convince her lovesick brain that everything could be right again if she just fell into his arms. She’d listened to her heart for far too long. Avoiding Griffin entirely was the only way Tessa could remain sane. Just that brief contact had been enough to shake her resolve. It was all she could do not to run back down the hall and leap into his arms.
When Griffin apologized so sincerely, Tessa wanted to forgive him. She wanted to kiss him and let the rest of the world drift away. But the world wouldn’t go away. And she would never forget the way he’d taken the mate his parents had chosen for him without a backward glance. No, he hadn’t loved her in the same way she’d loved him. He couldn’t have.
She’d been able to avoid him for the most part over the past six months. When she did see him, she pasted on her best resting bitch face and tried to pretend he no longer had any effect on her. Tessa knew her pretense was ruined each time by the shifting of her eyes. She hadn’t been a vampire long enough to be able to hide her emotional turmoil from others. Every time she saw Griffin, Tessa’s vision sharpened and her irises deepened to midnight black.
This was a vampire trait that had fascinated Tessa in her youth when she met and fell in love with Griffin. When he wanted her desperately, Griffin’s eyes would shift. It never frightened Tessa after the first time she was in that dark alley where he cornered her with the intention of making a meal of her. After a dream had warned Tessa of Griffin’s impending arrival in her life, she decided to face him head-on instead of running in fear from the man with white highlights, mesmerizing eyes, and fangs. That night was so long ago. Maybe it wasn’t that long for a vampire, but for a human twenty-four years was the better part of their lifetime. The large amounts of blood Griffin had shared with her back then to keep her healthy during her pregnancy with Dani had gone a long way to extending Tessa’s youth. She knew she didn’t look a day over twenty-seven, even though she was in her forties. Her transition from human to vampire would keep her appearance and general health as it was for a long time to come if she took care of herself.
Taking a deep breath, Tessa tried to shake off the past. It was something she had to work at daily. She didn’t want to relive her love for Griffin any longer. She couldn’t go on fanning the flames of her unrequited love. Griffin had had all the chances Tessa could give him to make her his mate again. He had a family, and he had an entire nation of people counting on him and the rest of the council. She hadn’t stood a chance against all of the responsibility Griffin bore when she was his one and only mate. She surely didn’t have a shot now that his people were in the most need of his attention, and his other mate, the one he hadn’t been ashamed to claim publicly, was on trial. Griffin would do all he could protect Sarah if only to save his precious family name. Tessa had reached the point in life when she could no longer compete for the attention of the man she loved. So she pretended she didn’t love him anymore and tried to forget.
“Are you all right?” Reilly stepped into Tessa’s space and lifted her chin with one finger. “You look a little pale.” He stroked her cheek and waited for Tessa to answer.
Tessa gave Reilly a weak smile and nodded. Reilly’s attention shifted to a spot behind her and over her head. Tessa knew by the tightening of his entire body that Griffin had just entered the lobby. It was not surprising that Griffin would be there in the council hall. Tessa avoided going anywhere that she might run into Griffin, especially if Reilly was with her, but today it couldn’t be helped. She was waiting to be called to testify to her part of saving the hostages from the rogue, David, or was it Sheena, had taken when they raided the Enclave. She was also expected to, once again, review what happened the night she’d driven to the Vaughn estate and snuck into the gigantic mansion to save the life of J.R., Griffin’s youngest child, and namesake.
Tessa had always had precognitive dreams and sometimes waking flashes of premonitions that she’d learned to trust and believe in over the years. So when Tessa dreamed of J.R. having an allergic reaction to a drug used to incapacitate him during a kidnapping attempt, Tessa had sprung into action to save the boy. She’d almost paid for it with her life, but it was worth it. The
boy was an innocent bystander to the horror his people were enduring. She would rather give her life than sit idly by while J.R. was made a victim of the war between the rogue and the vampire council.
If it hadn’t been for Griffin, Tessa would have been put to death as a co-conspirator in the failed plot. Griffin’s mate, Sarah, had accused Tessa of striking out at Griffin in a jealous rage. Sarah had been looking for a way to get rid of both Tessa and Dani. She was a well-respected female from an extremely high-powered house. Nobody doubted Sarah’s word. If Griffin hadn’t learned of Sarah’s scheming and stepped in to defend Tessa when he did, she would have been executed. That was all in the past now. Or it would be after today. She shook herself from those dark thoughts. She had to prevent a scene from happening if a fight broke out between Griffin and Reilly in the council hall.
“I’m fine, thank you. I’m just trying to prepare myself for what’s to come,” Tessa told Reilly, touching his chest to get his attention.