The Vampires' Blood Mate: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Romance

by Lili Zander

  The virus has been at work again.

  Ragnar predicted that Harek Levitan would make a move.

  This is it.

  3

  Ragnar

  Fury punches me in the gut. Harek Levitan killed Nasrim Dimeh. Nasrim, who never had an unkind word or thought in her life. Nasrim, whose only mistake was that, eighteen years ago, she’d slept with me.

  “Do you recognize her?” Saber asks.

  “You don’t?” Rages threads through my voice. “That’s Nasrim Dimeh. Family Dimeh is headquartered in Xancar. They grow icefruit, for fuck’s sake. They’re farmers.” I want to break something. If Harek were here, I would beat him to a pulp. “Nasrim loathes politics. She runs an inn. Caters mainly to humans. Good food, peace and quiet, warmth and kindness. That’s what she offers.” I clench my eyes shut. The last time I saw her, she’d introduced me to her bô. Both men were humans, and they looked at Nasrim as if she was the center of their universe. She’d looked at them the same way, and for a brief second, it had made me miss something I’d never had.

  Nasrim’s dead body is the reason I’ve never thought about a bô. I am a target, and anyone close to me is a target too. And sometimes, when they aren’t well protected, they become a pawn.

  I’m sorry, Nasrim. Your death will be avenged.

  Saber’s voice is very quiet. “Why is she dead, Ragnar?”

  There’s a warning in his tone. One I recognize and understand. “She’s dead because I was fond of her. I liked her; I regarded her with affection.” I take a deep breath. I will have to call Eli and Andar. Inform Family Dimeh and pay restitution. “She’s dead because she was my first lover.”

  Harek’s message is clear. If I continue to oppose him, everyone I have ever loved, everyone I have ever cared about, will be at risk.

  Saber gives me a long look. “How tight is the security on us?”

  He doesn’t care about his own life. Saber’s never been one to shy away from a fight. He’s asking how well I can protect Raven.

  “As tight as I can make it. I’ll double it.”

  He nods. I’m half-expecting him to hustle Raven out of here, but he doesn’t. “This is a message from the General. Unsubtle. What do you think he wants?”

  “Why don’t you find out?” Raven asks. She’s looking at the bed, at Nasrim’s ruined body. Her face is pale, and there’s a distinct quiver in her voice, but her back is straight, and her head is held high. “There’s a communicator next to her.”

  I look again, and sure enough, she’s right. My jaw clenched, I reach for it, but Raven stops me. “No. What if it’s infected?”

  “The virus transmits through blood,” Zeke says. “We should be safe.”

  Raven frowns. “My education was rather spotty, but even I know that viruses can mutate.” She plucks the communicator from the bed and looks at me. “There’s a decontamination unit in my kitchen,” I offer. “I’ll show you.” I can’t leave this bedroom fast enough.

  Zeke has plugged his tablet into my apartment’s interface. It’s a good thing someone’s thinking clearly, because I’m not. One of Harek’s associates brought Nasrim in here. He or she put Nasrim’s body in my bedroom, where I would find it. The comm is almost certainly secure and untraceable, but if we can find out who managed to enter my apartment and how…

  “Why do you have a decontamination unit in your kitchen?” Raven asks as we cross my apartment.

  She can’t stay here. It isn’t safe. No one close to me is safe from Harek’s clutches. “People try to kill me in a hundred different ways. It’s not the first time someone’s tried to use a biological weapon.”

  “That sounds like a painful way to live,” she says softly.

  I glance at her. “I’ve seen your file. My life is a picnic compared to the re-education camps.” I open the zapper, and she places the communicator in it. I shut the door and turn it on.

  “Wash your hands,” Saber tells her tersely. “You shouldn’t have picked it up either.”

  She smiles faintly. “Ah, I was waiting for the lecture. For a second, I almost thought I wasn’t getting it, and then, where would I be?”

  He gives her an exasperated look and hands her a disinfectant. “Like you said, viruses can mutate. Humans are immune to its effects now. They might not always be.”

  Raven shudders as she lathers herself with the disinfectant. “Spirit forbid,” she murmurs fervently. “As if things weren’t bad enough.”

  The decontamination unit beeps, and the door swings open. I pick up the comm and make my way to the living room. I cross the space and pour myself a generous slug of slenti. “Let’s talk to Harek.”

  The bastard answers right away. His face is expressionless. “Ragnar. I thought I might hear from you.”

  I lean back in my chair, my expression bored, and take a sip of the slenti. I will not betray my emotions. My sadness, my regret. I will not give him the satisfaction. “Your message wasn’t particularly subtle, Harek. Losing your touch in your old age?”

  For a second, his dark eyes flash with rage, and then he’s neutral once again. “Arrogant as always. Beating you is going to be a singular pleasure, Ragnar.” His gaze swivels to Saber. “So you’re here, Colonel Hafsson. I see you’ve made your choice.”

  “You sound surprised, General.” Saber stretches his legs out. “I’m not sure why you ever thought I’d be on board with what you were doing. I am ambitious, this is true. You probably found out that Ragnar and I weren’t talking to each other, and you thought it meant that I would turn traitor.” His face turns to ice. “My choice was made the moment my teammates died on Rothis.”

  Harek waves that away. “They were human,” he says dismissively. “I’m not Gerra or Patrik. Humans have their uses. Some of them are good at what they do. Human scientists worked in my laboratory along with vampires. Humans toil in my fields and serve as my soldiers. But at the end of the day, the Empire is meant to be ruled by vampires. Humans need to know their place.”

  In her corner, Raven goes very still.

  Saber looks murderous. I fight to keep from hurling the comm into the wall. “You’re right,” I respond pleasantly. “Humans serve as your soldiers. And as your assassins. How’s Marya, by the way? Has she reported for duty?”

  Harek’s face settles into a mask. “Did you kill her, Ragnar?”

  So Marya ran then. A wise decision. Marya never had any illusions about the man she served. “We are neither of us strangers to death, Harek.”

  He stares at me for a long moment. “There is a difference between you and me,” he says finally. “Do you know what that is?”

  “I’m not a sociopath.” I stare into the eyes of a man I once considered family. “Five thousand dead soldiers on Deina. Two thousand dead civilians on Ghani. Women, children, innocents. You went too far, Harek.”

  “The difference between you and me,” he continues, as if I haven’t spoken, “Is that you care about people. Your concern makes you weak. Makes you vulnerable.”

  “Your posturing bores me, Harek,” I drawl, taking another sip of the potent liquor. “Do you have a point?”

  Levitan’s dark eyes flash with anger. “You have found the human woman from Boarus 4. Raven Unnuk. You think that it gives you an edge. It doesn’t. Play with her blood, if it makes you feel better. You will not find a cure in time.”

  He leans forward. “I have the upper hand, Ragnar. I hold all the advantages, whether your hubris permits you to see it or not. You cared about the Dimeh woman, and she is dead. Captain Nero Calorio is with you now, isn’t he? His mother lives on Fateh. It would be such a shame if an outbreak were to happen there.”

  Rage settles deep in my heart.

  “You can offer Family Dimeh reparations,” he continues. “But would Captain Calorio forgive you quite as easily?” His voice hardens. “The decision is yours, Ragnar. I will destroy Fateh. I will kill Nero Calorio. Then Zeke Ulrich, and then the so-loyal Saber Hafsson. I will destroy everyone you know and car
e for.” He fixes me with a death glare. “Ask yourself how many lives you can lose. How many people you can sacrifice to your ego.”

  I exhale in exaggerated patience. “I’m still waiting for you to get to the point, Harek.”

  This time, he doesn’t react. “Here it is, then. Do not oppose me, Ragnar. Walk away from this fight, and I will allow you to go into exile. The Uncharted Reaches are vast; disappear there. Or perhaps the Constellation of Jowth will offer you sanctuary. I don’t care. But if you remain on Starra in a week, I will conclude that we are at war.”

  The comm goes dead.

  Everyone is perfectly silent. No one says anything. Not Saber, whose entire bô was just threatened. Not Nero, whose mother is now at risk. Not Raven, not Zeke.

  If they had any sense, they’d run far away from me. Then again, where could they go? Nasrim Dimeh was running an inn in Xancar, harming no one, and Levitan still killed her.

  I drain the rest of my glass and get to my feet. There is not enough slenti in the galaxy. “I’ll order an evacuation of Fateh. Make yourselves at home. I’m going to see Astrid.” Resisting with difficulty the urge to fling the glass at the wall, I walk away.

  4

  Saber

  Ragnar leaves. For a long moment, none of us say anything. So many emotions are running through me. Fear for Raven. Worry for Nero. And above all, pure incandescent rage.

  I used to respect Harek Levitan. When I first joined the army, he was somebody I looked up to. The General had demonstrated his bravery over and over again in battle. His career was legendary. Every member of the Ruling Council had unanimously voted for him to be Regent to Astrid after Empress Luna and her bô had died in an avalanche on Bespir Fifty-Seven. He was competent and fair.

  But that man is gone, and in his place, all that's left is this raging psychopath.

  Ragnar was thirteen when his parents had died. Ever since then, Harek Levitan is the closest thing to a father figure in his life. If I’m shaken by what Levitan has become, Ragnar must be shattered.

  I’d caught a glimpse of his face when he’d seen Nasrim Dimeh’s body. For a second, there had been something raw and hurt and wounded in his eyes.

  Ragnar believes that this is his life. That things will never be different. That someone will always threaten him and those he cares about.

  Not me, not this time. I know precisely where to assign blame for Nasrim Dimeh’s death. Harek Levitan killed her. Harek Levitan has been hunting Raven relentlessly. He killed my teammates in Rothis. It was all the General’s doing, and he will pay.

  Nero pulls out his comm. “I need to warn my mother. I’ve got to send her a message.”

  There is no direct communication to Fateh. Messages get picked up every ten hours. Sometimes, if the authorities that run that planet decide that their citizens are getting overwhelmed by the outside galaxy, they skip passing on messages for a few days.

  We don’t have the luxury of time. “Do you want us to fly out?” I ask Nero. “If we leave now, we can be there this time tomorrow.” Assuming the idiots in charge will let us land.

  Nero shakes his head. “No. Starra is the battleground, and I'd be damned if I'm going to back away from this fight.” His nostrils flare with rage. “That monster threatened my mother. He will pay for it.”

  He did more than threaten Nero's mother. He threatened everyone Ragnar held dear. If he finds out that Ragnar is interested in Raven…

  My mind shies away from that thought.

  Raven reads my expression perfectly. “Don’t say it,” she warns. “Don't even start with me right now.”

  My lips curl into a reluctant smile. “Whatever happened to the woman on Boarus 4 who couldn't say two straight words to us without flinching?”

  “I hate to break it to you, but that girl is gone forever. I already know what you're going to say, Saber, and the answer is no.”

  I take a fortifying sip of slenti. “What am I going to say?”

  She lifts her chin in the air. She radiates defiance. Part of me wants to throw her over my shoulder and drag her to safety, and another part of me wants to applaud her bravery. Backing down isn't in Raven's vocabulary. She is a fighter. A survivor.

  “Let me see,” she begins. “It's not safe for you here, blah, blah, blah. I know this backwater planet where you can stay until this threat passes. It will be safe there. Far away from this turmoil.”

  “Corvallis,” I murmur. “That planet is called Corvallis.” She accused me of being able to read her earlier, but she can read me just as well. “It is safer in Corvallis. Family Hafsson has extensive holdings there. No one enters or leaves the planet without our knowledge.”

  “And are the three of you planning to come with me?” she asks pointedly.

  Damn. I should have known she wouldn't let us get away with it. I take a deep breath. “I can't speak for Zeke or Nero, but no. I have to stay in Starra.”

  She turns to look at Zeke and Nero, and neither of them can meet her eyes. We all know that we’re not going to back away from this fight. Hell, I even know that there’s not a whisper of a prayer that Raven will allow me to shuttle her off to Corvallis. But I have to try. If something were to happen to her, I couldn't bear it.

  “I'm not going.” Her expression softens. “My parents are dead. I don't have any close friends. Everyone that I love is in this room. And you want me to leave you behind and head across the galaxy to safety? Where I can worry and panic about what's happening in Starra? Where, if there is an outbreak, all of you are at risk?” She shakes her head. “Come on, Saber. Did you really think I would go?”

  I give up and drain the rest of my glass. “No,” I admit. “It was worth a shot.”

  Her lips tilt up. “I’m glad you’re staying, Raven,” she prompts. “That’s what you’re supposed to say.”

  My eyes meet hers. “I’m worried sick about you,” I tell her. “But I’m selfishly happy you’re here with us. That’s the best I can do at the moment.”

  “It’s more than I thought I’d get. I’ll take it.”

  I turn to Zeke and Nero. “I'm not joking. This is your decision to make. Starra is about to become the most dangerous place in the galaxy. You are not obligated to stay and risk your life.”

  Zeke looks up from his tablet and rolls his eyes in my direction. “With all due respect, Saber, Starra was always the most dangerous place in the galaxy. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Nero doesn’t even bother to answer.

  Great. Just great. Everyone’s a fucking hero. I need more slenti.

  “So, what now?” Raven asks.

  I pass over the alcohol—as much as I’d like to drown my fears in drink, now is not the time— and pull out my comm. “For starters, let’s call Mazer Basaran and get him to clean up this apartment.” We shut the bedroom door, but it doesn’t do much to cut down the odor of the decomposing corpse. That poor woman. What a horrible way to die.

  I reach Mazer, who is predictably furious. “I’ll be right there,” he says when I explain the situation. Ragnar’s chief of staff prides himself on competence. He’ll take it personally that someone was able to fool Ragnar’s security and get into his apartment. I can’t say I blame him.

  Nero’s pacing up and down the room. He’s teetering on the edge of control. “If you’re going to the Deeps, don’t give the security detail the slip. And don’t do anything too stupid.”

  He nods tersely. “Fine.”

  That’s the best I can hope for. “Zeke, any luck finding out how the body got here?”

  Zeke lifts his head from his tablet. “The tower’s security footage has been erased,” he says. “But I can tell you when it happened. Five minutes after we landed.”

  Ice trickles down my spine. “Someone was watching for us.”

  “It appears that way.” He’s about to say something else when his comm beeps. He glances at the screen, and surprise slides over his face. “It’s Adam.”

  “Adam Masev? What does he want?”
>
  Zeke answers the call. “Adam.”

  Masev’s face fills the screen. He looks far more disheveled than the last time we saw him on Starra. His face is unshaven, and his eyes are bloodshot. He looks… desperate. “Zeke, I know you feel like I’ve betrayed your trust. I hid the fact that I was a leader of Equality Pact from you. I understand you probably don’t want to have anything to do with me.”

  Zeke clenches his hands into fists. “What do you want, Adam?”

  His voice lowers to a whisper. “They’re going to kill me. My life is in danger.” He glances up at us. “I could really use your help.”

  5

  Raven

  Zeke jumps to his feet. From the strained look on his face, he’s worried, and I don’t blame him. “I have to go help Adam.”

  “It could be a trap,” Saber cautions.

  “I don’t care,” Zeke replies, his expression unyielding. I can’t hide my surprise. It’s not like Zeke to be reckless. Of my three vampires, he’s the calmest. Zeke thinks through all the angles before he acts. He does not rush into danger.

  “Adam saved my life on Zola Prime,” Zeke continues. “My parents locked me in their dungeon and were starving me so I’d cooperate and hack for them again. If Adam hadn’t given me blood, I would have died. He asked for my help. I will not stand by and do nothing. Equality Pact or not, I intend to get him to safety.”

  Now it makes sense. The one thing all my vampires have in common? They’re unquestioningly loyal to their friends.

  “Fine. I’ll come with you.” Saber glances at Nero. “You’ll be okay here?”

  It’s obvious that Saber doesn’t want me to go with him and Zeke. Most of the time, I refuse to put up with his over-protectiveness, but there’s a difference between standing up for myself and being a fool. Zeke and Saber are really worried, and I’ll just be in the way.