“Once we go in there, we’ll be judged by Jolie’s grace and elegance. She’s our primus, and the societies will look at her as our reflection of our refinement and sophistication.” He paused before continuing, “We’re in old world vampyre territory now. It’s new rules, but the same old game.”
“What are you implying?” he asked, lifting a brow.
Jacques tried to broach this as delicately as possible. The last thing he wanted to do was insult his friend and mate. “Try and look refined. Think royalty, not bar room brawler.”
Well, so much for finesse.
That didn't come out the way Jacques had intended. Even Jolie was looking at him like he’d lost his touch. It appeared that the lines were blurring even more. Being that blunt was something Flynn would do.
His mate stared at him. He finally understood what they were worried about. It was him. Now, he could get mad or run with it. “Okay, then we should be fine,” he replied honestly. “Jolie can do classy and elegant in her sleep.”
Jacques was glad this didn't cause drama.
Jolie hugged him. This was just more proof at how much her detective was working his way into their family. A few months ago, he wouldn’t have so easily backed down.
“What can I do to help, Jolie?” he asked.
“I only need you to do one thing. Don’t pull your gun unless I’m about to be killed. Jacques will tell you when it’s acceptable, and when it is not.”
“Okay. I can do that.” Only, now, he felt worse. Jolie had just nixed his, ‘shoot first and question it later’, motto.
Damn it!
“I’ll be fine, Flynn. Once we’re in there, I promise that I’ll keep all of us safe. I need you to trust me.”
He released her. “I can give you that.”
Jolie took her place in between the two men. “Are we ready to do this?”
“Oui.”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Flynn muttered.
That was as good as it was going to get.
Then, Jolie followed up with the final part of her plan. Calling for Death, she waited until the darkness slithered from deep within her body to just below her skin.
Both men watched it ripple in waiting.
With a nod, Jolie glided seductively ahead of the two men, just out of their reach. Normally, she would have held their arms, but old-world standards were different. It was considered gauche to have the primus hang on others, especially those who were simply mates or guardians.
At the entrance to the clearing, there was an audible intake of breath as they began their trek in front of the other families. Jolie swayed and glided like true royalty into their presence, and it was obvious that she’d done this countless times before.
As she entered, the other primuses stood in honor. They were indeed in the presence of a vampyre powerhouse. The Harcourte society meant old blood and strength.
Jolie nodded, proud that her family bloodline still held the respect it was due. Many years ago, she’d made that promise to her deceased parents. Jolie motioned regally as she walked past them into the center of the circle. Her mates remained just outside the perimeter, where the lesser vampyres were required to remain until called forth with an introduction.
Jolie was alone for this part, and it was for the best. If there was to be a surprise challenge, there wouldn’t be any warning. Keeping her mates safe was paramount. As they waited for the fun to begin, a dark haired vampyre entered the circle to enthusiastically welcome her.
“Mistress Jolie, welcome to our council. We were just advised that you would be attending.” He took her hand, kissing her knuckles lightly.
“Master Viktor, you haven’t changed a bit,” she said, smiling warmly at her old acquaintance. “Thank you for accepting us to your council this evening.”
“Mistress Jolie, you honor me with remembering me from so many years ago, and we could use as many friends as possible at this time. It appears the slaying times are upon us once more.”
“So I’ve heard from Jasmine. She was nice enough to inform me of the danger we’re facing.”
Viktor took her hand chivalrously to walk her through the council, introducing her to the power players. If they wanted to intimidate, it wasn’t working. All were her age or younger. Jolie pleasantly greeted each one, noticing some flinched as she got close to them, and yet none would comment on the obvious.
It would be crass to do any such thing.
Death tasted each and every one at the contact. Jolie struggled to keep it under control.
In her mind, she could feel her mates giving her strength and reassurance.
“You haven’t changed at all,” Master Viktor stated.
Jolie knew that was total BS. “You flatter me, pretending not to feel it, Viktor. Let me confirm what you’re all thinking. Yes, I am, indeed, Death’s harbinger.”
At her acknowledgment, a few stepped back in fear, and some closer out of morbid curiosity.
Viktor continued to hold her hand. “Are we not all kissed by death?” he replied diplomatically. “It’ll only aid us in the destruction of the hunters.” Then he paused. “That is if you agree to help us.” The vampyre smiled devilishly.
Jolie was impressed that time hadn’t changed him. Viktor was the same man she remembered from centuries ago. She also realized one important thing.
Oh, they must need her help desperately.
To overlook this must mean that the threats were greater than they were aware.
“I’ve made that point myself,” she admitted, as they stopped in front of another primus and his mate.
Viktor went to make the introductions, but Jolie stopped him. She was gazing into the familiar green eyes of a woman she knew many years ago.
“Greetings, Master Mordechai. It’s good to see you again.” Jolie bowed her head in respect to her mate’s parents. It sickened her to do it, but protocol was protocol.
In all honesty, she wasn’t a fan of either of them, thanks to the way they ostracized their only son. Right now, she would play nice, but later, given the opportunity, she would tell him what she really thought of them.
“Mistress Jolie, I see you and my son have managed to not get yourselves killed. I find that shocking,” he replied haughtily, never bothering to look over at his child.
Jolie could feel Jacques tense from across the circle.
“May I reintroduce you to my mate, Morganna,” Mordechai said hastily, as if it was nothing more than a formality and bother.
Jolie turned and smiled at Jacques’s mother, wondering exactly how much she missed her son.
“Jolie, it’s been centuries.” She reached for Jolie’s hand but was stopped by her husband. The woman pulled her hand back as if she’d been slapped.
The other primuses gasped at the insult.
“You won’t touch her,” Mordechai stated. “She’s unclean. I can feel it from here.”
Jolie didn't care what he thought, but knowing his arrogance, this would only be the beginning. It was her job to put a stop to this before it got out of hand.
“I do believe that this should end here and now.” The anger began snapping around her as she stared into Mordechai’s eyes. “I would prefer not to tell you off in front of the entire council, but I see you are still a hardened man who feels women are beneath you.”
Menacingly, at her tone, he leaned forward. “How I feel about women has nothing to do with this nonsense. When my son left to become your guardian, turning his back on his society, he was essentially dead to us. We told him to never grace our presence again, and yet here he is. That’s an insult to me and my family.”
Jacques tensed beside his mate.
Flynn discretely patted him on the back.
Mordechai continued, “Had he stayed with his people, he would have had power and prestige. He would have been ruling a family by now instead of serving a mistress. He chased after you like a lovesick puppy, and that was beneath him. You were beneath him.” He spat on the ground in disgu
st. “The day he saw you was the beginning of the end.”
Jolie didn’t care what he said about her. What pissed her off was his disdain for his own child. It was revolting.
“He would have been primus,” Mordechai hissed, his eyes finally meeting his son’s in disappointment.
Jolie weighed her options. It appalled her that two parents could turn on their own child so easily. Behind the couple, she could see Jasmine smiling.
‘Do it,’ she mouthed.
Jolie prepared to put the man in his place.
“Well, that being said, Mordechai, let me introduce my guests for the evening.
Jolie returned to the center of the circle, thinking back to the proper way to do this all old world style. “Master Viktor, if I may?” She waited for his nod before turning toward her mates.
Jacques mentally gave Flynn the instructions, telling him to follow his lead.
Jolie held out her hands for the men in her life. “Allow me to introduce my mate, Jacques Degaul.”
He glided toward her, the epitome of elegance. On the outside, he remained unwavering to the drama.
The inside was a different story.
Jolie wrapped herself in his arms before offering him a gentle kiss on the lips. Turning, she relished in the look of surprise on Mordechai’s face.
But it wasn’t finished quite yet.
Now it was time for the coup de grâce.
Jolie turned toward her detective, who was still patiently waiting for her to call his name. “Let me also introduce my human mate, Detective Flynn Brogan.”
He crossed to her, taking a protective stance behind Jolie. It was for one purpose--to show there was no doubt that he had the role of guardian in their relationship. It was a little gift that he could give Jacques. Here, his father had just torn him down. Flynn wanted to help lift him back up. The vampyres around them could assume he was basically just the muscle. If it healed Jacques, he’d accept that.
Jolie couldn’t love her human mate more. She knew why he did what he did. Later, she would give him extra kisses for his sweetness.
There were looks of amazement around the circle. In old societies, the primus didn't take two mates.
It just wasn’t done.
Then Jolie could hear the whispers. It had everything to do with Flynn’s job. She’d brought the police into their midst.
That was taboo--maybe more than the whole mate thing.
Well, why not give them more to talk about?
Both men moved into position, their bodies touching, connecting all three. Her hands linked with theirs as they kissed her hand. The platinum and ruby band on her finger glinted in the light, a symbol for all to see.
Jolie was proud of her mate. She knew he was staring directly into his father’s eyes, almost daring him to say anything. It was his personal challenge.
They had Mordechai on this one.
In old world circles, to insult or disparage the mate of a primus could have ugly repercussions, and his father knew it. It appeared that Mordechai would be swallowing his words from here on out. Jacques just became off limits, but just in case, Jolie beat him to the punch once again.
“It appears, Mordechai, that your son didn't choose as poorly as you assumed. I believe that I’m two years older than you, and that would give me a higher status. So, technically, Jacques mated above his station in life.”
Flynn covered a laugh with a cough.
His woman had claws and well placed timing. It was sexy as hell.
Mordechai fumed.
Jolie simply watched his face as his expression went from anger to fury, knowing exactly where she was heading with this.
“Jacques was brave enough to take the unknown path instead of the easy one. That, to me, proves he had more courage than many others who were handed their prestige. Besides, back in the states, our society is one of the most powerful ones around, and Jacques helps me run it. He isn’t trapped under the thumb of an overbearing tyrant. In fact, since I’m older then you, and he is my mate, doesn’t that makes him more powerful than you now too.”
Jacques grinned.
“I do believe it’s called power by proxy.” Jolie turned to face Master Viktor. “Am I correct?”
“Yes, you are, Mistress Jolie.”
“So this, I believe, is settled once and for all. You only need to know that your son surpassed you.”
Jacques relaxed beside her, especially when he noticed a few of the other primuses were amused at his father’s discontent. It served the bastard right, and Jacques couldn’t be happier. It had been entertaining to see someone put him in his place.
It was a long time coming.
“Mother, are you well?” asked Jacques, feeling bad for the woman saddled with his father. He wished her nothing but love, since she was, after all, the one who gave him life.
“Jacques, that doesn’t matter. How are you?” she asked, moving forward and away from her mate to have contact with her son. It had been a long time.
“I’m well, thank you,” he said, still not moving from his place beside Jolie. He was sure it spoke volumes of who he belonged to in life. Mordechai Degaul had no power over him.
When his mother wrapped her arms around his waist and began to sob, Jolie stepped forward to whisper into Flynn’s ear. “Remove them from the circle. They need some time and privacy to work through this. It’s been a long time since they’ve seen each other.”
Jolie waited for him to do as she asked, but in the meantime, she could feel him reaching for her mind.
‘You being a bitch is totally hot. Later can we play stuck up mistress and rowdy cop?’
It was hard not to laugh at her mate. He was, after all, an amusing man. ‘I think I can make that happen.’
Jolie waited until her mates were out of the circle before she turned to face their hosts. “Now that all the introductions are made, how about we discuss the crisis at hand?”
Master Viktor nodded, leading her to the table. “Yes, Mistress, we should.”
As she took her seat, she could feel the anger reverberating from Mordechai.
Good. Let him hate her.
It was about time someone put him in his place.
“Now, tell me what’s happening,” she stated, getting down to business.
“We need someone tracked down. When they’re found, we need them killed.”
It looked like they came to the right person.
CHAPTER Five
For the following hour, Jolie sat listening to everything that the council had on the killer hunting their kind. While she wished there was some sort of mistake, there obviously wasn’t. The tale was the same.
It never changed.
Humans were hunting their kind as they left behind a trail of brutal slayings and mass deaths. The entire time she was forced to relive the centuries of senseless killing, Jolie had to wonder if it would ever end.
Would her kind and mankind ever be at peace?
When the council was done, she sat in silence, rubbing the bridge of her nose. It was rare, but Jolie was at a loss. The horror, which played over the faces of the other primuses, was more than she could take.
She’d lived it before with the death of her own family, and so many others she called friends. When the details emerged--how they had found an entire family destroyed--everyone there wanted to be sick.
To find your friends like that, beheaded and staked, was an affront to everything their species was against.
Yes, this was definitely hunters.
There could be no doubt.
More deaths would come, and the first twenty would just be the tip of the iceberg.
“How many of our kind are in Paris?” she asked.
Master Viktor pondered it. “There are at least two hundred and fifty, not counting mates.”
That was a hell of a lot of vampyres to lose to a human hunter.
“What is it that you feel we can do to help you?” She glanced toward her mates as they remained besi
de her. Jacques took her left hand, kissing the ring on her finger. Flynn remained standing in a defensive pose, scanning the area for any attempt on their lives.
Neither man looked happy. After what they had been told, there was no doubt that Jolie was going to step in and ‘handle’ it.
“We need all the power we can muster,” pleaded Viktor beseechingly. “Now that we know that one of your mates is a detective…” He let it drop off, looking at the man hopefully.
Flynn said nothing, giving no sign he would even entertain the thought of assisting them.
“I don’t use my mates to solve problems,” Jolie stated. “They’re the loves of my life--not pawns to solve issues that pop up. If you’re asking for assistance, then look at me, not them.”
Master Viktor got the point.
“I apologize, Mistress.”
Jolie sat back in the chair, and immediately Flynn’s hand caressed the back of her neck, offering his support. She brought her fingers to his, signaling that they were a unit, and he was more than the armor used to protect them.
The darkness rose up in her, signaling her anger. Neither mate flinched, but a few at the table did.
It was apparent that Jolie didn’t like the idea of the council using her mate to find the killer. Some things were definitely off limits. Her beloved Flynn and Jacques were not going to be at their disposal.
“But,” she paused before continuing, “you’re unaware of the power that we have, so how can you be sure we can offer you anything?”
Jolie knew it was the beginning of a challenge. They had been set up, much like she’d seen other newcomers in the past. There was the telltale signal as Viktor’s eyes flickered off to the trees.
It was the only warning they would get.
At that moment, into the clearing, moving with preternatural speed, were six guardians running headlong at the three. Their intent was clearly visible on their faces.
Here was the fight, and it would be for their lives.
Jolie and Jacques stood. They had time to see the smile on Mordechai’s face as he prepared to watch their destruction.
Oh, she had news for him.
They weren’t dying tonight.
Pushing away from her mates with the same speed, Jolie hoped to protect them. She would be the guardians’ target. Since they didn't know she was bringing two mates, the men weren’t wearing the bull’s-eye.
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