“Jolie, hey beautiful,” he whispered, trying to get her to focus on him. When her eyes flickered open, he continued, “Hey, are you ready? I have you, baby. I promise, okay? You’re not leaving me. I’m not letting that happen.”
She nodded weakly.
Flynn felt the hunger in her and knew that she needed energy in the worst way. Bringing his lips to hers, they hovered just above hers, waiting for Jacques to begin.
Jolie could hear her mistress beckoning for her. There wasn’t much time.
“Hurry,” she gurgled through the blood.
Unable to wait, Flynn dropped his mouth to hers as he began shoving copious amounts of his energy into the woman clinging to him. As soon as mouth met mouth, he could taste her blood. It pulled his fangs into his mouth as it lured the predator to its mate. He would do anything to save her. If Jolie had to drain him completely dry, so be it.
Jacques reached into her mind. ‘Ready?’
‘Yes.’
Jacques grabbed the end of the shard before placing his foot firmly on Flynn’s back. With all his strength, he pulled. They heard Jolie scream through their minds as the wood gave way and slid sickly out of her body. It was a sound he would never forget, and neither would anyone in the room.
Flynn kissed her like it was the last one they’d ever share. Lips caressed, and tongues slid effortlessly over one another as Jolie fed from him.
Then, she stopped.
Her head dropped back and eyes closed.
Time stopped as both men stared first at her, and then over at Vanth. Jolie’s prone body was motionless, eyes closed, and all life was gone from her body.
Vanth closed her eyes, and when they reopened, Chloe’s were there instead. “Give her a second.”
There was a collective sigh as they once more dodged the bullet.
“Shit! That was close,” muttered Flynn, as he ripped her dress open to see the wound.
Jacques dropped beside him as they watched the hole between her breasts slowly began to knit itself closed. A sigh of relief filled the room.
Since Flynn was borderline empty from pushing his energy into her, Jacques took over. He placed his hands on Jolie’s healing chest to begin sending his energy into her, luring her back from the dark.
Flynn held her in his arms, refusing to let her go. Both mates would stay by her side for as long as it took for her to heal. They were so glad she’d live to fight another day.
Jolie could feel the lure of their energy as it called to her. First, there had been Flynn’s holding her to life, and now Jacques’s refilling her empty well.
She was grateful to them both. Once more, they had saved her. Jolie was lucky that this wasn’t ending far differently.
When her eyes snapped open, she gasped in pain.
Flynn still held her, and she could see that they were one hell of a bloody mess. She only hoped it was her blood and that he wasn’t injured as well. With what had gone on, who knew?
Immediately, she began coughing up blood. “Damn it! That hurts!”
He began dropping kisses to her face as he lapped away the trail of blood.
Jacques moved closer to offer her the same gentle ministrations. Now, they’d soothe her pain.
Her body heated with their gentle touch. “Thank you, my loves. I know that had to be just as unpleasant for you.”
“I hope I never experience that again,” Jacques admitted, staring down into her lavender eyes. “You scared the hell out of us, Jolie.”
Flynn had to agree. This whole thing was horrifying.
“That wasn’t my first impaling, so trust me…I understand.” Then she tried to joke, “One would think it gets easier with each one.”
Neither mate found that funny. In fact, they were having a hard time not being angry.
Not with her, but with Mathew.
Had he kept his hands off her, she wouldn’t have been hurt. Neither said a word, but it was there, simmering just below the surface.
Clariel brought a blanket to cover her.
“Thank you, I’m cold.”
Chloe began weeping at the sight of the chaos she’d caused. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “Please forgive me, Mistress.”
Jolie waved it away. It wasn’t her fault. This mess wasn’t anyone’s. Some things were out of their control, and this happened to be one of them.
Jacques began unbuttoning his shirt, since he was the only one not covered in her blood. Delicately, he moved toward his mate. “Mon amour, take this,” he offered, kissing Jolie on her forehead.
It was hard not to notice that his hands shook. It was rare for him to be rattled, but this had done it.
Flynn couldn’t blame him. This was too much.
“Thank you, Jacques,” she said, as Flynn helped her out of the torn dress, all the while blocking her body with his larger one. Mathew was behind him, and the last thing he wanted was the vampyre seeing Jolie naked.
“Can you help me?” she asked him.
Flynn didn't hesitate. He stood her up and fastened the buttons on the shirt. When he was done, she helped him slip out of his wet bloody shirt. Then, when it hit the ground, Jolie hopped up into his arms. She was too weak to walk. What she needed now was blood.
“I’ll feed her,” Jacques offered, knowing that Flynn was pretty empty when it came to energy.
“I’ll go first. She can drink me dry,” he stated.
Jacques patted him on the back as they headed toward a couch that Clariel and Trina had flipped over for them. Both vampyres were watching them with wary eyes.
They knew why.
Mathew had risked their mistress.
They expected punishment for it.
Settling down onto the ruined couch, Flynn cuddled her close. He held her in his strong arms even as he stared at the drying drips of blood running down her pale legs.
It pissed him off.
‘He didn't mean it,’ she offered into his mind.
‘I’m aware, but I’m still not happy,’ was his only reply.
Again, Jacques patted him on the shoulder before taking a seat beside them. He would be feeding her too.
Jolie nuzzled his neck, taking in the familiar scent of mate. It called to her, pulling her teeth into her mouth. As she ran her fangs over his flesh, seeking that perfect spot, he shuddered.
“I love you,” she whispered softly against his skin just before sinking her teeth deep into his body.
Flynn moaned.
Even though they had almost lost her, he couldn’t help but react to the act of feeding her. It was instinctual, and his body tensed. As her scent wafted up, it pulled him under the rising tide of lust. It was delicious, overpowering, and reminded him of all the perfect things he loved in his life.
Her.
‘You’re incredibly delicious, Flynn. This is one of my favorite things in life.’
He wanted to laugh. She had no idea. He’d sell what was left of his soul to feel this every second of the day.
‘Me too, baby,’ he replied, trying to focus. It wasn’t easy, as the claws of need were climbing up from deep within him.
When Jolie had finished feeding from him, she glanced over hungrily at her other mate. She licked her lips.
“More blood, my love?” he asked, taking her from Flynn’s arms.
“Yes, please.”
She repeated the same exact ritual, offering him the same words, since they were true for him too. Both men made her incredibly happy.
With them, there was peace.
When she was finished, they needed to address the big pink elephant in the room.
Glancing over, Mathew was cowering in a corner, much like a whipped dog.
It broke her heart.
“Mistress, I’m so sorry that I got you hurt,” he whispered. Fear prevented him from making eye contact with Jolie or her mates. He caused her harm and because of that, it was their right to punish him.
It could even mean his destruction if they wanted his blood spilled.
Jolie
knew that her mates weren’t happy, but she also knew that they had great propensity to forgive those who were broken. She trusted that neither man would hurt him.
“Come here, Mathew,” she stated.
When he hesitated, Flynn spoke up, “Now.”
He jumped at his master’s voice, and then scurried toward them to drop to his knees.
“Punish me,” he stated. “I deserve it. If you’re going to kill me, please just make it fast.”
Jacques answered him, “We’re not going to kill you, Mathew, but going forward, you can’t do that again. We purposely didn't touch her, and we’re her mates.”
Flynn continued, “Don’t you think that if it was safe, we would have gone to her?”
He nodded, not looking up. “I didn't think. I just acted.”
“Well, that has to stop,” Flynn added.
Jolie knew they were mad. Soothingly, she ran her hands up and down their bodies, but she didn't tell them to leave the vampyre alone.
They had every right to be upset. After all, she was their mate. Jolie wouldn’t let them feel less than that, especially for another male vampyre.
Flynn and Jacques’s feelings came first. They were her priority.
“I’m sorry, Masters.”
Jolie spoke up when they didn't, “Mathew, what you did was risky. You could have been hurt or worse--killed.”
Mathew shrugged behind his hair, still not meeting her eyes in shame.
Flynn glanced over at Jacques, sharing a look. They could feel the fear emanating from Mathew. He was scared, shaking, and ready to bolt.
They would take one for the family team.
“Mathew, it’s okay,” insisted Jacques, not an ounce of hostility present on his face. “We forgive you.”
Jolie loved the men in her life. She was proud of their strength and love because here came that very compassion. While they were pissed, both men would carry it in silence.
She’d chosen well.
Flynn, too, joined in, “Jolie would have been hurt if something happened to you, so you need to be careful. We’re not upset because you wanted to help her. We understand that,” he said, not necessarily believing his own words, but that was his problem, and no one else’s issue.
Because of Jolie, he wouldn’t kick a vampyre when he was down.
When Mathew finally looked up, Jolie knew the storm had passed. “Now that this is over, we should probably finish our discussion,” she stated.
Both mates agreed. For now, they didn't want to think about how they nearly lost her.
“As I was saying, before Chloe lost it,” Jolie began, “I’ve seen Death’s messenger a few times now since arriving in Paris. I’m pretty sure that there’s a reason for that.”
The men agreed.
Jolie thought back to the little girl who had stood behind Mathew, warning her that he was going to die. “I really do believe that all the sightings are linked. This is like my early warning before something bad is coming.”
“Handy,” stated Flynn, kissing her on the neck.
“That’s not the word I’d use,” Jacques stated.
“Well, I think we can agree on one thing,” Jolie said.
“And that is?” Flynn asked, glancing around at the room’s destruction. “That people shouldn’t rent us houses?”
Yeah, that was probably true, but not what she was thinking.
“No, that Chloe is in danger here. That brings us to what she was about to share with the others.”
The three vampyres huddled together across the room. The women weren’t afraid of the masters, but they were worried for Mathew. Coming from a house of horrors, they were expecting the worst.
“Chloe?” Jolie said, giving the woman the opportunity to tell them her big secret.
She took a deep breath before standing in the middle of the room. “My real name is Vanth, and I’m the Demoness of Death.”
When the name was said, her eyes changed to the swirling vortexes, signaling her presence.
The vampyres across the room looked confused.
“What’s a Vanth?” Trina asked.
Since it was an ancient legend, they weren’t surprised that the young vampyres were clueless. Compared to Jolie, they were nothing more than babies.
Vanth picked up the story. “Two hundred years ago, there were two vampyres hunting humans and offering their souls to my mistress, Death. They used a spell that they had found in an ancient book to seek a boon from Death in exchange for their energy and blood. My mistress is a sucker for both.”
Flynn snorted, knowing how true that was. In fact, Death was a pain in their asses. He hated how Jolie had to kill to appease the entity.
“Well, my mistress was intrigued by the proposition, so she granted them control of the Angel of Death to make their job easier. She likes a flair for the dramatic.”
Yeah, she really did.
“These two vampyres were giving her exactly what she wanted.”
“Which is?” Clariel asked.
“Souls, blood, and violence,” Jolie added.
“Yeah, the bitch is charming,” interjected Flynn, appalled that humans were merely food. While he wasn’t fully one now, his allegiance would always lie with them. The only vampyres he trusted were the ones beside him.
“I was promised to the two vampyres for as long as they lived, so they could continue the sacrifices. The pact was made, but there was one condition. Death agreed that they would only retain my services if the sacrifices were bloody.”
The three watched Vanth. They could feel her energy crackling around them, much like before. It was frightening.
“Unfortunately for them, their killing of humans caused one hell of a mess. It brought the hunters upon them. Paris became a hunting and killing ground. It turned into a fiasco. There were vampyres preying on the humans, and in return, the humans called into service the dreaded hunters who chased vampyres for centuries.”
They gasped.
“HUNTERS?” hissed Clariel and Trina at the same time. They had heard stories of what these animals did to their kind. Until that moment, they believed it to be nothing more than a legend.
“They became scared, so they hid out,” Vanth stated. “When the sacrifices stopped, Death had her out from the deal. I was able to move from their service. I ran at the first chance.”
Jolie felt sorry for her. She understood how shitty it was to be someone’s killer. It weighed on your heart and soul.
“Once they began sacrificing again, they tried to find me, but I was already hidden. I changed my form and was hiding among their own kind.”
Vanth moved toward Jolie and both men tensed. Vanth must have sensed it, and she smiled in response, her fangs peeking from behind her lips.
“I managed to escape the atrocities of those two and was taken in by your mistress.” She glanced back at the vampyres across their room.
“So you were their tool?” asked Mathew.
“Yes.” She tipped her head and blinked her scary eyes. “You’re wondering what my role was, aren’t you?”
Mathew swallowed. “Yes.”
“I’m a bridge to death. You might know me better as a reaper. It’s my job to take the dead across into a different realm. As to my power, it’s vast. That’s why you can’t say their names in front of me. It’ll draw them to me.”
“If they’re here, will you have to go back?” Trina asked.
“Yes. For now, I serve Mistress Jolie and her mates, but if my old mistress were to find me…” She paused, unable to say the rest. It was too horrible to even say it, let alone think it.
“That’s terrible,” stated Trina.
“If I’m found, I’ll be back in their servitude. Chloe is just a human that I found when I needed a vessel to hide in. If I leave, she’s dead. Humans can’t live this long.” Then she focused on Flynn. “Unless they mate with a vampyre.”
“Can you escape them again?” asked Mathew, looking concerned.
“The on
ly way is for them to be slain, and then I’ll be returned to Death for her command. I won’t be allowed to stay here with you. I’m simply on loan to your kind.”
“So, we can’t really save you?” Flynn asked.
Vanth shook her mop of blonde curls. “No. My time is limited. I can be recalled at any time and will be if they die. That’s how I know they’re still alive. If someone destroyed them, the contract would have been broken, and my mother would have called me home.”
“Yeah, she’s a mother, all right,” Brogan muttered.
Jacques grinned at his mate.
“Well, shit, this is a fun little twist,” Flynn added. “It’s never simple, is it? So, if we keep you hidden and let them live, you remain. If they find you, then you’re off to be their weapon. What happens if we kill them? Are you then going back to Death?”
“Yes.”
Jolie cuddled against her mates. “We can’t get ahead of ourselves. First, we have to deal with the most important part of this. We have to keep Vanth hidden.”
“Then?” Flynn asked.
“I need to know what Death is trying to tell me. The visions, the nightmares, and the rest have to mean something. Once we figure that out, I’m sure the rest will be crystal clear.”
“Does the messenger say anything when you see her?” asked Vanth curiously.
“The first time, yes. She warned me that Flynn was going to be harmed, back in New Orleans. Now, not a word is said. As of late, she just appears, points, or stares.”
“Like she’s an omen, foreboding what’s to come?” asked Trina.
“That’s what we believe,” admitted Jacques.
Everyone sat in silence, unsure what to say. This was one hell of a mess, and they were all smack dab in the middle of it.
Mathew raised his hand, almost like a child would in school. “Vanth?” he asked.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry, but I’m curious. How old is Death?”
She paused, trying to find an answer. “I really don’t know. My mistress has always been there since the day I was born. I don’t know the answer to that.”
Flynn wanted to ask how she was ‘born’, but he was afraid to hear the answer. It was probably something that would horrify him.
“It would, Detective,” she said, turning to look at him.
Dangerous Misery (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 3) Page 15