by Ginna Moran
“Enough. What has you two here before sundown? Is there an emergency with the board?” Bronx asks, absently massaging the bite mark I left on him.
Heidi flashes her fangs. “That’s yet to be determined. We’re here to inform you that the board requests your coven’s presence in Midnight Valley at midnight.”
“Midnight?” Bronx asks. “We’d have to leave now.”
The two beautiful vampires nod. “So pack your bags,” Heidi says, smiling like it brings her great pleasure to interrupt our lives.
Merrick points at me. “You too, Ms. Royale. We’re here to escort you.”
Chapter 16
The Widows
I STARE AT THE LONG stretch of sprawling hills that go on for miles. It’s been a while since I’ve traveled by day, and I nearly forgot how colorful the world is. The aqua sky stretches into a never-ending blue without a single cloud in sight.
Bronx tightens his arms around me as I sit on his lap. Everett sits beside us, and Jameson and Mikkalo in the middle row with the two Vaduva sisters in front of the sleek vehicle. Knowing Bronx, he’s probably annoyed as hell that we have to trust them to get us into another region safely. It’s been a while since the Barons have messed with us, and I think they’re what the five of us suddenly think about now that we’re outside the safety of our city.
“Do you want something to eat?” Everett asks me, keeping his voice low. “Jameson packed your breakfast to go.”
My stomach growls, answering for me. “Will we be much longer? I can wait.”
Everett shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Midnight Valley. I want you to eat, though. And drink water. We don’t need a repeat of last night.”
“What happened last night?” Merrick asks from the front.
Everett stiffens with annoyance. “We took Gwen to her first gathering. She was having too much fun that she forgot to drink water and fainted. She’s still not a hundred percent feeling good.” That’s a flat-out lie. We all know I feel fine, but normal humans tend to take longer to recover.
Heidi glances at us in the rearview mirror. “No wonder Zaire wouldn’t let you apply to Blood Match. You can barely keep the poor thing alive.”
I dig my fingers into Everett’s hand, stopping him from reacting. He inhales a sharp breath through his nose. Heidi and Merrick both smile, knowing that they got to him. I’m nearly certain that’s why Mikkalo and Jameson pretend to sleep. I shift on Bronx’s lap and sprawl my legs over Everett’s to do the same. If I purposely ignore them, they’ll get bored.
I touch Everett’s cheek. “So what’s for breakfast?” I hope my question distracts him enough to let their snark go.
“I’m sure he hopes it’ll be you.” Merrick laughs, her voice sounding velvety and smooth.
I fake smile at her. “If he doesn’t spill anything while he feeds me, I might just let him have a taste.”
Merrick blinks a few times, trying to compose her surprise. I’m sure she didn’t expect that to be my reaction to her comment.
Heidi laughs this time. “I like this one. Maybe we can convince Mother to revert her contract to the old laws. That way we can invite her into our household. She might fit right in.”
All four of my guys growl, the sound so intense that I cover my ears to try to get my bones to stop shaking. The two women don’t react how I expect, but instead they continue to laugh and joke. They get great joy in getting on people’s nerves and playing with insecurities.
“I don’t know about that. I require a lot of attention.” I keep my voice even and serious to pretend like I don’t know what they’re doing by messing with my guys.
Merrick swivels in her seat and meets my gaze. “I highly doubt that you need as much as you think. I’ve read your file.”
“My file?” I press my lips together as not to frown. “Most of that was speculation.”
“You mean you weren’t attached to an outcast?” Heidi turns on the autopilot to turn in her seat to face me as well. My guys remain silent, acting aloof and allowing me to speak for myself.
“Attached? No. He was rather clingy. My brothers fed him once and he wouldn’t go away.” I don’t look at either of them as I say the words, allowing Everett’s breakfast prep to hold my attention. He mixes fruit into a container of yogurt the way I like and scoops up a little for me to taste. I hum and nod. “That tastes different.”
“Pineapple,” Everett murmurs. “Do you not like it?”
“No, it’s delicious. Almost as good as you.” I try not to cringe at my comment. I’ve been all over Bronx that I didn’t necessarily want the Vaduvas to realize that I’m close to all of them. My guys warned me a dozen times how unnatural it was for a coven to share a human, considering I wouldn’t produce enough blood to feed them exclusively like my contract says I have to.
“You were always obsessed with pretty donors, weren’t you, Everett?” Merrick asks. “Bronx better be careful. She speaks to you in a way that only someone with an attachment would. Have you been secretly giving her your blood behind your brother’s back? I know Blood Rebels like that kind of thing, thinking they have some sort of power.”
Damn her and using the whisper voice I shouldn’t be able to hear.
“She’s referring to the day we caught her,” Everett mutters. “And so you know, Bronx has not placed his claim on her.”
Bronx stiffens under me, and I know the conversation heads in a direction that none of us want it to go. I sink more into Bronx and motion to Everett to feed me some more of the yogurt. Mikkalo and Jameson feel the brewing tension, because they both straighten their backs in their seats.
“It’s only a matter of—”
“Whoa, shit!” I say, pointing out the windshield.
Both Merrick and Heidi jerk back toward the road to see nothing. I just needed to get their attention off the subject.
“That thing was huge,” I add, leaning forward in the seat.
Jameson chuckles softly, loving how I totally freaked out the Vaduvas. “Have you never seen an owl, Gwen?”
I try not to laugh. “That thing was not an owl.”
Heidi shakes her head, rolling her eyes in the rearview mirror. Merrick whispers that she highly doubts I’d actually fit in with their coven, her attention now drawn elsewhere. I puff a breath through my lips in relief, the tension evaporating the closer we get to the towering wall of a city I can barely make out from my position.
Heidi turns off the autopilot and slows at the massive gate with dozens of human security personnel with a massive arsenal of weapons like outcasts would attempt to invade the city with the sun shining. We made it here faster than I expected, but I guess my guys need extra time to prepare for their midnight meeting.
Heidi navigates into the city, and I twist in my seat and gawk out the tinted window. Humans stroll around the streets, walking all over the place. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a city like this in the day. We always had to stick to the night because of Laredo. Midnight Valley fascinates the hell out of me. Everything looks so normal apart from watching the human population avoid the shadows of buildings as best they can. If there are shadow dwellers around, I don’t see them. I know not all vampires live the same life like my guys or the Vaduvas, but I’m sure in a city like this, they have their vampire-only sections. It keeps the human populace in control as long as they think they’re relatively safe.
“This is crazy,” I whisper, trying to keep my voice low enough not to be heard by the Vaduvas. “Is Crimson Vista like this? There are so many people.”
“Yeah, pretty close. A bit smaller,” Bronx responds in my ear. “Every working adult has a job to keep things running. Would you like to explore it in the day sometime?”
I shift and meet him with wide eyes. “Really?”
Bronx shrugs. “I think we can handle the shade, especially to see your eyes light up like they are now.”
A strange squee sound escapes my lips, and I can’t stop myself from bouncing
a bit on his lap. Heidi drives along the massive wall, obscuring the view on my side. I squirm, trying to look out the back window for a better view until Bronx nudges me toward Everett to stare out his window. From Bronx’s hard-on, I’m sure my wiggling is utter torture since we can’t do anything about it.
Everett slides his arms around me, keeping me in place. He didn’t even suggest that I buckle the restraints, and I wonder if it’s because he worries about me needing a quick escape with him. He always weighs what’s a greater risk and decides from there. Luckily for us, Heidi slows down the vehicle outside a half-demolished skyscraper, the top floors long gone.
“There are sun blankets under the seats,” Heidi says, smiling over her shoulder. “We’d take you to the garage, but it’s pretty busy this time of day. I’m not in the mood to listen to a bunch of complaints.”
She’s talking about shadow dwellers.
It’s a strange concept to think about. I know that my guys deal with a lot of vampire issues in Crimson Vista, but they keep me pretty far removed from it. All I know is that shit happens between covens, vampires can be petty as fuck, and they’re sometimes not much different than humans when it comes to getting the authorities to do something. They have laws just like the donor population.
“It’s fine,” Bronx mutters, grabbing a blanket to cover his exposed head with. “I don’t want to have to sever a bunch of heads of those who’d like to test my power.”
My guys finish preparing for the dash to the awning of the tower while the Vaduvas cover themselves for the few seconds the open doors will expose them to the sunlight. I twist to straddle Everett, allowing him to cover me in the blanket with him. The moment we’re hidden, he kisses me deep enough to turn me on. He doesn’t pull away until we’re out of the car and under the awning.
“Mmm,” he murmurs against my mouth. “I’ve been dying to do that since we left home.”
I grin and kiss him again until Jameson tugs the blanket off us. I wag my finger at Jameson. “Hey, I wasn’t finished.”
Everett chuckles, shading his eyes. “We’ll get alone time soon enough.”
Setting me on my feet, Everett turns toward his brothers. None of them rush to enter the building, just taking in the sight of the city. I risk toeing the line between the sun and shade and stick my hand out to feel the heat of the day warm my skin.
Mikkalo gives me a small nudge toward the sun. “You can go into the sun for a minute. We’re not ready to go inside yet.”
I swivel to look at all of them. “Really?”
Bronx nods. “Just stay close.”
Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I stare at the bright sunlight in front of me. I never thought I’d be this excited about something so simple, but it feels so familiar, like how my brothers and I played outside the bunker in the sunlight during the day, even getting sunburned in the process. But none of us cared.
I take a breath and step forward, tipping my head toward the sky. My eyelids turn red under the bright light, and I soak the heat into my bones, pushing away the cold dread clinging to me. It’s easy to forget that our lives might change forever in only a few hours if the board decides against Bronx filling Zaire’s position on the board, though that might change our lives as well.
“One more minute, dandelion,” Bronx says from behind me.
“Yeah, it’s getting hot as hell out here,” Mikkalo adds.
I snap my eyes open and glance around the city in front of me. I start to turn around when I spot a familiar face staring at me from across the street. Rubbing the heels of my hands into my eyes, I try to wipe my brother, Ashton, out of existence. He remains standing, staring at me like he can’t believe I’m here either.
“Gwen?” His voice trickles to me as he steps closer.
My feet react without consulting my mind, and I dash forward farther into the sun. Bronx swears under his breath, and Jameson calls my name.
“It’s Ashton,” I call, glancing over my shoulder.
Mikkalo releases an annoyed growl. “Gwen, stop. Let him come to you. Don’t make me go into the sun.”
All I do is turn and hold out my finger to him, telling him to stay where he is. “I’ll be fine. It’s just twenty feet.”
Strong arms hook onto my waist, dragging me back into the shade. Ashton yells my name, and I watch him rush toward us, not even caring that Mikkalo hugs me against him, flashing his fangs at me for a second as he composes himself.
“Don’t hurt her! Please! I’ll do anything,” Ashton says, raising his hands. And then he braves stepping into the shade, proving how fearless he is even though he was taught to be smart. “I’ll give you my blood. Just, please.”
The desperation in my brother’s voice gets Mikkalo to set me on my feet. Ashton shuffles closer, rolling up his sleeve. A purple-green bruise decorates his inner elbow from what might have been a blood donation and not the bite kind. He extends his arm out to Mikkalo, who just stares at him with a raised brow.
I grab Ashton’s arm and pull his sleeve back down. “He’s not going to hurt me or bite you. None of them will.”
Ashton doesn’t look at any of my guys directly, but he doesn’t take his attention from them. I can’t blame him if he doesn’t believe me. The last time I saw him, he helped my brother fight Everett. He will always think the worst first.
I shift on my feet and look at Ashton and then to Bronx. “Can he come inside with us?”
Bronx gives a stern nod without saying anything. No one does. Offering my hand to Ashton, I tug him along inside. My guys surround us like a wall of muscle, and I can’t stop myself from smiling at Ashton. He looks good with his hair cut and neatly trimmed beard. He was healthy before, but he looks even fitter now, comparable to Declan, who has always been a bit more muscular.
“I’m so happy to see you, Ash,” I say, smiling at him again. “I was worried about you.”
He eyes me and leans closer, brushing his lips to my hair. “You think you were worried? I thought you were being held captive and turned into a baby-making machine.”
I scoff, surprise pinching my face. “What? Why the hell would you think that? You knew I was with the Royales.”
His brows scrunch together, lowering so much that he squints. “We have a lot to talk about if we can get a moment alone.”
Mikkalo clears his throat. “That will not be happening.”
I jerk my attention to him. “Mikkalo, seriously?”
“Hell yeah I’m serious. So far, all of your brothers have been pretty shitty toward you.” Mikkalo flashes his fangs at Ashton. “I’m sure he’s not any different.”
Ashton risks meeting Mikkalo’s gaze, but neither of them says anything. They just study each other, trying to figure out what’s going on. Ashton obviously had a specific idea in his mind of what was happening to me. Mikkalo probably thinks Ashton’s in cahoots with my other brothers, but I don’t think he is, especially if he’s in this city and acting like a donor from the general population.
I reach out and rest my free hand on Mikkalo’s shoulder. “Will you please not base your opinion of Ashton on the actions of my other brothers? And as for privacy...” I turn my gaze to Bronx. “It’s technically not your time to decide.”
Bronx peers at me over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes. “Oh, no you don’t, dandelion. No one is undermining Mikkalo’s judgment. He’s the head of our security for a reason.”
“Fine, then I am.” I flick Mikkalo’s shoulder. “I demand privacy. At least thirty feet.”
He meets me with a fake-glare, knowing that thirty feet isn’t even real privacy but only pretend since they can hear anything my brother says at a whisper. But Mikkalo catches on to my sneaky-ass strategy to get Ashton to talk to me. I doubt he will if he thinks someone will overhear. None of us really knew the extent of super hearing before, and my guys rock at narrowing noises though a lot of vampires tune shit out.
“Twenty-five feet,” Mikkalo says, turning to walk backward.
“Forty,�
� I counter, trying not to grin like crazy.
Ashton’s gaze penetrates the side of my face as he watches me negotiate. If I could hear his thoughts, I’m sure he’d be exclaiming, “What the fuck?” I know it’s what I’d be thinking if he was casually arguing with a vampire.
Mikkalo sighs dramatically. “Okay, fine. Forty feet. But I swear, Gwen. If he even looks like he’s going to hurt you, I’ll kick his ass out. From the balcony.”
Ashton squeezes my fingers. “I assure you, Mr. Royale, I’d never hurt my sister. It’s why I am now a registered donor in Midnight Valley.”
I peer at Ashton, everything inside me begging for him to continue. But Mikkalo gives him a look that screams to shut the hell up, and Ashton droops his shoulders and glowers at the floor. We stroll the rest of the way to a small guest room on the fourth floor, taking the elevator instead of the stairs. The room is barely the size of our closets in Crimson Vista, the bed made for a single body.
“Stay here for a second. I’m going to find out where Zaire’s suite is,” Bronx says.
Jameson peeks in the room. “Damn straight, you better. Our girl is a bed hog. Everett will be on the floor if you don’t.”
I laugh and smack Jameson’s shoulder. Ashton inhales a sharp breath, fully prepared to jump between me and Jameson as if he thinks Jameson will try to hurt me. The reaction is enough that I tug Ashton a few feet away.
“Ashton, I have something I need to tell you,” I say, shifting my weight between my feet.
“Just wait, Gwen,” Everett says, speaking up for the first time since we entered the building.
I shake my head. “No. He’s freaking out.” Turning my attention from my guys, I meet my brother’s gaze. His brown eyes look just like Declan’s, and the longer I stare at Ashton, the sadder I feel, because I miss my other brothers too. I don’t think Ashton and Declan have ever truly been apart.
Ashton links his fingers to the back of his head. “Of course I am. Vampires fucking ruined our family!”