by Maggie Walsh
So many days he had picked up the phone and started dialing to call Nikolai, but then stopped. If Nikolai had truly loved him and what he had said about mates was true, then Nikolai should have gone with him, or come after him, but he hadn’t. So Thad had hung up and threw his phone as the pain of rejection sliced through him. Nikolai hadn’t wanted him, hadn’t loved him like he said he did. If he had, then in Thad’s thinking, he shouldn’t be where he was in his life alone. Nikolai should have been right there by his side.
He had spent the first three years away from Nikolai going through that back and forth turmoil, his heart breaking, before he finally gave up on the hope that Nikolai would come after him and declare his love for him. He immersed himself in the music and touring, as well as bottles of alcohol and strange men, trying to stay numb and keep the pain away. But nothing ever made him stop loving Nikolai. Nothing ever worked at taking away the pain. It was always there.
Thad looked outside and noticed night was falling, and realized that even though Nikolai was so angry with him, he had a sense of peace wash over him for the first time since he left all those years ago. He felt a sense of being home, and he really loved it. Gods, he wanted to stay. He wanted to come home.
Thad looked away from the window and started strumming on the guitar. A song hit his head, and he smiled. It wasn’t the heavy metal stuff that people were used to him singing, and he was sure his fans and the record company would be shocked if they heard him singing this, but who the fuck cared? He loved music of all genres, and this was one that he had sung many times over the years as he sat alone in a hotel room or in his house as he thought of Dante’s coven, and Nikolai.
Thaddeus began playing and closed his eyes as he sang, allowing the words to flow through him and become him. They spoke to his soul and were exactly how he felt. It was as if he had actually written the song and poured out his soul into it. He let the words fall from his lips and put everything he felt inside him into the song as he started singing “Home” by Blake Shelton.
When he was done, he just sat there silently with his eyes still closed as the tears streamed down his face. Gods, please let me come home for real.
The phone on the nightstand started to ring, and Thaddeus sighed as he opened his eyes. He reached out and grabbed the phone, bringing it to his ear, and whispered his greeting, “Hello.” His voice was still clogged with emotion, and he couldn’t get it to come out any stronger than a whisper.
“Hello, Dax.”
The strange voice didn’t immediately put him in a panic, but there was something about the voice that made him cautious. “Who is this?”
“Don’t play coy with me. I heard your pain. I’ll be there soon to get you away from those people and bring you home like you want. Don’t worry, I’m on my way to rescue you,” the voice said, and then the phone went dead.
Thaddeus sat there staring at the phone in complete horror. How the hell did this guy know where he was? How did he know the number to call him? And most importantly, how the hell was this guy still able to see him? Hear him? He needed to get to Viktor.
Thad dropped the phone and pulled the guitar from his head, placed it on the bed, and then ran from the room in search of his friend.
Chapter Five
Nicco walked down the hallway and was engulfed by the delicious scent of his mate. As much as he wanted to stay away from Thad, there was something inside him still leading him right to the man now that he was here. Nicco followed the aroma and stopped at the closed door to one of the guest rooms. Everything was quiet inside, but he knew Thad was in there. He could hear his heartbeat. There were a few shuffling noises, and then a guitar started to play softly. Nicco leaned in closer to listen and was shocked when he heard Thad’s soft voice singing a country song instead of the heavy stuff he normally played.
Nicco was floored to hear the pain in Thad’s voice as he sang. He could hear the need and pleading in his mate’s voice as he sang louder at the chorus. Just from the anguish he heard, especially during certain words, Nicco knew Thad wasn’t talking about back to California and his career. His mate wanted to come home, and that was here. Nicco’s heart clenched in his chest, realizing that Thad thought of the coven as his home.
A phone rang, breaking into his thoughts. Nicco straightened and wiped the tears from his eyes. He needed to get away from here. He needed to think. Shelby and Sage were performing their hoop thing, whatever that was tonight, and that would be a great distraction. Nicco walked away from Thad’s door and headed toward his rooms. Once inside, he went to the bed and sat on the edge as memories once again assaulted him.
* * * *
“Nikolai! Nikolai!” Thad yelled in excitement as he ran through the house. His voice getting louder as he got closer to the kitchen were Nicco was sitting with Dante, Vik, and Sky.
Nicco stood up quickly and took a step toward the door, when Thad came rushing in, a huge smile on his face. Nicco relaxed, realizing there was no danger. His mate was just happy, and he loved the smile on Thad’s face. It was so bright, and his eyes were so full of excitement.
“What is it, sweetness?” Nicco asked as Thad ran to him.
Thad threw himself into Nicco’s arms, hugging him tight as he laughed. “He thinks I can sing.”
Nicco wrapped his arms around his mate, hugging him back as he asked, “Of course you can sing, sweetness. You have an amazing voice. But who thinks you can sing?”
Thad leaned back and their gazes met. “Sam Lechy, the guy from the record company. He was at the office and asked me to sing for him. I was really nervous about singing for a stranger, you know? And I didn't have any music to back me up, so I had to sing a cappella, but once I started to sing, the nerves just went away. I closed my eyes and pretended I was singing in my room for only you and let the words flow out, and he liked it. He said I had a great voice for heavy rock, and he wants to sign me, Nikolai. Isn't that great?”
“This man just showed up at the ParaSafe offices and asked you to sing?” Dante asked, and Nicco could hear the concern in his voice. They both turned to look at Dante. Nicco caught the worried look he and Vik gave each other, and he couldn’t agree more. Something wasn’t adding up. No record producer, even if they’re interested, just showed up at someone's place of business unexpected and asked them to sing. There was a usual protocol with these things. Sure, he had no idea about the music industry except what he picked up from a few clients he had guarded, but he didn’t remember them ever doing that. From what he had seen the few times he had one of these people as a client, they called the interested party in to the record company for a meeting. Gave the person some time to prepare. Something about this sounded wrong to him.
He moved them to the chair he had just stood from and sat, pulling Thad down on his lap as he answered Dante. “Yeah. I was in your office, filing those papers you asked me to, Dante, and Lemon came in and said that Sam called him and said he was in town for a meeting and was heading back to California, but he had an hour before he had to head to the airport to catch his flight and he wanted to stop by and talk to me. Lemon said Sam was on his way and should be there soon. So, I quickly headed into the bathroom to make sure I was presentable, and by the time I got out, Sam was standing there talking to Lemon. They made some kind of silly joke about me practicing in the bathroom because of the acoustics being better. Then he asked me if there was a favorite song I sang that I could sing for him right there. My mind went completely blank. When I was in the bathroom, I was thinking about if he asked me for a meeting out in Cali, what would I sing, but the moment he asked me, bam, every thought was gone. Then Lemon suggested I sing ‘Wherever You Will Go’ by The Calling. I had been singing that most of the day. You know when a song just gets stuck in your head? Well, that was stuck in mine all day, so I thought what the hell. When I was done, Sam said I sounded just like Alex Band.”
“And who is Alex Band?” Vik asked.
“He’s the lead singer of The Calling. Sam said I soun
ded just like him, but with a little Chad Kroeger from Nickelback mixed in, and he wants to sign me. He says I could be a star,” Thad replied excitedly.
“‘Wherever You Will Go’? Isn’t that the song you’ve been singing all day, Nic?” Sky asked.
Nicco smiled sadly. “Yeah. That was the song playing on the radio when my alarm went off, and I was singing it in the shower.”
Thad looked at him with a big smile. “That’s right. I remember hearing you sing it. Maybe that’s why it was stuck in my head all day, too? Wow, funny how those things work, huh?”
“Yeah, funny,” Nicco mumbled and looked at Vik, then Dante. He could see the same worry in their eyes as he knew was in his own. A sense of foreboding and loss washed over him. Somehow, he knew this moment would change his life forever, and he didn’t think it was going to be in a good way.
If he had only known then that that song would stick in his head for years and haunt him to this day.
* * * *
Thad sat in Dante’s office, his knee bouncing a mile a minute as they waited to hear from Vik and some guy named Evan. Dante sat quietly, reading something from a folder on his desk, and Thad couldn’t understand how the man could be so calm. This creeper, or whoever the fuck this was, kept finding him, and not only that, but now he called into the coven house. To his exact room. How the hell was he doing this?
“Relax, Dax. Vik will be back in a minute from talking with Evan,” Dante said, without looking up from his papers.
Thad sighed. “How the hell can I relax when this asshole is out there somewhere and now knowing I’m here and called right into my room? And please, Dante, please stop calling me Dax. I fucking hate that name,” Thad replied, and then stood and walked across the room to the bookcase.
He heard the shuffling of papers before Dante said, “I know this is hard, Thaddeus, but Evan is one of the best IT guys I know. If someone was lurking around the coven grounds, Evan will find him on the surveillance videos. And he’s also trying to track where that call came from. Vik will be back soon.”
Thad sighed again as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked over the books in front of him. As his gaze swept over the spines, a row of books caught his attention, and Thad smiled as he reached up and pulled one from the shelf. “I didn’t take you for a gay erotic romance reader, Dante?” Thad asked in amusement as he turned around.
Dante looked up from the file and gave him a bright smile. “Normally no, but I did read every one of those books.”
“Starred in a couple too if I remember correctly,” Dare said with a mischievous smirk as he strolled into the room and went right to Dante and gave him a kiss.
“Mmm, yes, I remember it well,” Dante replied, and Thad wanted to laugh because the vampire king sounded like he was purring when he said it.
“Starred in a few? What does that mean?” Thad asked.
“Those books were written by D. Shaw-Calabrese, our wonderful mate,” Dante answered.
Thad’s brows rose in surprise. “Dale?”
“Yup,” Dare said as he sat on the arm of Dante’s chair. “Our love is talented as hell. Have you read them?”
Thad could feel his cheeks heating up. Hell, yes, he read them, every chance he got while out on the road. These books were the one thing that kept him sane over the past year and a half.
“Just from that blush, I would have to say the answer was yes,” Dante said with a chuckle.
“I love D. Shaw-Calabrese. I’ve bought every book he’s written on my Kindle. Sitting for hours on a tour bus with a bunch of assholes you really can’t stand gives you a lot of free time. My manager, Jonas, showed me the first one, and I thought he was insane, but it was really good.”
“We’ll let Dale know he has a fan,” Dare replied.
Just then Vik popped in and looked at him, then Dante and his mate. “Evan went through all the video with a fine-tooth comb and nothing. The only thing he did see that gave him pause was there is one section that looks like it skipped, but he said it could be anything,” Vik said as he walked to Dante’s desk and dropped a disk on it.
“What about the phone?” Dare asked.
“Nothing yet. Evan has some kind of system in his computer to trace calls, but because it was after the fact, he said it was almost impossible to trace the call. But he did check the phone company for any calls coming into the house at that time, and there were none,” Vik said.
“What? What do you mean there were none?” Thad snapped. He turned and slid the book back in its place, then faced them again.
“I’m sorry, Thad, but it showed no calls came into the house in the last few days. With everyone having cell phones now, the landline doesn’t get a lot of calls,” Vik answered.
Thad took a few steps closer, saying in a pleading voice, “I’m not lying, Vik, Dante. I swear that phone rang, and when I picked it up, it was him. He said he was coming for me soon.”
Thad felt like his whole world was about to fall apart. This bastard kept finding him, and now that he was finally back home, and Nikolai was right here, he might have to run again, and any chance he may have had with his mate would be lost forever. There was no way Nikolai would forgive him for leaving again.
Thad dropped down into a seat and covered his face as tears burned the backs of his eyes. Gods, he just wanted to come home and stay. This was the only true home he had ever had. He just wanted his mate. Was that too much to ask for? Yes, he made a stupid damn mistake when he was a kid, but why should he have to keep paying for it? He would do whatever he had to do to get Nikolai to forgive him. He would crawl on his knees and beg if his mate would forgive him and take him back.
A hand touched his shoulder, but Thad couldn’t look up at any of these strong men. They would think he was a pussy and weak if they saw him crying.
“We don't think you’re lying, Thad, which means something very strange is going on around here, and we need to figure out what,” Vik said.
“I’ll go call some of my dragons and have them start patrolling around the grounds above,” Dare said, and then Thad heard shuffling feet.
“I’ll go give Evan another call and see if he’s come up with anything else. He said he was going to keep trying. I also have the tech guy over at the training facility checking things out as well. I’ll be back in a few,” Vik said.
Then Thad heard more shuffling, and he knew he and Dante were alone again.
“We’ll do whatever we have to to keep you safe, Thaddeus,” Dante promised.
He knew they would, but at this point, what else could he do? He could stay and see if this asshole came for him and then what? Would he take Thad away and keep him against his will? Would he hurt the people here to get to him? He couldn’t let anyone here get harmed. He loved Dante, Vik, and some of the others like family. Falcon and Harley were good friends, and then there was his mate. He couldn’t let Nikolai get hurt because of him. So that only left him running, but where would he go? This guy seemed to know where he was at all times. Then there was the fact that the world was turning to shit.
A thought struck him, and Thad’s head snapped up, his gaze met Dante’s. “Who could do something like this and hide it?”
“What?”
“Who could always know where I am and contact me using a phone he shouldn’t know about and then cover the call up? Someone in the coven? At ParaSafe? Or maybe a paranormal?” Thad asked excitedly.
One of Dante’s brows lifted. “That’s a good possibility. I doubt it is any of my vampires or anyone at ParaSafe, but a paranormal…maybe.”
“So we have to find out which kind and how to stop him right?”
“Yes, but we’ll take care of that, Thad. We have powers, and even without them, we are fierce vampires,” Dante replied.
Thad stood and approached Dante’s desk, and the king of vampires just stared at him, his elbows on the chair, hands clasped together and fingers steepled. “Change me,” Thad whispered.
“What?” Dante asked in s
urprise.
“Change me. Make me one of you,” Thad repeated.
“Why now, Thad? Why do you want to be changed?”
“So that I can protect myself against this guy, and also so that…Nikolai will know that I’m serious. If you change me then I would have to stay here like I want, and couldn’t go back. Look, Dante, I know I hurt him eleven years ago, but I hurt myself just as much. And yes, I don’t truly understand the depth of that pain because I am not one of you and wasn’t raised to know all about mates, but I was young. I had lived my whole life trapped under someone’s thumb, made to do everything I didn’t want to do. I wanted to live a little, make my own choices, my own decisions. I never meant to hurt Nikolai, surely you must know that? I never wanted to leave him. I…” Thad stopped and looked down, gripping the edge of Dante’s desk.
“You wanted him to run after you, didn’t you?” Dante asked.
Thad nodded and then swallowed hard. “I never wanted to let him go, but I was so afraid he would go rogue or feral. Sky and Lemon talked about that happening to your kind if you were taken away from your coven and out on your own, and I couldn’t ask Nikolai to give up his life here.”
Thad stepped back and dropped back into the seat. “I never had anything to call my own, Dante. Nothing. Not even a shirt or pair of pants. Then Nikolai came into my life and…I finally had someone who cared about me. I had someone who was there for me and encouraged me. But I was so stupid, Dante,” Thad whispered, his voice strained with emotion.
“I have spent all these years missing him. Wanting him to find me. To tell me that he still loved me. I know now that it was all a foolish game I was playing, but I had no idea at the time that I would lose him and all of you. I didn’t have anyone to teach me these things. To tell me that you never play with someone’s heart like that. I didn’t mean to do it, to hurt him. I kept praying he would stop me. That he would come after me and ask me not to go. And when he didn’t…”