“I’m sure Harrison will come see you soon. As for Delanie, she’s none of your business,” Jackson told her. “Tell us what happened.”
“On the day Dylan was accepted to the University of Oregon, I was very proud of him. His dreams, the goals he’d wanted to achieve, they were all attainable. Then I sat down and started remembering the dreams I’d had and the goals I’d never had the chance to achieve,” she started, lost in her own thoughts. “When I met Harrison, I thought he was the one who would be the one to help me on the path I wanted to follow, but I was wrong. When I found out I was pregnant, he told me what he was, and I knew life as I knew it was over.”
“Are you seriously blaming Harrison?” Dylan asked. “You fucking left and he stayed. He was there for everything. He was there to drive Jackson to the hospital when he was fifteen and his appendix ruptured and I was at work, he was there to help pay the taxes on the house so Jackson and I didn’t lose the only home we’d ever known, he was there for every fucking thing, and you were off doing god only knows what with god only knows who.”
“If Harrison had been a man instead of a vampire, we could have been together,” Mary screeched.
“You were together!” Jackson shot back. “Even when you were married to Dad, you and Harrison were still together. He fucking loved you.”
“How do you know Harrison and I were still together when I was married to your Dad?”
“Because Dad told me,” Jackson answered honestly.
“Jack’s alive?”
“No,” Karma answered her. “He was killed a few nights ago.”
“Pity,” Mary said and shrugged. “Dylan is the reason your Dad left, Jackson. If he wasn’t what he was, Jack would have never left us.”
“So now it’s my fault,” Dylan commented with a chuckle. “Blaming everyone except yourself? You’re the one who fucking left!”
“The night I had my car wreck, I’d been drinking very heavily, so I let one of the ladies I’d met earlier in the night drive me home. She was going to stay with you boys for a few days, so I could clear my head,” she said and looked at the floor. “When we hit a stretch of road that was straight down a curvy hill, she went to press the brake, but it didn’t work so she lost control of the car and hit a tree. She died on impact, but I was still alive.”
“How did you get out, and get here?” Jackson asked.
“I was injured pretty badly but was able to get myself out of the car. When I reached the side of the road a man was standing there. He was watching me struggle and was smiling. When I collapsed at his feet, he lifted me up like I was weightless, and I knew what he was,” she paused and looked at Karma for a second before looking back at her sons. “The other vampire with him went down and set the car on fire as he carried me to a van they had waiting. I must have passed out because the next thing I remember, I woke up and I was this.”
“Why do you keep looking at Karma?” Dylan asked, not liking the looks she was giving his lifemate.
“She looks very much like the vampire who turned me,” Mary answered.
“What was his name?” Karma asked, stepping closer to Mary.
“Vincent Duprée,” she answered, and Karma took a small step back.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Dylan said and shook his head.
“What?” Mary asked, confused.
“Karma was like me,” Dylan answered. “She was born a Halfling. Vincent Duprée was her Father.”
“You cannot marry her,” Mary told him as soon as the words left his mouth. “If she is his blood, she’s evil.”
“Karma is the furthest thing from evil I have ever met,” Jackson told her.
“Until seven months ago Vincent held me captive. If I tried leaving, he’d find me, and he would beat me, or deny me blood, or something equally evil,” she said as tears filled her eyes. “Then, suddenly, I was free.”
“That had to have been when I killed him,” Karma muttered, thinking back to that day. “What have you been doing since?”
“Hiding,” she responded. “And praying he didn’t find me again.”
“She’s lying,” Karma muttered at that last part.
“What do you mean I’m lying?” Mary asked, taken aback by Karma’s words.
“Exactly what I said,” Karma told her. “What have you been doing since Vincent’s death?”
“I told you,” she said and looked at her sons.
“Why are you looking at us?” Dylan asked and looked at Jackson. “If Karma says you’re lying, then I believe her.”
“Me too,” Jackson agreed. “Now tell us what you were doing.”
“But I’m your Mother, and she’s the daughter of a sadistic bastard,” Mary spat.
“Maybe, but she’s never lied to me, and since the day I met her she’s stood beside me no matter what we were facing,” Dylan responded. “That’s a hell of a lot more than I can say about you. Now, answer her question, and try for a little honesty this time.”
“I’ve been working for Crompton,” she said and dropped her gaze to the floor. “Last time Vincent was there, he told the other vampire that if he didn’t come back, they needed to find Crompton, and he would put us all to work.”
“Now, was that so hard?” Karma asked, looking at the older woman.
“You will not be marrying my son,” Mary said and looked Karma straight in the eyes.
“Oh?” Karma asked, grinning at the woman secured to the chair. “Who’s going to stop me?”
“Crompton,” she responded. “He’ll never let you and Dylan be married.”
“I hope he does show up,” Karma said, and her grin grew. “Then I can show him just how much I am like Vincent.”
With that, Karma left the room, and Dylan looked at Mary.
“I’ll let Harrison come say hello before I turn you over to the VEB,” he said and followed Karma out of the room.
“VEB?” She asked Jackson as she started to shake a little. “But I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“We will let a jury decide that,” Jackson said and walked to the door. “Life was really good before you left, but, even though we struggled, Dylan made life really good even after you were gone.”
As he walked from the room, he heard her start to cry, but it barely registered with him. All he wanted was a hot shower and to curl beside Delanie and sleep. And that was just what he was going to do.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Nevaeh,” Harrison said as soon as the bedroom door was closed behind him. “Talk to me.”
“What’s there to say?” Nevaeh asked.
“Damnit, woman,” he snarled and pulled her into his arms. “I love you, not her, you. Did I love her once upon a time? Yes, but you have someone you loved just as much. Do I still care about her? Yes. She’s the Mother of my son, and the one who guided me to change who I was.”
“Please just stop,” Nevaeh said and tried pulling from his arms, but her held her tighter.
“No,” he responded. “I won’t stop loving you. I won’t stop wanting you, needing you. You are my present and my future, you are my life.”
“I won’t take a backseat to her,” Nevaeh told him firmly.
“Did you hear anything I just said?” He asked, pulling back so he could look into her eyes. “You are the only one I want. You’re not in the back seat, hell you’re not even in the front seat, you’re sitting in my lap helping me drive down this road we’re on. I love you, Nevaeh. You, not her, not any other woman I have ever been with, but you. Only you, always you.”
“I love you, too,” she responded, and laid her head on his chest. “And I’m sorry.”
“For what, baby?” He asked, holding her close again.
“For acting like a jealous little bitch,” she replied. “She’s Dylan’s Mother, the woman you once said was the one who held your heart.”
“She was at one time,” he reminded her. “But now all she is to me is Dylan’s Mother, and I’m not certain she’s even that a
nymore. She abandoned those boys. She left them thinking she was dead, and never looked back.”
“Karma said she was held captive by Vincent until his death,” Nevaeh reminded him.
“But even after his death, she didn’t bother to try to find out if her sons were alive or dead. She never thought of anything beyond herself.”
“Do you think the Senate will convict her of treason?”
“I don’t know,” he answered and sighed. “I do know I would like to talk to her before the VEB takes her away though.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to know something, and she’s the only one who can answer it.”
“What do you need to know?”
“Dylan mentioned something when he told us about Mary. He said that Jack told Jackson Mary and I were together while he and her were married, but we weren’t. Karma didn’t pick up on the lie when she affirmed this, but I wasn’t even in the state after she met Jack.”
“Then who was she with, and why did both her and Jack think it was you?” Nevaeh asked, concerned about the man she loved.
“That’s what I want to find out,” he responded and smiled at her. “But first, I want to test out this bed.”
When he scooped her into his arms, she laughed loudly.
Her laugh quickly turned into a moan as his hands began exploring her body.
“Make love to me,” she whispered, and he grinned against her neck.
“That and so much more,” he responded.
****
“Harrison,” Mary said, her face lighting up when he walked into the basement of the house.
“Mary,” he responded with a curt nod.
“I was hoping I would get to see you,” she chimed. “Can you speak for me at the trial my sons say I will have? Neither of them will, and I need someone on my side.”
“You want me to speak on your behalf?” He asked.
“Yes,” she answered brightly. “I never stopped loving you, Harrison.”
“You had a funny way of showing it,” he replied. “Even after Jack took off, you didn’t want to be with me. I protected you, I fought for you, but you didn’t want me to be anything except Dylan’s martial arts instructor. I loved you, Mary. I loved all three of you, but you never gave me the opportunity to be Dylan’s Father.”
“You know that was to protect him,” Mary snapped back. “You’re the one who said he’d be killed if we were together.”
“You freaked out when you found out what I was,” he reminded her. “You didn’t want me around, but I was around. I watched him, and I protected all of you, until he started showing signs. Then I stepped back into his life in the only way that was safe for everyone. But when he was older, I wanted to tell him I was his Father, remember?”
“Yes, and I told you not to because we were happy without him knowing,” she responded.
“You’re a selfish bitch,” Nevaeh said from the door. “You used Harrison, and you used your own sons so you could feel better about yourself.”
“Who the fuck are you to talk to me like that?” Mary snapped and looked at Harrison. “Are you going to let her talk to me like that?”
“She can talk to you however she wants,” he responded and motioned for Nevaeh to join him. When she did, he pulled her against him and kissed her forehead before he looked back at Mary. “Mary, this is Nevaeh. She’s the leader of the Vampire Huntress organization, and my lifemate.”
“She’s your what?” Mary asked, nearly breathlessly.
“My lifemate,” he repeated.
“Impossible,” Mary commented. “I am your lifemate!”
“No,” Harrison responded. “I thought you were, but what I felt for you is a very small fraction of what I feel for Nevaeh. She is my one, my only, and I love her more than I ever thought it was possible to love another.”
“Then why did you come see me?” Mary screeched.
“To ask a question,” he replied.
“Ask it then leave,” she snapped out.
“Why did Jack think you and I were together when you were with him?”
“Because I told him we were,” she answered.
“Why the fuck would you do that?” Nevaeh asked.
“None of your fucking business,” Mary snapped back.
“Answer her question,” Harrison said through clinched teeth.
“Because I was fucking Dylan’s teacher, and he caught me. The man looked like you, so I told him it was!” She yelled out.
“You bitch,” Dylan said from the door.
“You weren’t supposed to hear that,” she told him, her voice dropping a couple octaves.
“Then you shouldn’t have yelled it,” Dylan snapped. “Every vampire in the house heard it.”
“Doesn’t matter at this point,” Mary responded. “Crompton will find me and get me out of here.”
“Why does everyone assume Crompton will rescue them?” Karma asked as she walked into the room. “Do they think he really cares about them? Or that he’s actually brave enough to come this close to the Senate and VEB?”
“Crompton is the bravest vampire I know,” Mary told her.
“Really?” Karma said and grinned. “You don’t know very many vampire then. I’m looking at four who are far superior to Crompton in intelligence, strength, and courage.”
“You’re just like your Father,” Mary told her with disdain.
“I am nothing like Vincent,” Karma growled. “If I was, you’d already be dead.”
“If you didn’t come here to kill me, then why?” Mary asked.
“VEB transport is here,” Karma answered with a shrug. “Just wanted to make sure Harrison was finished talking to you before I sent the agents down.”
“You can’t let them take me,” Mary stammered, looking at Dylan. “I’m your Mother.”
“You’re a traitor,” Dylan responded. “My Mother died in a car crash nearly six years ago.”
“Dylan,” she pleaded, looking at him as the agents walked in.
“Mary Murray, you are charged with the crime of treason against the United States of America, and with violating the laws created to govern the vampire who walk among the human population,” Dylan said and looked at his Mother. “You will be granted a trial, and if found guilty, you will be executed. Do you understand these charges?”
“YOU’RE MY SON!” Mary yelled as the agents pulled her to her feet.
“I am an agent with the Vampire Enforcement Bureau, and you are a criminal among our kind,” he responded with a straight face. “Do you understand these charges?”
“Burn in hell,” she snapped out.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” the agent holding her said and looked at Karma and Dylan.
“Get her out of here,” Dylan said, and the agent nodded before pulling Mary from the room.
“You okay?” Karma asked, once Mary was gone.
“Yeah,” he answered, but pulled her into his arms. “Just need to hold on to you for a bit.”
“I’m right here, babe,” she told him and looked at Nevaeh and Harrison for a second before burying her face in Dylan’s neck and kissing it softly.
After a moment, he pulled back a little and kissed her forehead.
“Let’s go check on Jackson,” he said, and Karma grinned a little.
“Yes,” she agreed and entwined her fingers with his. “Let’s go check on our brother.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
She felt different. She didn’t know why, or what had happened after she and Harrison had found Jackson in that shack, but she didn’t feel like herself.
Laying still, she tried to remember what had happened. She remembered Jackson lying on the floor, and Harrison running for the others. She remembered cutting her wrist and giving her blood to Jackson in hopes it would heal him. She remembered Jackson biting her and not letting go.
Oh shit, was she dead? She thought.
No, she was breathing. She could hear voices coming from somewhere, but she
couldn’t place who they belonged to or where they were coming from.
Then she remembered Jackson draining her. She remembered seeing his handsome face and beautiful gray eyes before everything else faded.
A few minutes later, the taste of something coppery hit her tongue, and she remembered wondering what it was, but then everything faded again until the pain started.
It burned. It burned worse than anything she’d ever experienced, but she couldn’t get away from it. No matter what she did, or how fast she’d run, she couldn’t get away from it.
Then she heard Jackson’s voice, and she was okay again. She felt his arms surrounding her, and some of the burning eased.
Wherever she was, he was there with her. She could feel him. She could smell him.
At that realization, her eyes snapped open, but she immediately closed them again when she saw the blinding light of the room.
“Jackson,” she whispered, nearly silently. She needed Jackson in a way she couldn’t explain.
“I’m right here, Delanie,” she heard his soothing voice, and she relaxed into the strong arms wrapped around her.
“The light,” she muttered.
“I got it,” another voice said just before the light snapped off. “I’ll leave you two to talk.”
Once the other person was gone, Delanie opened her eyes and looked around the nearly dark room.
“Delanie,” Jackson said, and she turned her head to focus on the man lying beside her.
“What happened?” She asked, knowing she was no longer human, but not remembering everything that had happened.
“I am so sorry,” he told her as he slid from the bed. “I never meant to hurt you.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“I nearly killed you,” he told her as tears streamed down his face. “I won’t blame you if you never want to see me again.”
“Jackson, tell me what happened,” she told him in a calm voice as she sat up in the bed and looked around the bedroom she was in.
“I drained you,” he told her and sank into the chair beside the bed. “I nearly killed you.”
“I remember finding you in that shack and sending Harrison for the others,” she told him. “And I remember cutting my wrist and giving you blood. You bit down, but when I went to pull away because I was getting light-headed, you bit deeper and I couldn’t get loose.”
Delanie's Fury (Vampire Huntress Saga Book 3) Page 15