“Agreed. Let me get back to the covenstead”—as if that weren’t the strangest thing he’d ever said—“and you go play with the vampiphobic doc.”
“I’m not sure which of us will have the more trying day.”
“Nor am I,” Trace mumbled as he clicked off the call and headed back to the vampire house. By the time he made it back, Summer following behind in his black SUV, Trace had mostly shaken off his sullen mood.
“THE GROUNDS really are quite lovely, though the amusing snack you’ve brought me has to be the highlight of the morning, Trace.” Tatiana smiled as she looked again from the various colors and types of roses around them in the secluded garden area where they sat, back down into the box he’d brought for her from Voodoo Doughnut. “I hadn’t expected you to bring me food gifts.”
Trace shrugged. “I heard that you might like chocolate, meat, sugar, and something fun. These fulfill all those and then some pretty much at the same time.” He winked. “And with that one”—he motioned to the voodoo doll donut—“you can destroy your enemies and then eat the evidence.”
She giggled, quickly bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. “You’re horrible, you naughty boy. They do look delightful, though. I’ve never seen such strange donuts before.”
Of course she hadn’t. Nor had Trace before he moved to Seattle, as there were few places with Voodoo Doughnuts, but he thought they were insanely good—if a bit on the odd side. “It’s one of the wonders of your new home.”
The edges of her lips curled up, and her gaze went soft. “Thank you, Trace. I know this can’t be easy on you.”
“What difference does it make if it is or not,” boomed Vlad as he rounded the corner into their quiet little haven. “He’s of no importance—mangy cat doesn’t belong here—but you are. Have you secured your place here with my idiot nephew yet?”
Trace fought not to lash out at the male before him, both because he was Sasha’s uncle and because, shifter or not, elder vampire versus lynx… the vampire would win. Out of the corner of his eye, Trace caught when Summer stepped forward enough to be available but not enough to interfere yet. “Prince Sasha is not someone you should speak so callously or carelessly of, sir. His people are beyond loyal, as are his guards.”
“His vampires are soft, barely deserving of their fangs. Many don’t even feed on humans other than the amount required to keep one sane! And every single one I’ve spoken to so far actually believes this nonsense about you being his fated heart. Fairy tales and bedtime stories are no excuse for lying with the likes of you, nor of trying to shirk his duty to his position or his coven.”
Trace hopped up and sauntered toward Vlad, making sure to put himself between the asshat and Tatiana. He still wasn’t thrilled there was a female there who others wanted to pair Sasha with, one who by station was “more appropriate,” nor was he interested right then in poking his whiskers into why he was so worried about who was with Sasha. He then smiled his most winsome smile. “Oh! I’m so sorry. Where are my manners? Would you like to join us for a little chat and for a light snack?”
“No, I would not. What I want is for you to leave so Sasha can forget this nonsense and do what’s right. He needs heirs, not fleas.”
The urge to rake his claws across Vlad’s snarling face was almost stronger than Trace’s wish to be “the bigger man.” Almost. Instead of doing what he wished, and ignoring both Summer and Tatiana, Trace blinked at Vlad, tipped his head to the side a tiny bit—not enough it could be misconstrued as baring his throat by vampire or shifter of any kind—and pasted on a smile. “You would wish me to hurt your nephew, the one you claim to care about and only want the best for? That seems an odd wish for you to make. It seems even stranger to do so in clear hearing of a great many of his people. The same ones you just insulted by accusing them of not deserving their fangs.”
He could see more than a few of Sasha’s vampires, many of whom he didn’t know but had seen around the mansion or at an event here and there, approach slowly. The fact Vlad was too busy trying to run Trace off was his own failing. You never failed to take into consideration who might be listening when in a public area—that was true with shifters, but even more so with vampires. Even being in a private place, that could hold true if one didn’t take precautions.
“He’ll bond with Tatiana or some other princess once you leave,” Vlad snarled.
“It doesn’t work that way, and you know it. I’m his fated heart, and he’s already bonded me.” When Vlad started to brush that off again, something broke inside him and he growled, “He’s my mate, and he will never bond with anyone else.”
Trace froze for a moment as what he’d said sank in.
A soft touch to his elbow distracted him from his internal shock. He turned to see, not Tatiana as he’d expected, but Sasha. “You don’t have to justify why you’re here, mal’chik. He’s a guest here, one that I’m losing what little patience I have with.”
“You are still my nephew, and as such, I’m still one of your elders. You owe—”
“I owe you nothing,” Sasha hissed. “I’ve put up with you all these years out of respect for the fact you are my mother’s brother. That is the only reason. However, you’ve overstepped one too many times when you chose to go after my consort.”
Vlad stepped back, but Trace’s hope the idiot would leave so he could deal with what he’d just said in front of Sasha… and other vampires… outside his head… evaporated when Vlad squared his shoulders and rose to his full height and sneered down at Sasha. “If he’s your precious consort, your fated heart, then why haven’t you announced it to the other covens? Why no ritual yet?”
“Same reason Father took the time to woo Mother even though they were fated—because we want more than the part of the bond Fate gives us. When Trace is ready to accept my suit, we will do all the formal parts. However, you know as well as I that all that is a formality, not a requirement for the bond to be real and lasting.”
“He has no coven. No standing. No power. He brings nothing to the coven!”
“And you wonder why you’ve never managed to keep a wife, even with all your money.” Sasha gave a harsh laugh. “Stay away from Trace and Tatiana. You’re no longer welcome near either of them.”
Trace turned to where Tatiana had been and realized she no longer sat behind him. He looked around, not wanting anything to have happened to her while he was torn between the mess in his head and what was going on in front of him. “Where’d she go?”
Sasha wrapped an arm around Trace’s waist. “Dimka escorted her away so she didn’t have to deal with him.”
Vlad barked, “Hey!” but they both ignored him.
“Summer is still here with you, don’t worry. As am I.”
“I’m not worried about me. I didn’t want him upsetting her or to have him continue to run you down how he was.”
“I was speaking, you… you—” Vlad snapped again.
“And I was ignoring you,” Sasha countered as he looked over to where Vlad stood, fists clenched. “You have no power or standing here other than what I allow you. As of now that is nothing. You may keep your rooms, but any vitriol, abuse, et cetera will be dealt with the same as it would if you were nothing but a commoner. And you no longer have my protection.”
“You can’t do that! I’m a prince!”
“And I’m the royal prince. The ruling prince. You don’t like it? Leave. But not until we’ve figured out if you had anything to do with the attack on Trace.”
Sasha pulled Trace along with him, Vlad sputtering behind them, though Summer didn’t allow him to follow—thankfully.
Trace couldn’t make much sense of his own thoughts as they made their way back to their suite. The fact he’d publicly claimed Sasha in such a way still shocked him. For the first time, it didn’t feel like something he was fighting or saying out of jealousy—not that he would ever admit to that feeling aloud. Still, he couldn’t wrap his head around what he’d said. Done. And at least part
of the vampires had heard him. More importantly Sasha had heard him.
The door closed behind them about the time his mind caught on something Sasha said earlier. “Wait, what ritual? And what do you mean ‘woo’?”
“To woo you, to court you, though I haven’t had much luck as of yet.”
“I know what ‘woo’ means, Sasha.” He put one hand on his hip and stepped to the side as he stared at Sasha. “But I don’t remember being wooed, and I want to know what ritual you two were talking about.” Trace didn’t know much about vampire rituals, but he didn’t like the idea of one he was to participate in without his agreeing first, much less without his knowledge.
Sasha sighed as he stepped back into Trace’s space and lightly touched Trace’s lower back. “Come and sit down. I’ll try to explain it, but you have to promise to hear me out before you start hissing or ranting.”
“I do not hiss.” Trace crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Sasha, who proceeded to ignore him. He then stepped around him and sat in his preferred chair.
“Right, and I don’t bite.” Sasha flicked one long-fingered hand negligently. “Now if you want answers, you have to be willing to listen.”
“Fine.” Trace sat across from Sasha, needing space between them if he had any hope of keeping his focus and wits about him.
“Thank you, hon. The ritual he referred to is the bonding ceremony. It’s similar to a wedding or mating ritual, only due to my being the royal prince, there’s a bit more… formality and pomp to it.”
Well, that made sense, and it was lovely Sasha wasn’t trying to bully him into doing that to save face with the other covens. Still…. “I haven’t agreed to that.”
“I believe I said as much to my uncle a few minutes ago. When you are ready, then we can discuss such things. Not before then.”
TRACE SAT still, staring at nothing as far as Sasha could tell for a short time before he moved again. When he finally did, he had that same deer-in-the-headlights look as when he realized he’d said Sasha was his mate earlier—something Sasha still couldn’t believe he’d heard, yet wanted to hear again. And again…. “Did I really say you were my mate in front of your idiot of an uncle and the others?”
He couldn’t help the small smile he knew curled his lips as he replied, “Yes, mal’chik, you did.”
“But… I didn’t…. I mean, I didn’t mean to say that to him. But how can another vampire be so callous toward your claim on me as your bonded, fated heart? Doesn’t he care about what sending me away could do to you?”
Yeah, that again. I still may kill Jalin for meddling! “He doesn’t believe in the bond. Or doesn’t want to, at least. You’re a shifter, so I think he feels that makes it less likely to count, as if that makes sense. He barely recognizes fated hearts, even with his sister having had one, but….” None of that was what they needed to focus on, though he figured Trace knew that as well as he did. “What it really comes down to is you don’t fit into his political games, so he’s not happy. Not that it matters. He has no say in the matter.” Sasha leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “But hon, did you mean that you finally accept me as your mate, or were you only saying that to spite Vlad?”
“Spite never entered my mind. I was just so sick of being told you should mate with someone else, that I wasn’t good enough, that you would get tired of me and put me aside. We haven’t even really been together, so how could I expect you to want to stay? I’ve pushed you away constantly, but….”
Oh Gods, could Trace finally be accepting? Was it Vlad who had provided the push Duncan said Trace needed? Sasha had planned to talk to Tatiana to ask her to help him nudge Trace a little, but then she’d asked for help and Vlad had started his nonsense. He thought quickly about how Trace had been, the things Duncan said, and about how he would normally date someone he intended to keep, then scrapped his ideas and tried to think of what his mother would suggest he do in the situation with his heart. “Would you accept my invitation to dinner and a moonlight walk with me tonight?”
Trace twitched, then slowly raised his head. “Uh, y-yes?”
“Thank you, Trace.”
“Will we still be followed around by Dimka and Summer? I mean, it’s on the coven grounds, and I’d be with you. Do I really need a guard?”
Did that mean he wanted to be alone with Sasha on a date? They were alone in their suite, but that was different, as this would be their first “date,” and they both knew it. “They will keep their distance, but we still don’t know who is behind the attack, and with Vlad being here, I don’t want to risk it. They won’t see or hear anything, I assure you.”
“Too loyal and well trained for that, I know. Still, not used to being chaperoned like this. It’s weird.”
“It’s only for a little longer. I just want you safe. Besides, they’re always twitchy when Vlad’s around, so it’s not only about you. They don’t think he’s behind the attack, but they also don’t trust him. It drove them both crazy the few times he visited while they were charged with Jason’s safety. One would be with Jason and the other with me.”
The edges of Trace’s lips twitched a couple of times before he lost the fight and not only smiled, but laughed. “I can see that. I wouldn’t want you near that… your uncle either without someone to protect you, even knowing that you’re probably the most dangerous being here. But you, of course, wouldn’t let them leave Jason unguarded.”
“Of course not. Jason’s the one who actually needed the protection. Besides, not making them have to work together is good for them once in a while. Though they don’t believe me.”
A knock interrupted the chuckling. A moment later Jalin stepped inside. “Dr. Niko is here to check on you, sir.”
Sasha blinked a couple of times as he tried to think of why the doctor would be there to see him instead of at the tribe research center. “And did he say why?”
“I’m here at the request of your consort to examine you,” Dr. Niko said as he pushed past Jalin.
Chapter Twenty
SASHA SAT in his favorite chair, staring at Dr. Niko, dumbfounded as to why he was there and why his arrival coincided with Jalin collecting Trace for Alpha Keith. He suspected Jalin and Trace had planned whatever was going on, but as Trace hadn’t seemed completely at ease when he left, Sasha decided to go along with whatever his fated heart wanted. Still, why did he need to see the doctor?
“Doctor, what can I do for you?”
“I’m here to examine you, as I said. Though”—Dr. Niko glanced to the closed main door—“I had expected Trace to want to stay since it was him who wanted your heart checked.”
“My heart?” Why would I need my heart…? “Did he say why?”
“Mm… he did. Said you got sharp pains every time either of you said something about you not being his mate, or some such nonsense. We all know you’re his mate and he’s your fated heart, so that doesn’t make sense why you’d say such a fool thing. But he was upset, so I agreed to see you. I need to get back to the cat’s research center, though, so could you hurry up and cooperate?”
“Grumpy,” Sasha mumbled as he tried to make sense of what Niko had said. “I did have pain a couple of times. It was about the same time I said that what I’d done… that I hadn’t taken Trace as my mate—” A shooting pain tore through Sasha, beginning in his heart but spreading down his body and through his arms and legs until he spasmed and slid to the floor. It only lasted a moment, but that was a lifetime too long, as far as he was concerned.
“Prince Sasha! Sasha! Son, what the hell just happened?” Niko was suddenly bent over Sasha, cradling his head in his lap as he touched his throat gently. Sasha couldn’t piece together how Niko had gotten down there with him.
Dimka was suddenly in the room, looming over Sasha and Niko. “Prince Sasha, what’s wrong?”
Sasha tried to focus, though it took more effort than it ought. The pain was gone, but it left a wake of soreness and shock throughout his body and mind. “I have
no idea. It was worse that time, and I didn’t even mean it! I was only explaining what I’d said previously. I’d explained that concept to Trace before and since, though not in those same words. What the hell?”
Niko and Dimka helped Sasha back into his chair before Dimka returned to his post outside the doors. He didn’t look happy, but Sasha didn’t want anyone getting too close to his suite, especially right then.
“It’s only when you deny the mating, not if you say that the bond isn’t the same as the mating, right?”
He had to think about it, but yes, that seemed right. But something was still off about it. “Yes, but I’d said that the bond didn’t trigger the other and such before, using the M-word, since Trace came back to himself. Why is it now causing so much pain, and why only with that word as the trigger?”
“Possibly because Trace hasn’t accepted you as his mate, not fully, and you increased the bond on your side when you fed from him. I think. Since the situation with Trace became something I was aware of, I’ve researched what I could, contacting other covens if I knew they had records or lore of vampire-shifter bondings. What little I found suggested that if one denies the other, it can cause pain, injury, and even death if it goes on too long. But we thought that had to do with the lack of being able to feed properly, not literal heart pains.”
“Don’t get me started on what you told Trace. It won’t be healthy for you or Jalin.”
“Protecting our prince and trying to get Trace past his fears to accept his mate is not a bad thing,” Niko grumbled as he pulled out a stethoscope from his ever-present bag. “Now I want to examine you properly. I would really like to take you in to the clinic and get a full workup, but I know you won’t agree to that.”
“You’re right, I won’t. Vampires don’t have heart attacks. I’ll just be more careful of my words. Besides, Trace agreed to a date tonight, and he told Vlad he was my mate. Loudly. So whatever this is might be moot shortly anyway.”
Fangs with a Heart Page 18