Wild and Free

by Kristen Ashley

  I started to look up at him but instead turned my gaze to Poncho when he spoke.

  “Got an auntie who’s a bruja.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Witch,” he said. “She can see. She can protect.” He looked to Abel. “Gotta have your permission, man, but wanna give her a call. Share. See if she can do anything for us. See if she can call up some visions.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, Abel said, “Give me some time to consider that.”

  “Don’t take too much,” Poncho advised, then turned soft eyes to me, got up, and left the room.

  I watched him do it, then turned to Abel.

  “What now?”

  “You mean after I successfully fight the urge to rip this room apart and then mind-control every one of those fucks into lettin’ us do what we need to do?”

  Oh man.

  I leaned in to him. “Don’t do that, honey.”

  His jaw got hard and he gritted through his teeth, “I won’t.”

  “I think we need to give this some thought. Give it a day or two for everyone to think about it,” I shared.

  “Yeah,” he replied.

  “We’re loved. That’s not a bad thing,” I pointed out, and his eyes focused more fully on me.

  “It isn’t. It never is. Until that love turns to sacrifice. I’ve had a lot of humans sacrificing for me all my life, bao bei. The ultimate sacrifice…” He shook his head. “Fate saw it fit to grant me a long life, and that’s a long time to live knowin’ people who have a place in my heart gave it all up for you and me.”

  I understood him. It hurt what he was saying, the crushing significance of it, but I understood.

  I also understood the men.

  Impasse.

  I lifted a hand and curled it around his neck, using my thumb to stroke the ridges of his throat. “A day or two, Abel, we’ll all think on it.”

  I felt him swallow.

  Then he said, “Yeah.”

  * * * * *

  Jian-Li

  “Thank you for telling me that, Hook.”

  Jian-Li was standing in her office with Lilah’s father. She was talking quietly. Hooker had also spoken quietly, since she’d shared with him over tea in her living room the night before (he’d had two more beers) all about Abel’s abilities.

  They didn’t want him to hear.

  “You’re his ma, felt you should know. But it’s more. We don’t need to be facin’ Armageddon inside the fold when we don’t know what we’re facin’ outside it. Cohesion. This is what we need. You gotta work on your boy, woman,” Hook advised.

  He was correct.

  But she had to do something else first.

  She nodded.

  Hook lifted his chin, gave her a small, worried smile, and walked out of her office.

  Jian-Li watched him go, then moved out as well, up the stairs to her apartment. She got her purse and keys.

  Then she walked downstairs, out the back door, and directly to her car.

  She got in, started it up, and drove to The Biltmore.

  Chapter Nine

  The Real Thing

  Lucien

  The vampire Lucien watched the petite, attractive, Chinese woman walk into Gregor’s suite at The Biltmore.

  She smelled of ylang-ylang, five spice, ginger, love, and fear.

  “Mrs. Jin, we’re delighted you’ve joined us,” Gregor greeted, keeping a nonthreatening distance as he did so and her eyes darted about the room, taking them all in.

  “Please, come in,” Gregor invited, continuing to stay removed even as he swept an arm to indicate the living room of the suite. “Shall I order some tea to be brought up before I do the introductions?”

  She tore her eyes from Callum, who was sitting on the arm of the couch next to his wife, Sonia, and looked up to Gregor.

  “Please.”

  Her voice was strong and Lucien was impressed. It entirely masked her fear.

  She still reeked of it.

  “See to that,” Gregor muttered to one of his lackeys, the only one in the room. A human—well-built, undoubtedly skilled, but still only human.

  The man left and Mrs. Jin stopped well short of the seating area.

  Gregor came to stand several feet from her side. “Allow me to introduce myself first. Although I did so at your restaurant, I did not do it fully. I’m Gregor. I’m a member of The Vampire Council, the working party which carries out the wishes of The Vampire Dominion.”

  She was looking up to him, and when he finished, she nodded.

  “Now, may I present my son in a more formal way than how you received at your restaurant,” Gregor continued. “This is Yuri.” He swept an arm to Yuri, who was standing by the window.

  “Mrs. Jin,” Yuri murmured, then said in a way that made Gregor look sharply at him, which was to say in a way that was far from genuine, “Delighted to see you again.”

  The woman took Yuri in astutely but made no reply. She simply inclined her head.

  She read his tone.

  Lucien looked to Callum and saw Callum’s eyes to him, his jaw hard, indicating they had the same thoughts.

  Yuri was a pain in the ass.

  Lucien returned his attention to Gregor when he again spoke.

  “And also with us are Lucien.” Gregor tipped his head Lucien’s way, then gave her the information she needed in hopes of inciting trust. “Lucien is the mightiest of our vampires. By his side is Leah, his human bride.”

  She reacted to that, her body gave a small jolt, her eyes darting between Lucien and Leah. Lucien saw a note of sadness pass through her gaze, the origin of which he couldn’t guess, before she dipped her chin to them.

  “Mrs. Jin,” Lucien murmured from his place standing beside the arm of the couch.

  Leah, sitting in it, said, “Lovely to meet you.”

  “And this is Callum, King of the Werewolves, and his queen, Sonia,” Gregor carried on.

  “Pleasure,” Callum said low.

  “We’re all very happy you’ve decided to come and meet us,” Sonia stated.

  Mrs. Jin remained silent even as she nodded to them.

  “Please, if you’d like, take a seat,” Gregor invited.

  She hesitated, looking around the room, before she moved to take the armchair across from the couch where Leah and Sonia were sitting, Lucien and Callum flanking.

  Gregor moved to one of the other four armchairs, his to the narrow end of the coffee table, the wide edge facing the couch and Mrs. Jin’s chair.

  “I hope you don’t mind me sharing that we’re most disappointed you have not brought your, erm…ward,” Gregor noted cautiously.

  Mrs. Jin watched him as he spoke, but she said nothing.

  Lucien sighed.

  She was exceptionally cautious, which meant this would take some time. Time they did not have.

  Leah heard his sigh. He knew it when she reached out a hand and touched the back of his.

  Leah’s movements caught Mrs. Jin’s attention and she watched this gesture, keeping her expression clear.

  “Could I ask what your ward’s name is?” Gregor requested.

  She looked back to him and finally spoke, “I would prefer to be asking the questions, if you don’t mind.”

  Gregor threw out a hand invitingly. “Please.”

  “Are there others like you right now in Serpentine Bay?” she asked.

  Gregor answered immediately, “We have those with us to attend to necessary matters, but they’re all human. The only immortal beings with our party are Yuri, who you may have guessed is a vampire, Lucien, Callum, and Sonia.”

  She looked swiftly to Sonia, then back to Gregor when he continued speaking.

  “We are well aware your ward will be able to sense us and we didn’t want to have a retinue of vampires in Serpentine Bay causing him alarm. Callum, who commands the wolves, has agreed with this and is also here without any of his people.”

  She nodded once and pressed, “No others?”

&
nbsp; “I believe that the others discovered the hard way they were woefully unprepared to successfully complete their mission and they’ve retreated. Yuri, Lucien, Callum, and myself have moved extensively and frequently through Serpentine Bay since we arrived, including this morning, and we’ve sensed no others like us.”

  “And what precisely is their mission?” she asked.

  “I’m afraid, Mrs. Jin, that what I’m sure you already know is the truth. They wish to see an…” Gregor paused, then finished, “end to your ward and/or his mate.”

  “Why?”

  Gregor drew in breath through his nose and his tone gentled considerably when he replied, “It’s your ward’s right to know this, Mrs. Jin. I mean you no disrespect, but it’s also his right to share it with you once he knows it. Or not, as he wishes.”

  “This is not going to happen that way,” Mrs. Jin returned. “It will be me who decides if I wish to share what’s happening with my…” She paused, as if struggling, before she said, “ward.”

  “If you allow him up from his underground cell long enough to learn,” Yuri put in smoothly, the words said with no inflection, but they were still ugly.

  “Yuri,” Gregor spoke quietly but sharply.

  “I know your play, Father, but you know I don’t agree with it due to the fact that this woman keeps her vampire in a pit under a Dumpster, shameful and hidden away,” Yuri bit back.

  Lucien tensed in preparation to take care of Yuri so he couldn’t fuck this up, and he felt Callum do the same.

  However, they both looked back to Mrs. Jin when they heard her soft laughter.

  “Yes,” she said softly, mirth still in her expression. “My sons tease him often about his preference for space. Mostly my youngest. However, that is what my eldest son prefers.” Her gaze sharpened on Gregor. “And I’ll correct you, albeit belatedly. He is not my ward. He is my son.”

  That morsel glided through the room and Lucien sensed both Leah’s and Sonia’s relief, not to mention Callum’s and his own.

  “And as his mother,” Mrs. Jin continued, “it is my responsibility to keep him safe. Three nights ago, he was not safe. His mate was not safe. My sons rushed to their brother’s side to offer him aid, and they were not safe. I am an old woman. I cannot do that. But this, meeting with you in an effort to understand what has befallen him, I can do.”

  “I understand, Mrs. Jin, and I will say it gives us great relief to hear your loyalty to one of our own,” Gregor replied. “However, we must encourage you to ask your son to come here so we can speak to him personally.”

  “You don’t understand, Mr…” She shook her head, appearing unfamiliar with her sudden uncertainty, proving she was a woman who wasn’t often that way. “Gregor. My son is exceptionally protective of his family. He finds you a threat. I can only assume you’re aware of his abilities, and him having these, he feels, even as my other sons are highly skilled and very strong, he’s the only one who can protect us. He’s keeping us safe by not putting himself in harm’s way.”

  Lucien studied her, noting she didn’t realize she’d given something away.

  Her hybrid was not there, but she was, and they were far more a danger to her, a woman who could not defend herself, than to him, who had proven able to defend himself very well.

  He didn’t know she was there.

  But Lucien knew, when he found out, he would not be happy.

  “We do understand, Mrs. Jin,” Callum put in quietly, cutting into Lucien’s thoughts. “We understand intrinsically. For that is wolf.”

  “I’ll ask you to explain,” Mrs. Jin stated, and Lucien felt his stomach tighten.

  She had no idea.

  Which meant her son had no idea.

  Lucien couldn’t imagine not understanding his nature. The idea was abhorrent.

  The third of The Three didn’t. He’d lived however long his life was, and considering his maturation it had to be over a century, not knowing.

  Fuck.

  Callum had realized this too, thus he explained immediately, “The wolf is about his pack. All about his pack. There is nothing more important than their safety and nurture. The werewolf is the same. His”—he dipped his head to his mate—“or her family is all-important. I don’t know how long he’s had his mate, but I can imagine you’ve noticed that this instinct is significantly heightened when it comes to her. This is because she represents the second half to the whole of the family unit. Protection of her is vital. To put it simply, a male wolf lives for that. He will eat, drink, sleep. But he exists for his mate.”

  She allowed her eyes to round with wonder for the barest of moments before she hid her reaction and said softly, “Thank you for that explanation.”

  “I’ll be happy to share more with you, and your son, should he trust us enough to meet with us,” Callum replied.

  “And I’ll be happy to share those traits he has that are vampiric,” Lucien added.

  Strangely, when her eyes came to Lucien as he spoke, they dropped to Leah briefly before coming back to Lucien.

  This he read.

  The third of The Three had a mate who was as The Prophesies foretold.

  A human.

  “There is much he needs to know,” Lucien told her and held her eyes as he carried on, “And not simply about what occurred three nights ago.”

  She understood him and didn’t wish for him to know that, this being why she looked to her lap.

  Lucien felt Leah’s fingers curl around his and hold fast.

  She sensed it too.

  “We don’t wish to alarm you further than you and your family have already been alarmed, Mrs. Jin, but I’ll tell you now, it’s urgent we speak to your son and his mate,” Gregor told her. “There are matters they must know, and the sooner they know them, the better.”

  Mrs. Jin looked to Gregor, allowing, “I’ll speak with him again.”

  “Please,” Gregor replied, “be convincing. As you know, the threat is very real. In an effort to establish trust, we have not approached again but kept our distance. However, we cannot leave. And we cannot because they will try again, Mrs. Jin. They will bring reinforcements and they’ll try again. And even if we have the mightiest of vampires, with King Callum holding his position as sovereign of the wolves because he’s by far the strongest of them all, we still fear without our own reinforcements, the threat they will bear when they return could be overwhelming. And if it is, that would be catastrophic.”

  Lucien sensed her escalating panic, even as she endeavored to hide it when she implored, “Then, please, share that with me.”

  “You’ve most assuredly earned our loyalty with what you’ve shown our brother,” Gregor told her gently. “But I’m afraid it’s his right to hear this and we cannot withdraw that right, even for you.”

  “Then I’m afraid I’ve had the bad manners to request tea when I cannot drink it, Mr. Gregor, since it’s clear I should get home to my family,” she returned.

  “Of course,” Gregor murmured, standing as she did the same. Callum came up off the arm of the couch out of respect and Mrs. Jin’s eyes moved to him when he did so, taking that in. “I’ll show you out,” Gregor finished.

  She looked back to him, then back to those on and around the couch, dipping her head in a small bow before she followed Gregor to the door.

  “We hope we hear from your son and his mate soon, Mrs. Jin, and further, I have the opportunity actually to share tea with you on some occasion in the not-so-distant future,” Gregor said as farewell at the door.

  “We share this hope, Mr. Gregor,” she replied. She looked to the room, nodded to Yuri, then moved out the door Gregor had opened.

  He closed it behind her, and when he turned to the room, Sonia noted, “I think that went well.”

  “It did, mostly, outside my son needing to learn some diplomacy,” Gregor returned, his eyes to Yuri.

  “I do believe, Father, that my defense of one of my brethren was not taken negatively by that human,” Yuri retorted
.

  “You couldn’t know that when you opened your mouth,” Callum put in with annoyance.

  “No, but it’s done and it caused no harm so there’s no point in discussing it now,” Yuri shot back.

  “This is true, Cal,” Sonia said quietly.

  Callum’s jaw got hard, which meant he kept his mouth shut.

  Yuri turned to his father. “We know nothing about this hybrid. We don’t even know his name. He’s entirely off the grid to the point he’s wind. We can trace that family to Daytona. To Dallas. To Pittsburgh. Through this, he doesn’t exist, not in any of those places.”

  “You can well imagine, considering it’s clear Mrs. Jin and her sons are loyal to him and wish him safe, why they would take precautions that his true nature not be discovered. We, ourselves, move frequently so that those around us will not come to realize that we don’t age,” Gregor replied.

  “What I’m saying is, we do not know this hybrid. We don’t know his mate. We don’t know his nature. We don’t know their strengths or weaknesses or what they’re currently planning, including a possible attack on us, not to mention fleeing,” Yuri returned. “We should send a human, at least, to keep an eye on that restaurant.”

  “Do you not think with the extreme care they’re taking in protecting their son and brother that they wouldn’t notice a human doing something like this?” Gregor asked. “The only reason you knew where he stayed was that you moved about that building and smelled him. In their state, with what befell them three nights ago, I do not wish to think what reaction they would have to any threat, vampire, wolf, or human, including us, which they’ve made clear they perceive as a threat. We need to establish trust, Yuri, not shed blood.”

  “Knowledge is power, Father,” Yuri remarked.

  “We need know nothing except they are the last of The Sacred Triumvirate,” Gregor stated calmly.

  Lucien tired of this back and forth and turned to Callum.

  “Your wolves are close?” he asked, and Callum looked to him.

  “Close but too far,” he replied.

  “The hybrid can’t sense them, Callum,” Gregor told Callum something he already knew as they’d had this discussion two days ago when he and Sonia arrived. “And the enemy can’t know they’re in wait. But in case we need them, we need them close.”