by A. E. Via
“That would be appreciated,” Bell inserted.
“With that said,” St. Charles continued. “We thought we’d seen the last of a rebellion for at least some time. The general consensus about you and the king’s mating has been positive across the board. The old and new generation are eager to see what the new king is capable of. Vampires want to be accepted into society just like shifters. We don’t want the evil stigma that’s become customary of our kind. That’s why this recent act has come as such a surprise. Regardless, we’re prepared to tackle this issue.”
“And what do you propose is our best course of action?” Bell was speaking to Ramon, the Lord Protector, going about his business, completely unaware of Alek’s inner battle. Bell couldn’t feel him either.
“The most we saw were fifteen vampires on the last video. I say you lead a sixty-man team, Lord High, into the Yorkshire Dales and cut them off at the pass or disrupt what they’re doing, if already there. We want a low-key approach to keep this quiet and from reaching this continent. Things have been going so well for vampires in the states.”
Wolf shot up inside Alek so quickly that it jerked him forward in his chair. Heads turned his way, and Alek coughed and pounded on his chest a couple times as if he’d swallowed wrong. Bell didn’t appear fooled.
“We need to leave the majority of the army here. The covens in the United States make up eighty-five percent of our total population, and we’ll still need to heavily police them. Our Lord Generals will continue to head up that mission. The army based in London and the reserves will be on standby to provide Belleron with any back-up, if needed. But we don’t anticipate that happening. Our elite services are the best,” St. Charles looked proudly at their commander, “and there is no greater warrior than our own Lord High.”
Alek wanted to puff out his chest at hearing such a compliment about his mate, but instead of pride all he felt was dread. Bell couldn’t go, he just couldn’t. Anyone but him.
Alek I don’t know what the hell is going on but he doesn’t like this and he’s rushing forward. Take Bell and go.
What the hell, Wolf? Alek couldn’t do that. Did his animal really want him to scoop Bell up into a fireman’s hold and take off running with him? Shit! But he had to do something. Alek felt a sharp pain in his chest and shot to his feet.
“Good attitude, Alek.” Justice smiled at him. “I knew you’d be the first to volunteer.”
Oh, he wasn’t volunteering shit, he was searching for other solutions. Ones that didn’t involve his true mate. “Why have these tombs been targeted? What do you believe is the purpose of it?”
That was the best he could do.
“Well,” Another member of Bell’s team—one of his many officers—said, “Whomever this is leading the mutiny obviously wants the attention of the king. It’d take more than just him and a few other rogue vampires stirring up trouble to make it an issue for the Lords to get involved. They’d quickly be rounded up by the guards and dealt with by the leaders of the covens. But breaking into the tombs is treason, an extremely serious offense that should be dealt with by our highest leaders.”
“Understood.” His brother Mac nodded. “So on the home front we’ll start visiting the senior packs and putting them on alert.”
“Yes. This situation is deemed classified for now. Only top-ranking alphas and betas should be forewarned,” Justice said to his pack. Alek watched as his family all easily agreed.
“Wait!” Alek blurted. “Um. I can start sending word right away to the packs, but—”
“That won’t do,” Justice interrupted. Wolf snarled, but Alek held it in tightly. He couldn’t disrespect his alpha in front of everyone. “You will need to go with your brothers personally to deliver the information. We can’t risk any interception of classified information.”
Alek knew Justice was right about that. He still didn’t care. Swallowing down the nerves he felt swarming in his belly, he asked, “As first beta, I would like to request this mission be postponed twenty-four hours until—”
“Absolutely not, Aleksei. There’s a group of vampires ruthlessly killing my guards and raiding the tombs for gods know what reason. They wanted our attention and now they have it. I have to get this under control yesterday, not tomorrow. I hope you understand,” Wick said with finality in his tone.
Shit, shit, shit. Alek could hardly look in his mate’s direction, even though he could feel those intense eyes lasered on him. For a second he was almost glad he couldn’t feel Bell’s mood.
“Brother, do you have another proposal besides waiting?” Justice asked.
“Yes. Bell and I aren’t ready,” Alek blurted stupidly.
“May I speak to you outside?” Bell interjected calmly before Justice could respond.
Alek nodded briskly and followed Bell outside. All eyes were on their backs, and Alek could smell the distaste from the vampires and his family. The last thing he’d wanted to do was upset Bell’s team again. But, it appeared as if that was exactly what he’d done. Alek wanted to groan in misery. Why did Wolf make him act like this?
When they were outside in the brightness of the day, Bell pulled out a pair of sleek, silver-rimmed shades and eased them on. The moment the door sealed shut his mate was on him. His jaw tight and his fangs peeking from under his full top lip.
“Have you lost your damn mind, Aleksei? How dare you undermine me like that in front of not only my senior command but yours as well?” Bell was infuriated, and Alek knew he had every right to be. “What is this? Do you have that little respect for me and my position?”
Alek felt his animals battling inside him, Wolf desperately fending off hell in hopes of giving Alek more time to explain. He had to grit his teeth to combat the fever in him, the heat trying to escape. “We need to be united before we take on any enemies. That’s what I mean by not ready.”
“It’s not possible for us to be together at all times. You do recognize that, don’t you?” Bell glared. “My job is just as important as yours. Did I stand up and tell your family that you’re not prepared?”
“I’m sorry it came out that way, because that’s not what I meant. I just happen to know we’ll be strongest once we’re really together. I need to mate with you or else—”
“Damnit!” Bell spun around, his long, shiny black hair flying over one shoulder. “You don’t get it! You spoke about me like I wasn’t even in there, Aleksei. Are you telling me that you disrespected me like that because I haven’t had sex with you yet?”
“It’s not just sex!” Alek yelled. He didn’t bother acknowledging his brothers when the hall doors opened. He knew they’d come out the louder he and Bell got. And now they were in each other’s face, Bell’s fury and annoyance killing Alek in the worst way. “I apologize.”
Bell frowned. “Listen to me. I’m going to do my damn job for my king like I always have. And I suggest you do as your alpha instructs otherwise we’re going to have some serious goddamn problems all right, but it’ll have very little to do with our mating.”
Alek hated the way Bell said that last word—as if it was a curse. “Belleron. I can’t protect you if I can’t feel you.” He was trying so hard, but how did he get his mate to understand that the only way to kill Alek would be to destroy his mate.
Bell’s lips pulled into a snarl, showing his impressive fangs. Wolf growled, thinking his mate was challenging him. Alek tried to take a calming breath but it wasn’t working. Now Wolf wanted out. Fuck me! Alek shook.
“Alek, you okay, man?” Mac called out, approaching them slowly.
“Tell Justice the mission is off until I say so,” Alek growled, not taking his eyes from Bell. He’d just have to be angry with him.
His brothers glanced back and forth between each other, and then to Alek. Their confusion was evident, but they hurried back inside to do as he said. Alek only had thirty seconds or less before Wick and Justice both came out.
Bell inched closer until their chests were touching. His mate’s vo
ice was gravelly and forced, as if he hated to say what he was about to, “Whether you fulfill your duties or not to assist my kind, I am going back to England to fix this. Unlike you, I will not abandon my station for a quaint fuck in a wintery cabin while my comrades are being murdered. I guess it was foolish of me to think an alpha shifter—a Volkov descendant at that—could be my Beloved. Created especially for me? I don’t think so. There’s obviously been a mistake. I couldn’t be fated to a man who considers me weak and unready. I am always ready!”
Alek shook his head vigorously, “Bell I didn’t—”
“Lord Vega, escort the guards back to base and let them rest up.” Bell’s entire demeanor changed from outraged to pure defiance, still glaring into Alek’s eyes as he spoke in a casual tone that was loud enough for his Lord Protector to hear him inside the hall, “Ready the jets… we leave at nightfall.”
“Belleron, don’t,” Alek beseeched.
Bell respectfully lowered his tone when Wick emerged from the hall. “Wick. Forgive me for the disruption but I’ve already given our guards the go ahead. I’ll leave at seven.”
Wick waved his hand in a gesture that said no worries. “I heard. But maybe—”
“Wick, there’s no buts. No maybes.” Bell met Alek’s eyes. “My mate thinks I’m incapable. Weak and in need of his protection. Even though I’ve managed to survive ninety-nine years without him. Gods only know how I’ve managed to cross the street safely thus far.”
“You mock me when I’m only trying to protect us,” Alek growled.
Bell continued. “I’ve studied with some of the greatest minds in the world. I’ve commanded one of the most disciplined vampire armies the nation has ever seen. I’ve earned the respect and honor of my people from one coast to the other. But now that I’m fated to a Volkov wolf, I’m not worthy of a damn thing… well, not until I’ve lain with him, of course.”
“I don’t think that’s what he means,” Wick said softly. “If you just let him—”
“Stay out of this! I can speak for myself,” Alek barked at Wick.
“Hey!” Anger flashed in Bell’s eyes. “Do. Not. Speak to my king that way.”
Alek clutched his head, then placed a trembling fist over his chest. His eyes shifted to that piercing shade of blue then back to pale. Bell could see Alek was losing control. His animal was taking over and Bell wanted to help, he did. He wanted to care for Alek, he felt it in his core, but he was stronger than that and could understand he had obligations. He’d never abandon his people. How could he go off on a romantic tryst while vampires were being brutally killed? Another attack could happen at any moment. He’d lose all their respect, damaging a relationship he couldn’t repair if he had another ninety-nine years.
“I said no.” Alek’s voice dropped several octaves. The bass in the timbre was deeper, domineering. “My word is final. You will not leave my sight.”
Bell heard gasps all around him. They’d attracted a crowd with their posturing and yelling. This was not his way. He didn’t relish a spotlight on his personal affairs. Bell took in the faces of the many concerned shifters. He’d thought at first they were gawking at him standing there in all black in the broad daylight. But he was wrong. The pack was worried, but it wasn’t about him. It was Alek. His eyes were no longer human.
“Alek. Stay calm,” Justice ordered, slowly removing his clothes.
Bell frowned. What the hell is going on?
“Bell, stay back,” Mac and Taleb warned, doing the same while Farica began to push the crowd away.
He didn’t know why they were warning him. He wasn’t afraid and he didn’t believe Alek or any of his beasts would hurt him. That wasn’t the problem.
“Come with me, now,” Wolf ordered Bell.
Bell didn’t retreat. He couldn’t submit. Not yet, not until it was earned. Alek, Wolf, and any others lurking inside his beloved’s body were going to respect him, or else. A heat that rivaled the morning’s warmth flooded off Alek as Bell came close. “I can see it’s you, Wolf,” he whispered against the shell of Alek’s ear. “Alek can’t make me stay and neither can you. I will return in forty-eight hours. If that’s not good enough, if you don’t respect me enough to give me two damn days, then so be it.”
Bell turned to leave, when Wolf grabbed one of his wrists, his print searing his skin.
“No! Alek don’t!” Justice yelled.
What the fuck are you doing? Let him go! Let him go now, Wolf! Alek screamed inside. Wolf had taken the surface before he could warn Bell or his brothers. Wolf must’ve agreed with the darkness that their mate couldn’t leave.
Bell yanked his arm away, glaring down at the bright red mark on his skin that quickly faded away. Alek fought like hell, fought like he never had before, aiming for the surface. He needed to tell Bell it was okay, and yes, he’d wait. He’d lock his animals away or bury himself in completing his part of the mission to prove to his mate once and for all that they could do this together, and no matter how insane he behaved sometimes, he did respect him as the Lord High.
“Alek, fight your wolf back. He’ll listen if you command him, brother,” Justice said, with his hand outstretched towards him.
“If you are his brother than do not send away his mate,” Wolf told Justice.
Wolf let me out! Let me out, goddamn you!
“I don’t answer to you,” Justice growled. “It’s the other way around. Now, let me speak to Alek.” Justice made the mistake of pushing some of his power at Wolf, which only managed to outrage him.
Alek felt his brother’s force penetrate them, but Wolf absorbed most of the energy, building it into a weapon, then pushed the power back at his alpha, times two, knocking Justice off his feet. “Do not challenge me!” Wolf growled, then shifted the rest of Alek’s body into his massive, white and gray wolf. He shook out his thick fur and growled menacingly at the rest of the pack around him.
Alek groaned at the pain when Wolf forced their shift. He was a mere bystander now, but he could still feel Wolf’s emotions. He was furious and he believed his brothers and the pack were all spineless traitors. They’d turned their backs on Alek when he was young and in the most need. After their land had been attacked and their mother killed, no one would console Alek or hold him while he mourned alone. Too afraid of his beasts. The pack had abandoned him, and Wolf hated them for it. He and Alek might could’ve reconnected if the aftermath of the trauma hadn’t been so great.
“Justice!” Mac rushed forward, his eyes wide. The rest of Justice’s betas and officers rallied behind their AZ, ready to defend him.
Justice rose fast, his bare, hairy chest heaving from the force Wolf had used to knock him to the ground. But not for long. “You don’t want to do this. I will speak to my brother even if I have to tear him out of you.”
“The hell you will. What is going on?” Bell stood in front of Wolf, blocking Justice’s aim.
Let me out! Let me out! Alek screamed. He couldn’t take the way Bell was watching him, unsure if it was Alek in there or if Wolf was acting on his own, like when he’d first bitten Bell. No one could hear him, not even his siblings, with their link. Wolf was powerful enough to cut it all off, and that was exactly what he’d done.
Alek was devastated, not only because he was now severed from his pack, his friends, his brothers, and his alpha, but he was also restricted from communicating with his mate. If they’d fully mated there’d have been no influence strong enough to break their mental link. But that wasn’t the case. Alek hoped Wolf didn’t keep the surface long. Often, Wolf thought he was acting in their best interest, and most of the time his animal instincts were right and got them out of very dangerous situations, but right now he begged Wolf to trust him that he knew what was best, and that this was an issue that Alek—the man—had to fix.
Wolf was poised and ready to pounce on anyone who tried to go away with their mate, Alek could taste his animal’s hostility. Suddenly, he felt a shift inside them, Wolf getting jerked hard to the ri
ght, his hindquarters hitting the ground before he shot back up. He inched backward on high alert, their body heat spiking to an uncomfortable temperature. Alek shook inside Wolf’s body as the air started to shimmer around them.
Oh no. Alek panicked. Wolf?
Heat waves radiated on all sides of him, preventing anyone from getting close. Wolf was losing the surface to something far more dangerous than any of them, and the first shifter who sensed it was Wick. He flashed forward and yanked Bell to safety, sparking a jolt of electricity that zapped through Wolf, past Alek into the depths of his soul.
“Everyone take cover!” Mac yelled, then shifted into his white wolf, along with the rest of his brothers. They weren’t as big as Justice or Wolf, but all of them were larger than most shifters.
Alek watched in horror from the inside as his pack mates began to scatter, scooping up their pups and hauling ass towards their cabins. Oh no. Wolf! Don’t let him out. Alek felt the monster coming, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. Wolf was the only one able to hold him back, but from the way Wolf was snarling and snapping left and right, Alek knew they weren’t gonna win this time.
I’ll have to run, Alek. I don’t think I can hold it.
You have to! Or let me out so I can touch Bell. He can stop this.
If it touches our mate. It could kill him.
Then run, goddamnit!
Wick continued to hold Bell around his waist while his mate struggled in his grip, begging his king, any damn one, to just tell him what was happening. Alek could just imagine what the entire scene looked like. Justice and his betas were in an attack formation, and Wolf was acting as if he had rabies. It was enough for him to say ‘fuck it… just run’. Wolf backed into some shrubbery, singeing the dull green leaves, which sizzled and fell to the cold ground.