By The Moon (Live By Night #3)

Chapter One

L ouis Brown laughed as Hugo grinned. They were talking about Gray and how he’d pissed off his mate, Henry. Again. It was a regular occurrence for Gray to put his foot in it but he was lucky to have a mate who understood that Gray was trying hard to make their mating work.

Gray detested humans but had ended up mated to one, and watching the two collide had been fun. Right up until the point when Henry had been shot in an armed robbery. At that point, Gray had put his feelings regarding humans to one side and worked on being a damn good mate.

Most times he succeeded, but old feelings were hard to completely banish and Gray could be one sarcastic motherfucker who spoke his mind. That made his mate speak his mind, and then they came to blows. Not physical ones, but enough words would be spoken that they would end up not talking.

According to Henry, however, the make-up sex was more than worth it and he loved Gray.

Louis knew how it felt to love your mate, not that he was mated to anyone. Physically, that is. He had a mate, but Louis had held back because when he’d met his mate, he’d been twelve. A boy, still growing, and Louis had walked away. What else could he do?

Jerome Owens, his mate, needed to grow, needed to live and without Louis hanging over him. Jerome would have felt the pull, the connection, the need to be together, and he was far too young to understand why, plus Louis wasn’t going to take someone when they were a child. He wasn’t that kind of vampire.

Louis had stayed away and watched his mate grow from a distance, watched him become a man. He was in college now, studying biochemistry, and Louis couldn’t be prouder of the kind of man Jerome was growing into.

He could still remember the day they’d met like it was yesterday. Jerome had been waiting outside his school when Louis had caught sight of him. He’d been there chasing one of Maxim’s vampires and had changed course when he’d seen the human boy, as had the other vampire. He’d managed to keep the vampire away, forcing him to go in another direction.

If Maxim’s man had reached Jerome, then he would have become a victim, a shield, and more than likely would have died. When Louis had scented him he’d known instantly who the young boy was to him and that he had to stay far, far away from him.

Maxim’s man had spotted Jerome and gone after him, as Louis had expected. They’d fought, no doubt scaring Jerome, and Louis had managed to chase the rogue vampire away. Once he was gone, Louis had gone back to check on the boy. Huge mistake. Jerome had embraced him, staring up at him with gorgeous brown eyes, and Louis had made some excuse and left the area, but he couldn’t stay away. Not completely. He’d watched from a distance. Watched as his mate had matured and grown into a man, and he liked who he was becoming.

The only time Louis had given in and gone to his mate's side was when Jerome’s mother had passed. He couldn’t stay away, not when he was needed, and he’d visited him while Jerome had slept, or tried to. The whimpering in his sleep had caused Louis to put aside his promise to stay away. Taking his young mate in his arms, Jerome had helped him sleep peacefully for the first time in days.

He hadn’t touched him in any way that would have crossed a line, but he’d held him and stroked his hair, murmuring softly. At least at this time he’d been able to offer comfort, even though his mate wouldn’t have known it was from him.

After holding his mate, Louis had found it incredibly hard to stay away, but it had to be done. Holding his mate, feeling his soft hair and smooth skin, had pushed Louis to the edge, but he’d never gone over. No, he’d never crossed a line no matter how much the need to mate had clawed at him.

Now Jerome was eighteen and Louis had thought about how they would accidently meet. Accidently bump into one another.

“What are your plans for tonight?”

Louis had completely forgotten Hugo was in the bar with him. It was a vampire bar near where they lived so they didn’t have to hide what they were, and Louis liked to go there to wind down after a long shift at work.

“I’m going to hit a club. Need to go out and have some fun.”

“Tell me about it. I’ve been ‘all work and no play’ and my hand is getting friction burns.”

“Thanks Hugo. Just the image I wanted before heading out to get laid.”

Hugo grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “You know me. Always here to help.”

“What’s the bet on how long Gray can go without pissing Henry off?”

“We started the bet after the last big blow out and he’s doing well this time. Up to a full two weeks and no arguments.”

Louis grunted and sipped his beer. “Henry has to have a shit ton of will power and patience.”

“Being mated helps.”

“I wonder if Henry screams at him verbally and mentally at the same time?” Louis winced. “No wonder Gray looks like death warmed over some days.”

“Nah, that will be because they spent all day fucking. I’ve been in his apartment and they’re both pretty vocal.”

“All that passion has to be used up somehow. Fighting and fucking. Maybe it’s their thing.” Louis once again thought about his mate. The dark curls, dark skin and deep hazel eyes. He had never seen a man as gorgeous as his mate, and he knew he never would.

Even though Jerome had been twelve when they met, Louis had remained faithful to him. He wouldn’t cheat on his mate, even if his mate was a child. He knew Jerome hadn’t played around either. Jerome had had a few boyfriends, but nothing serious. Nothing that had lasted. He’d watched him enough over the years to know how focused he was on his education.

“Anyone will do or are you looking for someone in particular?” Hugo asked, and Louis glanced at him.

Leaning back in his chair, he asked, “why the sudden interest?”

Shrugging, Hugo glanced away. “Two of us have found their mates. Wondering when it’ll be my turn, you know.”

“Get out there and he or she will turn up.” Louis knew Hugo was bi and had no problems sleeping with either sex. He didn’t lean one way or the other. He was an equal opportunity kinda guy.

“I’m doing extra patrols since Maxim’s reappearance.”

“Bastard.” Louis sighed heavily. “Why can’t he just fuck off and die? We could all move on with our lives then. The other side would slowly wither away and die too.”

“If only. If Maxim disappeared, we both know there would be someone else to take his place.”

“Yeah but a vamp can dream.”

“Heard about the son?”

Louis sipped his beer and nodded. “Yeah but we don’t have any accurate information. Just rumors and some vague comments.”

“Gray’s working on getting some solid intel. A son could be a potential weakness we can exploit.” Hugo hissed. “Hate dragging a kid into this, but we need to stop that bastard and his merry band of fuckwits.”

“I know what you mean, but this kid is probably a mini me, you know. Like father, like son.” Louis hoped not, but the chances weren’t great. Maxim demanded absolute obedience.

“The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree? I hope not but you’re probably right. When you grow up in that type of environment, it affects you. It affects how you see the world.”

“What’s the saying? No child is born to hate. It’s the people around them, the environment they grow up in. That’s what sets them up on the path they travel.”

“Getting away from it helps, too. Hearing views that don’t align with your own and actually listening to them.” Hugo finished his drink and sighed. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

“We’re being all heavy here. I came here to relax and unwind and we’re talking shop.” Louis finished his drink and signalled the bar staff. “Another?”

“Yeah. I’ll have one more then go back. I’m on the early shift tomorrow.”

“I’m off, thankfully. Feels like I’ve worked non-stop for days and I need a break.”

“We need more people now that we have humans. I like Key and Henry but they are a weakness that could be used against us.”

“I guess that’s why Gray makes sure all the cameras are working.”

Hugo grunted. “Did you say something about a club?”

Louis nodded but didn’t respond immediately while he ordered their drinks from the guy behind the bar. Once he’d paid, he nodded. “Yeah. Once I finish this I’ll go out and see what’s available.”

“You could do with having a night of fun. Find someone willing to dirty up the sheets with you. You could do with some release.” Hugo grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “You’re all tense.”

“I plan to, and you should as well. Weren’t you the one talking about friction burns?”

“And weren’t you the one saying too much info?” Hugo grinned and took a mouthful of beer. Sighing, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I wish I could but I don’t want to be hung over tomorrow. With Maxim around we all need to be level-headed.”

Louis nodded and took a mouthful of beer. The need to see Jerome was pulling at him, and he knew he’d be at Jerome’s home before the night was through. He knew Jerome went home every other weekend, so that was where Louis was going to go after his beer. Just to see him and make sure he was safe.

“We need to find where Maxim is currently staying and take care of him. Him and his men are beginning to cause us problems—more so than normal, that is. It feels like he’s gearing up for something.”

Hugo sipped his beer and nodded. “He’s been quiet for too long. He’s had years to plan as well. Wonder if he’s going to start something.”

“I think that’s what we’re seeing now. As you said he’s had years, and now he’s out and about, showing up after years of nothing. And the son. Where is he?” Louis wanted to get his hands on the kid, if he existed. They still had nothing to prove Maxim had a child, so where had the rumor of a son come from? They needed to chase that down and investigate whether the rumors were true or not.

“Let Gray deal with it.”

Louis grunted. “You know he’ll pass it off to one of us. He has too much to deal with as it is, and then there’s Henry.”

“Who he loves even if it did take him a long time to get his head out of his ass.”

Louis had no such problem with his mate. He didn’t care that Jerome was human. The only problem he'd had was meeting Jerome at such a young age, but that was over now. Jerome was at university and a man, an adult, and one Louis could now meet, could have a conversation with.

Would Jerome remember him?

Finishing his beer, Louis stood, stretched his six foot tall body, said goodbye to Hugo and thought of Jerome. A second later he was standing outside his mate’s house, watching him leave. “I’ll be fine, Dad.”

“Make sure you are and take things with you.”

Take things with you? Where was his mate going? “I’m going out with friends. Why do I need to take things? I’m not hitting the clubs, you know.”

“Really? Like I wasn’t your age once. Be careful.”

Jerome waved and got in the car. Louis was close enough to hear the name of a club mentioned. So his mate was going clubbing. Maybe now was the time to introduce himself.