Fate of a Blood Moon (The Hades Blood Moon #2)

Chapter 30

Rachel

W hen we arrived in Bari, it was a little after four thirty in the morning, and every muscle in my body ached. Luckily, Tony’s relatives on his father’s side owned an inn there.

Tony mentioned how his cousins inherited the inn from their great-grandmother, who lived in Bari until she passed away two years ago at one hundred. Most of his family, including his father and grandmother, had moved to the United States before he was born. Had they stayed, he would have owned part of the property as well as a vineyard in Tuscany.

The upside to staying here was that it was only a few miles from the airport, and we needed a good few hours of sleep before we hopped on the early flight to Athens.

“Even though Nonna loved our family locanda,” Tony started, breaking me of my thoughts, “she knew Dad had better opportunities in the US. And Bisnonna Chiara understood that. When Dad got married and had me, Nonna moved back to retire,” he explained as we rumbled down the highway. “My cousins were the perfect choice to take over. We’re part of a group chat, and they keep me updated on the business.”

As we pulled into the parking lot, I saw an old wooden sign hanging beneath an ornate iron post, illuminated by a small golden LED light. La Locanda di Manetti.

“Both Andrei and my mother know your last name. Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked.

He smiled and shrugged. “Do you know how common the last name ‘Manetti’ is here?” he asked, chuckling. “It’s like ‘Smith’ or ‘Jones.’ Besides, even if it weren’t, my family would protect us if things went sideways. They’ve known about all this shit and what I do long before vampires became public knowledge almost a decade ago. Fighting and gathering intel wasn’t something I learned from the coven; that came from my grandparents.”

That surprised me. Tony never mentioned how he knew so much about the supernatural, but it made sense now. The Black Onyx had always been overly cautious about who they hired. Every guardian had to “audition” per se and demonstrate the skills needed to bond with a dhampir. Yes, the magic bond had linked my strength to him, but he still had to know what he was doing in the first place.

We exited the car, and Jase, who had been a fucking stone wall this entire time, grabbed our bags and walked toward the front entrance. From the corner of my eye, I caught Jase staring at me.

I wish I knew what he was thinking. The broody staredowns make me nervous, and I’m way too fucking tired and hungry to deal with it. I need food.

The building’s architecture looked more modern than the other places I had seen since arriving in Italy. Tony explained that his family had rebuilt it after enemies destroyed the original site during World War II.

Once inside and into the hallway, I looked down. The stone floor looked like it could have been the original, with long, curved cracks throughout, looking like they had marked the test of time. Along the wall were softly lit sconces on earth-toned walls, creating a warm, cozy atmosphere.

“Wow,” Lucy said as she looked around with me. “This place is gorgeous. Lune de Blanche seems so cold compared to this.”

“Right? Chad would have a conniption. He prides that place more than his own cock.”

Lucy threw back her head and laughed, and I swore I heard Jase snort from behind me.

“Maybe when we get back, I’ll visit the hotel and tell him.”

If we can go back, I mused bitterly. But I shook the thought away as we followed Tony to the front desk.

The elegant wood and marble desk smelled a little like lavender, and I saw bundles of dried purple flowers hanging on the walls. A small silver bell and a sign welcoming guests in several languages were on the desk. This place was a balm on the nightmare that the day had been.

Tony pressed a small button on the wall next to the desk. The sign read, in Italian, “Please Ring Innkeeper In Case of After-Hours Emergency.” A minute later, a tall woman hurried down the stairs to our right. She wore a rose-pink T-shirt and black leggings. Her features made me guess she was in her mid-twenties, with long, shining black hair, a curvaceous figure, and medium-bronze skin. When she saw Tony, her eyes grew wide.

“Antonio! Cosa ci fai qui? Hai chiamato mia madre? Quando sei arrivato?”

Tony’s eyes lit up, and a grin spread across his face. “English, Giulia. Not everyone here speaks Italian. These are my friends. We’re just in town for the day.” He took a step closer and pulled her into a hug. “God, it’s great to see you.”

After Tony released their hug, Giulia looked at us and smiled, warmth radiating from her aura. “Of course. Hello. Come with me to the kitchen, and we can talk.” Her accent was prominent, but her English was flawless. “You guys are lucky. I was just getting up to start opening.”

She led us down the hallway toward a closed door labeled La Cucina di Chiara . Jase followed closely behind me, doing nothing to lessen our tension. He was always in my space that it made me feel uneasy. I didn’t dare glance back, though—his silence told me he felt it, too.

“I’m guessing Nonna is still asleep?” Tony asked once inside the kitchen. The smell of freshly brewed coffee greeted my nose. God, yes, please.

Giulia shook her head. “No, she’s visiting the vineyard this week. She also came down with a cold, so I’ll be running things until she feels better. Nonna’s supposed to be retired and taking it easy, but you know her. She loves to stay busy.” Her brown eyes looked over to me before smiling. “He sent pictures over the last eight years. You must be Rachel.”

I nodded, forcing a smile. Something about Giulia knowing my name—given my history—made me nervous. Tony said they knew everything about the supernatural world, but did she know about me ?

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. This is Rachel, and this is Lucy and …” His eyes skated over to Jase, who had his leather jacket zipped up to his neck and his arms folded over his chest. Though he was a vampire, Jase looked ragged as fuck, like he hadn’t slept in days. Dark circles framed his green eyes, and his disheveled hair fell into a messy tousle over his forehead, like he had rolled out of bed. “This is Jase Halpert. He’s the vampire stalker I told the family about.”

Jase’s eyes narrowed at Tony, and I had to turn away to hide my amusement. Since we left Venice, Tony developed a knack for getting under the man’s skin. Jase dragged a hand through his hair, clearly trying to rein in his irritation. I felt a strange, unwelcome flutter in my chest. It was maddening how someone so thoroughly aggravating could look that goddamn sexy.

It must run in the family.

“The stalker…” Giulia said, tilting her head to study him. “If you misbehave in our family’s business, I’ll toss you in the sun and lock you out.”

Oh, I like her.

Jase struggled to suppress a smile at her threat, but he failed miserably. “I’ll try to behave.”

Lucy cleared her throat. “Nice to meet you,” she said, extending her hand.

Giulia smiled and shook it. “He told me about you, too.”

A slight shift in the room’s atmosphere occurred as Tony coughed, his cheeks flushing. He avoided meeting her gaze. “Anyway, do you have any rooms available? I saw a few cars outside. I know it’s last minute, but we just need a place to stay for a day. Our ferry’s sold out until tomorrow.”

Despite the pleasantries, my skin prickled with anxiety. Valentina was out there, likely hunting me, and there was a good chance Andrei was already heading this way from the States. I couldn’t let my guard down—not even here. Tony was exhausted, and admittedly, I felt fucking terrible, so sleep and rest weren’t the worst decision we could make. I went to the coffee machine and poured myself a cup.

“Two rooms is fine,” Tony explained, his unease focused on Jase.

“Perfect, ’cause that’s all I have left. Summer tourism is at an all-time high right now,” Giulia replied.

Tony and Giulia quickly fell into conversation, English mixing with Italian as they caught up on family news. Lucy came over to stand next to me, and I handed her a mug of coffee while examining every shadow in the dimly lit kitchen. Jase still loomed by the door, brooding again over God knows what.

As comforting as a storm cloud.

Lucy took a long drink of coffee, her eyes fluttering closed for a second. “Thank God vampires can drink coffee,” she said. “Hey, what’s going on with Captain Mopey Ass over there? I’m half tempted to punch him just to change the look on his face.”

I snorted into my coffee. “Please do it.”

“Tony,” Lucy called out, her tone slipping into her usual sarcasm. “Rachel and I will share a room while you and Jase bond over your mutual distrust of each other.”

Jase smirked faintly, but his eyes moved to me, lingering too long for comfort.

Ten minutes and two cups of coffee later, Giulia escorted us upstairs to the rooms. They were small but clean, with padded leather framed beds and lace curtains that swayed from the single open window in the warm evening breeze.

While Lucy dressed, I peeled off my T-shirt and bra, practically groaning in relief. Slipping into my pajamas, I joined Lucy in the bathroom to brush my teeth.

We stood side by side, and my eyes turned up to hers in the mirror. She was biting back a smile, barely holding it in.

Needing to know the joke, I spat out the foam and arched a brow. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, I just thought it was pretty comical that two supernatural creatures with fangs brush their teeth and wear jammies,” she replied. “We’re nothing like the movies.” I don’t know if it was because we’d been driving all night and morning and the deliriousness got to us, but we suddenly lost it. We laughed so hard that tears streamed from my eyes, and she doubled over.

God, I missed laughing with her. After a few moments, we managed to get ourselves together, clean up, and climb into bed. My ribs ached considerably, but my heart finally felt lighter.

I needed that.

Once settled on the bed, I curled my knees up to my chest and leaned back against the headboard, waiting for her to talk first. Sure, we caught up occasionally during our brief calls, but it wasn’t like this. This is what she and I did back in New Orleans. We had slumber parties with junk food and chick flicks. I didn’t care that I was two hundred years old. Nothing is better than nights like that with your best friend, enjoying all the joys of girlhood, since I never had those experiences as a kid with the coven.

In the past, Lucy repeatedly suggested we find a place together, but I knew I couldn’t. I was still a dhampir in hiding, and I couldn’t risk fucking it up by her seeing something when I let my guard down. It also put her at risk.

Not anymore …

“What was it like for you?” I asked. “My experience at the mansion wasn’t yours. I’d like to know what you thought of it.”

She shrugged. “It’s complicated. Andrei’s an asshole, and when I see him, I’m going to punch him in the fucking face, but he did help me a lot after Jase turned me. There’s still so much about the supernatural world that I don’t understand. Especially regarding vampires. And he tried to help me adjust to this new life, even though the prick was trying to indoctrinate me into believing humans were less than.” She let out a slow breath and leaned back on her bed like I had. “Jackson was cool, though. He has an amazing voice.”

My gut twisted at what she said. Lucy had to navigate this mess without me there. Now, I saw her as a different species, but even after everything, she was still Lucy—my best friend, whom I wished I could have saved.

“I’ve only been able to see my mom twice since Jase turned me,” she continued. “Andrei or one of his men had to be with me both times. Not because Andrei was afraid I’d run off and do something stupid, but because he didn’t want me to hurt her. They were there to hold me back if my control slipped and tried to …”

Well, tonight was full of surprises. Andrei was still Andrei, but the fact that he cared about Lucy and Gabriela’s safety was kind of shocking.

“I … I didn’t know that,” I said. Lucy shrugged, and that was the end of that conversation.

Over the next hour, we filled each other in on what we couldn’t talk about over the phone. I learned that my best friend was doing her best to adjust to this new, terrifying life. We both hoped that once all this bullshit was over, we could return to doing all the things we used to do together as if nothing had changed.

Maybe actually get that apartment together. We could look at places near the French Quarter.

When I noticed Lucy was ready for a light sleep, my stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten in hours.

I rolled over and checked the time on my phone. It was a little past five, and I was no closer to falling asleep. Sliding out of bed, I shut the curtains for Lucy before the sun could rise. Careful not to make a sound, I tiptoed past her and slipped into the hall. Giulia was on one side of the inn, typing on a keyboard, while the guests remained upstairs, still asleep. My pulse quickened as I hurried down, each groan and creak of wood adding to my anxiety.

Once downstairs, I padded down the hallway toward the kitchen.

Before we went to our rooms, Giulia informed us that we were welcome to raid the fridge, as they were expecting merchants to deliver fresh supplies later in the morning. I pushed open the door and went inside. Now that she’d opened the inn for the coming dawn, I got to take in the surroundings. The kitchen was quaint, with copper pots hanging over a large gas stove. There was also a wood-burning oven that looked well-used. The smell of bread and seafood faintly clung to the air, and I could imagine Tony’s great-grandmother cooking meals for her family and guests here. Ignoring the pang of loneliness in my heart, I went over to the stone sink, smooth from years of water and working hands.

I grabbed a blue-tinted glass and filled it with ice-cold water. My magic fluttered to life as I took a deep gulp, relishing in the flow within my veins. I leaned against the counter, the storm in my chest still brewing.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Jase’s smooth voice cut through the dark room, and a shiver snaked up my spine, causing my body to stiffen. Fuck, we were alone for the first time since the church.

I turned sharply to find him standing in the doorway. His broad shoulders filled the frame, and his green eyes locked right on mine. It was impossible to slow my racing heart as I took in the sight of him, especially as my eyes wandered down his torso.

He was shirtless now, wearing only black cotton pajama pants that hung loosely on his hips. A male vampire in pajamas was an odd fucking thing to see. Worse was that he looked beautiful—and so human .

I swallowed, trying not to roam my eyes over his very chiseled abs. “What are you doing here?” I asked defensively, holding the glass tighter than necessary before turning away to look out the small window over the sink. It was still dark outside, with the horizon slowly turning pale with the approaching sun, and I looked like a damn idiot who was obviously trying not to stare at Jase.

“Vampire,” he said, walking deeper into the kitchen. “Sleep isn’t really part of the deal, remember?”

Shit.

“Yeah … gotcha,” I said. The back of my neck prickled, alerting me to Jase’s presence behind me. His aura wrapped around me in a chokehold.

“You shouldn’t be alone.”

Jase’s tone sounded like a scolding father, and my temper kicked up a notch. I turned to face him, anger burning. “I don’t need you to babysit me. Or hover. Or … whatever it is you think you’re doing.”

His jaw clenched. “Do I have to fucking remind you that we have no idea where Andrei, or your mother, for that matter, is right now? Have you forgotten that he is still tied to you through the guardian bond? He could easily tap in at any time and feel all the anger running through your veins right now.”

Exasperation added to my temper. “But he can’t actually find me, though. No tracker. So, we’re probably fine.”

His intense glare made me realize that wasn't his point.

“I have my own plans, and I don’t need any of you fucking it up for me before getting to the cave. So yeah, despite your missing tracker, I’m not risking it.”

If I wasn’t pissed when he walked into the kitchen, I sure as fuck was now.

I took a step closer, my anger outweighing common sense. “And what do you care? You tried to kill me four months ago. You turned my best friend, and before you explained what was actually going on, Andrei warned me that you were coming to kill me.”

His expression hardened at those words.

I never ended up telling Valentina about those visions, but the last one shook me to the core. It threw me for a loop when Lucy and Tony showed up in Venice with Jase in tow on an entirely different agenda.

The memory of the last time I saw him replayed in my mind—Jase’s hand around my throat, the bite of his knife across my skin. Then the other image that appeared in my dreams from that night was drinking his blood. Ever since then, my mind had been a mess, tangled in this reckless, stupid madness I couldn’t shake. Jase somehow imprinted it into my brain.

My voice dropped, not wanting to alert Lucy upstairs. “You don’t get to act like my protector now. Where the hell did this sudden concern about my well-being come from, anyway? Because if I die, you can’t get your precious blood to stick it to your brother?”

A faint smile touched his lips, his flawless white teeth gleaming like pearls. “Yeah, that’s exactly it. I just need your blood to get into that pentagram and destroy—”

“Oh, fuck that dumbass spell.”

Before I could blink, Jase’s hand shot out, fingers curling around my throat. He didn’t squeeze. It wasn’t painful—but the dominance in the gesture was absolutely there. It was just like Andrei. But … not. My breath hitched as his thumb brushed against my skin like a silent warning.

“Be very, very careful how you speak to me, angel,” Jase warned, his voice low and dangerous. “You forget I stalked you for years with you not having a fucking clue the entire time. I watched you train with Tony almost every weekend. Granted, you’re pretty damn fast, I’ll give you that. But I promise you, you’re no match for me. I will break you if I have to. That angel’s sword in the cave will give Black Onyx unlimited power, and they will go on a rampage to kill anyone who ever opposes them or their plans. Andrei will do the same, if not worse. And you”—he eased off my throat, looking at the pulsing vein beneath my jaw—“have a very smart mouth. My deranged brother may have thought it cute. I have no tolerance for this shit.”

My heart was pounding so hard that I could hear blood rushing in my ears. Jase wasn’t touching me anymore, but he was in such close proximity that it sent my stomach churning. To be honest, it also did something molten between my legs.

What the fuck is going on?

We both stiffened, a strange tension hanging between us. Then something happened—the faint warmth from the weird mark on my belly started to spread, pulsing in the same rhythm as my heart. My throat felt thick as I swallowed, watching his eyes glance at my lips before returning to mine.

As angry and confused as I was, I wasn’t afraid of what he’d do to me. And that terrified me the most.

“Move,” Jase said, finally breaking the very awkward silence. “I’d like some water, and you’re standing in my way.”

“Gladly.” I needed to get away from him. I quickly stepped to the right, while he moved to the cabinet to grab a glass.

The absence of him in my space was as jarring as when he’d grabbed my throat. I moved further away, wrapping my arms around myself.

While Jase filled his glass and brought it to his lips, I asked, “Why did you watch me?”

He set down the glass and slowly turned to me. “You know why,” he said, his voice smooth, but something dark lurked beneath the surface. “I needed your blood to awaken Valentina.”

I shook my head. “I’m talking about before. The Hades Blood Moon happens every two hundred years. You found me four years before making your move. Why stalk me for so long instead of just showing up to take me before you needed to? Why come into my apartment like a fucking creep?”

Jase’s lips curled into that infuriating lopsided grin again. “I enjoyed New Orleans. I’d never been before,” he answered, cold amusement in his eyes. “Four years is nothing to our kind, as you know. But you kept me entertained. Every move you made, every decision, was way too fascinating. A supernatural creature, all alone, trying to live like a human.” He stepped closer again, his scent pressing onto me like a shadow. “Yeah, I’d watch you when you were home alone … or not. I listened to you laugh with your friends and how you breathed at night when you were lost in dreams. It was … hard to look away, angel. You tried to be normal in an abnormal world. One thing I did learn, though, is you’re not as righteous as you pretend to be. Like I said earlier, you’re a lot like me.”

My head snapped back, and I scoffed. No, the hell I’m not.

He leaned in just enough so the coolness of his breath brushed against my cheeks. “I didn’t just learn your routine. I studied you. And I liked what I saw.” His lips spread into a cruel grin. “You still haven’t figured it out, have you? You never were just a target. You were my favorite distraction until the time came to spill your blood.”

My jaw dropped as Jase stepped back, finished his water, and headed out of the kitchen, leaving me standing there like a damn fool.

Though his words sent my temper roaring, they also stirred something low in my belly—a dark, sensuous thrill that should stay buried. But no matter how hard I tried to shove it away, I couldn’t silence it.