Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
LOCHLAN
When I open my eyes, I don’t know where I am for a second. It’s dark and it smells of sulfur, but then I’m hit with a wave of lavender, of cinnamon, of freshly tilled earth, and sun warming the landscape.
My boys.
I sit up slightly, blinking to let my vision adjust, and see both Roman and Jareth sitting in armchairs near the bed. My heart zips to life, beating quickly enough that I almost feel mortal again.
I manage a “Hi” though my voice is raspy and weak. My head is pounding too. “What the fuck.”
“You’re awake.” Roman hurries to my side, perching on the edge of the bed.
Jareth stands, but keeps his distance, and that makes me sad. “How do you feel?”
“Like absolute shit.” I rub my forehead. “Fuck.”
“Do you remember what happened?” Roman asks.
Scratching the top of my head, I wince when the memories rush back. “Not good. It’s not good at all.”
“We figured that much.” Jareth moves slightly closer.
He almost looks like he’s afraid of me. Did I do something aggressive that I don’t remember? “My head hurts.”
“I can probably whip up an elixir if I go home and—”
“No,” I say at the same time as Roman growls the word.
Jareth raises his eyebrows. “Okay.”
“Rune probably has what you need,” Roman says.
“Right. There’s a mage here.”
“Can you come closer, Jare?”
He scrunches his face and hesitates, but when his eyes settle on Roman, he nods and steps closer. I reach for his hand and he lets me take it.
“I’m sorry.” I grab Roman’s hand too. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
“For what?” Roman asks.
“Everything. I fucked up everything.” My eyes sting again and I wish I could sob these emotions out, but that’s not happening. “I just want everyone to be happy.”
Jareth looks away, and when I try to sit up, my head feels like it’s going to pop off my shoulders, so I groan and lie back down.
“Rest,” Jareth says. “Everyone is fine.”
“Oh, come on, Jare. I’m hungover, not dumb. I messed up with you because I thought it would make us stronger. I knew you didn’t like vampires but I didn’t think it was this bad.”
Jareth rubs his forehead, glaring at Roman. “You didn’t tell him?”
“Of course not.”
“Wait, you know?” I turn my head to Roman. “You know why he reacted this way?”
“We’ve been friends for years, Loch.”
Jareth scoffs. “Friends.”
“We are,” Roman says, touching Jareth’s forearm.
I squeeze my eyes closed as their scents mingle, creating some new and dynamic fragrance that stirs my inner beast to the surface. My dick decides to take this very inopportune moment to swell. My body’s reaction makes me lightheaded and I swoon slightly.
“Rest,” Roman says, gently pushing me down. His eyes gleam yellow and fur ripples across his arms.
“Roman?” I ask.
“You haven’t told him.” Jareth lets out a humorless laugh. “He doesn’t even know.”
“No,” Roman growls.
“Tell me what?”
“Tell him what, Roman?” Jareth says, his eyes challenging.
“Are you guys mad at each other?”
They both look at me. Jareth looks ready to tear the room apart, Roman looks sad, and I want both of them in my arms to comfort them.
“Did I do something to upset you both?”
“No,” Roman says.
“Yes,” Jareth says. “Obviously.”
“You could’ve told me, you know. You could have told me why you hate vampires so much.”
“Well excuse me for not wanting to relive my trauma. I didn’t know you would go and do something so outrageous.”
“You told Roman! And I still don’t know. I know it’s bad, obviously, but I’m still in the dark, like always.”
“Yes, Roman knows! He was—” He snaps his mouth closed. “I don’t have to justify this. Of course, I wish I’d told you, knowing what I do now, but I didn’t so it doesn’t fucking matter anymore.” He backs away. “I’m gonna go now that you’re okay.”
“Noooo,” I whine. “Please, Jareth. Please stay.”
“Why?” He practically shouts it, and I flinch as his voice echoes through the room. “You have Roman here to take care of you. You don’t need me.”
“I do. I need you and I want you.” I force myself upright in spite of my throbbing head. “Dammit, Jare, I did all of this for you.”
“Lucky me,” he spits, crossing his arms and turning his back to me.
I look at Roman for help, but he’s staring down at his hands, clearly avoiding the situation. “I can leave and give you two time to talk.”
“No,” I plead. “I want you here too.”
Roman and Jareth exchange a heartbreaking glance and my heart drops.
What the actual fuck is going on?
ROMAN
This is going from bad to worse and I don’t know how to fix any of it, but I decide to start with Jareth.
Rising to my feet, I close the distance between us and wrap my arms around him.
He resists, struggling against me, but he’s no match for my strength.
I nuzzle his hair, shushing him until he relaxes.
“Stay,” I whisper. “Loch needs you and… fuck, Jare, so do I.”
My eyes flit to Loch, who’s watching us with wide eyes, but slowly, a pretty smile paints his lips. Oddly, my wolf seems happy, curled up and satisfied even though I’m not holding my mate. Did I get it wrong somehow?
“I’ll stay,” Jareth mutters. “For a little while.”
“Thank you.” I kiss the side of his head, and my wolf makes a soft purring noise that gets Jareth’s attention too. I shrug off the question in his eyes. I have no idea how to explain it.
“I’m hungry,” Loch whines. “Why am I hungry? I thought the big meal I had would last a while.”
“It was fae blood.” Jareth extricates himself from my arms. “It doesn’t have the same effect as mortal blood, or even other supes’. That’s why it’s not recommended to feed from one of them.”
Lochlan looks sheepish as he stares down at his hands. “I thought they could help. He approached me and offered me what I was asking for.”
“Except they lie,” I add. “They’re the trickers of the supernatural world. You can never, ever trust a fae.”
Lochlan shakes his head as he scrubs a hand over his face. “He was so nice. He took me to his place and he gave me food and then he—”
“Did you eat it?” Jareth and I ask at the same time.
“Yes. Is that bad?”
“Fuck,” Jareth says.
My wolf wakes up, now on alert. “What happened after that?”
“Um… he offered me pastries and a drink. Then he dropped the bomb on me that I was now his permanent guest because I accepted his hospitality.”
Jareth scrunches his face up, looking very worried.
“I panicked. I told him I heard fae blood was sweet and that worked. He offered his neck and I indulged.”
“And then?” I ask.
A look of rage mixed with satisfaction washes over his features, and his fangs drop. “I tore him apart.”
Jare’s eyes go wide. “You killed him?”
Loch nods happily. “Yes. He underestimated me, but I showed him.”
“Fuck,” I mutter. “Oh fuck.”
“What? Was that bad?”
There’s a loud knock on the door and Jareth walks over to answer it. When he does, Rune pours in, with Atlas, Cassius, Mac, and Drax behind him. Rune’s tattoos are lit up and pulsing.
“What’s happening?” I ask.
“Lochlan killed a fae mafia prince,” Rune says.
Lochlan pulls his head back. “How do you know that?”
“Because they’re hunting you. I had a vision since some of my energy still lingers in the fae realm.”
“Hunting me?” Lochlan squeaks. “What does that mean?”
“It means they won’t rest until they find you and kill you.”
I growl, dropping to my knees as fur breaks out across my flesh. Jareth frowns, hurrying over to kneel beside me and comfort me, and my chest feels like it might explode.
“They can’t get down here, can they?” Lochlan asks.
Rune shakes his head. “No, but do you want to be trapped down here for eternity?”
“You guys like it okay, right?”
“We’re not trapped,” Cassius says. “We can go to the mortal realm whenever we like. You chose one of the most dangerous fae in existence to murder.”
“He tricked me.”
“That’s what they do,” Drax says softly.
“It was self-defense.”
Rune scoffs. “And what judge and jury do you think will hear your argument?”
Lochlan slumps, falling back in the bed. “Maybe I should just let them. I fucked everything up and in trying to fix it I only made it worse.”
A howl pours out of me that shakes the room, and while Lochlan seems stunned by my outburst, no one else, including Jareth, even flinches.
“What’s happening to him right now?”
“Gods, he doesn’t know?” Atlas asks, glancing at Rune.
“Know what?”
Jareth shakes his head subtly at the others, but I see it.
I can also hear the uptick of his heartbeat.
His scent intensifies, and even from here, I can feel his body warming.
Scrubbing my hands over my face, I try to push down the building desire inside me.
I want to be between them both, holding them, bathing in their mixed scent.
Lochlan tries to crawl out of bed but crumples instead. I whimper and Jare rushes over to him. Jareth is the one wrapping his arms around my mate, but my wolf is soothed.
“I’m sorry,” Loch whispers.
“Shh. We’ll figure it out.” Jare kisses Loch’s forehead.
“Rome,” Lochlan calls for me.
I climb onto the bed, half-shifted. I rest my still-human hand on Loch’s leg, and when Jareth leans into me, I finally feel safe and complete.
I need them.
Both of them.
Now what?
JARETH
“What can we do?” I ask, looking at Rune. “There must be something.”
“I don’t know if you’ve ever battled the fae, but it isn’t easy. Plus, Loch is tied to their realm after eating their food and drinking fae blood.”
Loch huffs, squeezing my hand.
Roman is still whimpering and half-shifted, and if we weren’t sure they’re fated mates before, we are now. There’s no denying it, but apparently Lochlan doesn’t have a clue. What will he do when he finds out? Will that be the moment I lose them both forever?
“I need to consult my history books,” Rune says. “There could be something there. I’ve only dealt with a mortal once a long time ago who came to me asking for help after he accidentally accepted a gift from a fae.”
“Maybe whatever you did then would work?” Lochlan asks.
Rune shakes his head. “It didn’t. The mortal died.”
Loch flinches and Roman growls while my stomach twists into knots.
“How does a fae kill a vampire?” I ask.
“Beheading,” Cassius says. “That’s how anyone can kill a vampire.”
“Fuck,” I mutter.
“So, a few hundred years ago, there was a fae coup,” Cassius explains.
“They formed a group of several factions and attempted to make themselves the supreme rulers of the supe world. One of their methods was to lure unsuspecting mortals in through trickery and hospitality. It made mortals forcibly compliant, like mindless robots. I don’t know if it could have the same effect on a vampire. ”
“Well, shit,” Mac says.
“Exactly.” Cassius nods.
“How was it resolved?” I ask.
Cassius tilts his head, gazing off for a moment before blinking and focusing on me.
“It was bloody. The battle lasted for days, but if I remember correctly, the more fae that were slaughtered, the more of them there seemed to be. Almost like they were pouring out of the woods. Then…” He pauses before nodding.
“Ah, yes, I remember now. Enchanted fire.”
Rune perks up. “Enchanted fire?”
Cassius continues. “Yes. Many magic users combined forces and created this magical ball of fire that torched anyone with fae blood in their veins, except mortals. It incinerated their forests, their homes, their bodies. Devastated their population. Took centuries to replenish.”
Rune looks at me. “We can work on that.”
“I don’t have your ability, but I’ll do anything I can to help.”
“I’m not sure I do either. Perhaps we’ll need to pull in others too.”
“Will this enchanted fire hurt Lochlan?” Drax asks. “He has fae blood in his veins, right?”
“What? No, the fae blood is out of his system. Look, he’s totally sober,” I point out.
Cassius shakes his head. “He’s processed it, but when we feed, the blood circulates for long periods, part of us until our body fully consumes it. We can fix it though,” he says ominously.
“How?” I ask.
The vampire’s eyes settle on Roman, communicating silently. Roman takes a deep breath as more of his human features start to return, but Lochlan looks terrified all of a sudden. Ah. He can hear Cassius.
“What?” I demand. “Tell me.”
Cassius stares at Loch. “We have to drain Lochlan and bring him back.”
Drain him? Why does that news seem to calm Roman? I would expect the opposite to happen.
“Wouldn’t that just mean that you would end up with the scent of fae blood on you?” Roman asks.
Cas shakes his head. “It shouldn’t since I won’t be drinking it straight from the source, it’ll be more diluted and fade from my system in no time.”
“Is it dangerous?” I ask.
“I’ll be there to help,” Cassius says. “The sooner the better.”
“I’ll start researching,” Rune says.
Cassius steps between me and Roman, gazing at all three of us. “I suggest you boys clear the air and discuss the important things before this next adventure. You all should know.”
“Know what?” Lochlan asks.
Cassius just offers a faint smile before excusing himself. The others follow, and a few seconds later, we’re all alone again.
“You guys know something I don’t,” Lochlan says. “Right?”
Roman, now completely shifted back to his human form, turns to me with questions in his eyes. There’s a strong chance this is going to hurt more than anything else ever could, but Loch deserves to know.
“Cassius told me it should be both of us,” Roman says. “Together we can fix Loch.”
“Why me?”
Roman’s brow creases. “He needs to feed on more than one of us. Since he’ll be fully drained, the amount he’ll need would be too much to take from one person. And because we’re connected. Your blood is already in him, and you’re in his heart too. It will help him heal.”
“What’s going on?” Loch sounds frustrated now. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”
“Tell him, Rome.”
“I can’t,” he whispers.
“Tell me what?”
“Loch—” My voice cracks. Fuck.
“Whatever it is, I can handle it,” Loch says bravely. “And I want you both to know something.”
“No, Loch,” Roman says.
“I’m sorry for hurting you, Jare, and I’m sorry for messing up your friendship. I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess, Roman.”
“Loch,” I groan.
“But I care about you both. Jare, I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you, and Roman, I feel…” He shakes his head. “I don’t know how to explain it. I was so jealous of you and Jareth, but being around you now, I just…” He huffs and looks away.
I can’t take this anymore. “Tell him, Roman. Don’t make me do it.”
He looks at me pleadingly. “Will you? Please. I can’t.”
I scoff at the irony. I have to break my own heart. Awesome.
“Lochlan.”
“Yes, Jare?”
“You and Roman are…” My stomach churns with grief. “You’re fated mates.”