Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
LOCHLAN
There’s a strange tugging in my head I haven’t felt before.
I glance around the room, smiling at my mates as they sit cross-legged on the bed, their heads together while they discuss Jareth’s garden.
I try to ignore the sensation, but it becomes impossible.
All I know is I have a sudden urge to see Cassius.
“I’ll be right back,” I announce.
“Where are you going?” Roman asks, his voice thick and possessive.
“To see Cas. I want to apologize for ruining his clothes, and also…” I shrug. “I feel like I have to.”
“Have to what?” Jareth asks.
“Go see him. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“You’re a vampire, he’s a vampire.” Roman nods. “He might be calling for you.”
“Oh. Right. I think I’ll go now, before breakfast.”
“We’ll be waiting for you,” Jareth says sweetly.
I blow them a kiss then make my way through the winding halls to find Cas. When I arrive at his door, it’s partially open, as if he really has been expecting me. As I step inside, I peer around to make sure I’m not interrupting anything.
Cassius is standing in front of a credenza stacked with bottles of deep red blood. My stomach doesn’t curdle this time, but there’s no urge to drink either. I’ll take neutrality over disgust though.
“Hi, Cas.”
“Hello, Loch,” he says without turning to me. “Care for a drink?”
“No, thank you. Did you, um, call for me?”
“Yes. I’m glad you heard me, though it took you long enough.”
“I didn’t recognize it at first.”
“You’ll learn.” He turns toward me, studying me as he swirls the blood in his glass. “How was your date topside?”
“I owe you an apology.”
He raises a well-groomed eyebrow. “For?”
“I got vampire blood all over the clothes you loaned me.”
“Mm-hmm.” There’s no hint of surprise or anger in his expression. “And how exactly did that happen?”
“We were attacked by some vampires who were tweaked out on fae blood. They’re connected to the consortium, and they were the same vampires who attacked Jareth when he was young.”
Cassius frowns.
“We had no choice but to kill them.”
“That explains it, then.”
“Explains what?”
“A vampire I know called for me. Turns out the vampires you killed have been causing a lot of problems. They’ve aligned themselves with this organized fae crime group, which is not something vampires do, and they’ve turned on their own kind numerous times.
Granted, they were compromised by the fae blood, but it was always going to end this way.
They couldn’t be rehabilitated, so they had to die. ”
“So, it’s not bad, what we did?”
“Not in this case, no, but there’s a bigger problem now. There’s a gang of these vampires, and of course the consortium remains an issue. We’re going to have to do something about it.”
“What do you mean ‘something’?”
“I mean, dear baby vampire, a supernatural war. Us versus them.”
“All of them?”
He nods solemnly. “All of them.” I watch as he drains his glass and sets it down.
“We’ll have to tell Auri, of course, and it will take all of us and some allies to get it done.
” He offers the slightest of smiles. “In the long run, you’ve done a good thing by exposing this mess.
The Nocturne Consortium has been a plague on our world for a long time, but until recently, they mostly dabbled in small affairs.
They seem to be escalating, so to keep the peace, we have to end it. ”
I nod, exhaling on instinct though I don’t exactly breathe normally anymore. “Okay. How do we start?”
His expression shifts to one that almost looks like concern. “We have to draw them out of hiding.”
“How?”
“You.” He scrunches his nose. “Roman will hate it, but they want you. It’s the quickest way.”
“That’s fine.” I don’t really want to see any of them again, but I started this, so I have to finish it.
“It could be dangerous, Loch. We aren’t dealing with bumbling idiots here. They are fae and they are not easy to overcome.”
“We’re vampires. Roman is a wolf. Aren’t we strong enough?”
“Together, I believe we are. I’m hopeful that Rune and Jareth can add something to the mix as well. We’ll need it all.”
There’s a heavy pounding on the door and I know right away that it’s Roman. I feel him.
“Come in, Wolfie,” Cas says casually.
Roman bursts in, hurrying straight over to me. “What’s wrong? I feel your fear.”
“It’s not fear. Not really. More… concern. Anxiety, maybe.”
A minute later, Jareth arrives too. “What’s going on?”
I glance at Cas, then back at my two mates. “We’re going to war.”
ROMAN
“What do you mean?”
Cas explains while Jareth keeps his arms wrapped around Loch.
Anger rises in me like a volcano on the verge of erupting.
Of course I knew we’d have to deal with these assholes at some point, but I’m not excited about the timing.
I want to be with my mates, I want to share my bite and my knot with Jareth. I want to nest with them.
After Cas finishes, I nod. “So first up is talking to the boss.”
“He’ll need to know he gets something out of letting us go rogue,” Cas says. “I guarantee he’d be excited to get some of the consortium’s blood. I’ll go fetch him.”
I nod. “Thanks. We’ll get everyone else. Dining hall in ten?”
Cas gives me a teasing little salute and then vanishes in a blur, moving too fast for even my eyes to track as he zips out of the room.
Wrapping my arms around Jareth and Loch, I kiss the tops of their heads, savoring just a few seconds with them.
“I really did it, huh?” Loch says softly. “Because of me, a whole war is starting.”
“A necessary war. This was inevitable.”
“Maybe, but all I’ve done since being turned is cause problems.”
“Uh, no, I’m not letting you go there,” Jareth says, stopping and turning to face Loch before cupping his face. “We’ve all been over this. What you did was brave and it set our lives on destiny’s path. Roman’s right—this war was gonna happen eventually. Why not us?”
Loch nods, but I can tell he’s not completely convinced. That’s okay. I’ve got all of eternity to prove to him that he did the right thing, even if unintentionally.
While Cas gets Auri, we gather everyone else into the dining hall, all of them in various stages of dress and wakefulness.
Mac’s hair is sticking up on end, giving him a youthful appearance that could almost make me forget he’s a dragon, and Drax looks perfect, just like he always does.
Rune looks tired, and he’s being carried by his big hulking gargoyle.
Atlas’s mate being a prickly mage is always comical to me, but who am I to question fate or how their love works?
I hear Grim approaching before I see him, followed by a curious Auri, trailed by Cas. Auri’s dressed in a deep purple pantsuit that looks both elegant and comfortable, and as he gets closer, I realize they’re silk pajamas.
“To what do I owe this early morning meeting with my pets?” Auri asks.
“We have a situation,” I say.
“If this has to do with the Nocturne Consortium, I already ordered you to take them out,” Auri says in a bored drawl.
“It’s about them, but the situation has gotten more complicated, so we wanted to loop you in first. We need your permission to get involved in a war, of sorts.”
“Of sorts?” Auri asks. “I take it this has to do with our new resident vampire and the magical mortal beside you?”
“Indirectly,” I say. “Long story short, Jareth was attacked by vampires when he was young and me and my pack found him and nursed him back to health.”
“Oh, fuck,” Drax murmurs.
“We ran into two of those vampires topside last night and were attacked again. We had no choice but to fight back.”
Auri grins. “And did you kill them, my darling pet?”
I have to fight the urge to roll my eyes at the stupid nickname. “Yes, we did. Then Cas found out that these vampires are fae blood addicts, and in order to feed their addiction, they’ve aligned themselves with the Nocturne Consortium.”
Auri taps a long nail against his chin. “Vampires aligning with the fae? Most unusual.”
“And it’s a problem. They do whatever the fae want, including attacking their own kind.”
“What is your plan?”
“Kill the vampires then destroy the consortium. We have some allies to help. No one in the supe world wants this to continue.”
“So it’s a good deed?” He scrunches his nose at that. “Nothing more?”
“Fae blood is very valuable,” Rune says. “It can be used for all sorts of things.”
“Like what?” Auri asks.
“Spells. Powerful spells. All you need is a magic user who knows what to do with it. Lucky for you, you have two.”
Jareth nods, glancing briefly at Rune.
“Hmm.” Auri paces for a moment. “Do they have anything of value?”
“I’ll find out,” Mac offers. “I’ll bring back anything good.”
“The vampires are very old,” Cas adds. “They are likely to have some valuables if they haven’t traded everything for fae blood.”
“What’s so nice about fae blood?” Atlas asks.
“It has a euphoric effect,” Loch says. “Like I imagine mortal drugs feel.”
I turn back to Auri. “What do you say, boss?”
He waves his hand. “Do what you must, but bring me your spoils.”
“Of course.”
“Come, Grim. Daddy needs a bath.”
Auri disappears down the hallway, a goofy hellhound on his heels.
“What’s our approach? Any ideas?” I ask.
“I’ll let my vampire contact know we’re in,” Cas says. “Ultimately, I think the best plan will be for us to split our attention. Some of us go for the consortium, the rest of us hunt the vampires.”
I nod, thinking that over for a moment. What’s the best way to keep my mates safe?
“I suggest I take Lochlan and Jareth with me,” Cas says. “Roman and the others go find the consortium members.”
“No way,” I growl. “I’m not leaving my mates alone.”
“They won’t be alone, Roman. They’ll be with me. Loch and I have better defenses against other vampires, and I’ll have backup from some of my friends. We could use some magic so Jareth will be there while you guys take Rune. Besides, we have some revenge to dish out.”