Chapter 23 Jason
Jason
My eyes sprang open, and I lay perfectly still, checking.
Just listening. Something… I’d heard something.
But now there was only Ciara’s quiet breathing as she lay nestled in my arms. I checked on her.
I needed to be more attentive. Although everything was going smoothly so far, she was still in transition to being a vampire. Anything could happen.
Sam, Kyle’s mate, had sailed through, but probably the change from thrall to full vamp wasn’t as hard on the human system as for those unused to vampire blood. It had been harder for both Kayla and Leia. Nic had almost lost Leia completely.
I tucked a curl of Ciara’s hair behind her ear. Her breathing was even and steady, and her cheeks were pink, her lips red. She was perfect.
My heart swelled with happiness all over again. She was perfect and she was mine. She was truly my mate now.
I started to lie back down now that I’d checked her. Only…no. She wasn’t the reason I’d woken up. Ciara was fine. I didn’t need to worry.
But the darkness, the silence, had a quality I wasn’t used to. Something deeper.
What had I reacted to?
The sound had been gone almost as soon as it woke me, and it hadn’t repeated.
I carefully extracted my arm from under Ciara’s head, ensuring she remained comfortable, and tucked the comforter around her as I slid from the bed. Two of us didn’t need to be awake for this. Especially when one of us needed to conserve as much energy for the transition as possible.
I walked silently to the window and peered out into the darkness. Nothing moved. The stillness was oppressive and wrong.
Some of the guards should have been patrolling this side of the house, but where were they? Where was Sebastian’s increased security patrol?
After glancing at Ciara again, I left the bedroom to check in with the nightshift guards.
The house was equally quiet as was the garden—like someone’s grave.
I shivered at a sudden memory of visiting émile Ricard’s mausoleum.
That space had felt like this. Empty of life and far too still, even with émile in view in his stasis. I shivered again.
I crossed the bridge, walking quickly over the empty garden below, almost relieved when I reached the main house. There was something about being on that bridge tonight. I’d felt exposed, like no one was available if I’d called out.
I hadn’t felt like that in a long time. It was too human. So human I almost didn’t remember the uncomfortable chill in my veins and under my skin. But what the hell? I was a vampire. Strong. Sired by a born vampire. I didn’t fear anything.
Except losing my mate.
The chill filled me again as I took in my surroundings once more. Where were Sebastian’s regular guards at least? They’d certainly been taking themselves seriously when they’d prevented Ciara’s entry earlier.
I descended the main staircase, wariness settling over me. Something was wrong here, too. The same eerie stillness that had infected the garden made the air in the house thick, and there wasn’t a sign of any of the guards. Nothing moved at all.
I walked all of the rooms, sticking to the shadows, not even breathing so I could hear everything and nothing would hear me. Except nothing was here. No one was on guard.
There should have been at least five men in the house, but they were all gone. I completed my circuit back to the entrance hall and lifted my head, looking at the galleried landing above. I needed to check on Sebastian. If something had happened, the regent of New Orleans was the obvious target.
The double door to his suite was closed, and I didn’t knock before I eased one side open. This felt all wrong, too, like I was trespassing on private property.
I let loose an exhale of relief. Sebastian was asleep, and there were second breath sounds in the room. Both of them were safe. I crept closer and woke Sebastian.
When he would have made a noise, I pressed my hand against his mouth,
“It’s Jason,” I whispered. “Something’s wrong.”
He was alert within seconds, and I removed my hand when he nodded at me. “What do you mean?”
“The guards are gone.” I padded back toward the door. “I can’t find any of them.”
“Fuck.” Sebastian’s curse was as quiet as the sound of fabric as he slid some pants on behind me.
He joined me just outside his room. “You haven’t found any?”
“None on the first floor, none in the yard,” I confirmed.
“Shit.” Sebastian cursed again. “You checked out front?”
I shook my head. “No, I checked on you.”
He glanced back up the stairs to where Kayla was still asleep. “Thanks.”
“Any time.” He opened the front door and started to walk aside but he stopped so abruptly that I walked into the back of him.
“Shit,” he whispered again. “Fucking hell.”
I stepped to one side so I could see past him. “Shit,” I agreed.
Two Ancients stood a short distance away.
That wasn’t as many as the ones that took Francois, but I had no idea how powerful these beings were on their own.
I stepped slightly in front of Seb, my desire to protect and serve the members of the Dupont family still alive and well, even after all these years.
“You must bow down to us, acknowledge our superiority. Acknowledge that we are the true vampire royalty,” the taller of the two Ancients rapped out once they caught sight of us.
He looked at Seb as he spoke, but Seb merely chuckled, the sound casual and unhurried.
“Not today, gentlemen. Probably not tomorrow, either. In fact, speaking of tomorrow, would you like to return when you have an appointment? This hour is rather…antisocial. And if you could return my guards to their positions, I’d appreciate that. ”
“An appointment?” The Ancient’s forehead creased.
“Sure.” Sebastian nodded. “A discussion with House Dupont. See if we can settle any disagreements between us.”
“There is no discussion.” The second paper vampire spoke, his voice equally as harsh as the first’s. “We have a right to rule. Our rule is absolute.”
Sebastian tensed, and I stepped back in front of him, readying to fight on his behalf. Or alongside him. Whichever way this went.
But before anyone moved, one of the shadows by the building detached, and Nic stepped out beside us.
The Ancients turned to him.
Before they could say anything, he spoke. “I am Nicolas Dupont, Vampire King of Baton Rouge and New Orleans.”
New power rolled off him, more than the last time I saw him. Maybe this was what a successful mating did over time. Kyle also stepped from the shadows, his own power clear as he stood by Nic.
I was probably used to Sebastian’s power with the amount of time I spent with him and wouldn’t have noticed a gradual increase, but the elevation in the others was palpable. Would it work the same way for me?
Sam stood on the other side of Nic, looking ready for anything.
Kyle’s mate had changed since the last time I saw her, too.
I still had memories of her emaciated and skeletal as a thrall, and now she looked strong and scrappy.
Tough. I’d never seen a woman look as tough as Sam.
She really was the perfect match for Kyle.
And he said she had powers now. Compulsion. That was interesting.
It looked like they’d both pretty much become Nic’s personal bodyguards, and I couldn’t imagine better people for that role.
They were both strong and tough, and they took no shit from anyone.
Human life had molded them into people familiar with adversity, and being vampires ensured that no adversity could take them down.
“Where is Francois Ricard?” Nic’s words rang out crystal clear through the quiet night.
Both of the Ancients laughed.
“The heir is not your concern.” A breeze whipped up around them as the one who looked like he was in charge spoke.
“You do not need to ask after him. He is…” He paused and tilted his head as though musing over something.
“He is with us. He will follow in his father’s footsteps and learn to rule as tradition demands.
He will not give way or bow down to a false king. ”
“You bastards.” Nic’s fangs exploded from his gums, his face feral in seconds. “He was recovering. What the hell have you done to him?”
The pain on Nic’s face over Francois galvanized me into action. He and Sebastian leapt for one Ancient, while Kyle and I ran toward the second guy.
We’d fought together many times in the past, and familiarity left our movements coordinated.
We were a team of warriors prepared to defend our lands, and we had the skills necessary.
Even if we hadn’t discovered all we needed to know about the Ancients, we were each prepared to lay down our lives for our king and the crown.
“They have magic,” I called, although I wasn’t sure who I was warning. Probably all of us needed reminding, if we were going into this fight like a normal street brawl.
“Sam, keep watch. You know how to deal with any humans who stumble into this.” Kyle’s voice was its usual shade of gruff, but there was a gentleness there he didn’t usually use.
“And let us know if more Ancients appear.” He glanced at me.
“Nic thinks their power increases in numbers. We should be okay four against two.”
I nodded. Sounded great. Just fighting ancient vampires, then. I channeled all of my rage at Conri’s pack and the way they’d treated Ciara into my burst of speed, and I landed a punch square on the jaw of the Ancient.
His head snapped back, and Kyle roundhouse kicked his chest. I glanced at how Nic and Sebastian were coping with their Ancient, and they were also having a surprisingly easy time.
“What the hell?” I grunted as I evaded the Ancient’s fist. “I thought they were powerful?”
“Maybe not.” But Kyle didn’t look convinced about that.
Abruptly, the Ancient we were fighting was no longer in reach, but he hadn’t stepped away. He hadn’t even used superspeed. He was simply ten feet from us, and so was the guy Nic and Sebastian had been taking on.
“What the hell?” I said again. “Did that guy just fucking teleport?”
Kyle shrugged, and he looked at Nic and Sebastian. “What do we do now?”
But before either could answer, I turned completely cold, my insides freezing. “Something’s wrong.” My words were little more than gasps, and I stumbled.
My insides were collapsing on each other and fear gripped me, squeezing tighter and tighter. My heart beat faster, an indication of a danger I couldn’t see.
A scream from Sebastian’s house curdled my blood.
“That’s Ciara.” I was already running back toward the house. “I have to get to her.”
My mate was in danger. I’d never felt such sheer panic flowing though me.
I’d never worried so much about someone else.
Her fear filled my connection and magnified inside me.
The thought of her being in danger, when I had sworn so many times to protect her…
and Conri. He fucking trusted me now. He’d believed I could do it, that I’d stick to my word. I stumbled as I used my vampire speed.
Then I was racing up the staircase inside Sebastian’s house and across the bridge before I even thought consciously about the direction I needed to go in. Ciara was like a beacon to me. I just needed to reach her.
I burst through my bedroom door and stopped as my gaze landed on the bed, the blankets ruffled but the mattress empty.
“No!” I bellowed as I looked toward the broken window.
The others raced into the room behind me. I bellowed her name, my voice tapering off in a hoarse cry.
She was gone. Stolen from me.
Guilt crashed over me. I hadn’t protected her. I hadn’t kept her safe.
“They’ve taken her.” Sebastian reached for my elbow, his grasp a steadying one but also one that ensured I wouldn’t do anything stupid before we had a chance to discuss it.
Shards of glass littered the carpet by the window. But I could only focus on one thing. The shards of my heart in my chest at the fact my mate had been taken. I bellowed my rage again, and Sebastian’s grip tightened.
“We’ve got this,” he murmured. “We’ll get her back. We’ve got you.”
“I shouldn’t have left her.” I gritted my teeth, but my fangs pushed against my gums. I relished the pain. I deserved it. “I should have kept her by my side.” I didn’t look up. I couldn’t.
Kyle had Sam by his side, and that was where Ciara should have been—with me.
“She was too new,” Sebastian whispered. “She’s not at full strength yet. You did the right thing. She was always going to be safest here.”
But I shook my head. The evidence spoke for itself. I’d failed to protect my mate. I’d failed, and she was gone, and when Conri found out, he was going to kill me.
I’d endangered everything. Ciara, my future, Nic’s relationship with the wolves…all by making the wrong decision. Shit. I’d left her alone when all I could sense was danger. It was the worst thing I could have done.
She wasn’t here anymore, and it was because I’d fucked up. Conri would never forgive me. He’d only just started to accept me. He’d believed I’d protect Ciara with my life and now she was gone.
On my watch.
First Francois, now her.
“I have to tell Conri.” I floundered for a moment.
I had no other thoughts. “I’m going to be dogmeat.
” I looked into Sebastian’s face, and he recoiled a little, like he didn’t recognize me.
“I have to get her back. I have to get Ciara back. She’s my mate.
I can’t be without her. There’s no other option. ”
Sebastian nodded. “We’ll get her back.”
“I’ll find her again,” I declared. “I’ll find her, no matter what it takes.”
Even if it took my life, I’d recover my mate.
Of that, I was certain.