Chapter 13 - Ameera
13
AMEERA
“How does this feel?” I ask as I smooth my hands over the soft black cotton covering Anson’s broad muscular chest and sigh. I wish I had the time to tear it from his body and have my way with him again. We were all over each other for the last few hours, shagging twice in the shower and a few more times in bed before I reminded him the night was too short to spend all of it having sex, no matter how tempting it might be.
He places his hands over mine as a heated glint dances in his eyes. “It feels good.”
I arch a brow at him. “I meant the T-shirt.”
“Much better than my old scratchy ones,” he says with a smirk as he twines our fingers together. “The jeans and silk boxers feel better, too.”
I nod in satisfaction. I took the liberty of purchasing a new wardrobe for Anson of the softest fibers I could find, knowing how sensitive his skin would be to fabrics now that he’s a vampire. He’d have a fit if he knew how much the designer clothing cost. Thankfully, he hasn’t asked and I don’t plan on telling.
“I want to go to Haven Hall tonight,” Anson says. “I need to make sure the place isn’t falling apart with no one there to manage it.”
“I don’t think that’s wise,” I say with a slight grimace. Despite how much progress he’s made, I’m still leery of trusting his newfound control around that many humans so soon.
Anson pulls his hands away from mine as his face hardens and anger sparks to life in his eyes. “Are you planning on locking me up again?”
“Of course not,” I say as I take his hands in mine again. “But you haven’t proven your control enough yet.”
“How am I supposed to prove myself if you don’t give me the chance?” he says, his hands limp in my grip. “Wasn’t last night proof enough? I didn’t hurt Dre or Amber.”
“But you did try to hurt yourself.”
He says nothing as his anger bleeds away at my subdued words, to be replaced by unmistakable guilt.
“Besides, I tasked Lucian with taking care of the club while you’re away.”
And… now he’s angry again. “That shady motherfucker is running my club?” he asks, his eyes darkening toward black.
“It’s not as if you were volunteering any suggestions,” I reply, getting irritated myself now. “I did the best I could with the options I had.”
He glares at me, clenching and unclenching his jaw a few times, before his eyes soften. “I know you did,” he says. “I’m sorry. It’s just that all these emotions are…”
I reach up to cup his cheek after he trails off. “I know,” I say. “They’re a lot to deal with, but I promise it will get easier with time.”
He looks away. “I fucking hope so,” he murmurs.
I open my mouth to reassure him, but I’m interrupted by a knock on the door of the guest room. I sigh, then walk over to open the door and find one of my vampire guards standing outside.
“Sorry to bother you, Mistress,” he says. “But the Unity Pack Alpha and his enforcer are back to pick up their car, and they’re requesting an audience with you and Mr. Hale.”
Bollocks. I still haven’t told Anson about the reason for Logan Rourke’s first visit last night. I was so caught up in him I forgot to tell him what his father has been up to since he was turned. He’s not going to take it well, and I worry about how he’s going to react.
“Escort them to the sitting room, please,” I tell my guard. “We’ll be with them shortly.” I close the door as the guard walks away, then turn to face Anson.
“Well, that explains the strange car in the driveway,” Anson says.
“They saved our lives.”
He smirks. “And that explains why we spent the day in a trunk.” His amusement fades as he notices my distress. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s something you need to know before we meet with the werewolves.” I let out a deep sigh. “And you won’t like it.” I step closer and take his hands in mine, and he clutches my fingers with a wary expression. “It seems your father approached the Unity Pack Alpha, hoping to form an alliance to wage war against my brood.”
“What?” he says, blinking in surprise.
“He was reinstated as the head of the mage council, and now he’s out to avenge your apparent murder by my hands.”
“What?” he repeats, this time his voice rising.
“It was the reason Logan Rourke came here last night,” I continue. “He wanted to talk to you before he considered agreeing to anything your father proposed.”
“Fuck,” he says with a grimace. “It’s just like my sister’s situation all over again. Dad lost his shit when she was attacked by that rogue vampire. If it wasn’t for me convincing him otherwise, he would’ve started a war with the vampires back then.” He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “And now I’m not there to talk him down.” He opens his eyes and gives me an intense look. “I need to go talk to him.” He pulls his hands from mine and moves toward the door.
“Wait,” I say as I grab his arm. “We need to talk to Logan Rourke first. And as for your father? Do you honestly think he’ll even listen to you now?”
He frowns, his eyes pensive. “I don’t know,” he says. “But I have to try. I don’t want him coming after you because of me.”
“You’re not the one to blame for this, zem?r,” I say as my now all too familiar guilt raises its ugly head.
“Even so,” he says. “I have to stop this insanity before it becomes a bloodbath. I’m the only one who has any hope of succeeding.”
I nod as I try to ignore the hurt I feel, knowing he still hasn’t forgiven me. Yes, I’m well aware I’m a hypocrite since I haven’t forgiven him either.
“I agree, but let’s set up a meeting through official channels,” I say. “We can request a parley with the mage council, so our conversation hopefully won’t devolve into a physical battle.”
He stares at me for a long moment, then nods. “Okay. We’ll try it your way.”
“Good,” I say, relieved that he agreed without a battle of wills. “Now, let’s deal with Rourke and then I’ll contact the mage council.”
“And then I’m going to Haven Hall,” he says with a stubborn glint in his eyes.
Bloody hell, I don’t want to fight with him. We’ve only just made up, and everything between us still feels so uncertain. But he’s not ready to go out on his own yet, and to be honest, I’m not ready either. I almost lost him last night and I’m terrified he’ll try to greet the sun again or he’ll lose control and hurt someone. But I can’t keep him sequestered here in my home indefinitely. I didn’t turn him after he was murdered just to keep him from living the new life I gave him.
“Very well,” I say. “But I’m going with you.”
I tense, waiting for him to get angry again and to disagree, but to my relief, he nods in agreement. In fact, I could swear he looks relieved, too. That alone tells me how seriously he’s finally taking the lessons on being a vampire I’ve been trying to teach him and makes me feel better about my decision.
“Let’s go,” I say, then lead the way through the house and down to the sitting room.
Anson clasps my hand at the bottom of the stairs, and we present a united front as we enter the room where the two werewolves are waiting. Logan is sitting in a casual sprawl on one of the sofas while Grayson is standing in front of the mirror that’s the door to my daytime resting place. There’s a pensive look on his sharp features as he studies his reflection, but I suspect that’s not what he’s doing at all, since the man doesn’t strike me as vain. The last thing I need is a potential enemy figuring out where I spend my days.
“By all means,” I say, my voice cold. “Don’t stop admiring yourself on our account.”
Logan snorts in amusement, his gaze locked on our linked hands. Grayson turns and smirks as he makes his way to the sitting area, then perches on the edge of the sofa cushion next to Logan. I lead Anson to the sofa across from the two werewolves and we take a seat, our legs touching and our hands still clasped.
“Good to see you’re still around and kicking,” Logan says to Anson, taking control of this meeting and pissing me off.
“No thanks to that murderous cunt, Vanessa Durant,” I reply as I lift my chin.
Logan turns a questioning glance toward Anson, careful not to meet his eyes.
Anson nods. “The bitch shot me in the neck when I wouldn’t tell her where Ameera’s daytime resting place is.”
“So you consented to being turned?” Logan asks.
“There was no time to ask,” I say, feeling defensive. “He bled out in my arms in mere moments.”
Logan arches a brow at Anson. “And how do you feel about that?”
“It’s… complicated,” Anson says, then squeezes my hand. “But I am grateful to still be here.”
“Well, your father seems to think Miss Fatali here glamoured you into loving her, then murdered you and turned you against your will, and now he’s on the warpath about it.”
“That’s not what happened,” I say, my body tense and my voice laser sharp.
Anson squeezes my hand, his thumb moving in soothing circles over my skin. “He’s blinded by his hatred of vampires,” he says. “And until he’s convinced otherwise, he won’t accept any other narrative but the one that makes sense to him.”
“Can’t say I blame him after what happened to his daughter and the dementia spell Durant put on him,” Grayson says with a grimace. “And now this?” He flings a hand toward Anson. “No wonder he’s out of his damn mind.”
Anson stiffens, his hand squeezing mine so tight it would break bones if I were human. “My father is not out of his mind,” he says in a low snarl as his eyes darken to black.
I place my free hand on his knee. “Easy, zem?r,” I murmur. The last thing we need is Anson attacking the Unity Pack Enforcer and causing a political incident with the werewolves when we’re already on the brink of war with the mages.
Logan frowns at Grayson. “Forgive my brother’s thoughtless comment,” he says, revealing his familial relationship to his enforcer. “He doesn’t always keep his mouth shut when he ought to. Diplomacy isn’t exactly one of his strengths.”
Grayson glares at Logan. “Which is why I’m the Enforcer and not the Beta.”
The two brothers lock eyes for a long, uncomfortable moment that’s bristling with contention before Grayson averts his gaze and tilts his chin up to expose his throat to his alpha. Then Logan turns his attention back to us.
“We’ll let the two of you get back to your busy evening,” he says with the hint of a smirk as he rises to his feet. No doubt he can smell the remnants of what we were doing before his arrival.
Anson leaps to his feet with a scowl. “What the hell?” he says. “You’re just going to leave without telling us if you’re backing my father or not?”
Logan cocks his head. “What makes you think I owe you an explanation for anything I choose to do?”
“I don’t know,” Anson says, his eyes as black as coal and his fangs peeking out now. “How about common fucking decency?”
Logan glowers down at Anson, his eyes flashing aquamarine with his wolf. Great. Now he’s pissed off the Unity Pack Alpha. Thankfully, Anson realizes he’s taken things too far and regains control of himself, his eyes bleeding back to their usual pale blue as he takes in a deep breath and huffs it out.
“Please,” Anson says, his voice moderated now. “My father wants to go to war against the woman I love, and I need to know if you’re a threat to her now, too.”
Logan’s expression softens with sympathy, and his eyes return to their normal color. “Whatever contention there is between the mages and the vampires, the Unity Pack won’t be involved unless either side presents a direct threat to us.”
“Thank you,” I say as Anson nods, his features relaxing now that he has his temper under control.
Logan nods, then leaves the room with his brother at his heels. I don’t follow, knowing my guards at the top of the stairs will escort them outside and off the property. Anson drops back down onto the sofa next to me with a frown spreading across his face.
“How am I supposed to convince my father of anything now that I’m a vampire?” he asks.
“You’re still his son,” I say, placing a reassuring hand on his knee. “You’re still the brave and honorable man he raised. All you have to do is show him that.”
He puts his hand on mine, his expression anything but certain. “I hope you’re fucking right.”
I nod, despite the doubt weighing on my heart. “Me too, zem?r. Me too.”