Chapter 11 #2
“That’s not what’s happening since they didn’t even tell me about that,” I promised him. “They saw how much we were doing for each other and how we could have a community like other supes instead of the lies—the shit you even said when you arrived. Why shouldn’t it be like that or—”
“You are all fight and passion, young warrior,” he muttered with another sad look. “You will burn bright but burn out if you do not pace yourself better. Many of us know that from experience.”
And then he was gone. Not just hidden like before, but somehow I knew he was gone.
“Well, that was fun,” I grumbled.
“Never boring around you,” Dylan muttered as if he expected me to apologize or something.
I didn’t.
He could still go fuck himself.
Hard.
He came to seek me out while I was undercover to apologize for one thing thinking he was the good guy because he didn’t pass along a message or… I couldn’t even try to make logic out of the stupid of him.
And I wasn’t going to lower my IQ trying.
Not anymore.
Aidan was waiting for me where I was staying with Mason and both were worried. Mostly because I was over an hour later than expected when I’d gone in for just extra snooping around.
“I felt something off,” Mason promised before I could open my mouth and give them the lecture that my job wasn’t nine-to-five and I would never… Nothing would ever be as planned. “Something felt off.”
“Yeah, you could say that,” I grumbled. “And I have no fucking clue what to do about it. Again. Always.” I apologized and mumbled that I needed a minute.
“And maybe to feed, darling,” Aidan suggested but then winced, shooting Mason a glance.
Right, so he couldn’t know about what we needed to discuss which didn’t complicate anything. Twit.
I quickly showered and gathered myself before apologizing to Mason again and turning to Aidan. “I think it best you not know what happened tonight given your dual loyalties. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t like it, but hopefully you will change your mind later and trust me,” he said as something dangerous moved behind his eyes.
And hurt.
“If it was just about me, I would. It’s not,” I said firmly and then raised an eyebrow like he was one to talk.
To which he sighed. Heavily.
Yeah, he really had no room to bitch, and I was understanding of whatever he was going to explain to me after all.
“Can I wait for you here to snuggle with after you handle whatever you need to?” he asked quietly. “I hated to just rush you out and…” He moved closer and cupped my cheek. “I miss you, darling. We shared something special and not—it was special.”
“It was special,” I agreed. I was glad when Mason agreed that it was fine with him. Then I stepped outside with Aidan and told him to fill me in.
The short version was pretty much exactly what I’d expected.
There were two different companies that catered to powerful vampires with a lot of money.
They were owned by humans and regulated by the council—someone or something else having some oversight that seemed stupid and dangerous, but all of it checks and balances.
And basically, they all had enough dirt on each other that no one would come out clean if the fight between them all started.
But it also wasn’t a bad deal, just something the average human would find distasteful.
The humans were all willing. They knew what they were getting into and were paid handsomely for it.
Yes, sex was allowed, but if sex was involved, there was a shifter bodyguard who was involved and wore a charm that meant no vampire tricks could be involved.
It was normal even for new clients or ones there had been questions about, but that cost more money, and that was why the women had been brushed off.
Nothing was perfect, but it was a system in place for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Also, no matter the century, the rule was always adult women since the bodies of children couldn’t donate blood.
And vampires didn’t bed children or they tore their own to shreds if they were so sick.
Too bad other species didn’t do the same for their pedophiles.
Normally, a feeder could work for five to seven years, some ten if they were selective in their clients and paid close attention to their health. So generally in their twenties, and if they didn’t blow the money and were smart, it was a leg up for them.
Aidan said it was common for him to check in on the feeders after they retired if the vampire was decent.
A few years back, he found one that was in her eighties and her ungrateful children took everything and stuck her in a home.
So he arranged for her to have a better senior life and punished the kids.
“You don’t spend years getting life from someone and not form any sort of affection for them unless you’re dead inside,” he said quietly as he stared out at the night.
“I’ve attended many funerals of my feeders.
It’s the dark side of it, and many of us pretend we don’t care or notice the humans who die around us.
But feeding has always been the dangerous part for us. ”
I snorted. He didn’t have to explain the troubles of feeding to a demon.
Especially not a demon who could strip the minds of someone by repeat feeding. Yeah, I fully understood.
“I don’t judge you for it and I won’t even tell the others,” I promised him.
I smiled when he seemed hesitant. “We set up humans to feed all the time, Aidan. They don’t know.
We do what we need to so we survive. Yeah, a demon feeding doesn’t affect them like a pint of blood as long as we behave or they’re not freaks like me, but—you’ll handle the problem. We’re good.”
“Thank you, Jasmine. Truly.”
I gave him a soft kiss because I could tell it had been a problem for him in the past. Someone in his life had clearly had a major problem with it or trashed him about it.
Well, that wasn’t me.
And I’d actually killed people from feeding. I had no room to judge anyone as long as they tried their best.
But then I reminded him that he’d already told me that he’d gone to feeders and let this slip. His response that he’d made a remark in passing that there were always ways and people knew how to get what they wanted was nothing. It sounded local and like to New York and his territory.
This was a global… Secret society kind of thing. Which—fair.
Yeah, fair enough. I’d just been ready to give him shit because he left the whole lying around in lingerie and obvious hopes of sex part off what he’d said.
Of course any smart man would have.
I checked to see if David was up and was glad it was actually only him. I told him everything and he had a few guesses as to who it could be but didn’t want to burden me with the information.
And what the higher-tier angel told me about the Nephilim was a complete shock to him. Like complete shock.
But he also was skeptical since not much was a shock anymore since angels didn’t keep their mouths shut on much. He would know better than me, but also they hadn’t had many details about my dad and that whole being born of evil thing I supposedly was so… Yeah, nothing was ever easy.
He asked for now I keep it all to myself and maybe only Elijah while he quietly discussed it with the others. That was fair.
For now.
Plus, I had other things on my plate like a whole huge meeting I’d mostly forgotten about. Fuck. Like… Fuck.
“I’m so sorry. I know you’re both waiting for me to come to bed, but I forgot something important, and I have—it’s for Friday morning German time,” I told Mason and Aidan when I got back. “And I have to go undercover right after. I’m so sorry. Please, go to bed and—”
“What can we help with?” Aidan asked gently.
He moved his fingers over my lips when I went to argue.
“I have a feeling I know what this is about and I’ve restructured a lot of times over my years.
I was very good at—I’m also on a successful council even if you saved our bottoms. Let me help. I’ll sign another NDA.”
“I can organize and chart out information, but it will all change too, Jasmine,” Mason muttered. “You’re exhausted.”
True, but I normally was.
Still, I caved because I trusted them both and I was glad I did because they were both beyond ridiculously helpful. Like gold stars all over the place helpful.
And that was how I walked into corporate Friday morning with the finalized version of the restructuring plans with decisions made as the big boss.
For the demon council—though we had to officially name it.
For Heavenly Entertainment.
For Heavenly Properties.
And for the German government.
So no big.