Chapter 7 #2
He kept telling himself that he was getting a second chance, but it wasn’t a real second chance. He’d never taken a first chance. They’d both died and been reborn new people in new lives.
Fine. Then it was their first chance as vampire Ronan and vampire Aiden.
If he’d met Aiden one evening while hunting or pursuing some amusement, he still would have been stopped by his beauty and entrancing smile.
He would have stopped to hear his laugh, his voice.
Ronan would have definitely tried to seduce him.
Fuck Mara and the European Ministry. Fuck the world.
He still wanted to try this, whether it was a first or a second chance.
He needed to know who was walking around in Aiden’s body, because he thought there might be a small chance that he could love this man at least half as much as he loved human Aiden.
And that was still a hell of a lot of love.
Mara glared at him, releasing a slow, irritated breath, but at least she didn’t argue with him. “Should I question whether your allegiance to the Ministry has wavered due to this unexpected development?”
Ronan smirked. “I’m as loyal to the Ministry as I’ve ever been. Nothing on that front has changed.”
Of course, he didn’t feel the need to explain that his loyalty to the vampire-ruling body was kind of ankle-deep at best. He’d spent most of his existence ignoring them, and when he became older than the majority of the ministers, he outright avoided them.
It was only out of boredom that he agreed to work for the Ministry.
Existence had become tedious, and he’d grown too out of touch with life.
He’d thought a job would give him some purpose.
The job didn’t give him any kind of pleasure, but at least it got him out of bed each night.
“So be it,” Mara muttered. “Our task remains the same. We need to uncover how easily Aiden can be influenced by the European Ministry. The last governing body in this land was quite open to whispers from Europe, and the ministers would like to resume that arrangement.”
“Why? Why does it matter what’s happening over here? Doesn’t the European Ministry have enough trouble on its hands worrying about what’s happening in Europe?” Ronan snapped.
Mara reclined in her seat, her hands neatly folded across her tiny stomach as she glared at him.
“It matters because when radical ideas take hold in the US and other territories, vampires in Europe start getting the crazy idea that they can have it as well. What if King Aiden decides to inform American humans that vampires are real? Do you think that information is going to just stop at the ocean? Do you think such a thing isn’t going to impact vampires in Europe?
And what about this insanity of mating with werewolves? That breaks the old accords.”
“And the European Ministry thinks it’s wiser to simply control him rather than treat him like an equal, have a conversation with him?” Ronan was hard-pressed to keep the disgust from his voice.
Mara barked out a high-pitched laugh. “An equal? Do you really think he’s an equal to the European Ministry?”
Ronan wanted to say that he thought Aiden was superior to all of the Ministry members combined, but that wasn’t going to help his or Aiden’s cause, so he kept his mouth shut. He’d probably said too much already, but he couldn’t help himself when it came to Aiden.
“It’s in everyone’s best interests if the European Ministry has a hand in what happens in this region. If Aiden’s smart, he’ll understand this implicitly.”
“And exactly how are you planning to uncover how malleable Aiden is willing to be to the Ministry’s wishes?” There. That came out without a pound of sarcasm.
“A test,” Mara announced with far too much smugness.
“Christopher Heller and his clan were followers of Damon James. They don’t wish to leave the US territory as Aiden ordered after he defeated Damon.
They have been in hiding the past six months.
They would like for Aiden to formally pardon them and allow them to remain in the Americas. ”
A harsh, incredulous laugh left Ronan as he flopped back down on his pillows.
“Really? You expect him to just forgive the man who actively worked to kill him and his clan. But not only that, you want Aiden to allow him to keep his little cabal of power so he can plot and scheme against the Variks yet again. So the Ministry thinks Aiden, who clearly survived assassination attempts and general chaotic upheaval leading up to him seizing power, is a complete and utter moron.”
Ronan scrubbed a hand over his face. This…this was why he’d stayed away from the Ministry and their out-of-touch insanity. How he’d thought working for the Ministry would put him more in touch with the people of this period was beyond him.
“I’m sure Christopher will have no qualms over swearing allegiance to King Aiden once he is pardoned,” Mara said in her usual dead voice. Ronan narrowed his eyes on her, but he honestly couldn’t tell if the woman actually believed what she was saying. He prayed not.
“This is ludicrous and we both know it,” Ronan muttered. “I can’t imagine in what world Aiden would agree to this. What exactly are you planning to whisper in his ear to convince him of this so-called wisdom?”
“I don’t know. What are you planning to whisper in his ear?” Mara countered.
“No!” Ronan launched himself off the bed and to his feet.
He took a step toward Mara, and Michael finally moved a muscle for the first time since Ronan had entered the room.
The tall vampire took a step toward Mara as well, as if he planned to place himself between Mara and Ronan.
It was on the tip of Ronan’s tongue to dare the vampire to take a fucking swing at him.
At this point, he was so pissed, he was sure a little physical violence was the only way he was going to calm down again.
But he didn’t. He stalked toward the door to his room, putting some much-needed distance between himself and Mara.
“That was not part of the job description when I was assigned to this little emissary mission. I’m supposed to back you up, make sure you don’t get your head removed from your body,” Ronan snarled as he turned and walked toward the bed. There wasn’t nearly enough room to properly pace.
“Yes, support me,” she repeated, her smug smile still firmly in place.
“As part of that support, you’re going to use your obvious influence over Aiden to sway him in the right direction.
Since you’ve known each other in the past, it will be much easier for you to speak with him and convince him of the wisdom of aligning with the European Ministry’s wishes. ”
Ronan was gritting his teeth so hard, he was sure one of the molars was about to crack.
This was complete and utter bullshit. Even if by some wild and insane coincidence Ronan agreed with this stupidity, there was no way in hell Aiden was going to listen to him.
Yes, they had some long and distant past that had at one time bonded them as friends, but the vampire clearly didn’t trust him now.
The reason for that lack of trust was blatantly obvious now.
Aiden was a freaking genius for not trusting him.
The Ministry might have zero clue as to the extent of their history, but at just the barest whiff of a past and they were practically tripping over themselves to use Ronan against Aiden.
Fuck Aiden’s wishes. Fuck what was best for the Variks and all of the Americas. It was all about what they wanted.
There was no doubt in Ronan’s mind that Mara had already called her contact in the Ministry to report that Ronan was familiar with Aiden.
Ronan would also have to face some kind of hell for not coming forward with his past knowledge of the new king.
Not that he was worried about it. They’d made some vague threats in the past, but not one of them had the balls to try to back any of it up with more than talk.
But now was not a good time to test any of them.
“What happens if I fail to convince him of the Ministry’s wisdom?” Ronan ground out between his teeth.
Mara uncrossed her legs and pushed to her feet.
“Obviously if Aiden refuses to pardon the clan and allow them to remain in this territory, the Variks will need to be removed from power.” The vampire’s tone was casual and indifferent, as if she’d been discussing where she planned to dine later that night.
As if she hadn’t just spoken of the execution of more than a dozen clan members because the Ministry couldn’t get its way.
“If Aiden balks at your suggestion, maybe you could tell him about the neat little jobs that you completed for the Ministry. Maybe that would convince him.”
Sickening cold swept through Ronan, freezing the blood in his veins.
While he wanted to share everything with Aiden, he didn’t want to talk about the kinds of jobs he completed for the Ministry.
His friend didn’t need to know how much blood was on his hands.
Too much, even for a vampire of his advanced years.
A vampire didn’t live as long as he did without killing. Aiden had undoubtedly killed to survive, but what Ronan had done over the past few decades wasn’t about survival.
Ronan mutely stepped out of her path as she walked toward the door of his hotel room with Michael following in her wake.
As she reached the door, her cold voice drifted down the short hall to him. “Of course you understand, if you warn him of the Ministry’s plan, we’ll have to kill you and the Variks. The Ministry doesn’t appreciate loose ends.”
No, that parting threat wasn’t a shock in the least.
At the click of the latch, Ronan shuffled over to the bed and sat on the edge.
With his elbows on his knees, he placed his face into his hands and groaned.
What the hell was he supposed to do? Well, there was no way in hell he was going to try to convince Aiden to listen to the European Ministry and their nonsense.
Not only did it undermine any kind of authority the vampire had, but it left him and his family open to attack in their backyard. It was insane!
But if he didn’t, the Variks were still under threat from the European Ministry.
And if he told them, they were going to be threatened. At least then, they’d understand what the danger was and could do something about it.
Ronan snorted. Saving his ass hadn’t even entered the equation in his mind. He’d picked a lot of fights in his existence, but never one as large as standing against the entire European Ministry. He might have bitten off more than he could chew.
Should he have not come to the US to see Aiden?
No, even if it was the last time he ever got to see him, at least he could warn the man and his family. No one else the Ministry could have sent would have given him the same courtesy.