Chapter 18 – Tristan
Chapter Eighteen
Tristan
“Why am I so unacceptable as her mate, Owen?” I asked with icy cool.
“Really?” Owen drawled. “This is a surprise to you? Why don’t I flip that around and ask you, what the hell do you have to offer a twenty-five-year-old human woman with a college degree and a promising career in law enforcement ? Tell us that.”
“It’s a good thing that I don’t fucking answer to you, or to anyone else for that matter.” I didn’t move from my relaxed pose against the wall. I knew that if I did that, I might kill the motherfucker for even trying to come between me and my mate.
“This is none of your damn business, Owen,” Kali muttered. “And I don’t need anyone to tell me that a man on Interpol’s Red Notice is not appropriate significant-other material.” She turned to glare at me as if I was gum stuck under her shoe.
“You knew that I had no idea what you were,” she accused. “You knew that what you are goes against everything I believe in. And you were still selfish enough to force a psychic bond on me that I had no awareness of! I’m a mortal, and you had to know that I didn’t know what you were doing when we formed a partial bond.”
“But you’re not just any mortal, are you?” I sneered. “You knew what I was, and don’t you dare play the innocent and pretend that you didn’t.”
“I…”
“No, don’t try it.” My teeth were locked so tightly together it felt as if I was spitting nails. “The very first moment we met, you knew I was a vampire. You sensed it and even told me as much. No normal mortal would react to meeting a vampire like that or even recognize one when they meet them. So, you are no normal mortal, or not just a mortal! I know it, and you know it too! It would stand to reason that you knew about the biology of vampires, how they eat, how they live, and how they mate.”
She glared at me, and I glared right back. “I didn’t know that having sex with a vampire meant you were mated to him for life,” she said sardonically. “I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t the first mortal you’ve ever slept with. What made me so special?”
“It’s not the sex that initiates mating, but it is the sex and the sharing of my blood simultaneously that triggers the mating process. Also,” I went on, ignoring her provocation regarding other women, “given the violence on display the first time we met, there is no way in hell you could have mistaken me for a fucking white knight.” I slowly, deliberately pushed off from the wall and leisurely strolled toward her, while ignoring Owen’s scowl of disapproval. “Notwithstanding my attire,” I said, several inches in front of her, “you knew that I wasn’t a good guy, and that I wasn’t averse to killing those fuckers who attacked you. So, don’t pretend that my bad-boy image isn’t what drew you to me.” I stopped directly in front of her, letting her feel and smell my body so close to hers. “You were not interested in a choirboy.”
Given we had yet to get our daily fix of each other, I knew she was just as thirsty for me as I was for her. If someone didn’t tell me soon that it is safe for me to drink her blood, I might just lose my damn mind.
“Irrespective of what you thought she knew, you had no right to claim her without telling her the truth about you,” Owen said harshly. “Your mafia life is not my only objection to this relationship. It is your complete disregard for women. Hell, you have never even had a relationship with a woman. Other than your mother and your sister, no woman has been in your life past a few hours in some random bed. Never even in your bed.”
“You know less than nothing about my sex life and stop pretending that you do. And you have no right to question my ability to commit,” I drawled. “Hell, you’re over nine hundred years old and haven’t settled down yet either.”
“But I’m not trying to lead an innocent young woman astray, am I?” He asked in that condescending tone that made me want to pummel him into the ground. “Nor am I trying to pretend to be something that I’m not.”
I spared him only a brief glare before turning my gaze onto my mate. Now that I was this close to her, and she was within touching distance, all I could think of was how she surrendered to me last night. It was an erotic reel of her taking me, taking the pleasure I dished out and giving sensual pleasure in return, images of her beautiful body undulating in ecstatic passion under me, and memories of her cries as she peaked and crashed over the precipice. A tight coil of need sent currents through me and, as my mate, through her as well.
“I knew that you would try to fight it,” I finally said softly, speaking directly to her and ignoring Owen’s disapproving scowl. “And even after our mating, you are still trying to fight what we are fated to be to each other. It is a fruitless endeavor. And if Owen was any kind of friend to you, he would tell you that!”
“It is impossible,” Owen spat.
“I won’t apologize for keeping some things from you because I was aware that you were keeping a major fact about yourself from me as well.” I continued to ignore Owen as he bristled indignantly at my dig. I didn’t give a fuck about his sensibilities. “You are no mere mortal. So, why don’t you both enlighten me?” This time I swung my gaze between them. “Kali has the strength and capabilities of a dhampir and drinks blood like a vampire, but she smells and presents as human. Tell me about that.”
“I smell and present as mortal because I am mortal. And you’re right, I’m not a vampire or a dhampir either,” Kali offered, but then she looked to Owen, as though asking permission to share further.
Owen sighed. “This is not her secret to tell,” he said as though tired of the whole thing.
It was Kali’s turn to frown at him. “If it isn’t mine, then whose is it? Alexi is dead, remember?”
‘What does Alexi have to do with this?” I asked in a shocked whisper. It knocked the air from my lungs hearing Alexi’s name from her lips.
Kali gave me an equally stunned look. “You knew Alexi?”
“Shit!” Owen growled.
“Talk!” That fast, my shock wore off, and I was now pissed.
“Alexi never wanted you boys to know about this.” Owen turned away, clearly unwilling to reveal Alexi’s secret, but he was also wavering.
I narrowed my eyes, my gaze swinging from Kali to Owen and back again before I settled on Kali. “Monique Williams is your mother, correct?”
“You know she is,” Kali said impatiently.
I nodded, confirming that I did, but I wanted that point to be clarified. “Alexi left your mother in my care.”
She frowned at me.
“And you have been doing a piss-poor job of it,” Owen grumbled.
This time I didn’t get annoyed with him because he continued to miss the obvious. I reached out telepathically to Luka, warning him that I was coming for a visit and to get Drako and Xander to his place in Russia. “We need to take a trip,” I told Owen.
“Ah shit! Do you think that is wise?”
I knew that he would sense my telepathic conversation even if he couldn’t hear it. “Yeah, I do,” I said emphatically.
Kali looked between us in confusion. “Is he one of Alexi’s sons?” she asked Owen.
Owen looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but here.
“I gather that you have never met my brothers?” I didn’t bother hiding my amusement or my anticipation at the thought of surprising Luka with information on Alexi that he knew nothing of. Nor did I waste time explaining what I was going to do.
I grabbed Kali’s hand and instantly teleported us to Luka’s castle in St. Petersburg, Russia, leaving Owen to make his own way there.
“Good morning, Uncle Tristan.” Orion’s smile made me feel warm all over, despite my cold frozen state of being. It was part of his dhampir allure, a magnetic enchantment, which always shocked me how powerful it was.
“Hey, little man.” I greeted him with a fist pump.
He grinned, not even pausing from stuffing his face with fluffy scrambled eggs and sausages.
It was a little past 8 a.m., and the family in residence, Luke, Luna, and Orion, were still sitting at the breakfast table. His other children, Zora and Apollo, are attending college and military school in England. It was a good thing that the castle had been Alexi’s residence before Luka’s, because it was equipped with blackout windows and drapes to protect the vampires within. And I had no worries on arriving to the castle during the day or at night.
“Hello, Tristan.” Luna also greeted me with a smile of welcome that I didn’t return.
“Luna,” was the extent of a greeting I could get out.
Luka glared at me, not liking how cold I was with Luna. Since Alexi’s death, I embraced my soulless, emotionless state and refused to let anyone in again, especially my family. Hell, the closest I’d come to feeling anything was with Kali, and all I’ve allowed myself to feel with her is lust, pure unadulterated lust.
Kali drew in a sharp breath as she got a first clear view of Luka. Yeah, it was always a sucker-punch to the stomach every time I saw him too. He was almost an exact replica of Alexi, only a younger version, and that is the only reason I didn’t lose my shit in his presence.
“Are you Uncle Tristan’s girlfriend?” Orion asked Kali.
“She is my guest, be nice,” I answered before Kali could. “This is Officer Kalista Black of the Las Vegas SWAT department.”
“Did the police finally catch you, Uncle Tristan?” Orion grinned with irreverence.
“No, I only realized that he was an international criminal a few hours ago,” Kali snarked. “Where are we by the way?”
“Alexi’s castle in St. Petersburg, Russia,” I told her.
“You brought me to Russia?!” Kali yelled and looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. “I have to go to work tomorrow, you ass! I can’t be out of the country!”
“I want whatever you and Owen are about to tell me to be heard by Luka, Drako, and Xander. It is their right. And it saves time not having to tell this story more than once.”
“Wait, what is this about?” Luka asked.
Owen took that moment to walk into the room with Aidan beside him. “Good morning, everyone,” they greeted almost in unison.
“Are we meeting in here?” Owen asked, after the chorus of greetings from Luka, Luna, and Orion.
“No,” Luka answered him. “Drako and Xander are waiting for us in the study. I gather you know what this is about?”
Owen sighed. “I wish to God that I didn’t know,” he muttered.
“This sounds serious,” Luna said quietly. “Should Danika, Alexandra, and I delay our trip to Haiti?”
“I don’t know what this is about, but you have been planning this trip for months. The jet is fueled in New York for your entry into Haiti. Since we can’t be with you, Drako and Xander agreed to have Boggs and Desmond accompany you. Apollo and Drago will be waiting on the plane for you.”
It didn’t surprise me that Alexandra and the other women would take such an interest in Haiti. All of us had Caribbean connections and even some relatives still living on the islands. Danika and I were born in Bermuda. Luna was from the island of Antigua and Barbuda. And Alexandra was originally from Haiti. Given the continued unrest there, the gang violence, and near starvation of so many of their poor, it was exactly the sort of work Luna, Danika, Alexandra, and Meredith had started their foundation for. Meredith was a full-blooded vampire, so she always worked behind the scenes in organizing and ensuring funding. But she very rarely took trips like this because there was no guarantee of proper vampire dwellings.
Luna sighed. “At least Danika and I will get to see our sons,” she grumbled. “Ever since they have been sent to a military school in England and are constantly following Tristan around with their fascination of the mafia, they haven’t been home in months.”
“They are young men trying to find their way,” Luka said soothingly. He bent toward her and kissed her gently.
Luna moaned softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss eagerly.
Luka lifted his head long moments later and whispered close to her ear, “I will join you in Haiti as soon as I can.”
Of course, with our enhanced senses, we heard every word he uttered clearly. Luka wasn’t speaking softly so we didn’t hear him. He was speaking soft to further comfort Luna and prepare them both for the coming separation that they would have to suffer through.
“It was nice meeting you, Kalista.” Luna stood from the table, closed the space between them, and hugged her.
Kali looked uncomfortable with the unexpected acceptance and welcome from my family. I was pleased that I hadn’t been wrong to have faith in my family’s generosity.
Luka led the way to the study.
I wasn’t surprised that Kali didn’t protest when I held her hand along the way. Her need for me must have been riding her as hard as my need for her was.
As soon as we entered the room, though, she tried to pull her hand back, but I wasn’t having any of that.
Drako wore his usual irreverent smirk, and Xander stood in the far corner of the room with the cool facade he usually reserved for strangers. I guess Kali was the stranger. I should have expected that from him. He still had episodes of melancholy from his past trauma.