Chapter 19 – Tristan
Chapter Nineteen
Tristan
“Good morning, gentlemen,” I greeted them. “This is Officer Kalista Black, the daughter of Monique Williams, and she is my mate.”
“Damn, that was fast.” Drako laughed.
“I am not his mate!” Kali denied, her eyes spitting fire at me.
“Trouble in paradise already?” Drako teased.
“Drako, cut your shit,” Luka ordered. “What’s going on?” Luka gave me a hard look.
A look which I ignored because my relationship with Kali was our business, and I didn’t give a fuck who didn’t like it. Instead, I focused on why I’d brought her here.
“Kali seems to have some connection to Alexi that he didn’t want us to know about while he was alive,” I told them.
Luka moved closer to Kali and looked down at her. “Is this true?” he asked her harshly.
“Back the fuck up.” I got in his face, creating a barrier between him and Kali. “And don’t talk to her like that.”
“Look, if she knows something about Papa that we knew nothing of, she needs to tell us,” Luka said coldly.
“That is precisely why I brought her here,” I hissed. “But I won’t have you intimidating or being rude to her.”
“This is all unnecessary,” Owen muttered. “Come sit over here, lass.” He indicated an armchair next to him.
I was having none of that either. I grabbed her hand and guided her to a sofa, where I pulled her to sit down beside me.
“Stop manhandling me,” Kali demanded.
Everyone found a seat, except Xander, who didn’t move from his brooding spot in the corner of the room. Luka sat behind his desk, while Owen, Aidan, and Drako sat on three of the five armchairs in the room.
“In what way does she know Papa?” Xander asked. Despite the fact that he sounded as if he was asking about the weather, we knew that he cared deeply. He was just as messed up about Papa dying as I was, except he felt responsible for Papa’s death, while I felt too many damn things to even try to analyze.
“She was his ward,” Owen offered.
“You mean like Alexandra?” I asked. “I want clarification because if Papa eventually told us about Alexandra, why would he not want us to know about Kali even after his death?”
“Was she perhaps something more than a ward?” Luka asked silkily.
“Fuck you, Luka.” I let that ass see that he was seconds from getting his face smashed in. My eyes bled to deep red, my fangs descended past my lower lip, and my fingernails were elongated and razor sharp. I could tear him to shreds within seconds. However, Luka could also liquify my brains within seconds as well. We were two lethal motherfuckers and would probably end up killing each other. Instead, I contented myself with verbally insulting him. “Don’t be a dick.” Which came out with a lisp because of my fangs.
“The only relationship I had with your father was being his goddaughter,” Kali told him, not hiding the fact that she was annoyed. “And I have no idea why he didn’t introduce me to you.”
“That is because you were not his goddaughter,” Owen said quietly. He sighed as if trying to gather the words to tell his tale.
“Wait, don’t tell me she’s our sister.” Drako’s voice was filled with faux dramatization.
“What?!” Kali shrieked. “What is wrong with you people? Alexi was a sweet man. He was always there for me. Always supportive, encouraging, and he made sure that I survived my mother’s selfishness and craziness. He was not my lover or my damn sperm donor.” She glared at us while shaking her head. “He must be rolling in his grave to hear this kind of disrespect associated with his name.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Alexi was not in a grave but had turned to dust within seconds of his death.
“The lass is right,” Aidan said quietly. “There was no formal label for their relationship, but Alexi felt responsible for her.”
“But why?” Kali looked troubled now. It was clear that the assumption she had about her relationship with Alexi wasn’t what she thought it was. “Why did he take care of me if he wasn’t my godfather? I mean my mother always resented our relationship, but she never interfered. I’ve always thought that it was strange that she didn’t really know who Alexi or the wolves were, and that she made Alexi my godfather because of his wealth, but I never guessed that he wasn’t my godfather at all. What didn’t I know?”
“Look, lass, don’t for one moment forget that Alexi loved you,” Aidan told her. “It didn’t matter what label you gave to your relationship. He cared about your wellbeing and did everything he could to ensure that you were safe, ate proper meals, went to the right schools, and basically had a good chance for a productive life.”
“Aidan was with Alexi whenever he visited you, so he understood Alexi’s motivations best,” Owen piped in.
“Papa helped many people like that, and it was never a secret from us,” Xander said coolly. “Stop stalling and tell us this secret that we weren’t supposed to know.”
“I’m not so sure Papa wanted it to remain a secret any longer,” I told them. “If he wanted his secret to remain a secret, he could have left Monique Williams with a pot-load of money, not tasked me with her care, and we would have remained ignorant of Kali.”
“He couldn’t have left my mother with any money, not even in a trust, because she would have blown through whatever funds she got and would have probably destroyed herself with the drugs and alcohol she would have bought with that kind of money.”
“He could have left it to you and have you take care of her.” I needed my theory to be correct because I needed to believe that Papa wanted us to know his secret. I wanted to believe that Papa left her for me.
“Alexi created a trust fund for me when I was a baby,” Kali said nonchalantly. “Owen is the trustee. However, I learned a long time ago to never let my mother know that I have money. Besides, Owen would never give her access to money. It would feed her gambling and drug habits.”
“You have money and still decided to work as a police officer?” I didn’t try to hide my admiration. How could she be so perfect for me? “That’s impressive,” I praised.
“You guys don’t need to work, and yet you do,” Kali dismissed. “Alexi was always so proud of how hard you guys worked. He talked about you all the time. There is no way I could have let him down by not displaying that same dedication to work, to being productive and the helping others.”
“If we didn’t work, we would be broke,” Luka said dryly. And then he grinned as if having a fond memory. We didn’t have to guess what those memories were though. “Alexi made us give up most of our personal wealth every century, wanting us to remain humble, never become materialistic. He wanted us to embrace each new century hopeful and striving for better.” He twisted his lips as if the memory had just turned bittersweet. “We were at least allowed to preserve the assets of the Petrov Organization. Too many lives would be impacted by a liquidation of that.”
“Yeah, so we’re not completely broke.” Drako grinned.
“But we are completely off-topic,” Xander said calmly.
“I was trying to get Owen to see that Papa no longer felt the need to hide his secret from us,” I told him.
Xander shrugged. “I agree.”
Owen sighed again. “At this point, it probably doesn’t matter what Alexi intended. You need to understand why Kali can never be your mate.”
“I don’t need to understand shit.” My voice vibrated throughout the room with fury. I met his gaze head-on, letting him see the absolute resolve in my eyes. “No one, and I mean no one, will take her away from me. Kali is my mate. There is no changing that.”
“We will see about that,” Owen warned. “Kali was not Alexi’s daughter or goddaughter, and he was not her guardian.”
“Yeah, you said that,” Xander gritted. “Stop fucking stalling and tell us.”
Owen remained silent for so long I thought that he might never answer, but Luka, Drako, Xander, and I were not backing down. “Alexi felt responsible for her because he fell victim to bloodlust and lost his head one night. He fucked and fed from Monique when she was only a few weeks pregnant with Kali.”
“What the fuck?” Not at all what I was expecting.
“Oh my God.” Kali looked pale with shock. It was clear that she knew nothing of this.
“How did that happen?” Luka looked as incredulous as I felt. “Papa could scent when a woman is pregnant and could hear a fetal heartbeat. He wouldn’t have ever fed from a pregnant woman. That’s too much risk. Risk to the mother and the fetus.”
“You aren’t listening,” Owen muttered. “He was out of his mind in bloodlust, and Monique was only a few months pregnant, not blatantly noticeable. He wouldn’t have been able to scent her in his state or hear a fetal heartbeat.”
“Fuck!” That is the only word that kept reverberating in my head. “That situation would have torn up a man as honorable and gentle as Papa.”
“Yeah,” Owen said with a twist of his lips. “Alexi was devastated when he called me. He didn’t even tell Aidan.”
“I never knew that,” Aidan confirmed with a frown. “I thought that some other vampire had fucked up. And given Alexi’s obsession with ensuring Kali’s safety, I thought it was Adam.”
“So, only Owen knew the truth?” I needed clarification.
“Yes,” Owen answered before Aidan could. “We had no idea what the impact would be to a fetus exposed not only to vampire venom but also his essence. A fetus, just a mass of cells at that point, was more vulnerable than an adult human. That’s why initially we were only trying to keep tabs on her. We thought that there was no need to get anyone else involved.”
“But obviously I was fine,” Kali sneered. “Why would he keep coming around? Did he keep fucking my mother?”
“Oh, no, don’t think of trying to demean Papa’s relationship with you, piccola tigre, ” I told her. “Once there was a chance that his DNA would turn you, he could never have abandoned you. He would have considered you his daughter, his responsibility.”
“Exactly,” Owen agreed.
Luka, Drako, and Xander nodded their agreements.
“But why?” Kali was still struggling with how Alexi entered her life.
“Adam Dressler,” Xander muttered.
“Who?” Clearly, Kali knew nothing about Papa’s number one arch-nemesis. “Is this the same Adam that Aidan mentioned?”
“Up until five years ago, Adam Dressler was the oldest vampire in existence other than Papa, and he also happened to be a vampire who had been turned by Papa,” Luka started thoughtfully. He held my gaze for a few seconds as if asking for my permission.
I nodded anyway. Kali needed to hear this to understand why Papa needed to watch over her.
Luka returned my nod. His expression remained grim though. “Adam had killed every other vampire Alexi had turned, one by one until only Adam was left. Papa was sickened by such waste of life and couldn’t come to terms with Adam becoming so unhinged.” Luka had a faraway look in his eyes.
“When he found out about us, he became obsessed with killing us too,” Luka continued. “He spent centuries trying to kill us. It was an obsession that became manic when I found Luna. He tried turning Luna into a vampire with the help of Xander’s mate, who was also a vampire. She mistakenly turned Luna’s best friend into a vampire instead. Adam became enraged and stupidly enlisted the help of other immortals to launch a massive attack against us. He lost badly. Unfortunately, many lives were lost unnecessarily. Papa blamed himself for that too.”
“Adam came after my mate and her family next,” Drako muttered. “Tristan got caught in the middle of that madness, and Adam turned him into a brainless minion. To save Tristan, Papa turned him into a vampire, after spending centuries unwilling to turn any human. That’s why Papa kept Tristan close to him, wanting to ensure that Tristan didn’t turn evil, as Adam had.”
“Well, he would be disappointed about that now, wouldn’t he?” Owen drawled.
“Fuck you,” I told Owen without much heat, because I wasn’t sure that Papa would approve of what I was doing or not.
“What do you mean by that, Owen?” Luka frowned at his longtime friend and bodyguard.
“Tristan has turned himself into a criminal after everything Alexi has done to keep him away from that life.” Owen shrugged as if he thought what he was saying was obvious.
“But he’s not a criminal though, not really,” Xander said quietly.
“He is the fucking Godfather!” Owen growled. “That’s the very definition of a criminal. A killer, thief, slaver, and damn liar all rolled in one.”
“Tristan forced the mafia to accept him as their Godfather, but he has been cleaning that organization from the inside out.” Luka frowned at Owen. “Cyrus and Aidan are with him twenty-four-seven. Didn’t they tell you what Tristan’s really up to?”
“Cyrus and I wouldn’t talk mafia business to anyone,” Aidan interrupted. “It could add even more danger around Tristan and could derail his efforts.”
“How much danger could he possibly have been in around humans?” Owen muttered.
“Not dangerous for him, but dangerous for the humans who seemed intent on pissing him off,” Aidan explained.
“I don’t need you guys to defend me,” I muttered. “And I don’t need the wolves’ approval on how I run my life.”
“Don’t go getting your boxers in a twist.” Owen waved his hand at me as if to say shut up because he was listening to Luka. “What do you mean, he’s cleaning the organization? He’s cleaning up the Italian mafia?”
“I’m the Godfather for the Italian and Sicilian mafia,” I clarified. “So, I’m cleaning up all of it. Making it stronger, bigger, and more of an asset to the territory the organization is in instead of a threat.”
“I know that you took over the two organizations,” Owen dismissed carelessly. “Why wasn’t I brought up to speed on the changes you were making? Last I checked, I’m still responsible for the security of this family. And how the hell are you cleaning their criminal activities?”
“The usual way,” I said vaguely, pissed that he thought he had the right to question me.
“For starters, he has given them legal means to purchase weapons at a discount from us,” Drako offered.
It always stuns me how readily Luka, Drako, and Xander accepted me as one of them. They’ve always been generous in sharing their father’s love with me.
“All that will do is give them more ability to terrorize their territories,” Owen scoffed.
“Look, stronzo— ” I snarled, but Luka interrupted me.
“No, they are using their weapons to secure their territories for themselves and everyone dependent on those areas for a livelihood.” It was Luka’s turn to play big brother. “Drako said, ‘for starters,’ and that means that Tristan’s plans are more complex than that. So far, about half of all mafia businesses in the United States have been made legitimate with no more forced prostitution, drug trafficking, or preying on small business for tithes.”
“Don’t make us sound like choirboys, because we aren’t.” I resented the fuck out of them for looking down on the mafia world as if we didn’t have a right to our vices. “As long as humans like expensive shit, like indulging in vices, or like engaging in sin, the mafia will serve its purpose. We offer luxury cars, clothes, jewelry, and easy access to drugs, gambling, guns, and sex. That I have not changed, and I won’t. The church promotes morality and order, while we offer sin and excess. We’re the fucking mafia. So, yes, I have broadened our investment in legitimate businesses like real estate, construction, luxury car rental, and even electronics, but we are still a violent organization that would kill anyone trying to fuck with our businesses.”
Luka gave me a leveled look as if to say, Dude, you’re not helping your cause.
But I wasn’t about to pretend to be something I’m not. I’m a killer; it’s in my job description, name, and in my DNA, for fuck’s sake. Kali was going to have to deal. Owen? I didn’t give a damn what he thought. And my brothers were wasting their time trying to make me care about Owen’s opinion.
Luka sighed and continued his little speech. “Aidan and Cyrus should have brought you into the loop because things are very volatile right now, not only with the old-school Sicilian mafiosos but also with the other crime syndicates that are mounting even more frequent attacks. And now that Tristan will take on a human family, Monique and her children, his and their security details need to be reinforced.”
Owen might be the oldest immortal in the room and the alpha of his wolfpack, but Luka was the head of our family, and Owen and his entire pack were considered part of the Petrov family.
“I see,” Owen said thoughtfully, looking at me with sober interest.
“The point—before we got sidetracked with my supposed fall from grace—is that I don’t think Papa kept you hidden because he was ashamed of what he had done. I think he kept you hidden for your own safety. Anyone brought into our orbit was put in mortal danger. You and your family would have been easy victims for Adam and his crew.”
Again, my Petrov brothers agreed with me by nodding and giving Kali an encouraging regard.
Kali wore that pissed-off, lost look for a few more seconds before her expression cleared, and then she looked back at me expectantly. “Are you sure? Alexi had always been careful of you guys finding out about me.”
“I’m not saying that he didn’t have some reservations about introducing you to us,” I told her, “because I’m certain that he wouldn’t have wanted us to know about his momentary weakness while he was alive.”
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Xander started, “if you didn’t know about Papa and your mother, what did you think drove him to foster such a strong relationship with you?”
“Alexi told me that he knew my mother while she was pregnant with me,” she said quietly. “I thought it might be sexually, but he never admitted as much.”
“Well, that’s an understatement,” Drako quipped.
“Don’t forget her powers,” I added. “Papa would have wanted to be there to monitor that.”
“You exhibit powers?” Luka asked in awe.
Kali nodded hesitantly, making it clear that this was not something she shared with others. Hell, she had yet to fully discuss it with me.
“From what I have noted, she has the dhampir powers in spades,” I offered, “although not as strong as you three, or even as strong as the children. However, her powers are stronger than other dhampirs.”
“Alexi thought that my powers and my thirst for blood would fade by my thirtieth birthday if I remained in the mortal world. However, about a year after he died, I noticed that my appetite for blood had increased, going from maybe once a month to once a week. It is the main reason I can’t have my mother and siblings live with me yet. They have no idea about my abilities or my food choices, and I want to keep it that way.”
“Yeah, that would be a challenge when you’re trying to live in the mortal world.” I gave her a smile of encouragement to continue.
She held my gaze and said softly, “Since you entered my life, I’ve felt stronger, faster, but I’m also compelled to feed daily. In fact, my thirst is always simmering for either blood or you. I only feel sated when…” Her voice faded as if she was only then realizing what she was revealing. She looked around the room and closed her eyes briefly, before opening them again and looked at me sheepishly.
Hell yeah! I wanted to pound my chest and roar with satisfaction that she was going through the same discomfort as me. I knew she was feeling the same, but she never admitted it to me before. Now more than ever, I knew that she was my mate.
She cleared her throat. “Anyway, do any of you know what this means? Alexi thought that my power would wane with age, but the opposite is true.”
“Where you were concerned, Alexi and I had to guess at what your abilities meant,” Owen said thoughtfully. “We had never come across it before, nor could we put a label on it. As Tristan put out earlier, you exhibit some traits of a dhampir, but you present as human. We never got even a hint of vampire blood from your scent or aura.” Owen sighed and looked at me with a disapproving frown before turning back to Kali. “Your increased appetite around Tristan is probably as he claims—you’re his mate. Now, of course, your scent is mixed with Tristan’s, and I’m again uncertain as to what you are.”
“Do I have to have a label now?”
Owen’s frown deepened with concern. “Unfortunately, yes. If you are Tristan’s mate, he needs to understand how his mating bite will affect you. Usually, a mating bite will turn a human female, and that’s why the mating between a vampire and human is discouraged. However, given Alexi’s biology, which has impacted both you and Tristan, anything could happen.” Owen then explained about how Alexi became a vampire in the first place, how it made us all different from other vampires, why we were stronger and had more gifts than other immortals. He even told her about the significance of fated mates, which I hadn’t given a thought to.
All I had been certain of was that she is mine, and everything else didn’t matter to me.
“She could be a fated mate like our mates,” Luka offered.
“Yes, that could be true,” Xander said thoughtfully, “and probably how Alexi knew that she was Tristan’s mate, and the real reason why he didn’t let on about who she was to him. Knowing you Tristan, you would have stubbornly refused to go meet her.”
“To be honest, guys, I still have no clue,” Owen admitted. “However, it seems that her aging has slowed down too. She looks the same as she did five years ago.”
“Yeah.” It was Luka’s turn to sigh. “It would help us to determine what will happen to you if Owen can better label you,” Luka said quietly to Kali.
The silence in the room was not only loud, but it was also tense. After the heavy conversation, all of us felt the weight of the responsibility Papa must have felt for such an unknown power.
“Now that we know,” Drako started soberly, “you need to be moved into the immortal world until we know for certain what’s happening.”
“Moved?” Kali shrieked. “I’m not moving anywhere. I have a family, I have a job, and I have friends.”
“Kali, listen.” I tried to calm her. “I know this is hard to hear, but you said it yourself. Your powers are changing, and your cravings for blood are getting more frequent. You need to be around people who understand what you’re going through and can be there when you need us. We can move your mother and siblings to make this easier if need be.” I felt lighter as the decision settled in me. I thought with the task I had set myself for the mafia that I had no more capacity to split my attention and energy. But in accepting Kali as my mate, I’ve accepted responsibility for her family, now my family too.
“No. I can’t make a decision like that right now.” She looked around anxiously as if she felt cornered and wanted to bolt. “Look, I appreciate you guys being so gracious in accepting me after all the secrecy of the past. I truly appreciate that and look forward to meeting the rest of the family soon. But, it’s late, and I need to get to work in a few hours.” She bit her lower lip and continued to look uneasily back at us. “I promise to give some thought to everything you’ve all told me… and I’ll make a decision soon.”
It was already after 2 a.m. in Las Vegas, and given her determined expression, we were not going to change her mind now.
“I will take you back to your apartment, and Owen will watch over your family for the rest of the night, but we can’t leave the situation with your family as is,” I told her. “Alexi left them to me to care for, and they are your family… Now mine. I will protect them the best way I can.”
Luka nodded for Kali’s benefit, but he sent a telepathic message to the rest of us. “Same protocol as all the other mortal family members?”
“That’s best,” I messaged back.
“I can protect my family,” Kali insisted.
“Yesterday you probably could have, but now that others know of your connection to me, you will need more resources to protect them properly.”
“I will cross that road when I get to it,” she said emphatically. Her eyes iced in a hard glare of indignation.
“Don’t let pride cost you your family’s lives, Kali,” Owen admonished.
“Wow, do your eyes usually do that?” Drako suddenly asked Kali.
“Do what?” Kali grouched.
“It seems that Kali has quite a bit of dad’s DNA,” Luka said thoughtfully.
“I’ve always thought so,” Owen teased. “It’s probably why she’s so stubborn. That’s a Petrov trait.”
“I’m not being stubborn,” Kali protested. “I’m simply going to do what I should have done a long time ago.” She sighed as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders, coming back to the discussion about her family. Her brows drew together in a thoughtful frown. “Yes, you can probably afford to put my family somewhere away from Vegas, but I’ve stood on the periphery of their lives too long. My siblings need me. They can’t continue to grow up with my mother guiding them. She is too angry, too bitter. I had Alexi, Owen, and the wolves. They have no one.”
“They have us,” Luka said emphatically. “You, your siblings, and your mother are now part of our family. You are not alone. And seeing the evidence of our shared DNA, we realize you are the sister we never had.”
“Yeah, and you will find that we are more stubborn than you,” Drako teased. “Alexi raised us too.”
She smiled tentatively. “Thank you,” she said softly. “Alexi always made me feel like family. I appreciate you all embracing me into the Petrov family.”
Her strength, sincerity, and sweetness had me wanting to be alone with her in the worse way. “Let’s get out of here,” I muttered. I was pulsing and hard as steel and didn’t give a damn if my brothers or the wolves got offended by my abruptness. Before anyone could utter another word, I teleported us back to her apartment in Vegas.