Revenge

Jade knew something was wrong. The text messages seemed foreign. The refusal to talk on the phone... cold. These signs could have easily been dismissed, but the tingling in her scar where Faolan had claimed her was more than she needed to confirm her mate was in trouble.

She didn’t trust the pack with this, they were so high on the vampire blood that Averill fed them, they wouldn’t feel any empathy for the plight of Jade or her mate. No, Jade would need to go directly to the source, and that source was Dante.

She found him outside, relaxing on a park bench in front of a fountain, a few miles from the Tower of London. Miles below the tower’s surface lay the secret fortress. The place the ancient vampires called home. He sat, head down nose buried in a book. Dante was always reading. Often, he would ask Jade to sit beside him so he could tell her one of the classic stories. Some stories, like Romeo and Juliet, she liked. Others, like Frankenstein, she didn’t. Jade didn’t have to read stories about monsters, she lived among them.

His legs were crossed, his dark trench coat open, a navy-blue scarf wrapped around his neck, and dark blue jeans to his ankles which showed off his brown boots. He ran a hand through his thick dark hair before he turned a page of his book, resting his forefinger on his pale pink lips as his chestnut eyes drank in every word.

Jade took a breath and approached him. “Master?” she asked cautiously, knowing it was risky to seek out the vampire during the day. Due to his transformation seventy-five years ago, he was the only vampire that could withstand the sun’s rays. He should have died—a werewolf bite is lethal to a vampire—very slowly, very painfully.

Dante never moved his head, but rather, lifted his finger away from his lips and placed it in front of Jade. She held her head down in obedience, her long black pin-straight Asian hair hanging to her hips like drapes. She waited, hoping he wouldn’t make her wait too long. The tingling in her scar intensified her urgency.

Snapping the book closed, Dante looked up at her. “The Count of Monte Cristo. I’ve read it one hundred times, and I know I’ll read it one hundred more.”

Jade nodded in agreement. She had never read it.

Dante picked up her delicate hands and pulled her closer. “Please, sit.”

She peered up at him with her deep dark eyes. He was smiling at her, his face handsome and warm. Although fair, he wasn’t as pale as the others. His ability to blend in with the humans made him all the more lethal. He let go of her hands and patted the bench as one would call their favorite pet to curl up beside them. A passerby would never suspect there was a killer in their midst, reading classic books, smiling as the light of day warmed his shivering cold skin.

Jade sat beside him. He rested the book by his side, and twisted his torso to face her, placing a strong elbow on the back of the bench. Resting his head against his knuckle, he let his free hand sweep the stray locks of hair behind Jade’s ear. She shivered from the chill of his touch, and he smiled in response. “What’s troubling you, my faithful one?”

There was no turning back now, no reason to deny why she had come. “Faolan is in trouble,” Jade said, her head held high as she knew in her heart she was speaking the truth.

“Have you word of this?”

“No, Master. But a mate knows.” She looked at him, pleading for help with her dark eyes.

Dante ran a finger over his bottom lip. “A matter I know little of, having never claimed a mate myself.”

Jade lowered her gaze. Dante had hinted at claiming her once, long ago. It was never spoken outright, and although she had often thought about what being with Dante would be like, she was too afraid of Averill to agree.

Averill wanted to be claimed by Dante. But being pure vampire, the bite would surely kill her. Instead, they existed in a dangerous relationship, where one heated moment of passion could destroy them both. A nip from Dante would sentence Averill to death. The death of Averill would in turn destroy the world Dante existed in. The world he loved, where the days belonged to him, and the nights belonged to her.

Then Jade found Faolan, and everything made more sense. When he asked to claim her, she accepted without hesitation.

“Faolan has been given his orders. He is to return by the next full moon. He still has two weeks before his time is up.”

“Master, I cannot wait two weeks. If I could save him now, and don’t… I just couldn’t live with myself.”

“I certainly need you to live, Jade.” Dante said, locking eyes on her as if he were peering into her soul. She swallowed and waited for his verdict.

“I give you permission to journey to America, so long as you stay in constant contact with me. If you discover anything, anything at all, you must alert me to what is happening, do you understand?”

Jade nodded, the tears of gratitude starting to filter over her eyes. She took Dante’s hands in hers and kissed his fingertips. “Thank you, Master! Thank you.”

Dante pressed his lips to her forehead. She closed her eyes in response. “Leave tonight, and don’t worry about Faolan. I’m sure you will find him ready to return to London with the criminals. After all, how hard is it to round up an outcast of a vampire and his newborn?”

Over three thousand miles away in New York, Bryce blinked his emerald eyes open as the sun set for the day, calling him to greet the night. Victoria lay asleep in his arms, looking more angelic than ever. He dragged his nose over her neck as her heather scent seduced him. Last night had proven to be an eye-opening experience, and he wondered how many intimate moments like this they would have left.

Victoria’s alabaster arm wrapped around his neck and pulled him close to her.

“Did ye dream, lass?” Bryce asked as he nuzzled against her.

“Same strange images. Nothing clear. I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh.

Bryce pushed himself up. “I dinna want ye to ever be sorry. Nae for anything. D’ye unnerstan?” She nodded and he kissed her, wishing a kiss was all he needed to keep her safe.

“Let’s go ahead with our normal routine. We’ll open the bar, hunt, and then when you’re ready, we’ll seek out Derek.” Tori stretched her arms up over her head and ran her hand across the decorative pewter bars of the headboard.

“I’m ready now,” Bryce said as he swung his legs out of bed and stood up. “I cannae even block this out of my mind for a fecking second. I have a lineage, Tori! A fecking lineage!”

Tori was by his side in a moment, her arms around his waist. “I know.”

Bryce kissed her head. “I thought ye were all I had in the world, and I find out that there are others, that I’m nae the outcast that the fecking Council tried to banish me as.”

“Bryce!” Tori took his face in her hands, pulling him to her, kissing his lips, his cheek, his jaw. “Is that what you honestly thought? That you were an outcast?” She turned his head slightly so he would look at her, “You are my maker, and the love of my life. I will follow you, always.”

Bryce lowered his forehead to hers and surrendered to the fact that his two-month-old progeny may just be mentally stronger than the five-hundred-year-old vampire that made her. Ironic, since she was so weak as a human. He had caught her after she jumped from the penthouse of the Waldorf-Astoria to what would have been her death in the city streets below.

But that was another time.

“Aye. I’ll do as ye say. I’ll open the bar, hunt, and deal wi’ our new clan of vampires then.” He kissed her, wanting to freeze time for eternity and just stay in their lair forever. Tori ran a playful tongue across his top lip, causing his fangs to lengthen.

“You really should do one thing before you do any of that, though.”

“Aye, and whit’s that, eh?” Bryce asked looking into his lover’s eyes, getting lost in the gold that seemed to glow in tiny flecks beneath the hazel. Tori reached down and cupped his bare cheek.

“You need to get dressed first.” She giggled and nipped him on the chin.

“Nae yet.” Bryce growled and tossed her back onto the bed.

*****

When the vampire couple entered the bar, they were greeted by a smiling Erin, the woman they thought was just their bartender, but after last night that had all changed. Erin’s boyfriend, Derek MacKenzie, was not only a vampire but the progeny of Bryce’s first mate, Miranda. He was also single handedly responsible for creating Bryce’s entire lineage of thirty-eight vampires who have sworn to take down the High Vampire Council and seat Bryce on the throne. A job Bryce hadn’t even applied for. No, Erin was suddenly a lot more than just a bartender.

Bryce didn’t know how to look at her after this revelation. Just twenty-four hours ago, she was a sweet employee. Now he knew she was acting as a spy for Derek. She had also efficiently hunted down and captured the wolf, Faolan, who was assigned to bringing Victoria before the Council.

The new Erin didn’t seem to bother Tori, who walked over to her in quick strides, arms wide open and took her in a loving embrace. “I never apologized for accusing you of being with Bryce.” Tori whispered, but Bryce could hear her perfectly. He raised a brow.

“You didn’t really accuse me, you just suspected us of a little necking.” Erin laughed and Tori put an arm around her shoulder and turned to her maker.

“She’s the best employee you have. Give her a raise,” Tori said, eyes shining at Bryce.

“Aye, we get out of this alive and by all means, ye can have an increase.” He put his hands on his hips and looked around his bar, half expecting vampires to start crawling out of the cracks calling him daddy.

“He’s a little stressed,” Tori whispered to Erin who nodded in agreement.

Tori dropped her hand, as Erin to stepped closer to Bryce. “I know we dropped a bomb on you last night, but Derek is a good man.”

“He’s nae a man, lassie. He’s a killer. She should ken the difference.”

“You’re a killer, and I still count you as one of the good guys.” She gave him a playful smile, her red hair wild, her blue eyes twinkling.

Bryce tapped her nose. “You’ve been watching too much of The Vampire Diaries. This isnae going to end well.”

Erin pushed his finger away. “How do you know that, Bryce? Don’t you of all creatures deserve to put an end to the suffering—to your suffering?”

“Whit do ye know of my suffering?” Bryce stepped closer, feeling the anger bubbling in his veins. Why was she pushing him when she had never challenged him before?

“I know enough.” Erin crossed her arms in defiance, causing Bryce to lean in, his fangs now present, ready to terrify the idiotic girl.

“Why do ye love him? Does his pale skin and strong hands allure ye?” He spoke in a whisper, making his words of mockery more intimate. “Does his lovemaking give ye a craving for eternal life? Is that whit yer after? He’s turned thirteen vampires, why nae one more? D’ye think drinking his blood and living forever will be whit gives ye happiness? There’s a fecking reason why I’ve only turned two!” Bryce growled with curled lips, furrowed brows, and fangs out.

Erin’s hand flew across his face. The sound of the smack sounding like a crack of unexpected thunder. Tori was between them in a flash, her back to Bryce, her arms stretched out in front of Erin ready to grab her if she tried anything else. Tori was more concerned with him hurting Erin than the other way around.

“Don’t speak of things you don’t understand, Bryce,” Erin called over Tori’s shoulder before looking at her. “Call Danny to cover my shift. I’m going to Derek’s. Come if you’re planning to fight, or don’t bother coming at all.”

They watched her grab her coat behind the bar, then storm out into the dark night. Tori crossed her arms, giving Bryce a dirty look. “Are you happy?”

“Whit now? Ye canna tell me ye actually agree wi’ that daft girl?” Bryce pulled out a stool and sat down with a thump.

“That daft girl captured the werewolf that hunted me, or have you already forgotten?”

“Aye, I know, I know. And it’s only a matter of time before the others wonder where their stray wolf has gone.” Bryce ran a hand over the cheek where Erin had slapped him. It was surprisingly sore.

“What’s wrong?” Tori asked trying to get a better look as Bryce hung his head down.

“That wee little girl can pack a punch.” Bryce laughed lightly at the irony.

“What are you talking about? She’s like one hundred and ten pounds, if that? You feel like stone to a human. Trust me, I tried to fight you off once. How could she possibly hurt you?”

Bryce started laughing louder now as it all clicked.

“Bryce, what the fuck is so funny?” He knew Tori was beyond pissed and probably ready to follow Erin out into the night.

“I didna unnerstan last night. But now I do… She caught Faolan. She hit me just now and it actually hurt, and… oh, here’s the best part, are ye ready? Despite the fact that Derek has supposedly known her for years, and they are in love wi’ each other, he hasna changed her.”

“Maybe she doesn’t want to be a vampire,” Victoria concluded.

Bryce looked up at her. His tongue in cheek as he shook his head and gave her a twisted smile. “Or maybe that wee little bartender is a fecking vampire slayer, lassie.”