by Ariel Marie
“None of that!” Nadira gently scolded. “You are mated to my brother. It’s just Nadira.”
“You don’t have to use formality,” he said. Taking her hand, he lifted it up and placed a kiss on her knuckles. “Technically, you are a princess now, too.”
He laughed as Angel’s eyes grew wide. “But I’m a nobody,” she insisted. “I still don’t see how we can be mated. I thought you had to mate with a vampire of a higher social status.”
“I told you, that doesn’t matter to me,” he said fiercely. “You are my mate, and you are who fate decided I am to spend all eternity with.”
She looked around the room as Teague and Anika joined them. He introduced her to Teague, just as Nicu walked back into the room.
“I just spoke to Khalid and Cooper,” he said. “Meet me in my office once you get her settled in your suite.”
Chapter 11
Angel
“I’ll be okay,” Angel said for hundredth time.
Adrian had carried her to his private suite in the mansion, and helped her get washed up as best as he could before tucking her into the bed. He had insisted that she sleep naked, but she was not up for any hanky-panky, so she finally convinced him to at least give her one of his shirts to sleep in.
“I’m so sorry,” he said sincerely, placing a kiss on her forehead. He settled onto the bed next to her.
“For what?” she asked, confused. She turned over in the bed so that she could see him clearly. He had done nothing that would warrant an apology. He was the last person that needed to apologize.
He saved her.
“For not protecting you.” His eyes were filled with sorrow.
“It’s not your fault that those rogues attacked us.”
“Angel,” he sighed, as her belly filled with dread. She knew what he was about to ask her. “I have to know…why are the rogues after you?”
“I’m not sure.” She tried to look away, but he pulled her face back up to meet his eyes.
“I’m not judging you in any way. You are my mate. In order for me to keep you safe, I need to know what they want with you.”
She stared deep into his eyes, and knew instantly that she was head over heels in love with him. There was no denying it. She knew that their initial meeting was a little unconventional, but deep down she knew that he took the mating seriously, and he would be forever faithful to her.
Everyone in the vampire world had heard about the council demanding that the Olaru heirs mate with prominent vampires. There had been much talk of whether or not it was fair for the council to demand that the heirs to the throne be only allowed to mate with vampires.
Humans were still unaware of the existence of vampires, so this wasn’t something that would be broadcasted on the nightly news. Vampires were savvy with technology. One would be surprised at what could be hidden online, if only one knew where to look.
The entire supernatural world waited with bated breath for the pending decision of the council. It was known that there had been a private meeting between the council and the king, who was protesting the outdated laws, and he was demanding that they be changed.
“I promise, no matter what, I will keep you safe.” Adrian’s voice broke through her thoughts.
“They are recruiting,” she began. She figured if she couldn’t trust him, then she would never be able to trust anyone. She was just going to have to believe in him. “The necromancers are recruiting rogues. I was attacked and turned by a rogue, and they feel that I should be loyal to them. They wanted me to side with them, but I didn’t have any rogue tendencies. I was just a human who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, attacked and turned. I couldn’t stay with them any longer. I wanted to try to live my life as normal as possible, being a vampire.”
“So, what does that have to do with you?” he asked, entwining their fingers together as he listened. “Why was Jaxon at the nightclub, trying to kidnap you?”
“I’m not quite sure.” She shook her head. “He was one of the ones that helped me leave.”
~Adrian~
“Is your mate settled?” Nicu asked as Adrian sat on the couch in his office.
“Yes.” Adrian nodded, looking around the room. The entire Dark Shadows team was present. Their local unit consisted of him and his brothers, along with a few other vampires; Viktor, Ronin, Gadiel, Khalid, and Phaelyn.
“Is she doing okay?” Phaelyn asked. “She’s one tough little vampire. I couldn’t imagine going through the change all by myself.”
“She is,” Adrian agreed, thinking of his mate. His chest swelled with pride at the thought of how tough his mate truly was.
“What has she told you about who turned her?” Toma questioned from his seat on the windowsill.
He explained the story of the night she was turned as best as he could. A hint of jealousy crept up in the back of his mind as he thought of Jaxon, being the one to teach Angel about vampirism. It was Jaxon who taught her how to hunt and feed. Feeding between vampire and donors could be very intimate and sexual in nature. He could feel his gums burning at the thought of how close Angel may have been with Jaxon.
“So if they knew each other, why would the rogue try to snatch her from the club the way he did?” Teague asked.
“She doesn’t know. According to her, he was one of the ones who helped her get away.”
“There is something more to this story,” Viktor said. “The way the rogues were attacking led me to believe that they really wanted her. They must need her for something.”
“The necromancers are building a rogue army to fight against us,” Nicu announced. “It must have something to do with that. She was turned by a rogue vampire, I assume?”
“That’s what she told me.” Adrian shifted on the couch. “According to her, she was taught that the Dark Shadows were sent to hunt down and kill all rogues, and any vampires turned by rogues.”
The room erupted as everyone began to speak at once. Each Dark Shadow member took their job of protecting the vampire nation seriously, and would give their lives to fulfill the oath they had taken when they were chosen as a member of the deadly vampire warrior team.
“If she was terrified of us, as Phaelyn has said, then how many other innocents are out there, fearing for their lives from the Shadows?” Khalid asked with a deep scowl embedded on his face.
“There’s no telling,” Adrian answered. “She kept to herself, had a job in a club owned by a vampire, and tried not to draw any attention to herself.”
“So why would they want her?” Toma asked. “This doesn’t make sense. She’s not a trained warrior. What could they possibly need from her?”
Adrian didn’t like being in the dark. They had to get to the bottom of this, or Angel may never be safe.
“She said something about how they felt that she should be loyal to them since she was turned by a rogue,” he relayed, looking around the room.
“We need to talk to her. We need to find out everything she knows about the rogues,” Nicu concluded. “Which rogue turned her? Does she know?”
“No,” Adrian said, answering both questions while shaking his head. He refused to have them pick her brain and bring back memories that she had been trying to bury. “She has been through so much already.”
“We won’t hurt your mate,” Nicu advised. “Right now, she is the only one that can tell us about the rogues, and give us some insight as to what their goals are regarding us.”
“He’s right, Adrian,” Teague spoke up. “You should know that we wouldn’t hurt your mate.”
He looked around the room and knew that they were right. They had a vampire in their home right now that could educate them all on the workings of the rogues. He knew if it had been any other vampire upstairs with such knowledge, he would be begging to question the person too.
“Fine,” he said, blowing out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “I’m not leaving her side, though.”
“We wouldn’t do it any other way
,” Nicu huffed. “We can question her, then compare what she knows to what the rogue in the dungeon admitted to.”
“He’s still alive?” Adrian asked sharply. He naturally assumed that they would have just killed him.
“Yes,” Nicu answered. “He’s a lucid rogue who can give us information, so we still have a use for him.”
“Why don’t we send Angel to speak to him?” Viktor argued.
“Are you fucking out of your mind?” Adrian exploded, rising from his seat to face Viktor. The room drew silent, becoming thick with tension. How dare he mention putting Angel in the same room as the rogue who attempted to take her from him.
“Calm down,” Teague demanded. “He didn’t mean anything by it.”
“I just meant that if we allowed her to speak to him, she could get him to speak freely, or tell her—”
“No,” Adrian roared.
He usually wasn’t the hothead in the family, but right now, they were talking about using his mate by putting her in the same room as the animal that tried to take her from him.
“She will not be in harm’s way, “Nicu said quietly, shifting Adrian’s attention from Viktor. “He will remain in chains, behind bars. She will be safe, and there is a camera inside of his cell.”
Adrian continued to shake his head. He didn’t want her anywhere near the rogue. She’d been through enough already.
“You can stand right outside the dungeon’s doors,” Nicu offered.
“Hey!” Phaelyn started, gaining the attention of the room. “It’s not for us to decide. How about we ask her? She’s already had so much taken from her in her short life. Why don’t we leave this decision up to her?”
Chapter 12
Angel
“If at any time you feel uncomfortable or threatened, just call my name,” Adrian said, squeezing Angel’s shoulders. She stared up at him with a smile.
“I’ll be okay,” she cooed, trying to sound brave. “He doesn’t scare me.” That was the least of her worries. She didn’t want to go back to the life of a rogue vampire.
When Adrian came to her that morning, informing her that the Shadows needed her help, she didn’t hesitate. They hadn’t been together long, but she could tell that Adrian lived to be a Dark Shadow warrior. If the Shadows were going to be a part of his life, then she would have to learn to trust them and forget everything that she had been taught.
“Remember what Nicu coached you to ask about,” he said, handing her a tiny earpiece to place in her ear. Once it was placed, she could hear a voice repeating the word ‘testing’ in her ear.
“I can hear you,” she notified the voice.
“Great. This is Teague, by the way, your guide for the day,” he joked. From what she remembered, he was the brother that was mated to a demigoddess she had yet to meet.
“Hello, Teague”, she laughed, looking over to Adrian. He seemed satisfied, knowing that she would at least be able to hear his brother while he stood outside the doors.
“I’m ready when you are, Angel.” Teague’s voice came through loud and clear.
“I’m ready.” Adrian grabbed her gently by the nape of her neck. He pulled her forward and laid a kiss on the middle of her forehead.
“Showtime,” he whispered, with his lips still pressed against her. He pulled away and opened the door that would lead her to the dungeons.
Angel took the first step into the hallway, pausing to look one last time at the vampire she loved. His eyes held a concerned look. She smiled before giving him a small wave, wanting to calm his nerves. She refused to show him that she was nervous. He might not let her go if he knew that her stomach was tied up in knots. She turned away, and her smile disappeared as she focused on her mission.
When she had learned that Jaxon was being held in the royal dungeon, she imagined a musty dark area in the house that would still hold all the appeal of the eighteenth or nineteenth century. The hallway leading to Jaxon’s cell was the complete opposite of what she had imagined. It was almost sterile in appearance, with the clean cold concrete floors, and walls painted a light gray. She didn’t have any trouble finding Jaxon’s cell.
Second one on the right is where Nicu said he would be. She paused in front of the glass-encased cell. There was a box on the wall with buttons for communication and to open the door. Jaxon sat on the floor; silver chains hung from his wrists, securing him to the wall. His head hung low, and he was unaware that she was observing him, still clothed in his dirty clothes from the other day.
She reached up and pressed the communicator button that would allow them to speak to each other.
“Jaxon?” she called out.
His head jerked up and his eyes locked on her. For a moment, she was taken back to the night when he rescued her. Pain had filled her body, and his voice still echoed in her head, assuring her that she would be okay, and that the pain would pass soon. It was Jaxon that had been almost like a big brother to her, but only in secret.
The other rogues didn’t know that Jaxon had favored her over the other new vampires that were being recruited. Five long years she ran in the underground world of rogue vampires, not knowing any better, and hating every moment of it. That world just wasn’t for her, and she had to escape it.
“Angel?” His voice was raspy as his tortured eyes gazed upon her. “I’m so sorry.”
“Why?” she demanded. After five years away from the rogues, she had finally begun to feel free to live her life in peace.
“I needed to talk to you. You were in danger,” he said, looking away. “I panicked when I saw those two Shadows in the club.”
“You could have called me,” she said, folding her arms across her chest.
“What I needed to tell you, couldn’t be said over the phone.”
“Why not?”
“Because they have been watching you, and I was sure that your home phone was tapped.”
“Ask him who was watching you.” Teague’s voice came through her earpiece.
“Who?” she asked softly, unconsciously taking a step closer to the glass. Who would be watching her? She had already been deemed worthless as a rogue vampire. Attacking and killing innocent victims was something she could never bring herself to do.
“Why are you with the Shadows?” Jaxon asked with his top lip curled in disgust. “Are you here against your will? Have they harmed you?”
“Do not tell him that you’re Adrian’s mate,” Teague’s voice whispered in her ear.
“I…I don’t know,” she stumbled with her answer. “They have not harmed me.”
“Ask him again who is watching you,” Teague whispered, redirecting their conversation.
“Who would be watching me?” she asked again.
“You know they wanted to kill you all those years ago, when you were turned.” She gasped at Jaxon’s blunt statement.
She knew that the other rogues didn’t care for her back then. She wasn’t as evil as them, or wanted to kill and torture anything that wasn’t a vampire.
“They had expected you to go rogue immediately after you were turned, but you didn’t. You woke up like any other newly turned vampire. I begged them to give you a chance, but I knew that you weren’t meant to be a rogue. They wanted to force you to go full bloodthirsty rogue, but I couldn’t allow them to do it. You were too pure of heart. That’s why I helped you leave.”
Memories began to surface of her last night in the compound. She had been tied down to a metal table, alone in a room filled with tools for their medical experimentations. She could still hear her own screams echo in the room as she fought to get free from her restraints. Her memory was still sometimes a blur, but she remembered the door to the room banging open, and Jaxon rushing in.
Once he freed her, he practically dragged her out of the building, and gave her the keys to a car. He told her to go, to never look back, and drive until she was far away from them. She sped away, driving far off into the night. The car was packed with everything she would need. A few days�
� worth of clothes, a few grand in cash, and even a cooler with a couple pints of blood.
“But why?” she asked, coming back to the present.
“Well, that’s obvious,” Teague’s voice came through. “He cared for you.”
Her eyes widened at Teague’s assumption. She thought back, but Jaxon never showed any interest in her, aside from making sure she learned how to be a vampire.
“I was still too late,” he whispered, a grimace forming on his face.
“Too late for what?” She was so confused by his ramblings. She knew she had to get him back on subject in order to make sense of what he was saying.
“The necromancers. I was one of many working with them… giving them rogues to use, trying to destroy the Dark Shadows,” he said, staring down at the ground. “We were building a rogue army to fight the Shadows and vampires alike. You know of everything we taught you. The vampires and Dark Shadows cannot be trusted. But the necromancers wanted total control of the rogues. They took their life energy, and will now make them fight the vampires. They will use mind control to get the rogues to do what they want.”
“Shit!” Teague cursed.
“What does that have to do with me?” she whispered, as dread filled her belly.
“They took yours,” he confessed, looking defeated. “When they are ready, they will be able to control you too.”
Chapter 13
Adrian
Angel had been shell-shocked ever since she left from speaking with the rogue. Her large brown eyes were filled with tears when he opened the door to the dungeon, along with a look of horror. He instantly picked her up and carried her straight to Nicu’s office, placing her on one of the couches.
She had yet to say a word or move since leaving the dungeon. His siblings gathered in the room as word spread about the necromancers having full control over every rogue, including his mate.
