Thrice United

by Lauren Dane

  “We’d cornered the killer, were chasing him through a park just outside the city. He found me first. Cut me and left me to bleed out. Eric came then and saved me. Bit me and changed me.

  “I stayed in Atlanta for another year, learning and continuing to work for the FBI. I worked at nights.” He shrugged. “Eric is quite influential in the state, he protected me. We had a brief fling. More me being enamored of his power as a vampire than anything else. But then I ended up in Boston and met Gaius and Rhett. Joined Nento. You know how that ended. I took leave from the Bureau six months ago. They’d like me to stay on as a consultant. I’m a damned good profiler.”

  Her eyes were wide and she threw her arms around him, hugging him tight.

  “What is it, sweetness? Eric is my Sire, yes, I love him, but there’s nothing between us. Not like you and me. It’s been six years since…”

  She shook her head and he stopped speaking. “Someone nearly killed you. The idea of you on the ground, dying,” she choked back a sob, “I…it just knocked me back a bit.”

  He kissed the top of her head, ridiculously touched that she was so upset by something he’d pretty much forgotten except for the occasional nightmare. She shed tears for him. Felt terror at danger long past. Being that cared for burrowed deep into his heart.

  “I’m here, sweet. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “What about your family? Do they know?”

  “They know something is different. I don’t see them very often. I love them and I can still go home from time to time. I won’t be able to without telling them in a few years. The aging thing will be too hard to hide.”

  “Why not tell them?”

  “I don’t know. They’re very old-fashioned. I’m not sure how they’d handle it. They’re already convinced that Rhett and I are lovers and are pretty unhappy about that. But I love my parents very much. I won’t have them forever and so I try to let them be as comfortable as possible.”

  “So I guess they’ll be relieved about me? Or, well, I’m white so maybe not?”

  He laughed then. “My marrying a white girl is pretty small compared to my being a vampire, don’t you think? And anyway, my grandmother was white. They might be freaked about me possibly being gay but you being white won’t be a problem. We’ll have to go down there so you can meet them. They’ll love you.”

  She grinned. “Oh my! I get to meet the parents!”

  He chuckled.

  * * * * *

  True to her word, Holly spent the next few days really thinking over converting. She had come to the inescapable conclusion that she loved them and couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them or growing old while they stayed young. She wanted to be with them both for every minute she could.

  At the same time, nagging doubts plagued her. It wasn’t as if she could let go of a lifetime of self-doubt overnight. Fear ate at her. Fear that she’d never be quite good enough for them and that everyone would know it.

  Both men watched and waited, their patience dwindling.

  Chapter Five

  Holly nervously moved from foot to foot as they waited to deplane. The trip had gone smoothly. The private jet met them at just after dark and they’d flown directly to New Orleans. As promised, the passenger compartment was without windows so there was no chance of light coming in. Even though it was night, Holly felt better knowing that Rhett and Nate had that bit of extra safety around them.

  She’d been tied in knots the whole trip. Both men had done everything they could to ease her, to calm her, but she was still a bundle of conflicting emotions. Thank goodness they’d come with her despite her telling them it wasn’t a big deal and for them to stay home. They’d just looked at her and kept packing.

  Nate walked in front of them, shielding her with his body. She squeezed Rhett’s hand as they moved to walk out and down the stairs and onto the tarmac.

  “It’s going to be all right. No matter what happens with them, you’ve got us. That won’t change,” Nate murmured into her ear when they reached the ground. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and hoped he was right.

  “I know. It’s just…” She trailed off, not knowing how to express what she was feeling, and realized that she didn’t have to finish her sentence. Nate knew and relief flooded through her.

  “A car should be meeting us,” Rhett said, looking around.

  Holly felt it when her cousin stepped out of the terminal.

  Lee saw Holly and the recognition hit them both with such force that they each gave a sharp intake of breath. Alex looked at her sideways, concern on his face, but she shook her head. The wizard and next in line to lead the Carter family stood, back straight, keeping his eyes moving around the area.

  Lee knew he and Aidan had hired extra security for the time being, until they figured out who was behind the attack on Holly.

  “She’s a Charvez all right. You can taste it from here,” Alex said quietly. Holly’s magic was strong and he could almost see it shimmering in the air around her. It was Charvez magic, like Lee and her sister had, but also something else he couldn’t quite identify but seemed familiar all the same.

  He also sensed the slight tension in the air when Aidan saw the other vampires. Aidan’s familial caste ran Chicago, where he lived before coming to New Orleans. His grandmother ran the caste now. Alex knew that always when new vampires came into a territory there was a bit of feather ruffling and posturing, especially between males. He hoped it would be better than usual because Aidan knew this was important to Lee and that the two vampires with Holly were family. But as an alpha vampire he couldn’t completely override his nature, especially as he was a natural vampire rather than a made one.

  Catching Aidan’s reaction, Lee shot him a look. He eased back a bit and Alex hid a smile when he saw Holly do the same thing to her vampires.

  Alex gave Lee a gentle push forward and they started across the tarmac to where the other three were. Suddenly, his sister-in-law Em and her husband, both Fae, shimmered next to them and more Charvezes came out of the terminal.

  “Oh no!” Lee hadn’t wanted the entire family to show up. Holly was spooked enough. The last thing Lee wanted was to make her cousin feel more defensive and overwhelmed. But there was no help for it as her mother, grandmother and aunt came out, followed by several cousins.

  Holly’s face paled and Nate put his arm around her on one side and Rhett did the same on the other, bolstering her as best they could.

  “Hold strong, honey,” Rhett murmured into Holly’s ear and she let herself fall into the link a little bit to feel them both surround her.

  They watched as the tiny silver-haired woman who’d come out of the terminal stepped forward and put her hand on the redhead’s arm. “Let me go to her, she… Elise would have wanted it this way.”

  “She’s strung tight,” Em murmured to her grandmother.

  “Of course she is. What she must think of us,” Grand-mére said and walked to the three near the plane. She stopped just in front of Holly and cocked her head.

  “You look a lot like your mother. Not the hair, the hair came from my grandmother. I’m Isolde, your great-aunt. Your grand-mére Elise, she was my sister.” She moved her hand out and Holly’s pulse sped up.

  Without permission, Isolde stepped forward and put her arms around Holly. “Welcome home, chere. The Charvez women welcome you back to the fold. We’ve missed you.”

  Until that contact, Holly’d been holding herself stiff. Now she put her arms around Isolde as the tears flowed silently down her cheeks.

  Em watched, nearly doubled over with the pain flowing from her cousin. Sometimes being an empath wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. Con pulled her to his side and ran his hand up and down her back. “You okay, a ghra?”

  She nodded and looked into those eyes she’d dreamed of for so long. Now hers, they held so much love and tenderness that she once again thanked fate for bringing them together. He put his palm over her stomach where their child was growing, a daughter
. The first in the next generation of Charvezes would be something altogether new, a Fae witch.

  “She’s hurting so much. They’ll help her through,” she said, meaning the vampires with her cousin. “We need to be sure to include them in everything, she needs them.”

  Lee nodded as she looked at her sister and reached out and touched her stomach just under where Con’s hand lay. “Can you tell what her gift is?”

  Em watched her grand-mére and Holly. “They’re the same in many ways. Holly’s a seer. But there’s something else there, I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

  “I see that too. It’s familiar but I can’t identify it,” Alex agreed.

  Holly pulled free and wiped her eyes. “This is Nate Hamilton and Rhett Dubois, they’re my…mine.”

  Nate laughed quietly and took the hand Isolde was offering and placed a kiss on her knuckles. “We’re hers all right. And she’s ours. I’m sure you know what that means.”

  Isolde looked him up and down, taking his measure, and nodded as if she’d made a decision. “Yes, I do. You’re both welcome to the family as well,” she said quietly and turned to Rhett, who also bent over her hand with a gentlemanly brush of lips over her knuckles.

  “Won’t you come to the Charvez home for a while tonight? To have some tea, get to know us? Have you eaten?” She asked Holly but also looked to the vampires.

  Lee approached with Em and the vampires all bristled. “Uh, thanks but perhaps tomorrow might be good. While they’re all sleeping,” Holly said as she took in the scene. The tall blond vampire with her cousin stood very close, definitely inside Holly’s personal space. It seemed very aggressive and she felt Nate and Rhett stiffen and move forward.

  “I apologize, darlin’,” the tall blond vampire said. “I’m Aidan Bell, Lee’s husband and your cousin as well. I promise to behave myself even if you do have the most delicious hair I’ve ever seen. Well, other than my beautiful Lee that is.” He touched Holly’s fiery tresses and gave a princely bow but kept his eyes up and locked with Rhett’s.

  Nate growled, surprising Holly.

  Lee elbowed Aidan. “Knock this off,” she hissed.

  “You know, I think we’ll go to the hotel. I’ll call you tomorrow and you can tell me just what the heck is going on,” Holly said coolly, stepping back. The movement separated herself from the Charvezes and pulled her back into her link with Nate and Rhett. It was bad enough that they’d blackmailed her into coming down there—she certainly wasn’t going to tolerate any mistreatment of her men.

  “Allow us to transport you then, we’ve got a car waiting. Lee went to the hotel and warded your rooms earlier today.” Alex didn’t even look in Aidan’s direction. He could feel Lee’s anger and was glad it wasn’t directed at him. His wife might be small physically but she was a force of nature, especially when she was pissed off.

  “We have a car,” Rhett said flatly. While he was determined to keep a hold on his voice for Holly’s sake, the temptation to get into it with Aidan was nearly overwhelming. That the other vampire stood so close to his woman and touched her drove his blood to near-boiling with rage. It was a deliberate baiting behavior and incredibly rude. Worse, he could feel Holly’s upset with the whole situation.

  “Okay, well…it’s really good to have you here, Holly. We’ve been so excited to meet you—and your mates as well,” Lee concluded with a sharp look at Aidan, who actually flared his nostrils at her. “I’m Amelia—Lee. We talked on the phone. I can’t believe how much you look like our great-grandmother. You’ll see the pictures while you’re here. You’ll call tomorrow then?” Lee was babbling but she could feel her cousin pulling away from them, offended and hurt by Aidan’s behavior and overwhelmed by the show of Charvez force that had come to greet her.

  “Yes, I’ll call you when I wake up. Jax and I will arrange to meet you.”

  “Jax?”

  “Her bodyguard. With wizards after her, we don’t want to take any chances with her safety, especially when we’re asleep. In fact, it would be better if you all waited until after dark so that Rhett and I can be there.” Nate looked imperious and Lee envied her cousin a moment, the man was truly delicious.

  “We can get into that tomorrow as well. Our house is well warded. No one can get in if we don’t wish it. And bodyguard or not, if he doesn’t have talent, he’s useless against a wizard,” Alex said, trying not to be defensive.

  Finally Holly stepped forward and clapped her hands. “Hello? Can you four just knock it off? I don’t know what is going on between you pointy-toothed people but just stop it! I can’t deal with it.” She looked at Alex. “I know you must feel defensive because this is wizard stuff, but I’m not holding that against you. But I can’t have this whole situation devolve into some guy stuff, it’s too much and I have enough on my plate as it is.”

  Before Alex could make a sheepish apology, she stepped to Lee and took the hands Lee was holding out. “I’ll call. Thank you for meeting us here.” She nodded and turned with Rhett and Nate and they got into a waiting car that their luggage had been loaded into and drove off.

  Lee rounded on Aidan and glared at him. “Just what the fuck was that? What’s gotten into you? We finally coax her here—under duress and near-blackmail conditions I might add—and you pull that shit? You deliberately made that crack about her hair to yank their chains. If you’ve pushed her so far away that we can’t get her back to us, I’ll never forgive you.”

  Before he could make any answer, she spun and stalked back into the tarmac, chattering with her mother and sister while Alex and Con gave him looks of commiseration.

  * * * * *

  At the hotel, Holly walked around the suite in a daze. The place was a palace. High ceilings, expensive antiques, helpful staff that were quiet and efficient. She had never been in such luxury before and it was a bit overwhelming. Who’d have ever imagined a vampire hotel? The place had light-tight window coverings and discreetly placed cards offering donors for the special needs of their visiting guests. It was surreal.

  Add to that the whole scene with her family at the airport and she was a bit of a mess.

  Rhett hugged her tight. “Honey, I hate to do this but I need to feed and I also need to speak to my business manager. I just checked my voicemail and there’s something I must deal with tonight. The hotel has teleconference facilities and I’m going to use them when I come back. Nate is here. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

  She took him in for a moment, eyes greedily roving over his features. He was so handsome that it was hard to believe he was hers. “Oh okay. See you then. I’ll be all right and I need you to take care of yourself too.”

  Smiling, he kissed her hard and quick and was gone.

  Nate approached her from behind and put his arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ve run you a bath and opened a bottle of wine. Rhett ordered dinner for you and you’ll eat every last bit of it.”

  “Bossy.”

  He chuckled but she walked into the other room and slid out of her clothes and into the bath without further complaint. He sat on the edge of the tub and handed her the wine. “I think you need this. I’m sorry for how things turned out at the airport. I suppose we should have expected it but when he touched you it pushed my buttons.”

  “What was all of that about?” she murmured as the warmth of the water and the wine did their work.

  “Vampire stuff. Politics. He’s a natural vampire, they run most things, think they’re better than made vampires. His grandmother runs the city of Chicago, I should have done a bit of homework about this. Plus, male vampires tend to get a bit…twitchy when it comes to their mates and other vampires. He made that comment about your hair to fuck with us. Not that your hair isn’t lovely,” he added quickly. “He may not have been that aware he was doing it.”

  “Well, whatever. It’s not okay that he’s an asshole to you. But you guys have to knock it off. I need to deal with this and I can’t if I’m constantly worried tha
t you and he are gonna rumble.”

  Nate burst into laughter. “That sounds protective. Are you ready to accept all of this at last? Accept that you’re ours and we’re yours and let go of your worries and let us in? All the way?”

  Holly sighed heavily. “I’m trying! I am. It’s not easy to give up a lifetime of habits.”

  “I know. But my patience is thin now. I want you. All of you. I don’t want a half mate. I want you totally committed to us and sharing yourself without reservation.” He stood. “But I need to feed as well. I’m going into Jax’s suite across the hall. I’ll be back in a bit, all right?”

  Holly nodded, sipping her wine. “I’m working on it. I promise. This lovely red and I have a date. I’ll see you when you get back.”

  He kissed her temple and left her to her thoughts.

  She lay there in the bath until the cooling water drove her to get out. She discovered that neither Rhett nor Nate had returned and got dressed and headed across the hall to Jax’s suite.

  Using the key, she let herself into the room. Smiling at the luxury of the place, she closed the door behind herself and tossed the card on the table in the entry.

  Suddenly, a distinctly female sound echoed through the place. Not just any sound but one of those sounds. A sound from a very happy woman. Holly’s hand went to her throat as she turned the corner and saw straight into the front parlor-type space where a very tall woman in a very short skirt had her arms wrapped around Nate and was grinding herself against his body as he fed. The woman was obviously climaxing and clutching him to her body, begging him to fuck her.

  Feeling nauseated, the betrayal of the moment was like a slap to her face. A cry of pain escaped her lips and Nate turned, blood on his bottom lip.

  Intellectually she’d accepted the whole feeding thing when they’d told her those days before, but the reality of seeing it was a shock. Worse, the woman he’d been feeding from was supermodel beautiful. Willowy, tall and totally beyond Holly’s league.