by Kate Wendley
Dag started to look more relaxed as Anthony spoke. “I want you to show me, and I don’t want this to get out. I don’t want rumors. I want to see it a number of times, with the same human, before I do anything with Kaia. After you show this to me, and after I’ve made my decision how I feel about this, then you’ll put an end to these human pets. I’ll step in with the loners myself, but it will end and you’ll help me clean it up. Are we clear?”
“Yes Master. I understand.”
Anthony gave him a scolding look, then finally sighed and shook his head. “I’m really not pleased with you. Your only saving grace right now is that I’d like your help. I just can’t believe all the babysitting I have to do with grown adults.”
Dag wearily looked away, then leaned forward and put his face in his hands. A little tartly he said, “I’m sorry, ok? You don’t know what it’s like to be a goddamned Nordic prince, a warrior, and to have your whole life taken from you because one battle went the wrong fucking way. My family was killed, my beloved wife was killed, my lands were taken, my people killed or enslaved… and after I was forced to see what had become of everyone I held dear, I was killed. I went from being the most feared warrior in the land to being a slave to my sick and ruthless Maker for hundreds of years. When I came here, to your home, I finally felt free again, but by that time I was so far lost to myself that I’ve been struggling ever since.”
Anthony stared at him in wonder. He’d never known that much about Dag, or about a lot of the newer vampires in his family, the ones who’d joined within the last hundred years or so. People didn’t have the habit of opening up to him. Ever.
Dag continued, “I know what I did was wrong. I know better and I know what a pain in the ass it is to be a Lord to hundreds of fickle people. The only thing I never had to do was try to keep my people secret. Other than that, I know what it’s like and I’m beyond sorry for being one of the pain in the ass people you have to babysit. I’ll do whatever I need to do to clean this mess up. It’s my own goddamned fault and I take all the blame. I should’ve come to you as soon as I found out about the pets.”
Anthony leaned back and put his feet up on his desk, clasping his hands across his stomach. “You were a warrior? And a prince? Hmm. I wouldn’t know what it’s like to live that kind of life, though I was involved in plenty of fighting during the Civil War. Of course, that was as a vampire. As a human I worked a farm on the outskirts of a small village.”
Dag warily gave him a curious look. He cautiously asked as he touched his own cheek, “But what about that? How’d you get that?”
Anthony casually touched the scar on his face as he nonchalantly raised an eyebrow. “My scar is my business. I hope you can appreciate that. For as distasteful as the reminder is of the day I received it, it does serve a purpose because it keeps people guessing about me.”
Dag slowly started smirking. “You’ve learned your lessons well, little brother.”
He lazily smiled at that. “Wouldn’t do for the family to not fear me.”
Dag chuckled, but Anthony’s forgiving mood quickly passed.
“I’d like this to be inconspicuous to the loner vampires while I see for myself what I think of your healings. When do you normally feed off these humans and could you do it sometime after eleven or twelve at night? I don’t want Kaia to know what I’m doing. The less she knows about some vampire matters the better.”
Dag nodded.
“I’ll give you just this one warning, Dag. Don’t give me a single reason not to trust you once you leave my office. Not one.”
Dag nodded again.
“Once I’m satisfied with what I’ve seen, then you’ll take me to the loner’s homes and I’ll put an end to this.”
“They mainly gather at just one loner’s place, and I can get you in, but what if they uninvite you?”
Anthony smirked. “Don’t worry big brother. I’m a Master Vampire. I can take care of vampires whether or not I’m in their home.”
Dag gave him a wary look. “Ok. But what if they gang up on me and trap me inside? I mean, I could probably fight them off, but what if I can’t? Sometimes there’s a lot of them there.”
Anthony very dramatically said, “Then I’ll pull you out. Like I said, I’m a Master.” He stared intently at Dag as he used his power to pick the big man up and flatten him against the door. Dag’s eyes went wide and his heart raced. Anthony tried not to smirk as he sat motionlessly controlling him. Dag finally looked like he was trying not to scowl, and it made Anthony chuckle.
“Your little brother has a few tricks in him. Don’t worry, there isn’t a single loner in this town that’s more powerful than you are. It’s possible they may’ve gained some powers since I last saw them, but even so, you’re in safe hands with me.”
Chapter 24
Sebastian took his time going up to Jade’s Friday night. He was still irritated that she’d worn that stupid scarf to cover his bites yesterday, but he was madder at himself for thinking he might mean something to her.
She didn’t have his bites covered tonight, and seemed like she was making a point to show him they were exposed. They didn’t go anywhere for anyone else to have a chance to see them, though, so he wasn’t feeling all that impressed, besides the fact that the bites were now almost healed.
**
For Halloween on Saturday, Jade met him in the club and he couldn’t help but smile. Her witch outfit was more innocent than revealing, but it was snug in all the right places. With the graceful, sometimes slinky way she naturally moved, she looked sexy as hell.
He forced himself not to fixate on the high collar of her cape that covered the last visible remnants of his bites. He decided she didn’t know what she wanted in life, and it hurt because he felt like he did. He wanted her. He’d been so careful with her, respecting her boundaries and doing nice boyfriend things, yet she still didn’t know if he was good enough for her.
But he couldn’t bring himself to end things, either. He liked having a companion, someone other than Zach or Anthony, and Jade was nice and soft and made him feel almost normal. He just wished there could be more between them.
He tried to calm his doubts over the weekend as they hung out. They hadn’t really seen each other all that long, so maybe she just needed time. He decided to let things ride for a while and see what happened.
Chapter 25
Anthony was unexpectedly jealous of Dag’s beautiful home the first time he saw it. It was a stone, Tudor style house with lush greenery in front that continued on inside, spilling out the back into a lovely garden full of wandering paths, overgrown vines, and night blooming flowers. Celtic influences were everywhere, but for all the home’s lushness and feel of being partners with nature, there was a sadness to it. The statues and sculptures throughout had the feel of shrines, and well worn seats were situated near them as if someone had spent many an hour contemplating whatever or whoever the memorials were meant to represent.
Anthony was full of anxiety after watching Dag feed from, then heal the same two women, three nights in a row. They didn’t have any signs of turning vampire, but Anthony still didn’t feel comfortable. If something happened to Kaia…
But looking at her marred skin every night, and then seeing the pet’s bites being healed made him feel like he was unfairly withholding it from her. It couldn’t be him doing the healing, though, and he wasn’t ready for another vampire to try anything with her. Stressed out, he did nothing for now.
Chapter 26
Torin loitered at the bar. He’d been hanging out in Sebastian’s space as much as possible lately to work on tearing down the wall of hatred between them. Sebastian never seemed all that eager to see him, but he eventually stopped growling and swearing at him all the time.
It was midnight on Sunday night before Torin finally caught Sebastian mostly alone, the restaurant pretty cleared out. These late nights were killing him since he had to work at eight every morning during the week, but fixing things with Seba
stian seemed more important. Besides, if he lost his job, Anthony would still support him, he just wouldn’t provide anything besides basic food and shelter.
Once the table cleared out behind them, Torin turned to Sebastian, who sat a couple stools down at the bar. “Hey.”
Sebastian didn’t look at him, but he at least inclined his head in acknowledgment.
“Quiet night in here.”
Sebastian grunted, but kept his eyes on whatever he was reading on his laptop. It looked like inventory lists or something.
Torin didn’t have a feel for how to make small talk with him yet, so he just spit out, “So… would you still support me if I go talk to Anthony?”
Sebastian finally looked at him. “You’re serious?”
He frowned in confusion. “Yeah.”
Sebastian held his gaze for a moment, then flippantly said, “Have at it.”
“You’ll support me?”
“In what way? The way you supported me when you were alpha?”
Torin’s stomach dropped. They apparently hadn’t come as far in changing things between them as he thought.
Sebastian casually turned his attention back to his computer. “Yeah, whatever. I’ll support you. Until you flake out, anyway. Knock yourself out.”
Torin frowned. He wasn’t going to flake out… at least he hoped not. He scoffed to himself, then quietly asked, “Is Anthony still mad at you?”
Sebastian turned his attention back on him and flatly said, “No. Now is a fine time to talk to him.”
That sounded like a lie, but he smelled truth on him. He nodded warily, not liking that he wasn’t in tune with Sebastian’s mood. Torin could usually get a good grasp on people he was around, mostly because he could… shit.
Sebastian was somehow blocking his own link to the rest of the pack, which would be the only reason Torin couldn’t feel anything from him. He should be able to sense his emotions stronger than he was, especially since he was his second. He wondered how long Sebastian had been doing that, then felt like shit because it was probably his fault that Sebastian felt the need to learn how to do it in the first place.
He needed time to think about what this all meant, so he tried to change the subject. “How are things with you and Jade? She seems like a nice girl. And pretty.”
Sebastian was in his face in a heartbeat. “She told me about you and your friends harassing her a few weeks ago. You fucking get near her again and I’ll rip your throat apart next time. Got it?”
Torin put his hands up in surrender. “Got it. For the record, that was before I asked for a truce between us.”
“When it happened isn’t an excuse. You don’t treat a woman like that. Any woman.”
Torin felt like a complete jack off. He was right. He’d become a total douche bag. He quietly said, “Yes sir.”
**
Monday night, Torin caught Anthony alone around eleven. He knocked on his half open office door. Anthony looked almost like he’d been expecting him.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Blankenship? Are you here to talk about my offer?”
Torin tread lightly this time around Anthony. He had a newfound respect for the man’s power that he didn’t really want to experience again, so he closed the door and sat on the couch where Anthony gestured. “Yes sir. I talked to Sebastian, too, to make sure he’d be ok with it since he’s my alpha.”
There was a tense pause between them as Anthony briefly looked him over. He turned back to his desk and rifled through some papers, pulled a few out, and handed them to him.
“I’d like you to take these courses first. I’ll pay you your full salary while you complete them, and you’re free to quit your current position in the meantime. I’ll cover any expenses.”
He looked over the class listings in confusion. “Computer classes? Why?”
Anthony gave him a look. “I do keep tabs on everyone in these buildings, as well as many who live in human society. Your personnel file says that your computer skills need much improvement.”
Torin grumbled and slouched back into the couch cushions. “I thought you said this position was going to be more prestigious. I don’t want to be a data entry clerk.”
Anthony slowly leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his trim stomach. “I assure you, the position I’m considering you for is highly important. So important, in fact, it’ll be up to you to keep my interest in this family rather than withdrawing my support from it. Before I create this role for you, though, I want to see a good faith gesture. I want you to take these classes because if you don’t, you’ll most likely embarrass yourself during some very intense times ahead.”
Anthony gave him a look that he wasn’t sure how to read, then continued. “In your new role, if we move ahead with it, you’ll be in charge of many, many important decisions, but if you can’t figure out how to open a computer file to even look at the data or emails you’ll need to read in order to make these decisions, then you’re not qualified. However, because you’re Sebastian’s second, and because you’re an ever sociable wolf who commands quite a bit of respect on his own, you really are my only option. I could work with Sebastian on this instead of you, but frankly, I doubt he’d care about this position either way. In addition, frequent interactions with others will be needed, and that’s also well beyond his comfort level.”
Torin smelled truth on Anthony, but this wasn’t making sense yet, and he also wondered if he could actually smell a lie on him. “Can I ask you for something?”
Anthony inclined his head.
“Tell me a lie.”
Anthony looked surprised, then caustically chuckled. “Very well, I adore finding out that shifters in the wolf office are embezzling money that I give them for the support of themselves and others in the family.”
Torin’s eyes went wide. “What?”
A look of disgust filled Anthony’s face. “As I said, I’m trying to save you some embarrassment ahead of time. You won’t be on your own in your new position, you’ll have consultants and auditors to aid you initially, as well as the elders, but at the end of the day you will be the one making decisions. I believe your family would appreciate it if you took this seriously because if you don’t, I’m afraid there’s no one else to convince me this situation is worth saving.”
Torin blinked in shock.
“Are you still interested, Mr. Blankenship?”
He swallowed, hard, as the gravity of everything started to sink in. “Yes sir.”
“Good. Then I trust you can sign yourself up for the classes, and I’d like to tell you now, so that we have no misunderstandings between us, what I’ve just told you is confidential. If you’d like to be part of the actual management of this family, I expect your utmost discretion at all times. I trust you to use your judgment, of course, but I warn you to make them good judgments.” He flatly said, “I’m aware of who your friends are. I advise you to not confide in most of them.”
He stared dumbly at Anthony. This was so much bigger than he ever imagined. “How do you know I wasn’t the one embezzling?”
“Were you?”
“No.”
He inclined his head. “I may appear to not have any interest in most of the family, but that’s not the case. You’re minimally talented on a computer, let alone accounting, and the embezzlement took at least an intermediate knowledge of both of those skills. You also don’t suddenly have expensive belongings or large deposits in your bank account. I’ve checked.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Torin blew out a breath then stood up and extended his hand. “Ok. I’m your man.”
Anthony stood and shook his offered hand, and Torin fought the urge to run. Anthony’s hand was like solid stone, and it reminded him too much of his vice grip around his throat while he siphoned his soul from him.
“We shall see. Come back to me when you’re done with your courses, and please put effort into learning the lessons. If you have any questions in
the meantime, you may email me. Do you have a computer at home?”
He shook his head.
Anthony took a deep breath, almost like he was irritated and trying not to show it. “Zach will bring you one sometime in the next week and he’ll make sure it’s set up for everything you’ll need.” He paused, and looked like he was considering something. “It’s good that you’re attempting to form a relationship with Sebastian. I’ve seen your efforts. I suggest you also form a relationship with Zach. Your distaste of the other animals needs to end. Immediately.”
Torin fought a frown.
“While you take these courses and learn how to use the computer, I’ll triple your current pay so that you have no monetary distractions. Once you’re through with your lessons and I feel you’re ready for your new position, your pay will increase significantly, along with quarterly bonuses. We’ll negotiate at that time. Is this acceptable to you?”
Shock coursed through him and he blurted out, “Yes.”
Anthony minutely relaxed and Torin startled to realize he could see it. The man’s presence was scary, but he apparently had his tells, too.
“Very well. I look forward to your progress.”
Torin nodded and turned to leave. “Hey, before I go, I never got a chance to say what I’d meant to tell you that one night, which is that I’m sorry I was rude to your girlfriend.”
Anthony stood motionless as he stared at him, the moment of silence between them quickly filling Torin with dread. His muscles tensed as he braced for who knew what.
In his usual business like tone, Anthony abruptly said, “Apology accepted.”
Torin let out a shaky breath and left before Anthony changed his mind.
Chapter 27
Anthony had seen enough of Dag healing human bites at his obscenely beautiful home. It was time to put an end to vampires flaunting their disobedience in his territory. He thought about it every time he saw Kaia and the unhealed bites on her beautiful skin, and it made him more and more angry every night.
