“I prefer you only share the news with Cato and Kian under strict confidence. I don’t want the information about my mate getting out and affecting the way anyone interacts with her.”
Zephyr nodded. “I can see the wisdom in that.”
“Let me know when you have any updates about JoJo’s condition.”
“I will let you know immediately. But may I ask you a question, sir?”
“Of course.”
“If the results are unfavorable, what do you intend to do?
“I don’t know, Zephyr.”
“Have your feelings for JoJo changed?”
“I hope I’m a better man than that. But I can’t help but feel a sense of jealousy at the idea that she may have been keeping something from me.”
“May I be frank with you, sir?”
“Yes, please.”
“I think you’re taking all this the wrong way, and you should give JoJo the benefit of the doubt.”
Hanish sighed heavily and looked down at his hands. “You’re right. She deserves better. She deserves my trust and loyalty. She’s shown me so much trust coming into this strange situation. And how have I repaid her? By suspecting her after hearing what are most likely lies from an unknown monster. I am ashamed of myself.”
“It is perfectly understandable. But if I were you, I would not share your suspicions with her. Let them resolve naturally.”
“This is why I depend on your counsel. You have never steered me wrong in all of our years together.”
Zephyr bowed slightly. “I continue to try to be of service.”
“I am going to speak to JoJo.”
“Are you going to tell her about the letter?”
“Do you think it is unwise?”
Zephyr thought for a moment. “I believe it could be beneficial to be honest. But everything that has happened in the last several days is already extremely alarming. I would hesitate to add more.”
“I can see your point. I will try to refrain from alarming her. But I believe I should speak with her about this.”
“She has a right to know,” Zephyr said in agreement. “That is probably the right attitude, Captain.”
“I’m glad you agree.”
Hanish left the basement, feeling slightly less confused and angry than he had been, and passed Raiden on the way to the living room. “Are you still playing that video game?”
“I enjoy it, so why shouldn’t I?” Raiden shouted a profanity into his headset.
“Shouldn’t you be doing something useful with your time?”
Raiden flicked him a glance. “Like what?”
“Like finding your mate.”
Raiden scoffed. “What’s the point?”
Hanish felt irate. “What’s the point in finding a mate? Every dragon wants a mate.”
“I don’t need one.”
Hanish gaped at him. “Whyever not?” His voice was harsh as he stood at the end of the couch.
“I have everything I need already.” Raiden smashed the controller, yelling at his team through the headset.
“How is that?”
“I have Flora. She’s my friend. She’s the only female I need in my life.”
“Are you sure Flora isn’t your mate?”
“She’s not my mate.” His tone was matter of fact.
Hanish shook his head. “You are an odd man, Raiden.”
“Thanks,” Raiden said with a wide grin.
Chapter 17
JoJo rose from her nap at the sound of knocking at her door. When she answered it, she found Hanish standing on the other side with a sheepish, unsure look on his face that was wholly unfamiliar to her.
“What is it?” she asked hesitantly.
“I need to speak with you,” he said. “Can I come in?”
“Yes, of course.” She stepped aside. “What is it?”
“I’ve received some distressing information.”
“Oh?” Her heart rate sped up. This whole mess was already difficult for her; she wasn’t sure if she could take any more.
“I received a letter by courier just a few moments ago.”
“What was it?” she asked, her curiosity rising.
Hanish handed her the letter. “Read it for yourself.”
She took the paper with trembling hands, feeling as if her control of her world was slipping further away with each passing moment. JoJo read the paper, but the words seemed to be in a foreign language. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She read it over four times before it finally sank in.
“He’s coming for me?” she gasped.
Hanish tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. “How do you feel about that?”
“Terrified,” JoJo said, handing the paper back to him. “I never thought I would see the man again. I had no idea the aggressive boy I knew in college was a vampire. And now that I’ve finally found someone that could make me happy, he threatens to tear it all away from me.”
“You think I could make you happy?” Hanish asked. He seemed so unsure of himself, so far removed from the swift, competent captain she’d come to know. But the situation was having a similar effect on her. JoJo was usually so efficient and precise, but at the moment, she felt muddled and incapable of organizing one thought in front of the other.
“I did,” she said. “I had hope for my life, for our life together. I thought it was a turning point for me, that instead of always serving other people’s families, I may actually be able to have one of my own, with you. The nights we shared together were so special to me. It’s beyond my ability to express how much. But now you seem unsure.”
“Nothing has changed.” Hanish crossed the room and gathered her into his arms.
“I can understand how you feel,” she said. “This is a very trying situation. But you must believe me when I say I never had any feelings for Edgar. He was a disgusting lout, and after he bit me, I never wanted to see him again. And I never have. I don’t know what has given him so much confidence, but I intend to find out.” She slapped her fist in her palm and set her jaw. When JoJo made up her mind about something, it happened. She wasn’t going to let this vampire destroy her chance at happiness.
“What do you intend to do?” Hanish asked.
“I want to confront him. How dare he say I belong to him? I should have reported him to student security. I’m sure he would be singing a different tune now.”
“He is apparently in communication with the local vampire coven, the same people who attacked us on the road the other day.”
“We need to send them a message once and for all that I am not and never will be one of them.”
“We could send them a letter,” Hanish suggested.
JoJo fisted her hands at her sides. “I’m afraid that’s not nearly forceful enough.”
“What do you suggest?”
“I suggest we go over there and let them know in person.”
“I’m afraid that is impossible. It isn’t safe.”
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing while there’s some monster out there claiming that I am his mate.”
“I agree.” Hanish took her in his arms and kissed her forehead. “But we can’t attack until Aria returns. Without her song, we are unable to make contact with the vampires. Even with the upgraded weapons, it is impossible to defend ourselves without her buffer.”
“But I can make contact with them using my power. I always have. They’ve never been able to touch me.”
“Interesting,” he said. “You were able to throw them back on the roadside.”
“I’ve always been able to do that to the shadow men. But now that you mention it, I did feel a tingle inside when I listened to Aria. Is it possible my power is stronger when I hear it? I was able to blow back half a dozen at once. In the past, I’ve had to focus on one at a time.”
“It seems possible. Aria will be returning soon. Until then, we should stay behind our shields.”
“I suppose you’re right. I just don’t want y
ou to believe I have any interest in this Edgar person. That night was one of the most traumatic moments of my life.”
Hanish rubbed her back. “I’m sorry.”
JoJo let out a long sigh. The letter was an extremely distressing turn of events, even more distressing than learning that Edgar was a vampire. She hated that all she could do was sit around and wait for Aria to return or for Azure to finish her analysis.
“What if it’s true what Edgar said in the letter? That you won’t be able to mate with me?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Hanish said, holding her close. “I just want you to know that no matter what happens, we’ll face it together.”
She nuzzled into his chest, feeling the safety of his embrace and basking in the strength of his arms. If only she could believe that she could stay safe and warm in his embrace. They had their relationship, and they had made love. If he couldn’t claim her, JoJo’s blood wouldn’t be poisonous to vampires, and more importantly, there would be no more children. Perhaps they could both live with that, and their love would be enough. But JoJo knew Hanish wanted more children, and she was beginning to realize that she did too. Besides that, she wanted to truly belong to him. Without a claiming, there would always be a cloud hanging over their heads.
“I have things to attend to down in the ship.” Hanish gave her a long, soft kiss on the lips. “I will leave you to rest, and we will speak again when Tor is up from his nap.”
Hanish left her room, and she lay back down in bed. JoJo was never one for lying about, but the events of the last few days were severely overwhelming, and she needed a moment of respite. After a short nap, she woke to the sound of Tor crying through the baby monitor. She went and gathered him in her arms then took him downstairs for his lunch. When she arrived in the kitchen, she found that Hanish was gone.
“Where did he go?” she asked Raiden, who was eating an ice cream cone at the kitchen table.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just know that he said he had to go.”
“When will he be back?”
“He didn’t say. Oh, but he did mention that you shouldn’t wait up for him and not to worry.”
“Tell me where he’s gone, Raiden,” JoJo demanded, putting Tor in his high chair.
“I would tell you if I could, but I can’t. He didn’t tell me.”
JoJo drew her eyebrows together. “This is very important.”
“The captain makes his own rules. He doesn’t consult me about his decisions. Maybe you should ask Zephyr.”
“I will.” She picked up Tor and hurried down to the ship to find Zephyr poring over the results of the analysis.
“What’s happening? Where is Hanish?”
“Hanish is gone,” Zephyr said.
“I realize that. But where has he gone? Wait, are those the results of my test?”
Zephyr nodded. “They are.”
“Well, what is it?”
“They are fairly inconclusive.”
“Just tell me what you know. And tell me where Hanish has gone.”
“From what I can surmise,” Zephyr said, “these results indicate that the vampire injected you with mating venom. He may have intended to change you at some point the way that Penelope’s sister, Flora, was changed. When you rejected him, he obviously failed to do so. But the mating venom has remained in your blood, and it will effectively prevent Hanish from claiming you himself.”
“Oh no.” JoJo’s knees went weak, and she sat on a chair to keep from falling. “What can we do?”
“From what I can decipher by the DNA patterns and by the way these mate bonds work, the only way to break the bond would be for the vampire who claimed you to die.”
“Isn’t there any other way? What about Flora?”
“Flora received a complete blood transfusion, and the vampire who bit her was already dead. We still don’t know if she has a dragon mate, but she was released from her vampiric change.”
“Where has Hanish gone?” JoJo demanded. “Tell me now.”
He sighed and gave her a long, contemplative look. “Hanish has gone to confront Edgar Norton. He plans to kill the vampire himself.”
“But he can’t. He hasn’t been buffered by Aria’s song.”
“His exact words were ‘I’m going to fix this.’ And then he left. I told him not to go. But when he gets like that, even I can’t stop him.”
“Can’t you contact him?”
“He isn’t responding to any of my signals through the mental link, and he’s turned off tracking.”
“I can’t believe this is happening. Why would he do this?”
“Hanish has been known to take action before thinking it through. But in my experience, he is successful ninety percent of the time.”
“What about the other ten percent?”
“That ten percent usually results in explosions and death. But statistically, you should count on the more probable variable.”
“I can’t believe he left without telling me,” she said.
“Hanish is trying to protect you, to protect your future together. You shouldn’t be angry.”
“I am angry. I’m going to make this right.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
“I’m going to find Edgar Norton, and I’m going to do what I should have done the night he bit me. I don’t need Aria’s buffer. I have my own power.”
Chapter 18
Hanish bounded into the air, his massive electric-pink wings pumping him into the sky. He had never been a fan of waiting. He was going to take care of the situation before it went any further. Before leaving, he glanced through the window of JoJo’s bedroom and saw her sleeping. His dragon called out to her, aching to make her his. But the news of the vampire’s interference could not be forgotten. With the analysis of her blood complete, Hanish had a clear picture of what Edgar had done to his beloved JoJo. And he also knew what he could do to remedy it. He refused to let the man’s molestation of JoJo go unpunished. The vampire would pay for the sin he had committed, and he would pay for it with his life.
Hanish flew higher, breaking out of the barrier shields that kept his family safe from harm. The recent attack on his home had taught him a valuable lesson. These vampires could not be underestimated. Despite his need for vengeance and justice, he had to be careful. After taking off, he was thankful he had time to consider his plan during his flight. The nearest vampire compound was far to the north, across the border into another country called Canada. Storm dragons were faster flyers than fire dragons, but it would still take him all day and into the night to reach his destination.
He accessed the shared database, finding whatever information he could about the vampire compound. Yuki, Ragnar, and Akash had recovered their mate, Krista, in a kidnapping attempt by the same fiends. Hanish wouldn’t let anything like that happen to JoJo.
The winds blew through his wings as he flew north. The sun set, and the light spread out across the sky. All he could think of was how much he wanted to share that beautiful moment with JoJo. He was overcome with emotion and how very much he’d come to love her.
He was not an incredibly young dragon. In fact, he was one of the older men on the crew. He knew the ancient stories of dragons finding their mates and establishing a mate bond. But it was another thing entirely when it happened to him. His father had told him what it felt like to be mated with his mother, but the stories of someone else’s love could never compare to the reality of his own.
Hanish crossed the border into Canada deep in the night and followed the map to the outskirts of the vampire compound. Shielding himself with a cloak of invisibility, he set down in the forest near the compound. He shifted into his half-dragon form, giving him the strength and quickness of a dragon but the mind and dexterity of a human.
He crept toward the compound and used his wrist device to check for vampire magic wards. Hanish soon found the wards had been upgraded yet again since the last time the dragons had been
there. He used Azure’s technology linked with the technology of the ship from the House of Flames to break the wards. He gained access and stepped across the boundary into the compound. He knew the general layout of the mansion and began scanning it with his wrist device, looking for the signature of the monsters within. This time of night, the vampires were highly active.
He hurried through the compound, under his stealth shields, and found the back door into the mansion. Hanish crept through the door and down a hall, sliding step-by-step along the wall. He passed their ballroom filled with vampires in extravagant dress, feasting on the blood of human slaves. Hanish cringed, wanting to blast them all into the next dimension. But there was little he could do, being as outnumbered as he was. Plus, he’d gone there for a specific purpose—to end Edgar Norton and remove his grip on Hanish’s beloved JoJo.
“The English Dragon Soul is quite strong,” said a vampire in a fancy suit who was walking past with a silver-handled cane.
Hanish recognized the man from the road attack just a few days prior. He gritted his teeth and sniffed the air. He still couldn’t find the vampire he was looking for.
“Victor,” one of the men said. “We have a security breach. Someone has broken through our wards.”
“I wonder who it could be,” the vampire mused, tapping his lip as he smiled maniacally.
“We will find the intruder.” The vampire goons wearing skinny jeans and hoodies went running off in every direction.
Hanish flattened himself against the wall, redoubling his invisibility shields against the vampires’ magic. He knew the vampires couldn’t really hurt him. No vampire had harmed a single adult dragon since they’d come out of stasis on Earth. But he also knew that without Aria’s buffer, he could be physically overwhelmed by the sheer number of them.
“Edgar Norton arrived already, but he said he was going to get the girl before joining us.”
Hanish’s mind reeled with the realization of what he’d done. He had flown off in the desire to protect his mate. But instead, he had left her alone.
Hanish: House of Storms (Dragon Guardians Book 6) Page 9
