The Vampire's Mark 2: Hell Storm (Reverse Harem Romance)

by Rachel Jonas

  I wasn’t sure I could handle another surprise. Silas, however, was all ears, waiting as he leaned forward in his seat.

  “When two engage in this sort of ritual, the absorption of a trait is merely a side-effect of a far more in-depth connection. To put it simply, your lives become bound to one another.”

  The curious look Silas wore a moment ago turned worried.

  “As in … if one dies, we all suffer the same fate?” he asked.

  “Picture Mistress Corina like the center of a hub, while the four of you act as spokes,” Dr. Percival suggested. “Should she perish, each of you would as well. Likewise, if one of you were to meet an untimely end, she would then follow you in death, and the chain reaction this would initiate, would conclude with each of you dying as well.”

  When he explained the last bit with hesitation, I guessed he took our silence for concern. He was right to assume as much.

  “Does this change things?” he inquired.

  “Of course not, Sir,” Father cut in quickly. “We’re most eager to move forward with the bond, and also having you be a part of this joyous occasion.”

  Who the heck is this guy? He certainly isn’t the same surly emperor who’d all but disowned me in recent weeks.

  Silas and I shared a look, but said nothing. While the news wasn’t great, nor was it what we expected, there was one good thing to come of it.

  If I was still alive, it meant Corina and Levi were too.

  “Wonderful!” Dr. Percival piped in response to my father. “And perhaps while I’m there, I can have a bit of alone time to chat with Mistress Corina as well.”

  My heart dropped with his suggestion, that ever-present need to protect her causing my senses to spike.

  “It could only help to have my seal of approval on this union, after all the controversy surrounding how this all came to be,” Dr. Percival acknowledged.

  Heat flashed to my face and there was no wondering what fueled it—embarrassment. I hated the thought of knowing he heard the theories that had been tossed around about Corina and me.

  Especially seeing as how most of what had been spread was true.

  “That won’t be a problem.” My father answered when I didn’t. “Corina will be more than happy to meet whatever demands you have,” he offered while holding my gaze. “I’ll see to that myself.”

  “Your zealousness and cooperation are much appreciated, “Percival laughed. “Although, I hope I haven’t given the wrong impression. While I certainly want the monarchy to uphold the standard of law and order within the Dynasty, I am, perhaps, less concerned with the details than others. Starting with the circumstances surrounding Mistress Corina being turned. I understand the rest of the world seems to have chosen their stance, but from my perspective, only good has come of this change. So, for now, that’s good enough for me.”

  Glancing toward my father, I discovered he seemed almost disappointed with how well Dr. Percival had taken the news. Perhaps because he still didn’t think I learned whatever lesson he believed I was supposed to take from all this.

  “On behalf of Ianites everywhere, I’d like to express my deepest gratitude. This sacrifice the four chose to make couldn’t have come at a better time,” Ian admitted. “There’s been a new development that has yet to hit the media, so consider this information highly classified.”

  Concerned, my father and Silas leaned in even closer.

  “You have our word that whatever is shared in this room will stay in this room,” I promised.

  “I appreciate your discretion,” he stated before continuing. “It has been brought to my attention that there’s been another incident, another terrorist attack on our precious blood supply.”

  My father’s expression darkened at the mention of ‘another terrorist attack’. “What have they done now?”

  “It appears that another batch from the same tainted lot somehow made it back into distribution. This time, it was served on a plane headed to the South Quadrant.”

  “And the passengers?” Father asked.

  “Thirty-six of the one-hundred-eighty-seven are seriously ill.”

  “And the rest?” Silas inquired. There was no missing the concern within his distant gaze as he awaited Percival’s reply.

  “Dead.”

  That word hit us all like a ton of bricks, yet I felt a stark contradiction within me. Just days ago, I’d met two strangers I felt oddly sympathetic toward, but they could have easily been linked to these attacks. Ones where so many innocent lives had been taken. It was as if I was suddenly of two minds.

  “Thank you for entrusting us with such delicate information,” my father groveled. “We assure you that not a single detail will leave this room.”

  “All thanks should be reserved for your son and the other princes,” Percival corrected. “It is my belief that, whatever reason Julian had for turning Mistress Corina and deciding to initiate the blood bond, he’s chosen to do the right thing by his people.” Percival paused just long enough for my father to shift a blank gaze my way. “Young Prince Julian, rest assured that my faith in you has not waned. I believe our people’s future is in excellent hands, with you in line to rule as Presiding Emperor.”

  Of all the things I expected to come out of this call, being given Dr. Percival’s seal of approval was not one of them.

  ***

  Silas

  Something about today’s call had lit a fire under me. The words Dr. Percival spoke were only kind, but I was left with the sinking feeling that things were about to take a turn, and there was no way of knowing if the oncoming change would be for the better.

  So, on the off chance that it wasn’t, we needed to make more aggressive moves to locate Levi, Roman, and Corina. Especially now that we knew two of those lives were linked to Julian’s. That could be our last chance. And the only thing worse than having to weather a storm, was having to weather one with those you care about being caught in the middle of it.

  I didn’t even give much thought to linking the device given to us by Felix—the day we met near the bridge. There had once been a slight concern about the security risk it posed, but tonight? I had a one-track mind.

  Midnight. That’s when we agreed to convene. At five ‘til, I stood and paced, hoping he and Liv would hold up their side of the deal and be on the other end of the connection.

  The bright, blue screen that cast the entire room in its hue was unnerving. It acted as a beacon of the dead air as Julian and I waited. At the first blip of interference, I stopped dead in my tracks, breathing a sigh of relief the moment two distorted figures began to come into view. Eventually, the reception on their end caught up to the quality of ours, and it was like the four of us sat in the same room.

  I nodded toward them as a polite gesture.

  “Any news?” I asked, getting straight to the point.

  As soon as I got the question out, I began pacing again.

  “Nothing,” Felix sighed. “We’ve checked in with everyone we know, even questioned our few roamer connections who definitely keep their ear to the ground. So, for them to have heard nothing …”

  There was no missing the nervous energy coming from the pair onscreen. They were just as desperate to solve this mystery as Julian and I.

  “I’m sure you did everything you could,” I offered.

  And so had we, with what little intel we had. For now, the best I could hope for was that Roman would come to his senses before he did something stupid, reckless, or both, and that Levi had made it to Corina, and the two were safe somewhere.

  It was a long shot, but I couldn’t let myself think the worst.

  “Based on that look, I’m assuming you two didn’t come up with anything either?” Liv asked, already staring when I turned to meet her gaze.

  “Not even a small lead,” I shared.

  Julian sat in silence, sporting a dark expression I couldn’t read. He’d been like this since the call with Percival. Maybe he too had a feeling that things were shi
fting, but the ten or so words he’d spoken didn’t give much away.

  “So, where does this leave us?” Liv asked, concerned.

  I was at a loss for words, which I hated. If we didn’t have a viable next move, it meant we’d have to leave things to chance.

  And I hated leaving things to chance.

  “We’ll keep looking,” I finally replied. “We can go back to where we found the bike, the necklace. Maybe we missed something.”

  “Did that already,” Felix added with a distant look in his eyes. “An entire team of us returned a couple nights ago and scoured the entire area. We picked through trash, followed a few sets of tracks to see where they led. All we found was some weird dart we hadn’t noticed before, but no clue where it came from. For all we know, it’s been there a while.”

  I wasn’t sure if he understood what he just confessed, but I now knew there were enough of these humans, hiding right beneath our noses, to qualify as a team. Had this been months, or even weeks ago, I would have lured them into a trap and turned them over to the authorities without a second thought. Only, now my perspective was askew right along with Julian’s. Despite not having undergone the Claiming ceremony with Corina yet.

  Maybe it was seeing how much this group cared for her, seeing the great lengths they were willing to go to ensure her safety. It mirrored our concern for our Dynasty Brothers, and … I respected that.

  “Should we go out again tomorrow?” I asked. “Discuss things in person? Whatever clues there are to find will grow colder by the minute and we’re already at three days.”

  “Four,” Julian interjected as his eyes rose to observe the large clock above. He was right, with it being well past midnight now, we were, technically, four days into our search.

  “Name the place,” Felix replied without even flinching. “We have to do a run first, but any time after that, we’ll make it work.”

  “A run?”

  Julian peered up at the screen when the wording piqued his interest.

  Felix and Liv shared a heavy look before both their gazes met ours again. “ … For food,” Liv admitted, not saying anything more than that.

  Julian sighed audibly beside me and I glanced that way. My gaze was met by a look I hadn’t expected to find there.

  Concern.

  “Are your supplies running low?” he asked.

  I expected the inquiry to go unanswered. These two had no reason to trust us, no reason to answer our prying questions. Especially with the authority we both had to bury them, along with whatever operation they ran.

  “They’ve been low for a while now,” was Liv’s surprising response.

  Julian nodded knowingly. I studied him when he sat straighter, giving more of his attention than he had during the rest of the conversation. He’d seemingly pushed whatever clouded his thoughts aside to focus.

  “You two have been a tremendous help to us. Allow me to arrange something,” he offered. “I can fill a truck, and meet you wherever you’d like.”

  I’d known him my entire life, had been there for all his highs and lows, thought I’d seen every side there was to Julian Westower. However, I wasn’t sure I knew this man. He’d always been kind and generous, yes, but only to our own people. There had never been even a hint of kindness toward humanity.

  But that’s exactly what this was.

  Felix passed us both a suspicious glance. “Why would you do something like that?”

  The flash of confusion on Julian’s face made it clear he didn’t understand the question. “You need food, don’t you?” he clarified. “I’m trying to help.”

  “Yeah, I get that, but … why?” Felix reiterated. He leaned closer, resting his forearms on the surface before him. “I mean, the two of you are intelligent. Silas, I even follow some of your work,” he admitted. “So, I’m certain neither of you has missed the overwhelming amount of evidence that points toward us operating … outside the boundaries of the law,” he so cleverly put it.

  His gaze was unwavering as he stared at us, waiting for answers.

  Julian sobered a bit, his expression hardening when he nodded. “I had a pretty good idea.”

  “And yet, you’re still offering to aid us, those your people have characterized as criminals. Terrorists,” he added, nearly spitting the word from his mouth.

  Julian’s eyes lowered toward the ground and I saw this going a couple different ways. One of which involved him exploding in frustration, completely ruining any chance of future communication with our new contacts. Or, he could see this moment for what it was—a chance to be transparent and engage in some dialog with Felix and Liv.

  It was an opportunity I wasn’t sure would present itself a second time.

  “No one deserves to starve,” was Julian’s response, and a step in the right direction. “I just figured it was the least I could do.”

  Felix’s gaze was fixed on Julian, but he said nothing in return. The look he wore was thoughtful, penetrating.

  “I uh … I’ve had a lot of time to reflect these past few days,” Julian continued. “As I racked my brain, trying to come up with where to look next, it forced me to think like Corina, step into her shoes, take on her mindset.”

  Felix’s expression softened as a quiet laugh escaped him. “And how did that work out for you?”

  Julian laughed a bit himself as he seemed to get carried into a distant thought. “Honestly? It was fine at first. Right up until I stopped answering the questions that popped into my head as if someone else could hear them. I stopped saying what I thought others would want those answers to be … and started being honest with myself.”

  I lowered into the chair as my nerves settled and curiosity increased.

  “What were the questions?” Felix inquired.

  “You won’t want to hear most of them.”

  “Try me,” Felix shot back, nearly cutting off Julian’s words with the statement.

  There was a brief span of silence, and the air became highly charged, almost electric.

  Julian’s gaze met the screen again. “I asked myself what it is Corina fights for,” he began, divulging his truth. “I questioned why it’s so hard for her to just accept things for what they are, when it’s been this way for generations. I asked myself why she can’t just submit to the same way of life nearly every other human has.”

  My heart thumped twice inside my chest, as I wondered how this would all be perceived by the two people on the other side of the connection. Two who happened to be quite human and might take offense to the thoughts Julian had just shared.

  “And what answers did you come up with?” There was only curiosity within Felix’s gaze as he waited for a response.

  I noted how Julian hesitated now, how he maybe had the same concern I did—that this might not be what these two wanted to hear. Especially coming from the likes of us.

  “It dawned on me that, perhaps it’s no easier for Corina to submit to a life of bondage for herself, for her people, than it would be for me,” he confessed. “I acknowledged that … even being born into that life wouldn’t kill my desire for freedom.”

  A weighted breadth of silence followed, and I was no longer concerned with the feelings of others. Instead, I too considered what Julian had just proposed, allowing myself to consider a life of enslavement.

  “You’ve gone quiet,” Julian spoke up, addressing Felix again. “Have I offended you?”

  To my surprise, the expressions staring back at us were soft, thoughtful.

  “It’s not that. I just … I’ve never heard your kind say anything even remotely sympathetic concerning humanity’s plight. Let alone someone of rank,” Felix admitted, before pausing. “But it’s not gonna do us a whole lot of good if you’re the only one who sees our side of things.”

  “That’s not entirely true,” I chimed in, earning myself a glance from Julian. “I’ve never met anyone like Corina before—a human so passionate for her cause that she’s almost reckless defending it.”

&
nbsp; “Almost?” Liv asked with a raised brow, and a laugh. “You have no idea how many times we’ve asked her to slow down, or fall back because of her—”

  Liv’s reason for not continuing was only a mystery for a moment. The next second, I was certain of what it was she refrained from mentioning.

  “You don’t have to worry that you’re breaking her trust. We’re aware of Corina’s condition,” Julian revealed.

  The way Liv’s teeth sank into her bottom lip made it clear my assumption had been right.

  “She seized one morning while we were out handling business. That was actually when I … when I had to turn her,” he revealed reluctantly. “She took off, and at some point, slipped and fell from a fence, hitting her head. When I finally found her, she didn’t have much time left. If I hadn’t … If I—”

  “Say no more,” Liv interrupted. The fluorescent lights that hung above her glinted off freshly forming tears that lingered in both corners of her eyes. “We get it. You just … you did what you had to do to save her.”

  Julian nodded. “I did.”

  I wasn’t sure what scenario they’d come up with to explain it all before now, the reason Corina had been bitten, but it seemed both had been caught off guard by the truth.

  “So, you asked a question a bit ago. Something about how you could help us?” Liv inquired.

  Julian’s eyes returned to the screen, and there was no missing how the tone between us all had shifted since we first established this connection.

  “I did,” he confirmed with a smile ghosting through an otherwise stoic expression.

  “Well, the food thing you offered … that’d be really good for us right now.”

  That hesitant smile Julian had hidden broadened a bit. “Consider it done.”

  “We can meet about a mile up the road from the bridge where the races are held once you work out the details. And while we’re there,” Liv added, “we can discuss our next plan to find Corina and your friend.”