Alder, Alanea - Fated to Be Family [Kindred of Arkadia 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (17 page)

“He was trying to sneak out the back,” Ashby said.

All eyes turned to Ethan. Caleb stood in front of the boy and turned him around in Beverly’s arms. His eyes were kind and he smiled gently.

“Ethan, will you tell us why you were trying to leave? We promise to listen and not get mad.” Caleb took the boy’s hands, which were dwarfed by his giant ones.

Tears streaming down his face, Ethan looked at Caleb.

“It’s my fault! I asked them to come in. The hyena man promised to kill my dad so he wouldn’t hurt my sisters anymore.” He started to cry, hard sobs shaking his thin frame. Beverly snatched him and held him close. Caleb stood and looked to Bran, his eyes wide. Everyone stood in shock, staring at one another.

“Well fuck,” Rebecca said.

Chapter 11

“What in the hell are we going to do?” Kate demanded, looking around the room.

“I will not let you hurt him!” Beverly said.

“Of course we’re not going to hurt him,” Kate said.

“What do we know about the perimeter?” Bran asked.

Ma shook her head. “Not much, not even in the town records. It was established the day the town was founded so that they could build without fear of being attacked. The Arkadion Alpha at the time contacted a witch’s coven to lay the perimeter for the town. It is completely unknown what they did. We have ways to invite paranormals in as exceptions, but nothing on closing a breach.”

“So the only way to seal the perimeter is to kill the person who created the breach?” Nicholas asked from behind them, making his way into the waiting room.

“Yes,” Bran said, rubbing his forehead.

“Well, logic would dictate that if we cannot alter or negate the magic used to lay the perimeter then the only option left to us is to kill the person who created the breach,” Nicholas said, looking at Rebecca.

She tilted her head and stared at him as the room erupted in arguments. Kate could literally feel the wheels turning and then when Rebecca figured it out, she could see the light go off in her eyes.

“Of course! All we have to do is kill him!” she said, looking around the room, smiling. Aleks stared down at her in horror. She looked up, confused.

“What? Not like permanently.” She turned to Nic. “You, my friend, are brilliant.”

Nicholas blushed.

“The only reason the idea came to mind is because of the research and background work you had me doing about vampires,” Nic said.

“Still, it’s a great idea,” Rebecca continued.

“Wait! Stop! Explain for the rest of us who are having heart attacks,” Kate said.

Rebecca turned to the room. Kate could clearly see that her dear friend was plainly confused as to why they hadn’t been able to keep up with the conversation she was having with Nic. Rebecca took a deep breath.

Here we go,
Kate thought.

“Well, Ashby is being cyber stalked by a certain hot club owner who may or may not have a pulse, so Nic and I got worried that if Ashby ever took him up on his offer to go to the club he would end up a Renfield or a chew toy or both and we couldn’t let that happen because if that happened then I would totally have to go up there and go all cra-zay on his amazingly hot ass. So I had Nic look into vampires since our library had little information on them so we could see if we could find out any weaknesses in case we had to, you know, annihilate him.
 
Anyhoo, Nic found out that in turning peeps they have to bring them to the brink of death, like let them die then restart their bodies. So you see?” She took a breath and looked around. “Get it?” she asked.

“So we get a vampire to turn Ethan?” Arthur asked.

Ethan’s eyes widened. “Cool!” he said.

“No!” Rebecca said. “But what we can do is call the one vampire who kinda owes us since his club security let me and Ashby get taken and see if there are any tricks he can tell us about taking someone to the brink of death and still be able to bring them back.”

“Rebecca’s is right, Nic. You’re a genius,” Kate said, kissing Nic on the cheek. He smiled.

“I don’t know. It’s risky,” Caleb said, concern evident on his face.

“I can do it. If someone gives me the specs to follow,” a voice said from behind them. Dr. Clayboune walked out from behind the recovery room double doors. Bran nodded.

“I’d also like to ask this vampire why Elias seemed to be higher than a damn kite. There aren’t many drugs out there that could have that effect on shifters and he couldn’t afford the few that I know about.” Bran added.

“So all we have to do is call him,” Rebecca said and every head swung to Ashby. He squeaked.

“Why do I have to do it?” Ashby asked.

“Because he doesn’t have a hard-on for me, Ashers, or I would do it,” Rebecca said.

“What if I wake him up?” Ashby asked, his eyes wide.

“Ashby, the man is a vampire and even if he weren’t, he owns a friggin’ nightclub. Get to calling,” Rebecca said.

Ashby slowly walked into the recovery room and came back out with his cell, dragging his feet.

“I think I only have like one bar,” he said.

“Ashers!” Rebecca exclaimed.

“Okay, okay,” he said and then dialed the number.

The line only rang once before a beautiful voice answered. The voice was loud enough for every shifter to hear. Rebecca leaned her head in close to Ashby’s so she could listen in as well.

“
Mon ange
, what a pleasant surprise. Have you decided to take me up on my offer? I could have a car there in less than an hour,” Gabriel said, answering the phone. Even his simple greeting sounded princely.

Every woman in the room gave a small sigh. The man sounded that damn good.

“Um, no, actually I, um, called to kinda ask a favor and uh... a question,” Ashby stammered.

“What can I do for you,
mon ange
?” Gabriel asked gently.

Mon ange
? Bran mouthed to Kate in question.

My angel,
Kate mouthed back. He smiled then nodded. It made sense since Ashby did look like an angel.

“We just found out that the perimeter breach allowing the hyena attacks is a boy from the wolf pack—” That was as far as Ashby got.

“Are you all right! Did they hurt you?” Gabriel demanded, the beautiful, melodious voice turning dark and terrible.

Ashby blushed a brilliant red. “I’m fine. Aleks and Rebecca kept us safe,” he said quietly. Kate heard Gabriel take a deep breath.

“You must call me when these things happen,
mon ange.
I refuse to lose you before we explore this thing between us,” Gabriel said, his melodic voice returning. Everyone in the room let out the breath they had been holding.

“Unless we seal the perimeter, they may get to me next and drain me like they tried to do with Nic,” Ashby said with a sniffle.

“They will not
touch
you!” Gabriel roared.

“If we seal the perimeter, then we don’t have to worry about the attacks anymore,” Ashby said softly.

“What do you need from me, angel?” Gabriel asked.

“Can you tell Dr. Claybourne what levels to take a person’s body to, to take them to the brink of death. We’re hoping this will
reseal
the perimeter. Then we can bring Ethan back,” Ashby explained.

“I’m flattered you have been learning about vampires,
mon ange
. It is a simple thing you ask and a request that I can easily fulfill. I’m emailing you what you need now. Was there also a question?” Gabriel asked.

“Yes, this is Bran. When we went to dispatch one of my pack members who had been working with the hyenas, he was acting as though he was high on drugs. As you probably know, when you’re a shifter, that’s extremely hard to do. Any ideas?”

A steady stream of curse words was heard in multiple languages.

“Did he act euphoric, almost manic one moment and then aggressive the next? Bloodshot eyes, lack of coordination?” Gabriel demanded.

“Yes. Exactly that,” Bran explained. Gabriel exploded.

“They have gone too far! That process was banned centuries ago. When I find these parasites, I will destroy every last one of them!”

“What is going on, Gabriel?” Ashby asked, his voice soft.

“The group of vampires that has started harvesting shifter blood has moved on to more dangerous diversions. What you saw was the effects of Shifted Death on a shifter.” They heard him sigh.

“Shifted Death was first created nearly a millennia ago by a group of deranged vampires. It’s the cyclical ingestion of blood directly from the shifter. After approximately fifteen minutes, the shifter then bites and ingests the blood of the vampire while the vampire is feeling the effects of shifter blood. This throws the shifter into a manic high. That is one cycle. This process can be repeated many times before eventually the shifter’s heart gives out.

“There is a danger to the vampire as well. The more cycles they perform, the more they need shifter blood to survive. They can no longer be sustained by human blood. This is why it was forbidden to be done upon
la douleur de l’éternité
. Up until tonight I believed that no one who knew of the process survived the cleansing we performed a thousand years ago. I need to find out how this has come to light again. This could destroy both our races.”

When Gabriel finished, even Kate could hear the exhaustion in his voice. Ashby shifted from foot to foot, as she felt his anxiety level rising.

“What is
la douleur de l’éternité
?” Aleks asked in a perfect French accent. Rebecca stared up at him, looking shocked. He winked.

“For vampires, the idea of death isn’t all that scary. The older we become, the more death seems like a peaceful sleep, where we can finally rest. To keep our people in line, we have other ways to ensure that our laws are followed. One of them is
la douleur de l’éternité
or the Pain of Eternity. It is one of our most severe punishments. It is where we take the offending vampire, drain him to the point of death and inject him with liquid silver. We then place him in a coffin, which is then completely sealed with molten silver and then buried deep within the earth. They remain there trapped for all eternity.” Gabriel sighed.

“Holy crap!” Rebecca exclaimed.

They heard a soft chuckle from the phone. “Indeed, little one.
Mon ange,
you have brought to my attention a problem I didn’t know existed. You may have saved many vampires by alerting me. Has my assistance possibly put me in a more favorable light with you?” he asked, his voice deepening.

Ashby shivered.
 
“Yes,” was the whispered response.

“Good. Until you call again, my angel, I will be doing what I can to minimize the devastation this drug can cause,” Gabriel said and hung up.

“Lord have mercy, I bet that man can fuck!” Rebecca said, the words exploding from her. Aleks snarled.

“Language,” Ma said, trying to hide her smile.

Rebecca grinned at Ashby, who was still blushing. He passed his phone to Dr. Claybourne so he could get him the specifications he needed from Ashby’s email.

“There is a risk, but with what he provided, it’s minimal. Ethan is young and a shifter. I’m confident I can do this,” Doc said, looking at the room, especially Beverly.

“I want to do this. It’s my fault they can come in. I want to fix it,” Ethan said with determination.

“You’re very brave, son. I’m proud to have you in my pack,” Bran said, clapping Ethan on the shoulder.

Ethan tried to stand even straighter. Kate could see that the boy idolized Bran.

“Doc, it’s in your hands,” Beverly said, kissing Ethan on the top of the head.

Ethan blushed. “Aunt Bev! The Alpha is right there,” Ethan complained.

Bran’s mouth twitched. “A good man knows when to accept the love of the women around him.” Bran winked at Ethan.

Ethan seemed to think about it for a second then winked back.

Caleb stepped forward, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Pretty soon this pup will be out running patrols.”

Kate could tell he was trying to boost the boy’s confidence. Ethan puffed out his chest.

“Ethan, if you would head back here with me, it’s time for me to kill you.” Doc grinned and gave a mad scientist laugh. He looked around the room. Everyone was staring at him.

“Too soon?” he asked.

Ethan started giggling, which made the adults smile. Doc took his hand and led him down the hall to the last room on the right. He closed the door behind him.

* * * *

It seemed like it took forever when, in actuality, the entire procedure took about two and half hours. Doc emerged from the room, wiping his forehead.

“He’s doing fine. Came through like a champ. I kept his heart stopped for three minutes before reviving him. Anything over five minutes and there are risks for brain damage,” Doc explained.

“Can I see him?” Beverly asked.

Doc nodded. “He’s asleep now but should be waking up soon and from what I know about shifter physiology and twelve-year-old boys, he’ll be starving when he wakes up,” Doc said smiling tiredly.