Blood Prince [Wolf Creek Pack 4] (8 page)

“But that means…” Alfred blanched. His eyes widened. Then he seemed to regain control of his shocked emotions. He bent his head, bowing slightly. “Your highness.”

“Oh hell, Alfred,” Devlin said, “I’m still a shifter.”

“That may be so. However, as the mate to Prince Zacarius, you are now his consort, and as such you must be addressed properly.”

Devlin rolled his eyes. This just got better and better. He needed a title like he needed a hole in the head. He wouldn’t know the first thing about being royalty. He felt far more comfortable at a backyard BBQ.

“Of course we’ll need to plan a commitment ceremony and introduce you to the coven,” Alfred continued. Devlin could see the wheels turning in Alfred’s head. Smoke practically came out of his ears. “Maybe a cocktail party.”

“Alfred, stop,” Devlin said quickly. “No parties. Zacarius isn’t in any condition to party with anyone.”

“But your highness, we have to have the commitment ceremony.” Alfred looked like he would fall over. “It’s just how things are done.”

Devlin sighed. “All right, tell you what. You can plan a commitment ceremony, but that’s it. Understand?”

Alfred nodded quickly.

“Zacarius needs rest right now,” Devlin continued. “You plan it, and I’ll let you know when Zacarius can attend. Will that work for you?”

“Oh yes, your highness,” Alfred beamed. “You’re very understanding, sir.”

Keeley broke into peals of laughter, leaning on the counter as if he needed to or he would fall to the floor. “He’s very understanding? Wait until you’ve lived with him for awhile. That opinion will change.”

It wasn’t until Keeley said the words that Devlin realized as the mate of a vampire prince, he would be leaving his wolf pack to go live in a coven of bloodsuckers. Devlin shuddered. That would be interesting.

“Dev?” Keeley said, resting his hands on Devlin’s arm, looking down at him in concern. “I didn’t mean anything by that.”

Devlin smiled, patting Keeley’s hand. “I know, squirt. It wasn’t that. I just realized that I’ll have to leave Wolf Creek. I guess when I discovered Zacarius was my mate I never even considered that.”

“Oh.” Keeley looked thoughtful for a moment. “There’s no way you can continue to live here? Maybe Zacarius would agree to live here with us?”

“No, honey, he’s the prince of his coven,” Devlin said. “It’s only right that he be there with them. And I…I need to…”

“And you’re his mate,” Keeley finished for him. “You need to be there with him.”

Devlin nodded. “Yeah, that sounds just about right.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

Devlin shrugged. “Pack?”

“Don’t you think you should get your mate back on his feet before you start making plans to move in with him?” Keeley asked, one pale blond eyebrow arched in query.

Devlin laughed sharply. “That would probably be a good idea.”

“How bad is he?”

Devlin shook his head. “I have no idea. Until Zacarius, I’ve never been around a vampire before. I have no idea what they need or how much blood he has to consume to be normal, whatever normal is. He’s usually so pale, it’s hard to tell.”

“If I may, sir?” Alfred asked.

Devlin glanced over at him, nodding.

“If the prince is consuming werewolf blood, just a few infusions should have him back to normal. Depending, of course, how much he consumes in one bite, your highness.”

“Of course.”

“If you’ve already fed him once, sir, he should be well on his way back to normal,” Alfred said. “Werewolf blood is much more potent than human blood.”

Keeley gasped.

“So I’ve heard.” Devlin grimaced.

Alfred looked back and forth between Devlin and Keeley. “Did I say something wrong, sir?”

“No, not exactly, Alfred,” Devlin replied. “Zacarius’s sister made a pact with members of our old pack to sell werewolves for blood. She attacked Reece, our alpha, before we moved here, and Keeley. She tried to kill them to get them out of the way because they objected to her plan. That’s how she died.”

“Bad rubbish if you ask me,” Alfred replied. “Princess Adrianna was nothing more than a headache to Prince Zacarius. She was always getting into one mess or another. I’m just surprised that someone didn’t kill her before now.”

“Oh?”

“I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, mind you, but that woman was bad news,” Alfred said. “She always felt that her status made her better than everyone else, that the laws which govern our people didn’t apply to her.”

Alfred shook his head, his lips pursed. “She never understood that the royals are there to guide people, to care for us. Prince Zacarius understands this. He knows it’s his duty to teach us the difference from right and wrong.”

“Do you think that could be why he was poisoned?” Devlin asked. “Could someone have wanted him out of the way so that they could lead the coven as they saw fit?”

“If Princess Adrianna was still alive, I would say she would be the perfect candidate for that. She never liked the idea that Prince Zacarius ruled the coven and not her.”

“Because she’s a girl?”

“No, because she was born second,” Alfred said. “First born always governs. It doesn’t matter if the firstborn is male or female. It just matters who came first.”

“So, if the princess killed her brother off?” Devlin asked. “Would she been next to rule?”

Alfred nodded. “The coven must be governed by a royal. If Prince Zacarius died, Adrianna would have inherited the coven.”

“If Adrianna is dead and then Zacarius is killed, who stands to inherit then?”

Alfred frowned. “I’m not sure. They are the only children born of their father and linage is always passed down from the royal who reigned before them. He governed for more than two hundred years before he passed.”
 

“What about their mother?”

“Wait!” Keeley shouted. “You’re telling me that you people die of old age? I thought you were like, immortal or something.”

“Only in Hollywood movies,” Alfred replied, smiling slightly before clearing the grin off his face. “No, we do tend to live longer, but we can die just like everyone else. Royals do tend to live longer than normal members of our coven though. Prince Zacarius’s father lived to be seven hundred and forty three.”

“How did he die?” Keeley asked.

“He was attacked and killed by the prince of another coven.” Alfred shrugged. “It happens.”

“A lot?” Devlin asked. “Could that be why someone poisoned Zacarius?”

“Our coven is a much sought after coven. Zacarius has a lot of territory and even more influence,” Alfred replied, paling just a bit. “I suppose anything is possible.”

“Christ on a crutch!” Devlin swore. He looked at Alfred, certain that someone wanted to take Zacarius out of the picture. Bringing the prince to Wolf Creek just might have saved Zacarius’s life.

“They poisoned his wine, Alfred,” Devlin said. “I smelled it with my own nose. Who could have done it? Is there anyone in the coven that has a grudge against Zacarius or thinks that they have a right to his reign?”

Alfred’s forehead scrunched together as he thought. Finally, after a few moments, he shook his head. “No. Everyone loves him. Our coven has prospered under Prince Zacarius’s reign more than it has in centuries. I can’t think of anyone that would want to hurt him.”

“What about me? I was supposed to drink that wine right along with Zacarius. Besides the whole werewolf thing, could there be any other reason to try to kill me?”

“If someone knew you two mated, yes.”

Devlin shook his head. “We didn’t mate until after that.”

“Did you tell anyone before you mated?” Keeley tossed in.

Okay, that was where their problem came in. Devlin didn’t have a clue. Zacarius could have told everyone and Devlin wouldn’t know. The man had already been poisoned and recovered by the time they mated.

“I didn’t tell anyone, but Zacarius might have,” he finally replied.

Alfred shook his head. “No, I would have been the first one he told, and he never did.”

That made Devlin feel even worse. Apparently Zacarius hadn’t told anyone that they mated. Either because he didn’t care or he didn’t want anyone to know. Devlin wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“Do you think your mate is up to answering some questions?” Keeley asked. “He might be able to give us a better picture of who is after him.”

Devlin nodded. “That would probably be a good idea. I’ll go check on him and see if he’s up to it.”

He headed back to his bedroom, rubbing his sweaty palms on his jeans. He didn’t know what to say to Zacarius. It was obvious even to Devlin that they matched physically. It was out of bed that they seemed to have an issue.

If they could get past that, Devlin knew that they would make a formidable duo. Getting past it was what seemed to be the problem. Devlin still didn’t trust him not to lie, but that paled in comparison to his culpability in Zacarius’s condition.

Zacarius couldn’t live without him. Devlin’s transgression threatened Zacarius’s life. Zacarius’s lying was just frustrating. Which seemed worse? Devlin knew that his was. Zacarius had every right not to want to have anything to do with him.

Devlin hoped his mate would be more forgiving than him. Opening the bedroom door, he walked to the side of the bed. He hated to disturb Zacarius. He needed his rest, but Devlin needed answers that only Zacarius could give.

He reached down to grab Zacarius’s shoulder and shake him, but his hand just sank into the blankets. Devlin frowned. He grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it back then the rest if the to find the bed empty.

His mind a haze of confusion, Devlin glanced around the room. Everything was where it should be. Nothing seemed out of place…except the open double doors. Devlin jumped to his feet and raced to the doors.

Opening them up, hoping to see Zacarius’s handsome face, Devlin was shocked to see nothing except the woods out behind his house. There seemed to be no signs of a struggle, no break in, no sign of anything. Not even Zacarius.

Devlin closed the doors and raced back to the kitchen where Alfred and Keeley stood. “Zacarius is gone.”

“Gone?” Keeley asked.

“He’s gone, missing, whatever. He’s not here,” Devlin said snapped. “I went back in the bedroom and his blankets were all piled on the bed, but he wasn’t there. The patio doors were open, but there’s no sign of him.”

“Could someone have taken him, sir?”

“I don’t know,” Devlin replied. He paced around the kitchen, pushing his hand through his hair. “I mean, I suppose someone could have come in and taken him, but we would have scented them, right?”

He stopped and glanced over at Keeley and Alfred. “Right?”

Keeley quickly nodded.

Alfred just shrugged his shoulders. “I wouldn’t know, sir. I’m not a shifter.”

“That means Zacarius left here on his own,” Devlin whispered. The conversation from earlier played over in his mind. Zacarius said he would rather be dead than be mated. Devlin thought he was just angry. He never imagined his mate might be serious.

“We need to call Reece.”

Devlin glanced at Keeley and nodded, thankful someone was using their head. He couldn’t seem to stop thinking about what Zacarius’s words. Did his mate really hate him so much he would rather be dead than be with him?

Wait!
He said that he didn’t hate Devlin, just the opposite in fact. The opposite of hate was love, wasn’t it? But if Zacarius loved him why would he leave? Devlin rubbed his hand over his face as heartache filled him. He knew the answer.

Zacarius left because he felt didn’t have any other choice. Devlin did everything possible, even outright saying the words, to tell Zacarius they could never have a relationship. The man didn’t have a reason to stay and he had enough pride to not beg.

Devlin felt like the world’s biggest idiot. The more and more he thought about it, the more he knew this whole situation lay entirely on his shoulders. He needed to find Zacarius before he got into more trouble than he was already in.

“I’m going to go look for Zacarius,” Devlin said. “Call Reece then Daniel and let them both know what’s going on. I have my cell phone on me. If you find my mate, call me.”

“But what’s going on, Dev?” Keeley cried out as Devlin head for his bedroom. “What do I tell them?”

Devlin paused. He glanced over his shoulder at Keeley. “Tell them that my vampire mate is lost out in a valley full of werewolves without protection.”

* * * *

Zacarius felt cold, bone deep cold. He couldn’t remember ever being this cold, and he’d spent a decade in Siberia. This felt colder. He wrapped his arms around himself, running his hands up and down his forearms to warm then. It didn’t help.

Nothing seemed to help. His vision started going blurry some time ago and now he saw large dots move about. If he remembered anything he’d been warned about as a child, lack of blood would soon lead to total blindness and then he’d be truly screwed.

There were also some other effects from lack of blood, like the loss of his senses. Eventually it would get hard to move his arms and legs, and he would get very tired, wanting to lie down and sleep. If he slept, though, he’d never wake up.

That, of course, was assuming he didn’t go feral and attack someone. Granted, he could only drink Devlin’s blood now, but his hunter instincts would still compel him to seek out a blood source anyway.

And wouldn’t that just be peachy?
Now that he was mated to Devlin, taking blood from anyone except his mate would drive him insane and he’d have to be put down for the safety of everyone around him.

His life just kept getting more interesting with every second. He was in the middle of a valley full of werewolves and in danger of attacking one of them. He’d make a lot of friends that way.

To top everything off, he was lost. He didn’t know where he was, or where he headed. He could be walking toward the edge of the Wolf Creek Pack’s territory or right into the middle of it. Every way he looked at it he was fucked.