The Dark Vampire: Last True Vampire 3 (33 page)

There was always another obstacle to overcome with Jenner, it seemed. One more mountain to climb. How many times would she have to prove herself to him before he quit trying to put her behind him and allowed her to stand beside him as an equal?

She marched into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Any passionate inclinations she’d felt evaporated under her annoyance at being disregarded yet again. If Jenner thought to keep her complacent with the artful way he fucked her he should think again. Jenner was her mate, not her jailer. And Bria would do whatever the hell she wanted from here on out.

Her step faltered.
No.
Those were the thoughts of a spoiled girl. The words she’d spoken to Jenner in the darkness had been true. She was sorry for her selfish behavior. Jenner wanted to protect her. She couldn’t begrudge him that, just like she wouldn’t begrudge her uncle and mother their decisions.

Jenner was a reasonable male. He’d apologized for his own stubbornness as well. He’d revealed so much of himself to her over the past two days. He was mastered by his worries and she had to convince him that there was no need for concern. Surely they could come to a solution that would please them both. If Bria promised to follow his instructions to the letter, if she promised not to run headlong into danger, perhaps he’d let her come along as he hunted the necromancer. Compromise could be found. With that upbeat thought her anger vanished as though blown away by a cleansing breeze. A smile curved her lips as Bria stepped under the warm spray of the shower. Today was a new day. Her tether with Jenner was stronger than ever. She would do whatever it took to convince him that together they could shape their future.

“It seems all that needed to happen for you to pull your head out of your ass was a silver bullet in your back. I’ll remember that for the next time you need a wake-up call.” Ronan tossed Jenner a black T-shirt and he swiped it out of the air to tug it on. “According to Mikhail, no one’s seen hide nor hair of you for almost two days.” Ronan’s expression turned mischievous. “Seriously, Jenner, there’s a kid living here. Hardly appropriate for your sex-fest.”

He cut Ronan a look. The first thing Jenner planned to do was move Bria out of Mikhail’s house and into his apartment. This no-privacy bullshit was going to get old, fast. And he didn’t need either male giving him shit over the amount of time he spent in bed with his mate or the
means by which he’d finally succumbed to his want of her. Though, he had to admit, the silver bullet that had been lodged close to his heart had been one hell of a fucking wake-up call.

“Do you want to know what Gregor’s up to?” Jenner asked. “Or would you rather I paint your fucking nails while we discuss my love life?”

Ronan had the nerve to act as though he was contemplating his options. “I don’t know.” He examined his nails. “I could probably use a mani.”

Jenner snorted his amusement and headed for the king’s study. “I want to start tracking the necromancer tonight. Can you make Naya available?”

Ronan let out a disbelieving bark of laughter. “I can’t
make
my mate do anything.” He gave a sad shake of his head that Jenner suspected was meant to convey Ronan’s pity for his stupidity. “She likes to pretend that she’s deferring to me, or at the very least allowing me an opinion in the matter, but the truth is, she’s a headstrong female who’s more than capable of taking care of herself. That doesn’t mean I’m going to let her get within two hundred yards of the necromancer, though.”

Bria shared that same headstrong will and it scared the shit out of Jenner. She still hadn’t told him what she’d been doing at Ultra the other night. Alone. Without even Alex as an escort. Despite the fact that Jenner had spent the last two days sating his lust for Bria, every muscle in his body stretched taut with renewed tension. The relaxed, boneless state he’d found in her arms evaporated the moment he’d stepped through the door and out into the hallway. He wouldn’t—couldn’t—let down his guard until the necromancer was dead.

Her expression when he’d told her he was going out stuck in Jenner’s mind like a burr. The disappointment etched on her features tugged at his chest still. She was
too precious to him to lose over something as trivial as a little freedom. He’d make her understand that all of this was temporary. He wouldn’t treat Bria the way her uncle had, but if she could be patient with him, let him focus on hunting the necromancer without the distraction of worrying for her, she could finally have the life she’d always wanted. One that didn’t require her to be closeted away.

“I told you, I don’t need her that close. I just need her to pinpoint a location.”

“Naya was ready to roll the second you mentioned it,” Ronan said. “If Mikhail doesn’t have anything pressing, we can start tonight.”

“Good.”

Mikhail waited for them in the study. Along with a male Jenner hoped he’d never come face-to-face with for a good, long while. A territorial growl built in Jenner’s chest as his eyes locked with Lucas’s. His fangs throbbed in his gums with the urge to tear out the dhampir’s throat.

Ronan leaned in and spoke from the corner of his mouth. “Apparently, Bria did little to domesticate you over the past couple of days.”

Hilarious.
He doubted Ronan would be much more civil if a male who wanted Naya showed up at the front door. “What in hell is he doing here?”

Mikhail raised a brow and a sizzle of power sparked in the air. Jenner averted his gaze and deferred to his king, though what he really wanted to do was draw a little blood.

Lucas shot a superior smirk Jenner’s way and it was all he could do not to take the son of a bitch down right then and there. The dhampir rose from his seat and turned toward Mikhail. “Thank you for seeing me. I hope we’ll speak again soon.”

Mikhail gave a shallow nod of his head. Jenner refused
to budge from the doorway as Lucas headed toward him. Bria’s scent clung to Jenner’s skin and he wanted the male to be
very
aware of whom she was mated to. Lucas brought his gaze to Jenner’s as he neared the doorway and his lips formed a hard line as he brushed past him.

A long-suffering sigh broke the silence and Jenner turned his attention to see Mikhail pinch the bridge of his nose between his thumb and finger. “Gods, I’d forgotten what it was like to be in the company of mated males.” His exasperation drew a chuckle from Ronan. Jenner simply scowled.

He opened his mouth to speak and Mikhail raised a staying hand. “No. I absolutely will not discuss the matter of Lucas’s presence here with you. In case you’ve forgotten, Jenner, this is
my
house. I am the king and I’ll see whoever the hell I please, whenever I please. Do you understand me?”

Jenner clamped his jaw down so tight that his fangs punctured his lower lip. He flicked out with his tongue and sealed the punctures before giving a sharp nod of his head.

“Now, tell me about the slayers.”

“I was headed for my bike to catch up with—” Jenner bit the words off before he admitted he’d been chasing Bria. “When I spotted Gregor and at least a dozen other berserkers. They’d congregated in an alley outside of Ultra. From what I heard, he’s decided to pull back on the attacks on the covens. He’s got a tracker looking for someone. A dhampir, I think. Gregor called her the daughter of Réamonn. I thought you said Gregor was looking for Siobhan.”

“He is,” Mikhail answered darkly, though he offered no further explanation. “Who do you think he’s using as a tracker? The werewolf?”

Jenner nodded. “That’s my guess. Called him Whalen. From what I heard, his loyalty was purchased. If we have to, we could probably buy his allegiance as well.”

Mikhail let out an annoyed chuff of breath. “I want no male who has to be bought. We’ll continue on our path,” he said. “We’ll keep an eye on Siobhan. Even with a tracker, it’ll be hard for Gregor to find her. She’s done a good job of hiding who she is.” Jenner met Ronan’s curious gaze and the male shrugged. Mikhail was older than all of them. And even through the Collective, Jenner had never seen a memory that might have included the female to let him in on what her sordid history with the berserker might be. “Gregor’s obviously hell-bent on finding her. We’ll just wait for him to do it.”

“There’s more,” Jenner said. Mikhail quirked a curious brow. “They’re planning a coup against the Sortiari.”

Mikhail’s eyes widened a fraction of an inch, but it might as well have been a gaping stare. “An insurrection?”

“Gregor claims to have a weapon that’ll lay McAlister low.”

Ronan took a step forward. “Like what?”

“A female,” Jenner replied.

Ronan let out a burst of incredulous laughter. “You’re joking? Gregor thinks to overthrow the entire Sortiari—an entity of unimaginable membership—with a single female. Who is she, the Dark fucking Phoenix?”

Ronan’s X-Men humor aside, his guess was as good as anyone’s. “I didn’t hear much more. Gregor sensed my presence and that’s when they came after me. I ditched my bike and got the fuck out of there.”

“It’s a good thing you did,” Mikhail said. “I doubt that even you would have withstood a dozen slayers, Jenner.”

“No doubt,” Ronan added. “We need to be more on guard from now on. It’s obvious that Gregor isn’t going
to leave anytime soon. And if he’s planning a hostile takeover, you can damned well bet he’ll call in reinforcements.”

Mikhail’s jaw squared and he gave a shallow nod of his head. “We’ll need to bump up our own security as well.”

“I can have Naya place a few protection charms on the property,” Ronan suggested. “Jenner, want me to have her do your place, too?”

“Yeah.” If he was going to move Bria to his apartment he wanted to make sure the place was better protected than Fort fucking Knox.

“Tell me about the werewolf.” Mikhail swiveled in his chair, his elbows on the armrest, fingers steepled in front of him. “What more do you know?”

“Not enough,” Jenner replied. “Like I said, he’s a male who’s easily bought. Up to his eyeballs in debt and more than willing to flip his allegiances for whoever has the deeper pockets.”

Mikhail scowled. “Do you think the wolf is one of McAlister’s?”

Jenner shrugged. “Could be. That’s the way Gregor made it sound. Either way, the bastard’s got a hard-on for Siobhan. The closer we watch her, the more we’re bound to find out.”

A stretch of silence passed and Mikhail said, “Saeed has made a petition to be turned.”

Saeed’s coven was the second largest in the city next to Siobhan’s. The male was also the oldest dhampir in existence as far as anyone knew, though some speculated that Siobhan was older. Few dhampirs could boast more than three centuries. It was no coincidence that the two oldest dhampirs managed the two largest covens. Jenner didn’t know the male well, but he had a more-than-formidable reputation. “What did you tell him?”

Mikhail fixed Jenner and Ronan with a contemplative stare. “I told him I’d consider his request. But with this new information about Gregor, I think it might be wise to turn him sooner rather than later.”

The impact of turning an actual coven leader was huge. “I think you should do it,” Jenner replied. “As soon as possible.”

“Turning Saeed could have an impact that we’re not ready for, Mikhail.” Ronan, always the voice of reason. “If left unchecked, he could easily turn his entire coven in a matter of weeks.”

“And if you drag your feet and continue on with this bullshit vetting process, you’re going to be seen as classist and Siobhan’s disdain for what you represent will only gain traction.” Jenner didn’t share Ronan’s opinion. “You were born into the aristocracy, Mikhail. And likewise, Ronan has kept company with you for long enough to have adopted your way of thinking. Transition can’t be only for the upper class. You can’t rebuild the race by adhering to out-of-date doctrine.” He knew he was pushing his luck with his flapping lips, but it needed to be said.

“You’re kidding yourself, Jenner, if you think Siobhan is any less the aristocrat than I am.”

Jenner regarded his king with narrowed eyes. If that was true, then Siobhan had indeed done a damned good job of burying her true identity. “Either way, I think you should grant Saeed’s request whether he turns his entire coven or not. We need fighters strong enough to fight the berserkers.”

“Whether he wants to turn the members of his coven is a moot point for now,” Mikhail said. “Without a mate, Saeed won’t be strong enough to turn a dhampir.”

“Who’s to say Saeed’s soul won’t be tethered as quickly as ours were?” Ronan suggested. “Seems like
Fate is making up for lost time, if you know what I mean. Is it a variable we can afford to ignore?”

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Mikhail said with a sigh. “Jenner’s right. We need vampires with the strength to fight. To survive. The dhampirs need protection as much as we do. I’ve decided to turn one member of each coven who’s sworn fealty. It’s a starting point.”

Jenner’s eyes narrowed. “Is that why Lucas was here?”

Mikhail’s gaze flitted to Ronan. “Lucas made a request. But I’m not sure if I trust any members of Thomas Fairchild’s coven yet. He’s going to attend to Chelle until I decide what to do with him.”

Ronan let out a disbelieving bark of laughter. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. You’re throwing a lamb to the lion, you do realize that?”

Jenner snorted. He might have wanted to beat the dhampir to a bloody pulp, but Ronan had a point. Chelle had been given the guesthouse at the edge of Mikhail’s property for a reason. Her bloodlust was still out of control. As an offshoot of the race, disconnected from the Collective, Chelle was an anomaly. Completely unpredictable. “If you want the male dead”—Jenner smirked—“then by all means, feed him to Ronan’s sister.”

“I can’t keep her locked up forever.” Mikhail gave Jenner a pointed look and a wave of guilt washed over him. “And likewise, I won’t isolate her out of fear. Fairchild’s coven is . . . decidedly naïve.”

Wasn’t that the fucking truth? He wondered if Mikhail realized how naïve. That they were forbidden from taking the vein at the throat and were only allowed to feed when it became necessity. Not to mention that the lot of them were as virginal as a bunch of nuns. Lucas would be in way over his head with Ronan’s wild twin.