Vaewolf: Damn the Darkness: The Prophecy's Promise (Hearts of Darkness Book 3) (16 page)

The other man sniffed the air as Dylan had, and suddenly froze, looking as shocked as Caitlin felt. His attention wavered between her and the vampire who had her pinned against him. The stranger’s gaze flipped back and forth between her and Dylan as emotions as thick as sludge filled the air between them.

His shocked expression eventually gave way to confusion, then fury and pain.

Caitlin picked up a few more distraught thoughts from the other guests.

Prophecy bride? Witch’s son. Giza? Stonehenge.

Nothing she gleaned from those thoughts made sense to her. Nor did the next ones.
Bonding scent... Two mates. Vaewolf and a made vampire sharing? Unheard of!
The minds whispered, filling her head.
Not possible!

Only one word in all those thoughts made sense of the horror she sensed—one whispered name she never expected.
Jackson.
Was that the identity of the other man?

Struck with the deepest sense of regret imaginable, she wondered if this other man was
the
Jackson, Dylan’s surrogate brother.

Her memories flooded back. She was bonded to Dylan. Right. She and Dylan? Her life mate.

Panic ran through her. Hadn’t she’d felt this same attraction to him when they’d first met?

Now with this man. Not just any man.

The wolf raged.

“No, not possible.”
Caitlin didn’t understand.

Before he slammed his mental doors shut, Caitlin caught Jackson’s resentment build momentum like a runaway train on a downhill run.

“Mine.”
Low measured growls rumbled from Jackson’s chest.

“Never!”
Dylan gripped her arm tighter.

“No! What’s happening?”

What was all the growling and posturing all about?

A variety of thoughts considering the possibilities sifted through her mind, and one word consistently reverberated through everyone else’s, including both men’s.
Death.
And that thought terrified her, shaking her to her core.

The situation was deadly serious, and if calmer heads didn’t prevail things would escalate. The outcome didn’t look promising for a satisfactory conclusion.

Determining what happened between her and the man she suspected might be Jackson still had her confused. She attempted once more to gain access to Dylan’s thoughts, only to discover he’d successfully blocked her.

The waves of uncontrolled fury rolling off both men were sufficient warning to everyone in the vicinity to stay clear. In spite of the men’s efforts to keep their thoughts from her, the aggression filtered through so strongly the force of their emotions knocked the breath out of her like a punch to the gut. First her knees buckled, and her head spun, then the effect sent her sprawling to the ground. Darkness blanketed her and the sounds in her head finally quieted.

Chapter Twenty One

Confronting the Conflict

Caitlin?

The haze wouldn’t release Jackson’s mind. But the name Dylan uttered sounded vaguely familiar, and when his confusion eventually shattered, Jackson felt an inexplicable fear merge with the dread growing inside him.

“Jackson?” Dylan redirected his attention away from the woman. “What the hell’s going on?” he managed to grind out past his clenched teeth and tight lipped expression.

Baffled, Jackson’s confusion had him bordering on the edge of shifting. From the sound of the threat in Dylan’s voice, and the effect of the sexual pull from the woman, instinct took over and Jackson faced off with Dylan, suddenly realizing for some reason, his friend was royally pissed. Through the whirlwind of mental images, Jackson had picked up a random thought or two—something to do with the hot babe in his arms.

Jackson didn’t have a clue. Then recognition hit him like a tree trunk.

“Aw, shiiiit. Caitlin.” The pain wrenched Jackson’s heart and punched him in the gut knocking the wind from him. He looked into Dylan’s eyes and then into the eyes of the woman, and everything made sense. Then again...it made no sense at all.

The woman didn’t move or take her eyes off him even when Dylan spoke. Her bonding scent and Jackson’s rose in the air surrounding them, getting stronger. Impossible!

“Mine.” Dylan made his claim clear.

“S-she belongs to you?” The stabbing pain in his heart practically floored him. “Then why...this?” Jackson gestured to the thick bonding scent in the air. The alpha wolf within him roared his displeasure, ready to fight for the
claiming
.

The woman’s confusion, filtering through the maze of emotions, was as obvious as their attraction, but her focused attention never turned from Jackson.

“She belongs to me!” Dylan sniffed the air and frowned, apparently as confused as Jackson. Dylan’s gaze shot to him, then to the woman, and back. Finally, a spark of awareness flooded his expression, followed by shock, then agony so palliative the surroundings filled with his pain as cold as a sudden blast of arctic air.

The situation didn’t stop him from moving forward. He stepped up behind the woman, his nostrils flared and his eyes changed. Dylan possessively wrapped his fingers around her arms, tugging her away. Snarling at Jackson with a viciousness Jackson rarely, if ever, had seen from his friend, Dylan led the woman away and pulled her to his side.

His fangs fully extended and his pale eyes blood red.

The shock almost set Jackson on his ass, especially when the wolf’s threatening response rose aggressively and rumbled inside his chest. The inner beast grew stronger and more dangerous with every breath he took. His jacket immediately felt too tight. His clothes began to choke him, and as hard as he tried to bury his wolf beneath his vampire nature, he had zip for control. Jackson pulled at his tie and tore off the jacket, carelessly tossing it aside. He unbuttoned his shirt, regretting this moment and the loss of...everything.

So much for self-control and my first tux.

He focused as hard as he could on anything other than her. But the sexual vibes in the air were as thick as swamp fog, and he was unable to turn from her the way he’d hoped. It would take something or someone more powerful to keep him from her.

Maybe his deep feelings for Dylan would be enough to fight back the beast within him.

Jackson’s skin prickled all over—his fingernails ached, his bones cracked, and his fangs dropped into place. He clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides hoping to hold off the inevitable. He was breathing hard when his vision changed, narrowing focus and sharpening—signs of his imminent shift. From what he could determine, Dylan’s rage wasn’t far behind his own.

“Dylan, stay back,” he growled, “it’s too late for me. I can’t stop.”

He glared at Caitlin, at the swirling stone between her voluptuous breasts and couldn’t stop from taking the forbidden step toward her.

Dylan pulled her back, bared his teeth, and stepped in front of her. His fangs dropped into place first, his claws next, and then he ripped off his jacket and shirt as his muscles filled—exploding with power.

The wolf inside Jackson roared with contempt. The prickling intensified. Hair. Fingers and toes throbbed, nails extended, bones lengthened, and his muscles thickened.

A howl let loose in the room, one so loud, so ominous, everyone backed away. Frozen in place, Jackson suddenly realized his shirt lay in tatters on the floor, his pants beside his shoes. He’d lost the battle to stay in control. His wolf was loose and the howling sound had come from him.

Apparently, Dylan’s control disappeared as Jackson’s wolf began to take form. The ancient Celtic berserker replaced the refined vampire lord, just as Jackson’s wolf broke through. He had tried to hold the beast back, but it was too late.

The darkness inside the men took over, and the snarling beasts leaped, tearing at one another.

“Stop,” Caitlin’s words were no more than a whisper, but neither man could move at her command. Tears filled her eyes, as she held the mind stone out in her hand. “No more. I feel everything you’re feeling, everything you’re doing to each other, every strike, scratch, bite, every painful emotion.”

Oh, fuck!
The full implication of what happened swept over Jackson like a tsunami. His wolf had imprinted on Dylan’s life mate. As far as Jackson knew, it was impossible unless it was because Dylan hadn’t completed the Binding Ceremony with her.

“It’s not me. It’s my wolf.”
             

At the moment, the woman was confused, and their hostility toward one another, physically and emotionally caused her pain. That he couldn’t allow.

“Caitlin, you are my wolf’s alpha mate.”
Then Jackson sent the wolf’s thoughts to her.

Then, she blinked, and silently collapsed.

With his head lowered between his massive shoulders in the aggressive stance of the wolf, Jackson backed away from Dylan and the fight, growling, refusing to appear submissive in any way before his people or his woman.

“Jackson, wait,” Dylan called to him. But before he traveled out of earshot, he heard the mental warning Dylan sent him,
“This isn’t over. When you get yourself under control, tell Garr to set up a meeting.”

There was a definite threat in his message.

Chapter Twenty Two

Facing the Facts

Later, Caitlin came to her senses and opened her eyes. She shook off the dizziness and tried to determine what happened. Dylan lifted her to her feet, supporting her. After a couple of deep breaths, she’d mentally sorted through the recent events—at least what she could remember.

Focus. Think.

Still reeling from the experience and bewildered, she forced herself to face the worst. Of all the things she’d never expected to happen, she’d fainted.

Ridiculous. So damned out of character. A humiliating, girlie reaction to stress.

What was up with her? She’d been an FBI Agent for seven years—still was. Agents didn’t faint.
Hell, I’m a freakin’ vampire, literally immortal.
She was
immortal
for Pete’s sake! Immortals didn’t faint.

But her woozy head argued against her better judgment. She might have to reconsider because, to her dismay, she had fainted.

Isobel gently approached Dylan, and with a quick apologetic glance at Caitlin, whispered, “I’ll see everyone out.”

He quietly thanked her through thin, tight lips and a clenched jaw, then stopped her as he helped Caitlin to a chair. “Isobel, when you’re finished will you see to Caitlin? I have to find Garr.”

“Certainly.” The woman’s eyes flickered once to Caitlin before she nodded at Dylan and, with a kinder glance to both, went on about the duties of playing hostess.

Caitlin should have been relieved to have Isobel handle this in her absence, and she was. Thankful, too. Feeling her head for bumps, or a reason for her collapse, provided no explanation. Being in Dylan’s arms calmed her racing pulse and the anxiety, but without a word, he eased away from her.

Only minutes after overlooking her “sex fae” impression and protectively keeping her from slamming face first to the floor, Dylan excused himself politely and took off without a word or backwards glance. All Caitlin could do was watch helplessly as he walked away, striding down the path to the edge of the forest, and once in the shadow of the trees, he sifted, disappearing into the night.

“Caitlin? Are you okay here
alone,
cherie
? The curious onlookers have all gone.” Isobel gracefully sat down beside her. “Just give me a few minutes to make sure the place is clear and send the caterers home, then we can talk,
non
?”

Caitlin nodded, thankful to have someone who was willing to talk to her.

She was beginning to wonder if she’d ever learn how to block powerful immortals. Breaking through her defenses seemed easy enough for the last one, and she’d ended up dead. Now here was Jackson able to seduce her into melted butter with one look. Not understanding how or why, she’d imprinted on both men. Apparently and understandably, from the reactions, that just wasn’t done.

Something was seriously wrong, and the fear building inside her was a clear indication this had something to do with the three of them.

“Isobel? Can you explain what happened?”

The vampire shook her head, and Caitlin gripped her wrists to stop her shaking hands. Her ragged voice gave away her nerves. “Before you go...tell me. Was that... Jackson?”

“Yes, the man you’re wondering about is Jackson Whelan Xenos, son of Niccolai Xenos and the late Abigail Whelan—the future hope of the vampire nation.”

“Oh, no! Oh, my God.” On trembling legs, Caitlin stood and ran to the porch thinking to stop Dylan when a hand on her arm stopped her.

Isobel gently tugged her back into the house. “Your Dylan will be back and have answers for you, soon enough.” The Cajun vampire beauty spoke with a quiet controlled expression and added a hint of a
suggestion.
“Shush, now
cherie
, you should take care. You have had a shock. This is not something you can control.”