Blood Prince [Wolf Creek Pack 4] (17 page)

Zacarius really didn’t like the way that sounded. He started to struggle, extending his claws and trying to cut through the cords tying his hands behind his back. At the same time he kicked out at the men holding him in place.

Hands grabbed at him. Zacarius bit at them, sinking his teeth into soft flesh. A hard blow to the back of his head sent pain pounding through his head. Zacarius dropped to his knees, not able to hold himself up anymore.

He felt his arms being held out to his sides. Someone gripped his long hair and yanked his head back. Zacarius opened his eyes to see Desmond standing over the top of him, glaring down at him with venom in his eyes.

“You will pay for this right along with every other transgression you’ve committed, Zacarius,” Desmond snapped through gritted teeth. Zacarius grinned when he saw the dark purple mark on Desmond’s jaw. He’d at least gotten in one good hit.

“Like I said, Desmond, go fuck yourself.”

“How about we go get your little consort and see how he likes it when I fuck you? Or maybe I should fuck him instead? You seem to be willing to do anything to keep him safe. Can he be that good?” Desmond pointed toward the bedroom doors. “Go get the dog.”

Zacarius panicked, fear for his mate overriding every sensible thing he could have done. He tried to struggle but the men holding him in place kept him from moving. Tears pooled in the corner of his eyes as he realized he had no way to save Devlin.

He would have to watch Desmond attack his mate then most likely kill him. Or Devlin would have to watch Desmond attack him. Either way, something precious and special would be destroyed.

It was at that heartbreaking moment that Zacarius realized his feelings for Devlin went beyond that of their mating. He’d known from very early on that he cared about the shifter, but he never knew until now that he loved Devlin.

And he’d never get the chance to tell him. Something inside of Zacarius broke in that instant. Something else began to grow, a rage so hot it nearly blocked out the light, nearly. A glimmer of his love for Devlin still nestled in his heart.

“Devlin!” Zacarius roared as he tried to gain his feet, his rage spurring him on. The men cried out in pain as Zacarius fought for his and Devlin’s survival with every last ounce of energy he had.

Zacarius got to his feet, and yanked his arms free just as he heard a loud crash from behind him. He whirled around, momentarily shocked to see Devlin racing into the room in full werewolf form.

His jaw lengthened, his canines dripped with the blood of the man that Desmond sent to get him. His claws extended, swiping out at whoever got close enough for him to reach. Ferocious growls came from Devlin’s mouth.

Zacarius wasn’t sure he ever saw anything so magnificent in his life. Devlin looked glorious! Watching Devlin battle, Zacarius suddenly felt like they might have a chance. Joy filled him as he renewed his fight, striking out at the closest vampire to him.

Man after man fell at Zacarius’s feet in piles of blood and broken bodies. He still fought on, aiming his way toward his mate. When a hand landed on his shoulder, he swung around, teeth bared and claws ready to strike until he saw Devlin looking down at him.

Zacarius took just a moment to reach up and wipe a small smear of blood from Devlin’s cheek before turning back to face those left in the room. His heart caught in his throat when he found himself staring down the barrel of a very large gun in the hand of Desmond.

“You didn’t think it would be that easy did you?” Desmond sneered. “I will have my coven.”

“It’s not your coven, Desmond,” Zacarius said. “It’s never been your coven.”

“It is my coven.” Desmond smirked and waved his gun a little. “Well, it will be as soon as I get rid of the two of you.”

Zacarius felt Devlin grab him around the waist, slowly pushing him back behind his larger body. Zacarius dug in his feet. He refused to hide behind his mate while their lives were in danger. He wouldn’t stay safe at the expense of his mate’s life.

“You’ll never be rid of me or my kind, Desmond,” Zacarius said. “There are too many of us that believe the Great War was wrong. The mating between shifters and vampires is not wrong. It’s just as natural as the mating between vampires and humans or anyone else.”

“It is wrong!” Desmond smirked. “Vampires should only mate with vampires. We need to keep the bloodlines pure.”

“Pure?” Zacarius scoffed. “I doubt there’s a single one of us that is pure. We mated with shifters and humans for centuries. None of us are pure anymore.”

“I am pure!” Desmond shouted, raising his arm in the air as if trying to make a point. “I have never sullied myself with creatures beneath me, not like you have. You are unclean and need to be removed from existence before you corrupt others.”

“So, you’re going to kill me for the good of the coven or because I spurned you and turned my affections to a shifter?”

“We would still be together if not for this…this thing!”

“You do remember that we broke up over a hundred years ago, right?”

Desmond’s face turned red. “You are mine!”

“I was never yours. We fucked around for awhile, but we both know it never would have lasted. I could never be with anyone that believes anyone else is beneath them just because they’re different. Your father was an idiot.”

Zacarius pushed himself in front of Devlin as Desmond leveled the gun at him. He grabbed his mate’s hand and gave it a squeeze, trying to express his feelings through that small touch as he closed his eyes and braced himself for the feeling of a bullet entering his body.

The loud retort of a gun going off echoed though the room. There was a loud cry of pain and distress. When Zacarius realized that the cry hadn’t come from him, he opened his eyes.

Hs first concern was that a bullet hit Devlin, but he hadn’t moved from behind Zacarius. If anything, he moved closer, his arms wrapping around Zacarius’s waist.

Zacarius dug his fingers into the arm around his waist. He took just a second to savor the knowledge that they both still lived before looking across the room to where Desmond now lay on the floor, a large kitchen knife sticking out of his bloody back.

Stefan hovered over him, blood covering the hand over his mouth. He glanced up, his eyes stricken as he held up his hand. “I didn’t—I didn’t mean to—I couldn’t let him—”

Zacarius quickly moved away from Devlin to Stefan, wrapping an arm around the man’s heaving shoulders. He gently patted his head. “Ssshhh, Stefan. It’s okay. You did the right thing. He would have killed me and Devlin.”

“I know,” Stefan whispered. “I tried to warn you on the phone, but I—”

Before Stefan could finish his statement the door to the room crashed open and Alfred came running in, several men coming in after him. He seemed to take in the scene in a split second, issuing orders for the room to be cleared and the dead bodies be removed.

Zacarius walked Stefan over to the couch and sank down beside him. He held out his hand to his mate, entreating Devlin to join him.

Chapter 12

Devlin heaved a relieved sigh and crossed the room to take his mate’s hand. It took several deep breaths for his heart rate to return to normal, though. He couldn’t believe they had both been so close to dying.

He couldn’t believe he almost lost the most important person in his life. When Zacarius shouted for him as he got out of the shower, Devlin thought his heart would stop beating in his chest. It was the most agonizing sound he ever heard.

The man that entered their private bedroom died before Devlin even knew what happened. His only concern had been to get to his mate.

Crashing into the room and finding Zacarius fighting for his life sent him into pure rage. Nothing mattered except getting to his mate and keeping him safe, not even his own life. Devlin would have gladly given that up the keep Zacarius safe.

He’d known for some time that he loved Zacarius. He’d been too afraid to tell him in case his feelings weren’t returned. Considering what they just faced, his fears seemed paltry now.

Devlin squatted down in front of Zacarius and cupped his hands around the man’s face. He leaned in and gave him a small kiss before leaning back to look at him again. Devlin smiled. He felt tears pool in the corner of his eyes.

“I love you, Zac.”

Zacarius’s eyes widened. For a moment, Devlin thought Zacarius might reject his declaration, until a wide smile played over his lips and blood red tears dripped from his eyes.

“I love you too, my darling.”

Devlin heard a small sniffle from beside Zacarius. It was only then that he remembered they had an audience. He looked at Stefan, reaching over to pat his leg. “Thank you for saving us, Stefan. I will forever be in your debt.”

“You might not say that when you find out that Stefan is the one that poisoned me,” Zacarius commented.

“What?” Devlin braced himself for another fight until he remembered who exactly Zacarius talked about. He hadn’t known Stefan long, but he doubted the vampire had a mean bone in his body.

“You mean it worked?” Stefan asked, sounding astonished.

Devlin gaped at him. “Stefan, your prince almost died.”

Stefan’s eyes widened and his face paled. “Oh, but he wasn’t supposed to be hurt. I just meant to kill Devlin.”

“So, you did mean to kill me?” Devlin asked.

Stefan’s face flushed. He shrugged, his eyes dropping down to the floor. “Well, that was before I really knew you.”

“Stefan, why would you try to kill me?” Devlin couldn’t remember ever having done something to warrant that kind of hatred.

“You’re a shifter.” Stefan looked back up at Devlin. “I thought you would hurt Prince Zacarius, and I couldn’t let you do that. He’s what holds us all together. We need him.”

“Stefan!” Devlin exclaimed. “You tried to poison me and almost killed Zacarius. How can you justify that?”

“I didn’t know you then. I really thought you’d hurt him or us. You have to understand, Devlin, I grew up hearing what monsters shifters were. Prince Laurent Von Byrne was my stepfather. He started the Great War. No one ever said any different.”

“You know differently now, don’t you?” Zacarius asked.

“Yes,” Stefan replied, his face flushing again. “I really am sorry. I thought I did the right thing. I thought I was protecting my prince.”

“While I appreciate the concern, you do understand that all the crap your stepfather spewed was not true, right?” Devlin asked. “Shifters are no different than vampires or humans. We all want the same things out of life, to get ahead, find someone we care about, and live a happy life.”

“Yes. It took me awhile, but I figured that out.” Stefan glanced down at his hands. “I really am sorry.”

“Promise me you will never do it again?” Zacarius asked.

“I’d never hurt Devlin now,” Stefan quickly said, looking up. “I swear.”

“I want you to promise me that you’ll never try to poison anyone again.”

“Oh yeah, that, too.”

Devlin chuckled. “I think we need to get you mated off before you cause any more trouble.” Stefan didn’t seem to find that amusing. If anything, he face fell a little more. Devlin grabbed his hand. “Stefan, I was only joking. You are always welcome here.”

“Oh, I know. It’s just, well, now that Desmond is gone I have to go home and deal with my other stepbrother, Oliver, and he’s even worse than Desmond.”

“He’s a purist?” Zacarius asked.

“No, he could care less about purifying the races. He just thinks he should be a prince, and he lets everyone around him know it. He treats the servants like crap and throws lavish parties for his friends. If I don’t do what he says, he gets mean.”

“Has he ever hit you?” Devlin asked, his jaw clenching at the idea that anyone could harm this gentle man.

Stefan shrugged. “He isn’t around much with Desmond being first born and all, but now that Desmond is gone I suspect he’ll be coming home.”

“You tell him that if he lays a hand on you, he’ll have to deal with me,” Devlin said. “You’re the personal friend of the royal consort, and he’d better not forget that. I have connections you know. I’m on pretty good terms with the prince.”

Stefan snapped his mouth shut, but not before a small giggle escaped his lips. Devlin smiled at him and patted his leg again.

“Okay, I want you to go downstairs and let Alfred know that we need some food. In a couple of days after everything has settled down I’ll contact the alpha of my pack and arrange a mate gathering. Maybe we’ll be lucky and someone will sweep you off your feet.”

Stefan seemed much happier as he jumped to his feet and hurried from the room. Devlin waited until the door shut behind Stefan before getting up to grab his mate and lift him into his arms.

Zacarius didn’t make a sound as Devlin carried him into the bathroom and slowly undressed him. Devlin undressed himself, which wasn’t hard considering he only wore a pair of jeans then pulled Zacarius into the shower with him.

It took just a moment for the water to heat up. During that time, Devlin wrapped his arms around Zacarius and pulled him close, just standing with his mate in his arms as the water sprayed over the both of them.

The emotions sweeping through threatened to overwhelm him. Devlin blinked several times to clear the tears from his eyes. He buried his face against Zacarius’s long black hair and took several deep breaths.

That only brought the sweet scent of his mate into him. Devlin suddenly needed to feel his mate. He needed to know they were both alive and okay, that Zacarius needed him as much as Devlin needed Zacarius.

Devlin gripped Zacarius’s hair and pulled his head back until he could see into his shocked eyes. He offered no apology, no words of remorse, just leaned down and captured Zacarius’s lips with a savage intensity.