Jasper (25 page)

Dante was a mess. He didn’t know what to say to Trevor to
make him understand how he was feeling. Jasper was a brother to Dante, even if
he’d only been on the East Coast for a short while. Trevor, however, was like a
son to Dante, and he only wanted what was best for him. He tried to give Trevor
space to handle things the way he felt he needed to. Jasper was his mate after
all. Dante had gone after Isabelle and Connor, handling that situation his way.
Nikolas had gone after Sophia the way he felt was best. Dante understood how
Trevor was feeling. Granted, Trevor wasn’t a Gargoyle and probably felt even
more helpless, knowing there was an evil bastard Gargoyle running around. But
he understood.

It hadn’t taken Urijah long to get the information out of
Kallisto’s sidekick. Theron was back in Greece, leaving them behind to make
sure Jasper was dead. If he happened to wake up, they were to kill Trevor.
Kallisto was still being held at a secure location, somewhere deep in the
basement of the Pen.

Dante was sitting on the front porch of Jasper’s home, one he
had helped build many years ago. It was along the same floorplan as Gregor’s
home that he and Dante built from the ground up. Dante enjoyed being a medical
examiner, but he missed the days of building something with his hands,
especially something as grand as a home.

Car lights flickered through the trees as another Clan member
came to check on Jasper. Trevor probably wished they would all go home. Dane’s
work car came into view, and Dante reached out to gauge his mood. Ever since
Marley had been assaulted, Dane had been on a mission to make sure the man
responsible never touched her again. Dante had come really close to giving Dane
a lecture on how Gargoyles were there to protect humans, not do them harm when
he remembered dragging Alexi to the bottom of the sea. He had been human, but
Dante didn’t hesitate to make sure he would never bother Isabelle or Connor
again. If he lectured Dane, he would have to have a talk with Trevor who took
down a human. Things weren’t so cut and dried when mates were being threatened,
so he let Dane handle the man however he saw fit.

“Dante, how did it go?” Dane asked, referring to Lilly’s
antidote.

“I’m assuming it went according to plan. I’ve never seen a
wiccan ritual performed before.”

Dane started to say something, but kept the thought to
himself. It was probably the same one they all were having regarding Dane’s and
Isabelle’s next oldest sister.

“I’d like to meet my sister. Is she in the house?”

Dante nodded. He could see the family resemblance in Dane and
the woman who had hopefully done what the Gargoyles couldn’t – heal one of
their own. If Julian had been given enough time, he probably could have figured
something out. That was just it; they hadn’t known how much time Jasper had. Dane
clapped him on the shoulder before going in search of Lilly.

Dante had called Isabelle once it was over, letting her know
what happened. She was going to come meet her sister the next day when things
settled down a bit. He looked to the sky, the moon beckoning to him. That
bright beacon called to them all, drawing their shifter to the forefront. He
was tempted to unfurl his wings and fly home, just to set eyes on Isabelle
before she went to sleep. He could be there in less than five minutes. Her
beautiful face and her soft lips made up his mind. He stood and began unbuttoning
his shirt when his phone rang.

“Hello, Beautiful. I was just on my way to see you.”

“Connor had another vision. You might want to come take a
look at what he has drawn.”

“I’ll be right there.” He hung up and removed his shirt,
tying it around his waist. He made his way out into Jasper’s front yard where
he called forth his wings and launched himself upward. It was less than five
minutes when he walked into his home.

Isabelle was sitting at the kitchen table, a drawing lying in
front of her. She didn’t say a word. Instead, she held the paper out for him to
see. Dante was quiet as he studied the image his six year-old son had conjured.

Taking a term from Tessa’s dictionary, Dante muttered, “Well,
hell.”

Time passed the same way it did before Lilly made the potion.
Trevor stayed by Jasper’s side for the most part. The only time he left was
when he needed to use the bathroom or shower. Priscilla had offered to come
cook for those who remained with him. She and Maria worked tirelessly to keep
the Clan fed. Lilly and Dominic went to spend the night at Gregor’s, but
returned the next morning.

Travis and Matthew stayed most of the day, trying to keep his
spirits up. The weather took a shitty turn, going from mild sunshine to cold
rain. Trevor spent New Year’s Eve snuggled up next to Jasper, giving him a kiss
at the stroke of midnight. New Year’s Day came, and Rafael and Kaya once again
postponed the wedding. Trevor tried to convince them to go ahead with the
ceremony, but Kaya refused. Having been Jasper’s boss, she held a special place
in her heart for him and wanted to wait until he could be there.

As time dragged on, Trevor was afraid that day would never
come. Lilly told him to talk to Jasper, so he did. He reclined next to his
lover’s still body and placed his arm over him.
“Jas, I’m here. I hope my arm isn’t hurting you, but
I want you to feel me with you. Lilly’s here to help. You don’t know her, but
she’s Dominic’s mate. I reckon you don’t know him either since he’s from New
Orleans, and you’ve never mentioned being there. You know how you were a
Redshank a long time ago? I’d bet my latest Superman comic book this Dominic
was a pirate. Lilly’s a witch. I never believed in magic before now, but I felt
her power when she touched me. I’ve seen what Dante can do when he uses his
shifter voodoo to calm people, and he can communicate with Connor. Then there’s
Connor. He can see the future. Well, sort of. He got it wrong when he drew the
picture of me with Theron and his sister. Dante said his visions weren’t set in
stone. I don’t know why Dante’s mad at me. I didn’t think he’d be one to give
up so soon on you. I’m not giving up, Jas. I won’t give up on you.”

“I’m
sorry if you felt that about me, Trevor,” Dante said from the door. “I wasn’t
giving up on Jasper.”
Dante finally came to talk
to Trevor. He asked, “May I come in?”

“Sure.”

“I want to apologize for my behavior these last few days. You
are more than an assistant to me, and I didn’t know how to shelter you from
your pain. Instead of helping you through it, I basically abandoned you. Will
you please forgive me?”

Trevor was stunned. “I thought you were mad at me for wanting
to help Jasper.”

“Not mad. I was worried. I was also skeptical about Lilly,
but then I realized we had nothing to lose.”

“He’s not waking up.”

“He may have lost hope.”

“What makes you say that?”

“There’s
something you should know. When I found Jasper, there was a note in his hand.
Theron took great pains to choose the last victim. He looked like you. Not
exactly, but enough that if someone were already distraught when they saw the
corpse, they would mistake him for you. I’m afraid that was the scenario in the
examination room. I found Jasper on the floor, the note from Theron in his
hand.”

“What
did the note say?”

“
You
couldn’t keep him alive
. It is more than likely Jasper thought it was you
lying on that table. You said Connor got the drawing wrong, but I don’t think
he did. I think the picture wasn’t of you but the victim who looked like you.”

“So
you think Jasper is not in there fighting because he thinks I’m dead?”

“It
would make sense. He has nothing left to fight for.”

“Then
obviously he can’t hear me talking to him. There’s got to be something else I
can do.” He leaned over and brushed his lips across Jasper’s hairy jaw.

“Trevor…”

He
looked up at his boss.

“Have
you given any more thought to the mate bond?”

“Yes.
When he wakes up, I’m going to tell him to bite me. I won’t let him go one more
minute without knowing how I feel.”

“I’m
glad to hear you say that. I want you both to be happy, but that also means I get
to keep you around a while longer.” Dante winked and stood. “I’ll leave you two
alone. If you get hungry, there’s plenty of food downstairs. I’ll bring you
something.”

“Thanks,
Boss.”

He
has nothing to fight for.

Dante’s
words swirled around and around inside Trevor’s head. If talking wouldn’t get
through to Jasper, then what would? Trevor played with Jasper’s fangs. One day,
hopefully soon, these fangs were going to puncture Trevor’s skin. Would it
hurt? Probably no more than a tattoo gun skimming along his body inserting ink.
He tentatively touched his fingertip to one of the sharp canines. He pulled
back as the blood dotted his skin. Jasper would bite him. Would he drink his
blood? Would he like it? He stuck his finger in his mouth, sucking the coppery
liquid. When another drop eked its way out, Trevor had a thought. He rubbed his
fingertip along Jasper’s lips.

The
blood did nothing more than give a rosy color to his plump lips. Trevor
squeezed his finger, drawing forth more blood. This time he parted Jasper’s
lips and allowed the blood to drop into his mouth. If he could only get some on
his tongue. Trevor was afraid to pry Jasper’s mouth open and stick his finger
in there without something holding it open. With his luck, Jasper’s jaws would
clamp down and bite his fingertip clean off. Then he’d swallow it and choke.
Trevor couldn’t do the Heimlich on a paralyzed Gargoyle.

Trevor
got an idea. A crazy one, but an idea nonetheless. He made his way downstairs
to find Dante staring out the window. While he had been holed up in Jasper’s
room, the rain had turned into snow and the ground was covered. Dominic had
Lilly outside, swirling her around. Tessa and Gregor were throwing snowballs at
each other.  Here it was, snowing in the south, and Jasper was missing it. He desperately
needed to get him to wake up.

He
went into the kitchen and grabbed the biggest spoon he could find. He went back
upstairs and sat down next to Jasper.  As gently as he could, Trevor pried
Jasper’s mouth open and stuck the spoon between his teeth. Quickly, he poked
his finger with a fang and let the blood drop onto Jasper’s tongue. When Jasper’s
tongue was coated red, Trevor coaxed the spoon from Jasper’s mouth.

He
rubbed his fingers through Jasper’s beard and said, “I don’t know if that
actually seals the bond, but I want you to know I’m here with you. For as long
as it takes, I’m here. And after? I’m staying then, too. It shouldn’t take
something like this to make you realize how much you lo… care about someone,
but it has. You need to wake up, Jas. You’re missing the snow. I think the
fates are trying to tempt you.” When he thought about the snow and how much
Jasper loved it, he got another idea. Yes, another crazy one. He ran downstairs
and yelled for Gregor to come inside.

“Trevor,
what’s going on?” Dante asked.

Not
only Gregor, but everyone ran into the house. Gregor asked, “What’s up? Is he
awake?”

“Not
yet. But he loves the snow. Like, wants to move back north someday loves the
snow. Please help me get him outside. I want him to feel it falling on his
face.”

Lilly
smiled and said, “Your aura. It’s different.”

“Different
how?”

“It’s
the same color as Jasper’s”

“Oh.
Yeah, I might have tried to mate with him.”

“You
what?” Tessa screeched. “Did you… you know… while he’s…”

“No,
of course not! I poked my finger with his fang. Dang, woman, I wouldn’t molest
an unconscious man, even if it’s Jasper. Well, I might if it’s Jasper and he
was just asleep, but not… never mind.”

Before
he could get upstairs, Gregor was coming down the stairs, holding Jasper in a
fireman’s carry. “Where do you want him?”

“On
his back,” Trevor said before he thought about it.

Tessa
giggled, and he shot her a nasty look. “You said it,” she told him.

“Let
him feel the cold on his back and the snowflakes on his face.”