Sweet-Delight[ Brac Village 1] (10 page)

“Why don’t you make a list of what we don’t have while Kenway and I go get some coffee?” They had worked hard, and Ross knew the diner was open twenty-four hours.
“You can drink coffee?” Baker asked in surprise.
“The stuff keeps my fangs from drying out,” Ross tossed over his shoulder as they walked out. Kenway was chuckling as he grabbed Ross’s hand. He never met anyone who liked to hold hands as much as his mate.
“That was funny.”
“I thought so,” Ross replied. They walked hand in hand until they reached the diner. Kenway held the door open for him, allowing Ross to pass under his arm. The place looked pretty deserted.
“Oh, hello. You can have a seat anywhere and I’ll take your order right away,” a short vampire babbled quickly. Ross was pretty surprised a vampire worked here. It was three in the morning, which might explain his appearance, but that didn’t tell Ross why the guy was so jittery.
“Don’t mind him,” a tall man with muscles and every color in his hair said. “D’s gotten into the coffee. It’ll wear off by the time he goes to bed.”
Ross watched in fascination as D ran from one table to the next, wiping down the already spotless surface. He then ran to each table and grabbed the sugar containers, carrying them behind the counter.
“D, they were filled earlier,” the man reminded the vampire.
“Not all the way,” D replied as he began to unscrew the lids.
The shifter shook his head and turned back toward them. “Name’s Cody. Have a seat and I’ll take your order.”
The sugar lid went flying, clanging against the wall as D ran around the counter. “I got it!”
Ross slid into a booth, wondering if maybe they should just pop home to get something to drink.
D cleared his throat, pad and pencil in hand, although his hand was shaking badly. “We have a small stash of crimson in the back if you’d care for some.” His voice was steady. That was a good thing.
“
Okay
,” Ross replied. “I’ll take a glass.”
“I’ll take a coffee and an omelet,” Kenway said. He sat there and told the waiter how he wanted it prepared, D writing everything down. Ross wasn’t sure why. Cheese and onions wasn’t that hard to remember.
The waiter took off and Ross settled back.
“It’s his first night and you two are his first customers,” Cody said as a way of explaining D’s bizarre behavior. “Most of it is the coffee, but I think a small part of it is nerves.”
He had never heard of a vampire drinking coffee. Ross opened his mouth to say this when the door opened and in walked Virgil.

Kenway noticed his mate going statue still. He didn’t even blink. He was still getting to know his mate, and found a lot of his ways endearing, but Kenway was pretty sure this was not normal. The man didn’t even look like he was breathing.

His mate’s eyes were glued to the front door. Turning his head, Kenway saw a short man standing there. He wasn’t very tall, but the look in his eyes was what drew Kenway’s attention. They were void of any emotion. It was as if a switch had been turned off and a person was left there standing, just a shell.

“You know him?” Kenway asked, never taking his eyes off of the stranger. The guy stood just inside the doorway, his eyes locked onto Ross. Kenway didn’t like the feeling he was getting.

Ross’s hesitation made Kenway turn around and look directly at his mate. Ross’s eyes darted from Kenway to the man standing at the door, and then he lowered his thick, dark-brown lashes. Kenway cocked his head, wondering how Ross knew the stranger. “Ross?”

When his mate spoke, his voice sounded lost and tortured. “It’s Virgil.”
Kenway’s head turned ever so slowly, his gaze raking over Ross’s brother. “You’re Virgil?”
Virgil didn’t answer. His eyes never left Ross. Pushing from the booth at the same time Cody came around the counter, Kenway moved closer to the guy. “You have balls showing up here. I should gut you where you stand.”
Virgil’s eyes slowly lifted up to Kenway. There was finally emotion in his eyes, but hell if Kenway could interpret what the guy was thinking or feeling. “He’s mine,” Virgil whispered before his eyes went back to Ross. “You can’t have him.”
“What are you talking about?” Kenway asked. The man was too calm, too composed. He reminded Kenway of a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment.
“I’m the mistake you can’t live with,” Virgil said to Ross in a calm, even tone. “I’m not letting you go.”
“Virgil,” Ross said as he got up, “you have to stop this. We never got along. Why are you hurting me like this? I don’t understand you.”
“You never understood me.” Virgil’s voice tightened slightly. “You never wanted to.”
Ross moved forward, but Kenway refused to let his mate get too close. This was the same man who had cut up his mate’s arms. He was shocked that he was standing here and not trying to kill the vampire.
“What’s there to understand?” Ross asked as he ran his hand through his long hair in a frustrated manner. “You’ve messed with me since childhood. Why do you think I’ve tried to keep space between us? I wasn’t trying to break your heart on purpose, but what did you expect me to do?”
A wry smile pulled at the corner of Virgil’s mouth. “You can’t break a heart I don’t own. I was born without a conscience, Ross. I thought by now you would have figured that out. I never meant to hurt you”—Virgil’s hands fisted at his side as he glanced at Ross’s stomach and then back up at his brother—“but I can’t help who I am. You’re all I have, Ross. I won’t let you go.”
A frigid chill ran up Kenway’s spine. The man meant every word he said. Virgil was a genuine psychopath with no conscience. But he had regret, something most psychopaths didn’t possess. Maybe because Ross was his brother. Kenway had read about the sickness, but had never met anyone carrying the disease.
And Virgil was a vampire. That was a dangerous combination. Cody slowly moved toward them, his eyes locked on Virgil. “Don’t try it, wolf,” Virgil warned. “I’m not here to hurt anyone.”
“But you hurt Spencer,” Ross said. “You hurt an innocent impala.”
“He attacked me,” Virgil stated in a deadpan tone. “I merely defended myself.”
Kenway gave off a low growl. This whole situation was rubbing him the wrong way. “Spencer wouldn’t hurt a fly. Don’t stand there telling me he hurt you. You also attacked Ross.”
“Spencer walked in right after Ross left. He attacked me,” the man repeated. “As for Ross,”—Virgil turned, pinning Ross with his dead eyes—“don’t leave me again and I won’t be forced to come looking for you.”
“Virgil,” Ross said in a strained voice. “I’m mated now. I’m not coming back.”
A tic started in Virgil’s left eye. Kenway moved back. Not because he was afraid of the small vampire, but because he wanted to shield his mate. He could really see why Ross feared the guy. Virgil had a look that said he was functioning off of one brain cell and lived inside his own little world…happily.
“Is this your mate?” Virgil nodded his head toward Kenway. “Is he the one stopping you from coming home?”
Kenway could feel his buffalo moving closer to the surface, ready to defend its mate. His horns began to grow from his head as his teeth elongated. No one was taking Ross from him, not even his sick and twisted brother. The man needed professional help, or to be killed. Either option suited Kenway. But he wasn’t getting his hands on Ross.
Cody’s eyes became wolf and his teeth grew as well. They both saw Virgil as a threat. He heard D come out of the kitchen.
“Food’s ready.” He stopped midstride, glancing at everyone. “What’s going on?”
Kenway ignored the man, keeping his sight trained on the guy standing at the door, his hand on the handle. “I’m Ross’s mate.” He didn’t finish the sentence. Kenway didn’t need to explain to Virgil that he wasn’t stopping Ross from going anywhere. Ross was free to go wherever he chose. But he could see why his mate kept his distance. His brother was a deadly nut job.
“Just go home, Virgil,” Ross said, his voice pleading. “I’ll make sure no one comes after you if you leave now and don’t come back.”
“Just like that?” Virgil asked evenly. “You would abandon me so easily?”
Agitation, pure and simple.
“What do you want me to do?” Ross asked. “Come back to the coven so you can torture me?”
“I didn’t mean to.” Virgil’s tone held slight emotion, as if he were struggling to let Ross know he was sorry. But he was failing. Instead of sounding sincere, his tone was low and deliberate, and full of rage.
It was the strangest thing Kenway had ever witnessed.
“What can I do?” Virgil asked, the emotion fleeing that quickly, replaced by that empty look. “How can I get you to come home?”
“You can’t,” Ross said, true emotion filling his voice to overflowing. Kenway could feel his mate’s fingers digging into his back. Ross was afraid. “Just leave.”
“But I don’t want to go, Ross. I don’t want to go home if you aren’t there.” From anyone else, Kenway would expect a pout, whimper, protest, anything but those eyes full of nothing.
Virgil glanced up when the door was jerked out of his hand. They all looked to see who was coming in. If it was a human resident, they were screwed. Both Cody and Kenway were in midshift. Their secret would be out. There was no way Kenway could explain his horns and neither could explain their teeth. Cody just might get away with the whole eye thing.
But it wasn’t a human who walked in.
It was Maverick, Hawk at his side. Neither man looked happy. Kenway could tell the alpha was in his lethal mode. His grey eyes were no longer the light color, but a steaming mass of dark clouds.
“Is he the one?” Maverick asked, tilting his head toward Virgil.
Kenway had met Hawk on a few occasions. But none of the times had he seen the man look as if hell itself was about to open up and swallow them whole. Kenway was half expecting lightning bolts to light up the sky and thunder to rumble with the way Maverick and Hawk were looking. Some might think that was a bit dramatic, but they didn’t see what Kenway was looking at.
And they feared
him
?
“This doesn’t concern you, wolf,” Virgil stated. “This is between my brother and me.”
Maverick leaned against the wall next to the door, his face inscrutable now. “You are in my town. Anything you do concerns me. I’ll ask you one last time. Are you the one attacking people?”
“He didn’t mean to,” Ross answered quickly, surprising the hell out of Kenway. Why was Ross sticking up for Virgil? His brother had attacked him with a knife. And not just any knife. It was a weapon meant to stop Ross from healing. Was his mate nuts, too?
“How do you
not mean
to attack two people?” Hawk asked, his eyes raking over Virgil. “It seemed very intentional to me.”
The blank look was gone from Virgil, replaced by pure agitation. The ticking time bomb was about to go off. Kenway could read it in the man’s stance, his eyes, and the set of his mouth. He pushed Ross fully behind him, using his body mass to put a wall between the two brothers.
“Did. I. Ask. You?” Virgil gritted out.
Hawk moved forward, death written all over his face, but Maverick held a hand up, stopping the sentry from doing bodily harm.
“What do you want me to do with him?” Maverick’s question was directed at Ross. “And just so you know, letting him go isn’t one of the options.”
“Why are you handing my mate the decision?” Kenway asked. He didn’t want Ross feeling any guilt over whatever happened to this nut job. He had been with Ross just a short time, but already he knew his mate was the total opposite of Virgil. Ross was kind, compassionate, and had a big heart. The guilt would eat him alive.
“Because it’s his brother,” Maverick replied in a no-argument tone of voice. “I’m being generous by letting him have a say.”
“I don’t want him hurt,” Ross said.
“Then I think Christian just got a new coven member.” Maverick reached out and grabbed Virgil so quick that Kenway almost missed what happened. “I don’t think so. The only place you’re going is to the Manor.”
Virgil had tried to pop out.
“Get us where we need to go.” Maverick pulled Virgil closer, his face mere inches away. “And no funny stuff.”
Kenway watched as Maverick and Virgil disappeared from the diner. He couldn’t say he was sad to see the vampire go, but he could feel the confusion and hurt coming from his mate. Grabbing Ross’s hand, Kenway pulled him closer, enveloping his mate into his arms. “It’s for the best.”
He really hoped he was telling the truth.

Maverick blinked, realizing that they weren’t in Christian’s club or his home. “Where did you take us?” He yanked on Virgil’s shirt, ready to show the vampire why fucking with an alpha was a very bad choice.

“My head,” Virgil answered softly. “This is where I am most of the time.”
Glancing around, Maverick saw that they were standing in some sort of palace. Only it looked like it had seen better days. The walls were in disrepair and some of the pillars looked as if they would crumble at any moment. There were weeds growing up from the marble floor, and the place looked deserted.
“What do you mean I’m in your head?” Although not a pretty sight, it looked real enough to him. His feet were planted firmly on the ground.
Virgil glanced up at Maverick, and he was reminded of someone who was so lost that emotionally shutting down was the only option. In all his years of living, Maverick had never seen anyone with eyes that seemed void of life, happiness, and any kind of real emotion.
“This place calls to me, even in my sleep. I don’t know what it is, but I find myself coming here often.” Virgil wrapped his arms around his waist, showing Maverick a glimpse of the real Virgil. “I don’t remember ever coming here, so I don’t know why my mind keeps conjuring this place up.”
“I don’t think this is in your head, Virgil.” Maverick could feel another presence. His wolf was telling him it was a vampire. He wasn’t sure if the man standing next to him was fucking with Maverick, or if Virgil really didn’t know he wasn’t alone here.
“If it’s not in my head, then why do I hear it calling me? Why do I feel like an invisible hand is pulling me here time and time again?”
Maverick wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t getting a good feeling about this. Something deep down inside of him—maybe his selfpreservation—was telling him to get gone, and quickly. “We need to go, Virgil. Take us to Christian’s.”
Virgil took a step away from Maverick, his head shaking back and forth. “I don’t want to go to the prince. I want Ross.”
Maverick was getting really tired of Virgil’s shit. He pulled his cell phone out and called Christian. If Virgil wasn’t going to get them out of here, the prince would. Fuck if he was staying in this creepyass place another minute. “Hey, Christian. I need a ride.”
“Call a cab.”
Maverick suppressed the growl threatening to rip from his chest. “Not that kind of ride. I was bringing Ross’s brother to you, but he took us on a little field trip instead.” Maverick watched as Virgil strode over to a wall, running his hand down the surface. The guy better watch it. This place looked unstable as hell. “I’m in some sort of old palace and it looks like it’s falling apart—”
“Do you see a large entryway with green marble flooring?” Christian asked, cutting Maverick off. He didn’t like the worry in the prince’s tone. That wasn’t a good thing. Maverick glanced behind him and saw the faded green floor.
“Yeah.”
There was silence on the other end. Maverick tossed a hand on his hip, watching the small vampire explore the room they were in. “Any minute you can start talking,” he said to Christian.
“You are in the home of Ceri.”
“Your nutty-ass brother?” Maverick asked.
“Do not say that. He may hear you.”
Maverick was about to tell Christian he didn’t give a fuck when a shadow caught his attention. A large, looming male stepped from the shadows, his eyes zeroing in on Virgil and then they snapped to him, the blue orbs filled with ice. “Why have you come here?”
Virgil turned ever so slowly, his expression somber. “Because this place pulls me here. Why are you here?”
Ceri cocked his head, his eyes penetrating. “You can stay. The wolf has to go.”
“Uh, Christian, I think your brother wants to eat Virgil.” No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Christian appeared beside him. Maverick slid the phone into his jacket. “Now what?”
Ceri moved quickly, grabbing Virgil and pushing the small vampire behind him. “I do not wish to eat him. Now go!”
“Sorry, no can do. I promised his brother I would take him to Christian.” Maverick turned and looked at the prince. “And here he is. Can anyone give me a lift home now or do I have to stick around for the dramatics?”
He really wanted to get home. Maverick knew Ceri liked the taste of flesh, and that just plain grossed him out. Maybe in his wolf form he could understand eating prey, but in human form, yuck.
“What interest do you have with him?” Christian asked his brother. “The only value he has to you is flesh, and I thought you said you would try…other means of sating your appetite.”
“My interest is none of your concern. I will return him to your coven alive and whole.” Ceri’s jaw tightened, his sapphire-blue eyes blazing with heat. “Now, I will say this only one more time. Leave this place at once.”
“Okay, I just don’t have a way out,” Maverick reminded everyone around him. He was getting a damn headache.
Christian took a step forward only to stop when Ceri showed fangs. “Come any closer to my mate and I will kill you.”
The prince inhaled sharply as Maverick groaned. Great, the psycho vampire had a psycho mate. He wondered what the hell fate was smoking the day it paired these two together.