The Dark Vampire: Last True Vampire 3 (11 page)

When he woke at sunset tremors rocked Jenner’s body. His balls were too tight and his cock stood out straight from his hips as though taunting him. A cold shower cooled his lusts a small amount, but Jenner knew the relief would be short-lived. His thirst still raged, as did the knowledge that even in his dreams he couldn’t trust himself with Bria. Rather than exile his family centuries ago, their lord should have run a stake through Jenner’s heart. At least then Bria would have been safe. At least from one of the monsters who wanted her.

Jenner groaned as he buttoned his jeans and pulled on his boots. Thomas Fairchild would be there by now and he needed to get his shit together, ASAP.
Gods.
Another night of being close enough to touch his mate. Another night of torture as he fed from the vein at her wrist and not her throat as he wanted to. Another night of fighting the urge to only take what he needed and not a fucking drop more. Jenner had hoped he’d find salvation in his
tether. But he was beginning to realize that it would surely destroy him.

He spent the trek from his room down the stairs to Mikhail’s study self-coaching himself to remain detached. He couldn’t let Bria get under his skin. Couldn’t let her know how deeply she affected him. The gods only knew how much her uncle had said to her already tonight. If the male was as elitist as Jenner suspected he was it wouldn’t take much for him to convince Bria to leave Mikhail’s protection and return to her coven. He might have already convinced her that, tethered or not, Jenner wasn’t even close to being good enough for her.

He knew it wasn’t fair to covet her. To keep her here as though she had no other choice while holding her at arm’s length. But until Jenner could get his head on straight that’s how it was going to be. He’d be damned if another male—especially the dhampir who’d fed her—ever tried to claim her. Bria belonged to
him
.

Jenner walked into Mikhail’s study already wound so tight, he wasn’t sure he’d get through the night without springing into the stratosphere. Claire sat in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk, the two of them deep in conversation. They’d always seemed to have a rapport. As though they’d known each other for a lifetime. Jenner didn’t feel any such connection with Bria. He wanted her. Craved her blood. Her scent nearly drove him mad with desire. All physical responses triggered by their tether. Would that be all they’d ever share?

Jenner stiffened as Mikhail’s gaze met his. Claire turned as well, a self-satisfied smile curving her lips. “So . . . how’s it going?”

“Fine.” He wasn’t interested in talking about Bria—or his tether—with anyone. Fairchild obviously hadn’t shown up yet and Jenner used the opportunity to steer the focus
away from anything or anyone who had anything to do with Bria. “I’ve put it off, but we need to talk about Siobhan, Mikhail. She’s—”

“Thomas Fairchild should be here any second,” Mikhail interrupted. “He expected to take Bria back to his coven days ago, so I can’t say that he’ll be pleased about what’s happened.”

Jenner didn’t give a fuck all what Thomas Fairchild was or wasn’t pleased about. “Oh yeah? What do you expect me to say to him about it?”

“Nothing,” Mikhail replied. “What’s done is done. The tether is absolute.”

“Any idea why he wants her back so badly?” The tiny hairs on the back of Jenner’s neck stood on end. They all knew that Fairchild was reclusive, not to mention secretive. He’d refused to let Bria offer her vein to any member of their coven and apparently rarely let her leave the safety of their compound. Hell, he’d hired Ronan to keep a constant eye on her. To kill whatever it was that threatened her. And now the male was on his way to fetch her. There were many secrets between Bria and her uncle; Jenner wanted to know what they were.

Mikhail hiked a shoulder.

“She’s not leaving with him.” Jenner folded his arms across his chest. “If she can’t stay here, I’ll take her to my place.”

A wry smile tugged at Claire’s lips. “Atta boy.”

“Claire.”

“What?” She threw a narrowed gaze Mikhail’s way. “Even you have to admit the guy is shady. And Bria doesn’t want to leave.” Her voice dropped an octave. “Mikhail, she’s never been away from her coven until he brought her here.”

Not entirely true. Jenner knew at least one of her secrets and it was something he held close to his heart. But
he was also certain that Bria snuck out on her “treasure hunts” because her uncle never let her far from his grasp. Jenner’s lip curled and a growl rose in his throat.

“The way she made it sound, she was practically a prisoner,” Claire remarked.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions.” Mikhail leaned back in his chair.

Mikhail didn’t realize how close to the truth Claire had hit.

“Jump to what conclusions?” Ronan entered the study all cocky grin and confidence. Jenner averted his gaze. Yet another male who’d settled into his tether and was as happy as a pig in slop.

“That Thomas Fairchild was keeping Bria a prisoner,” Claire said.

Ronan cut him a look and Jenner finally met his friend’s gaze. They’d yet to fill Mikhail in on their first time meeting the coven master, but not because it was some big secret. Rather, since Bria’s transition and tethering it had seemed a moot point. She was Jenner’s to protect whether he’d been paid to or not. And there was no use getting Mikhail riled up over a witch who may or may not be a threat until there was reason to. Especially while Jenner still needed Bria safely under his roof. Perhaps tonight he’d get some answers.

“I’m with Mikhail on this one,” Ronan replied. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

Jenner tried not to let his eyes bulge too far out of his head.

“Bria doesn’t want to return to her coven,” Jenner said from between clenched teeth. “That’s proof enough for me.”

“Let’s try not to make any assumptions until after we’ve met with Fairchild,” Mikhail suggested.

“Yeah,” Ronan agreed. He flashed Jenner a shit-eating grin. “You know what happens when you assume, right?”

If the male weren’t like a brother to him Jenner might have considered popping him in the face.

The doorbell rang, followed by Alex’s voice as he let Thomas Fairchild into the house. One of the benefits of supernatural hearing, no one ever got the jump on you. Jenner locked his jaw down and his fangs dug into his bottom lip.

“Try to get a grip,” Claire advised as she rose from her chair. “I’m going to go check on Bria and let her know her uncle is here. Play nice, boys.”

A moment later Alex showed Thomas Fairchild into the study. Mikhail’s human assistant looked a little nervous when his eyes met Jenner’s and he tried to soften his expression. A second male entered the room behind Thomas, large for a dhampir, fair-haired, with light blue eyes. Jenner’s nostrils flared as he breathed in deeply of Bria’s honey and lilac scent. The male reeked of her.
Lucas?

A feral snarl ripped from his throat as he took a step forward. Jenner was going to rip the fangs from the bastard’s mouth.

“Hey, I thought you were level,” Ronan said nervously from the corner of his mouth. “What the fuck?”

“That male”—Jenner stabbed his finger in the dhampir’s direction—“is going to find himself without his fangs if he doesn’t take his ass outta here.
Now.
”

Thomas Fairchild looked from Lucas to Jenner, shocked as recognition lit his expression. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Jenner said to Bria’s uncle from between clenched teeth.

“Jenner.” Mikhail’s tone was a warning that Jenner couldn’t heed.

He took another step forward, ready to throw the bastard out himself if he needed to. The doors to the study swung wide and Bria walked in. Her smile quickly faded as her eyes darted to Jenner. The blond bastard stepped in
front of her and took her by the arm, angling his head to hers as he spoke low. “Bria, you might want to give us a second.”

He dared to put his hands on Jenner’s mate? Rage clouded his vision and his need for violence surpassed his need for blood. “If you care at all for the peace Mikhail is trying to forge, get him out of here,” Jenner growled.

Because all hell was about to break loose.

Bria’s jaw hung slack. An aura of violence surrounded Jenner and his eyes flashed brilliant silver as his gaze landed on the hand Lucas had wrapped around her arm. She knew little of vampire nature, but Bria surmised that a switch had been flipped in the massive male. Tension vibrated off of him to the point that she swore she felt it in her own chest.

“Lucas, let go of me.”

She spoke low, but a whisper was as good as a shout in a room full of vampires. She kept her tone free of distress, her face impassive. After escorting her back to the house last night with a not-so-gentle order to not go out alone again, Jenner had all but dismissed her. Now, however, he seemed ready to rip into Lucas’s throat.

“What are you talking about, Bria?” Lucas seemed more concerned for her welfare than the enormous vampire staring a hole through him. “Is everything okay?”

It wouldn’t be if he didn’t get his damned hand off of her. Jenner’s brows were dark, sinister slashes over his silver-rimmed eyes. His lip curled back to reveal the wicked points of his fangs. Instead of backing away, Lucas drew Bria closer. And Jenner’s nostrils flared.

Uh-oh.

Bria pulled free and crossed the room to where Jenner stood. Her fingers itched to reach out and touch him. To soothe him somehow. His scowl and the curve of his lip
told her that he neither wanted nor needed her comfort. Disappointment wrung Bria’s heart. She didn’t understand this new life. Didn’t know what to expect of her tether to the hulking male standing beside her. It wasn’t fair that she’d been thrown into any of this. He professed not to want her, but that didn’t stop Jenner from behaving as though she were somehow his property. Bria couldn’t seem to escape captivity, no matter her situation.

“Uncle Thomas.” She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

His eyes narrowed with suspicion, but he returned her affection with a gentle smile. “You look well, Bria.” She wanted to laugh. Was he surprised that her transition hadn’t made her into a monster? He turned to Mikhail. “From the sound of your tone when we spoke, Your Highness, I thought something grave had happened to her.”

Mikhail bristled with the use of the formal title. He lowered his elbows to the rests of his chair and clasped his hands in front of him. “Please, sit.”

Her uncle dropped into a nearby chair. A musky scent settled on the air, so bitter that she wrinkled her nose. Bria canted her head as she tried to make sense of it. With little over a week as a vampire under her belt, she still couldn’t identify some of the new scents that filled her head.

“As you can well imagine, the reemergence of the vampire race has brought with it occurrences that have perhaps faded from the minds of dhampir-kind.”

“What kinds of occurrences?” Lucas’s demanding tone coaxed a growl from Jenner’s chest and Bria cringed. “What in the hell is going on? You give him some cryptic message about Bria and now you’re trying to smooth out some unknown situation beforehand for what reason?”

For the three-hundred-pound vampire currently glowering at you, you silly fool.

Lucas was strong. A dhampir worthy of respect and
fear. But in their present company he was nothing more than a lamb amongst lions. His arrogance was bound to spawn nothing but violence.

Mikhail cocked a brow as his silver gaze met Lucas’s and even Bria felt the power contained in his level stare. “Bria has been tethered,” he replied without preamble.

Thank gods.
All of the drama building up to the announcement was about to drive her mad.

“Bullshit! I demand to know to whom.” Lucas wasn’t in the position to make demands. His ego was going to get him killed.

He rushed forward, but Jenner cut him off before he could reach her. In the blink of an eye Jenner had Lucas pinned against the far wall, his arm stretched across Lucas’s throat. “To me,” Jenner growled not an inch from his face.

“No,” Lucas rasped. His expression was part fear and part disbelieving shock. His arms went slack beside him as he looked to Bria for confirmation. The hurt that glistened in his eyes sliced through her. “I don’t believe it. This male is an animal.” Lucas all but growled the words in Jenner’s face. “What did you do to her, you bastard?”

“What’s going on here?” Bria had hoped her uncle wouldn’t intervene, but his notion of privilege wouldn’t allow it. “For the love of the gods, let go of him!”

Jenner ignored her uncle and instead tightened his arm over Lucas’s throat. He drew in a ragged breath, but Lucas didn’t show an ounce of weakness in the wake of Jenner’s storm. Lucas met Jenner look for look, his lip pulled back in an angry sneer. The blue of Lucas’s eyes gave way to silver and Jenner snarled in response.

“Jenner!” Mikhail barked. “Let him go.”

Jenner’s nostrils flared. He continued to bare his fangs, all but ignoring the command. Tension thickened
the air to the point that Bria felt it constrict around her. Silence stretched out to an uncomfortable pitch that prickled along her skin.

“Jenner,” Ronan said low, “dial it down.”

Jenner’s gaze remained locked with Lucas’s and he did nothing to release his hold. Bria stepped up and laid her hand on his arm. “Don’t hurt him, Jenner. Let him go. Please.” Jenner’s eyes narrowed with anger, but slowly he released his hold. Bria let out the breath she held in her lungs and her body relaxed with a shudder. Jenner was a violent male. Quick to temper. And whereas his display should have frightened Bria, it quickened the blood in her veins.

Mikhail pinned Jenner with an icy stare intended to wither him where he stood. Instead, Jenner took a step back from Lucas and folded his arms across his massive chest as though they exchanged polite conversation.

Bria’s uncle turned to her, his expression pinched. “Bria, is it true? Has this male tethered you?”

Her gaze darted to Lucas, who watched her, rapt. “Yes,” she said on a breath. “It’s true.”

The grief on her uncle’s face knocked the air from Bria’s lungs. She’d never seen him look so utterly destroyed, and she wondered at his reaction.