The Vampire Who Thirsted for a Wolf (10 page)

said to Derek.
“I have no explanations,
hana
,”
the vampire said to

Derek.
“But this changes everything. I had hoped that I would

manage to teach my people the truth about shifters, encourage their

cooperation. It seems I underestimated their resolve.”

“What will you have me do, Kaname? Leave you? It’s

undoubtedly what my father and Mr. Cunningham will ask.”

“
Hana
…Derek, I do not know what will happen.”
Kaname’s

frustration echoed within Derek, as well as his anger and uncertainty.

“I wish to keep you safe, but I’m not sure I can give you up.”

“That’s fine with me,”
Derek replied.
“I might be your flower, but

I’m not that for anyone else. I can take care of myself. And you are my

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Scarlet Hyacinth

moon, remember?”
Derek scanned his limited knowledge of Japanese

and found the word he was looking for. “Boku no tsuki
? How can I

possibly abandon you?
”

Kaname’s mental chuckle showered Derek with a wave of relief

and affection.
“If someone listened in on these conversations, we’d

never hear the end of it.”
He sobered and answered,
“Very well,
hana
.

I can’t imagine your father will take this well, but there’s nothing for

it.”

With that, Kaname focused on his telephone conversation. Byron

was explaining the situation to him, inquiring whether Kaname had

any involvement in this or knew the identity of the guilty parties.

Derek would have loved to support Kaname more, but he trusted that

their bond would do that anyway, and he needed to go back to his

conversation with Mel. God only knew he’d require her assistance.

He turned his attention to her just as Mel’s hand hit his cheek.

“What the hell, sis?” Derek asked her. It didn’t matter that she was a

girl. Being a werewolf, she packed quite a punch.

“Where in the world did you go?” she inquired. “I was talking to

you, and you just ignored me.” She narrowed her eyes at him in a

glance that held far too much suspicion for Derek’s comfort. “You

didn’t mate him already, did you?”

Derek bristled at her question. “I thought it was already clear that

I did.”

“Christ, Derek.” Mel suddenly looked very tired. “That’s so unlike

you. You never rush into things. What are you going to do now?”

Anger bubbled inside Derek. “In case you don’t realize, I’ve

known Kaname for months. If anything, we waited far longer than we

should have.”

“But he is a vampire,” Mel countered. “Did you not hear a word I

said?”

Derek shot to his feet and glared at her. “So what if he is? You’re

being absurd, Mel. Every species has its bad apples, as you well

know. In case you’ve forgotten, one of our own placed us in a horrible

The Vampire Who Thirsted for a Wolf

61

position recently, and we were forced to get Kaname’s help to fix the

situation. Also, we were always very aware that vampire and shifters

are not exactly in perfect harmony. Let’s not be hypocrites, all right?”

Mel seemed taken aback by his anger. “Whoa, wait. I didn’t

mean—”

Derek interrupted her before she could finish the phrase. “I know

exactly what you meant and what you planned to tell me when you

came to see me. But no, I’m not leaving my mate. I trust him, I love

him, and I will help him find out who is behind this attack.”

“Thank you,
hana
,”
Kaname whispered in his mind. “
With you by

my side, there’s no way I can fail.”

Derek’s anger melted when faced with Kaname’s affection. He

was reminded that Mel was his sister. Her concerns were natural,

especially since she didn’t know Kaname like Derek did. Besides,

their own elder and grandfather had proven to be quite manipulative,

and that was an experience neither of them wanted to repeat.

Softening his voice, he reached for Mel’s hand and squeezed it. “I

know you’re worried, but you don’t have to be. Kaname is my mate.

I’ll be fine.”

For a few moments, Mel just stared at him. Then, much to his

surprise, she pounced on him, embracing him tightly. “If you trust

him, I’ll trust him, Derek. But I’m not leaving you. I’ll stay here, too,

for as long as it takes. We’ll figure out what happened.” Without

releasing him, she unexpectedly added, “There’s something else. Yuki

is pregnant. She’s dying.”

At first, the new information didn’t really compute. Derek was not

as close to Yuki as the Cunninghams, but he still cared about her and

respected her a lot. Undoubtedly, Yuki’s problem and Sophia’s escape

must be related.

The sound of Mel’s phone ringing stopped Derek from asking his

sister anything. Mel broke away from him and winced. “It must be

Father. I promised to call back once I found you.”

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Scarlet Hyacinth

Derek sighed and extended his hand. With an understanding

expression, Mel retrieved her phone and handed it to Derek. Clearly,

she realized that Soren would not be happy about their decision.

Derek was a bit apprehensive himself, but his father would know

more about Yuki. Besides, whatever happened, Derek would not

change his mind regarding his stay here. He only hoped his father

would understand that.

* * * *

“You what?”

Soren clutched the edge of his desk, leaving claw marks behind. It

was only his mate’s presence that kept him from going on a rampage.

“What do you mean you’re not coming home?”

“Father, I have to stay,” Derek replied in his quiet, measured

voice. “I’m needed here.”

The urge to simply order Derek home grew strong within Soren.

As Derek’s Alpha, he had the authority. There were two problems

with that plan. The first was that he couldn’t be sure Derek would

obey. While his son had always complied with Soren’s requests in the

past, all bets were off if Derek had found his mate. The second issue

was directly linked to the first. If Kaname Yamamoto truly had

bonded with Derek, Soren couldn’t in good conscience ask his son to

abandon the vampire.

In the end, there was only one way to figure it out. “Needed by

your people?” he asked. “Or needed by your mate?”

A short pause followed at the other side of the connection. Finally,

Derek spoke. “I think you already know the answer to that question.

Are you going to make me choose?”

Derek might not have answered Soren’s question outright, but

Soren knew his children well and understood what Derek wasn’t

saying. He met Daniel’s eyes, and the squirrel-shifter nodded. “I’d

The Vampire Who Thirsted for a Wolf

63

never do that, son,” Soren told Derek. “I can understand how you feel,

and I’m happy for you.”

“Truly?” Derek sounded skeptical. “It doesn’t seem like that to

me.”

“Well, circumstances aren’t exactly ideal. I’m worried about you

and Mel. I desperately want you here, where I can protect you. But

you’re adults now, and I have to get used to the thought that you make

your own decisions.”

Of course, it was easier said than done. The vulnerable part of him

that was first and foremost a parent screamed at him to take the first

flight to Japan and drag his kids home if need be. But as a werewolf

and a shifter, he understood. He did want what was best for his pups,

and right now, the solution wasn’t in them returning to the pack.

But that didn’t mean he’d just abandon them there without

backup. “I will discuss things with Yamamoto-sama,” he told his son.

“This is a shifter and a vampire issue, so we must cooperate again, not

fight.”

“Thank you, Father.” Soren was surprised to hear the thick

emotion in Derek’s voice. “Thank you so much.”

Soren thought he was going to lose it as well, so he quickly added,

“I love you, son,” then handed the phone to Daniel.

While Daniel nagged both Derek and Mel to be careful and

explained the details of Yuki’s affliction, Soren sat back on his chair

and stared out the window without really seeing anything. When

Daniel finally hung up the phone, Soren picked up a picture from his

desk and admired it, searching for answers to the many questions that

popped up in his heart and mind.

The image showed a snapshot of himself, Daniel, Carlie, and the

pups, shortly after the triplets’ birth. A few weeks after it had been

taken, Carlie had been killed while fighting for the pups’ life. If not

for Daniel, the children would have died as well. Soren had sworn

then that he would protect his family no matter what, and no one he

loved would ever have to suffer again.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

But time had passed so quickly, and in the blink of an eye, his

pups had grown into independent wolves, seeking their own mates

and destinies. His two boys had found love in unexpected places,

much like Soren himself had done once. But things were far bigger

now, and Soren worried that his strength would not be enough to keep

them all safe.

“You knew that this might happen.” Daniel’s arms wrapped

around his waist, squeezing him tightly. “You suspected the elder was

Derek’s mate.”

“I did, but that doesn’t make it any easier.” Soren placed the photo

back on the table. “Don’t you wish you could turn back time?”

“On occasion.” Daniel forced him to turn around and smiled at

him. “But if we did that, we wouldn’t have Paris and Daire. Life

might have been safer and simpler when the kids were pups, but we

get stronger every day, and with every addition to our family.”

“You’re right, of course.” Soren paused. “But I am going to talk to

Kaname anyway, just to make sure of his intentions.”

Daniel laughed. “I never thought for a moment that you’d miss the

chance to get growly at the vampire.” His expression sobered. “I’ll

call the Cunninghams again and establish who will go there to back

them up.”

“Good idea.” Soren brushed his lips over Daniel’s in the ghost of

kiss. “What would I ever do without you?”

“It’s a mystery.” Daniel paused, his eyes going to the photo. “You

know, I do wish we could go ourselves to help them.”

“Sadly, we can’t leave, either,” Soren said with a sigh. “The pack

needs us more than ever.”

“Yes, I realize that. We’ll ask Byron. I’m sure he won’t refuse.”

Daniel looked from the photo back to Soren. “But you know, even if

all of this turns out the way we want it to, Derek won’t ever come

back to live here.”

The Vampire Who Thirsted for a Wolf

65

“No, he won’t.” It stood to reason that they couldn’t expect the

vampire elder to move to the United States and abandon his coven.

“But we’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

Daniel nodded. “I’ll just go make that call, all right? You deal with

Kaname and make sure he’s good to our son.”

As Daniel left Soren’s office, Soren picked up his phone and

dialed Kaname’s number. He had to remain strong and do what was

best for his pups. He’d have time to miss them when he was

absolutely sure they were safe.

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Kaname, Derek, and Melanie waited on the runway, watching the

jet carrying Byron Cunningham’s party land. The weather had taken a

turn for the worse since a few days back, and threatening clouds

covered the sky even now, but even so, the delegation had braved the

difficulties of air travel in less than ideal circumstances.

Behind them, Yakumo, Mizuki, and a few other vampires stood as

well. Yakumo had gladly agreed to come, but Mizuki and the rest

hadn’t been too thrilled. In fact, the coven was in an uproar with the

news of another delegation of shifters and magical creatures arriving.

When Kaname had decided to meet the group at the airport himself,

he’d given them ammo and he knew it.

Nevertheless, he strongly believed he couldn’t have acted in any

other way. This foolishness from the part of rogue vampire elements

needed to stop. Kaname had already started looking into the potential

involvement of the Oshiro clan in Sophia Bristol’s escape. He had

even read their minds, in spite of his general dislike for the technique,

but it had been useless. They seemed to know nothing of the whole

thing.