“Ohh, that reminds me. I’ll see if Gabriel wants to go shopping. I bet they have a ton of baby stuff in Brighton,” Ashby said excitedly.
“If you see a decent rocking chair small enough for her can you pick it up for me? She has the one from Ma, but her feet don’t hit the floor and she’s too polite to say it’s uncomfortable,” Nic asked.
“Sure. I’m going for more clothes, my godson will have to have the best outfits.” Ashby grinned. He couldn’t wait to hold the little guy.
“He will be my nephew too,” Nic reminded him and Ashby smiled.
“My godson and your nephew, which we’ll have to kidnap from Kate, Rian, Damian and Liam.” Ashby cracked up.
“We called dibs when we first found out she was pregnant, there’s nothing they can do,” Nic said.
“Can you call dibs on an unborn baby?”
“I don’t know, but if I don’t know, then they definitely don’t know,” Nic said.
“I get first dibs, though, since I got morning sickness. Most of the time the Inner Court bond is fun. However I don’t appreciate being nauseous randomly throughout the day. I don’t know how women do it.”
“OK, I agree to that. That morning sickness is no joke.” Nic said.
Ashby shuddered. He didn’t know how women lived through pregnancy, he was never happier to be a man. “OK, I’m going to head downstairs to look for some food. Miss you guys.”
“Miss you, too. Call us later.”
“I will! Bye.” Ashby hung up the phone.
He smiled and jumped out of bed. He raced over to the bathroom and washed up. Humming, he went back to the master bedroom and picked his clothes up off the floor and got dressed. He looked in the mirror and grimaced. He looked like he was going home after a one-night stand in his club clothes. He went to the closet and pulled out one of Gabriel’s button-down shirts. Smiling, he put the slate-gray designer shirt on over his blue tank top. When he looked down he laughed. It looked like he was wearing a dress as Gabriel’s shirt hit him mid-thigh.
He shrugged and walked out of Gabriel’s apartment and down two flights of stairs to the VIP floor. When he looked over the balcony he could see the club was empty. The lights were dim and no one was in sight. He stood quietly and perked up his ears, and after a second or two he picked up the sound of voices. He loved being a fennec fox some days. The superior hearing was one of the only perks of his animal.
He walked back to the stairs and went back up a single flight until he found himself on the level that looked like it held business offices. He followed the sound of the voices until he reached a conference room. When he peeked his head inside, he smiled. His mate stood at the head of a long cherry conference table speaking to a room full of men who ranged in ages and appearances. When Gabriel’s eyes shifted a fraction and saw Ashby he paused in speaking and everyone turned to look at him.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Ashby said softly. Using vampiric speed Gabriel was standing in front of him and taking his hands.
“You could never interrupt, mon ange, we were just finishing up the staff meeting. This is actually the perfect time to introduce you to some of my coven members,” Gabriel said, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on his lips. Ashby sighed happily and allowed Gabriel to pull him into the room.
“Gentlemen, this is my mate, Ashby Fairfax. He is to be protected at all costs,” Gabriel said in a stern, almost cold voice. Ashby’s mouth dropped and he elbowed Gabriel in the ribs.
“Ow. Angel, what was that for?” Gabriel looked bewildered.
“You sounded mean. And if you order them to protect me like that it’s like you’re expecting them to place my life above their own. I’ll never make friends!” Ashby said lowly out of the corner of his mouth.
Gabriel just stared at him in shock.
“I don’t think I have ever heard anyone chastise our prince before,” one man whispered.
“I did once. He didn’t live,” another replied.
“To clarify, Ashby, we will place your life above our own since you are our prince’s mate and therefore that makes you his consort. If anything were to happen to you, we could lose our prince, and that would not be acceptable. He is the driving force that has kept our people civilized and progressing forward. Without him I fear chaos would ensue,” a dark-haired man explained and stood. He gave a short bow before continuing.
“My name is Roman, I am the acting second-in-command. I assist Gabriel at night in running the club and manage the finances. We meet every morning so that the night shift can hand off to the day shift concerning issues with the club. The day shift is responsible for cleaning and restocking the club, making arrangements for vendor deliveries and watching over those who sleep during the day. We hold a similar meeting in the evening so that the day shift can prep the night on anything that we have coming up for the evening. The night shift runs the club’s evening activities,” he said then pointed to his right.
“You may remember Bryn and Radek. They are our two most empathetic vampires in our coven so they are responsible for guarding the doors and screening people as they come in. Every vampire is empathetic to some degree. It helped us in the days when we had to feed on humans, to allow us to adjust to their moods so that they would not become frightened. Bryn and Radek are the best at it.” The blond Bryn smiled and waved and the surly looking Radek just nodded his head.
“The man on the other side of Bryn is Noel. He is the general manager and he keeps the wheels of this place turning.” The auburn-haired man smiled widely and waved. Ashby smiled back as the introductions kept coming.
“Then there are David and Daniel, the twins. Stay away from them, far away from them. They are nothing but trouble,” Roman said, scowling at the two smaller red-haired men. His left eye began to twitch.
“Who, us?” they both asked in unison. Roman sighed.
“Yes. More trouble than the entire coven combined. Though, you are good in designing and managing our web presence and keeping our network secure, so I guess it’s not a total loss.” Roman rubbed his forehead. Ashby had a feeling that those two small, red-haired, sprite-like men drove the acting second-in-command out of his mind. He turned to the twins and winked. Roman groaned.
“Next is Baptista. He is in charge of security and manages Larry, Moe, and Curly over there,” he said, pointing to the three giant-like men standing against the wall. Each man turned to Roman and growled. Baptista grinned from the table and stood. He was huge, standing at least six feet eight inches tall and broad enough he barely fit in the conference chair. He had a shaved head and goatee and unlike most of the men in the room, he looked to be in his early forties. He epitomized the term ‘bad boy’. Ashby was immediately reminded of his friend Mojo back in Arkadia.
“I don’t know how you have managed to keep them from killing you, Roman,” Gabriel said.
“It’s my bubbly personality, sir,” Roman said straight-faced. Ashby giggled.
“Baptista, pick either Lauri, Montana or Kurt to replace you, I am reassigning you to act as Ashby’s protector.” Gabriel emphasized the correct names. Ashby scowled.
“I don’t need a babysitter, Gabriel, I’m a grown man,” he protested. Gabriel raised a dark elegant eyebrow and smiled.
“I know you are a grown man, mon ange.” His voice was low and seductive. Ashby’s mind went blank. Gabriel turned back around and kept talking.
“The rest of you let the others know that Ashby is of the utmost importance,” he said, leveling a look at the rest of the men that had them gulping and inclining their heads.
“You know you being sexy and scrambling my brains won’t always work,” Ashby muttered.
“Then I will have to find other, more inventive ways to scramble your pretty brain.” Gabriel turned and smiled widely at Ashby.
It was one the few true smiles Ashby had seen on the man since they had mated. He knew that his knees would give out any moment. Stupid knees!
“Angel, I have
a few more meetings this morning and afternoon, are you comfortable in acquainting yourself with the club?” Gabriel asked, running his hand over Ashby’s blond curls.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine.” He turned to where the twins sat.
“Can you guys show me around?” he asked. Two sets of eyes went wide with surprise before twin shit-eating grins stared back at him. He had the strangest feeling he had made a pact with the devil.
“Anyone but those two,” Roman started and Gabriel held up a hand. Roman quieted.
“David and Daniel are the closest in age to Ashby and will probably be the best to show him around. Baptista of course will accompany them.” He looked to Baptista who nodded.
“Sure,” Ashby said and then got an evil idea. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his prince’s neck before plastering himself against the hard planes of his mate’s body, allowing his prince to feel his growing desire press against him. He placed a chaste kiss on his lips and stared up at his mate.
“Have fun in your meetings.” He stepped back and motioned for the twins to follow. The twins took one look at their dazed leader and edged around the other side of the table, as if to be on the safe side before taking off behind Ashby. Baptista followed behind the three small chatting men.
“Sir?” Roman started.
Gabriel shocked the entire room by breaking out into chuckles which led to full-blown laughter. His angel thought nothing to speak his mind, argue with him and then tease him in retaliation, and God help him he was falling in love with the man for it.
Chapter 5
“Oh my God! Did you see his face?” David exclaimed.
“I wasn’t looking at his face, I was looking at the growing bulge behind his slacks zipper,” Daniel said, giggling.
“Hey! No eyeing my mate’s private of privates,” Ashby said, grinning.
“Does he know you have his balls?” Daniel asked. Ashby shrugged.
“He’ll figure it out,” he said matter-of-factly. The three looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“He smiled,” David said softly. Daniel did an arm pump.
“We’ve never seen him smile before. It’s about time he was happy,” Daniel said, agreeing with his twin.
“You’ve never seen him smile? How long have you known him?” Ashby asked. Daniel held up his fingers as if he were counting.
“He turned us in 1882…” Daniel began.
“1881, it was 1881 because that was the same year that Billy the Kid was shot and the Earp boys got in that gunfight.” David argued. Daniel looked as if counting and then nodded.
“Yup, you’re right. 1881, so we’ve been with him for about one hundred and thirty-two years,” Daniel said proudly. Ashby gaped at him.
“He never smiled, not even once?” he asked. Baptista shook his head.
“He turned me in 1199 after the death of Richard the Lionheart. I saw him almost smile when he killed an enemy once. It was more like he was baring his teeth, though,” Baptista added.
“No smiling in the past eight hundred and fourteen years?” Ashby whispered, his heart aching for his mate.
“You did that math in your head?” Daniel asked putting his fingers down. David rolled his eyes.
“Probably before then. There are others who have been with him longer. He’s the one who turned us all. We’re the only coven made of nearly all turned members. In vampire society turned vampires aren’t exactly looked down upon, but you can tell the difference in the way people treat you. Our coven members are treated better since we were all turned by the prince himself. After he created the council he started to enjoy his freedom and moved all over the world. It’s almost like he collected us. He saw something he valued and didn’t want to see die, so he made us the offer, and here we are,” Baptista explained.
“David and I were riding the Pony Express in California when he found us. I was handing off to David and this gang showed up out of nowhere, shot us both and left us to die. Gabriel heard the shots and said we were too full of life to die quite yet. We both said yes and stayed with him until he dropped us off with the others at the coven he had established for his turned children outside of Chicago,” Daniel explained and David shuddered.
“God I hated that city,” David said and Baptista nodded.
“I never liked it there either. I remember when you two first joined us, I thought our prince had brought home two puppies, you were all over the place. Mikhail nearly killed you both that first week,” Baptista said chuckling. Daniel and David winced.
“Who is Mikhail?” Ashby asked.
“He is Prince Gabriel’s true second-in-command. He is out on assignment right now trying to track down the origins of that drug,” Baptista explained.
“He’s a meanie,” Daniel said.
“He’s scary,” David said at the same time.
“Scarier than Gabriel?” Ashby asked, curious. Both nodded rapidly.
“Gabriel will kill you if you mess up or displease him. But he’s very reasonable with his expectations and is consistent. He doesn’t play favorites. Mikhail will kill you if you breathe wrong,” Daniel explained, eyes wide.
“We try not to breathe around him,” David said.
“Is that why you two keep fainting around him? I thought it was because he scared you silly,” Baptista said, smiling.
“He is serial-killer scary,” Daniel said.
“He is clown scary.” David added. Daniel looked at David thoughtfully and nodded.
“Touché,” Daniel agreed.
“We don’t have anyone like that in Arkadia,” Ashby said as they walked into the large industrial kitchen.
“What’s Arkadia like? It’s like vampire legend since no vampire has ever set foot in Arkadia,” Daniel said, sitting on one of the barstools that had been pushed up next to the island.
“Well, it’s kinda small, just a couple streets, but we’re growing more and more. There’s the diner where everyone hangs out. It’s run by Ma…”
“Ma who?” David asked.
“Ma Arkadion, she is the old Alpha Mother. Rebecca is the new Alpha Mother. We’ve bonded,” Ashby said proudly. “Nic, Kate and I have all bonded with her to help her run the town. Nic and I run shops so we see a lot of the townspeople. I run an ice cream parlor called Sweet Nothings and Nic runs a coffee shop called The Grind. Kate is the Alpha Female of the Arkadian wolf pack and she keeps Rebecca updated with how the pack is doing.”
“Then there are the lions. Before Rebecca came to town, Nic and I thought they were kinda scary since they were male predators, and we shift into small animals. But once Rebecca came to town and we all started to hang out, we learned that they are just a bunch of softies, especially Rian and Damian. They’re a blast to hang out with,” Ashby said and realized he was rambling. “Sorry, I guess I got excited.”
“Don’t be, they sound like a lot of fun. I wonder if we can invite them to the club one night.” Daniel asked. Ashby winced.
“That may be a while. Aleks is still upset that Rebecca was kidnapped from here. The hyenas wanted to drain Arkadia of blood for that vampire drug ring. I got kidnapped too since I was with her when she was taken.” Ashby explained.
“Is she OK?” David asked. Both twins look concerned.
“Yup, she’s doing great. She’s pregnant and expecting their first child soon. She said she wanted me to be the godfather,” Ashby said, beaming.
“Prince Gabriel is going to be the godfather to the next Arkadion Alpha?” Baptista asked and then began to laugh.
“Does he know this?” He asked between bouts of laughter.
“No, why is that funny?” Ashby asked confused.
“It’s just that the Arkadions and vampires have a rocky past. I think it’s ironic that our prince would end up mated to someone who is bonded to the Alpha Mother and will be godfather to the next heir. Life has a funny way of turning out sometimes.” Baptista said, grinning.
“Well as Rebecca would say, ‘That’s OK,
because we’re all friends now.’” Ashby smiled at the vampires in front of him.
“She sounds pretty cool,” Daniel said.
“She is. She accepts people for who and what they are. She likes everyone,” Ashby said, smiling.
“We can’t wait to meet her. Now, what would you like for lunch?” David asked, standing and going to the cabinets.
“Hey guys, do you, um, eat food?” Ashby asked, blushing. David and Daniel looked at each other and started laughing.
“Not that much anymore. In fact, you may want to make your own lunch, it’s been a while for us,” David said. Ashby nodded.
“I can do that.” Ashby hopped down and began to rummage through the cabinets and refrigerator. “I love sandwiches,” Ashby said, putting all the fixings on the table.
Ashby grabbed two pieces of freshly sliced bread and slathered on the mayo. Next, he drizzled the bread with red wine vinegar and oregano. Then he added some lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion. Finally he stacked thick layers of meat and cheese on the bread and flattened it with his hand. David and Daniel were licking their lips.
“I don’t remember food smelling that good,” Daniel said.
“Me either,” David replied. Ashby smiled before cutting the sandwich in half and offered each half to the twins. He looked to Baptista.
“Would you like to try?” he asked and Baptista shook his head.
“Not hungry at the moment, but I would like to try one of those if you make them again,” he said, pointing to the sandwich. Moans filled the kitchen.
“It’s so freaking good!” Daniel exclaimed.
“Food was never this good before we were turned,” David said. Ashby made a second sandwich and sat down and ate with them. Both twins mourned the end of their lunch.
“Just think, now I get to introduce you to all the foods you’ve been missing all these years,” Ashby said, smiling.
“Food when we were alive was dry stuff with bugs in it. Blood was so much better that we never went back and tried anything,” David said, patting his stomach while Daniel licked his fingers, both having inhaled their halves.