Jared nodded. “Salem earned his position. You didn’t earn it for him.”
“And now I really am tired of listening to your grievances,” said Sam with a sigh. “In fact, even the sound of your voice pisses me off at this stage, Will. As for your insistence on making life hard for two members of the legion…that’s not something that can be overlooked. It’s not something we’ll allow, which means you’re no longer welcome here. But Jared and I gave our word that you could stay, and we don’t break our promises.”
I understood that. The Grand High Pair wouldn’t have the confidence, trust, and loyalty of vampirekind if they were known for going back on their word.
“So that leaves you with two options, Will,” continued Sam. “Option one: you and your mate can voluntarily leave, thereby escaping punishment for harassing two legion members –”
“I did not harass them!”
“– and for not warning us that your firstborn was scheming, which is something your blood-link would have helped you sense. Option two: you can hold me and Jared to our word and remain here, but you’ll have to accept punishment for your actions.”
“P-punishment?” stuttered Blythe nervously.
Sam regarded her with an analytical gaze. “I doubt you’re guilty of anything more than blindly following your mate, but you will of course share any pain he feels through your bond; there’s no way of getting around that.”
Will spluttered. “You cannot be serious!”
“Let me assure you I’m very serious.”
“I have –”
“Will, maybe we should agree to leave,” interrupted Blythe, apprehensive.
“I will not be run off!”
“Don’t let your pride get in the way,” she begged quietly.
He ignored that. “I am guilty of nothing other than voicing my opinions!”
“You have repeatedly made accusations against Ava,” began Sam. “Accusations that would have led to her being harshly punished if we had believed your bollocks.”
“I see the real her, just like Gina did,” growled Will. “She has even turned Salem against me – his own Sire.”
Ava gave a soft groan. “Here we go again. Annoying,” she added in a singsong voice.
That got a few chuckles from the bystanders, who were all glaring at Will with a mixture of anger and pity. And that was what did it, what knocked Will over the edge and sent a pounding need to hurt through his system; I felt it through our blood-link, knew exactly what he was going to do. So I was ready when, with a battle cry worthy of a highlander, he launched himself at Ava.
Several things happened at once – all under the space of a second. The legion members in our audience moved to plant themselves between Will and Ava; Sam conjured her whip, most likely intending to curl it around Will; Jared raised a hand, his fingers trickling with electricity; I raised my fist, ready to hurl a psychic punch at the motherfucker.
But then we all froze, because it became clear that none of us had been quick enough to keep her and Will apart. Having moved faster than all of us, Ava was now latched onto his back like a spider monkey. Her hands were tightly gripping his head, showing him that with just one minor move, his head would be hanging from his body. Shock alone had Will freezing, wide-eyed.
“Don’t think I won’t do it,” she snarled at him. “I don’t like that it would put Salem in physical pain. But I know as well as you do that you’ve just signed your death warrant. If I don’t kill you tonight, someone else will.” But Ava didn’t want it to be me who killed him, I quickly realised as her expressive eyes landed on me. She didn’t want me to be responsible for killing my own Sire, even if said Sire was a complete prick. Because prick or not, he was still my creator – family, in a sense. She worried that my killing him would pile more guilt on my shoulders, so she’d intervened.
It was sweet, but…“Ava, move. The bastard’s mine.” But Jared got in my way.
“Don’t hurt him,” pleaded Blythe.
“He tried to attack a member of the legion,” interjected Jared. “There’s a penalty for that, and he’ll pay it.”
“Excuse me,” a familiar voice called out. The crowd parted, allowing Imani through. “Thanks.” She laughed at the sight of Ava on Will’s back. “I got your message…Can’t say I expected to find you like this when I got here.”
I arched a brow questioningly. “Message?”
“She’s here to sever your blood-link with Will,” Ava told me. “If Imani does it, it will cause you only a brief moment of pain.”
Will’s brows knitted together. “Break the link?”
“Ava, come here.” I wanted her back with me, away from the fucker who’d tried to hurt her.
She pouted. “But I’m comfy here.”
I jerked my head. “Come here, baby.”
With an extremely put-out sigh that made Imani chuckle again, Ava hopped down and came to my side. “Happy now?”
“Yes.” I curled an arm around her, holding her close as I glared at a still seething Will.
Sam turned to Blythe. “You have a choice to make. Will is going to die tonight. As you’re Bound, if he dies, you die. But I don’t believe in making people pay for what others do. You’re no fluffy bunny, but you don’t deserve to share in his punishment. Imani here can sever your Bond before Will is punished, which will save your life. Or you can die with him. It’s your choice.”
Blythe and Will both stared at Imani in shock before then turning to face one-another. They didn’t say a word, but their emotions were clear in their expressions. Blythe was torn and confused. Will was pissed that she would even consider Sam’s offer, warning Blythe with his eyes not to betray him and accept that offer. Which just demonstrated how much of a bastard he truly was. If I’d been in his position, I’d have insisted that Ava accept that offer and live. I wouldn’t have seen that acceptance as betrayal, wouldn’t have cared what she did as long as it kept her alive.
“We need an answer, Blythe,” prompted Jared.
She shook her head, though she still seemed torn. “I don’t want to live without him.”
“Fair enough.”
Ava looked at her friend and squad member. “Imani?”
All business, the short brunette turned to face me. “I’m told it’s a similar feeling to when Ryder goes surfing inside your brain. The only difference is I’m not searching through what’s there. I’ll only find and touch the blood-link.”
Imani closed her eyes, and then I felt it: a tiny hand treading through my brain. But it wasn’t an invasive feeling because the pads of those psychic fingers were simply skimming the surface as opposed to digging.
When the hand stilled, I knew she’d found the link. One finger lightly flicked the taut thread, sending reverberations through my head. I flinched, involuntarily clutching Ava tighter to me. Shit, no wonder Butch had been in agony when Imani had strummed his link like a guitar string. Then two fingers seized the link and pulled hard. The ‘snap’ echoed through my brain, left me feeling like I’d taken a hard blow to the skull. I winced, grinding my teeth against the pain, as I grabbed my head. I distantly registered that Will was doing the same.
“Done,” announced Imani with a smile.
Ava rubbed my arm soothingly. “Is the pain easing?”
I took a deep breath. “Yeah.” It had hurt like a bitch, but it would no doubt have been worse to feel Will die.
Will glared at me. “You’re going to let them kill me?”
“You tried to attack my mate.” Didn’t make any difference to me that we weren’t yet Bound – it was only a matter of time. “No one hurts her.”
Ava’s arms constricted around me. “Sam and Jared will take care of his punishment.”
I glanced down at her. “The last thing I’d feel is guilt if I took care of it.”
“You took care of Gina. Why should you get to have all the fun?”
“He tried to attack a member of the legion,” said Jared. “His punishment is therefore mine
and Sam’s.”
Sam nodded. “Now go play with Ava or something.” With that, Sam and Jared teleported away with Will and Blythe.
“You okay?”
I knew what Ava was asking: Was I at all upset that my Sire was due to die? “He tried to hurt you. He deserves exactly what’s coming to him.”
Seemingly satisfied by that answer, she said with a little clap, “Come on. Let’s go vacuum Gina’s ashes.” Ava sounded so delighted by the idea that I felt a slither of amusement. Life would never be boring with this woman.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
(Salem)
“You don’t need to be nervous.” Jared clapped me on the shoulder. “I can tell you from personal experience that the ceremony moves pretty fast. And there’s no chance that Ava will stand you up.”
“I know that.” She and I had exchanged a few text messages, although they had been mostly to remind me just how pissed she’d be if I started anything with her asshole of a brother. The same asshole who had last night said, ‘If you ever hurt her, psycho Sid, I’ll kill you.’ Naturally, I’d replied by dangling him over the balcony until he begged me to pull him back up. It had been kind of fun.
“Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts.”
I threw Jared a look of disgust. I wasn’t going to credit that dumb question with an answer. I wasn’t afraid of this. Wasn’t scared of the depth of commitment I was about to make. No one would ever fit me the way Ava did. Nobody. She accepted me just as I was, broken and all. Everything – even the fights – were good with Ava. And I knew that no matter what happened in the future, it would be a better one with her in it.
Also, after tonight, there was no way she could ever doubt how important she was to me. Nothing said ‘I love you’ like Binding every part of yourself to someone for your immortal life, did it?
Keeping to her word, Ava had rejected Sam and Jared’s offer to hold a week-long celebration for the Binding. Call me miserable, but parties really weren’t my thing, particularly if I was supposed to be the host and the focus of any attention. Also, I personally found the formalities and traditions that went with Bindings plain weird; I wasn’t much interested in throwing a celebration that was suited to everybody else. Thankfully Chico and Jude, who had asked to hold their own Binding in the same ceremony, were in total accord with me on that.
Much like me, Chico hadn’t really involved himself in the planning of the event. In fact, it would be fair to say that I’d actively avoided taking part. Maybe there were many guys out there who found it fun to choose flowers, balloons, table decorations, and fonts for banners, but I just wasn’t one of them. I wanted few things from tonight. One, to be Bound with Ava. Two, to have beer-flavoured NSTs at the – in my opinion unnecessary – after-party. Three, to have Ava revert back to the woman I adored…as opposed to the stressed out psycho of the past three weeks.
She had agonised over every minor detail to the point that she’d exploded on two occasions, and I’d hated that it was causing her stress. Particularly since, to me, a small ceremony was more meaningful than a showy production. I didn’t want the meaning behind the Binding to be muddied by colours, fonts, and styles. But when I’d – most reluctantly – offered to help in the hope of easing the burden a little, she had smiled and assured me, “It’s fine; me, Fletcher, and Jude have got this.”
Maybe she’d correctly sensed that allowing me to join in planning the event would have led to a very different evening. Instead, she’d told me: “I’ll give you the time, date, outfit, and sort out all the details. All you need to do is dress and turn up on time.” Was it any wonder that I loved her?
“Relax,” said Jared. It was only then that I realised I’d started to pace.
I couldn’t relax, and for a very good reason. “They’re going to do something,” I muttered, tipping my head toward where my squad was whispering among themselves in the second row seats. White covers and pink bows had been attached to each chair, as Ava had requested.
Jared frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”
“They’re going to pull some kind of prank.” I could see it in their oh-so-innocent eyes.
Arching a brow, Jared snorted. “What, you mean like they – you included – did at my ceremony?”
Well, yeah.
Standing under the floral arch, the Prelate – the same one who had performed Sam and Jared’s Binding – hmphed at me. The uptight vampire hadn’t been at all impressed by the pranks, and he clearly remembered them. Not only had we all pinned ‘Run’ signs on our shirts and flashed them at Sam, but we had attached a ‘Help Me’ sign to the back of Jared’s shirt.
“I think they call this kind of thing ‘karma’, right?” Jared smirked, the prick.
Just then, Chico came to stand at my other side in a similar get up as me – open necked shirt and pants. He cast the rest of our squad a quick, distrustful glance. “They’re going to do something.”
“Yep,” I agreed.
He fiddled with the collar of his white shirt. “I have a feeling Harvey’s speech is what we need to worry about.” As it was tradition for a friend of the couple to do a speech during the feast, both my squad and Ava’s had put their names into a hat. Harvey’s name had been drawn out, and we all knew that he would take absolute delight in making the entire thing painful at our expense. He could be a dick like that.
Movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention: Fletcher was exiting the back door of the mansion – the very same door that Ava was due to step out of any minute now. Moving at vampire speed, he past the bat pool and advanced across the beach; not stopping until he reached the end of the aisle.
With a smile, he did some kind of weird curtsy. “The girls are ready, they look fabulous, and they’re on their way with Sam.” For Sam to escort Ava and Jude was a symbol that the Grand High Pair approved of and blessed both Bindings. “Big smiles,” he encouraged before skipping over to his seat. It was odd watching someone skip on sand.
“Now both of you relax,” Jared told us. Chico nodded, blowing out a long breath, while I just grunted.
Resisting the urge to fidget with the anticipation rushing through me, I fixed my gaze on the open doors at the rear of the mansion. Moments later, Ava, Sam, and Jude finally stepped out into the warm evening, hand in hand. The very second Ava’s eyes locked with mine, a bright smile lit her face; just like that, my body and mind relaxed. I knew I had a similar smile on my own face.
How could I not smile right now? Fletcher’s ‘fabulous’ comment was an understatement. She looked amazing, captivating, and enchanting in her white strapless gown that I was guessing was satin. While the skirt was ruffled and long, it was knee-length at the front, showcasing those legs I loved. Her gorgeous hair, which always made me think of melted chocolate, was loose around her shoulders and curled slightly at the ends. I was pretty sure I’d never felt more proud or satisfied than I was in that moment.
Soft music began to play and the guests rose. The three women followed the trail of white and pink petals, pausing only to remove their high-heeled shoes at the fringe of the beach. Ava’s eyes didn’t leave mine as she advanced up the aisle, and her smile didn’t once falter. But her stride did when the soft music suddenly spluttered and was replaced by ‘Macarena’.
Not even the slightest bit amused, the three women halted. In unison, their heads swivelled to glare at my squad, who were all looking deceptively innocent. Behind them, Ava’s squad leaned forward and whacked the guys over the head, making them flinch and whine. Jared cleared his throat to disguise a chuckle. Glancing at the other guests, I saw that he wasn’t the only one entertained.
“I’ll kill them,” Chico ground out.
“You’ll try, but I’ll get there first.”
Thankfully Fletcher acted quickly, and soon the soft music was playing again. The women blew out a calming breath and then continued making their way down the aisle. When they finally stopped, Sam placed Jude’s hand in Chico’s and then Ava’s han
d in mine.
“Hey,” Ava whispered simply. Her smile had returned in full force.
It took everything I had not to yank her to me and take that mouth. I was about to tell her how amazing she looked when Jared clapped me on the shoulder once again before kissing Ava’s cheek. As he then went with Sam to take their seats on the front row, I turned back to Ava. Quietly, I spoke. “You look –”
I froze as two farting sounds split the air. I looked at Sam and Jared only to find that they were both scowling as they pulled out whoopee cushions from under the white chair covers. Knowing exactly who was responsible, I shot the guys – all of whom were shaking with silent laughter – a snarl. That was when they smiled, revealing blackened teeth.
A loud giggle popped out of Ava, which acted as a catalyst. Suddenly everyone, even the damn Prelate, was laughing…other than myself and Chico.
“They’re dead,” he mouthed to me, to which I nodded in agreement.
Irritated and eager to get started, I turned my glare on the Prelate. With a sheepish look, he pulled himself together and cleared his throat.
“Stop scowling, you’re scaring him,” Ava teased loud enough for only me to hear. I cast her a mock glare that made her giggle again.
Signalling for both couples to face him, the Prelate then began. As the ceremonial words were all spoken in Latin, Luther had explained the gist of the speech to us beforehand: that for vampires, our human-death was not the end, but the start of something new; that we should never take for granted this gift of finding someone to spend our immortal life with.
When the Prelate gestured for us to link hands, Ava and I turned to look at each other. Having joined our palms together, we then spread our fingers wide, and threaded them through each other’s – forming a ‘V’. Ava once again gave me a beaming smile that made me want to kiss her until she couldn’t breathe. Instead, I listened as the Prelate spoke a string of Latin to me.
Thanks to Luther having told me beforehand, I knew the Prelate was asking if I agreed to love, protect, treasure, comfort, support, and laugh with Ava, and to forsake all others, in good times and in bad. Well, obviously. So I responded, “Ita vero.” When Ava then did the same with no hesitation, a sense of self-satisfaction warmed me from the inside out.