Spiro stopped talking and suddenly a glass of water appeared in his hand. He drained the contents and the glass disappeared. “The
fae
who chose to follow and protect
Nialo
were also granted the same gifts from Gaia, but she was a smart cookie. The gifts she granted the
fae
only survived as long as
Nialo
did.”
“So if the dragon species collapsed, I gather
Morwyn
got what he wanted and killed
Nialo
,” Kern said.
“No one knows.
Morwyn
gathered an army and attacked the dragons. When they stormed the dragon lands,
Nialo
was nowhere to be found, and the
fae
who had become his protectors had lost their dragon qualities. After half the
fae
were slaughtered by
Morwyn
and his men, Zeus stepped in and banished his soulless brother to
Tartarus
.”
“So could this ward be one of
Nialo’s
?” Kern asked.
Neo and Spiro both shook their heads. It was Neo who took over the conversation. “
Nialo
has never surfaced, but before his imprisonment,
Morwyn
swore retribution on Zeus and The Realm.”
“But even if he managed to escape from
Tartarus
, why would
Morwyn
be
working with a small pack of
weres
from Galway?”
“Good question. And one I plan to get to the bottom of,” Neo replied.
“And what does this have to do with Haig?” Kern asked Spiro.
“Nothing, other than the fact that Haig was injured by the ward.”
“So why did you want to speak to me without
Audric
around?” The longer they talked, the more confused Kern became. All he knew was his two mates were in a room without him.
Spiro gestured towards the wall of two-story windows. “Let’s go over here.”
Kern swallowed around the lump in his throat. “You’re scaring me,” he admitted.
“I assure you,
that’s
not my intention. I assume you know there are a few
weres
who have been gifted a true mate, a union designed by the Gods.”
“Yes.” Although Kern had never known mates who had been fated to meet, he had heard of them.
“I believe
Audric
and Haig are such a pairing.”
Kern shook his head. “That’s not possible. Vampires don’t mate like
weres
do.”
“I know.” Spiro took a deep breath. “What do you know about
Audric’s
past?”
“Not much. He says he doesn’t remember much before he was kidnapped by
LaMont
.”
Spiro shuffled his feet uneasily. “I think we were wrong about Gunnar.”
“Gunnar? What does he have to do with anything?” Again, more confusion clouded his mind.
“I believe
Audric
was the first werewolf
LaMont
turned,” Spiro explained.
Kern wanted to scream at Spiro, to tell him he was wrong in his conclusion, but something
Audric
had said filtered back to him. “
Audric
told Ramiro that the vampire blood would kill Gunnar’s wolf. Do you think he knew that because it’s what happened to him?”
“Probably.
Although he doesn’t seem aware of it.
My guess is he’s shoved that part of his life so deep within himself that it honestly doesn’t exist to him anymore.”
Kern turned to look out the window. Why they had constructed The Realm with windows he didn’t understand. Outside seemed to be nothing but a white swirl of mist. He refused to believe
Audric
was Haig’s fated mate. Such a joining would nullify everything Haig felt for Kern. “You can’t make me give Haig up to mate with
Audric
,” he mumbled.
Spiro’s hand landed on Kern’s shoulder. “That isn’t my decision to make. You must talk to them, tell them the truth, and follow where your hearts lead.”
Before Kern could say anything, Haig’s scream turned Kern’s blood to ice.
* * * *
Sitting at Haig’s bedside,
Audric
leant over and rested his head on Haig’s bare chest, staying clear of the symbols Spiro had painted on Haig’s skin. He closed his eyes and prayed to every god he could think of for Haig’s recovery.
Fingers threading through his hair brought
Audric
upright. “You’re awake.”
Although Haig’s eyes were droopy,
Audric
knew they saw him. “I dreamt of you.”
Audric
grinned and moved to place a quick kiss on Haig’s lips.
“Yeah?
Was it a sexy dream?”
Haig’s gaze turned troubled. “No.”
“No?”
Audric
smoothed the hair away from Haig’s face. “What did you dream of?”
Haig moved his head from side to side.
“Doesn’t matter.
It wasn’t real.” He pulled
Audric
in for another kiss.
Audric
opened his mouth for Haig, but he couldn’t forget the haunted look in Haig’s eyes. It was obvious to
Audric
something had scared the man he loved. Maybe it was a left-over feeling from his exposure to the ward.
Haig’s hand travelled down
Audric’s
back to land on his ass. “Lie next to me.”
Straightening,
Audric
studied the narrow width of the bed. “There’s no room. Get better and we’ll play later. Besides, you’ve still got some healing to do before you’re ready for anything too strenuous.”
“Where’s Kern?” Haig asked.
“Outside talking to Spiro, Neo, Michael and Ramiro.
Do you want me to go get him?”
“In a minute.
First I want to tell you how much I love you.”
“I love you, too. When I felt you hit the ward, it almost killed me. Not because it hurt, but because I thought I’d lost you.”
Audric
buried his face against Haig’s neck. “After all these years, I’ve finally found you. Promise you won’t ever try to leave me again.”
All at once, images began assaulting
Audric
. Horrific visions of capture, blood and torture blocked out everything else. His hands pressed to the sides of his head trying to keep his mind from exploding. The power of the memories was too strong, sending
Audric
to his knees. The last thing he remembered were Haig’s screams filling his ears with even more pain.
Haig’s head felt like it was exploding as he watched
Audric
writhe on the floor in obvious torture. He wasn’t aware he was screaming until Kern and the others rushed into the room.
Unable to form words, Haig pointed towards
Audric
.
Kern was the first to reach the whimpering vampire. He scooped
Audric
into his arms and turned towards Spiro. “Do something!”
Spiro was already in motion, filling a syringe with a cloudy substance. When
Audric
started to squirm out of Kern’s arms, Spiro yelled, “Hold him still.”
Kern did as ordered and Spiro grabbed
Audric
by the hair and turned his head around before plunging the long needle into the back of his neck. Whatever medicine he’d been given seemed to work rapidly.
Audric’s
head lolled to the side as he stared off into space.
Haig’s pain stopped immediately and he pushed himself to a seated position. “Give him to me,” he told Kern.
As Kern carried a dazed
Audric
towards the bed, tears began streaming down his face. Haig didn’t understand his mate’s sudden display of emotion. He held out his arms and accepted
Audric
like the gift he was. “He’ll be okay,” he tried to soothe Kern.
Kern nodded and backed away. “He’s yours to take care of. I know that now.”
He knows
. Haig closed his eyes. The dreams he’d had earlier were coming true and he didn’t know how to stop them. He opened his eyes and stared pleadingly at his mate. “Don’t go,” he begged Kern.
Kern shook his head. “The bond is too strong. I can’t fight the Gods.”
Haig hugged
Audric
against his chest. “Yes we can. That’s how powerful our love is.” He looked to Neo and Spiro for support, but the two men didn’t seem to have any to give. “No!” He turned his attention away from the others in the room to stare at Kern once more. “I will fight for you.”
“Fight who?
Yourself?
Audric
?”
Kern continued to shake his head. “You’ve found your true mate.”
Haig narrowed his eyes. “You’re giving me up, just like that?”
Audric
stirred and Haig placed a kiss to
Audric’s
forehead. “He’ll need both of us if he has any hope of getting through this.”
Having seen
Audric’s
suppressed memories, Haig knew there was too much pain for one man to heal. Now that they had been brought to the surface,
Audric’s
battle had only just begun.
Audric
closed his eyes and seemed to settle into a deep sleep.
“What did you give him?” he asked Spiro.
“Nothing harmful, I assure you. It’s just something to slow his memories down to a pace his brain can process more clearly. He’ll be out of it for a few hours, but he’ll remember everything that’s happened. He’ll need to be watched closely. Even though his brain is better able to process the images, it doesn’t mean they’ll be any less painful. As a matter of fact, they’ll probably be worse. However, the alternative could very well have driven him insane.”
Haig tried to pick the images apart one by one. “He was hunting in his wolf form when he was captured by
LaMont
.” Haig brushed his lips across
Audric’s
soft curls. “He’s one of us.”
“Was,” Spiro corrected.
“So Gunnar’s wolf truly will die?” Ramiro asked.
“That would seem to be the conclusion once he finishes his transformation into a vampire. I should know more when I get a chance to fully examine
Audric
, but he has other things to deal with at the moment.” Spiro stepped up to the bed and cupped
Audric’s
cheek. “We should be able to learn quite a bit with
Audric’s
cooperation.”
Standing beside a window, Kern spoke over his shoulder. “What now? Do we just forget about
Morwyn’s
connection to the Galway pack? Or are we planning to do something about it?”
It seemed to Haig that Kern was suddenly more concerned with other issues than his mate. He opened his mouth to reprimand his mate of over four hundred years, but a shake of Spiro’s head stopped him.
“In good time,” Spiro whispered for Haig’s ears only. He turned towards Neo. “Everything ever written about
Morwyn
and his powers should be in the vault. Make sure you know your enemy well before trying to conquer him.”
“We’ll need the help of
fae
,” Neo said.
“You’ll need the help of all Blessed Creatures,” Spiro corrected. “I have a feeling this is about more than
Morwyn
taking over
a were
pack. I think he’s trying to fulfil the threat he made thousands of years ago.”
“To destroy The Realm?”
Neo reached out and pulled Michael against his side. “Then we’ll need to not only learn everything we can about
Morwyn
, but form a true army to defeat him.”
“It would seem so,” Spiro agreed.
Chapter Eight
After getting
Audric
settled in bed, Haig left his side only long enough to seek out his mate. He entered the grand hallway off the private room they’d been given in the palace and noticed a guard. “Excuse me, can you tell me where the meeting is taking place?”
The guard looked surprised. “It broke up hours ago.”
“Oh. You didn’t happen to see a werewolf about my height with dark hair and a scar on the side of his
face,
did you?”
“I believe he left with Neo and Ramiro, sir.”
Left?
Haig couldn’t believe Kern would leave The Realm without telling him. “Do you know where they went?”
“No, sir.”
Haig ran his fingers through his hair. “What about Michael and Spiro, are they still here?”
The guard’s expression took on a look of relief. “Yes. I believe they’re in the gardens behind the palace.”
“Thank you.” He gestured towards the room he’d just left. “Would you do
me
another favour and keep an ear out in case
Audric
wakes in distress?”
The guard nodded and moved closer to the door.
“Thank you.” Haig hurried down the sweeping staircase and headed towards the back of the palace. He didn’t have a clue how to get to the back gardens, but his sense of direction had always been spot on.
He ended up in the busy kitchen, swarming with meal preparations. “Excuse me, can someone tell me the way to the back garden?”
A young woman with a brilliant smile pointed towards the door with a chopping knife. “Out that way and follow the path.”
“Thanks.” As soon as Haig was outside, he jogged his way down the path. He found Michael and Spiro sitting on a bench, staring out at a dark, turbulent sea.
“Is everything okay?” Spiro asked, getting to his feet when he spotted Haig.
“He’s still sleeping. I need to know where Kern went.”
Spiro and Michael shared a knowing glance. It was Michael who finally spoke. “He went with Neo and the others on a scouting mission to Galway.”
All Haig could think about was the ward he’d run into on his way to the pack lands. “Do they have a way around the ward?”
“Yes. A small one,” Spiro told him.
“Spiro gave Neo the ring his mother had given him before she died. It should open a
hole
small enough for them to pass without alerting the pack of their breach.”
With his hands on his hips, Haig turned to face the sea. The water looked like he felt. “Why’d Kern leave without telling me?”